I am so happy to introduce you to a wonderful curriculum to teach your child how to read, Stepping Stones Together. This is a beginning, online, reading program which claims to teach your child to read in 90 days.

Stepping Stones Together can be used by any child who knows the alphabet, (out of order, both upper and lower case) most of the sounds, and who also shows general interest in reading.

This reading program utilizes themed stories, using 220 high-frequency words and text illustrations – to teach your child how to read. There are three levels of reading and while your child can pick which book they prefer to read, (which is fabulous for a finicky child!) they may only choose from the level they are currently in or lower. Higher levels become available as your child finishes the previous one. There are three levels in all.

While each lesson only takes 15-20 minutes each day, the lessons are designed to make all of those minutes count. Each story is read twice before completion is awarded, to ensure mastery.

The videos and information for the parent are quite impressive. I have never seen so much support offered to make you feel comfortable with how to present a curriculum before.

This program is so different from others that I have tried, even though we have not completed all of the lessons, our almost 4 year old has enjoyed using the program and I am sure you and your child will enjoy it as well. If you would like to see just how Stepping Stones Together looks in use please see this extremely helpful page. You will find a very detailed breakdown of how the program works there.

Cost: There are two options available, 90 Day Membership for $19.99, or Super Saver One Year Membership for $39.99. You can also take advantage of the free trial, which will give you a great taste of the program works.

Erika, the founder of Stepping Stones Together, would like to offer all of our readers 50% all full year memberships, just use code- “I want the deal” (omitting quotations), giving you a full year of instruction for the 90 day price! Thanks Erika!

Here at The Curriculum Choice we are grateful to you, our readers. Today we are sending a special thank you to our top ten referrers for February. We appreciate your support!

Pinterest – Thank you for pinning our reviews! Did you know you can follow The Curriculum Choice on Pinterest? It is a visual of all our our review categories, plus more inspirational, educational pins from our readers.

Facebook – Have you joined the Curriculum Choice on Facebook yet?

Jimmie’s Collage

Hodgepodge

Harmony Art Mom

Institute for Excellence in Writing

Aussie Pumpkin Patch

Raising Arrows

The Homeschool Classroom

We hope you will spend some time visiting these great sites!

I love art, but have no real training in it.  I believe my children need to learn art techniques, but I can’t afford $60/hour lessons at the local art studio.  What’s a homeschooling mom to do?  Well…I had the blessing of reviewing lessons 1-12 of See the Light Art Class DVD’s and found them to be full of solid instruction at a reasonable price.

Before I even begin telling you about the lessons, you ought to know the film quality is very good.  That means a lot to me considering so many DVD programs I review leave a lot to be desired in quality.  No need to worry with these!

The complete first year program consists of 36 lessons, meant to be taught once per week.  The teacher has an engaging personality, gives clear directions, and models lessons at an appropriate pace – all important aspects allowing my children to stay focused.  And, she teaches lessons incrementally, meaning each new lesson expands on a previously learned skill.

Technique and art vocabulary are key components in the lessons, as well as learning how to effectively use various art media.  Even though the lessons are simple to implement, they are in-depth, making art class a serious (and fun) venture.  Additionally, each lesson is wholeheartedly Christian, tying in Bible verses or mini-devotionals to the art topic at hand.

Students are encouraged to have their own “toolbox” of basic art supplies including #2 pencils, paper, a drawing pencil, charcoal pencils, a black Sharpie marker, colored pencils, a sharpener, a medium to large box of crayons, a large white eraser and a kneaded eraser.   Some lessons will include easily found household supplies, too, like two apples in lesson 3, for example.

Each lesson lasts approximately 15 minutes and it’s assumed your child will put to practice some of the newly learned skills afterward.  I have used the lessons with my 6th and 9th graders, but even my five year old enjoyed taking part most of the time.

You can purchase all 36 DVD lessons in a bundle for $99.  (Yes, that seems high, but it’s an entire year of art instruction.)  You can also purchase DVDs of four lessons each for $14.99 or get an online subscription which “unlocks” four lessons at a time for only $10 per month.

My children aren’t the most artistically gifted kids you’ll ever meet, but the lessons have really improved their skills.  If you’re skeptical, try the first three lessons for free!

Here at The Curriculum Choice we are grateful to you, our readers. Today we are sending a special thank you to our top ten referrers for January. We appreciate your support!

Pinterest  – Thank you for pinning our reviews! Did you know you can follow The Curriculum Choice on Pinterest?

Facebook – Have you joined us there yet?

Jimmie’s Collage

Institute for Excellence in Writing

1+1+1=1

Harmony Art Mom

Our Journey Westward

Five Js

Raising Arrows

The Homeschool Classroom

We hope you will spend some time visiting these great sites!

To be honest, when I was approached about writing a review for K5 Learning, I was going to pass. We just haven’t liked any online sites that we have tried. I decided it was only fair to give it a quick look before saying no, and my five-year-old was immediately drawn into the site. I responded to the request with a yes.

We started with the recommended learning assessment, to see where my son scored on grade level, so the program could correctly place him to start the program. The assessment has a variety of levels given within it. Some answers will be too easy, others too hard. This is the only way the program can know where your child is in his learning.  However, I wish there was a button for parents to choose “does not apply”, as my son correctly answered some questions he had no clue about, just by chance.  Once the assessment is over, the parent can log in to see where your child was placed. Evan scored 1st grade, and he is in Kindergarten. (I thought he was reading above K!) After the program knows where your child’s skill level is, you are ready to learn.

The layout is attractive and inviting. Evan has really enjoyed learning his lessons with this program. I wanted to share with you a few examples of the curriculum in action, to give a better idea of what a lesson looks like.

The pros:

These lessons aren’t full of games and a little education, your child will really learn:

• phonetic awareness, phonics, sight words, vocabulary and reading comprehension.
• numbers and operations, geometry, measurement (including time and money), algebraic thinking and data analysis.
• basic addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts. (with monitored progress for mastery)
• spelling-you can even assign your own word lists.

