Curriculum for Sale

I accept Paypal and Money Orders.  If you are local to me, ie in my homeschool group, I will take a personal check.  If you are interested, just leave me a comment with your email.  The comments are moderated and will not be published.

A Beka Arithmetic 1 set of 3, Gr. 1 -- $22 ppd. Good. Curriculum/LP's #75426, Tests and Speed Drills TE #41688 (pg 12 taped back in) and Charts and Games #75434- several pgs torn out for use, but all pages are included.


Key to Algebra set of 7 , Grs. 9-12 -- $15 ppd. Good. Books 5 no writing, 9 and 10 have a little pencil writing on a few pages. Answer Key books for books 1-4, 5-7 and 8-10. Reproducible Tests book for Books 1-10.

Personal Help for Boys - Pearables, Grs. K-5 -- $11 ppd. Nice. Building a Foundation of Godly Character for Tomorrow's Men

Weekly Accomplishments 7/25 - 7/29

~What We Are Reading~

Me: The Book Whisperer 

Bear: 1776, Darwin's Armada 

Noodle: Diary of a Wimpy Kid- Roderick Rules

This week was a hodge podge week.  We focused on finishing up our current school year, doing chores and just hanging out.  We did go to the pool once, as it has been over 100 degrees every day this week!

Bear finished up Physical Science and got a B on his final test.  He also finished Abeka Health and got 100% on the final exam that covered all 8 chapters of the text! I am sooooo proud of him. I think his success with this course is ironic because he complained about it all the time. He did a happy dance when I told him he never had to take Health again!!!

We also got our results back from the IOWA Test Bear took back in June.  So proud of him there as well.  He scored 13+ on 4 areas and his overall was grade level was 11.8 - so he made improvements over last year.  His math was still behind, but we are diligently working on that with his tutor and he has made so much progress.  Bottom line, he will be starting 10th grade in good shape. Yay!!!

Noodle has just 3 lessons left in the Abeka Arithmetic 1 - then he will take a math break until we officially start second grade at the end of August.  He'll still do math games, some flash cards and I will give him a few worksheets just to keep him in the math loop.  But our main focus will be doing the CLE Language Arts, First Language Lessons and his OPGTR lessons.  Oh, and history and science a couple times a week.

I am still working on lesson plans, but it is slow going with all the other things I have on my plate.  I plan to get a lot done this weekend since I have no plans to be anywhere.  Wish me luck!

Since I rarely talk about my oldest ds, Super Duper, I thought I would post a quick picture.  He is cooking his breakfast.  Cooking is what he loves and what he does.  He has an incredible work ethic and just got a SECOND part time job at another restaurant and will be working about 60 hours a week now.

Noodle with a typical lunch.  He loves Ravioli's, Beef Macaroni, Spaghetti O's and Mac n Cheese.  Don't you think his nickname is appropriate??  It was that, or The Pasta King.

First Annual Boy Mom Blog Hop

Welcome to the First Annual Boy Mom Blog Hop! Hosted by The M.O.B. Society.



Winecup Christian Academy is a Homeschooling Boys Blog.  I write about what we have been up to, the adventures of being a mom of boys, our homeschooling curriculum, scouts and anything related to living with boys in a small town in Texas!

My oldest dear son is 20 years old.  He graduated from our homeschool in 2009 and currently works full time with plans to start part time community college in the fall.  He is an avid skateboarder, has some sponsors - so he gets free boards, shoes and clothing throughout the year.  He is an extreme sports kind of guy and has a dream to jump out of a plane.  I don't want to know about it until after he is back on the ground to tell me about it!!!

My middle dear son is 15 and is wrapping up his 9th grade year.  He has big plans to major in Zoology and later become a Veterinarian and Herpetologist. He is also interested in being a field researcher.  He almost always has his face in a book with a snake or other reptile in his hand.  He has a heart for animals.  My husband lovingly calls him our "nerd" because he pretty much is a know it all when it comes to animals, science and outdoor adventure.

My youngest dear son is 7 and he is my squirrely one.  He talks all the time and is almost always on the go.  The little bugger wears me out with his cuteness (as well as the not so cute stuff).  He loves just about everything - swimming, art, math, skateboarding, bike riding, board games, library books - you name it - he wants to do it.  He has no fear either.  Here he is jumping off a waterfall in to the river. 

