Boxes in the Mail

Yesterday we received two wonderful boxes in the mail. I had ordered them, but forgot that they were actually going to come. My life is kind of like that now.

The first was Mary's box containing her "Wildlife Explorer" book. This is one of those monthly membership type things that Mary found in one of her nature magazines. Since my experience with Columbia Music as a teenager I tend to shy away from these offers, but Mary caught me at a weak moment and I figured 'what the heck.' So, she received a large three-ring binder with a prepared table of contents and indexing cards, and three packs of wildlife/nature information pages to add to the notebook. Every few weeks she'll get new ones to add in.

I was really impressed with the information and format. It is actually quite nice. It was easy for Mary to organize the pages and begin reading. It will be a really nice addition to our library and has managed to hold Mary's attention for several hours. Last night the two of us were reading through it comparing how long it takes various mammals to reach maturity and leave their mother.

The other box is also for our library, but I am really going to enjoy. For this next year, since we are not doing textbooks or 'programs,' I decided to set up subscriptions to a couple magazines that I have been drooling over. One of them is Learning Through History. I sent the link to my purchasing consultant (aka my mother - the retired school librarian), and she replied that at the price they were offering online I should also buy a couple of the past year's bundles. Twist my arm...and I did. My box contained the past two years of magazines, and the most recent past issue.

I've already read the magazine on The Industrial Revolution, and have the one covering Tudor England sitting beside me right now. Each one is like its own self-contained unit study, complete with comparative timeline, crafts, food, web links, additional reading and writing prompts/essay questions. Being the history buff that I am, I am going to enjoy my reading for the next couple of weeks.

There won't be any curriculum boxes this year...so we are enjoying our moment.

Peace,

Amy