CTCMath 12-Month Family Membership – A Review

 

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

 

My son loves the math lessons in CTCMath’s full math curriculum and I love that he has access to all grade levels with the 12-month Family membership.  Several years ago, we decided to explore the option of using CTCMath for our math curriculum for our youngest two.   I love how we have access to all grade levels, limited work or effort is required on my part.  The videos and exercises are relatively self-explanatory at the high school level.  Plus, all grades are essentially collected for me.  For this review, our son was completing his Geometry course and beginning Algebra II.

The Algebra II course begins with:

• Linear Sentences with One Variable
• Segments, Lines, and Regions
• Linear Sentences with Two Variables
• Polynomials
• Factoring Polynomials
• Rational Expressions
• Relations and Functions
• Polynomial Functions
• Radicals
• Quadratic Equations and Systems
• Conic Sections
• Exponential and Logarithmic Functions
• Sequence and Series
• Matrices
• Extensions

Some of the key benefits of this online curriculum is that it is for children in grades kindergarten to twelfth grade.  It goes all the way through Calculus, so for students who require higher level math it is the perfect fit.  It is perfect for students who need to catch up, or need to just keep up, and even for those who want to move ahead.  As a former math teacher, I love how students are allowed to learn at the their own pace rather than someone else’s pace.

Each lesson contains a video that includes sample problems, online problems to complete as well as a worksheet.  The material is broken up into units, which is then broken down into lessons.  Our son appreciates having the ability to go through lessons multiple times since I require mastery rather than speed to move through the lessons.  As a former math teacher, I know math builds upon itself, so it is important to ensure understanding.  As students work through the online problems, once they press the enter button they know immediately if they got the question right or wrong.

Another feature I love about this program is that it shows the students step-by-step how to work out the problems.  I require our children to work out their problems on paper so they can easily find where they made any mistakes at if they get the problem wrong.

Parents have their own login information and can monitor what their children are doing.  Each week, I receive a detailed report that shows what my children have done during that week.  Depending on the child’s scores, they can earn award certificates that they can print off to keep.  Also, notification of these awards are able to be emailed to the parent when the award is earned.

Here are the Social Media Links for CTCMath:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ctcmath/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ctcmathofficial
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ctcmath/?hl=en
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com.au/ctcmath/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWn5e6974bpIEAe46VnovZw

So if you are looking for an inclusive Homeschool Math curriculum for your family, I suggest checking out CTCMath’s full math curriculum and their 12-month Family membership.  It is definitely worth looking at for an online Homeschool Math program.

Other members of the Home School Review Crew are sharing their thoughts and experiences with this program this week.  So click here or on the graphic below to read their reviews.

#hsreviews #CTCMath #Homeschool #Math #Curriculum

Little Women Study Guide High School Grades 8-12 – A Progeny Press Review

 

 

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

 

Progeny Press makes earning High School Literature credit easy with high school level study guides such as Little Women Study Guide.  Our family has used other study guides from this company and I am always pleased with their products.  For this review we received the downloadable interactive guide for the student as well as the answer key.  With just a click of a couple of buttons I was able to download both products and then save them to my computer.  With a copy of the book Little Women, we were ready to get started.

Progeny Press offers products from elementary school through high school from a Christian perspective, which is important to our family.  The convenience of being able to use the interactive study guides without having to print anything provides a way of eliminating the paper overload we often find ourselves in at times.  It also means our family does not have to worry about pages getting lost or damaged.  At the same time, we are able to print out completed pages if we wish to save them in a notebook.

Little Women was one of my favorite books growing up so I was anxious for our daughter to read it and complete this guide.  I felt like we would have a lot to talk about considering my husband serves in the military and is an ordained minister.

The study guides offer vocabulary, short answer questions, more in-depth questions, and even some crossword puzzles and more.  I love how the amount of details required to answer different questions varies.  The study guides are straight-forward as far as the questions given.

