Notgrass Company Homeschool Review

As part of the TOS Review crew we received five ebooks in the series from Notgrass Company which included the physical book Proverbs and the following Ebooks: Draw to Learn Acts, Draw to Learn Proverbs, Draw to Learn Psalms, Draw to Learn the Letters of Paul, and the Draw to Learn the Life of Jesus.

 

I must say that this was one of the toughest reviews that we have been given to do. My son is not an artsy type of person, he does not enjoy drawing or even doodling. I thought maybe this would be a review that would change those things, but it did not. When he did draw he thought his drawings looked babyish and like stick figures, he was quite embarrassed by his drawings. So please as you read my review be thinking of your own child and how they may enjoy the Draw to Learn K-8 series in your homeschool. Kids and adults would be a good fit for this product.

Here is a bit of history on the Notgrass Company, they are a family owned and operated business that started back in 1999. They are meeting the needs of homeschooling families by providing Bible based curriculum that are easy to use by homeschooling parents. My favorite quote from the website is "We are proud of you for making the choice to homeschool, and we believe that you can be successful. Why are we so confident? Because we believe in God who daily provides everything we need to do what He asks us to do. You are on a wonderful adventure. Don’t forget to enjoy the ride!" This is so true and from reading their website and using their products I can tell you that the Notgrass Company truly cares about our home educating families.

The Notgrass Company website has some fun things to check out too! Besides links to all their K-high school materials, they also have a section with articles, new product news, family activities,  and much more.

We used the Draw to Learn K-8 series as part of our daily devotions, I was very excited about reviewing the Notgrass Company products and using the sketch book, since we were going through a Proverbs devotional book during our family devotions time. I thought it would tie right in. It did tie in perfectly, but I had a reluctant drawer. The materials are spot on Biblically and are easy to read and understand. In the back of my mind I wish that we had also been given the Learn to Draw, I think that might have been helpful to my not artsy son. I think that if your child does NOT have perfectionist tendencies they will be happy just drawing away on the pages.

Using the Notgrass Company's Draw to Learn K-8 homeschool art curriculum I found that it helped our son to think more concretely about the Bible passages that we read in Proverbs through using his imagination in his drawings. Ray and Charlene Notgrass have done an awesome job at bringing the book of Proverbs alive through the Draw to Learn series.

Below are the Ebooks that we were given during this TOS review.

Ebook $9.95



Ebook $9.95

Ebook $9.95

Ebook $9.95

The instructions for use are very simple and easy to use. The authors offer up these suggestions.

WORK DILIGENTLY
Each lesson should take 45 minutes or longer. They ask that you spend time making your drawings,
add details and show the surroundings.
USE COLOR
Notgrass Company recommends purchasing Prismacolor Thick Lead brand colored pencils by Sanford (these are a bit pricey so be sure to use a 40% off coupon from your favorite craft store  :O)  I have used these myself and they are wonderful, I would put the Prismacolor pencils away after each use and let the kids use the cheap-o colored pencils for other stuff. I think sometimes it makes art time fun when we as homeschool moms bring out the "special" tools of the trade.
USE A MODEL OR A PICTURE
They recommend using real objects, people and scenery to look at while drawing, instead of just your imagination. I think this was a major issue with us in my son just wanting to use his vivid imagination.
DRAW PEOPLE
The authors tell you that you can draw "realistic" people, "cartoon style" or "stick people", this was a hard concept for my 13 year old as he was embarrassed by his drawings being so childlike.
FILL UP THE FRAME
They ask that you use the entire drawing box for your art work.
PROTECT YOUR DRAWING SURFACE
Put a piece of heavy paper behind your sketch book page so that you don't get indentations from drawing or coloring on to your next sketch page.
SKETCH FIRST
The authors explain that you should sketch your drawing in first, using a light hand, then darkened up the drawings as you go. My son was not much of a sketcher, he would just start drawing away.
PREPARE FOR TOMORROW
Look over the lesson for tomorrow to see if you need any props or pictures to guide you.
HAVE FUN
The authors tell you to "always keep a sense of wonder at God's amazing power."

