Category Archives: Schoolhouse Review Crew Post

January 13, 2020 · 1:36 pm

SchoolhouseTeachers.com {Review}

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

My boys (and me, too!) are loving the variety of Elementary and Middle School Homeschool Courses available with the Ultimate PreK-12 Annual Membership from SchoolhouseTeachers.com.

SchoolhouseTeachers.com was one of the first products I reviewed when I first became part of the Review Crew, and I am excited to be here to show and tell about SchoolhouseTeachers.com as it is now, in 2020. I feel that it has come a LONG way since I came onto the Crew! The concept is still the same, though, as you can see.

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There are SO many ways that SchoolhouseTeachers can be used for the homeschool, whether you choose to use portions as a suplement, or use this as your complete curriculum. With the Ultimate PreK-12 Annual Membership, I am able to completely customize our homeschooling for everyone in our family for one price that covers every student, up to and including my husband and I, when we find subjects of interest to us.

From planners to printable courses to video courses, HomeschoolTeachers seems to have it all. I have yet to see everything, because there is so much that can be used as students age and interests change. It’s WONDERFUL!

Let’s start with planning. Do you want to use a Scope and Sequence? It’s available on SchoolhouseTeachers!

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As you can see, you may use the Scope and Sequence in 2 ways, by grade or by subject. I like this because I personally prefer to go by subject. Grade level is not an issue in our homeschool because my boys are all over the map depending upon the subject they are currently doing.

Customizing your child’s homeschool is so easy with SchoolhouseTeachers! From the Scope and Sequence to the online access of the World Book Encyclopedia, you can set things up exactly as you want it to be.

Planning is a breeze with Schoolhouse Teachers! My favorite planner of all time is this one, available with your membership.

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Within this customizable planner you will find so many things! You could just use it as is or if you’re like me, pick and choose which parts will best suit your homeschool and your life. Here are many of the pages to choose from for homeschooling and household/personal planning:

  • customizable calendars, lists, schedules, and planning pages
  • Articles written to encourage and motivate you all year long, written by homeschooling experts like Jeannie Fulbright, Dr. Mary Hood, Dr. Jay L. Wile, and Cindy Wiggers, as well as other homeschooling parents like you
  • lists of facts for reference in fine arts, geography/history, math, science, and language arts
  • Unit study and lapbooking helps (a personal favorite of mine)
  • Planning pages for personal projects and goals
  • Address book, Christmas card list, information page for your sitter
  • Chore charts, health records, and vacation planning/packing lists

And so, so much more. This is the planner for EVERYTHING!

There is a terrific Literacy Center, to help with teaching your kids to read. I didn’t need this during this review, but I think its just fantastic.  Here is just part of what is available!

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There are also Focused Learning centers, for students needing help in specific areas.schoolhouse18schoolhouse17

In our family so far, we have gone through a few specific things. I have one child who was given a guitar and was really wanting to learn how to play it. I searched Guitar on SchoolhouseTeachers and found a guitar course for him!

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There is a printable lesson plan for him to follow along and check off as he does each lesson, which you can see coming out of the printer in this picture.

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Here, we have put the pages into a notebook so that he can follow along.

The component I chose to use at this time is the planner, which I described earlier in this review.

We’ve also chosen to use the Drive Through History from the video library.

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I’ve long wanted to use these with my boys, and have chosen to start with American History.

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Here is “The Batman” watching episode one, which is about 30 minutes long. The perfect little bite, so that he can keep focuse and not be overwhelmed.

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This is such a fantastic product for the homeschool family! For one price, it is all inclusive, and can be used with every member of the family with no additional fees. Right now, get a deal! But hurry, the sale won’t last forever!

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I encourage you to click below and check out 105 other fair and honest reviews!

Online Homeschooling For the Whole Family {SchoolhouseTeachers.com Reviews}As always, I would just love it if you would join me in all of “My Journeys Through Life.” Just go to the subscription box at the top of the blog and enter your email information. After that, you will always know when there is something new happening. I hope to see you here very soon! -)

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April 27, 2016 · 12:15 pm

GREEMU: A TOS Review

I have recently had the fun of trying out a product for the moms, as opposed to just for the kids!

GREEMU is a plant based alternative to Emu Oil, which we reviewed last year. GREEMU is distributed by Devonian, and is available from Koru Naturals.

As more and more people begin to turn to plant based products instead of animal based, particularly when it comes to cosmetics and skin care, this is a fine new addition to the line up!

GREEMU contains natural ingredients such as

  • Rice Bran Oil
  • Sunflower Seed Oil
  • Shea Butter
  • Macadamia Seed Oil
  • Palm Oil

We received a 4 fluid ounce bottle of GREEMU to spend a few weeks trying out. I applied for this review not just for myself, but because two of our boys, “Mr. Loquacious” and “The Puzzler” are African/American, and one of them, “Mr. Loquacious”, is GREATLY resistant to putting lotion on his skin and/or oil in his hair. My hair stylist, who also cuts their hair, consistently has to put what looks like a LOT of oil on his head after he gets his hair cut! So, this is why I thought using this product might help.

