Perhaps you are like me and you grew up watching Little House on the Prairie every Monday night at 8:00 pm. Or, maybe you are more like my oldest daughter that devoured every book in the Little House series reading them again and again. I didn't actually read the books until I was an adult. They are timeless and wonderful. Emma, my 10 year old is just discovering these books for herself and and therefore I was thrilled to have the opportunity to review Little House on the Prairie: The Legacy of Laura Ingalls Wilder DVD from Dean Butler of Legacy Documentaries.
This 55 minute long documentary, narrated and directed by Dean Butler (the actor that played Almanzo in the TV series) details the life of the real Laura Ingalls Wilder. The documentary chronicles not only the childhood but also the adult life of Laura and her family. I learned so many things about the Ingalls and Wilder families that I didn't know before. This is a very interesting documentary that the whole family will enjoy (ours did). It is touching, informative and a must see for anyone even remotely interested in Laura Ingalls Wilder. You will learn how the stories of the Little House on the Prairie came to be.
Bonus features include the Director's Diary with Dean Butler explaining some of the behind the scenes details of making this documentary, and includes trailers of Almanzo Wilder: Life Before Laura DVD and Pa's Fiddle.
Having grown up watching the series on TV, I found it interesting that Dean Butler pronounces Almanzo differently than they did on TV. It turns out, it is supposed to be pronounced Al-man-zo (like the word man)....hence the nickname, Manly....now it all makes sense. :) Read more about that here.
For the past couple of months, my 13 year old son, Ryan has been learning Visual Basic (computer language) with the Kid Coder Visual Basic series from Homeschool Programming. This is a 2 semester course (which can be purchased separately or as a package.) Computer programming is a valuable skill that I think sometimes gets overlooked by homeschoolers
The first semester is Windows Programming, written for your 6th-8th grader*, and teaches the writing of graphical Windows programs using Visual Basic. This was easy to download and start immediately. The first lesson teaches you about computers in general and walks you through the process of downloading Visual Basic (free). I did the installation, but Ryan took over from there and was able to just work through these lessons completely on his own without any help from me. (Love that!) *My opinion on this is that it would be a valuable course even for your highschool students if they haven't been exposed to programming yet. My 10 year old daughter is chomping at the bit to get started on this so I am going to let her try it.
Prior to beginning this course, your student should be familiar with using a computer keyboard and mouse, know how to select and run programs as well as navigate application menu systems. They should also know how to store and retrieve files on a hard disk. Some familiarity with text editors and web browsers is also recommended. Beyond that, they teach your student everything he/she needs to know step-by-step in a clear and easy to understand manner.
Chapters Include:
Introduction to Computers
Get Your Feet Wet
Exploring Visual Basic Programs
Data Types and Variables
Basic Flow Control
Getting User Input
Working with Numbers
Working with Strings
Using the Debugger
Loops in Programs
Functions
Arrays and Structures
Distributing Your Programs
Putting it All Together
Ryan has been able to just sit down and watch the video lessons/ read the text lesson and do the assignments. Since this is our summer break he has just been working on this a few times a week. This has worked for us and when we resume school in late August he will pick up where he left off with this same schedule. I have been so pleased with how easy this has been for him to do on his own. He's finished about 8 of the 14 lessons (divided into 48) chapters. Chapters end with a review and a "your turn" section where the students actually performs the tasks learned in the lesson.
Since we need to finish the KidCoder: Windows Programming before beginning Kidcoder: Game Programming, I can share a brief overview of what is included rather than firsthand experience.
Game Programming is a 238 page book which has 14 Chapters divided into about 45 lessons and will teach your student (or you!) how to write your own computer games. (KidCoder: Windows Programming is a prerequisite). This course will build on the Visual Basic skills learned in the Windows Programming Course. Students will learn some simple game programming techniques and apply these to several games.
Course topics covered include: game design, screen coordinates, user input, graphics and drawing, images and animation, sprites, sound, artificial intelligence, saving games, games physics, and text and printing. Within each chapter students work on a real game that uses the lesson topics.
The games are fairly simple, but cool. (The games remind me of what I thought was a cool computer game back in the day!) You can watch a video overview (this is similar to the style of the instructional videos including the narrator), or view samples from each course.
