A Unit Study About Knights and Nobles

Homeschool Legacy, a company founded by a homeschool veteran, has put together quite a few unit studies on topics such as birds, trees, horses, weather, early settlers, and much, much more.  These are once-a-week unit studies that try to cover all school subjects at least once in the four weeks these unit studies last and which are centered on Christ in the way they are presented.  In case you are unfamiliar with unit studies, they are studies focused primarily on one main topic which is worked throughout all subjects.  For instance, a horse unit study will most likely discuss the anatomy of horses in science, famous horses throughout history for history (obviously), songs about horses for music, etc.  

We had the opportunity to review a unit study called Knights and Nobles.  It is geared towards students in grades 2-12, so it is meant to reach a wide variety of ages.  Knights and Nobles covers medieval times which ran from the 400s to the 1500s.  At the beginning of each of the four weeks, there is a list of books and videos that can be obtained from the library to enhance the learning in this unit study.  It is helpful that such a long list is provided, as our library had very few of these books available.  Because of the variety in the types of books listed, I made the assumption that virtually any book on castle building, for instance, would suffice the first week.  This worked out well.  There are some ideas for Netflix videos as well, but it is really hit or miss based on what Netflix is providing at the time you do this study; and you'd need to pay the subscription price for Netflix if you wanted to use this.  A neat thing to do would be to list You Tube videos that can be viewed based on the subject.  That way if a student doesn't have Netflix and their library doesn't have a certain movie, they can always view a video on their computer.  This method can also be used for those who cannot visit the Biltmore Estate for the field trip in week 1 nor find a book on the Biltmore Estate in the library.

Now, even though the unit study is meant to be done once a week, there are a couple of daily activities listed each week.  They include reading chosen books from each week's library list and another specific book that is listed for each week.  I only purchased the first week's book, The Door in the Wall, as it was not available at my library.  My kids have had a hard time understanding it because of the old style of the language used in conversation in the book.  

Each week has a family devotional.  Some weeks it is simply to be done just one day during the week.  These could easily be made daily activities.  I would think with every unit study subject that Homesschool Legacy has enough verses or concepts in the Bible could be read daily related to the subject being studied.  Knights and Nobles talks about Jesus being the capstone and cornerstone in week one.  Week 2 has the student reading through Esther during the week but why?  A tie to what is being learned in the study would be beneficial.  Week 3 talks about putting on the full armor of God and has a picture of a knight with his full armor with all of the pieces of armor labeled.  I appreciated this because in all of my years of homeschooling I have never run across a picture like the one provided.  Week 4 talks about Solomon and provides a few Scripture passages to read about him.  This could definitely be taken farther and stretched out through the entire week.

After the weekly reading and the devotional activities, the Knights and Nobles unit study begins with having the kids create a notebook complete with a time line.  A time line, especially for this time period, is a great idea, but there is NOTHING in the unit study that tells you what to put on the time line.  The parent and/or student has to find information through the reading to put on it.  There is a lot of reading required to sufficiently fill the time line.  I understand that we want our children to learn how to research, but it might be helpful to at least list some events so they can research to find dates to put on the time line.

Trying to cover 12 centuries in one month, one day a week, will only get the tips of your toes wet.  Thankfully so much of what we are studying this year in other subjects has to do with this time period, so this supplements the other learning that my kids are doing; but I'm not sure if I weren't studying this time period already that I'd want to take one day a week to go off course.  I'd feel like I was wasting time not doing what I need to get done and/or feel like I wasn't really getting enough quality time to delve into the unit study topic.

There are some very good ideas in this unit study.  My kids enjoyed designing their own coat of arms, and they enjoyed creating paragraphs for each other to read where it was all in capital letters with no spaces.  They learned that there was actually a man who created lower case letters and spaces.  They will probably not remember his name, but they will remember that the reason we can read more easily is because of the contribution of this man in medieval times.  The family nights are a great addition to a unit study.  It might be helpful to have more than one movie option the weeks that movies are suggested in case the one listed can't be found.

I would like to see a lot more ideas in this unit study.  There are so many neat things that can be done with this topic.  Math can include more than "Approximately how long did the Middle Ages last?"  If this unit study is to be used with any student in grades 2-12, math problems for those in a higher grade should be included.

