The Magic Stories–A Magical Supplementary Reading Resource! A Homeschool Review Crew Review.

I was raised in a reading family. My parents read all of the time and, because they modelled good reading habits, my brother, sister and I read all of the time. That’s why I try to read in front of my kids and teach my kids to enjoy reading. Unfortunately my youngest has a very difficult time reading. He wants to read and loves begin read to, but actual reading is very hard for him. Because it is difficult he doesn’t attempt to read unless it is something really interesting or exciting. That’s why I was so excited to be chosen to review The Magic Stories from Allsaid & Dunn, LLC, publishers of The Reading Game and authors of the Wordly Wise series.

When I was researching this downloadable pdf product I knew that, do to it being written on a 2nd or 3rd grade level that it would be a little above Jacob’s reading level but I thought it would be a great above level reading activity. Thankfully, Jacob loves the stories and, therefore, has loved reading them even though they have been challenging for him.

The main thing that interested me when I was looking over this product was that all of the books had to with something magical. Now, I’m not talking about black magic or witchcraft here. It is more crazy and mysterious things like a magic hole that appears at different times in different places as in book one. The six books are:

1. The Magic Hole
2. The Magic Ax
3. The Magic Joke
4. The Magic Hotdog
5. The Magic Boots
6. The Magic Box

Each can be read on virtually any electronic device including a tablet and computer screen. Jacob and I have been reading them off of my phone. They can also be printed out to form a book if needed.

Each short story is a fantastic tale that has a moral lesson. We were hooked on the first book that talks about a man by the name of Ping Ho and a hole that appears at the strangest times. At first this hole seemed disastrous to the family but, as the story develops, we find that it is what makes Ping Ho and his family rich.

The rest of the books are equally as fascinating. Each book also comes with a set of “naughty cards” that can be printed out and cut into flashcards. Each card contains a word from the story that the child probably doesn’t know and can be used to drill with the child. Since the whole book was above level reading for Jacob we didn’t use these as much but they are super neat to have and we’ll be sure to review them later.

Another great resource for each book is the worksheets. There are four worksheets for each book. A maze sheet, a finish the sentence page, an “imagine” sheet, and a finish the story sheet. I love how the worksheets help with reading comprehension and with creative writing in really interesting ways.

I am so glad that we were chosen for this review. The stories are very engaging and Jacob has loved them so far. They is really excited to find out what is happening next. I love the interesting worksheets and the flashcards. This is a winner for us.

To find out more about The Magic Stories just click on any one of the highlighted links above. To find what other members of The Homeschool Review Crew had to say about The Magic Stories click on the banner below. Happy Reading!

Yes! We Are “That Family”!

You know what family I mean. The family that everyone talks about. The family that is wacky and does things differently. '

It shouldn’t come as a surprise. I think that we have been different since the beginning. Sarah and I dated for three years and … Eek … there is 10 years difference between us.

Then God blessed us with an awesome son that was diagnosed with cancer at 15 months old and has an artificial eye. That was 20 years ago and he has been cancer free ever since. Five years later we were blessed with our second child and then, after another five years, we were blessed with our third.

In the meantime we became full time missionaries and became a homeschooling family. As you can see we do things just a little bit differently around here.

However, that’s not all! A year ago God showed us the perfect house he wanted us to have. We moved in and soon became foster parents to three awesome young men. Well, today we made it official. They are ours!

We also have another wonderful young man living with us that we call our son as well. So, within one year we went from a family of five to a family of nine!

Yes! We are “that family”! We are crazy! We are wacky! But we are all very much loved by one another. It hasn’t always been easy, but throughout the process we have never doubted God’s plan.

Thank you God! And thank you all for your prayers. Please continue to pray for us! This ridiculous family sure does need it! Also pray for some decisions that need to be made in the next few weeks. If you thought we were crazy before wait until you see what we think God wants us to do now!

Our Unit Study of Trees–Part 1–Coniferous

Recently I was introduced to a great new method of homeschooling that really seemed right for my kids. It’s all about getting outside and doing a lot more hands-on stuff instead of just studying dry old textbooks and doing a lot of filling in the blanks.

So far it has really worked with our family so I wanted to share some of what we are doing. Today was the first day of our study of trees so I thought it was a great day to start.

