I can’t remember how I stumbled upon September West’s 4RPress, but I was immediately drawn to her beautiful notebook pages for a few of my favorite books, Hans Brinker, The Apple and the Arrow, and Heidi.

When her Little House in the Big Woods study was published, I added it to my wish list. A few days later, September offered me a free copy in exchange for a review. I was thrilled!

I printed it out, put it in a nice binder, and have been hauling it around to show all of my homeschooling friends. It even has the stamp of approval from a local, Principle Approach, master teacher.

This Little House in the Big Woods study is divided into two parts.

The first part contains 48 detailed lesson plans for the teacher. The second part is the wonderful notebooking pages for the student.

The 52 notebooking pages include:

• a timeline
• a map
• a letter from Laura Ingalls Wilder to children
• gorgeous, black and white illustrations
• charts and lines for taking notes
• spaces for student drawing

48 lessons may seem like a lot, but this is the only book my little ones will really study for a whole semester. (We’ll still have numerous read alouds.)

There is so much to be learned by going through one book slowly.

We’ll examine the five elements of literature: characterization, plot, setting, theme, and style. We’ll have time to be immersed in the story and all the ideas presented. When we are finished, we plan to celebrate a “Little House Day” with friends.

If you are looking for an excellent introduction to notebooking or the Principle Approach, this would be a great, affordable place to start.

This study is geared towards elementary students, but I’m tempted to join in the coloring and simple note taking.

Little House in the Big Woods Notebooking Study by 4RPress can be previewed and purchased at CurrClick.

Written by Renae Deckard, Biblical Principled mother of 3. Find Renae’s reflections about homeschool and family life at Life Nurturing Education.

Disclosure: I was given a free copy in exchange for a review, as stated above.

One of the very best things about homeschooling your kids is that you are free to choose any philosophy of teaching you wish.  Paying attention to the way your child learns and adhering to his/her needs in the classroom is a huge benefit that homeschooled kids have.  Many of you reading this review may have chosen to homeschool for the very reason that your child could not learn the in the style being taught at a  traditional school.   There are plenty of styles of schooling your kids out there.  There’s Classical, Eclectic, Unit Study-based, Unschoolers, and more.  But the style that has most worked with our family is the Charlotte Mason approach.

In a nutshell, Charlotte Mason was an educational reformer that live in England in the late 1800’s.  She completely disagreed with how school worked and thought it could be better.  She had no children of her own, but she made it her life’s mission to improve the educational system as it was.  She set to work and started her own school.  I love a woman willing to go against the grain!

Her philosophy can be hard to adopt for homeschoolers that were brought up in public (or private) school because it is so different from “regular” school.  With a CM approach you use no text books.  Everything is taught on a literature-based standard.  Instead of having children memorize names and dates and cram for tests, you would read interesting and exciting literature to paint a mental picture that sticks with them…encouraging a love of learning.

So…pardon me for the long introduction.  I’ll get the the review now .  It can be difficult in the beginning to know how to use this philosophy, but I’ll share some of my very favorite Charlotte Mason guides that really helped me. (Please note: There are TONS of great websites and books to help you learn more, but these are my most “beat-up” CM books…meaning they are dog-eared, highlighted, “coffee-ringed”, and creased!)

Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola:  Karen Andreola is a forerunner for starting the Charlotte Mason revival in the homeschooling community.  She has written many books about teaching certain subjects the CM way, but this book is a compilation of allaspects of teaching the CM way.  The contents include everything you need to know. She includes a background about what drew her to the CM method and bumps along the way.  The book is sprinkled with personal stories about her life as a homeschool mom.  She stresses the importance of having a support system and possibly even starting your own CM group.  Each chapter ends with discussion questions and room for notes.

A Charlotte Mason Education Series by Catherine Levison:  These are the books that first got me excited about CM.  I love the way Catherine writes and her clear explanation of everything she discusses.  Her series is made of three separate titles:

• A Charlotte Mason Education
• More Charlotte Mason Education
• A Literary Education

The first book is an overview of each school subject and how to do them the way CM would have.  The second book goes a bit more in depth and gives great ideas for your classroom.  Both books have great examples, lists, and sample schedules to help you get started.

The third book in the series is  a compilation of books that CM used in her teaching and newer books that follow her guidelines of teaching.  There are many books reviewed and I use many of them in our homeschool.  This book also includes a great scope and sequence of grades K-12.  It’s a wonderful way to get started, even if you don’t follow it all the way through high school, it’s a great starting point.

Catherine’s website also includes excellent articles that I’ve read over and over.

Again, this is just the tip of the iceberg with Charlotte Mason helps.  A few others that come to mind are:

• Simply Charlotte Mason (website)
• Living Books Curriculum (website + curriculum)
• Penny Garner’s Charlotte Mason Website
• Ambleside Online (website + curriculum)
• For the Children’s Sake by Susan Macaulay
• When Children Love to Learn by Elaine Cooper

-Written by Alicia, a Charlotte Mason-loving, mom of three. You can find her blogging at La Famille.

I have to admit that I am not able to be creative every minute of every day.  I just do not have the energy.  When I was preparing for our summer learning adventures I knew I wanted something fun for my younger 4 children, ages 1-5,  to do each day.  The other big requirement was that it was laid out for me.  Enter the Letter of the Week curriculum from Confessions of a Homeschooler.  I am really not sure quite how I found her blog, but boy are my children glad I did!

Let me start out by saying this wonderful homeschool mom offers her entire curriculum for free on her website.  However, with over 1400 printable pages, that is a lot of individual files to download.  I decided it was completely worth $10.00 to receive an instant download that gathered those files into sets for me, and even had a few neat bonuses like weekly lesson plans.  The Letter of the Week curriculum is also available on CD for $15.00 if you prefer that route.

So just what is this curriculum like? Colorful and fun!  Basically, each letter has a theme, such as Dd is for Dinosaur, Kk is for Kite, or Vv is for Valentines.  The activities available for each letter vary, but typically include:

• Weekly Bible Verse
• Read aloud books list
• Phonics practice
• Capital/lowercase letter recognition
• 1-10 Numbers recognition
• Counting practice
• Colors
• Shapes
• Fine Motor skills: Lacing cards, cutting, coloring & pre-writing
• Logic skills: Puzzles, size sorting, matching games
• Large Muscle Movement: Large Floor Numbers/Letters Hopscotch
• Singing: Leapfrog A-Z letter sound songs, Bible Verse Songs
• Arts & Crafts for each letter
• Daily Calendar and Weather Activities

Click Here to see a typical week’s materials.  There are also review materials to use at the end of your 26 letter adventure.

How do I use it? I go each month to my local office supply store to print 4 weeks of materials.  There are some pages I simply print at home in black and white, but many are printed in color at the office supply store.  I never print all the activities for a letter, there is simply too much to do in one week for me.  That is a great thing, though, because it gives us variety.  When I get home I begin a laminating and cutting party.  I laminate most of the activities to make them durable.  In three years I can use them again with the newest preschoolers, while right now they are also safe to hand to the 1 year old who likes to taste his letters.  Once all the activities for a letter are laminated and cut out I store them in a file folder labeled with the letter.  Each week I grab out a file and hand out a few activities each day.  It’s that simple.

