Back to School with Notebooking

3rd Birthday Celebration Sale

Tired of Busywork? Seize the Most from Your Day . . . with Notebooking!

Notebooking is a powerful tool that captures what your children have learned, turning it into a concise, artful piece of work. Visit NotebookingPages.com for free and affordable templates to help you get started today! Simply print out a selection of free notebooking templates or choose pages from one of their themed sets.

Now is a great time to try some of NotebookingPages.com’s products during their 3rd Birthday Celebration! Every product and specially priced combo set is 50% off! You can get ALL of their products for $50 – save almost $90! This sale is only in effect May 6, 7, & 8th. They are also giving away three great prizes!

Check it out here:

NotebookingPages.com Birthday Celebration Sale

Share/Save

Short Summer Break

Over the next couple of weeks my family will be visiting Springfield, Illinois for a Baptism. We plan to visit the Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, I understand it is fascinating. The only disappointing factor is, not getting to go to Mass at Immaculate Conception Cathedral. It is closed for renovations. However there are plenty of nice Catholic churches there and we will be attending a couple of them.

On our way back home we plan on visiting the Parthenon in Nashville TN. and the Hermitage (Andrew Jackson’s Home) nearby Nashville. So in the course of about a week we will be covering:

A sacrament - Baptism
Ancient History – Greek Architecture and Mythology (Athena, Nike and I believe some other well know statues will be inside.)
7th President of the United States and early American times.
16th President of the United States and the time of the Civil War.

By the time we return home we should have our Time Line up and ready for posting pictures!

Share/Save

Sacred Heart of Jesus celebrated June 19th

Today mark the Feast of the Sacred Heart – hear are a couple of my most cherished prayers.

[singlepic id=46 w=320 h=240 float=center]

Prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Merciful Jesus I consecrate myself today and always to your Most Sacred Heart. Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, I implore that I may love you more and more. Most Sacred Heart of Jesus I trust in you! Sacred Heart of Jesus I believe in your love for me. Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like your Heart. – Amen

Novena to the Sacred Heart

Oh Most Holy Heart of Jesus fountain of every blessing, I adore you, I love you, and with a lively sorrow for my sins I offer this poor heart of mine. Make me humble, patient, pure and wholly obedient to your Will. Grant good Jesus that I may live in you and for you. Protect me in the mist of danger, comfort me in my afflictions; give me health of body, assistance in my temporal needs, your blessing on all that I do and the grace of a holy death – Amen

Share/Save

Grade 3 Comparison for Homeschool Science

Compare Catholic home school science. Catholic Schools don’t have to be at an institution they can be in your home.

Key:
Seton Home Study – Seton
Kolbe Homeschool Academy – Kolbe
St. Thomas Aquinas – STA
Our Lady of the Rosary – OLR
Our Lady of Victory – OLV
Mother of Divine Grace – MDG
Catholic Heritage Curriculum – CHC
Mater Amabilis – MA (Catholic Version of Charlotte Mason Style)
Angelicum – Angl

Seton:

Exploring God’s Creation

Kolbe, AGL:

Hartcourt Science 3,

OLV:
Science and Living in God’s World – Book 3, Book 3 Quiz and Test Book, Book 3 Answer Key

STA:

Developing Critical Thinking Through Science/Book 2, and Exploring Creation with Botany

CHC:

CHC Lesson Plans – Third Grade, Behold and See 3: Beginning Science

MA:

Refer to their Charlotte Mason style lengthy curriculum list of living books.

OLR:

Scott Foresman Books: Science is exploring: [level 3] (Curriculum Foundation Series)

MDG:

Exploring Gods World: ABEKA Series (protestant based)

Share/Save

Compare Catholic 3rd Grade Homeschool History curriculum

Compare Catholic home school History. Catholic Schools don’t have to be at an institution they can be in your home.

Key:

Seton Home Study – Seton

Kolbe Homeschool Academy – Kolbe

St. Thomas Aquinas – STA

Our Lady of the Rosary – OLR

Our Lady of Victory – OLV

Mother of Divine Grace – MDG

Catholic Heritage Curriculum – CHC

Mater Amabilis – MA (Catholic Version of Charlotte Mason Style)

Angelicum – Angl

Totally Tut Pyramid Game $17.98

Kolbe:

Catholic Bible History

Kolbe, STA, MA, AGL:

Ancient Egyptian History. Find a rich source of Ancient Egypt books on the Anglicum website
Tales of Ancient Egypt (Puffin Classics)
Spend the Day in Ancient Egypt: Projects and Activities That Bring the Past to Life (Spend The Day Series)
The Ancient World of the Bible
Usborne Book of the Ancient World: Combined Volume : Early Civilization/the Greeks/the Romans/ (Illustrated World History)
Pharaohs & Pyramids (The Usborne Time Traveller)
The Orchard Book of Egyptian Gods and Pharaohs

Anglicum, Kolbe also offer lessons plans for an additional $9 or $10.