It began with a discussion of the two different types of trees – Coniferous and Deciduous. We then began looking in our yard for Coniferous trees and, thanks to buying a house on a very wooded lot, we found three totally distinct types of evergreens. We took some pictures and gathered some samples and this is what we found on our first day then we ran inside to identify the three trees. After some searching we found this wonderful site that helped us ID what we had found - http://bioimages.vanderbilt.edu/tree-key/ . It took us a while to ID the Hemlock but we finally did using some other websites.

All in all we had a great first day and are looking forward to tomorrow! Stay tuned!

Eastern Hemlock

Eastern Red Cedar

Eastern White Pine

Keep checking back for some pictures of our lapbook (Jacob) and notebook (Joshua) and, of course, pictures of deciduous trees. Sometime in the future I will reveal more about the inspiration for our new study as well. Until then, maybe this will inspire you to get out and explore!

Progeny Press Literature E-Guides–A Homeschool Review Crew Review.

I know that I am probably going to start sounding like a broken record, but there are two things that most members of the family really love are reading and history. At least my biological kids love those things and I am trying to instill that love in my other children as well. Tomorrow I am going to be writing about a fantastic homeschool resource for history, but today I get to write about another wonderful resource that has to do with reading.

When I was in school I was introduced to great literature and the classics but it really wasn’t until later on in life that I began to read those things more. Thankfully the homeschool curriculum that we have used over the years has helped me to encourage that love in my homeschooled boys as well. One of those homeschool companies is Progeny Press and their literature “E-Guides”. We have reviewed them in the past and my boys have learned a lot so we were thrilled to be chosen to review The Silver Chair E-Guide this year.

First of all, we love the Chronicles of Narnia books by CS Lewis, and have long awaited the next Narnia movie coming out – The Silver Chair – so we were really excited by this one. If you haven’t read any of the Narnia books then I really encourage you to read them. The Silver Chair begins when two children, Eustice and Jill are swept into another world called Narnia. There they are given the task to find the son of the king who disappeared many years before. Unfortunately they keep forgetting the instructions and, after much bungling, they fear that they may have completely failed in their mission. Trust me, it’s a very enjoyable book!

We also love Progeny Press and their E-Guides. They not only make sure that the student comprehends what they are reading (or in our case what is being read to them) and learn a bit of grammar and vocabulary along the way, but, since Progeny Press is a Christian company, they also intertwine Biblical truths into the lesson.

The E-Guide is divided into three sections. After some preliminary notes to the teacher and a short section about the author the first section contains some Pre-Reading activities. These get you ready to read the book and prepared for the lessons. Since remembering the different instructions regarding how to find the king’s son was important in the book, there is a pre-reading activity regarding memorization. Without going into much detail I will tell you that caves are a big part of the book as well so there are some activities concerning caves. Another activity talks about allusions which are used a lot in the Narnia books. These are the types of things are introduced in the Pre-Reading section.

The second section is the meat of the E-Guide. They have taken the book and divided the chapters into five groups – each group containing two or three chapters in each (the last group has four chapters). For each group they have Vocabulary and Comprehension Questions done in a variety of ways. These are basic questions that make sure you understand what you are reading. The “Thinking About the Story” questions go a little further into the story. This is where they get into grammar a little bit. Since this study guide is written for 5-7th grade, they talk about a little more advanced things than nouns and verbs. For example, the section on chapters one and two contains questions on foreshadowing, imagery, and similes. The final section is the “Digging Deeper” section where the study compares some things in the book to things that you might learn in the Bible. Since CS Lewis was a Christian and meant for this to happen in his books, this section is very interesting. You can’t imagine how many Biblical truths are taught in his books. There are also some alternate activities that you can choose from in each section as well.

The Final section is what I would call the wrap-up section. The is an Overview with a lot of questions that wrap up the study that could be used as a final exam. There are also “After You Read” suggestions that include creative writing suggestions, art suggestions and more. A separate answer key is also provided.

We have really enjoyed working through all of the Progeny Press  E-Guides that we have done over the years and have really enjoyed working through The Silver Chair E-Guide. To find out more about this product or any other products that this company has just click on any one of the highlighted links above. Many other members of the Homeschool Review Crew reviewed this and other product from Progeny Press and you can find what they had to say by clicking on the banner below. Happy Homeschooling!