Here is the way I have found works best for us with 4 children using the materials, we call it stations:

Instead of passing the materials around the table and mixing up pieces in the process (yep, tried it – trust me, not a good idea) the children move from chair to chair.  Of course, with energetic little ones any movement is a great thing to help get those wiggles out.  In the photo above the stations are making a kite out of pattern blocks, sorting kites by size, putting numbered kites in order from 1-10, a kite color matching file folder game, uppercase/lowercase letter k sort, and a dry erase board to practice writing the letter k.  Everything but the dry erase board came from files in the Letter of the Week curriculum, and on subsequent days that week I was able to replace all those stations with the other letter K activities.  You can see the letter Kk printables here to see just how many options we had that week.

So if you are looking for something fun to do with your preschoolers, or maybe you need some independent review materials for a kindergartener’s workboxes, I highly recommend checking out the Letter of the Week curriculum!

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.

Since I was a little girl, I’ve been an avid reader.  I remember coming home from the library, barely able to balance on my 10-speed because of my huge load of delightful reading.  Even earlier than that, I remember my mom sighing as I climbed into bed, struggling with the stack of books I expected her to read to me before bedtime.  Memories like these come back to me when I take the kids to the library and I pick myself up another couple of books from The Royal Diaries series.  I had been searching the library shelves for some good summer reading books for my (now) 3-grader when I found The Royal Diaries: Anastasia.  The story of Anastasia has always intrigued me, but as I looked further, I saw there were tons of these books!  I went home with two of them and have been reading them all summer.

Each book is based on the life of a young, royal girl.  The books are written like a diary would be.  They are fictional books, but each one is written based on facts.  These stories are all exciting, factual, and chalk-full of learning potential!  I’m pretty sure Charlotte Mason would agree

Besides the fact that there are 20 princesses in this series, such as…

• Cleopatra VII
• Isabel of Castilla
• Marie Antoinette
• Anastasia of Russia
• Elizabeth I
• Mary, Queen of Scots…just to name a few

…each book offers tons of information at the end of each exciting story.  The diaries are written when the girls are around the ages of 12-14, before they are famous.  Then the story ends right as something big in their life begins to happen, such as a royal marriage.  After the diary, each book includes:

• an Epilogue explaining how the story continues or ends
• Historical Notes, giving  more information about the royal families and the effect they had on that period in time
• A Family Tree with continuing pages explaining each person on the family tree and their role in history
• Drawings, paintings, photos, or statues of the royalty depending on the point in history
• Maps showing the area that the princess was talking about in the story
• About the author section where it explains their research for the book (there are several authors in this series)
• Pronunciation of difficult words found in the book
• Glossary of characters, which is very helpful since many of the books have lots of characters

You can purchase the entire series from Amazon.com here. There are also several VHS tapes based on the books that can be purchased here and here.

Overall, these are absolutely fabulous books to include in your homeschool curriculum.  At our house, we are studying the Middle Ages this year so I think I could use several Royal Diaries in our studies.  I think these would be great read-alouds for middle-elementary kids and then even better books to assign to upper elementary and middle-school kids to read on their own.  Of the several diaries I have read there has been some violence, but very minimal and I tend to over look some of that for the sake of history and learning.  I would highly recommend these lovely, historically-rich books!

-Alicia can be found either reading classic literature to her three busy kids or blogging over at La Famille.

Red Chair Press graciously allowed me to review their Funny Bone Readers: Developing  Character series of books along with the lesson plan and activity book.  Having one child just entering the world of reading, I was excited to get started on this series, especially since it focused on character development.  These colorful and delightful books help a child learn to read while nurturing a quality character.

Funny Bone Readers uses fun and silly characters to make connections to several important character traits.

• Fairness
• Trustworthiness
• Respect
• Responsibility
• Caring
• Citizenship

I found these books to be truly enjoyable.  My daughter and I had a wonderful time reading all the stories.  Even my older children loved reading these books to my younger children.  This is a wonderful way to reinforce reaching skills and character development in one sitting.

The lesson plan and activity book enhanced the books by giving you plenty of ideas to reinforce the lessons.  Along with the lesson plan book, you can divide up these books by traits, phonics, or into weeks to gain the full  benefit.  You could plan a six week study using two books a week that focus on each character trait.  You could plan a 12 week study using one book a week to focus on phonics and one character trait every two weeks.  The books are short and flexible enough to add into your current reading or character development  program.

Red Chair Press offers a few ways to purchase the sets.  You can purchase 12 books and ebooks (on CD) for $48.00 until August 31st.  You can purchase the Lesson Plan and Activity book for $29.95.  If you are in a co-op you can purchase Complete Classroom Set 72 books (6 each of all 12 titles) plus a Lesson Planner and interactive eBooks CD-ROM for $295.00.  You may also purchase additional sets if your co-op has more than six children.

When I began homeschooling, I chose to use Saxon Math curriculum. We’ve gone through Saxon K, 1, and halfway through 2.   It has proven to be a great fit for my family.

At first, I thought Saxon Math K started out a little slow.  It feels like there’s more playing with the manipulatives than actual work.  But I came to realize that for a kindergartener, that is the work.  As they’re doing this, they’re becoming familiar with numbers, shapes, and patterns and how they work.  This provides a really critical foundation of understanding a lot of basic concepts the students will need for more advanced skills.

There’s a lot of thought put into the scope and sequence of the lessons. Playing with pennies and dimes leads to counting by tens, which leads to understanding place value, which leads to addition with regrouping.  (That’s carrying if you’re old school.)  Even the order in which addition facts are learned have been thought out carefully.  Students don’t just blindly memorize the addition facts.  They are taught to learn them by the relationships between the numbers.  First you learn doubles, such as 3+3.  Later it’s doubles plus 1, such as 3+4.  It’s easier to learn 3+4=7 once you know 3+3=6.  I didn’t see it when we first started, but now after a few years, I can see that there is a very well thought out plan behind all these lessons.

I love the use of manipulatives. This was what drew me to Saxon in the first place.  Math is one of those subjects that students usually either love or hate.  It’s a lot harder to hate a subject when it feels like you’re playing with toys during the lessons.  Manipulatives can give students a deeper and truer understanding of a concept since they can see it and touch it.  The manipulatives make the lessons much more accessible to visual and kinesthetic learners.  It has also been a diversion for my preschoolers more than once when I’m trying to work with my older daughter!

There’s a lot to Saxon Math.  Maybe too much. If you did everything  provided for each lesson, it would probably take a good hour.  But we don’t have to do everything, and we’re still doing just fine. Saxon uses the spiral review method, so students can keep their skills fresh.  Even though we skip some of this, I’d much rather have a curriculum that gives too much to do than one that leaves me feeling like we’re missing something.

