Homeschooling - A Great Privilege

Is Courtship Really More Spiritual?

2012-01-22T15:58:00.000-08:00

I read an interesting statement this week in an introduction of a speaker. It said that this speaker and his wife were joined together in marriage without dating. I thought that was quite odd as I would be surprised if it was an arranged marriage where the couple had no interaction until their wedding. But it also brought to mind how saddened I am by the idea that seems so prevalent in conservative Christian circles that “courtship” is somehow more spiritual than dating. If courtship works for a couple, then great. But how is it more spiritual than a couple whose lives are led by the Spirit of God but do not follow some man made model of what the road leading to marriage should look like? We really put God in a box when we say that things have to be done by this or that system to be legitimate. What happened to allowing couples to check their actions against the Word of God instead of a list of dos and don’ts? What happened to allowing God to control their lives instead of man trying to control them? I think as a church we have a wrong focus. Instead of being so concerned that our children only court their future spouses, why not concentrate on teaching them the Word of God so they can live a life of walking in the Spirit as it commands in Galatians 5:16? If they learn to do that, they will be in line with God’s plan no matter what road they take toward marriage.

Summer 2011

2011-08-09T16:15:00.000-07:00

Hot Pockets

2011-07-19T13:08:00.000-07:00

This is a quick hot pocket-type snack that is easy to make.

Spread 1/4 Tbsp olive oil on a tortilla
Sprinkle 1 Tbsp parmesan cheese
Layer meat and veggies - I use one slice sandwich ham and one slice sandwich turkey slightly overlapping
Spread 1/4 cup mozarella cheese

Fold in sides; Roll up
Brush top with 1/4 Tbsp olive oil
Top with 1 Tbsp parmesan cheese

Bake 425 degrees F for 9-12 minutes until golden brown (I use our toaster oven)

Goes well with a side of fruit or raw veggies and cottage cheese for a light meal.

Crockpost Granola

2011-07-14T10:44:00.000-07:00

I've perfected my granola recipe since I first posted about it.

I have a 6-quart crockpot and modified my recipe from Alton Brown's.

6 cups rolled oats
1-1/2 cups shredded coconut
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup (I use Mrs. Butterworth)
1/4 molasses
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1-1/2 tsp salt

Mix and cook in crockpot on low with lid cracked. I stir every hour for the first 3 hours and then at 3-1/2 hours, 3-1/4 hours and then remove from crockpot for a total of 4 hours. My crockpot is not as hot as some of the newer ones.

You can add any other goodies you want to it.

Homemade Yogurt

2011-07-13T16:38:00.000-07:00

So I have FINALLY had success with making homemade yogurt. The consistency has even been the same as store bought without adding anything like unflavored gelatin. The two biggest things I think that have helped me are knowing the right temperature to use (110 degrees) and using LESS yogurt starter (only 1 Tbsp per quart).

1 quart milk heated to 180 degrees (scalded)
Cool to 110 degrees (not hotter)
Take 1/2 cup milk and add 1 tablespoon yogurt with active cultures
Add starter to remaining milk - Mix thoroughly
Keep at constant temperature for at least 4 hours or until firm
Refrigerate and enjoy (It does set up more in the fridge)

Are You Confused by Spell to Write and Read?

2011-02-19T14:36:00.001-08:00

Many times I hear that people are struggling using SWR or that it just didn’t work for their student. Unfortunately, many times this occurs when the teacher does not have a clear picture of what SWR is all about. I am hoping I can help.

SWR, an immersion program, has three main components: Phonograms, Spelling Rules, and Spelling Lists. Mastery of the phonograms and rules comes as you work through the steps and the WISE Guide preliminaries and spelling lists. It is also important to realize that SWR requires the teacher to understand what the program is trying to accomplish and to be able to teach her child. It is not a program that you can pick up without study, check off boxes, and truly cover the essence of the program.

Preparation for reading can start long before your child is read to read. From infancy you can expose your child to the phonogram sounds whether through an audio recording or your speech. You can also help train his ear that words are made up of sounds by orally ungluing and gluing words. Motor skills can be trained by first working with large movements and then with the small muscles. It doesn’t have to include pencil and paper.

When your student becomes aware that language is an object that can be analyzed and manipulated in different ways, you know the foundation is being laid. Your child will start to recognize that words can be broken into syllables. He will then be able to hear separate sounds of a language, not just the words or the syllables. The goal is that he is able to hear, identify, and manipulate individual sounds in spoken words.

If your student has reached these milestones, you are ready to continue through the SWR steps. These skills are also important to cover with an older student as they might be the very steps that are holding him back. If your student is not ready to write, you can still progress with the material orally. Then you can go back over it using pencil and paper when more maturity is present.

For a more advanced student, you will want at this point to give him the Diagnostic Test found in Appendix B. Don't worry about where he will place. That will be done in Step 11. Just give the test.

Whether you have a non-beginner or a beginner (who you have determined is ready to begin), you now move into teaching how to read and write the first 26 phonograms (and the numbers). An older student is probably going to know how to write the alphabet so you just have to teach the sounds. There is a specific method for teaching the phonograms which is part of why SWR is so successful. You may find it easier working with a mentor to learn the multi-sensory method rather than trying to absorb it from the book.

Having learned the first 26 phonograms, your student is ready for the Learning Log (step 8) and the Vowel/Consonant Reference page (step 9). There are explicit instructions in the red book on how to teach the reference pages. The C/V chart actually accomplishes several things. It teaches 4 rules (#1-4) and introduces the student to the word dictation process and the marking system.

NOTE: There are two types of references pages taught in SWR – Teaching pages (completed all at once) and Collection pages (compiled as you go through the WISE Guide lists). The WISE Guide tells you when to introduce both types. You don't worry about adding to collection pages from the lists until that type of page has been introduced as instructed in the WISE Guide preliminaries. Once a page has been introduced, the WISE Guide will tell you to add certain words from a list to the collection page. (Example: The WISE Guide Preliminaries for Section E instruct us to Start the "SH/TI Page". Then in the body of Section F on the right-hand page (under shot) it says to add "shot" to the SH Page. You will see this all throughout the WISE Guide.)

The Consonant/Vowel Page is a teaching page. The next reference page, Multi-Letter Phonograms, is a collection page. A beginning student will fill it in as the multi-letter phonograms are taught throughout Sections A through I-1. (For a student starting farther into the WISE Guide, this page will be completed in Step 11 before you begin the WISE Guide.)

For a non-beginner, you will now use the test given in Step 4 to correctly place him in the WISE Guide. You want to find the first word missed and then place your student using the Evaluation Table. If you aren't sure which level is correct, ask someone.

After placement has been determined, you are ready to begin daily spelling in the WISE Guide (step 12) using the Learning Log. The red book is no longer your focus. All the lesson plans you need are right in the WISE Guide. You will use the red book for reference to complete the steps as they are assigned in the WISE Guide. One hint on the WISE Guide is that you want to read all the way across the two-page spread and not use it as two separate pages.

The Learning Log is an essential part of SWR. This is where your student is ungluing and gluing words and starting to absorb the spelling rules until both become a part of him. You will teach the rules through the reference pages, and then practice them through the word lists. The student isn't just learning an arbitrary rule but actually has words to apply it to and so it makes more sense. The more words he learns, the more the rules become second nature.

When looking at the top of the 2-page spread of the WISE Guide, the first part is the Preliminaries. These preliminaries can include phonograms to review, phonograms to teach, rules to review, reference pages to review, and reference pages to teach. You will review all the items listed and schedule the best time for covering them during the week. It is probably best to do any new teaching reference pages before dictating the list. (These are the ones you teach all at once.) Collection reference pages and other activities can be covered after dictation or as warm up later in the week. With practice you will recognize when activities will be the most beneficial during the lesson. The key is to not overload the student with too much preliminary work directly before dictating the word list. It is much more effective to dictate a word list when the student is fresh. One thing I do with younger students is to teach a new reference page one day and then dictate words the next.

Once you understand what and when preliminary information needs to be covered during the week, you can proceed to the word list. The dictation process used to teach the word lists is NOT dictation like we use with Charlotte Mason's methods. With SWR, you are teaching your student how to spell each word using a multi-sensory method. There is no guessing. I would highly recommend meeting with a veteran user to learn the word dictation process. It was very helpful for me to see the process modeled and to see how all the senses are used and the importance of each step. From what I have gathered so far, the word list dictation is one of the "DON'T CHANGE" things about SWR. So it is important to make sure you understand how it works.

On a following day(s) after the list dictation, you will want your student to complete one or two WISE Guide enrichments. These might include dictation exercises, prefix/suffix work, early grammar topics, etc. You pick which one(s) fit your student best.

After completing the preliminaries, dictating the word lists, and working on enrichments, you will want to test your child on the words. Your goal is not necessarily a perfect score, although that is great. Your goal is that your child is learning to manipulate words and to apply the spelling rules to them. The more word lists you go through, the more the phonograms and rules will become second-nature allowing your student to apply them to his reading and writing.

I highly recommend making your own teacher learning log to help you learn how SWR works. You do this by going through the WISE Guide preliminaries and lists and completing all the parts that your student will be doing. When I did mine, I covered the right-hand page until I had completed marking my words. Then I checked my syllable breaks and markings. This is a great way to obtain an overview of what SWR is trying to accomplish. You will have many lightbulb moments as you create the reference charts and mark the words in your learning log.

The best thing to do is to step away from the big picture and take it in bite-size pieces. I know how hard that is as I am a major big picture person, but it does work. Give yourself time to process it all. Feel free to ask for clarification on anything. It is a method worth learning.

Rosle Stainless Steel Onion and Vegetable Chopper

2011-02-03T10:24:00.001-08:00

I don’t know if anyone is like me and chopping vegetables and nuts is not his or her best skill. My old food chopper broke and I thought I would not miss it that much. Wow, was I wrong! So I have been on the hunt for one of high quality as I was tired of dealing with choppers that didn’t do a top notch job.

Then I spotted the Rosle Stainless Steel Onion and Vegetable Peeler from CSN. It looked like good quality from the picture and the reviews were decent. So I thought it was worth a try.

My order was placed on January 12, 2011, and I hoped this would be “the one”. Shipping occurred on January 17th, a little longer delay in order filling than I am used to but definitely not horrible. I received my order on January 21st. Now one neat thing about the CSN Stores is that many items ship for free. Unfortunately, this does not apply to Alaska, but those of you in the lower 48 can sure take advantage of it.

How did the packaging rate? The outer box was well taped and the item was surrounded by paper to provide plenty of protection in transit. There were no instructions included; however, the chopper is plenty easy to use.

My initial impression of the Rosle Chopper was that it is made of durable material and should live up to my expectations. The blade protector even has a little handle for easy removal and cleaning.

Upon testing, those expectations have definitely been met. The rotating blades made short work of everything I tested. Onions diced small in about 6 chops. Pickles, pecans, apples, and almonds all were a breeze to chop. The almonds didn’t chop evenly but that is pretty typical for them. Frozen fruit didn’t even pose a problem for the Rosle Chopper. It made it into nice even slivers. Now I thought dried apricots might cause issues, but it actually worked and I ended up with a nice pile of tiny, diced apricots. Clean up was a bit more of a pain after that since they were so sticky. But with everything else, clean up has been as simple as rinsing out the 3 pieces and letting them drain.

Operating the tools is also simple. The only thing to watch is that your chops are precise and you let the chopper return to the top before your next chop or the food will bind. The proper movement is quite natural making this a very minor issue.

So down to the big questions – Is the Rosle Stainless Steel Vegetable and Onion Chopper worth the price? I would have to say that if you cook or bake a lot and don’t like chopping by hand, it is definitely worth the price. That is saying a lot coming from me as I am pretty tight with my purchases. However, there are just times when I would rather have a high-quality, more expensive product than one that drives me to frustration every time I use it.

I am very pleased to finally have a good quality chopper in my cupboard. It makes it so much easier to make recipes such as granola, peanut butter/apple tortillas, and tuna salad.

Disclosure:A credit was received toward this product by CSN Stores. No further compensation was received. Reviews and opinions expressed in this blog are my own.

11th Grade Core Plans – 2011/2012

2011-02-02T18:41:00.003-08:00

VideoText Geometry
Write@Home Essay 1 / 2
EpiKardia Research Papers
EpiKardia British Literature
US History
DIVE Biology
Tell Me More Spanish
Learn and Master Piano

9th Grade Core Plans – 2011 / 2012

2011-02-02T18:41:00.001-08:00

VideoText Algebra
Put That In Writing: Mastering the Essay
BJU Fundamentals of Literature
EpiKardia World History 1
DIVE Physical Science
Visual Basic Programming
Abeka Health

2nd Grade Core Plans – 2011/2012

2011-02-02T18:40:00.001-08:00

MEP Math 2
Christian Light Language Arts 2
All About Spelling Level 3
McCall-Crabbs
Christian Liberty Press Bible
History reading
Science reading

Birds

2011-01-25T15:50:00.001-08:00

Birds are like bugs only beautiful. They eat worms and fly like bugs. They sing songs of joy. They eat bread too. I like birds. They are friendly too. The End

Regina / 1st Grade

CSN Stores

2011-01-11T16:24:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I've done a review so when asked by CSN if I was interested I thought I might take them up on it. I have heard their name a lot but have never really looked into their stores. One CSN store is TV Stands which offers items such as flat screen televisions, entertainment centers, and media storage units.

I look forward to looking through the other CSN stores and seeing what goodies I can find.

Math Mammoth Light Blue Grade 1

2010-12-01T14:04:00.001-08:00

This year I decided to use Math Mammoth Light Blue Grade 1 with my 1st grader. I have used other Math Mammoth products in the past and really liked them. It is turning out to be a very good fit. I wanted to ensure that my daughter was being taught to understand math in addition to being able to do the drills. But I also wanted a traditional scope and sequence. Math Mammoth does a great job of bridging the gap between traditional math programs and those that teach conceptual math (like Singapore or RightStart).

Here are a few of the reasons I am liking Math Mammoth this year.

It teaches the process involved in each concept working from concrete (pictorial/manipulatives) to abstract.
It focuses on addition and subtraction to 10 the first half of the year.
It uses fact families which is the method that makes the most sense to me. An example of a fact family: 3+5=8, 5+3=8, 8-3=5, 8-5=3.
It uses wording such as one ten, two tens, three tens, etc. and one-ten one, one-ten two, one-ten three, one-ten four when first teaching tens and the teen numbers. This is the same concept that RightStart Math uses and is a great bridge to ensure that students really understand what the numbers mean.
It teaches completing the ten within equations. Example: 8+5 = (8 + 2) +3.
It uses story problems.
It includes game suggestions to further cement the topics.

The second half of the year teaches addition and subtraction with tens, clocks with whole and half hours, shapes, measuring in inches and centimeters, graphs, and money. You can see the complete table of contents here.

Redecorating

2010-09-06T21:17:00.001-07:00

My hubby is amazing! And the finish detail is excellent!

Upstairs Bedroom #1 BEFORE

Upstairs Bedroom #1 AFTER

Downstairs Closet BEFORE

Downstairs Closet AFTER

Whom Should Our Children Marry?

2010-08-10T13:55:00.001-07:00

Our pastor has been preaching a series on the Sermon on the Mount. The overriding message has been that living the Christian life is not about behavior modification or fitting a code but about having a change of heart and being led by the Holy Spirit. This obviously affects all areas of our life but sometimes we forget that this includes what our desires for our children should be.

It is easy to have expectations for them that they will only date a certain type of person, attend certain schools, or follow a certain path. But which is the bigger priority – what WE want or what GOD wants? Does He want them to marry or to stay single? Does He want them to attend college or go a different direction? If college, which college? These questions cannot be answered with the checklists to which we can become so attached.

I had a lady once tell me that she would only allow her children to date someone who belonged to their denomination. But doesn’t this limit God? What about desiring a spouse-to-be who exhibits humility and has a heart that desires to serve God where ever He leads? You might find that spouse who lines up perfectly with the church’s creed, but what about the heart? If it’s all about rules and not relationship, you are setting your child up for a miserable life. And who knows, maybe God has a spouse picked for your child from a different church? How much better to desire what God wants instead of what meets OUR criteria of the perfect mate.

It is easier, on the surface, to be tied to creeds, checklists, and our ideals. But in reality there is no freedom in that. Until we let go and let God change our life from the inside and lead us moment by moment, we are missing out on His plan for us (and our children). So what kind of life do we desire for our children? One led by our expectations or one led by God’s eternal plan?

Kinderbach Sale – ONE DAY!

2010-06-25T08:42:00.001-07:00

SUMMER SURPRISE EXTENSION!

Didn't you hear!? This is a ONE DAY ONLY sale!
The LAST OPPORTUNITY for the 50% off sale!
50% OFF all KinderBach at Home products!
There will not be a better sale this year.
You will never see prices this low again!

Okay, the sale starts TODAY!
Friday, June 25, 2010 at 12:01 am CT.

HURRY because the sale finishes TONIGHT!
Saturday, June 25, 2010 at midnight CT.

That's right ONLY TODAY!
Use the coupon code:
KBjune2010

(You can use the link on the top of my blog.)

Brown Rice Blues

2010-06-24T20:47:00.001-07:00

So you hear a lot about brown rice being so much healthier than white rice. And I don’t dispute that. However, if you can’t cook a healthier food so it is palatable, what good is it? That was my dilemma with brown rice. My family didn’t like how it turned out and neither did I.

So I decided to investigate a better way. The first solution I came across was to sauté the uncooked rice with an egg until dry before cooking. This turned out well enough to try again. But I also wanted to keep looking to see if there was an easier way than having to include the egg.

One method said that to improve the brown rice texture you should presoak the rice for 7 hours in an acid base. Another method I came across was “Perfect Brown Rice” posted on the Saveur website. Since I didn’t have time to soak my rice for that evening’s meal, I went ahead and just used Saveur’s recipe. Based on what I had read on this blog, I cut the water down from 12 cups to 6 or 8 cups. (I figured I would go in between the two sets of instructions.) It turned out with a decent texture.

Tonight, since I actually planned ahead, I soaked 1 cup brown rice in 2-1/4 cups water and 2 tablespoons lemon juice for 7 hours. I then drained and cooked it using the Saveur method. I will have to experiment with the boiling time after soaking because I think the rice was a little bit soggier than my first attempt in which the rice was not soaked. But it still turned out very useable. Next time, in addition to experimenting with the boiling time, I want to use chicken stock instead of water.

I am encouraged that with these new soaking and cooking methods I can come up with brown rice that my family pronounces edible.

PS. I read somewhere that you should never use brown rice in stir fry. Well, I have made at least 3 batches with brown rice and they have all tasted just fine.

It’s been a Fun Week!

2010-06-19T09:56:00.001-07:00

This week has been interesting. I have felt really good and have gotten a bunch of things accomplished.