Other positives:

• works for special needs learners.
• parents have access to learning reports to track progress.
• the lessons adjust to your child’s individual learning automatically.

{my favorite part of the lesson}

• Each lesson also has a preview of sorts that explains what you are about to learn and how to answer. I really like that about the program.

{this math lesson was challenging, but enjoyable}

{we apparently needed this, as Evan asked if dragons were real!}

The con:

This online curriculum has some great positives and I am glad we were invited to try it. I do have one negative to give, however:

When we went to work on the math facts for mastery, we found they are timed drills. Drills makes sense for older children – but Evan is five, with little keyboard skills. He never could get fast enough to pass, even though he answered all of the questions correctly.

As you can see, 0 were answered quickly enough, but all were correct. It had nothing to do with knowing the facts. I do wish the curriculum had thought of smaller children with little hands and no knowledge of why the numbers don’t go in order on mommy’s computer pad. Evan couldn’t understand why he didn’t pass when he knew all of the answers.

The rest of this site is great, so we will likely just be skipping this section unless that aspect is changed. Overall, it is a great program with true learning as the star. It is just fun enough to keep Evan from feeling overwhelmed, but this isn’t busy work. I would definitely recommend this if you have any interest in computer learning.

Purchase info:

• After the trial ends, the monthly subscription for one child is $25 or you can purchase one year for one child for $199.  K5 Learning has a free 14 day trial that doesn’t require your credit card to begin. (I love that.)
• I would recommend giving the free 14 day trial a try. Evan has really enjoyed this in the few weeks he has been using it. If we had the extra $25 in our budget, I would continue on when our subscription expires. I wasn’t expecting to enjoy K5 Learning this much. It has been a great addition to our day.

Sam's Noggin

One of our investments for the 2011 school year was Scholastic’s Interactive 3D Maps: American History. It was actually recommended by the core programme we are using, but the book itself was bound to be a hit with two map loving young boys. Not to mention they really enjoy doing hands-on projects, so mixing the two together sounded like it would be right up their alley!

We were not in the slightest bit disappointed with this book! We are just under halfway through the book and have mapped the adventures of Various Explorers, The Mayflower, Paul Revere, The Slave Trade, Lewis & Clark and a few more.  Which is nothing compared to what’s left waiting for us in the book!

The Breakdown:

Each map has a total of four pages. Two pages are written more to the teacher and provide information about the map, time period, and/or event that took place. It also provides instructions of how to put the maps together and a few ideas to use the maps as well.

The next two pages are the actual map and pieces that go with it. So for instance, with Lewis & Clark you’ll have two pieces of map, various forts, Indian villages and boats. The children colour the maps and pieces and then assemble everything together.

How We Use It:
I find that my children love to color when I’m reading aloud to them. So these maps are often colored while I’m reading about the people or times involved in these maps! Once colored we cut the maps out.

The instructions state you are to glue the maps on construction paper, but we like to do things just a wee bit different. Instead, we tape both pieces of the map together, then we take two pieces of colored card stock and glue the map to both pieces leaving about an eighth of an inch gap between the two pieces. Why?

This allows us to fold the map neatly, paperclip all the accessories to the map & tuck it into a nifty page protector {I love those things!} before we put the whole thing right into the kids timeline notebook. Easy Peasy!

What I Love:

This book is fantastic and my kids love the maps! I love that they love the maps and can visualize all the things we’re reading about. I love that the little pieces can be moved around the map and places on specific locations like the starting and stopping point of journeys.

The price: This book is extremely inexpensive when you consider that it is reproducible. The book ranges in price from $10.99 {amazon.com} $11.99 {Book Depository with free shipping}, or $15.99 {directly from Scholastic as an ebook}. Either way you go, it’s a great deal.

What I don’t Love:
There is one thing I don’t love about this book, and really only one thing. The pages aren’t perforated and the book isn’t spiral bound. It makes copying the pages a bit more difficult, but not impossible! However, the lack of either of these does not stop me from loving this book! It really isn’t that big of a deal to copy it like it is. Of course if you purchase this book directly from Scholastic as an ebook that’s not an issue you’d have to worry about!

Bottom Line:
We love the book and I’m extremely happy with the purchase! My kids are very hands-on and love being involved in their projects. These maps are simple enough that even my eight-year-old can do most of it without assistance.

If you have read many of my other reviews you already know that I like for things to be easy.  If they aren’t easy, I at least don’t want them to be a ton of work for me.  After all, my inner educator proclaims, this is their education, not mine!  This of course is true to a point.  We all know, I reply to my inner educator, learning never stops; least of all, perhaps, for a home educating mama.

In addition to easy, I want things to make sense, for them to be logical.  Timely, too, in that when they are presented with new ideas, those new ideas make sense to my little learners.  I want to be developmentally appropriate, and I want to cover material that will be useful and necessary.

We ascribe to a sort of Classical, sort of Charlotte Mason, very literary-based education for our children.  The idea of a lot of rote memory work does not fit into my idea of practical or useful.  The idea of memorization for the purpose of reviewing and cementing ideas, though, is another story.  If memory work is one of the tools–like reading and writing and listening and drawing–that we use to gather and corral ideas, that is something I like and want to use.

I have found a great resource by Andrew A. Campbell called Living Memory:  A Classical Memory Work Companion that has removed some of the burden of memory work from my shoulders.  

It is simply a book of lists.  The lists, derived from academic subjects, contain organized information for the purpose of memorization.  Dr. Campbell includes an essay detailing the how and why of using memory work as one of the tools of learning.  The remainder of the book is comprised of lists of information in the following broad subjects:  Latin and Greek, arithmetic and mathematics, grammar and composition, literature, religion, geography, world history, United States history and civics, and natural sciences.  Each section is broken down into more specific categories and into lists.  There are speeches and portions of documents.  There are formulas.  There are charts.  All of this is intended to be used over the academic lifetime of a student–from Kindergarten to graduation.

The book has been helpful to me in two ways.  First, it has given me ideas.  Sometimes the question of what to memorize has been overwhelming to me–so overwhelming that I have thrown up my hands and provided nothing for my kids to concentrate on retaining.  Now, I can open Living Memory, find a science list that fits with our studies, and put my little learners to work.

