TOS Review: Global Art from Gryphon House Publishers

For the last few weeks we have been reviewing a book called Global Art from Gryphon House publishers.  

Global Art is a collection of over 100 art projects for students in grades K-5.  Global Art features 'activities, projects, and inventions from around the world.'

The book is broken down into 7 different chapters-one for each continent of the world.  For each continent, there are anywhere between 8 and 40 activities to help students learn about the continent and it's peoples and cultures while at the same time doing art.  For each of the art lessons, there is a 'did you know?' section that explains further about the project you will be doing.

For example, there is an art project that explains how to make a Tangram design game.  The 'did you know?' explains that the game came from china and is usually made of wood.  Apparently many people immigrating from China brought the game with them and the popularity of the game spread.

Here is a look at the art project we chose to do today.  Each project has a key up at the top of the page that tells three things.  The first box shows what kind of project it is-painting, drawing, sculpture, collage, construction, and printing.  Box number 2 tells us how much preparation it takes on a scale of 1-3.  I didn't have a lot of prep time today, so I needed a 1.  The last box lets you know how hard the project is, again on a scale of 1-3.  I like the 1 lessons because Mini Cooper (3) and Explorer (1) can often join in even though they are below the suggested age of 5.

The instructions on how to make our Hands Across America Paper Dolls were pretty easy-which is good because I thought I knew how to do it and ended up with a bunch of individual dolls!  We used our gingerbread man cookie cutter to help.

Everyone had a lot of fun coloring their people-we made a chain for each kid.

Mustang cut hers out herself.

Explorer was so pleased to be able to play too!

Thanks to the explanation of the 'melting pot' of the world, we talked about what an immigrant is and why the US is a melting pot.  We talked about where each of us, and each of our grandparents, aunts and uncles were born.  We have an aunt from Panama, an uncle from Laos, and uncle from Iceland, a grandpa from Germany, a cousin from China, many cousins who are Native American, and an aunt and uncle born in Canada.  So, we have quite the little 'melting pot' just in our own family.

The art projects use all kinds of different materials for the activities.  Some we had and some we didn't.  One thing I noticed was that the authors liked to re-purpose things from around the house.  One project used old tin can lids, another used old laundry soap containers, and another one used an old oatmeal container.  For some reason, Mustang really likes to re-purpose things, so I am glad to have some direction for how she can use these items.  She is an artist, maybe it's normal for an artist to re-purpose?  I only see it as trash, so I was impressed by the creativity of the authors for how to use the items!

I was also impressed by the amount of information I learned just by thumbing through the book!  Over the next year, we will be trying to work much harder on our continent studies, and I love how this Global Art book will work in with them.

Another thing I liked about this book is that it is truly ART and not a bunch of crafts.  The authors gave clear instructions on how to recreate something from another culture to teach us about that culture, while at the same time learning how to work with different art mediums to create masterpieces.

I am not really much of an art kinda girl, but Mustang is and she is very happy with this new book!!  I know she is looking forward to doing a lot more from Global Art this school year.

Global Art is written by MaryAnn F Kohl, who has authored 14 other books, most of them about art.  It is also written by Jean Potter who was the Deputy Assistant and Assistant Secretary of Education under Pres. Reagan.  You can read more about both authors and about the book by checking out the Global Art product page on the Gryphon House website.

Global Art has won many awards including the Benjamin Franklin Award, National Parenting Publications Award and Parent's Guide to Children's Media Award.  Global Art is designed for individual or group setting art lessons and has an affordable price of just $16.95.

We really enjoyed the book and look forward to trying out all 135 lessons at some point.  You can read what other crew members had to say by checking out the crew blog.

Thanks for stopping by!
God Bless,
Lisa

TOS Review: Math Mammoth

If you have read my blog for any amount of time, you know that I LOVE our current math materials.  I have found Montessori math materials to be a perfect fit for our family.  Because of this, I usually avoid reviewing new math products.  But, when I brought out our work plans last month, it just so happened we were offered review of 2 topics that were on our work plan, so I decided to give them a try.  I'm really glad we did!

The materials we received were from Math Mammoth.  I will be honest, I had heard of them before this review, but just figured we didn't have a need for them in our home because I had thought of them as a complete curriculum company.  They do offer complete curricula for grades 1-6, but they also offer lots of individual products.  In fact, you can choose books by topic, worksheets by grade, worksheets by topic, and they have a selection of real life math products, too.  If you have a need you are trying to fill in math, they very likely have something that will fit your request.  Each of the products is a little different, but I'm going to focus this review on the two products we received.

The items we received are both 'Blue Series' books.  Blue Series books , or books by topic, are learning packets focused on just one subject.  There are 39 different books to choose from!  We received a book on Time-entitled Clock- and one on Money.  