Cut up a bunch of celery and carrot sticks to keep in the fridge. It is so handy having them ready.
Washed 3 heads of lettuce and put the leaves between paper towels in plastic bags. I am hoping this will help them stay fresh long enough for me to use them. Plus I was left with a bag ready for salad or green smoothies.
Made a batch of bread which finally turned out good. The last couple batches had been too dry. I have no idea what I did differently.
Cut up and packaged a ham ready for the freezer. That should give us about 7 meals. I like to use it in scrambled eggs, omelets, and macaroni and cheese.
Thursday brought about my yogurt experiment. I used a whey-based drink mix in place of the milk and used an acidophilus capsule for the starter. That didn’t work at all. So I added 2 tablespoons of yogurt to the already hot “milk”. That didn’t set up but it will work in place of buttermilk. For the final batch I boiled new “milk” and added more yogurt and extra whey-based powder. It is currently in the fridge setting up. It looks pretty liquidy.
Made refried beans to put in the freezer. I put it in 1-1/2 cup servings and use it in chili. I like them on tortillas with cheese but no one else does.
Broke down a bunch of cardboard boxes.
Read 3 books. This was a surprise as I can hardly get through a book these days.

Chili

2010-06-18T08:47:00.001-07:00

I just wanted to pass on an easy chili recipe that has tasted really good the last few times.

1 pound ground beef, cooked
2 cans tomato soup
1-1/2 cups refried beans
Onion, chopped
Garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin, optional
Hotdogs, sliced and cut in quarters (I only like Sinai 48 or Hebrew National-type)

Heat thoroughly. Serve with cornbread and raw vegis or a salad.

(The cornbread baked in my new cast iron pan turned out awesome!)

Granola

2010-06-16T12:02:00.001-07:00

So I tried making granola again yesterday. It turned out really good. I used Alton Brown’s Granola recipe with some changes.

Omitted nuts
Added wheat germ
Used Mrs. Buttersworth’s instead of real maple syrup

I cooked it in the crockpot on low for 5 hours instead of baking it. And I left the crockpot lid open just a tad. I like small granules of granola so I stirred it every 1/2 hour.

Now all I need is a little plain yogurt so I can make my own batch of yogurt for the granola to go on.

The Importance of Understanding the Process

2010-06-09T09:26:00.000-07:00

We all want to live up to our potential, right? Without understanding the processes we undertake, we limit our potential. The rules are important but to truly apply the rules we need to understand the workings of that process. It is amazing to me how many areas of my life in which this principle is apparent. From my cooking to schooling to my Christian walk, all these areas shout to me the importance of true understanding.

Using is not always understanding. My mom has made sourdough pancakes since I can remember. And I have made them since I’ve been on my own. But that is all I ever did with my sourdough starter. And even there, all I knew was that I took the starter out of the fridge the night before, put milk and flour in it, and let it sit overnight. Then the next morning I was to take a portion of the starter out to put back in the fridge and continue on making the pancakes. I didn’t know that sourdough is actually alive and putting it in the fridge puts it into a dormant state. So taking it out of the fridge just wakes it up so I can use it. It is adding the flour and milk (or water) that feeds those little critters and makes the starter grow.

I wanted to try sourdough bread but was always afraid I would ruin my starter somehow. All because I did not understand how it worked. So I never ventured out past pancakes . . . until recently. I found a book that had a recipe for bread that started out the same as the pancakes. This led me to investigate sourdough further. Wow! Was I missing a lot. What is sourdough? How does it work? How do you know it is weak or strong? You get the picture. What does this understanding do for me? It makes it so I can experiment with replacing the leavening in my other recipes with sourdough. It makes it so I can experiment with different rates of feeding and different amounts of flour and water to see what keeps my starter the healthiest. It makes it so I can leave my starter on the counter and use it day to day for muffins, biscuits, bread or even pizza dough.

Does understanding the process negate the need for the recipes? Definitely not! But without the understanding of how sourdough worked, I was locked into a box fearing to venture out lest I ruin my starter which I received from my mother, who has had hers for over 40 years. Thus my potential of using this nutrient-rich food was greatly diminished without truly understanding the process.

But not only does the importance of understanding present itself in my kitchen. It shows up in my homeschooling as well. The first area it manifested itself was in math class. Using math in real life is more easily accomplished when you truly understand how the formulas work. You can go through your math classes clicking through the math facts and working all the right steps of the formulas. You can even get the right answers. But a student can do all those things and still be unable to explain the process. Understanding is crucial to being able to use math where it really matters – the real world. There is no way you are going to be able to take a real life situation and apply the correct formula to it if you do not understand what the formula is all about. So knowing your math facts and formulas is very important. But if you cannot identify which formula applies to which situation, the rote information is pretty useless in helping you find your solution. Thus both elements are important.

The attitude that all we need to know are the facts and formulas can permeate into our Christian life as well. We can have our checklists and formulas for being the perfect Christian that we are continually striving to meet. But is that what Christianity really is? Do we really live in the fullness God has for us if we are just walking a facts and figures path? Do we truly understand that God wants a relationship with us and that our righteousness is not won through any of our checklists being completed? Is it important that we follow the rules as a Christian? Yes, it is. James 2 clearly states that faith without works is dead. However, we follow the rules because of our love for God not because it earns us our salvation. And it isn’t even a following of the rules. As we live in relationship with Christ being led by the Holy Spirit, we automatically do the deeds that fulfill the Law because they are what please God.

So just knowing the rules or the formulas isn’t enough although they are important. Whether I am cooking, learning, or living my Christian life, only through true understanding of the process can I be free from a life of rigidity and become open to the possibility of venturing into heights and depths unknown.

Crew Days Are Over

2010-06-02T10:39:00.001-07:00

Well, my days on the TOS Homeschool Crew are officially over. Thank you to those of you who followed me on this journey. It was an interesting time for me and it may take a while to realize the lessons gained. It is a bittersweet parting. I do know that it will be good to get back to concentrating on other aspects of life. The Crew took a lot more time and energy than I anticipated. But I am also walking away from a journey that is continuing. And that is hard to do.

So where do I go from here? I’m not sure. I hope to continue to blog at least once a week although I am not sure on what subject matter. I did learn from being on the Crew that I only like to write on things about which I am passionate. So it might be a little bit about school products I am really liking, methods that are really working, or topics that I have been cogitating on for a while. We will just have to see what happens.

To those of you who will be disembarking at this point, thank you for reading. I wouldn’t mind hearing if anything I’ve posted has been helpful. For those of you who will continue on with me, hopefully something I post will be a blessing or at least helpful.

Need Encouragement in Teaching Writing?

2010-05-29T15:40:00.001-07:00

I have been so strengthened by all the Susan Wise Bauer seminar sessions to which I have listened. I always come away with a concrete plan and an assurance that I can prepare my children academically for their future. These sessions have been well worth the few dollars each one costs. I hope they might encourage you as well.

Writing Without Fear

A Plan for Teaching Writing: Focus on the Middle Grades

A Plan for Teaching Writing:Focus on the High School Years

What is Literary Analysis? When, Why, and How Should I Teach It?

Deceptive Simplicity

2010-05-26T10:27:00.001-07:00

It is surprising when an education method that seems so simple actually produces a broad foundation that allows a student to learn at a deeper level all through his life.

When I first read the suggested Language Arts Scope and Sequence at Ambleside Online, I was not convinced that it could really produce strong results. How can a child get ahead with only doing phonics, oral narration, and copywork until third grade? Yes, they add in written narration and beginning grammar in upper elementary. But to wait until junior high for formal grammar and high school for formal composition? Shouldn't a student be doing a lot of writing and have had several years of grammar instruction by then? That just doesn’t makes sense . . . or does it?

Looking back on the journey of my two older daughters (just finishing 7th and 9th grades), I see the beauty in AO's suggestions. It is much easier to tackle grammar in a short period of time after the student has entered the logic stage. He is then able to think abstractly instead of trying to analyze grammatical concepts with a concrete thought process in the early years. We’ve experienced that and I have no interest in beating my head against the wall for multiple years again.

Just because you don't teach "formal" grammar until junior high does not mean the student is not learning any. There are plenty of opportunities to teach proper sentence structure, capitalization, punctuation and more while you are working with written narrations. But it is all done in a concrete manner that your grammar student can understand. Then when the student reaches the logic stage of thinking, he is ready to analyze those concrete things he has previously learned. Just this time it is in the abstract way that formal grammar requires. No wonder grammar is such a struggle for some students. We are trying to teach them logic stage material when their brains are not ready for it.

Now about composition - you have been teaching it all along in the form of oral and written narration. I did not fully grasp the power of narration until I started using it in our homeschool. It seems so simple on the surface. "Tell me what we just read about." But have you ever stopped to think of the skills required to do that? You have to listen intently, recognize and remember the important details, and organize and put that information into your own words so you can tell it back. Sounds like a whole lot of skills necessary for composition.

When you look at what skills narration produces, it really is not so simple. It requires active mental participation on the part of the student. And that takes hard work and discipline. These character traits, along with the academic skills acquired, provide the student a strong foundation allowing him to go on to a deeper life of learning.

So it is not about giving your student piles and piles of writing assignments. And it is not about doing grammar lessons year after year. It is about the student being actively involved in the process of learning. And the best way to accomplish that is to teach your child the necessary concepts when his brain is most able to absorb the information. We have experienced that this “simple” method is very effective in building a strong foundation for deeper learning.

Lobster Network

2010-05-18T13:48:00.001-07:00

How many times have you lent an item to someone only to forget whom you gave it to? Or have you ever wished for a place to keep track of all your stuff? Well, there is now a free website that can help you with that.

Whether you want to track items, loan or borrow items, sell, buy, or trade items, LOBSTER NETWORK has many features to help you manage your personal inventory.

SITE FEATURES

Item Search: Browse all items by name, category, or location.

My Inventory: Add, edit or delete items. Items can be tagged as Lending (Communities only), For Sale, For Trade, Wanted, Free. Or you can just have them for your inventory list. There is an option to upload pictures and lots of choices for details.

Lend: You can enter the borrower's name and email address and the lend period to have an email reminder sent if the item is not returned on time.

Friends

Communities: This can be a great feature for a co-op or other small group that lends materials back and forth.

Message Center: Receive friend requests or communicate with other members.

Reports: Who do need to return items to? Who has items to return to you? Just run a report and you will be able to tell at a glance.

****************************************************

The best way to tell how Lobster Network works is to just sign up and give it a try. You can also read the other Crew reviews.

Disclosure:This product was provided to our family for free as members of the 2009-2010 Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew. No further compensation was received. Reviews and opinions expressed in this blog are my own.

Great Latin Adventure

2010-05-18T08:35:00.001-07:00

Why study Latin? Well, for us, it is because Latin is the foundation of so many other languages. It is because learning Latin roots can open up the world of English exponentially more than just studying a list of vocabulary words. So I wanted a program that taught Latin but also worked heavily with English vocabulary.

When I looked at the sample pages of Great Latin Adventure from Classical Legacy Press, I definitely wanted to see more. Because even though it is targeted for grades 4-6, I could see if being a fit for my 7th and 9th graders.

So I was very happy to be selected to receive this program to review as part of the TOS Homeschool Crew. I was generously sent both Levels 1 and 2 which each include a Teacher Manual, Student Manual, and Pronunciation CD. The levels come shrink-wrapped, 3-hole punched, and binder ready. They even include front, back and spine inserts, a feature which I thought was really neat.

There is plenty of introductory material which helps you get a good feel for the program before you try plan your first week. One important point to know about Great Latin Adventure is that it is NOT a self-teaching course although I am sure there is a way you could tweak it to be one for an older student. Teacher interaction is planned into the text. However, the teacher material is laid out very clearly and answers to all student material is provided.

For those of you who have been around Latin programs more than I have, here is what GLA is NOT:

Not an immersion program
Not an inductive program
Not steeped in educational novelty
Not a Roman culture or history program

Classical pronunciation is used instead of ecclesiastical although it can be used no matter which is your preference. Suggestions for how to do this are given in the introductory material.

Using Great Latin Adventure will take some of your time. In addition to teaching the lessons, you will need to set aside time to read and understand the 28 pages of introductory material including the Master Chapter Plan.This probably took me about a day as I like to take notes while reading to help things become clearer. This is a one-time process unless, of course, you need a refresher from time to time.

Then each week you will need to take some time to prepare for the next lesson. You will want to read the teaching notes, study the grammar lesson, review the worksheets, learn the vocabulary, and be ready to teach lesson.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

CHAPTER LAYOUT – Teacher

Teaching Notes
Vocabulary List
Grammar Lesson
Study Sheet Key
Derivative Worksheet Key
Translation Worksheet 1 Key
Translation Worksheet 2 Key
Pre-Quiz
Pre-Quiz Key
Quiz
Quiz Key
Latin to English Glossary Chapters 1-12 (Level 1)
English to Latin Glossary Chapters 1-12 (Level 1)
Latin to English Glossary Chapters 1-25 (Level 2)
English to Latin Glossary Chapters 1-25 (Level 2)

CHAPTER LAYOUT – Student

Vocabulary List
Grammar Lesson
Study Sheet
Derivative Worksheet
Translation Worksheet 1
Translation Worksheet 2

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

SUGGESTED CHAPTER SCHEDULE for Elementary Student

Day 1
Review quiz from previous week
Introduce new vocabulary, Begin Grammar lesson
Homework: Begin derivative worksheet

Day 2
Continue grammar lesson
Begin study sheet
Homework: Finish derivative worksheet

Day 3
Complete grammar lesson and study sheet
Do sample of translation worksheet
Homework: Begin first translation sheet (TW1)

Day 4
Homework: Continue TW1

Day 5
Go over answers for completed portions of TW1
Homework: Finish TW1

Day 6
Finish going over TW1 answers
Homework: Study for vocabulary pre-quiz; Begin TW2

Day 7
Give vocabulary pre-quiz; Review portion of TW2 completed
Homework: Complete TW2

Day 8
Go over remainder of TW2; Review for chapter quiz
Homework: Study for chapter quiz

Day 9
Give chapter quiz. Begin vocabulary cards for next chapter.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

MY SCHEDULE for a 7th and 9th grader

Day 1 (My time: Apx 45 minutes)
Previous chapter quiz review
New vocabulary
Grammar lesson
Study Sheet
Homework: Derivative worksheet

Day 2 (My time: 0 minutes)
Homework: Translation worksheet 1 (TW1)

Day 3 (My time: 10 minutes)
Go over TW1 answers
Homework: Translation worksheet 2 (TW2); Study for vocab pre-quiz

Day 4 (My time: 10 minutes)
Go over TW2 answers
Give vocabulary pre-quiz
Homework: Study for chapter quiz

Day 5 (My time: 0 minutes)
Chapter quiz

If the Great Latin Adventure sounds like something that fits what you want in a Latin program, check it out further on the Classical Legacy Press website. Also take a look at their Logic Curriculum.

You can also read what other Crew family’s experienced with Great Latin Adventure.

Peterson Directed Handwriting

2010-05-18T08:13:00.001-07:00

THE SHORT VERSION

Peterson Directed Handwriting’s teaching method makes a lot of sense to me, and I am currently using it to teach cursive to my kindergarten daughter. There are many teacher helps on their website and they are always willing to meet and help you through bumps in the road.

I did find that the material itself could be laid out better in order to make use of the material.

More time will need to pass before I will know if this method produces good results but what I have seen so far is promising.

THE LONG VERSION

Handwriting is an important subject in our house. To me it is more than just learning how to make the shapes of the letters. It is an integral part of the whole foundation of communication. It is not just about the letters looking nice on the page. Good penmanship is the beginning step of strong composition.

Thus I was very interested in trying Peterson Directed Handwriting. I had watched a video on their website several months ago about only using finger tracing and it made a lot of sense. Their method of locking the movements into muscle memory then moving toward actually writing on paper intrigued me.

During my online meeting with Rand Nelson, VP of Marketing for Peterson Directed Handwriting, we determined that the best level to try with my 6-year old daughter would be Cursive 2. She had previously learned both printing and cursive, but her foundation was not very solid.

Thus began our journey with Peterson Directed Handwriting. The road has been a bit rocky; however, it is starting to smooth out. But not without a lot of brain work on my part.

I do much better when material is organized with a clear, logical progression. Unfortunately, my Cursive 2 E-book was not such a book. I had already watched the tutorial videos on the website so I knew there were crucial parts of the program that were not being presented on the pages. I was expecting an overview of the method and then a clear progression of movements and letters that I was supposed to teach. Instead there was no overview and the worksheets started at the 3rd step in the process, finger tracing. And, even then, it taught a stroke with one wording then changed the wording of the stroke on the next exercise. It does not make sense to me to change the wording if you are trying to lock a sequence of words that when verbalized will drive the writing.

So I did what so many homeschoolers do when material doesn’t fit their needs. I tweaked it. I took the 4 major components of the Peterson Method, used the stroke wording from our current handwriting program, and started teaching my kindergartener. For each letter, we are working on large muscle memory, finger tracing, writing without lines, then writing with lines – all the while making sure the voice is driving the pencil. When we write without lines on the white board, I have her close her eyes and do it. This helps me gauge if the muscle memory is strong before moving onto using the finer muscles. Even with the few letters we have done, I am seeing the importance of each step, especially the large muscle memory. The first couple letters my daughter worked on, we did much work with each step. She is very confident when writing them. The next letters we rushed through the first steps and prematurely moved to pencil and paper. She was not near as solid with those letters. We went back and worked more on the large muscle memory and she is now more confident with the newer letters as well.

THE BOTTOM LINE

I feel that Peterson Directed Handwriting’s method of teaching has much merit and is worth investigating. The part lacking is the organization and clarity of the material which, unfortunately, for me is a huge block. The company is very willing to meet with customers to help them through any frustrations or struggles. So it isn’t about a lack of customer service. I just don’t have time to set up a personal online session, scour a website reading online instructions, or to watch training videos. I need everything to all be clearly spelled out in the material so when I am preparing for class at 9 o’clock at night I can easily see what direction I am going and what I need to teach.

Great method – Material needs a little work.

You can read here what other Crew members experienced with Peterson’s Directed Handwriting.

LightSpeed Chemistry AP Test Prep

2010-05-13T08:18:00.001-07:00

In the world of college preparation, you will most likely hear about Advanced Placement classes and tests. I won’t take the time to tell you what AP is all about, but you can visit the College Board website for more information.

Cerebellem Corporation has just released a new series of four AP Exam Prep DVDs. We were sent the Chemistry DVD to review. Also available are U.S.Government and Politics, History of the U.S., and English Language and Composition. Each DVD is regularly $14.98 but make sure to check their website for sales.

Included with the DVD is a Digital Workbook with handouts, quizzes, and activities to reinforce the topic before and after the video. It seems that for this product to be useful, the digital workbook MUST be utilized. The DVD itself contains 3 sections. It first gives an overview of the AP test along with some test taking tips such as how long to take on each problem in the sections. It then talks about the free response question sections of the test providing students with key pointers on how to get the most points possible. The third part of the DVD presents 30 chemistry topics in 30 minutes. Topics include but are not limited to Atomic Theory & Structure, Chemical Bonding, Nuclear Chemistry, Gases, Stoichiometry, Equilibrium & Kinetics, and Thermodynamics.

