Our 10th Grade Homeschool Curriculum (2021)

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My oldest will be in 10^th grade this year. It feels almost unbelievable, as it feels like just a few years ago he was in first grade and we were starting our first year of homeschool. Last year we learned a bit about what worked well for us and what did not for high school level courses.

As always, there are many great options, you just have to find the ones that are right for your family and your child’s strengths and goals.

Math

First, we were blessed with the opportunity to review Thinkwell Math for geometry last year. This went really well for us and I loved that he could go to office hours to get help each week if needed. They also allowed for a flexible schedule so that we could take our breaks on our schedule.

We enjoyed the combination of support with flexibility and are signed up for Algebra II with them this year. I purchased the self-paced course and we will add in the office hours if we see that he needs the additional help.

I love that while I am available to answer questions, he can complete this course with very little input from me (it has been a few years since I have taken upper level math courses.)

Literature

We used Schoolhouse Teachers last year for literature after our original plan did not work well and plan to continue that for this year. Last year he took a course focused on Tolkien and this year he is doing a course that covers a variety of British Literature. For literature, he will read and answer the questions that come with the course. We will then discuss the questions together.

History

He is going to take a Modern World History Course from Schoolhouse Teachers. We did ancient history last year and wanted to make sure he had a good foundation in modern history before we move on to US History and Government. This course is set up with readings, writing assignments, maps, and activities.

He will complete most of the assignments on his own and I will grade them. We will also have some discussions about what he is learning and add in a few documentaries.

Electives

He wanted to take Horticulture and Animal Science for two of his electives. These courses tie in very well to the hobbies and extra-curricular activities he was already doing. They also fit well with his college goals. To facilitate this, I am using 4-H and FFA materials as a guide.

We will also be adding hands-on projects including raising animals for the livestock show, growing a garden, and doing a 4-H presentation about one of those topics.

In the spring, he will be taking Culinary Arts. We are still working on the exact syllabus for this course. However, I know that we plan to use some of the course work from the Home Economics course at Schoolhouse Teachers and some episodes of Good Eats with projects based around the different techniques that he learns.

Music

Last year he took Music Performance I and he really enjoys his music so we are doing Music Appreciation and Performance II this year. We plan to continue using Practice Monkeys for his guitar lessons. Last year he did guitar and violin but is planning to focus on guitar this year.

In addition, we will be using Schoolhouse Teachers Advanced Music Theory and SQUILT Music Lessons for theory and music appreciation. He also has the opportunity to play with our youth group band which gives him the opportunity to perform for other people.

Science

Last but not least is chemistry. Last year we reviewed the biology course from Journey Homeschool Academy. My son really enjoyed it, so we decided to try their new chemistry course this year. The videos were interested and easy to understand but also thorough.

There were tests that they graded and discussion questions and lab reports that I graded. It was so simple and required very little time on my part, which was important with everything else we had going on.

They have elementary, middle, and high school level science courses. All of their courses are done from a Christian world view. (If you are interested in Journey Homeschool Academy science courses their open enrollment ends at the end of August.)

Family Studies

He will be joining us for our Bible and hymn study time in the morning, but that will not count as a course. I still feel the family time is an important part of his development.

Overall, we are looking forward to a great year. Since my son wanted to be able to take a few extra days off this fall for hunting and fishing, he has already started some of his courses. We will stay flexible throughout the year as always and change if needed but I think we have a good plan for the year.

What courses or programs do you love for high school? Anything you are trying to find or need suggestions for?

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Deals and Freebies

If you have not tried SchoolhouseTeachers.com, you don’t want to miss this sale: Buy One Year Get Another Year Free!

Not Consumed is offering 15% off everything in their store! Great Bible studies, hymn studies, missionary curriculum and more. Use Code: 2NDCHANCE

Evan-Moor is having a 25% off sale one all of their resources!

Use this link to get 15% off at Thinkwell Math! It was a lifesaver for us for Geometry and I look forward to using them for Algebra II next year.

Journey Homeschool Academy is offering a FREE Virtual Open House August 24 at 9pm. This is a great way to find out more about this science program and see if it is a good fit for your family. Get signed-up today!

Fallacy Detective (Review)

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.

