Classical Academic Press~God's Great Covenant (Old Testament)

Classical Academic Press is a familiar company among many homeschool families.  All of the items they offer are "classical, creative, relevant, and easy to use."  I agree with that statement completely.  We have had the honor of using their curriculum before.  Each time we have used their books I walk away amazed at how they challenge my children to think outside the box.  They are learning to think for themselves. 

We have been blessed with the opportunity to review many homeschool products.  Nothing compairs to this company.  So without further ado I bring you our latest review for The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew.

God's Great Covenant, Old Testament 2 written by Claire Larsen.  The suggested grades for these books are third through sixth.

We were sent the Student Book, teacher's edition and the MP3 audio recordings.  The student book is available for purchase on the Classical Academic Press' website for $22.95.  The teacher's edition book is $24.95.  The MP3's are available as a download for $9.95.  We were sent a CD for review purposes only.  A physical copy of the CD is not available.

Each chapter has an introduction page known as the Memory Page.  Here you get an overview of what the chapter will cover including:

Lesson Scope (Scripture passages)
Read to Me (Scripture to be read)
Theme (What the lesson is trying to show)
Memory Verse (verse relating to the theme)
Key Facts (things the student needs to remember)
Message from the King (How to relate to God in their own lives)

The chapters are a perfect length for kids of many different learning styles.  This is where the MP3's are a great resource.  While many children can just read and remember the content, many children cannot do so.  Our daughter Hannah needs to use all of her senses in order to remember.  She enjoyed listening to the lesson on MP3 while reading along with the text.

She was even more excited to see this study covered her favorite book of the Bible, 1 Samuel.  I know she knows that story forwards and backwards so I challenged her to pick another book of the Bible to learn about.  She chose the book of Daniel.

The lesson is broken up into nice bite sized chunks where a child can learn what needs to be learned.  The chunks are not so large that a student becomes bored with it.  Depending on your child the lessons will only take a short time to complete.  Our daughter was completing a section of the lesson a day.  Sometimes we caught her

The lesson starts out with the Memory Verse.  I love the way this is done.  The student is required to fill in the missing words from the verse.  We have found this way to be the way our daughter learns best.  We have her read and re-read the verse.  Then we give her the worksheet and have her fill in the blanks.  It also helps that the verse is a nice sized one and not too long. 

The key facts portion of the worksheet were very instrumental in helping our daughter remember what she learned in the lesson.  She was encouraged through this section to think for herself.  She wasn't given the information to fill in, she had to think about what it was asking. 

The next part of the worksheet is the Story Facts, where the student has to fill in the facts learned from the story.  I allowed Hannah to fill this in while listening to the story.  This is the best way for her to learn and retain the information being taught.

Hannah was often asking to do more than the one section I was asking her to do.  She loves learning about the Bible.  How can a parent say no to that?! 

I would often find her kneeling in the window with her book and Bible open working through the lesson.  Many times I had to make her slow down so she had time to comprehend the materials.  At that point I would have her read the story again in the Bible.

In the back of the student text is the Appendices and maps.  It is here you will find the memory verse summary, Pictures of Christ, How to use the Psalms, How to understand the Proverbs, Kings and Prophets, Reigns of the Kings of Israel and Judah, Intertestamental History, Glossary and Quizzes.  It was here we really started talking in depth about the Bible.  It brought tears to my eyes to see my daughter, who has many learning disabilities, finally Get it!  It's like a lightbulb goes on and the Scriptures come alive for her.  That in my book is a successful curriculum!!

If you want to see what the other crew members are reviewing from Classical Academic Press visit the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog.

 

Disclaimer~ I received a free copy of this product through the Schoolhouse 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.  All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations.

Apologia~Journeys of Faithfulness

 

Journeys of Faithfulness written by Sarah Clarkson is published by Apologia.   This book is a series of stories about women of the Bible.  Women such as Mary, Ruth and Esther just to name a few.   The book is written with actual accounts from the Bible along with Sarah Clarkson's insight on how these women might have felt.

