The Curriculum Choice

About Animals Series by Cathryn Sill

Living books, Science, Unit study resources 3 Responses »

Feb 152010

On any given day a stranger stumbling unsuspecting into our home could—and should—expect to meet with any of a large variety of animals. The possibilities range from the exotic to the mundane: a maned wolf, a gorilla, a fox, a hippo, a mountain goat, a cheetah, a cat, a puppy. The animals residing here really just depend upon the current whimsy of my three very imaginative children, whose active minds allow them to take on the characteristics of any animal with which they have become familiar.

Perhaps it comes as no surprise for me to share that we are studying animals in science. In fact, we have so enjoyed our time with the animals that I have extended it well into the scheduled human body time. And I am not one bit sorry.

The kiddos and I have particularly enjoyed a series of books that we have checked out from the library written by Cathryn Sill and illustrated by her husband John Sill. Each title includes the word “about” along with the variety of animal found in the book, and is subtitled A Guide for Children. There are currently twelve books in the animal series, most of which detail a phylum or class of animal, though a few are more specific.

●About Birds

●About Mammals

●About Reptiles

●About Insects

●About Amphibians

●About Fish

●About Arachnids

●About Crustaceans

●About Mollusks

●About Marsupials

●About Rodents

●About Penguins

There are also three books in a series called About Habitats. Included are Desserts, Wetlands, and Mountains.

The animal books are written with deceptive simplicity and contain beautiful, realistic illustrations of the animals in their natural habitat. About Fish opens with a two-page spread and the statement “Fish live in water.” It is accompanied by a picture of a brown trout swimming between two rocks. The next couple of two- page spreads assert that “(t)hey may be found in nearly freezing water . . . or in warm tropical water.” There are pictures of an arctic char hovering in water below a thick coating of ice and a queen angelfish in a coral reef. The book covers the topics of fins, gills, scales, camouflage and other protective devices, schools, fish eggs, live baby fish, fish as plant and meat eaters, and ends by touching on a note about conservation and the importance of fish to the world as a whole. All information is written in single sentence format and accompanied by a stunning picture.

All of the books in the series utilize a similar format. Each contains simple, but informative sentences and lovely pictures, which are organized into two-page spreads. Each book ends with a statement that the animals being studied are important. About Birds discusses feathers, baby birds hatching from eggs, a variety of nests, bird movement (flying, swimming, and running), flocking birds, solitary birds, the use of bills, bird song, bird size, and the importance of birds. About Mammals tells us that mammals have hair or fur, drink milk from their mothers, that some are born helpless while others must move soon after they are born, move by running, climbing, swimming, or flying, eat meat, plants, or both, live in cold, hot, and wet places, and that mammals must be protected. The end of each book includes an index of the illustrations and additional information to go along with each picture.

I have found the series to be perfect for my budding naturalists, offering just the right information for my lower elementary and preschool children. The language is efficient, but precise, providing an excellent foundation for further study. Of course, the illustrations are truly the crowning glory of each book. It was an added benefit to realize that each book is inscribed with a tribute “To the One who made the . . .” and names the animal group found within that particular book.

The About . . . animals series by the Sills combines beauty with information in an irresistible way.

Most days find Susan on the couch reading to her children, in the floor “playing” math, and generally in the middle of a good-sized mess. A love for the Lord, a love for her little ones, and a love of learning have led Susan and that wonderful man she married to an educational philosophy that is Well-Trained Mind-inspired classical and Charlotte Mason, with a touch of the traditional.

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Great Science Adventures: Discovering the Human Body and Senses

Uncategorized 3 Responses »

Feb 142010

I used Great Science Adventures: Discovering the Human Body and Senses from Common Sense Press as the main resource for our recent study of the human body. Overall, I enjoyed this program and plan to use other titles from the Great Science Adventures series in the future.

Before the individual lessons are presented, there is quite a bit of information included at the beginning of the book that I found helpful. The different parts of the curriculum are clearly explained, including how to use the program with children of different ages. There are also several pages that show how to make different kinds of mini-books.

The curriculum is divided into 24 lessons, with each lesson taking 1-3 days to complete depending on the number of activities that are completed. Each lesson is organized in the same way which makes understanding and following the curriculum easy for the teaching parent.

