Kris, from Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers is giving away one of my fun new t-shirts this week!

I homeschool. What's your superpower? t-shirt

Pop over to her blog for your chance to win, and to check out the ADORABLE pics of Kris modeling my shirt.

Happy Homeschooling,

With 4th of July just around the corner, I am so excited to share some helpful BBQ cooking tips with you and a fun cookbook giveaway!

Check out these great tips from John McLemore, author of “DADGUM That’s Good! – Kickbutt recipes for smoking, grilling, frying, boiling & steaming” and enter to win your very own copy of his cookbook at the bottom of this post.

1.       Coat grill rack with non-stick spray or vegetable oil before preheating to prevent food from sticking.

 

2.       When grilling fish, grill with the skin side down or on aluminum foil (coat with non-stick spray).

 

3.       Red snapper is quick and easy to grill.  But, make sure the grill and fish are well oiled, and handle carefully.

 

4.       Salmon is a favorite for grilling, because it doesn’t dry out.  Rich in natural omega oils, you can pop it on the grill without oiling.  Start by grilling the salmon skin side up.  This allows the natural fat under the skin to be drawn into the filet, keeping it rich and moist.

 

5.       If you’re grilling scallops, use fresh ocean scallops.  These should be a pinkish tan or ivory color, not unnaturally white.

 

6.       Freshwater trout is great on the grill.  The skin becomes thin and crispy and the meat is full of flavor.

 

7.       To keep tuna burgers moist, choose the freshest tuna steaks you can find and serve them medium-rare to medium – don’t overcook.

 

8.       When grilling  BBQ ribs, pork butt, or tenderloin, cook unwrapped for 50 to 75% of the cooking  time to infuse smoke and flavor.  The remaining time wrap with heavy aluminum foil to retain moisture and tenderness

 

9.       When grilling burgers and steaks, allow grill to get to a high temperature before placing food on grill. Let steaks or burgers grill several minutes prior to turning, which will sear in the juices.

 

10.   When choosing an inexpensive steak, opt for flank steak rather than skirt steak, which can be tougher.  Flank steak is thin and cooks quickly.  They’re usually marinated before being grilled.  Wrap the steak in foil as it comes off the grill and let it stand for 10 minutes.  Slice it thinly on a diagonal across the grain to sever the tough fibers and make the flavorful steak  more tender.

 

11.   When is cheaper better?  Chicken thighs may be one of the cheaper cuts, but they do great on the grill!  Thighs are more flavorful and the extra fat in the skin makes them better suited to grilling.

 

12.   For the juiciest chicken and chops, you want to sear them on both sides on high heat for several minutes and then bring the grill temperature down to complete the cooking process.

 

13.   Grilling vegetables in aluminum foil, with oil, prevents them from falling through the grill gates.

 

14.   Just a few minutes on the grill gives bell peppers a sweet smoky flavor.  Don’t over roast them:  As soon as the skin puffs up and turns black, they’re ready.

 

15.   Cut zucchini in half lengthwise, coat with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper;   grill for 15 minutes.

 

16.   You can leave the husk on the corn while grilling.  Once you see the shape of the kernels burning through the husk, your corn is ready.  (If you grill with indirect heat, you’ll need to grill the corn for about an hour, so put your corn on the grill first.)

 

17.   Grilled Caesar Salad – ? Sure – the Romaine lettuce ends will char, but it stays remarkably crisp and sweet, with a char-grilled flavor.

 

18.   Always allow grill to cool prior to cleaning, but I recommend cleaning after each use.

 

19.   To extend the life of your grill (and smoker), store in a dry place or keep covered after each use.

 

20.   Do not grill alone; spend the time with family and friends.   (It’s more DADGUM fun!)

ABOUT THE COOKBOOK…

I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing “DADGUM That’s Good!” by John McLemore (retail value: $24.95) for myself and it is jam-packed with tips for all of your BBQ & summer cooking needs.

The book is full of vivid pictures and features over 125 Southern-style recipes such as:  Smoked Baby Back Ribs with Espresso BBQ sauce, Grilled Lime Chicken, Mustard Glazed Smoked Ham, Salmon Sub Sandwiches with BBQ sauce & coleslaw, Beignets, and Fried Banana Fritters just to name a few… YUM-O!

