MarshMedia Health and Puberty Videos–An Excellent Resource for any Family–A Homeschool Review Crew Review

Being in a house full of adolescent boys can be very interesting. You never know what discussions we might have. What makes it even more interesting is the crazy mixed up group that we have. Two of our biological sons are on the autism spectrum so are very innocent when it comes to some things, while our three foster sons are very street wise and have seen a lot more than our biological kids. Still, four out of the seven boys are teens while one is a preteen, so there are topics that periodically have to be addressed. With a bunch of hormonal boys health and sexual talks are inevitable. That’s why I was excited to be chosen to review .MarshMedia and their awesome health education videos. MarshMedia has produced videos for schools for over 45 years, however, they are wanting to introduce their videos to homeschool families with a Homeschool Special.

When I was researching this company at first, I was skeptical. After all, this company is not really a Christian company. If I am going to talk to my kids about such things as health and puberty, I want it to come from a Christian perspective. I don’t want it to come from a world view that is contrary to my faith. However, after watching a few of these videos, I realized I had nothing to worry about. These videos are very well done and I found nothing at all offensive about them.

As I mentioned, MarshMedia concentrates on Health and Puberty Education. In fact, as you can see by their banner below, that is their tagline. I was very curious because they said that they also had videos that were geared toward autistic children. I was pleasantly surprised! As I mentioned above, they are very tastefully done. They explain things in ways that an autistic child would understand. It is very basic but thorough. Although they do show diagrams, there is no physical nudity involved. There are videos that discuss puberty as well as safety, and hygiene. Hygiene is a really big thing with my autistic teen so I was very glad that they addressed that topic. How they do it in a serious but somehow entertaining way I will never know. I wish I had that ability.

The videos made for non-autistic kids are equally well done. Now, these videos are made for children in grades k-8 so, after watching a few of them, I realized they were a bit below the level of my high-school aged boys. Still, there are quite a few that were suitable for my pre-teen and, even though they were not specifically made for autistic children, they fit well with my teen that is on the spectrum.

Now, I realize I have talked about the puberty and hygiene videos a lot, but they have a plethora of videos that deal with such topics as immune system disorders, safety, nutrition, and even head lice. All are just as tastefully done as the puberty and hygiene videos.

I think you can see that we are very pleased with .MarshMedia and it’s videos. Although we as members of the Homeschool Review Crew, were able to choose and select which videos we wanted to watch, it looks like that option is available for regular costumers as well. Or, you can take advantage of the Homeschool Special. Whichever you decide to do, please do it because this has become a wonderful resource to our family and I know it could be to yours as well. Just click on an one of the highlighted links above or check out their social media links below. You can also check out what other members of the Homeschool Review Crew had to say by clicking on the banner below. Happy Homeschooling!

Social Media Links:

• Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/MarshMedia.Educational.Programs/
• Twitter:  https://twitter.com/Marsh_Media Tag:   @Marsh_Media   
• Google+:  https://plus.google.com/+MarshMediaKCMO
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Clar1ssa1

Color My Conversation–A Homeschool Review Crew Review

     

Learning good communication skills is hard for anyone. Trust me, I know. We have four teen boys and one pre-teen. And, two of those along with their older 24 year old brother are on the autism spectrum. In this day and age, with teen language the way it is and with the rise of electronics where people of all ages use abbreviations and slang when they type, good communication skills have fallen along the wayside for almost all children. It is, however, especially difficult for boys that are on the autism spectrum. That is why I am so glad that we were sent Color My Conversation from Northern Speech Services.

 

Color My Conversations (CMC) is an excellent program that creatively teaches all kids, but especially special needs children, methods of communication that are fundamental to life and the kit that we received came with absolutely everything that you need. And I mean everything! Everything down to the markers that you use is included. We didn’t really need to buy anything special at all. That is unusual for curriculums today. I was amazed.

 

The teaching instructions and any printouts needed are located on CD that is also included and that brings me to something else I really liked about the program – the ease of using. Everything is written out for you. From the words that you are to say to suggestions on how to work with an individual child – everything is written out for you.

 

Finally, I really like the fact that Color My Conversations takes you from the very basics of conversations to more complex conversations in twelve lessons. Don’t worry, though, it is given to you in bite sized segments. The twelve lessons are:

 

Beginner Level – The Three Basic Conversations

 

Lesson One – The Yellow Conversation

Lesson Two – The Short Conversation

Lesson Three – The Long Conversation

 

Intermediate Level

 

Lesson Four – “WH” Questions – Who, What, When, Where, and Why

Lesson Five – Interrogative Reversals – Yes! No! Maybe So!

Lesson Six – Making Comments Count

Lesson Seven – Topic Changer Pro

Lesson Eight – Speaking Loud and Clear!

Lesson Nine – Beading

 

Advanced Level

 

Lesson Ten – Shared Topic – My Topic – Your Topic

Lesson Eleven – Field Assignments – Smile! You’re on Camera!

Lesson Twelve – Customized Conversations

 

Let me take you through a typical lesson. Lesson one has to do with “Yellow Conversations”. Yellow Conversations are the very basic conversations – and I’m talking very basic – it’s the hello and goodbye of the conversation. You see, I told you that this course gave you things in bite sized segments.

 

1. The teacher (you if you are a homeschooler) starts the whole course by watching a 10 minute video that introduces you to the course. Then you watch a 2-10 minute introductory video for each lesson. They are super helpful and are done by the creator of series.

2. After that you send home a parent letter (already written out for you on the CD) that explains what the lesson is going to be about and what the parent can do to review what has been learned with the child when they get home. Of course if you are a homeschooler then you are the parent and teacher so you won’t really need to know what is going on.