Second, Dr. Campbell has assured me that memorizing something is better than memorizing nothing, that I can start small and build, and that memory work can and should be in the context of our studies.  I like that.  It makes sense to me, because it is orderly and timely.  It is developmentally appropriate.  Also, it is simple and easy.  And you know that I like easy.

Living Memory:  A Classical Memory Work Companion by Andrew A. Campbell provides comprehensive lists in a variety of pertinent subjects to be used for memory work.  It can be found on Lulu.com in both digital ($14.95) and paperback ($22.46) versions.

Susan S. is a home educating mama of three in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.  Her days are wild and lovely, full of chattering, learning children.  In all of the mess, she learns the most, taught by the Master Teacher Himself.  

This past year our family was introduced to a study from Bright Ideas Press called A Young Scholar’s Guide to Composers. You might already be familiar with Bright Ideas Press if you use their history curriculum, The Mystery of History.

A Young Scholars Guide to Composers is a One-Year Curriculum for Grades 4-8. It is Christian based and Chronological. It is broken down into 32 weekly lessons that cover 26 famous composers and 6 eras of music.

The study begins with an introduction into Ancient Music and Music in the Middle Ages. You then cover music in the Renaissance and then move into the Baroque Period. At that point you begin covering individual composers and their lives. The rest of the book is broken down into periods of history covering The Baroque period, The Classical Period, The Romantic Period, and The Contemporary Period. You learn about famous composers within each of the above periods of history.

The study offers a suggested schedule for your studies which they have broken down into three days a week, but the study is very flexible and can be used easily in any manner that you desire to use it. In fact, we have on a couple of occasions done the study two days in one week and then picked it back up the following week.

If you follow the suggested study in the book it is recommended that on Day 1 you listen to the recommended selections, read the lesson from the book (each lesson runs approximately 1200 words and takes about 15 minutes to read aloud), and fill in the note- taking pages or answer the Student Review Questions. On Day 2 it suggests that you listen to the selections again, fill in the Composer Info Cards (which are included in the back of the book as reproducibles), and color in the timeline. Day 3 suggests that you listen to the selection(s) again and match the composer to his place of birth on a world map. Again, reproducibles are available in the back of the book.

Above is a sample of the reproducible Composer Info Cards that the book offers.

This is the back of the Info Card which your student/child fills out.

This is a sample of the composers faces that you cut out and glue to the front of the Info Cards. These faces are also used on the included timeline in the book. We have used the faces on our own timeline that we already had set up for our schooling.

Our family has very much enjoyed using this study. One of the things that I love about it is that it can easily be geared towards various ages. While it is written for grades 4-8th, even my  younger children have been able to get a lot out of just listening to the various composers. The back of the book includes coloring pages and my younger children have really enjoyed coloring them as they listen to various pieces of music by each composer. One of our very first composers to study was George Frideric Handel.

This is the coloring page that my daughter Ally (7), and Camden (5) worked on while we listened to his works of music and my older kids filled out their composer cards.

As far as the music itself is concerned, towards the back of the book are suggested web addresses where you can listen to selections from the various artists that you will be studying. Most of the addresses are You Tube videos. While some of the website addresses may change over time and some may therefore not be in use anymore, it has been our experience that most have still been active. When I have come across an address that is no longer active it has been easy to simply type in the name of the piece that is suggested in the book and find selections on You Tube to listen too. I have appreciated having recommended selections to pull up and listen to as we have gone through our studies rather than having to do my own search on what to listen too.

Also included in this book are note-taking pages, quizzes, and answer keys.

Just to give you a sample of how our study began, we started out reading about Ancient Music and Music during the Middle Ages on our first week. Our listening suggestions during this week was, the Gregorian Chant, The Salve Regina, and Dies Irae. As we listened to the suggestions we replayed them several times discussing things such as whether we heard harmony or only melody in the music? Is the tune catchy? What type of feelings does it convey? We tried turning the music off and singing the melody back to see if we could. We also tried tapping our feet to the music. On our second week we learned about music during the Renaissance time period. Our suggestions of music for this week were Piffaro and “Summer Is Icumen In”. We discussed the same questions regarding this music that we did on week one. On week three we read about the Baroque Period and began our study of composers with Antonio Vivaldi. From that point on, each week contained a new composer to study.

This Composer Study is 298 pages long and is available in paperback book form for $34.95 or as a CD-Rom book for $29.95. You can download sample pages of the study from the Bright Ideas Website. To do so or to purchase the book visit, HERE.

Jennifer is mom to 6 children, 2 boys and 4 girls, ages 14 down to 5. The Unsell family is in their 10th year of homeschooling and are a bit eclectic in their approach to schooling. You can find their family blog at Adventures in Unsell Land.

Waterford Press has a tagline that says, “Putting the World in Your Pocket.” With Waterford Press it is amazing just how much of the world you can fit into your pocket. You can store information about animal tracks, the cosmos, plants, wildlife and more right in your back pocket. These naturalist pocket guides are durable, easy to read, colorful, and fun for children or anyone who appreciates nature. In addition to nature guides, you can have a hands on guide to first aid, wilderness survival, knots, and state flags and facts. I cannot even begin to give you the entire list of amazing pocket guides, please visit the site. I am certain you will find a guide that suits you!

I had the opportunity to review three naturalist guides from Waterford Press; Animal Tracks, The Night Sky and Bugs and Slugs. I was pleased when I opened my package of pocket naturalist guides. Moreover, my children were pleased.

What we liked:

The guide is laminated which makes is durable. Durable enough for a two year old to grab it out of her sister’s hands and run around the house before dragging it alone before getting caught.

The size! The guide is 8.25″ H x 3.5″ W. It is small enough to bring it with you on nature walks or where ever you go yet big enough to find. The ability to find an object in a house with four kids, including one stealth mode toddler thief, is essential.

The amount of information provided in the guides. The guide is not simply pictures with a few words on each animal, bug or object. It provides a nice balance of enough information to understand and appreciate the topic yet not so much that my five year old or my 11 year old got that glazed look in their eye. It also had enough information to peak an interest yet not leave you with too many questions.

