The Homeschool Review

American Heritage Education Foundation

2009-11-12T10:51:00.000-08:00

Yesterday in honor of Veterans Day, I had this quote up on my personal blog…

We sleep safely in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would harm us. - George Orwell

Over the past 200years, men and women have given their lives for my freedom. It is a trite comment these days to say that, but think about it. Men fought in the Revolutionary War generations ago so that I have the right to go to the polls and decide who I want to represent me in my government. Men DIED so I could be free.

I don’t take that lightly. I and my family sleep safely in my bed, every night because there are men and women who’ve fought and died so I have that privilege.

I don’t mind telling you that it absolutely breaks my heart to see what is happening to this country that I love. We’ve somehow created a generation or two that are all about what can you do for me. What I deserve. They just want to do their own thing and let the government handle the rest. It makes me so sad. The forefathers would be heartbroken. Would those who fought and died for the freedoms I enjoy, regret it if they could see where we are today?

You may be wondering what this has to do with curriculum and homeschooling. Well, there is a foundation that feels the same way I do; The American Heritage Education Foundation. It is their theory that one of the reasons for the decline in our country is the fact that children are not being taught their history. They don’t know all that was sacrificed for their freedoms. This cannot stand!

They’ve created a curriculum that you can get for FREE from their site. It is a download that has units available from K – 12 and did I mention it’s FREE?

The following is a quote from the American Heritage Education Foundation’s website under their philosophy.

AHEF believes that the concepts and themes of our American heritage must be objectively studied and continually improved for today's students and citizens to understand, appreciate, and perpetuate the ongoing miracle of our unique republic of the people, by the people, and for the people.

I couldn’t agree more. I think this curriculum would make a wonderful stand alone curriculum, but would also dovetail nicely into almost any existing American History study.

You can read more about AHEF here, and as always, you can click on the icon below to see what others had to say about it.

Happy Homeschooling!

Bright Idea's Press

2009-11-06T09:06:00.000-08:00

Bright Idea's Press sent those of us on the TOS Crew two items to review; A Young Scholar's Guide to Composers and All American History Volume 1.

A Young Scholar's Guide to Composers

This is a fantastic curriculum. It is genius in it's simplicity, and yet it's so FULL. There is just so much in this little book and yet it's not expensive nor does it have to much for the student to do. You can get a great understanding of Composers by just reading the small bio on the composer, listening to some of his work and then answering the provided questions. Or you can take it much deeper. There are composer info cards the students can fill out and keep for reference. There are coloring pages provided for the student to color as he listens, there are timelines and mapping exercises and games and on and on. I was surprised to peruse this seemingly ordinary workbook and see so very much provided!

The music itself is not included but in the back of the book there is a website for every composer listed where you can find examples of their music and on occasion a video of an orchestra playing the pieces.

One of the things I appreciate most about this curriculum is the Christian perspective. The character of the composer is touched on and some things about a composer that might be inappropriate are left out or discussed from a Christian perspective.

This is a gem, and is highly recommended!

All American History

All American History is a 2 volume, three part American History Curriculum spanning two years.

I was sent Volume 1 which takes us from the Explorers to the Jacksonian. This covers one year and is in three parts. The Text, the Student Activity Book and the Teacher's Guide.

I'm all for saving money, but you really can't properly do this curriculum without all three. The text is great, but without the two other parts, it's just a text book. The student activity guide is what brings it to life for the student. It is what cements what he has learned. It contains questions about what they read in the text and For Further Study projects for each of the thirty-two lessons.

The Teacher Guide contains MUCH information to help you student complete the For Further Study projects. It was fascinating to read some of the information that was contained in there! It also contains Activity Ideas, Dates needed for the timeline, information for the map work, review games, (and my favorite resource!) a book list for primary, middle and secondary grade levels, Answers for the For Further Study Projects, additional suggestions for Younger Student Adaptations, and suggestions for family activities.

This is a FULL history curriculum.

My ideas on what make up a good history curriculum have changed as my kids have gotten older. We used to use a literature based curriculum that was very book heavy. I felt like I was rushing my kids through wonderful books to keep up and I felt like the spine was missing.

I like All American History because it is all spine, but it is done in a way that still feels like the kids are being told a story instead of reading a dry text book. I like that I can add activity and books that fit my students and their age and reading level and let them read them at there pace, not the pace the curriculum suggests.

We were not able to use these wonderful resources for more than a few weeks because we are full up this school year. However, these two resources will be put back on the shelf for next year. They will be used in full as our main curriculum starting in the Fall, we liked them that much.

You can go to Bright Idea's Press to see the process for these items and see what other products they offer and as always, you can click on the icon below to see what others had to say about various Bright Ideas Press offerings.

Happy Homeschooling!

ACT Discover

2009-11-06T08:37:00.000-08:00

Most of you have heard of the ACT. It's that scary test you have to take toward the end of high school that seems to hold the key to your future success in college.

I've always feared the ACT for my children. We have spent the first 12 years learning things as works best for each individual child. Doing things differently, as best suits each child. But before they can go on to college they must pass through this scary test. Well it turns out the ACT people have some really amazing tools to make this transition much less daunting.

I was sent several items by the ACT people that I'll be reviewing over the coming months, but the first is the ACT Discover.

DISCOVER is a premier Internet-based career guidance system that helps parents help their children learn more about themselves, explore career options, and plan for the future.

It starts by taking your high school student through a rigorous online questionnaire that, when finished will show the student his academic bents, and based on that, career fields that would best suite those bents. But it does not stop there. My older son has taken these types of assessments, and really once he had the 'you're best for ________ type of work.' he was left there. The ACT Discover takes it further. From there the ACT Discover lets you check over the various career fields it suggests in some depth. With this information in mind, the student can then see what a good course of study would be for him to make in into the suggested careers.

