My husband and I have been thrilled to introduce the Learn Our History DVD’s to our children. We both have a passion for teaching fundamental truths about the history of the United States in our homeschool. Believe it or not, much of what we read/hear/watch is either extremely watered-down or downright misleading. Not so with this series of DVD’s from…
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LightHome Publications Penmanship Books
I like handwriting books. They make life simple: Get out the book, turn to the page, write, put the book away. Repeat until the book is finished. This year, though, I decided that the shipping and handling on my favorite handwriting book was outrageous. I refused to do it. What’s a homeschool mama to do? Download handwriting books instead! So,…
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Explode the Code Review
Explode the Code is a phonics based program I consider invaluable in helping my daughter learn to read. The series starts with three pre-literacy primers then progresses to a series of 8 books for children grades 1-4. A Curriculum Choice Review
Primary Arts of Language: Writing
This review is Part 2. If you haven’t already read my review of Primary Arts of Language: Reading, please do so before continuing with this post. Primary Arts of Language: Writing by Jill Pike of Excellence in Writing is the companion program to Primary Arts of Language: Reading. While the reading program focuses on early phonics and reading skills, the…
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Hands And Hearts Curriculum
It’s a well-known fact that we learn best by immersion. When we’re studying a foreign language, it’s recommended that at some point, we fully immerse ourselves into the language and culture to learn and absorb more. But, when it’s time to study history, learning by immersion can be a little tricky. We don’t always have the resources (or, time!) to…
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Native American Legends by Terri Cohlene and Charles Reasoner
While perusing the library’s database in search of books about Native Americans, I discovered a wonderful little series of Native American legends written by Terri Cohlene and illustrated by Charles Reasoner. There are six titles in the series. Each presents a legend and a different tribe of Native Americans. Clamshell Boy is a Makah legend telling how a boy, born…
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Teaching Textbooks
For the past few years we haven’t used a math curriculum of any sort. Yes, you read that right. For several years we’d been “free flying” as I call it, learning math through games, hands on applications, & stories. We had a grand time of it, and both of my children had a firm foundation in basic mathematics. However, we…
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Jacob’s Ladder Reading Comprehension
Have you ever wished for a reading comprehension program that encourages higher order thinking skills? Questions that require deep thinking, inference and opinion? Questions based on “living” literature selections rather than dry paragraphs? All of this in assignments that can be completed in a lesson or two? Not to mention, reading comprehension available for children as old as 9th grade?…
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CalcuLadder: Turning Finger Counters into Number Crunchers
We’ve tried many computer and online math drill programs. We’ve even used flashcards. But we often return to the first formal drill program we bought years ago: Calculadder by Dr. Myers. It’s quick, simple, very effective, and can be used for all the children in a family. Each drill page has a number of problems, a recommended time limit, and…
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It Just Couldn’t Happen
What an exciting new product! As a home-schooling family, this has just taken it’s place in our standard curriculum! Want to address those tougher questions about biblical vs scientific subjects typically taught in schools? This is fantastic for that, too! The book is easy to read, geared for all ages as it is well written, and has fantastic pictures to…
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