Boys vs. Girls { Learning }

I always knew from a very small age that my boys where total opposite as my one darling daughter however until they got old enough to complete and interact in school work I never really understood how entirely different boys are from girls or men from women.

This relates to our right brain/left brain issues too!

Did you know that boys actually hear different than girls? 

It's true!

The male/female body is actually different in this way. 

Have you ever really paid attention to the doodles and drawings that your kids make during free time? 

Boys almost always draw verbs and girls nouns! 

Sadly in today's world boys stop drawing because of the negative impact that they get from their work. Ohh, why can't you draw a pretty animal, well because it is just not in their natural normally!

I can honestly say I witness this almost daily. Boys do not notice those annoying little sounds they make. I can ask Zachary to stop and he will say stop what? Stop playing the drums on the table while we are doing spelling. Oh I was doing that? Um, yeah you where. Oh, sorry mom. This conversation has happened more than once and with both boys.

Did you know that boys and girls have a optimal learning temperature? 

Boys perform better the cooler they are but girls need the temperature warmer. Boys optimal learning temperature is 68-69 and girls are 73-74.

They even feel pain differently! 

I never have understood why my boys like to wrestle or shot each other with the air soft guns until now. Makes perfect sense. Girls do not enjoy pain. When they feel pain 100% of men have an increase blood flow to the brain while 100% women have a decrease of flow to the brain.

Our children like to please us and do well and they will want to do those tasks at which they feel great at.

Children, just like us, will not want to do things that make them feel as a failure most the time they would rather take a punishment than to fail.

So with all this information please say positive things to your children and don't forget to smile! 

Happy  Homeschooling 

Wordless Wednesday Week 39

FishFlix {Review}

Today I get to tell you about a neat company FishFlix. My family had the opportunity to review a DVD from them, Privileged Species ($9.99).

FishFlix is a Christian company that provides Christian movies and I have to say this is a huge deal for me! I was so pleased when I started looking into what the company was. My family personally has a great issue finding movies that appeal to our beliefs and morals but having ONE company that has took that into account and made a company from it is awesome for my family. 

You can search by many titles, subcategories and genres. The site also has a $5 Christian Deal tab but one of my favorite things so far has been that they offer FREE SHIPPING on orders over $35.



My family consists of 2 adults and 3 children ranging in age from 14 to 10. This DVD was a little hard for my smaller two to understand but overall they still understood the reason and basis of what the point was.

Privileged Species was made by Discovery Institute with the help of Michael Denton who is a geneticist. Denton goes through and talks about water, oxygen and carbon and how every aspect of each of those elements is made perfectly for our life on Earth to be possible. 

It was very interesting while watching the documentary that even just a tiny fraction of difference would totally alter and make possible for no life to be found.

Darwin and Christianity beliefs were very briefly mentioned and neither pushed throughout the documentary. I will say I was surprised that being a Christian company that the DVD didn't push and say more about only God being able to master the elements and making everything perfectly. I didn't mind that evolution was mentioned briefly either.

One statement that Denton made was a favorite of mine "Man is not an accident." That is so very true because only our God can make everything perfect and he did just for us to enjoy. The documentary helps you see that!

Water was discussed because of the wonderful job that it does for our life. 3/4 of the earth is covered in water and obviously we all know it is necessary for us. It dissolves minerals, carries them unlike any other liquid could. Another interesting fact we learned, which is common sense but I really never looked at it this way, most liquids contract when froze but not water.

Oxygen was next, not many things on earth, animal or plant, can survive without oxygen. Any energy has to have it. Plants are obviously our friend for the job they do for us to recycle our oxygen. It was also speaking in the documentary about our atmosphere layers and levels and how perfectly they were designed to withstand the levels of carbon dioxide and oxygen.

Lastly, carbon was discussed. Did you know that over 65 million different compounds are made from just carbon? WOW! I know. 

Privileged Species was a beautifully made documentary. The pictures used throughout were beautiful. 

The documentary was only 33 minutes long.

Find FishFlix all over the web on:
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YouTube

Wordless Wednesday 38

Homeschool Legacy {Review}

My daughter loves horses although we do not have one. She has been in love with them for about 2 years now so every opportunity that I have to cater to that love she has I do my best. When Homeschool Legacy was announced for a review opportunity through our amazing Schoolhouse Crew I was interested to see what the choices were. I actually hadn't ever heard of Homeschool Legacy so I had to first search and see what kind of company they were.

Homeschool Legacy was created by a veteran homeschool momma with 16 years under her belt. She wanted to produce a unit study that would help build a strong Godly benefit for your family while learning together. These Once-A-Week Unit Studies are a product of just that desire.