Paula Deen even had a few nice things to say in the foreword of the book:

ENTER TO WIN A COPY FOR YOURSELF!…

REQUIRED ENTRY:

• Leave a comment on this post telling me why you’d like to win.

ADDITIONAL ENTRIES: (Please leave a SEPARATE comment on this post for each)

• Like this giveaway on facebook by clicking on the thumbs up “like” button at the bottom of this post

• Tweet about this giveaway:  I just entered to win a “DADGUM That’s Good!” BBQ cookbook with @HomeschoolSue: http://tinyurl.com/42frf8q

- This giveaway will close on Saturday, June 25 at 11:59 pm CST.  Any entries posted after 6/25/11 will be invalid.

- The winner will be chosen using Random.org and announced on The Homeschool Chick facebook page sometime on Sunday, June 26th.

Happy Summer,

This post is linked to Hip Homeschool Moms Giveaway Day

AND THE WINNER IS….

Comment #16: Jenilee from Our Goodwin Journey

What is Glo Premium?…

Glo Premium is an award winning interactive Bible for your computer that uses videos, images, and 360 degree virtual tours to bring the scriptures to life.  It is a full featured software that includes 6 different versions of the Bible as well as study notes, maps, Bible reading plans, artwork, articles, a 3.5 hour long documentary on the life of Jesus and much, much more.

Check out this short video to see screen shots and a demonstration of how Glo Bible works:

If you cannot see the embedded video in this post for some reason, click HERE to view it in YouTube.

My Review…

I must admit that Bible is my very favorite subject to teach, so when I was asked to review this cool new software, I was really excited!

Glo Bible Premium is easy to install and within just a few minutes I was inside of the Glo Bible world.  The graphics are visually stunning and very easy to navigate with simple icons called “lenses” on the opening home page.  As I was exploring this fun software on my computer, I felt my son peeking over my shoulder because one of the cool atlas maps caught his eye.  …“Go back to that map and click on that city!”…”Oooo!  Go over there and take that virtual tour of Petra!”….”Hey cool!  That’s the place in Israel that you and I were talking about earlier today.”…”Um Mom, do you think that you could move over and let me try it out for awhile?”…  Needless to say, I downloaded the software onto his computer so he’d stop pushing me out of my chair and he spent the next two hours exploring Glo and all of the amazing features that it included.

Other than the scriptures themselves, my favorite section was the Media section that featured over 600 works of art, 400 virtual tours and over 2,000 high res images.  For a teacher of a visual learner, this is kind of a dream.  Instead of having to spend hours pulling together pictures and maps to prepare for our Bible lessons, I can pull up a couple of chairs around the computer and enjoy everything all in one convenient place.

There are six different versions of the Bible included in Glo Bible Premium, but sadly neither of my favorite versions were included (Amplified or NASB).  The verse-by-verse study notes were equal to that of a standard study Bible, in my opinion, but were not as exhaustive as a few of the other study Bibles that I own.

I would love to see Glo Bible include a subscription service of some kind that frequently adds to the existing content with newer Bible versions and additional study notes, but until that happens, the premium version really is enough to satisfy even the toughest of Bible critics.

Overall, I think that Glo Bible Premium is an amazing piece of software and I know that my whole family will continue to use it extensively for both homeschooling and personal study.

The BIG Giveaway…

If you would like to win a free copy of the Glo Bible Premium Software ($89.99 value) to enjoy on your own PC or MAC, please follow the simple directions below.  If you’d like to try out a “Lite” version of Glo Bible for free, you can download it to your computer directly from GloBible.com You can also find Glo Bible on facebook and twitter if you’d like to follow along with them there.

REQUIRED ENTRY:

• Leave a comment on this post telling me why you’d like to win a  copy of the Glo Bible Premium software.

ADDITIONAL ENTRIES: (Please leave a SEPARATE comment on this post for each)

• Subscribe to The Homeschool Chick via email HERE or tell me if you’re already subscribed via email – and don’t forget to activate your subscription so you show up in my subscriber list!

• “Like” The Homeschool Chick on Facebook HERE or tell me if you’re already a fan.

• Tweet about this giveaway:  I just entered to win @BibleGlo Premium Bible Software with @HomeschoolSue: http://tinyurl.com/43m3ovn

- This giveaway will close on Saturday, June 4 at 11:59 pm CST.  Any entries posted after 6/4/11 will be invalid.