A Journey Through Learning Lapbooks - A Homeschool Review Crew Review

I knew nothing about lapbooks when I first began homeschooling. Then, I began reading more about them and thought they looked interesting but really didn't know how to put one together. Finally I reviewed an awesome lapbook company and we were thrilled with the outcome. My kids loved putting it together, I loved the easiness of it all, the boys and I all loved how much we learned. Since then we have done several lapbooks. Some we have put together on our own, but we always seem to go back to the original great lapbook company that we used to begin with. When we found out that, lo and behold, we were going to be reviewing the downloadable An Overview of the 20th Century from that same company A Journey Through Learning Lapbooks we were excited. Our youngest, Jacob, has been wanting to learn about World War 1 and World War 2 so he was super thrilled.

First of all, I really love A Journey Through Learning Lapbooks because they don't assume that just because you are buying a lapbook that you know how to really complete a lapbook. Each on of the lapbooks that I have completed from them show you exactly what materials you need for each lapbook and what you need to do to have a finished product. There are instructions that take you through the lapbook from beginning to end. They have a diagram of where you should place everything, and, they even have pictures of what it might look like. They even include the lapbook pieces for you to print out and fill out when needed.

On top of that, the information that they give you for each time period and event is excellent! An Overview of the 20th Century includes the following historical events and individuals:

• Wilber and Orville Wright
• Henry Ford
• The Panama Canal
• World War I
• Women Gain the Right to Vote
• The Roaring Twenties
• Charles Lindbergh
• The Great Depression
• Hoover Dam
• World War II
• Propaganda Posters
• The Cold War
• The 1950's
• The Vietnam War
• Civil Rights Movement
• John F. Kennedy
• First Man on the Moon
• Technology Boom
• Persian Gulf War
• The Y2K Scare

Each event contains at least one page of excellent information about the topic as well as all of the material needed to complete lapbook section for that event. Some sections may have you write what you have learned or answer questions about a particular event. Some sections are puzzles that you have to complete that describe or use information from that event. Other sections may have you draw or color pictures or maps. Each section is unique and make the child think.

If you have an older student that you fell should do more or if you have a younger child that wants to learn more there is a list of additional Reading Material and a Bibliography to find more information. There are even extra enrichment pages that can be completed to add to a notebook or unit study. Like I said, these lapbook kits have everything!

We love putting together lapbooks and, especially love doing lapbooks from A Journey Through Learning Lapbooks. They are easy to use but very complete. To find out more about this great company, this particular lapbook kit - An Overview of the 20th Century or any one of the other lapbooks that they have developed just click on any one of the highlighted links above. Many members of the Homeschool Review Crew also reviewed this and other lapbooks from A Journey Through Learning Lapbooks and you can find what they had to say by clicking on the banner below. Happy Lapbooking!

Everyday Cooking–A Homeschool Review Crew Review

One of the top goals for my family is healthy eating. Unfortunately it is also one of those goals that I fail at the most. Oh, don’t get me wrong, we have definitely developed some better eating habits over the years. However, even with all of the research and trying out things that will help with our family, we haven’t found anything that has really clicked. Now, because we have three fantastic foster sons that we are soon to become the permanent guardians of, we are searching for healthier recipes all the more. I am so glad we were chosen to review Everyday Cooking from Everyday Homemaking. I have reviewed items from Everyday Homemaking before and knew that they were an excellent company, so I was anxious to review their newly revised and bigger Everyday Cooking.

I never had the privilege of seeing the older version of this wonderful cooking resource, but, let me tell you, the new version is fantastic! Just the intro and appendix are worth the price of the book! The intro (as well as the beginning of most of the chapters and, really throughout the whole book) has awesome tips on how to use your  cooking time wisely as a busy homeschooling and/or working parent. Tips on how to cook things ahead of time to pull out of the freezer on a busy day. Tips on how to make your dollar and food stretch. Tips on how to eat healthier. All of them are fantastic.

And, oh my goodness, the appendix section is out of this world. It includes the usual things like measurements, menu planners, shopping lists, and stuff like that, however, it has so much more! Did you know that you could make your own vanilla extract? I didn’t, but they tell you how. What about low carb/gluten free sugar substitutes? Or brown sugar substitutes? Or chocolate syrup? I had no idea that you could do some of those things, but you can create those items and more. I even enjoyed reading about all of the kitchen items that are either essential or would be valuable to purchase if you want to have a healthy eating lifestyle. Are you a homeschooler? The appendix even has suggestions and planners on how to use Everyday Cooking as a homeschool tool.