Luckily, I found just the right one for my daughter - Horsing Around! My daughter is 11 and this study is for children ranging in age from 2 - 12. Horsing Around is a 4 week unit. We received the digital download version which can be bought for $14.00 however a paperback version is only $18.95.

The first thing I did once the item was sent for review was simply download it and print. Honestly that was about the extent of trouble and planning that I had to do! I loved it, if only other aspects of my life could be that simple!

There was NO preparation for me as the teacher what so ever! TRUE LOVE!

I did, obviously read over everything so that my daughter would be instructed on what needed done.

The way we approached this study was very relaxed. 

I printed everything off and stapled it all together. 

Then I went through and highlighted and noted what I wanted her to complete each week.

We would talk throughout the week about certain topics and work through them.

Each week you begin with a list of supplies that are needed, nothing that I had to go buy. 

Also, throughout the last several weeks she has been getting horse books to read from the reading list provided for extra reading and learning. 

For the last several weeks I have learned more about horses that anyone on the planet! Trust me!

She has learned rules to use while in a stable, what characteristics the breeds have, we have learned parts of a saddle and been able to draw it! The list goes on and on and I just can't brag enough about all the information within the study.

Within our study we had ideas for history, music, life skills, bible devotions, art and games or movie nights! That is one great benefit about a unit study - It covers so many subjects in our topic.

Lexi's favorite things were the trivia and drawing.

I love that this has given her a topic to study that she loves. She is independently pouring herself into this to learn without really even knowing that is what's happening!

Each week she has spent an average of about 4 hours on everything. She has took her time and enjoyed extra books about horses too.

This really may interest you as well, however in our situation this wasn't something that worked for us: The units offer Boy Scout and American Heritage Girl requirements that are earned! I thought this was a really cool aspect to have added to the unit studies.

Overall I would totally buy a unit study from Homeschool Legacy, my daughter and I have both really enjoyed the unit study for different aspects!

Find Homeschool Legacy on Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter.

Weekly Wrap Up 37

I skipped last weeks wrap up because I didn't have time and just thought I would throw it into this weeks.

Last week was my last week working outside our home. Finally, I can once again say I am a stay at home momma. I am so happy to not have that on my shoulders anymore, I have so much on my plate and have worked outside our home for a while now and although I learned a lot doing so it was beyond stressful and was pouring over into our studies.

Kevin is loving his new job! We are going to actually understand what it means to say Thank Gosh Its Friday!! We've never been able to do that or feel relief for the week being over. Normally, one of us has always working Friday or Saturdays so it hasn't been a big deal in our home.

We are winding down our studies because we have been schooling for 8 months now, we started at the beginning of September so a lot of our core studies are being completed. Our rules are once our cores are complete the kiddo's get nothing to replace it after February, so we are just going to be reviewing what curriculum they have finished up.

Zachary finished up his 5th book in The Thinking Tree { Dyslexia Games } set, he is in set B. We will be starting the next book next week for him. He also finished up his cursive workbook!! Here is our review on Memoria Press New American Cursive. 

Zachary is also doing such a better job on his reading. The therapy is paying off in a huge way. He is working so hard. He has good days and bad days but he is learning and putting forth some great effort. He has been reading books that are hard and that makes my heart so proud. He is working really hard to get better at the writing process.

Alexis finished up her daily science! This was an extra workbook that was on clearance while shopping in the teacher store a while back and she begged for it so she got it. She loves science and I am glad to say she did a wonderful job with the book. Today she also finished her Math U See Delta!! WOOHOO!! This is huge for her. She is the first one to complete math for the year! The boys are still about 7 lessons before completion. She hates math because it is so hard for her but boy oh boy does this make me happy and she is thrilled too! 

Kyle has been doing great too. He had an Ancient Rome study through at him a few weeks ago for a review coming up and he has actually been enjoying it pretty well. Look for that review soon. Also he has one lesson to complete in his Wordly Wise!! He is really excited about that because this has been a huge challenge but it really paid off because his test scores improved huge in this area. He also has a huge day coming up this weekend. His best friend for 6 years invited him to her Military Ball and so my baby is getting all dressed up in his tux and looks so handsome! Can't wait to post some pictures and to visit with my old friends over the weekend. I pray they have a wonderful time together because it will be a great memory they will both always remember. 

Our foster son is doing wonderful. He has improved so much since he first came to us. This has been so hard on our family but to know that I am helping raise a child and give him hope makes it all worth while.

Our state homeschool convention is next week and I am really excited to go!

Enjoy your weekend!

Wordless Wednesday Week 37