In a world of catch phrases, social media memes, personal attacks, and news reporting that often has significant political leanings, it is important that we teach our children good logic and reasoning skills. This is something we had been working on with our children, especially the teens. So I was grateful to check out the book, The Fallacy Detective by Hans and Nathaniel Bluedorn.

The Fallacy Detective has 38 lessons that help students understand logical fallacies. The lessons are short, each one being just a couple pages of reading and then a short worksheet to practice the skill. It took us about ten to fifteen minutes to complete a lesson.

How Did We Use the Book?

This book could be used independently by a teen and self-checked or checked by the parent (answers are in the back of the book). However, we wanted to make this book more of a place to start the discussion in our family.

Therefore, we did the lessons together as a family. I would read the lesson aloud and then we would go through the questions together. Each of my teens would give the answer they thought was correct, we would read the answer from the back of the book, and then we would discuss it as a family.

Several times we did lessons while were traveling. We were in the car a lot this summer for summer camp, vacations, etc and I wanted to use that time wisely. Another benefit of doing them in the car was that my younger children were hearing the lesson and discussion. I do not think the younger children are old enough to fully understand but I think it is good for them to start hearing the information.

What is a Logical Fallacy?

You may be wondering what I mean by logical fallacy. One example was Ad Hominem Attacks, which is where people attack the person with the opinion instead of the opinion itself. They gave examples of how this might look, and even explained that questioning someone’s honesty because of a history of lying was different than discrediting someone’s opinion because of their character.

Once they explained it and gave several examples. Then they followed it up with 13 1-2 sentence examples and had students determine if those examples displayed bad reasoning.

When you have finished all thirty-eight lessons, there are instructions for playing a game using the different fallacies. I think that will be a fun way to reinforce what we have learned.

Conclusions

Overall, we have been enjoying this book. I love that we were able to use it in a laid back family style approach. I feel that understanding logical fallacies is a very important life skill and I would recommend this book for any middle or high school students. ( A bit of a bonus is that the book was written by two homeschoolers and is a great example of a homeschooling success story.)

We plan to continue using the book by doing one or two lessons a week together until we have completed all thirty-eight lessons.

You can check out other reviews of the Fallacy Detective by clicking on the graphic below. Members of the Review Crew also reviewed another book by Hans and Nathaniel Bluedorn: Archer and Zowie. You can see those reviews by clicking on the graphic as well.

Homeschool Encouragement, Incentives, Awards (For Students and Moms) + Giveaway

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This week the Review Crew is sharing different ideas for providing encouragement and incentives in your homeschool. I have gathered ideas for encouraging both your students and yourself. (Yes, sometimes even us moms need a little encouragement and incentive.)

Homeschool Encouragement For Moms and Students

For Students

One of the biggest motivators for my children is free time. When their work is done they can play, explore, and be creative. The understanding that working hard means more free time is really motivating for them.

For some students, grades are an incentive. We do not do a lot of grades in the younger years because I did not need grades to know how my students were performing. However, in middle school my daughter started an online math program that gave her feedback via grades. She was actually very motivated to keep that grade high and worked very hard to maintain an A average.

His Certificate for Completing a Level in His Reading Curriculum

My seven-year-old loves to be recognized for his accomplishments with certificates. If there is a certificate of completion with a book or program, he wants to do whatever it takes to get that certificate. We also give our children the chance to show good work to dad at dinner time or to grandparents when they come to visit.

Finally, set goals with your student. Allow them to set reasonable goals (with help from you) for what you will accomplish in a given time period. This might be over the course of a year or broken down into semesters or even each month. It can be powerful to set a goal and accomplish it and it often helps them to see the growth that they may not realize is happening in the day-to-day.

Encouragement and incentives do not have to be a big deal, sometimes it really is the small stuff that encourages students.

For Moms

I think homeschool moms often need encouragement more than our students. Homeschooling is worth all that we put into it, but it is not easy and it can sometimes feel overwhelming or fruitless (but it is not fruitless.)

Scripture: Find a verse or two that you can lean on when times get hard and the days are long. Galatians 6:9 is one of my favorites. This post from A Diligent Heart has some other great verses for homeschool moms.

Books: There are many encouraging books for homeschool moms. A few of my favorites are Read Aloud Family by Sarah MacKenzie, Lifegivng Home by Sally Clarkson, Help! I’m Homeschooling! By Tricia Hodges. Check out all of my book reviews and reading list posts for more great book ideas.

