Shawna

A different kind of bible study

May 162012

I’ve been looking for a bible study curriculum that we could – and would – use in our home. To get regular use in our household, it’d have to rank fairly high on the ease-of -use and flexibility scales.

We recently received a download version of the Judah Bible Curriculum for our perusal, and I was pretty excited about it. After reading through their website, I’d been really excited about it.

Judah Bible Curriculum is designed as a framework to make it easy to give your children a comprehensive knowledge of the bible while building strong, Godly characters. By studying the Bible together with the Bible as the primary textbook, each student can develop their reasoning ability and learn to apply Biblical principles in their lives.

Due to the non-reliance on traditional textbooks and workbooks, it takes a little bit more work for the instructor to learn how to teach the Judah Bible Curriculum.

In fact, I’ll go a step beyond that and say that it’s a bit intimidating. Judah Bible Curriculum is a bit of a misnomer, really; it’s more a framework, a listing of themes with relevant biblical topics and locations.

Lesson-planning and activities are entirely up to the teacher, which is excellent if you’re highly organized and have the time to spend on weekly prep, or are working together with a team of teachers in a co-op or a sunday school.

The teacher’s manual includes an overview of the curriculum, blank and sample notebooking pages, and the schedule. Also included are diagrams that support material presented in the audio lectures. The schedule is bare bones; that was my first hint that my expectations weren’t in line with reality.

The reproducible notebooking pages consist of charts to fill out that are used to illustrate each theme. While I understand the purpose behind the author’s desire to encourage a permanent record that the student can refer back to, it really did not appeal to my kids. By the third week, we found ourselves discussing the verses out loud, and doing very little writing. For more about the notebook approach, read here.

Perhaps that’s just our family? For me, personally, I prefer specific discussion questions. We can read together, or individually, think about or write our answers, and then come together and discuss them. But beyond discussing the verses themselves, and trying to guess at how they might tie into the theme that week, I was at a loss.

I eventually found myself fairly frustrated. I really wanted to like Judah Bible Curriculum. I admire its goals, and I love the concept. It’s just not a good fit for me or for my family. I apparently don’t deal well with something that conceptually open-ended, especially when the topic is religion.

A scope and sequence is available here.

There are two purchase options for the Judah Bible Curriculum:

A physical hard copy, for $69 plus $5 postage and handling, that includes: the Judah Bible Curriculum K-12 Manual; an Elementary Notebook Ideas booklet, and an eight-lecture Teacher Training Seminar on CDs, or
a download, delivered online, a 40% discount at $44, that includes: Judah Bible Curriculum K-12 Manual, e-book format to download; Elementary Notebook Ideas booklet to view online or download; eight-lecture Teacher Training Seminar. listen online or download.

To see what other Crew members had to say, check out the links on the TOS Homeschool Crew blog post, Judah Bible Curriculum.

**Disclaimer – As part of the The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew, I received the download version of the Judah Bible Curriculum for free so that I could provide you with an honest review of it by our family.**

JudahBibleCurriculum-beachpicture

Tags: homeschool, bible, review

A fix for book addicts

Homeschool No Responses »

May 092012

I’m a book addict. I admit it.
I’m on a self-imposed book diet at the moment; no books unless we *really need them for school* until AFTER we get everything unpacked. (It’s been slow going – for homeschoolers, we sure haven’t been home much this spring!)

I’m tempted, though. Come a little closer and I’ll whisper you the secret… wouldn’t want anyone to catch on that I’m thinking about falling off the [book]wagon. Somebody reminded me about a bookseller… nothing quite like dangling it in front of me!

Where to find your book fix
Hop on over to Homeschool Library Builder, where they specialize in filling your shelves without emptying your wallet. During the month of May, all items are 25% off – a fantastic savings!

How to find books
In addition to themed categories and general searching, Homeschool Library Builder also offers the ability to search by age level, geographic area, or the curriculum the book with be used with. Curricula references include Ambleside, Beautiful Feet, Five In A Row, Heart of Dakota, Sonlight, and Tapestry of Grace.

There’s even a category for hard-to-find and vintage books. But should a recommended book prove particularly elusive, don’t hesitate to contact them for help; they’re happy to search for a hard-to-find treasure, at no extra cost to you.

Join for Free Membership
Homeschool Library Builder also offers a free membership. The best part of this membership is that it allows you- and Homeschool Library Builder – to keep track of Book Points that you earn. For every dollar spent at Homeschool Library Builder, you earn one book point – and every 15 book points is worth $1 off your next order!