In addition to the questions, some literary terms are also provided with explanations, so students can then answer questions relating to the term.  For example, one of the questions relates to foreshadowing.  It gives the students an explanation of what foreshadowing is and then an example for students to read and then explain about what they see in the excerpt.

In addition to the normal activities you would expect to find in a literature guide, optional activities such as arts, letter writing, natural science, and even cooking are included as well.  While this study guide is perfect to do with a single child such as our daughter, I think it would be interesting to do this guide with several children of similar ages at the same time.  Because this guide is designed for grades 8 – 12, a family with a middle school student as well as some high school students could easily use this guide together as a family.

The Answer Key provides answers for the questions as well as indications of when the answers may vary based on the student. Here are some sample pages.

I know from my own high school experience, I typically enjoyed working in small groups on assignments.  At the same time, parents or grandparents could do this study guide with the student to create additional learning experiences.

For a number of years my mother has lived with us, and she always enjoys doing school work with the children.  She feels it help with her memory.

You can find Progeny Press on social media at the following links:

Facebook: facebook.com/progenypress
Twitter: twitter.com/progenypress
Pinterest: pinterest.com/progenypress
YouTube: youtube.com/progenypress

So if you are looking for literature guides for your children in elementary school to high school, check out Progeny Press and their high school level study guides such as Little Women Study Guide.  I believe your family will enjoy them.

Other members of the Home School Review Crew are sharing their thoughts on this study guide as well as others this week.  So click here or on the graphic below to go read more reviews of Progeny Press’ products.

#hsreviews #progenypress #literature #reading #learnathome #readingcomprehension

MaxScholar Orton-Gillingham Software – A Review

 

 

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

My daughter has been working on reading comprehension through MaxScholar Orton-Gillingham Software from MaxScholar.  My goal was for her to use the program at least 3 days a week.  Offering MaxReading, MaxPhonics, MaxWords, MaxPlaces, MaxBios, MaxMusic, and MaxVocab.  In preparation for taking the SAT, I wanted her to brush up on her reading comprehension skills as well as her vocabulary skills.  So we concentrated primarily on MaxReading, and MaxVocab.

Although she does not have any learning disabilities, I am reviewing this program because when our second son was in the second grade, we were concerned he may suffer from dyslexia.  At the time, he attended a public school, so we were surrounded by teachers who offered assistance and direction for our family. So I felt like it was important for our family to review this online program.

Primarily designed for students with learning disabilities, this program incorporates a multisensory approach to conveying the instructional information.   Bundled together with the program provides a variety of activities working on phonics, reading comprehension, vocabulary, music, 51 places to study, as well as nteresting biographical studies.  Using a multistep approach, students have the opportunity to demonstrate what they already know in order to know what they need to work on at the beginning.

This online program offers a systematic approach that allows students in grades Pre-K thru 12 to work at their own pace and level.  When our daughter took the placement test, we found she was at the 12th-grade level.

One of the features I really appreciated was the ability of a parent to decide what I wanted to require our daughter to do.  For example, in the MaxReading, I was able to determine if our daughter was going to be required to take the placement test, do highlighting, and more.

Our daughter found the reading activities to be fairly straight-forward.  However, we both wished that some parts better instructions as well as examples had been provided.  At 17-years-old, she is fairly intuitive and able to figure things out for herself.  Younger children or ones with disabilities may require additional parental assistance.

As students complete activities, they are provided with immediate feedback either immediately following the completion of an activity or as they complete each question or a set of questions.

With the parent login, parents have the ability to monitor progress, print out resource materials. look at lesson plans, assign students levels, and more.  I feel this would be extremely useful for younger children or ones that need monitoring.  In our daughter’s case, because of her age  and level of responsibility, I basically allowed her to work at her own pace and inform me of what

 

You can find MaxScholar on Social Media at the following links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MaxScholarLLC/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MaxScholarLLC
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maxscholarsoftware/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/MaxScholarLLC/pins/

So if you are looking for reading tutoring online, or have students with dyslexia, or other learning disabilities, check out this program for yourself. I feel Families can work on reading comprehension through MaxScholar Orton-Gillingham Software from MaxScholar.