“Mr. Loquacious’s” biggest issue is always with either the scent, the feel, or both when it comes to lotions or oils. GREEMU, however, is practically scentless, and is not greasy at all. So far, I think the use of GREEMU for them is a good choice, since they tend toward very dry and scaly scalps without some kind of oil. If I can get them to continue use (or at least “Mr. Loquacious”, since “The Puzzler” is completely willing to use it), I believe. I also think it may be helpful on their elbows and knees, which tend to get ashy looking. As I said before, “The Puzzler” will put lotion on every night whether reminded or not, while “Mr. Loquacious” will not without putting up a fight. Hopefully, this will change. 🙂

I personally really love the feel of GREEMU on my own skin. I have been ill for some time, and haven’t been taking care of my skin or wearing make up. I have decided to try putting a drop or two on my face and rubbing it in, as a way of getting back to taking care of my skin. So far, I am pleased with the results. It really does take only a drop or two, and any that is left on my hands can be rubbed into them and onto my elbows.

As you read above, last year I reviewed the Emu Oil which can be purchased from the same company as GREEMU. I will tell you now that as nice as GREEMU is (and it is nice!), I personally preferred the Emu Oil. When I used it, my skin appeared to feel softer for a longer period of time, but that could just be me. They feel and smell almost identical, with the exception of one being slightly thicker than the other. Also, as I don’t have issues with sticking to plant based products, I don’t mind using the Emu Oil. I do know people who feel strongly on the topic however, so I feel that this is an excellent product for them, and I applaud Devonian Health and Beauty for spending the time and effort to develop it.

To read what other crew members think of this product, please click here.

As always, I would love to have you join me on all of my “Journeys Through Life.” Just enter your email into the subscription box, and you’ll be notified whenever there is a new post! 🙂

 

 

 

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March 10, 2015 · 7:40 pm

Digital Science Online: Visual Learning Systems (My Review)

My four boys and I have been having lots of fun using Visual Learning Systems as a group for a little over a month. We received a subscription to both the Digital Science Online: Elementary Edition (Grades K-5) and the Digital Science Online: Secondary Edition (Grades 6-12)

The Digital Science Online: Elementary Edition (Grades K-5), is divided into two sections. One is primary, which would be the grade K through 2 collection. This included well over 50 units of study, contained within the following subjects: physical, earth, life, and health. This is a great section if your children are in that age/grade range, there are tons of beautiful videos, animations, photos, and activity sheets, etc.

WE did not use this section, because my kids were beyond it, for the most part, but I really wanted you to know that it is there, and that it’s GOOD.

We HAVE been using the elementary a lot, because, frankly, I thought it was the best way for us to work as a group, something which many of my readers know that we enjoy doing. The elementary section of Digital Science Online has subjects like physical, earth, and life, with subtopics or units within them. As with the Primary section, there are lovely, well made videos, animations, photos, worksheets, and hands on activities in some areas. It’s meant for grades 3 through 5.

We have, for the most part, enjoyed this, except for having to crowd around one computer (something I will also address a little later). It was very impressive how, when we would choose a subject, there would then be a list of sub-topics within that subject, effectively giving us a unit study, already all organized for us! The reason I like this aspect so much is that all four of my boys really, really enjoy watching science and nature programs on television. The problem with that though, is it’s hard to put together a group of programs at the same time which would work together as a topical unit.

Eventually, though, with the exception of “The Puzzler”, the boys really wanted to have a go at the higher level, which I’ll talk about in a bit, because truthfully, I thought only “The Artist” would be able to handle the Digital Science Online: Secondary Edition (Grades 6-12).

How wrong I was!

As I mentioned back at the beginning of this review, we were also given access to the Digital Science Online: Secondary Edition (Grades 6-12).

The Secondary Edition has considerably more units of study, with a great number of sub-topics. My kids liked the longer videos, which, once again, I must complement. They are quite beautiful.

I have asked them to stay away from some sections of the biology units, after they pointed them out and said they didn’t think they should look at them. I was very proud of them for this actually, as it shows they have been listening to us and to their teachers at church when we discuss what is or is not appropriate for them.

There are also areas in which evolution is used as a given, where we believe, and teach, from a Creation world view. It was very interesting, however, to listen to everyone of our boys, at different times while watching different sections, saying things like “That’s not true, there’s no millions of years” or “Evolution isn’t real, we know that”. 🙂

The Secondary Edition also has worksheets and such, but these are really beyond any of my boys other than “The Artist”. I DO find that “The Batman” and “Mr. Loquacious” can do a lot of them orally, though.

AS I told you above, I really thought it would be better to use this program as a group, because as often as possible, I prefer it when we can do that. This DID work, for a while, but lo and behold, just today, they asked me two questions:

Will this work on our tablets?
Can we do it separately so we can choose our own topics?

Well, guess what, it works on the tablets! I hadn’t even tried, because I’m used to things like this being mostly for iPads, which we do not have. WE have Android Tablets. SO, I told them I would try it on mine first to check, and if so, we’d see if it would work on theirs. It did! 🙂 Since I had never actually set up separate student accounts because *I* wanted this to be a group learning thing I thought my kids would love to do this together, I chose to call customer support, given that I had forgotten how to set up separate log ins. Guess what found out? Well, while yes, I CAN do that, I don’t HAVE to! They can all log in using the information I used for the one log in, and they can all do it at the same time, on their own tablets or a computer. YAY! The customer service is wonderful. The first person I spoke with was named Louise, and the second was Emily, because they handle different aspects within the company.

