Zombie Fire Ants

This week we have been working on The Curiosity Files: Zombie Fire Ants. This was our first time using one of these unit studies and we really enjoyed it!  This is an e-book study for ages 8-13 though you could easily include children that are younger or older with slight modification. There are links and ideas included for older students and plenty of fun ideas for the younger set.  It includes everything you need to learn about these troublesome creatures.

This is "Ana Lyze" your guide for this study.
The pages are all as cute as this!

The first time I ever heard about fire ants was in a Tim Hawkins video.  I didn't even realize they were a real thing. Here's the video:




This unit study is jam packed. Zombie Fire Ants includes Bible study, writing, spelling, vocabulary, math, handwriting (beautiful copywork pages in both cursive and manuscript), history, geography (as always one of my favorites!), science, crafts and more.  It is internet linked and included a couple of video links as well.

I was especially impressed with the variety of math pages including time zones and real life word problems.

 I didn't realize that there was a book list until after I had already picked out and ordered books but it worked out fine. I was happy to see that there was a book list though because it makes my life a lot easier.  (I will point out that you really don't need to order anything...all of the information you need is included.)

The books we got from the library about ants.

We also watched this movie about ants:

I was so impressed with this study.  One very helpful feature is a complete answer key.  I really appreciate that! The only thing I really would have liked to see was some kind of suggested daily lesson plan.  I like to have things laid out for me. I also know that not having one adds to the flexibility and some people will really love that.

About 5 years ago I bought an illuminated gel ant farm when we were on vacation. The kids had been asking me to get ants and I kept putting it off.  So, I figured this would be the perfect time to order some ants and use it.  I ordered the ants and they came just in time. (Yes, I could have dug some up but it was worth the $5 to just order them.) This was a very enjoyable addition to our study.  You will find complete instructions for how to make your own ant farm if you don't want to purchase one and take the easy way out like me. :)

the ant farm

a close up of one of the ants

We also made our own version of ants on a log (suggested in the study) but we decided to try pretzels instead of celery.  I think it looks more like a log anyway (and definitely tastes better than celery.)

Emma with her ants on a log.

Though we did not use the writing lessons in this unit my 5th grade son is writing a story about fire ant armies. I have also found him reading library books about ants and observing ants outside this week.

some of the pages from Zombie Fire Ants

We also made ants with a cut up egg carton, paint, wiggly eyes and pipe cleaners.

Ryan and Jenna painting

Ellie with her finished ant

Emma with her completed ant.

The Curiosity Files: Zombie Fire Ants was a very interesting study.  I have to say I'm glad I live in the north and we don't have to deal with them. Click here for a fabulous sample of Zombie Fire Ants. You can purchase a copy for just $6.95.  You can see other Curiosity Files unit studies here.  Some are on sale for just $1! They are also available as a downloadable bundle (9 units for $46) or for pre-order on CD for $3 more.  I know I will be using these more of the unit studies in the future!

**I was given a free copy of this unit in exchange for my honest review.

Expedition Israel

All year long I have anticipated Download N Go's Expedition Israel.  I looked forward to learning about the holy land with my children and it was such a blessing.  Thank you Amanda Bennett for writing this special unit!  As I have mentioned in the past, the Expedition Series of the Download N Go units are among my favorites and this one joins that list.  One of the things that makes this unit extra special though is that it is packed with Bible stories.

Each Download N Go unit is designed for grades K-4.  However, I have been using them with my 2nd and 5th graders.  Each unit is divided into 5 days of lessons but we stretched this one out for several more days because it is just loaded.  I really had hoped to make a salt dough map of Israel but we never got around to it. In all of my years of homeschooling we have never made one but I am determined to do that this year so I think we'll include it in our state study that we are about to start.

In Expedition Israel the 5 days of lessons are:

Day 1: Where on Earth Is Israel?
Day 2: Some of the Special Places in Israel
Day 3: A Bit of History
Day 4: Cool Things to Know About Israel
Day 5: Fun and Games in Israel

sample pages

This unit is packed with geography and Bible, history, a Hebrew word of the day (which was a lot of fun), an animal of the day, foods of Israel and much more!  Take a look inside.

We checked a few books from the extensive book list that is included out of our local library.  I am thankful for the book list that is included in each unit and the capability to order books through our local library's free ILL program right from the comfort of my home.  Though the books are not needed to complete the units, they are always a nice addition and I appreciate not having to search out the books myself.

We are going to take a little break from Download N Go to study our state but this would be a great month for anyone to study Israel paired with Download N Go's Easter Promise which we plan to do later in the month.  I love being able to integrate Bible into every aspect of our homeschool and Expedition Israel certainly fits the bill for that.