Other members of the Home School Review Crew are sharing their thoughts on this online learning experience today.  So click here or on the graphic below to check out their reviews.

 

#hsreviews #ortongillingham #onlinesoftware #onlinetutoring #MaxScholar #dyslexia #distancelearning #homeschool #ortongillinghamtraining #readingcomprehension

Exploring the U.S. Life-Saving Service 1878-1915: 17 Student Workshops with 120 Activities – A Review

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

 

My daughter wanted to review Rebecca Locklear‘s Exploring the U.S. Life-Saving Service 1878-1915: 17 Student Workshops with 120 Activitiesbecause she is fascinated with maritime rescues.  For this review we received a downloadable file containing the book for this curriculum.  Designed to be used by the entire family, a few workshops are geared towards grades 4 and 5.  So all of the workshops can be used by students in grades 6 to 12.

Divided into sections, the book covers such units as “Life at the Station House”, “Working Together”, “The Culture of Character”,  and “Relevance Today”.  Art Projects, music projects, and research areas are also available.  The Research areas include archaeology, badges, boats, clothing, communication, rescue devices, and more.  Initially, my plan was for our daughter to do this with at least one of her brothers.  However, my plans did not necessarily go the way I wanted them to go.

Rebecca Locklear takes her considerable multi-level teaching experience and writes materials for teachers. Students discover and create, assimilate integrated subject matter, and build on what they do well. This format allows students to build on their strengths and interests while discovering and creating.  Be sure to visit Rebecca Locklear’s website and sign up for updates.  You can do this by going to her site, click on the blog tab, and fill out the form on the right side of your screen to join her mailing list.

 

One of the reasons we were interested in this book was because two of my husband’s uncles served in the United States Coast Guard, my husband and his brother served in the U.S Army Reserves and the U.S. Army National Guard respectively, plus one of our daughter’s uncles served in the U.S. Marine Corps.  So anything having to do with serving the people of our country interests our family.

As I opened this book, I have to say I feel this book would be best used by a larger size family or perhaps with various families coming together to complete the activities together.  With only one teenaged daughter, I found it difficult to expect my daughter to complete many of the activities such as as the skits.

However, we loved some of the activities such as making our own smelling salts.  Our daughter also was intrigued by the idea of researching the clothing of the time period. Because so many of the activities required groups of people and our daughter was the only one working on this review, we found it difficult to find things that she could actually do alone.

We enjoyed the reading for each unit however.  It allowed our daughter to learn more about the U.S. Life-Saving Service than what she knew before reading this.  Because she was in Young Marines for several years and had brothers in the Boy Scouts, many of the life-saving techniques and the supplies to have on hand if needed she already knew.

All in all, I have to say our family believes this book is best used in a larger group setting. Having just my daughter and I to read various parts was not necessarily the most exciting way to go through the scripts.  Now perhaps if her oldest brother had been present to read with her with his flair for the dramatic, she would have enjoyed it more.

I have to say though I believe this book does have a lot to offer even a single student.  It is well-written and the information is informative.

You can find Rebecca Locklear on social media on Facebook by clicking here.  Also, be sure to visit Rebecca Locklear’s website and sign up for updates.  You can do this by going to her site, click on the blog tab, and fill out the form on the right side of your screen to join her mailing list.

So check out Rebecca Locklear‘s Exploring the U.S. Life-Saving Service 1878-1915: 17 Student Workshops with 120 Activities if your family is interested in maritime rescues.  Other members of the Home School Review are reviewing this book as well as The Mayflower at Cape Cod – Stories, activities, and research that connect 1620 with life today.  So click here or on the graphic below to read more reviews for Rebecca Locklear’s books.