The Night Sky guide has a star chart that glows in the dark!

What we didn’t like:

Animal tracks had a picture of an opossum. I dislike opossums. So, that is a bit unfair, right?

My toddler and my Kindergartner fight over the Animal Tracks guide. Not sure how I can blame that on Waterford Press though.

Honestly, we couldn’t find anything wrong with the guides. In fact, I am looking forward to more of their products coming out in the spring. They will soon offer My First Nature Activity Books and Children Nature Activity Books which really appeal to me and my kids.

Pictured below is an activity I used the Animal Track guide for with my Kindergartener. I happened to have animal track molds from a previous activity. So, I rolled out Play Doh and imprinted the tracks. I then had my daughter use the guide to identify the tracks. She had a great time doing this activity. She even made her own tracks using the guide and a few Play Doh tools.

Richele is an eclectic homeschooling mom to four reflections of God’s love whose greatest accomplishment thus far was teaching physics, folding laundry, and playing Candyland simultaneously.  Find her blogging at Under the Golden Apple Tree.

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.

Congratulations to commenter #12, Dawn!

Our winner was chosen using the online Random Number Generator.

Dawn, please email me at songofmyheartblog at yahoo dot com within three days for info. on how to claim your set of Arithmetic Village books. I know that and your children are going to enjoy them!

Thank you to all who participated in our giveaway!

written by Shannon from Song of My Heart

I am always on the lookout for living math books, and when I stumbled upon Arithmetic Village, I knew I had to read this new series of books with my children. The five books arrived, and after one reading we were hooked. Ever since then my children, ages 5, 7, and 9, have chosen to read these delightful stories again and again. (Yes, even the nine-year old boy enjoys them!)

The Arithmetic Village series, written by Kimberly Moore, is set in a lovely, magical village nestled in a fairytale countryside where glittering jewels fall from the sky. The reader is gently introduced to place value, addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, as the children in the village collect, lose, and share the jewels with others.

The series includes:

Arithmetic Village – This first book of the series introduces the five main characters: Polly Plus, Linus Minus, Tina Times, and King David Divide. The concept of place value is introduced through the use of jewels, velvet sacks (ten jewels go in a sack), and treasure chests (ten sacks go in a chest). You can read the story in its entirety here.

Polly Plus – This story demonstrates the concept of addition as Polly goes about the village collecting jewels and adding them in her neat and precise manner.

Linus Minus – Described as “an adorable mess”, Linus shows us how to subtract by losing and scattering jewels everywhere he goes.

Tina Times – Speedy Tina demonstrates multiplication by quickly and efficiently counting groups of jewels as she gathers them.

King David Divide – The wise and fair king of Arithmetic Village, David Divide shares jewels with everyone. He distributes them equally, but if some are left over they go to his pet dog, Rover. (I love the idea of Rover receiving the remainder.)

My favorite things about this series:

• Rhyming text
• Engaging and whimsical story line
• The characters’ demonstrations of sharing, kindness, and other noble qualities
• The use of fun props – jewels, sacks, and treasure chests – that bring the math concepts to life
• The Arithmetic Village website. The author offers free hands-on activity ideas and downloads to accompany the books. She has posted several videos showing how to easily make (or buy) your own set of jewels, sacks, and treasure chest and how to use them with your children to reinforce through play the concepts taught in the stories. This website is a valuable resource and is not to be missed.

To purchase any or all of the books in the series, visit Arithmetic Village’s shop page where you can receive an online discount.

I am excited to announce that Kimberly is graciously giving away a set of Arithmetic Village books to one Curriculum Choice reader.

Two Ways to enter the giveaway – you can do both:

1. Browse the activities at the Arithmetic Village website. Leave a comment here at CC telling us your favorite activity!
2. Follow Arithmetic Village on Twitter, and leave a comment here at CC to let us know that you did.

Please make sure to leave a separate comment for each of your entries, as well as an email address or blog url where you can be contacted should you win. Entrants must live in the continental U.S.

**Deadline for entries is Monday, June 14th, 10:00 pm (EST).

Good luck, and enjoy your time in the Village!

(Disclosure: The Arithmetic Village series was provided to me for free for review purposes. The views and opinions expressed in this review are purely my own.)

Written by Shannon, who blogs about living books and other homeschool-ish things at Song of My Heart.

The Curriculum Choice is looking for a few new writers to add to the team!

What’s required?

• You must be able to write well.  (We will need to see a sample review or visit your blog.)
• You will need to be able to commit to one review per month and meet the due date.
• You should have several curricula in mind that you’ve used, enjoyed and want to share.
• It would help if you are somewhat familiar with posting online – such things as adding entries, creating links, adding photos and the other minor details that go along with normal blogging.

Why would you want to join our team?

• You’ll be part of a wonderful group of ladies who all share a passion for teaching our children with the best possible materials.
• You’ll get to share your opinions about products with a very large audience of readers.
• Your blog and/or website will be linked in every post and on our author’s page.
• Sometimes companies or authors offer our writers products to review for free!

Please contact Cindy at cindykwest@hotmail.com if you’re interested.

We have loved many books this year as we have done our unit studies.  One reason we love reading a literature selection in a unit study is it makes the time period or information come alive.  Today I want to tell you about one that my children still can tell you all about even though we read it 8 months ago.  The title is By the Great Horn Spoon written in 1963 by Albert S. Fleischman.  This book was a part of our study of the California Gold Rush last June, which you can read more about here.

By the Great Horn Spoon is a fiction book that begins with two stowaways, a boy named Jack and Praiseworthy, his family’s butler.  The funny account of their journey from Boston down around South America, through the Strait of Magellan, and on to California to mine gold are just the beginning.  Once they arrive in California the escapades and humor continue.

