My New PAL - Institute for Excellence in Writing

I have a new pal.  It is called, Institute for Excellence in Writing, or IEW as it is known in the homeschool world, is very well known.....and very well regarded.



But, I have a secret to tell you....my new pal scared me.

I heard about IEW all the time from other homeschoolers.

I saw their booth at conferences.

Homeschoolers with high school kids talked about IEW.

Homeschoolers with middle school kids talked about IEW.

Even homeschoolers with elementary kids talked about IEW.

Everyone talked about it and how much they loved it.

IEW was like the popular girl in school.  The nice one.  Not the snotty one.

Who, one day, invited you to sit at her table....but you were afraid of what would happen in you accepted.  Was it a joke so she and her friends could just make fun of you?

So, every now and then I would head over to their cafeteria table, I mean, website and look around.  Get totally intimidated by content and prices (clothes and hair styles)....and leave. 

A friendship was never formed.....I was just sort of a stalker.

So, when I got a chance to review one of the IEW programs called PAL (that sounds nice and friendly, doesn't it?  I didn't exactly jump at it....but I certainly expressed an interest....and admitted that I was sort of scared too.

PAL stands for Primary Arts of Language.  There is a Reading curriculum, Writing curriculum and an All About Spelling that goes with it.  It is a really, full, comprehensive language arts program for kids.  I mean, really comprehensive.



So, first of all, take a look at what showed up in my mailbox.







Now, granted some of the stuff I got was in e-book form....but here are most of the actual hard copies of things I got.

Remember this product is called Primary Arts of Language and is intended to be used with ages K-2.  Why do you need so much stuff to teach little kids?  Had I been doing it wrong all these years?

Here is the time in the review where I confess that I got scared.  Really freaked out kind of scared.....like, shaking in my boots scared.......like, "Why did I even sign up for this review?" scared.

And, I did the worst possible thing I could have done at this point.  I start perusing the books.  Huge, colossal mistake.

I was scared, intimidated, it didn't make sense....I began to doubt my teaching abilities....I was going to use it for S-girl....and, I didn't know how or where to start, or what to even attempt first.

Somewhere in my browsing, I realized that there was a DVD-ROM that went along with the Reading and Writing program.  Hmmm.....probably should have started with that!

On the video was Jill Pike, the author of the PAL program for IEW, just simply sitting in front of  a gray, canvas backdrop. No fancy bells and whistles which is what I was afraid of after perusing the books.

As Jill spoke, I started relaxing, and thinking, okay.....maybe I can do this.  Ms. Pike has a very calm, relaxing demeanor about her and a soothing voice, like the nurse that talks to you right before you go into the operating room....you feel like you are in good hands and nothing bad will happen.  (Guess what?  I just flipped over one of my books and there is a little biography about Jill.....and she was a Registered Nurse!)

Here take a little listen so you will know what I mean.  In this video clip, she is starting to explain the reading portion of PAL.

So, in case I haven't made myself clear, if you get this program, do not.....I repeat....Do Not.... open up the books and start looking through them yourself, before you listen to Jill.

So, what is the big, seemingly scary PAL program all about?

It is based on Anna Inghams Blended Sound-Sight System of Learning, which, by the way is described as "not for the faint hearted".  But, I had never heard of Anna before, so that part didn't mean anything to me.....which is good because, apparently I am faint hearted! 

I am not going into all the details of how this program works, because I will scare you away.....and I really don't want to do that.  Trust me when I say it is a lot easier to implement and teach than you think when you first see it all.  Jill explains it really well!

To put it really, really simply, it uses a combination of poetry, story telling, letter stories, and creative games and visuals to help your child learn and remember the basics about figuring out how to read and write in English.

Here is what they included as a possible daily schedule:

 

Our actual experience has been even shorter and snappier than this.

I read a book on communication once where it talked about trying to create word pictures in the head of the person you are talking to, because it helps them relate it to themselves and remember things better.  (I actually think it was a book on how to get your husband to really understand you....but it works in other situations too.)

In PAL, the way that they teach the letters and their sounds was one of the most successful word picture uses I have ever seen.

