This One's All Mine

I had the opportunity to use this product all by myself, and I love it!  I know it probably sounds strange that I love learning about taxes, but since I do our personal taxes every year I was eager for this review so that I'd know without a doubt that I was doing them right and would hopefully get some tips to save even more money in the future.

National Tax Training School offers a number of different products.  I am currently enrolled in Federal Income Tax Course.  They also offer a Higher Course in Federal Taxation, a California Tax Preparer Course, and a Federal tax refresher course for continuing education.  The Federal Income Tax Course is most appropriate for individuals who want to learn how to prepare tax returns for individuals and small businesses, and it requires no previous experience in the tax field.  This is also good information for those who want to know how to do their own personal taxes correctly.

The course has two enrollment options.  Both options include a 20-lesson course that comes with a manual which has practice problems and examinations, a grading service, practical case studies, student guidance, reference books, a book on how to build and operate a successful tax practice, a graduation certificate, and postgraduate services.  The first option includes four years of postgraduate support for $795 for payment in full upon registration.  There are two additional payment plans under this option that allow for installment payments.  The total amount paid will be more than if paid all at once.  With the installment plans, only a certain amount of lessons can be completed before the next payment is made.

The second option includes two years of postgraduate support for $495 paid in full upon registration.  The other payment plan under this option allows for payment in three installments; six lessons can be completed before each succeeding installment is paid.  Those currently serving in the military may be eligible for reimbursement up to 75% tuition under DANTES.

The initial product the user receives (the binder shown above) comes with 17 lessons.  Each lesson requires approximately eight hours of study.  Once these lessons are completed and the tests are sent in, the last 3 lessons, the tax practice book, a guide to the current year's tax law, final exam, and application for certificate of graduation, are mailed to the student.  I received these things early so that I might include them in my review.  I felt like I was opening a Christmas present.  I can't wait until I'm ready to use these additional items and put into practice all of the things I've learned.

National Tax Training School allows you to complete the course in as little as eight weeks, but you can take as much as a year.  It is all at your own pace.  You can file for 6-month extensions for $50, if you need more time.  

I have enjoyed the course so far.  I just finished lesson six, and I have learned a great deal already.  The one thing that really excites me is the idea of one day being able to have a small business of my own preparing taxes for other people.  I don't know if that is what God has in store for me, but this course is giving me the knowledge and the opportunity that I've never had before.  I feel good every time I sit down to take a test, knowing that I'm one step closer to accomplishing this goal in my life.  Once I've successfully completed the program, I'll be able to take the IRS Registered Tax Preparer Exam.  I'll have to let you know in a future blog how that turns out.

The lessons include many examples to clarify the text.  Real life types of examples are given to explain concepts.  This is extremely helpful to me.  Sometimes I read through the idea being taught and don't completely understand it.  When I read the example, the light bulb goes on in my head.  Each lesson has practice problems at the end for review before you take the test.  I got most of the answers right for each of the reviews for the first five lessons, but when I got to lesson six the concepts were a bit tougher for me to grasp.  I didn't get enough right answers for my liking.  I wished I had had more problems to practice.

Each test that is taken is to be sent in using the envelopes they provide for each test (you need to supply the stamp), and the teachers with National Tax Training School grade your test and mail it back to you within the week.  The school was on a break when I sent my first tests in, so it took a couple of weeks to get them back; but I have since received feedback on each test I have sent.  An answer key is sent back with each test to explain the answers and to tell you where to find the answers in the text.

This course is very professional, easy to understand, and the instructors are available to answer any questions you may have.  They want to be sure you enjoy the course and are getting everything out of it that you can.  The correspondence I've had with one of the teachers has been very helpful and friendly.  

National Tax Training School has been training tax professionals since 1952, and they are recognized by the CFP, nationally accredited by the DETC, an approved CE provider, and an accredited business through the BBB as seen below.

Please visit the Homeschool Crew if you are interested in reading what others on the Crew have said about National Tax Training School's Federal Income Tax Course.

If you have questions for National Tax Training School, their contact information is:

67 Ramapo Valley Road, Suite 102

Mahwah, NJ  07430

(800)914-8138

info@nattax.com

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

A Wonderful Way to Learn about the Pilgrims

I feel as if I've taught on the Pilgrims more than once for each of my three children.  I was pretty sure I had hit all the angles and couldn't add anything more to the story.  Boy, was I wrong!!  We have been reviewing what I think is perhaps the best resource for learning about the Pilgrims' story.