On the website for Knights and Nobles, it is said that no prep work is required.  You will, however, need to purchase items for the catapult and other art projects.  If you plan to make the items on the menu for the medieval feast in week 4, you will need to do a lot of prep work.

The Knights and Nobles unit study is $15.95.  The other unit studies range in price from $15.95 to $19.95.  Homeschool Legacy is offering free shipping on all orders of $50 or more.  Otherwise, shipping is as follows: $3.00 on orders up to $17.99, $4.50 on orders of $18.00 to $29.99, and $6.00 on orders of $30.00 to $49.99.  If you have questions about their products, you can contact them at:

Homeschool Legacy

Hendersonville, NC  

828-685-7215

sharon@homeschoollegacy.com

I can appreciate the work that Homeschooling Legacy has done in putting these unit studies together.  A lot of research goes into compiling something for others to use.  They have created a wonderful beginning step for Knights and Nobles.  I would love to see them go back and add more ideas for each of the subjects.  I feel like only the surface has been scratched and I am left wanting more.

If you are interested in reading other reviews, visit http://schoolhousereviewcrew.com/786364/.

DISCLAIMER:  I received this product free of charge in order to provide an honest review.

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Word of the Day

It has been quite a while since I've done a word of the day post, but I just couldn't let this one go.  Now, I never knew there was a word to describe this action.  I was surprised that John knew this word.  After finding out about it, he told me I could do this to my dictionary...

defenestrate - throw through or out of the window

Imagine if, when we were kids playing ball in the street, one of us hit a ball into a window accidentally and we went home to tell our mom that we defenestrated the ball.  I remember when my eighth grade history teacher defenestrated a student's tennis shoes.  That just doesn't sound right, but that one word stands for the whole action of throwing something through or out of a window.

It feels good to know that we can still learn things as we get older.  You can defenestrate old age!

Stately Ideas for Learning

    Since I am writing a geography curriculum for high schoolers, I was thinking the other day about different ways to learn about the states and countries for all ages.  One thing I thought about was making state cookie cutters and using them in a variety of ways to teach the states and their shapes.  Unfortunately, they've already been made, so I can't corner the market on those.  I found some on Amazon, but there are a number of sites that sell them.  One site I found also had cards with state information that went with the cookie cutters.

     Anyway, allow me to share a few ideas for learning about the states and countries.  I hope you find some of them useful.  I will post more when I have time.

1.  Purchase state cookie cutters and make cutout cookies with them.   After icing the cookies, let your child use a small tube of icing to write the state's abbreviation on the cookie and place an edible decoration where the capital of the state is located.  Learn and enjoy the cookies. If you don't want to make cookies, you can use the state cookie cutters with Play-Doh after rolling it out flat.

2.  The following website provides a lesson plan for learning about country shapes using Play-Doh:  http://www.hasbro.com/playdoh/en_US/discover/teachers/pdf/7F53D612-D56F-E112-497CE221E79B18F7.pdf.  You can adjust this lesson plan to learning about the U.S. states as well.  

3.  This is a great state with games and interactive learning about the states:
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/web_games.htm.

This is all for now.  

Feel free to share your ideas.     

Heroines of the Past

A homeschool grad named Amy Puetz has a store full of history books and Bible studies she has written.  Paige and I are going through Heroines of the Past Bible Study.  This book is from:

The home of Golden Prairie Press is located at http://amypuetz.com/.  Here you can read about Amy's journey and why she started writing books.  The store has audio books, books for boys, books for girls, cookbooks, curriculum, costume books, and more.  Some are written by Amy but not all of the items she sells.

I liked the idea of having a Bible study that was geared more towards Paige instead of an all-family study, and that is what we got in Heroines of the Past Bible Study.  We are currently using this as an e-book, so it doesn't have any of the pretty illustrations that are in the printed book; but it works for us.  We started by reading this book together and going through the Scripture that is included in it.  Paige has enjoyed the stories so much that she will often take my tablet and sit on the couch and read to herself.  Once she gets through the story, we do the Bible study questions and read the Scripture together.  She also writes her memory verse on an index card as is suggested in the book.  She is learning about virtues displayed by real girls/women from the past.  She finds the stories very exciting and is amazed by what these girls did, how courageous and brave they were, and how strong they were in their faith.