Seton, MA:

The Catholic Faith Comes to the Americas
MA also offers another supplemental American History book called THIS COUNTRY IS OURS.
It can be be found online for free or you can find the best price on the market through the link I provided.

OLV:

How Our Nation Began (The Christian social history series)

OLR:

Working together

MDG:

Our American Heritage (ABEKA-non Catholic) or How Our Nation Began (The Christian social history series)

Bible History is taught as part of Religion.

There is another choice in History. None of the Home School Programs use it however several families who create their own curriculum do. It is a Catholic Based Program called History Links. It can be used for all ages year after year with several unit studies in Ancient Egypt, Israel, Greece, Rome, Mesopotamia among others. History Links can be intgrated with Science, Writing, Math, Art, Literature, Spelling, vocabulary and more. This program is also among the top 100 picks of Cathy Duffy’s Homeschool curriculum and are proud to be a Catholic based program. A list of some of the resources History Links uses are:
Catechism of the Catholic Church, Story of the World Volume 1, Ancient Times: from Earliest Nomads to Last Roman Empire and Story of the World Volume 1 Student Workbook, Ancient Times: from Earliest Nomads to Last Roman Empire.

Share/Save

Compare Catholic 3rd Grade home School Religion Curriuculum

Compare Catholic home school Religion. Catholic Schools don’t have to be at an institution they can be in your home.

Comparison – 3^rd Grade Homeschool Religion Curriculum

Kolbe, AGL, CHC, MA, (TA as a secondary option):

Faith and Life Series 3 – Life with Jesus
Ignatius Press sells the Revised Grade 3 Teacher's Manual, Student Book and the Activity Book at very reasonable prices for homeschoolers. You may purchase these books separately at several locations. Also available is a free download of lesson plans from Ignatius Press.

TA, OLV, (Kolbe as a secondary option):

Baltimore Catechism books 1 and 2 An explanation of the Baltimore Catechism can be located online for free through this link Explanation of Baltimore Catechism written in 1908 By Rev. A. Urban.

Saint Joseph Baltimore Catechism

OLR:

Our Holy Faith – God’s Truth Helps us Live There are teachers manuals available however they can be expensive depending where you locate one.

Seton:

Religion 3 for Young Catholics (Key Included)
Exclusive Religion book, includes answer key in the back of the book. Does not offer Lesson plans unless you are enrolled in their study program, or offer you beginning lesson plans with an order of $100.00 worth of books. You can see all Seton religion books here.

Supplemental Books for:
Kolbe: St. Joseph Catholic Childrens Picture Bible
OLV: Picture Book of Saints, The Rosary Booklet, Way of the Cross
Seton: The New Saint Joseph First Communion Catechism, St. Joseph’s Our Lady of Fatima, The Holy Rosary
Mater Amabilis: Bible History and Illustrated Lives of the Saints

Many of these books can be found at Sacred Heart Books:

Share/Save

Grade 3 Mathematics Comparison Curriculum

Compare Catholic home school math. Catholic Schools don’t have to be at an institution they can be in your home.

3^rd Grade Math Homeschool Curriculum Comparison

Kolbe, OLR, CHC:

MCP Mathematics Level C can be purchased with a MCP Math Grade 3 Teachers Edition
in several locations. Some homeschools even offer lessons plans at an additional cost.

Kolbe, Seton, OLV, MDG:

Saxon Math 3 Home Study Kit: Teachers Manual, Student Workbook, Fact Cards An alternative curriculum for Seton, MDG and Kolbe students. This math program can be purchased from several different locations. The best prices for the whole home study kit can usually be found at Seton Publishing or Sacred Heart Books. However, right now I have seen home study kits as low as $40.00 on Amazon…THAT IS A GREAT BUY! You can really find Saxon Math kits for less than $68.00 and that doesn’t include shipping. It is also possible to purchase the curriculum separately. The kit comes with a teacher’s Manual (invaluable,) 2 workbooks, flash cards and a meeting book. Manipulative are sold pretty much anywhere separately. They can be used for several years.

STA,

Math-U-See / Gamma Teacher Kit (Complete Kit)
– video instructions available.

MDG,

ABeka Teacher Manual is available in most locations.

Seton,

Math 3 for Young Catholics teachers manual may only be available if you are part of their program as well as the lesson plans.

OLV

Practical Arithmetic Working with numbers level C only found the answer key not a teachers manual.

Your choice

Here are some random Math sites that may also help.

http://www.mathpracticetools.com/

edhelper – good printable some are free some you need to join their site for about $20.00 a year. It’s at least worth investigating even if you don’t join.