#hsreviews #USLifeSavingService, #EarlyCoastGuard, #CoastalSearchandRescue, #CoastGuardHistory #maritimerescues

 

 

HelpTeaching Pro Subscription – A Review

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

My daughter has been using some of the online lessons and worksheets included in the HelpTeaching Pro subscription from HelpTeaching.com.  We are using it as a way to supplement her learning in various subjects.  Since we have been homeschooling for a number of years, I recognize the importance of having supplementary materials to help fill in any gaps in our children’s learning.  As the mother of 4:  three sons ages almost 24, 21, and 19 plus our daughter who is 17, I recognize the value of this site.  All a family needs to get started is a computer and a high-speed Internet connection.

Offering lessons, worksheets, and even game activities, this site provides a lot of resources.  Whether you have students in Kindergarten or ones in high school, you will be able to find something for your family.  The site allows you to use their pre-created activities or you can create your own.  With just a couple of clicks of your mouse, you can select a subject, a grade, and even specify keywords if you desire to help create the perfect worksheet or test for your student.  Our family previously reviewed this site, and you can check out our review by clicking here.

As a military family who tends to travel, I love the flexibility of being able to either complete assignments online or on paper.  So for those times when we are away from home, I can just have our daughter do things online.

As a parent/teacher, I can create classes, assign lessons, and more using the dashboard.  With a couple of strokes of my keyboard and a couple of slides of my mouse, I can complete several activities at one time and then invite our daughter to complete them.

One of the activities I really wanted her to focus on this time was vocabulary.  So I had her complete one of the worksheets already completed on the site for 100 SAT words.  Here is an image of her completed pages as well as the answer key that I was able to print out.  I love how the answer keys can either be viewed on the screen or printed out based on my preference for individual assignments.

When completing assignments online, when available, students have the opportunity to check their answers as they are completing each question.  I love this immediate feedback.

Covering everything from Language Arts, Science, Math, History, and even life skills, everyone should be able to find something for your family.  Whether your family needs Graphic organizers, social studies activities or tests, art and music activities, vocational activities, early childhood education, or even physical education activities, you will be able to find something on this site.  There are even mid-year and end of the year activities available.

With the test generator and worksheet generator, I have the ability to customize the information to be exactly what our family needs.

You can find HelpTeaching.com online on social media at the following links:

Facebook: facebook.com/helpteaching
Twitter: twitter.com/helpteaching
Instagram: instagram.com/helpteaching
Pinterest: pinterest.com/helpteaching
YouTube: youtube.com/helpteaching

So if your family is looking for a way to supplement your homeschool materials, check out the HelpTeaching Pro subscription from HelpTeaching.com.  I am sure you will appreciate it as much as our family does.

Other members of the Home School Review Crew are sharing their thoughts about this program this week.  So click here or on the graphic below to go read more about this site.

#hsreviews #elearning #onlinelearning #teaching

 

 

 

 

Review of Thinkwell Press’ High School Math

When it comes to teaching High School Math, I prefer to use video-based instruction such as Algebra 1 from Thinkwell.  Our high school-aged daughter prefers to do any other subject more than math, so I am always on the hunt for math programs that will help her understand mathematics. I am so glad we had the opportunity to review this program.  Because we already had another math program she was using, we utilized this program as a supplement to what she was already doing.  So I wanted her to aim to use this program three times a week.  This online program can be accessed anywhere at any time.

Thinkwell Press offers online homeschool programs for grades six through Calculus.  In addition to the mather courses, they also offer a selection of science and economics honors courses.  The courses are video-based and are taught by award-winning professors.  The Algebra I course is taught by Professor Edward Burger.  As a parent, I appreciate how clearly he speaks and how everything he does is explained and illustrated.  Placement tests are available so you can make sure your child begins at the right level for them.