One of the reasons I was so pleased to discover that this could be used on their tablets, all at the same time, and that they could be doing different subjects at the same time, as well, is that now, we don’t have to have a “discussion” about what we will learn about “today”. Being able to use the tablets in this way is a definite plus as well for the family who travels, because their children will be able to take this beautiful program along, and learn science their way. It would be great if you’re staying somewhere with provided wifi, and much better than spending all your in room time just watching television.

ALL in all, we really, really like this program. I even had one child come back inside from playing to ask if he could do some more science on his tablet! What better rating is there than that, right?

Want to see what my fellow Crew members think of Digital SCience Online? Just click on the banner right below!

Visual Learning Systems Review

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September 30, 2014 · 3:24 pm

Fix It! Grammar . . . A T.O.S. Review

In all of the years of working on the education of my kids here at home, we have never, ever actually used a formal grammar program. Or, for that matter, ANY written grammar program, to be honest! I have basically practiced an informal method of correcting their spoken grammar as a part of our daily life, something I will continue doing, as I believe it works quite well for SPOKEN grammar. However, “The Artist”, who was the student reviewing a fiction writing course last year, really wants to go back to it, and to learn to be better at writing stories, so I thought that the opportunity to review Fix It! Grammar: The Nose Tree [Teacher Manual] (Book 1), along with Fix It! Grammar: The Nose Tree [Student Book](Book 1), would perhaps be a good thing for him. I took a look at how it worked and decided to give it a chance.

This grammar program is from the very well known Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW).

IEW is a company I personally have never really taken the opportunity to really check out, because I was afraid it would be too difficult for my special needs guys. However, I am extremely glad we were blessed with the opportunity to review Fix It! Grammar, because it really works, in just minutes a day!

Here is the basic concept . . .
Method: modeling proper grammar within stories. Instead of being taught a grammar rule, and then being forced to practice it with a bunch of exercises, followed by the next grammar rule, over and over (Lather, rinse, repeat, so to speak) in Fix It! Grammar, the grammar rules are taught as they are needed, within the context of a story that builds upon itself until, at the end of the lesson book, the student has written correctly, the entire fairy tale used at that level.

The Process: 15 minutes per day. The level we received is giving us 33 weeks of grammar instruction and practice, in only 15 minutes per day, and 4 days per week.

This program is incredibly easy to set up and to work through! If you have the student book, then your student will need a note book divided into two sections, which are Rewrite and Vocabulary.

On day one of each week, your student will read and correct ONE sentence. Yes, one. He or she will read the sentence, look up the bolded word in a dictionary and write the best definition which fits within the context of the sentence, and write that into the vocabulary section of their note book. This will be built on each day until at the end, they have their own vocabulary dictionary to refer to. Then, he or she will copy the sentence for that day into the rewrite section of their note book, using double spacing.

On days two through four, the student will use the abbreviations at the top of the page, as well as the provided grammar flash cards to help them remember how to mark the section. As with day one, the student does their “rewrite” in the notebook, writing with double spacing. They are to use their best handwriting, so this is also a nice addition to the day in giving them that particular practice!

While we received both the Teacher book and the Student book (both are very nice, spiral bound books), If you prefer, you CAN just purchase the teacher book at the cost of $19.00. The teacher book comes with a license allowing you to download the student book and print as many copies as needed for use within your own homeschool family. The Student book, available for $15.00, is well worth it though, depending on how much it costs for you to print, and whether or not you have more than one child. I happen to have four boys, so knowing that I can print it as needed when each of them is ready for this, makes this a bargain for me.

A placement test is provided if you are unsure where to begin your student, however, like many people, I chose to begin with book one, so as to create a good foundation upon which we can build with the levels which follow. There is also a webinar available to introduce you to Fix It! Grammar, along with how this program differs from traditional methods of teaching grammar.

Fix It! Grammar is intended for 3rd grade and up, but as I said, I personally think that if you, like us, have not done a formal grammar program, it’s best to begin at the beginning.

What did we think of it? Well, I find it incredibly easy to use! “The Artist” really does not enjoy being MADE to write, although he enjoys writing on his own time, so this was the perfect choice for him. I mean, really? One sentence per day? Even my lazy writer who constantly complains about his hand cramping from too much writing, is fine with this! He really doesn’t mind giving up 15 minutes out of his day, and when he is finished, he will have completely written the entire fairy tale himself, with correct grammar! The only real problem we have is keeping him from reading ahead to see the rest of the story, lol!

You will find IEW on the following social media:

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Google+
You Tube
Vimeo

Bottom Line? Not only do I very highly recommend Fix It! Grammar from IEW, I think we will be continuing with it level by level. It is a very painless way to learn written grammar, and frankly, I like that. There is no reason education HAS to be dreary, if there is a better way, and this is definitely a better way, in my opinion.

Other Review Crew members have been reviewing this and other levels of Fix It! Grammar, so please click on the banner below to find out what they thought!
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June 10, 2014 · 3:54 pm

Learning Wrap-Ups: A T. O. S. Review

Let me just say right now, WOW, WOW, WOW! I had heard of, and seen in various catalogs, Learning Wrap-Ups many years ago, but never really checked them out. So, when I was given the chance to receive them as a review product for my kiddos, it was a no-brainer, I went for it!

I had no idea that Learning Wrap-Ups was a company which carries educational products other than the original Wrap-Ups.

We received so much in our package! Here is a list of all the wonderful, colorful, hands on products we were given:

Learning Wrap-Up Math Intro Kit W/O Cd’s – $44.99

This kit contains one set each of Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division, and Fractions. As you can see in the picture, they are in a sturdy storage case. There is also a teacher guide with ideas for use.