You know I am always looking to see how one subject matter can lead into another subject? Well you have that right here with the Draw to Learn K-8 series, you can do further Bible study with older students, you can work on handwriting by copying the Bible verses each day, work on art skills which have been lacking in our homeschool, work on science as the authors explain "when you make drawings about crops, read a book about farming." As for history, geography and math by researching about weights and measures, of today and in Bible times. Creative writing can be worked on through writing stories or research papers on the materials being studied. You can also work on Notebooking and Unit Studies using the materials from the Notgrass Company. As well as character studies. So I am thinking that we are covering a wide variety of subject matter here with JUST ONE BOOK! The Draw to Learn K-8 series Proverbs book retails for just $14.95 for the physical book. The Ebook is just $9.95 and the exciting thing about the Ebook is that you OWN IT! You can make as many copies as you want for use in your household. So if you have 5 children, you do not need to buy 5 Ebooks, you can legally make copies of the Ebooks for each of your children.

Even though this review as not the best fit for our family I do hope that you will give the Notgrass Company a try, some good has come out of this TOS review for us, I see that we are lacking in the art department and need to work on that.
Click below to see what my buddies over on the TOS Review crew thought of the products that they had the privilege to review from the Notgrass Company.

Molly Crew REVIEW of Christi the Coupon Coach: Couponing Made Simple

All right thrifty coupon Mamma’s have I got a review for you! Christi The Coupon Coach Couponing Made Simple comes in an Ebook for just $4.99 or the paperback version for $18.00.

 



 

Since I’ve been down and out physically since Sept 2012 our grocery and household items budget has just been blown out of control. With my son and husband running into stores here and there for things it’s cost us a lot. Normally I drive an hour once per month and do all our major shopping in the big city. It’s much cheaper than shopping at a Mom and Pop grocery store. I was excited when we were given the opportunity to review the Christi The Coupon Coach book. Our son was the first one to read Christi The Coupon Coach. Right away he began going through my coupon stash to see what we could use and how we could use them to get the best deals. I used this book as part of our business math/home economics course study for high school, I think it would work for junior high aged also.

My first thought was Extreme Couponing, we don’t have nearly the coupons available to us in the middle of the woods…lol. We are just happy to just get a few of the Black Friday sale flyers in the Sunday paper before Thanksgiving. Since we live so far away from civilization they don’t include all the fancy stores. I have found a small gold mine for coupons though on rare occasion, our public library (in another town far far away...lol) has a small box at the front of the library that people can exchange coupons. I always check that baby when we are in town. I have also bought coupons from auction sites and just paid shipping. I have even spent time calling the allergy friendly companies asking for coupons (most will say DO NOT DOUBLE on them). I also belong to a coupon train (HI Cathy!!) (BTW ladies on that train who are reading this I will mail it out this week…lol). Here is a link to Christi's favorite websites for great coupon match websites to help you along in your quest for savings.

I liked the larger size of the font that she used in Christi The Coupon Coach. These homeschool Momma eyes are getting bad! LOL. I was able to sit down and read the book in about 2 hours (along with taking some notes). It’s a very fast read, not boring at all. Our son read it in about an hour, he loves coupons and is always on the hunt for fast food & Lego coupons.

My coupon file BEFORE reading Christi The Coupon Coach book.

I liked how she had a gluten free section and organic foods section since so many families are eating this way either by choice or due to allergies. That section was a blessing for our family since I am gluten free. I was elated with the information that Christi The Coupon Coach included about thrift stores and yard sales! I so did not expect this information to be in the book. We do have lots of yard sales and thrift stores near us. But as far as grocery store deals like stacking coupons (not allowed here), printed Internet coupons (not allowed here). Here is a link to Christi's favorite websites.

The book was very easy to follow along and was layed out out very well. I like how she guides you through the process, she truly is a Coupon Coach! I would give you more details, but you need to high tail it over to Amazon.com right now and buy a copy of Christi The Coupon Coach or get the Ebook to read on the go. (I’ve got an Amazon link right here on my site). The book as 132 pages long, but if you are not a big reader don’t let that scare you, it’s a very quick read, you wont get bogged down with this book.

I like how she explains all the couponing terms and how she shares real life ideas with her readers. Many of the tips and tricks were familiar to me, I’m just not implementing them, but I think that  Christi The Coupon Coach would be a great read for even the seasoned couponer, sort of a refresher course. The book would NOT be overwhelming to a newbie at all. Plain and simple Christi IS the Coupon Coach! She knows how to explain things in plain and simple terms.

