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.**

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.**

Science Weekly

 Homeschool, Reviews  No Responses »
Apr 082011
 

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I’m ALWAYS  on the lookout for new science materials. Something new, something different, something fun, something simple, etc. So I’m at least somewhat familiar with the main science curricula out there created for homeschoolers.

We were recently sent an issue of Science Weekly to review. Each edition of Science Weekly is available in six different levels, individualized for grades K-6. (The issue for 5th/6th grade is the same.) The theme of the issue was Fractions – not exactly your typical science topic, but useful, since so many science projects do require an understanding of fractions for measuring.

I was pleasantly surprised to see how much effort had been put into adapting each level to be appropriate for the age group. The changes in word difficulty, depth of detail, and work required are impressively detailed – these aren’t token changes. To examine the issues for yourself and see what I’m talking about, download samples of the Coral Reefs edition here. Teacher’s notes for each level, with supplemental information and answer keys, are also available.

Subjects covered seem random but full of intriguing variety. For the 2010-11 school year, topics covered include: Pulleys, Cats, The Flu, Glass, Fractions, Composting, The Science of Movies, The Science of Money, Scuba Diving, Poisonous Animals, Caves, Teeth, Deserts, Green Buildings, The Moon.

All in all, Science Weekly would make a fun science supplement for grade schoolers, and Level E could possibly be adapted to interest older students, especially if working alongside younger students. Lab projects are different in each level, so it would be possible to combine and extend the length of each unit.

However – there are a couple things that concern me. Science Weekly’s website describes science weekly as a supplement for public school science – but in emails sent to homeschoolers, it was implied that it would be a more comprehensive curriculum then what they are currently using.

Quotes from the email:

Science Weekly offers an interdisciplinary and inquiry approach to enhance the homeschool teacher’s knowledge and skills in teaching science and literacy.

I’d have to say that this statement might be accurate – but Science Weekly comes across more like a science reader – reading practice on a science topic – then an actual science curriculum. Which might be all well and good for a public school… but most homeschoolers expect actual curriculum. Instead, these are like light unit studies.

Another quote:

Science Weekly is an equitable solution that guarantees each homeschooler an exposure to a body of organized instruction in Science.

Ouch. Several quibbles with this statement. It’s 15 light unit studies per year, not even enough to fill half the weeks in a short school year. It’s also very randomly distributed subjects. It’s not comprehensive enough to “solve” anything, in my opinion, nor is there anyway it could be considered very “organized”.

As for “equitable”… I’m not even sure what they intended to say with that phrase. Overall, it’s not an email that’s likely to win homeschool fans, and I’d definitely suggest that they run further adwriting past a homeschooler or two before sending it out. Again, this is a publication created for and marketed to public schools, which probably explains the awkwardness.

Also a bit awkward: the pricing scale. For classrooms, pricing is currently $4.95 per student per year – that’s with a 20 student minimum. Teaching Notes are free for orders with over 25 student copies. For individual copies, a year’s subscription is $19.95… rather highly priced, in my opinion, for one 11×17 sheet, folded in half, per issue, 15 times a year.

Science Weekly could be a fantastic, fun, spontaneous supplement for the homeschool market – but due to the current sales and pricing structure, I just can’t wholeheartedly recommend it. The price is just too high to make it a good value.

What I’d really love to see is for Science Weekly to take into consideration that the homeschool market is a totally different ballgame then public schools, and re-think it’s individual offerings. This is how I’d change it:

  • Sell subscriptions that include all the levels, plus the teacher’s notes. Make it one reasonable rate. $120 per year for what works out to 105 sheets of 11×7 copy paper, counting the teacher’s notes, isn’t something anyone is going to consider acceptable.
  • Better yet, they’ve already made a step into online issues and downloadable pdfs with their “new interactive format“. Offer a subscription to this format at a rate comparable to competitors, and homeschoolers will sign up.
  • Or take it even further – this is what I’d see as ideal. Sell subscriptions to upcoming years as ebooks. Offer past years in year-bundles or as individual titles. Homeschoolers, as a rule, LOVE unit studies, especially for science, and these are perfect. Let us pick and choose which issues – or all issues – and make some money off your backlist at the same time! 2010-11 is Volume 27. The idea of 26 more years worth of issues just sitting around when they could easily sell as $3-5 ebooks (with all levels and teacher’s notes)… well, I just can’t believe they haven’t already done it.

