Schoolhouse Review Crew: IEW Fix It Grammar

For the first time in our homeschooling lives, our family had to do standardized tests this year. We decided to use the results as a way to determine weak spots in the boys and to guide us in our teaching efforts this year. Each of them were weak in grammar and rules of writing, so the chance to review Institute for Excellence in Writing Fix It! Grammar - The Nose Tree (book 1) teacher's manual  and the companion student book was an excellent way to begin our September schedule. 

This program had a lot of positives to start with. First, it comes from a company that is known for its excellent programs in the finer points of writing. The books are spiral-bound, so they lay flat while the kids are working, and the lessons are designed to take only fifteen minutes a day! Now, we used these first-level books for each of our oldest four children - ages 14 down to 5. They are geared towards grades 3-5. 

Schoolhouse Review Crew: Home School Adventure Company

It will likely be no surprise that we have around 2,000+ books in our home. Every room has a bookcase filled to overflowing (and often two or three bookcases!) in addition to the full library room and storage-turned-school room! The library has a fairly comprehensive, though not complete, set of C.S. Lewis' books, which led me to request the opportunity to review Home School Adventure Co.'s Mere Christianity Journal.

I enjoy Lewis' fictional works and gain a great deal from them as spiritual allegory, but must confess that when it comes to his more "scholarly" texts, short though they are, I struggle. So I requested this review as much for 14-year-old Maestro, and 12-year-old Chef, as I did for my own edification. I also thought that working through the book (which we own, of course) together could provide some good discussion moments between the boys and the White Knight and I. The White Knight has read the book many times, so he served as a guide to our discussions within the confines of the Home School Adventure Journal.

Schoolhouse Review Crew: French Essentials

I mentioned in my last review that we are working on French this year and next as The White Knight nears retirement. We have tried workbooks, Rosetta Stone, websites, YouTube videos and other such means to get the kids involved. While a few words stick here or there, nothing of substance stays around for long. Schoolhouse Review Crew offered the chance to look at the online program French Essentials, and I was happy to get the chance to try it out - especially because I can use it with each of the older children and for the entire year. 

Schoolhouse Review Crew: PeopleKeys Personality Style Binder

There are so many personality tests and quizzes out there that it can be hard to know which ones will work to give you information that you can really use. When The Old Schoolhouse folks put up a review opportunity for StudentKeys Binders, I thought it might be a good one to try. Maestro will be 14 in November and one of the things we are working on with him this year is taking control of his own education - helping keep track, set his own goals, etc. And PeopleKeys offered the opportunity to strengthen his knowledge of himself through their StudentKeys Personality Binder.

Maestro is a little bit younger than the stated age range for the binder - the binder is advertised for high school students, and while technically he will be 14 this year, his birthday is so late that we are having him make sure that all of his "8th grade" knowledge is sound before throwing him into the high school melting-pot of educational ability. Regardless, his reading and other skills are such that I felt it would be a good experience and help him to find his direction in doing such a course. 

Schoolhouse Review Crew: Doorposts Bible Study Review - Because You Are Strong

I am always on the lookout for Bible study materials that might work within Orthodox Christian Theology without my having to do a lot of adjustment work. A recent review opportunity came across my path and I took it as a chance to look at another curriculum that might fill the bill. Introducing: Doorpost's Because You are Stong: A Study of Godly Strength for Young Men.

Homeschool Review Crew: Classical Conversations Handwriting

Homeschooled children are frequently thought (known?) to be the exception to many of the plagues that come through modern-day schooling, but good handwriting seems to frequently get overlooked in both worlds. Try passing poor handwriting off to a Papa who does beautiful calligraphy work, though, and you'll find yourself doing some serious writing practice! Because my handwriting is legible, and decent, but not necessarily what old-school folks would call "great", I was pleased to have the chance to review the Classical Conversations PreScripts program.

We received the paper-book form (as opposed to the online/"e-" edition) that covered cursive handwriting and art lessons. The book is not supposed to be copied for use with multiple children but is supposed to be used once and then a new book should be ordered for each child. The books cost $12.99, and so aren't too expensive if you're only purchasing one or two.

Schoolhouse Review Crew: Science Naturally

About seven years ago, I stumbled across a homeschooling math book called One Minute MATH Mysteries. It was a gem and I have used it for three of my five children to give fun, short breaks to their math curriculum. When the Homeschool Review Crew put out that they had a review coming up for a One Minute SCIENCE Mysteries book, I was really excited and hoped I would get picked to review the product for Science Naturally! 

Schoolhouse Review Crew: Progeny Press - The Hobbit

We don't do as many read-alouds as we did when the kids were younger (and fewer in number), but I have been trying to increase how often we read classic literature with them. Even the youngest kids can benefit from hearing longer books read, if only because they're learning how to quietly do their own thing while others in the room are listening, and eventually they get into the stories too. We had recently finished The Hobbit again when The Old Schoolhouse put out the chance to review Progeny Press' Hobbit interactive study guide. It was a chance I jumped on right away!

