Product Review & Giveaway: Download N Go

Over the last few weeks, thanks to DownloadNGo by Amanda Bennett and The Old Schoolhouse, we have been learning about Davy Crockett-'King of the wild frontier.' Now we are both humming the same tune :). And we will be spending the next few weeks learning about Whales. To be fair, I hadnt thought of introducing my kids to historical figures just yet, but we were asked to try this lesson and of course we said yes! I am all about trying new curriculum as I try to find the best fit for our family.

So what is Download N Go? It is exactly that-Download and Go. You choose the topic you want to study from the 38 units currently available. You DOWNLOAD and print off the five lessons, put them in a binder, and GO teach it to your student.

Each lesson is interactive. Your child keeps a hard copy of the lesson in front of him or her. They also read the lesson on the computer, as it is hyperlinked with all kinds of great internet resources on the given topic. For our Davy Crockett lesson, we watched a couple movies, looked at maps, and of course listened to the Davy Crockett song-which was Charger's favorite part. We listened to the song every day.

The binder has lots of hands on work to go along with the internet resources. There are questions, word problems, a few games, and cut and paste activities. There are also ideas and templates to use when putting together a lap book. At the end of each lesson, your student will have a lapbook AND a notebook to keep as a resource that can be referred to over and over. They are also great documentations of your learning, if your state requires samples of your student's work to be presented to them.

What I LOVED about Download N Go:

~NO planning

~Hands on learning

~Multi-Age activities

~Unique subjects

~Affordability! Each lesson is $7.95 individually, and they are a little cheaper if you buy a set. And right now, multiple packs are an extra 20% off!! Enter the code DNG20PKS at checkout to receive this awesome discount!!!

Download N Go would be a perfect for an individualized lesson if you needed extra time with another child. Download N Go would also be a great breather from the normal subjects. When I presented my review for our local Mom's of homeschoolers group, one mom thought it would be great to buy two biographies and have each of her 2 sons do one. Then, they would give a report to the other on what they learned. I thought this was a GREAT idea!!

I did have a few challenges along the way....

The suggested age is K-3. Mustang is a beginning K, and it really wasnt 'for her.' She cant read more then basic CVC words, and cant write creatively. She still loved the subject matter and getting to use the computer {which she can do well}. I did end up adjusting a few things to make it fit better for us {the freedom of homeschooling}.

I am working with multi-level learners that were under the suggested age-Charger is 2.5. Because I couldnt just let Mustang go with it on her own, I had to incorporate Charger, which really added some challenges.

There is a great book list included with the study, but I dont have a library! If I had chosen to purchase this study, I would have allowed myself enough time to buy the needed books. I do own a few Little House books {the ones adapted for young readers}, so we pulled them out for the Davy Crockett lesson. For the Whale Tales lesson, I prayed about it, and the Lord sent me a stack of Whale books at a yard sale!

One other thing to be aware of, is that printing the unit is both paper and printer ink intensive, so keep that in mind when you are budgeting.

We have been reviewing two different lessons, Davy Crockett and Whale Tales. Both lessons were well written and engaging. I highly recommend them!! You can read more about {and purchase} Davy Crockett here, and about Whale Tales here.

I will be posting more about our experience over the next few weeks, since these lessons have been the focus of our learning.

Overall, I really enjoyed the DownloadNGo experience. I will certainly be using the lessons again in a year or two. If you are looking for something a little different for the 2010-2011 school year, or maybe a summer learning unit, then check out DownloadNGo from Amanda Bennett and The Old Schoolhouse!

THE PRIZE:

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine and Amanda Bennett Unit Studies have teamed up to celebrate the successful launch of Download N Go™ with a Sweet Treat Prize Package in The Adventure Begins ... Giveaway! They're offering one lucky winner the SWEET chance to go EXPLORING this FALL!

The entire FALL curriculum lineup of Download N Go™ (Wow! That's 19 studies!).

A $25 gift certificate to Baskin-Robbins (yummy ice cream).

A $25 gift certificate to Amazon.com (for those back-to-school supplies).

A $15 gift certificate to Starbucks Coffee (a special treat just for the teacher).

A full year's subscription to The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine (encouragement and resources all year long).

A "sweet" blue and brown Homeschooling With Heart tote bag (THE must-have accessory for FALL!).

ENTER HERE!For more information just click on the icon above! Contest will run May 24 and through June 12!

Thank you to Amanda Bennett & The Old Schoolhouse for providing me with a complementary copy of the Davy Crockett and Whale Tales Download N Go for my review! I was not paid for my review, and the opinion provided is my own.