Personally, I think the extra steps are what make the ACT Discover useful. As the parents of two teenage boys, I've noticed that it is sometimes hard for them to see how to get from where they are now, to what they want in the future. The path from here to there is fuzzy. And we all know that a directionless teenager is a recipe for disaster.

Both of my boys know where they are going and what is necessary to get there. They both have very specific career plans and the ACT Discover just reiterated to them they were on the right path and then gave them some further ideas on how they might accomplish their goals.

I think this is a great program and I recommend it.

Price: $19.95 for a three-month license, $24.95 for a six-month license.

You can go here to find out more about the ACT Discover program and as always, you can click on the icon below to see what other members of the TOS Crew had to say.

Happy Homeschooling!

ABC Teach

2009-11-06T07:58:00.000-08:00

ABC Teach is a website for educators. If you've ever done a Google Search for worksheets or printables you've probably already been there. ABC Teach has around 5000 free printables available. But the member site is amazing!

I was thrilled to be offered a free 1 month membership as a member of the TOS Crew. I had a membership to ABC Teach years ago when I was teaching my littles to read. It was worth every penny. We did a letter of the week type thing and there was so much available on ABC Teach to use to enhance that.

I let my membership expire once my kids learned to read because we're not really worksheet style people, and ABC Teach seemed geared toward the younger crowd. I was happy to find out that there was much available for my older kids this time around. I was especially interested in all the book report forms and writing tools.

I am trying to teach a dyslexic to better write essays this year and there are many resources available to help me help him organize his papers before he begins writing.

I feel like I only scratched the surface of what's available on ABC Teach so I decided to renew my membership for a full year. Here is the list of links just under Language Arts...

Alphabetical Order Proverbs and Sayings
Book Reports Reading
Brainstorming Activities Rebus
Dolch Skills
Glyphs Spelling
Literacy Centers Word Families
Morning Language Arts Word Slides
Nursery Rhymes Word Wheels--Picture Shapes
Phonics Writing

And under brainstorming activities there were another 17 options to click on. You can see how they have over 35,000 printables and worksheets (with more being added weekly)!

There is also a new component to ABC Teach that was not available when I had my membership the first time and that's the ABC Tools where you can create your own worksheets: handwriting pages, word searches, crossword puzzles and the like.

ABC Teach is a wonderful resource in my opinion for those who are worksheet/workbook types and even those who are not. I am not usually a workbookie type, but I look forward to all I'll be able to use on ABC Teach over the next year.

The $40 a year cost for a membership is well worth it. You can click on the icon below to see what others had to say about ABC Teach.

Happy Homeschooling!

My Access

2009-10-31T12:37:00.000-07:00

There are many ways to learn about writing. There is much curriculum available and many programs to choose from. It is my opinion however, that the best way to learn to write is simply to write. That is one of the reasons I liked the My Access program. The point of the My Access Program is to write.
Here’s how it works.

You pay your $99 and you get one parent account and three or six student accounts. The parent begins by setting up the student accounts and inputting the grade level of the student. From there you can create your own topics for writing assignments or have your student choose a readymade topic. I created my own because my children are taking a writing class at our co op this year and they had specific topics they had to write about. When my children choose their own topics they don’t read a lesson, they just write into the provided space and then click on My Editor when done. Think of the My Editor button as you would the spell/grammar check in Word, except (and this is key) it not only gives you suggestions as to how to correct the problem, it tells you WHY it needs to be corrected. What grammar/spelling/usage rule you are breaking, and how to fix it.

I must admit we have not spent a great deal of time on the My Tutor portion of the My Access because my kids have been getting all their teaching at the co op class. However, coming up, they have some things to do outside of the co op English Class, and I am planning on having them use the Tutor portion of this program to help them with that project.

In all honesty, I believe this program is VERY MUCH worth the money. $99 for up to 6 accounts? That’s a deal!

There is one caveat however. As with most things in life, it’s never as simple as it seems. This program will not take away parental involvement. For instance; I have two prolific writers in my house. They write because they love to do it and they want to do it to the best of their abilities. My Access was a real treat for them. I even forgot to ask my Eve to write her essay for co op using My Access and she did it anyway because she really enjoyed it the last time. She thrives on the non-judgmental critique. You don’t tend to get as defensive when critiqued by the computer. She wants to do better and she sees this program as a way to help her write the best possible paper.

On the other side of the coin is my Bob. Bob is dyslexic and hates writing. He would write on the My Access website and then I’d come sit down next to him and we’d go over the corrections. He was simply not able to process all the program was telling him without someone there to walk through it with him. When I took the time to sit next to him and edit with him, he got much more out of it. The defensiveness was also gone there because I was helping him solve the problem, not the one pointing it out. So, while My Access was definitely a help for him as well, it was not necessarily a time saver.

The My Access site has MUCH information on its website. If you are interested in this program, I’d recommend taking some time and looking over the site. There are many video demos that can really give you a good understanding of what the My Access program is all about.

Happy Homeschooling!

Virginia Soaps and Scents

2009-10-31T11:07:00.000-07:00

Being on the TOS Crew has many perks, mostly I get to try curriculum that I might not otherwise think to try. But every now and then, we get to try something non curriculum. Like Virginia Soaps and Scents! VSS sent us some homemade soaps, three to be exact, in Coconut Lemongrass, Fresh Orange, and Oatmeal, Milk and Honey scents. I loved them all, but the Fresh Orange was my favorite. I don't usually use soap, I like liquid soap better. I don't like the feel that is left on my skin from regular soap. I was pleasantly surprised that these soaps did not leave that sort of dry sticky feel. I thought I'd use them just enough to do the review then go back to my usually liquid soap, but I liked them so much I used them all up! I didn't even share with my girls.