Learning Wrap-Ups Vocabulary Intro Kit – $35.99

This kit comes with four sets of Wrap-Ups, covering the following concepts: Antonyms, Synonyms, Homonyms and Compound Words.

We also received two workbooks, 10 Steps To Addition Mastery and 10 Days To Multiplication Mastery, each of which comes with the appropriate Wrap-Up for the price of $12.99 each.

Next out of the box, more fun hands-on learning tools. This was something which before this review, I had never even heard of, so I am REALLY grateful to have gotten the chance to check them out! This additional product from Learning Wrap-Ups is called Learning Palettes, and they are very cool!

We received:

1st Grade Math Learning Palette 1 Base Center Kit – $71.99. This set covers Numbers 0 – 10: Intro to Addition & Subtraction, Numbers 0-100, Money, Simple Fractions, Addition & Subtractions with sums and differences through 18, Algebra Concepts, Geometry & Measurement, and Probability & Statistics. This kit comes with one Learning Palette base and 6 curriculum packs which each contain 12 cards, giving a total of 864 questions and answers covering the concepts I’ve listed here. The whole set comes in a very nice, sturdy, clear carrier, and the palette base has a sturdy, clear cover to keep the parts contained.

and

http://learningwrapups.com/learning-palette/reading-lp-titles/1st-grade-reading-1-base-center-kit.html – $61.99. This covers blends & digraphs, reading comprehension, nouns, verbs and adjectives, vocabulary and phonics. This kit is just like the math kit, except it comes with five curriculum packs, containing a total of 720 questions and answers that cover the concepts I’ve listed here.

We were also given a Full Online Family Subscription for all levels of Reading/Math Palettes instruction at LearningPalette.com up to 5 users for a full year – $59.99. I also have a coupon code for you that will give you a 20% discount for the online subscription. Just use the code HOMESCHOOL. How great is that? 🙂

So, now that you know what we received, would you like to know how they worked out for us? Well, let me tell you, I knew right away they would be great for our family when my most reluctant reader, “Mr. Loquacious”, was the first one to get ahold of them, LOL! He knows what they are called, but often asks “can I play with the Fun-Wraps, mom?”
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So far, I’ve only managed to get photos of him and “The Artist” playing with the Learning Wrap-Ups, but the others think they are pretty cool, too.
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Wondering how they work? Well, it’s fairly simple. For each concept, we have a set of key type shapes, which are fastened together at the top so they can be swiveled when we wish to change to the next one, and a sturdy string that is attached. For example, in addition, on the first key there is a large number 1 in the center. on the left, there are numbers going down, as well as numbers going down on the right. There are notches next to each number, on each side. The idea is that you wrap the string from the first number to the notch by the answer. When completed, you turn the key over, and if the string is going over each of the raised lines, you know you did it correctly!

The Learning Palettes work a little differently. In each kit there was one palette, with a clear cover, and the colored circles to match when doing the various cards. “Mr. Loquacious” would place the card of his choice onto the palette in the correct position (which is very easy, as there is a guide peg and a hole to put it on). Then, he would simply look at the card (math or reading), and figure out which color circle went with each answer. When done, again, this is self-correcting, as he simply now would flip the card over. If all of the circles match the circles on the flip side of the card, he got them all right.
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You can see, he’s very intently working on them, because they are FUN! I personally feel that whenever possible, learning SHOULD be fun, don’t you?

With both the Wrap-Ups and the Learning Palettes, one of the things we like best is the portability. “Mr. Loquacious” even brought the Learning Palette kit to church to play with during my choir practice time this past Sunday afternoon. 🙂 I think they will be nice to have in the car on trips, as well, but maybe I’ll need to purchase additional bases so that more than one child can use them at the same time, since there are TONS of cards!

So far, “Mr. Loquacious” has been the only one to go onto learningpalette.com, but he is really enjoying it. It works much the same as the physical Learning Palettes, but with a computer and mouse instead of the physical pieces. He enjoyed going back and forth between choices of card and topic, math and reading both.
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What *I* love about the online version is that it allows you to have multiple children with log ins, and *all* of the levels, whereas the physical product is purchased one level at a time.

When it came to the workbooks though, my boys were not yet ready to apply the Wrap-Ups to them. They do work with the Wrap-Ups, so I am hoping that as they become more proficient with them, the workbooks will be something they can handle without a lot of the “oh, woe is me” stuff that generally comes with workbooks around here. 🙂

When it comes right down to it, this is a wonderful product! As I said before, I firmly believe that learning ought to be FUN. Remember, if you want the Full Online Family Subscription for all levels of Reading/Math Palettes instruction at LearningPalette.com up to 5 users for a full year – $59.99, just use the coupon code HOMESCHOOL and get it for 20% off! That coupon code is good at the time of this review, but I do not know how long it lasts, so if this is something you want, jump on it, you won’t be sorry! 🙂

Don’t just take MY word for it, definitely do go and check out what other Review Crew members thought of Learning Wrap-Ups! There are several different levels being reviewed! Just click on the banner below, and it will take you right to their reviews!

Learning Wrap-Ups Review
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May 28, 2014 · 2:34 pm

What On Earth Can I Do? A T.O.S. Review

In our homeschooling family, we have really loved all things from Apologia Educational Ministries, so I was very excited to be given the chance to review for you the fourth volume in their “What We Believe” series, which is designed to aid you as you teach a Biblical world view to your children.