One thing I should mention – I haven’t personally ordered from them. I’ve seen their prices, I’ve read online mentions of excellent service, and I’ve meant to order from them a time or ten. Even if you’re not in the market for books today, I strongly urge you to sign up for their newsletter so that you’ll receive notification of future sales.

Homeschool Library Builder is owned and operated by fellow homeschool families, and they’re dedicated to providing both new and used materials at affordable prices. They also provide a link "homeschool marketplace" for fellow homeschool businesses.

To see what other Crew members had to say (yes, some of them *have* purchased from HSLB before), check out the links on the TOS Homeschool Crew blog post, Homeschool Library Builder.

**Disclaimer – As part of The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew, I was asked to review this website, their current sale, and the free membership, but I did not receive any compensation or product.**

Exploring Physics

Homeschool, Reviews No Responses »

Apr 182012

It’s apparently science week here at casa crazy. The birds are singing, the deer are hanging out across the street, and the spring flowers are out in full bloom. I’m ready to jump into gardening… but first, a different kind of science.

Generally when we think of physics, we think high school science. But it doesn’t have to be, and in fact, usually isn’t – it’s just usually hidden under more generic terms like general science. So don’t let the scary “physics” term scare you – it *can* be something that you – and your kids – enjoy, and Christian Kids Explore Physics from Bright Ideas Press is a user-friendly way to do so.

The new 2nd edition of Christian Kids Explore Physics comes with an easy-to-use resource CD that includes printable lesson plans, supply lists, and a student activity book. (The activity book isn’t different material – it’s actually all the reproducible pages from the text, in one place, for easy printing. Makes the task of printing out the student materials MUCH easier!)

Created for grades 4-8, Christian Kids Explore Physics is detailed and thorough. Intended to be used just twice a week, there are 30 lessons and six unit reviews. A daily lesson plan suggests that on the first science day, teaching and discussion of the material, vocabulary, and review questions occur, along with any memory work and supplemental reading, plus a coloring page if desired. On the second day, information would be reviewed and the hands-on activity completed, plus supplemental reading. The review weeks consist of reviewing study materials on day one, and a test on day two.

I have to say, I absolutely adore that everything is totally, completely laid out and scheduled for me. No big long spiel to read, no theories to digest, it’s ready to implement. Print and go. And it’s two days a week. This would have been VERY nice to have about five years ago! I’m not sure this could be made any easier to use – if there’s any hang ups whatsoever, it’s somewhere farther into the book where I haven’t gotten yet!

Christian Kids Explore Physics is a year-long curriculum if used as laid out by the lesson plans. This particular curriculum is the first one in a great while where I can actually see us continuing to use the curriculum as it was intended to be used, at least for the most part. At some point, a few things will migrate a bit toward our more typical patterns of usage.

For example: I have one early bird, one night owl, and a couple of in-betweens, plus we stay pretty busy on top of that. Chances are, the “day 1″ will turn into a series of short conversations, and day 2 will be the only “everyone in one place” type of activity. That’s more a reflection on our busyness and lifestyle than it is on the curricula, and an adaption that we tend to migrate toward as a rule. The kids are generally fairly independent and can usually be trusted to remain on task and get what they need to done, allowing me to be facilitator rather than taskmaster, which works out much better for all of us – and, imo, serves them much better in the long run.

The Christian Kids Explore Science series is apparently considered classical-style curricula, though it wouldn’t have occurred to me if I hadn’t read it on the website. Perhaps it’s because of the emphasis on reading about the science in additional texts, and the extensive (and much appreciated!) book lists that are included that correspond with each lesson? I’ve never really considered us to do much in the manner of classical homeschooling, but then again, to us, pretty heavy book usage is the norm rather than the exception.

Christian Kids Explore Physics is a huge text, with over 400 pages. (My review copy is in PDF, but I wanted to give you a heads-up that it’s a pretty hefty tome on real paper!) The enclosed CD will work on PC or Mac. Christian Kids Explore Physics is just $39.95 – a great deal, in my opinion, for a text of this quality.

The table of contents and samples of Lessons 18 and 19 are available from this page: Christian Kids Explore Physics. It will give you a very clear representation of what the entire textbook is like. The lesson plans, book lists, and answer keys are just as simple and efficient.