Progeny Press bills itself as creating "Study guides for literature from a Christian Perspective." They have study guides for a wide range of literature that covers all the grade levels, K - 12. I will get into my opinion of the guide I received in a minute, but wanted to point out a rare thing in Homeschooling curriculum publishers - they give permission for teachers to print/use multiple copies within the same home or classroom. That is not always - or even usually - the case. But it makes me glad that I can reuse the same curriculum with my younger children, as they reach the appropriate skill levels, without having to be concerned over breaking copyright laws (however inadvertent.) 

The guide for The Hobbit is a pdf download that allows the user to fill in the blanks virtually. It does not include the Hobbit book, only the study guide. The download is $18.99, and can be purchased as a CD, an instant download or for $21.99, as a printed book. The Hobbit Study Guide is aimed at the high school level. Maestro's reading skill level is easily at high school range so I kept an eye on what he was doing but did not feel like I had to sit side-by-side with him for every step of the way. Even better was that he enjoyed most of the study guide enough that I didn't have to!

I was very impressed with how thorough the study guide was. It started out covering JRR Tolkein's life, and included a wide range of subjects and skills: map reading, nature and science, music, literature (of course!), language arts (grammar, etc), biblical studies, dictionary use, vocabulary, historical perspective, etc. 

I did stay close at hand for any discussion of the intent and meaning in various Bible verses. Being Orthodox, we do use the Bible, but sometimes our understanding of certain verses does not mirror that of the rest of the Protestant world-view. Because of that I used the various sections relating to the Bible as a means of opening discussion. The questions relating to the Bible were open-ended though and did not "push" a particular interpretation on the student.

The guide breaks the book up into sections, with the student advised to finish one section each week; the sections are then broken down so the student is doing a page each day, so the student is not overwhelmed by the work involved.

I liked the Progeny press study guide and plan to buy more - not all are the same price, but the price is certainly worth it!

Schoolhouse Review Crew: Knowledge Quest - Sacagawea Interactive E-Book

Somehow I scheduled my homeschool review dates pretty close this month, but there were so many good programs being offered all at once that I couldn't help but ask for the chance to join the fun! So for the third review this week, I present to you Knowledge Quest's Sacagawea Interactive E-Book.

Schoolhouse Review Crew: Leadership Garden Legacy

When I first saw the notice go up about reviewing the Growing My Leadership Garden series, I was intrigued. In the course of homeschooling the kids, I have watched them as they tried their hands at leadership, sometimes succeeding, sometimes not so much, but always putting in the effort. They've made me proud to watch them, my kids have, but was I doing enough to help them learn skills that would help them be good and effective leaders? Maybe. But I'm always looking to learn something new to share with them, so I asked if I could be one of the Crew to try out Leadership Garden.

Schoolhouse Review Crew: A Journey Through Learning Lapbooks

I was given the chance to review the Lapbooks available at A Journey Through Learning  to review recently. Maestro and Chef did a lapbook with me about two years ago that we really enjoyed, so I was happy to see such a great opportunity open up for me to look at!

I had access to four of the books that Journey Through Learning offers:

• Letters, Number and Shapes (good for ages 3 - 5)
• The Earth (for grades 1 - 4)
• Knights and Castles (grades 2 - 7)
• Astronomy and Space (grades 2 - 7)

Maestro helped Buttercup work on Letters, Numbers and Shapes while Chef and Bruiser worked on Knights and Castles. I stayed on hand to provide direction, but for the most part, with the older kids involved, the need for me to be there was pretty minimal.

Comparing Two Winters

Within reason, we are snow lovers in our family. I am not as fond of playing in the snow, but love to work in it and to watch everyone else enjoy the brisk weather. Jeff is my compliment - he likes to play in it, and working in the snow is ... eh... "okay." Last fall, we moved 4.5 hours' drive south of Baltimore to the far eastern reaches of Virginia, and what a difference it makes in the winter weather! From that, we're doing a bit of a winter weather study lately (and praying for more snow!)

Shoveling 28-inches of snow out so the car could be used.

About every 4 or 5 years we got close to 3 feet of snow to play - and work - in. Outside of piled up on the side of the road going up the Washington (state) mountains, I have never seen that much snow in one place, at one time, in  my lifetime! That is all to say that it was truly impressive being in that amount of snow and a lot of fun. 

sliding down the snow "mountain" made by the parents

Aaaaannnnddd then we moved slightly south to the east Virginan coastline. Right on the water, just about. I thought - foolishly perhaps - that we would maybe get more snow here. In hindsight that is silly since we're further south. After listening to our northern friends go on about the snow they were getting (whether in positive or negative vein didn't matter much), we finally got our little bit of snow on the ground. That allowed us to make our first (only?) little Virginia snowman (who is holding hands with the even smaller snowchild.)

No snow to shovel, barely enough to play in
but we had fun anyway!

 So which are you? Are you a snow-lover, or a snow-hater? What is your favorite part of winter?