Optional Instructional Videos are available. The videos are not intended to replace the Student Textbook, but they do reinforce every chapter and lesson. The same conceptual topics are covered using different examples and, in some cases, screen recordings of a real programmer accomplishing a task within the development environment.
Though the videos are an optional part of the program I highly recommend them. Especially if you have students who learn best with audio/visual instruction and not just reading through the text. I think for us, just having the videos made it so much easier for Ryan to be able to work through it all on his own. He relied heavily on the videos.
Note: instructional videos are Flash-based and will play directly from your computer's DVD drive in your Flash-enabled web browser.
Check out these features:
If you have a large family like I do you, will be happy to know that all of the children in your family may share a single student text between them. There are no consumables in any product, and siblings may share one computer or use different computers. (See conditions of use page for other situations.) We will continue to use this as part of our curriculum for this year and I foresee us using it for many years to come.
Purchase Kid Coder Visual Basic series as a package for $120 (courses only) or $145 (courses and videos). You can also purchase the videos for $30. (Semesters may also be purchased invidually.)
I was recently sent a copy of Couponing Made Simple from Christi the Coupon Coach to review. There was a time when I had learned a bit about couponing and would take the time to clip them and match the ads, but with multiple pregnancies, morning sickness, nursing babies etc. I lacked the time and energy for such endeavors. Over the years, I stopped cutting coupons and even stopped looking through the ones that came in the mail depositing them directly in the recycling bin. (Prior to that I was cutting them out and forgetting to take them to the store OR I would take them to the store and forget to use them!)
This 130 page paperback has 10 Chapters:
1. Success Stories- This is just that. Pictures and descriptions of awesome couponing success stories.
2. A New Way to Shop- In this chapter you will learn the 2 key rules of couponing (buy on sale and stack coupons) and exactly what that means. 3. The Language of Couponing- If you are going to be a couponer you need to know the lingo...blinkies, peelies, BOGOs etc. Everything you need to know is in this chapter.
4. Organization System- Learn how to organize your coupons at home and for going to the store.
5. Step-by-Step Process- This is the meat of the program. This is where you learn exactly what you need to do to make the most of your coupons. There is an 8 step process with detailed descriptions for each step.
6. Tips & Tools- Here you will learn about other ways to save money when shopping. Rainchecks, unadvertised deals, craft stores, department stores and many more are covered.
7. Couponing Ethics- I love that Christi covered this in the book. This book is about saving money the honest way and as a Christian I appreciate that.
8. Networking & Communicating- Here you will find other ways to find deals.
9. Bonus Section- This section covers yard sales and thrift stores.
10. Beyond Couponing- This is a presentation of the gospel.
I enjoyed reading Couponing Made Simpleand would recommend it to anyone that is interested in really learning about "extreme" couponing and ways to save money. The subtitle of the book is Simple Steps to Successful Couponing. I would agree that she breaks it down into a simple system for couponing, but I still find it extremely time consuming and at this stage in my life I do not want to invest time into this.
The least expensive Sunday paper I can find is $1.50. The author recommends purchasing a minimum of 2 Sunday papers and to get one for each member of your family, rounding up if it is an odd number. So for us that would mean purchasing 12 newspapers with a minimum cost of $18. This also requires driving 15 miles to get the papers on a Sunday afternoon. I could obtain the papers for $1.75 each with less of a drive (and/or buy less papers). This particular paper has only had 1 book of coupons in the time I have been buying them. The bigger city newspaper has more coupons but it costs $3.50 just for one paper!
Since I really wanted to give this a go but I didn't want to invest any more money than I needed to, I only bought 1 paper each week (after the first week when I bought 2 different ones). I found a handful of coupons worth using and I have those set aside in a paperclip that I take with me when I go to the store. In the book, she teaches you a very nice system for organizing all of your coupons. I just don't have that many that I want to use. I eat mainly whole foods and I don't use cosmetics so I think this is why I feel very limited with the number of coupons that I find that are usable for me. For most part, I really don't purchase about 90% or more of the things I have seen coupons for and for me it is not worth the effort to search out coupons and deals. I also mainly shop at Walmart where they don't have buy one get one free deals or double coupons. I don't have the time to drive around to various stores to pick up items here and there. I feel that my time is valuable too.