One thing I would change about Saxon is that the skill taught in the lesson is not always immediately reinforced in that day’s worksheet.  I don’t think 25 or 30 questions is appropriate, but three to five questions or problems on that lessons skill would be a very good tool to check for the student’s understanding.  Most lessons do contain this built-in check, but there are definitely some inconsistencies in this area.

Saxon Math is a bit on the pricey side, but I think it is worth it. The Saxon Math Homeschool kits cost $96.50 ($63.50 for K).  Additional workbooks can be purchased for additional students for $27.50 without having to buy the whole kit again.  The manipulatives set costs $77.50 which is used for the K-3 curriculum (and occassionally preschool).

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 Brenda at brensain@gmail.com if you’re interested.

When we used Winter Promise last year for studying Early American History, we were introduced to the book The American Story: 100 True Tales from American History by Jennifer Armstrong.  Although I had been advised against using it in our homeschool (which I’ll touch on later), I found myself delighted by the stories that make up this fun and informative history book.

Things That We’ve Enjoyed About This Book:

• Engaging Stories – My kids are all interested each time we read a new story from The American Story. Some of the stories are funny and some are very serious, but we have found each one that we’ve read to be very interesting.
• Stories You Don’t Find in History Books – Perhaps it’s because I’m generally a fan of what others might consider superfluous information, but I really like that The American Story has stories about things that you wouldn’t find in your typical history book.  There is a story how the city of Washington D.C. was laid out, a story behind the famous unfinished portrait of George Washington we all know so well, how bananas came in to popularity in the United States, the 1835 discovery of life on the Moon (which was actually when tabloid newspapers really caught on), the cookie cutter houses of post World War II, tales of the Pac-Man craze, and so many others.
• Great Illustrations – The illustrations were all done by Roger Roth.  He did a great job of making illustrations appropriate to the situation, as some stories are funny and others are quite serious.
• Large Time Span – Stories in the book range from 1565 through 2000.

What Doesn’t Work as Well for Our Family:

• All Stories Have to be Previewed by Me – This is, of course, a good practice for any homeschooling material.  However, it is definitely a must with this book.  There are several stories that people might object to for a variety of reasons.  I have still found, however, that because I like this book so much, I don’t mind having to preview stories before sharing them with the children.  We have only had to skip a couple of stories thus far.  One was just because I didn’t like the tone of the story, and another because I didn’t like the way that missionaries from our religious denomination were depicted.  (That being said, there are other mentions of that nature in the book that we read anyway and it was an interesting opportunity for dialogue with my kids.)
• It is Not a History Textbook – It’s not fair to hold that against this book, as that is not its purpose.  However, I just say it to point out that it might not be a good choice for your history spine, unless you will be doing a lot of supplementing. For instance, Henry David Thoreau made the book, but the Gettysburg Address did not.

Details About the Book

• Reading Level: Ages 9 – 12 (we have used it with younger children as a read aloud, however)
• Length: 368 pages (and it’s hard cover, so it is not a light book)
• Price: The list price on this book is $34.95 and it is from Random House.  It can be found, however, from sites like Amazon for only $23.07.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this book, as long as you are willing to always be reading a little ahead of your children. However, even if something was read that you don’t agree with, I think it offers up a great opportunity for dialogue about why your family might not agree with a story (or just an aspect of a story).

Angie can be found writing at Many Little Blessings about faith, family, and household management topics.  Angie is also the founder of The Homeschool Classroom and Catholic Mothers Online.

As a Charlotte Mason homeschooler, teaching with living literature is imperative to me. And considering that I like to package much of our history and science learning into unit studies, incorporating living literature into our current unit makes awesome connections for my children.

The History Comes Alive books written by Barbara Greenwood fit both the CM and unit study aspects of our homeschool perfectly! Written about four major eras of North American history, the books are a wonderful mix between historical fiction, factual snippets and simple hands-on activity ideas.

I’ve used these books with my children from 2nd grade on up. They’re each well over 200 pages, but are illustrated in black and white pencil drawings to keep children intrigued. It’s very easy to skip around and only read certain parts, too, if you’d rather not go through the entire book.

A Pioneer Story introduces you to Sarah and Willy Robertson, Canadian pioneer children of the 1840’s who must be hard-working members of their family in order to survive. Breaks in the story-line turn to more factual information about such things as what a typical log house would’ve looked like, how a farm might be situated, the maple sugaring process, the process of weaving and much more. Activity breaks are also included in the story which will give step-by-step instructions for making cheese, making a homemade balance scale, stenciling and many others.

There are two smaller books available by the same author on the subject of pioneers, too – A Pioneer Thanksgiving and A Pioneer Christmas. Both are written in the same style as the above book, but only have about 48 pages each.

The Last Safe House (our very favorite) is a story of the Underground Railroad. Two preteen girls, Eliza (an escaped slave) and Johanna (a daughter in the home of a safe house) become wonderful friends. Johanna is introduced to the world of slavery, escape, fear and freedom in this wonderful tale. On the factual side of the story, you learn about famous slaves, slave labor, the Underground Railroad and even a few slave songs. The activities teach how to make corn-husk dolls, tin lanterns, gingerbread cookies, and how to spin a good story.

Gold Rush Fever is set in the Klondike in 1898. Thirteen year old Tim sets off with his older brother on the dangerous journey through the Yukon territory in an attempt to get rich during the gold rush. This book not only takes you on the hunt for gold, but starts at the beginning in Seattle where you start the trip through treacherous conditions. It’s a good view of the entire sacrifice and determination on the part of those who left home in search of gold. The factual snippets teach you about gold mining equipment, boat building, mining towns, what happened when gold was found and more. The activities introduce you to a sour-dough biscuit recipe, knot tying, playing solitaire and other ideas that are particularly boy-friendly.

Factory Girl brings you face to face with the reality of children working in factories in the early 1900’s. Meet 12 year old Emily as she works long hours in a unsafe, dark, overcrowded sewing factory where she is treated poorly by her demanding and unfriendly boss. Don’t be fooled, this story isn’t just for girls. The informational sections take you on a photographic journey through all sorts of child labor conditions of the times including coal mines, housemaids, and other factories. You will learn about immigration, living in large cities in the early 1900’s, schooling, women at work, and laws that changed child labor and working safety.

Although this books is unlike the others in that it doesn’t include activity ideas, it’s still our second favorite in the series. This is an issue that’s harder to find literature about for children, so we were very excited to dive in!

-Written by Cindy, eclectically Charlotte Mason mom of 3. You can find her blogging at Our Journey Westward and you can find her nature studies at Shining Dawn Books.

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.

While there are many ‘foreign’ languages a homeschool family can study, the one I recommend for those with young children is American Sign Language.  Our journey to ASL began out of necessity with a child who was non-verbal.  However, as our family has grown and our need disappeared we discovered that sign language was a wonderful tool in our parenting arsenal.  ASL is uniquely hands-on, giving children an active way to use their body while communicating from very early ages.