Lesson 1, as in all lessons, is organized in the following manner:

Human Body Concepts – The main points of the lesson are clearly stated in this section. I found this very helpful when I wanted to add books to our study.
Vocabulary Words
Construct and Read – Each lesson uses one of the Lots of Science Library Books. These 24 little books are included in the curriculum but they must be cut apart and constructed prior to the lesson.
Activities - In this section, clear instructions are given for putting together graphic organizers for the information. Basically, students put together multiple lapbooks over the duration of the course in which to organize the information. Since this is a multi-age program, instructions are given at three different levels.
Experiences, Investigations, and Research – In this section several suggested ideas are given for hands-on activites, books to read, and websites to visit.

I used this curriculum with my 7th grade daughter, 5th grade son, and 3rd grade son. With the instructions given in the Activities section, I could easily have them all complete the same graphic organizer but write according to their level. For example, in the Bone Parts graphic organizer, the suggested writing for the youngest learner (K-1st grades) is to color the spongy bone, compact bone, and outer layer in different colors. The suggested writing for the primary level (2nd-3rd grades) is to write clue words about each part of the bone. For the oldest learner (4th grade and up) it is suggested that each part of the bone be described along with its function. While I usually have my children work at different levels when completing mini-books for lapbooks, I found it quite helpful to have such specific suggestions for their writing.

While I did like the Lots of Science Library Books, I found I needed to supplement the information in the mini-books with library books and educational videos. Having the main points of each lesson clearly stated at the beginning helped tremendously in easily finding additional support materials either from my own reference books at home or at the library. Rather than make a set of Lots of Science Library Books for each of my children, I made one set to share.

We completed many of the suggested learning activities listed under Experiences, Investigations, and Research but there were many more that we didn’t take the time to pursue. The curriculum could easily be extended beyond the suggested 1-3 days per lesson by completing more of these suggested activities. One of our favorite activities was the lung capacity experiment. We also greatly enriched our study by reading a suggested biography of Helen Keller.

While this curriculum really fit into the way I like to approach science with my children – lots of hands-on projects and lapbooking – there was a lot of teacher-prep involved. This is NOT an open and go curriculum. I would highly recommend taking the book to a local copy center and having the binding cut off – making copies is so much easier then! I constructed all of the Lots of Science Library Books and cut out all of the graphics for the mini-books while watching movies. Now, I don’t mind cutting but it was a LOT of cutting. I just prefer to have everything ready to go when my children create mini-books as part of a lesson – I don’t want to take time for everybody to cut their own graphics out. Having your children cut out their own graphics would reduce teacher prep! Also, most of the Experiences, Investigations, and Research required outside resources to complete. Additional materials from the library definitely enhanced the lessons and I used a wide variety of library books and videos when working with this curriculum.

Lastly, a great benefit of this program are the impressive lapbooks that your children have completed throughout the lessons.

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Winter Wonders Download ‘n Go Unit Study

Charlotte Mason, Science, Unit study resources 3 Responses »

Feb 132010

Winter isn’t a season we get much enjoyment out of in my part of the country. It doesn’t snow much here. It’s just cold and windy! However, I was able to dive into winter with this fabulous unit study. This downloadable e-book is chock full of wonderful information about the winter season. We read many wonderful books, viewed video clips, and went on nature walks as we worked our way through this incredible unit study.

During this unit, Emma and I talked about the first day of winter and plotted it on our calendar. We watched videos of it snowing in places like Boston and Maine. We learned how plants and animals prepare for the winter. We made bird feeders to feed our fine feathered friends – and the occasional squirrel! As science is a big part of learning about the seasons, we talked about snowflakes and icicles. Emma did some winter art work and a few science experiments as well. Nature walks were a huge hit as we looked for signs of winter and even the upcoming spring (in the buds on the trees).

Though the unit is designed to be completed in one week, we took two weeks to complete it. There is a lot of information to cover especially if you view all of the links. This unit is over 70 pages long and complete with lapbooking and notebooking activities. Also included are craft and cooking ideas, a library list, nature walk journaling pages, and more.

This unit is available for purchase from The Old Schoolhouse. You can also purchase more “download n go” units at the same site. A few of the other units available include George Washington, Whale Tales, Expedition Australia, and Sea Shells. You can buy subscriptions to these units, as well. (This is what I did.) You can buy a one month subscription, a semester subscription, or a year-long subscription. If you purchase a subscription, you will also receive one or two free unit studies (depending upon the level of your subscription. The prices of the units are very reasonable at less than $10 per unit. I highly recommend these unit studies to anyone looking for a unit study that is very informational and fun to do!

Written by Tara, who is homeschooling two with a little bit of everything. You can find her blogging at Mom Teaches 2.

