A different kind of bible study

 Homeschool  No Responses »
May 162012
 

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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.**

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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:

  1. 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.
  2. 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.**

TOS K5 Learning

 Homeschool, Reviews  No Responses »
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.**

Great math game redux

 Homeschool, Reviews  No Responses »
Feb 102012
 

Math Rider has a new version out, and our family recently got to take it for a test run!

As a family, we had some mixed feelings going into this review –  we’d tried (and loved) the Math Rider math facts game last year (that review is here) –  and a couple kids were afraid they might have messed it up. (The kids’ words, not mine.)

I’m happy to report that we have come to the consensus that Math Rider, already a educational, yet attention-keeping game, has been made just a little bit better. I’m not able to directly compare versions to quantify what has changed, but we were told that the enhancements were made based on feedback and suggestions from current users. It seems to run more smoothly on the computer, and my younger two children –  the regular users of math practice software these days in our household –  tell me that it works better.

Also, those that have previously purchased the software need not worry –  updates are available for free to all current customers.

Almost all children need additional practice in the basic math facts to supplement their math lessons, regardless of what educational method is used – educational software like Math Rider allows students to work at their own pace, yet be challenged in a fun, interactive manner that encourages success.

Math Rider isn’t just boring math drill, like flash cards on a computer –  instead, practice is designed around a story mode, the “quests” that the student is sent on. The student travels on a horse from place to place –  so the student is the “rider” in the game. Each correct answer sends the horse further along, while an incorrect answer slows the horse so the right answer may be shown.

Math Rider adapts to the needs of the student, customising the game to the facts that the student actually needs to practice the most. Detailed statistics are kept, and these are accessible by the parent on a visual number table that makes it easy to see where the student needs more help.

A free 7–day trial of Math Rider is available –  download the game, try it out, and see if it is right for your family.

Math Rider is on sale until February 15th, just $37, saving $10 off the regular retail price.

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

**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.**

I See Cards

 Homeschool  No Responses »
Dec 152011
 

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If your family enjoys cooking and baking as much as mine does, it’s likely that you’ve spent quite a bit of time teaching fractions the old-fashioned way – following recipes with measuring cups and spoons. While that method works well as hands-on, real-life experience in measuring fractions, it doesn’t involve much practice in adding fractions unless you frequently double or triple recipes.

I’m usually in baking mode this time of year, and since we’re still houseless and staying with family, my normal cookie routine for the holidays isn’t happening. Instead, we’ve made do with a simple cake mix cookie recipe, and now I’m on a muffin kick. (I’ll share more about that soon – I want to take some pictures to go with it, and everyone keeps eating the muffins before I remember to take pictures!)

Chey and Chris have been helping out, of course, and we’ve been doubling the muffin recipe. It’s made me realize that while Chey has a strong understanding of fraction parts, she’s not very good at mentally adding the parts together.

We’ve recently been blessed with a fun new way to approach fractions. Fractazmic is a card game created by I See Cards, the company behind the award-winning Pyramath game. The card deck includes 60 cards divided into three suits: green tenths, blue twelfths, and red sixteenths. In addition to the numerals, each card also includes images depicting the amount on the card. Green tenths are illustrated by fluid in a bottle, while twelfths are shown by eggs in a carton and sixteenths with bugs on a ruler.

The concept and gameplay of Fractazmic is easy to learn, akin to rummy, but with fractions instead of straights. Cards are shuffled and dealt, seven each in a two-person game, five for three or four players. The top card is turned face-up and starts the discard pile, while the remaining cards are face-down in the draw pile. When cards are discarded during gameplay, they are placed in a row, so that each card may be seen, rather than in one stack with only the top card visible.

The goal of the game is to create “hands” by adding together cards in the same suit until they total one. During a player’s turn, they must choose whether to take a card from the top of the draw pile, or pick up one or more cards from the discard. If they choose the discard pile, the “farthest-down” card that they take must be immediately played in a hand, while cards above it may be used in the hand or kept. The game ends when a player is completely out of cards, and the player who created the greatest number of hands is the winner.