A new idea to me was the ability to print out additional sets of coupons using a different computer in your home (we only have 1 computer and none of our stores accept Internet coupons, so this is out for us). I have resurrected my coupon accordion file from that funny financial radio guy and I’ve been saving here and there. Remember though, we live in the sticks, don’t get many coupons in our Sunday paper, can’t use printed Internet coupons and can’t stack coupons. So this book and system might be just the thing you need if you have better access to coupons than we do.

My coupon file AFTER reading Christi The Coupon Coach

I have saved around $50 so far since starting this TOS review and I plan to keep working at this, it's a bit tougher in my area, but even I can save some. An update to my review, I have found that the Target and Meijers store in the BIG city (about an hour away) do accept printed out coupons from their store website ONLY, so I have found another source  :O) So don't think you can't save just because you live in a rural area. My main savings were in the area of household cleaners, trash bags and things like that. Hey it all adds up!

Come check out what the other Molly Reviewers had to say about how they used & how they saved using Christi The Coupon Coach: Couponing Made Simple.

 

 

Science For High School: Physical Science Review

As members of The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew we have had the exciting opportunity to review the Physical Science program from Science for High School. The program is called High School Physical Science In Your Home for the last several weeks in our homeschool. This course is for grades 9-12, but I think in home education you can use it with junior high aged kids if they are ready for the material. High School Physical Science In Your Home comes with a student and a teacher manual.

OK, first let me tell you what my experience with science has been. To me science was reading a chapter in the science book, memorizing the bold terms/definitions, answering the chapter checkup questions, taking a weekly quiz/test. Maybe doing a science poster or short write up once in awhile. Basically rote memorization skills were practiced in my kind of science. Toss those ideas right out the window with Science For High School.

Imagine a home school science curriculum actually written by a home school mom! After using the curriculum I am realizing that she understands that most home school Mommy’s don’t have a clue about science :O) This little sentence in the teacher manual sold me…lol. “(As in all home schools, we bend and fit all curricula to our home.) LOVE IT! Author Bridget Ardoin has been a home schooling mom for the past 12+ years. Ardoin has a degree in microbiology and has taught science in private high schools.

My student used the library, books, textbooks (what homeschooler is lacking in any type of book? LOL), science magazines and the Internet. I would caution the Internet use for research, be sure that your student is using legitimate websites. There is a lot of junk science out there.

For the High School Physical Science In Your Home review we received a Student Manual that was 3 hole punched, quizzes, a final exam for each semester and a spiral bound teacher edition. You can go here to purchase for $79.99. If you have more than one student you will need to purchase additional lab books here for $24.99. I love that you can go here to purchase the lab kit for $45.00. To save $ you can purchase the HIGH SCHOOL PHYSICAL SCIENCE IN YOUR HOME TOTAL PACKAGE for $110.00.
 

HOW THE PROGRAM WORKS:

Each week I would give our son 1 Lab Sheet and 1 Experiment Sheet to work on, he had the next 7 days to prepare, take a quiz over previous material and then present his written material for the new week in a discussion format. Pretty simple for the teacher if you ask me :O) Our discussion time usually took on some added chatter…lol. I picked Thursday as our day to do this since it’s a less busy school day for us and allows for some fun and relaxed interaction.

 

What this homeschool Momma liked about High School Physical Science In Your Home:
1) Simple to use teacher‘ manual! LOL…Have I ever said that I can’t stand a teachers manual or answer key that is hard to use? Ya know the kind, where you have to hunt through the reading materials to find the tiny little number that matches the question that you are grading! Super easy teacher manual here with Science For High School with ANSWERS!.

2) I’m seeing 4-H projects written all over this curriculum!!

3) DISCUSSION! LOVE IT!! Each week you sit down with your child and they discuss with you the research that they did that week on the assignment. If you have more than 1 child this is a great opportunity for them to absorb the information while sitting in on the discussion :O)

4) BONUS! A high school curriculum that prepares homeschoolers for college? GREAT! The author brings this up when explaining how to give quizzes and tests. “This gives the student a chance to develop skills to study for a quiz while having other assignments, something that will prove useful while in college.”