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Under the Microscope

Elementary, Hands On, Preschool, Science, Unit study resources 4 Responses »

Feb 132010

There are so many expensive homeschool resources, but one of the best science investments we have ever made cost less than $15.00. We purchased a Pocket Microscope($13.95) several years ago from Home Science Tools. With two AA batteries, and three zoom levels (60X, 80X, 100X) this little microscope can help even a 2 year old explore the world around them. A small, lightweight base has clips for exploring slides, which is nice, but be sure to read on to learn how you can use this microscope without them. We do have a Kid’s Microscope Slide Set($10.95), also from Home Science Tools. Put on the slide, adjust the focus with a handy dial on the side, and give it to your toddler to look through like a telescope. Really, it works! Here is my two year old Daniel using it.

Because of the transparent cover protecting the light bulb you can take off the base and put the microscope up against just about anything to take a closer look. In the house this may be a favorite toy, the carpet, or the hairs on your arm.

There are plenty of possibilities, even when confined to the house on a cold, wet day. Catch the cat and look at her fur, see what your peanut butter sandwich really looks like, and check out the dustbunnies hiding in the corner. After that be sure to venture outside with the microscope. Take it in the backyard or on a nature walk. Now you have opened up a whole new world to explore. We have seen the bark on our trees, the tomato still growing on the plant, a flower petal, dirt, grass, and rocks.

Our pocket microscope has survived use by many children from age 18 months to 8 years. We have not even needed to replace the light bulb (a bulb costs $1.00 HERE). One of these days we will invest in a nice student microscope, but we will always keep a pocket microscope on hand for fun exploration out of doors.

Written by Tristan, mom to 5, homeschooling through unit studies with a side of lapbooks. You can visit her at her blog, Our Busy Homeschool.

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Editor in Chief

Junior High Language Arts, Language Arts, Writing 1 Response »

Feb 112010

My last review I shared about my search for a grammar text that would finish our study of grammar. I found Our Mother Tongue, and I am pleased with the way it teaches grammar. But, it doesn’t include sentence mechanics. (There is an appendix for the topic, but I don’t find it adequate.) It doesn’t address topics such as where to put commas, semi-colons, and quotation marks; or how to correct sentence fragments and run-on sentences. I realized that I wanted something extra that would provide review for those English topics.

I decided to try Editor in Chief by The Critical Thinking Company. This turned out to be exactly what I was looking for. Each lesson consists of a short passage. The student must read through the passage, find the specified number of errors, and make the necessary corrections. (Sample page)

It has turned out to be a great fit for my almost 12 year old son. He’s at the age where he’s always finding mistakes anyway, so I’m finding this is a great way to put this (often annoying) tendency to good use. Good editing skills are vital to good writing, and I like the way this requires more thought than an assignment that simply instructs the student to put the commas in the correct place or to capitalize all the necessary words. In editing, the student has to find the mistake and figure out why it is wrong in order to correct it.

I would NOT recommend this product for a student that did not already have a good understanding of the concepts. As I mentioned in my previous review, my son was demonstrating that he did understand grammar and sentence mechanics. Editor in Chief provides a way to test if a student can apply his knowledge at a higher level, while reviewing important concepts. This would not be the way I would recommend learning new material. I think that a student should spend time initially in studying correctly written sentences.

The only negative about this product is the price. My son will complete both of the B level workbooks this year. At $17 each, that’s pretty expensive for a supplement. But I was encouraged to see my son enjoying his work for a change, and decided that it was worth the extra expense to us.

Written by Kristen, Neo-classical mom of 4. Kristen blogs at A Day in the Life.

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Spellquizzer

Elementary, Hands On 1 Response »

Feb 092010

Spellquizzer is spelling software that gives you a break while helping your children learn their spelling words. This software can be adapted to your current spelling lists or you can find sample and full spelling lists to use on this program. There is a section that allows you to share spelling lists with other homeschoolers as well. Whether using your own spelling and vocabulary lists, downloading news ones or sharing some with others, this software fits seamlessly into your homeschool.

How does Spellquizzer help your child master his spelling lists while giving you some freedom? Spellquizzer will do all the work and all the quizzing while giving you time teaching your other children, preparing other lessons or making dinner. As a mom of four, I am always looking for ways to streamline my homeschool and get as much done as possible in a short amount of time. Spellquizzer has helped me do just that.