Like many items we review, Fractazmic isn’t adapted to a particular homeschooling method, nor is it “just for homeschoolers”. Speaking as an adult who is pretty good at doing math in my head, I was surprised at just how much Fractazmic challenged me. As soon as we started playing, I realized that, while I can convert fractions easily, adding fractions with different denominators, even to such a deceptively simple number as one, is not anywhere near as easy as it sounds. It takes practice.

As a result, Fractazmic games are not going to play as quickly as a similar round of rummy would, at least in the beginning. I’ve noticed that, as time goes by, and depending on who is playing, we’ve picked up the pace a little bit. Not too surprisingly, the kids are catching on far more quickly than I am. It’s filling in a mental math blindspot that I didn’t even know I had, and that’s a huge plus, in my opinion, for this game. If I’m missing it, despite how easily I can do most math in my head, then it’s defitely something that my kids need to practice!

The kids have enjoyed playing Fractazmic; thanks to the challenge of adding the fractions, the gameplay is different enough from other card games that there’s no risk of hearing something like “Mom, it’s just another …. game with different pictures.”

The cards are vividly colored, glossy and sturdy – this deck will hold up to regular use. Because we’ve had such a positive experience with Fractazmic, I plan to purchase the other three games available from I See Cards: Pyramath, Prime Bomb, and the original I See Cards game.

To see what other crew members had to say about both great products, check out the TOS Homeschool Crew blog post, I See Cards.

**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.**

Memoria Press – First Form Latin

 Homeschool, Reviews  1 Response »
Nov 032011
 

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The Latin language has always interested me, but my schooling didn’t include it as an option. Though I’m familiar with both Spanish and French, through school and community, my primary experience with Latin is on that basis – very lightly, through its connection with other languages, and not for itself.

One of the most difficult aspects of learning a language isn’t the obvious, like memorization or grammar – it’s whether or not you have a way to practice, and by doing so, keeping it fresh in your mind. Though I’ve spent much more time in the classroom studying French, my comfort level with Spanish is much greater, because I’m surrounded by native speakers and hear Spanish on a regular basis.
We recently had the opportunity to try out a Latin curriculum from Memoria Press which has a unique approach to language instruction. First Form Latin differs from other language programs, in that it teach grammar first, rather than vocabulary. The goal is to increase and retain understanding over the long term, rather than focus on short-term ability to translate.

Six weeks isn’t a sufficient length of time to make a determination about retention rates over the long term, but compared to other language-learning methods, I do appreciate the emphasis on grammar first.

Though topical vocabulary memorization in typical instruction is useful in rudimentary communication with others, that approach becomes overwhelming later in the curriculum, when verb conjugation is added in almost as an afterthought. With the basics of sentence construction taught first, without the vocabulary clutter, it seems much easier to understand.

First Form Latin is created for classical instruction, the goal of which is to teach people to learn to teach themselves. I have to admit, I don’t have a comprehensive understanding of the classical method, so I cannot relate portions of First Form Latin directly to it.

First Form Latin is specifically designed for a teacher that has no familiarity with Latin themselves. All lessons are completely scripted in the teacher’s manual. The material is remarkably easy to use, and preparation consists primarily of reviewing the lessons ahead of time. If you chose to purchase the DVDs, the video lessons would provide most of the actual instruction, freeing the parent to learn alongside the student, and ensuring proper pronunciation.

All print materials are black & white or monochrome, though there are some illustrations, this is not a curriculum for those that need pretty pictures or bells and whistles to entice them into learning. It’s simple and to the point, nothing extra here. The DVDs, too, follow this line of thinking – no distractions, just the material to cover. Students that learn best through hands-on activities would require some creative adjustments to provide a effective experience for them.

Two different packages are available: the basic First Form Latin package, which, for $55, includes: a student text, a student workbook, a book with quizzes and tests, a teacher’s manual, and a teacher’s answer key. It also includes a pronunciation CD. The more comprehensive First Form Latin Plus package includes 3 DVDs with lessons, plus a complete set of flashcards.