We were also sent a Shampoo Bar. I had never heard of a shampoo bar before. I tried it for a week, but I just couldn't get it to work with my hair. I have heard of many of the others who like it alot. Honestly I think this depends on your hair type. I have thin, baby fine hair. It did not respond well to the shampoo bar. I left it kind of oily and heavy feeling. My hair is very temperamental and I only use one type of shampoo/conditioner and any time I try something new, I tend to end up with oily, lifeless hair.

The price on the Shampoo bar is $5.50 for a bar weighing 5.5 ounces or $10.00 for 2 bars. Honestly I wish this had worked on my hair, because it s so convenient and easy to travel with. It would have been GREAT for camping! I have stuck the rest of the bar in the RV to let the boys use.

The last thing we were sent was a laundry soap kit. I must admit here that I have not yet made the soap. I have been intrigued with the idea of making my own laundry soap for a while now. We have 6 people in this family and 5 of them are adult size. I do A LOT of laundry. My problem with this is that we live in a small house with a small kitchen and a small laundry area. The thought of making the big vat of laundry soap Duggar style, was just too overwhelming to me.

I like the idea of this kit because all the gathering work is done for me and it makes a manageable batch for me to work with in my kitchen and laundry area. Now for honesty...I've not done it yet. We've been passing around a cold here, (not the flu PTL!) and I've just not gotten to it. However, Kristen, on the Crew did it and she videoed it! Just watching her do it makes me feel like this is something I could do!

So next week, making the laundry soap is top of my list!

I know it seems a little odd to be reviewing soaps on a Homeschool Blog, but the family from VSS is a homeschooling family. Their account of how they came to be soap makers is heartwarming and I am all for supporting another homeschooling families business venture whenever I can.

You can go here to learn more about Virginia Soaps and Scents, read more about their family and find our their prices, and as always you can click on the icon below to see what others on The Crew had to say.

Happy Homeschooling!

Amazing Bible Timeline

2009-10-29T10:53:00.000-07:00

I was sent the Amazing Bible Timeline to review. It came in this really cool long, triangular box. That really has nothing to do with the review other than it was a treat to get a log triangular box in the mail and the kids had hours of fun turning the box into many things before it finally went out with the trash.

Now to the timeline…

This is a really cool timeline. I do like the way it’s laid out. Before I received it in the mail, I had never seen one laid out in this circular way before. It really does make it easy to understand and ‘see’ history. I am a big fan of timelines, though we don’t use them as much as we should I’m sure, and we don’t keep one or make one as we go because well, eeewww, arts and crafts.

This is a big timeline…here is a photo from their website that shows the timeline laid out on a table. You can really get how big this is. It is made on heavy card stock paper. It’s not laminated but it’s sturdy.

There are a few negatives or things some might perceive negatively. I think it’s important to remember that while this is a Bible timeline, it is not, in fact, the inerrant word of God. It is not inspired. It’s man’s attempt to put Gods word into chronological perspective. There are also some references on the timeline that are not necessarily biblical, or more accurately, more historical than Biblical. There are also some Book of Mormon references on the timeline.

Honestly, this does not deter from the usefulness of the timeline for me. It is a timeline after all, not a bible study. It is a great timeline, one my family will use. However, I am careful to explain to my kids that it is not the Bible. It is a tool to perhaps help us to understand history from a more Biblical perspective, but it’s not a Bible Study. There is a difference.

I think this Timeline will find a place amongst my curriculum tools…now if I could just find a good place to display it where everyone can see it…

You can go here to check out the prices (included in the price for the timeline is a few free downloads, YIPPEE!) and as always, you can click on the icon below to see what others had to say about the Amazing Bible Timeline.

Happy Homeschooling!

Sarah’s Wish

2009-10-19T13:59:00.000-07:00

When I was sent this book by Jim Baumgardner I was thrilled. It had several things going for it, in my opinion. First of all, Jim wrote this book for his grandchildren. He has 9 who are all homeschooled. I Love that. I have enjoyed getting to know Mr. Baumgardner through his emails. He has a wonderful sense of humor and an obvious love of history, and a nose for the type of quality literature he would want his own grandchildren to read. It makes me feel very safe letting my kids read books a man wrote with his own grandchildren in mind. Here is an excerpt of the email he sent out to those of us reviewing this book on the Crew.

The Sarah Books are authored by me for my grandchildren. I say that so that you will know these books do not have any sex, profanity, or anything that would be offensive to young readers. I would never subject my grandchildren to such writing.

The books have been referred to as Christian fiction. I prefer to describe them as Young Adult fiction written by a Christian author. Sarah’s faith is important to her and she lives by it, but the books do not try to convert the reader to anything. The stories do teach Christian principals of living a good life and treating others as you would have them treat you. I do not ignore the evil in the world and Sarah must confront it at times just as we all do.

Not all learning has to be from textbooks. Kids like to see history set in story form, and the Sarah books fulfill that quest for realism. The reader will learn pre-civil war history while enjoying a good read.

That is exactly what we found Sarah’s Wish to be; a delightful read, which was historically accurate, and good clean and fun.

My girls have asked for the rest of the books. I wish I could just go out and order them. I HATE saying no to my kids when they’re asking for books. Sadly money is tight right now so we’re not able to buy any extra’s. I have added these to the Christmas list though. We have a few relatives who send money down for Christmas gifts and I think that money will be spent on Sarah’s books!

There are a few things to me, that take these books over the top as far as appeal. One is the audio component. I have two dyslexic children so anytime I can get something on audio I do. It is such a good practice to have my dyslexic child follow along in the book while listening to the audio. When you buy the book, you get some numbers to type into some little boxes on a website (what a technical explanation!) and you can download the audio! I had my son use his magic and convert them to the right type of file and upload the book onto my daughter’s iPod. It is an ancient iPod (a 1st gen) and it all fit and worked like a charm.

Also, Mr. Baumgardner has a newsletter he sends out with fun facts, historical information pertaining to the book a question of the month and several other things pertaining to the stories.