So what do my kids think? My kids love the independence of taking their own quizzes on their own time. I have three children who are old enough for spelling lists, so Friday spelling test time became tedious. My two older kids couldn’t wait to get their tests over and done. Now, my hands are untied and they have the freedom to test themselves for practice or for the actual test. My oldest daughter who is 12, loved that this program did not waste time with games or animation. She could just sit down and quiz herself quickly and easily.

While many spelling curriculums do not fit into every homeschool this is not a curriculum. This is a tool that can be customized to any homeschool and any curriculum. So, if you are looking to cut corners but not quality and save a bit on time, I suggest to try out Spellquizzer.

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Louis Braille, The Boy Who Invented Books for the Blind

Biblical Principle Approach, Literature 15 Responses »

Feb 082010

There were just a few more pages to turn when it happened. My voice froze and I felt the tears pushing. My son grinned knowingly, “Mom’s going to cry.”

It doesn’t happen very often, but literature gets me the most often. And biographies. Biographies can be just too inspirational for me to maintain my composure.

I picked up a copy of Louis Braille, The Boy Who Invented Books for the Blind at Paperbackswap during Christmas. It wasn’t on a reading list anywhere, but I was ordering a book about Helen Keller and figured it would go along well with her story.

While my children munched on sandwiches, I read the short biography aloud, flipping it around anytime there was a sketch to keep their imagination going. We were all engaged from the beginning.

This poor boy ended up blind because he disobeyed his father. How would he react? What would happen to him?

The story of Braille’s exemplifies hard work and determination. It is a story of a hunger to learn and the blessing of reading. It is a story of how one person can change lives for generations, even if unknown at death.

Not one newspaper in all of Paris printed the news of his death. Yet today his name is known all around the world. He was a simple schoolteacher. He never made much money. Yet today blind people everywhere bless him for giving them one the greatest gifts of all time – the alphabet called braille.

Yes, what a wonderful gift! And what a wonderful gift to read about with your children.

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Time4Learning Preschool Give-away!

Uncategorized 23 Responses »

Feb 062010

Time4Learning has graciously allowed us to give-away one subscription of their newest product for preschoolers.

The preschool learning games and activities combines technology, animated characters, original stories and fun music to inspire a love of learning in the littlest e-learners. Ed Mouse and his friends guide children through more than forty topics such as numbers, letters, rhymes, self, time, music and colors. Click to see the preschool lesson plans or scroll down to see some free demos.

Time4learning offers a comprehensive, fun preschool program by which to start a child’s educational experience. Click to see free demos of our PreK through 8th grade material.

To enter this give-away there are several thing you can do. Each thing that you do below gets you one entry. To enter, leave a comment per entry.

Visit Time4Learning and then come back and leave a comment why you would like to win this preschool program.
Follow Curriculum Choice via RSS.
Follow Curriculum Choice on Twitter @currichoice
Follow us on facebook
Blog, tweet or fb about this give-away

This give-away ends on February 14th. A winner will be selected using random.org.

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Time4Learning Web-Based Curriculum

Language Arts, Mathematics, Phonics, Science, Vocabulary 1 Response »

Feb 052010

When I first found out I was going to review this product, I was excited. Since my boy’s love to play on their (non internet) computer with their educational games, I thought this would be great to try out. In the past we looked into different curriculum that offered computer learning and we currently use a (non-internet) computer program for my oldest son. Since we use one already I thought it would be great to see how others work.

Some thoughts I had before I registered and started the program:

I have heard of other programs having lesson plans to set up before your child works on their lessons so that would be very helpful with this if I plan to have them work independently.
Is it cost effective? Cost is a huge factor in deciding any type of curriculum or program for my kids.
How much will my children learn while using this product?
Will it touch base on all Math and Language Arts for that grade level?
Will it be engaging as far as interest for my children?
Is it online or offline? Internet is tricky for me with my children. I don’t like them online at all..
Are they graded or assessed?
It mentions Science.. Is it Creation based or Evolution based?
How much prep work is it for Mom?
Do I need to assist or can they work independently?

First Impressions:
(I used this program on my youngest who is currently in 2nd grade)

PROS:

You are allowed to have your children work in their designated level and also choose one grade below and one grade ahead to maximize their learning potential.
The stories are catchy and they really enjoy playing the games and are eager to get to the next one.
In the younger levels there is a lot of praise when they receive a correct score and they are encouraging when they don’t.
Little to no prep time needed for Mom.. Which is a huge bonus for me since we use other forms of teaching and prep time is necessary for those.
In the younger levels it speaks to the kids so if they don’t know how to read they can still follow along.
My son has now asked to do Time4Learning each day

CONS:

I found out it was an ONLINE course so independent study was to a minimum since I don’t allow my children internet access, but might be ok for us as I get used to them using it and I keep an eye on them.
I found out that they don’t have a lesson plan right now to where we can set up what we would like them to work on to allow more independent study.
Science curriculum is Evolution based and not Christian based.
The price is worth looking at but not sure if it would work for us in the long term.