3. The lesson manual then gives you an overview of what is going to be learned along with all materials that you will need to pull from the box. Remember – everything is included.

4. Next is the actual lesson. As I said, everything is written out for you from the introduction, to the “basic training”, to the practice, to the “wrap up and homework challenge”. It’s all there along with some suggestions and helpful hints. There is even a keep it fun section for ideas on how to review the lesson throughout the week. You can choose from catchy songs (the music is included on a CD) to other suggestions. If there is anything needed for the review suggestions it is included!

5. Finally, there is a discussion of the lesson that is just for you that reemphasizes what is really needed to be taught in this lesson and answers some basic questions.

 

 

I really, really like how simple it is to use this curriculum but how much in depth it goes. It really does build from the basics of a conversation to the more complex elements of a conversation. I originally thought that this would be perfect for Joshua, but I have been using it with Jacob and he really loves it. There is a special section in this curriculum that talks about how break down each lesson to use with special needs children but I haven’t found that I needed it yet with Jacob. Perhaps I will need to use it with the more complex lessons. As I have mentioned many times before I also really like how this curriculum includes everything. This program is a real hit with my family.

 

To find out more about Color My Conversation from Northern Speech Services just click on any one of the highlighted links above. You can also connect with them by clicking on one of the social media links below. Many of the other members of the Homeschool Review Crew reviewed this awesome program and you can find what they had to say by clicking on the banner below. Happy homeschooling!

 

Social Media Links:
Facebook (company):  www.facebook.com/northernspeech
Facebook (product):  www.facebook.com/colormyconversation/
Twitter:  www.twitter.com/northernspeech   @northernspeech
Pinterest:  www.pinterest.com/northernspeech
YouTube:  www.youtube.com/northernspeech
Instagram:  www.instagram.com/northernspeechservices/

         

Critical Thinking Co.™ - A "WOW" Homeschool Review Crew Review

I love being on the Homeschool Review Crew. It has been such a blessing to us as a family. We have reviewed some great products with which my atypical learning children have excelled. I will give you a glimpse into how the Homeschool Review Crew works. First, future review vendors are posted as they come on board with us so that we as reviewers can check out their websites to get familiar with their products. Then, closer to the review period, a vendor interest form is posted for us to fill out and express our interest in reviewing a certain product. After much research there are some products that I feel would be a great fit for my kids so I express that I would be interested in reviewing that product. However, most of the time it takes much research. There aren't too may vendors that I know immediately that I want to review their products. Those vendors that I know without research that I want to review then are vendors that have "top of the hill - cream of the crop" curriculum. The Critical Thinking Co.™ is one of those companies and Language Smarts™ Level E is one of those products.
We have used Language Smarts™ products before with my middle son Joshua and he loves them. In fact, he was just talking about Language Smarts™ a couple of weeks before we were invited to review it again. We have tried other Language Arts products from other companies. Some of them have worked fairly well, but none of them have been a great fit for him. Language Smarts™ is the only one that he absolutely loves. You see, Joshua is autistic and needs the right balance of work and play with his curriculum. If it is a boring, all worksheet/workbook, type program where all he is doing is filling in blanks or writing sentences, then he falls apart. There can't be too much writing and there has to be a level of fun in what he is doing. Language Smarts™ Level E has a perfect balance that he loves.  First of all, let me tell you that just because challenged child loves this curriculum does not mean that it is all fluff and no content. It has plenty of content. Level E - which is listed as a fourth grade level (I've found that most Critical Thinking Co.™ products are advanced though so make sure you view sample pages before making your choice), has nearly 400 pages that covers:

• Capitalization
• Part of Speech
• Punctuation
• Reading
• Reference Materials
• Sentences
• Spelling
• Vocabulary and Word Usage
• Writing

I like the fact (and so does Joshua who has small motor challenges) that, although writing is involved, each page/lesson has just the right amount of fill in the blank, choose from the wordbox, etc. questions. I also like the fact that every few pages there is a puzzle activity such as a crossword puzzle or word search. Probably the biggest thing that drew me to Critical Thinking Co.™ is the fact that it teaches, well, critical thinking! That is something that Joshua definitely needs help with. However, they teach it in ways where Joshua doesn't even realize he's learning critical thinking skills! So, he is getting the best of many worlds! He's learning Language Arts and critical thinking skills in a fun way that is perfect for him. 

Joshua likes this so much that he does two to three pages a day so, although there is no suggested time schedule for this book, he should complete it in a year. The introduction to the book suggests that Language Smarts™ Level E can be used as a core curriculum or a supplemental resource. However, because I feel that it is very complete on its own, we are using it as our core Language Arts book.  As you can see, we really like Critical Thinking Co.™ and Language Smarts™ Level E. To find out more about this awesome company just click on any one of the highlighted links above or visit one of their social media sites listed below. Other members of the Homeschool Review Crew reviewed other products from Critical Thinking Co.™ and you can see what they had to say by clicking on the banner below. Happy Homeschooling! Social Media Links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Critical-Thinking-Co/46128092293 
Google+: https://plus.google.com/114500823774999703181 
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/source/criticalthinking.com/ 