There are 13 weeks of stories about princesses, those who lived and died for Jesus, missionaries, wives, nurses, etc.  There are women from all different backgrounds.  This shows the reader that it doesn't matter where you live or what your circumstances are, you can always live for God and be bold in your faith.  This book is written so well that it is engaging for the girl reading it.

One activity that is in this book is keeping a box of visual reminders.  At the end of each week, the reader is encouraged to create a "box of visual reminders."  This box contains an item that will remind them of the heroine they read about.  We are not even halfway through the book yet, but I know that reading it will fill Paige's heart and mind with stories of women she will remember forever.  It will also fill her heart with Scripture that she will always remember.

The book is 263 pages and is recommended for girls ages 8 and up.  Right now, Golden Prairie Press is having a "Back to School Sale," and this book, Heroines of the Past Bible Study, which is regularly $27.00, is now only $21.60. 

If you are interested in reading what others on the Homeschool Crew are saying about this product and others available through Golden Prairie Press, visit http://schoolhousereviewcrew.com/786199/.

DISCLAIMER: I received this product free of charge in order to provide an honest review of it.

It's Time 4 Writing!!!

Jacob, who is in high school now, has been using an 8-week online writing program for the past four weeks from Time4Writing.com, so he is halfway through it.  This is a class entirely online which allows the student to work one-on-one with a teacher.  After reading the lesson for the day, the student submits an assignment and waits for the teacher to grade it and provide feedback.  Jacob is able to, then, fix his assignment based on the teacher's recommendations or move onto the next assignment if he scored well.  If an assignment needs corrected, the teacher doesn't score him until he resubmits it.  It seems like he's done more resubmitting than moving on, but he is halfway through the program, which is where he should be.

Time4Writing.com has courses for grades 2 through 12.  Jacob is taking the high school essay writing course.  It is divided into 8 units including pre-writing; writing the thesis; the introductory paragraph; the body; the concluding paragraph; revising, editing, and proofreading; writing the persuasive essay; and publishing your writing.  

Jacob says, "It is a good program.  It has good ideas to help kids learn how to write essays, gives good tips, and helps you to learn better writing techniques."  I asked him if he feels it has helped him become a better writer, and he said it has.  He gets frustrated when he has to redo assignments, but that has helped him think through things a bit better before writing.

Each eight-week course is only $99.  If you aren't sure which course your child should be taking, the teachers will help you to figure that out.  There is also a 14-day money back guarantee in case you aren't satisfied with the program.  I find that I appreciate this program and the feedback from the teacher who is working with Jacob because that is one subject I do not have to teach.  While I feel qualified to teach Jacob how to be a better writer, he takes constructive criticism better when it is coming from someone else.

Time4Writing is flexible with our schedule.  I knew the kids were going to be away at camp for a week, so I just emailed the teacher to let her know.  This gave us an extra week to complete the program.  He has also been able to get on at all different times of the day.  There was one day he didn't get around to doing an assignment until after dinner.  The assignments haven't taken very long for him to do either, probably 15 minutes at the most so far.  There will be longer assignments as the course progresses, but he is not bored or frustrated with this program.

Since Jacob has made it halfway through the course, his teacher sent me an email about his progress.  This was a personalized email about how she felt he was doing in the course and a reminder of how I could go into his profile and read all of the comments she has written about each assignment and the grade he received.

I was curious about the origin of Time4Writing and found this on their website:

"Time4Writing is a product offered by Time4Learning. Time4Learning.com, was founded in 2003 to improve education among today’s computer-loving students. Time4Learning provides online preschool lessons, online elementary curriculum, and online middle school curriculum for reading, writing and arithmetic as well as social studies and sciences. In 2008, Time4Learning created Time4Writing.com, a series of eight-week online writing classes taught and facilitated by experienced writing teachers."

Individual teachers can be reached by email, but Time4Writing.com can be contacted at 

6300 NE 1st Avenue, Suite 203

Ft. Lauderdale, FL  33334

954-771-0914

or

1-888-771-0914

info@time4writing.com

If you are interested in reading other reviews by the Homeschool Crew, visit http://schoolhousereviewcrew.com/786192/

DISCLAIMER:  I received this product free of charge so that I would provide an honest review.

Help Your High Schooler Understand Their Faith

Do you hope for your child to develop a strong faith, a faith that is their own, a faith that will not be shaken?  