Facebook Groups: Finding support from other homeschool moms can be crucial on those difficult days. Facebook groups can be a great way to have easy access to encouragement, ideas, and support. I love being a part of large like-minded groups and also smaller local groups that allow for facilitating field trips and events. If you are looking for a large group of encouraging homeschool moms check out the Schoolin’ Swag Facebook group to connect with thousands of other moms in a safe supportive environment.

Combining Mom’s Night with a Chocolate Dessert!

Moms Night Out: My friend Jen over at Homeschool Fanatic is great about setting up monthly local mom’s nights. We get to go enjoy good child free conversation and yummy dessert once a month. It is a great time of encouragement and refreshing.

Secret Chocolate Stash: Finally, do not underestimate the power of a good piece of chocolate on a challenging day. Take a quick minute, close your bedroom door, and enjoy your favorite treat. Sometimes, that can make all the difference in keeping a day from totally falling apart.

How do you encourage your students or yourself on difficult days? Share your ideas in the comments! Make sure to hop on over to the Review Crew page and check out all of the other ideas and enter the giveaway for a free Homeschool PAK!

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HomeScholar High School Solution (Review)

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew

As I educate my children, I have found that it is important that I continue to learn and grow. Coming from a public school background, I tend to think of it like needing staff development days and workshops. However, as a homeschool mom I don’t always have built in work days or trainings.

I have found that summer time is a great time to work in a little extra learning for mom. Sometimes this is as simple as reading a book. This summer I had the opportunity to get my training through a review of the High School Solution from the The HomeScholar LLC .

The High School Solution is set up as a combination of videos, handouts, audio recordings, blog posts, and monthly webinars. Aside from the new monthly webinars (which are included for the first month and then for a small monthly fee thereafter) all of the information is available for you to access in any order on your own time schedule. Once you purchase it you have lifetime access.

When I first logged in and started to look around I had two conflicting thoughts. “Wow, there is so much great information.” and ” This is so much, where do I start, how do I get through it all?”

Thankfully, there is a video that explains how to get started and what is available. I went thought as much of it as I could before I shared with you, but even still I did not get through all of it. However, I look forward to continuing to work my way through it over the next few months.

There are courses for different grades (middle school, freshman/sophomore, junior, and senior) that talk about planning, when to take certain tests (PSAT, SAT, etc), college applications and admissions, etc. I love that in addition to academic help, these courses help me to fill my role as guidance counselor for my son as he considers his options for higher education or career training.

There are also resources dedicated to struggling learners and gifted learners. Resources that cover college scholarships, which I know is really important to us as we look at the potential of four students who may choose to go to college.

Next, there are resources for different subject areas to help you plan and choose the resources that will work for you and your child. There are templates to help you with course descriptions, resources that discuss the importance of different subjects, and resources to show you different options.

The course includes an entire supplemental pack of tools and templates. This has planning guides, sample reading lists, transcripts, grading guides and more.

The next part of this program that I plan to explore is the motivation pack. This pack includes three webinars, several posts, and a handout all related to motivation in teens. I am looking forward to getting some great ideas and hopefully a good reminder that I am not alone in this struggle.

There are also packs on Taming the Technology and Finding the Faith. Surprise Bonuses include a scheduling pack, Finding the Balance pack, Beyond Academics, and even a bundle of ebooks! There really is a wealth of materials included in this course.

Overall, I feel like there is a lot of great information for any parent who is currently homeschooling a high school student or who is planning to homeschool a high school student in the next couple of years. Since it comes with lifetime access you do not have to worry about the parts that do not yet apply and can look over what you need as you need it or watch it to plan ahead.

In addition to the High School Solution Crew Members reviewed the Total Transcript Solution, Comprehensive Record Solution, and the College Launch Solution from The HomeScholar LLC . You can click on the graphic below to see what they thought!

Our Second Grade Choices (2021)

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I love sharing with you what we are using in our homeschool each year! No two years ever seem to be totally the same for us as we adapt to current circumstances, grade levels and interests.

I hope this gives you some great ideas as you plan your year, but always remember that these are not the only great programs. There are many wonderful curricula to meet the needs of your individual students.