 

The book also has devotionals throughout and pages for journal writing.  It can be used for a devotional book for the young ladies in your family.  It will teach them how to reach for that better relationship with Christ.  It is 232 pages of wonderful stories of women that lived their lives for God.

 

This book can be purchased directly from the Apologia website for $13.00.  It is recommended for girls ages 12 and up.

 

You can read a sample chapter on the Apologia website.  You can also see the table of contents on their website as well.

 

I have really been blessed by the words in this book.  It has not only showed my girls how to live a better life devoted to Christ, but it has showed me the same.

 

There are so many struggles in life with just small everyday things.  God asks us to open our hands up and give everything to him.  Sarah put it best in chapter 6, "The Great Adventure".

 

"She held her heart out to God

and fought to keep her hands open, her fingers loose."

 

The devotionals are so well done!  It ties everything together and points you right back to Scripture.  You read the short devotional at the end of each chapter.  There are at least 3 passages of Scripture to then look up and read.  There are also thought provoking questions to get you and your daughters thinking. 

 

I highly recommend this book!  It is a great Mother/Daughter Bible study.  We are going to pick this up again after Christmas.  I want to really focus on each woman we study.

 

If you would like to see what other crew members are saying visit the Crew blog.

 

Disclaimer~As a member of TOS Review Crew we were sent this book free in exchange for our honest review.  All opinions are my own.

 

Crossbow Education~Reading Rulers

 

Homeschool Crew Members were given the opportunity to review for Crossbow Education.  They offer a wide array of learning tools for multi sensory learning. 

 

We were sent the Eye level reading rulers to try here.  They came in a package of 10 all different colors.

The colors they come in are:

Yellow

Celery

Grass

Jade

Aqua

Sky

Purple

Magenta

Pink

Orange

 

Each of the reading rulers has 2 windows.  Each of the reading rulers have duo windows.  One of the windows is 1/2 inch wide and the other window is 1 1/4 inch wide.  The smaller window will "highlight" one line of a large print book, or 2 lines of a small print book.  Readers will most often find it easier to focus with these rulers.

 

These rulers can be purchased at the Crossbow Education Website.  The rulers are available in a pack of 10 (one of each color listed above) for $16.95.  It is a good idea to get the 10 pack.  That way your child can try out each one and see what works best for them.

 

My husband even used these.  He has cataracts in his eye and finds it hard to see certain things.  These helped out a great deal with this.  He used the "grass" colored one.  Crossbow even has a virtual overlay for the computer I plan on looking into for him.

 

Our kids found them very helpful when reading books that have pretty small print.  Especially our daughter Hannah, who has trouble focusing on things when the page is very "busy".  She will often complain of a headache after reading for a certain amount of time.  After using the "purple" ruler for a few weeks, she hasn't complained once!! 

 

Our son Andrew tends to lose his place while reading.  The "sky" ruler was what helped him.  He was able to focus on the words he needed to read.  He didn't loose his place as often as he has in the past. 

 

 

Disclaimer~As a member of TOS review crew we were sent this product free in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions are mine or my children.

 

 

Box of Ideas~Salt

 

Box of I.D.E.As is just what it says.  It is a box of ideas on a particular subject or topic.  We were sent Salt to review.  Although we did not get an actual box, the study itself was great.  Who knew salt could be so interesting.  This study can be used for all ages.  But it is suggested for ages 9-16.

 

The study consisted of:

The history of salt

Science of salt

The salt march

The geography of salt

 

The unit is divided into ten different modules.  Each module is full of fun activities to help your child learn about this particular subject.  We are unit study lovers here.  We learned so much about salt and everything it is used for. 