Along the way my children were immersed in places and times in history.  They learned many things including the answers to the following questions:

• Butlers – just what does a butler do and do people really have them?
• Ships and paddlewheels – what is it like on board one?
• Captains and stowaways – can the captain really lock them in chains, throw them overboard, or make them work off their passage?
• Geography – how did a ship get to California in 1849?  Were there other ways to travel?
• Why did many ships that set out for California not have enough crewmembers for a return voyage?
• How do you pan for gold?  What tools do you need?
• Properties of gold – just how do you tell if the rock you have is real gold?  (hint – use a hammer)

If you have never read this book then I highly encourage you to try it.  It is one of our favorite family books now!  If you are not in the habit of reading a story along with topics your family are learning about in science or history then try that too, your children will thank you.

Written by Tristan, mother 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.

Science is fun.  I want to fit it in.  In juggling the demands of this busy homeschooling household, I don’t always manage it, though.

The answer:  living books!

For me, it all starts with the books.  A topical, science-based, information-packed, well-illustrated set of books often provides the basis for scientific study at our house.  They give me the boost that I need to develop a science topic into a science curriculum.  Once I have the books, I can add in experiments and notebook pages and memory work and activities.  In the end, we have a great elementary science program.

For habitat study last year, we used The One Small Square series written by Donald Silver and illustrated by Patricia J. Wynne and Dianne Ettl.

The One Small Square series by Donald Silver uses the space of a three-dimensional square to explore the Earth’s habitats.  Each book contains around forty pages of focused information about a particular habitat, along with delightful illustrations and activity suggestions.  The books provide the reader with complete descriptions of each area, including plants, animals, and other pertinent tidbits.  Attention is given to the seasons and changes that occur in the space as the year passes.  Other topics are explained as they naturally arise:  African Savanna discusses drought, Backyard covers decomposition and life cycles, and Pond talks about microscopic creatures.

The primary purposes of the books are two fold:  information and exploration.

The information–comprised of text and illustrations–is useful and appropriate for elementary students.  The illustrations themselves are accurate and engaging.  They draw the eye and delight the mind.  At the end of each book is a picture list of all of the plants and animals covered by the text, which serves as a mini-field guide to the area being studied.

The exploration portion comes in the form of activities designed to help the young reader delve into the habitat and understand particular ideas associated with it.  When possible, the first task for the student is to go to the habitat–a pond or woodsy area, for example–and mark off a small square with an adult’s help.  This is followed by ideas designed to make the space come alive for the child.  Activities include making a home for a duck from a cardboard box in Pond, studying trees to compare them to pictures of African trees in Arican Savanna, and making a picnic to attract bugs in Backyard.  Keeping a nature journal is strongly encouraged and ideas for what to do with it are given throughout the texts.

Books in the series include:

• Backyard
• Seashore
• Woods
• Cactus Desert
• Arctic Tundra
• Pond
• Tropical Rain Forest
• African Savanna
• Coral Reef
• Cave
• Swamp
• The Night Sky

The One Small Square books by Donald Silver have been a hit at our house.  The kids love them, often pulling them off of the shelf to look at and read, and they have made this mama’s life a little easier by providing quality information and useful activities.  We get to do science!

Find the series at your local library or at lots of bookstores and on-line sellers, including Amazon.

Susan S. is a homeschooling mama of three little ones who get bigger and livelier every day. They delight in living books and hands-on math, and are nurturing a love for God and the amazing world that He created.

All of the authors here at The Curriculum Choice would like to wish you a wonderful Christmas as you celebrate the birth of our Savior with your families!   We’ll be back with great new reviews January 3rd!

Whether you study history chronologically or, like we do, in whatever order that strikes our fancy, The Mystery of History is a curriculum worth considering.

It is a complete, chronological history of the world, which combines secular and Biblical history. The hardback textbook is written in a conversational style that holds the reader’s attention.

The Companion Guide, which is used in conjunction with the hardback reader, contains:

•28 weeks worth of learning activities for younger, middle, and older students

•Memory cards

•Hands-on projects

•Field trip suggestions

•Review games

•Informative articles for the teacher

•Form for recording grades

•Outline maps

•Geography activities

•Supplemental book list

•Pretests, quizzes, and answer keys

•Timeline helps

The curriculum can be used with grades K-8th, but the author states in her letter to teachers that she has provided “tracks to run on that best match Middle Students, those from about 4th to 8th grades”. The activities can be adapted to fit the needs of younger and older students as well.

Pros:

• God is placed at the center of the world’s history. The reader can see how His hand has shaped human events.
• Mrs. Hobar’s writing style is much more interesting than that of most dry, traditional textbooks.
• The Student Reader is a beautiful, colorful, hardback volume.
• The activities and helps in the Companion Guide are fun and hands-on, helping to make the history lesson come alive.
• The curriculum is written in a way that simplifies multi-level teaching, especially if you use the Companion Guide.
• Students are encouraged to keep a history notebook in which they place their completed activities. I think it’s nice to have a keepsake like this for reviewing material.
• Even if you don’t teach history chronologically, this is a wonderful resource for studying a specific time period.
• Traces world events chronologically, lining them up with Biblical history. (For example, the reader learns what was going on in the rest of the world when King David was on the throne of Israel.) Obviously, the events of Volume 3 take place after Bible times.
• Encourages the use of and gives instructions for making a timeline, which is a wonderful tool for helping students to visualize the unfolding of historical events.

Cons:

• The only drawback I could find to The Mystery of History was the fact that the textbook did not hold the attention of my 5 and 7 year old.  My 9 year old, however, listened and enjoyed it as a read aloud. My youngers could easily be included in many of the Companion Guide activities though.

To see a video explaining more about The Mystery of History and to view prices for the textbook, companion guide, and supplementary products, visit Bright Ideas Press.

Written by Shannon, who blogs about her family’s hands-on history studies and other homeschool adventures at Song of My Heart.

It’s that time of year again! Many homeschoolers are finishing up their summer breaks, the smell of new school supplies is in the air, and co-ops and support groups are gearing up again. For many folks it’s Back-to-School time.

There is something exciting about the fresh start of a new school year! Even though we school year round, we take a short break at the end of summer and officially kick off our new school year in the fall. I think it’s important to start the year off with a special “first day”, and it can be a great way to get your children excited about school.