I Am Ashamed to Admit This

I am ashamed of this post.
Not really of the post itself, but what I am going to reveal in this post.
Over the years God has placed several special needs people into my life. I think the first special needs individual that I knew was Glen. Glen was a man that lived in the “County Home” where my parents were the superintendents. Glen only had one hand and was mentally handicapped. Because there were no other kids that lived nearby and because Glen was mentally on the level of a six or seven year old which was my age at the time, we became best friends. I never thought of Glen as special needs. We were best friends.
Later, when we lived in Pennsylvania, God placed other special needs kids in my path. I remember one girl, Valerie, who for some reason took a fondness to me and would call me at home to talk. Another special needs girl lived next door. I would always try to treat them kindly.
Of course, now, God has blessed me with two special needs boys and has put other special needs individuals in my life as well. Although my two boys are high functioning special needs and will prayerfully live quite successful lives on their own, many of the special needs people that I know will never be able to live on their own. I enjoy working with them all.
Here’s where the shame part comes in. Although I tried to always be kind to folks that were different than I was to their face, there were times that I was unkind behind their back. I don’t know when it began or why. Maybe it was peer pressure. Maybe I looked at other kids around me and saw the way they made fun of special needs kids and just went along with them. Maybe it was because I had the tendency (and still do at times) to blurt out things without thinking. I don’t know what it was, but I am embarrassed now about it.
I remember one time when I was in high school I was involved in a Christian Fellowship club that was led by one of the teachers. For a time I stopped going. When the sponsoring teacher asked me why, I kind of hedged around and said that it was because of all of the special needs kids that were attended. He immediately chastised me and deservingly made me feel like two cents for even thinking of such a thing.
There were other times that I was insensitive. As I mentioned, just the thought of me saying or feeling those things make me feel shame. I pray that I have learned lessons from those mistakes and I pray that people remember me for my soft heart rather than those few insensitive incidents.
One of the things that I do, and encourage others to do, is get involved in the special needs community. Today I was privileged to be able attend the Miss Fabulous pageant for our area of middle Tennessee. The volunteers and people that organize it make all of the participants feel like kings and queens. Our friend Patricia was a participant. She, as usual, hammed it up and was fantastic. Below are some pictures from this wonderful event. I would encourage all of you to volunteer at or just attend one of these events to cheer on the very special participants. I know you will be blessed.

Sheldon’s New Primary Language Lessons–A Schoolhouse Review Crew Review

     

I have always been intrigued by Charlotte Mason. I found her method of homeschooling a little later in our homeschool journey – after we had already begun homeschooling. We have dabbled in it a bit, but I never thought that it would totally work with our two youngest. Since they are on the autism spectrum and one has small motor difficulty and the other has developmental delays I thought that the journaling and writing aspect would be difficult for them. When we were chosen to review Sheldon’s New Primary Language Lessons published by Brookdale House, I didn’t realize that it embraced the Charlotte Mason approach and wondered how we would do with it. I have used it with my middle child, Joshua, who has Aspergers Syndrome and small motor problems and have we have enjoyed it. I haven’t used it totally, exactly, how it is supposed to be used, but the adjustments have worked for us. First I’ll tell you all about this great language curriculum and how it is supposed to be used, then I’ll tell you how we used it and why it is working for us.

 

Sheldon’s New Primary Language Lessons really isn’t “new” at all. It is a revised version of a set of 96 lessons from a classic language book. Most of the lessons are the same as the original but a few have been updated or omitted. It is described as a “gentle” introduction to grammar for elementary students and is recommended for grades 3-6. Although Joshua has had some grammar lessons, it is something that he struggles with and I struggle with teaching, and I really liked the “gentle” sound of things. After receiving it I found that it really is gentle. Each lesson is not more than three or four pages long at the most and very often just one page. Also, most of the lessons can be done orally which really helped us a lot. The first half of the book deals primarily with punctuation and capitalization with a few other things thrown in such as contractions, days of the week and month, and the proper way to set up a letter and address an envelope just to name a few. Parts of speech are covered in the second half of the book. Although there is quite a bit of copy work and dictation, it is true that many if not most of the lessons can be done orally. As I mentioned before it is truly a gentle approach. For example, the first lesson is about statements. The student is shown a picture of a boy running and flying a kite with a dog running beside him and his brother and sister following along behind. Four statements are made about the picture and then some oral questions are asked in such a way that when the student answers he is making a statement. Then there is an explanation about what a statement is and the proper punctuation and capitalization for a statement. That’s it! It is all on one page. The next lesson was one page as well and was based on the same picture but covered question marks and how to write a questions sentence. Other lessons may be fill in the blank, passage or poem memorization, dictation or copy work. the copy work in Sheldon’s New Primary language Lessons are all in cursive. Anything the teacher (or parent in a homeschool case) has to say is in a text box and anything that is supposed to be read or done by the student is outside of the textbox so there is no teacher manual. The answers for the questions are found at the end of the book. It is all very simple and uncomplicated. I really love the lessons and the approach.

 

   

Joshua likes the approach as well as it is very uncomplicated and I have adjusted it so that he doesn’t have to do much writing. Thankfully much of the book can be done orally and even is encouraged to be done orally. Joshua, as I mentioned has a very difficult time writing, and although he needs the practice, it is best that he practices in a non-stressful situation. Dictation would be very stressful for him, so we usually skip that. Also, the copy work would not work for him because we have not started cursive with him yet.

 

This is a keeper for us. I can envision using this with Jacob as well when he is able to read and write just a bit better. As I have said many times, the gentle approach of this book really works with Joshua. We have found by experience that a lot of tedious questions and doing problems over and over again do not work for him. If you have a child that hates tedious work, I would really encourage you to look into Sheldon’s New Primary Language Lessons. We really give this two thumbs up! To find out more about this awesome book and about all of the curriculum that Brookdale House publishes click on any of the highlighted links above. Many of the other members of the Schoolhouse Review Crew reviewed other books published by Brookdale House including a really neat looking geography curriculum that I want to try with Joshua, and you can find what they have to say by clicking on the banner below. Happy Homeschooling!

