About a year or so ago a dear friend shared a CD with me.  She said that a friend of hers put these CDs together and thought that we would enjoy them.  The children LOVED it so we decided to purchase the rest of the catechism cds and have been enjoying them ever since.

The other day a very well known blogger posted about these very cds.  Challies posted about Songs for Saplings along with other music for children.  Challies wrote:

Songs for Saplings is James and Dana Dirksen from Porland, Oregon. They have recorded four albums, one of which follows an A,B,C format while the other three are questions and answers, much like a catechism. I suppose these albums will largely appeal to younger children. They are quiet and acoustic.

He is correct in his assessment of the cds. They are geared toward younger children. But they are beneficial for the entire family.  The catechism cds do appeal to older children more and more in the second and third cds.  There is a great variety in the style of music on each cd. You can even listen to excerpts on their website.

What I love about them is that the children (and us parents) learn the great truths presented in the Westminster Catechism which is derived directly from scripture. Each question and answer also contains the scripture that teaches the truth. This way your children are not only learning the doctrinal truth but the scriptures that proclaim that truth.

Songs for Saplings is a ministry of the Dirksen family and this is what they state on their website.

We create lively, fun songs that attempt to deliver the deepest of Biblical truth in a format that your children will love to listen to. We want them to understand who God is and what He has done, as well as what He wants your children to do and to be. We hope that you will benefit from these CDs and use them to help teach your children about our God and his great love for us.

With Christmas time approaching, what better gift could you give than the gift of music which teaches and proclaims the greatness of our Lord Jesus Christ?!

I am pleased to announce that I can offer you a 20% discount off of your order when you buy CDs from their website. This includes the “12-pack bulk pack” which a lot of people order for gift-giving. This does however exclude the 24 and 48 CD bulk packs, which are already heavily discounted.

All you need to do is enter the following code as you go through the checkout: mamaarcher
It’s really simple.

Hopefully you will find this really helpful as you order CDs this Christmas!

As you seek to grow your little saplings……

into strong oaks of righteousness…

Songs for Saplings can be a musical and fun tool for you and your family to use and enjoy!

that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified.
(Isaiah 61:3b)

Visit SONGS FOR SAPLINGS and order your CDs today! Order some for your friends and family too! Don’t forget to enter the discount code for your 20% off!

Please leave a comment and let me know if you plan on making a purchase and what you think of their music and ministry!

Regardless of whether you order, please tweet, email, and share on Facebook so that others can take advantage of the discount offer!

Homeschooling can be a challenge and a lot of work but it is filled with rewards for the children, the parents, and society.  It becomes even more challenging when learning disabilities are thrown into the mix.  I have two children (so far) who have been diagnosed with learning disabilities.  We are dealing with a whole array of learning disabilities.  A few of them have a lot of support and suggestions on how to deal with them.  Some do not.

It seems there is always trial and error involved in trying to find out what works best to help these children with extra challenges.  There are also differing schools of thought on how to approach things.  What one school of thought says works another will say is worthless.  The real test, however, is really what works, what brings results.  I am one who believes that the Orton-Gillingham approach seems to have the best results.  S.P.I.R.E. is based on that approach.

One thing that one must take into consideration when dealing with learning disabilities is that there will be what seem like set backs.  One day your child will seem to finally get it and then another day seem as if they haven’t picked up a thing.  Perseverance is the key.  Keep plugging away and do not let yourself grow weary.

Whenever I begin to find myself getting frustrated with my children I put myself in their place and realize how much they are struggling.  Being aware of how difficult the task is for them helps me to keep my frustration in check.

I have recently found a curriculum that seems to be helping my daughter.  It is rather pricey.  But I think it is well worth the price.  It does tend to get on my nerves a little bit only because of the amount of time and repetition involved but that is exactly what my daughter needs.  It takes more time than I would like but then again my daughter takes more time to “get it” than I would like.  It does take about 45 to an hour per lesson.  The lessons may seem redundant but again the repetition is what she needs.  It isn’t simply repetition though.  The program tackles reading from several different angles.  This helps to attack all different areas of possible mis-connects and cement the concepts for the child. Even though there is more involved with the program it is amazingly easy to implement. The teachers guides are very easy to understand and give step by step instruction which is easy to follow.