And I haven’t even gotten to the recipes yet! All of them are geared toward healthy eating and making the best use of time. The sections in the cookbook include Breakfast Ideas, Appetizers and Dressings, Bread and Grains, Main Dishes & Soups & Sides, and Desserts & Snacks. There are some awesome recipes in those sections, but there is also a section that includes recipes for slow cookers and pressure cookers. I chuckled at the name of that section – “The Tortoise and the Hare”.

When we first went to Canada to help out at Mill Stream Bible Camp, they served something that was new and different for us – Baked Oatmeal. We fell in love with it but have never found a cookbook that had a recipe for it – until now that is. Everyday Cooking has a recipe for it that is out of this world. (Pictured Below) I can’t wait to try out some of the bread recipes, or “Mom’s Special Herb Dip”, or their mayonnaise recipe (I’ve never tried home made mayo), or their Cheese-Garlic Biscuits, or Curried Chicken Casserole – I could go on and on. I also like the fact that their are pictures throughout on how to do things or how things are supposed to look when done – and, even if you can’t find it in the book, they have a blog that does have pictures of most of the  recipes.

To find out more about Everyday Cooking and Everyday Homemaking just click on any one of the highlighted links above. Other members of the Homeschool Review Crew reviewed this item and other items from Everyday Homemaking and you can find what they had to say by clicking on the banner below. Happy Cooking!

In The Reign of Terror–Another Fantastic Audio Adventure from Heirloom Audio–A Homeschool Review Crew Review

We were first introduced to GA Henty many years ago when my oldest son, John Allen, read one of his many great historical novels. He fell in love with them at once and has read many if his other books since then. When we found out that Heirloom Audio Productions was producing audio theater versions of his books we were beyond thrilled. The first one that we reviewed was, if I remember clearly, With Lee in Virginia, and we have either reviewed or bought and listened to every one since then. Recently we were invited to review their newest release In the Reign of Terror and it is just as professionally done and attention grabbing as the rest of the audio theater CDs that they have done.

You may be wondering what the difference is between “audio theater” and regular recorded books. Let me just tell you that when we listened to our first adventure, I was skeptical as to whether or not my kids would pay attention and be interested. That was back when we just had our three biological kids and we listened to the recording on a long road trip that we were on. They were completely enthralled! You could have heard a pin drop in the car – that is if the recording weren’t playing at the time. Every adventure has been the same since. Heirloom Audios Productions is just as the name suggests – an adventure! It is recorded in such a way that it is as if you were in a theater watching a movie and closed your eyes. You can imagine yourself being right in the action. The sound affects, background music, and everything is superbly done. And, the actors and actresses that portray each character are well known. This recording includes Brian Blesses of Star Wars, Tarzan, and Robin Hood fame, John Rhys-Davies from The Lord of the Rings and Indiana Jones movies, Cathy Sara of Downton Abbey and Christina Greatrex of The Royal Shakespeare Company among others.

This particular story is about a 16 year old boy by the name of Harry who leaves his home and family in England to live with and learn from The Marquis De St Caux and his family in France. Join Harry and the Marquis son also 16 when they rescue damsels in distress from a vicious dog, go on a wolf hunt for a ravaging wolf and, eventually, find themselves involved in the terrible French Revolution. We laughed at Harry trying to get used to France and the Frenchmen equally trying to communicate with Harry. We held our breath when Harry rescues his the family that took him in. I won’t go into too much detail because I don’t want to spoil the story, but the ending of all of the Heirloom Audio Productions recordings almost always leave us in tears and this one is no different. These are truly adventures. However, the GA Henty books are much more than just good books. They are what is called “historical fiction” which means that the characters may not have necessarily been real (although many are), but the historical information is accurate. My kids have learned so much history from these recordings!

If you think that the recording is all that there is, though, you are mistaken. Not only are the recordings fantastic but the extras that you get if you join the Live the Adventure Club are fantastic. Not only do you receive mp3 downloads and posters but you also can download a fantastic discussion starter and question guide. For each track of the CD this guide has many, many questions to make sure that your child is comprehending well, questions to discuss with your child to make them think further about what is happening, and many vocabulary words for your child to look up or for you to discuss with your child. This is very helpful if you are using this in a homeschool setting.

Once again we are thrilled with In the Reign of Terror from Heirloom Audio Productions. It is another fantastic production. To find out more about this audio theater CD or any other GA Henty CD’s from Heirloom Audio Productions just click on any one of the highlighted links above. You can check out what other members of the Homeschool Review Crew think about this production by clicking on the banner below. Happy listening!

