I just read the Summer 2008 edition of the The Old Schoolhouse Magazine in digital format, and I completely enjoyed it.
The navigation at the top of the page made it so easy to find what I was looking for. I could go to the Table of Contents and click on the link to the article I wanted to read, or search for a particular topic.
I enjoyed that I could click on the link in the advertisements that interested me, and be instantly directed to their web page. That is so much easier than making a list or marking the pages and going back later!
The magazine is full of interesting and relevant articles, ranging in subject from adoption to legal issues to homeschooling special needs children. I especially enjoyed the interviews with people who are experienced in different homeschooling issues.
I would highly recommend The Old Schoolhouse Magazine to each of my homeschooling friends. There is something to touch the heart and broaden the mind of everyone.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Saturday, August 9, 2008
The Schoolhouse Planner
I downloaded a copy of The Schoolhouse Planner, and it's official: I'm in L O V E!!! The cost is $39 and it is well-worth every penny.
The planner includes yearly calendars for 2008 and 2009, as well as monthly calendars, which run from July 2008 through June 2009. The monthly calendars are printed on a two-page spread with plenty of room to write out our plans for each day.
Each month provides a table of interesting facts, such as famous composers (September), periodic table with elements (December), and important United States documents (June). Also included are informative articles, including Learning with Unit Studies (August), Must I Teach Geography? (January), and Chore Training Tips (April). The articles are followed by a list of resource links. Each month section concludes with easy-to-follow recipes.
It's hard to choose a favorite part of the planner, but since I'm an incredible sucker for forms and lists, I would have to say that the next two sections are my favorites.
The first section is filled with homeschooling forms, such as grading and progress reports and memory logs. Several of the forms have more than one version, making them practical for a wide variety of needs.
The second section is made up of household forms. Examples in this section include menu/grocery forms, chore forms, and various financial and general household forms.
The thing I love most about these two sections is that I can fill in the forms on the computer and print them out, rather than having to write it all out by hand.
I am very impressed with The Schoolhouse Planner, and I would highly recommend it to all my homeschooling friends.
The planner includes yearly calendars for 2008 and 2009, as well as monthly calendars, which run from July 2008 through June 2009. The monthly calendars are printed on a two-page spread with plenty of room to write out our plans for each day.
Each month provides a table of interesting facts, such as famous composers (September), periodic table with elements (December), and important United States documents (June). Also included are informative articles, including Learning with Unit Studies (August), Must I Teach Geography? (January), and Chore Training Tips (April). The articles are followed by a list of resource links. Each month section concludes with easy-to-follow recipes.
It's hard to choose a favorite part of the planner, but since I'm an incredible sucker for forms and lists, I would have to say that the next two sections are my favorites.
The first section is filled with homeschooling forms, such as grading and progress reports and memory logs. Several of the forms have more than one version, making them practical for a wide variety of needs.
The second section is made up of household forms. Examples in this section include menu/grocery forms, chore forms, and various financial and general household forms.
The thing I love most about these two sections is that I can fill in the forms on the computer and print them out, rather than having to write it all out by hand.
I am very impressed with The Schoolhouse Planner, and I would highly recommend it to all my homeschooling friends.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Landmark's Freedom
We discovered Landmark's Freedom last year at our homeschool convention. Overall, we enjoyed the curriculum. Here are the specifics...
Bible
We bought 2nd grade Bible for Chris. The first day he worked on vocabulary. He liked learning how to look words up in the glossary. The next 2 days were stories with some questions following about the story. I found it was more effective and easier for him to remember the details if I paraphrased, rather than reading the story word-for-word. The 4th day was review, which, I have to say, was a bit challenging for him...and even me at times. The 5th day was a quiz, which, again was challenging.
We bought 6th grade for Corey and Chandler, because it was an overview of all the books of the Bible. Again, the first day was vocabulary, which they did fine on. The 2nd day was reading a survey of a couple of books of the Bible, along with a passage from one of those books. The third day was questions from their reading. They did fine on the part that was from the survey, but I think because we used a different version (NIV verses KJV), they struggled with that part. The 4th day was review, and the 5th day was a quiz.
We started out using the Bible memory verses suggested, but towards the end of the year I assigned verses about particular issues we were dealing with.