Regardless of your homeschool style, having some fun first-day-of-school traditions can breathe new life into your schooling and set the tone for the new year.

Here are a few things we’ve done over the years that have created some excitement and made for some sweet memories:

• Take a picture of your child holding a sign that says “_____’s First Day of ______Grade”. You might also take this picture with your child standing in the same place each year (on the front porch or in front of a special tree, etc.), so that you and your child can look back and see how much they grew and changed each year.
  

  First Day Photo

• Go out for breakfast, or cook a special breakfast. One year I let the kids help me whip up a batch of dino-shaped pancakes for our back-to-school breakfast because we were going to be studying dinosaurs. (You can use cookie cutters or shaped-pancake molds to design different themed pancakes.)
• Send your children on a scavenger hunt around the house for their new school supplies. I do up a new package of crayons, markers, colored pencils, and a pair of scissors in a plastic pencil box for each child to find. You could even wrap it up in pretty paper or let them decorate the plastic boxes with Sharpie markers and stickers. If you’re a notebooking family, you could let them find and decorate their new binder. You get the idea!
  

  Display Table for Our Bird Study

• Set up a table or other area with books and props relating to something you’ll be studying. The year we were studying dinosaurs our table included: a toy dinosaur, books about dinosaurs, a couple of fossils, some small dinosaur posters printed from the internet, and a clear container filled with small plastic dinosaurs with slips of paper for the children to write a guess of how many they thought were in the jar. The possibilities for display tables are endless, and they are a great way to pique your child’s curiosity about a certain topic anytime of the year.
  

  Making A Special First Day Snack

• Incorporate some sort of fun activity into your day.  Play a game, do a fun art project or science experiment, go on a nature walk, or take a trip to the library.
  

  Going on A Leaf Walk

Please realize that we don’t do all of these things each year – just one or two. After all, it’s important to keep things simple so Mom doesn’t stress out!

I hope that you’ve found something fun to try from this list, or perhaps it has sparked some ideas of your own. If so, please leave a comment and share your suggestions.

May you have a wonderful first day and a blessed year of learning and making memories with your children!

Written by Shannon, who blogs about her family’s homeschool adventures at Song of My Heart.

I like to begin our homeschool day with a faith reading, it sets a good tone for the day.

A few years ago I came across a little gem of a  book titled Rare Catholic Stories and Poems with Reading Comprehension, second edition, published by Catholic Heritage Curricula. This book is now newly revised to include over thirty stories and two hundred and eighteen pages. My review here is based on the second edition, which is the copy we own and used.

Rare Catholic Stories and Poems are selected from out of print readers from before 1892, but don’t let that make you think these stories are antiquated, they are not.  The character building stories model polite Godly behavior, inspire, encourage and make a memorable impression on all ages.

At the risk of being redundant, I’d like to highlight one more of Peggy Kaye’s Games books. I’ve already reviewed Games for Math and Games for Writing here at The Curriculum Choice. All three books are similar in format, but I’ve found each of them to be of such great value that I just had to share Games for Reading with you.

Games are a wonderful way to spice up any reading method or curriculum. Children love to play, and fun games can take the drudgery out of drill. Plus, games are a great pastime when it’s too hot to go outside!

This book contains seventy-six games that cover nearly every skill needed for reading. Although they are aimed at beginning readers, meaning 1st through 3rd graders, these games are valuable for proficient readers too.

The games are organized into four parts:

•Part 1 – Games to improve sight vocabulary

•Part 2 – Games that develop phonics/sounding out skills

•Part 3 – Games to strengthen reading comprehension

•Part 4 – Games to get children to love books and want to read!

If you’d like to check out some of these games, you can visit Peggy Kaye’s website to download samples from each of her books.

There are two additional Games books which I have not seen, Games for Learning and Games with Books. If anyone has used these, I’d be interested in hearing about them.

I hope that you and your children can get your hands on a copy of Games for Reading and have some fun playing and learning together!

-Written by Shannon, who blogs about her family’s homeschool adventures at Song of My Heart.

Years ago, when we first started homeschooling, another veteran homeschooler recommended that I take a look at “the Greenleaf history guides” from Greenleaf Press, and I am so glad that she did, and I did! I ended up buying a few of them and have had no regrets whatsoever! They have turned out to be a perfect fit for us in many regards, at different seasons in our homeschool journey, but today I’d like share with you specifically regarding The Greenleaf Guide to Old Testament History by Rob and Cyndy Shearer, “History for the thoughtful child.”.

When our older kiddoes were younger we had a few favorite Bible and devotional-type story books that we read aloud from to them regularly for the majority of our “Bible time”. However, once we started reading aloud straight from the Scriptures, this guide offered us a helpful tool for making that transition easier and more thoughtful.

Therefore, let the minds of young children be well stored with the beautiful narratives of the Old Testament and of the gospels; but, in order that these stories may be always fresh and delightful to them, care must be taken lest Bible teaching stale upon their minds.
(Charlotte Mason, Vol. 1, Home Education, Part V– Lessons As Instruments Of Education, p. 251)

The Shearers have basically taken the Scriptures, from Genesis through Nehemiah (though they left out Leviticus- which we cover with different resources anyways, and may be a bit laborious for younger students), and broken them down into 196 readings, each from a chapter to two chapters long.

To see a complete listing of how the Bible chapters are broken down, as well as a few examples of what each reading/lesson looks like, click here on this link to see it over at cbd.com and you’ll see some links there to view pdf samples.

One of our favorite aspects of this guide has been the open-ended discussion questions included with each reading. A few years ago, as we used it along-side of our family’s Bible read-aloud time, we used these questions as oral narration prompts. However, as our children are now cycling back through these Old Testament readings again, our son has been using these discussion questions as writing prompts for his own private Bible journal time.

There is some brief commentary and helpful “background information” included where necessary, a graphical timeline of Ancient History, along with references to Bible maps, as well as some brief teaching suggestions mentioned here and there. Overall, this guide provides a wonderfully simple to use, comprehensive study of Ancient Israel’s history, using the best historical document we have, the Bible itself.