There are quite a few options available in the sign language arena and the one our family uses consistently is Signing Time.  Today I will give you an overview of the DVD products we love from Signing Time, as well as some neat features on their website.  Video previews from each title are on their website.

Baby Signing Time Series – This is for the youngest learners and signing is led by Rachel Coleman, with animated and real babies all age 2 and younger.  The songs that fill these DVDs make it easy to practice the signs you are learning.  There are 4 DVDs in this series, and we own the first two.  My babies and toddlers enjoy this, and one neat thing is the option to watch one song at a time, keeping viewing time short for the littlest learners.  By the end of this set your family will learn over 100 signs.

Signing Time Series One – The original series of 13 DVDs is recommended for ages 1-8, though I can say even adults will learn and enjoy this series.  Each DVD has a theme for the signs and is a mix of live people, songs, and animation.  We own all of these and love them!  This set alone directly teaches more than 250 signs.  There is some overlap in the signs between each series, but the presentations are aimed at different ages.  Our favorite in this series is hard to choose.  My animal lovers would say #7 Leah’s Farm or #9 The Zoo Train, but another child would choose #3 Everyday Signs and #12 Time to Eat for the fun food songs and signs.

Signing Time Series Two – This series includes several new learning modules that put children’s ASL vocabulary to work teaching some new signs and practicing many signs from Series One at a more challenging level.  We own 10 of the 13 DVDs in this series, and they are some of my favorites.  This series offers titles such as:

• Happy Birthday to You
• Move and Groove
• Helping Out Around the House
• Who Has the Frog (my all time favorite – focusing on all important question words like who, what, where, why)

Believe it or not, there are some more Signing Time DVDs outside those three series, including Practice Time for numbers or ABC’s, Sing and Sign, and Story Time.  We own several of these as well and enjoy them.  Signing Time even offers music cds, flash cards, books, and a classroom edition of DVDs with lesson plans, so explore their store.  Also be sure to sign up for their newsletter for a discount coupon, and keep an eye on those newsletters for more sales and special discounts.  I’ll share a secret – we’ve acquired 95% of our Signing Time collection through those sales.  Last year they even had a sale around Black Friday.

The Signing Time website offers free resources your family may enjoy:

• Coloring Pages
• Crafts
• Games
• Articles to read
• Video Clips
• Progress Charts

One last thing I wanted to mention is just a few of the benefits we’ve seen in our family as we have used ASL.  First, we have been able to communicate with our children, and have them communicate back, from a very early age.  This has cut down dramatically on frustrated tantrums when a 1 year old is trying to tell you something but does not have the words.  We have found sign language to be a wonderful silent option in the middle of church services for correcting, warning, or simply reminding our children of what they need to be doing.  The last reason we love signing as a family is that it helps build our family identity.  It is just ’something we do’ that makes us family.  The kids can use it as a secret language, strengthening their bonds as brothers and sisters.  Sometimes it is just the little things that bring the most memories.

-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.

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.

Nature study can be so rewarding and memorable for our kids, but sometimes getting the motivation to go outside and go on nature walks can be tough.  Especially when the weather is cold and there’s lots to do inside the house.  For me, I felt like I wanted to do fun nature walks, but had no direction.  And for this list-making, plan-it-out kind of mama, I needed more direction.  So, when I found NaturExplorers over at Shining Dawn Books, I was very pleased.

The books are written by two nature-loving homeschool moms, Cindy West and Melissa Leach. Their love of nature drips from the pages of these wonderful nature guides.  Each book focuses on a different area of nature, such as:

~Fruits and Nuts
~Spiders
~Birds
~Rain
~Snow and Ice
~Butterflies
~Fungus
~Rocks
~More! (there are 19 books in the series)

What I love about these books is the flexibility and the many, many options and ideas they provide.  They are absolutely full to the brim with information and ideas.  Not only does each book include tons of information on the subject it’s based on, but it includes ideas of how to incorporate many different areas of your homeschool right into nature study.
Areas like:

• Artist Study
• Composer Study
• Art
• Bible
• Poetry

For example, when my kids and I were studying from the Fruits and Nutsbook, one suggested activity was to study the Fruit of the Spirit from Galatians and gave great ideas of how to do so.  What a fabulous way to bring nature study inside and keep right on learning!

In our homeschool, we study one area of nature for about a month or two.  So, when we go on a nature walk we know what to look out for.  We read some background info that each book provides along with some of the additional reading they suggest, and away we go.   You can use these as the spine to an in-depth unit study or you can definitely pull them right off the shelf and use these books as guides as you go on your walks.  Their notebooking pages and many suggestions make it possible for any homeschool mom to use them, no matter what your teaching style.

We have enjoyed making Nut Dye, coloring in the snow, inspecting snowflakes, and gathering samples of coniferous trees.  NaturExplorers have been so helpful in our nature study.   I now feel like I can look through these, get ideas and have a plan before we go on a nature walk.  You can visit the website at Shining Dawn Books where you can read their nature blog or ask them questions.  They are great about giving advice and answering questions.

If you don’t want to just take my word that these are wonderful books, you can read Shannon’s review by clicking here. I have to say that my very favorite part about NaturExplorers is they inspire me to explore God’s awesome creation!  I hope you are encouraged to go out and do some exploring yourself!

Alicia is a homeschool mom of 3 nature-loving kids and can be found blogging at La Famille.

The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton Burgess is a delightful blend of storytelling and nature study.

Published originally in 1919, Burgess meticulously weaves the non-fiction details of bird life into the fictional account of a curious rabbit named Peter.  As Peter explores his surroundings, the Old Orchard, the Green Forest, the Green Meadows and even the banks of the Big River and its tributaries, he also pursues his longing to find out more about his feathered friends.  Their ways intrigue Peter, so he sets out to discover them, interviewing Jenny Wren and dozens of other birds commonly found in the United States.

Peter is the secret to the book’s story-telling success.  He is sometimes prideful, generally curious, and always growing.  Peter’s personality especially appeals to children, as he flits around his world encouraging his friends, meeting new birds, and generally enjoying the whole experience.  His antics and manners reflect a joy of learning and life.  In addition, he is a good role model, one who chooses to learn from his mistakes and who appreciates those around him even though they are different from him.

Peter is joined by a numerically formidable group of his feathered brethren.  Each bird—91 birds total—has a name created by Burgess that is intended to reflect the bird’s personality and characteristics.  It is combined with the commonly used name (names in some cases) of the bird.  The non-fiction nature study component for each bird includes the birds’ descriptions, male and female, and generally also discusses the bird’s diet, call, nesting practices, migration tendencies, and daily habits.  The sharing of these facts does not become tedious or mundane, however; Burgess utilizes story to maintain interest.  Each bird becomes a true character in his own right, engaging the reader and informing at the same time.

Burgess’s method works amazingly well.  My lower elementary-aged children never failed to request “one more, please” as we worked our way through the short chapters.  Though the language is not particularly difficult, it is typical for the time in which it was published and uses phrasing that is not commonly used today.  This was not an issue, even though my children are young.  In fact, they have retained information from the book, sometimes regaling me with their bird knowledge at unexpected times.