The newspaper isn't the only place you can get coupons. She also gives you helps for finding coupons in places other than your Sunday newspaper. I didn't realize how many online coupons are available. I like this option much better as it is available to me in my home already AND I don't have to go buy newspapers. This is probably the most helpful thing I learned from this review.
So while couponing isn't for ME, I know that many people would enjoy this and like to find deals. If you are one of these people then I highly recommend this book to you. You will learn everything you need to to start saving money right away. I believe the author has a heart for helping people save money and I really appreciate that. This would also make a great project for your teenagers. One suggestion is to use your extra coupons to bless others. This would also be a nice service project for a young person in your home.
Though I will never be a die hard couponer, I am glad to have read this book. I am now more on the lookout for coupons I CAN use and some websites I can check from time to time.
See Christi the Coupon coach talking about couponing:
I have struggled throughout my entire homeschooling career with teaching writing. I cannot even tell you the number of writing curricula I have purchased and attempted to teach writing with. This is the best writing curriculum I have ever used. Andrew Pudewa is an absolute genius as far as I am concerned. He teaches writing in such a way that it is actually fun and much easier than anything I've seen before. I will not say it is easy though, because honestly, writing is work.
On to the actual review of what you get and how it works. TWSS is a teacher seminar on DVD complete with a 3 ring binder of lessons to go along with it. The seminar is an actual recording of Andrew Pudewa teaching the course to a live audience and includes interaction with the audience as he is teaching. Though intended for the teacher, we all enjoy watching these. Mr. Pudewa is engaging and entertaining (think hilarious) while being informative and relevant.
TWSS comes with a set of 10 DVDs and the seminar workbook, which is a tabbed 3-ring binder. (see sample) The sample will show you the complete outline of the course including a 9 session viewing schedule (on 6 DVDs )and practicum exercises. It is suggested that you take 2 hours per session, about 10 of which are viewing time with the remaining time for the practicum exercises. The other 4 DVD's include Tips & Tricks for Teaching and 3 workshop session at each of the three levels; A, B and C. Remember, this is for YOU, the teacher and not something for the kids to watch instead (although some of my kids have enjoyed watching this along with me.)
There are 9 units:
Units I: Notemaking and Key Word Outlines
Unit II: Summarizing from Notes
Units III: Summarizing Narrative Stories
Units IV: Reports-Summarizing a Reference
Unit V: Writing from Pictures
Unit VI: Library Research Reports
Unit VII: Creative Writing
Unit VIII: Essay
Unit IX: Critiques
I love this course. The most difficult thing about it for me is being able to have it quiet enough in the house for me to watch it! I feel so much better equipped to teach writing AND I love having the DVD's to be able to go back and watch them again and again which to me is an advantage over going to an actual seminar where you might forget some/much of what is said. Having watched the entire course and gone through it pretty quickly for the purpose of this review, I can tell you that I plan to go through it all over again at a slower pace for the remainder of the summer and into the fall.
In addition to TWSS I also received the Student Writing Intensive level B, which I have been using with my 10 year old and 13 year old several times per week. The SWI comes in 3 levels. Level A is for grades 2-4, B is for grades 5-7 and C is for grades 8-10 or above. The beauty of this program is that the B level is adaptable for all of the grades so that you do not have to purchase multiple levels if you have students in varying grade categories. With level B, you can download a free schedule and worksheets for your level A students (which we did) and for your C level students you can move at a faster pace.
SWI-B is a video course with a 3 ring binder workbook. There are 4 DVDs and a DVD overview of TWSS in the video portion of the program. The videos feature Mr. Pudewa teaching actual students in a seminar. As mentioned above, he is very funny and this makes the kids want to watch and I think that is half the battle.
Students are first taught to make keyword outlines. This is a really neat technique that allows students to write their own paper from another piece of writing. One thing that is important to note is to be careful not to get "stuck" here like we did. This is not recommended and I won't make this mistake again. I have learned to keep moving along in the program. After learning keyword outlines, dress-ups are introduced. Dress-ups are things like adverbs, who/which clauses, strong verbs etc. As students learn new techniques they are required to use them in subsequent assignments building as they go.