Volume 4 is titled “What On Earth Can I Do?“, and teaches a Biblical worldview of stewardship. We received the entire set in our review package, as listed and pictured below:

The main text “What On Earth Can I Do?” which is a very nice hard bound book, with just under 300 pages, and retails for $39.00

The Notebooking Journal, spiral bound, 236 pages, which retails at $24.00

The Jr. Notebooking Journal, also spiral bound, 184 pages, which retails for $24.00.

and the “What On Earth Can I Do?” Coloring Book, which is softcover, 64 pages, and retails for $8.00.

This curriculum technically has eight lessons within it, but they are broken up into small chunks, so if your family is like mine, you can really take your time with it. The eight lessons are titled with the following:

Your Story Or God’s Story?

Who Put You In Charge?

Will You Be Found Faithful?

Where Is Your Treasure?

Where Does Your Time Go?

Whose Life Is It Anyway?

Why Isn’t It Easy Being Green?

What Will Happen When The Master Returns?

Each of these eight lessons is, as I mentioned above, broken up into several segments. You can either quickly complete each one within a couple of weeks, or you can take your time, allowing yourselves to really dig in deep with questions, discussion, and following rabbit trails.

The first half of the book follows a family during World War 2, and we are really seeing it mostly from the view of the children. At first, I thought it might be too heavy for my children, but it wasn’t. They were very saddened by what was happening in the story, and in the true, historical things we read about, but it did spark really good discussion and questions. For example, in our church, we have close friends who are Messianic Jews, and “Mr. Loquacious” asked me “if L. and E. and Miss S. were alive then, would they have been in danger like that too?” So we discussed what kinds of changes World War 2 made in the world.

The second half of the study follows another set of siblings, this time in Africa. We have not gotten to that part yet, but we look forward to it!

Each lesson contains several important components:

The Big Idea (introduction and brief overview of what has already been learned)
What You Will Do (learning objectives)
Short Story (this is where we read more about the children featured in this section)
Think About It (comprehension questions)
Words You Need To Know (vocabulary words from that lesson)
Hide It In Your Heart (memorization verses)
Integrated Learning (articles related to an element in the short story or tied to the lesson)
What Should I Do? highlights a godly character trait that the child should demonstrate as the right response to what they have learned.)
Prayer (conclude the lesson with a prayer to thank God for the gifts He has given, and all He has done.)
Parables of Jesus (a retelling of a parable of Jesus, imagined from the perspective of one of the characters in the parable, giving cultural details to better help the child understand what is happening.)
Going Deeper (discussion questions to encourage children to think about the parables of Christ and what they may mean for us now)
House Of Truth (Beginning in the first book of this series, the student is given instructions on building a “house of truth”, with one section being built in each book.)

We are very much enjoying “What On Earth Can I Do?”, and really looking forward to completing it. We like very much that it is written to children, and that the stories about the siblings featured are written from their perspective.

While my kids, with their delays, vastly prefer the Jr. Notebooking Journal, I will tell you that the Notebooking Journal is quite nice! For the older child, there is more writing, the puzzles are a bit more difficult, and it does not have the coloring pages that the Jr. Notebooking Journal has. It does have the mini books to make, which are then glued to specific pages to keep.

In the Jr. Notebooking Journal, the puzzles are easier, there is a lot less writing, there are plenty of coloring pages, and it also has the mini books to make and keep.

The coloring book has many of the same coloring pages as the Jr. Notebooking Journal, and would be a wonderful addition to use with the very young child who would then have something related to do while the older ones are reading out loud, and working on the lessons in the curriculum.

What I chose to do was to have “The Batman” take turns reading with me, and we would all discuss the questions in the text. “The Artist” was chosen to work in the Notebooking Journal, “The Puzzler” worked in the Jr. Notebooking Journal, and by his own request, “Mr. Loquacious” worked in the coloring book. He doesn’t like to read or write, even though he can do so.

We will be continuing on with “What On Earth Can I Do”. I am extremely impressed with it. The only “con” for me is the usual one, that the Bible verses are never from the King James Bible, something I find very frustrating, given that it is the one version that you do not have to pay for the right to copy. At the same time, it did give my kids more practice looking up verses, as I prefer them to read them from the King James Version! However, when the Bible verse is a clue to a word in a puzzle, it’s harder for the kids if the puzzle uses a different version. With this one exception, I really love this curriculum, and highly recommend Apologia Educational Ministries!

Check out Apologia on social media:

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/apologiaworld
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May 12, 2014 · 1:30 pm

Golden Prairie Press, A T. O. S. Review

Digital Heroes & Heroines of the Past: American History Curriculum, is a curriculum we were given to review, along with 99 other Schoolhouse Review Crew members.

This curriculum is from Golden Prairie Press, the home of “History At It’s Best”, according to their header.

Digital Heroes & Heroines Of The Past: American History Curriculum is a one year package of 30 lessons, and has been designed for children from 1st through the 6th grade levels. It is available for $98.99.

This downloadable curriculum will take your student from 1000 AD up to the present day, using two e-books.

The first half of the curriculum is Heroes and Heroines of the Past: American History Part 1 e-book, which covers the original people in America and continues on through the administration of President Jackson ( 1829 – 37 ).

