Review: A Journey Through Learning

Do you enjoy lapbooking?  Have you ever even heard of lapbooking?  I discovered it many years ago and I've always thought it was a great way to learn.  A Journey Through Learning offers a multitude of lapbooks that you can use with your students.  I was given 4 lapbooks for this review and expected to complete just one, but we've actually finished two so I will share both.  We did Letters, Numbers and Shapes ,which is for ages 3-5 and The Earth, for grades 1-4.

A Journey Through Learning was created by two homeschooling moms, Nancy and Paula.  Take a moment to read their touching story.  If you are not familiar with lapbooking you may wish to watch these how to videos.

Letters, Numbers and Shapes is a 51 page pdf document with printable mini-books and activities to do with your younger children.  There are several booklets for tracing letters on the outside then copying the same letter under a flap on the inside, there is an ice cream cone triangle book, a firetruck rectangle book, number writing, a one-to-one correspondence activity with cards for matching numbers to objects, a booklet for matching capital and lowercase letters and more.

covers of the lapbooks Ellie and Connor made

You could choose to complete a booklet each day and have enough for about 4 school weeks.  We chose to just keep working on several books at a time and had this completed in about a week.  The end of the e-book contains 9 pages of finger plays, letter activities, poems, things to do with letters, learning about shapes with food.  There are lots of fun ideas in here to keep you busy for much longer.

a completed lapbook with the idea sheets that are also included

Connor matching capital and lowercase letters

cards to math numbers with objects

One of the things I really love about A Journey Through Learning is they provide you with an exact placement guide for each booklet in your lapbook.  You don't have to try to figure out what fits where! 

Here is a clip of part of the placement guide for this lapbook:

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The Earth lapbook is designed for your first to fourth grader.  It is an excellent introduction to Earth Science or would make a great go along for whatever Earth Science curriculum you are using.

The Earth is a 42 page e-book with directions for completing the lapbook, then each lapbook mini-book is accompanied by a page of text. No outside sources are needed to complete the lapbook.  There are 14 mini-books, a book list along with some songs, poems and crafts are included as well. 

The cover of Emma's lapbook

This is the cover of a layers of the earth booklet

and the inside of the same booklet

Part of the completed lapbook shown with the placement diagram that is included.

The Earth lapbook covers layers of the earth, types of rocks, landforms, seasons, mountains, volcanoes and more.

One thing I wanted to mention is that in the poem section there is a poem by Jane Yolen called Earth Day that starts out, "I am the earth, the earth is me." It's a little pantheistic for me, but it's not really a part of the study and you certainly wouldn't have to read it.  This would not prevent me from purchasing the study, but I thought it was worth mentioning.

Overall, we had a good time with these lapbooks and will likely complete more in the future.  These lapbooks are especially fun for kids who enjoy crafts and making projects.

You can purchase Letters, Numbers and Shapes for $13 (as a download...see the link for more options) and The Earth is also available for $13 as a download and $21 printed.

A Journey Through Learning offers lapbooks to go along with Jeannie Fulbright's Apologia Titles, Classical Conversations and many more! They also have Express Lapbooks for only $1!

See what others are saying about A Journey Through Learning on the crew blog.

Touch Math for Pre-K

For the past few weeks my younger children have been using the Pre-K level of Touch Math.

Touch Math generously provided me with all 6 pre-school units and 3 different fun manipulatives; Touch Shapes,  3-D Numerals, and Texture Cards.

Touch Math Texture Cards and 3-D Numerals

Touch Math Pre-K includes:

• 90 Student Activity Sheets
• Implementation guide
• Six module guides complete with strategies and answer keys
• Pre-and Post tests for each module

Touch Math uses a multi-sensory approach.  Students see, say, hear and touch manipulatives and do paper and pencil activities.  This was very easy to prepare (just print out) and everything is laid out step by step.  There are pre-activities for each worksheet (or group of worksheets) and instructions in the teacher pages for each worksheet.  I printed out the worksheets as we went but I think in the future I am going to print out an entire module at a time and put them in a notebook since I tend to misplace things.

Sadie (3) completing a sorting activity with the Touch Shapes

Connor doing a Touch Shapes activity

This has been a wonderful curriculum not only for my 2 pre-school age children but for my son with Down syndrome who is older and hasn't really been able to grasp math yet.  He is making slow progress with this and I am THRILLED. This is the first time he seems to be grasping the idea of one to one correspondence.  YAY!