They each arrived as a PDF download-really great since I can REUSE them with Charger in a year or two!  So, I simply printed off the packets and placed them into Mustang's work boxes.  She began working through them at her own pace.  Wow, that was easy!!  The only things I had to provider her with were a clock for the Time packet and some change for the Money packet.

Each section in the book starts with a teaching section.  You could read this allowed if you wanted to have a more guided learning, or if your child isn't reading at that level yet.  But, I just allowed Mustang to read it herself.  She has understood what was being told pretty well.  On a few cases I have had to go back and explain a few bits to her.  

I did start to realize that the book isn't all at one grade level (should have read that ahead of time), but she was easily able to handle the 1st grade work.  We are still working through the 2nd grade work as she didn't understand a few parts of it.  The best part of this has been the part where Mustang is actually telling time better then she did before! 

Now, I certainly don't intend to replace our math completely, but I do really appreciate having an extra source to pull from occasionally.  I also appreciate having a quick way to assess if Mustang can write down her answers in a 'standard' school way.  We don't usually teach in that fashion, but society often measures in it, so it is good if she has a comfortable grasp on 'textbook answers.'  

This is how the work pages look, (next to our work plans).  Top is Clock and bottom is Money.  

Did I mention they are also affordable??

The Blue Series Math Mammoth Money PDF retails for just $3.25!  It can also be purchased as a book for $9.50.  The PDF is a total of 51 pages long and covers counting pennies, nickles, dimes, quarters, adding them together, subtracting them, and then advances from there.  You can check out sample pages at the Math Mammoth product page.  It is also available using Canadian, European, British, and Australian money.

The Blue Series Math Mammoth Clock PDF retails for $4.00 and the book is available for $10.85.  It is 78 pages long and covers reading hours, half hours, five minute intervals and eventually to the minute.  It also covers half past, quarter-till, and so on.  You can also see a sample on the product page.  

Overall, we really enjoyed Math Mammoth.  The ease and usefulness could not be beat at such an affordable price!  I hope to find more packs to use in the future.

The Crew reviewed all sorts of different Math Mammoth products, so be sure to check out the crew blog and find out more about the many offerings of Math Mammoth and what other families thought!

God Bless!
Lisa

TOS Review: Adventus

If you happen to be my friend on Facebook, you have recently seen me posting photos of the kids taking piano lessons at home.  Or, you may have read my status updates about how I just took a piano lesson...at midnight...in my pajamas.  Many of you have asked me how I managed to do that!!  Well, here is my answer :).

We were recently asked to review a program called Adventus.  Adventus is a web-based software designed to teach piano lessons at home!  Using a Midi-capable keyboard, you connect your keyboard to the computer and you can begin learning without leaving your home!

Adventus offers a number of different programs designed to teach children ages 4-18 how to play the piano, read music, write music, music appreciation, composer studies, and much more!

For the 4-10 year old student, Adventus has created Children's Music Journey.  There are three levels of Children's Music Journey, and children begin at either level 1 or 2, depending on their age.

Let me walk you through our lessons to give you a feel for this program.

First thing, is to set up a profile for each of your students.  You can use this program with multiple children, so I set up Level 1 for Charger and Level 2 for Mustang.

Charger's lesson began with an introduction from Ludwig Beethoven.  Okay, not really him, but a cartoon figure of him.  But, what a better way to learn how to play piano AND get a composer study at the same time??  

The lessons are very age appropriate and present music in a unique way.  He didn't start off with note names or treble clefs.  Instead, the program focuses on what a child can understand-high birds and low whales!  The notes above middle C are high bird notes (you can see the seagull in the photo).  The low notes are low whale notes (see the whale??).  When middle C gets introduced, he comes through as a man in a motor boat!  Genius I tell you!!

After their lesson-which lasts probably around 10 minutes (I actually didn't time it), the student can move on to one of the other activities.  They can practice their lesson with a sweet character named Miss Melody.  Or they can play games with the skills they have learned.

Here Charger is playing a game to catch the low whale notes!

The lessons were so easy to understand, that I went ahead and allowed Mini Cooper to start doing the lessons, too!  She is only 3 1/2 and is firmly understanding the information.  I sit and do the lesson with her, but I don't have to help very much.  I loved the other day when she said "I'm playing the piano like Mr. Beethoven."  So sweet!

I started Mustang on level 2, and she did quite well even though she had never had a piano lesson or even a music lesson-save for the 3 tin whistle lessons she had at our school co-op.  The first lesson of the 2nd level does a review of things learned in the first lesson to help catch a new student up, or remind a veteran student of what they learned.  

After the lessons, the student also has an option of going into a 'recording' room and recording a new song.  This is always Mustang's favorite part.  She likes to play LOUD and crazy songs using all the keys on the keyboard.  

Each of the levels of Children's Music Journey contains about 30 lessons, which can be advanced through at the child's pace.  