I love the convenience of our daughter being able to watch the videos and do the exercises.  Then if she should encounter any difficulties, she can come to her father or me.  The videos are clear, concise, and do an excellent job of explaining what the students will be doing.  As a former math teacher, and someone who loves math, I appreciate the fact the problems being demonstrated correspond to what our daughter has to do on her own.

The course is broken down into sections that cover:

• Foundations for Algebra
• Equations, Proportions, and Percents
• Inequalities
• Functions
• Linear Functions
• Systems of Equations and Equalities
• Exponents and Polynomials
• Factoring Polynomials
• Quadratic Functions and Equations
• Data Analysis and Probability

I love how our family had the ability to jump around in the course to the sections our daughter needed to work on.  I also appreciated the fact that the online exercises for the sections we worked on could be printed and worked out on paper prior to completing the answers on the computer.  Another handy feature is the fact that real-time feedback is given.  So when our daughter put in her answer for a problem, she immediately knew if she got it right or wrong.  But in addition to just saying if the answer is right or wrong, the solution is also displayed which helps ensure your child can see what they needed to do if they got the problem wrong.  In addition to worksheets and exercises, there are also review exercises and their answer keys provided.

Another feature I really appreciate is the fact that the transcripts of each lesson are provided.  So families can print them out for the student to refer back to if they have encountered any difficulties.

You can find Thinkwell Press on social media on Facebook and YouTube.

So if your family is looking for an online math program, check out the High School Math, programs including Algebra 1 from Thinkwell.  Other members of the Home School Review Crew are reviewing Algebra I along with other grade levels and courses from Thinkwell Press, so check out their reviews by clicking here or on the graphic below.

 

Review of Calvert Homeschool Online

I have always been curious about Calvert Homeschool since I have heard their name in homeschool circles for years.  When they offered their Calvert Homeschool Online program with access to all the courses, I knew I wanted to check it out!  Calvert Homeschool Online provides a completely online experience that only requires a solid Internet connection.

For this review, we received a Family Subscription to Calvert Homeschool Online for up to three students.  Since we had already started our school year, I planned on us using this curriculum more as a supplement to what we were already using versus it being our primary curriculum.

As a firm believer in the idea that you are never too old to learn, I created a student account for myself as well as our son and daughter who are in high school.  One feature I really love about the set up of Calvert is that we had access to all of the online courses for all of the grades.  So for myself, I was able to choose the high school courses that most interested me.  So I elected to do Geometry,  English II, U.S. History – Reconstruction to Present, Pre-Calculus (so I can brush up on my skills before our son gets there, and Integrated Physics and Chemistry.

I assigned our sixteen-year-old daughter to Integrated Physics and Chemistry, English I, World Geography, and Algebra I.  However, I wound up deciding last week to have her move from Algebra I back to Mathematics 8 just to provide some reinforcement. My one desire would be for a high school math course for students who do not need the typical college-bound, in-depth math pathway.  For our son who was 18 at the time we started, I assigned English IV, Government, and Physics. He is someone who plans to go to college in the future, so the math tract is perfect.

I love having the flexibility to change due dates or curriculum choices if needed.  Another feature I loved was the ability to decide for each student what features I wanted them to have access to such as answer keys and unlimited chances.  I believe in teaching to mastery so these ideas work for our family’s philosophy.

Each lesson contains videos, text, the ability to do flashcards or spelling bees if you select those choices, and more.  Our family felt the videos were well-done and easy to follow.  My family felt the work was challenging enough to be interesting without being so difficult that my children became frustrated.

In addition to the student log-ins, there is a parent log-in that allows homeschool parents to set up the school year, assign courses, as well as create reports.  Some of the reports that can be created include daily work reports, report cards, and grade reports. With just a few clicks any of these reports can be created for any student you want to select. Parents also have the ability to reschedule a single course for a student or all the courses for a student.  Because let’s be real, as homeschooling families life happens and sometimes we do not get through everything we want to do.