5) I think that no matter what learning style your child has High School Physical Science In Your Home will fit the bill. It touches on all learning styles

6) I’m thinking Homeschool Co-op Class with this curriculum!!! You know we are always looking for something challenging in a homeschool Co-op for our teens!

7) A good reminder! The author reminds us as homeschool moms that some colleges and universities want to see copies of the student lab notes.

8) Easy list of items needed for the experiments, so far I have not had to hunt far for items, I’ve pretty much had them on hand. Though I am glad I looked ahead to second semester, there are a few things I will need to hunt up.

9) She gives an idea of how to score the quizzes and tests, which is nice, sometimes with homeschool materials I have had to stand on my head to figure out how to give a grade.

10) EUREKA!! Second Semester we learn about the Periodic Table of Elements, you ask “What on earth is that?” lol…Yeah, homeschooling Sista, I am right there with ya! And I plan to learn this right along with my child. All I can say is Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow!

11) So far what we have worked through has really had a college feel to it, the way the material is laid out, the lab sheets and the discussion each week. Many college classes, not just science are using the discussion format each week.

12) Everything is laid out plain as day for you! LOVE IT!
　

What this homeschool Momma didn’t like about High School Physical Science In Your Home:

1) When we first got the materials someone (home school student who shall remain nameless…lol) decided to take the High School Physical Science In Your Home student materials in the car to review, without first putting them in a 3 ring binder (not included) and they dumped all over and had to be picked up and put back together. They are now secured in a 3 ring binder.

2) I thought that a few of the labs were a bit grade schoolish or middle schoolish to me. I was expecting a bit more difficulty across the board. But I think that High School Physical Science In Your Home would be a great place to start if your homeschool science program has been lacking in experiments because the first semester ones were pretty simple and the second semester ones seem more advanced. It could be a confidence booster for your homeschooler.

3) I do have some concern about this program when it comes to my son being interested in a medical career. I am just not sure that it meets the standards of the tough STEM requirements. STEM education is an acronym for the areas of study in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in the United States.

What this homeschool student liked about High School Physical Science In Your Home:
1) I kinda got to look up things that I wanted to look up and study things the way I wanted to study them :O)

2) I liked the experiments, sometimes they did not work out, but I had fun with them.

3) I can’t wait to get to second semester to study electricity, I think this might help with my 4-H electricity project next year. COOL!

4) I like how the author tells us in our student manual that we need to do a little bit of work each day. If she had not said this I would probably have waited until the night before to work on it.

What this homeschool student didn’t about High School Physical Science In Your Home:
1) This was a totally different way of doing science that was very new to me. So I think it’s going to take some getting use to the change.

2) It was a bit hard for me to keep motivated to work each day on my own, Mom had to nag me at first, but then I started to look forward to working on my research.

I really like the program as it seems very easy to use, but as I said above I have reservations regarding the STEM and college admissions if your child will be entering a career field that is heavy on science. So if you have a student that will need a strong science background look over the material and decided if this is for you. We plan to use this as a supplement to our current science program.

 

Please see what my buddies had to say about Science For High School products, some got to review chemistry and biology.

Memoria Press Review

As reviewers for The Old Schoolhouse Magazines Review Crew we were fortunate to receive the Geogoraphy I set set from Memoria Press. My son was very excited when the box arrived, geography is his thing! Here is what we got in our box.
Geography I: Middle East, North Africa, and Europe $14.95
Geography I: Middle East, North Africa, and Europe Student Workbook $11.95
Geography I: Middle East, North Africa, and Europe Teacher Guide $12.95
United States Student Workbook $5.00
United States Teacher Key, Quizzes, and Tests $7.95
You can purchase these as a set for just $48.00.
Here are some sample pages from the Geography I lesson materials that are geared towards 4th-8th grade students.

What this homeschool Momma liked about the Memoria Press Geography I.