In addition to the computer lessons, there are also recommended lessons, activities, and printables in the MusicIQ Homeschool Manuals.  These lessons provide lots of great ways to help children remember what their 'teachers' have taught them.

Doing 1-2 practice sessions per week, Mustang has advanced through 5 levels of the program, while Charger has mastered 4.  Mini Cooper has just done 2 1/2. I say half, because even though she got through the 3rd lesson, I think she needs a bit more practice before I let her move on to the next lesson.  

According to the website, once they advance all the way through the 3 levels, they will have

• Completed 95 interactive lessons taught by 18 famous composers!  These composers are:  Beethoven, Bach, Joplin, Mendelssohn, Villa-Lobos, Satie, Dvorak, Mozart, Beach, Tchaikovsky, Handel, Chopin, Scarlatti, Haydn, Bartok, Chaminade, Debussy, & Schumanm!!  (Even I don't know know who all of those composers are!)
• Completed 95 practice sessions with Miss Melody
• Played 150 learn to play songs and famous pieces
• Played 20 games to reinforce the theory they have learned
• In addition to playing as many unique songs in the recording room as they want!!

To use the Adventus software, you must have a Midi-capable keyboard and a midi adapter.  This means, it can be connected to your computer through a USB port.  You need Mr. Beethoven and Miss Melody to be able to 'hear' what you are playing so they can teach you :).  If you do not have a Midi-capable keyboard, Adventus sells two different ones.  The one in my photo is the M-Audio KeyRig 49.  We received a discount if we ordered it from Adventus for this review.  I think it works great!  It can only be used while hooked up to the computer, but it does well with the computer.

Once you have a keyboard, you have a couple of different subscription options. 

You can buy the entire 3 volume set of Children's Music Journey plus a keyboard and the MusicIQ HomeSchool Lesson Plans for $309.95.  But, if you already own a keyboard and want to purchase just one level, it runs $89.95 with the MusicIQ HomesSchool Lesson plans, and $69.95 without the lesson plans.  You can also purchase a monthly online subscription to all the software for $10.95 per month (does not include the lesson plans, they are sold seperatly).  You can view all the different pricing options in the Curriculum Store.  They really do have a plan for any budget.

Now, just in case you forgot about my piano lessons, let me assure you I have not been practicing my high bird notes and low whale notes at 1 in the morning!!

We also tried out the lessons available for older students....the ones that are 10-18...or in my case 30 somethings.  The Program is called Piano Suite and it is a totally different format then the Children's Music Journey.  It is a much more traditional type lesson, with theory and music reading from the very start.  It seems to believe you have some music knowledge going in-but very little.  

Piano Suite is broken down into 6 different areas:  

• Piano Player
• Library
• Theory Thinker
• Composers Corner
• Games
• History Happens  

While I dabbled a little in the other areas, I spent most of my time over at the Theory Thinker.  I was in band for a number of years as well as choir and have a pretty good handle on music reading and theory.  It is the actual piano playing I need work on.  But, I wanted to go through the lessons and see if I need a refresher on anything.  

I could have just wondered over to the Piano Player or Library, but the Theory Thinker introduces songs a few at a time, in order of difficulty.  This allowed me to master one song before choosing one above my ability.  The Piano Player allows you to choose the song you want, and it does tell you on the side the level of  ability.

Because I know theory quite well, I was very thankful for the ability to quickly move past a lesson if I didn't need to hear it, and move right on to the music practicing portion or the next theory lesson. The lessons were super easy to understand and you could replay anything you didn't understand.   

Piano Suite is certainly geared toward an older student, in that, there aren't a lot of fun frills like the Children's Music Journey.  So, I would consider that when choosing which music program to go with if you have 10 year old.  Piano Suite does have a few games, but I didn't find them all that fun.  I don't think they were aimed at me, however, so please checkout some of the other reviews to see what the teenagers thought of the games.  

Piano Suite and the accompanying lesson plans retail for $109.95.  It is also part of the monthly subscription package-which is awesome if you have more then one level of student wanting to play at the same time!!

I even tried out the Ear Training Coach program that comes after Piano Suite, but it was very obvious I wasn't at that level yet!!  

Really, one of my most appreciated parts is that I could practice playing Mary had a Little Lamb and no one had to know that this 30 something mom couldn't play anything harder then that!  Well, now YOU know, but you still didn't hear me!  I also didn't have to find a babysitter or drive all the way to town.

I know that Adventus programs require a little financial investment.  But, really, if you compare them to the cost of a live piano teacher. Not to mention the cost of gas (especially if you live in the country like me) then it's really not expensive at all!  I mean, $90.00 (for the Children's Music Journey individual levels) and you get piano lessons for as long as you need that level and you can reuse it with the next child???  A lot more affordable in that light!