Apologia Educational Ministries, Inc. has put together an apologetics' curriculum for high schoolers based on Norman Geisler and Frank Turek's book, I Don't Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist.  The book itself is a good read for anybody "skeptical about Christianity, as well as a helpful resource for Christians seeking to articulate a more sophisticated defense of their faith."  My son, who is in ninth grade, was reading the book and came to me with it.  He wanted me to read a story within it that he found very interesting and inspiring.  A few days later when I was in a restaurant, a woman approached our table with her sister's phone number and told us her sister had started a Bible college and was an excellent resource for doing work with youth.  She proceeded to tell us that she herself was an atheist. At the end of our dinner, I sat down at this woman's table.  I told her I found it very interesting that she was an atheist and also supported her so much in her church work.  She said, "I'm really not an atheist.  I'm an agnostic."  I felt like I was having almost the same conversation as was in the book.  I emailed her the name of the book they had mentioned within the story.

 

The curriculum from Apologia is in the form of a spiral-bound workbook that is 279 pages and was written by Frank Turek and Chuck Winter.  Now, your child can not only read the book to help increase their faith, but they can answer questions that will cause them to think about what they've read.  The workbook has extra articles about famous people from history and their beliefs and how those beliefs shaped the way people view things today.  

Each chapter in the workbook has the order of "Hook, Book, Look, Took."  There is a hook, questions that grab your attention.  The Book section details sections from the chapters.  Look is a chance for students to dig deeper and learn more on their own by completing assignments.  The Took section allows them to apply what they have learned, to take it out into the world in which they live.

I had my son read a half of a chapter each day and then answer the questions.  The chapters are mostly from 18 to 32 pages, but it doesn't read like a novel; so I let Jake break them up to make it an easier read.  It is deep.  I can't breeze through it myself but must take my time so I can understand everything that is before me.  I think high school is a good age to read this book.  It would probably be lost on most who are younger than that.

The curriculum for I Don't Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist is available for $33.00 at https://apologia.securesites.net/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=12&products_id=222 and is intended for students in high school, although even adults will benefit from the reading of this book and the extras that are included in the workbook.  The book, I Don't Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist, is available for just $16.00 from Apologia at https://apologia.securesites.net/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=12&products_id=220.

Apologia can be reached at 

Apologia Educational Ministries

1106 Meridian Plaza, Suite 220

Anderson, IN 46016

888-524-4724

If you are interested in reading what others have had to say about this product, you can read their reviews at http://schoolhousereviewcrew.com/786165/

DISCLAIMER:  I received this product free of charge in order to provide an honest review.

Vocabulary Videos

A great idea but poor in the presentation.

Vocab Videos is an online website that helps students prepare for the vocabulary portion of tests like the SAT, ACT, GMAT, and LSAT.  A description provided by marketing states, "In addition to vocabulary videos featuring entertaining characters and outrageous plotlines, our website contains extensive review material including digital quizzes and worksheets, a multimedia flashcard maker, and downloadable crossword puzzles for each episode."

I would agree that the plot lines are outrageous.  I would go so far as to say they are too outrageous for the typical homeschooling family.  The concept behind Vocab Videos is a super one.  I agree that the retention rate of vocabulary increases after watching the videos; however, the story lines in the videos were inappropriate for my children.  There were many times when they took God's name in vain.  I cringed each time I heard that.  Also, when a story of two people who crash on a deserted island includes lines like, "Are we lovers?" and "You want to be the mother of my children," I draw the line.  I had my 14-year-old son watch the first series of videos.  He hated them.  I spent the next couple of weeks watching them myself and even taking the quizzes.  I did retain most of the information because I was able to remember that portion of the video where they used the word and the context surrounding the use, so they were good in that sense...that sense alone.

One story line included a young girl home alone at night studying her vocabulary words when a "Jason" character (Friday the 13th) came banging on her outside bedroom door and then broke into her house.  After about 17 words, the story line ended innocuously (to use a word I learned from that video); however, I can't imagine one girl, or even young boy, who wouldn't have nightmares after watching that video.  What were they thinking?  I would rather have wholesome videos that use the same words.  It can be done.  Perhaps Vocab Videos needs a homeschool line of videos.  Like I said, I LOVE the concept.  It works.  I just don't like the way they presented it.