Even though the DVD is very fast paced, the speakers all present their material clearly. Words are printed on the screen as well as being spoken to help those who learn better visually. However, because of the speed in which the material is presented, the key to it being a helpful study tool will be in using the digital workbook. Unless you are incredibly talented, it would be extremely hard to absorb enough information from just the DVD to be helpful. And the DVD is definitely not a replacement for taking an AP class. You can see a sample of the DVD here.

My nephew, who just took the AP Chemistry test, said he felt this DVD missed some important topics in the 30 topics in 30 minutes. But he confirmed that the test setup was portrayed accurately and that the tips could be helpful. His AP class had already done a lot of study sessions so he did not really know if the DVD was a helpful tool or not.

Cerebellem Corporation also has instructional videos in many other subjects. So be sure to check out their website. Also make sure to read the other Crew reviews on the AP Exam Prep DVDs.

Homeschool Expo Vendor Hall

2010-05-12T08:32:00.000-07:00

If you're researching or buying homeschool curriculum, you have to check out the Vendor Hall at the Schoolhouse Expo! It's open to everyone. Browse through companies such as Rainbow Resource, WriteShop, Apologia, Latin Road/Phonics Road, Multiplication Shake, Go Phonics, and MANY MORE!

Latin Road/Phonics Road has freebies in their booth. Rainbow Resource has a free shipping offer. Spears Art Studio has a free CD. Real Science by Gravitas has a 25% discount coupon.

There is just so much to see. Stop by and meet the virtual hostess from each company, browse their selection, and look for "conference specials".

http://www.schoolhouseexpo.com/?page_id=180

Andrea Carter and the Trouble with Treasure

2010-05-12T07:19:00.001-07:00

Andrea Carter and the Trouble with Treasure, the latest book released in the Circle C Adventures authored by Susan K. Marlow, follows the adventures of a group of California teens in early summer 1881. What started out as a two week trip to a logging camp turns into quite an adventure as the teens cross paths with outlaws. You can read an excerpt of this book here.

My 13-year old daughter liked the book. She thought the plot was interesting and kept her attention. She would have liked the story to be longer, but since it is written for 8 to 12 year olds the shorter length is understandable.

My 14-year old daughter thought the book leaned on the side of being too modern for the year 1881. But, even so, it is still quite realistic. She liked it very much and wants to read the rest of the series. She said that even though this book is written for younger children, it has a good plot that is intense enough to keep an older reader’s interest.

There are 4 other books in this series available from the publisher at a cost of $7.99 each. It appears that a sixth book is set to be released in possibly Fall 2010.

You can read here what other Crew members thought of their book from Kregel Publications.

Ideal Curriculum

2010-05-11T07:23:00.001-07:00

I was sent an e-product of Ideal Curriculum Level 1, Month 1 to review. Included were teacher’s manuals for literary lessons, math lessons, calendar lessons, and science lessons. Also included were print files, music files, and reading files.

LITERARY AND MATH LESSONS

The literary and math/calendar lessons are set up the same. The directions are straight-forward.

Each activity includes:

Why This Lesson is Important
Preparation
Direct Teaching Lesson
Practice Throughout the Day
Student Workbook (when applicable)
Weekly Assessment

SCIENCE

The science lessons are listed by day instead of by activity. Each day includes Preparation, Dialogical Reading, and an Activity. Each day also has a special emphasis such as the following. The non-obvious activities are explained in the teacher’s manual.

Experimentation
Shared Writing
Art Activity
Dramatic Play
Story Sequencing
Matching

OUR HOUSE

Already having a strong math and language arts program in place, those portions of the Ideal Curriculum did not appeal to me. This was especially true because it presents a different teaching philosophy than I have found is best for our family.

I see Ideal Curriculum being a good fit for someone who wants something simple that is all laid out for them. Unlike many boxed programs, the Ideal Curriculum covers a reasonable amount of material allowing the teacher and student not to be overwhelmed by everything that has to accomplish. It could be a good starting place for beginning homeschoolers. However, the price is quite high for material at this level, especially if you purchase the print option.

Monthly kit price: Download $30, Print $55. As you will see each month has its own theme.

One year (9 months) price: Download $240, Print $440

You can read other Crew families’ experiences here.

Easter

2010-05-08T08:42:00.000-07:00

Beeyoutiful Tension Tamer

2010-05-04T11:14:00.001-07:00

As someone who prefers to treat her family with natural remedies whenever possible, I am always on the lookout for new products that work well. So when I received the Tension Tamer from Beeyoutiful I was very curious what we would experience.

The first thing we noticed was that it has a very strong smell. Fortunately, it is one that we really like. It seems to be mainly the wintergreen essential oil that we smell but the peppermint might be blending in with it as well. Whatever the scent, it sure does open the nostrils. I’m sure the eucalyptus essential oil plays a part in the smell but it isn’t distinguishable.

The second thing that we noticed was that a little goes a long way. The bottle seems small but it takes very little to have an effect. If you use too much, your skin gets really warm.

Sometimes it can be very difficult to know if a product is really working or if is just a coincidence. And that is kind of where I am with the Tension Tamer. We have been using it for about a month now and it seems to make a difference. I tend to get a very tight neck and shoulders which at times threatens to turn into a headache. It seems that the Tension Tamer has helped relax me some. We have also used it on sore muscles with success. Fortunately, we have not had the opportunity to try it on clogged sinuses although I am guessing that it would at least be a help based on the effect just the smell has.

So Tension Tamer is not a product I am discounting. We will continue to use it and see if we can confirm our preliminary findings.

Beeyoutiful carries an array of different products. You can read here what other Crew members experienced with them.

Disclosure:This product was provided to our family for free as members of the 2009-2010 Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew. No further compensation was received. Reviews and opinions expressed in this blog are my own.

01/25/2011 Update - The Beeyoutiful Tension Tamer is a product I continue to carry in my purse. If I feel my neck tightening up I apply a little of the oil to my neck and shoulder and the discomfort quickly subsides.

Super Star Speech

2010-04-28T19:15:00.001-07:00

One of the hard things that parents go through is suspecting their child is not developing normally. One area this can occur in is speech. Licensed speech language pathologist Deborah Lott knows that parents need tools to first determine if there is a problem and second to help their child.

Super Star Speech was developed to give parents such tools. Three different books are available depending on your needs. They are Super Star Speech, Super Star R & L, and Super Star S, Z, and Sh. You can also buy them all together in a package.

Also available on the website are Super Star Games. These education enrichment games come in e-book format for a cost of $3.50 each.

Thankfully we did not have a need for the speech therapy material. The only game that fit our age range was All About Animals. This is a bingo type game where the child can match the picture of an animal to its description and its category. The pages print up nicely on card stock and work well for laminating.

You can visit the Super Star Speech website for more information. Also please read the Crew reviews.

Sue Gregg Cookbooks

2010-04-26T11:01:00.001-07:00

Did you know that you should presoak AND boil you dry beans before cooking with them to decrease lectin concentration? (This is especially true of kidney beans.) Or did you know that presoaking, fermentation, or sprouting of whole grains is important to unbind valuable nutrients in digestion? Sue Gregg explains how to modify your recipes to include this Two-Step Process. These are just two examples of the nutrition and cooking tidbits presented throughout Sue’s material. It is important to use healthier foods, but how you prepare them makes a difference as well. All of Sue’s books I have seen include tips to help you get the most nutrition from the foods you cook.

The Sue Gregg products specific to this review are Lunches and Snacks With Cookbook for Children (on CD), Introducing Whole Foods Cooking (on CD), and Meals in Minutes. I will attempt to give you an overview of these books which will hopefully help you determine if they might be a helpful addition to your kitchen.

Lunches and Snacks

Planning for Lunches includes: Breaking the Sandwich Syndrome, Sample lunch menus, Sample snack menus

Planning for Teaching includes 5 Keys to Success with Children and What Children Can Learn (at various ages)

Children’s Cookbook includes ABC’s of Food Preparation, Kitchen Safety and Food Storage, Nutrition Quizzes after recipes, and Menu Planning Guidelines

Also included in this cookbook are sections for:

Beverages
Breads
Crackers, Dips & Snacks
Salads
Sandwiches & Spreads
Soups
Desserts

The CD has step-by-step instructions with pictures for 60+ recipes and processes such as kitchen safety, washing the dishes, and setting the table.

Introducing Whole Grains CD-ROM

Includes a Personal Guide with 12 weeks worth of Lesson Plans

Includes a Leader’s Guide for 6 lessons

Includes a semester-long class called Whole Foods Menu Planning and Meal Preparation
-Suggested prerequisite: Baking with Whole Grains (Semester)

Meals in Minutes (from Freezer to Table)

Meals in Minutes starts off with a Basic Stock List. It then continues on with instructions on how to freeze main dishes including how and when to add seasonings, how to prepare different types of ingredients, and methods of freezing. It also shows thawing and reheating methods. Extra timesaving tips are also included.

Sometimes when changing cooking styles, all the different ingredients can be a little overwhelming. Meals in Minutes includes a Shopping Guide to Quality Ingredients to help you navigate those waters. There is even a section that teaches you how to cook chicken or turkey.

Then comes the Meals in sets of 5.

5 Timesaver Meals
5 Convenience Meals
5 Quick Meals
5 Make-Ahead Meals
5 Ready-to-Serve Meals

Each of these sets of 5 has the following:

Menu List
Shopping List
Assembly Schedule: Day Before, Cooking Day, Complete Recipes

The remainder of this cook book includes various other helps:

Nutritional Goals section
Suggestions for Fighting the Battle of the Bulge
Nutrient Data Explained
A Caution About Microwave Ovens
Vegetarian Alternatives
List of Other Freezer Recipes (from other SueGregg Cookbooks)

FINAL WORD

Our family hasn’t been too fond of the recipes we tried, but there were two recipe that were hits. The Best Burrito Beans (Meals in Minutes) tasted good before freezing and were very good when thawed. My Own Whole Grain Bread Dough Recipe (Lunches & Snacks with Cookbook for Children) is my newfound bread recipe. It uses the two-step process mentioned earlier. The texture is solid but soft (even on the third day). And the crust is soft even using my old metal pans. So even though most recipe flavors didn’t meet with the approval of our family’s taste buds, the method of presoaking grains, beans, and rice is one that I am adopting. And I am definitely sold on the two-step process for baking.

You can read more about Sue Gregg’s methods and cookbooks on their website. You can read other Crew reviews here.

Lesson Planet

2010-04-26T09:03:00.001-07:00

Why do we need Lesson Planet when there are many free websites that provide lesson plans and worksheets? Lesson Planet’s material is all reviewed, summarized, and rated by credentialed K-12 teachers specially trained in reviewing. The ratings are determined by a rubric. Lesson Planet is also member-supported and does not contain advertising.

Lesson plans can be found by subject, calendar, theme, or through lesson planning articles written by the Subject Guide Teachers. The calendar option, where you can find lessons that relate to a particular date, is neat. There are also worksheets available which can be searched for by subject or theme. A keyword search is available for lesson plans and worksheets where you can filter by grade level and/or by rating. The advanced keyword search allows you to narrow your criteria further by the following:

Subject
Class design: Individual, Small Group, Whole Class
Technology Used
Lessons Include: Assignment, Bibliography, Form, Quiz, Resource Links, Rubric, Vocabulary, WebQuest, Worksheet
Lesson Duration
Lesson Creation Year

I thought the advanced search exclusion choices were neat.

Exclude lessons that require web access
Exclude all Subscription Sites
Exclude sites with advertising
Exclude lessons that are not printer friendly

As you look through the website, you have the option of saving results. These results are then accessible from your account. You are also able to see your search history.

A subscription to Lesson Planet is $39.95/year which is not bad considering you have access to over 150,000 teacher reviewed lesson plans and 75,000 worksheets. They also offer a 10-day free trial.

THE FINAL WORD

My teaching style is not one of putting together lesson plans from different sources to make a smooth flowing course. So even though Lesson Planet has their material arranged very nicely, it does not fit my needs. Now if you like to use a large variety of sources for your teaching or if you like to do supplemental lessons for special days, then Lesson Planet could be a gold mine. It is very nice that the material has been reviewed and rated so you can have some idea of its value without having to look over it completely yourself.

You can read what other Crew families discovered about Lesson Planet here.

Time4Learning - PreK

2010-04-14T18:11:00.001-07:00

My review for today is Time4Learning’s Pre-K program. I am going to say right up front that I have a very difficult time reviewing computer-based material. Unless I actually log in and work through many of the exercises myself I do not have a good grasp on what the program truly is like. So I am going to give you an overview of the structure. But as far as the value of the content I am not able to comment a whole lot. Our learning environment is very writing-focused and not object-focused. So programs such as Time4Learning are more for fun than educational benefit in our home. With T4L’s fun interface there is definitely appeal and fun involved.
Time4Learning Pre-K is broken into 2 sections. Each section has different categories which provide activities for the student to complete.
Time4Learning Pre-K Level 1 includes these categories.

School Supplies
Alphabet
Colors
Shapes
Rhyme Time
Numbers
Weather
On the Farm
Food
At the Zoo
Feelings
Vehicles
Tools
On the Playground
Sports
The Human Body
Space
Fruit
The Human Face
Garden

Pre-K Level 2 includes these categories.

At the Library
Insects
Color Mixing
Seasons
Playing Outside
More Letters
Healthy Habits
Your Self
More Numbers
Out to Sea
More Rhymes
Staying Fit
Manners
Pets
Days of the Week
Time
Making Music
Measuring
Nature
Money
In Your Neighborhood

Both levels include the same types of activities which are listed below. The Pre-K Scope and Sequence explains what each activity does.

Story Book
Showtime
Patterns
Memory
Paint It
Find It
Which
Recall
Syllable Drum
Idea Book
Match It
Puzzles
Stories You Write
Ordering
BrainyBots

There is also a Playground available with categories such as Actions Games, Kids Places (PBS games), Puzzlers, Activities, Educational Games, and Two Player Games. The parent can set the maximum amount of time that can be spent at the playground. I thought that the minimum lesson time had to be met before being allowed into the Playground but that hasn’t been our experience.
T4L offers programs from Pre-K to 8th grade. Lesson plans are included on the site to help you get the most out of your student’s studies. You can also have a child working in different levels based on his ability. The website indicates that T4L tracks progress and helps students advance along individualized learning paths. I am unclear how this works as I did not find that portion evident in the Pre-K levels.
You can view a demonstration of their program if this sounds like something that might be of value to your family. Subscriptions are billed monthly. I thought the price was a bit high for Pre-K material. But then paying for academics at the Pre-K level doesn’t make a lot of sense to me so that would cloud my view. But for a family who wants more of a structured Pre-K, T4L may be a good option. I would consider the price reasonable for higher levels if the content is what fits your needs. T4L does offer a 14-day 100% Satisfaction Guarantee.
You can read here what other Crew families though.
Disclosure:This product was provided to our family for free as members of the 2009-2010 Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew. No further compensation was received. Reviews and opinions expressed in this blog are my own.

Carnival of Homeschooling

2010-04-13T07:17:00.000-07:00

I participated in a Carnival of Homeschooling this week. You can find my entries as well as many other homeschooling topics at Our Curious Home.

Who Am I? – All About Reading Book 2

2010-04-12T20:58:00.001-07:00

All About Learning, producer of All About Spelling, is getting ready to introduce the second reader in their All About Reading series. It is called Who Am I? The stories are about 10 pages long with much more reading on each page than in All About Reading Book 1 which I reviewed here. Who Am I? follows the same sequence as All About Spelling Level 2.

There is definitely a variety of stories in this book. The story about the snakes getting loose in the pet shop was kind of creepy, but I bet a boy would love it. Then there are stories about robots, skunks, horses, and more. There is even a chapter with poems.

I found the words to be on a good level but some such as “emit” and “silt pond” were unfamiliar in use to my kindergartner. But it makes a great opportunity for a vocabulary lesson even at this early age.

This book is a perfect fit for my 6-year old daughter who is reading at about a 2nd grade level. And she likes the stories.

You can read here what other Crew members experienced and be watching for the unveiling of this new reader.

Disclosure:This product was provided to our family for free as members of the 2009-2010 Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew. No further compensation was received. Reviews and opinions expressed in this blog are my own.

The Terrestria Chronicles

2010-04-09T20:59:00.001-07:00

Keeping our children supplied with good books can be quite a challenge when they love to read. So we are always looking for new authors who interest them.

The Terrestria Chronicles written by Ed Dunlop and published by Cross and Crown Publishing is one such series we reviewed. Targeted for ages 10 and up, the start of this allegorical series has proven to be interesting reading for my 13 and 14-year old daughters. Portrayed in a medieval-like setting, The Sword, The Ring, and The Parchment (Book 1) and The Quest for Seven Castles (Book 2) provided much enjoyment as well as food for thought as Josiah, the main character, is freed from sin and made a prince by King Emmanuel. He goes through his new life and must make decisions for good or evil at every turn. Amid the knights, ladies and castles, there are representations of the armor of God, the Bible, prayer and the other Biblical disciplines throughout the series. Each castle in the kingdom represents different virtues, such as Temperance and Knowledge. Characters with names like Encouragement and his twin Discouragement, as well as Doubting and his brother the Giant of Fear are prevalent throughout the books. The stewards of the castles have names like Sir Faithful and Sir Honorable. In these books, Josiah learns important lessons like the dangers of the “Little Sins” of Envy, Greed, Discontentment, etc. as well as the need of prayer and faith. Although an allegory of the Christian life, these books have a different feel than stories such as Pilgrim’s Progress.

There are 7 books in The Terrestria Chronicles which can be purchased individually for $7.99 or as a set for $39.99. You can also order this set of 7 in hardback for $73.99. If you want to use this series for deeper study you can purchase Visits to Terrestria, A Study Guide for Parents, Teachers and Students. (There is a free answer key online.) If you find that you like this series, Ed has written another series called Tales from Terrestria.

My girls definitely liked the first 2 books in the series and would like to read more. Read here to see what other Crew families thought.

If you want to get a taste of Ed Dunlap’s writing, you can download his free Jed Cartwright Adventure Series.

Family Mint

2010-03-31T16:50:00.001-07:00

One skill that we want to ensure our children possess as they become adults is good money management. Family Mint is one way that we can do that. It is a money management program for kids where the parents are the banker.

Each child has his own account which can be accessed anywhere there in an Internet connection. He can enter transactions such as deposits and withdrawals. He can also set and track financial goals. Parents can motivate their children through paying interest and matching fund contributions. They can even automate allowance. The parent also has the ability to approve or disapprove transactions. This feature can be disabled, if desired.

The website is straight-forward. In the parent interface you have access to all your children’s accounts. For the child interface you can choose between Junior and Advanced depending on the skill level of your child.

What I have described above is for the Free Edition. A Pro Edition is in the works which will include more features but will be charged a fee.

The thing I like about Family Mint is that each child has access to his account. He can learn to manage his money, but the parent still has oversight of the transactions. You can read here what other Crew Members experienced.

Math Galaxy

2010-03-29T21:36:00.001-07:00

Galaxy of Education is a company that sells a variety of math games. Their Math Galaxy series goes all the way from addition to algebra. One of the first things I noticed about the Math Galaxy Fun programs is that there is always a visual as well as abstract element included. After a problem is answered, the problem is visually worked out, including the combining or borrowing tens, hundreds, etc.