Another little bonus for me was that Mr. Baumgardner is from Wichita, KS, my old stomping grounds and he volunteers at the Old Cowtown Museum which I visited as a child. I remember spending a day there in 1800’s garb (including my great grandmothers actual bonnet! Which I still have!) in the one room schoolhouse. I have very fond memories of Cowtown and can’t wait to take my kids there next time I’m in town visiting relatives. I may stop and introduce myself to Mr. Baumgardner!

This book, about the underground railroad in 1858 Kansas. It’s about a little girl, a great tragedy, and a big wish. This book gets an A+ from this Homeschooling mama!

You can go here to read more about Mr. Baumgardner and the Sarah books (including excerpts). And as always you can click on the icon below to see what others had to say about Sarah’s Wish.

Happy Homeschooling!

FREE Unit Study/Lapbook!

2009-10-17T07:20:00.001-07:00

FREE STUFF FROM TOS MAGAZINE!!! Who does not *heart* free stuff!!! (here is the email I received and I was given permission to pass it on to you!

Here at The Old Schoolhouse Magazine®, we just love sharing with our friends. So when we have something new that we can give to you FREE to share with your friends, we just have to get it to you.

We want you to enjoy a completely free autumn unit study and lap book from Amanda Bennett and The Old Schoolhouse®. It is over 80 pages of activities and resources.

This free autumn unit study can be downloaded through our store at:

http://www.theoldschoolhousestore.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=145&products_id=12934

We also have an encouragement article, along with a special coupon code. It can be found at the following URL:
http://www.thehomeschoolmagazine.com/Homeschooling/Are-You-Trained.htm

Enjoy this free learning resource and thank you!

Happy Homeschooling!

Guardian Angel Publishing

2009-10-10T12:29:00.000-07:00

Guardian Angel Publishing sent me 4 E books to review. I am really trying to get used to the E-book. I want to like the E-book, I really do. I know it has its place, but I think I’ll always be partial to the print book. If you can swing it, buy the book with pages, if not go for the E version.

The books I was sent to review are…

Hamster Holidays: Noun and Adjective Adventures of The Pet Grammar Parade Series is a book that helps children learn about nouns and adjectives. The nouns are in blue and the adjectives in the story are in red. At the back of the book there are some ideas on how to teach them and some games and puzzles to play.

No Bones About It: The Sum of Our Parts Series was a very timely book for us to receive. My oldest son is taking an anatomy class at the community college and has to memorize the bones in the skeleton. I gave him this e book to help him and he was really glad to have it! When things rhyme, it makes it oh, so much easier to remember!

Earthquake is a lovely book with some really cool illustrations, factoids and charts and graphs. It would make a nice complement to an earthquake study. We down her in Texas don’t have many earthquakes so we don’t know a lot about them in this house. We found this book to be informative.

Andy and Spirit Go to the Fair This is a sweet 24 page story about a boy in a wheel chair and a horse named Spirit. The illustrations in this book are very nice and I liked the story.

One thing that made viewing the E book a little easier is to view the pages side by side. I did this by clicking on view, then page display and then two-up. Several of the books have illustrated pages on one side and the writing on the other side, so if you can view them side by side it is more enjoyable.

You can go to the Guardian Angel Publishing site to see what other books they have to offer. They have quite a variety of books, E, and print for you to choose from, and as always, you can click on the icon below to see what other Crew Members had to say.

Happy Homeschooling!

Five Minutes to Better Reading Skills from Bonnie Terry Learning

2009-10-10T11:54:00.000-07:00

I have two dyslexic children. Both have been through the Scottish Rite Dyslexia Lab School. This is a two year program that uses a very phonetic based Orton-Gillingham style approach to dyslexia remediation. Unfortunately, not everyone lives in Texas to be able to take their child to Scottish Rite, and not all children with reading difficulties are dyslexic.

I was sent 5 minutes to Better Reading by Bonnie Terry Learning to review. This program is very similar to one of the things my children did at Scottish Rite called Rate. It is a very specific set of words that the children practice until they reach a certain level of fluency.

It’s not the most interesting thing in the world, but I can tell you, it works. Bonnie Terry has done a very good job if taking this idea and simplifying and streamlining it for the parent to be able to do at home. She has very specific instructions, easily laid out so that you can use this program, (in just 5 minutes a day!) to help your struggling reader gain fluency.

You can go here to read more about this specific program, and here to the Bonnie Terry site to see her various other programs for struggling learners.

As always, you can click on the icon below to see what other mothers had to say about Bonnie Terry Learning products.

Happy Homeschooling!

Nature Friends Magazine

2009-10-07T14:30:00.000-07:00

I heard about Nature Friends Magazine about a year ago on a homeschooling website I frequent. At the time I was looking for a good gift idea for my daughter Eve who was turning 11. Her Grandma had asked for something she could get her that would be easy to ship. Well what’s easier than a Magazine subscription?

I was a little hesitant because let’s face it, science type magazines for kids are tricky. It seems either they are secular and have to be closely monitored, lest my children are taught we crawled out of the ocean, or they are Christian in nature and low budget with disappointing content. I wish it were not so, but in our experience it seems you get either/or.

I was pleasantly surprised. Eve liked these magazines so much that she has saved each and every one. The rest of the family has to practically check them out to get to see them. I have been meaning all year to do a post about them because we have enjoyed them so much, but did not get around to it.

Well, much to our sadness, her subscription expired in July and her grandma did not renew it. Sadly, money’s a little tight right now, so we didn’t either.

I was pleasantly surprised to find Nature Friends among the TOS Crew vendors this year! YIPPEE! The timing was perfect. We were able to get Aug and September’s magazine! And they’ve added a study guide to it!

I am so pleased with the study guide. I think, with the use of the study guide, you could use this mag as the basis for your science curriculum for the elementary years. At minimum it would be an excellent supplement to a textbook curriculum, if you’re a textbookie type.

