Loving Living Math

Grammar, Hands On, High School, Home Economics, Logic, Mathematics, Middle School, Mom Helps 4 Responses »

Sep 012011

“From the time my children were in kindergarten, I have followed the same basic weekly schedule for math. We typically complete three textbook lessons per week and two living math lessons per week.” ~ Cindy West

Cindy West’s Loving Living Math has given my family permission. Permission to learn and enjoy the real life stuff of math. See, I admit I am not a math type mom. But I do thrive on the practical. That’s why Loving Living Math speaks to me. I can see math all around us now.

This ebook also opened my eyes to the fact that we were already enjoying many living math opportunities in board games, Snap Circuits, Saturday morning trips to the store and simply setting the table! Our favorite game, Blokus? Check!

Dear Parent – Loving Living Math is for you! Most often curriculum is for the student. This is for you. To teach you. To encourage you.

Coaches the parent in how to:

teach outside the textbook. You don’t have to complete each and every textbook lesson!
add living math to your homeschool. Practical ways for working your schedule.

Offers lengthy lists of resources for:

Logic
Problem solving
Favorite skills and drills
Making the most of website links
Using manipulatives

Includes worksheets with math puzzles (e.g., popcorn puzzler, Valentine math, coordinate candy graphing) to mix in. (Complete with the answer key at the end of the book.)

But there’s more! Did you know you can teach math through literature?? Through hands on projects?? Yes! In the photo above, my son is enjoying both a Tapestry of Grace assignment and living math.

Loving Living Math even shows the parent ways to incorporate writing into math and infuse math into other subjects. The latest, greatest technology? How about Excel spreadsheets, balancing the family online bank account, designing a graph for the science fair project? All math.

Baking. Oh I can see this area expanding even more. All that Cooking Fun we do during our week? It can all count as math. And Loving Living Math gives examples for doubling, tripling recipes, sorting candies…

For my family, Loving Living Math cued up the fun. Added in the logic that was lacking. My children are traditional math textbook learners. But this approach throws a bit of delight into math learning. I can see Loving Living Math being a successful tool for families that might have difficulty learning the traditional textbook way.

Loving Living Math taught me, the teacher, how to see the everyday math learning opportunities. It helps answer the practical question, “How will I use this in the real world?”

Loving Living Math is a 48 page ebook. Excerpt from the book description: “Loving Living Math will answer all your questions, ease all your fears, and bring skeptics at least closer to the idea. This is a book for parents who would like to learn more about living math – a “how-to” book of sorts. In 46 straightforward pages, you’ll understand what living math is, learn why it can be so effective in your homeschool, and consider various ways to incorporate it into your homeschool schedule. Don’t get the impression that Cindy wants you to get rid of math textbooks! Although some parents use living math exclusively, this book encourages you to supplement textbook lessons with living math lessons and shows you how to effectively do that.”

What age/grade is Living Math designed for? All ages. What you, the parent and teacher will learn will help students of all ages.

View a sample on the NaturExplorers site: Loving Living Math

Loving Living Math! So many children (and parents) struggle with math during the school day. Whether you’re hoping to learn how to ease the whining, add some new lessons to the regular textbook schedule or overhaul your math curriculum, this workshop will inspire you. Learn how to add “real” math lessons that make sense to your child. Questions will be answered very practically! What is living math? How will it help my child enjoy math again? How can I add it to my textbook curriculum without overwhelming my child? Why would I want to add living math to our schedule? What are some super ideas and resources for living math? ~ Heart of the Matter session description

But don’t take it just from me. I had the privilege of hostessing Cindy’s Heart of the Matter Online winter 2011 conference session. I heard directly from the author how simple it is to incorporate living math ideas in our homeschool. And you can too. The mp3 of her session is available for purchase HERE.

I’m off to oversee children tripling some recipes…

Before you leave, here’s a special note from Cindy West…Please enjoy $3.00 off Loving Living Math through the month of September! Use the code “livingmath” (without quotes) at checkout.

~Tricia faces a daily dose of chaos homeschooling five children. She contributes a blend of writing at parenting, frugal living and homeschool sites as well as her own daily Hodgepodge.

Educational Apps

Language Arts, Mathematics, Mom Helps, Nature Study, Online, Preschool, Reading, Science, Spelling 1 Response »

Aug 102011

Technology continues to advance, and with it, comes many opportunities to learn. Today, cell phones have become much more than just a way to call someone. But, did you know that beyond Facebook and Angry Birds (a game), there are some really great learning gems available for smart phones?