1. I like the full size maps to write on for easy labeling of counties, states, capitals, and other areas.
2. Nice thick workbook pages, these are great for boys that have to erase a lot...lol...keeps paper from tearing.
3. Nice sturdy book covers that don't seem to rip easily.
4. Nice large spaces to write information in, boys don't much like to try to write answers on short lines.
5. Material was VERY easy to move through.
6.The teacher answer key was VERY easy to read, no small print and the maps were easy to read too. With homeschool Momma eyes (you tend to get these after your first few years in home education...lol) I like to be able to see just exactly where that dot is on the map for Brussels while making sure that my student is not pointing towards Antwerp or the Scheide River...lol.
7. Love how the student pages remind the student to practice good spelling habits. Sometimes it's hard to get it across to our children that spelling is one of those subjects that needs to be worked on across the entire curriculum and not just in "spelling class."
8. I like how the United States & Capitals Review teaches the states by regions, it makes a lot of sense to teach them this way. I have seen other curriculum teach states in alphabetical order.

What this homeschool Momma did not like about the Memoria Press Geography I.

1. I did not see a daily guide and I like things totally laid out for me, but it does say in the teacher information section that you will do 2-3 countries each week as you study each section for 8 weeks at a time.
2. I also did not see a grading scale for quizzes or tests. I like to know what each is worth for giving grades.
3. The books do not have colored pages in them, I like my textbooks/workbooks to have color and flair. If I had just picked up the Geography I set at a curriculum fair or convention table and just flipped through it, I probably would have put it back since I did not see color in the book. I will note that on the Memoria Press Geography I set webpage there are links to click on that show the color pictures that are in the student textbook. I don't think I would want to rabbit trail over to the computer to find color pictures each day.

What this homeschool student liked about the Memoria Press Geography I.

1. I like how it gave the meanings of the flags for each country.
2. I really like the Fast Facts, history and geography are my two favorite subjects.
3. I liked how you got to color in the flags with the outline instead of drawing them. I don't much care to draw unless it's Star Wars or something ;-)
4. I liked how the states and capitals were a review to go along with the geography.
5. I liked how it reminds me to watch for spelling, it's easy to forget this when you are not in "spelling class."
6. I liked how the activities built on each other such as match the states and capitals, then identifying them.

What this homeschool student did not like about the Memoria Press Geography I.

1. Wished that I did not have to go to the website to see the pictures in color.

This was a fun review to do since it was my students favorite subject. Memoria Press also offers subject matter in the following areas they are not just about geography. They also offer Latin, Classical Studies, Christian Studies, Logic & Rhetoric, Phonics & Early Reading, Penmanship, Literature & Poetry, American & Modern Studies, Writing & English Grammar, Science, Greek, Modern Languages, Educational Resources, eBooks, and Special-Needs links on their website.



Apologia Year-End Round-Up Blog Roll

This was our first year doing Apologia. We did the Anatomy and Physiology. We had been using Abeka since the very beginning and it was just not working for our son. He thrived with Apologia and learned so much. We bought a lapbook and used that along with the Anatomy Notebook Journal and LOVED it! We started it late in the year and it was no trouble working in the summer with it. It seems like recreational reading instead of school book reading.

 I had to have surgery during this review and ended up with a post-op infection, and was hospitalized for 13 days. I spent many months of laying and doing nothing but sleeping and eating pain meds. My son was able to move forward all by himself in the material, that was a huge blessing and he learned a lot. I was very impressed with his drawings of the human cell, normally he hates drawing in science and would whine and carry on if he had to draw anything besides a Star Wars action guy! lol. But he really had a fun time with the Anatomy Notebooking Journal.

Looking back at our years of struggling with science, I wish we had decided to use Apologia Educational Ministries, INC long ago!! Our 7^th grader would like to go back and do the other Apologia science books: Zoology, Astronomy, Botany, Flying Creation and Swimming Creation. So I think we will be spending our summers under a shade tree or at the beach with some new Apologia science books.

Next school year we are starting with Apologia Physical Science and have everything ready to go and are very excited about starting!

"Science Naturally" book review

As a member of The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew we were sent a copy of One Minute Mysteries: 65 More Short Mysteries You Solve With Science! to review. You can find additional books by Eric Yoder and Natalie Yoder from Science Naturally by clicking here. This book as just been awarded the coveted "Recommends" from NSTA!

We were already familiar with the Sciencenaturally.com since we had read One Minute Mysteries: 65 Short Mysteries You Solve With Math!, so we were very eager to read get One Minute Mysteries: 65 More Short Mysteries You Solve With Science! The book also contains 5 bonus mysteries that involve using math skills to solve the problems.