You know how the lower case letters b and d are often confused by young children?  Mine have all had an issue with it....to the point where I started to wonder if they were dyslexic.  Well, for all the kids, I had taught them to make the letters with their hands....b with their left hand and d with their right hand and have them touch.....making a bed....then they could figure out if the word they were looking at had a b or a d in it.....headboard or footboard....get it?

This method has been somewhat successful.....I mean, all of my older kids can just look at b and d now and know which one it is.  For A-man and S-girl.....it is still a work in progress....A-man only pulls out the bed still,  on occasion, but S-girl does it everytime she sees one of the letters.  She drops her pencil, makes the sign for the letter and then picks her pencil up and moves on.  Or, when she is reading aloud, she juggles holding the book while she makes the signs.....and then keeps on reading.

The PAL way of explaining letters is by giving them letter stories.

See?  b is the bomb letter....the bomb drops (the line)...and then bounces up and explodes on the right side....the circle.  And, the d is the dog letter.....his head comes first....and then his tail.

This has been so successful, I can't even tell you.  A-man who is usually around during my teaching time with S-girl has apparently been paying attention too.  S-girl was reading a story to him.  They were snuggled up in one chair together as she read. She was sounding out words as usual.  I heard her pause at one point and he said, "You know this one....that is the bomb letter."

It has stuck with them.  Even V-girl knows which one is the Happy Letter, (which is "c").

The word picture  that I sort of wished hadn't stuck with S-girl is the squealing e's....which is a word picture that whenever two e's get together, they love to squeal.  So, now whenever S-girl reads a word that has "ee" in it...she says it with a squeal in the middle.  Effective?  Yes.  Irritating?  Yup.

There are games and activities that make all of this learning really fun.

The Reading and Writing programs are separate programs, but are ideally designed to be used together.  They just have them separated in case your child already knows how to read.  They are super comprehensive and teach way more than "See Dick and Jane."

I will say that these programs are definitely teacher intensive at first, but then ease up as you kind of get in the groove.  There is a lot of prep and activities/games that need to be put together or cut out and assembled ahead of time.  Probably part of what scared me, at first.

With all the games and activities, this is another time when it would have been really helpful to have a laminator to make some of the game pieces last a bit longer.  As far as supplies go, they suggest having things like, manila folders, paper clips and index cards on hand.  I happened to have paper clips and manila folders around, but not index cards, so I just cut up some scrap paper to roughly index card size and that worked fine.

S-girl is certainly having fun with this style of learning.  She still calls in her "new school".....and asks to do it.

A few of her favorite, kind of odd, things about PAL, are getting to write with a pen, not a pencil...and just cross out mistakes instead of having to erase them.  It is really kind of funny, the first few days when I handed her a pen instead of a pencil, she would get sort of a surprised look on her face and then announce to anyone who happened to walk through our side of the school room, "I get to use a pen in my new school!"  I forgot what a big deal pens are to kids!

She also likes practicing on the white board, and loves adding to the Phonetic Farm.

This where you put all the sight-sound stuff into practice. 

 



 

(The silo is where all the letter combinations that make the long o sound go....like "ow" as in yellow and grow.)

We also got All About Spelling, Level 1, but we haven't progress enough with the PAL program to work on that yet.  But, again, this is one of those programs that is talked about a lot in the homeschool world.

So, yes, I have a new "Pal", I finally swallowed that big lump in my throat and went and sat at the popular girls table.  She wasn't mean.  Her friends didn't tease me.  She is teaching me that there is a whole different world out there.

It is going to be a good friendship.  No more stalking.


You can get the complete IEW PAL Reading package for $69; the IEW PAL Writing package for $89; and All About Spelling for $30.

IEW has award winning writing curriculums for all ages put together by Andrew Pudewa (he is famous in the homeschool world too) and his team.  You can also take a look at their "magalog" (for those who don't know what that is....which I didn't either....it is their magazine and catalog in one!) It is worth checking out.....and try really hard not to shake in your boots.  If I can handle this stuff, so can you.