Language Arts

For my rising second grader we are going to be finishing All About Reading Level 1 and moving into All About Reading Level 2. He was not yet ready for phonics during his kindergarten year, so we stopped and waiting until his first grade year.

During his first grade year he completed All About Reading pre-reading and about half of All About Reading level 1. We are really enjoying the program and he is making great progress.

We are adding in spelling this year with All About Spelling level 1. Both of my older children went through the All About Spelling program and it made such a huge difference for them. I am excited to do it paired up with the All About Reading program.

Math

For math he will be continuing with Math for a Living Education. He did their first grade level book last year and it worked really well for him. This year he will be in the Math for a Living Education 2. I love that it incorporates real life scenarios for the math and has a Christian worldview. It has some review and practice but not so much as to feel boring.

Science

Our family enjoys the Apologia elementary series and my son has requested to do the Swimming Creatures book this year. This was a favorite for my older children and I am excited to work through it with him. (At the time of this writing it happens to also be on sale!)

We are blessed to live close to the coast and plan to take several field trips to the river, ocean, and aquarium to supplement this curriculum.

History

We will be doing Story of the World Volume 2 for history. This volume covers some great topics including castles and knights as well as the Lost Colony. He will be doing this with my 8^th grader and we will be incorporating food projects and discussions as a family.

I highly recommend both the book and the activity guide for Story of the World because it makes it so easy and fun. I also have a book list for extra book ideas: Story of the World Volume 2 Book List

A Lady Bug from his You Are An Artist Lessons.

Art and Music

For art he will be doing lessons with our You Are an Artist Chalk Pastels membership. Some of the lessons he will choose and some will go along with our history lessons as well as books that we are reading together. We love these fun and easy lessons with Nana.

There are so many to choose from and they can be tied into many different curriculum areas such as history, literature and science. We are looking forward to doing castles and knights as we cover those in history. She even has some great lessons to accompany our hymn studies.

For music he will be continuing his violin lessons from Practice Monkeys as well as doing some music appreciation lessons from SQUILT music. We love the live lessons as well as the monthly listening calendar.

Bible, Physical Education, and Spanish

We will be doing Bible lessons together, but I am still finalizing what we are going to use. I want to do something that my three-year-old can listen to as well. There are several great options and I just have to decide which one I want to use.

For physical education we are going to be doing a combination of kids workouts from Fit2B and some lessons on Schoolhouse Teachers. I love that I can turn on the Fit2B workouts, especially on rainy days, and he can do it right in my living room.

The Physical Education course on Schoolhouse Teachers has some great resources for teaching age appropriate physical skills. I am hoping these programs help him to get the extra energy out before we start our other programs as well as making sure the he is using his body in ways that help him to grow strong and healthy.

He has also requested to learn Spanish. I am not sure how much time I will have to devote to teaching him, but we are going to try using Elementary Spanish from SchoolhouseTeachers.com. It is a video based course that should not require a lot of time on my part. We will also supplement with the free Salsa: Spanish for Children videos.

Final Thoughts

In addition, we will have a morning time where we work on scripture memory, hymn study, read aloud and more together as a family. I will be sharing more about that in a few weeks when I have finalized my selections.

Have you tried any of these curricula? What are your favorite options for 2^nd grade?

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Deals and Freebies

Use this link to get 15% off at Thinkwell Math! It was a lifesaver for us for Geometry and I look forward to using them for Algebra II next year.

SchoolhouseTeachers.com is running an amazing BOGO sale, 2 years of over 400 courses for the entire family for only $179. If you want to know more about SchoolhouseTeachers.com you can check out our review. SchoolhouseTeachers.com Review 2021

Making Back to Homeschool Memories!

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Are We Missing Out?

We started homeschooling the year my oldest child entered first grade and one of the things that worried me most was the loss of the fun back to school memories and moments. It sounds silly now, but I knew that we were going to do great academically; I had researched enough to be comfortable that socialization was not a problem, but I thought we were going to miss out on the ‘back to school’ pictures and such.

However, over the years we have created our own fun ‘back to homeschool’ traditions. We have done a variety of things to make the start of our school year fun and memorable.

Kindergarten Date

First, we take each child that is entering kindergarten out to dinner a night or two before they begin. It is a date with just the new kindergartener, my husband, and myself. They get to choose a nice restaurant and have some special time.