Heroes of History–Davy Crockett–A Homeschool Review Crew Review

One of my favorite genres of books when I was younger was biographies. I know, I was a weird child! Anyway, that love carried over to my adult life as well. I still love biographies and autobiographies. I’m pretty sure that anyone that reads my blog also knows that I love history. I am very glad to say that my children love history and biographies as well. Yep! I’m turning them into little geeks! So, we were super excited to find out that we were going to get to review one of the books from the YWAM Publishing Heroes of History series titled Heroes of History- Davy Crockett.

It also doesn’t hurt that we live in the great state of Tennessee and Davy Crockett was a hero that was born in our great state. You know the song – Davy, Davy Crockett – king of the wild frontier! But, did you know that “Davy” would have been insulted if you would have called him that? That is a modern day name that was given him – I suppose for the movie and TV show or something like that. Nevertheless, he would have preferred being called David back in his day. We learned that from the book. Not only did we learn that but we learned a lot of other fascinating things from this biography written by Janet and Geoff Benge. We have reviewed and bought a lot of books from YWAM Publishing and they have all been fantastic. This one is no different. We always learn so much and they are all good reads!

They all begin with a snippet of the hero’s older life and then flash back to the to his or her childhood on goes on through their life. Of course we all know that David was born in Tennessee and died in the famous Alamo battle. However, what I didn’t know was all of the interesting stuff that happened in between. This great book chronicles him leaving home and setting out on his own at a very young age, exploring the western wilderness, befriending Indians, and becoming a congressman. He did all of that in his short 50 years that he was alive! His life truly is fascinating!

As I said, YWAM books really are fantastic. However, it’s not just the books that are fantastic but also the study guides. Now, let me just say that the study guides for each of the titles in the Heroes of History series are sold separately as digital downloads, but I would recommend buying them even if you aren’t reading the books for homeschool or other educational purposes. They are packed with a lot of really cool extras!

For homeschoolers (and anyone else that likes this sort of thing) it has the usual chapter questions that are very well thought out and interesting. I usually read these books to my two homeschooled sons and alternately ask them a chapter question after we have read a chapter. There are also ways that you can use this book and the topic of Davy Crockett in all sorts of homeschool subjects including science, math and geography as well as history. We really like the Books and Resources section where you can find more great information on this great hero. And, along with this, there is a link to a special page where you can find bonus materials for this title and other titles in the Heroes of History series.

As you can see we really love this series and the study guides. To find out more about YWAM Publishing, the Heroes of History or specifically Heroes of History- Davy Crockett, just click on any one of the highlighted links above. Or you can check them out on their social media links provided below. As usual many of the other Homeschool Review Crew members reviewed this book and other books from YWAM Publishing and you can find what they had to say by clicking on the banner below. Happy Reading!

Social Media Links:

• Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/YWAM-Publishing-482973445102/
• Twitter:  http://twitter.com/YWAMpublishing Tag:@YWAMpublishing   
• Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/YWAMpublishing Tag: @YWAMpublishing     
• BLOG:  www.ywampublishingblog.com

The Thin Stix 6pk of Classic Colors–Another Awesome Product from The Pencil Grip–A Homeschool Review Crew Review!

 

 

When we prayed about and took three awesome teenage brothers into our already active home as foster children we had no idea what awesome talents we would find. We knew some of their likes and dislikes but we didn’t know all of their super abilities. Well, come to find out, they all three have a talent in drawing. Who would have thought it! So, when we received a Thin Stix 6pk of Classic Colors from The Pencil Grip, Inc. they were all super excited. They have been a big hit.

 

I had reviewed their set of fatter Kwik Stix before but these are new and are very cool. This new set is a lot the same but different. They are still made of solid Tempera paint that is somehow miraculously stuffed inside of a tube that look likes a magic marker tube. Yes, I said actual Tempera Paint! There is still no water needed to use these neat little things. They can still be used on paper with no worry about a big mess because they dry in 90 seconds or less. They still provide vibrant colors that smoothly flow onto the paper. I honestly can’t remember the exact colors of the big stix because they are still packed away from our recent move. However, the Thin Stix 6pk of Classic Colors are yellow, blue, red, brown, green and black. They are still non-toxic. So, after saying all of that you can see that they are still just as awesome as the big stix!