You can go here to see some samples of the magazine online, or you can order a sample copy for $5.

I was surprised at the quality of the paper; it’s quite thick and easy for the little hands to turn the pages. All of the magazines we’ve gotten over the last year are still perfectly in tact with no rips or tears. Of course, like I mentioned, my daughter treats them with great reverence.

The photography in this publication is also noteworthy. They have a tab on their site just for the nature photography. The photos are amazing! I just recently found this and my kids have spent hours looking up various birds to see what the look like.

The prices for Nature Friends Magazine are as follows:

1 year subscription - $36.00
2 year subscription - $68.00
The Study guides are added on for $2 an issue.

Personally, I like what the study guides had to offer. If you’re going to use this as the basis for your science curriculum I think it a worthy investment, but if money is tight, the magazine is magnificent even without the study guide.

I give this magazine an A+! I am sad we’re going to miss a few issues, but I suspect this magazine will reappear at this house shortly after Christmas.

You can click on the icon below to see what others had to say about Nature Friends Magazine.

Happy Homeschooling!

College Prep Genius (2)

2009-10-03T13:47:00.000-07:00

Remember College Prep Genius?

Well, we’ve been spending a bit more time with it the last little bit and let me just say…whoa! We’ve barely scratched the surface! There is SO MUCH in this curriculum. Honestly I wish I’d had it with Will before he took the SAT & ACT. He’s not really interested in taking them again. And really he does not need too for what he is after. He’s already on the college track for what he wants to be (Paramedic/Fireman though he is also considering Nursing School after he becomes a Paramedic).

I can see how very useful this will be when it’s time for Bob to start thinking about the SAT/ACT, which will actually be sooner than I would like to admit!

Here is an excerpt from the book…

College Prep Genius contains hidden secrets and little-known patterns found on the SAT and PSAT/NMSQT/NNSQT tests. By unraveling these concealed codes, students can score higher on these tests and in return receive up to full scholarships/full ride to colleges of their choice.

The book goes on to show you how, by using various acronyms and test taking strategies, you can really improve your score.

Yes, you must know the material. My guess is that a third grader could not take this course and get a great score on the tests, but, for those who are on grade level and ready to take the tests I believe that this course will help immensely.

If you go check out my first review on College Prep Genius, you can see the pricing structure and what others had to say about it.

Happy Homeschooling!

A Journey Through Learning Lapbooks

2009-09-28T06:39:00.000-07:00

I’m pretty sure I have mentioned a time or fifty my non crafty nature. I can sew a little bit and I can crochet. That’s the end of my creativity. Give me a book or let me write and I’m happy. Paper and glue and scissors do not make me happy.

Enter A Journey through Learning and the dreaded lapbook…

I have used some material from A Journey through Learning before. We did a Government Unit Study during the elections that I reviewed here.

It was a well done study and we really enjoyed it so I decided to give the lapbook the old college try. I was sent 5 lapbooks to do...

We choose to start with the Autumn study. I gathered all the material, which consisted of file folders, glue, pencils, markers, a stapler and scissors. All things we already had here at the house.

I printed out the study and extra sheets so both girls could make one and we got started. Turns out, I was not required. How wonderful! I know that sounds terrible but if it is up to me to get these girls to do a lapbook we’re in trouble because, as I previously mentioned…not creative.

Basically, the girls looked over the directions and (my favorite part) the PICTURES in the directions! Then they assembled the file folders the proper way. They then read the first segment and began the activity that went with it. Then they did all the cutting and the drawing and the pasting. They LOVED it. It was really simple. I think my favorite thing about this study is the pictures. Not just drawings (though there are some of those two) but actual photographs of the finished product so the girls knew exactly where to put the things in the folder when they were done making them.

Honestly, if you’re new to lapbooks or of the very word makes you twitchy I HIGHLY recommend trying one of the many lapbooks A Journey through Learning has available.

My daughters are in 5th and 7th and in my opinion, the perfect age for a lapbook like this. For them it was reinforcement of things they already knew and not new learning, but they really enjoyed it. I think if you go too much below 2nd grade, the mom would have to be heavily involved. Which is fine, unless you’re like me and do not enjoy the cutting and the pasting.

I have no doubt that we will quickly make our way through the rest of the lapbooks A Journey through Learning sent me, and then I will have to purchase some more. We did our lapbooks last thing in the day when everything else was already done, and it seemed a good motivator to help keep them on track throughout the day and a nice way to cap off a day of school.

You can go here and check out all A Journey through Learning has to offer and see their prices here. (VERY reasonable pricing!)

And as always, you can click on the icon below to see what others on The TOS Crew had to say.

Happy Homeschooling!

Nutrition 101: Choose Life

2009-09-24T11:28:00.000-07:00

To call Nutrition 101: Choose Life, published by Growing Healthy Homes, a health curriculum seems incomplete. It is more of a science curriculum. This baby is thorough!

The following 6 units are included in this 448 page book:

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.

We barely scratched the surface of what this book holds. We did the Muscular and Skeletal System since it seemed appropriate right about now with what’s going on in our house...

To a homeschooler, everything’s a lesson, right?

We read over the lesson and discussed the discussion questions together. Easy. But the pictures and fun facts included make in very engaging.

We then went to the ‘Activities’ section and choose an activity to do. The girls decided to look up the skeleton online and found some really cool X-Ray photos. (be careful here, parents. As you know Google can be your friend but also your enemy!)

We also read several of the scriptures the curriculum pointed us to about bones.

Buy the time my Eve (pictured above) was ready get her cast on, she knew a lot of information about the bones and the skeletal system and was able to tell the Orthopedic Dr some of what she knew. (I think he was duly impressed so score one for homeschoolers!)

All in all, this is a very good curriculum. It could easily be used for an entire family, for a year’s worth of health/science.