Each section of videos has worksheets, crossword puzzles, flashcards that can be made, and quizzes that can be taken.  There are cumulative tests as well.  Other study resources included in a subscription are a study guide, a glossary of all the words, definition groups that list words by common themes.  There are also PDF quizzes that can be printed out.

Vocab Videos has four different subscriptions.  For the homeschooling family, most likely only the first two pricing options would be of interest.  There is a one-month educator free trial.  The second one is a membership for up to 20 students and is $74.99 for 12 months.

There is also a workbook that can be purchased for $11.99.  The link for the workbook also shows the flash cards, definition lists, category lists, and has appendices.  As an educator, you have the ability to register multiple students, view their scores, view their progress, download materials that you can then print out, and manage data and login information.

Hopefully Vocab Videos will create a new line of videos that would be more kid-friendly.  I think they would have a lot of new subscribers, even more so if the price were not so high.  It is prohibitive for us right now.

If you are interested in reading what others have said about Vocab Videos, please go to http://schoolhousereviewcrew.com/786133/.

DISCLAIMER: I received this product free of charge so that I would provide an honest review.

Would Your Child Like to Have Their Math Made Easy?

Math Made Easy provides workbooks for homeschoolers in addition and multiplication complete with flashcards.  I received the multiplication book to use with my daughter who is going into fifth grade.  This program works by teaching quickly the multiplication facts of 0's, 1's, 10s, and 11s.  After that there are only 36 facts left to learn since many are the same with the numbers switched, e.g. 2 x 3 is the same as 3 x 2.  The facts are represented, then, in random order instead of following the multiplication table.  This way the student is forced to rely on his/her memory.

When we first received the workbook, I wasn't sure it would be a hit with Paige.  After using it for a a few weeks, it definitely has been.  Paige says, "It makes me want to do math a lot."  Here are some examples of the pages below:

There are not too many problems per page, and a wide variety of different activities are included.  There is a lot of coloring.  The first and third pages above are what the coloring pages are like.  The answer to the multiplication problem in a certain area determines what color is painted in that area.  Some of the pictures end up very beautiful.  Some of the coloring is for coloring's sake alone as in the third page.  The snakes are just included on the page with no specific coloring required.  There are puzzles like the fifth page above.  They are small puzzles, but it reinforces the facts.  A couple of pages every week have word problems as well.  Six weeks of lessons are included in the multiplication book, as well as reviews, games, and flashcards.

The addition and multiplication books each sell for $24.95.  In my estimation, this is a decent price.  I probably wouldn't have purchased it without knowing anything about it, but I can honestly say that it does work.  I have no qualms about recommending it to others because I know that Paige is learning from it, and she hates math.  Her ability to do multiplication is so much better than it used to be.

Math Made Easy can be contacted at 501-327-1968.  Their email is glenda@mathmadeeasy.org.  The address is:

PO Box 1482

Conway, AR  72033

If you are interested in reading additional reviews by the Schoolhouse Review Crew, go to http://schoolhousereviewcrew.com/786093/.

DISCLAIMER:  I received this product free of charge in order to provide an honest review.

A History of the English Language

 

I LOVE THIS PRODUCT!!!!!!!!

I am always looking for something to increase my children's understanding of things we take for granted, and this seemed like the perfect product to review.  I am sure most of us don't think much about the history of our English language, but Laurie J. White has and has put her findings into a book that is very readable and extremely interesting.

     Laurie White's website is http://www.theshorterword.com/.  King Alfred's English is on the main page and also at http://www.theshorterword.com/king-alfreds-english/.  It is recommended for ages 12 through adult.  I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this book as have my two boys, who are 12 and 14.  It is full of interesting historical facts and explains why we use certain words and what the origin of those words is.  My boys remember so much of what they read in this book.  I have taken it a step further and used the worksheets provided free of charge on Laurie's website.  They rarely have to go back to the book for the answers because they retain the information just from reading it.  There is also a webpage on which  Laurie provides movie suggestions and website suggestions that go along with each chapter.

     On the webpage, http://www.theshorterword.com/king-alfreds-english/, Laurie provides links to various companies that offer this book.  The lowest price for paperback is $14.89 through CBD.  There is also a version available for Kindle for only $5.95 through Amazon.  This is the way I am using it.  The boys just grab my tablet and sit comfortably on the couch or on their beds and read away.