Want to know what others on the TOS Review Crew thought of PAL or how they used it differently at their house?  Take a peeeeeeeeeek.  Darn those squealing ee's.




Disclaimer: I received the complete PAL Reading and Writing programs and All About Spelling for free, in exchange for an honest review.

Knights and Fair Maidens - Part II

 

Set number one of a knight and two fair maidens.

Set number two of a knight and two fair maidens.

I am in the middle of raising a group of Knights and Fair Maidens, and part of that journey is going to be through courtship, rather than traditional dating.

For more on how our family got here, I mean to courtship, go back and read Knights and Fair Maidens - Part I.



So, how do you do court in 2012?

Especially when there are thoughts out there, like: How will you know they are the right one if you don't date around? What is wrong with dating if you meet another nice Christian in your youth group? Or even, taking it to the next level.....How will you know you are sexually compatible unless you go to bed with them?

How do you court in 2012....and beyond?

If you read Part I of this series, you know the thought process that went into our decision to not have our children date, but pursue courtship.

The problem was, once that decision was made, none of us really knew what it meant.  Rainman, D-man, and I sat down and tried to come up with a list of rules and what it really meant, but we stumbled and didn't really know what we were doing.  We didn't even really know how to tell people about it.  It doesn't really come up very casually in conversations.

This is where the next book I received to review comes in.

Of Knights and Fair Maidens by Jeff and Danielle Myers and published by Grace and Truth Books led us clearly to all of the answers we needed.

Can we just talk about God being thematic with me again for a moment?

From Grace and Truth's website talking about the book:

Jeff and Danielle were determined to do things differently. So, before the era of "True Love Waits" or the writing of I Kissed Dating Goodbye, they interviewed married couples to discover the keys to a successful courtship. They applied these principles in their own relationship and later, wrote this humorous, heart-warming book. 15 years later, they have re-released an updated version of this classic, which has given tens of thousands of young couples honest and straightforward counsel about the best way to prepare for marriage.

"Jeff and Danielle prove that God's plan for relationships is not out of date or old-fashioned - it's for the adventurous, courageous and most importantly, romantic Christian single who wants God's best in relationships and marriage."
-- Joshua Harris, Senior Pastor, Covenant Life Church, Gaithersburg, MD and author of well-known books on courtship

Did you catch that? They mention the book again. There is a quote by the author of the book.

So, here is what I loved, loved, loved about the book, Of Knights and Fair Maidens.

It tells us how to do courtship in 2012, not 1912.

The Myers tell about the way they met each other, how they decided that God had a different way of coming together in mind for Christians, other than dating. With....get this....an article....written by an 18 year old.....Joshua Harris before he wrote the book Kiss Dating Goodbye!

The best part is they give specifics on how it can be done, how to get parents involved, what to say if someone asks you out on a date, and even ideas on what to do when you are trying to get to know someone better.

Real. Specific. Usable stuff. Real life examples.

In a really small (about 100 pages) hardcover book. A super easy read. It is an interview style book with questions and then answers given by both Jeff and Danielle. The original article that Joshua Harris wrote, and they both read (separately) which started them on the path to courtship, is included at the back of the book.

Jeff is now president of Summit Ministries. Go take a look at that organization and see what they are up to. Look at Jeff and Danielle and their family. They don't look Amish or old fashioned. They are cool. They are hip. They hike in the mountains with their four kids. She even wears pants.


You can get a copy of Knights and Fair Maidens for $9.75 or an ebook version for $6.50. If you want to start with more of the "why?" behind courtship, where I did, with Joshua Harris' Kiss Dating Goodbye, they sell that too.

Grace and Truth Books  has free shipping on orders of $49or more (if you are thinking Chistmas stuff yet) and has a Scratch and Dent and a Bargain section that is worth spending some time digging around in.

Grace and Truth Books gave the review crew some other books to review on different topics. Take a look and see what books they read and what they thought.


Disclaimer:  I received a copy of Of Knights and Fair Maidens for free, in exchange for an honest review.