I am just a stay at home mom (ha, "just") doing my best to keep the ship sailing.  My husband and my boys are my priority.  I am a very, very, part time beauty consultant with Mary Kay Cosmetics.  I have been with the company since 1996.  Right now my ministry is with my family, raising my children and keeping a home for my husband.  When my boys are grown and I have free time on my hands I plan to work with homeschoolers and become involved in missions in some way, although I am not sure what that will look like.

Some of my boys favorite books:

Super Duper (20 yo): He loved Lord of the Flies, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Brave New World, Animal Farm, The Outsiders, Pigman, A Day No Pigs Would Die, To Kill A Mockingbird and The Cat of Bubastes.

Bear (15 yo):  He loves anything non-fiction about animals and science.  As for novels, so far he enjoyed the Redwall series, The Outsiders, Homesick, The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, The Hobbit and all the Gary Paulsen books.

Noodle (7 yo):  He loves chapter book read alouds.  His favorite so far:  The Tarantula in My Purse, The Flying Flea, Callie and Me, Socks, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing and all the follow up Fudge books.

What "Classical Eclectic" Looks Like at Our House

I have said several times before that our homeschooling style is Classical Eclectic and I just want to share what that looks like at our house. 

My main resources for ideas come from The Well Trained Mind and Teaching the Trivium.  Also, the Well Trained Mind Forums is a great place to get information.

Our Classical Side

We use the Bible because as Ruth Beechick said, "The Bible is the most classic of all classical books, containing the greatest of all great ideas throughout civilizations. Keep it as the core of your home education."
Reading instruction comes from The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading and just plain old lots of free reading from the hundreds of books we own to the great selection we bring home from the library. 

We do a little copy work and a little (very little at this point) dictation.

We keep organized notebooks.

We have Socratic discussions.

We memorize facts.

We do most writing assignments in relation to our history studies.

We don't always use history textbooks, but instead spines that may or may not be a textbook or an encyclopedia.  We use numerous fiction history novels, primary sources and biographies to complete our history studies.

We outline.

Latin - we are starting it next month.

Our Eclectic Side

We do use some textbooks, like Apologia Physical Science , Abeka High School Health or Abeka Arithmetic 1.

We take Field Trips.

We play educational video games and board games.

We watch documentaries and shows on the Science Channel, like How It's Made. 

We watch The History Channel.

We play outside.

We participate in Scouts as part of our educational and life enrichment program.

We use workbooks.  (GASP!) Workbooks get a bad rap by certain homeschoolers, but I think they serve a purpose and there is a time and a place for them.  "Workbooks" we love:  Explode the Code, A Reason for Handwriting, Map Skills and CLE Language Arts.

For now, this is what we do.  As a new homeschooler it was straight textbooks and workbooks for us.  I bought all Bob Jones University Press our first year.  BJU does have some great qualities, but for the most part I was overwhelmed, my son was overwhelmed and it was pure torture getting through a school day trying to follow everything in the TE's.  Of course, today I know I don't have to do everything listed in a TE and I could much more easily adapt and incorporate a textbook in to our school day when I want to. 

What's your homeschool style?

Homeschool Mission Statement

Over at Growing Your Homeschool there is a great post about having a homeschool mission statement.  I have often thought about doing this, but wasn't sure how to go about it, format it, etc.  The farthest I got was picking a scripture for our homeschool 6 years ago.  Galatians 6:9 Do not grow weary in well doing for in due time you will reap a harvest if you faint not.  In other words, if you are patience and don't give up while you are doing what you are supposed to do, then eventually you will have results.  This verse prints out on all our report cards, I have it on the side bar of the blog and I love to remind the boys of it when they are struggling with something.

I was thrilled to find the post about the mission statement and now we finally have one here at Winecup Christian Academy!

Winecup Christian Academy


Mission Statement


2011-2012


Galatians 6:9
Do not grow weary in well doing, for in due time you shall reap a harvest if you faint not.


Family/Education Goals:

Our goal is to raise up Godly young men in a loving and inspirational environment.  God first, family second, education third. We seek to bring Glory to God by spiritually equipping them to deal with an ungodly world.  Academics are just as important as faith, so that their communication with the unsaved is knowledgeable and effective.

Statement of Purpose:

(To)Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6  (I cling to this because I know in many cases children raised in Christian homes DO depart from it for a season or two and DO come back.  I am experiencing this on some level with my oldest and all I can do is pray for him and give him guidance when he is open to it.) 

Philosophy of Education: We believe that our faith permeates throughout our life and that the best method of teaching is through example.  We believe the Bible calls us to be the primary educators of our children and our path to fulfilling that calling is homeschooling. Through homeschooling we have many opportunities to pursue excellence in a forgiving and flexible environment.
Homeschooling Style: Classical Eclectic. Mostly classical with the freedom to depart to another style anytime we want.