There are great possibilities for study with this book.

●Use it as a read-aloud.  Enjoy both the story and factual elements.

●Use it as the foundation of a bird unit study.  Add a field guide and some library books for an amazing nature-based science unit covering birds.

●Use it to teach the masterful combination of fiction and non-fiction in story form.  Have your student give it a try.

●Use it as independent read for an older student.  Expect a bird-centered project at the end.

●Use it to encourage bird watching and general nature appreciation for the whole family.

●Use it to painlessly learn the details of bird life in the United States.  A field guide and audios of birds singing their tunes would complement the book nicely.

●Use it for art.  Ask students to draw and color the birds from the book’s descriptions and then compare their work to photographs.  For younger kids, print coloring pages.

●As you read, use it for copywork and narration.  The short chapters lend themselves to this approach.

●Discuss character lessons drawn from Peter and the other creatures as you read.  Collect Bible verses that illustrate similar character values and virtues.

●Use it seasonally, returning to it each spring as the birds return.

For the most part, we just read the book and loved it.  It is a book that teaches without trying; a “living book” to which we will return for more in-depth study as my kids get older.

The Burgess Bird Book for Children is available for purchase from Dover for $8.95.  It can be found for free at Project Gutenberg and LibroVox.  A quick search of the internet will provide a number of useful sites, including the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s All About Birds guide.  There are also quite a few homeschool mamas out there who have used this book and share their ideas.

The Burgess Bird Book for Children is really not just for children.  It is a book that will encourage and engage readers and listeners of all ages.  Don’t be surprised if you learn something, too!

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

Blackbird & Company has a poetry unit study that I taught to my 12 year old son, his friend of the same age, and my 10 year old daughter.  I thoroughly enjoyed the unit, and at the end, the kids didn’t want to be done.  It was perfectly age-appropriate for these kids (who, for what it’s worth, are all reading well above grade level).

From the site description of the unit:

“Reading and writing poetry expands the boundaries of the imagination and intellect. Students who engage in writing poetry will develop confidence in their voice, strengthen their ability to communicate new ideas, and convey observations of their world.

Incorporating both analytic and creative exercises to spark the poet inside of your student, the Exploring Poetry guides:

• Introduce students to the poet’s kit of tools
• Provide creative opportunities to practice poetic expression
• Reveal connections between poetry and prose
• Develop the poet’s unique voice
• Explore the diverse potential of language”

I love the book selections.  They are both eye-catching and enjoyable to read, both for students and for me as the teacher.  In addition, they offer a wide variety of poetry examples combined with words of advice from the poets themselves, without morally objectionable material (important to me as a Christian parent).

I wish there were more hands on multi-sensory type activities.  While the writing exercises are both valuable and applicable, I wish there were experiential activities that incorporated more than fill-in-the-blank style response.  That said, I did appreciate the opportunity and exhortation to write, write, write.  That the advice came from the poets themselves was even better; this approach is not textbook-ish, but draws the student into the heart of the poet who’s just captured their interest through their writing.

The cost is $48 for the set and includes the textbook, three poetry books, a set of art cards to use for stimulating creativity, and a student journal.  While this is very reasonable for what you get, the curriculum is only written for seven weeks.  This would be quite pricey to repeat several times during the school year.  That said, the poetry books themselves are books we would keep on our library shelves for repeat pleasure reading.  We did not get The Aspiring Poet’s Journal, but upon reading the description online, I would purchase it for the next go-round.  It’s a guided journal designed to help students actively write and practice the ideas and principles addressed in this thorough and enjoyable curriculum.

You can find this and other solid literature studies at http://www.blackbirdandcompany.com.

-You can find Angela blogging at Dancing with my Father.

We’ve implemented a new foreign language/vocabulary plan this year that’s working quite well! Every school day after Bible reading we have some sort of skill drill – math flashcards, quick math or logic games, and Greek & Latin roots.

Twice a week, using English from the Roots Up by Joegil Lundquist, we are learning one new root word and reviewing all we have already learned. This is resulting in an amazing Greek/Latin connection to words we use everyday and boosting my children’s ability to break apart new vocabulary words for meaning. (Talk about a great way to boost spelling skills AND future ACT/SAT scores!)

Here’s how the program works in a nutshell…

• Your children create a notecard that includes the daily root on one side and the definition and derivations on the back. Don’t worry, all the information is included in the guide for you – your children simply copy the information from the guide to their notecard. (This is the author’s preferred method. HOWEVER, I chose to cheat and purchase the prepared notecards. In our extremely busy life, preparing the notecards seemed like busy work. On the other hand, I see the author’s point that actually writing the information makes a bigger impression on the kiddos.)
• Then you simply go over the information on the cards using the short and simple teaching notes provided in the guide. Make whatever connections you can with English and possibly any other languages like Spanish or French that you are studying.
• Finally, use the previous cards as flashcards to review roots, meanings, and derivatives.

A pronunciation key and the Greek alphabet are included for your convenience at the beginning of the book.

In only about 5-10 minutes twice a week, my children are really adding onto their understanding of vocabulary, word parts and spelling! I’m using the curriculum with a 5th grader and an 8th grader, but the author has used it with children as early as 2nd grade.

I’d love to hear about your experiences with English from the Roots Up!

-Written by Cindy, eclectically Charlotte Mason mom of 3. You can find her blogging at Our Journey Westward and view her nature study curriculum at Shining Dawn Books.

“We don’t expect infants and toddlers to develop at the same rate or to do things in exactly the same way, so we do we transport all of our vital, lively distinctly different children to uniform environments, teach them all in one way, expect them to progress at the same pace, and call them below average if they don’t?” ~ Taken from Chapter One, Discover Your Child’s Learning Style.

One of the great aspects of homeschooling is the ability to fit the schooling to the child.  Understanding your child’s learning style can be a lot of help in determining just exactly how to do that.  Although not written specifically to homeschoolers, Discover Your Child’s Learning Style by Mariaemma Willis and Victoria Kindle Hodson is my favorite book to use during this process.  The authors not only cover the learning styles, but also the externals such as lighting, time of day, and noise factors that affect your child’s ability to learn.  They do this with the motivation of helping you help your child learn.  There is no right or wrong, no best way of learning, but it is individualized to the child.  Chapter Two’s title sums it up- Success for Every Child.

The Learning Style Model of Education is presented, utilizing each child’s Learning Style Profile, with the hope of teaching “…the child how to use learning-style information to learn more efficiently in all situations.” The profile reveals five aspects of the learning styles:

Disposition- Perform, Produce, Invent, Relate/Inspire, Think/Create

Talents- Music, Math-Logic, Mechanical Reasoning, Word-Language Reasoning, Spatial, Body Coordination, Interactive, Humor, Life Enhancement

Interests- Sports, Music, etc.

Modality- Auditory, Visual, Tactile-Kinesthetic

Environment- Sound, Lighting, Temperature, etc.