I’m actually considering purchasing a subscription for a year, of the most challenging level, E. I think we could easily adapt it for the kids next year. But if I had several gradeschoolers that I needed different levels for – probably wouldn’t happen.

To sum it all up: I’m not fond of the marketing and pricing, but because it IS a great product, I’d really like to see some improvements made in those areas.

To see what other crew members had to say about this product, check out the TOS Homeschool Crew blog post, Science Weekly.

**I received this product for free as a member of the 2010-11 The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew so that I could provide you with an honest review of it by our family.**

Faith-based fiction: The Chronicles of Peleg

 Homeschool, Reviews  No Responses »
Oct 012010
 

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I admit it. In our house, we generally read for pure entertainment. It would be stretching the truth to claim anything less. It’s pretty difficult to become an avid reader if you don’t actually enjoy reading.

For the real book addicts, though, we’ll try pretty much anything once. My dad is like that. I once caught him reading a category romance that I’d picked up in a 3 for $1 bin – he’d run out of reading material. Reading straight the dictionary or an encyclopedia, same difference: those were normal in the house I grew up in. Read, regardless of what it is. And he passed that trait on to me.

Didn’t realize until this last month just how much of that my children have inherited. Sure, my teen will randomly read children’s books, and my 10-yr-old likes the encyclopedia, but since I’ve worked so hard to keep a (very) large variety of typical children’s books in the house, I just don’t see it often among my children.

So we have fantasy, we have mystery, we have a little bit of everything mainstream – mainstream is plentiful, and easy to pick up used copies cheaply.

Faith-based fiction, though – people tend to keep. And it is often from smaller publishing houses, making the price a little higher, and the public reach a little less. All of these  combine to mean that we have very little faith-based fiction in our house… and I hadn’t even noticed the lack.

Sure, there are many titles that encourage good character, but few that exemplify daily life in a faith.

So when we had the opportunity to review Foundlings, book 1 of The Chronicles of Peleg, I asked my older children to read it, uncertain of what their reaction might be. An average-length paperback novel, it offers an intriguing cover that aroused curiosity while we waited our turn.

Aimed at middle grades based on the difficulty level, but appropriate for all ages, Foundlings rightly claims to offer a historical adventure without magic, evolution, or humanism.

My children are comfortable with books that include a myriad of ideas – I desire them to be able to discern the truth for themselves, and as such, believe they must have some experience of learning how to do so. Oddly enough, though, due to publishing’s vagaries and my lack of funds, I’d neglected to provide them with the opposite – books that unashamedly present faith without any allegorical trappings.

We all loved the story, the adventure – but the one thing that keep coming up during our discussion afterwards was how, in the words of my oldest, it was “too bright and shiny, almost blinding in its show of faith”.

I really struggled with what they were trying to tell me.

The conclusion that we finally came to was that while the story itself is fantastic, they felt that at times, the constant reminder of the “purpose” of the book was distracting, a bit more then necessary.

Another way this message came across was during our discussion of who we might recommend the book to. The kids heartily agreed that they would offer it to friends that they know are believers, but that they would be hesitant to recommend it to those who were not.

It’s perfect as a fun, yet quality, read for those of faith. It’s a fantastic read.

As a tool for outreach, I can’t recommend it. Used as an initial introduction to faith, the front-and-center status of religion without much background information would be coming on too strong for many.

And if you children are like mine, under-exposed to faith-based books, expect a bit of puzzlement along with their enjoyment. And plan to include books in the future, like book 2, Paladins, that address both faith and entertainment value.

Foundlings, The Chronicles of Peleg, Book 1 may be purchased from Zoe and Sozo Publishing for $11.95. The second book in the series, Paladins, is also available for the same price.

To see what other crew members had to say about this product, check out the TOS Homeschool Crew blog post, Zoe and Sozo Publishing.

**I received this product for free as a member of the 2010-11 The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew so that I could provide you with an honest review of it by our family.**

2010 Schoolhouse Planner – An absolute steal of a deal!

 Homeschool  No Responses »
Jul 232010
 

Wow. I’d been wishing and asking for a deal so I could rationalize purchasing the 2010 Schoolhouse Planner, and oh boy, did The Old Schoolhouse come through. Wonder if they had this planned all along, or if they got sick of my whining? (Somehow, I don’t think I’m anywhere near that powerful… )

From now until midnight August 5, when you purchase the 2010 Schoolhouse Planner, you’ll get 27 ebooks free, a $190 value.