Knights and Fair Maidens - Part I

I have a houseful of little people who want to be knights and fair maidens.

 

 

The boys aren't always gentlemen around here and the ladies...well.....sometimes they aren't so lady-like either.  But, we are working on it.

But, before we start talking about the book that I recently got to review, available through Grace and Truth books, called Of Knights and Fair Maidens, I have to back up a  bit and delve into a potentially sensitive subject.  My actual review of that book  will be Part II of Knights and Fair Maidens.

Dating.

Teenage dating. 

Should it be the same among Christians as it is among non-believers?

This subject is one that has been heavy on my mind lately, probably because my oldest is in high school now....and quite handsome....if I do say so myself!

 

(Ha!  Nice mustache, dude!)

It really seemed like everytime I turned around last summer and early fall, there was a speaker talking about dating, books would be recommended on dating, someone would reference a book on dating when I was reading about a totally different subject.

In my Sunday School class, we are studying the book, Discerning the Voice of God, by Priscilla Shirer.  To summarize the book....a lot, it talks about how to recognize when God is trying to talk to you....there is a portion of the book where the author states, if God is getting thematic with you, then you probably better listen.

There was definitely a theme going on. 

Really, it was almost laughable.  I could be reading a homeschool planning book, an old planning book that was handed down to me from someone who hasn't homeschooled in 4 or 5 years....and the author would mention a particular book....just out of the blue.

Someone on the radio would talk about this particular book.

I would be reading a blog....for a recipe.....and this book would be mentioned.

It went on and on.

Now, people, listen to me.....they all mentioned the same book.

Yes, I finally gave in and called up the book on-line and ordered it.

It was called, Kiss Dating Goodbye, by Joshua Harris.


So, what does it mean to Kiss Dating Goodbye?  To very briefly summarize, it is to give up dating and by doing so, being able to discover that God has something even better--a life of sincere love, true purity, and purposeful singleness.....until you are ready for marriage.

Yikes!  What?!?

It is a weird concept in todays society.  Why not go out and have fun with as many people as you can.  No one is hurt, right?  Well, speaking from experience....someone is always hurt.

In using myself as an example, I remember being obsessed with wanting a boyfriend....wanting to be partnered up....wanting someone to walk me to the bus...and kiss me.....wanting to be asked to the dances....wanting to be asked out....yet terrified that someone might actually do it. 

I mean, it overtook my mind.  School work?  Huh?  What did it matter?  I wanted to be wearing the right outfit with my hair just right....my bangs just big enough to catch someone's attention, my eyeliner just thick enough. 

Honestly, I did okay in school, grade wise....but I didn't really apply myself.  I wonder how I could have done if my thoughts were on the future instead of the present and the cute boy sitting behind me.

The obsession with wanting to be paired up went on into adulthood and is how I ended up in my first marriage.  He liked me.  He really liked me.  It didn't really matter that I didn't really like him that much.  He wanted me.  He proposed within 6 weeks.  Everyone around me told me to watch out for him.  I rushed through.  I was old....I mean, I was 24....all of my friends were already married and starting families.  I'm sure this will work out fine.  He will change after we get married. 

I will save you all the gory details.  But, I should have listened to my family and the voice in my head (even as I was walking down the aisle) that this was not the one for me.

So many times throughout my teen and young adult years, I changed myself for whatever guy happened to be around.  If he didn't like all the attention I got when I sang....well, okay....I won't sing then. 

If he thought I went to church too often....well, okay....I guess I don't need to be that involved. 

If he wanted me to drink like his buddys girlfriend did, so I didn't seem like such a stick in the mud....well, okay.....pass the White Russian.  (Seriously, do not under any circumstance pass the White Russian....even the smell of them now....makes me sick .  You don't want to know that story either.)

In Kiss Dating Goodbye, it talks about all of these things....but mostly talks about the fact that God gave you gifts and talents so you could use them...not hide them.  It got me to thinking about my kids.

They do have unique gifts and talents.  I don't want them to be dimmed or diminished for anyone.  I want them to be developed and nurtured and then used.  I don't want a boy or girl to come along and distract them from that development.  I want them to come along at the right time in their life, and support their talents and have talents and gifts of their own to share with the world.