Included in the book are the Learning Style Profile assessments themselves, which are fairly painless.  Your child will rate the areas where they feel strong and  their own answers determine their results.  This can be an eye-opening experience, as many times we will assume that our children learn the same way we do.  It is suggested that you take the test along with your child, which I have done twice now.  With my older children, I discovered that only one of them has the same learning style as me!  As we tend to teach to our own learning style, this was important for me to grasp and understand.  Many of my older children are hands on learners, I am visual.  Knowing this prompted me to prioritize projects and hands-on activities, along with my natural leaning towards reading, writing, and computer work.  We have recently taken the tests with my younger children and I have discovered that the youngest walks to the beat of his own drum- which in this family means he is logical and math oriented.  As I am completely opposite, this book is vital to my understanding of how his brain works.

Many  homeschoolers are hard at work planning the upcoming year, perhaps Discover Your Child’s Learning Style can play a part in making it a successful one.  I know it’s been a blessing in our home.

- Lori is a highly caffeinated mom of seven.  She can be found at Hearthside Homeschool Reviews and More , as well as Reflections and Ramblings of a Not-So-Superwoman .

I ran across the Real Science 4 Kids while attending our local curriculum fair this year.  Right from the start I was attracted to the colorful, yet informative, hands-on learning style.  I didn’t pick up a copy at the time mainly because I really wanted to see what was out there and approach the pros and cons.

In the vast array of options, I really thought I wanted to do Apologia for our first grade.  However, after delving into that a bit, I discovered that it really isn’t geared for the younger aged kids, at least from my perspective.  I felt it would take more work to bring it down to their level than I really wanted to commit to, so  I returned again to Real Science 4 Kids.

Fortunately, I found the Gravitas Publications website.  I went about doing the proper due diligence before committing to a purchase.

Things I found I loved about the curriculum:

• They have a true K-3 grade option. It’s called their “Pre-Level” and it’s available in all of their subjects!
• FREE lesson plans! Included for each subject and available for download directly from their website. You can download it for free without a single purchase, which I found super helpful for me to see the inner workings and intentions of the program.
• They offer a club Lifetime Membership which gives you full access to additional resources like online testing,  additional experiments, e-library, audio talks and more. You only need to purchase it once as it is offered to be used for all age groups and all of your kids.
• The student workbook is colorful, the experiments are fun, and the lessons are not too long.
• They have a gift at taking somewhat difficult concepts and making them not only presentable for younger ages, but somehow applicable and memorable.
• They have multiple ways of purchasing their curricula!
  • Purchase each item (Student  text, lab workbook & Teacher Edition) as a discounted book bundle or individually.
  • Elect to skip the actual textbook and download e-books in a part or whole elements of the curricula.
  • Or my personal favorite, you can choose to download the curricula a chapter at a time! (Chapter Downloads)  I adore this idea because we don’t have to purchase a full set to get going. I don’t have to furnish a full purchase price initially and I am not “locked in”!  We can elect to do chapters from all of their different subjects! (They tie in together anyway).
• The program can be extremely affordable! If you elect to do their e-book chapters, you can get the full chapter bundle for only $3.50!  The full set is $34.95 for e-book download, or $74.56 for the traditional textbooks.
• They offer a chapter preview for free so you can try it out fully before you buy.
• Real Science-4-Kids has a full set of real experiments using household items so you do not need to purchase additional kits or outside teacher resources.

MY cons:

• The author created the curricula to appeal to all homeschoolers, so it is “Worldview Neutral“.  A quote directly from their website sums it up rather nicely: “…. You won’t have to spend time screening your science curriculum for references to God or evolution because Real Science-4-Kids focuses on the science….” For some of you, this may be a plus, but I really wanted a directly biblical science curriculum.
• If you elect to save money with downloads, you will have to print some things from time to time which will ultimately cost more in ink and paper.

Ultimately, I have found that the curriculum will work for us a core to weave with what we have.  I will use this as our base science, and Epi Kardia’s lesson plan to add biblical elements as well.  We love going to the library to expand upon our lessons with living books; which is exactly what we’ll be doing with Real science-4-kids.

I have been using Growing With Grammar with my daughter and youngest son for the past three years.  This review will focus on the Growing With Grammar curriculum generally, as we have used several levels of the program.

Growing With Grammar provides a thorough education in grammar, including sentence diagramming.  Sentence diagramming is included starting in level 3 of the curriculum.  The complete Scope and Sequence for the series is included on their website.  Growing With Grammar is a secular program published by JacRis Publishing.  While I tend to use curriculum from Christian publishers in our homeschool, over the past three years and three levels of the curriculum, I have never found anything even remotely offensive to our family values in the grammar program.

Growing With Grammar curriculum is sold as a package with the Student Manual, Student Workbook, and Teacher’s Grading Key for $29.99.  All of my orders have shipped quite promptly and I have enjoyed nothing but excellent customer service from JacRis Publishing.  All of the elements of the grammar program are also sold separately, which is a benefit if other siblings will be using the program at a later date.  So, when using the grammar program for a second time, only the Student Workbook would need to be purchased.

The presentation of the Student Workbooks offers two unique benefits.  First is that the spiral binding is at the top.  This is an advantage for those who have left-handed children.  Second is that the “Grade 7″ label on the front of the Student Workbook has been changed to read “Level 7.”  All of the levels in the program are presented in the same way.  As somebody who has always had one of her children a year below his grade level in grammar, I appreciate when Student Workbooks are not marked with grade levels.  Currently, there are 8 levels in the program.

In my daughter’s experience, she has been able to complete the vast majority of the lessons independently.  One of my sons often needed some help completing his lessons, but grammar has always been a struggle for him.  So, depending on your child, the program can be almost entirely student-led.

To complete a lesson, the student first reads the lesson in the Student Manual.  The lessons are very clearly presented with many, many examples.  The lesson for levels 1 and 2 are included right on the work/text page, so those two levels do not have a separate Student Manual.  All other levels have a separate Student Manual.

Looking specifically at the pages within the Student Manual, they are quite plain with no color and infrequent small, black and white graphics.  I find that the lack of visual stimulation helps my children to focus on the lesson.  After reading the pages in the Student Manual (usually between 2 and 4 double-spaced pages), the child completes the front and back of the Student Workbook page to reinforce the current lesson.

Each lesson in the Student Workbook also has a review portion included.  I particularly like that the review portion includes the lesson number that is  being reviewed.  This makes it easy for the student to go back in his or her Student Manual and look up the previous lesson if needed.

The curriculum is designed so that it can be completed over a 36 week school year by doing 3 lessons per week.

My single criticism of the Growing With Grammar program is that there are no tests available for purchase.  To compensate for this, I have used the end-of-chapter reviews as tests but my preference would be to have both a review and a test for each chapter.  Other than that, I have been completely satisfied with the Growing With Grammar program.  We have been using this curriculum for three years now and will continue to use it in the fall.

If you have any questions, feel free to post a comment.  As well, the Growing With Grammar website has much more information about all levels of this curriculum and their new spelling and vocabulary program.