Dayspring Christian Academy has put together a self-paced online course called, The Pilgrim Story.  This course is geared towards students in third through sixth grade and costs $99.  Since it is self-paced, you can access it any time you'd like and finish it at your own pace (beginning 48 hours after purchase and ended six months after purchase).  Dayspring teaches according to the Principle Approach of education which teaches Biblical principles using a classical method of teaching.  It helps equip "young men and women to help restore America to her gospel purpose, thereby helping to fulfill Christ's Great Commission."

The Pilgrim Story plays on your computer, laptop, etc., with an easy to understand voice narrating.   There are many resources to download and print out, if you so choose.  We usually print out the vocabulary, the student sheets which Paige fills in while listening to the lesson, and any extra activities there may be.  I have printed out some of the sheets that have Biblical quotes or people's names listed on them but not all.  Each page has color graphics, and I am very stingy with my ink.  I'd be more inclined to print all of the resources if some used a smaller font and had more than one "page" on each PDF.  They are all, however, very well done and create a nice notebook once each  lesson is completed.

The Pilgrim Story begins with a tutorial on how to use the program, which is very helpful, especially if the student is going to go through the program on his/her own for the most part.  Paige enjoyed logging in each day and going through the lessons.  She felt very accomplished after she had done a whole lesson.  The illustrations that are used are superb.  The music that is used is wonderful and adds a bit of suspense to what is being learned.  The student sheets that are filled out are verbatim of the text on the slides; the text that is to be written is underlined on the slides.  The narrator does not just read what is written on the slides but goes beyond the slide to explain things to the student.

The course begins with the history of King Henry VIII and the Geneva Bible.  So, it gives a very detailed account of what life was like for the Pilgrims long before they journeyed west.  This is the history that has been lacking in my teaching, or in the resources I've used in the past to teach.  I love that this program goes in depth into the history and the problems there were in England for the group that became the Pilgrims.  It doesn't shy away from the details like most other curricula about the Pilgrims do.

Besides the student sheets and the vocabulary, there are also maps to fill out, recipes for foods that were eaten on the Mayflower, self-reflection exercises, crafts to make, etc.  In some of the lessons, there are interactive slides where the student can click a picture and learn even more about a subject.  There are online reviews at the end of each lesson.  If the student picks the wrong answer, the correct answer is given with an explanation.  At the end of each unit, there is a multiple choice/true or false test.  I'd like to see a hard copy of the tests so that they can be graded and entered into the notebook.  Under the course administration tab, the grade that your child received on each test can be seen, but for some reason it doesn't give a grade for each lesson.  Therefore, Paige's score is 12.08, although she scored B's and a C on her tests.

Each day, Paige is excited to get on my laptop and do her DCA lesson for the day.  She asks which papers she needs to print from the resources tab.  Once that is done, she jumps right into the lesson.  She doesn't even grumble.  She is able to take ownership of this part of her learning.  She shows me what she has learned and what she has done and sometimes shares things she found interesting or gross, in the case of learning about the Pilgrims eating at night on the ship so they couldn't see the maggots that had invaded their food supply.  I've even learned a great deal through this online class.

There are 5 main units with a total of 17 separate lessons.  There is an introduction and a virtual field trip at the very end of the program to Plymouth, Massachusetts.  I feel this program is definitely worth the money.  There is so much learning.  It is done in a very creative and engaging way and doesn't talk down to the student.  It is my feeling from this program that Dayspring believes that kids are capable of learning at a higher level than most curriculum provide.  I appreciate this.  I love to see my kids challenged!

If you want to read other reviews of this product by those on the Homeschool Crew, visit http://schoolhousereviewcrew.com/786524/.
If you'd like to contact Dayspring Christian Academy, their information is as follows:

Dayspring Christian Academy

120 College Avenue

Mountville, PA  17554

(717)285-2000

http://dayspringchristian.com

DISCLAIMER:  I received this product free of charge in order to provide an unbiased review.  I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any way.  I am disclosing this in accordance with FTC regulations.

Will I Never Learn?

     Oh, having a house built is just killing me!!!  I don't remember being this anxious and impatient when we had our house in Canonsburg built.  Perhaps I was and just don't remember; it was more than 8 years ago.  Last Friday I realized that we needed to have paperwork done so that we pay the right amount for our mortgage.  I sent an email and didn't like the reply I got from customer service.  John got involved and was able to set in motion a series of events that allowed us to have that paperwork complete by lunchtime Monday morning.  Today I passed by the house just like I do at least 5 or 20 times a week, but who's counting?  It looked to me like nothing had been done for a day and a half, and the weather is beautiful.  Since we were supposed to have all of our landscaping done by the end of the week, I wondered what the holdup was.  When I got a reply this afternoon to an email I sent about it, God decided it was time I remembered what He has done for us through this entire process.

