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By Shawna, on April 30th, 2013 
Despite my love of reading, my memories of [public] high school English are not all that… memorable. We spent a great deal more time talking about what other people had written – and what it “meant” – than we ever did writing… and writing fiction wasn’t even on the schedule unless you had time to fit an extra English class in your schedule. (Bor-ing!) If I’d had access to a book like the one we’re using now, Writing Fiction [in High School], I’m certain I’d be much more confident in my fiction writing . . . → Read More: Review: Writing Fiction [in High School]
By Shawna, on April 21st, 2013 
Progeny Press is a family-owned and operated publisher of literature study guides for all ages from kindergarten through high school. In business since 1992, over 100 study guides are currently available. Progeny Press strives to create materials that allow students to examine literature from a Christian perspective. We’ve had the opportunity to review two of their titles: The Hobbit Study Guide and the Eagle of the Ninth Study Guide. I’ll get to the specifics about each of these guides in a moment; first, let me tell you about the company and their . . . → Read More: Review: Progeny Press – Two Novel Study Guides
By Shawna, on November 8th, 2012 
It’s hard to find books these days that model the character qualities we want to see in our children. Often, while the modern story offers exciting adventures and unique characters, it’s light on moral truth and virtue.
We recently received two titles from Grace and Truth books, part of the Children’s Character Building Collection. With 11 volumes, the Children’s Character Building Collection is Grace and Truth Book‘s all-time best-seller for Christian family reading.
The two titles we read were:
. . . → Read More: Grace and Truth Books
By Shawna, on October 25th, 2012 
We recently received a set of ten colored Reading Rulers from Crossbow Education to try out. Designed to reduce eye strain and increase clarity for those with visual stress and dyslexia, the Duo Window Reading Rulers reduce glare, improve focus, assist in tracking the words along the page, and will work on either a gloss or matte surface. The Duo Window Rulers have two windows – one narrow, best for isolating a single line of text, and one wider, for reading entire paragraphs at a time.
In the . . . → Read More: Crossbow Education
By Shawna, on September 4th, 2012 
It’s no secret that I’m a firm believer of learning through games; a game takes the *work* out, and makes it fun, memorable, and easy to practice.
That said, when I heard there was a new literary game coming out, I jumped at the chance for our family to try it.
The game
Notable Novelists arrived with 54 cards in a sturdy box. The artwork is interesting, and though the artist pictures aren’t in a style that I care for, the kids think it’s cool, and that’s what really matters – that it appeals to . . . → Read More: A literary game of go fish
By Shawna, on August 26th, 2012 
Did you know that perennial homeschool favorite, Time4Learning, has a writing-specific site, too? It’s called Time4Writing, and quite a few of the Schoolhouse Crew members have been testing it out over the summer.
Time4Writing offers fourteen different courses covering elementary, middle and high school writing needs. (There is even a guide to choosing the correct course.) Each course is taught by a certified teacher who works one-on-one with the student to build writing skills. . . . → Read More: A time to write
By Shawna, on August 23rd, 2012 
Schoolhouse Review Crew members have been reading Mr. Pipes and the British Hymn Makers, by Douglas Bond. Mr. Pipes and the British Hymn Makers tells the story of two teens befriend an elderly English gentlemen called Mr. Pipes while on vacation in England. Through their relationship with Mr. Pipes, the two teens learn about famous British hymn writers and the value of traditional worship and praise.
Mr. . . . → Read More: Christian Liberty Press Mr. Pipes and the British Hymn Makers
By Shawna, on August 9th, 2012 
I’ve always been fascinated with words. In our home growing up, we had a huge dictionary, and it wasn’t unusual to find my dad reading through it as though it were a regular book, discovering new words as he went. We have a fascinating language, and know that English is full of words from many loan words from other languages, and know a few simple, common ones… but how many of us stop to wonder how it all began?
King Alfred’s English is just that story – and the tale is written . . . → Read More: Readable history of the English language
By Shawna, on August 7th, 2012 
Writing, to me, is a hard subject to teach. It’s always seemed so fluid and intangible, compared to something concrete, like math. Math has right, and wrong, there’s no perception, emotions, impressions involved – math does not care how you feel, what you believe, how you react. It simply is. There is no room for negotiation.
Words, though – they’re powerful. They can draw people in, captivate them – or shut them out. And to use words to their fullest potential, we have to know the rules before we are able to break them.
I don’t remember learning . . . → Read More: A simple plan for teaching writing
By Shawna, on May 22nd, 2012 
Cheyenne’s been testing out a writing program for me lately that’s right – and write – up her alley.
She’s crafty and hands on, and is forever working on some project. (Little scraps of paper on the floor? 90% chance of Chey)
So when we received the Write Shop Junior book (level D), and I saw how activity based it is, I knew that she was going to *love* all the projects… and that she might just enjoy herself while she was doing the writing, too.
We were send download editions (it’s . . . → Read More: The right workshop to write
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