     Laurie says, "The capstone of the book is the story of how we got the Bible in English and it's influence upon our language."  Some of the topics in this book are fighting Druids, the Romans, evidence for Intelligent Design, the Brothers Grimm, Beowulf, the invasion of the Vikings, William the Conqueror, Middle English, John Wycliffe, Gutenberg, Greek invasion, Martin Luther, making of the English Bible, Tyndale, Geneva Bible, King James Bible, Shakespeare, grammar rules, and how words morph and mutate, to name just a few.  As you can see, there are so many different topics that she touches on, but they flow perfectly throughout this book.  It kept my interest as well as that of my boys.  It has pictures, maps, and charts.  You can't help but learn from this resource.

     In paperback form, King Alfred's English is 170 pages.  It is a CBD Top Ten Pick for Homeschooling and has been nominated for CSPA Book of the Year.

***** I am in a position to provide the first five people who are interested in this product a 50% discount off the list price, making it $8.47 (only good through September).  Just comment on this page that you would like to purchase the product, and I will email you the link (which CANNOT be shared).

     If you have further questions, you can contact the author, Laurie White, directly at laurie@theshorterword.com.

     If you are interested in reading reviews by other Schoolhouse Review Crew members, go to http://schoolhousereviewcrew.com/786049/.

DISCLAIMER:  I received this product free of charge in order to provide an honest review.

     

Create Better Writers Review

My older two children are writers.  It is not a struggle with them at all.  My daughter, however, does not enjoy writing.  She was born with writer's block.  ;-)

Create Better Writers has developed a program to make writing easy, beginning with the paragraph and moving onto the five-paragraph essay.  In their words, "It all starts with one simple trick. Teach this trick in minutes, have your students practice it several times, and your students will have a solid grasp for writing paragraphs. Use this trick to write stories, summarize stories, write reports, and more.  No assignment is too difficult."  This review will focus on the book below, How To Write a Paragraph.

This comes in the form of an ebook for $7.99.  (http://createbetterwriters.com/The_Paragraph.html)

It is free with the purchase of either How to Teach the Five Paragraph Essay or The Complete Writing Program.  It is recommended for students in third grade and up.  There are 15 pages of lessons and activities and additional pages in the appendices.  This is the overview of the plan:

Paragraph Writing – Overview

Part I – The Basics

Step 1 – Assessment: Students write a paragraph (p. 2)

Step 2 – Learning the five parts of a good paragraph (p. 3)

Step 3 – Memorize the Five Parts of a Paragraph (p. 3)

Step 4 – The Paper Set-Up (p. 4)

Step 5 – Write a Paragraph Together: The Prewrite (p. 6)

Step 6 – Write a Paragraph Together: The Paragraph (p. 7)

Part II – Improving the Parts of a Paragraph

Step 7 – Topic Sentences (p. 9)

Step 8 – Closing Sentences (p. 11)

Step 9 – Paragraph Assessment (p. 13)

Step 10 – Practice, Practice, Practice (p. 13)

Step 11 – The Perfect Paragraph (p. 15)

When I read over this when I first received it, it didn't make any sense to me.  It is very wordy.  If I am going to follow something someone else wrote, I like to have things listed.  The instructions for this program are contained in paragraphs and need to be searched out.  

Once the instructions are understood, the program is simple.  Repetition is a part of this program.  This frustrated my daughter.  Asking the same question over and over again is not the way she likes to learn.  I know there are kids who learn very well this way, so this could work very well for those kids.  Once my DD has been "offended" by the teaching style, she has trouble learning anything else from the curriculum, but we kept going.

Through this program, teaching the student to focus on one main point per paragraph and writing down the supporting details (individual words...not sentences) just to get them on paper helps to ease the frustration when writing a paragraph.  This idea is seen in other products out there, so it does work.  I myself, though, do not like the approach of this ebook.  It is inexpensive.  If you don't mind searching for the exact instructions in the paragraphs, then this is definitely a product you should check out.  

If you are interested in reading additional reviews on this product, go to http://schoolhousereviewcrew.com/786090/.  

DISCLAIMER: I received this product free of charge in order to use it and provide an honest review.

Math is Essential, So Check Out Math Essentials!

Created by a math instructor, Math Essentials is a program designed to get students ready for algebra.  It is an easy to follow program that requires only 20 minutes per day.

My son who is entering seventh grade had the opportunity to use the No-Nonsense Algebra book.  Last year, as the algebra I was teaching him through another program got more difficult, he struggled with the concepts.