If you can't tell by now, we really love Adventus!  I have been trying not to gush this entire review, but it may have come out anyways.  I have been wanting to have the children learn to play piano, but I really didn't know how it would logistically work.  Adventus has solved that problem in ways I couldn't have imagined!  

The review we are doing is a 12 month review of the subscription, so next year when we no longer have access, I already intend to purchase the programs permanently.  How's that for a recommendation? :)

If you already have a Midi-capable keyboard, I would recommend starting with the monthly subscription for at least 1 month to get a feel for which level your students need and just verify that Adventus will be a good fit for your family.  If you don't have a keyboard, we like the one we purchased from Adventus and I would recommend it, so one of the packages that includes a keyboard may be the place to start for you.  

I am one of many crew members that tried out Adventus, so be sure to check out the other crew reviews and see what they thought!

Thank you so much for stopping by!!

God Bless,

Lisa

TOS Review: READS

One thing that Mustang loves to do is to write things.  Lists mostly, but also little stories and cards.  She is an excellent reader, but not a very confident speller.  Because of this, she is often asking us how to spell this word or that one.  My husband suggested that she start looking in a dictionary, but that wasn't very realistic since it is so thick and hard to work with.  So, when we were offered a review product that could help Mustang, we were all looking forward to it arriving!

The product, READS, from EGM Educational Systems LLC is actually an entire reading comprehension system of which our favorite new product, the Speedy Speller, is just a small part. The READS Reading Comprehension System retails for just $19.95. Included in the READS program are:

• READS Parent Manual
• Question Cards and Rings

• Reward Chart and Stickers 
• Magic Finger and Reading Guide Strip

• Speedy Speller

Since the Speedy Speller is what drew us to READS, I wanted to start with it!

The Speedy Speller has over 1400 words, arranged alphabetically in a handy paper-back book.  There are extra lines by each letter to add your own commonly used words to the large amount already provided.  Mustang uses this regularly!  So much so, that she has it hidden away so the other kids can't get to it. I appreciate that The Speedy Speller has helped Mustang to initiate spelling words on her own-rather then immediately asking her dad and I for help.  It also seems that, as she stopped asking us for the right letter, she has begun to realize she doesn't always need the help of the Speedy Speller either!!  Sometimes she uses it just to check her spelling rather then find it out to begin with!

Now, the main part of READS centers around the cards on a ring found in the photo above.  Each of the 30 cards has a question or statement to encourage reading comprehension.  When we first got the packet, I made the mistake of diving in without reading the teacher's manual {who me, never}.  So, I asked Mustang the questions after she read her story.  I was so impressed with how well she could remember what she read and how well she could verbalize her thoughts!

After reading through the manual, I found out that the idea is to ask the question before the reading period so that the student is looking for a good answer to the question while they read.

Mustang actually preferred my accidental asking of the questions afterwards.  She said she liked that I wanted to know what she read about.  I guess many times I don't ever ask her what the story was about, but she really wanted to tell me!  She is an avid reader and can spend days at a time reading if I would let her.  She was just pleased to find out that I cared about what she had spent hours doing!

There are some other items in the READS program that, I have to be honest, felt like fillers.  I am sure they are very helpful to those that need them, but they seemed to be for a different level of reading student then the Speedy Speller or the Comprehension Question Cards.

The extra items included a Reward Chart and Stickers set, and a Magic Finger Reading Guide set.

We did not use the Reward Chart and Stickers set because I am pretty sure it would be counter productive for Mustang.  She likes to receive extra praise for doing things.  And, once she received a sticker for reading a book, she would never again see it as a fun pass time.  Instead, she would always be looking for her sticker or reward.  Of course, with a different personality type, this would be a great bonus to help encourage the reading necessary to use the Comprehension Question Cards with.

The Magic Finger and Reading Guide Strip were WAY below her needs.  But, it wasn't a waste!  Charger had a fun time using them with his reading-well the Magic Finger anyways.

Overall thoughts-we mostly liked the READS program.  The Comprehension Quiz Cards and Speedy Reader were both HUGE hits!  We loved them.  The rest of the items felt like fillers to make it worth the price tag.  But, at only $19.95, it is priced fairly.  I would recommend the READS program, especially if you don't have a reading program that is big on reading comprehension.  At this very moment, we don't have a specified reading program for Mustang and the READS program has been a great way to turn Mustang's love of reading into her reading program.  Mustang is reading at about a 3rd to 4th grade level and READS is designed for grades 1-4th.

Others on the Schoolhouse Review Crew also tried out READs.  Be sure to check out what they had to say by clicking on the graphic below!



Disclaimer:  As a member of the Schoolhouse Review Crew, I received a READS packet. In exchange, I agreed to use the product with my family and write this honest review.  All opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC regulations.

TOS Review: Flowering Baby

So, you want to start 'doing school' with your little one and you don't know where to start?