 

We enjoyed the timeline cards.  The kids tried to see how fast they could put them in order.  This study is so easy to use you can use it in the car or on the go.  Our favorite module was "the science of salt".  Here we learned all about what salt does.  Living in Western NY we see a lot of snow.  So learning how the salt actually helps on the roads was a lot of fun.  Now we can't wait for the first snowfall.  I'm going to try and get a field trip to our highway department so we can see the trucks up close.  That was something I really liked about this study.  There are so many helpful ideas within the study. 

 

We did an experiment on how fast a particular type of salt melts and returns back to it's original form.  It was VERY interesting.  Did you know that China produces the most amount of salt?  You too can know these great facts on this topic.

 

The Box of I.D.E.As is available on their website for $49.00 for the PDF version.  The physical box sells for $79.00.

 

You can see what other crew members had to say about this review by visiting the Crew Blog.

 

 

Disclaimer~As a member of TOS review crew we were sent a PDF download free in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions are my own.

 

 

 

 

Raising Real Men~A Cry From Egypt

 

A Cry From Egypt is an amazing book written by homeschool graduate, Hope Auer.   This book is written with children ages 8 and up in mind.  This book is not yet published but you can get an advanced reader copy on their website for $12.50.  The book is being published by Hal and Melanie Young of Raising Young Men.

 

I have reviewed a lot of books in my blogging days.  But I must admit it has been a long time since a book has captured my attention like this one.  Perhaps it is because we are going through the book of Exodus in church.  Hope's words just draw you into the story like you are right there.  You can feel the dust under your feet.  Have you ever wondered what it was like to be a slave in Egypt?  I mean really feeling what it was like?  I've read the stories from the Bible about Moses.  But never have I felt what it was like to be there.  Until now! 

 

Meet Jarah, her and her family are slaves in Egypt.  Throughout the story we experience what it was like to actually be there when the plagues were sent.  Seeing Aaron and Moses, hearing them tell Pharaoh to "Let the people go".  I cannot describe the feeling that came over me while reading this book.  You must get this book and read it with your children.  They will be talking about this for days to come.  Our children begged for another chapter to be read.  I've been reading this book to them before bed.  Yes my children are teenagers but they still love our nightly reading time.

 

This is the first book in The Promised Land series.  I cannot wait for the second book to be done.  I will be stalking visiting the website often waiting for it to be finished.

 

You can see what my fellow crew mates have to say about this book by visiting the Crew Blog.

 

Disclaimer~As a member of TOS Review Crew we were given a copy of this book in exchange for our honest review.  All opinions are my own.

 

 

Golden Prairie Press~Costumes with Character

 

Golden Prairie Press is owned and operated by Amy Puetz.  She is a homeschool graduate and loves history.  So she created Golden Prairie Press to give her the ability to work from home.  As a part of TOS Review Crew we were given the opportunity to review an item published and written by Amy.  The book we received to review is:

 

Costumes with Character: ePatterns

 

I spent days reading this book after we received it.  I love history, especially when it comes to their clothing.  I have to admit right up front....I am no seamstress!!  Really the only thing I've made is curtains.  So this was great for me to get a little more practice in sewing.  The hardest part was picking something to make that wasn't going to be too difficult to make.  We picked a sunbonnet. Honestly we could of picked many things.  None are too difficult to make. 

 

As some of my readers may know Hannah had the wonderful opportunity to attend a week long day camp at a local living history museum.  She was able to dress in 1800's garments and cook a meal that would of been made then.  She loved it!  Ok back to the review.

 

 

 

The patterns are VERY easy to follow.  Like I said above, I am no seamstress at all.  We picked out fabric Hannah liked (that wasn't going to break the bank).  Most of it was measuring and cutting.  Which is what Hannah did for this.   I didn't have to follow a pattern in the normal sense.  Then printed out the pattern from the ebook.  I have to say I am pattern challenged!  I could not read a pattern to save my life.  I just like to measure and go.  I think this is why I really liked this ebook.  She gives us detailed instructions on how to make garments, bonnets, collars and aprons.  That is just the short list of what is covered.  What I printed from the computer, I just laid out on the fabric and cut.  S.I.M.P.L.E!  It's not a perfect bonnet, but the smile on my sweet girl's face says it all.  It's something we made together....so that is perfect.