Each writing assignment has a composition checklist with a place for assigning due dates (outline, rough draft, final draft), a list of requirements (double-spaced, name on the paper etc.) and a section that lists the required dress-ups with a place to check it off so students can check their work before handing it in. I think this is another wonderful aspect of this program. The students know exactly what is expected of them at the start of the assignment.
Once you have completed the TWSS you might want to check out the theme based writing lessons available. There are history , geography and a whole slew of others. (Some of which I am extremely excited about like Narnia and Bible based writing lessons.) I am also very interested in some of the literature and poetry titles. It's like being in a candy store. I want it all! :)
I cannot recommend this curriculum highly enough. I hope you'll take the time to investigate it for yourself. Also, on July 9 there will be a free webinar for people who have never experienced IEW or new IEW users that are not very familiar with the program. You also can see the entire summer webinar schedule.
For the last few weeks we have been using Level One of Scaredy Cat Reading from Joyce Herzog. We received a full set including the Teacher's manual, Student workbook, Student Reader, The Story of the LetterMaster, Song CD and a Fun Pack. Scaredy Cat Reading is not only phonics based, it is mastery based as well.
Level One of Scaredy Cat Reading familiarizes students with the alphabet and teaches them the sounds the letters make. The Teacher's Manual is a wonderful resource for the parent of any young child. I cannot begin to tell you the number of ideas that are included in this book. It is a 45-page spiral bound which includes an introduction, the rules of the Scaredy Cat Reading System (which are not taught to the students in level one), specifics of the program for pre-readers and other general information you need to know.
Step Two: learn the names of each letter and recognize it in many different fonts
Step Three: learning the primary sounds of each of the consistent consonants and learning "who" the vowels are
Next you will find a page on Reading Aloud, Games to Play with Letters, Progress Tracking Sheets, Handwriting Hints and several pages you can copy for handwriting practice.
Finally, the remainder of the book is packed with ideas for teaching the letters and their sounds. She has a cute idea of having different styles of days depending on how much time you have or how much you want to work on this in a day. There are appetizer days to whet your child's appetite, main course days where you spend more time with the child on specific activities, salad days and dessert days are also on the "menu".
The Story of LetterMaster; Who Gave the Letters their Jobs is a 31 page comic book style story of how each letter was assigned its sound or sounds. The story is also found on the audio CD. Unfortunately, this did not really hold the attention of my children (and I can't say I loved it either.) I'm not one for a comic book to begin with and we just didn't care for the story.
The LetterMaster comic and one of the reproducible handwriting pages
The ABC Reader is available in a secular and a Christian version. I was sent the secular version. It contains the lyrics to an ABC song that is different from the "next time won't you sing with me" version we are all familiar with. This is to prevent children learning "elliminnowpee". There are two versions of this song. The one in the book has secular words, the one on the audio CD is the Christian version.
Sadie with the ABC reader
The ABC reader starts out with many pages of the alphabet written in different type fonts and styles. Capital and Lower case letters are both learned. There is also a page of the letters in sign language. Other pages include a pictorial primer, a list of animal names by letter and given names by letter. It also includes all of the lyrics to the songs.
a worksheet from the student workbook
The Student Workbook has 143 pages. Step One of the book has 18 pages where students match letters and learning the alphabet. The final page of this section has students do a dot-to-dot of the alphabet in alphabetical order. In Step Two students learn the letter names on pages like the one shown above. There are 53 pages in this section. Step Three teaches children the letter sounds. Letters are taught individually in groups. The First Letter names are taught first. These are the letters that say their name first like B and D. There are a couple of pages for each letter which include a page of pictures where the child circles words that begin with the letters and and/or cross out ones that do not followed by a page of letter activities. For example, for the letter T some suggestions are to touch your toes ten times, listen to a tuba or a trombone, and taste tea by the teaspoon with your tongue. Lots and lots of ideas for each letter. The final pages are by the different groups of letters (first name consonants, last name consonants, hard working consonants and vowels).
The Audio CD begins with a reading of the LetterMaster which takes about 25 minutes, followed by a variety of simple songs sung acapella. Most are more like jingles or rhymes than songs and I don't find them all that catchy. The kids don't enjoy listening to it.