As the week’s went by and my son continued to use the program, he really enjoyed working through each lesson. He had access to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade curriculum but we mainly focused on the 1st and 2nd grade since some of the topics in the 1st grade Language Arts ended up being a wonderful review for him.

I am truly looking for a Language Arts curriculum for my youngest son that gives him more independence since he is still a beginning reader and a lot of his work requires my assistance. I was happy with what I saw in the month we’ve tried this out.

I am not sure how the 3rd grade and up works or the pros and cons to those grade levels but so far in the younger grades, it seems to be very friendly, encouraging and my son really enjoys it.

Here is my review of our experience using Time4Learning for one month.

PROS:

Parent Forum available to discuss many topics from sharing recipes to homeschooling curriculum to using the online program
Additional printable worksheets to help your child better understand the lessons
Scope and Sequence on all grades and subjects
Each child has there own separate account
You can opt out on or remove any subject that doesn’t interest your family
Teacher’s Guides for Language Arts to engage your child in a deeper level outside each lesson
Subjects offered: Language Arts, Math, Science and Social Studies
You can change your child’s educational level one grade up or back to help with missing learning gaps at no additional charge and can change it with a click of a button
Refer a friend program helps you save money on the program fees
Two week money back guarantee
THREE PAYMENT OPTIONS:
Monthly plan
Annual plan.
Paying quarterly reduces the monthly fee
Your child has his own log in and password
Parent’s have separate log in and password to enter forum and to change membership
Continuously updated curriculum
Student paced learning
Science and social studies programs are provided as a free bonus for most grades
Preschool through eighth grade curriculum

CONS:

This is a secular program
Designed for the public school system but working towards homeschooling families
Evolution Based
Program was developed as a web-based Internet curriculum
No way to limit access to lessons or establish a lesson plan you specify for your child to follow. They are free to do what they would like if not monitored or watched.

Having the program web based for our family was a bit difficult so I placed that as a con for us but probably wouldn’t be for most families. I just limit my children’s access to the Internet and with them on this program I have to monitor them at all times since our Internet access is tucked away in my office and limits my freedom while the boys work on their lessons.

Like I mentioned, not everything that is a con for our family will be a con for your family and vice versa for the pros’.

This is a great value for an online curriculum for the two main core subjects of Math and Language Arts and with the free bonus of Science and Social Studies makes it a great value. Check them out!

If you would like to learn more about this online program you can at Time4Learning

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Daily GRAMS-Junior High/Senior High Level

Classical, High School, Junior High Language Arts, Language Arts, Writing 9 Responses »

Feb 042010

Daily GRAMS (Guided Review Aiding Mastery Skills)

This is one of those simple ideas that I love as a review in our weekly schedule. We thoroughly covered grammar, capitalization, punctuation, and sentence writing in our grammar and logic stage years (grades 4-8). As high school students, they no longer needed a full-blown language arts program, but I also didn’t want to get rusty with our grammar terms and other skills.

I introduced Daily GRAMS as a quick and easy way to review and refresh our memories. Each Daily GRAM takes about 10-15 minutes to complete and my boys were able to fit them in as they had time in their morning.

These exercises are not meant to be lessons but rather to review their language mechanics skills. Each GRAM is one page in the workbook and the student can write directly on the page. Categories include capitalization, punctuation, parts of speech, sentence combining, outline formats, and parts of a friendly letter. I liked using Daily GRAMS as a way to spot check any trouble areas my sons might have and then to review briefly as they came up.

All the answers are in the back of the workbook and with 180 GRAMS in this book, we stretched the book out over two years since we didn’t complete a GRAM a day. CLICK HERE to pop over to Easy Grammar Systems and view sample pages for the Junior/Senior High Level. You can also find samples for other levels there as well. We did not use Daily GRAMS for any other level so you will need to view the sample and make up your mind whether it fits your language arts needs.

Written by Barb-Harmony Art mom. She also blogs at http://harmonyartmom.blogspot.com and her business is found at http://www.harmonyfinearts.com. I would love for you to join us for the Outdoor Hour Challenges: http://handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com.

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