   
     Back in April, we put our house on the market and sold it in 4 days!!!!  John didn't even have a job yet.  He got that at the end of April/beginning of May.  God provided that job.  We spent two days in Florida in May to find a house which we found in one.  We also found a rental which John was able to move into the next day.  (He started his job the following week, and I went back to PA with the kids for two more weeks.)

We needed a place to stay for two nights after we closed on our house before we actually moved to Florida.  Our good friends were going on vacation and let us stay at their house.  It worked out perfectly!!  We had a safe drive down and were able to empty our truck into the garage that is attached to our rental.  No cost for storage.  This rental has been a blessing.  God provided it.  It is more expensive than what our mortgage will be, but we pay for no water or cable, just electric.  We have that storage for our stuff.  We sold most of our furnishing before we moved, and this rental is fully furnished.  While I am using only a few of my own kitchen items, I don't have to repack all of my plates and cups, etc., to move into our new house.  This is a blessing I hadn't even thought of until now.

We live in Florida now.  We aren't going anywhere for a long time.  I am anxious to be in my own house again, using my own things, but I must leave it in God's hands.  His timing is perfect.  No matter how much I email or fret or get frustrated, I will not be able to control this situation.  God has provided for us throughout this entire journey.  He will always give us what we need when we need it.  Why is it so hard for me to remember all that He has done for us?  It hasn't even been 6 months since we moved down here and look at all that has happened.  

"Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal."

Isaiah 26:4

My Kids Built a Zoo...

ZooWhiz is a free interactive online learning program for math, reading, and English.  It is geared towards children ages 5-15 and even older depending on their skill level.  With the free membership, children can participate in learning activities and earn virtual coins for correct answers which they can use to purchase a variety of animals to fill their zoo.  They can also use these coins to play games in the arcade.  ZooWhiz can be upgraded to a Premium membership for even more interactivity.  Currently, the annual price for the Premium membership is only $14.95.  With it, you can buy rare and endangered animals for your zoo, play more arcade games, and have access to ZooWhiz 24/7/365.  Parents also have access to ZooWhiz through a parent account where the child's progress can be monitored.

My children enjoy learning via interactive online programs.  ZooWhiz suited the needs of all three of  my children in that I could set their age/learning level.  Once a child has his own account, he can choose his avatar.  Here are some choices below.  One complaint my daughter had was that she wished she could customize her avatar a bit more instead of choosing one that had already been created.

Each time one of my kids went to play ZooWhiz, they had a specific device they chose to play it on.  They learned that if you sign in to play on your "home" device, you get 100 coins for free.  Paige used my computer.  Nate used John's computer, and Jacob used the kids' computer.  The home page of ZooWhiz is seen below.  This is where students can see how many points they have and how many animals they have in their zoo.  In order to answer questions in math, reading, or English, they clicked "Learn & Earn."  Biodome took them to where their animals were being kept and where they could buy more.  The Arcade is where they could play games, and Milestones allowed them to see their own progress.

Progress Page

There was a point about two weeks ago, after Nate had already played a few weeks and saved up a lot of coins and a lot of progress, when the system somehow lost all of his information.  He was very discouraged and, although he has still played, he has not spent as much time playing and learning as he did before.  He says, "It has a lot of bugs, and it occasionally loses memory of progress; but it is a lot of fun, and the creatures are cool to collect."  So, even though he had a setback, he has still enjoyed collecting the animals and playing the games.

There were some other issues as my kids used ZooWhiz.  Paige says, "The glitches are really annoying.  In the 'Words' section, there is a problem where you have to find the matching word, and you cannot even see the answers.  If you click on them, you can see them.  You can drag them into the box, but it seems as if the program can't see them and, if it is right, the program still marks it as wrong."  Even Jacob said, "It is fun but full of bugs."  It does seem that there are a lot of things they are adding to the program, especially with the Premium membership.  Perhaps there just needs to be a bit of tweaking.  

I have appreciated using the program despite the rare bugs.  I think my kids have learned a ton of new information.  I have liked the math program for Paige because she does not do well with textbooks.  ZooWhiz does not follow any logical order that I've noticed, just random questions that students should know based on the age that was chosen in the system by the parent, but when she gets to a problem that she does not know how to solve I am able to sit down with her and explain it to her.  For example, she was not sure how to find multiples.  I worked through it with her a few times, and she hasn't asked me again.  She now understands the concept.  She even said today that she did best in math and only missed one problem.  That is a huge success for her.

The kids have enjoyed being able to buy animals to fill their zoo.  Jacob, who is the ultimate animal lover in the family has soaked up the information about each animal that the kids are able to learn when buying them.  They all wish, though, that they could take care of their animals and train not them, not just collect them.