That Travel the World planner module that I reviewed the other day? It’s included. And so are ALL 23 other modules that they’ve released in the last two years.

And there are three other books, but honestly, I didn’t pay any attention whatsoever the first time around, I was so excited about the Planner and modules. I’ll have to go look again just to see what they are.

Ah, ok. It’s a WeE-book Insect Science ebook bundle. Perfect choice for summer, at least around here. (Between the bugs and the frogs and the lizards… sheesh.)

When I was prepping for the Travel the World review, I went and checked to see what topics the other modules included.

Here’s the list:

  • Travel The World
  • Insects Galore
  • God Created All
  • Wonders of Flight
  • Beloved Bible Stories
  • Ring In The New Year
  • Out Of This World
  • Checks & Balances
  • Play It Safe
  • Wondrous Weather
  • Adventures In Reading
  • Summer Fun
  • Let Freedom Ring
  • Remarkable Art
  • Wonders of the World
  • Adventurous Explorers!
  • Presidents of the Past
  • Cruisin’ the Country
  • Let’s Be Scientists!
  • Amusing Mathematics
  • God’s World of Extremes
  • Music Mania
  • All About Inventors
  • Celebrate the Holidays

I was curious, and interested - but my pathetic homeschool budget meant that, even going the economical route and getting the packs, it just wasn’t going to happen.

I’m just sort of in awe at the moment, so forgive me if I’m sputtering and a bit disjointed – I’m excited and I really, really, REALLY want to go wander through those books – but I’m being nice and sharing the details first. It’s tough, believe me. *I’m thinking FUN! print, print, print – and oh yeah, I need to order ink today.*

Anyways. You’ve heard way more then enough from me. And I’m ready to dive in – and since the  Planner-saturated water looks so inviting and cool, why don’t you hop over and take a look, and think about joining me? If you’ve been thinking about buying it anyway, and just waiting for a great deal, this is the time. Pretty sure that it’s the best deal they’re going to have planner-wise… it’s far better then I’d even had the nerve to wish for, let alone expect.

If you’ve already purchased the planner before today, I’ve heard rumors that you have some sort of cool email – so make sure you check your inbox.

Disclaimer: Just in case you didn’t catch it above, no, nobody gave me this one for free in exchange for a review. I got an email today with the info, and promptly ran off to check it out.  I am a The Old Schoolhouse affiliate, though, so if you order after clicking though my links on this post, I’ll get a small percentage.

Homeschool Crew – Travel The World Schoolhouse Planner Module

 Homeschool  3 Responses »
Jul 192010
 

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Travel the WorldThe Homeschool Crew has set sail, searching for great new products to share with other homeschoolers. Homeschool Crew members are provided with products for free in order to share them with you. You’ll always have my honest opinion, so jump on in and explore with me! Our first stop is at The Old Schoolhouse...

If you’re looking for a fun unit study on geography, the June 2010 module of the Schoolhouse Planner, Travel The World, might be the way to go. More of a general overview then an in-depth study, this activity-based ebook has 50 pages with a variety of materials, including worksheets, lapbook printables, maps, copywork, and a plethora of links.

Designed to be used by the whole family at once, most of the worksheets are appropriate for late grade school or middle school, though my older student enjoyed them due to the puzzle-style content. The “high school expansion” section could be also be used with younger children.

It’s economical: most printables are in black & white, so a copy can be made for each student, but the “text” portion of the book is in color, sometimes with multiple images per page, so we just printed one for everyone to share.

Additional items that will be helpful to have on hand:

  • Computer with internet access for kids to use for reference and game/quiz links
  • Globe or world maps
  • Geography book with regional description information
  • Encyclopedia

Activity rather then lesson-based, it’s very flexible; do each part straight through, or pick and choose, it’s up to you. I provided the kids with all the materials at once, and let them decide what order to work in. That spread resource use out enough that we didn’t have a line of children all stuck while waiting to use the same item, always a potential stumbling block in our house.

Adaptable to any learning or teaching style, it worked well for us with a bit of light guidance and direction. Mine are fairly comfortable with researching a given topic and finding information for lapbooks. I did find myself wishing that lapbook parts had been included specifically to go along with the vocabulary worksheets. Nowhere in the activities were the meanings of those words used or discussed, and we ended up creating our own booklets with that information.

An abundance of quality links; many were added to the kids’ resource and game bookmarks for future use. Some will provide the most benefit by returning occasionally over time.