So, the basic premise of this book is, yes, be friends with the opposite sex, you don't have to avoid them like the plague, but don't couple up....don't even be alone with the opposite sex, even if they are really nice and you met them in the church youth group.  (Even those "too early" relationships with nice young people end in drama, emotional turmoil, or going farther than you intended....but mostly, they just distract you from becoming the best you there is.)

Because, really, the ultimate point of dating is marriage....so you shouldn't do it until you are ready for marriage.  Which means after you have finished your education and you have an actual job.

That is an astonishing thing to think about, isn't it.  It even sounds kind of crazy and unrealistic, I know.

Anyway, I read that book.  Identified with so many parts of it.  Identified with how I wished things had been in my life.  Identified with the hurt and pain from meeting the perfect boy at Vennard Bible College who thought I was perfect for him our freshman year and then decided in our sophomore year that the new, cute little red headed freshman, was perfect for him (which apparently she was....they are still married and have 4 beautiful children).  Identified with all the stupid mistakes I made with men after Mr. Perfect moved on. 

Identified with not really knowing who I was or my purpose in life.

The book spoke to me way deep down.  I asked Rainman if he would read it so we could talk about it.  I was afraid of what he would say or think.

His take on the book was much the same as mine, overall, with one difference.  He said, "Well, that is basically how I did things.  I knew I wanted to get married.  There were girls that I liked through the years, but I knew they weren't anyone I could marry, so we just stayed friends.  I wasn't trying not to date or anything, but I wasn't just out looking for a good time."

So, he went to school, went to graduate school, got a job, bought a house, went on vacations, played on the softball team, got involved in church, then, one night, he answered a sales call where someone told him about a match-making service called Together.

He was 35 when we met and 36 when we got married.  He was purposefully single.....until his dream woman (yes, me....) came along.    He wasn't sitting home twiddling his thumbs or bemoaning the fact that he didn't have a woman.  He was living life.  He was having fun.  He was being adventurous.  He was spending time with his family.  He was getting lots of good practice at being a father with his nieces and nephews. 

Purposefully single.

Okay, now we move down to our teenagers, because by this point, Rainman and I are both thinking that this path is the one we want our kids to take.  Yes, I am talking about that word:  Courtship.

It sounds so old fashioned, and Duggar-ish, I know.  But, based on our separate and very different pasts....Rainman and I both felt that this was the best for the kids.  The only problem was how to convince them and not have it be something forced upon them by their mean, old fashioned, living in the past, parents.

So, I assigned the book to D-man (and eventually A-girl) for school.  I tried not to talk to him too much about what I had thought when I read it, but once he started, he knew that these were some of the things he and I had been sort of talking about for a while (even before I realized God was getting thematic with me).  When he finished the book, I asked him to write a paper outlining the pros and cons of dating versus courtship and then to state his opinion.

Without printing his whole paper here, apparently God was speaking to him too, and he came down on the courtship side of the equation (but didn't want to call it that).

On to A-girl, who remember is only 12.....but, you have seen her new picture on the top of my header?

That is why I had her read the book. 

She was a much more reluctant reader (literally and figuratively).  She didn't want that to be another way we were weird homeschoolers.  Then, she ended up taking the book with her a few times when we were going to be out and about for other kids activities during the day.  People saw what she was reading.  By people, I mean other teenage girls. 

One of them had already read the book and said that this was the way her family thought too.  The other girl is a friend of A-girls from church and is a junior in high school.  Older and cool.  She hadn't read the book, but was so excited about it and said that she also was thinking along those lines....and they ended up having a talk about purity.

Can I get an amen for the right kind of peer pressure?

Okay, so just in case I haven't made myself clear, our family is going to pursue a courtship model of dating for our kids.  The news is out.  Spread the word.  We are weird.  We are okay with that.

The problem is: What does that mean in 2012? 

How do you court in this day and age?

Come back for Part II of Knights and Fair Maidens and find out!