You want something that is school-because they are learning school concepts-but you don't want it to feel like school-because they are young and who needs school at such a young age?

You want someone to layout your days for you, not to be ridged, but to keep you on track and make sure you 'catch everything?'

You want something that takes minimal prep work, but still offers a lot.

You also want a curricula that requires minimal financial investment, uses things you already have, and books that you own or can check out at the library?

You feel like you are wishing on a star, because this doesn't exist...

Well, actually, it does :).

Over the last few weeks we have been reviewing a little known product called Flowering Baby that is exactly like I just described above.

Created by homeschooling mom Martha Saunders and her mother Carolyn Schulte, Flowering Baby offers curriculum for babies all the way up through age 5.  Martha was an auditor turned stay-at-home, homeschooling, mom, who wanted to provide a well rounded education for her young son.  The Flowering Baby curriculum is based on what she taught her son in her home.  She has expanded it and is sharing it with other homeschooling moms.

Blending Classical, Charlotte Mason, and Unit Study styles of learning, Flowering Baby is a whole child approach to learning.  It offers laid back lessons that are a mix of play and educational activities.

Each of the five age levels offer age appropriate activities.  We were sent for review the entire curricula!  We focused on the age 3-age 4 lesson plans and worked on the activities with Mini Cooper.  I had intended to try and do some of the activities for Explorer, but she usually naps during our school time and I haven't figured out another time to work on things with her.

Here are a couple of day's guides:


Day 1:

ABC's: Sing the ABC song. Select three sequence card sets and ask him to put the cards in the
proper sequence.

Math: Count out loud from 1 to 5, have your child count along with you. Repeat.

New Year's: Discuss the New Year. Talk about the calendar, months and seasons. Explain and
tell your child what year it is and what year it was yesterday.

Blue: Read book. Dress all in blue for the day. Color a picture only using shades of blue.

Triangles: Using masking tape make a large triangle on the floor. Walk on the lines and discuss
triangles – they have three equal sides and three corners. Name things that are shaped like a
triangle (piece of pizza, wedge of watermelon, piece of toast cut in half, or a Christmas tree).

Day 2:

ABC‟s: Sit next to your child; you will both need a piece of paper and a crayon. Tell him you
are going to draw circles today. Show him on your paper how you draw circles and then ask him
to draw circles. You may guide his hand at first if needed. Note: if individual circles are too
difficult it might be easier to draw spirals.

Math: Use some small manipulates (blocks, bears, or cars) and count out loud from 1 to 5 set
the items in a line. Always work from left to right. Repeat.

Blue: Read book. Using household items arrange several blue items by shade, from light to dark.

Read: Three Billy Goats Gruff: Using blocks and farm animals (goats if you happen to have
them) repeat the story acting it out.

Ears: Read book. Discuss our ears and that they are one of our five senses. What are some
things you hear in the house? Go outside and identify sounds you hear.


On the Flowering Baby Website, you can view samples of each set of curricula.  The page for age 3-age 4 is here.  They offer a couple samples of weeks so you can get a better feel for what to expect from the guides.

I realized I didn't get as many photos of us using the curriculum as I would have liked, but here are some outtakes:

Ordering sequencing cards.

Counting to ten, we used the bead stair.

Drawing a picture of our family during our family unit.

This photo represents one of the things I liked most about Flowering Baby.  Many times, the guide would encourage me to ask Mini Cooper to retell the story.  Well, turns out, she really likes storytelling.  She is also very good at it.  Ever since we started Flowering Baby, she has been volunteering to tell me stories all the time!  Here, she is telling me a Bible story.

Overall, my very favorite part of Flowering Baby was the excellent choice of books! 

January's book list includes:

Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey

Blue Sea by Robert Kalan

Vincent’s Colors by The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Five Senses: Hearing by Maria Rius

The Listening Walk by Paul Showers

Polar Bear, Polar Bear by Eric Carle

The Hat by Jan Brett

The Snowman by Raymond Briggs

Berenstain Bears: Too Much Junk Food by Stan Berenstain

Cooking With the Cat (reader 1) by Dr. Seuss

Healthy Snacks by Mari Schuh

Museum Shapes by The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Neighborhood Mother Goose by Nina Crews

Three Billy Goats Gruff by Paul Galdone

Unfortunately, our library didn't have very many of the books on this list, but they did have Three Billy Goats Gruff.  It is now on our 'to buy' list because once we read it, we had to read it every.single.day.  I think she even slept with it one night.  I know she has it memorized.  Shhh don't tell her I returned it to the library today.  Our time was up!

The Snowman we own, but had never read.  She loved it too!

As part of our unit on families, we read the Kissing Hand and When the Relatives Came.  Again, she loved them!