What program am I referring to?  It is called S.P.I.R.E. and can be purchased from EPS.  S.P.I.R.E. takes a ten step approach to teaching.  Each lesson contains ten steps.

S.P.I.R.E. is a comprehensive and multisensory reading intervention program. It is designed to prevent reading failure and to build reading success through an intensive, structured, and spiraling curriculum. It integrates phonological awareness, phonics, handwriting, fluency, vocabulary, spelling, and comprehension in a 10-Step lesson plan that is specifically designed for the way struggling readers learn. via website

S.P.I.R.E. has eight levels and each level follows the ten step lesson plan. With each concept taught there is an introductory lesson with one or more reinforcement lesson. With my daughter I have found that she needs each and every reinforcement lesson but that may not be so for your child. The ten step lesson plan is as follows. I share this to give you an idea of how they attack each new concept from several angles.

1. Phonograms Cards
2. Phonological Awareness
3. Word Building
4. Decoding & Sentence Reading
5. Prereading
6. Reading
7. Sound Dictation
8. Prespelling (orally)
9. Spelling
10. Sentence Dictation

There is also independent work and additional readers to reinforce what has been taught.  For more on the ten step program, GO HERE.

If you have a struggling reader I would highly recommend the S.P.I.R.E. program.  It is a bit time consuming (about an hour a day) and it is a bit pricey. I think I spent about $2200 for all eight levels and the preschool program for one child.  If you purchase it one level at a time though it isn’t so hard on the budget.

The thing that I love the most is the fact that it tackles the same concepts from all different angles and helps you see where your child is struggling the most enabling the parent to better address the issue.

You can learn more on their website.  They even have a sample video lesson demonstrating the ten step program.  You can also look at the scope and sequence for each level.

Do you have children who struggle with learning disabilities?  Have you found something that seems to work?  Have you ever tried or even heard of S.P.I.R.E.?  After looking it over, is this a program that you think you might try? Please leave me a comment and share your thoughts with me.

School is going well so far. We are finishing in a timely fashion. Some things are taking a little longer than anticipated but I think that is due to the fact that we are using a few new curriculum items and are still trying to “figure it out.”

We are still on our summer schedule for extra activities and that will soon mix with the school schedule. It seems everything switches from summer mode to school mode at different times which really makes the scheduling interesting.

We have had two field trips in this first week of school and completed four days worth of lessons (more in some subjects).  We took a trip to the Anchorage Museum which also houses the Imaginarium.  The Imaginarium is a hands on museum for children.  Lots of fun learning without realizing that you are learning!  We also went on a berry picking expedition.  You can read a little about that trip on my Soaked in Adventure post.

I think that the first month or so of homeschooling is always such an encouragement.  Most of the beginning of a new year is review.  I know many homeschool parents who tend to skip a lot of stuff located in the front of their books because their children know the material and they want to move forward rather than just having busy work.  I understand that.  I, however, have decided not to do that.  I think the review is good for the children and it encourages them when they can sit down and say “This is easy Mom!!!”

We are able to move through school lessons quickly and the children like that.  It just seems to get our year off to a good start.  We often do more than just a day’s worth of lessons and the children are motivated to do more because it isn’t such a challenge.  It begins to develop a good work attitude before things become more difficult.

Our school year has started out well!  I hope this is a good indication for the rest of the school year!

How is your new school year going?  Even if you haven’t started yet, what is your usual plan for the beginning of the year?  Do you do a lot of review?  What field trips do you have planned?  Share with me!

Whose bright idea was it to start our new school year today??? Just wait until I get my hands on them! I am EXHAUSTED this morning! I am not used to getting up this early! I could have easily slept for another three hours! I am really NOT ready for this! So tell me!! Whose idea was it?!?!?!

Oh wait, that would be me! Never mind. Off to shower and get ready for this grand adventure of another school year!

This school year we are trying something new.  I saw this at the curriculum fair this year and I just couldn’t resist.  For my younger children we will be using this three days a week.  It is a basic handwriting (manuscript) program combined with a drawing (art) program.  It is colorful and fun.  There are also book lists and thematic study suggestions if you want to expand you study.

I bought the entire boxed set but you can purchase each book individually.  I also purchased the workbooks to go along with it.  It is just easier for me to keep everything organized that way.