Personally, I am still having a hard time with all the E-Books and would LOVE to own this in hardback. If you have it in your budget, I’d get the print version. I think for my family, we’ll probably take it to Kinko’s and get it printed out.

You can go here to find out more about Nutrition 101: Choose Life.

As always, you can click on the TOS Crew icon below and see what other crew members had to say.

Happy Homeschooling!

Study Pod

2009-09-23T17:06:00.000-07:00

I think I should include some sort of rating system with the highest rating being ‘I could barely do the review because my children kept running off with the product’. That was the case with the study pod.

When it came in the mail they were unimpressed at first. It’s just a little unassuming black book shaped plastic thing. Ho-Humm.

But then I showed them what it was and what it did. Okay, in the interest of full disclosure my dyslexic and amazingly spatial son Bob, glanced at the pictures on the box and had it open and a book sitting in it before I could find the clasp. That kid is amazing!

Once the kids realized what it was, it has been completely unavailable for me to use.

So far it has been used in the following ways…

~ Will, the College Student, realized it will hold up his floppy, think, cumbersome Anatomy book while he is studying.

~ Eve learned it will double as an easel for her art canvas

~ Ann learned it will hold up her Daring Book For Girls, so she can look at the pictures and practice Karate moves. (I can’t tell you how much I wish I had my camera with me when I saw her doing that!)

~ I learned it will neatly hold up a single piece of paper with a recipe on it, without it flopping over, while I’m cooking.

~ Bob learned it’s very sturdy and if you try to place several textbooks on it to see how many it will hold and it falls off the table and crashes onto the floor, it will survive no worse for wear.

~ Bob also learned it will hold up the diagram to the lawn mower engine so he can look at the pictures without getting grease on everything.

You can watch this video to see the way it was intended to be used.

You can go here to check it out and see the prices.

And, as always, you can click on the picture below to see what other Crew Members had to say.

Happy Homeschooling!

College Prep Genius

2009-09-11T08:03:00.000-07:00

I was sent College Prep Genius to review. Ahhh, the SAT. The SAT and I are not on the best of terms. Honestly I am frustrated by the SAT. We do not teach our children in the traditional, textbook/workbook way. We just don’t. Over the last 11 or 12 years (I’ve lost count) we’ve developed our own style of learning, it is more of a whole learning, whole literature, interest driven sort of philosophy. We’re not Unschoolers by any stretch, but I encourage my kids to follow their interests as much as possible as opposed to read the chapter, memorize the vocab, take the test, forget it all.

So, that being said, the SAT has always given me a looming sense of doom. That big test at the end of their schooling that says if I as the teacher passed or failed… Pressure much?

Because I’m nuts, and don’t like to do it the way everyone else does, I had Will take the SAT, last year cold. He didn’t study, he didn’t learn all the tricks, he didn’t read all the ‘how to beat the SAT’ how to books. I wanted to see what he knew. Not what test taking strategies he knew.

Turns out? Not such a good idea. He didn’t do as well as I had hoped. He didn’t bomb it, but I know he could have done better. I’m honestly not too worried about it because he’s taking college classes right now at the Community College. He plans to transfer to another CC after he graduates from highschool to go through their Paramedicine program. He’ll graduate from there with an associate’s degree in paramedicine and will have a way to earn good money to be able to go on and get a 4 year degree in the health sciences field. That is what he wants to do and I don’t think the SAT’s are going to make one bit of difference for him.

However, he is only one of my children. I have three others below him and if my experience with Will has taught me anything, it’s taught me that sometimes you have to play the game. Even if you don’t like to play the game.

Enter College Prep Genius. It is a course on playing the SAT game.

Simply put, College Prep Genius shows the tricks of the trade when it comes to the test. How to use logic and various, specific strategies to improve your score.

There are lots of SAT prep classes that run in the $100’s. But College Prep Genius is priced lower than that at $79 for the course and best of all, you can go through it at home at your own pace.

Here's the price breakdown.

Master the SAT Class DVD: $59.95
College Prep Genius textbook: $39.95
Class workbook: $15.95
Total value: $115.85

Introductory Price: (which is 30% off!)

$79

This also has a "100% Money Back Guarantee.

I’ll be working through this with my freshman and my senior in the coming months and I’ll let you know how it goes.

Final review to come…

As always, you can click on the picture below to see what other Crew Members had to say about College Prep Genius.

Happy Homeschooling!

Aleks: Updated

2009-09-02T13:17:00.000-07:00

I was given the opportunity to review Aleks last year. You can see that review here.

There were many things I liked about Aleks, most of which included my children doing math without me. I love it when my children can do math without me.

The people at Aleks asked me to go back and review Aleks again, paying special attention to the things they’ve changed or updated.

One of the things they’ve improved is that now you can give your student a quiz whenever you want. A Pop quiz I believe they were called back in my day. Before you could only have your students take a complete assessment, which took quite a bit of time and was sometimes, really more than I was after. It is nice to pop over the quiz page and choose which specific topics you’d like your student to be quizzed on.

The other thing they’ve updated is the Master account. I really don’t remember the Master Account being a problem before, but I do like they way they’ve updated it. Everything is right there, at your fingertips to help you keep ut with your student’s progress.

The pricing structure for Aleks is as follows… You can buy a monthly subscription for $19.95, a 6-month subscription for $99.95, or a 12-month subscription for $179.95.

You can also click on the little button above and try out Aleks for 1 month for free. You can click on the TOS button below that to see what others had to say about Aleks.

Happy Homeschooling!