- The winner will be chosen using Random.org and announced within this post and on The Homeschool Chick facebook page sometime on Sunday, June 5th.

Disclosure:  I was given a free copy of Glo Bible Premium Software in order to test the product and give my own personal opinions on it. The opinions I have given in this post are mine and were not influenced by the company or the free product provided in any way.

This giveaway is now closed.

The winner is comment #22 – Sarah from Growing for Christ

Why Latin?

I often get asked this question by my friends when they find out what subjects that I teach in our homeschool.

My answer is simple…

We have studied Greek/Latin roots for about a year now, and my son is able to decipher the meanings of VERY difficult vocabulary words without using a dictionary.  The idea that my son can master vocabulary words like decemplicate, novemdigitate, and prestidigitation in 6th grade kind of blows my mind!!!

So needless to say, when the nice folks over at Visual Latin asked me if I would be interested in reviewing their Latin lessons, I was thrilled!

What is Visual Latin?…

Visual Latin is an in-depth series of short video lessons, followed by practice exercises that teach the Latin language to anyone age 9 and up.

My Review…

After I downloaded the lessons onto my computer, I synced them onto my iPad, printed out the PDF worksheets that corresponded with our first lesson, and my son and I sat down to meet our new Latin instructor, Dwane Thomas.

Mr. Thomas’ lighthearted, fun personality combined with his short, easy to understand lessons, made our experience with our first in-depth Latin program such a pleasure!  As you can see, my son took notes and was totally engaged by what Mr. Thomas had to say.

Each lesson was broken into 3 sections and allowed us to practice what we learned using the corresponding worksheets.  In my opinion, the worksheets were a great follow up to each mini lesson and could easily be spaced out as 3 separate lessons throughout the week.  As a homeschool teacher, I just LOVE it when subjects are that easy to plan out! 

Happy Homeschooling,

Now that our school year is in full swing, I am on the hunt for fun resources to add to our homeschool lessons.  I was so excited to stumble across a GREAT new site (new to me anyway) loaded with FREE craft & science projects.

LooLeDo

@ www.LooLeDo.com

Mark Icanberry, the author of the popular Look, Learn & Do books recently created the LooLeDo website to teach children how to make projects out of common household items.

Not only are there cool art projects like the Trash Gator, made out of a plastic water bottle and a soap box,

but there are useful science projects like the Milk Carton Greenhouse, that you can actually grow plants in!

However, the item that my son and I are the MOST excited to build, is the Mineshaft Marble Slide out of toilet paper and paper towel tubes.

How cool is that?!?

LooLeDo offers many more amazing crafts and projects that you simply must check out for yourself!  There are simple directions to follow for each project, and most even include a video to walk you through the directions step by step. 

Lastly, LooLeDo offers a special page for educators and a free PDF on their site explaining how to create your very own “hands on” science enrichment program. — A great resource that every homeschooler could use!

Have you ever made any of the cool projects at LooLeDo?  I would just love to know!

Happy Homeschooling,

I have done hours of research looking for helpful homeschool sites to aid me as a homeschool teacher, & I have found everything from awful to GREAT!  My hope, is to share the great ones with you here each week.

Today, I am proud to feature:

@ CathyDuffyReviews.com

This site touts itself as “The Premiere Site for Homeschool Reviews!”, and I would have to agree!

Not only do I trust the well researched curriculum reviews on this site, but I also highly recommend Ms. Duffy’s book 100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum: Choosing the Right Curriculum and Approach for Your Child’s Learning Style

I was amazed to learn so much about my teaching style versus my son’s learning style, and how to pick out the best curriculum to fit us both.  Where the book leaves off, the site picks up, reviewing all of the latest and most current curriculum choices.

Overall, the most appealing thing about this website, is the extremely honest review of each separate piece of curriculum.  The good, the bad, and the ugly – that’s what I like the most!

Have you ever visited Cathy Duffy Reviews before?  I’d love to know if you find it as useful as I do.

Blessings & Happy Homeschooling,

When our family decided to step into the full-time homeschool world, after being apart of a partial homeschool/private school for several years, I was desperate to find books that could help me find my way.

Two of the most important books that I discovered early on in our homeschooling adventure were 100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum by Cathy Duffy and The Well Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer.