Other Homeschool Crew members also reviewed three additional Christian Kids Explore Science titles; Biology and Earth & Space are written for grades 3-6, while Chemistry, like Physics, is aimed at grades 4-8.

For reviews of Physics and the other titles, check out the links on the TOS Homeschool Crew blog post, Christian Kids Explore Science.

**Disclaimer – I received this product for free as a member of the 2011-12 The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew so that I could provide you with an honest review of it by our family.**

From Head to Toe with AIMS

Homeschool, Reviews No Responses »

Apr 152012

I’ve been thinking it’s about time we did some kind of a homeschool human body science refresher, and just in the nick of time, we received this neat text/CD combo from AIMS Education Foundation.

From Head to Toe is for grades 5-9 – and yes, it’ll stretch a bit to grades 4-10 – that’s what we’re doing. It’s chock-full of all sorts of interesting activities, plus quirky little booklets to print and put together called “rubber band books”. It’s clear that this book was designed for the public school market, with these take-home friendly little tools… but they’re a hit in my book. Cute little mini text books.

My recommendations for the rubber band books:

Don’t hit every store in town trying to find #19 rubber bands. I’m not convinced they even exist. Just guess at the nearest size you can find, and trim if needed.

Have colored pencils available for coloring. Markers are a bit wide and bleed through; crayons are just plain too wide. Unless they dig the sharpener out… and just believe me. Save yourself the hassle, have the colored pencils at ready, because if your kids are anything like mine, they *will* end up coloring them.

One of my favorite things? The rubber band books – along with any other student pages that would generally need to be photocopied – are available in PDF format on the CD that accompanies the book. This makes printing out pages a piece of cake, and those rubber band books line up perfectly.

The instructions for each of the 39 activities are clear and concise. A materials list is included, but the instructions go even farther than that. Any prep work needed is explicitly listed, along with any other details that might be necessary to check beforehand, such as “make sure the rulers have markings in inches” or “cut plastic straws into 1 1/2 inch lengths”. Absolutely perfect for keeping things organized, and essential if you’re crunched for time.

With the focus on hands-on activities, From Head to Toe could be used alone as a unit study, or as an add-on to more traditional science curriculum. It’s entirely project-based, and kids that enjoy hands-on activities will love using it for science. Parents will love the ease of use – it’s all laid out ahead of time, and intended to be as quick and no-brainer as possible. A win-win situation. All the fun and flexibility of unit studies, none of the confusion.

Questions for later discussion or written work are also included; use these to help reinforce and articulate what the students have learned through the project.

We received a softcover print edition of From Head to Toe; it has approximately 275 black and white reproducible pages. (But as I mentioned, I’m *very* glad that I don’t have to fight with a photocopier – I love being able to print student pages off via PDF – so the included CD is a wonderful thing. Since From Head to Toe may be purchased in either print or PDF versions, the choice is yours – but either way, you’ll have it easy, too, with no-hassle student printables, priced at just $24.95.

Five other titles were reviewed by TOS Crew members:

Looking at Lines - For grades 6-9, Looking at Lines introduces “algebraic concepts in their natural setting” through 32 activities drawn from real-world situations. A CD with printable student pages is included with the physical book, or it may be purchased in PDF form instead. $24.95
It’s About Time - Students in grades K-2 will learn do hands-on activities and build a strong conceptual sense of time and its measurement with the 22 activities in It’s About Time. The print edition includes a CD with student pages in PDF format; it’s also available as a PDF to download immediately. $21.95
Fabulous Fractions - Manipulatives abound in Fabulous Fractions, with 22 activities designed to help grade 3-5 students visually understand the concepts they’re learning. Fabulous Fractions is available in print or PDF form. $24.95
Earth Rocks! - Students in grades 4-5 will explore soil, rocks, minerals, the water cycle & properties of water throughout the 50 activities in Earth Rocks! Sections on weathering, erosion, renewable & nonrenewable resources, and pollution are also included. Available in print or PDF. $29.95
What on Earth? - An introduction for grades K-1 to the natural sciences, What on Earth? has 30 activities on natural resources, rocks and soil, water, changes in the earth’s surface due to natural events, day and night, and the seasons. Available in PDF or print form – the physical copy includes a CD with printable student pages. $21.95

To see what other crew members had to say, check out the TOS Homeschool Crew blog post, AIMS Education Foundation.