History
We used the history program for Chris in 2nd grade. He enjoyed getting to know a little about each of our Presidents....and could name them in order! I discovered some interesting facts that I hadn't known, too. And I memorized the Presidents right along with Chris.
The only negative thing I would say about the history is that some of the questions they asked were a little too detailed.
English
We bought the English for Chris as well. There was a lot of writing in it, which was challenging in the beginning. But by the end of the year he was doing well. I thought it was a good curriculum. He learned the basics in an easy-to-understand format.
We also used the English curriculum for Kaelyn (11th grade). She was challenged by the amount of writing, but it was good for her. We both thought some of the writing topics were odd.
Science
We used 2nd grade science for Chris. I found it was easier if I paraphrased some of the information in these books as well. We did learn some interesting facts about bugs and sea creatures!
We used 6th grade science for Corey and 7th grade science for Chandler. Like the Bible, they started with vocabulary the first day. Then they had reading, questions, and a review. They closed out the week with a quiz. They both liked the curriculum well enough, although we agreed that it didn't provide enough experiments as we would have liked.
In summary, I would recommend Landmark's Freedom for those who like workbooks. It's not as hands-on as we would like.
Bible
We bought 2nd grade Bible for Chris. The first day he worked on vocabulary. He liked learning how to look words up in the glossary. The next 2 days were stories with some questions following about the story. I found it was more effective and easier for him to remember the details if I paraphrased, rather than reading the story word-for-word. The 4th day was review, which, I have to say, was a bit challenging for him...and even me at times. The 5th day was a quiz, which, again was challenging.
We bought 6th grade for Corey and Chandler, because it was an overview of all the books of the Bible. Again, the first day was vocabulary, which they did fine on. The 2nd day was reading a survey of a couple of books of the Bible, along with a passage from one of those books. The third day was questions from their reading. They did fine on the part that was from the survey, but I think because we used a different version (NIV verses KJV), they struggled with that part. The 4th day was review, and the 5th day was a quiz.
We started out using the Bible memory verses suggested, but towards the end of the year I assigned verses about particular issues we were dealing with.
History
We used the history program for Chris in 2nd grade. He enjoyed getting to know a little about each of our Presidents....and could name them in order! I discovered some interesting facts that I hadn't known, too. And I memorized the Presidents right along with Chris.
The only negative thing I would say about the history is that some of the questions they asked were a little too detailed.
English
We bought the English for Chris as well. There was a lot of writing in it, which was challenging in the beginning. But by the end of the year he was doing well. I thought it was a good curriculum. He learned the basics in an easy-to-understand format.
We also used the English curriculum for Kaelyn (11th grade). She was challenged by the amount of writing, but it was good for her. We both thought some of the writing topics were odd.
Science
We used 2nd grade science for Chris. I found it was easier if I paraphrased some of the information in these books as well. We did learn some interesting facts about bugs and sea creatures!
We used 6th grade science for Corey and 7th grade science for Chandler. Like the Bible, they started with vocabulary the first day. Then they had reading, questions, and a review. They closed out the week with a quiz. They both liked the curriculum well enough, although we agreed that it didn't provide enough experiments as we would have liked.
In summary, I would recommend Landmark's Freedom for those who like workbooks. It's not as hands-on as we would like.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Easy Grammar
We used Easy Grammar 6 and Easy Grammar Plus this year.
Easy Grammar requires little to no planning on the part of the teacher, and it's relatively inexpensive. The directions are easy to understand, and the boys were able to do their work independently. We got the Teacher's Edition, so the rules, answers, and student pages were all in one place.
Easy Grammar does not use diagramming. It depends on what you think of diagramming as to whether that's a positive or negative aspect.
Easy Grammar is solely a grammar curriculum. There are no writing assignments or lessons.
I would recommend Easy Grammar for a simple, inexpensive, easy-to-use grammar curriculum. I would not recommend it for someone who is looking for a more comprehensive language arts program.
Easy Grammar requires little to no planning on the part of the teacher, and it's relatively inexpensive. The directions are easy to understand, and the boys were able to do their work independently. We got the Teacher's Edition, so the rules, answers, and student pages were all in one place.
Easy Grammar does not use diagramming. It depends on what you think of diagramming as to whether that's a positive or negative aspect.