This program was created in Australia and, therefore, has an Australian voice (which I love listening to).  There is an opportunity to change your country when you sign up, but it must be done as soon as you sign up and cannot be changed later.  This is unfortunate because I did not realize this until later.  I am not sure how that would have helped or if it would have at all.  Some of the spelling is different from ours in the Australian content, which confused Paige (she is the youngest of my kids).  For example, there was favorite and favourite and color and colour.  There were other times when the differences in their speech caused them to get a problem wrong.  It wasn't very often, but it happened.  There were a few times as well when I wasn't sure the answer they expected was the correct answer and times when the question didn't make any sense.  I think perhaps they teach some things in Australia that are not taught here and that is the difference.  

Example of a math problem

Example of a words problem

Example of a reading problem

If you are interested in reading other Homeschool Crew reviews of this product, you can find them at http://schoolhousereviewcrew.com/786479/.

ZooWhiz can be reached by mail at PO Box 658, Armidale NSW, 2350, Australia, or by phone.  In the U.S., the toll-free number is 1-866-215-4620.

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

Be BeeYouTiful!

I was blessed, once again, to sample products from BeeYouTiful so that I may pass along my thoughts to you.  They were the Hair Shine Leave-in Conditioner, the Laveshmint Hydrating Toner, the Laveshmint Daily Moisturizer, and the Vanilla Dream Body Butter.

The four-ounce spray bottle (mailed sealed with a sprayer included) of Hair Shine is almost completely gone.  My daughter and I both used it.  It is made from organic aloe vera concentrate, distilled water, sweet orange essential oil, lavender essential oil, and rosemary essential oil.  After getting out of the shower, I sprayed it on my wet hair.  The spray made my hair feel soft and helped get rid of knots.  It was useful for scrunching my hair because I don't really like the straight look.  It smelled very good, but you need to be sure to shake it up before you use it or it smells a little weird.  I think it's just because of all the different essential oils.  It sells for $15.00 for one.  BeeYouTiful offers discounts if you buy more than one.  This is worth considering since it would probably be a frequently used product.  Since everything is all natural, I felt confident that it was only going to benefit the health of my hair and not harm it in any way.

The next product I used was the Laveshmint Hydrating Toner.  I was excited about this one since I moved to Florida in June and am exposed to more sun (on purpose), and it is "specially formulated to bring cool relief to sun-burned skin!"  I am pretty careful with my sunscreen use, but there was one day I did get burned.  Let me tell you, this toner works!   It instantly relieved my sunburn and left my skin feeling very cool.  This product also comes in a four-ounce spray bottle (mailed sealed with a sprayer included) and costs $14.00.  Buy as many as 12 at a time and pay only $11.20 each.  This product has lasted a while for me.  I haven't used it after every shower.  When I have, I have only used it on my face and neck as is directed.  The Laveshmint works to restore pH balance, close pores, and gets your skin ready for moisturizing (Laveshmint Daily Moisturizer would be one choice).  The toner is made with certified organic aloe vera, purified water, lavender essential oil, peppermint essential oil, 0.01% potassium sorbate, citric acid, and sodium benzoate (food grade preservative).  Be sure to shake this product as well before you use it.  It smells wonderful all the time and leaves my skin feeling cool (even when not burned).  

After using the toner, I sometimes used the Laveshmint Daily Moisturizer.  It has a wonderful scent and looks like mousse.  There is a long list of ingredients, all of which are safe, including distilled water, coconut oil, aloe, grapeseed oil, lavender and peppermint essential oils, a safe preservative blend free of parabens and formaldehyde, and so on.  The container is four ounces and lasts a long time (at least for me) because a lot is not needed at any one time.  It is to be used on the face and neck after the toner.  Both Laveshmint products are safe for all skin types.  The moisturizer works a lot like the toner in keeping my skin cool and feeling fresh.  This sells for $12.00 per container.

The final product I was able to review was a four-ounce glass jar of Vanilla Dream Body Butter.  It sells for $15.00 and is made with shea butter; vanilla infused oils of coconut, olive, and grape seed; grapefruit seed extract; essential oil of Ylang Ylang, and Vanilla Plantifolia.  When I used this, it kept my skin moist for hours and hours, and it smells SOOOOO good!!!!!!  For me, it can almost serve the purpose of aromatherapy.

I don't normally use a lot of skin-care products, but these BeeYouTiful products smell so good and make me feel so good, that it is very easy to get into the habit of using them.  I don't mind leaving them sitting out either because the packaging is so pretty.