The Fun Pack comes on light cardstock so I laminated most of it. There are Bingo cards, and Alphabet Spinner, cards for uppercase and lowercase letters, letter pieces to put together to build letters and cards with pictures to match sounds with. There are some magnet sheets as well with letters and pictures for learning and reviewing concepts.
A few of the games and activities from the Fun Pack
I have mainly focused on using this with 5 year old Ellie. She loves the fun activities and the workbook. She often asks to do it and for that I am thankful. We try to do some part of Scaredy Cat reading each day. We don't always manage to fit it in, but I really like that she enjoys it and is learning. My 3 year old also likes to join in and sometimes even the older kids will as well. (Especially if we play BINGO and Skittles are involved! Forgot to take pictures of that.)
Ellie playing a matching letter game.
Ellie loves learning her letters. She put them all in order herself.
I plan to use a lot of this program with my 3 year old when she turns 4 in September. I think it will be fun for her to have her own "school" to do next year. While we do like this, I don't think we will purchase future levels.
My favorite part of this curriculum is the flexibility and the wonderful ideas (and fun pack) to really help children learn pre-reading skills. If you are looking for something to teach your child reading in a fun way, I do think this is worth taking a look at.
There are 4 levels of Scaredy Cat Reading. You can have your child take a free placement test to determine which level you need. There is also a page of free downloads.
Author Dr. Joyce Herzog is well known in the homeschooling community. She taught learning disabled students for 25 years in public and private schools and has written many books and curriculum for homeschoolers. Read more about her.
Several weeks ago we received the book 65 MORE Short Mysteries You Solve With Science from Science Naturally. This 180-page paperback written for 8-12 year olds contains 65 short mysteries (hence the title) with scientific solutions. It also includes 5 bonus math mysteries.
The day we received this, I started reading it to my 10 and 13 year olds. We read the first 15 mysteries because they didn't want me to stop. The stories are one page long with the answer to the mystery being on the following page. You can read a few sample mysteries here.
This is the length of a story
A black and white picture is included on the solution page
There are 15 stories each in the following categories:
Life Science
Earth and Space Science
Physical and Chemical Science
General Science
Followed by 5 bonus science mysteries and 5 bonus math mysteries!
These stories are fun for the entire family and get everyone thinking. You could easily use this as a brain teaser to start your day or just read through it like we did. (Might be great for car trips this summer as well!) As soon as we finished reading this Emma (10) said, We need to read it again!" I love when my kids are enthusiastic about an educational book. I highly recommend this book and plan to purchase other books from Science Naturally.
Purchase 65 MORE Short Mysteries You Solve With Science for $9.95. E-books are also available at varying prices. See website for details. Science Naturally has also generously offered my readers a coupon code 3SPEC to purchase any 3 books on the website for $19.95 plus $2.95 shipping. (a $12.90 savings)
Don't forget to follow Science Naturally on Facebook and Twitter.
The Lap-Pak consists of 22 projects to be completed and made into a lapbook. It covers everything from wars/conflicts, food, fashion, sports, presidents, disasters and so much more. These are the most professionally done lapbooks I have ever used. Every project is of excellent quality.
20th Century in America-Lap-Pak is available on CD or as a download. I decided to print out the entire study before we started. It was a lot of printing, but I like to have everything at my fingertips ready to go at a moment's notice. To complete this project you will need white printer paper, colored paper and cardstock. There are some other items you will need as well such as scissors (lots of cutting), an exacto knife, colored pencils, a variety of adhesives and a few other supplies.
Everything is detailed for you in the introduction so you will know what you need including detailed directions for how to put each project together along with diagrams and directions for assembling the lap-pack as well. Except for one of the projects, I didn't have to reprint anything....even the two sided projects which usually seem so confusing to me.
This is the booklet. I am amazed that I was able to easily print
this booklet on both sides of the paper without an issue.
I decided that rather than do each project in order as they are listed in the booklet we would use the timeline and work through the century chronologically. Though we are enjoying studying this way, I think it might have been a better idea to just work our way through the book since we started this so late in the school year (chronologically would have worked better if we were spending a year or an entire semester on this.) However, this is actually one of the things I love about this lap-pack. You can make it what YOU want it and have it be as in depth or as "light" as you and/or your children want it to be.