Share/Save

Grade 3 Language Arts Comparison of Homeschool Programs

3^rd Grade Language Arts Homeschool Curriculum Comparison

Whether you want to design your own curriculum or just see what all the HS programs have to offer, over the next week I will be doing a curricula comparison overview of several Catholic Home Study programs. Keep in mind this is an overview to get more in depth you should visit their websites. Some come with perks, some are free, and some are not. It’s very important to keep in mind that if you are interested in a particular text book or curriculum you should further investigate if it comes with a Teachers Manual, not just an answer Key. Some of the courses come with a teacher’s manual/guide, some schools offer them for sale and some do not. If you are not sure if a teacher’s manual is available I suggest visiting the publisher’s website; then you can make an informed decision. Do not just stop at the teacher’s manuals and answer keys because some programs offer lesson plans at a price$ even if do not belong to their program. I would recommend that you consider purchasing lesson plans. They will save hours in your week. Plus, you can always adjust them to your own school assignments.

English/Grammar

Kolbe: Voyages in English 2006 Grade 3 with Voyages in English 2006 Grade 3 Teacher Edition supplements are: McGuffey’s Third Eclectic Reader (you can also get McGuffey’s free online) English from the Roots Up Volume I , Writing Strands Level 3 (Writing Strands Ser)

OLV: Voyages in English 2006 Grade 3or God gave me the gift of Language 3

OLR: Voyages in English 2006 Grade 3

STA: Voyages 2 and/or Simply Grammar

Seton: English 3 for Young Catholics – Seton Grade 3, Basic Skills Better Sentence Structure Through Diagraming, Book 1

CHC: Language of God Level C

MDG: Primary Language Lessons by E. Serl and Sound Beginnings

MA: Primary Language Lessons E. Serl

Angl: Sing, Spell, Read & Write 3^rd grade kit; Shurley Grammar: Level 3

Phonics

Kolbe, Seton: Phonics Workbook: Level C (MCP) Teacher’s manual with answer key for Phonics workbook, level C (MCP phonics program)

OLR, OLV: Word Study Level D (MCP)

Reading

Kolbe, OLV: Catholic National Readers – Book 3

STA: Catholic National Readers – Book 2

Seton: Reading 3 for Young Catholics, Comprehension – Seton Grade 3

Seton, OLR: Faith and Freedom Readers – This is Our Town, This is Our Valley

CHC: Catholic Tales for Boys and Girls; More Catholic Tales for Boys and Girls , Little Apostle on Crutches

MDG: Primary Language Lessons by E. Serl

MA: Program of your choice

Literature

MDG, MA: Harp and Laurel and living books

CHC: Catholic Tales for Boys and Girls; Little Apostles on Crutches

STA: A Landscape With Dragons: The Battle for Your Child’s Mind

OLV, Seton: Catholic Stories of Saints and other stories check their sites.

Handwriting: All unique programs

Kolbe: Handwriting Book D – Cursive

STA: Writing Without Tears 3- Cursive

Seton: Handwriting 3 for Young Catholics – Seton Grade 3

OLR: Basic Handwriting

CHC: CHC Handwriting 3

MA: D’Nelian Cursive

MDG: Primary Language Lessons by E. Serl

OLV: Exercise in English

Spelling

Kolbe, OLR: Own Syllabi

STA: The W.I.S.E. Guide for Spelling

Seton: Spelling 3 for Young Catholics – Seton Grade 3 , Vocabulary:Wordly Wise A, B, C

CHC: CHC Catholic Speller 3

MDG: Write Road to Reading

OLV: Traditional Catholic Speller 3 After my own investigation into all the 3rd grade curriculum has led me to make the following decision in my daughters Language Arts program.

English, Phonics, Reading, Spelling and Vocabulary Words will come from these sources:

“English from the Roots up,” “Easy Grammar 3 And 4 – Student Edition: Grades 3 And 4
” (not listed), Sentence Diagramming.
“McGuffey Reader” or “Primary Language Lessons” (because I have these books.)
Also have “Saxon phonics” (also not listed) I will be supplementing with when necessary.
SpellingCity.com is where I will go to drill spelling words, play games with them and test.

“Catholic Tales for Boys and Girls,” Catholic Saint Stories, “Our Town,”
Living books from MA and other home study reading lists.

Handwriting:

I really should try Writing Without Tears because handwriting is her least favorite subject.
I have “Handwriting 3 for young Catholics.”
- I read bible stories associated with the pictures in writing book while my daughter writes out her lesson. She loves that.

Share/Save

Videos on St. Anthony of Padua

Learn about the history of Saint Anthony of Padua through videos.
St. Anthony’s Feast Day is June 13th. He died in 1231 in Padua, Italy.
He was born in Lisbon, Portugal
He was Cannonized a saint by Pope Gregory IX and is the Patron Saint of Italy and Portugal.

This Video comes with a music background pictures and mostly text written about St. Anthony.

One minute video summarizing St. Anthony’s Conversion and life.