 

 

 

The difference between the Thin Stix 6pk of Classic Colors and the other set of Kwik Stix is that these are . . . well . . . thinner. The bigger stix were great for younger hands who needed something bigger to get a better grip on. These, however, are great for teens who want to use them to do awesome art projects. As the package says – they have a smaller tip for better control. So, my awesome boys who are good at art love them because they can create really neat pictures.

 

In fact, one of the boys grabbed them almost as soon as I got them and began playing with them. When I went to look for one of his projects to display on this post, however, nothing was good enough for him. They are tough critics of their own work. So, as soon as I’m finished writing this post, I am going to give the set of Thin Stix back to him so that he can create something beautiful that I will add ASAP! You will see it below.

 

Until then, I think that you can tell that we are fans of all of the Kwik Stix products and I am also a fan of the company that produces Kwik Stix - The Pencil Grip, Inc. I’ll put in a quick plug for their pencil grips as well which are absolutely awesome. I have used them for years.

 

Anyway, to find out more about The Pencil Grip, Inc. and their really neat products and especially about the Thin Stix 6pk of Classic Colors just click on any one of the highlighted links above. I know that you will not be disappointed with this really neat art product. You can also find out more about the company and about Kwik Stix by clicking on the banner below to read what other members of the Homeschool Review Crew thought or by connecting with them on social media. The social media links are listed below as well. Happy Homeschooling!

Social Media Links:

• Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/thepencilgrip/    
• Twitter:  https://twitter.com/thepencilgrip    
• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/KwikStixPaint/boards/           

 

 

 

   

Web Design by CompuScholar–A “Wow! Wow! Wow!” Homeschool Review Crew Review.

 

Wow! Wow! Wow!

Okay. Before I tell you what is “Wow! Wow! Wow!” I need to tell you a story. It’s a sad, sad, story. It begins when a father asks his son, John Allen, by now a young man in his early 20’s, if he would like to review a really neat online Web Design course by CompuScholar, Inc. John Allen has always enjoyed working with the computer and, in fact, when he was in high school, helped review another course by the same company. Back then the company was known as “Homeschool Programming” and included books in the learning process. Now, though, as I mentioned, they are known as CompuScholar, Inc. and their courses are all online. Well, anyway, dear old Dad registered John Allen for the course using the very easy registration process and was thinking that John Allen was merrily working his way through the course when, lo and behold, when Dad went to check on the progress about half way through the review period, he found that John Allen had not been working through the course because of extra hours of work and other outside obligations. Well, after scolding said son for not mentioning this to his dear old and now panicking Dad, his father decided that it was partially his fault for not checking up on him sooner. So, Dad rolls up his sleeves and decides to just take the course himself. After all, since the Web Design course is written for kids in 6-12th grades (middle school and high school) Dad thought it would be easy but also expected it to be boring since this was not really his thing. Well, although Dad did not get through as much as some other reviewers probably did, Dad did get through quite a bit and is loving the course. The following is dear old Dad’s review (aka me). I hope you enjoy it.

As I mentioned above, the course is written for kids in grades 6-12. CompuScholar. Inc. suggests that, although no programming skills are needed, familiarity and ease of using the computer is recommended. As they mentioned to we reviewers, if a family is petrified of computers and needs to take their computer to Geek Squad every week to clean off viruses then this may not be a good fit for them. Really, though, although I can maintain my blog pretty well, I have no other programming skills at all (except for an ancient college computer class back in the early 80’s soon after desk tops were introduced so I really don’t think that counts anymore) and I found the course fairly easy to navigate and very interesting.

The registration was equally as easy. This course can be used in a classroom setting, so a number of students can be registered and tracked if that is what you purchased, but, of course, this is not what we used it as. I did, however, register myself as the teacher and registered John Allen as the student (which of course, to my dismay he never used) and the process was simple.

The course itself is easy to use but, now this is where the “Wow! Wow! Wow!” comes in, you learn so much! Don’t worry, all of the information is given to you in small bits and pieces, and is given to you in several different ways. In this course there are 28 Chapters. In each chapter their are three or four lessons, a project, and a chapter exam. Each lesson has taken approximately 30-45 min. for me to complete. So, depending on how quickly you get a lesson done and/or how many lessons you want to do in a day, you could complete this course in one semester of homeschooling or if you just do one lesson/project/chapter test a day, then it would take you about a whole homeschool year to complete.