And speaking of our family unit, each month includes a daily guide for around 15 days of lessons.  Then, you would choose two of the theme units (there are 12) to do each month.  The author has made suggestions of which month to use which unit, but it's up to you which you choose.  The subjects for 3 year -4 year olds include:

Aquarium & Arctic Life

Dinosaurs

Musical Instruments

Transportation

Farm Animals

Gardens

Family

Easter and Spring

and many more!

So what did we think of Flowering Baby?

I really think that Flowering Baby is a well written, thorough curriculum that is fun and easy to follow.  I think it covers pretty much everything I would want to cover at this age {and they give suggestions for curriculum to challenge the child further}.  I think that the activities are age appropriate regardless of which guide you choose.  Overall, I would recommend it to anyone looking for a curriculum for their young child.

That said, I don't feel it is a good fit for us.  And here is why:  It's a little bit too thorough.  It is lined out what to do each day, and each day builds on the next.  I wasn't always able to get the library book noted in time for the day (I had to order them and some are still not in).  Other days, we couldn't do everything on the list (some of the field trips in the theme guide, for example).  Other times, Mini Cooper was either to advanced, or not quite up to the task at hand so I would feel the need to skip something-which would throw off the curriculum.  I know that the curriculum says it is flexible-and it is.  It's just I'm really not, lol!  If I'm going to follow a curriculum, I want to actually be able to do it.  It frustrated me that I couldn't always stick with each day.

Another issue I had was that the day's level of work seemed to be inconsistent. Some days would be full of 3 or 4 books to read, and other days, just 1.  It seemed as though-at least on the 3 book day-that the day didn't flow very well and that each subject was written independently of one another and then meshed together.  It also made the time of each day run differently and it was hard to know how much time to set aside.

We already have a pretty good thing going here, but I was curious to see if Flowering Baby would add something that was better.  For now, I don't think so.  Looking back, I really wish something like Flowering Baby would have been around when I first started homeschooling, though.  It was EXACTLY what I was looking for.  If I ever have a time when I am completely unable to plan our own schooling I will very likely come back to Flowering Baby.  For example, if we were to have a new baby or decide to make a move I would-for sure-come back to this.

I'm recommending Flowering Baby to the new homeschooler, to the older homeschooler that is completely focused on their older children and does not have time to set up a curriculum for their younger child, and also to the mom who simply wants to prepare their child for public school, but do Preschool at home.  

Flowering Baby retails for $132.00 if you would like to purchase the entire birth to five curriculum.  If you would like to purchase an age specific guide, they are sold for Birth to 1, 1-2 years or 2-3 years for $30.00 and age 3-4 or 4-5 for $38.00.  Flowering Baby is offering our readers 10% off by using the code 'Blog10'. The curriculum is sold on a disk, or can be downloaded in PDF form {please note that the PDF form is only available through Currclick-link on the Flowering Baby website-and the discount code can not be used on Currclick purchases}.

I hope this gives you enough information to help you consider Flowering Baby for your home!  If you have any questions, feel free to ask me.  I'll do my best to answer!

If you would like to see what other families thought of the Flowering Baby curriculum (and get glimpses of some or the other age groups).  Check out the crew blog!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

God Bless,

Disclaimer:  As a member of the Schoolhouse Review Crew, we received a copy of the entire Flowering Baby Program.  We agreed to use the program in our home and write this review.  All opinions expressed are our own.  We were not compensated in any other way.  I am disclosing this as part of the FTC regulations.

TOS Review: Apologia Zoology 3 Land Animals of the 6th Day

Last fall I started to look into the Montessori Elementary Albums and learned about the Great Lessons.  Now, if you don't know about Montessori, the Great Lessons are a (IMO) fairy tale type story to explain how the earth came about.  For once, I was not loving the Montessori lessons.

This sent me off with a very important mission:  To find a curricula that teaches how the earth and animals were created exactly how the Bible explains it.  My biggest criteria is curricula that teaches that humans and dinosaurs existed at the same time.

My children have had very little contact with dinosaurs.  We have very few books that talk about them, and we have very few dinosaur toys.  This is because I have purposely avoided books that mention 'millions of years ago.'  Literally, if they are a book for children and contain that sentence-out the door they go.  I just don't want to have to backtrack in the area of explaining how some people think the earth was created until my children have a FIRM understanding of Biblical Creation.

So, when we were offered the chance to review Apologia's science books, I was pretty much begging for Zoology 3-Land Animals of the 6th Day.  The one where they talk about dinosaurs and people living at the same time.  Yay! To be fair, the book only has about one chapter on dinosaurs, but I wanted a curricula that came from a Biblical Creation and Worldview.  I am happy to report I think I have found it!

We were sent for review a copy of the Zoology 3 Textbook Exploring Creation with Land Animals of the Sixth Day and the Zoology 3 Junior Notebooking Journal.