You will then continue on with the second half of the curriculum: Heroes and Heroines of the Past: American History Part 2 e-book, covering 1837 to the present day.

We also received the following items, which are included in the digital curriculum:

Additional Materials CD (we received this as a collection of pdf files) which can be used as supplemental materials, including timelines, instructions and videos, coloring pages, and much more.

Historical Skits e-book, which contains 19 skits from the time of Columbus to World War 2. Your children can use these to further bring history to life, if they are interested in acting out what they are learning.

Sing Some History CD, which we received as audio files. This contains many of the songs that are referred to in the curriculum, further bringing the history to life while you and your children listen to them.

Listen to Some U.S. History MP3 CD (we received this as a downloadable collection of mp3 files), allowing you and your children to listen to 20 original speeches, poems, sermons, and documents that are mentioned in the book.

What we like:

The format of the curriculum e-books. I enjoy that we are given two different options for each lesson as far as the reading goes, one for younger students who aren’t ready for more lengthy information, and one for the older kids, which goes into more depth. For my kids, we are actually able to (mostly) use the more in-depth portion, as long as we are using this as a read aloud. This is not a problem, since that’s how we do a lot of curriculum, allowing us to do it all together. I enjoy being able to read right from my laptop, so that we only need to print things like coloring pages, etc.

The sound files! We enjoy hearing what we are learning about, whether it is the music or the speeches and such.

We like the Additional Materials CD for things like coloring pages, the extra sound files, and the timelines. Speaking of the timelines, the thing I like the best regarding them is that there are different versions available. You may choose to print out the fully filled in timelines (perfect for some of my kiddos), or the partially filled in (allowing your kids to fill in the rest), or the blank ones, so that your more advanced kids may fill them in from memory or by looking them up.

Here’s the best thing, as far as I am concerned . . . while there are Bible verses throughout for the kids to read and/or memorize, only the reference is given. The verse is not written out in the text (or at least, I haven’t come across any which are as yet), which means no matter what version of the Bible you use (we are a King James only family), you need to get your actual Bible out and LOOK UP THE VERSE FOR YOURSELF! I LIKE that! There is no reason any child who can read cannot learn to look up verses, and too many of us, especially in curriculum, become lazy and just let the text we are learning from do it for us.

What we don’t care for:

Most of the activities are simply things we rarely bother with. We will probably do some of the cooking ones, but I don’t see my kids making paper canoes and such, for example, or a teepee in the house. However, as some of my friends would remind me, that’s mostly because “I” don’t like the mess involved, so, maybe if not for that, my kids WOULD do them. Maybe “I” need to loosen up a little bit on this one, LOL!

All in all, for my kids, I do enjoy this curriculum, and am pleased that it is digital, allowing me to print as many copies of things as needed for my kids. Although it is designed as a 30 week curriculum, I’m quite sure that we will take considerably longer. We very likely didn’t get as far as other reviewers, because with four special needs boys, I do tend to go much slower when it comes to working our way through curriculum. But that’s OK. In MY opinion, it’s one of the beauties of homeschooling, the fact that you do not have to do things in a specific way or time frame. 🙂

To check out Golden Prairie Press on social media, please go to:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoldenPrairiePress

Please always remember always that my opinion is just that, and there are many other crew members reviewing the same product. I encourage you to click the graphic below, and go check out there reviews as well!
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April 21, 2014 · 6:21 pm

Philippians In 28 Weeks . . .A T.O.S. Review

I have been blessed to have another opportunity to review a product from the Home School Adventure Co..

I received a pdf copy of Philippians In 28 Weeks “Love Him With All Your Mind” with Reflection Journal, written by Stacey Farrell.

This book is available in the ESV or the KJV version. As most of my regular readers have already guessed, I chose the KJV version.

Stacey Farrell has devised a very simple way of learning (memorizing) Philippians, although I made it harder than it needed to be at first, lol!

The ages this book is meant to work for are:

Read aloud and discussion as a family: ages 9-11

family discussion and/or parental/teacher guidance, ages 12 and up

Most high School age students should be able to handle this book on their own.

Philippians In 28 Weeks is available as a complete print edition, in either ESV or KJV, for $28.95. The ESV version is also available as a complete e-book for $14.95, while the ESV Memory Cards e-book is available for $9.95.

Stacey has set out five steps to memorizing the book of Philippians:

1. Read the book of Philippians every day.
2. Record your insights in the journal she provides in the book.
3. Repeat your current week’s verses daily.
4. Review and recite from memory.
5. Retain what you have memorized, by reciting your verses at the start of the week, before beginning a new card.

Stacey has provided a very nice log within the book, so that you can keep yourself accountable for keeping up with your study, along with a very nice set of printable cards which have all of the verses to memorize for each week. They are meant to be printed out with the verses on one side and a picture on the other side, but I would prefer not to use all that ink, so only print out the verse side. Also, I have never really cared for the “what everyone thinks Jesus looks like” picture that is used for either the cover of the book or the cards.

I had intended to do this with my boys, but truly over-estimated what they could handle at this time. This is the time of the year when they are memorizing scripture for several different groups within our church, and they just couldn’t manage anymore without falling apart. Therefore, while I will definitely save this for use with the boys later (perhaps during the summer?), I thought it best to at this time, try to do this one on my own. Even so, it ended up being more difficult than I thought it would, but that is NOT the fault of the book, or the author. I have been battling health issues for several weeks, and just as it seemed to be getting better, and I began working on this, it hit back with a vengeance!