First Form Latin is intended for grades 5 and up, though it would be appropriate for younger students who have complete Latina Christiana I. It’s the equivalent of one year of high school foreign language.

My primary concern with First Form Latin is that, while the no-frills approach is fantastic for reducing distractions and keeping the focus on the material, some students will just plain struggle with the lack of visual appeal. Though I personally like the simplicity, and my 10th grade student was fine with it, it was difficult to keep my two younger students, 8th and 6th, focused. They need more interactive stimulation, and it was a challenge to keep them interested and participating.

It’s a great curriculum and easy for any parent to use as-is or adapt, thanks to the extensive details, but a parent would need to carefully consider whether or not it would be the right approach for their individual student.

Memoria Press has plenty of samples of First Form Latin for your perusal on their website, including a table of contents, the student textbook, the student workbook, the teacher manual, and an example of a recitation.

First Form Latin may be purchased directly from Memoria Press. Second Form Latin is also available, and a third year, Third Form Latin can be pre-ordered. Other products available from Memoria Press that were reviewed by Homeschool Crew members are Classical Phonics and First Start Reading, for K-2 students learning to read.

To see what other crew members had to say about these products, check out the TOS Homeschool Crew blog post, Memoria Press.

**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.**

Wits & Wagers by Northstar Games

 Homeschool, Reviews  2 Responses »
Oct 252011
 

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We have a new favorite board game in the house!

We recently received two board games from Northstar Games to review, and today I’m chattering about Wits & Wagers Family. (I’ll be talking about Say Anything Family on Thursday, but there’s a link further down the page if you’re curious before then!)

On the box, Wits & Wagers Family says it takes 2 minutes to learn, and 20 to play. In my experience, that usually means that it’ll take you at least 15 minutes to figure out what to do, and explain it to the kids. Not so on this game – their “learning curve” estimate was right on the money. A quick read through the rules, and we were playing – and no need to refer back to the rules to figure out details in the middle of the game.

Yes, it really *was* that easy to understand – I was trying to fight off a migraine the first day we played, and we played three enjoyable games despite it!

The concept is simple. A question is asked, and each player writes down their own guess. All answers are numbers, and the goal is to get as close to the answer as possible, without going over. (Think Price is Right – just like that.)

The answer boards are placed face down on the table until everyone is done answering, and then they are flipped over and sorted into order. A number “1″ board is included; it always starts the order, just in case everyone goes over! It’s fine if two answers are the same – just place them next to each other, and if that is the correct answer, then each scores.

Once the answers are sorted, the second part starts. Each player has two meeples (people tokens), one large, one small. The meeples are placed on whichever answers you like – you don’t have to choose your own answer, and you may split them between two answers if you desire. The big meeple is worth two points, the small worth one.

Once everyone is satisfied with the placement of their meeples, it’s time to read the answer. Also included with the answer is a related fact that places the question and answer in context. Some educational, some surprising, and some are just plain bizarre. (We had a lot of laughter during this game – something we can use right now!)

Scoring is easy and quick. The person with the closest answer earns one point for the correct answer. Each big meeple on that board earns two, and each small meeple one.

Points are then marked on the scoreboard, the cards move to the left, and the game continues until someone reaches 15 points, the winning amount.

This is a great concept for a trivia game, because, as we quickly discovered, it isn’t dependent on knowing the answer to the question – it’s just as easy to win if you’re good at guessing who would be most likely to answer the question right! The kids quickly realized to follow my lead on basic facts, like the number of feet in a mile, or how many teaspoons are in a tablespoon, but for how many Disney princesses or Webkins there are, my 9-year-old-daughter is the house expert. Almost all sports questions are going to get nothing more reliable than a wild guess from me – a detail that had my oldest declaring that he wasn’t going to trust my answers anymore!