     

Jacob is Reading!–A Schoolhouse Review Crew Review

 

So, why should the fact that Jacob is reading be such big news? Well, Jacob is our nine year old developmentally delayed child who is also on the autism spectrum. He is high functioning and is very intelligent, but as much as we have tried, he hasn’t mastered reading. Really not even the easiest words. Although he loves to be read to and has very high listening comprehension, and although he soaks up math and does very well, he can’t decode the letters and words that are required for reading. It has just never clicked. We have tried various methods and curriculum, but it just has not worked. What we think he has mastered one day he totally forgets the next day. It’s as if he had never seen it before.

To tell you the truth, I was a little skeptical of ASD Reading (Autism Spectrum Disorder Reading) from Reading Kingdom. Jacob had tried other online reading programs and, well, as you know, nothing had worked so far. However, I was willing to try anything at that point, so I was excited to see my name on the list of reviewers chosen. Almost immediately we go started and, to my great pleasure, Jacob absolutely loved it.

The first thing he did was take the beginning placement test. There is an earlier section that I could have started him at, but it was a section for children who aren’t familiar with a keyboard or a mouse. Jacob was very familiar with a mouse, and, although he didn’t know where all of the letters were on the keyboard, he was familiar with using one. The placement test found that Jacob was weak in sequencing and wasn’t able to quickly find the letters on the computer keyboard. Both of those things are very important in using this program and sequencing in particular is important in learning how to read. If a child can’t sequence the letters he is reading correctly, then he will more than likely not be able to correctly decode and read it. Hmmm…I wonder if sequencing could have been one of Jacob’s problems all along.

So, since sequencing and keyboarding were weak skills for Jacob he was placed directly in “Seeing Sequences” and “Letter Land”. In Seeing Sequences Jacob was taken through a series of exercises where he had to look at a group of letters or a word and then remember the order to recreate that group of letters or word. If he was incorrect or if it took too long for him to remember, he was gently guided to doing it correctly. If he was correct, then he was rewarded with animated figures bobbing there heads up and down or waving at him.

I think one of the things that Jacob really likes about this program is the animation. It is very well done. Letters might be flown onto the screen by a helicopter or beamed down from a spaceship. You just never know what is going to happen, it is all fun. However, it is not overwhelming. It is the right balance of fun and learning and Jacob was taken by it right from the start.

Letter Land has the same high quality graphics and rewards, but in this section you are introduced to the letters in each row of the keyboard. Jacob would be shown letters and then asked to find them on the keyboard. I was amazed. After two or three weeks of practice Jacob knew where all of the letters were on the keyboard almost immediately with no help at all!

There’s the problem, though. These two sections took two or three weeks. Don’t get me wrong. A child is encouraged to work with ASD Reading four or five times a week and, trust me, it never was boring for Jacob and I could see how well he was progressing. It was time truly well spent. So, what was the problem? Well, let me tell you a little secret about the Schoolhouse Review Crew. When we are chosen for a review, we are given five or six weeks to review that product from the time we receive it to the time we have to write the review. Well, I thought to myself, if it takes Jacob two or three weeks just to learn sequencing and where to find the letters on the keyboard, that just leaves us two or three weeks to see if the learning how to read section of ASD Reading really works for Jacob before I have to write the review.

However, we kept on going. By this time, though, Jacob liked the program so much that he was doing two or three lessons a day so he moved a bit quicker. So, we began with Level One. There are five levels in ASD Reading and in each level you learn enough words to be able to read six books. The ASD Reading website says that each level should take 10-15 weeks to complete, but when you break it down, that’s about two weeks per book. In Level One you learn 36 new words, however, you don’t only learn the words, you learn many variants of that word as well. For example, a child might learn the word “park”, but then he will also learn the variants “parks”, “parking” and “parked”. So in reality Jacob will be learning a lot more than 36 words in Level One.

Each lesson begins with showing Jacob a new word and making sure he knows what that word means. For example, one of the new words was boy. The computer showed the word boy while a voice pronounced the word. Jacob was then shown three or four pictures and he would have to pick the picture of the boy. Farther in the lesson he may have to type the word boy or he would be shown the word “boy” with some letters missing and he would have to fill in the missing letters. Then, they may add an “s” to the word to introduce a new variant or perhaps even a whole new word and he would have to go through a similar process again.

As I mentioned before, he has begun doing two or three lessons a day, so he whizzed through the words for book one and, to my amazement, read the first book aloud to me with hardly a mistake! He had never done that before! I knew that we had found the answer to his reading problems. ASD Reading!

Jacob likes the program because of the clever and well done animation and because of the reward factor (you also earn points and, after you have accumulated so many points you are rewarded with a page in your passport). I love ASD Reading for other reasons, though. Of course I like it because it has been our answer to Jacob learning how to read, but it is the process that they use that I really like. You see, ASD Reading has a built in program that monitors how well a child is doing and if a child needs more help in a particular area. If a child is catching on quickly then the program might move him along a little faster. If a child need help in something then the built in program might review a section automatically or give him more help in a specific area. I also like the fact that I get periodic progress reports and can go to the ASD Reading program myself to see how he is doing. Everything is done online using secure passwords. I think I love it as much as Jacob!

Something that is very unique about this program is that it was developed specifically for autism spectrum children. And, that is for all autism spectrum children even if they are non-verbal. I am a believer in this program and am very impressed with it. If you have a child anywhere on the spectrum I would encourage you to check it out.