See what others are saying about Download N Go's Expedition Israel on the blog tour:

**I received a free copy of Expedition Israel in exchange for my honest review.

Bible in 90 Days-Now What?

I did it!  I just finished reading the Bible in 90 Days (well technically I finished it in 78 days if I figured correctly, but I digress) In the last couple of weeks as I knew I was nearing the end I started to "worry" about what I was going to do once I was done.

Not quite 3 years ago, I read the Bible in 90 Days and after that I started reading the Bible using Professor Grant Horner's Bible reading method and I am going to do that again.  I love reading the Bible this way. After my last baby was born I fell out of the habit of reading the Bible that way and just used a daily devotional to stay in the Word.  The last time I used this method I printed out the bookmarks and tried using post it notes but with little ones around that did NOT work for me...so I printed out a Bible reading chart and just checked off each chapter as I read it and used that to help me keep my places.

I am thankful to Samantha Kelley and Mom's Toolbox for motivating me to try the Bible in 90 Days again and for the encouragement along the way. I will likely do this again should they run another session at Mom's Toolbox.

A fellow Bible in 90 Days participant blogged about what she is doing next and you can read about that here. In case you don't have time to click over, she is going to be spending the time that she was reading memorizing scripture.  I think this is a wonderful idea.  I am currently memorizing scripture in Sunday school (after a period of over a year not being in any organized scripture memory class--and therefore not memorizing).  It is hard work but it is worth it!

If you've never tried reading the entire Bible or if you've never read it in 90 Days I highly recommend it.  You don't need any special tools.  I read the Bible on my Kindle this time but you can just use the Bible you have now or an online Bible. There is a Bible designed for this as well as course materials and a daily e-mail you can sign up for at The Bible in 90 Days website if you are interested.

You may be thinking, what about Bible study?  Or maybe you aren't, but I was thinking about that as I decided what to do next.  I am currently in a Wednesday night Bible study that is an overview of the Bible, our Sunday school class is studying the book of Philippians using Always Rejoicing by John Goetsch and we use Balancing the Sword in our family devotions so for the time being I decided that continuing on in heavy Bible reading would beneficial.

I did want to say that there were times when I just felt that I was plodding through...maybe not understanding everything I was reading...or taking it all in ...but I know that the Bible says that God's Word does not return void so I would just remind myself of that and keep pushing through.

So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. 
Isaiah 55:11 

I would love to hear about what you are doing for Bible reading and Bible study.

Expedition Canada

We just finished our "tour" of Canada using Download N Go's Expedition Canada.  I cannot express how much we have enjoyed every unit in the Expedition series so far.  This one is jam PACKED with so much you could easily spread it out over much longer than the 1 week that it is designed for.  There is geography, animals, history, inventions and more!

I waited until this time of the year to do Canada so we could visit a local sugar house at the same time.  We went to the sugar house last week and we'll probably go again now that we've studied a little more about it.  I kind of wish we still had snow on the ground so we could have made some yummy maple candy....

Every Download N Go unit has 5 days of topics.  In Expedition Canada you will find:

Day 1: Where on Earth Is Canada?
Day 2: Some of the Special Places of Canada
Day 3: A Bit of History
Day 4: Special Things to Know About Canada
Day 5: Fun and Games in Canada


You can view sample pages in the Download N Go store.

Though I didn't take any pictures for Expedition Canada and the review team is not officially reviewing this unit I wanted to include my thoughts about it because we enjoyed it so much.  We have only 2 of the 7 countries left to explore in the Download N Go Expedition series.  Next week we will explore Israel and we have Expedition Africa to discover in the near future.  The Expedition units are among my favorites of all of the Download N Go units we have done.

Today is $5 Friday at Amanda Bennett Unit Studies.  You can purchase Download N Go Spring Surprises or   Tremendous Trees for just $5 or try one of Amanda's month long unit studies.  Gardens and Oceans are also on sale for just $5.  We have used almost all of the traditional unit studies in our homeschool over the years and they are wonderful as well. My 8th grader has been using them all year long and enjoying each one. This is a great way to get a taste for unit studies at a low price!

Please consider following my blog.  I would love to have you!

**Though I did not receive this unit free in exchange for this review. I was given a copy of this unit in exchange for a preview review I wrote before receiving a final copy.

Kite Capers!

I have to admit I was very reluctant to sign up to review Kite Capers for Download N Go.  We still had snow on the ground and I wasn't really sure that I wanted to do this one but I am so glad we did!  It was a lot of fun and we learned so much about a variety of topics including Ben Franklin, weather, geography and of course kite flying (and so much more)!