Since we have been using this book, as seen below, he has not complained at all.  The course work each day often takes less than 20 minutes, so he is willing, by his choice, to do more than one lesson in a day.  Imagine how elated I am to see him working through a program he enjoys!!

Check out the program highlights page to find out more about the Math Essentials program for 4th/5th grade and middle/high school.

No-Nonsense Algebra covers topics such as solving equations, solving and graphing inequalities, polynomials, radical expressions and geometry, algebra word problems, and more, in 92 lessons and chapter reviews.  Obviously, in just a few short weeks, we were not able to get all the way through the book, but each lesson is short and to the point.  There is an introduction to each new topic, helpful hints provided, examples worked, and then exercises available to the student.  There are also a few review questions at the bottom of each lesson (except the first where there is nothing to review).  There is a final exam in the book, and the answers to all of the problems are provided in the back of the book as well.

The book is only $27.95 and includes free on-line video lessons.  Nate was working well through the book and didn't need the video lessons yet, but I watched a few of them so that I'd be able to comment on them here.  They are done very well.  The speaker is clear and makes hard-to-grasp concepts easy to understand.  Some of the videos are lengthy, but that is because he makes sure that enough examples are worked through so that the student is sure to understand.  He also encourages the student to work along with him so he/she gets the practice of working out the problem.

I intend to use this program in its entirety with Nate.  The necessary information to learn is included in the book and through the on-line videos, and there aren't more problems to do per lesson than Nate can focus on at any one time.

I encourage you to check out the sample pages for each book so you can get an idea of what they look like inside.

Math Essentials is offering the following promotion to any order through their website:

Any order that includes Mastering Essential Math Skills Book 1, OR, Mastering Essential Math Skills Book 2, OR, No-Nonsense Algebra, will include a free copy of Geometry (A $14.95 value) plus a free Homework Kit (A $4.99 value).

If you would like more information, you can contact Math Essentials at

PO Box 1723

Los Gatos, CA  95031

or by phone at 1-866-MATH (6284)

or by email at math.essentials@verizon.net.

If you'd like to read what others are saying about Math Essentials, check out http://schoolhousereviewcrew.com/786006/.

DISCLAIMER: I received this product free of charge so that I might provide an honest review of it.

So Many Maps, So Little Time!!

I love maps!  I think my kids cringe when I pull maps out.  "Oh, no!  Here comes another map," they say.  I think they are wonderful because one can have a reference for where events take place.  Things you read make more sense if you can picture the places where those things happen.  It doesn't hurt for geography quizzes either.  ;-)

I received the MapTrek by Terri Johnson series of maps  from Knowledge Quest.  Knowledge Quest is a company started by the Johnsons, a homeschooling family, in 2001.  We will be using the maps they've created for years to come.  There is just so much to do.  Each set comes with a lesson plan, so as they are learning about different topics in history there will most likely be a map to go along with it.  Four of the MapTrek versions are Ancient World, Medieval World, New World, and Modern World.  You can download them or have a CD sent to you for $14.95 (S&H applies for CD).  These four books can also be purchased as a package on CD-ROM for only $39.95.

There is also a MapTrek U.S. Edition for $19.95 available (CD or ebook).  The U.S. Edition and the four-book series above can be purchased as an entire ebook set for $47.99.  They also have an actual book and CD of all 5 sets (Ancient, Medieval, New, Modern, and U.S.) for $55.00.  There are so many options.

The lesson plans are broken down into small and realistic sections.  Each section is one map.  Each section is broken down into 2 or 3 more sections based on age of the student.  A child in grades 1-4 will do less than a  child in 5th-12th grades.  Sometimes the maps are divided for grades 1-4, 5-8, and 9-12.

I love the idea of making my kids look for things and figuring out where places go on the map, but I do have to say that they were not able to do a lot of it by themselves.  There were sections of the Ancient World lesson plan that told them to find all the cities marked on the map.  The dots were very close together, and the ancient maps I found online were confusing.  It didn't seem that there was one particular place to go for the answers, although all of the answers are provided with your purchase.  Sometimes we just had to go to the answers because I couldn't find the right map online.  It would have been helpful if they always listed what cities they had marked on the map and told the student to figure out which dot represented which city.  Bodies of water are fairly easy.