Preparation time is minimal; printing materials and gathering resources. Teaching time will depend on the particular students involved, and could range from minimal with older students to intensive with younger students who aren’t able to effectively research yet.

Individual reactions: We enjoy unit studies, but this one was a bit more broad-spectrum then we’re used to. It highlights the main points of geography, which would work well as an introduction or a refresher, rather then for complete understanding. My older students felt the worksheets were “easy”, but still enjoyed participating, thanks to the puzzle-style worksheets. (And they’re always happy to do anything cut-and-paste or on the computer.) My detail-oriented, perfectionist 5th grader also caught an error on the fill-in-the-blanks page, #3, that none of his siblings did. That required some mom-intervention to figure out what the answer was actually supposed to be.

Don’t be mislead by the title - my initial expectation, was that the theme would be something “fluffy” related to summertime travel or vacation time, perhaps common places and activities that people go and do. Instead, I found a hefty amount of solid geography material with a wide selection of ideas to choose from.

Travel the World is may be purchased from The Old Schoolhouse for $7.95. New modules are available each month as add-ons to the Schoolhouse Planner, but it’s not necessary to have the planner to make use of the modules; each module is a stand-alone unit study.

To see what other crew members had to say about this product, check out the TOS Homeschool Crew blog post, TOS – Travel the World E-Book (June 2010).

**I received this product for free as a member of the 2010-11 The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew so that I could provide you with an honest review of it by our family.**

June Module spread

High School Homeschool Help

 Homeschool  No Responses »
Apr 112010
 

We all have difficulties to face, fears to overcome, and crazy things that life throws in our way. As homeschoolers, one of our greatest stresses as parent educators is “What if we’re just not enough?”

When a child attends public school, the parent has a false sense of security. The teachers are the ones involved in the day-to-day instruction, so the parent will often blame the teacher when things go wrong. They neglect to realize that the ultimate responsibility lies with those it truly matters to, the individual family.

As homeschoolers, we don’t have that buffer. We know exactly who is responsible, and it’s very important to use that our children be educated well, or we wouldn’t have started  homeschooling in the first place.

As homeschool parents, we also tend feel a bit isolated. It can be difficult to find another parent we know personally who has survived the same challenges we’re now fighting – and uncomfortable to admit that we’re seeking support.

One solution for this is inspirational and encouraging books, written by other homeschoolers who have been there. Read them ahead of time, and refer back to them in times of crisis. There is always someone who has taken the path before you – take heart from them, and let God guide your steps.

Help, Lord, I’m Getting Ready to Start Homeschooling My High Schooler! published by The Old Schoolhouse, is a collection of essays in ebook format from parents who have successfully navigated the high school years, despite a variety of roadblocks. The homeschooling methods and the challenges vary, but common factors remain: a determination to do the best they can for their children, and a faith in God to help them through, knowing that with His guidance, anything is possible.

These are real families, with real circumstances. Their experiences range from homeschool only to homeschool/public school hybrid and transfers, and their reasons for homeschooling cover the entire spectrum: medical issues, learning disabilities, family preferences, extracurricular activities, and God’s will. There is something here that every family will connect with at some point: yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

So your children aren’t high school age yet, or you don’t have any special medical or learning issues. I’d still recommend that you check out this book, for a couple of reasons. First, that homeschooling may be easy sailing at the moment, things can always change. The problems and ideas that these families share aren’t just for those families – reading their stories as a whole helped me to realize that while the details may differ, many of the solutions have an underlying similarity and grace – we just need to seek it.

We ARE enough. We’re better then the alternatives, because it matters to us, the parents, more then it could possibly matter for anyone else. A book like Help, Lord, I’m Getting Ready to Start Homeschooling My High Schooler! can help us remember that – and give us strength and courage for the journey.

I found this book to be excellent encouragement as my oldest child completes his last year of middle school, and my only real complaint with it is a style issue. The quote circles in the center of some pages are a bit rough on the eyes, but that’s a slight visual annoyance, well worth ignoring for the wealth of positive affirmations!

Help, Lord, I’m Getting Ready to Start Homeschooling My High Schooler! can be purchased for $12.45 from The Old Schoolhouse Store.

If you’re looking for additional homeschooling high school resources, check out Homeschooling The High Schooler from The Old Schoolhouse Store. With a focus more on details then inspiration, it makes a good complementary text, and will allow you to cover most possible concerns between the two books.