You can find Calvert Homeschool Media at the following links:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/CalvertHomeschool
Instagram: www.instagram.com/calverthomeschool
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/CalvertHomeschool/

So if you are looking for the freedom and flexibility of an online homeschool curriculum, I suggest you check out Calvert Homeschool Online program with access to all the courses for yourself.

Other members of the Home School Review Crew are sharing their thoughts about Calvert Homeschool Online this week, so click here or on the graphic below to read more reviews by the Crew.

 

Review of Brain Blox’s Fun Family Chess

 

It can be difficult to learn to play chess but Brain Blox makes it easy for even young children or adults with no experience to play with Fun Family Chess.  As a child, I never learned how to play chess.  But I am surrounded by an entire family of chess players.  My husband has played since he was a child, and my children learned how to play when they were younger.  So when I saw the opportunity to review this game come up, I was thrilled about the opportunity.

According to their website, “Brain Blox offers toys, games, and journals to empower families toward a more conscious vibrant lifestyle.”  Fun Family Chess is designed for single players or teams of family members to play together.  Whether you or your child(ren) learn best by watching videos or reading directions, this company has something to offer you.

For this review, our game came packaged in a box.  When we opened the box, we found the chessboard folded in half with fasteners to keep it closed.  When we unfolded the board, we found the chess pieces in two separate velvet-like bags, cards to explain how the various pieces move, along with a die that can be used to direct what piece you may move.  The chessboard is painted white and is very striking. We also received a two-month membership to Chesskid.com, which provides a family-safe place for children to learn how to play chess.  I also appreciated how the pieces are displayed on each side of the board to show where the different pieces need to be placed.

I am someone who learns best by doing, and I prefer learning against someone who is going to be patient with me.  So I elected to play against our daughter, with my husband providing coaching in the background.  As an adult learning to play the game for the first time, I found the die kept things moving along (especially with my husband helping me).  I found the game intense, and the cards really helped me know how the pieces could move.

I think that understanding how the different pieces can move is one of the most challenging parts for me.  However, the video on the website illustrating how the pieces can move was very helpful.  There are a number of videos on the site including how to set up the chessboard for Fun Family Chess, how to play Fun Family Chess, how to move the pieces, and how to play standard chess once you learn how to play Fun Family Chess.

My ultimate goal is to have my three sons and husband play a championship game using the die to add a bit of excitement.

There are some differences between Fun Family Chess and Standard Chess:

1. In Standard Chess, you do not use a cube to tell you how to move your pieces.
2. In Fun Family Chess, you win by capturing your opponent’s king.  In Standard Chess, you win by putting your opponent’s king in checkmate or possibly ending the game in a stalemate (meaning no one wins).
3. In standard chess, when you move a pawn to the opposite side of the board, you can promote your pawn to any piece you choose except to a king).
4. If a pawn moves beside your pawn, you can do a move called “En Passant”, meaning in passing you can capture that pawn.
5. Finally, in standard Chess, there is castling where your rook and king can switch places if all of a given set of circumstances exists.

So if you are looking for a fun way to teach someone or want to learn chess yourself, check out Brain Blox‘s Fun Family Chess for yourself.

You can find Brain Blox on Social Media at the following links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mybrainblox
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brainblox
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpUttakNtthj_haX8LwRlwA

Other members of the Home School Review Crew are posting their thoughts about this product today.  Click here or on the graphic below to read other reviews from members of the Home School Review Crew.

 

Review of The Complete Starter Kit from The Kingdom Code

With The Complete Starter Kit from The Kingdom Code, I can teach my daughters money management skills with a Biblical context.  Because I know our daughter has been dreaming of creating her own graphic novels, I recognize she needs to understand about money management and more in order to be prepared to become an entrepreneur.

According to their website, The Complete Starter Kit includes the Textbook, Student Packet, and Teacher’s Guide. These three components are everything needed to teach one student The Kingdom Code curriculum, and the Teacher’s Guide makes teaching easy and fun!”  We also received the JR Budget Kit and The Kingdom Code Coloring Book to review as well.