 

The instructions are so well written someone (like me) with little or no sewing experience can make these.  But it's not all about the sewing.  While you are making, cutting and sewing you are chatting about history.  There are little historical tid-bits throughout the ebook.  The ebook covers periods in history from the 1600's through 1900.  There is something for everyone in this book.  I cannot wait until I have more time to sew a dress with Hannah. 

 

Right now Amy is having a back to school sale

 

 

HURRY though it ends in a couple of days.  I think I'm going to go grab these books.  We just loved them. 

 

Costumes with Character print book can be purchased at Golden Prairie Press website for $29.60.

Costumes with Character ebook is $17.56.

If you want just the patterns you can purchase that as well for $12.00.

 

If you want to see some of the other ebooks fellow crew members reviewed go on over to the Crew Blog.  I could honestly go on for hours about this book.  It is that good!

 

 

Disclaimer~As a member of TOS Review Crew we were sent this ebook free in exchange for our honest review.  All opinions are my own.

 

Time4Writing~TOS Review

 

Time4Writing is an online writing course that provides one-on-one writing lessons.  Courses are 8 weeks long and are for elementary through high school levels.  The courses are available at the basic, intermediate, and advanced levels.  If you are unsure what level your child is at in writing there is a course placement tool to help you.   Each course is available for $99.00 and is 8 weeks long.

 

After you sign up for the course of your choice, your student works through the assignments.  They then submit their assignments to the teacher and they grade them.  You receive updates on how your student is doing half way through the course and also at the end.  At the end of the course you will receive a certificate.  You can take a tour of the program as well.

 

The Time4Writing website has other resources available to you as well.  If you are not 100% satisfied with the course you can select another one or cancel your membership within the first 14 days.

 

:::OUR THOUGHTS:::

The course we tried was Middle School Mechanics.  This is a basic course and gave me a good heads up on what my children need to really work on.  While this is a very good course, it just was not a good fit for our family.  Our children need more time to learn a particular subject.  There just wasn't enough time allowed for that learning.  This course is geared toward those who are pretty comfortable with writing (this is my opinion).  For example, proper sentence structure vs. fragment sentences.  Our children need more than a day or two before they start to comprehend a lesson.  There just isn't enough time allowed within the 8 weeks to fit that extra in.  That is why we enjoy homeschooling so much.  What works for one family might not work for another.  That includes what doesn't work for a family.  Please go to the Time4Writing website and look it over for yourself. 

 

You can also visit the Homeschool Crew's blog and see what the rest of my crewmates said.

 

Disclaimer~As a member of TOS Homeschool review crew we were given a subscription free in exchange for our honest review.  All opinions are my own.

 

Mr. Pipes and The British Hymn Makers

 

Popular author, Douglas Bond, has written 20 books geared toward both adults and children.  The series Mr. Pipes is a children's series for those in grades 7th through 10th grade.  This series introduces children to the background of the hymns we still sing today.  These stories cover church history, biographies of hymn writers.  Annie and Drew are two American children visiting their mother, who is working in England one summer.  The children meet, David McCallum, better known to the children as Mr.Pipes.  He gives them a summer to remember by taking them on a journey.

 

 

One of our favorite things to do as a family is learn the history of hymns.  We enjoy learning about where the writers were in their lives when they wrote the hymns.  This book was very enjoyable for all of us.  Sometimes when we read through the history of anything the kids tend to get a little bored.  But when a story has children around the same age the kids can relate to them.  This book is very well written.  It is easy for every type of learning style to understand. 

 

Some of the writers we read about were:

Thomas Ken

Isaac Watts

Charles Wesley

 

Also included in this study was a chapter on Scottish Hymn writers.  This is something that was near and dear to me, because my Grandfather was Scottish.  He loved hymns from all over.  He was always whistling hymns. 