Each Download N Go unit is a complete unit study designed for grades K-4.  There are 5 days of lessons.  In Kite Capers you will find:

Day 1: What Is a Kite? 
Day 2: The History of Kites 
Day 3: Kite People and Places 
Day 4: Science Secrets of Kites 
Day 5: Goodies and Gadgets of Kites

We took advantage of one of the warmer days this week and went to a local field and playground to fly kites.  We had watched a video from the study that day with instructions on how to fly a single line kite (without running) and it was so helpful!  It made our kite flying experience very enjoyable.  We enjoyed watching many of the kite videos included in this study.  (Videos are internet linked and embedded on a safe page to protect your children.)

flying kites at a local park

Playing at the playground after kite flying

Katie making kite cookies while Emma watches (or something)

The fun part....decorating

Connor and Ellie

One edible kite

I recommend Kite Capers for your family.  I am looking forward to some great kite flying this summer at the beach!  Don't forget to visit the Download N Go blog for $5 Friday on March 18 where you will find some great deals.  Don't miss it!

See what others are saying about Kite Capers on the Download N Go blog tour:

**disclaimer: I was given a free copy of Kite Capers in exchange for my honest review.

Hoppin' Popcorn

We've been busy lately working on Download N Go unit studies but I haven't taken the time to write up any reviews.  One of our most recent units was Hoppin' Popcorn.  I LOVE popcorn and eat it almost every day.

Download N Go unit studies are written for grades K-4 but I have been successfully using them with my 2nd and 5th graders.  Hoppin' Popcorn was a lot of fun.

With each Download N Go study you get 5 days of lessons.  In Hoppin' Popcorn you will find:

Day 1: Popcorn—What Is It?
Day 2: The Story of Popcorn
Day 3: The Flavors of Popcorn
Day 4: The Science of Popcorn
Day 5: Fun With Popcorn

A few of the pages you will find in Hoppin' Popcorn

In this unit you will learn about geography, science, writing, history, Bible and  even math activities! One of the things I really wanted to focus on for this year was geography and every Download N Go unit we have done has included geography in such a way that we are being exposed to maps of not only the United States but places around the world.  I love that the kids are learning geography in a natural way.


We chose not to include any books from the library in this study.  We didn't need any.  Although we sometimes choose to use many books from the lists they are completely unnecessary.  I do appreciate the book lists though because when I do want to add to the study it makes it so easy.

One of the projects in this study is to sprout popcorn.  I really didn't know that you could take popcorn from your cupboard and sprout it.  We decided not to plant ours but it was fun to watch the sprouts grow.

soaking the popcorn

a tiny sprout after just a couple of days

sprouts were grown in a plastic bag on a wet paper towel

popcorn sprouts

We also popped a popcorn in a test tube over a candle so we could observe the moisture in a kernel of popcorn.  I thought it was pretty cool.

Emma watching the popcorn in the test tube

It popped! (and if you look closely you will see
moisture on the glass)

Overall, we really enjoyed Download N Go's Hoppin' Popcorn!  Now for the best part.  Download N Go has given me an opportunity to give away 1 copy of Hoppin' Popcorn.  The giveaway will run from today until  Tuesday at noon EST (or as soon after noon as I can get to it).  You get one chance by making a comment and one chance each by sharing this on Twitter, Facebook, e-mail or other social media.  Just come back and make a separate comment for each.  Tell your friends!  All entries MUST include an e-mail address so I can contact the winner.  The winner has been chosen and contacted.  Thank you for participating!

To see what others are saying about Hoppin' Popcorn.  Go on the blog tour: 

disclaimer: I was not given a copy of Hoppin' Popcorn for the purpose of this review but I did get it at no charge in exchange for a preview review before it was published.  The opinions expressed are solely mine.  

Snow!

A bowl of fresh snow.

 I love snow!  This year has been pretty snowy and I just can't get enough.  I love it!!  Anyway, in The Winter Nature Study E-book there is a suggestion to collect some snow and then melt it and compare the volume.  I finally remembered to do this at the start of the storm rather than after it was over.  I wanted it to just collect in the bowl but Emma didn't know that and filled it up with the snow and packed it in.

She filled this can that was in the recycling bin too.

So I packed snow in a quart jar

Starting to melt..you can see how it is "shrinking"

Looking at the snow with a magnifying glass

melting

This is how much water we got in the can.

This is the amount of water in the jar.
When we started Emma estimated
it would be half full.

This was a fun experiment.  I am hoping for lots more snow to play with before the winter is over!