I did notice that there was repetition involved.  My kids had to label bodies of water in the beginning of the Ancient World maps.  I believe the next 5 or 6 lessons after that had them label them as well.  With that much repetition, my kids were learning their bodies of water.

Knowledge Quest also provides curriculum integration guides so if you are using curricula such as Story of the World, Streams of Civilization, TruthQuest History, My Father's World, etc., you will know how to integrate the MapTrek series into your current studies.

I appreciate this program because I want my kids to be geographically knowledgeable.  I want them to know where things are when people mention them or they hear about something going on in a far away country.  This program will take more of an active role from me than I thought it would, but I do not mind.  I do get frustrated when I can't find the right maps, however.

Knowledge Quest has a great deal more to offer than just maps.  They have a wide variety of geography resources.  Click the products tab or just hover over it, and you will see all of the products.

Check out the items listed under "Classes" and "Apps" (for your iPad or iPhone).  Very cool!

Knowledge Quest can be reached at

PO Box 789

Boring, OR  97009

1-877-697-8611

helpdesk@knowledgequestmaps.com

If you are interested in reading what others have to say about Knowledge Quest Maps, please go to:

http://schoolhousereviewcrew.com/785898/

DISCLAIMER: I received this product free of charge so that I may provide an honest review of it.

Who Is My Neighbor?

Do you ever wonder who your neighbor is?  Who is the person we are supposed to show mercy and love to in our lives?  In Luke 10, we read the story of the good Samaritan.  While geographically he wasn't a neighbor and culturally he wasn't a neighbor of the man who had been robbed and beaten, he had mercy on the man.  In essence, all people are our neighbors.  We are to have mercy on all mankind, as Jesus would.  The product I was able to review with my kids is called 

This is the third book in the "What We Believe" series provided by Apologia Educational Ministries.  It is intended to help children understand what it means to be salt and light and will encourage kids to develop a Christlike servant attitude.  In this way, they will begin to see that all people are their neighbors.

Along with the textbook, I received the notebooking journal and the coloring book.  This book is intended for children ages 6-14.  The textbook is $39.00.  The journal is $24.00, and the coloring book is only $8.00.  

I feel I am slightly biased because everything I have ever used from Apologia for my homeschooling has been of the highest quality.  I have never come across a product from Apologia that I haven't liked.  This is just another one I thoroughly enjoyed.  There is so much contained in one book that it makes teaching so simple.  There are many different stories and activities included in it that my kids do not get bored with it.

Each lesson is intended to take two weeks, but obviously you will go as slowly or as quickly as your students need.  There are eight lessons on topics such as "Does Anyone Really Need Me?", "How Can I Make a Difference?", "What Can I Do For My Country?", and "Why Can't We All Just Get Along?"

In the front of the book is a sample lesson plan for how you can break up the lessons into 3 weeks/2 days a week.  The front of the notebooking journal has  lesson plans broken up for the entire book and journal so that you know which pages of the journal go with which pages of the textbook.  Each student should have his/her own journal, which I find a drawback.  I myself am sure not to spend $24 for each child to have his/her own, but the journals do have a lot of activities, questions, and lists of movies, books, or songs that can be used to find out more information with activities to go along with those.  They are also beautifully illustrated.  They are meant to be keepsakes, books to track the child's journey.

I enjoy the historical stories and the "Encounters with Jesus" sections the most.  They help to make the lesson more real.  My kids seem to remember stories longer than anything else.

My second favorite part of the book (simply because of who I am) is the recipes scattered throughout the book.  What a fun idea!!!

The pictures in the coloring book have titles related to things read in the textbook.  They are drawn well and allow for a lot of different colors to be used.  Paige has enjoyed using this.  I may have to color a picture myself.

I highly recommend any of the Bible studies by Apologia Educational Ministries.  They are located under the Apologia Press tab.  If you are looking for a way to encourage servanthood in your kids, Who is My Neighbor? is a great choice.  I look forward to working through more of this book with my kids so that they will, hopefully, eventually develop that attitude.

Apologia Educational Ministries can be reached at

1106 Meridian Plaza, Suite 220

Anderson, IN  46016

(888)524-4724

See what other TOS reviewers are saying about this product at:

http://schoolhousereviewcrew.com/785807/

DISCLAIMER: I received this product free of charge in order to use it and provide an honest review.