However, I really, really love this system! And especially with the things I’ve been dealing with, Philippians is the perfect book for me to work through, so I will be persevering, and I will finish it. I know now that for me, it WILL take longer than 28 weeks, but even so, it is worth it, because I think having verses from Philippians automatically come to me when I need them will be a wonderful help to me during difficult times. I will continue on, even if I need to maybe take TWO weeks for each one week section. I think Stacey Farrell has come up with yet another winner, and I hope she does many more titles for the Homeschool Adventure Co. 🙂

Please, do check out the Homeschool Adventure Co. on the following social media links:

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To read what other Review Crew Members thought of Philippians In 28 Days, along with other products from the Homeschool Adventure Co., please click the graphic below.
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April 10, 2014 · 11:21 am

Supercharged Science . . . A T.O.S. Review

My children and I were fortunate enough to review the e-Science Premium Membership from Supercharged Science last year, so we were surprised and happy to be given this review again this year! 🙂

Last year, I was so excited about this that I printed out the shopping list for the unit we wanted to work in, without paying attention to the teacher, Aurora Lipper (more about her later), so I would up purchasing supplies for EVERY SINGLE experiment, LOL!

Then, we went through a period of time with varied health problems and surgeries, and after the review period we never finished the unit. 😦 When the boys found out we were doing it again, they BEGGED to do more of the experiments making crystals, and since we basically still had everything (although I did have to buy some sugar and some alum), that was what we did.

I’d like to tell you a little bit about Aurora Lipper, and Supercharged Science, though, before getting into what we did this time around. She attended Cal Poly State University in San Luis Obispo, California, earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering (with a minor in Mathematics and senior project in Rocket Science) in June 1996. Aurora also, while still in CA, continued her studies in a Master’s program with Edward Air Force Base, later becoming a student pilot, followed by receiving her private pilot license. Aurora Lipper, who is the online teacher at Supercharged Science, is a real rocket scientist, who has a gift for bringing her lessons to a level where even younger kids can understand them, along with no-nothing mom’s in the science department, like me. My kids are special needs kids, with various developmental disabilities, and they are very enthusiastic about this program.

As I told you above, at the request of my four boys, we chose to work more in the “Matter” unit, because they wanted to do more crystals. First, though, we re-watched the video on Unit 3: Matter (Getting Started)
. Then, it was onward and upward!

We did NOT actually begin with crystals, however. We started with an experiment called “The Breaking Point”, in which we learned about tension, compression and elasticity, using a pencil. We learned that wood (such as in a pencil) is very elastic and can bend. We also learned that eventually, there is a “breaking point”, and the pencil will snap. While we looked at the differences in the breaks in the pencil, Aurora explained about tension and compression.

Watching Aurora’s video . . .
2014-04-07 03.25.16

Here, we have the boys taking turns bending the pencil . . .
2014-04-07 03.28.10
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2014-04-07 03.28.45
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And now, “The Batman”, finally breaking it in half!
2014-04-07 03.29.23
They really enjoyed this one. Being boys, they like it when they get to break stuff! 🙂

So, now we were onto the one experiment that all four boys have been DYING to do, Rock Candy crystals. We made a supersaturated solid solution, just like we did when making laundry soap crystals in our previous review, except THIS one was made of water and sugar.

First, we watched Aurora teach us on the video . . .
2014-04-07 03.37.06

And then, we began making our solution.
2014-04-07 03.53.38

Here is “Mr. Loquacious” taking a turn at stirring . . .
2014-04-07 03.58.22

Next up, “The Puzzler” . . .
2014-04-07 03.58.33

Then “The Artist” took a spin . . .
2014-04-07 03.58.46

Followed by “The Batman”.
2014-04-07 03.59.02

After what was a LOT longer time than we expected from what was on the video, we FINALLY got the sugar dissolved! We then divided it into separate glasses, and added food coloring to each one.
2014-04-07 06.06.59

We seeded our skewers with sugar, and then put them into the glasses just the way we had been shown on the video . . .
2014-04-07 06.31.09

And left them to do their work. Sadly, we must have done SOMETHING wrong, because they’ve been sitting a while and there are no crystals yet forming on the skewers. We will try again, though! 🙂

We WERE successful with another crystal experiment, this one involving cleaned out egg-shell halves, water, alum and food coloring.

Here are all of the supplies we used for egg-shell crystals . . .
2014-04-07 06.32.42

Here, the water and alum is being mixed to make another supersaturated solution.
2014-04-07 06.35.37

We set the egg shells, filled with the solution on a plate with an upside down bowl in the center, so they would stay put.
2014-04-07 06.45.01

We then left them to do their work, with me pretty much constantly telling my boys they didn’t need to check them every five minutes! 🙂

Happily, we were successful this time, YAY!
2014-04-10 00.10.48

Aurora said in her video that we can keep making the supersaturated solution with the alum and water, and adding it to the same egg shells, which will eventually give us a simulated geode. My kids are wanting to do this, so we’ll see if there is a bulk food place here where I can buy a larger supply of alum without spending a fortune at the grocery store on it.

We received the K-12 plan for this review, however, you can either subscribe to that at a cost of $57.00 per month, or the K-8 level plan for $37.00 per month.