A further strong point to me is that in the Addition Tables and Addition on Number Line screens, numbers are grouped to ten first then added further from there. Example: 6+8 = 6+4+4 = 14.

A third feature that grabbed my attention is that in the subtraction module, the corresponding addition equation is shown after the answer has been entered. Also, in the division module, the corresponding multiplication equation is shown.

These programs provide two different modes to work in. In the Step-by-Step Mode, the player is prompted through each step of the problem. This can be very helpful for someone just learning how to do a particular math process. The Total Answer Only Mode just prompts for the answer. Both modes visually work out the problem.

Math Galaxy is available for Whole Numbers, Fractions, Decimals, Word Problems, Pre-Algebra, and Algebra. They are $29.95 each.

There are also games included with the tutorial programs. All the games have a choice of different operations and subtopics.

In Word Jumbles, you match math problem answers to letters to spell the word. 1, 2 or 3-player options are available. “Money” is earned for each letter/word guessed. It is a bit cumbersome to use as several mouse clicks are required for each move.

Riddles is the same as Word Jumbles except you are solving a riddle.

With Bridge the Swamp, you work your way across the swamp by matching numbers to reach totals. However, the instructions are a little unclear and I haven’t totally figured out how to play it yet. You can compete one player against the computer or use two-player mode.

In Labyrinth, you use robots you have earned while working through other math problems.

Math Riddler Worksheet Generators

Math Riddler Worksheet Generator programs are also available from Galaxy of Learning. With these you also have the choice of different operations including Whole Numbers, Fractions, Decimals, Proportions, Percents, and Algebra. They are $29.95 each.

Riddle Mode provides a printable worksheet with a riddle for the student to solve through answering the math problems. Worksheet Mode provides a randomly generated worksheet with straight math problems. You can print these worksheets with either answers or no answers.

SUMMARY

These games don’t flow like top of the line programming; however, the information provided and the skills practiced make it worth using.

The Math Galaxy games are too hard for my Kindergartner and will be a better fit once she learns higher addition and subtraction. My 9th grade daughter really likes the Algebra labyrinth game and finds herself spending much longer on it than she usually spends on online math games.

You can see more detail on these products at the Galaxy of Education website. Also, please read the reviews of my other Crew Mates.

UPDATE 4/2/2010

I mentioned in my review that Math Galaxy was too hard for my kindergartner. What I didn’t consider was having her use the manipulatives from her math program. So today I had her try the Whole Numbers Fun 1-digit addition. She worked the problem using her cuisennaire rods and then entered the answer. Math Galaxy then confirmed with its visual display what she had found with her rods. So she got the visual reinforcement from two ends. It worked great!

Seasons of Faith Series

2010-03-24T08:55:00.001-07:00

“To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.”

The Seasons of Faith illustrated book series from Children’s Bible Hour was written to help children through the different seasons of life. Each story also lays out the plan of salvation.

Spring is a time when people experience new life in Christ. Faith develops and Christians begin to share the Salvation message with others.

Summer is the season when faith grows under God’s love and care. Fruit is witnessed and triumphs are gained through applying His Word and striving to be the best we can be in Christ.

Autumn can be times of struggle and temptation, peer pressure, making mistakes, and scary transitions. Even though it might seem like nothing good can come from this time, God has promised us He will be there. He will teach us how to forgive and then grow in grace.

Winter is the most difficult. Deep struggles, mourning, trying to make it through difficult times, or the death of a loved one can pull us away from God. He teaches us to lean on Him for comfort and peace.

The stories, adapted from radio scripts of the Children’s Bible Hour, encourage children in their faith. These soft cover books are nicely done and have many illustrations. The included audio CDs provide page prompts so it is easy for your non-readers to follow through pictures while listening to the stories read by “Uncle Charlie”. The CDs brought back memories of hearing “Uncle Charlie” on the radio when I was young. There are currently four books in the series. You can find discussion questions on the CBH website if you want to discuss the stories further with your child but don’t know where to start.

Race with Midnight (Spring) is about a girl who wants to share her faith in God with her family but doesn’t know how she will do that. She prays for the opportunity to do so, and God opens the door for her to share what He has done in her life.

You Can’t Come In (Summer) provides a word picture of how sin keeps us out of heaven and clearly shows our need for salvation through faith in Christ.

Seventy Times Seven (Fall) is about our need to forgive so that we can be forgiven.

Braving the Storm (Winter) is about a boy whose family is going through a really rough time. He doesn’t understand why God would allow it to happen. Watching the trees during an ice storm helps him to understand that he needs to grow his roots of faith deep so that he can survive any storm of life that comes.

My 14-year old, 13-year old, and 6-year old daughters all really enjoyed these books. Seventy Times Seven is the favorite for my 14-year old. You Can’t Come In is the favorite for my 13-year old. Race With Midnight is my 6-year old’s favorite. My favorite is Braving the Storm although I like the others too. So as you can see the series appealed differently to each of us.

Each book in this series costs $10 which includes a 10”x5.5” book and an audio CD. You can read here what other families had to say.

History Odyssey Middle Ages Level 2 and 3

2010-03-22T10:16:00.001-07:00

History Odyssey from Pandia Press is a literature-based study guide combining history, geography, and writing. It includes intensive writing opportunities but is not a writing course. This review will be for Middle Ages Levels 2 and 3. To give you an idea of what types of subject areas your student would be learning in both levels, here is a list of what sections are to be included in his binder.

Summaries
Men & Women
Wars & Conflicts
Religion & Mythology
Arts, Inventions, & Architecture
Maps & Worksheets
Timeline

LEVEL 2 OVERVIEW

The main tools used for learning in History Odyssey Level 2 are outlining, summaries, timelines, mapwork (outline maps included), and research. Literature reading is also included followed by some type of writing assignment or worksheet. Several biography reports as well as compare/contrast assignments are completed during the year. (Instructions for writing a biography are included in the appendix.) One fun project completed during the year is that the students make a Shakespeare book including pages they have colored (from A Shakespeare Coloring Book) and their rewritten versions of Shakespeare’s works. Another project that is completed during the year is the construction of a castle. Worksheets are use sparingly but effectively throughout the program. Many times in Level 2, the main outline points are given which help students learn to find the main and then subpoints of a passage. You can also adapt how detailed an outline or summary you require based upon your student’s skill level. A timeline analysis is completed at the end of the guide. The final writing project is the most complex writing assignment and consists of a multi-paragraph, persuasive paper.

One of the scheduled books, Viking World, has gone out of print so optional internet links are included for the assignments.

You can learn more about History Odyssey Level 2 by looking at the Table of Contents, Book list, and Level 2 Sample.

LEVEL 3 OVERVIEW

The main tools for learning in History Odyssey Middle Ages Level 3 are outlining, people research (Who’s Who Gallery), mapwork, timelines, literature analysis, essays, and research projects. As in level 2, worksheets are judiciously used. Research projects may be about a specific history topic, art, culture, travels, or other areas. Examples of other projects include making an informative brochure and preparing a 3-day lesson plan for teaching culture. The lesson plan must include Performance objectives, Materials list, Procedures, Discussion questions, and Evaluation.

One lesson does not necessarily equal one day of work. There are some really involved projects in this level.

Included in the appendix are instructions on how to write a thesis statement, an essay grading rubric, and blank maps.

You can learn more about History Odyssey Middle Ages Level 3 by looking at the Course Outline, Book list, and Level 3 sample.

COMPARISON OF LEVEL 2 AND LEVEL 3

On the surface History Odyssey Levels 2 and 3 look very similar. However, level 2 is like the tip of the iceberg to level 3. While level 2 uses outlines, summaries, and biography reports, Level 3 builds on those skills requiring the student to dig deeper. The Level 3 outlines require much more detail and the research assignments are more involved. Instead of an emphasis on biography reports, Level 3 assigns several essays. The books used in level 2 are easier reading while the books in level 3 are more original works. Level 3 also requires deeper literature analysis. Both levels make judicious use of worksheets to solidify the topics being taught.

You can expect to spend 2 hours three to four times per week to complete this program in a year.

PROS

Literature-based but not a lot of resource investment
Minimal teacher preparation
Clear instruction written directly to student
Blank outline maps included
Clean layout and presentation
Meaty

CONS

Might be more writing intensive than some want
Levels 2 and 3 do not correspond

FINAL WORD

I think that History Odyssey is very well done. Its clean layout and rich content make it a great choice especially for those who want a literature-based program but need the ease of self-directed material. You can purchase an e-book edition for $33.99 directly from the Pandia Press website. A print copy can be purchase from various vendors and has a suggested retail price of $38.00. It is non-consumable.

Pandia Press also carries a product called R.E.A.L.Science Odyssey.

You can read here what other Crew members discovered with their Pandia Press products.

2010 - 2011 Core Plan for 1st Grade

2010-03-20T17:31:00.000-07:00

Math Mamoth / Miquon Math
Spell to Write and Read
Queen Language Lessons for the Very Young 1
Happy Scribe
Science Videos - Watch, Narrate, Draw, Write
Bible and Missionary Stories - Read, Narrate, Write
KinderBach

2010 - 2011 Core Plan for 8th Grade

2010-03-20T17:28:00.000-07:00

BJU Cultural Geography

BJU Earth and Space Science

Analytical Grammar

Christian Light Reading 8

Jump In Writing

BJU Pre-Algebra

Guitar

2010 - 2011 Core Plan for 10th Grade

2010-03-20T17:27:00.000-07:00

Tapestry of Grace
History
Church History

DIVE Physical Science

One Year Adventure Novel

Excellence in Literature American Survey

VideoText Geometry

Personal Finance

Abeka Health

Homeschool in the Woods Olde World Style Maps

2010-03-18T19:09:00.001-07:00

I received the download version of the Maps Combo Pack from Homeschool in the Woods (a $28.95 value). This pack includes a World and US Map set.

WORLD MAPS (Download $18.95)

The World maps are divided into two categories: Ancients (Early) and Modern. There are 14 different ancient maps and 28 different modern maps. Each of these are divided into Labeled and Unlabeled. The Ancient China maps are divided into the different dynasties. There are also maps of Paul’s Missionary Journeys. We are currently studying the Middle Ages and Renaissance which had the least number of maps available in this bundle. But there appears to be several which would complement studies of both ancient and modern history.

The download also included 26 different notebooking pages including pages for specific types of reports. Most pages are available with your choice of dashed or ruled lines. Flags of each nation and a mini-graphic for each country are included as well.

You can see a sample of the World Maps here.

US MAPS (Download $18.95)

This set includes labeled, unlabeled, and outline maps of all 50 states. It also includes maps for different periods in American history. State Fact Pages (with and without answers) and all the state flags are an added bonus. The maps would be helpful to both younger and older students, but I see this resource being the most helpful when I study American history with my elementary age students.

Here is a sample of the US Maps.

FINAL THOUGHTS

These maps have character which make studies more interesting. I was not able to utilize them as much as I would like yet as the time period we are studying (Middle Ages/Renaissance) is not well represented. I like that the maps come labeled and unlabeled so you do not have to use another source to complete them unless desired. These maps will definitely be a resource I will use.

You can read here what other Crew Mates’ thought.

Artistic Pursuits

2010-03-15T08:34:00.001-07:00

We were recently asked to review Artistic Pursuits, Senior High Book One, The Elements of Art of Composition by Brenda Ellis featuring European Art. Artistic Pursuits is an art curriculum that incorporates Elements of Art, Composition of Art, Art Appreciation, and Art History.

ABOUT ARTISTIC PURSUITS Grades 4-12 Books

First semester (8 units of book) teaches Elements of Art
Last semester (8 units of book) teaches Composition of Art
Art appreciation and history are covered in each unit
One to two mediums are introduced in each book
Book 1 (2 semesters) teaches drawing skills.
Book 2 (2 semesters) teaches color and painting media.
A different period of art history is covered in each level
The material is written directly to the student
No previous art experience is necessary for teacher or student
Each unit contains 4 lessons: Building a Visual Vocabulary, Art Appreciation and History, Techniques, and Application
Art supply packages are available on the website.

There are 16 units per book which you and your student can schedule as desired. If you do 2 lessons per week, it will take 32 weeks to complete a book. Each page is estimated to take 1 hour to complete.

NOTE: The K-3rd grade level is set up differently.

I was impressed with this quality product. I can’t wait until we can devote more time to these lessons this summer. But to give you a brief glimpse:

Pages are printed on bright white, heavy paper
Clear direction is given
Pages are in color
Lesson are reinforced through observing historical art
Art history and appreciation is included

You can read here what other Crew members have to say about Artistic Pursuits.

Graphics-Toolbox

2010-03-08T09:51:00.001-08:00

I found Graphics-Toolbox a really hard product to review. I have not used another graphics program so I have nothing to compare it to. Nor do I have a need for one. Add to that the fact that this product is not novice intuitive and you have a lose-lose situation.

However, there are several tutorials on the website that my 14-year old daughter has been watching and making great progress with. Each video is broken into chapters so it is easy to just watch a little at a time. But it takes training and practice to be able to use this program efficiently.

It appears to be a program that works well for creating projects where you assimilate existing pictures into your own cards, posters, invitations, etc. You do have to plan ahead though so your project flows smoothly. These aren’t the only kinds of projects you can do, but it is neat how you can manipulate existing photographs to blend into the overall project. You can find project ideas and sample projects on their website. You can also read about the features included in Graphic-Toolbox. If you have hands on or visual learners, this product can provide an avenue to reinforce all sorts of subjects. If you blog, do desktop publishing, or have any other need for art work, GT could be worth checking out as well.

A 30-day free trial download is available if Graphics-Toolbox sounds like it might fit your needs. A single license costs $149, and multiple license discounts are available. Make sure to check the system requirements before downloading this product. It does not work with Vista 64-bit. I tested it on a computer running Windows XP Professional and one running Vista 32-bit with no problems.

So this novice review probably doesn’t give you a very clear picture into the program. However, several other Crew members also reviewed it who are more experienced than I am and may add more insight.

Disclosure:This product was provided to our family for free as members of the 2009-2010 Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew. No further compensation was received. Reviews and opinions expressed in this blog are my own.

Homeschool Library Builder

2010-03-04T13:26:00.001-08:00

When you use a curriculum that does a bulk of its learning through literature, sometimes the cost of obtaining those books can be a little overwhelming. Homeschool Library Builder is here to help families obtain good books at an affordable price.

You can search for book by category, reading level, country, or even curriculum such as Ambleside, Beautiful Feet, Sonlight, Tapestry of Grace, and others. If you do not find a book you are needing, they will search for it.

MEMBERSHIP
Membership is free and includes earning book points for each purchase and being eligible for their Share the Savings program. You will also receive updates on news, sales events, and specials.

NOT JUST BOOKS
In addition to providing gently used books for affordable prices, Homeschool Library Builder provides other resources for homeschoolers.

Spotlight on the Season provides project or book suggestions for upcoming seasons.

HSLB Market Place provides links to products which benefit the homeschooling community. Check out this page and see if there are any businesses you can support. You can even submit your own products to be represented.

This review is a little different than my others as it is more information than opinion.

I know firsthand the need for affordable books to add value to my homeschooling. Having a place like Homeschool Library Builder can be a big help. But the best way for a site like this to work is if many people make it the first place they check when they need to purchase a book. So go ahead and bookmark Homeschool Library Builder and help them help us provide good books for our students.

Math Mammoth Golden Series Algebra 1

2010-02-21T13:50:00.001-08:00

I have to tell you up front that this review is going to particularly biased. I have been using Math Mammoth products for several years and really like them. The customer services has also always been fast and beyond satisfactory. I appreciate the author's dedication to ensuring that students truly understand the math concepts not just know how to complete the formulas. I also really like that word problems are heavily utilized.

I have experience with the Golden series, Blue series, and have just recently started the First Grade Light Blue Series. For this review I am using the Golden Series Algebra 1 worksheets. Math Mammoth's worksheet visual presentation is very crisp, something that I appreciate very much. Here is a sample of what I mean. Math Mammoth is very generous with their samples which you can see more of on their website.

I use the Math Mammoth Golden Series when I have a student who needs extra practice in a topic or as summer review. They work well in these situations as no instruction should be needed by the student.

As with the whole Golden series, the Algebra 1 series has one topic per worksheet making it easy to pick the ones your student needs. Series A has 74 worksheets while Series B has 63 worksheets. The entire series costs $19 which is indicative of Math Mammoth's inexpensive pricing for all their products.

Visit here to read what other products the Homeschool Crew reviewed. Math Mamoth Golden series is a great way to give your students the extra practice they need and I highly recommend it.

2010-02-16T14:02:00.000-08:00

Gina's KinderBach Make your own Song activity.

The notes you see are Carla (C), Dodi (D), and Edward (E). The patterns are Stepping Up (C,D,E), Stay on Step (E), Stay on Step (D), Stay on Step (C), Stepping Down (E,D,C), Stay on Step (C).

You can click on the picture to get a closer look.

TOS Homeschool Crew Third Voyage

2010-02-16T09:27:00.000-08:00

Some of you have been following the homeschool reviews that I have been doing this past school year. Here's your chance to become a part of The TOS Homeschool Crew.

Visit HERE if you are interested in applying for their third season.

Eclectic Education Series

2010-02-08T13:00:00.001-08:00

For some parents, educating their children with material used by their great grandparents is very desirable. Some feel that there was a higher standard of education and want their children to experience that as well. Thus you have products such as the Eclectic Education Series from Dollar Homeschool.

The biggest factor you are paying for with the Eclectic Education Series from Dollar Homeschool is convenience. Many of the titles provided in this K-12 education are available in public domain. However, the creator of this product has taken the time to bring the titles into one place. Some of the Ray's Arithmetic books had the answers written right next to the question in the text. Dollar Homeschool has removed these answer so that the student can work the problems without seeing the answer. The original book with the answers is then provided as a teacher's edition. He has also written answers to the Ray's Arithmetic books that were lacking them.

A FEW DOWNSIDES
One downside of using these materials is that there is no central source for support except from other users. This can be very frustrating if you are not understanding a portion of the material and no one responds to your questions.

The type of scanning that was used makes the text more readable but makes poorer graphics. So for the books where the graphics are an important part of the lesson, this can be a definite minus.

Because these books all come on CD, you must be prepared to either use them on screen (which I really dislike doing) or to print on your own. If you do not have a laser printer this option is usually cost prohibitive.

The old time print and presentation might be a downside for some.

One thing I found strange was the choice of where to put certain files. There is a reading course on the history CD. And there is a bookkeeping course on the science CD.

OVERVIEW
You can view an overview video here. The complete set costs $159. You can also purchase each subject separately. The website does state they have a 30-day money back guarantee.

Here is a quick look at what the Eclectic Education Series includes.

Ray's Arithmetic

"The Ray's math series begins at a preliterate level with counting; then takes the child through addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and so upward until calculus, teaching concepts with thorough explanations followed by ample problem sets. The Ray's series provides a very full-bodied course of mathematics." Also included on the CD are some of White's Arithmetic books.