This is one of those “WOW” reviews that I have talked about recently. I only give a review a “WOW” if it is extra special and made an impact on my children. ASD Reading by Reading Kingdom fits that requirement. It is definitely a “WOW” review. To find out more about ASD Reading or about Reading Kingdom just click on any of the highlighted links above. To find out what some of the other Schoolhouse Review Crew members had to say about ASD Reading and about another program by Reading Kingdom called Reading Kingdom Online, just click on the banner below. Happy Reading!

 

My Son the YouTube Sensation!

Joshua, our middle child, has always been his own person. “Aspies ” people with Asperger’s Syndrome – on the Autism Spectrum) always tend to march to a different drummer and Joshua is no different. They are sometimes referred to as “little geniuses” because they will become interested in something and then want to learn all they can about that particular topic. They become obsessed about their new found interest and do internet research, read books, watch videos, talk to people – you name it – about their fascinating topic. Joshua’s topics have ranged from Thomas the Train when he was little to helicopters, football, WWE Wrestling, trains, and, more recently, geography and languages. He is presently in 8th grade, is a geography expert (at least compared to me) and is learning Russian.

One thing that he became interested in (that thankfully didn’t become an obsession) was video challenges. You know, the ones where someone tries something unusual, like the salt and ice challenge or the cinnamon challenge? Most of those challenges are gross and can be dangerous so I won’t allow him to do them unless I have done some research and there is adult supervision. One thing that I do allow, is tasting hot sauces or hot foods. You see, one of the unique things about some aspies is that they have very acute senses. Joshua loves very hot foods and even takes his medications with things like Worchester Sauce and Soy Sauce. So I have allowed him to tape himself tasting hot things and posting them on YouTube.

I am pleasantly surprised at how well he does. It almost seems like he has a natural presence on camera. He even posts his bloopers that can be quite funny. He has developed a small following on his YouTube channel. Below are a few of his videos for your viewing pleasure. If you like them then please subscribe to his YouTube Channel. His goal is to get 100 subscribers. Here is the YouTube Channel address - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8Nlh_n7ufXLJQROn8tj5eQ Thanks ahead of time for becoming one of his subscribers if you should choose to do so. I know that he would absolutely be thrilled to have you follow him. Let me know in the comments what you think.

History is Exciting with U.S. History Detective! - A Homeschool Product Review



Most of you know that the Tinkel family used to love reviewing great homeschool curriculum but had to give it up because of some health concerns with my middle son, Joshua. Since he is doing better, we had been talking about reviewing again so imagine our surprise when an email arrived inviting us to review U.S. Detective - Book One - Colonial Era to Reconstruction Era from The Critical Thinking Company. We had reviewed many things before from The Critical Thinking Company and loved them so we jumped at the chance to review this. Especially since it was perfect for Joshua who has Asperger's Syndrome.

Asperger's Syndrome is a disorder that effects the social side of kids and adults. Joshua has a lot of difficulty with how to act in social situations and even has a difficult time with things that effect you socially such as reading body language and understanding idioms and nuances. That makes reading comprehension often difficult for him. However, Asperger's kids are often very gifted in particular areas. Geography and History are the areas in which Joshua is very advanced. Unfortunately, those two things combined - his love for geography/history and his reading comprehension problems - often make finding good homeschool curriculum that will keep his interest difficult.



That is why I think that U.S. Detective - Colonial Era to Reconstruction Era is really perfect for him and any history loving child that has reading difficulties. Let me tell you a little more about this great curriculum and the special ways that I have been using it with Joshua.

1. U.S. History Detective is written in an interesting way. It's not like the boring textbooks that we knew as a child. We have reviewed books from The Critical Thinking Co. before and their writers are top notch. All of the books that we have seen have been well written and interesting. Although the company is not a Christian company and we have not had the time to get terribly far in the book (I'll tell you why in a moment) I have not seen any area where they are trying to "rewrite history" or lean toward any political or social agenda. So far it has just been good, old fashioned, history.

How this effects Joshua - Because Joshua loves history, the subject content and the way it is written are excellent for him. However, because it is written on an 8-12 grade level, some of the sentence structure and idioms/nuances can be difficult for him to understand. Therefore, I usually read the content to him and sometimes have to stop to clarify something for him. A regular 8-12 grade student or even an advanced 6-7 grader should have no difficulty with this reading this.

2. U.S, History Detective is very thorough. It begins with Native Americans and the different scenarios on how they arrived in what we now call North America, it continues with Europeans settling in North America and goes all of the way through to the reconstruction era after the Civil War. Although many things happened in those many years, each of the 65 lessons is short - only two or three pages long with another two or three pages of questions.

How this effects Joshua - Because the lessons are fairly short, he is able to remain focused and interested. I recall regular history textbooks where each section was pages and pages long and I would become bored easily. This doesn't happen with Joshua. This is just the right amount of pages for him and therefore he doesn't lose interest. The fact that the book is thorough assures me that he is getting a very good grasp of U.S, History.

3. U.S. History Detective helps to develop critical thinking skills. After all, the company that publishes this book is called "The Critical Thinking Co." They specialize in challenging the student to think and to Empower the Mind (their tagline). U.S. History Detective is written in a very interesting way. From the start you notice the difference. Each sentence in each lesson is numbered. The reason that they are numbered is because the questions asked at the end of each lesson often ask that you back up your answer by noting which sentence gave you the information that you used to answer that question. It teaches the child how to think and look for answers and therefore they will retain the information and learn more. I really like that approach.

How this effects Joshua - Although we have used books from The Critical Thinking Co. before and Joshua has learned a lot, this type of looking back at the text and pinpointing answers is new for him - especially for an advanced text. I have had to sit down with him and help him do this a lot. He is beginning to learn how to do it on his own, but it has taken some work to teach him to do so. I am not regretting the time I have given explaining things, though, because when he learns this skill it will take him far in his learning.