**Disclaimer – I received this product for free as a member of the 2011-12 The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew so that I could provide you with an honest review of it by our family.**

Teach communication with Write with World

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Apr 122012

You know that old saying, you don’t know what you have til you’ve lost it? Well, there’s a corollary. You don’t know what you’re missing til you find it… or in my case, til the package arrives in the mailbox.

Middle school years are gawky, in-between ones for some subjects. In public schools, class materials treat these years as extensions of grade school, or as watered-down high school courses, and students tend to fall into a holding pattern until their freshman year.

As homeschoolers, we fight against falling into that trap, and often push our middlers on ahead into high school subjects.

Language arts is one of those awkward areas. They’ve already practiced handwriting, learned to read, and spell and paraphrase. They’ve worn their name off their library card; now, what do we do?

And for those in-between years of growing pains, what we really need are the best tools yet, for they must:
- be new and different
- not be babyish
- not be overwhelmingly difficult
- be interesting enough to hold their attention
- and above all, be something worth investing their time in – not just a rehash of elementary skills.

And into this gap comes Write with World.

Write With World is a innovative new writing curriculum designed to imbue a new generation of writers with the tools necessary for effective communication in our media-centric world.

Created by a partnership of educators and journalists, Write With World doesn’t just teach the bare bones of writing. Instead, it successfully delivers a greater truth – that writing is not merely a mundane chore to fill a page, make a grade, answer a question – writing has purpose, meaning, force. It has made men wealthy and it has destroyed lives.

Words are power. As writers, we must learn to wield that power to the best of our ability.

Write with World comes from the publishers of God’s World News and World Magazine. As such, it does have a Christian focus. It’s also devoted to teaching how to interpret what is seen and heard, because only by understanding slant and bias can we choose to use or withhold it in our own writing.

Write with World is a refreshing change from traditional writing programs. Students are encouraged to write for their audience, for the written word, like speech, has little meaning without someone to communicate to.

A sample lesson (Unit 1: Lesson 1) of Write with World is available for your viewing; it’s representative of the style of the rest of the book. (Unit 1 is the only one that I’ve found with full color images; later units have just the black and orange text.)

The review copies that I received were the pre-release version of the first year of a two-year program; the final versions of the Write with World books won’t ship until summer 2012. I was sent two books: a (9″ x 9″) student text and a (9″ high x 12″ wide) parent/ teacher text. Both are perfectbound, aka paperback softcover, and approximately 200 pages in length. (Non-standard book sizes irritate me; the kids liked the student book, finding it comfortable to use.)

A supplementary website for users of the curriculum will be available September 2012. The publishers informed us that it will provide an online publishing opportunity for students and additional writing subjects to refresh and enhance the textbook material.

Pricing for the final version (pre-orders begin in April) will be $95 per year, or $165 for both years, when purchased at the same time. (The purchase includes access to the website mentioned above.)

Write with World was created for grades 6-9; it could easily be used as a high school text. Multiple grade levels within this range would work well together. My 4th grader did join in with some of the activities, but I found myself answering many more questions for her, and I believe she would get far more out of this curriculum in a couple of years.

Creation of a high school curriculum is under consideration; if one is developed, a tentative release date would be for the 2013-14 school year.

At this time, there are not digital editions available, but the publisher did include a note to us reviewers that he would like to know what we – and our blog followers – would think of having an electronic version instead of printed books.

My answer is pretty simple. I think everyone around here knows that, no matter how much I love holding a real book in my hands, there’s just no way to get past the money-saving, space-saving, time-saving, resource-saving, ultra-portable benefits of ebooks. And when so many of us homeschoolers are low-income because we’re choosing raising our kids over material things… lower cost is always a good thing.

So… this is the page to order Write with World. And on the left hand side, there’s a “Your Feedback” link? Do me a favor. If you agree with me and you’d like to see them publish digital editions, tell them so. And leave me a message here, too, and I’ll pass it on to the email I’ve been given. (I don’t think it’s a public email, so I’m not sharing it here.)

To see what other crew members had to say, check out the TOS Homeschool Crew blog post, Write With World.

**Disclaimer – I received this product for free as a member of the 2011-12 The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew so that I could provide you with an honest review of it by our family.**

A map through time with TruthQuest History

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Apr 102012

Wow. When the review copy of TruthQuest History Middle Ages guide landed in my email, that was my first reaction, and still, I’m in awe. I think we’ve been blessed with *our* history… and I wish I’d found it several years ago.