McGuffey Readers

The McGuffey Primer through Sixth Reader are the main texts on this CD. Also included are the second to sixth alternate readers and the high school reader. A couple of fun readers on the CD are Familiar Animals and Their Wild Kindred - Natural History Third Reader and Living Creatures of Water, Land and Air - Natural History Fourth Reader. You will also get the Eclectic Speaker for high school, Eclectic Speller, Eclectic Juvenile Speaker for grades 1 to 8, and a Word List which has all the words used in Primer and Readers. A bonus reader is the Hermans Young Ladies' Reader.

Grammar
"The EES Grammar CD includes three different series on the skill of writing and language. Longs Language covers the first four grades, and deals with basic writing skills. Then Pinneos Grammar steps in, with a more technical look at the subject, and a gradual progression of difficulty. When finished with Pinneos Grammar, the student will be more than prepared for writing, but in case more study or a reference is desired, Harvey's Grammar is also included."

History

There are several history related books on this CD and a Guide to Health. It also includes 5 levels of reading instruction books. However, I did not find much instruction on using these reading books.

Science

Nature Study, General Science, Health, Botany, Chemistry, Natural Philosophy, Physics, Astronomy, Logic and more are included on this CD.

MY OPINION
Before I give you my opinion of this set, I want to give you a brief glimpse into my educational style. I prefer teaching my children with real life literature (living books). I like how the old time language arts books present grammar and composition in a gentle way in the younger years. I definitely like how they taught math in the olden days. I like material presented with understanding and not just drill and kill. I feel that a student will retain material much better if he has a connection to it. So now that you know that, I will give you my opinion on the CDs in the Eclectic Education Series.

RAY'S ARITHMETIC ($59): A must read on this CD before starting Ray's Arithmetic is the Arithmetic portion of the Manual of Methods. If I had neglected reading this book I would have completely missed that the first year of instruction is to all be done orally and the first book in the series (Primary Arithmetic) actually begins the second year of study. With my new found understanding of the oral first year, I realized Ray's aligns very nicely with the foundation I want to lay for my children. I have since printed the material I need and put it in a binder. I am very excited about using it for our beginning math program! I did, however, find the levels above year 6 harder to follow. I can see it worth buying the Ray's CD as it is very nice to have the answers removed so that the books may be used directly by the student. However, the lack of support may be an issue for some.

GRAMMAR ($39): This CD would probably have value if you desire to use the materials provided on it. Their use seems pretty straight-forward. However, there are plenty of inexpensive curriculums available today that teach similarly. So it is really a matter of what you choose to use.

MCGUFFEY ($39): If I was going to use the McGuffey Readers I would buy an actual set of the books instead of trying to print them out from a CD, especially when the quality of the graphics is poor. This CD includes the additional McGuffey Readers but I would not want to use another reader for my students' extra practice. I find that real books are much better for that.

HISTORY ($39): Even though this CD has some very interesting titles, including Oliver Cromwell's Letters and Speeches and a study of the constitution, I would most likely choose a CD that contained a collection of living books that covered more history and more age levels.

SCIENCE ($39): The material on this CD might make for interesting study. But my feeling is that the lack of teacher help would be a huge downside.

SUMMARY
The Eclectic Education Series is just a collection of textbooks that were used in yesteryear. There is minimal direction on how to use the material except what is supplied in the Manual of Methods and other books written for teachers of that time. There is no subject support except from other users or experts that you may know. And even for someone who is a bit familiar with using this type of material, I found myself not quite sure how I would create a complete K-12 education with the material provided.

Make sure to read what other Crew Members found as they may have had a different experience.

Disclosure:This product was provided to our family for free as members of the 2009-2010 Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew. No further compensation was received. Reviews and opinions expressed in this blog are my own.

MathTutorDVD - Basic Math Word Problem Tutor

2010-02-04T11:19:00.001-08:00

The Basic Math Word Problem Tutor DVD course is very basic. It is an 8-hour course that comes on two discs and is broken into 15 sections. You can see a list of those sections at the link above.

The instructor begins the segments by giving the students some key terms to help recognize what type of operation should be used to solve the word problem. Then he works through several examples to help the student become comfortable with the process. He also explains how to do the operation in case a student is shaky on those concepts. I was surprised, however, to see the instructor showing how to add 7+5 by starting at 7 and counting up 5.

I do not have any students who are at a level to benefit from this course so I watched pieces of it on my own. If you have a student that does not learn concepts easily and needs a lot of repetition, this may be a good supplement for you. If you have a child that learns quickly, I would not recommend this product.

You can purchase this 8-hour, 2-disc video course for $26.99. MathTutorDVD also produces many other math help courses. They do offer a 30-day money back satisfaction guarantee.

Please read here to see if other Crew members found this course helpful or not.

All About Reading Beehive Reader 1

2010-01-30T11:52:00.001-08:00

If you have ever taught your child to read, you probably have discovered that there are very few good books available to those just beginning their reading journey. This is especially true if you want actual stories for your child to read.

All About Learning Press has stepped up to fill that void. The beautifully illustrated, hardback Beehive Reader 1 contains 10 stories covering 155 pages that will bring your beginning student much satisfaction in reading.

The old saying that a picture speaks a thousand words is true in this case. So instead of trying to describe the quality that has gone into this book, I am going to give you a glimpse from a few of the stories and illustrations.

If this looks like something that would fit into your reading program or just be good reading material for your children, visit the All About Learning website. The Beehive Reader 1 can be purchased for $19.95.

You can also read what other Crew families experienced.

The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling

2010-01-29T20:47:00.001-08:00

Considering homeschooling?

Beginning homeschooler?

Veteran homeschooler?

What do we all have in common?

The need for direction, information, and encouragement.

No matter where we are in this journey of homeschooling, from time to time we need a reality check. We need to take a step back and evaluate where we are and where we are headed. The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling by Debra Bell helps us do just that from a practical and Christian perspective.

From helping us make sure we know our family vision to sorting through all aspects of homeschooling, this book, published by Apologia Press, fills in the cracks that we have been dodging. The information presented is relevant for those considering homeschooling all the way to the veteran homeschooler.

Take a look at what all you get

Part One - Homeschooling: Is it for You?

There are trade offs no matter what form of education you choose for your children. This section does a really good job of presenting the good, the bad, and the ugly of homeschooling. It also allows you to take a clear look if your family has the ingredients to homeschool successfully.

Part Two - Choosing a Curriculum

Providing a quick overview, this section gives some things to consider before choosing curriculum. More research and reading will be required to further understand the topics covered.

Part Three - Organization and Planning

Examples and resources make up with section all meant for helping you keep your homeschool on track.

Part Four - Preventing Burnout

Helping homeschooling parents get and stay out of the slumps that seem inevitable is what this section is about. If you implement some of the suggestions beforehand, you can save yourself a lot of headache throughout your homeschooling journey.

One of the chapters in this part is about sharing the load and includes important advice on operating a co-op.

Part Five - What to Teach - When and How

This section gives suggestions for what to make sure and cover for each core subject. It also gives the author's suggestions for particular material.

Part Six - Homeschooling Teens

Opening this section is a discussion about areas that might determine if you will or will not homeschool through high school. It then continues with helping you plan a course of study, navigating college admissions, and even doing college at home.

Part Seven - Computers in the Homeschool

We are living in a technological age and to not make sure our students have a strong foundation in this area is like not giving them the tools they need for the future. Mrs. Bell talks about necessary hardware and software and tips for navigating the worldwide web.

Part Eight - Creative Solutions

Homeschooling can present different types of challenges and in this section, Mrs. Bell gives suggestions for teaching with toddlers underfoot, transitioning from school to home, and motivating the reluctant learner.

Part Nine - Measuring Your Success

One thing that many homeschool moms deal with is wondering if she is doing enough for her students. Are they learning what they need to? Am I preparing them adequately for their future? This section addresses some ways to combat these feelings and to provide the assessments that you need.

Part Ten - Homeschool Resource Guide

Wrapping up this information-packed book is a definite time-saver section. It includes contact information for homeschooling organizations in various states for those needing to connect with others. Recommended suppliers and products are given to provide a starting point for your journey of choosing the right material for your students. Academic and athletic contests and competitions available to homeschoolers are provided so that your students can have an outlet for their giftings.

In each section you will find additional reading and research sources.

Homeschooling is hard work and Mrs. Bell pulls no punches in laying out the true picture. But she also gives you advice on how to chart the waters once you make the commitment to educate your children at home. Definitely a book you want to pull out each year and reread.

Visit here to see what other Crew members felt about this book. And you can visit the Apologia website where you can buy The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling for $20.

KinderBach

2010-01-29T18:40:00.001-08:00

My 6 year old daughter and I have been having fun watching the online music lessons from KinderBach. These non-traditional piano lessons are very engaging yet teach musical concepts to young children in a way that is useful. I surely didn't learn piano theory in quite this fun of fashion.

Music and piano concepts are taught from the concrete to the abstract starting with names and characters for different parts of the piano and music. Once the student has had plenty of time to learn a concept, the actual musical terminology is used.

Each week of lessons includes an intro that tells what supplies you need that week. Following that are 4 short lessons which a 6 or 7 year old can easily do in one sitting. Younger children would probably do better with one lesson at a time.

It is important to have access to a piano where you can view the DVD or online lessons.

Activity Books utilizing coloring, cutting and pasting are made to be used alongside the video lessons. They are in PDF format and are available for all levels. Some children may do fine without the activity pages but my daughter sure likes them and was upset when I only printed a portion of them. I think the program would not be as multi-faceted without them.

There are several items that complement the video lesson storyline. Coloring books are available to buy. Crafts and Game books are being written for each level. And Song books and audio CDs are also available.

We just finished Level 2 and my daughter has learned 3 notes on the piano, 3 music patterns, and 2 types of beats. And it has all been done in a very non-technical manner. The lessons are a bit difficult to watch online as it is not full screen. But it did work better when I hooked our laptop to our TV.

You can purchase the the levels in DVD format or you can subscribe to the Online Learning Center which has all 6 levels (240 sessions). An annual payment for the online subscription is $95.88 ($7.99/month) or you can pay $19.99/monthly for a year. As both the DVDs and online subscription are a bit of an investment, you can try the two week free trial to see if this fits your child. KinderBach also offers a 30-day money back guarantee.

DVD Activity Packages are $40.45 for each level and include DVD lessons, the PDF Activity Book and an Audio CD. There are also Value packages available if you want to purchase multiple levels.

So if your little one wants to learn the piano, the KinderBach lessons might be just what you need to get him started on the journey before you start investing time and money into a piano teacher.

Read here for other Crew Member reviews. I liked the program enough that I purchased the 6-level DVD package during their Christmas sale.

Christian Keyboarding

2010-01-27T15:51:00.001-08:00

Christian Keyboarding for the Christian School by Leanne Beitel is a straight-forward typing program created for Christian schools. It can easily be used by individual students as well.

The lessons first cover the basic keys. Then the program moves on to teaching basic word processing skills along with MLA and ALA report formatting, personal and business letters and tables. There are 43 lessons in all.

It does not have all the bells and whistles that other typing programs have but it also includes word processing skills. With this program, the student can get down to business, learn the material well, and move onto other things possessing a skill that will last him a lifetime.

The e-book we reviewed is for 6th grade and up which can be purchased for $15.95. Also available is an elementary program as well as other topic-specific instruction and package deals.

Please visit the Christian Boarding website to see samples and other products available. And you can read what other Crew families experienced with this product. My 13 year old daughter is finding it be very straight-forward and easy to use.

2010-01-20T10:42:00.001-08:00

We were extremely blessed shortly after Christmas when someone gave us this furniture set.

The Young Brahms / Franz Schubert and His Merry Friends

2010-01-06T15:08:00.001-08:00

The Great Musicians Series from Zeezok Publishing is a neat way to learn about composers of the past. We were privileged to review the following set.

The Young Brahms / Franz Schubert and His Merry Friends

1)The Young Brahms by Sybil Deucher

2)The Young Brahms Study Guide by Judy Wilcox

3)Franz Schubert and his Merry Friends by Opal Wheeler and Sybil Deucher

4)Franz Schubert and his Merry Friends Study Guide by Judy Wilcox

5)Companion CD
    Audio files of all the music
    Nice coloring pages for each chapter
    Fun sheets
    Printable sheet music of all the music

These books are designed for Kindergarten to sixth grade but still can be valuable for higher grades. The study guides include Comprehension Questions, Character Qualities, and Tidbits of Interest. I think the optimal age for the study guide would be upper elementary although there is plenty of material that could be adapted for both younger and older students.

OUR EXPERIENCE
We have not learned as much about musicians as I would like so reviewing this set from Zeezok Publishing was a neat opportunity. At first I thought the books might be too young for my 7th and 9th graders, but even I am enjoying reading the stories. The questions and information presented in the study guides help make the stories even more meaningful. You can listen to the songs from the Companion CD while you are reading the story to get the full effect of the composer's life. Or If you have a pianist in the house, he can play the songs from the book. (However, it would probably be easier to print the sheet music from the CD.) Your younger students may also enjoy coloring the neat pictures while listening to you read.

Even though our family does not really fit in the target range for this series, I would still purchase more of the books as they really are a fun way to learn.

PURCHASING
You can purchase The Young Brahms set for $35.80. Zeezok Publishing has a variety of products in addition to their Musicians Series.

MathScore

2010-01-06T14:45:00.001-08:00

MathScore was developed by MIT graduates to help raise math scores through adaptive math practice. Their goal was to combine critical thinking and basic computations skills.

STUDENT MENU

Topics: Although MathScore was not created to be a full math curriculum, there are mini-lessons included for each topic. Also included are sample problems and multiple level online worksheets with instant grading. The topics range from addition to algebra 1. A list of sample topics can be found on the right hand side of the home page.

Statistics: The student can view his Activity Summary. He can also see how he is progressing through the topics for his grade level.

Awards: Awards are given as different groups of topics are mastered. There appears to be no purpose to the awards other than they show up on your award page. But even so I found myself pushed to work through the topics required to get each award. Crazy sounding but true.

Assessment: This optional test takes you through the primary skills required for algebra readiness. At the end, it lists the topics the student is proficient in, the topics that need to be studied immediately, and the topics that need to be studied this year. This test does not flow well between topics and you have to click "continue assessment" after every two or three problems.

Student Guide: This guide gives the student information to help him navigate the website better.

Demos: Video demonstrations on how each part of MathScore works.

PARENT MENU

View Assessments
Student Activity Summary
Log in Summary
Billing
Topics:Browse, View sample problems, View math tips
High scores
Demos

WEEKLY ACTIVITY SUMMARY BY EMAIL

Topics covered
Rating for topics
Points earned
Overall accuracy
Number of worksheets completed
Time at computer
Time spent on relevant work
Good worksheet time
Low quality worksheet time

COST

1st student $14.95 per month
2nd student $5.00 per month
Each additional student $3.95 per month

A two-week free trial is also available.

SUMMARY

Originally I was not impressed with this program. I like the overall concept and I like that it moves from the concrete to the abstract. But It has a clunky feel to it that is hard to get past. However, the problems presented really do strain your brain and are worth pushing past the lack of smooth presentation. The worksheets also reinforce mental math techniques that are beneficial in all areas of math. If your child is needing a challenge or just extra practice, MathScore will definitely provide it.

You can read here what other Crew families experienced.

Worship Guitar Class

2010-01-05T20:16:00.001-08:00

Learning to play an instrument can be a lifelong blessing. This is especially true of something like piano or guitar which can be used in so many settings. Teenagers and adults alike can do just that with the Worship Guitar Class series. They also have a Worship Guitar Class for Kids made for ages 5 to 9 which starts with one finger chord songs.

I was blessed to be able to review Level One of the Worship Guitar Class. I received an instructional DVD and book with the lesson instructions and songs. Here's a look at what is included on the DVD.

* Introduction

* Parts of the guitar

* Tuning the guitar

* Lessons 1-7

1: How to hold guitar, A, E7, Song

2: D Chord, Thumb strum, Song

3: G Chord, Song

4: Up/Down Strum, Song

5: C, D suspended, E minor, A minor, Song

6: A7, Thumb Pluck strum pattern, Song

7: D9/F#, New strum pattern, Song

*Practice segments for each lesson

DETAILS
Each of the 4 volumes of the Worship Guitar Class costs $29.95 and includes a DVD and Instruction Booklet. A One Year 100% Money-Back Guarantee is offered. I just saw an advertisement in my area for guitar lessons listed at $25 per half hour. This one volume definitely includes more material than would be covered in one lesson.

There are also programs available for improving your vocal quality, playing the piano, drums, and other instruments.

MY EXPERIENCE
When I first glanced at the program, I was disappointed that there were only 7 lessons, and I didn't hold much hope that it was going to be worth the cost. But once I started watching the lessons, it was clear that there is plenty of material to learn and practice. There are even practice sessions included on the DVD to help you with your practice. The instruction on the DVD is clear. And with a song to play after each lesson, there is motivation to perfect the new chords and strum patterns. I think level one is a good introduction to playing the guitar. You can then proceed through the other 3 levels if and when you are ready to advance your skills.

You can read here what other Crew members thought of the Worship Guitar Class.

Young Minds - Numbers and Counting

2009-12-29T21:35:00.001-08:00

The Young Minds series from Math Tutor DVD was created to introduce young children to the joys of learning math at an early age.

Young Minds - Numbers and Counting is over a half hour long and uses beautiful real life pictures and classical music to teach children to count from 1 to 10. It also teaches such things as animal names and sounds, fruit and vegetable names and colors, and machinery names and sounds. In the background is music by Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Vivaldi, Brahms, Pachelbel, and Chopin. This integrated learning approach is to keep children interested and promote continued learning.

Extra Features include Puzzles (using real photographs), Connect the Dots, and Guess the Animal.

It can be purchased from the Math Tutor DVD website for $19.99. They do offer a 30-day money back guarantee.

OUR EXPERIENCE

This video is very engaging, well done, and a pleasure to watch. It does teach numbers by counting each item in a group individually. So for those of us who teach our children to recognize numbers in a group by sight instead of by counting, it will be better utilized once our little ones reach the counting stage. I am very impressed with the professional presentation and would feel comfortable in recommending its quality to anyone.

I will also be doing a review on one of Math Tutor DVD's numerous other math products.

You can read here what other Crew Members thought.

ACT Advantage - EXPLORE / PLAN

2009-12-28T17:43:00.001-08:00

If you are looking for tools to help you determine your student's college readiness, ACT Advantage might be of interest. This review is for two of their products: EXPLORE and PLAN. I previously wrote a review of their college and career planner DISCOVER. ACT Advantage also provides ACT Test Preparation materials.

EXPLORE

The ACT EXPLORE Test is given to 8th grade students to assess their skills and knowledge and to prepare them for the ACT test. Students are tested in the core subjects of English, mathematics, reading, and science.

The EXPLORE packet from ACT Advantage ($22.95) includes a sample test booklet, an explanation of the test results, and a booklet showing college readiness standards as well as ideas for progress for different test score ranges.