There are a few recommended books to go along with this study of Ancient Israel, which though they are not necessary, we have found helpful. This book is just what it claims to be, a simple guide to take you and your children through the Old Testament at a nice, comfortable pace. However, we’ve often broken a lesson into two separate readings. The Shearers recommend that you use their Guide to Ancient Egypt (which we’ve also used and appreciate) alongside of this guide for a more involved, complete ancient Bible history program.

Note: The two primary aspects of this guide that I most appreciated, those being its simplicity to use (as in no projects nor preparation necessary) and open-ended (as in no “answers” provided) discussion questions, are the very aspects that caused a friend of mine to not like it, nor use it.

I am reminded of the wise words of Charlotte Mason in this regard, with which I do concur:

We are probably quite incapable of measuring the religious receptivity of children. Nevertheless, their fitness to apprehend the deep things of God is a fact with which we are called to ‘deal prudently,’ and to deal reverently.
(Charlotte Mason, Vol. 1, Home Education, Part V– Lessons As Instruments Of Education, p. 248)

I have found that our children do a good job of thinking through the Scriptures’ ramifications and implications as they read them for themselves, and have personally appreciated their not being told what to think as they read the Word for themselves, especially during their private devotional reading times in the mornings. When they do have questions beyond me (and as they’re getting older, they DO!) we now find ourselves turning to meatier commentaries and texts together anyways, so this guide has been perfectly adequate for our usage!

The price is nice too, especially for all of the use we’ve gotten out of it over the years!

Written by Beth Brewer, a Charlotte Mason inspired, Spirit-led, relaxed-eclectic homeschooling Mama of 3. She’s also an author at The Homeschool Post and blogs her photos, musings, hopes, fears, faith and falterings as she lives, loves and learns with her family at the brew*crew adventure.

What a wonderful experience I have had the last few months!  I received the All-Day Charlotte Mason Seminar on DVD, seminar workbook, and the Laying Down the Rails book and Workshop on DVD from Simply Charlotte Mason to review.  If you have never been over to visit Simply Charlotte Mason, I highly recommend you take a look.  They offer free curriculum guides, free ebooks, and many materials for purchase as well.  They truly help make Charlotte Mason’s homeschool ideas simple.  Their blog is one that always inspires me.

I began by watching the 3 DVDs for the All-Day Charlotte Mason Seminar and taking notes through the accompanying workbook.  I did this over the course of several evenings while my children were falling asleep in their beds, which allowed me some quiet to focus.

Session 1 (34 minutes) introduced me to Charlotte Mason, who she was, when she lived, and her ideas about education.  It was neat to get to know her this way.  I had tried to read her books in the past, but just could not get through them.  It took too much brain power at a time when I was trying to just keep up with my young children and get sleep.

Session 2 (78 minutes) and 3 (71 minutes)held my hand as we went through each subject applying Charlotte Mason’s methods.  Here is where I had many, many ah-ha moments. Short lessons, living books, and narration – these things made sense and could easily be integrated in our unit study family.  I appreciated that I was not expected to add everything in at once.  The appendix explained a doable plan for making the transition to a Charlotte Mason approach a step at a time.  Here is a short clip from the workshop about using narration.

Are we now becoming a Charlotte Mason family? Yes and no.  (grin)  I think narrowly defining any homeschooling family by one method is usually inaccurate.  We prefer to pick and choose the pieces that work for our family.  I have discovered that many of the Charlotte Mason pieces fit our family!  We have already begun to incorporate the following:

• living books
• narration
• scripture memorization

We have plans to incorporate these ideas over the next year:

• map drill
• picture study
• music study

Now let me tell you a little bit about the  Laying Down the Rails book and DVD Workshop that came as part of this set.  I watched the DVD first (45 minutes), using the workbook section for it from the All-Day Charlotte Mason Seminar as I went.  I love Charlotte’s idea that good habits are like railroad tracks, they smooth life out because a child is not having to make the same decisions over and over and over.  I know that is true, even in my own life.  Habits help me to accomplish many of the routine things in my day without the extra effort of decision-making.

Sonya, the workshop presenter, is funny and helpful as she leads you through many of the habits a child can learn.  While there is an extensive list, she emphasizes to start with one habit, and not to add another until the first is truly habit.  It was really helpful to watch the DVD with my husband. He was not up for reading the book, all 230+ pages, but the workshop got us both on the same mental page easily.  He was as excited about habit training as I was.  You can watch a short clip from the DVD right here.

I next spent nearly a month reading and pondering the Laying Down the Rails book.  What a treasure!  It contains Charlotte’s words on each habit gathered into one place, prefaced by a concise definition of the habit and a story that shows how the habit is important.  There are entire chapters on ‘repairing the rails’ – breaking the bad habits we already have, including chapters on some specific problems like dawdling, temper tantrums, and lying.  See a sample from the book HERE.

Where are we now? Well, habit training is a process, and I will be honest that the first person who has to acquire the new habit is me.  However, we are working on our habits slowly and steadily, and I find a lot of support and encouragement when I read through Laying Down the Rails.

Would I buy these products? Yes!  That is an unequivocal yes.  The entire set can be purchased HERE for $54.95.  That includes 3 All-Day Charlotte Mason Seminar DVDs, the Session workbook, 1 Laying Down the Rails workshop DVD, and a print copy of the Laying Down the Rails book.  I love having the All-Day Charlotte Mason Seminar on DVD, a shot of motivation that I can turn on whenever I need a boost.  Homeschooling is a process, and the experience is different with each child.  Having Charlotte Mason’s ideas broken down into manageable tasks gives me easy action plans to try when we need something adjusted.  Laying Down the Rails is a treasure trove of ideas for habit training.  Time will pass and our children will acquire habits.  The question is what habits will they develop – ones we have carefully helped them build or contrary habits that we lazily let develop?

Written by Tristan, mom to 5 going on 6 children, homeschooling through unit studies with a side of lapbooks.  You can visit her at her blog, Our Busy Homeschool.