Easy Grammar is solely a grammar curriculum. There are no writing assignments or lessons.
I would recommend Easy Grammar for a simple, inexpensive, easy-to-use grammar curriculum. I would not recommend it for someone who is looking for a more comprehensive language arts program.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Math-U-See
We've been using Math-U-See for a few years now, and it's DEFINITELY a keeper!
Each level includes the following:
On the DVD, Mr. Demme teaches a small class the concept of the lesson. I usually watch the DVD with my child, although my older children may sometimes watch it on their own.
The Teacher's Manual also has an explanation of the concept. If my child does not fully understand the concept from the DVD, or just has questions, we follow-up with the Teacher's Manual. It also has all of the answers to the exercises and the tests.
The Student Text has 2-3 pages of problems specifically using the concept being taught in that lesson. It also includes 3 pages of review sheets for each lesson, which have problems from past lessons, as well as the current lesson.
The Text Booklet has a test for each lesson, as well as unit tests, and a final exam.
The basic manipulatives are used from the beginning. They are color-coded, which makes it easy for the child to quickly identify the "number" they are looking for.
The fraction overlays are awesome! They really help a child to be able to *see* what 1/4 or 3/5 looks like.
The decimal inserts snap onto the back of the basic manipulatives. We have not had an opportunity to use those yet, but I'm excited to teach decimals in a way that we can understand and *see* more clearly.
In addition to these items, www.mathusee.com has placement tests, online drills, and a worksheet generator that really help to complete the curriculum.
I highly recommend Math-U-See for any learning style. The first time I looked at the program at a curriculum fair I was amazed at how simple math could be! My daughter was very frustrated at that time because she hadn't been able to grasp math concepts. With MUS, she was able to *see* what she was doing and understand *why*.
Each level includes the following:
On the DVD, Mr. Demme teaches a small class the concept of the lesson. I usually watch the DVD with my child, although my older children may sometimes watch it on their own.
The Teacher's Manual also has an explanation of the concept. If my child does not fully understand the concept from the DVD, or just has questions, we follow-up with the Teacher's Manual. It also has all of the answers to the exercises and the tests.
The Student Text has 2-3 pages of problems specifically using the concept being taught in that lesson. It also includes 3 pages of review sheets for each lesson, which have problems from past lessons, as well as the current lesson.
The Text Booklet has a test for each lesson, as well as unit tests, and a final exam.
The basic manipulatives are used from the beginning. They are color-coded, which makes it easy for the child to quickly identify the "number" they are looking for.
The fraction overlays are awesome! They really help a child to be able to *see* what 1/4 or 3/5 looks like.
The decimal inserts snap onto the back of the basic manipulatives. We have not had an opportunity to use those yet, but I'm excited to teach decimals in a way that we can understand and *see* more clearly.
In addition to these items, www.mathusee.com has placement tests, online drills, and a worksheet generator that really help to complete the curriculum.
I highly recommend Math-U-See for any learning style. The first time I looked at the program at a curriculum fair I was amazed at how simple math could be! My daughter was very frustrated at that time because she hadn't been able to grasp math concepts. With MUS, she was able to *see* what she was doing and understand *why*.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Mystery of History
We used Volume 1 of the Mystery of History last year. It's been amazing to see where events in ancient history lined up with Biblical history. We haven't kept up with our timeline as we should have, but it will definitely be a priority this coming year as we go through the 2nd volume.
The book is split up into 36 weeks. Each week has a *What Do You Know* pre-test, 3 events/biographies with activities, a list of events/people to add to the timeline, maps to complete, and a post-test. There are also quarterly and semester tests as well.
The events/biographies are about a page in length. They're fairly easy to read and understand. I'll be reading them aloud to the younger boys this year...but the older boys have read them on their own. The activities are awesome. For the older children the activities involve mostly research, but the younger ones have a lot of hands-on things to do. The middle activities are a good mix of both.
I really enjoyed how Linda Hobar intertwined ancient and modern maps. Some of the places we read about aren't on modern maps, but we were able to use ancient maps to find them and then superimpose them on the modern maps.
I highly recommend the Mystery of History. Currently there are 3 volumes out, but the goal is 5 volumes.