Actually, I should say, I wish I’d really SEEN it for what it was. I’d heard of it. I’d hazzard a guess that many of us have. But I’d never really looked inside the covers and lived with it… and that’s what it took to fall in love.

The TruthQuest History guides aren’t pages and pages of dry, boring history, followed by multiple choice quizzes and fill-in-the-blanks. Instead, each section is a living, breathing, vibrant introduction to an era of history… followed by an easy-to-use booklist, with even chapters and pages cited.

The booklists are not there because you MUST use them all – or because you may ONLY use titles from that list – but to give you a tool to use. Pick and choose what you prefer for your family – seek additional titles if you desire – and use TruthQuest History as your homebase for real-life learning about history.

TruthQuest History is excellent for families spanning muliple grade levels. Younger children would need to have material read to them, making this a hands-on program for lower grades. For students from older elementary through high school, Truthquest History can easily be used as a mostly-independent program. “ThinkWrite” questions are included in each section, and could either be done as written work, or be discussed conversationally if desired.

This is perfect for us at the moment – at least in the manner I’m using it. Low time commitment for me; I get the books in the house, make sure the kids know what they’re to be working on – which means leaving them a task list, and check in to make sure they’re making progress and answer questions. They let me know if they have any questions, if they’re run out of things on their to-do list, or if someone’s hogging a book. Everybody wins, and we’re actually doing history on a reliable schedule for once, instead of mish-mash, whenever someone’s interested in something. Definitely sounds like a win-win situation to me! (Note: my ultra-flexible method isn’t going to work for everyone. My youngest is 9, almost 10, and all the kids will actually follow a list of instructions I’ve left. Your mileage may vary.)

TruthQuest History was created for classical-style homeschooling, but may appeal to any homeschoolers seeking to teach history through living books rather than textbook and drill and memorization methods.

TruthQuest History does have a Christian focus – though so far, in the Middle Ages book at least, there is very little emphasis compared to what I was expecting based on the information on the website. Samples are available of all Truthquest products.

With eleven products spanning the breadth of history, even figuring out where to start might be overwhelming. The people at TruthQuest History understand that, and they’ve provided an extensive reference to help you choose where to begin TruthQuest History.

TruthQuest History products are available in both print and pdf format. Print prices range from $24.95-$34.95, and pdf from $19.95-$29.95. Supplemental lapbooks are also available for many of the guides.

To see what other crew members had to say, check out the TOS Homeschool Crew blog post, Truthquest History.

**Disclaimer – I received this product for free as a member of the 2011-12 The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew so that I could provide you with an honest review of it by our family.**

Action Alert

Homeschool, Reviews No Responses »

Mar 262012

We all know it’s important to be ever-vigilant about what our kids are doing on the internet. And while we KNOW that, and KNOW that the best way to do that is to supervise every moment, in reality, that’s easier said than done.

As eclectic homeschoolers, we use the internet – a LOT. We’re busy, active people; we’re not always home at the same time. It just isn’t practical or realistic to think that every moment a kid needs to use the computer, an adult is going to be in the house, let alone in the same room, occasionally peering over their shoulder.

That’s where internet safety software like Action Alert comes in. Action Alert is there when you can’t be.

Action Alert includes 8 internet safety tools in one easy-to-install software:

Access Control – This allows you to shut down the computer from elsewhere if you need to.
Activity Notification Alerts – The software sends you alerts via email or texts when questionable activity is detected.
Activity Video Recording – Up to 60 hours of computer use is recorded – you can see exactly what was happening on the computer while you were away. (This is pretty hard for the kids to argue with! It’s time-stamped, too!)
Time Allowance – So you can specify what times during the day when the computer can be used.
Site Blocking – Blocks inappropriate sites or sites you’ve chosen not to allow access to.
Content Filtering – Filters out unacceptable material during searching.
Keystroke Logging – Captures all usernames and passwords – especially important if you have a child that’s into keeping unsafe secrets.
Chat and Email Logging – Ensure that only safe conversations are happening, and have a record of conversations later, “just in case”

And just a few words about our personal experience with Action Alert:

Installation - I was a bit nervous about installing it. I haven’t had good luck with parental control software in the past. I installed on a fairly new Windows 7 computer. Installation went well, was easy, no conflicts.

Setup - Fairly straightforward. Reading the instructions helped. Re-reading them helped even more. The instructions are clear; it was my assuming I could figure it out without them that wasn’t so good.