5 Great Apps For Education

Super WHY!

Originally just a TV show, Super Why! has transitioned to a kid-friendly App! This app features the four main characters from the TV show as they teach the alphabet, rhyming, spelling, writing, and reading. Our family uses this app often as its graphics are great and the games make learning fun! $2.99* See More.

TEACH ME

TEACH ME currently has three apps out – toddler, kindergarten, and first grade. The kindergarten version teaches Math (addition and subtraction), Spelling, and Sight Words. However, my FAVORITE part is that it allows for multiple users and tracks their progress. That, and it’s really affordable! $.99* See More.

Project Noah

For kids of all ages, Project Noah is a great app for citizen scientists everywhere! With this cool app, you can add a photograph of an interesting creature you’ve found, or you can access the database to learn of and about different organisms in a specific area. You can even help track migrating species or document endangered wildlife! This great app takes learning to a whole new level and gets kids excited about exploring nature and teaches on the go! FREE* See More.

PBS

PBS.org now has apps for ipad, iphone, and ipod. You can now preview or view full episodes, as well as check out your local station’s schedule! While not quite as an impressive app as the previous ones, this app could still be invaluable to your planning time if you’re constantly on the go (or someone is using the computer)! FREE* See More.

Storyrobe

Use photos and videos from your library to create and share stories! This interactive app lets you record your voice through the microphone or you can use the 3rd party mic to get the story going. From telling the story of an event in history to tracking the growth and development of a butterfly to teaching Kindergarteners parts of a story…this app has unlimited potential! $.99* See More.

So, tell me… What are some of your favorite learning and education apps?

*Prices at time post was written.

Written by Ashley. Find more of Ashley’s writings and reflections on motherhood, marriage and life on her blog.

Comprehensive Record Solution

Encouragement, High School, Mom Helps, Organization 1 Response »

Jul 112011

The prospect of getting homeschooled kids into university can seem quite frightening. I was recently talking with a mom who is going to do online public school so that her children will have ‘the right courses’ to enter university. She was cheerfully determined to follow this course, so I didn’t try to dissuade her, but really, it’s not necessary.

Instead, she could have continued the excellent home education she was giving her children and added a few standard tests such as SAT’s or AP’s, whatever her chosen universities required. Using the Comprehensive Record Solution would have enabled her to document her homeschooling so that universities would have been eager to admit her children.

I go to great effort to choose rigorous, quality curriculum for my children. I consider the worldview of each curriculum, its goals, how easy it is to learn from, and the amount of time and effort it will demand from me. As a reviewer, I love to evaluate curricula, and I’m excited when something exceptionally good crosses my path. Of course we want to use these excellent resources to provide the best individualized education for our teens. We don’t want to settle for public school standards and values just to be able to get into university.

And that’s why I love the Comprehensive Record Solution. It gives me both the confidence and the tools for keeping track of my teens’ high school learning. It’s clear, organized, effective, and professional looking. It helps me translate my ‘mommy courses’ and ‘mommy marks’ into something admissions officers can understand and get excited about.

I think this resource will help families continue to homeschool though high school Because it builds parental confidence and provides the tools to justify that confidence, it’s such a valuable resource that I’m posting a review of it here on the Curriculum Choice in addition to the preview and review posted on my blog.

First of all, the Comprehensive Record Solution is a parental confidence builder. Lack of parental confidence is one of the main reasons for sending homeschooled kids to public school. “If I keep homeschooling them they won’t be able to get into university,” I’m told over and over.

Lee Binz, mom, author, and successful homeschool high school coach, asserts that the quickest and easiest path to college admissions and scholarships is to focus on helping the student become the person God created them to be. She does not advocate a rigid, stressful style of high school at all. In fact, she says that a big advantage of homeschooling is the opportunity to enjoy life-defining experiences during the school year. This is our family’s style, too. Although we encourage thorough and rigorous courses, we also allow ample opportunity for exploring personal interests. Knowing that Lee’s philosophy is similar to ours makes me feel more comfortable with her suggestions.

Furthermore, the Comprehensive Record Solution provides helpful tools to prepare high school records. It consists of four modules:

Module 1: Encourage, in which we meet Lee and her family, understand the importance of record keeping, and see the records of her sons and of some other homeschooled students.
Module 2: Equip, in which Lee shares a thorough record template as well as all you’ve ever wanted to know about course descriptions, including many examples.
Module 3: Educate, in which Lee gives wide-ranging video and audio advice to help prepare your teen’s comprehensive record.
Module 4: Empower, in which Lee will personally help you, hands-on, with four individual course descriptions you develop.