Hank the Cowdog

2009-09-02T08:58:00.000-07:00

I was thrilled this year to see that Hank the Cowdog was on the list of vendors. Hank the Cowdog books were some of the first chapter books on tape that we tried when my boys were little. It really turned them onto books on tape. And being that I ended up with two dyslexic children, books on tape have really been a life saver!
I was sent three things from Maverick Books; (The Hank the Cowdog Publisher) the book The Case of the One-Eyed Killer Stud Horse, a game called Tornado, and Tales and Tunes from Hank the Cowdog

Now is where I have to admit to you that I never actually got a chance to do much more than glance at the products before they disappeared into the bowels of the house (aka, the children’s rooms). I was able to hear the CD playing from the girls’ room…and the silly songs being sung over and over and over and over, by my girls. I am not sure this is a good thing because shortly after they got all these silly songs stuck in their heads we all piled in the car for a 15 hour car trip…

The book had been previously read by my children, but it did get read again. In fact, when I asked the kids what they did with it after they read it, they said their cousins had it because they wanted to read it too!

And the game? Well, that was a huge hit. It’s a simple game, much like Trouble or Sorry, but the best thing about it??? Its size! It’s a TRAVEL GAME! I love those. We stuck it in our RV and took it with us on our two week CO trip. My daughters and their cousins had a blast playing this game. And with all the rain they had it CO during that two weeks, we adults were also ever-so happy to have it!

Personally, I love the Hank the Cowdog stories. They are cute, and just silly enough that kids love them. Hank thinks he’s big stuff but he often bumbles around and mixes up his speech in a way that children love.

His language is an issue for some as he does use ‘Ranch Talk’ like stupid, dumb, gosh and the like. My children were able to distinguish what was okay for them to say and what was not and that was never really an issue for us, but it’s something to be aware of.

I highly recommend Hank the Cowdog stuff, the books are great, but, I HIGHLY recommend the audio books. They are so well done and highly dramatized that my boys would sit for hours coloring and drawing and laughing their heads off listing to these books on tape.

You can go here to see the prices and find out more about Hank the Cowdog stuff, and you can click on the photo below to find out what others of the TOS Crew had to thing about Hank.

Happy Homeschooling!

Web Design For Kids…(and Curious Adults)

2009-08-29T10:21:00.001-07:00

Web Design For Kids...(and Curious Adults) is a DVD that teaches how to create a website…and it’s SIMPLE! I must admit that I was a little hesitant to watch this DVD because I don’t speak ‘Computer’. I have a blog on Blogger and it requires me to know virtually nothing about how it all works. I type stuff and hit publish and viola! Done. I don’t need to know how any of it works.

When I first put in the DVD I was sitting alone in my living room. Mr. Richardson started telling me what to type onto Notepad and I had flashbacks to 9th grade Computer class…back when everything was in DOS Mode…remember that? Way back in the dark ages?

Well, after I got some code on the Notepad and then saved it and put it on the web, I was starting to enjoy myself. Then he started teaching me some really cool stuff like this…

Look what I can do!!!!!!

And this...

Look what I can do!!!!!!

And before I knew it, my kids were sitting with me in the living room watching me make my words move all around the computer all just by changing a few letters in the HTML code.

They were duly impressed!

This is a great little DVD and I highly recommend it. Honestly I really wish I’d have pulled it out earlier this summer when I heard one of my kids saying ‘I’m board’. This DVD and the laptop would have kept them busy for hours!

Mr. Richardson does a great job of taking this scary foreign language known as HTML and making it easy for the average Joe like me and my kids to understand.

You can go here to get the prices and order this DVD (and right now it's on SALE! Who does not LOVE a sale???) And you can click on the photo below to see what the other Crew Members had to say.

Happy Homeschooling!

Quarter Mile Math

2009-08-27T09:02:00.000-07:00

I’m pretty sure I have mentioned on my blog my hate/hate relationship with math. Math and I are not friends. I am loathe to admit that it was the topic of math that almost caused me to miss out on this wonderful adventure that is homeschooling. I remember lamenting to my dear husband that there was no way on this earth I was going to be able to teach math to my children. He looked down at the 5 year old playing cars at my feet and assured me that I knew more math than a Kindergartner and that was all that was required at this moment. We’d worry about the future when it got here… what a wise guy! I did know how to teach Kindergarten math. Things got wonky when they started putting letters in with the numbers. But by that time I had been at this homeschooling game long enough to know there were many, many resources available to help me out.

One of those resources is Quarter Mile Math.

Quarter Mile Math is a software program that helps students learn math facts. The thing that makes QMM different than other programs is the fact that it quizzes the students not only on addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, but also all that icky stuff after that (you know, the parts with the letters) you can go here to see a list of all the tops covered, but let me throw a few out there like fractions and decimals and percents and integers and on and on and on…

It covers topics all the way from K through 9th grade.

I also like the way it works. Basically, you’re racing a car or a horse depending on your preference. You are racing the computer the first five times and after that you’re racing your own best time! I really like that the students can see themselves getting better and better and better!

There are many other benefits to this program like the fact that all the records are stored for you and can be printed off if you live in one of those grumpy states that requires all that record keeping.

Also there are tournaments you can do with several members of your family, so this is nice for larger families. We have not yet used this feature, but I know once I get this feature up and running the competitive nature of my children will jump out and they will really enjoy this part.

Also, the prices of QMM are excellent. If you’re curious, I would highly recommend trying it out since it will only cost you less than $3.00 for one month. You can’t beat that!

Here are the prices…

• $2.95 per family per month
• $19.95 per family for one year (save $15.45 over one year)
• $34.95 per family for two years (save $35.85 over two years)

Right now they are running a promo, if you use the Referral Code 7K7Y7, you'll get $5 off any product--Standard or Deluxe.

You can click on the photo below to read what other Crew Members had to say...

Happy Homeschooling!

Summer, where'd you go?

2009-08-18T14:04:00.000-07:00

Okay, summer is ending. It takes courage, I'm told, to admit one's problems. It is the first step to a healthy solution. SO here goes.

I am not ready.

I don't want summer to end.

It's not the mind-numbing heat that makes me heart summer so much as it's lack of, well, Math.

During the school year there is math.