We actually started that tradition before my son went into public school kindergarten but have continued it with our other children before we start what we call their kindergarten year in our homeschool.

Back to Homeschool Supplies

Next, we purchase our new school supplies. While I obviously don’t have a school supply list I have to purchase like public school parents, it is always nice to have a few new supplies. The back to school prices make it a great time to stock up on crayons, pencils, etc. You might even want to grab a backpack while the deals are good. You can learn more about why homeschoolers need backpacks in this post.

In addition, we love to get homeschool t-shirts. Sometimes we get new ones each year and sometimes they keep the same one for a couple of years. These are always fun and great conversation starters. Homeschool Style Co. has some great t-shirts that are really good quality! (This is a great reminder for me that I need to get this year’s shirts ordered because my little boys have outgrown their shirts from last year.)

First Day Traditions

While the public schools in our area go back in August, we like to wait until the day after Labor Day for our official start. On that day, I like to print out signs that say “First Day of ___ Grade” and we take pictures with our signs in our homeschool t-shirts or all dressed up.

We also love to have a big breakfast that morning. Typically we have chocolate chip pancakes and bacon on the first day, but I let them decide each year what they want for the special day. It is something we look forward to each year and helps them to get excited about the day ahead.

Over the years, I have learned that we gain far more than we miss by homeschooling. For everything memory I thought they would miss out on, we make dozens more at home. We enjoy doing these simple things at the beginning of the year to make the first day of school special and to make memories together as a family.

Do you have any special ‘Back to Homeschool’ traditions? How do you make memories at the beginning of the year? Be sure to click the graphic below and see how other Review Crew families make memories at the start of their homeschool year. There is also a fun giveaway for free printable first day of school signs.

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Deals and Freebies

SchoolhouseTeachers.com is doing an amazing sale this month!

Free Makeover Your Morning 5 Day Challenge! This is a great way to help re-focus and get your day off on the right foot.

Harry The Happy Mouse (Free on Kindle)

Illustrated Would You Rather Book (Free on Kindle)

Grove is offering 30% off your first order of cleaning and beauty supplies!

Free Help Your Child’s Memory Book from All About Learning Press!

Dyslexia Gold (Review)

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.

When you hear the name Dyslexia Gold you might think that it is a program only designed to help students with dyslexia. However, the program is great for any student that is struggling with reading. I had the opportunity to review this product over the summer and I believe that it could be really beneficial to families with struggling readers.

The Dyslexia Gold program consists of six different components. A child’s age and abilities would determine which of those components would be available and most beneficial to them.

We looked over the program with my seven year old who is a very beginning reader. He had access to Engaging Eyes, Reading Unlocked, Spelling Tutor, and Times Table Tutor. They also have a dyslexia screening and Fluency Builder which is a reading program that is above the Reading Unlocked program.

Reading Unlocked

Reading Unlocked started with a pretest to determine where my son was with this reading and then moved him forward from there. There were several different activities included in the lessons. For example, he might need to listen to a word and then click on the picture that rhymed with that word. I appreciated that they also said the names of the pictures aloud so that there was no confusion on what they were depicting in the picture. This is a UK based program so there was a distinct British pronunciation.

The program kept track of progress and there is an easily accessible report to show how much growth the student has had in his reading. This is tracked with an age (year and month) score. Since it was summer and we had some camps and vacation we did not use it every day as we would during a regular school year, however, my son still showed 5 months of growth in reading while using the program.

Spelling Tutor

The spelling tutor program works on the 1,000 most commonly used words. For parts of the program the student typed the spelling of the words into the program for it to score. In other parts of the program, the student was instructed to write the words onto paper and then checked the words, marking which words were correct and which were not into the computer for scoring.

This program works on memorization through repetition of words. There are reports with-in the program that will show you which words your student is struggling with and their progress towards mastering them.

This program is generally recommended for ages seven and up and I felt like it was a bit difficult for my son with his reading delays. I do think that it could be very beneficial for other students whose reading was a bit more advanced.

Times Table Tutor

As a rising second grader my son has not yet covered multiplication. However, I went in and tried out the Times Table Tutor portion of the program and found it really quite well done. Students take a pre-test to determine what they know and then the program picks up from there.