The kids’ experience with it - It creeps out one of my teens. He didn’t like the fact that I could “see everything”. Of course, the friend he complained to told him that her mom could, too – so that pretty much ended the complaining. The younger kids didn’t care. Nobody really cares for the start page, and I’ve been meaning to see if I can change it, but haven’t yet. (I don’t have the one I want to change it to ready yet.) Also, we had one Log Error – but more on that in a moment.

My experience with it - It’s ok. I don’t really care for having to sit and watch the video – that’s tedious – but I’m not sure what a better option would be. (I don’t have texting, or get email on my phone.) Now that I think about it, I wish the video was divided into sections by webpage or computer program. (And yes, I realize that’s probably wishful thinking. But half the video on there one week was me installing firefox plugin updates, all mixed in with kid use!)

We’ve had one Log Error that was promptly remedied by the program once I entered the password. Other than that, no technical difficulties. Very happy with it.

Action Alert comes highly recommended. It’s been featured on NBC’s The Today Show, and won awards, including Disney’s iParenting Award. It’s the only internet safety solution endorsed by The Child Safety Network.

Action Alert is available in two versions, Free and Maximum Protection

The Free Version includes everything you need to set up a kid-safe computer in seconds. The Maximum Protection version, $29.99, is fully customizable, offers multiple user protection, and full social network monitoring.

To see what other crew members had to say, check out the TOS Homeschool Crew blog post, Action Alert.

**I received this product for free as a member of the 2011-12 The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew so that I could provide you with an honest review of it by our family.**

Hi-hum, Hi-hum, it’s off to hummingville we go…

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Mar 062012

It might seem a little bit early for Hummingbird season, but here in the Pacific Northwest, we have one species, Anna’s Hummingbird, that stays during the winter rather than migrates south. We’ve seen a few out and about – three on our back deck in just one day – and thought we’d better get a feeder up for them.

Hummingbird nectar is quick and easy to make, so there’s no need to buy the expensive already-prepared nectars sold in stores.

The ratio of water to sugar is 4:1.

We measured 1 cup sugar into a heat-safe bowl.

Then we boiled slighted more than four cups of water. (There needs to be four cups left after the water has been heated, so err on the side of too much, then measure. And I apologize for the picture – all our reasonably-sized pots are still packed!)

After measuring out four cups water, into the bowl it went. Chey stirred until all the sugar had dissolved. (I don’t think kids ever grow out of their amazement at watching powder vanish into water.)

And then it was time to put together the hummingbird feeder. The kids are slightly dubious when I claim it will not leak.

And we’re all done! The hummingbird feeder is, as Chey says, ready for its first customer.

Note: We also added a couple drops of red food coloring. From everything I’ve read, these days, that choice is a matter of personal preference – that while there may have been problems with food colorings from the 70s, there’s nothing in today’s food dyes that makes them dangerous for hummingbirds. I’m sort of amazed at how red the nectar looks in this pic – it was actually a very pale pink, so the majority of the “color” in this picture is coming from the reflection of the red plastic, and not the dye, which surprises me.

For more info on hummingbirds and hummingbird nectar check out About.com.

TOS K5 Learning

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Mar 042012

It’s a good thing that Cheyenne loves doing school on the compute; we’ve been blessed with several interesting sites for her to try out this year. Her latest foray has been into the land of K5 Learning.

K5 Learning is a web subscription service comprised of four subject areas:

Reading - to create strong readers and foster a love of reading. It covers phonemic awareness, phonics, sight words, vocabulary and reading comprehension.
Spelling - an advanced vocabulary program designed to improve language skills one word at a time, it features adaptive instruction, automatic word generation, an optimized visual interface, and a 150,000+ word database.
Math - increases self-confidence while building a deep understanding of math concepts such as numbers and operations, geometry, measurement (including time and money), algebraic thinking and data analysis.
Math Facts – progress is monitored on individual math facts until mastery is obtained on basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts.

Unsurprisingly, K5 Learning is for students in grades Kindergarten through 5th. They do plan to add a full set of grade 6 curriculum within a few months, followed by grade 7, but it is intended primarily for students in grades 4-5 who are working ahead of grade level. They do not recommend that students who are currently doing work above a 5th grade level start the trial and take the assessment test, as it will not provide the most accurate results.

This means that Cheyenne’s been at the top end of the spectrum, but that’s ok – she’s adaptable and aware it’s for a review, and she’s not the type to stress over parts that seem too easy, anyways – she’ll just enjoy the momentary respite, and keep going.