One Minute Mysteries: 65 More Short Mysteries You Solve With Science! has 180 pages is written for 8-12 year olds and can be purchased for $9.95 by going to www.sciencenaturally.com.

The book is set up where you solve 65 mini mysteries with science and if you have read my blog in the past you will find that science is not my favorite subject, but the book made science fun! Read through my entire review and you can receive a special offer from Science Naturally!

What this home school Momma liked about One Minute Mysteries: 65 More Short Mysteries You Solve With Science!

1) I like how it brought science to life with everyday topics
2) LOVE the critical thinking skills that you need to solve these mysteries.
3) The book was easy to use, we brought it in the car with us and would read while we were going down the road. (beats the Ipod being on…lol)
4) This would be a fun summer time book, learning while on break is always great.
5) Covers Life Sciences, Earth & Space Sciences, Physical & Chemical Sciences and General Sciences.
6) The stories were written in a fun way and engaged our son very well.

What this home school momma did not like about  One Minute Mysteries: 65 More Short Mysteries You Solve With Science!

1) Wish that they had been a bit more challenging, but the book is for 8-12 year olds and my student is almost 13, so it’s for the younger kids.

What this home school student liked about One Minute Mysteries: 65 More Short Mysteries You Solve With Science!

1) I liked how some were easy and some were hard.

2) They made me have to think.

3) The book was fun.

What this home school student did not like about One Minute Mysteries: 65 More Short Mysteries You Solve With Science!

1) Wish that there was more of a clear break between the mystery and the solution, because it was way too easy to just accidental flip the page and start reading the answer. Maybe like a picture of a STOP SIGN at the end of each mystery to remind you to STOP!
2) Wish that there were more books by them to read.

I think that these would be fun for using on a sporadic basis during science class. A fun thing to pull out and surprise the kids with during summer break.

I wish that they would come out with a book for chemistry, biology and physics for older kids.

Special offer from Science Naturally: purchase any 3 books from the Science Naturally by clicking here and get 3 books for $19.95 with shipping of just $2.95 (these retail for $35.80 a $12.90 savings just for reading my review!) Enter coupon code 3SPEC in your shopping cart. ENJOY!

Hope you enjoy this book as much as we did!

  

Stop by my blog

http://adoptivemomhomeschoolinganonlychild.blogspot.com/

Knowledge Quest Homeschool Review

We were given a copy of the Knowledge Quest Maps Sacagawea ebook via email from Knowledgequestmaps.com. Sacagawea "Brave Explorers Every Child Should Know." Sacagawea was read by our 7th grade son. This ebook retails for $4.97. The ebook is interactive and has a VERY cool appeal to it for the student. Throughout the ebook your student will find hyperlinks to click on to gather more information from really neat websites.  

"Sacagawea is an interactive historical novel that challenges readers to dig deeper into the true lives of extraordinary individuals AND stretches the idea of how stories themselves are told. Sacagawea is a riveting account and intimate look into the life of one of America's most beloved women." Quoted from the  website Knowledge Quest Maps.

   

    What this 7th grade student liked about the  Sacagawea "Brave Explorers Every Child Should Know" ebook.   1) I started out not really thinking that the story would be interesting, but in time I found it very interesting.  2) It took me to a lot of cool websites. 3) I had fun learning and exploring more about 4) I learned more about Lewis and Clark Expedition 5) It's a good read! 6) Did I tell you I really liked the links?    What this 7th grade student did not like about  the  Sacagawea "Brave Explorers Every Child Should Know" ebook.   1)  SPOILER ALERT: I was saddened how the story ended. 2) The story touched on several key historical events, but also contained many items that maybe would be better gone over with a Mom or Dad. Nothing really bad, by today's standards, but some concepts that may need explained in more detail. But please don't let that take away from reading the ebook to your student, because as I said above it's a good read.     What this homeschool Momma liked about the Sacagawea "Brave Explorers Every Child Should Know" ebook.   1) I loved how the book was very educational but also held the students interest. 2) LOVED how the websites were SAFE and I felt comfortable allowing my student to surf the web using the provided links. (though the student can go elsewhere on the net through the safe links provided by Knowledge Quest, so please always monitor your students Internet activities.  3) I thought that the age for the ebook was appropriate: 10 and over. 4) Great for learning history. 5) This ebook made for EASY learning! Especially as I have had a major surgery with complications, Sacagawea made for some QUIET & EASY school time that I needed during my recovery.   Things that this homeschool Momma did not like about the Sacagawea "Brave Explorers Every Child Should Know" ebook.   1) For younger kids it might be a little deep (such as when Sacagawea is in slavery) 2) You may want to read this with your younger more sensitive readers. 3) This is really a great ebook to take on the go with your Kindle, but you MUST have Wi-FI to get the links to work, you CAN still read the book without Wi-Fi though.   All in all I would say a good read and a fun way to learn.   Moe  