-Samantha writes about homeschooling and family life at To Be Busy At Home.

When I was a child, my younger sisters studied grammar differently than I did. They learned something mysterious called ‘diagramming’ and had very interesting textbooks.

Many years later a friend of mine was selling some books, and in the pile I found Rod and Staff grammar texts. Exactly what my sisters had studied! Of course I bought them.  We were ready for a formal grammar program.

Following Charlotte Mason’s ideas, we did not do grammar for the first few years, but my oldest was certainly old enough by this time. We had tried Simply Grammar, but it did not have enough practice for the children and required too much of my time. We tried Grammar Songs, but did not appreciate the music. We had a little grocery store diagramming booklet, but that wasn’t enough. Daily Grams had been a good introduction, but we were ready to move on, and the accompanying Easy Grammar was not as thorough as I wished. Christian Liberty Press Grammar had been a huge disappointment because it did not teach in a way that worked for us.

So we were eager to try something else. It turned out that the Building Christian English series from Rod and Staff Publishers was the answer. This is a rigorous, thorough, well-organized, clear, Christian, mom-friendly, multi-year grammar program, with good answer keys and tests. It also includes significant lessons on writing and communication.

About Building Christian English Levels 4-8:

• Each hard cover student text contains about eleven chapters, comprising approximately 120 lessons, and is illustrated with simple black and white drawings.
• The lessons contain clear explanations and examples, with important concepts in boxes.
• After some oral drill questions, the lessons end with written practice and occasionally a review section. Every chapter also ends with an entire review lesson.
• Interspersed through the grammar teaching are writing exercises which are clearly labeled in the table of contents as well as in the text itself.
• The index is clear and thorough.
• In each of these volumes, poetry appreciation and sentence diagramming are taught.
• Exercises and examples often relate to the Bible, nature, or everyday Mennonite life.

The Teacher’s Manual contains the entire student text, with teaching notes and answers printed in large, colored margins. Answers to the worksheets, the chapter tests, and the exams (for higher levels only) are in the back of the book. The worksheets, tests, and exams come in 8×11 inch paperback booklets.

Building With Diligence, 4

This book begins with an overview of the text itself and then moves on to simple studies of subjects and predicates; sentences; nouns; verbs; pronouns; adjectives; adverbs; punctuation; prepositions and conjunctions; and capitalization and dictionary use. Composition lessons include instruction about sentences, paragraphs, unity and order in paragraphs, poetry, reports, stories, and letters. Each chapter begins with a relevant rhyme and has worksheets and a test.

Following the Plan, 5

This level begins with review and covers the previous year’s topics in greater depth—topics such as compound sentences; appositives; outlining; kinds of pronouns; direct, indirect, and divided quotations; conversation in stories; using a concordance; and more. Chapters begin with picture discussions of the subject matter.

Progressing with Courage, 6

Topics range from perfect tenses to diagramming appositive adjectives, from courtesy in conversation to using subordinate conjunctions, and from complex sentences to writing a report. Each chapter begins with a grammar definition and a Bible text. A final test finishes up the year.

Building Securely, 7

This book teaches paragraph coherence, taking notes, oral reports, poetry, and stories. It also refines the student’s understanding of complex sentences, verbals, pronouns, conjunctions and much more.

Preparing for Usefulness, 8

Originally the final volume in the series, this book deepens a student’s ability to prepare paragraphs, letters, reports, outlines, stories, poetry, directions, and summaries. It also reviews and enhances grammar concepts such as compound complex sentences, dashes and parentheses, and verbal phrases.

We are beginning the level 9&10 books, Communicating Effectively, this summer. The two books at this level do not follow each other but can be studied independently. They involve more writing, editing, and speaking skills and less grammar. At this level our children are learning a lot of grammar in their foreign language studies, so I think we will really appreciate the focus on communication.

How We Used It

After a bit of fumbling about with my oldest, who was the patient guinea pig in our search for a grammar program, we discovered a great way to use the Rod and Staff grammar series. Since it only goes to level 9&10, and since it is quite rigorous, we decided to study each volume two years later than recommended. So, in grade 6 our children begin with the level 4 text, and so on.

This works well because by this age our children can study largely on their own. They do not want me to sit down and explain each concept; that is much too slow for them. The writing involved in level 4 is not too overwhelming for a child in grade 6. By the time the child is in grade 7, working on the level 5 book, he or she is able to absorb much of the content without doing all the exercises. I’ll mark whatever a child chooses to do, and then the child takes the test. If the test score is below 80%, the child has to repeat the chapter, doing all the work in order to learn the material. In this way our children develop maturity and are allowed to take charge of their own learning. At the same time, they acquire a thorough and rigorous knowledge of grammar which is helpful in their writing and their foreign language studies.

By starting with the level 4 book, we miss the content of the earlier textbooks. That is not a problem, because by grade 6 our children have learned a lot of grammar concepts from their language lesson programs. Through the years we also casually discuss parts of speech, often in relation to a foreign language.

Obviously, the children need to do their work in scribblers. They write the tests on loose leaf, though this requires creativity with some of the proofreading exercises. For those, the children usually copy down the word or words that need correction. Although this takes some extra time, it works well for us. Of course, you can always buy a test booklet for each child.

We are eager to begin the level 9/10 program for grade 12 next year. I think we will be able to do both texts in one year if we use the content of other courses as topics for the writing exercises.

Our Opinions

The Building Christian English program from Rod and Staff Publishers is rigorous but not overwhelming. It is suitable for independent study, and has a very helpful and thorough answer key for the grammar lessons. Unfortunately there are no marking rubrics for the writing assignments. The tests are thorough, balanced, and have clear answer keys.

Even though we do not agree with every idea presented, I love the fact that many of the examples and exercises reflect the Bible and Christian living. A non-Christian family might find the religious content overwhelming; for us it is part of the program’s appeal.

Our Recommendations

If you want a thorough, well-organized, Christian grammar program, you should check out the Building Christian English series from Rod and Staff Publishers. Although this Mennonite publishing company has no website, there are two related sites that sell this grammar series: Rod and Staff Books and More (sample lessons available) and Anabaptist Bookstore. The series is also available from some homeschool suppliers.

Disclosure: This review is of a textbook series we have used and loved for years. We already had the products and received no compensation for this review.

-Written by Annie Kate, a Christian homeschooling mom of five great children, who blogs at Tea Time With Annie Kate.

As a Charlotte Mason educator, some of our homeschool time is spent learning about artists and completing picture study. And, continuing in Charlotte Mason style, I try to only use living literature in our homeschool. Luckily, I’ve found several wonderful children’s books about artists including the Getting To Know the Great Artist Series and Smart About Art Series.

But my most favorite living art books are the Anholt Art Books for Children. Beautiful illustrations and lovely story lines tie the artist and his art into a fictional stories that are lighthearted, but captivating. I’m a huge fan of clever stories, and these are very clever!

The main character in the stories, other than the artist himself, is always based on a real person whom the artist knew. Even though the storyline is fictional, at the end of each book, you will find a non-fiction biography about the artist and how the main character of the book relates to him.