Connor...so proud of his work!

The 230 page pdf curriculum is divided into 6 modules. Each module has 15 workmats (worksheets that you print, but they refer to them as workmats.)  I really like these.  They are not only great for activities, but the kids enjoy coloring them too. They are all black and white which is nice for saving on ink.

Each workmat is aligned to a Common Core Standard if that matters to you.  (It doesn't to me.)  Answer keys are also found in the same module for each workmat.   A progress monitoring sheet is included if you like that sort of thing for record keeping.

I really like how the teacher pages (Instructional Strategies) lay out everything including scripted dialogue, pre-activities and instructions for each worksheet.

Here are a couple of clips from the Instructional Strategies:

The six modules include:
Counting and Number Sense
Comparing and Classifying
Sorting, Classifying, Graphing and Patterning
Identifying, Sorting and Classifying 2-D Shapes
Identifying, Sorting and Classifying 3-D Shapes and Coins
Representing Quantities and Numbers


Touch Math recommends you spend 2 to 2 1/2 times the learner's developmental age per day.  So a young child is only going to be spending less than 10-15 minutes each day building skills.  (love this!)

The Touch Shapes are definitely needed to start with this program.  Several of the workmats and activities require the use of the shapes.  (I guess you "could" make your own shapes with paper but if you're like me you never will.  Just go ahead and order them...that is my advice!)

The Texture Cards and 3-D Numerals are not needed early on, but would make a wonderful addition to the workmats (and are used in later modules.)  The 3-D Numeral set comes with the plastic numbers and a CD-ROM of printable worksheets to go along with them.  The worksheets also match the Texture Cards.

One last picture of Connor after completing a workmat.

I guess I've never really thought about purchasing a Pre-K math curriculum but now that we are using one I can see the value in it and I really like Touch Math and will consider continuing on with it when we finish the 6 modules of the Pre-K program.

View sample pages.

Purchase:
Touch Math Pre-K $59.95
Touch Shapes $30.00
3-D Numerals $79.00
Texture Cards $99.00




See what others are saying about Touch Math (various levels) on The Schoolhouse Review Crew blog.

Greek and Latin Root cards

If you would like your children to learn Latin and Greek roots you will love Greek and Latin Root Cards from Lone Star Learning.  There are 60 cards total; 30 Latin Roots and 30 Greek Roots. They also come with an answer card with a list of all of the roots with their meanings.


These cards use pictures to help remind you of what each root means.   The cards are rather large at 5.5" x 8.5" and according to the website can be attached to your "word wall".  I don't have a word wall or anywhere to post anything like that, so smaller cards might be a bit more practical for me.  However, we LOVE these cards.

As you can see here each root is made into a picture.  For instance, the root ONYM means name and is pictured as a name tag and HYDR mean water and is pictured as a hose with water coming out of it.  Very ingenious. 

At first, I thought that we'd learn 2-3 roots a week and build from there.  However, Emma (10) wanted to go through the whole set every time. Amazingly, within a week she knew them all!  We even set them aside for a bit and when we came back to them she still knew every one! I am completely impressed. I thought that maybe she didn't really know the roots, but had memorized the pictures and made up a matching worksheet for her and she really does KNOW them.

The backs of the cards are blank.  I thought I might need to write the meanings on the backs of the cards, but we didn't have any trouble just using the reference card.

These cards are recommended for grades 3-8, but if your high school students need to learn roots this would be a very fast way for them to learn them. 

Here is a list of the roots that are included:

Greek Roots		Latin Roots
chrom chron cosm cycl deca derm drome geo graph helio hetero homo hydr hypn macr	mania metr micro onym phil photo poly proto scop sphere tele therm tom tox zo	amor aug cor cresc dent dict dorm filum flex here hum loqu medi migra mit	mort noc port prim ridi rog scrib simil spec stru tact temp tort uni vor

Greek and Latin Root Cards are available for $39.99. Despite the fact that I love these cards, I would never pay this much for them.  I would love to see them design a smaller set of cards (the size of a typical deck of cards) at a more reasonable price.

Visit Lone Star Learning to see all of the Get the Picture Vocabulary cards in a variety of subject areas as well as Digital Products and more!