             

Computer Science for Kids Review

 

As a member of The Old Schoolhouse Review crew we were honored to be picked to review Computer Science For Kids computer programming software. We decided to try out Computer Bible Games for Microsoft Small Basic. It's on sale until July 4th, so it's the perfect time to order now and be able to look through the E-book before your 2014-2015 school year starts in the fall.

Single User License

Digital E-Book Download Only

Item #104-DL $59.95

Sale Price!

$34.95
 

First off let me say that this homeschool Momma, is totally clueless when it comes to computers, I can type and send an email, but that is about it. Even when I was in college we did not have computers, I had an old Brother Typo Graph Typewriter for my college term papers...lol.

When we found our name attached to this review my son was jumping up and down and wanting to call his friends and invite them over to play with his Bible games that he was going to be making.

The software is designed for Middle School students, which I think was right on target for self directed learning, I believe that younger children would do well with parent directed learning while using Computer Science For Kids.

 

Before I give you our thoughts on Computer Bible Games for Microsoft Small Basic, lets first talk about customer service. In this day and age, we hear so much about CUSTOMER NO SERVICE! As Clark Howard would say.  But in the case of Computer Science For Kids, the customer service was outstanding and I really do not think it had anything to do with us being on the TOS Review Crew. Philip Conrod (the author) was AMAZING and did not make me feel like a totally dork when I was clueless about how to get this set up on my computer. I had a major computer issue when I downloaded the software and everything seemed to go crazy on my computer. Philip emailed me a couple of times and then called me on the phone. He spent about 20+ minutes with me, walking me through a few things on my computer to see what the problem was. Well in the end the problem was with my computer, I did not have WinZip downloaded on my computer. So Philip stayed on the phone with me and walked me step by step on how to do that and he chatted easily with me while it was downloading. I think that he must have checked out my blog, because he chatted with me about adoption and how the Lord blessed them through adoption when they had not even considered adoption before. Their daughter brought up the subject and things fell into place and they added a little girl to their family through International adoption. Once WinZip got added to my computer the Computer Science For Kids software worked perfectly! We were blessed to have this really cool computer program to play with and I was blessed as an adoptive mom to hear the story of another adoptive family coming together.

So here is our review...
What the student liked...
1) It was fun!
2) It was easy!
3) I liked how you could do the programs & all the different variations.
4) I love the games!

What the student did not like...
1) Mom would not let me spend more time each day playing with this! lol. Ya know, I had other school work to complete.

What the homeschool Momma liked...
1) Easy to install (once I got the WinZip on board).
2) Simple for our son to understand and use.
3) AWESOME for me as a post-op homeschool Momma who spent her days during this review in a recliner recovering from having my Sigmoid Colon removed, an anastomotic leak and subsequent infection and 13 day hospital stay. This was a wonderful tool to get school moving along, so that my son could 'play' on the computer...hahaha...actually LEARN on the computer with  Computer Bible Games for Microsoft Small Basic but it sure did not feel like learning, it was a fun time that he looked forward to each day.
4) This opened up a whole new world my son, this was all totally new to him.

Here is a sampling of what you get with the Computer Bible Games for Microsoft Small Basic

1. Noah’s Ark
2. Daniel and the Lions’ Den
3. Elijah and the Ravens
4. The Good Shepherd
5. The Prodigal Son
6. The Lost Coin
7. Bible Scramble

"The "learning programs" include a unit conversion program, savings calculator, a sub-sandwich builder, a cardwars game, a number guessing game, a state capitals game, a times table program, a stop watch, a simple drawing program, fun logic games and a fun video game. Finished programs can even be published on-line to share programs with others. " Quoted from the Computer Bible Games for Microsoft Small Basic website.