School Colors: Red, White and Blue

Mascot: The Opossum (Probably not what you were expecting!)

From Character Sketches- "Because the opossum is available and faithful in the task of raising its young, it makes an exceptional parent.  The mother is patient, careful and methodical in preparing and caring for them.  While she waits for her young to be born, she carefully readies her pouch, frequently washing it with her tongue to ensure that this built-in nest is clean and comfortable for the new occupants.,  As the time approaches for her to give birth, she helps her young reach the pouch through a special procedure."

"The opossum is not named in Scripture.  A distinctive characteristic of this animal is its ability to feign death in order to deceive its attackers.  A variation of this concept of "playing opossum" was used by David when he found himself in the hands of his enemies. 'And he changed his behaviour before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard.'  1 Samuel 21:13"

I chose the Opossum because she illustrates standing by a task until it is completed. I thought it went well with our Galatians 6:9 verse.  It also goes well with 1 Corinthians 15:58 "Therefore my dear brothers, stand firm.  Let nothing move you.  Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." 

Weekly Accomplishment/Homeschool Mother's Journal

In my life this week…Kids, library, a night out with a friend and Six Flags Fiesta Texas.

In our homeschool this week… Not much!  Noodle did reading, math and a little language arts.  Bear kept plugging away at Algebra, Physical Science, Health and History.  We did go to the library for more books - so I guess that counts too!

Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share… If you are homeschooling a high schooler, keep records.  Track everything they do, if they are college bound.  My favorite homeschool record keeping tool is http://www.homeschooltracker.com/

My favorite thing this week was… Six Flags Fiesta Texas.  This was our second year to go through their reading program.  Noodle and I had free tickets and I got Bear's ticket online at a discount.  We spend the first half of the day at the "hot side" with all the coasters and a couple of log rides.  Then we went to the car for lunch, since it is much more affordable to bring food.  We relaxed in the A/C, ate and re-applied sunscreen.  The rest of the day was spent on the water park side.  Noodle is a daredevil - anything he was tall enough for, he wanted to do it!  I went on the most horrifying water slide, called The Tornado.  Let's just say we were both screaming, but with totally different motivations.  He must have proclaimed, "That was SO AWESOME!!!" about half a dozen times after we got to the end.  I was just glad to make it out alive.
What’s working/not working for us…Chores.  We are having a hard time lately keep the house picked up.  We are coming and going, it's hot and nobody wants to do chores.  We have wood laminate flooring and two dogs.  It is necessary to sweep at least once a day, usually two because the dogs just drop hair everywhere.  But lately we sweep about every other day and it is really starting to get to me. 

Questions/thoughts I have… Will we finish out last four weeks of history assignments in time to take a couple of weeks off?  It could go either way at this point. 

Things I’m working on…Lesson plans.  I didn't make much progress this week, but I am still working on them.

I’m reading…A Stolen Life by Jaycee Lee Dugard.  My Super Duper was born 9 days after she was kidnapped.  We lived in the Bay Area at the time and it was big news.  For years we'd see fliers or a billboard or sign.  We saw several news clips on local TV over the years.  I think most people thought she was no longer on the earth.  What an amazing, yet heartbreaking story.  The chapters where she discussed in detail what that vile man did to her, were very hard to read, but once she gets past that you can't help but be inspired by her strength and will to survive.  It's so easy for those of us on the other side to wonder why she just didn't run as she got older, but in reading this book you can see how conflicted, brainwashed and scared she was, yet at the same time she knew what was happening to her was wrong.  I am almost finished with the book and though she is not a believer, I can see how even though she was captive for 18 years, God protected her on so many levels.  She could be in so much worse shape and mentally destroyed for life, but she is bright, strong, mature with an innocence and she harbors no hate.  She is truly amazing.
I’m cooking…Monday we had brisket sandwiches from a brisket I made in the crock pot.  Tuesday was burgers and fries. Wednesday a girlfriend took me to dinner at Olive Garden and DH and kids fended for themselves.  Thursday night was sandwiches, chips, watermelon and cookies in the parking lot of Six Flags.  Tonight I think I may make Tacos.

I’m grateful for…My hardworking DH who does what he does so the boys and I can be together every day.
I’m praying for…My DH who is working in horrible 100 degree temps with out too many breaks in the A/C.  I am praying for various people who have put prayer requests online and I am praying for Jaycee Lee Dugard and her family's continued recovery.

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