The backbone of the program is the Comprehensive Record Template from Module 2. This well-designed document includes transcript forms to help organize and record students’ work in a format which universities and colleges appreciate. It has prompts to record textbooks, grades, course descriptions, and more. Because of the template, I could focus on just one step at a time, and that really reduced my stress level.

The program also includes a wealth of helpful information in E-books, audio downloads, videos, templates, and documents. I loved Lee’s course descriptions, and used them to make my own…and I really enjoyed her empowering and helpful input on four of them.

We used the Comprehensive Record Solution for Miss 18 who is entering her chosen university in the fall, and I am also using it for Mr. 16 and Miss 13. Although the thought of preparing adequate high school records used to keep me awake at nights, I’m now confident and relaxed about it. Of course, there’s still work to do, but the stress is now gone. I am pleased to be able to homeschool right through high school using our own style and top quality resources…and still get my children into university.

As mentioned, more information is available in my earlier preview and review, as well as on the Comprehensive Record Solution webpage. You can purchase the program there as well.

Disclosure: I received The Comprehensive Record Solution in order to review it and give you my honest opinion. I do not receive any compensation for any of my reviews, and my opinions are entirely my own.

-Written by Annie Kate, a Christian homeschooling mom of five, who reviews and blogs at Tea Time with Annie Kate. You can read her other Curriculum Choice reviews here.

My ABC Bible Verses: Hiding God’s Word in Little Hearts

Bible, Biblical Principle Approach, Elementary, Mom Helps, Uncategorized 4 Responses »

Jun 162011

I’m always looking for new and different resources to use for our morning Bible time around the breakfast table. I first heard about My ABC Bible Verses on a Christian radio broadcast and placed it on my wishlist. I recently purchased it and am so glad that I did. We are almost to the end of it now and have been incredibly blessed by it. Not only does this book provide morning devotional material for us, but it is also a valuable tool for memorizing Scripture.

The author, Susan Hunt, has chosen one Bible verse for each letter of the alphabet. Accompanying each verse is a short story that demonstrates how the Scripture is applicable in daily, real life situations that are common to children. Each of these twenty-six stories follows the everyday childhood joys and trials of Missy and Bill, a brother and sister whose parents continually show them how God wants to use His Word to make them more like Jesus.

Here is the layout of each day’s reading:

the verse for the day
a short (two or three sentence) explanation of the verse
the story
a “Let’s Talk” section with two or three questions you can discuss with your child, which help to cement the truth and application of that day’s Scripture
a prompt to say the day’s verse three times in order to memorize it
a built-in review of a few of the verses that have already been memorized (This has helped us to retain so much Scripture!)
a “Let’s Pray” section that serves as a reminder to ask God for help in applying the day’s verse to your life

Although this book is said to be written for children ages three to seven, my nine-year old looks forward to and thoroughly enjoys each day’s story, as do his five and seven-year old sisters. When we finish this book, we will have twenty-six Bible verses hidden in our hearts, and we will have learned how to apply these Scriptures in our daily lives.

If you try out My ABC Bible Verses, I pray that you will be as blessed by it as our family has been!

Written by Shannon, who can be found blogging about her family’s homeschool adventures at Song of My Heart.

Boyhood and Beyond & Created for Work

Bible, Mom Helps No Responses »

May 022011

I love to use really good devotionals with my children. But, to take this prestigious place of Bible time, they have to be really good. If they’re too fluffy, I don’t hesitate to send them sailing across the room to the nearest garbage can. I simply don’t have time enough with my children to waste on fluffy times learning about God.

Karen Andreola recently sent me a review gift of two devotionals that have passed the test and made it to the hard-earned spots on my bookshelf.

Both books, written by Bob Schultz, are meant to be read with boys. Best case scenario, dad and son(s) go through these together. However, I read through them with my son (and oftentimes my teenage daughter was hanging out with us, too) simply because this is what I wanted to use for morning devo time, which happens to be when Dad is at work.

They are recommended for boys from about 10-18, but I found Boyhood and Beyond to be a little easier than Created for Work. Both follow the same general layout of 3-4 pages that include a real-life story tied into a character trait or Bible story, with practical examples tied-in. There are always a Bible verse and quote to consider, as well as 4-5 thought-provoking discussion questions.

I love that the topics are so geared to keep the attention of boys! Hunting, hiking and hot air balloon trips really connect with preteen and teenage boys. Each book contains more than 30 devotions that are time well-spent!