4. U.S. History Detective has reviews after every two or three lessons. The reviews use other methods of critical thinking such as concept maps and Venn diagrams. This short time between reviews makes sure that the information is, indeed, understood and ingrained in the student. The sixty-five lessons are also divided in to nine sections and there is another review at the end of each section. These reviews can be used as quizzes and/or tests if need be.

How this effects Joshua - Having a review every two or three lessons helps any student to learn, but especially helps children that are distracted and don't retain things easily. This is true of Joshua. Having frequent reviews really helps him. I also like the different approaches to the reviews. If he isn't able to retain or understand something using one type of critical thinking, then perhaps another type will really click with him and help him understand.

You might think that with all of this praise for U.S. History Detective, that I really like this book and I really do. There is one thing in the book, however, that I haven't used much with Joshua. At the end of each lesson, there is a "Written Response Question". These are College Level Analytical Essay questions and are very good, but are a little above Joshua's head right now and, with his small motor problems, are also difficult for him to write down. I plan on gradually leading in to using them more because I think they are excellent. We just aren't to that point yet.

Overall, we really like U.S. History Detective and we highly recommend it to anyone as a supplemental history book, or as the main U.S. History Curriculum. As I mentioned before, it is written for grades 8-12, but an advanced sixth or seventh grader should have no problem with it. Each lesson is short but well written and will keep a student's attention while getting a firm grasp of our nation's history. To find out more about U.S. History Detective or to find out more about The Critical Thinking Co. just click here or on any of the above highlighted links.

I received a free copy of U.S. History Detective in exchange for my honest review. I was not compensated in any other way nor was I required to write a positive review. Everything written above is my own opinion or the opinion of my family. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC regulations.

What Are the Tinkel's Reading? Joshua's Reading List.



My post from a few weeks ago highlighting the many books that John Allen was reading seemed to be very popular. A lot of people were interested in what he was reading so it seemed logical to continue on with the series and write about the other members of the family. I could easily write about me or Sarah, but what would I say about Joshua. He does read, and he reads a lot, but I thought that the things he reads might be a bit boring. Boy did I find out I was wrong when he gave me his list.

Joshua is probably the most unusual member of our household and possibly the most interesting. I have written about our journey with Joshua and his autism before, most recently just a few day ago in my post Sarah and I are Blue Today! on autism awareness day. There are a lot of things that Joshua is weak in, but there are also a lot of things that Joshua is super smart almost genius in. In fact, some people call kids with Asperger's syndrome (what Joshua has) "little geniuses" because once they become fascinated with a topic, they learn all that they can about it and actually become experts on that topic. 

His interest for the past few years has been Geography and Languages, and he is presently taking an above grade level course on Imperial Russia and also studying Russian. Naturally most of his selections are of a geography nature. One non-geography book that he picked made my heart feel good when he mentioned it though. Why, I don't know, but I wasn't even thinking of it when I asked Joshua to give me a list of what he was reading. When he did, however, Bible was at the top of the list. Thank you Lord!

So, without further ado, here is Joshua's Reading List.





 

 

The Bible - I copied and pasted the picture above of the version that John Allen finished reading a couple of months ago, but any Bible is fine. JUST READ IT. I had asked Joshua for his list before writing this post, and he is in bed right now so I can't ask him if there is a particular version that he likes I'll let you know what he says later.

 

 

Expedition Earth - This is by far, hands down, Joshua's favorite book and has been for a super long time. He has looked through, read, perused, reread and reread again until the book is worn out. Unfortunately, I was just Facebook chatting with the author a couple of weeks ago (yes, we are friends with the author, a fact that Joshua thinks is super cool) and she said that for right now the company is only selling it in ebook format and not hard copy form. They are supposed to be reprinting it in the near future so hopefully our copy won't fall completely apart before then. Click on the picture above to find out more about this favorite.

 

 



 

 

Geography - The Middle East, North Africa & Europe - is actually a curriculum more than a book, but Joshua loves reading the student text book. I actually wrote a review of the curriculum a couple of years ago that you can read by clicking here. It gives a lot of interesting facts about the different countries but also includes fascinating little known tidbits about each country as well. Click on the picture above to get to the Memoria Press website page for this book. The student text is available to buy separately if you are interested.

 



 
 

Russia (Cultures of the World) - The above picture does not do the book justice. Our copy is completely different and much more colorful. The pictures inside are beautiful and the information is fascinating. Whatever the case is, Joshua loves learning about Russia and he loves this book. It is part of a series of books written about different countries, so you might find one for your child's favorite country. I'm sure it will be just as beautiful and informative.

  

 

 



Land of the Firebird, The Beauty of Old Russia - We are ordering this book so we don't actually have it yet, but it is part of the advanced Imperial Russia class that Joshua and I are taking together and we are both chomping at the bit to receive and read it. We don't have to have the book to take the course, but the teacher, Professor Carol, has highly recommended it. And, yes, we have become Facebook friends with Professor Carol and Joshua has chatted with her as well. If you are interested in the Imperial Russia course, just click here. If you are interested in the book, just click on the picture above.

 

So, there you have Joshua's reading list for right now! If you are a geography enthusiast like he is then this should give you a lot of reading material. Have fun and happy reading!

 

I should let you know that if you click on the Bible, Russia, or Land of the Firebird picture links then they contain my affiliate information and if you should purchase one of those books then I will be paid a commission as an affiliate through Amazon. I am also an affiliate with SchoolhouseTeachers.com and if you click on the Imperial Russia course link and purchase something from that site I will be paid a commission by them. If you choose to purchase using my affiliate links I want to thank you ahead of time. If you choose to purchase through another source then that if great as well. My interest is mainly to get my readers interested in good books.