There are movable digital lego style blocks that students move around as they learn how to group objects into sets as a visual representation of multiplication. It also shows them how the blocks, repeated addition, and multiplication all get you the same answer.

I think this is a great way to work on strengthening multiplication facts with a student that was just learning or was having a hard time with memorization.

Engaging Eyes

In my opinion Engaging Eyes is what makes Dyslexia Gold stand out from other computer programs for struggling readers. Instead of just working on the reading/phonics portion of the issue, it focuses on visual tracking.

Studies show that many students who have dyslexia or otherwise struggle with reading, have difficulty focusing both eyes on the same letter and tracking across the text. This portion of the program is comprised of visual exercises and games that help train the eyes to focus in the way needed for reading fluently.

A set of 3-D glasses is included with the program and they are used to while the student works through the Engaging Eyes program. My son thought that this was a lot of fun. I love that this program is getting down to the root of the problem for many students.

Conclusions

Overall, if you have a student that has signs of dyslexia or is otherwise struggling with reading you should check out Dyslexia Gold. We really liked that it worked towards helping with the visual problems that are the root cause of many reading struggles. The other components support that and also help students who are struggling for other reasons. I think that the Times Table Tutor could be used with students who are struggling but also with students who are just learning multiplication to make it more fun and easier to learn.

Be sure to click on the graphic below to see how other Crew Members used Dyslexia Gold.

“Help Your Kids Learn and Love the Bible” (Book Review)

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.

*Includes affiliate links; see disclosure below*

I recently had the opportunity to review Help Your Kids Learn and Love the Bible by Danika Cooley. Reading the Bible is nothing new in our home, but I knew that we had slacked off over the summer because it was no longer attached to our school day, and I also wanted to see if there were any new ideas for ways to increase the amount of scripture in our home each day.

I am so glad that I took the time to review this book, and I found that it gave me some fresh ideas for Bible time in our home as well as the encouragement that I needed to get us back on track. While this book is a great tool for a homeschooling family, it is also really great for any family that wants to help their children “learn and love the Bible.”

About the Book

This paperback book, published by Bethany House Publishers, is just under 200 pages and divided into 11 chapters which are split into three sections: You’re the Leader, Faithful Reading, and A Daily Walk.

You’re the Leader

This first section discusses ways that we can include scripture in our days. It also spends some time talking about different age groups and how to approach scripture among those ages. For example, your Bible time with a preschooler will look different than what you would do with your teenager.

Faithful Reading

In an age of social media and a time in which there is much emphasis on interpreting things based on your feelings, I felt that this section was much needed. It spent time talking about reading the Bible in a way that is faithful to the words. This means understanding the context of the words, the literary genre of the particular book of the Bible, the history behind the book and who wrote the book, and understanding how it all fits into the overarching story of the Bible.

A Daily Walk

This final section was full of practical hands-on advice. There were ideas for making the Bible fun and easy to understand for young children, tips on helping with Bible memorization, and suggestions for praying through scripture.

There were also some great suggestions for being consistent even when things are challenging and working around unexpected delays and distractions.

Our Experience

In our family, Bible time is fairly consistent during the school year because we do it as a part of our school day, and it happens automatically. However, I realized that we tended to be less consistent during the summer when those anchors were not in place. Reading this book was a good reminder, and we started using breakfast as the anchor for our daily Bible time.

I wanted to ensure that our summer reading was simple and easy to implement because I knew that summer can get busy and there is much less routine. We started in the middle of July by reading a chapter from Proverbs each day to correlate with the day of the month.

We were all pleasantly surprised when our preacher challenged the whole church to do the same thing for the month of August. I love it when God works things from different parts of our lives together as a reminder that He is working in all of it.

We are also using some of the suggestions in the book to be more diligent in our scripture memorization. I feel like this book was very encouraging to me, and I look forward to seeing how implementing the strategies will positively impact our family.

Conclusions

Overall, I recommend this book for any family that wants to teach the Bible in their home. It would also be great to use as a church to support families in their efforts at home. I am strongly considering trying to use it for a book study in our church because I feel like many families struggle to make Bible time consistent in their homes, and it is vitally important that church not be the only place our children learn about the Bible.