 

Let me describe a typical Chapter to you. You begin by watching a video of the lesson. As I said above, the whole process of developing a web page from beginning to end is taught in bite size pieces. For example, Chapter Two: Your First Web Page, you begin to learn how to prepare your computer to use HTML. Lesson One talks about Root Directories, Lesson Two teaches about Home Pages, Lesson Three teaches essential HTML Symbols and in Lesson Four you learn about HTML File Layout. In each lesson you first watch a video. After the video you read the lesson text. I really like this approach because it reaches both the auditory learner and the visual learner. After watching the video and reading the text there is a lesson quiz that has five multiple choice questions. For each quiz you are given three chances before you have to submit your answers to be graded. After the lessons in each chapter there is an activity where you practice what you have learned. In Chapter Two the activity is called “Body Text Experiments” and, as the name applies, has to do with Body Texts. The experiments are always explained fully and I have had no difficulty understanding them. Finally there is a Chapter Text which is also multiple choice. The quizzes, activity and chapter test are weighted and each grade represents a part of your total grade for that chapter. It is very easy to navigate through everything. All you have to do is click on the next icon and you are there.

That’s it for a complete chapter. They are very easy to figure out and to do. By the time you are done with all of the lessons you will have learned how to create a multi page website complete with graphics and audio visual content. What the course does is take you through developing a practice website about Raptors so that you can use what you learned in the practice website to build your own website.

The teachers guides are equally simple to use. Each lesson has it’s own teachers guide that goes over what is taught in the lesson. It also has added helps for the teacher that is overseeing the course. While the information is helpful, it is not necessarily needed to complete the course. There is also an answer key for the teacher to use as well. Because I am taking the course using my teacher password, I have not been able to really use the other features that are included like the gradebook feature but I hope to be able to use it soon because I am going to really push John Allen and some of my other boys to take this course.

As you can see, I am really impressed with this course. I am learning so much and loving it! To find out more about the Web Design course by CompuScholar, Inc. just click on any one of the highlighted links above. Many of the other members of the Homeschool Review Crew reviewed other courses by CompuScholar, including their Digital Savvy course, and you can find what they had to say by clicking on the banner below. Happy Computing!

   

We Love History and We Love Memoria Press History–A Homeschool Review Crew Review

 

 

“These are a few of my favorite things!”

Do you remember that song from The Sound of Music? Well, today I’m going to talk about a couple of my favorite things. My first favorite thing is history. I know I have talked about this before but we really do love history around here. It began with my parents. They would take us to wonderful historic places like Gettysburg, Williamsburg, Plymouth Rock, etc. I also had the great pleasure of being a teen during our countries Bicentennial in 1976 so that helped stoke my love of history. I have tried to pass that on to my children and, thankfully, do to some excellent curriculum, books, and, of course, vacations to some great historic sites ourselves, my kids have developed a love for history as well.

Another one of my favorite things is Memoria Press. My first experience with this great classical curriculum company was when we first began to homeschool John Allen, my oldest, I decided I wanted him to learn Latin since that was the basis for many language. That began his love of Latin and our love of Memoria Press. We used one of their Latin curriculums and John Allen excelled. We have used several things of theirs over the years. So, what could be better than a history curriculum from Memoria Press? Well, that’s what we got! We were blessed to receive The Story of the Thirteen Colonies & the Great Republic Set and 200 Questions About American History Set.

These two awesome sets actually consist of five books and a set of flashcards. The first book that I want to talk about comes from the The Story of the Thirteen Colonies & the Great Republic Set. The whole set is actually based on H. A. Guerber’s historical works by the same name. I love original historical books that were written before the time of rewriting history and political correctness. This is an honest portrayal of what really happened in the early days of our great nation. Original written in 1899 this 211 page combination of these two books is divided into 85 short stories that cover “Our Country so Long Ago” all the way to “The Spanish-American War”. The stories are well written and interesting. In fact, it’s books like this on which I based the history curriculum that I put together for our two autism spectrum boys. This book fits in marvelously with the other books that I’ve been using. My kids have learned so much by using old historical textbooks such as this.