See what others are saying about Lone Star Learning products on the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog.

Music Together

Music Together is an internationally recognized early childhood music program that we have had the privilege of reviewing in our home over the past 6 weeks.  Music Together was first introduced to the public in 1987.  While you can find a Music Together center to attend a class, you can also purchase materials for use in your homeschool. We received the Music Together Family Favorites CD and the Music Together Family Favorites Songbook for Teachers.

We started out by just listening to the CD at home every day.  We have mostly used the CD, but I play the guitar so sometimes I pull that out and we sing (and dance) without the CD as well.  It was great to have the songbook so that we are able to do that.  We have also enjoyed listening to it in the car.

Singing together in a circle

The Music Together Family Favorites Songbook for Teachers has music with guitar chords for each song as well as multiple ideas to use with the songs. The book is soft cover and spiral bound.  The only problem I've had with it is that it isn't really sturdy enough to stand up at the piano without something behind it.  You can see how it bends back a little in this picture.

One handy feature is that in the upper corner of the page with the music is a picture of a CD
with the track number of the song so you don't have to find the case
to find the track you want on your CD.

The songbook is divided into 3 sections:

The Opening Section discusses the fundamentals of the Music Together approach including an introduction to their philosophy, a discussion of types of songs and activities, how to work with instruments and props along with adaptations for children with special needs.  I really would have loved to have this on hand when Connor was in Early Intervention. At one point, we were in a class on a farm that I led music for. This would have been perfect for that. (20 pages)

Connor dancing to one of his favorite songs

The Middle Section is the bulk of the book and contains the nineteen songs with the CD track number as mentioned above.  Each song is introduced by a personal note from Ken Guilmartin (founder and director of Music Together) and is followed by several teacher pages that include ideas for use with 4 different groups: All ages and settings, infants, preschoolers and older children and children with special needs.  You will also find a box that lists titles of activities, the music details (key, starting pitch and meter) and finally a list of the instruments used for that particular recording). (80 pages)

The Final Section is a reference section that includes information about the Music Together program and how to become involved with its licensed applications.  Reference material include a glossary of music terms used in the book and a guitar chord chart. (12 pages)

I have found that my children love these songs (and I get them stuck in my head too...right now I have Biddy Biddy in my head.)  They love to listen and sing. They love to use rhythm instruments to play along and they love to run and dance to the music.

Dancing with Teddy (the kids LOVE this)

Let's all click our sticks today!

More stick clicking

.
Music Together Family Favorites CD  includes a 32-page booklet with fun music-making activity suggestions. The booklet (pictured above) is attached to the CD case.  Each page has simple ideas to use with each song.  For example, with Playin' in the Kitchen there are suggestion for making your own rhythm instruments.

The booklet in the CD

In our home, we have some purchased rhythm instruments and I've made some for the kids to use as well.  Music together sells lots of rhythm instruments and how cute are these castanets?  They also have drums, percussion sets, shakers and tambourines.  (I would love to have them all!)

I'm thinking Family Favorites 2 and the Lullabies CD will make great Christmas or birthday gifts for my younger children.  (Along with a collection of rhythm instruments.)

Take some time to listen to song samples and see what you think.  We highly recommend this CD.  I recommend the book to those that would like to have the sheet music and additional ideas for the songs. Some of the instructions are really more geared to a classroom setting, but there is plenty you can find to do with your family as well.

 Though this is a recommended for early childhood (up to about age 7) we are finding that we all enjoy the variety of songs.  I even hear my 12 year old singing the songs as he is sitting at the computer.  Fun for the whole family!

Purchase Music Together Family Favorites CD for $14.95 or download mp3's for $9.95. Individual songs may also be downloaded for $.99 each.  The Music Together Family Favorites Songbook is $29.95 or save $5 and buy them as a set for just $39.95. Use coupon code “Schoolhouse” at checkout on the Music Together store, and save an additional $2 the combo purchase.

See what others are saying about Music Together on The Schoolhouse Review Crew blog.