Apologia High School Science

High School, Mom Helps, Science No Responses »

Feb 252011

Homeschooling parents used to send their teens to school, feeling they couldn’t provide quality high school science instruction at home. That hasn’t been necessary since Dr. Jay L. Wile wrote and revised his Apologia high school texts. These excellent, Creation-based courses are clear enough to be essentially self-teaching, even though they cover difficult material. In fact, as a scientist, I am impressed by the breadth and depth of these texts as well as their clarity.

The Apologia high school science textbook series includes

Exploring Creation with Biology, first and second edition available
Exploring Creation with Chemistry, first and second edition available
Exploring Creation with Physics, first and second edition available
The Human Body: Fearfully and Wonderfully Made! Second edition planned for 2012
Exploring Creation with Marine Biology (by Sherri Seligson) first edition only
Advanced Chemistry in Creation, first and second edition available
Advanced Physics in Creation, first edition only

Each well-organized textbook is full of important and detailed information, presented in a chatty style. Dr. Wile is an excellent teacher and explains the material carefully, especially in the second edition texts. Each book contains worked out examples and ‘On Your Own’ questions that are answered in detail in the text. At the end of each chapter, a series of questions summarizes important concepts and checks for comprehension. These questions are answered in the separate Solutions Manual.

The texts also contain detailed instructions and explanations for the labs. Many of these labs can be performed using only household materials, but others require specialized equipment such as dissection kits, microscopes, and an array of chemicals which are available in a kit.

For detailed tables of contents and a sample of each course, click on the above links. The texts we own (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Advanced Chemistry, and Advanced Physics) are all quite similar to Advanced Chemistry which I’ve reviewed in great detail here.

Each of these Apologia courses comes with a Solutions and Tests Manual as well as a textbook. The Solutions and Tests Manuals provide solutions for each chapter’s study guide questions. They also contain tests and answer keys, and the second edition manuals include detailed marking schemes and exams with solutions as well.

Each course also comes with full curriculum support by mail, email, fax, or phone. Some also have other supporting components such as CD ROM’s, lab equipment, and an invaluable website.

Most of these courses have been revised to make them even more user-friendly. For details of the differences between the two editions, see my review of the second edition of Advanced Chemistry. If at all possible, I recommend buying the second edition. At the high school level, ease of use for both student and parent is crucial and is well worth the difference in price between a new second edition and a used first edition textbook.

Obviously, these are Christian courses, written from a creationist viewpoint. That is one of the reasons I love them. They do, however, present and explain evolution respectfully, while pointing out problems with current theories. Christian students need this sort of knowledge to be able to function and thrive in secular universities and colleges. However, if students plan to write the big standardized subject tests, they would do well to learn more about evolution from a secular source.

We’re in our fourth year of high school at home, and Miss 18 has completed the second editions of Biology, Chemistry, and Physics, and is currently studying Advanced Chemistry and Advanced Physics. Unfortunately, at this time Apologia has no plans for a second edition of Advanced Physics. Mr. 15 is working on Biology and will soon begin Chemistry.

After all these years of using Dr. Wile’s texts, we are very pleased with the breadth, depth, and user-friendliness of these courses. The textbook explanations are so clear that my teens rarely come to me for help with their science, but I know they are learning much more than I did in high school, including a good many first year university topics.

Because of the Apologia science texts, homeschooled high school students have access to better quality science education than most students in public or private schools, even if their parents do not know science. The extensive support system mentioned above, the clarity of the textbooks, and the many detailed examples all help to make the courses essentially self-teaching, even though they are rigorous.

Dr. Wile’s high school science texts are an incredible resource for the Christian homeschool movement and should also be used by Christian private schools that do not have qualified high school science teachers.

For information about Apologia’s junior high science, please read this informative review.

Disclosure: I am not compensated for this review and the opinions expressed are entirely my own. I received one of the textbooks, Advanced Chemistry, for the purpose of reviewing it.

Written by Annie Kate, a Christian homeschooling mom of five, who reviews and blogs at Tea Time with Annie Kate.

Slow and Steady Get Me Ready

Hands On, Mom Helps, Phonics, Preschool 4 Responses »

Feb 022011

Today, after three-year-old finished her page from Color, Count and Cut, we pulled from our Slow and Steady, Get Me Ready book. The activity below is called Finish It. I read the beginning of each sentence and almost four-year-old finished it.