I don't like math.

I'm pretty sure the feeling is mutual and that is why Math has been torturing me all these years.

Now that *gulp* the summer is ending, I will begin posting here again. Posting about some of the homeschool curriculum that I love.

And even, maybe if I am so lucky, a newly discovered math curriculum that does not hate me...

Just to whet your appetite, read this. I've never met Mrs. G, but I think she may be my long lost twin.

Happy Homeschooling!

Demigods Saved the Summer!

2009-07-18T07:37:00.000-07:00

It's summer here in Texas. And I do mean SUMMER. It's too hot to be outside, even at 8am. Also our neighborhood pool is having some technical issues and has not opened. This is very, very sad.

Our neighborhood pool is very, very, important to my families' well being, it turns out. Because the pool is not open, I've had to get a bit creative with how to keep the kids occupied. I must admit here that I never really understood all the whining and complaining mom's do about keeping their kids occupied in the summer. I've never had a problem with my kids whining and saying they're board and wanting to do nothing but watch TV. That is until this summer. Turns out, being at the pool every afternoon, all afternoon, with their friends was what was keeping them occupied. NOW I get it!

So the reason for this post...(you were wondering if there was one, weren't you).

These books. The Olympians Series by Rick Riordan. This series of books has saved my summer! My girls are devouring them! I got them on audio CD for the girls to listen to on our long car trip to Colorado that is coming up, but at this rate, they'll be done already!

They have spent hours in their room, playing, sewing, drawing, all while listening to this book series.

Now, these books may not be for everyone. They're sort of Harry Potter meets Greek Mythology. I personally am not a big Harry Potter fan and we've not read them here, but my girls LOVE Greek Mythology. I remember when we studied it during our Ancient History units, the girls really enjoyed the fanciful stories. I know some people have issues teaching their kids about other 'gods' but here we discussed how these were myths, and as such, not true.

I don't want to get into a debate about the ethics of Harry Potter or Greek Mythology, but I felt the need to give a heads up to those who try to steer away from such things.

I personally am ever-so thankful to Percy and his Demigod friends for salvaging this pool-less summer!

Happy Summerschooling!

(cross posted at Life on the Hilltop)

Mystery Unit Study

2009-06-01T08:17:00.000-07:00

Are you looking for something light and fluffy and fun to do this summer with the kids? During the summer we like to keep it light, we like to watch too much TV and eat too much junk and drink too much soda and get sunburned and go see the early cheep movies where the movie is almost irrelevant and it is really the cold theater we’re after.

But in between all the summer silliness, we also like to do something slightly educational. I try to disguise it so it appears fun. Often they don’t know they are learning. Sadly my kiddoes are getting a little old for this educational trickery but I still have to give it a shot.

I love Five in a Row as I believe I have mentioned a time or twenty and I am often on the FIAR boards. There are a few moms over there who have come up with a great Mystery Unit Study! I LOVE it. I have requested several of the books/movies from the library and we’re going to have a bit of a Mystery few weeks, complete with playing a lot of Clue if we can ever find all the pieces! (I LOVE that game, though it seems somehow wrong to call out to your impressionable children “It was Professor Plum with the lead pipe in the conservatory” with glee in your voice, but I digress).

So head on over to Julie’s Blog and Debbie’s blog for some great Mystery Unit study ideas, and have fun tricking your kids into learning!

I plan to try to do a few more fun type entries this summer. Light, easy, fun family learning is what I have on the agenda for this summer. And the pool. I think I see a water unit study on the horizon…

Happy Summerschooling!

Memoria Press

2009-05-01T11:20:00.000-07:00

I was sent two different items from Memoria Press. One was Famous Men of Rome, and the other is Latina Christiana. I was very excited to receive these items. I must say here also that Memoria Press is a wonderful company to work with. They were extremely nice and helpful and easy to work with. As far as home school curriculum companies go I give this one an A+.

Here is how it works…You read the story about the famous man, then the student spends the week doing the exercises in the Student Guide. The Student Guide is broken down into four sections per ‘Famous Man’. These sections are Facts to Know, Vocabulary, Comprehension Questions, and Activities. You could easily make this last two weeks per ‘Famous Man’.

I love the idea of teaching history through the stories of the men of that time. It is a very engaging way to teach history. My children loved the stories and did not complain to heartily about the ‘workbook’. We are not generally workbook people so this was new for them. I was pleased at their response. I plan to continue this program as our main history text next year. It worked that well for us.

You can go here to find out more about the program and see the prices, and here to see what others had to say about Famous Men of Rome.

Now to Latina Christiana…

Honestly Latin scares me. I don’t speak Latin, in fact, if I’m not mistaken, no one speaks Latin. I have been told by many however, of the great benefits of having your students go through a Latin course. I have always wanted to do it. I would look at a program at the conventions, begin to get twitchy, and put it back and run away.

Initially I felt the same twitchiness when I looked at Latian Christiana, but because I was supposed to review it, I did not put it down and run away. Turns out, after some investigation, teaching Latin with this program is not quite as scary as I initially thought. In fact, here is the first sentence in the book… “Latina Christiana is designed for parents, teachers, and students who have no background in Latin or foreign language.” Hay! That’s ME!

Then I went on to the meaty section of the Teacher’s Manual and I found this quote… “This grammar overview is designed for the teacher who has no background in Latin. It is not necessary to understand it fully. Read carefully and then go on to the teacher guidelines. The content of this section will become clear as you teach the course.” Again, ME!

We did a small portion of this program and so far my favorite part is he pronunciation CD. Very helpful.

This program is designed to be done in one lesson a week doing a little each day.

Again, this program is one that we will continue to use as part of our main curriculum next year. I am very excited to dive fully into this program. Me…doing Latin…who’d a thunk it?

You can go here for more info on this program and for pricing and here to see what others had to say about his program.

Happy Homeschooling!