Eager to get started with our new science, I read through the first chapter online since it is the sample chapter available on the Apologia website.  You can read by choosing Zoology 3 from the list on this page.  As soon as the book arrived, it was added into our daily schedule.  The Notebooking Journal includes a really nice suggested schedule for completing the work.  I appreciated having a guide for my lesson planning.  They suggest 2 lesson periods a week.  We found it was better for us to have science 3 days a week, but to do a little less on each day.

The Zoology 3 book is beautiful!  Vivid photos, easy to turn pages, easy to read font.  The content for us was perfect-just enough to keep Mustang interested, not so much that she was overwhelmed.  I do think this is because we spread out our lessons a bit, though.  Some days, the suggested lesson plans had a lot of reading.

At the end of each lesson, there are 5 sections that are usually part of the chapter.

• What Do You Remember?  asks the student to recall information from the reading.  
• Map It!  has students place animals on a map to show where they are from.  
• Track It!  {in most of the lessons} students match footprints to animals and their habitats.  
• Notebook Activities, really these are throughout the chapter and not just at the end.  
• Experiment, of course this is the best part-hands on learning to help internalize the lesson. {Mustang's working on an experiment above}.

The entire first chapter of the Junior Notebooking Journal is also available online for you to see.  Choose the link that says Junior Journal Sample on this page.  Because the Apologia Science books are adaptable for grades K-6, Apologia has designed two notebooks.  We chose the Junior Journal since Mustang is in about 2nd grade.

The journal is also well laid out.  It is spiral bound, which is really nice for writing, coloring, and gluing into the book.  I love that, at the end of our lessons we will have a nice record of Mustang's learning that she can look back at and use to help remind her of what she learned.

Probably my favorite part of the lessons is that every few pages, Mustang was asked to verbalize what had just been read.  The book also provides statistics on how much more one retains if students have to talk about their learning.

Well, actually, my real favorite is the part where there are Bible verses to back up statements, and that Creation is taught not as a theory, but as fact.

Apologia's Zoology 3 Land Animals of the Sixth Day has certainly been well received here.  We already have plans to move on to Botany or Astronomy when we are done with Zoology 3 (and then we will probably come back and get Zoology 1, 2).  I guess we have plans to try them all!  I highly recommend you join us!  I will add, that the suggested age is K-6 and while Charger is in Kindergarten, I would not have used this book for him.  Mustang is a 7 year old 1st/2nd grader, who is a good reader (3rd/4th), and is currently interested in animals.  For her, this is an excellent fit.

Zoology 3 Land Animals of the Sixth Day Textbook retails for $39.00.
Zoology 3 Land Animals of the Sixth Day Junior Notebooking Journal retails for $24.00.
Zoology 3 Land Animals of the Sixth Day Notebooking Journal {also available, but not reviewed} for $24.00.  They are all available from the Apologia website.  

Now, Apologia Science was a great fit for us, but I know one size does not fit all.  Click to read more reviews from the Schoolhouse Review Crew and see what other families thought!

Thanks for stopping by!!

Happy Schooling and God Bless,

Disclosure:  

Disclaimer:  As a member of the Schoolhouse Review Crew, we received a copy of  Zoology 3 textbook and Junior Notebook Journal.  We agreed to use the program in our home and write this review.  All opinions expressed are our own.  We were not compensated in any other way.  I am disclosing this as part of the FTC regulations.

TOS Review: Growing Up Wild

With all the many wonderful review products I have been sent over the last 2 years on the Schoolhouse Review crew, I have never been more excited and honored to bring you a product then I am today!!

Many countless times, I have come across this question on homeschooling moms' message boards and Facebook pages:

"Does anyone know a good curriculum to teach about missions and missionaries?"

Everyone does their best to answer the question, but the fact is that we have always come up short due to a lack of a good curriculum to fit that need.  But, I am sooooo excited to tell you about a product that not only fills the need, but exceeds it in every possible way.

Let me introduce you to the Wild Family.  The Wild Family are missionaries with New Tribes Mission. Mike, Elizabeth, Asher, Kion, Morgan, and Hudson Wild live in the Wano Valley and minister to the Wano people in Papua, Indonesia.

The Wano people were an unreached people group before NTM and the Wild Family went to the Wano Valley.  The language of the Wano people was unknown, and so the Wild Family had to learn their language and then write it down.   After they translated the Wano peoples' language, they were able to present the message of the Gospel with the Wano people.

The Wild family also homeschool their children, and I suspect at one time or another, they saw the same question I did. But, they were in the unique situation to offer a solution to this question.  And answer they have!!!

Growing Up Wild follows the day to day adventures of the four Wild brothers as they live, play, learn, and spread the love of Christ with their family in the Papua Highlands.  Their life there is very different from the one that most American children live, and children are drawn in right away to see what happens!