 

 

 



Sarah and I are Blue Today!

We are blue for autism awareness day. Below are two stories, one written today by Sarah and the other written by me when Joshua was first diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome and we began this autism journey. Please remember our family and all of the families affected by Autism.

 



 

 

Today is Autism Awareness day...... I have been blessed with two autistic children. The road of autism is at times heartbreaking...frustrating...challenging...tiring AND blessed...awe inspiring...breathtaking...fun...laughable...and so much more!!! I love how God uses our boys for His glory and how through them He has opened doors of ministry for us to help other parents with children of special needs. I love how when I am feeling discouraged or frustrated with my two "special" boys how God gives me what I call "God moments"...those special times when you know it's God reassuring you that it is ok...He has this and He is there. One thing I have learned on this journey is that God can even use Autism for His glory and purpose! No matter how tired, frustrated or how many tears I cry, I am called and blessed by God.

Wednesday, 3 December 2008

Joshua's Diagnosis
Mood:  not sure
Topic: The Kids

Well, it's official. We got the diagnosis today. Our middle child, Joshua, has Asperger's Disorder. Asperger's Disorder (sometimes called Asperger's Syndrome) is in the autism family or clinically referred to as in the autism spectrum. We have suspected this for a long time, and even hoped that this would be the diagnosis. We  have (or maybe I should say he has) struggled for so long, and we have gotten so many opinions and diagnosis that didn't seem right. All of our reading about Aspies (as they are commonly called) seemed to fit Joshua. We were hoping that this was it - finally we would know what it was and how to help him. Well, finally we do know.

It's funny. At first I was relieved. Now, having typed it out, the reality has sunk in and I don't know how I feel. I guess kind of sad. I don't know why. Aspies are generally very bright kids and can function very well in society. Many very successful people are Aspies. Bill Gates is one. They just move to the beat of a different drummer. We just have to recognize that and learn how to teach, discipline, and guide to that beat. Some idiosyncrasies we can allow and just chalk it up to him being made from a different mold. But there are some areas where he is going to have to break out of that mold. Some social behaviors he will have to learn. There are some things that he just doesn't "get". He doesn't read social cues or body language very well and sometimes becomes very frustrated when things don't happen the way he thinks they should happen. Aspies can sometimes seem very selfish, but they aren't trying to be. They just don't understand. It's going to be an interesting path that God has given us to take. Please pray with us and for Joshua as we travel down that path.

I have mentioned just a few characteristics of an Aspie. I'm sure in the days, weeks, years to come, I'll blog about many other things. Until then, I have found a couple of articles about Aspies that you can read if you want to find out more. One is a very short definition and found at www.aspergers.com. Another longer but touching article written by a 48 year old woman who just diagnosed with asperger's is found on the CNN website. (Don't tell anyone that I just linked to CNN. I'll be kicked out of the FOXNEWS fan club!)

Thanks for letting me ramble and being a good listener. Please do pray for us. Remember John Allen, our oldest. This whole thing has been tough on him. Jacob, our two year old, just goes with the flow. Remember Sarah as well. She may seem tough on the outside, but she has a tender mother's heart on the inside. She has shed many tears for her children (and for me as well). Thanks, beforehand, for all of your prayers.

 



Oh! The Strange Ways Our Children Learn! - From the Angelfire Archive!

Some of you may not know that once, long, long, ago, there was no Families Again on Blogger. There was, however, a Families Again on another blog platform - Angelfire. The content was much the same, however, the Angelfire platform just wasn't working out for me so I decided to switch to Blogger. You are welcome to go back and peruse my old Angelfire Families Again blog if you would like by clicking here. But STOP! Don't do it until after you have finished reading this post!

 

Anyway, from time to time I like to "retread" one of my Angelfire posts and repost it on this blog. That is especially true if it gives you some glimpse into our family and why they do things the way that they do or learn the way that they learn. This article fits that perfectly. It is about the beginning of Joshua's love for Geography and other countries. Although this post was written nearly four years ago, Joshua is still going strong and is very advanced in his knowledge of those fields. In fact, he has added languages to his interests and is presently learning Russian. It is slow going, but it is steady going. He amazes me with what he can remember. But, that is another story. One thing at a time! Back to the post.

 

Here, with a couple grammar mistakes corrected, is Oh! The strange Ways Our Children Learn! Complete and in it's entirety!

 

 

 

Thursday, 14 July 2011

Oh! The Strange Ways Our Children Learn!
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: The Kids

The other day, out of the blue, Joshua decided to play a flag game with me. He would describe a state or country flag and I would guess where it was from. Joshua, for those of you who don't know, is our 10 year old (third grade) asperger's child (on the autism spectrum).

 

At the beginning he was describing our state flag, the U.S flag, the Canadian flag...flags that he has been exposed to. Then, all of a sudden he described a flag that was white with a red circle - the Japanese flag...I thought, "Hmmm. That's interesting. I didn't know he knew that." Still, the Japanese flag is a fairly familiar flag.

 

Then, he asked me if I knew what country had a blue flag with a "little England flag" in the corner. I was stumped! First of all, I was stumped because I didn't know he knew what the Flag of England looked like, then, I was stumped because I couldn't think of the flag he was talking about. I answered "Australia". "Nope". Then I thought "New Zealand?" No again. Both of those are blue with a "little England flag" in the corner but those weren't the one he was thinking of. Finally I gave up. He answered "The flag of Fiji!"