I went to the ice cream shop.
I am going on a vacation to see horses.
Yesterday I played in the snow.
Mother and I took a walk and saw a bumblebee.
Daddy gave me a prize.
A tree is a nature thing.
My car will drive.
My name is (three-year-old said her name
I am great at staying in the lines of stuff I am drawing.
I like to have hot chocolate in the winter.

That was terrific!! (her quick response when I paused. I was going to say, “That was the ‘finish it’ activity.”

We also use this book for Lil’ Buddy. His activity, at almost two years old, was Find and Touch. We found his head, eye, nose, ear, mouth, arm, hand, leg, foot and stomach (tummy).

Since I first recorded these activities, the youngest two are now five and three years old. Still, we pull out the Slow and Steady, Get Me Ready for each of them.

How often?

Slow and Steady Get Me Ready by June R. Oberlander has age appropriate activities from birth to age 5. Weekly developmental activities. Just one activity a week.

How much preparation? How much time?

Little preparation is necessary. I often pull the book down from the shelf and flip to the age-appropriate week just for inspiration. Sometimes I need to hunt a box from the garage, sometimes a string, buttons, construction paper. Always I have the supplies on hand. Most activities are five to 10 minutes at most.

Basic skills

The “My name is…” activity pictured above was an easy prompt to remind me to ask three-year-old his name and age. You’d think that would be something I’d remember to work on but in our busy Hodgepodge, I sometimes forget. Until someone at church asks him, “So, how old are you now?” The activities have also given me ideas for skills to include on a morning Room Time CD.

Introductory material for the new homeschooler/parent

Author June R. Oberlander encourages parents to introduce the material true to the title. “Avoid introducing activities too soon…” She also encourages repetition throughout the week since babies and preschoolers often learn that way.

“Since babies don’t come with directions, try these…” (examples include skill in grasping an object for infants to fine and gross motor skills for four-year-olds)
“Provides 5 years of activities at approximately a penny a day. Saves money by using home materials for the activities.”
“The best thing to spend on your children is your time!”
Also included are four pages of tips for solving behavioral dilemmas. “Keep calm and make your values clear to the child. Show interest, love, praise and above all, be consistent in following the rules you have established.”

A low key phonics program

When third grader was four years old we did the one letter a week activity. That year we filled a box up with alphabet puppets. Now I’ve been able to pull the box down with the younger two. Not rigorous but a gentle, easy way to introduce sounds and letters.

How much does it cost?

I am blessed to have been given this as a homeschool hand me down. Don’t I have a great friend? The 2003 version of Slow and Steady, Get Me Ready is available for $17.99 here.

Timeless for an age range

We are into our fifth year of pulling this resource off our bookshelf. When we first started using it, there were three of my children I could use it for: an almost five-year-old, two-year-old and a newborn.

This past November, the one who completed the Finish It activity (mentioned at top) turned five years old. She was able to say, as it does on the last page, “Slow and steady, now I am ready!” Now, I just pull it out for our youngest. He still has two more years. Slow and steady!

~Tricia faces a daily dose of chaos homeschooling five children. She contributes a blend of writing at parenting and homeschool sites as well as her own daily Hodgepodge.

365 Days of Celebration and Praise

Art, Bible, Encouragement, Hands On 4 Responses »

Jan 032011

It’s easy.

It’s done for you.

Those two criteria really appeal to me as a homeschool mother.

Julie Lavender has done all the work. Pull out her 365 Days of Celebration and Praise to start the day. It’s appropriate for all ages. A full year of family devotionals.

We all need an easy, stress-free way to add some fun to our homeschool day. We sometimes start with these Daily Devotions and Activities written by a homeschooler for homeschooling families. Or maybe we read it together at lunch time. Other times children pull it out on their own.

We celebrate birthdays, holidays. Why not every day? Included for each day:

Questions to discuss
Related activity – a craft, recipe or other simple, hands-on project
Curriculum Connection – suggested activity related to a school subject (e.g., for National Backyard Games Week – “What interjections did you use when you played your game outside? What is an interjection? Can you think of more interjections?”)
Verse to memorize
Prayer suggestion

Did you know March 1 is National Pig Day? Read Luke 15: 11-32 and discuss why you think the younger son took all he had and left… Who forgave the young man? Then make a pig bookmark if you like. All the instructions are included. Next, see how many baby animal names you know. Memorize Colossians 3:13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Pray, asking God to help you forgive. Thank God for his forgiveness of sins.

National Fragrance Week? Clergy Appreciation Day? National Dessert Month? Basketball Season? Holy Humor Month? Golden Rule Week? Epiphany? Drinking Straw Day?