We have not begun yet but I have all three of my little girls asking when, when, when we can start on it.  I think it may be a highlight this year!

If you are interested take a moment to visit their website, HERE.  They also have sample lessons so you have a first hand look at the curriculum.  You could even try it out with your children before purchasing.

Have any of you used this curriculum before?  If so, what do you think?  Did your children enjoy it?  Did it improve their drawing skills?  I would love your input!

Image via Wikipedia

Lessons plans for the entire year will be finished and printed today.  School supplies are purchased.  The children’s school buckets are cleaned out and organized.  Morning wake up times move earlier this week in preparation.  School begins next Monday and the school bell will be ringing early.!  (Can’t you just hear the squeals of joy?)

We are almost there.  Everything is pretty much ready except for the students.  We are easing in to it a bit though.  There will be several breaks in August due to camp, visitors, and jelly making.  AND if Mr. sunshine ever decides to show his face in Alaska then we will run out to meet him.  The days we do have lessons though will be full!!

Anyone else starting this early??

The last of the curriculum has finally arrived and I am finishing up next year’s lesson plans.  I am almost finished with that.  Then it will be time to get it all printed and put in the binder.  I wonder if I will be able to make copies needed for their school work before we begin or not.  I always intend to do that but have succeeded in getting that task finished before hand only once.

The plan was to begin school the beginning of August.  We have a new baby coming and there is always extra days off when a new baby comes.  Then I got to thinking….  I will have two girls in the lower 48 for camp for about 10 days and my mother is coming for a visit the end of August.  Soo, do we begin or not?  The older two would have lessons for a week be gone 10 days, have lessons for a week, then off for another week.  The younger children could go straight through but then we would not all be on the same page (lesson plan wise).

I had decided that we would just wait until September to begin but I am really wavering on that for several reasons.  One being that new baby thing, also when daddy comes home he will have time off and we need to break from school and just enjoy having him home after such a long separation, the holidays always add extra days off, not to mention the fact that my children NEED some structure added back into their lives.

I think we are going to push ahead and start school in August after all.  The older girls may be a little behind but they can do double time for a little while.  The youngers will have some much needed structure.  Time with daddy gone will go faster because we will be occupied.  We will be able to cover a some time off later in the year if we begin earlier.

I am not talking rigid, stick to the plan school, after all there is still jelly making season that will need our attention! But we do need some routine back into our lives.  Staying up late, getting up late, and then wondering what to do all day which doesn’t include irritating each other is getting pretty old.

So, we are getting ready for school to begin the first Monday in August.  The children are not overly pleased but are growing on the idea when I mentioned they could take time off when daddy came home.  I have the curriculum and the lesson plans.  I only need some school supplies restocked and we are ready to go.  NOw to break out and actually pay attention to those pesky alarm clocks!

Image via Wikipedia

Are you ready for the next school year to begin???  Where are you in your preparations?

I am interrupting the series which I am blogging to share this with you.  Jennifer @ Quiverfull Family left me a comment the other day about catechism resources.

I’ve been feeling led towards catechizing lately (I don’t come from a Christian background, so this is really totally foreign to our family.)

Do you use the Westminster Shorter? Any specific resources that you can recommend?

I decided it would be good to share the information with all of you.  Thank you Jennifer for asking!!  These are resources that I love and am so excited to be able to share them!

First, yes, we do use the Westminster Shorter Catechism.

Second, here are a few resources that we use with our family! I am also listing a few others that are out there that we have not tried just in case you want to check them out!  I hope that these resources are helpful to you in training your children.

Big Truths for Little Kids

Training Hearts Teaching Minds

Vic Lockman’s Catechism in Cartoon form.

Songs for Saplings by Dana Dirksen

I know that Veritas Press also has a catechism songs collection and a song book but I have not heard them yet…they are on the order form for us to try out this school year.

We also have some of  THESE children’s catechism books…they were used along with their Sunday School curriculum a few years ago.

Covenant Home also has a catechism course which my hubby has used for youth group sessions.  It is designed for 5th grade and up.

As I mentioned a couple of days ago my two eldest daughters are attending TeenPact this year.  If you missed that post then scroll down or go here.  The two girls have been coming home each evening very excited but last night tipped the scale.  They were bursting at the seams with excitement.