I love this timeline book. You can pull the end out from the flap and
pull out the entire timeline as one long piece. It then folds back up easily.
The white squares can be colored by your student (or not) and added to the timeline.
The cover of the booklet is shown above the timeline.
A suggested resource list (mostly books) is also included. We have taken some of the suggested books out of the library and also just took books out that we found on the topics I chose from the timeline.
As I mentioned there are 22 projects to complete. They cover World Wars and other conflicts, political events, movements that made a mark in history, missionaries, disasters, architecture, music, art, authors and literature food, fashion and much more.
What we have done is worked on projects as we have read the printed booklet as well as LOTS of books we have taken out of the library from The Wizard of Oz to books about Admiral Peary (I'd never heard of him before), George Washington Carver, The Wright Brothers, The Titanic, The Lusitania....and lots more.
I thought I'd include some pictures of some of the projects. Some of the projects the students write and draw on and others are just put together. I will show samples of both types.
World Wars:
This is the first project covering WWI, WWII and the Cold War.
Each flap lifts up for the student to write something about each war.
Disasters:
This project has tabs the open on either side to reveal information about each disaster.
People of Interest:
This is a fun project. Each card is lined on one side for the student to write on and the other side
has a space for a drawing. The cards fit into a TV holder.
Transportation:
This project tells about transportation by land, sea and sky.
You can pull the strip out to read about each.
Extra strips are included for students to make their own.
Slang Terminology:
Cards with slang from each decade (the decade and meaning of each phrase is on the opposite side).
You also have the option of printing them on separate cards to make a matching game.
Medical Advancements:
The plunger on this "syringe" moves up and down.
As it moves, you can read about different medical advances in the window.
Both sides of the plunger have advances printed on them.
Here are a few more of the projects. I LOVE the record player. You can spin the record
and little windows reveal the different types of music from the decades. The
project standing in the back is Fashion Through the Decades. I love this one. It even has acetate windows!
There is a menu, space exploration, authors and literature, sports figures and missionaries
We are not even close to being finished with this study, but I can't wait to see it all put together. You can view completed samples on the webpage. I highly recommend this study for anyone who enjoys learning history and doing projects. I happen to love cutting, pasting, coloring etc so this has been a lot of fun. We're really enjoying learning and the completed lap-pack will serve as a wonderful reminder of everything that we have learned. You would probably not like this lap-pack if you don't enjoy projects and/or like lesson plans all laid out for you.
Last year we had the opportunity to try Math Rider and once again we have had the opportunity to review it. This is a math facts software program that is as effective as it is fun to play. Math Rider is recommended for ages 6-12 but really could be used by anyone (even older children) working on their math facts. I even like playing it myself. Facts from 1-12 are covered in this game. Up to 8 riders (users) can play....which is perfect for large families like mine.
Students (or parents) can choose which of the 4 operations to practice (or practice them mixed) and can set which numbers are being used as well. There are two "race modes" . One is timed, where the other allows the student as much time as they need.
The following screen shot shows one of the courses. The blue box in the lower right corner is where the problem appears it then starts moving across the screen toward the white box. If the student enters the wrong answer or no answer the problem and answer will come up on the screen and there is audio as well. I like the audio/visual reinforcement.
At the end of each ride there is a bar graph that you can mouse over. It will tell how long it took you to answer each fact and it you are going slower than your last ride it will tell you that as well.
Statistics are available that shows which facts have been mastered and also gives a list of facts that the student is struggling with. You can also see their progress at a quick glance on the bottom right.
Part of the fun factor of Math Rider is the quests. In Quest mode, students follow a story (finding medicine for your sick mother, save a princess etc) and work their way through The Mathlands. They can see this map to see how they are progressing. As students complete quests they earn "rewards". There is a magical element to this program It wasn't a problem for us, but I thought it was worth mentioning.
Watch this video for a good overview:
My elementary students have been using this daily as a part of their math learning.
Overall, Math Rider is a fun way for your child to learn their math facts while you easily monitor their progress. I highly recommend it. You can also try it free for 7 days.
Purchase Math Rider for $47. The $47 purchase is for a lifetime license with free updates. System requirements can be found here.