PLAN

The ACT PLAN Test is given to 10th grade students to provide a midpoint review of their college and career readiness while there is still time to make adjustments. Students are tested in the same core subjects as the EXPLORE test.

The PLAN packet from ACT Advantage ($22.95) includes a sample test booklet, an explanation of the test results, and a booklet showing college readiness standards as well as ideas for progress for different test score ranges.

OUR EXPERIENCE

These sample tests are similar in layout to other national standardized tests we have taken. I found the tests to be quite easy. I ended up having my 7th grader take the EXPLORE test designed for 8th graders. And I had my 9th grader take the PLAN test designed for 10th graders. Even with those changes, they did extremely well.

Once you have scored the tests, you can check the included charts to see how your student compares to the national norms for his/her grade. As usual, these percentiles did not give me an accurate picture of how my students are doing. I do not like to measure them against their peers but rather against their potential. What was beneficial, however, was to use the College Readiness Standards booklet to see in what areas my students need to improve based on their actual scores. Specific activity suggestions are given for each subject.

Even though I found the tests quite easy, the ACT Advantage sample tests can be an inexpensive way to determine your students' strengths and weaknesses.

You can read here what other Crew Member's found with the ACT Advantage Products.

2009-12-26T14:22:00.000-08:00

2009-12-24T23:24:00.000-08:00

Maestro Classics

2009-12-18T07:16:00.001-08:00

"Stories in Music" from Maestro Classics was created to expand listening horizons, develop listening skills, accumulate musical memories, and to encourage adults and children to listen to music together. I have to agree that these CDs can definitely do all that.

We received the CD for The Tortoise and the Hare. But we didn't receive just a story. The CD was delightfully packed with 6 parts.

1)The Story - In the story, different voices depicted each character. Wonderful music from The Philharmonic Orchestra was woven throughout.

2)About the Story - This was a great segment that told about the story, the author, and whatever other information might make listening to the story more meaningful.

3)A song - On our CD the song played and sang was the Pretzel Vendor of Paris Song.

4)About the Music - This was a very interesting segment where the composer explained how he chose the music for the different parts of the story. This was almost my most favorite part of the CD and I was very impressed with his choices.

5)Now That You Know a Little More - Here the story was played again so we could listen with our new knowledge of the music choices.

6)Want to Have Some Fun? - This section played just the music from the Pretzel Vendor of Paris song. We were encouraged to sing along from the booklet that accompanied the CD.

So this was definitely a full CD we received. But about that enclosed booklet I mentioned earlier. Also included were pictures of all the orchestra instruments and a lesson on notes, fractions, and time signatures. And since our story was The Tortoise and the Hare, the booklet gave information about turtles and tortoises and rabbits and hares. It also told about the contrabassoon which was a special instrument used in the story. As if that weren't enough, the booklet had short activities such as dot-to-dot, word jumble, and a crossword puzzle. It also told us about the conductor/composer, executive producer, and the narrator.

TITLES AVAILABLE - (CDs are $16.98 each or 3 for $45)
The Tortoise and the Hare
The Story of Swan Lake
Juanita the Spanish Lobster (in English or Spanish)
Casey at the Bat (Gift set also available which includes the book)
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel (Gift set also available)
The Sorcerer's Apprentice
Peter and the Wolf

DID WE LIKE IT?
ABSOLUTELY! My 6 year old daughter has listened to The Tortoise and the Hare many, many times since it arrived. And now that I have been able to listen to all the parts of this almost hour long CD, I am very impressed. These are very well done. I will definitely be watching as the selection grows so I can add to her audio book collection. Although now that I know about all the other gems included, I am going to want to listen to them too.

Please read what my other Crew Mates had to say. And definitely check out Maestro Classics. These fun CDs would make great gifts.

Mathletics

2009-12-16T21:29:00.001-08:00

Mathletics is an online math program that can be used as a full curriculum program or just a supplement. There are two parts to this program. In one, the student works on problems and receives instructions. There are even printable worksheets to compliment these lessons. In the other, the student chooses from 5 levels of difficulty to compete live against other students around the world doing math facts.

My 13-year old daughter was the lucky candidate to test this program. The program has a game-like atmosphere and seems like it would be very good for students with short attention spans. She got to create her own character. Then as lessons and competitions were completed, points were awarded to her account which could be used to buy accessories for her character. Each week, a "Character of the Week" was chosen. Also as she reached certain point levels, more games unlocked.

Mathletics also has a Parent Center where I could select tasks for my daughter and access the printable workbooks. I could also view the Student Center to see how my daughter was doing on the exercises. Reports were emailed to me show her progress.

COST
Mathletics costs $59 for 12 months per student. They do have a 10-day money back guarantee. If you have a group, you might contact Mathletics to see if there is a group rate available.

FINAL WORD
Overall, my 13-year old daughter thought this was a fun program but has used others she liked better. Make sure to read the Mathletics experience of other Crew Members.

Tektoma Game Tutorials

2009-12-11T12:28:00.001-08:00

My teenage girls have been enjoying the game tutorials from Tektoma. These tutorials utilize the Game Maker software and are a great way to make a start in game building.

In order to utilize the Tektoma tutorials, you will need to download Game Maker and the Game Maker resources (no additional cost). The Tektoma website gives directions on how to do this.

Once you have downloaded these resources, you are ready to begin the video tutorial to create the game of your choice. There is a racing game, arcade game, memory game, platform game, and a fantasy adventure game. The beginning tutorials are about an hour long. The more advanced tutorials are 1-2.5 hours long. You can also download an example of each game.

There are shorter tutorials on how to build a racetrack, improve the looks of a platform game, create and use custom icons, create a standalone version of a game, make a game play in full screen, and add an inventory system to your game.

The program is for ages 7 and up. However, younger ages may need assistance. The tutorial directions are clear and take the designer step by step through the process. The website indicates if the game may contain objectionable material.

Tektoma offers a 14-day free trial after which you would be charged the subscription fee. You may cancel your membership at any time during the free trial and not be charged. The fee for a year of full access is a one-time payment of $140 or $14.95 per month. The 14-day free trial is part of your annual membership.

My daughters picked the racing game to work on and definitely had fun. You can read here what other Crew families found.

Food Enzymes

2009-12-08T19:30:00.001-08:00

I love to research things, especially nutritional topics, and my latest project has been digestion. So for part of my research I did an experiment with two brands of food enzymes that I had in my cupboard.

I took 1/2 cup of cooked oatmeal in 3 bowls. The first bowl didn't get anything added. To bowl #2 I added the contents of one capsule of Rainbow Light's Advanced Enzyme System. To bowl #3 I added the contents of two capsules of Nature's Sunshine Food Enzymes.

As soon as I stirred the Rainbow Light capsule contents into bowl #2, the oatmeal instantly became liquefied and broken apart. (You can see the difference between the two bowls.)

After about 30 minutes, the oatmeal in bowl #3 with the Nature's Sunshine capsule contents had softened but was still quite a bit more solid than bowl #2.

Here are the three bowls after sitting on the counter all day. Bowl #2 is definitely the most "digested". Bowl #3 is still about twice as thick as bowl #2. However, bowl #2 is much softer than bowl #1 with no enzymes.

Oh, and I learned how to turn on the date/time stamp on our camera in the middle of my experiment.

Professor in a Box - Financial Accounting

2009-11-30T08:35:00.001-08:00

Financial Accounting from Professor in a Box is a beginning college level accounting course written by Michael P. Licata, Ph.D. specifically for homeschoolers. In the course the student learns to prepare and interpret the four basic financial statements of a business. Anyone who is preparing to work in business (whether for a company or being self-employed) can benefit from this course.

With 12 chapters covered in 28 lessons, this course includes the content to prepare a student to take the CLEP Financial Accounting Exam (see Course Syllabus). It Includes lectures, practice problems, solutions, quizzes and exams. (The quizzes are similar in content and form to the CLEP Exam.) The website states that the average lesson takes 75 minutes to view the Flash lecture and 1.5 to 2.5 hours to work the problems. The only prerequisite is that the student has basic algebra skills.

Financial Accounting is currently priced at $134.99. Professor in a Box offers a Full Money Back Guarantee. Work through the first three chapters and if you’re not satisfied with the course, send it back for a full refund including shipping.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS
Windows XP/Vista
1.8 Ghz Intel Pentium II or equivalent
256 MB of RAM
4x CD-ROM
16 bit or higher color
Flash Player

You do need Acrobat reader which is a free download.

Internet access was recommended to complete some of the problems in chapter 1.

INCLUDED

The box comes with the CDs housed in a nice hard plastic carry case, a calculator, and a pencil. The Instructor CD includes a course syllabus, lesson plans for full and short course, quizzes, and exams. It also includes Excel templates for every problem in the course so that students can learn accounting while honing and improving their skills in working with spreadsheet software such as Microsoft Excel.

Lecture Discs include Flash lectures, Lecture slides, Key Terms and Concepts, Chapter Problems, and Chapter Problem Solutions. The lecture slides are also available in print-friendly format.

OUR EXPERIENCE

My oldest is only in 9th grade and I did not feel she was ready for this course. Academically, she could have done the work but I want her to complete the course when she is better able to fully understand the process, not just be able to follow the formulas. I plan for her to take this course in 12th grade after taking personal finance.

I do feel that this course can be a good resource for high school students before entering their adult years. The more information they can learn beforehand, the more they have to draw on when it is needed.

It is not a light course and it will take discipline to complete. But that is because we are dealing with college level material.

Please visit the TOS Crew Blog to read other families' experiences.

Exploramania - GyMathtics

2009-11-20T15:54:00.001-08:00

Have you ever owned a product that drove you nuts but your kids loved? Well, the GyMathtics DVD from Exploramania is such a product in our house. The idea of combining physical and mental exercise is really neat. When you are listening to it as background noise, it sounds like random chaos. But when you are tuned into the exercise it flows.

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

This exercise DVD is approximately 30 minutes long and is broken into 4 segments. Background music is included throughout.

The first section is Shape Stretches Warm Up. Here you learn about all kinds of lines: straight, parallel, intersecting, perpendicular, diagonal, and wavy, all while completing the warm up stretches. You also learn about rays, angles, circles, ovals, and polygons.

Section two is Counting Calisthenics where you practice counting from 0-20, odds and evens, skip counting by 2's, 5's, and 10's, place value, and prime numbers, again all while exercising your muscles.

Pattern Power teaches about growing and repeating patterns.

The Well-Being Wind Down does not include any math teaching. The instructor does include several "life" tips throughout the segment such as "Eat healthy", "Get a good sleep every night", and "Be kind to the planet and to people."

MY THOUGHTS

I see this exercise video as appealing to children in lower elementary, and I can see it helping them with their math skills. I didn't care for the tips given throughout the Wind Down session. I would have preferred more math tidbits.

Phrases such as "Isn't exercise fun? and "We're getting healthy and strengthening our minds" are used a lot throughout the DVD (about 6 times for each variation) which was a bit overkill.

Although it isn't my favorite, my 6 year old daughter likes it and is strengthening her math skills along the way.

PURCHASE

You can purchase the Gymathtics DVD for $24.99. Also, soon to be released is Gymathtics 2.0 which will include an Algebra Aerobics section. They also carry an Exploracise Thumball Collection and Exploracise Mat Collection.

Exploramania does have a 30-day Customer Satisfaction return policy.

You can read other Crew member reviews here.

TruthQuest History

2009-11-19T14:04:00.001-08:00

In January we started using TruthQuest History Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome for our studies. It was a great semester with very rich study. This year we continued with TruthQuest but added in Mystery of History because I wanted the mapwork, timeline and activities all scheduled for me.

Well, the combination isn't working for us. Mystery of History has the right pieces academically, but our studies are ending up being very mechanical and lacking depth for my 9th grader. So it was time to sit down and write out pro and con lists and see the big picture.

Mystery of History: Pros
Topic information included
Timeline scheduled
Mapwork scheduled
Activities scheduled
Index card summaries scheduled
Topic reinforcement throughout the year
Christian Worldview

Mystery of History: Cons
Mechanical
Not deep enough as scheduled for high school

TruthQuest: Pros
Rich commentary
Promotes deep discussion
Christian Worldview

TruthQuest: Cons
Additional books required
No mapwork
Must research information for timeline
No reinforcement activities

On paper, it looks like Mystery of History would be the easier choice. But knowing the richness of our TruthQuest study last year I am realizing that it is worth the effort on my part to do the extra research and planning to use TruthQuest. Easier isn't always the best choice. Because it isn't just enough to learn facts or even the flow of history. What makes history meaningful is the people that were involved and how their lives were affected by events. For us, TruthQuest is the program that does a better job of relaying the deeper meaning of history.

Does this mean I don't think Mystery of History is a good program? Not at all. You can see my review of it here. It may be just the program your family needs to cause history to come alive. But I am finally listening to my heart and know that we will learn more through TruthQuest this year.

Our Spell to Write and Read Schedule

2009-11-13T09:42:00.001-08:00

I am teaching 3 lessons: a kindergartner (List A at 20 words per week), a 7th grader (List U at 20 words/week) and a 9th grader (List U at 20 words per week). My K'er takes about 15 minutes, my other girls take about 30 minutes each on average. I taught my older girls the charts as they were listed in the WISE Guide Preliminaries. Here is what our SWR days look like. We don't do anything together except the assessment tests monthly. It takes me about an hour and a half three days per week. If my older girls were at a lower level we would be doing 40 words per week and it would take longer. I do SWR with my kindergartner 4-5 days per week.

KINDERGARTEN (15 minutes per day) - I may add more enrichments later in the year as she matures

Day One - Sometimes broken into 2 days

Read all phonograms

Quiz phonograms in WISE Guide Preliminaries

Dictate half of word list

Quiz words

Day Two

Read all phonograms

Word Bank for first 1/2 of list - (Done independently)

Day Three

Read all phonograms

Dictate second half of list

Quiz words

Day Four

Read all phonograms

Timed reading of log words

Word Bank for 2nd half of list (Independent)

Day Five

Read phonograms

Index cards for all words in list

Oral sentences

One written sentence

Day Six

Test phonograms

Test word list

---------------------------------------------------

7TH AND 9TH GRADERS - (30 minutes per day) - Separate sessions

Day One (We break into 2 days if new chart is long)

WISE Guide Preliminaries: Quiz phonograms, Rule Review

Teach new chart, if applicable

Read phonograms

Dictate list

Collection page words

Quiz list

Day Two

Read phonograms

WISE Guide Enrichments

Day Three

Phonogram test

List test

Day Four - (Girls together)

Assessment test monthly

I found trying to combine was too cumbersome for our family so I just keep them all separate.

Understanding Spell to Write and Read

2009-11-13T09:40:00.001-08:00

I know there are a lot of people who struggle with understanding Spell to Write and Read so I thought I would post this in case it can help someone.

First thing you will want to do is take a deep breath. I, too, found the book very confusing. However, once you wrap your head around it, it is quite simple. The short version is to complete steps 1-11 with your student. Then switch your focus to the WISE Guide. It gives you everything you need for your lesson plan. The red book becomes a reference.

LONG VERSION (after you have prepared your material and started your learning log)

The first thing you have to do with SWR is to determine if you child is ready for it. Is the student aware that language is an object that can be analyzed and manipulated in different ways? This would include being able rhyme or to pause between syllables in a word. This is phonological awareness.

The next development stage that must be reached is that the student can hear separate sounds of a language, not just the words or the syllables. She should be able to hear, identify, and manipulate individual sounds in spoken words. This is phonemic awareness.

If your student has reached these two milestones, you are ready to move on with SWR. These two skills are important to check for all ages.

If your student is not a beginner, you will want at this point to give the Diagnostic Test found in Appendix B. Don't worry about where he/she will place. That will be done in Step 11. Just give the test.

Whether you have a non-beginner or a beginner (who you have determined is ready to begin), you move into teaching how to read and write the first 26 phonograms (and the numbers). Obviously an older student is going to probably know how to write the alphabet so you just have ensure she knows the sounds. There is a specific method for teaching the phonograms which is part of why SWR is so successful. I found that learning the "method" is much easier when working with a mentor than trying to absorb it from the book. But if there is no one in your area, we will help you in any way we can.

Once your student knows how to read and write the first 26 phonograms, it it time to introduce the Learning Log (step 8) and to teach the Vowel/Consonant Reference page (step 9). There are explicit instruction in the red book on how to teach the reference pages. The C/V chart actually accomplishes several things. It teaches 4 rules (#s1-4) and introduces the student to the word dictation process and the marking system.

NOTE:There are two types of references pages taught in SWR - Teaching pages and Collection pages. The WISE Guide tells you when to introduce both types. You don't worry about adding to collection pages from the lists until that type of page has been introduced as instructed in the WISE Guide. Once a page has been introduced, the WISE Guide will tell you to add certain words from a list to the collection page. (Example: The WISE Guide Preliminaries for Section E instruct us to Start the "SH/TI Page". Then in the body of Section F on the righthand page (under shot) it says to add "shot" to the SH Page. You will see this all throughout the WISE Guide.)

The Consonant/Vowel Page is a teaching page. The next reference page, Multi-Letter Phonograms, is a collection page. You will begin filling that in when you introduce the multi-letter phonograms throughout WISE Guide Sections A through I-1. Again, these instructions are all given in the WISE Guide Preliminaries.

You will now use the test given in Step 4 to correctly place your student in the WISE Guide. You want to find the first word missed. Then back up one word and follow it across to find the starting section. There is a chart in the red book on page 65 that helps place a student new to the program. If you aren't sure which level is best, ask someone.

Once you have placed your student, you are ready to begin daily spelling in the WISE Guide (step 12) using the Learning Log. The red book is no longer your focus. All the lesson plans you need are right in the WISE Guide. You will use the red book for reference to complete the steps as they are assigned in the WISE Guide.

The Learning Log is an essential part of SWR. That is where your student is ungluing and gluing words and starting to absorb the phonograms and spelling rules until both become second nature. You will teach the rules through the reference pages, and they will be reinforced as you come across them in the word lists. The student then isn't just learning an arbitrary rule but actually has a word to apply it to and so it makes more sense. The more words they learn, the more the rules become second nature.

For me, the actual word dictation process was best taught in person. (If you are familiar with Charlotte Mason, this is NOT that kind of dictation.) You teach your students how to spell each word. There is no guessing. If there is another experienced user in your area, she could be great to connect with. It was very helpful for me to see the process modeled and to see how all the senses are used and the importance of each step. There are many things about SWR that are customizable, but if you want the best success from SWR the dictation method for the Learning Log words is one of the "DON'T CHANGE" things about SWR. So it is important to make sure you understand how it works.

I hope that helps those of you who are struggling. SWR is truly an immersion program for both a new teacher and student. But if you can step away from the big picture and take it in bite-size pieces, I think it will start to become clearer. I know how hard that is as I am a major big picture person, but it does work. Give yourself time to process this and then come back with your other questions. Feel free to ask for clarification on anything.

America's Heritage: An Adventure in Liberty

2009-11-09T22:36:00.001-08:00

American Heritage Educational Foundation is a non-profit, non-partisan educational foundation dedicated to the understanding and teaching of America's factual and philosophical heritage to promote constructive citizenship and Freedom, Unity, Progress, and Responsibility among our students and citizens.