BeeYouTiful is a company that states on their values' page they are believers in Jesus Christ.  They aim to treat everyone with respect according to their belief system.  They treat others the way they want to be treated.  

One of the things that I like about BeeYouTiful is that you can earn points toward future purchases in a number of different ways.  If you buy products, you earn one point for every $1.00 spent.  You can earn 100 points per review.  You can like them on Facebook, have  a birthday, vote in a weekly poll, email a friend a product suggestion, etc.  You can then use your Bee Points to pay for part or all of a product.  You can just use them as you have them.  Each point is worth one cent.  You can even transfer your points to a friend who is also in their system, if you want, say, for a birthday or a Christmas present.  I haven't used this points system yet as I've only reviewed free products, but I intend to start purchasing from them.  They have so many different types of products, and all are natural and safe.

Check BeeYouTiful out.  You can search by a product or a health concern.  They have a SALES tab so you can see what products are currently on sale or are being discontinued. If you have any questions about their products, you can contact them at

Beeyoutiful.com, LLC

Box 1

Nunnelly, TN  37137

or

www.beeyoutiful.com

or

1-800-556-0967.

If you are interested in reading more reviews about these products or some other BeeYouTiful products that have been reviewed by the Homeschool Crew, simply click the following link and read away: http://schoolhousereviewcrew.com/786465/.

DISCLAIMER: I received these products free of charge so that I might review them and provide an honest review.

Who Knew Salt Could Be So Interesting?

I had the opportunity to review a wonderful product that I had never seen before - Box of I.D.E.As.  This company sends a box of learning to your doorstep (or a PDF file to download).  It can be used as a unit study, a break from the regular routine, or as a supplement to something already being learned.  The target age range is 9-16. They have a few different topics to choose from - World War II, Eleven (various events and topics where eleven is significant), salt, quilting, and laundry.  They also have a variety of other topics in the works.

I received the Salt Box of I.D.E.As as a PDF file to review with my kids.  The PDF file is $49.00.  The physical box is $79.00 and comes complete with all consumable products.  They also sell additional student modules for $4.00 of the consumables.  The PDF tells you what and how many of each page needs printed out.  I chose to simply read the facts to my kids from the computer so that I didn't waste ink or paper but printed out the activities.  One of the activities was a matching game.  I printed it out on card stock but lost two of the pages, so the kids didn't actually play the game.  I tried to go over the information on the cards, though.  I have a hard time with wasting ink.  One of the other games had multiple choice questions on cards that needed to be printed out, so I just read them to my kids and had them try to answer the questions.  For the reason of saving on ink, I would have liked to have the physical box.

There is SO much information about salt included in this Box of I.D.E.As.  They have done a ton of research to put this study together.  I have no doubt they have used the same amount of diligence with all of their modules.  My middle child loves to fill his mind with facts and then share his learning with others.  This study gave him a ton of facts.

This same child really enjoyed one of the first activities which had the kids look through the refrigerator or pantry for the sodium content of foods (or on a list that was provided in the PDF).  We are all amazed by how much sodium was actually in the foods we were eating, but Nate made sure to continue the education days afterwards.

The lessons in this box are broke down into:

1.  History of Salt

2.  Language of Salt

3.  Need for Salt

4.  Preserving with Salt

5.  Producing Salt

6.  Science of Salt

7.  The Salt March

8.  The Salt of the Earth

9.  The Wall that Salt Built

10.  Very Salty

Each module, or chapter, has extensions for further learning.  Simply because of the time we were working with, we did not do many of these extension activities.  We did do some, however.  They are very well thought out.  They usually include a field trip of some sort (if it can be done in your area), some sort of a writing assignment, and research in order to answer some question.  Other web sites are provided to allow the student to keep learning and are for science experiments and more fact gathering.

My kids learned a lot by doing this study.  Nate kept asking to go back to it each day; that is how much he enjoyed it.

I don't like to use my own ink which is what is required with the PDF file.  I would have preferred the hard copy.  There are some absolutely gorgeous pictures provided for one of the last games, but my printer doesn't do photos very well.  I would rather have the physical box if I were going to do one of their other studies.  That way, too, it is all right there for me.  I don't have to find something except for maybe some websites or prepare some field trips.

Again, I was amazed by the wealth of information contained in this study.  This has been put together very, very well, and it is SO easy to use.  I would definitely recommend one of these boxes.

If you have further questions about the salt box or any other boxes or what is included in them, you can reach Box of I.D.E.As at 1.330.506.9411 or by filling out their Contact Us page to ask.

If you would like to review what other TOS Homeschool reviewers are saying, please visit http://schoolhousereviewcrew.com/786447/.

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

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.

I 

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.