Whether you are brand new to including the Bible in your home or you have been teaching the Bible in your home and just want some fresh ideas or encouragement, I think this book is great for all families.

Don’t forget to click on the graphic below to see how other Crew families used Help Your Kids Learn and Love the Bible.

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Proactive Perimenopause Fit2B Course (Review)

*The links in this post are affiliate links, shared because I truly believe in the Fit2B program and use it myself. *

Almost all of the reviews that we do on the blog revolve around homeschool curriculum, but sometimes I like to branch out and review products that are focused on moms. Today, I have the privilege of telling you all about Fit2B’s new Proactive Perimenopause course. And, while you’re never supposed to ask a woman her age…it is a real thing that ladies between 35 and 50 have to face.

This course is a series of lessons that include blog posts, instructional videos, and even workouts. They are designed to help you understand perimenopause and to give you strategies and information that will help you go through it with strength and function.

I have been enjoying working my way through this course. There is so much wonderful information and it is done in a way that makes it very easy to skip to the sections that I am most interested in and to start and stop as needed. As a busy mom of four children, that is really important for me.

The course is divided into the following sections:

Workouts

This section includes 10 different workouts to help you get strong or stay strong. The workouts align well with the content of the course and give you options for getting started at an easy pace and working your way up to more challenging workouts.

Rehab

This section features Kelly Dean from the Tummy Team. I have had wonderful experiences with online Rehab from the Tummy Team and highly recommend their programs. In this course she does not go into a lot of rehab specifics but talks about why you might need rehab or prehab (work to strengthen yourself now before the effects of menopause and aging). She has lots of great information and some recommendations for workouts and other resources to help.

Fitness Over 40

I absolutely love this section because Beth takes the time to dispel many myths about fitness and aging. She talks about how fitness can help you, things you can do as you get older to continue to stay strong and functional. My favorite quote from this section is, “You need to eat and exercise to be strong and sturdy and confident in your own skin, because we can’t afford to set any other kind of example for the next generations.”

I want to stay strong and active and set a good example for my children. I want to be able to hike with them and play with my grandchildren one day. I love that this section gives me fitness strategies to make sure that I can do those things.

Skin and Scars

Confession: I have not spent a lot of time taking care of my skin. I know that I should do more, but I just use sunscreen at the beach and do a basic face wash. I am excited to learn more about how I can care for my skin as I age in this segment. I want to be able to feel good in my skin without spending hours with special creams and potions. I love that her tips focus on healthy skin and not just appearance

Fighting Foods

I have not finished this section, but I am excited about it. I have been working hard to lose a bit of extra weight and increase my health over the last few months. I have been talking to my husband about how much more challenging it is now that I am older. When I was in my twenties, I could easily modify my diet for a bit and add in some extra workouts and any extra weight seemed to just melt away.

As I approach forty in a couple months, that is no longer the case. As I looked over this section of the course I was pleased to see good content on fats and carbs that was balanced and did not go to extremes one way or the other (which seems to be the trend lately).

This section focuses on good nutrition for balancing hormones and being healthy after 40. I really appreciate the part on balancing hormones because that has been something I have been trying to work through prior to this course.

Spiritual Self- Care

This section is a blog post full of ideas about how to work in spiritual self-care during busy and challenging times. I really appreciated that it was simple ideas that do not take lots of time or money to implement.

Difficult Diagnosis

While we all hope that we won’t face a difficult diagnosis, it is always good to have resources and strategies to help us face it if we do. This lesson covers building a support team, advocating for your health care, and self-care during/after a difficult diagnosis.

Knowing What’s Normal

One of the things I have learned from Beth at Fit2B through the years is that just because something is common, does not mean it is normal. In other words, just because many women experience a problem, it does not mean that it is normal and you just have to live with it. Often things that are considered ‘normal’, like bladder leakage, are common but not normal and can be corrected with rehab or exercise.

This section helps us to understand what is normal and what is common but not normal. It also includes strategies and information to help us to overcome those symptoms that are not normal.

Managing Mood and Motivation

This section is one that I am really looking forward to digging into. I know that this is an area where I need some work and I am excited to have some strategies to help. I also really appreciate that they go into some of the physiology behind the changes to help understand why our moods and motivation are affected.

It is really important to me that I work through the challenges with my mood and motivation so that I can be the best mom, wife, friend, etc that I can be to all of those that I care about. I feel like this section will help me work through some of those issues.