I had previously downloaded the free lesson plans from AHEF but never understood what they were trying to accomplish. So when I was asked to write a review on America's Heritage: An Adventure in Liberty for the TOS Homeschool Crew, I wasn't sure what I was going to do. The first thing I knew I had to do was to print out the material. The older I get, the harder it seems for me to understand the big picture from reading on screen. Once I had the printed copy in hand, I was able to see what the program was all about and actually got quite excited.

Even though we are currently studying Rome, I have been wanting to include a study about our founding fathers and the principles that made the United States of America strong. It looked like America's Heritage would allow me to do just that. Since I was going to be using it with my 7th and 9th graders, I decided to use the high school level. They also have an elementary level and a middle school level.

With America's Heritage: An Adventure in Liberty, we are learning about our country's birth through the study of some of the founding documents: The Mayflower Compact, The Declaration of Independence, Federalist Paper #47, the US Constitution, Bill of Rights, and the First Amendment. We will also study about entrepreneurs in history, American's Creed, and the US Flag.

Each lesson includes activities to help the students understand what the documents or events mean and how they affect the framework of our country. There are 13 lessons, some which easily have enough material to cover 2 or 3 class periods.

It has been really refreshing to learn about our founding fathers' backgrounds and the moral character that shaped their thinking. It has also been great to understand more fully what the founding documents mean.

You can download a copy of America's Heritage: An Adventure in Liberty and experience it for yourself.

OTHER CREW REVIEWS

ACT Advantage DISCOVER

2009-11-04T21:11:00.001-08:00

DISCOVER is a program designed to help student develop a comprehensive career plan. Following are the steps the student uses to build his personalized career portfolio.

1)LEARN ABOUT YOURSELF AND OCCUPATIONS

The student first takes three inventory tests: Interest Inventory, Values Inventory, and an Abilities Inventory. An Inventories Summary then shows how your strengths relate to careers.

2)EXPLORE OCCUPATIONS AND TRAINING REQUIRED

Once you know your potential occupations, you can explore each of them further. This exploration section give you a lot of data.

Occupation summary
Characteristics of the occupation:
   Setting
   Amount of travel required
   Variety
   Working with people
   Schedule options
   Physical demands
Work tasks
Related occupations: Civilian and military
Training needed
   English skills needed
   Reading skills needed
   Science skills needed
Personal qualities desired
Salary and Outlook
What workers say they like and dislike
Where to obtain more information

3)EXPLORE MAJORS

Your exploration of careers gives you possible majors to explore. You can look for majors by name and by occupation. This section also gives you a lot of information.

General Information
Characteristics associated with success
Courses included
Schools
Related occupations
Related majors

4)EXPLORE SCHOOLS

Once you have learned more about your possible majors, it is time to explore the schools that have those majors. You can search for schools by state, by major, by degree type, by school type, or by name. You can learn a lot about a potential school.

General information such as type of school, contact information, federal school code, accreditation and level of students admitted.
Majors
Cost
Admission Requirements
Services such as academic services provided and ROTC.
Student body statistics
Financial Aid
Housing available
Extracurricular Activities
Campus Facilities
Sports

5)EXPLORE SCHOLARSHIPS / AID

One thing you will see when exploring schools is that it can be expensive to attend a college or university. So knowing your options for financial aid is important. DISCOVER provides information on financial aid programs and finding scholarships. It also provides a Financial Need Estimator.

6)JOB SEARCH TOOLS

DISCOVER also provides instruction on job searching.

Resume Writing
Preparing a Cover Letter
Interview Preparation
Finding a Job

All these parts are stored in a personalized career portfolio that can be viewed or printed at any point.

DISCOVER can be purchased with a three-month license for $19.95 and a six-month license for $24.95. ACT Advantage also has assessment programs called EXPLORE (8TH Grade) AND PLAN (10TH Grade) which I will be reviewing later. Also available is an ACT Test Prep program.

My 14 year old daughter found the website informative and very easy to use. Read here to see how others families utilized the ACT Advantage programs.

Virginia Soaps and Scents

2009-10-29T22:16:00.001-07:00

My philosophy has always been that no matter what the size of business, all materials and products should be professional quality. So when I received my package from Virginia Soaps and Scents, I was very impressed. From their website to their brochure to their packaging - it is all beautiful. Even their stationery is classy. The items I received were 3 Bed and Bath size soap samplers (Orange; Oatmeal, Milk & Honey; and Coconut Lemongrass), a sampler Ginger Lime shampoo bar, and a trial laundry soap kit.

You definitely need to visit the Virginia Soaps and Scents website. Their products are beautiful and it is a really fun place to shop. They have soaps, shampoo bars, bath and body products, and who knows what else they have developed. The Bed and Bath Sampler would make a great gift. And their Christmas Collection of Wild Bayberry, Pumpkin Spice, and Peppermint scents looks delicious! The Peppermint, in particular, is gorgeous and almost too pretty to use (although they maintain their color well). Really, I would love to try one of each scent. They even have a CHOCOLATE flavor for all you chocolate lovers (and friends of chocolate lovers). And don't miss the Victorian Lace. They also have All-In-One Body Bars for shampoo, shower and shave in the scents of the Outback Bar, Waltzing Matilda, and the Kiddiwink Bar (a very fun bar for the little tykes). If you prefer no scent at all, they even have that available for their products. I could go on and on with my list, but you will just need to check out the website for yourself. My daughters and I had more than one fun day doing so.

It's one thing to ooh and aah over beautiful pictures and yummy sounding scents. But what were the products like?

SHAMPOO BAR - $5.50
My husband claimed the shampoo bar. He liked that you just had to run the bar over your hair and a rich, thick lather formed. He also liked how clean it made his hair feel. My 12yo daughter really liked the shampoo bar as well. I liked how it made my hair feel too. It definitely gave it more bounce. Unfortunately, I have an itchy scalp and it did not seem to agree with the shampoo bar. So I will have to wait to use it until I can solve my scalp issue. Our shower trial-size bar lasted us between 2 and 3 weeks. The actual shampoo bar is 5.5 ounces which I believe is about 3 times the size of our sample bar. It comes in three scents of Ginger Lime, Coconut Lemongrass, and Cherry Almond. They also have an Oily Hair/Clarifying formula that comes in Tangerine Grapefruit.

SOAP - $4.50 per bar; $12 for 3 bars; $35 for 10 bars
I was impressed at how well the soap lasted. The bars stayed firm and did not dissolve into a puddle of mush even with being used by a 2 year old. My favorite scent was the Oatmeal, Milk and Honey. It seemed to have a cinnamon scent to it. My 6 year old liked the Orange. And my 12 year old daughter liked the Coconut Lemongrass. The thing I liked about the scents was that they were clear and sharp. The full-size bars are 4.5 ounces.

LAUNDRY SOAP - $4.95 (64-72 loads)
Before my Virginia Soaps and Scents samples arrived, I already had been using homemade laundry soap. I hadn't been super impressed with the results but the laundry didn't seem any worse than with what I was using before, so I stuck with it.

The difference I found with the Virginia Scents and Soaps Laundry Soap Kit is that it made a more concentrated soap. It also seemed to clean the socks better than I have seen in a long time (even with commercial soap). A big plus for me is that it is made with their unscented Cleaning Soap which is much better than the commercial variety I previously used. (The Cleaning Bar is a different formula than their Body Bar just in case anyone has the same question I did.)

If you already make your own laundry soap or want to buy some of the ingredients yourself, you can purchase just the 4.5 ounce Cleaning Bar for $3.95 and follow the recipe on the website. I know I will be putting these on my order! I definitely want to try this laundry soap again.

BOTTOM LINE
The Virginia Soaps and Scents products were very well received in our home. I can't wait to place an order but am having a hard time deciding my top choices to try.

These products were used in many different households, so please take time to read the other Crew reviews to see how they were received.

I hope you have as much fun perusing the Virginia Soaps and Scents website as we did.

Amazing Bible Timeline

2009-10-28T16:23:00.001-07:00

The Amazing Bible Timeline is very large and contains A LOT of information. 6,000 years of Bible and world history are combined to help you put things into perspective. Color-coded, the timeline follows the Semitic, Hamitic, and Japhethic lineages all through history. It also follows the Catholic church and its history. It lists the timeline of the Reformation as well as other historical events.

For me, the Amazing Bible Timeline is sensory overload. There is too much information to take in at once, and I have trouble focusing on just one portion of time to get the big picture. That, coupled with its size (apx 3' x 4'), makes its use difficult. A wall dedicated to its use might make a difference. But I am a bit frustrated because I feel like I have a wealth of information in my hands and my brain is not allowing me to take advantage of its worth.

TWO DOWNLOADS INCLUDED WITH PURCHASE
Interactive Holy Land Maps - These maps could be useful for Bible history study.

The Amazing Bible Timelines w/ World History e-chart - This is a copy of the large timeline in digital form. It can be helpful for lesson planning or perhaps understanding the timeline better. Unfortunately, it was not enough to help me breakthrough my visual overload. Perhaps in the future the timeline will be more useful to us.

For someone who enjoys deep history study and isn't easily overloaded visually, the price tag of $29.97 for this product is very reasonable.

Make sure to visit the TOS Blog to read how others families utilized the Amazing Bible Timeline. I know others had different experiences.

AVKO - Individual Membership

2009-10-24T13:15:00.001-07:00

An AVKO membership looks to be a good value if you use their products or prescribe to their method of teaching reading and spelling. I already use a reading and spelling program that has a philosophy I am comfortable with, and I had a hard time reconciling the AVKO method with it. But It might benefit those who have not found a method that strikes a chord with them. An individual membership costs $25.00/year and includes many resources.

MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS

25% discount on all printed AVKO material
Hundreds of dollars of free ebooks
AVKO newsletter with freebies, discounts, and resources
Access to Don McCabe's workshop recordings
Supplemental curriculum materials including word games, worksheets, activities, and more
Access to pretest and placement tests
Access to the Answer Keys for the Unscramblers and Family Reunion exercises of the Engaging Language Kits

You can visit AVKO to see if this company is one that will fit your needs. Also read the reviews of my fellow Crew members.

A Young Scholar's Guide to Composers

2009-10-24T11:07:00.001-07:00

OVERVIEW

Designed for 4th to 8th graders, A Young Scholar's Guide to Composers from Bright Ideas Press helps students (and parents) break the code of classical music. 32 weekly lessons include information about 26 composers from 6 different eras. Notetaking pages, coloring pages, and composer info-cards are all part of the weekly lesson. There is also a timeline template to be completed which gives an overview of time periods and relationships between composers. Internet links are provided so you can listen to the music of individual composers while doing your study. It is also recommended that you complete a a folderbook for your study. (A folderbook is a simplified lapbook.)

The study starts with an overview of the beginning of music. Then you study about music in the Renaissance. This lesson contains a lot of information and could be spread over more than one lesson with younger students. Next comes the Baroque Period and the start of studying individual composers. You also study composers from the Classical Period, the Romantic Period, and the Contemporary Period.

There are game suggestions for the use of the composer cards to help your students retain the information they have learned. In the appendix you will also find a composer resource list, a glossary, and answer keys to the student reviews and timeline.

HOW IT WORKED FOR US

I have long wanted to do composer studies but never got it put together. So I was very glad when I received A Young Scholar's Guide to Composers to review. I was concerned that it might be too young for my 7th and 9th graders but figured that even a light exposure would be better than no exposure. But as I looked closer, the information to be put on the notetaking sheets and timeline is heavy enough to keep their minds busy remembering.

It has been really fun to read about the history of music and to hear the different styles. It has brought an awareness of the arts that was not previously present.

If you would like to introduce your family to classical music, this is a great choice. Perhaps it might even light their interest to pursue it further.

You can read here to see how other families used their Bright Ideas Press products.

PURCHASING

A Young Scholar's Guide to Composers can be purchased as a CD-ROM for $29.95 or a Printed Book for $34.95. I reviewed the CD-ROM version. It was nice to be able to print the extra pages straight from the computer file instead of copying. The downside was having to print and bind the book. I printed my book and then laminated the front and back covers before taking it to a printer to be spiral bound. It turned out pretty good, but I would choose the printed book next time.

Other products available from Bright Ideas Press include Mystery of History, All American History and Christian Kids Explore Science. Make sure to read my review of Mystery of History.

Mystery of History 2

2009-10-23T14:58:00.001-07:00

WHAT IS IT?

Mystery of History, published by Bright Ideas Press, is a classical history program written with a Christian worldview. Linda Hobar, the author, has developed the material and activities to meet each stage of the classical trivium while recognizing the needs of various learning styles. Each lesson is broken down by level. The grammar stage (or early elementary) is primarily about absorbing information. This is done through the lesson activities, creation of Memory Cards, and review activities. The logic stage (or middle school) is about questioning the information learned. A logic student should also be learning to summarize and outline material. The Memory Cards and other lesson activities accomplish this. The rhetoric stage (or high school) is about analyzing information and defending the student's position on that information. This is the stage where the student masters the art of expressing thoughts. The older student activities in Mystery of History include research and writing assignments to help the student practice his expository skills. Mystery of History is written such that you can repeat the series during each stage, building a strong foundation in your students.

In addition to the activities in the 84 lessons, the students keep a timeline, do mapwork, and are kept accountable on the retention of the material through exercises and cumulative tests.

A GLIMPSE

1)Quarterly Topic Overviews: Around the World

2)Weekly Pretest (3 lessons per week)

3)Lesson
4)Lesson Activities by skill level

5)Weekly Memory cards
6)Timeline work
7)Mapwork

8)Biweekly Cumulative Exercises /
9)Biweekly Cumulative Quizzes

10)Quarterly Putting It All Together Worksheets

11)Semester Tests

12)Additional Appendix Activities

So as you can see, the student has at least 12 interactions with a topic throughout the year. This allows the material to become meaningful to the student and not just a fact to remember for a test and then forget. I know for my 7th and 9th graders, the activities assigned are mostly writing and research-based which helps with the retention of a topic even more.

APPENDICES

Supplemental activities
Supplemental books and resources by topic
Additional resources by lesson and skill level
Materials list by lesson
Bibliography
Answer key

Map outlines are also provided.

OUR EXPERIENCE

The lessons themselves are short, leaving time for further research and writing assignments. I am enjoying having skill-appropriate assignments already scheduled. The weekly review activities, including Memory Cards, timelines and mapwork, provide a great opportunity to recap the week's material.

I feel that the activities in MoH are great for middle school as is. For high school I assign additional history and literature reading to complement our studies. I also require more in depth writing assignments from my 9th grader. For example, both girls may research the same topic. However, my 7th grader may be required to write a paragraph or two about her findings while my 9th grader may be required to write an in depth report or possibly a comparison or persuasive essay.

My booklist for this time period was already picked prior to starting MoH, but Linda includes many book suggestions broken down by lesson number and skill level in the appendix. She also includes a book list by topic.

Mystery of History is a program that can be used as a good overview of history, or you can make it a heavier course by including more of the scheduled activities and adjusting the requirements to fit your student's needs.

MYSTERY OF HISTORY 2 PRICING

Printed Book $49.95
Audio Set $48.95
Reproducibles CD $19.95
Craft Pak CD-ROM $19.95

Other programs available from Bright Ideas Press include All American History, Christian Kids Explore Science, A Young Scholar's Guide to Composers (which I am also reviewing), and their new product Illuminations.

Please visit the TOS Blog to read reviews of other Bright Ideas Press products.

My Access

2009-10-23T08:13:00.000-07:00

I recently reviewed an online writing program called My Access! Home Edition from Vantage Learning. We had used this product a few years ago and I was curious to see what changes had been made. The writing prompts are broken into 3 ages groups: 8-10, 11-14, and 15-18. I used it with a 12 and 14 year old.

STUDENT CENTER
-Choose writing prompt (90 choices for 3 age groups)
-Start Writing Course OR Go to Writer's Space

WRITING COURSE -Narrative Writing Prompt
-Reporter training
-Basic elements of narrative writing
-Quiz of basic elements
-Daily access rubric training
-Planning your narrative writing
-Graphic organizer
    -Intro: Hook, Setting, Characters
    -Rising Action: Events leading to Climax, Conflict
    -Climax: Turning Point
    -Falling Action: Events after the climax
    -Conclusion

WRITER'S SPACE
After the student finishes the writing course, he moves on to writing his first draft. However, the student can return to the writing course at any time. He also has access to the Writer's Toolbox which contains a rubric, writer's models, writer's guide, word bank, student's outline, focus checklist, and word count. The Writer's Guide included in the Toolbox has a lot of information as does the Rubric and the Word Bank should the student choose to utilize those resources. Also available to help the student are the Writer's Checklist and the Graphic Organizer Outline (created during the pre-writing). Two other features of the Writer's Space are the Tutor and Editor. The Tutor uses generic examples to help the student through problems in the 5 graded areas of Focus, Content Development, Organization, Language Style, and Conventions. The Editor uses the student's own writing to show where mistakes have been made in his writing in those same five areas.

WRITING SUBMITTED
Once the student has submitted a writing piece, it is graded as Below Proficient, Proficient, or Advanced in the 5 areas listed above. There are revision activities to help the student learn more about the skill before attempting to revise his writing. However, the activities use generic material so they may not be as effective as learning directly from the student's own material. But when the student goes back in to revise his writing, he can once again go into the Editor and see what the computer has marked as problem areas. Unfortunately, more than once, my daughter experienced that many of the revisions recommended had already been addressed in the original writing and were not errors at all. But there are still some useful critiques that may be followed to tighten up the writing.

PARENT CENTER
I was disappointed in the Parent Center. I would expect to be able to know what projects my students are working on and what steps they have completed on those projects. I also want to be able to see their pre-writing work such as graphic organizers and outlines. But with My Access I can only view a student essay once it has been submitted. And I can only see the essay and the recommended editing plan. I cannot track what my students are working on, and I am not able to see the pre-writing that occurred.

NEAT FEATURES
Each activity the student does in My Access earns him points. The parent account allows you to set rewards for certain point levels providing incentive to use the program features.

My Access! Home Edition also allows the parent to enter his own writing prompts. This can work well if you are using another writing program but want the tools available with My Access. It also works for assigning writing projects from other subjects such as history, science, or literature.

FINAL THOUGHTS
The Student Center has a lot of neat features that can help the student write stronger prose. However, as much as the student center does a good job helping the student through the writing process, my overall feeling is that writing is too subjective for computerized grading. Also, the breadth of tools available in the Student Center may be utilized by a motivated student, but an unmotivated student will miss much instruction that is available.

I can see My Access being beneficial from the beginning stages of the writing process through the second or third draft. After that I would prefer the writing to be critiqued in person.

The Student Center of the program has greatly improved since we used it before; however, for it to work in our family, even in the preliminary stages, more tracking would need to be available through the Parent Center.

THE FINER DETAILS
Visit here to check out My Access! Home Edition for yourself. An annual subscription costs $99.95 and supports up to 3 students. You can upgrade to 6 students for a total of $129.95. If you have high school students, you might be interested in the add-on package of the SAT Prep Pack for an additional $49.95. (I have not reviewed the SAT Pack.)