Do I believe it’s worth the cost? Yes, I do, especially as we would very likely stick with the K-8 plan. Do I feel it is truly affordable? Well, it really is not affordable for us, and I think many homeschoolers would feel the same, sadly. Most homeschoolers live on one income, and have to pinch the pennies very hard. As I said in my previous review, I’d love to see a substantial discount for paying a whole year at once, whenever the family can afford to sign up and do that (like at tax refund time, lol!), or even partial scholarships. Other than that, I can see nothing but positives regarding the e-Science Program from Supercharged Science. We LOVE it!

To follow Supercharged Science on social media, please check out the following:

https://www.facebook.com/superchargedsci
http://www.twitter.com/aurora_lipper
https://www.youtube.com/user/auroram42

https://plus.google.com/u/0/112193545312804826871/posts
http://www.superchargedscience.com/blog/

Other crew members also reviewed the e-Science Premium Membership from Supercharged Science. Please click the graphic below to discover their views!
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March 28, 2014 · 6:12 pm

Spelling You See, A T.O.S. Review

Having been given the opportunity to review with my younger two boys (our twins, “Mr. Loquacious” and “The Puzzler”) an advance pdf copy of a very newly published program, Spelling You See, and knowing that it was coming from the publishers of Math-U-See, a program I have heard nothing but good about, I really wanted to give it a go with both boys.

They are both (finally) coming along nicely with their reading, especially given that when we adopted them four years ago at the age of 8, they couldn’t spell (or read!) much beyond their own names, but having seen phonics programs fail with them, I thought this just might be a good change.

I was given Spelling You See: Wild Tales (Level C) to use with my boys.

I will be completely honest here, and tell you that I was not SURE that this program would work, or even that they would like it at all. My father taught me to read before I ever began school, and he used phonics, even though I don’t believe he called it that, or even knew that was what it was. So, when I began homeschooling, I did what I call “school in a box”, from a big name company, with a very strong phonics spelling program. Guess what? It had worked for me, but not so much with my kiddos.

Before choosing the level I would want to review, I went to Spelling You See to check out their “Readiness Guides“. I did find that both boys easily read the material for Level C, but when asked to write the same material, missed quite a lot, therefore I chose Level C for them.

One of the BEST things about this program, one that means an awful lot to my boys, is that it is not set up by grade levels, rather by skill/developmental level. We have tried things in the past that were marked actual grade level, and they balked mightily about it, because before we adopted them, they were supposedly “in the 3rd grade at their public school”, and didn’t want books that said they were “in kindergarten or first grade”.

We have been really enjoying the way this program is set up, it is perfect for boys with very short attention spans (which I freely admit describes my boys, LOL!).

Here is how this program does NOT work . . . there are no spelling lists, no tests, etc. In Level C, for example, we begin with nursery rhymes, which I happen to think is great, as they are part of our heritage. By lesson 8, they will have moved on to short stories involving different animals.

Each week begins with learning which letter groups to look for to mark while “chunking”, which is what Spelling You See calls marking letters that come in small groups, such as special sounds made by vowels, or consonant blends. After practicing the “chunking” on that week’s nursery rhyme or story, the student then goes to the second page to do copy work, and doing the same exact chunking on their written work. The second day, the two workbook pages are a repeat of the first day. Then, we come to day three, which is in part a repeat of the first day, but the copy work is different in that a different portion of the rhyme or story is being copied each day. Day four, the student will read and chunk the passage, but then he or she will draw or write his or her own story. Spelling You See calls this “no rules” day. On the final day of the week, the rhyme or story is read, the chunking completed, and then your student(s) will write it while you dictate it. You are supposed to use a timer for ten minutes, and stop when it goes off, even if they haven’t finished writing. The goal is to be learning to spell, not to be fast ( I’ll admit, that one is tough for “Mr. Loquacious”, who always wants to “win”).

Here we are during the first week (the only time they didn’t balk at pictures), reading the passage while clapping each syllable . . .
2014-03-28 00.53.07

Here is “Mr. Loquacious, following the “chunking” instructions for the specific vowel sounds called for. That particular week, they were to mark them with the color yellow. Each different “chunking” group is coded with a different color.
2014-03-28 00.55.25

Here is “The Puzzler”, doing HIS chunking . . .
2014-03-28 00.55.39

This program is certainly living up to what I have always heard of the company that produced it. BOTH of my twins enjoy it, and have asked more than once if they can do more than one day at once. The only thing they didn’t care for (and really, the only one who cared was “Mr. Loquacious), was that on the copy work pages they are not given the three lines with the dotted line in the middle. In fact, a direct quote from him was “Mom, they forgot a line on the paper”, LOL!

By now, I’m sure you’d like me to let you know what you will receive (and what it will cost) should you choose to purchase this program . . .

Wild Tales Student Pack (2 student workbooks, covering 36 lessons between them, along with a pack of erasable colored pencils) – $30.00

Wild Tales Instructor’s Manual – $14.00

Do I feel this program is worth the cost? Yes, I do. My twins are seeing “patterns” in words, which I believe will aid in their improved spelling. American English is not the easiest language to learn how to spell, as we all know, and I think this is going to help them. Are we going to continue to use this, now that our review period is over? Yes, we are. As I said before, even my boys are happy with it, which I think is a GOOD thing!

Want to try before you buy? download a sample and check it out for yourself. 🙂

To find out even more about Spelling You See, please check them out on the following social media:

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To read what other Review Crew members thought of this and other levels of Spelling You See, please click on the graphic below!
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