The book is split up into 36 weeks. Each week has a *What Do You Know* pre-test, 3 events/biographies with activities, a list of events/people to add to the timeline, maps to complete, and a post-test. There are also quarterly and semester tests as well.
The events/biographies are about a page in length. They're fairly easy to read and understand. I'll be reading them aloud to the younger boys this year...but the older boys have read them on their own. The activities are awesome. For the older children the activities involve mostly research, but the younger ones have a lot of hands-on things to do. The middle activities are a good mix of both.
I really enjoyed how Linda Hobar intertwined ancient and modern maps. Some of the places we read about aren't on modern maps, but we were able to use ancient maps to find them and then superimpose them on the modern maps.
I highly recommend the Mystery of History. Currently there are 3 volumes out, but the goal is 5 volumes.
Foundations Bible Curriculum
I was planning on writing my own curriculum this year based on Gregory Dickow's Fast From Wrong Thinking. I think I may still do that, but I have found a Bible curriculum that has a child read through the whole Bible over the course of 3 years.
Anne Elliott has written a curriculum called Foundations. Volume 1 is called Preparation for Christ and covers the Old Testament, Volume 2 is called Christ Our Messiah and covers the life of Christ and the book of Acts, and Volume 3 is called Christ Our Hope and covers the epistles of the Old Testament.
It piqued my interest because we have not attended a church that has a formal Sunday School program that covers the stories of the Bible in years. Our youngest 3 boys attend Children's Church, but that mostly covers *life lessons* and practical applications of Biblical principles. That's not a bad thing, but personally I like knowing at least a little something about all of the stories in the Bible...and I would like to pass that on to my children.
Anne was asking for people to critique the curriculum, and since it fills a need I have and the 2nd volume will fit in with the Mystery of History volume we'll be doing in the fall, I volunteered. She sent me the ebook, and I have just glanced through it quickly...but so far I am impressed.
Each week there is a memory verse, for which she has included a *formula* of sorts to help the child memorize. She also has other suggestions in the Appendix. Then there's a passage to read aloud. She has also referenced these passages to Calvary Chapel's coloring and activity pages, which I LOVE! There are other activities to choose from for each day, based on the child's abilities. Finally, there is an extra reading assignment for older children.
I'm excited to get started with this curriculum, although I really want to hold off until I get my next Mystery of History volume.
Oh....and Anne's website has some awesome resources listed on it for different subjects. I have lots to look over for next year...but it looks like I may have found a FREE Grammar curriculum and Writing curriculum...and a Science curriculum for the younger boys. There's so much to look through, I'm sure I'll find more! Her website is http://www.annesschoolplace.com/index.htm. It's well worth looking through!
Anne Elliott has written a curriculum called Foundations. Volume 1 is called Preparation for Christ and covers the Old Testament, Volume 2 is called Christ Our Messiah and covers the life of Christ and the book of Acts, and Volume 3 is called Christ Our Hope and covers the epistles of the Old Testament.
It piqued my interest because we have not attended a church that has a formal Sunday School program that covers the stories of the Bible in years. Our youngest 3 boys attend Children's Church, but that mostly covers *life lessons* and practical applications of Biblical principles. That's not a bad thing, but personally I like knowing at least a little something about all of the stories in the Bible...and I would like to pass that on to my children.
Anne was asking for people to critique the curriculum, and since it fills a need I have and the 2nd volume will fit in with the Mystery of History volume we'll be doing in the fall, I volunteered. She sent me the ebook, and I have just glanced through it quickly...but so far I am impressed.
Each week there is a memory verse, for which she has included a *formula* of sorts to help the child memorize. She also has other suggestions in the Appendix. Then there's a passage to read aloud. She has also referenced these passages to Calvary Chapel's coloring and activity pages, which I LOVE! There are other activities to choose from for each day, based on the child's abilities. Finally, there is an extra reading assignment for older children.
I'm excited to get started with this curriculum, although I really want to hold off until I get my next Mystery of History volume.
Oh....and Anne's website has some awesome resources listed on it for different subjects. I have lots to look over for next year...but it looks like I may have found a FREE Grammar curriculum and Writing curriculum...and a Science curriculum for the younger boys. There's so much to look through, I'm sure I'll find more! Her website is http://www.annesschoolplace.com/index.htm. It's well worth looking through!
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