{Disclaimer: I received these products free from Simply Charlotte Mason to enable this review.  I received no other compensation and all opinions presented herein are my own.}

Masterpiece of the Month is an art curriculum for grades K through 5. Each lesson features a famous masterpiece that students will reproduce while learning a new skill or technique. Some of the masterpieces include “Sunflowers” by Van Gogh, “Mona Lisa” by daVinci, and “Artist’s Mother” by James Whistler. This book is very user-friendly, even to someone a bit intimidated by teaching art. I’ve used this curriculum for two years, choosing artists to study based on these lessons.

Pros:

• Masterpiece if the Month is easy for a non-artist to teach and use. There are clear objectives and directions for each art lesson.
• In general, the lessons don’t require too many complicated art supplies. Paint, crayons, markers, and paper, along with some common household items are pretty all you’ll need. A few lessons do call for more specialized items such as oil pastels and printing ink.
• A scope and sequence chart in the front of the book clearly shows what concepts and skills are being taught.
• Since each lesson is based on a well-known artist’s work of art, it is a natural step to extend the lesson into an artist study, looking at other works by the same artist.
• This book is comprehensive. It could be the only art curriculum you need to teach art in the elementary years, since it begins with kindergarten and goes through 5th grade.

Cons:

• There are no pictures of the original art in the book. There are examples of what each reproduction might look like, but often there are creative liberties taken (as well there should be) making it difficult to identify the original masterpiece. It’s not difficult to find the image online, but it would be much more convenient to see the masterpiece in the book.
• There is some repetition of artists, so if you used these lessons as a basis for an artist study, you would find yourself studying some artists repeatedly. Although looking at Van Gogh’s work repeatedly can’t really be a bad thing, can it?
• Vocabulary is given for each lesson, but as someone without an art background I find it difficult to explain mood or value to a first grader. A glossary would be a helpful resource in this book.

Using Masterpiece of the Month is a great way to include both art appreciation and hands-on art experiences in your day.

Written by Beth Belinder.  You can find her blogging at Apples and Jammies.

It was the year before my oldest began high school at home and I was in severe panic mode.  Was it possible to continue with our relaxed, teach-our-children-how-to-learn philosophy, or were we stuck with creating a school like atmosphere for the next four years?

Enter Senior High: A Home Designed Form+U+La.  Ignoring the many (many!) forms and trying not be intimidated at the 428 pages, I dug in to the meat of the book, the heart-to-heart chat between Barb and her reader.  Her informal, sometimes scattered, presentation was refreshing to me.  I truly felt as though I were sitting over coffee with the author, as she shared her passion for Spirit-led, joyful home schooling.  Highlighting madly, and stopping frequently to pray, I knew I had found a kindred spirit who understood both the why’s and the how’s of home schooling high school.

We now have two home school graduates (with five more to go) and I have read this book twice.  It’s the book I recommend most to fellow homeschoolers and so I knew it had to be my first review for The Curriculum Choice.

Barb Shelton’s first priority is that we seek the Lord for what He wants for our children.  This book is not just a How-To manual, but a devotional that speaks to your soul.  She challenges us to not stress and strive after the world’s standards but to seek God’s.  I re-read this book, and plan to read it again soon, as I find I frequently need this reminder.

Once we decide what is best for our family and our individual students, she shows us how to transfer this into courses, creating credits and transcripts, documenting both traditional and non-traditional classes.  This was exactly what I needed!  While we do have several more traditional courses, this gave me the confidence and know how to put together my own courses, to document independent learning, to complete transcripts and issue diplomas.   The book is jam packed with forms she has created and permission is granted to copy what you need for your household.  I didn’t find that I used a lot of the forms but I did learn a lot from simply reading how she had structured and documented her student’s learning.

The philosophy, encouragement and documentation how-to were the highlights for me, but this is a jam-packed book, containing more than I can cover in one review.  Sections include:

• Jumpstart Plan
• Out of Fear and Into Freedom
• Requirements, College, Promotion and Graduation
• Record Keeping System
• Potpourri of Curriculum Supplements
• Grading Guidelines and Portfolios
• Personalizing All This Stuff
• Formulating Your Framework
• Designing Your Classes
• Organizing Your Materials
• Completed Class Plans
• Lifestyle of Learning Applications
• Resources, Reviews, and Glossary

If you get that panicky feeling whenever the thought of home schooling high school strikes you, I’d highly recommend this book.  The author’s website, Homeschool Oasis , also contains many helpful articles to encourage you in your home school high school adventure.

-Lori is a highly caffeinated home schooling mom of seven.  She can be found rambling and reviewing at Hearthside Homeschool Reviews…and More.

Although we are not a homeschool family that schools through the whole year, nature study is something we do as a family no matter what time of year it is.  As I type, I’m looking at a whole basket of pinecones collected by my sweet, little, pre-pre-schooler, Sophia; my boys are carefully observing a little frog they caught; and to my left is a tiny tadpole we’re attempting to raise.

No, nature study is not something we take a break from during the summer.  So naturally, I’m always looking for appealing books to help us out in our nature study to help spark my kids’ interest in all things outdoors.  When I found my first “Take-Along Guide” at a used book store, I was interested so I purchased it.  But it was later when I began really reading it that I became really interested.

These books are so perfect for any part of nature you are studying.  They are available in almost any subject you can think of.

Such as:

• Birds, Nests, and Eggs
• Berries, Nuts and Seeds
• Caterpillars, Bugs and Butterflies
• Frogs, Toads, and Turtles
• Rabbits, Squirrels and Chipmunks
• Tracks, Scats and Signs
• and More!

Although each book is a little different, here’s why I love them so much:

• Series available in pretty much every subject you’d want
• Each page is laid out very nicely with great illustrations and just enough text to keep an elementary student’s attention
• Very informative facts on all subject matter
• Each book includes several fun and simple projects
• Small enough to take with you on nature walks
• Great tips for nature walks throughout the books

I would recommend reading through your Take-Along Guide before taking off on your nature walk.  Then you can put it in your bag and bring with you on your walk  and use it to identify things as you go.
I highly recommend these books for all elementary students.  They are terrific for inspiring you in your nature study!