Award-winning CD:

A Parents’ Choice Silver Honor Award

Earlychildhood News Directors’ Choice

Earlychildhood News Judges’ Selection

National Parenting Center Seal of Approval

NAPPA Gold Award

iParenting Media Award

Learning®Magazine 2008 Teacher’s Choicefor the Family

Creative Child Magazine Preferred Choice

Children's Music Web Award

Mom's Choice Gold Award

Parent-Tested Parent-Approved Award

disclaimer: I received  Music Together book and CD in exchange for an honest review

Reading Kingdom

Reading Kingdom is a new reading and writing system developed by Dr. Marion Blank, a world renowned expert on literacy and the Director of the Light on Learning Institute at Columbia University. It uses a 6 skill model of reading instruction and incorporates elements of phonics and whole language while teaching additional skills required for reading and writing success without requiring kids to learn any complicated rules.

This is not your typical reading "game". It is completely educational, but feels like a game. There is no "arcade" so I feel confident in allowing my child to "play" on Reading Kingdom without feeling like she is wasting time. My 6 (almost 7 year old) Jenna has been using Reading Kingdom each day.  The lessons are short enough that she doesn't feel overwhelmed, but long enough that she is really learning.   I like how Reading Kingdom teaching sequencing, motor skills, sounds (phonics), meaning, grammar and comprehension.

A comparison chart showing Reading Kingdom versus the Phonics
 and Whole Language approaches to reading.

Here are a few screenshots with descriptions of the activities.

Early on the child has to match the word by only clicking on the letters in the word.

The child must click on the word that they hear.
They must read the whole word and not just guess based on the first 2 letters.

The student clicks on the box that could have the word spoken. In this example she had to click on the word that could be "eat".

In this exercise, the student must click on the word (in the box on the bottom)
and then type in the missing letters to make that word.

In this exercise, she had to type in the words as she heard them.  The first word must be capitalized.
The green bars are for a space or punctuation. If the child takes too long finding a letter a keyboard will pop up on the screen and highlight the key that needs to be typed next.

This is the screen at the end of a lesson.  The student can click on the red door and be done for the day, click on the green arrow to do another lesson or click on the pink arrow to go to review activities for previous lessons.

This is the main screen for the review.  The student can pick up to 3 words to review.  

You can see many more sample lessons with details on each.

At any time, I can log into Jenna's account and see exactly where she is and how she is doing.

To get started all you need is a computer and an internet connection. Then just sign up for a free trial, add a reader account (or more than one) and the Reading Kingdom program will take care of the rest. The program will briefly evaluate your child's skills and start him or her off at exactly the right level.

The length of time a child will need to complete the program varies depending on his or her skills. To complete the entire set of components takes about 12-15 months, assuming a child starts at the first level and completes four to five sessions a week. Many children, who already have some reading skills, can often complete the program in as few as 3-6 months. Children can also move through the program more quickly by doing more than 4 sessions per week.

You also need computer with a mouse, an internet connection, a web browser and free Flash player.  An adult is needed to supervise a child logging on and getting started in the beginning.  After the initial proces,s children can work on their own (adults are not supposed to help in any way.)

Children should be at least 4 years old, be able to sit quietly and pay attention for 15 minutes, and they should be able to use a mouse.

Visit the website for more details.  If you have an iPad you can find instructions for using Reading Kingdom on it. It does require that you purchase an app from another company so be sure to check that out if it's something that interests you.

I really like Reading Kingdom.  I can see how Jenna is progressing with her reading.  I also like how the writing skills are also incorporated.  Although Jenna is in level one she is learning to put a capital letter at the beginning of a sentence and a period at the end.

Parents can change the amount of response time the child is allowed.  This is very helpful for children that aren't that fast on the keyboard or just need some extra time to respond. Included is a section for teaching the keyboard as well.  We did not use that.  One other thing to note is that the child (or parent) can opt to have a keyboard on the screen to click or use the physical keyboard.  I think this is a nice option.

The only thing that would prevent me from purchasing this in the future is the price.  It seems to be the going rate for online programs like this, but it's still a bit steep for me.


See what others are saying about Reading Kingdom on The Schoolhouse Review Crew blog.

When you sign up for the Reading Kingdom, you receive a free 30 day trial . After that, subscriptions to Reading Kingdom are $19.99/month (with no monthly minimum), or $199.99 per year (20% off). Additional children in your account get 50% off ($9.99/month or $99.99/year). Subscriptions maybe be canceled at any time.

Reading Kingdom also sells books that go along with the lessons and other companion products.  I am considering buying the first book to see what they are like.



disclaimer: I received a one year subscription for one child to Reading Kingdom in exchange for an honest review