 

The hymns are so profound.  I urge you to stop and just read the words.  Take the time to ponder what the writer is saying.  We will never just sing a hymn!  We will forever be reading the words to the hymns.

 

These books are quickly becoming a fast favorite of our family.  The books in this series from

 

Christian Liberty Press are:

Mr. Pipes and The British Hymn Makers

Mr. Pipes and Psalms and Hymns of Reformation

Mr. Pipes Comes to America

The Accidental Voyage

 

All of the books listed above can be purchased at the Christian Liberty Press website.  The cost is $8.79 for e-book and $9.89 for print.

 

You can also purchase the whole set for $38.99.

 

We are going to purchase the whole set when the budget allows.  These books will be a favorite of your family, I promise you that!!

 

If you want to see what the other Homeschool Crew members are saying go on over to the blog.

 

 Disclaimer~As a member of TOS Crew we were sent an PDF copy of this book free in exchange for our honest review.  All opinions are my own.

King Alfred's English~TOS Review

King Alfred's English: A History of the Language we Speak and Why We Should Be Glad We Do written by Laurie J. White was written to bring the history of our English language to children in grades 7th thru 12th. 

Have you ever been reading something and wondered where the word came from.  I've often wondered where a certain word came from.  I've also wondered why we say the certain things we say.  This book has answered many of our questions and much much more. 

Laurie also has a website The Shorter Word, where I found so much information.   For the teacher I found worksheets, tests and extra resources.  I really enjoyed this section.  I've mentioned before that I like curriculum where the work is done for me.  I just don't have the time to do the lesson plans.  There is also a section just for the students.  Here you will find images, articles, resources and videos related to each chapter.  Everything is right there on her website.  It is very easy to find what we needed.

We are really enjoying this book.  I honestly thought it was going to be a boring book.  But the minute I opened the cover I was hooked.  Then there was the task of getting the kids excited about it.  The worksheets really did help us out a lot.  Which is really surprising to me!  Most of the time our kids would rather go to the dentist than do a worksheet.  We are going to go through her movie selections as well.  I just need some more time to make sure they are appropriate for our family.

If you are interested in learning more about this book the table of contents can be found at Laurie's website.

If you want to purchase this book you can purchase it in many different places.

The Shorter Word~$16.95

Kindle~$5.95

Christian Book Distributor~$14.95

This is not only an English book but a history book as well.  If you want to see what my other crewmates are saying about it click on the banner below.

Disclaimer~As a member of TOS Review Crew we were sent this book free in exchange for our honest review.  All opinions are that of myself or my children.

Create Better Writers~TOS Review

Create Better Writers sent us 3 of their amazing ebooks for download.  So what is Create Better Writers?  They are a company that claims to make your K-12 student a better writer.  I have to tell you, writing is one of those things my kids complain about doing.  I hear everything from, "I'm tired", "my hand hurts", and they even go as far to say, "can I do math now?"  So you can only imagine how "thrilled" they were when I told them about this review.

So then I told them that this was more of a product for me!  Que the cheers from the crowd.  This is an ebook on how I (the teacher) should be teaching writing.  Teaching it so they understand it.   There is a whole ebook on how a homeschool parent should be teaching.  This is called "The Home School Writing Action Plan" $15.95.  I love this!  I am all about planning and putting that plan into action.

Sometimes as a homeschool parent I don't feel qualified enough to teach a certain subject.  Writing was not something I enjoyed.  So this ebook has been like having a personal professor in this area.  It was like he was speaking just to me.  This has given me the confidence I needed for this school year.

We were also sent the

How to Teach a Paragraph $7.99and

How to Teach the Five Paragraph Essay $17.95.