Yes we would buy this and use it again, and guess what? It's on sale!! What homeschool Momma can pass up a sale on curriculum? Normally $59.99 it's on sale for $34.95. That is a savings of over $25.00!!! Hurry over and order now for the coming school year! A minimum of Windows XP is needed to run this and we used it on our Vista system. It takes about 10 weeks to complete, but if your child understands the material well, they can move through it at a faster pace. This product is for ages 10+.

   

A Journey Through Learning Review

We have been given the opportunity to review A Journey Through Learning lapbooks. A Journey Through Learning is a company that was founded by two homeschooling moms Paula & Nancy, how cool is that? 2 ladies who know exactly what we do on a daily basis with our children!! Who better to create a curriculum for us.

Our son is 7th grade but still enjoys doing some of the lower grade fun stuff. This is our first experience with lapbooks, I had seen them online over the years, but I was so focused on book work in the first few years that I overlooked lapbooking, "You can't learn from arts and crafts" I thought! Well our 7th grader took to lapbooking like a fish to water!

Stack of library books that became a part of the leraning process.

Click on the link Knights, Castles and Middle Ages lapbook, the lapbooks are available in the following formats:
Instant Download- $13.00
CD- $14.00
Printed- $21.00
We were asked to pick one of the following lapbooks.
Letters, Numbers and Shapes (ages 3-5)
The Earth (grades 1-4)
Knights and Castles (grades 2-7)
Astronomy and Space (grades 2-7)

Section 1, with drawings and cut outs.

We were given the instant download version to review. That worked really well for us even with very slow and basic DSL Internet service. I printed out the lapbook for the Knights and Castles; my son just went to town on it! He got some library books to read up more on the subject. He has been cutting and pasting like crazy. He watched the how to videos from A Journey Through Learning and picked right up on how to make the lapbook without my assistance.

Middle section of the lapbook.

We had all the supplies on hand already for the lapbook. If you have younger children you will need to work with them on this, I would say most 3rd graders could read the materials on their own, 5th grade on up could do the lapbook on their own with you checking up on them. I highly recommend watching the how to videos that I mentioned above, they were very helpful and explained things in very easy to understand terms.

Last section of the lapbook.

For the review our son picked Knights and Castles Lapbook with Study Guide which covered the Middle Ages. We liked the fact that the materials were from a Christian perspective.

What our son liked about A Journey Through Learning lapbook:

1) It covered the Fall of Rome, Middle Ages, this was all new to me.
2) Love learning about the castles, I learned that they are not very fun to live in.
3) Knights and armor
4) Loved doing crafts that counted as school work.
5) Liked how there were places to draw pictures.
6) This was so much fun!

What our son did not like about the lapbook:

1) NOTHING

What this Homeschool Mamma liked about A Journey Through Learning lapbook:

1) This was so much fun!
2) Easy for "On your own work."
3) Easy instructions.
4) Not too many supplies needed.
5) Did I say "FUN?"
6) BONUS!!! No outside materials needed for research, if you wanted to go more in depth there are book suggestions included. Otherwise you can just use what A Journey Through Learning provides for you.

What this Homeschool Mamma did not like about A Journey Through Learning lapbook:

1) NOTHING! It was totally awesome and even hubby thought it was a cool way to learn.

I am finding that lapbooking is great for those homeschooling days, weeks or months when a homeschooling mom has health issues. I've gone through a Sigmoid Colon removal surgery, had an anastomotic leak, and then an infection from the leak, which has made for an interesting end of the school year to say the least! lol. A Journy Through Learning lapbooks would be a great learning tool for those times that homeschooling is difficult on mom. My son worked on handwriting, cutting, reading, spelling, and history, all while I rested quietly as I recovered.

Come see what others reviewers have to say about A Journey Through Learning Lapbooks.
For those of you that have NEVER done lapbooking, it's so cool and I think we are hooked on it. Looking back now, I wish that we had done lapbooks from the very beginning, but ya know, you can't go back. So we are going forward and he is looking at what else he can lapbook. So all is not lost, but you know how our mommy homeschool brains work, it was sort of a sad moment thinking about how those fun little homeschool learning moments are fleeting. Enjoy your children and relax with the textbooks for awhile and try a lapbook out.