The fact that the rules can be condensed into a 30-second explanation is a huge bonus that makes Wits & Wagers Family perfect for a party. With the Family version, you can be sure that the questions will be appropriate for all ages. The game box states that it’s for ages 8 to adult; with help reading the questions, this could go as young as 4 or 5.

It also states that it is for 3-10 people. It could be played with just two, if need be, though it might be a little less lively. With more than five players, simply divide into teams. If you have more than 10 players, teams could consist of three or more players, though the larger the teams are, the more difficult it would be to reach a consensus on answers and meeple placement.

Wits & Wagers Family includes 150 question cards (two questions each), 5 dry erase answer boards, 1 dry erase score board, 5 dry erase pens, 5 large meeples, 5 small meeples, and full-color, easy to understand rules, all packaged in a nice, sturdy box.

The primary difference between Wits & Wagers Family and the original Wits & Wagers game is the emphasis on family-friendly questions. I’d love to have more questions for this game. We will probably end up purchasing the orginal game and the expansion pack for it, since my kids are on the older end these days, but I’d really like to see an expansion pack made available for the family version.

Wits and Wagers Family is available directly from Northstar Games, and is also carried by several national retailers.

To see what other crew members had to say about this product, check out the TOS Homeschool Crew blog post, Northstar Games – Wits & Wagers.

**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.**

Apologia – Educating The WholeHearted Child

 Homeschool, Reviews  2 Responses »
Oct 232011
 

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It doesn’t matter if you’re brand new to homeschooling or a veteran, the new edition of Educating the WholeHearted Child has something for you. I was a little intimidated when it arrived – it’s a HUGE book – 8.5″ x 11″, over 370 black & white pages and totally stuffed full of information.

Intended for parents of children age 4 to 14, Educating the WholeHearted Child isn’t a curriculum – instead, I’d call it a guide for living a “learning life”. Grouped into four sections of Home, Learning, Methods, and Living, the suggestions within are just that – ideas that you can use as-is or adapt for your homeschool style, preferred teaching and learning methods.

There’s a lot of ground covered in these pages – you’re not going to pick it up one day and read it through, then never refer to again. I’d actually recommend that a first read-through be accompanied by either sticky notes or pencil and paper.

That’s actually the only thing that I would change about Educating the WholeHearted Child; I really feel that it needs a comprehensive index. While the chapter titles are good, overall categories for the topics included within, they’re on the vague side. I discovered rather quickly that it’s quite frustrating to want to re-read a section, and spending way more time looking than I should have, because I couldn’t figure out what chapter it might be in, and there is no index for cross-referencing.

Topics include ways to add “learning moments”, how to create a home environment that naturally encourages learning, subject-specific ways to enhance learning. I was surprised, a bit, at chapter 2, The Christian Homeschool; it might be more accurately titled Comparisons Between Homeschooling and Public Schooling, and Other Things About Dealing With The Outside World. If you’re feeling conflicted or attacked about homeschooling, I’d recommend this chapter to you – it alone is better than many books written with that specific purpose in mind.

Sidebars throughout the book include relevant biblical quotes interspersed with words from historical figures, modern homeschool proponents, and research data. Those snippets alone could make for a pretty interesting book! I actually sat down and read through just them one evening.

The authors of Educating the WholeHearted Child, Clay and Sally Clarkson, are the parents of Read for the Heart‘s author, Sarah Clarkson. Though Educating the WholeHearted Child does have short recommended book lists, I would absolutely recommend that you purchase Read for the Heart as a companion book. I reviewed Read for the Heart last spring, and loved it.

One caveat: Educating the WholeHearted Child is a Christian book, so if you’re adamantly opposed to mixing religion and education, this title isn’t for you. However, if you’re open-minded enough to mentally adapt the information presented to your own faith in particular, or secular morals in general, this book is a valuable tool – and I haven’t seen a similarly quality title in the secular market.

Educating the WholeHearted Child ($22) and Read for the Heart ($17) may be purchased from Apologia.

To see what other crew members had to say about this product, check out the TOS Homeschool Crew blog post, Apologia – Educating the Wholehearted Child.

**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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