K5 Learning recommends that students use the program at least two days a week, and finds that most families use it 2-4 days a week, though many students will use it daily. It’s also suggested that shorter, more frequent sessions are more effective than fewer long ones – quite reasonable, especially when dealing with younger elementary age students. Cheyenne averaged five days a week, and seemed to make a reasonable amount of progress in that manner.

Originally created as an afterschool supplement to public schooling, K5 Learning works well as an interactive, fun addition to any homeschooling program. K5 Learning is designed to assess each student’s skills and then adapt to meet each student’s needs. Kids are able to work independently, while parents receive complete progress reports.

Something I did wish to point out: though K5 Learning was designed to be supplemental, it is not limited to review. The program includes instruction, so that students can be exposed to new material that they have not yet covered in their regular curriculum.

K5 Learning is easy to use. It’s totally web-based; there are no downloads and nothing to install. Another plus – kids can log in wherever they are, no need to wait til their home at “their” computer. More and more these days, we find ourselves in town, waiting for a sibling or three to get done with a meeting – with a laptop, there are plenty of places we can hang out at that have wifi.

K5 Learning offers a 14-day risk-free trial offer, with free math and reading assessments, and no credit card required.

Monthly subscription to K5 Learning is $25; addition children are $15 each. For a greater discount, a yearly subscription may be purchased, $199 for the first child, or $129 for each additional child.

To see what other crew members had to say, check out the TOS Homeschool Crew blog post, K5 Learning.

**I received this product for free as a member of the 2011-12 The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew so that I could provide you with an honest review of it by our family.**

Unscramble Reading

Homeschool, Reviews No Responses »

Feb 252012

As the piles of library books can attest, there’s no question that we have avid readers in the household, but it’s taken a lot of hard work to get there. Cheyenne has recently been testing out an online subscription service, Reading Eggs, that would have made the learning-to-read process a lot less stressful for all of us.

The Reading Eggs service is actually composed of two separate parts:
- Reading Eggs, aimed at 3 to 7-year-olds, for beginning and early readers, with 120 learn-to-read lessons and 96 spelling lessons, with 120 free worksheets that correspond to the lessons, and
- Reading Eggspress, aimed at 7-to-13 year olds, for those who can read early chapter books and beyond, with over 200 comprehension lessons and 600 ebooks.

Reading Eggs is divided into 12 map areas with 10 lessons each. Lessons are split into short, simple, components – it’s clearly designed to appeal to younger children with limited attention spans. The cheery cartoon characters give instructions in clearly spoken English; kids should easily learn their way around in Reading Eggs.

The Reading Eggs portion of the site was definitely too easy for Cheyenne. We played with it for a short while, just to see what it was like, and while it would have been a great tool for her to use when she was younger, she is definitely beyond it now.

Reading Eggspress, on the other hand, she loves. It’s interactive, it’s brightly colored, and she gets to earn eggs and “buy” virtual items. Reward systems like this appeal to her immensely, and as long as the goals are reasonably obtainable, she’s happy to work for them. The sense of accomplishment she gains is satisfying enough that it doesn’t matter the reward isn’t physical.

With daily use, she’s moving through the program fairly quickly – but then, she’s already a fairly fluent reader. There is plenty of material available to keep things fresh and interesting.

Reading Eggs would be an excellent choice for a beginning reader, especially at the yearly subscription price. The bright colors, cartoon style characters, and interactive nature make reading fun, not work – when learning to read is as appealing as playing a game, everybody wins.

My only recommendation – as usual, with this sort of thing – headphones are a absolute necessity. It helps both the student using the computer AND the rest of the household. The student is able to focus better, without being distracted by outside noises – and others are less likely to gather around the computer if they can’t hear it!

Interested, but want to try it out for yourself? No problem! Reading Eggs offers a 14-day free trial, plenty of time to see if it’s a good fit for your family.

Reading Eggs offers several subscription levels:
- $9.95 monthly (recurring, cancel at any time)
- $49.95 for 6 months
- $75.00 for 12 months
With the 6 and 12-month subscriptions, additional children may be added at the same time for a 50% discount off their subscription.

Reading Eggs also offers book and workbook bundles for purchase that are optional and may be used to reinforce learning.

To see what other crew members had to say, check out the TOS Homeschool Crew blog post, Reading Eggs.

**I received this product for free as a member of the 2011-12 The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew so that I could provide you with an honest review of it by our family.**

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