They have been listening to different representatives speak this week and putting questions to them.  But yesterday……

One daughter was able to meet the Representative Stoltz.  This was a neat experience.  This was the representative that she wrote to before TeenPact began.  She introduced herself and he paused and said, ” You live in “town name” on “our street name” and you have a sister named “sister’s name.”  She was stunned.  She told him yes sir.  He thanked her for her letter and told her that he had just sent her a letter in return.  She came home to find it on the table waiting for her.  There are approximately 90 students at TeenPact this year and she felt honored that he recognized her name and knew who she was.

The other daughter was taken with her class into a conference room.  They were trying to determine which chair was the Governor’s chair.  One girl (not my daughter) sat in it with permission.  They told her it was fine because he would not be in attendance.  A few minutes later the Governor walked in the room.  Went over to the chair and told the girl she had the best seat in the room, the Governor’s chair.  He was gracious and let her remain there.  I think that probably made her day.  So, my daughter was able to meet Governor Parnell.  That made her day!

So there was great excitement!  There is talk of wanting to be a page, volunteer to help staff TeenPact in the future, and to go for political science majors!  There are having a great time, learning so much, and learning how they can make difference!  I am sure they are planning on attending again next year.

My two oldest girls are walking around looking much older than I like this morning.  They are dressed nicely in business attire (skirts and blazers).  They look rather professional.  They are attending a special class in downtown Anchorage this week.  They have been working on homework for weeks now.  They have been busy reading, writing, and analyzing bills, writing to their state representatives, as well as several other things.  Here is their homework list to be completed before the start of classes. Attending this class is for their government credit.  If you have never heard of TeenPact it truly is something to check into.  It is a great opportunity for your children.

Let me share a bit about the class with excerpts directly from their website.

TeenPact trains young people to be leaders who will impact the nation and world for Jesus Christ. This is a comprehensive leadership experience that challenges students to grow both personally and spiritually. During the week, students will enjoy meeting and interacting with other Christian young people and leaders from across their state. Students will come away from TeenPact with a realization of their spiritual capacity as young people and a desire to change America for Christ.

Here is a bit more…

TeenPact is a comprehensive leadership experience that brings kids closer to Jesus Christ, makes them better leaders, and positions them to impact public policy in their state. During the week, students meet important officials, interact with other like-minded students, and have more fun at the capitol than they could have ever imagined. Students leave inspired and challenged with an intensive desire to change America for Christ.

TeenPact offers a program for both teens and children at your state capitol. Students enjoy times of praise, worship and devotions, meet important officials, interview lobbyists, view campaign disclosures, improve their public speaking skills, write their own bills, and conduct their own TeenPact legislature. Students analyze public policy from a Biblical Worldview and learn to “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5).

Other activities include:

* Reading actual bills that are being worked through the Legislature
* Researching how political candidates spend their campaign money
* Analyzing media content with an emphasis on worldview
* Participate in student elections
* Learning about the structure and content of our nation’s Constitution

I know that here in Alaska there are even a few additional scheduled events. One being an ultimate frisbee game. That may sound strange but if you have a teen and are in the Alaska homeschooling community you would understand that life does not happen without ultimate frisbee. )  TeenPact even has their own ultimate frisbee discs for purchase! I hope my daughters don’t see this.  I think I will be buying MORE frisbees!

They are also having a dinner and a square dance. They have parent meetings for those interested in attending.

TeenPact is designed for highschoolers but they also offer a one day class for children ages 8-12 years.

The TeenPact One Day Class is an abbreviated version of the Four Day, designed specifically for ages 8-12. This class focuses on

• The biblical responsibility to pray for our leaders
• The principle of “higher authority”
• The “bill-to-law” legislative process
• Public speaking for young students

I would encourage you to check out TeenPact for your children.  They offer classes in 38 states and are still expanding. Children may also attend year after year if they would like.  There is a lot going on.  Get in on the fun!  There is a lot of information on the website.  They have listings of classes as well as sample class schedules.  This is a great way to aid you in teaching and training your children about the role and functioning of government from a godly perspective.

Be sure to check into it and come back here and let me know your thoughts.

Do you have a child who has already attended?  What are your thoughts on the experience?