The Kingdom Code is an elective designed as a 34-week course, (a full year) and ideally should be taught twice weekly for 45 minutes. It is Biblically based and has Bible verses in every lesson.  Parental guidance is definitely required especially for the first eight lessons, which take about a semester while the student is building their business from the ground up.  The students have to choose a mentor, create their business plan, and start their marketing strategies and work towards gaining money.  Lessons 9 – 27 focus on maintaining a ledger, create an income statement, make calls as well as write thank-you notes to customers, and more.

During the course, students examine everything from what The Kingdom code is to Building Treasure, to developing a business plan, to keeping records, to savings, to discovering their gifts, as well as taking charge of their life.  Periodically, they also look back at what they have done and accomplished.  At the stage our daughter is at currently, we wanted her to use this material more to get ideas rather than earning money currently.  She had been working on developing her “world” for her story but realized she needed to start all over in order to be satisfied since she recognizes that having the background world is important.

One of the key steps is finding a mentor, but so far we have been unsuccessful at that because of what she wants to do.  However, as a blogger, I can help with writing.  She has found people online to help with her artwork.  Plus, her father can assist with the business side of things.  So even though she is off to a slow start with her own business, she still is learning a lot from this course.

Because of the type of business our daughter wants to develop, certain things did not apply to her.  We knew from the beginning, she was more likely to find her customers through the Internet rather than phone calls and other traditional means.  Our goal in reviewing this course centered more on understanding money and business management rather than actually rushing to make money.  As parents, my husband and I both recognize the importance of our daughter learning how to create business plans, manage money, and determine how to market her products.

Here is a sample of the type of artwork she might include in her novels.

The Student Textbook is a 244-page spiral-bound book which includes economics, budgeting, historical entrepreneurship, consumer math, Biblical codes, life skills, and practical thinking in order to capture the student’s imaginations.  The lessons include many medieval ideas such as bravery, kindness, honor, integrity, and more.  Our daughter really enjoyed the content and how the lessons were presented.

The Student Activity pages are contained in the Student Packet and include consumable worksheets for the students to complete.  Our daughter found these pages interesting and worth completing.

Here are some sample activity pages our daughter has completed.

The Teacher’s Guide breaks the 27 lessons down into 68 daily plans.  The lesson plans provide step-by-step instructions for the assignments along with providing suggestions and reminders.  The answers to the Activity pages and the worksheets are included as well at the end of each lesson.

Our family appreciated how each lesson followed the same format and included Biblical passages.  Our daughter appreciated the details included in each lesson.  My husband and I also appreciated being involved in the lessons with our daughter.  Because my husband ran a business with his father prior to going full-time in the Army Reserves, he was able to offer a lot of insights to our daughter.  Since I have a degree in marketing, I will be able to provide additional insights to our daughter when we reach that stage.

Here are some pages from the coloring book.

Here is what the receipt book looks like.

As students complete lessons, they place stickers on the map to mark their progress.  Our daughter was not necessarily interested in doing this particular activity.

We also received the JR KCK Budget kit as well.  This kit is designed for children who are too young to complete The Kingdom Code.  It is a great way to introduce younger children to the idea of money management.  Because we have some friends with children who could benefit from this, I plan on sharing it with them.  It includes stickers, coloring pages and more.  Here is a photograph of some of the pages.

You can find The Kingdom Code on social media at the following links.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheKingdomCode/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/thekingdomcode
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/thekingdomcode/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekingdomcode/

In addition to money management and entrepreneur skills, the lessons also include character building activities.  Our family looks forward to completing the remainder of the lessons in this program.  So check out The Complete Starter Kit from The Kingdom Code, in order to teach money management skills with a Biblical context

Other members of the Home School Review Crew are also reviewing The Complete Starter Kit from The Kingdom Code this week.  Click here or on the graphic below to read additional reviews from other members of the Home School Review Crew.