 

I asked "How in the world do you know what the flag of Fiji looks like?" He said "That's where Jimmy Snuka is from."

 

Jimmy Snuka is a professional wrestler. Asperger's kids can get fixated on things and learn all that they can about certain topics. Some folks call them "little professors" because they can be extra knowledgeable about topics that fascinate them. Joshua can tell you all about helicopters and, if he sees one, can tell you the type of helicopter it is, because that was a phase he went through. He's also gone through a football phase and, when he was young, a Thomas the Train phase. Ask him about one of those things and he can tell you all about them  .

 

Anyway, lately it's been professional wrestling. I never thought I would allow my kids to watch professional wrestling until a little old lady started to come to the mission that we run. She faithfully watches professional wrestling and got my boys interested. So, in order for them to carry on a conversation with dear Miss Glenda, we allow them to watch under our supervision. Well, Joshua got hooked, and, yep, is going through a professional wrestling phase. For Christmas Grandma bought him a professional wrestling encyclopedia that he has devoured. It is literally in pieces. We need to buy him another one. In the encyclopedia they have the flag of the country that a wrestler is from. That's where he learned all of these flags.

 

Have you ever heard of the phrase "strike while the iron is hot"? This fall we are going to be doing unit studies of the countries where the different wrestlers are from. Should be interesting! You never know where your kids are going to learn things!

 



Oh No! Could We Actually Be...*Gasp*...Unschoolers?!? (Part One)







Say it isn't so! Have we really succumbed to that dreaded method of homeschooling known as...oh, I just can't bring myself to say it, but you know what I mean!

God really has a sense humor. As I grow older that is becoming more and more apparent to me. When we first began homeschooling John Allen, I researched and researched homeschool curriculum and styles. I was determined to think outside of the box. I did not want some cookie cutter curriculum but wanted things that would enrich him but also taught to his strengths. Thanks to some wonderful teachers that he had in the public school from grades k-3, he loved to read, so that was what I looked for first - curriculum that was based on reading good, wholesome books. I remember that we chose Sonlight history, and Learning Language Arts through Literature as our main curriculum, then supplemented with Apologia science and Applied math. I also wanted him to learn a language beginning at a young age so we added Latina Christiana to the mix. We did wonderfully! There were a few bumps, but basically our homeschooling started off with a bang. I thought we had it made. This was what we would do with all of our kids.

Ha ha! That's what I thought! God had another plan. He gave us two wonderful children named Joshua and Jacob. One being on the autism spectrum and the other being developmentally delayed. Unfortunately...or maybe fortunately...all of my previous thoughts on homeschooling were thrown out the window.

Let's talk about Joshua first. Joshua has a form of high functioning autism known as Aspergers Syndrome. Kids that have Aspergers may have some learning delays, but their main disability is that they are socially disabled. Just as someone who has a mental disability may be delayed academically, someone with aspergers is socially hindered. Joshua, for example, does not always know how to socially act around others. He has problems reading body language and he doesn't understand idioms and nuances. He is very literal. "Aspies" are also sometimes known as "little geniuses" because they often become hooked on a particular thing and want to know everything they can about that topic. When Joshua was younger he loved Thomas the Train. Everything had to be Thomas. He memorized every character, had all of the movies and books, and collected the toys. Soon his interests became trains in general and then helicopters. To this day, he can look at a helicopter and I.D. what type it is. Other interests have been bowling, football and WWE wrestling. You may think that the WWE wrestling phase was one that we would rather forget, but it was actually a blessing because it led to the interests he has had for the past three of four years - geography and languages.

Joshua excels at geography. He knows every flag from even the remotest countries of the world. He discusses the religions, politics, locations, history, and landmarks of places around the world. He has become interested in Russia especially and is even beginning to learn the Russian language.

Jacob, although different than Joshua in many ways, is also the same in many ways.  Even though the specialist said that Jacob was "someplace" on the autism spectrum, being developmentally delayed and very sensory seem to be his major challenges. His schedule of learning was totally different than a typical child. From potty training to learning his ABC's, things have been different. Some things are ahead of schedule and some things are behind schedule.

Then, this past year, we began going to the library again after having to take some time off due to Joshua's medication allergy scare. We asked Jacob what kind of books he was interested in and he began naming off all of these animals. So, we carted several books about deer, goats, and antelopes home. Then, after reading those books, he expanded to other animals. He devoured the books and we were amazed at what he was learning.

We realized that both of them had something in common. They both learned better, no, they excelled, when something that they were interested in was involved.

A couple of years ago Sarah was lamenting to a friend of ours about Joshua's math learning difficulties. He suggested incorporating the things in which Joshua was interested into his math lesson. So she started teaching using math word problems.

"If Peyton Manning threw a pass for 6 yards then, on the next play, ran for 5 yards, how many total yards did his team gain?"

Again, he excelled.

Could we be on to something? Should we really scrap the traditional curriculum that John Allen loved? Is this really a good way to teach a child? Is it even a way to teach? We have struggled with that for a couple of years.

Then, a blogging (and personal) friend of mine blogged about how she has taught her son for years. I know her son. He is incredibly intelligent. I had no idea that she was an...okay, I've got to say it...gulp...unschooler. I had always read disparaging things about unschooling, but what she was describing was wonderful. And, many of the things she talked about was exactly what we were trying.

Oh no! Could we actually be..."Gasp"...UNSCHOOLERS?!?

I decided to do a little research my self and tomorrow we'll talk about what unschooling is and I'll, hopefully, answer that incredulous question.

Click here to get to Oh No! Could We Actually Be...*Gasp*...Unschoolers?!? (Part Two)