In just the short time we have been using this, I can see a huge difference in the way our children write.  This is all because I now know how I should be teaching this.  It's like a light bulb has gone on in my head.  At first I was a little upset, thinking I had wasted all this time teaching them wrong.  But I know that no time spent with my children is wasted time.  This has been a big success so far, I look forward to learning and growing with my children this year.  Thank you David Dye!

To see what my other crewmates are saying click on the banner.

Disclaimer~As a member of TOS Homeschool Crew we were sent the 3 ebooks free in exchange for our honest review.  All opinions are my own or my children.

Schoolhouse Teachers.com~TOS Review

As homeschool parents we sometimes feel very inadequate...at least I do.  I often wish there were some kind of support and training available to me.  Well I don't have to look any further!  SchoolhouseTeachers.com is all that and more!

This website is the latest "baby" to come from The Old Schoolhouse Magazine.   This site is full of things for homeschoolers in all stages of schooling.  This is written for homeschoolers by homeschoolers.

There is something for every grade, Kindergarten thru high school.   This website is jammed packed full of articles, lesson plans, lapbooking ideas, monthly reading lists, and resources for those with Special needs.  All of these things are reasons why I fell in love with The Old Schoolhouse Magazine 7 years ago when we started homeschooling.

So I'm going to take you through a tour of this website.

After I sign in I usually head right to the "Schoolhouse Dallies" tab.  This section has daily writing activities, this day in history, monthly menus and more!  It's great to just be able to go to the website and grab a quick lesson or two!! 

Then we come to "Schoolhouse Teachers" section.  Here we find lessons on every subject under the sun!  From history to science, careers to home ec and much much more!

With a membership you also get access to extras!  Like a subscription to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine (current and back issues), monthly E-books, access to the Schoolhouse EXPO and ALL of the planners the magazine publishes!  That is over 800 pages of planner goodness!  I love these planners.

Then we come to "Schoolhouse Library".  This is where you find yet MORE information.  Things like copybooks, homeschooling articles, monthly themes, reading lists and SO much more.

You can take a virtual tour through the website by going HERE.

Schoolhouse Teachers is available for $1 for the first month!  Less than a cup of coffee!!  Each month after that is $5.95.

Click on the banner below to see what my crewmates are saying.

Disclaimer~As a member of TOS Homeschool Review Crew we were given a membership to Schoolhouse Teachers.com in exchange for our honest review.  All opinions are my own.

Mastering Essential Math Skills~TOS Review

Math Essentials was developed by Rick Fisher.  This was taken right off their website, " Rick has developed a highly functional, successful mathematics teaching system that produces amazing results. Results that he shares in his books, Mastering Essential Math Skills in both elementary and middle grades versions."

As a member of the TOS Review Crew we were given the choice of his books.  The book we chose was:

Mastering Essential Math Skills: Book 1

Grades 4-5

This book is more that just a math book.  It is more of a systematic approach to teaching math.  Each lesson has 5 parts to it:

(1) two speed drills

(2) review exercises

(3) teacher tips

(4) new material

(5) daily word problems

In the particular book we chose there are chapters covering:

whole numbers

fractions

decimals

ratios, proportions, percent

geometry

number theory and algebra

integers

charts and graphs

probability and statistics

word problems

review

Included with the book is a DVD.  This was very, I mean very well done!!  We used this during the review period with each of our children.  Our daughters are delayed in math.  Rick's teaching approach was so easy for them to understand.  There was not a bunch of bells and whistles.  Meaning it was just a white board with the problem on it.  Something that really makes it difficult for our daughters to concentrate, is a page full of numbers.  Our son on the other hand really likes math and is right on track with it.  He enjoyed it as well, because he could work at his own pace and not feel rushed.  Or if a section was easier for him, he could move quicker through it.

I love the DVD teaching!  If one of our children was having trouble with one problem or section they could just watch it again.   Other DVD curriculum have really been out of our price range.  This course is very inexpensive for what you get.