So take a bit of advice from December 30, Make-Up-Your-Mind Day, check out Julie Lavender’s resource. It’s available for $16.99 here. Learn, discuss, memorize and pray together as a family this year.

May God bless you as you make each day a holiday! ~ Julie Lavender

~Tricia faces a daily dose of chaos homeschooling five children. She contributes a blend of writing at parenting and homeschool sites as well as her own daily Hodgepodge.

The “Put On” Chart by Doorposts

Bible, Encouragement, Hands On 2 Responses »

Dec 032010

I picked up The “Put On” Chart from Doorposts at a homeschool convention one spring. It caught my eye because we enjoy so many of the Doorposts products in our home. Plus, I had been looking for a little something to help end the school year on a positive note. Now, I pull it out again.
This statement, in the lesson book’s introductory material, caught my attention:

“While we train our children to “take off” sinful behaviors, we must also lead them in “putting on” godly attitudes and actions. If we just focus on the “don’ts, they will most likely grow up to be adults who do not live a life of joy in Christ or truly glorify God. While setting an example with our own joyful obedience, we should pray that our chilren, like David, will say, “I delight to do Your will, O my God, and Your law is within my heart.” (Psalm 40:8, NKJV)”

We’ve been learning the chart’s focal Bible verse, “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” Colossians 3:12-12

What is included? The “Put On” Chart kit comes with a laminated chart, a lesson book full of ideas and a boy and girl paper doll. The children get to dress the paper doll while learning each piece of the verse.

For example, we dressed the paper doll with the “gloves” of compassion (put yourself in someone else’s place. How do they feel? Can you help them feel better? Do it!) and the shoes of kindness (make yourself useful. What can you do to bless someone? Go and do it!)

The study focuses on what the Bible says about the following:

Compassion
Kindness
Humility
Meekness
Patience
Forbearance
Forgiveness
Love

What does it cost? $11.50 for the entire kit – laminated chart, study book and paper dolls.

From their site, “Does anyone in your household ever have trouble being patient? How about compassionate? Or forgiving? As much as we love the members of our own family, it seems like home is where our ability to truly love is put to the greatest test.” Read all about it, view sample pdf pages: Put On Chart from Doorposts.

And above all these put on love…

~Tricia faces a daily dose of chaos homeschooling five children. She contributes a blend of writing at parenting and homeschool sites as well as her own daily Hodgepodge.

A Trip Around the World in Three Books

Elementary, Geography, History, Mom Helps, Unit study resources 2 Responses »

Dec 012010

I have three reproducible books from Carson Dellosa Publishing that have been helping us in our studies of different countries. They are a series geared for elementary ages. The first book, A Trip Around the World, helps you and your children explore life in Mexico, Brazil, Egypt, Kenya, Germany, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, China, Japan, Australia, Canada, and the United States. Another Trip Around the World takes you to Panama, Venezuela, Argentina, Antarctica, South Africa, Nigeria, Israel, Greece, Italy, France, Russia, and India. A New Trip Around the World covers 12 more countries: Puerto Rico, Guatemala, Cuba, Peru, Chile, Spain, the United Kingdom, Norway, Iraq, Afghanistan, Ghana, and Morocco. All three books are similarly laid out, each country’s section has the following:

Basic Information – area, population, flag descriptions, etc.
Fascinating Facts – This could be sports, animals, education, or historical, among other things.
Language activities
Recipes
Printable maps, flags, and a worksheet
Classroom activity ideas and a resource list to find more books

I really like these books and they are the first ones I read when we get ready to start learning about a new country. Why? Because I get a great, succinct orientation to the country myself, one that gives me ideas of some of the possible topics we can study that relate to the country. I admit, I am not as familiar with life in other countries as I could be, so I really like having this one-stop spot for familiarizing myself with the basics and some interesting facts. I have found these to be fun and add neat things to our Expedition Earth study for my 4th grader. Read my review of Expedition Earth here.

I can see using these books as a simple, stand alone set of unit studies for a weekly ‘country study’ that happens one day each week. I know my children are enjoying our country studies, and even when we move to a science focus come January we can keep exploring the world in a quick way when we just need to shake things up a bit.

What are some of your favorite reproducible books? I would love to know if you have used these or others in your homeschool, so please leave a comment!

Written by Tristan, mom to 6 children ages 9 to newborn, homeschooling through unit studies with a side of lapbooks. You can visit her at her blog, Our Busy Homeschool, or read her other Curriculum Choice posts here.