Growing Up Wild is a DVD series that currently has 5 volumes.  Each volume has three 15 minute episodes that highlight a different aspect of growing up as a missionary kid in the jungle.  The DVD's also come with an activity guide that contain ways to take the episodes further in your learning.  It is always nice to have a homeschooling family write the curriculum, because they know how nice it is to have a CD-rom with the printables all ready to go! 

The DVD and Activity Guide sets retail for $18.99 plus tax and shipping.  You can also save if you buy all 15 volumes at the same time for just $80.99.  

The Wild Brothers and Our Country Kids:

We received copies of volumes 1 and 4 for review.  The first episode of the first volume is called 'Home Sweet Hut.'  This episode takes you on a tour of the Wild Family home in Wano.  It certainly sets the stage to let you know that things in Wano are quite different then those here in the States!

The Wild family lives in a ROUND house!  Made of local building materials, with local builders-and themselves.  Talk about green ;).  Their furniture is all made locally with wood from trees in the area, and it locks with a string and stick lock.  

But, the similarities to an American house are still there.  The boys sleep in bunk beds, mom has a washing machine for their clothes, and there's even a LEGO LOFT that is currently the envy of my son!

One of the activities afterwards is to make your own Wano house.  We watched the episode a number of times to help us get a true feeling for how the house is built and what materials we had on hand to build one. 

  

This is our group house made from an oatmeal container, bendi-stix, and soybean stubble.

Then, each child made their own.  Charger felt that since the Wild house has a lego loft, that the house should be made out of legos.  He didn't seem to care that it wasn't at all round.  

Apparently Bob and the gang didn't care either :).

 Mustang's house used the other half of the oatmeal box, and she decided that a flat roof was much easier then a gabled one.  Excuse the no smile.  She specifically wanted to have a photo with no smile.  

Another suggested activity was to create a Venn-Diagram to compare and contrast the Wild Brother's house with our house.  

We found that the Wild Brother's house:

• Is round
• has a round roof
• has an electrical station
• unique lock system
• a cat door
• homemade furniture
• 1 bath (that we saw)
• BIG spiders
• a dog
• LEGO LOFT

Our house:

• Is a rectangle
• has a triangle (gabled) roof
• locks with a key
• electrical box
• bathtub
• girls (except mom)
• 2 baths
• small spiders
• cabinets
• car and driveway

We both have:

• A metal roof
• wood floors
• kitchen
• bugs
• windows
• cat
• schoolroom
• big trees
• rats/mice
• ladder to a loft
• books

Now, you may be wondering why it matters that we see where the Wild Brothers live to learn about Missionaries?  It means everything.  "Go Ye into all the world." is a big, vague, kinda scary sounding verse.  But, it's very important that we, as Christians, understand this command.

Growing up, I went to a church that was very missions minded.  Every fall, they would host a missions conference and invite 10 or more missionaries to come and be part of the conference.  The church members would attend little classes designed to help us meet the missionaries and understand what they did.  My dad was the pastor there and so we often had these missionaries come and stay in our home during the conference and other times.  Many of these families became friends, some of them like family.  I also had an aunt and uncle serving in Honduras.

Getting to know these families takes the mystery out of 'going into all the world.'  It's no longer something scary.  Real people and real families go.  It's something that God can equip any willing person to do.  By the time I was in high school, I was eager to have an opportunity to go.  The summer after graduating from high school, I went to Ghana in West Africa.  Three weeks that forever changed my heart.  

At one point in life, I thought maybe I was called into foreign missions.  It has become clear that isn't the call God has for my life.  But, I certainly want to help my children understand this command to go.  Maybe one of them will be called.  And, even if they are not called to go, we are all called to send.   Understanding who we are sending and what they do is vital to developing a heart for the missionaries and their needs.

And, just in case you might think that living in the jungle means a home video quality movie, do not worry!  The quality of Growing Up Wild is top notch!  The music is catchy, the pictures are clear and beautiful, the narration is great, too.  The Wild family has done a perfect job of speaking to the children their product is aimed at, while at the same time including  mom and dad.

Bringing the Wild Family into our home has allowed me to teach my children about a real family who lives 1/2 way around the world in the middle of the jungle.  They sleep in bunk beds in a round house, they catch sun rays to power their laptops and ride in a helicopter to go to the grocery store.  They catch snakes for fun, kill spiders with spears, don't wear shirts, and have their noses pierced!  But, most important, they are a real family making known the mystery of the Gospel to the Wano people.  I feel beyond blessed to have Growing Up Wild as part of our curriculum and HIGHLY recommend it to you, too!!

If you would like to see what other families thought of Growing Up Wild, you can check out the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog.  

God Bless You and thank you for stopping by!

Disclaimer:  I received copies of Volume 1 and 4 of Growing Up Wild in exchange for an honest review.  All opinions expressed are my own!