Mastering Essential Math Skills: Book 1

Purchase as a set for $33.95 (Book and DVD)

Purchase separately for $15.95 (Book) and $24.95 (DVD)

You can read the Table of Contents HERE.

You can view sample pages HERE.

We are going to continue with this for our math program this year.  We are going to order 2 more workbooks to get us through the school year. 

When you hear from your daughter "just one more pleeeeease???" And she isn't talking about a cookie, it is a VERY good day!!

I LOVE this program so much I can't wait to introduce this to our fellow homeschoolers!!

We were also given a choice of another one of their products.  We chose Mastering Essential Math Skills: Fractions.  We have not really had a chance to go through this.  But it looks really good at first glance.  There is no DVD with the fractions book.  This book sells for $11.95.  You can see more information about it on their website.

Like always, don't just take my word for it.  Click on the banner below to see what my fellow crew members are saying.

Disclaimer~As a member of TOS I was given this product free in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions are that of myself or my children.

Hewitt Homeschooling~Lightning Literature

Hewitt Homeschooling's Lightning Lit guides use full-length novels, autobiographies, plays, essays, short stories, and poems to teach deep reading and composition skills.  Each of the high school guides are usually a one semester course for most students.  If the student is a struggling reader it might take more time to complete.  For those who excel in language arts additional reading materials are suggested.   All students will be exposed to exciting new authors. 

Each guide includes biographies of the authors; comprehension questions; lessons on the readings; writing exercises; any short stories, essays, or poems used for lessons; additional reading suggestions; and discussion questions.

There are twelve Lit guides available at the High School level.  They can be purchased as packs: which includes all the necessary books for $51.98.  Or you can purchase the guides alone for $29.95.  All of these can be purchased through their website.

Our thoughts:

We have used Hewitt Homeschooling for our end of the year testing.  We were excited to be chosen to review one of their actual curriculum.  The one we chose was American Literature: Mid-Late 19th Century.  The books that are covered in this curriculum are:

Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe

Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane

The Call of the Wild by Jack London 

For review purposes we decided to read Huckleberry Finn.   As we read through the book there are a series of questions our children had to answer.  One thing that I loved was that the lessons were already prepared for me.  It was all scheduled out for me.  In our book that is a must.  There are two different schedules you can follow:

Semester (18 weeks)

Full Year (36 weeks)

Each Unit or Lesson has a "Literary Lesson".  Our lesson for Huckleberry Finn was "humor".  The kids enjoyed picking out the humor in the story.  We then proceeded to talk about the misunderstandings and confusion in the story. 

Something that I was impressed with in this curriculum was the writing exercises.  Of course when I told them we were going to stop reading for a time and work on our writing.  Did you hear the collective <sigh>?  But after they realized it was not going to be difficult they really didn't mind it.  Of course since we were talking about humor in literature it wasn't hard for them to write funny stories.

If you are looking for a great literature curriculum that includes reading and writing, this one is for you!

Do you want to see what my other crewmates are saying go here:

Disclaimer~As a member of TOS Homeschool Crew I was sent Lightning Lit and Comp free for review in exchange for my honest review.

IXL~Math~TOS Review

IXL.com is a great online website for your students (Grades Pre-K through Algebra) to get in some extra math practice.  As a member of TOS Homeschool Crew we were given a subscription for up to 3 children.

IXL.com is easily adaptable to use with any math curriculum.  This curriculum is so easy to use, anyone can use this website.  All it takes is a few minutes to get it set up and away you go.  One of my favorites is that it's a website, so there is nothing to install.  Not only will children learn math facts, they will learn how fun it can be.

As my children worked their way through the lessons they earned virtual awards.  We loved the charts, the kids could actually see their progress.  Math is all about practice, practice, practice.  Math is one area my kids will kick and scream about.  Especially if they think it will take a lot of time.  That is what I've loved about IXL.com.  They can work as long or as little as they want. 