Review of Hewitt Homeschooling Resources’ Lightning Literature & Composition – British Christian Authors 19th-20th Century

 

I loved using Lightning Lit from Hewitt Homeschooling Resources with our second son before, so I was excited to have the opportunity to review British Christian Gr 11-12  with our 16-year-old daughter.  This program provides a great opportunity for our daughter to develop both her composition skills and her literary skills at the same time.  For this review, we received the student guide and the teacher guide.  However, the program also requires the purchase of four additional unabridged copies of The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis, Why Does God Allow War? by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton, and Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers.  Even though our daughter is in the 10th grade, she felt confident about her ability to complete the coursework.

Hewitt Homeschooling, since 1983, has functioned as proponents of homeschooling.  According to their website, “. Our emphasis includes combining excellent academics with character development, instilling the work ethic, and developing a spirit of community service in the next generation. With a current client base of over 30,000, Hewitt’s operation is currently divided into three sectors: services, testing, and products. Operating out of our facility in Washougal, Washington, we serve parents with students from kindergarten age through high-school.”

Lightning Literature at the high school level is meant to be covered over 18 weeks, however, we used a year-long pace since we were nearing the start of our summertime school schedule when this review started.  Both a semester-long and a year-long schedule are provided so families can use the one that best suits their needs.

Students read, answer comprehension questions, complete literary lessons, writing exercises, along with reading articles which are sprinkled throughout the course that touch on late 19th through early 20th century British Christian Literature.  The four units, covering one of the four books, includes an introduction for the students to read, information about the selection, and information for while the student is reading.  Our daughter found these sections to be extremely useful.

Students are supposed to develop a vocabulary notebook and reading journal during the course.  For our purposes, instead of requiring our daughter to write everything out, we allowed her to complete the questions, vocabulary and reading journal on the computer using a word processing program.  I also permitted her to answer some of the questions orally to me rather than typing out her answers.

The Student guide contains all the material the student needs to complete the course including an Introduction which discusses suggestions for reading and writing including brainstorming, outlining, revisions and citing research.  Suggestions for how to use the student guide are included along with Appendices that provide suggestions for Discussion Questions and Project Suggestions, additional reading suggestions, and schedules.  Plus there are suggestions for activities to enhance the student’s experience including developing a Vocabulary Notebook, a Reading Journal, Biographies and more.

For each unit, there is an Introduction, Comprehension Questions, a Literary lesson – which for the first unit on C.S. Lewis is Writing a Five-paragraph essay.  Our daughter is working on narrowing her topic for her first essay on a hobby.  She is trying to decide between art and music.  We will see what she decides.  She plans on doing the brainstorming and outline for this first essay at the beginning of next week.

All of the Units follow the same basic pattern.  I look forward to reading and learning with our daughter throughout the remainder of the course.  She found the Student Guide easy to follow and easy to utilize.  For the Comprehension Questions, she found most of them straight forward, however a few required deeper thought and attention in order to answer.

 

The Teacher Guide includes information about the Student Guide, the answers to the Comprehension Questions, Suggested Schedules for either a Semester Schedule or a Yearly Schedule, Writing Exercises, Discussion Questions, as well as project suggestions.  As one of our daughter’s projects, we decided she would memorize 1 Corinthians 13.  Our goal is to have her do a Bible Study with her father on fasting, but his schedule has not permitted that yet.

You can find Hewitt Homeschooling Resources on Social Media at the following links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hewitthomeschooling
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hewittonline
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/hewittonline/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/HewittOnline
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hewittonline/

If you would like to read our earlier review of Shakespeare Tragedies, click here.

Other members of the Home School Review Crew are reviewing various products from Hewitt Homeschooling Resources this week, click here or on the graphic below to read additional reviews of this product along with other products for various grade levels.