You will find other Crew reviews here.

Sarah's Wish

2009-10-19T13:27:00.001-07:00

Sarah's Wish by Jim Baumgardner is a book about a girl who is orphaned and faces the challenges associated with taking her mother's place as a station on the Underground Railroad. Meanwhile, the town is working together to find her a home.

I have a hard time reading books that have suspense so I let my daughters read this book. Of course, they thought I was crazy for thinking Sarah's Wish was scary. But such is life. So both my daughters read our personally autographed copy of Sarah's Wish. My 12 year old thought it was very well written, while my 14 year old thought it was well written but not as deep as she is used to. Both thought that Sarah acted more like 9 years old than 12. My 12 year old liked it enough to want to read the rest of the series. My 14 year old felt it was too young.

Visit Sarah Books to see what you think about the books in the series: Sarah's Wish, Sarah's Promise and Sarah's Escape.

PRICES
Sarah's Wish for $9.99 (Also includes an audio download link)
Sarah's Wish Audio Book $16.99

Sarah's Promise $13.50
Sarah's Promise Audio Book $16.99

Sarah's Escape $17.50

You can read here what other Crew members thought of Sarah's Wish.

abcteach

2009-09-29T16:59:00.001-07:00

The free portion of abcteach contains over 3,000 free printable documents. However, for $40/year you can have access to over 30,000 printables on the member site. You also have access to over 60 abctools in a variety of subjects and categories. These tools allow members to create custom documents tailored to their children's interests and learning styles. You can create custom math worksheets, spelling sheets, crossword, etc. There are actually too many options to list.

We do not use a lot of worksheets in our schooling, so this site was not as useful to me. But for any teacher, homeschooler, child care provider, or anyone that works with children and uses worksheets, this site has a lot of potential. So whether you need something for math, science, or social studies, you will most likely find it on abcteach. There are also several teacher helps like clip art, desk signs, and lesson plan templates. There are other such sites on the Internet and I do not know how abcteach compares to them.

You can read how other Crew members used abcteach here.

College Prep Genius - Our Experience

2009-09-26T18:16:00.001-07:00

I wrote a product description of College Prep Genius earlier so I won't repeat that here. But I will tell you about my 9th grader's experience.

This course has a lot of information to process and remember and has been pretty overwhelming. The method taught seems to be at odds with how her brain works.

Each DVD section teaches several acronyms to memorize and associate with certain types of problems. Then the student completes the problems in the workbook. The DVD then explains the answers to those problems. My daughter found that several times she came up with the correct answer but in a different way than the DVD showed. She was already thinking through the problems logically and the acronyms actually confused her.

We will be putting our study of this program on hold until later this school year. She is scheduled to take the PSAT on October 14th and I would like to find a baseline of where she is at. When we pick College Prep Genius back up, we will do so at a much slower pace, perhaps studying one acronym and then one problem each week.

I was very surprised and a bit discouraged when the program caused more confusion than clarity. So I have been thinking why that might be happening. I don't have any concrete answers, only musings. I do know that we need to slow it down A LOT. And I also wonder if how a student is used to learning makes a difference. Perhaps this method would work better for a student who is used to material that teaches formulas, showing the student step by step how to get the correct answer. We use material that teaches the big picture and the theory behind the problem. The student then uses the understanding of the theory to solve the problem instead of following a step-by-step formula.

I do know that to use the program, the student needs to be dedicated to investing a lot of hours preparing for the PSAT/SAT. If this is not the goal for your family, then it may not be a good fit. If high test scores is a priority for your student, College Prep Genius might be a God-send.

If you do order, make sure to use this free shipping code: HSBlog09. (The code is expires November 15, 2009.)

You can read here what other Crew members experienced.

The Complete Career, College, and High School Guide for Homeschoolers

2009-09-26T15:13:00.001-07:00

Being a parent of a child entering high school can be a scary thing. We may worry if our child is going to be prepared for college and the future. And without some input, it can be overwhelming. But thankfully all that negative need not occur. We just have to look in the right places for direction.

One of those places is The Complete Career, College, and High School Guide for Homeschoolers by Jill Dixon. Put out by Educational Diagnostic Prescriptive Services, this book provides a well laid out plan for discovering what careers might best fit your personality and what classes and activities you should complete to prepare yourself.

Your first step is to take 4 assessment tests. The Work/Service Preference Test tells you if you are a builder, solver, creator, organizer, helper or leader. The Concise Learning Styles Assessment helps you know if you are an auditory, visual, or tactile/kinesthetic learner. The Personality Profile indicates if you are outward or inward, if you rely on thoughts or emotions, and if you are more structured or flexible. Following each of these assessments is a list of careers that match the different results. There is also a Work Environment Questionnaire to help you understand in what environment you function best.

With the career choices discovered from your assessments, you are ready to begin your high school and career planning forms. Recommended middle school/high school courses are suggested for many popular careers and college majors. Also included are activities to consider being involved in for your career choices. It also lists candidates to interview to learn more about your chosen fields. It even includes questions to ask in those interviews. A list of the usual college preparatory requirements is provided to make sure you are including the necessary classes. As some states require high school graduates to have community service hours, the author has given a list of volunteer opportunities.

Along with career choices and help for class planning, you will find information such as a cutting edge job list, fastest growing jobs, and occupations with the most new jobs. The author does provide curriculum suggestions for different high school subjects. And there is also a small section on CLEP testing and the ACT and SAT.

One part of this Guide that I appreciate is that the author is not saying that every student is going to go on to college or technical school. Nor is she advocating girls to pursue careers at the expense of being a wife or a mother. In fact, one of the careers listed is marriage/mothering with suggested classes that would be helpful. She also lists part-time jobs that combine well with being a homemaker.

This Guide is not just for high school students but can be very useful for adults who are wanting to change their career direction. It is also not just for homeschoolers. I am very impressed with this program and will be implementing it as part of our 8th grade schedule. At $34.95 (E-book) or $39.95 (Printed), the cost of this Guide is well worth the final result of having a roadmap for your children. You will want to read their e-book disclaimer before deciding what format to purchase.

Other products available from EDUDPS include Write With the Best (see my review of level 2) and Roots and Fruits along with several assessment products.

The Career Planning ebook is currently on sale for $26.90.

Please also read other Crew Reviews on EDUDPS' products.

I did want to add that this Guide does not address the needs of those headed into ministry as that is more a calling than a career.

The Special Wish

2009-09-25T22:27:00.001-07:00

About a week ago, we received The Special Wish, a book about friendship. It is part of the Good News Express Series from Passkeys Foundation which is written for 3 to 5 year olds. I dislike stories that contain no purpose or moral. So I was very pleased to read this story to my 5 year old daughter and discover that not only did it have fun characters and bright illustrations, it also had a good message. My daughter has listened to the CD that accompanied the 31-page book every night since it arrived. The CD tells the story in different voices and includes 3 songs.

Other books in the Good News Express series include The Cheerful Grump (Cheerfulness), The Birthday Gift (Sharing), and Thanks, But No Thanks (Thankfulness). Each books sells for $7.50.

We really enjoyedThe Special Wish and hope you will enjoy this series too. You can read here what other crew members thought.

Growing Healthy Homes

2009-09-25T11:54:00.001-07:00

I have long been saddened by the state of the Standard American Diet. Many people deal with needless ailments because of how our society chooses to eat. Nutrition 101:Choose Life! from Growing Healthy Homes provides a different perspective on nutrition. The authors have a strong desire to use their backgrounds in nutrition and medicine to help others live healthy lives aligned with Biblical teaching.

Nutrition 101: Choose Life! is a three-in-one family nutrition and health program for all ages that presents the major body systems, how they function, their common health issues, the benefits of good food and the consequences of bad food. Its 448 pages include into six units:

1) The Brain and Nervous System
2) Digestion and Elimination
3) Respiration and Olfactory
4) Muscular and Skeletal Systems
5) Cardiovascular and Immune Systems
6) Endocrine System and Emotions

Biblically based and packed with hands-on activities, science and art projects and nearly 80 family-friendly recipes, this program teaches and reinforces the why’s of what we should eat, not just “because I said so.” Containing a complete reference guide filled with nutrition facts, charts, practical tips and an exhaustive index, Nutrition 101: Choose Life! will serve as a constant resource for improved health and abundant living.

Each chapter in Nutrition 101: Choose Life! has discussion questions, activities broken into elementary and secondary skill levels, and additional resources. A Power Recipe is included which also has elementary and secondary activities. Both the chapter and recipe secondary activities lend themselves nicely to deeper research. At the end of each unit are additional recipes.

Also included are 124 pages of appendices including the Choose Life! Food Pyramid and Shopping List, a detailed chart on How to Select Fresh Produce, Kitchen Safety, detailed Vitamin and Mineral Charts, an Alkaline and Acid Chart, Recommended Daily Allowances, Sugar Alternatives, and many more resources to assist you in choosing healthy products for your home.

This curriculum is co-authored by homeschool mother Debra Raybern, N.D., M.H., C.N.C., I.C.A.; homeschool mother and researcher Sera Johnson, B.MU; mother and writer/editor Laura Hopkins, B.S.; and mother, grandmother and former Home Economics teacher Karen Hopkins, B.S.

I have not had a chance to delve into this curriculum as deeply as I would like. But what I have seen I am impressed with and am looking forward to studying it more closely and doing the activities for myself. I can see its strength being at the high school and adult level, and it will definitely be a part of our high school health program. It will also be a resource we will use for years to come.

If you are wanting a life long nutrition resource, Nutrition 101:Choose Life! is worth checking out. You can purchase this 448-page, full-color book on CD-Rom for $79.95, Printed form $99.95, or both for $129.95. There is also co-op pricing available.

Please make sure to read the other crew reviews.

List A

2009-09-23T14:24:00.001-07:00

The spelling lists are all done from dictation not from copying. The student does not see the word written until she is finished.

Sue Patrick's Workbox System

2009-09-21T16:28:00.001-07:00

Sue Patrick's Workbox System gives a framework to providing an organized, fun way of covering your school material quickly without frustration while providing your student a rich education. Mrs. Patrick provides numerous tools and visual aids to facilitate these goals. In her book, Mrs. Patrick not only explains this framework but provides suggestions for encouraging learning. She also gives tips on how to make your current material more useful.

My approach to Sue Patrick's Workbox System User Guide was one of trying to understand the big picture. It would be easy to get lost in the minutia of the system. But I wanted to look at the broader perspective to truly understand what the goal was. This would allow me to implement the system for my family in an effective way.

Every family is different and each child within that family is unique. So how each family uses this system may look different. If the original setup is what is most effective, then use that. But if a part is not effective or is overkill, then change it. You know your children best and the goal is to provide an efficient, enjoyable learning environment for them. Personally, the clutter of using the shoe boxes would drive me batty. We also don't have a "classroom" nor do we have individual desks. So the system as written does not fit our family.

This system can be used at any age. At the junior high and high school levels in our house, however, the actual daily planning is done by the student, not by me. The skill of time management is a crucial one to learn. And part of that learning process is not having someone else plan each step of your day. Initially this planning process will be done with the aid of the parent. But by high school, my students should have the maturity to plan their days. This does not mean that I will no longer be teaching. But it does mean that I will not be organizing their workload.

Our goal is to provide the necessary components so that my children can move through their day with direction and purpose while learning their material with maximum retention. For my youngest daughter that means presenting the material in small units interspersed throughout the day with fun activities and review all while maintaining the proper balance between independent work and teacher interaction. For my older girls it means giving them the tools to stay on task and a check-in point so I know where they are in their day.

One part of the book that I was greatly disappointed in was Mrs. Patrick's recommendation to teach children 1000-2000 sight words before teaching them phonics. I have seen a child learn to read with phonics and it is a beautiful sight. The student is truly equipped to read. But for a child to have to rely on words he has memorized instead of giving him the tools to decode all words just does not make sense to me. Why confuse the brain with sight words when you can give the building blocks right from the beginning? In The New Illiterates, reading expert Sam Blumenfeld writes, "There is probably no way more calculated to confuse, discourage, and finally frustrate a child than teaching him to “read” via the whole-word method. Not only does this method not teach the child to read, but it places almost insurmountable obstacles to his ever learning to read. The amazing thing is not how many child fail to learn how to read by this method, but how many manage to circumvent the method and learn to read despite it." (31) The goal is to make learning easier for a student, not harder.

The part of Sue Patrick's website that I thought really neat is that she offers Starter Sets and Center Kits. For someone like me, that is great. I do not always have the time, energy or desire to create these and really like the option of purchasing them ready made. You can also purchase consulting from Mrs. Patrick if you need someone to help walk you through streamlining your homeschool.

Children thrive with structure and boundaries. They like to know where they are headed and they do not like surprises. If you are lacking a structure system in your homeschool, Sue Patrick's Workbox System may provide this much needed part of your child's life. The User Guide is an inexpensive introduction to her system and can be purchased as an e-book ($19) or printed book ($19.95). With the purchase of the book you will have access to download the basic forms she mentions.

You can view how other Crew families utilized Sue Patrick's Workbox System here.

2009-09-21T12:51:00.000-07:00

My 5yo daughter is doing well with her phonics program. And her reading is improving every day. Here is the page she created today learning about the consonants and vowels. If you click on the picture it will enlarge it.

The red checkmarks indicate consonants that make more than one sound. The "qu" is underlined because it is one sound but more than one letter. The "y" is circled because it functions both as a consonant and a vowel depending on the word.

The underlined vowels indicate that the vowel is saying its long sound at the end of a syllable.

StudyPod

2009-09-21T09:44:00.001-07:00

Studying can be a "pain in the neck" but it doesn't need to cause literal pain in the neck. Good ergonomics are not only important in an office. They are also important to students. Studying is hard work and you need to give yourself every advantage to make it as efficient and as effective as possible.

One tool that can help is the STUDYPOD Bookholder from GENIO. Designed by a teacher with student input, this book holder is easy to use and very versatile. Its compact format not only holds your book but the tools you need to study that book. Yet it becomes just another one of your books when closed, making transport easy. The STUDYPOD allows you to concentrate on your studies instead of fiddling with keeping your book open and at a comfortable angle.

My oldest daughter has been the main user of the STUDYPOD in our house. She uses it to read her book while eating breakfast and lunch every day. My other daughter uses it to hold her music while practicing the piano. That works well for them both. I like the fact that it holds the book at a comfortable angle. I have had trouble arranging the arms onto the book without it seeming awkward; however, my daughters have not had that experience. I also noticed that the page holder arms leave little dents in the pages of some books. I have not been able to determine if they are temporary or permanent. I am looking forward to using the STUDYPOD in other areas as I can see it being a real asset to good study habits.

The STUDYPOD (BookPod) is available in black, blue, pink, grey and beige for $19.95 or 2 or more for $16.95. If you are not satisfied with the STUDYPOD in any way send it back within 30 days for a full refund.

Read here to see what other Crew members found.

Journey Through Learning

2009-09-17T14:16:00.001-07:00

I will begin by saying that lapbooks are very much NOT a favorite at our house. So when I received lapbooks to review from A Journey Through Learning I was in a quandary. However, my 12 year old daughter said that she would complete one so that we could see how they worked. The one she chose is called The Desert.

The lapbooks from A Journey Through Learning look fun enough to get even a non-lapbooker like me excited. With many topics to choose from your child can experience hours of hands-on, enjoyable learning.

Included in our lapbook kit was a study guide. This is such a neat feature as I do not like to have to search elsewhere for the information to complete the mini-books. There were also complete templates for the mini-books including clear and thorough directions of how to put the lapbook together. The booklets are colorful and the activities among them varied. The only negative comment that my daughter had about the lapbook was that some of the pieces were challenging to cut out and for a perfectionist that might prove frustrating.

The beauty of these lapbooks is their flexibility. If you want to just read the study guide and complete the mini-books, that is great. You will still learn plenty. However, they are also perfect for including extra material and expanding the topics. You can even purchase copywork and notebooking pages to enhance your study if your particular lapbook does not already include them. Several forms are provided to assist your expanded study. A book list form, note organizing and outline forms as well as narration forms make extra studies easy. There are even additional reading material suggestions.

These colorful lapbooks are very complete, allowing the parent and student to enjoy learning the material instead of worrying about the structure or flow of the lapbook. By completing one mini-booklet per day, a 3-folder lapbook will take you approximately one month. Or you can work through it at any speed that fits your family. I can see one of the history overview unit studies being a great history class when my little ones get into early elementary.

The lapbook topics range from science to history to Bible. There are even ones for preschoolers. If you are interested in a lapbooking class, the folks at A Journey Through Learning would love to book one for you. There are sample pages of the different lapbooks on the website. If you want to see one in its entirety, sign up for their newsletter and you will receive a lapbook free. (Scroll to the bottom of this screen.)

A Journey Through Learning offers free shipping on orders. Most lapbooks cost $13 (instant download), $14 CD, and $21 Printed copy (including 3 color file folders). They also have mini-lapbooks and unit studies.

So if your schooling could use a little spicing up, check out your options at A Journey Through Learning. I know I will be keeping them on my list. You can read here what other families have to say.

Write With the Best, Volume 2

2009-09-06T17:29:00.000-07:00

Write With the Best, Volume 2, for 6th-12th graders, teaches expository and informative writing. Students learn these skills by modeling great authors of world literature.

Included in these 20 weeks of lessons:

* Free Verse Poetry - Emily Dickinson (10 lessons)
* Business Letters - Helen Keller (10 lessons)
* Notetaking, Outlines, Summaries (10 lessons)
* Persuasive Essays - Thomas Paine (10 lessons)
* Expository Essays - Francis Bacon (10 lessons)
* Literary Critiques - Edgar Allan Poe (10 lessons)
* Book Reviews (10 lessons)
* Newspaper Articles - Ernest Hemingway (10 lessons)
* Speeches - Marcus Tullius Cicero (10 lessons)
* Dramatic Monologues - Shakespeare (10 lessons)

Clearly defined objectives lead the student step by step through analysis of the featured literature then through the writing assignment. A "How to Write Guide" and a "Proofreading Checklist" are included for each writing genre. These can be used both in this course and future writing practice. There are also additional literary passages included so this course can be completed more than once by the same student if desired.

Volume 2 builds on foundations taught in Volume 1 so it is recommended that you start at the beginning unless your student is very strong in descriptive writing.

PROS

Material is written directly to the student
Clearly defined lesson objectives
Step by step instruction
How to Write Guide
Proofreading Checklists
Inexpensive ($24.95 Ebook) - Currently on sale for $18.65

CONS

The text layout may be a little difficult for visual learners (One reason why the generous free samples of their products are nice.)

My 9th grader daughter is currently using another writing program, but I hope to return to Write With the Best in the near future. I feel the age range of 6th-12th grade is fairly accurate. You would obviously expect more detailed work from a 12th grader than a 6th grader. And a less skilled student may need more assistance.

Stay tuned for my review of The Complete Career, College, and High School Guide for Homeschoolers, also an EDUDPS product. For now you can read these EDUDPS reviews from my Crew mates.