These books not only helped me to thoughtfully select my curriculum, but helped me to lay out the road map for our classically bent homeschool journey as well.  They inspired me so much, that I blogged about them in an earlier post that I wrote titled Newbies & Wannabes.

I am also very excited to share with you another little gem of a book that I have recently discovered.

HomeSchooling at the Speed of Life by Marilyn Rocket is a great instruction manual for homeschool moms!  This book recognizes that the need for organization in a homeschooler’s life is paramount in the midst of piles of paper and dirty laundry.  Marilyn shares insights on the benefits of order, wise stewardship of our time, as well as scripture packed devotional style tie-ins at the end of each chapter.

Chapter titles include:

Foundation for Organization

Real-life Home Management

Clutter, Clutter Everywhere & Not a Spot to Think

Teaching Children Life Skills

Paper by the Pile

Record Keeping Made Easy

Real Life around the House

A Family-Not a School

A Hospitable Home

Finishing Well

As if that wasn’t enough…the book comes with a CD for your computer that includes record keeping forms, charts for lesson plans, field trips, transcripts, attendance, and much, much more.  Can you tell that I love this book???  I love it so much, that I would recommend it to both newbie and veteran homeschoolers alike simply for it’s encouraging and uplifting advice on homeschooling in the real world.

Blessings & Happy Homeschooling,

What a fun time I had studying the time period of the creation of the world through the fall of the Roman Empire with my son this year!

Included in our suggested reading list was a book called, “God King” by Joanne Williamson.  To our surprise, this book became our absolute favorite!!!

This historical fiction book was packed full of so much action and adventure that any 10+ year old boy would have a hard time not loving it!  It follows the journey of a very young man named, Taharka, who is chosen rather unexpectedly to become the next Pharaoh of Egypt.  Taharka experiences an excessively jealous brother, multiple attempts on his life, and exile from his palace.  Along the way, he finds out who his real friends are, but more importantly, that the God of Israel has a much greater purpose for his life than he ever realized

My son and I choose to read this book together, promising to not read ahead without the other one.  We would read just a few chapters each day and then discuss them at length.

My son picked the following quote as his favorite from the book:

“Be kind to the stranger who comes to your well.

Who knows? He might be a king!”

Mine was this:

“You said once you were chosen by mistake.

We in Judah believe that our God does not make mistakes…”

If you’re using a year one classical homeschool curriculum, or if one of your boys is just looking for a fun action/adventure book to read over the summer, this may be the book for you!!!

I have found the COOLEST language resource! It’s called English from the Roots Up by Joégil Lundquist. Now some of you veteran homeschool chicks out there may already know about this little gem of a language tool, but I just recently discovered its wonderful brainy goodness.

“Who cares about Greek & Latin?”, you may be asking yourself right about now. Well, you should, that’s who! Most of the English language originates from these two languages, which means that if you are familiar with Greek & Latin roots, you will most likely be able to decipher a word’s meaning without ever having to tap open your dictionary app on your iPhone. (My favorite app!) Not to mention that your kiddo will totally rock his/her S.A.T. scores with teaching like this under their belt. (Helloooo, Harvard!)

There are two different sets of 100 flash cards available for purchase as well as a guide book. Although, I should note, that several folks on Amazon.com and even the super cool Pioneer Woman mentioned that you really only need to purchase the flashcards alone. (WooHoo…that great tip just saved me 30 bucks!)

The flashcards are so easy to understand that you don’t really need any directions to use them. (Which is a good thing because they don’t come with any!) They look like this on the front.

Each card introduces a new Greek or Latin root word along with a 1-2 word definition on the back. Also on the back of each card, you will find a short list of vocabulary words that include the same root. Like this…

I understand that homeschool teachers use EFTRU flashcards in many different ways with their kids. Some people make up fun educational games and even use them to quiz their kids in the car, while others use them more seriously to test their kids weekly. I myself do a little of both and have found a few helpful lesson plans online at Memorare, a Catholic website that seems to  have figured out how to utilize EFTRU pretty proficiently if you ask me.

I know that it sounds so cliché to say that as a homeschool mom I feel like I’m the one doing most of the learning most of the time, but it’s so true. I mean seriously, who would have thought that I would have ever been capable of teaching Greek & Latin to my very own little homeschool discipulus?

Not me, girlfriend…not me!!!