If you’re looking for a mostly factual selection, then one of the series mentioned in the first paragraph might interest you more. However, don’t push these aside before giving them a chance. At least see if your library has any of the titles – you and your children are sure to enjoy them!

There is no age range given on the publisher’s website, but I found them appropriate for children 5-12. I’m listing a few books below that I haven’t read, but I wanted to give you a complete list of the Anholt titles available. Note that not all of these are authored by Laurence Anholt, but all have a similar style.

• Cezanne and the Apple Boy
• Degas and the Little Dancer
• Leonardo and the Flying Boy
• The Magical Garden of Claude Monet
• Matisse, the King of Color
• Picasso and the Girl with the Ponytail
• Rembrandt and the Boy Who Drew Dogs
• Renoir and the Boy with the Long Hair
• Rockwell: A Boy and His Dog
• Suzette and the Puppy
• Van Gogh and the Sunflowers (My library has this as Camille and the Sunflowers)

Do you know of any living art literature that I haven’t mentioned?  Please share!

-Written by Cindy, eclectically Charlotte Mason mom of 3.  You can find her blogging at Our Journey Westward and find her nature studies at Shining Dawn Books.

Several months ago a slim little volume caught my eye on the clearance rack at Half-Price Books.  Sometimes, the clearance rack leads me astray—all of those cheap books just screaming my name—but not this time!  Easy Make and Learn Projects:  Human Body by Donald M. Silver and Patricia J. Wynne was perfect for our study of the human body.

Easy Make & Learn Projects: Human Body and the lapbook that we made

The cover proclaims that there are “easy how-to’s for making 20 models, manipulatives, and mini-books that will wow kids and teach about the incredible human body.”  I agree.  The book contains a variety of hands-on paper projects that make excellent teaching models

brain hats and nerve necklaces

Each project opens with factual information pertaining to the body system or part to which the model relates.  This information was invaluable to me, as it provided the facts that I needed to correlate the project with our studies.  Next, the book provides easy-to-follow directions and black-line masters for the project itself.  All of the parts are provided.  Simply copy, cut, and tape.  Each project also contains teaching instructions, composed of questions and directions to aid students in using the project itself.  I found them useful.

Easy Make and Learn Projects:  Human Body contains the following projects:

●A body book that outlines the body’s systems

●A cell mobile illustrates several cell types

●A magnification project which reveals what parts of the body look like up close

●A brain hat showing the parts of the brain

●A nerve necklace that illustrates how nerves operate

●A sliding eye that shows the parts of the eye

●An ear accordion that reveals how we hear

●A model of the tongue that shows taste buds

●A nose model that describes how we smell

●A model that shows how our sense of touch works

●A model of skin including the parts

●A model showing how hair grows

●A model of the skeleton

●A bone that illustrates how bones grow

●A model of muscles that shows how they move

●Two models that illustrate breathing

●A heart model that reveals how blood circulates through the heart

●A model of the body that shows how blood circulates through the body

●A large poster that reveals the path of digestion

●A model of the esophagus

We created the majority of the projects as we studied the human body.  They were very do-able for my first grader and her preschool-age brothers, though I was also very involved.  The book says that it is for 2^nd to 4^thgraders, but I think it is applicable to a wide range of students.  The projects are useful and helpful in understanding the body and its processes and the directions are helpful.  Each project could certainly be completed for individual use, but we saved our projects and put them into a lapbook.

Easy Make and Learn Projects:  Human Body is published by Scholastic but can be found in lots of places, including the occasional clearance rack.  As for me, the clearance rack wielded an excellent find in Easy Make and Learn Projects:  Human Body.  In fact, had I been aware of its potential I probably would have paid full price.

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

I had the opportunity to review Grapevine Studies Old Testament Overview for ages 5-7 and teen-adult.  I was intrigued by the idea of stick figuring through the Bible.  I have to admit I was not quite sure what to expect.  If you take a look a their website, you will find wonderful products for homeschooling, churches and Christian schools.  I knew my kids and I were in store for something fruitful after visiting Grapevine Studies online.

This curriculum can offer so much to Christian families.  The studies are mirrors of each other with simple adjustments for the younger aged book.  So, a family, group at church, family bible study, or multi-aged homeschool children, can all study the Word of God at the same pace and on the same theme.

This is a chronological study of the characters and events of the Old Testament.  Both studies, 5-7 year olds and teen through adult, will begin at the same point and end at the same point.  Each group will explore the Old Testament by creating a visual timeline using stick figures and symbols to reinforce the lessons and the events or the Bible.  Each study has review questions, memory verse and as mentioned that timeline.  The questions in each book are age appropriate and perfect for discussion or encouraging deep thinking and searching.

I highly recommend these books to anyone in need of a solid Bible Study.  These books do not tell you what to think about scripture but challenge you to think about what it means to you.  As your student develops an understanding of Biblical history and geography, he will also learn memory verses, and explore how God worked in the lives of those in the Old Testament.  This provides a nice springboard to any bible study or Christian history curriculum you may use as time goes on.

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.

I have yet to meet a homeschool family that did not love books.  On my quest to find wonderful books to be read to or by my children I have read quite a few ‘books about books’.  One volume has earned a place on my personal shelf to be used often.  That book is Read for the Heart: Whole Books for Wholehearted Families by Sarah Clarkson.

Read for the Heart is 384 pages full of information and ideas.  The first four chapters give the reader an in-depth look at the author’s personal view of books, a guide for becoming a reading family, as well as a chapter on the state of literacy in America today.

The next eight chapters are booklists divided into the following topics:

• Picture Books
• The Golden Age Classics
• Children’s Fiction
• Fairy Tales and Fantasy
• History and Biography
• Spiritual Reading for Children
• Poetry
• Music, Art, and Nature

Each chapter begins with a story and treatise by Miss Clarkson on the book genre at hand, giving you an even better idea of what qualities she has used to select books for that chapter. I love this part.  It makes me feel like I’ve just sat down to chat with a good friend, and she is sharing adventures she has had with books.  The lists in each chapter are generally arranged alphabetically by author, with the main exception being the history and biography section arranged by time period.  That has been a big help when I am looking for books to go along with our current history studies.  Most of the books have a review telling more about the story, awards won, general age guidelines, and any cautions if necessary.

The end of Read for the Heart has six appendices of book lists such as Newbery and Caldecott Award winners and special favorites of the author.  There are two indexes, one sorted by author and illustrator, one by title, giving a quick way to check on a specific book or to find more by an author or illustrator my children enjoy.

You can view a 32 page excerpt from Read for the Heart on the Apologia website.  The book can be purchased there or on Amazon for $17.00.  I bought mine through Amazon with some gift cards I had.

My only complaint about Read for the Heart is that she stopped at 384 pages!  Sarah Clarkson’s guide has been a huge help as I have navigated the library catalog searching for books to share with my children.  I would love if she made a second book with reviews of even more titles.

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.