Proactive Pelvic Floor

This section is done by a pelvic floor therapist who does a great job explaining the function of the pelvic floor, symptoms that show problems with the pelvic floor, and strategies for strengthening the pelvic floor.

This really goes well with the knowing what is normal section because so many of the symptoms may be considered normal in popular thought. However, those symptoms show problems that can be addressed and corrected which leads to better functioning.

Thank You Gifts

This section is full of great little extra gifts and information for the contributors of the course; including a variety of printable PDFS and even discount codes for a prayer journal and Tummy Team Rehab.

Conclusions

I have been using Fit2B for my fitness for several years and I love how Beth does really fitness for real women. I love that this course tackles hard topics in an easy-to-understand way and a safe environment. So often we assume that the problems we are facing are just ‘a part of growing older’ and that there is nothing we can do to help.

If you are in perimenopause or just getting to an age where you know it is getting closer, I highly recommend this course. There is so much great information that can help you move into this next stage of life with strength and function. Having the knowledge and understanding of the changes in our bodies can make this transition so much easier. Be sure to click on this link to find out more about the course and check out all of the other courses and workouts offered at Fit2B.

Resource Library

Staying Cool in the Summer Heat

*Some links are affiliate links, see disclosure below*

The ‘dog days’ of summer have arrived. Tomorrow’s forecast has us at a high of 96 degrees with the humidity at 91%. This means it is hot and muggy outside. Some days that means we spend a bit more time inside, but whenever possible I still like the children to spend at least a few hours a day outside.

To stay cool in the heat, we have to be creative. I wanted to share a few of the ideas that we have used to stay cool on these hot summer days and still let the children get outside and burn off their energy.

Water

Before last year, we did not have a pool but we still wanted to use water to keep us cool. When possible we would go spend time at the river. This allowed us to cool off in the water, but also the air temperature around the water is naturally cooler than the temperature a little further inland. So even if I wasn’t in the water, it did not feel as hot outside.

However, many days the river just wasn’t an option. So we got creative at home. We have used water tables, splash pads, and sprinklers to cool off and enjoy a bit of time outside. Of course, no summer in our family is complete without some slip n slide fun!

Our Summer Bucket List! (Free Printable) has additional water fun ideas, as does Our Summer Bucket.

Frozen Treats

We love to eat something cool when it is hot outside. Ice cream is always a big hit, but that can get expensive and has lots of calories. However, we have found popsicles to be a great compromise. Sometimes I buy the natural popsicles from the store, but we often make our own. This allows us to lower the sugar content and make them mostly fruit, yogurt, or juice.

I always loved the little freeze pops growing up, but my son could not eat them because of the food dyes. A couple of years ago we found these reusable tubes to make our own. We enjoyed them, but if you want to make it even easier I have found dye-free freeze pops. This year I found these yummy freezer pops from Juicy Juice that have no dyes in them. They taste great and you can even save on them by adding them to your Amazon subscribe and save.

Fans and Shades

Truthfully, I am generally more sensitive to the heat than my children. My boys would play for hours but I don’t always want to sit out there with them and sweat. My husband has helped me come up with a few solutions that keep me a bit cooler while they are playing.

First, we have an outdoor ceiling fan on our front porch. Honestly, I was a bit skeptical about how much difference it would make but I was wrong. It makes sitting on the porch so much more pleasant during these hot days. I can sit and read while the children play in the front yard. It is like always having a nice cool breeze.

This is the sunshade in the goat enclosure.

Second, we found these great sunshades and put one up over the playset. The shade lets me sit or play with the children and still have protection from the sun. In addition to making it a bit cooler, it also provides some protection from sunburn. the shades come in different shapes and sizes to fit your area. We have one over the playset and on for our goats in their pen.

Conclusions

All in all, the days are long and a bit hot, but there are plenty of ways to cool down and still enjoy time outside as a family. The more time my young children spend outside, the better their attitudes, the cleaner my house (less time for them to make a mess), and the healthier we all tend to be. I am grateful for the chance to cool off and spend time playing with them outside.

How hot is it where you live? How do you cool off in the summer? You can click the graphic below to see how other Crew Members are staying cool this summer.

Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

Resource Library

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