Once a week I would get progress reports on how my kids are doing.  It also has been very helpful in planning for next year.  I can see where the kids need more work and those areas they are doing very well in.

There is nothing shameful about your children needing more practice in math.  It took me many years to stop questioning myself and my ability to educate our children at home.  Every child learns at a different pace.  IXL.com definitely gave our kids the confidence they need to succeed at math.  Math is no longer a bad word in our house.  Our children really struggle with math.  IXL.com has really come to the rescue for our family.  Our children enjoy the bright colors, easy operation and fun they have in practicing math.

To sign up you can go HERE and visit their website.

Disclaimer~As a member of TOS Homeschool Review Crew we were given a family subscription free in exchange for our honest review.  All opinions are those of myself or my children.

Heritage History~TOS Review

Heritage History CD's sell for:

$24.99 individually

$99.99 for the entire 5 volume set.  A $25 savings.

Heritage History has put together an amazing set of historical books.  Each collection has a time era of study.  These CD's will give your student a well rounded history education that begins in 4th grade and goes all through High School. 

The titles offered are:

British Empire

British Middle Ages

Ancient Rome

Ancient Greece

Young Readers

As a member of TOS Review Crew we were given the choice of one.  The one we chose was British Empire.  We loved this review product!  This was the first time we had ever heard of Heritage History.  We have fallen in love with them.  Not only do you get the CD, but you can put all the books onto any electronic divice.  But do not get rid of the CD!!  There is a ton of materials on the CD.   Including instructions on how to put the materials on your electronic divice.  This is something I was VERY thankful for!! 

Not only did we have access to 57 books...but we had access to 50 plus maps!!  I don't know about you, but maps bring the story to life for our kids.  They are able to see exactly where the story is taking place.  They even included a curriculum guide for a years planning.  We loved the stories.  Everyone was engaged in the stories.  Taking turns reading the stories.  It gave us a great love for this time period.  We are looking forward to getting more.

Disclaimer~As a member of TOS review crew we were sent a CD free in exchange for our honest review.  All opinions are that of myself or my children.

To see what my other crewmates are saying go on over to the Homeschool Crew Blog.

Amazing Science~TOS Review

Science and Math website has a new DVD!  It's called Amazing Science.  The DVD's come in a 2 disc set.   The DVD's sell on their website for $19.95.  They also have a Math Tutor DVD as well, available on their website.  Also, when you sign up via their website for updates you will get FREE science and math videos.

Here is the DVD trailer...

Now back to the DVD's.  Like I mentioned the DVD's come in a set of 2 discs.  There are 23 science experiments in the set.

DISK 1 contains the following experiments:

Color Changing Milk

Egg in a Bottle

Exploring Air Pressure

Build a Lemon battery

Inverted Cup of Water

Candle Suction Power

Amazing Magnetic Force

Lift and Ice Cube with String

Unburnable Money

Matchstick Speedboat

Cloud in a Bottle

Reversing an Image with Water

DISK 2

Floating Eggs

Keeping Paper Dry Under Water

Dry Ice Bubbles

Balloon in a Candle Flame

Ocean in a Bottle

Build a Motor with Lights

Simple Lava Lamp

Invisible Ink

Density Tower

Soda Can Fizz

Build a Motor #2

OUR THOUGHTS:

These are the most amazing science experiments I have ever seen.  Not so much what the experiments do but how easy this makes teaching science.  When this arrived in the mail the kids fought politely talked among themselves about what experiment to do first.  I have never seen our children so excited to do science as I have been this past month.  Although I have caught them watching this DVD after hours I try not to complain about that.  As long as they are learning.  And learn is what they have done.  All of the concepts are explained in detail in the videos so they will learn science just by watching.  I highly recommend this DVD!  We are going to look into the Math Tutor ones for next year as our children struggle in that area.

Disclaimer: We were sent this product free in exchange for our honest review. 

To see what my other crewmates are saying about this go on over to the Crew Blog.