The two other books that come in this set are The Story of the Thirteen Colonies & the Great Republic Student and Teacher Guides. These 32 lesson books cover all of the chapters in the original H. A. Guerber textbook. Each Lesson has four sections. The “Facts to Know” section covers several events, items or people that a student should know about and memorize. Such things as William Penn, the Seven Years’ War and The Statue of Liberty are included in this section. The “Vocabulary” section simply has the student define different words that may be new to them in each story. Section 3 – “Comprehension Questions” ask questions about the different stories that the student must answer in two or three sentence. Finally, the last section, “Enrichment”, has the students locate different historical areas on the map, list things on a timeline or other chart, and then do some other activity such as write a journal entry or memorize a particular poem or document. My kids love doing this type of work because they love history and this is something that they can exceed in. Often I will ask them the questions or vocabulary definitions because they have difficulty with small motor tasks, but really there is not much writing at all in the student workbook and each lesson is only about two pages long. The Appendix in the back has the maps, charts and documents that are referred to in the lessons. The Teacher Guide has all of the same things that the Student Guide has but has all of the answers filled in. It also has four tests that cover about 8 lessons each that can be given to the student.

The 200 Questions About American History Set includes a Student Book and Teacher Guide as well as a set of flashcards to drill students with. This set is exactly as it is named – 200 Questions About American History. They are 200 important questions that all students should know. It is a complement set to the H. A. Guerber set and most of the answers are taken from the H. A. Guerber textbook. In the student book, the chapter where the answer is found in the Guerber book is given. There is also a helpful chart at the beginning of the book that lists where the answers can be found. The one difference between this set and the Guerber set is that this set goes beyond where Guerber ended. For the historical events beyond The Spanish American War it is recommended that you purchase Volume 4 of Story of the World by Susan Wise Bauer. Again the Teacher Guide includes everything the Student Guide includes along with the answers but also includes seven tests that can be given throughout the year. The flashcards are very handy in reviewing the 200 important events. My boys really excel by using flashcards in their learning and these question on one side/answer on the other cards are very helpful.

These are definitely going to be used throughout our course of learning American History. As I mentioned before they go along fantastically with what we are already using. We are very pleased with them.

To find out more about The Story of the Thirteen Colonies & the Great Republic Set and 200 Questions About American History Set just click on any one of the highlighted texts above or check out the social media links listed below. Some of the other Homeschool Crew Members reviewed other items from Memoria Press and you can find what they had to say by clicking on the banner below. Happy Homeschooling!

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Bessie’s Pillow–A Homeschool Review Crew Book Review

 

 

We absolutely love history at our house. I was blessed to be raised by a father who loved history and I have tried to instill a love of history to my children as well. So, when we got the chance to review Bessie's Pillow from Strong Learning, Inc. we were very excited. We weren’t disappointed!

Have you ever had something in your family passed down from generation to generation that intrigued you? You might have wondered what the history or the significance of the object was? That is sort of what Bessie’s Pillow is all about. However it’s not just about the pillow but it is about 18 year old Boshka Markman (Bessie) who immigrated from Lithuania in 1906 to escape the persecution that many other Jewish people were experiencing in Europe.

Let me tell you, from the very beginning of this book my middle child, Joshua, was hooked. He practically begged for me to continue reading it to him since we used this as a read aloud for he and his younger brother Jacob. The book is super well written by Bessie’s granddaughter, Linda Bress Silbert and covers not only her immigration experience but her first years in America, her marriage and her family.

 

However, this is not just a fantastic biography, but it also comes with a study guide and some fascinating resources that make the story really come to life! I don’t know about you, but when I become entrenched in a historical novel that I really love, I want to immerse myself in that time period. Well, with the resources that come with Bessie’s Pillow you can actually see, hear and almost smell what it was like during that time period. There are movie clips, pictures and links to other sites that have to do with many topics that have to do with immigration and life in America during the 1900’s.

The online teacher’s study guide is also excellent. It includes questions and discussion topics for Language Arts, Social Studies, and, of course, History. It also has a fantastic time line that can be printed out and used while reading the book. The glossary of terms was also very helpful since many Russian and Jewish terms were used throughout the book that may be unfamiliar to the reader.

That’s not even all, though. The book itself has a fantastic section that gives more detail about many of the things mentioned in the book and what it was like living during that time period. There are also many pictures of Bessie and her family down through the years.

I know that you can tell by this review that we really, really love this book. It has become a favorite of Joshua and is also a favorite of mine. This 276 page novel can be used by all ages but an elementary ages child might need a little more help to understand some of the things that are happening and some of the language. To find out more about Bessie's Pillow from Strong Learning, Inc. click on any one of the links above. To find what other members of the Homeschool Review Crew thought about novel click on the banner below. You can also connect with the folks from Bessies Pillow on social media using the links provided below. Happy reading!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BessiesPillow
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BessiesPillow  @BessiesPillow