Economics Online Course Bundle from Boundary Stone – 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.

If you are looking for a self-paced homeschool economics course, I suggest checking out Boundary Stone’s Economics Online Course Bundle. Our youngest son has been looking at college requirements for the degree he wants to pursue and discovered economics provides credit for one of his choices. So we decided this course bundle would provide an excellent taste of what economics looks like as a course. This Christian economics course deserves your exploration. Families have access to the hardback textbook Basic Economics, A Natural Law Approach to Economics, four edition along with online access or 12 months to the course, a PDF of the 128 page Teacher’s Guide and access to a Budget Mini Course.

Boundary Stone provides a Christian based view of economics, which pleased my husband myself. Having a Christian viewpoint provides one of the first requirements we have for most curriculum. Having a Scriptural backed view of economics serves as something we wanted our son to experience.

This course includes lessons online, reading assignments, and quizzes. Students may repeat the quizzes as needed, except for the very first diagnostic quiz. The textbook includes reading assignments and study guides that provide identification (words to define essentially), review questions, activities, along with suggestions for activities for further study.

Topics covered in the course include: 

• The Framework of Economics
• The Production and Distribution of Goods
• Politico-Economic Systems

Within those topics, students examine subjects such as Government, Society and Morality, Property, Scarcity and Economy, How We Get What We Want, Failed Attempts to Control the Prices, and more.  Having experienced the Coronavirus and its effects on the world’s economy and the availability of goods and services, I feel this course provides an excellent examination of our experiences since March.

Having gone through two economics courses in college–macroeconomics, and microeconomics, I knew what he could expect. However, I have to say these two courses provided two of the worst experiences of my college career. So I prayed his experience would be better. Because most of this course occurs online, a high-speed Internet connection along with a copy of the textbook fills the largest requirements.

Dr. Paul Cleveland founded Boundary Stone.  Having worked as a professor for over 35 years, he studied and pondered the issues of political economy.  Using ways that even include story-telling to make the elusive concepts of economics to students. His background also includes writing and travels extensively lecturing about political economics along with many other activities.

I appreciate the self-pacing of this course. Families can adapt the schedule to fit their needs. As my son began the class, he felt like too much Biblical content overshadowed the actual economics portion. But he also felt like the textbook did an excellent job of explaining the material. In fact, the textbook provided his favorite part of the course. Written by Clarence Carson and Paul Cleveland, the textbook provides reading assignments, quotes, points of emphasis, a summary, a glossary of terms, and more.

Students watch videos, whose length seems reasonable.  The quality of these videos appears to be excellent.  The quality of the sound is excellent.  Few distractions appear to be present.

An optional budget project provides students with excellent instruction, information, and experience with constructing a budget.  My husband and I find this optional section to be valuable.  Families may elect to work on the budget project one day a week.

You can find Boundary Stone on Social Media at the following links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrPaulCleveland
Twitter:https://twitter.com/DrPaulCleveland
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCf4qWz28QJO80oB-aanH9Sw

I feel compelled to say how much I appreciate how this course examines the political effects on the economy in the United States.  I fervently wish for my children to stand for Biblical and conservative values along with fiscal responsibility.  I feel this course provides an excellent framework for those ideas.

So if you are looking for a Christian high school economics course, I suggest exploring the self-paced homeschool economics course, I suggest checking out Boundary Stone’s Economics Online Course Bundle.

Other members of the Home School Review Crew share their thoughts over on the blog this week. So click here or on the graphic below to read their reviews.

#hsreviews #boundarystone #basiceconomics

THINKWELL’S INSTRUCTOR-LED GEOMETRY – 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.

Thinkwell Homeschool overs online courses such as Thinkwell’s Instructor-Led Geometry . As a student, I loved math and excelled at it. However, the math genes appear to have skipped my children. So I am always on the look-out for math programs for our children. Our daughter especially seems to struggle with math. So I wanted her to try an instructor-led program for Geometry from Thinkwell Homeschool. However, our daughter was not ready mentally for this program. Plus, I felt it best to go through the program myself first to see if I believed she could handle the pace and activities of this online course.

Thinkwell Homeschool offers a variety of instructor-led courses including THINKWELL’S INSTRUCTOR-LED ALGEBRA 1, and THINKWELL’S INSTRUCTOR-LED ALGEBRA 2.  Placement tests are provided to ensure students enroll in the correct class for them.  Another advantage of these courses rests in the fact the courses are NCAA approved. 

With this program families get:

• An 18-week, online subscription to our 1st semester Geometry course
• Emails weekly that contain courses assignments as well as lesson plans
• Regular student progress reports
• Instructional videos that are detailed
• Automatically graded assignments with step-by-step answer feedback
• Downloadable and printable course worksheets, and answer keys
• Illustrated course study notes – great for referring back to
• Section quizzes that are automatically graded
• Chapter and Practices Tests, a Midterm, and a Final Exam
• Animated interactive activities and more

HOW IT WORKS:

Families purchase the course through their online store. Then you create an account username and password in order to gain access to the online course on the start date. Students then follow the assignments, which are emailed out weekly. The work is automatically graded and tracked in real-time. Virtual office hours provide additional help and interaction. Upon request, transcripts, grade reports, and certificates of completion may be provided.

Each week we receive an email telling us what the requirements were for each week. Here is an image of an email.

Each week, a warm-up is the first activity students complete. I found the warm-ups to be reasonable in scope and detail. Here is a completed warm-up.

Dr. Edward Berger provides the actual instruction in videos. We aimed to complete videos, worksheets, and warm-ups, and quizzes and tests three days a week with the other two days geared towards the office hours provided for additional help. Here is a sample of a Course Notes page.

Students may take part in office hours twice a week. They conduct these sessions on Zoom. Instructor Julie Welch & T.A. Sarah Flood provide ample opportunities to check on students’ progress, answer questions, and provide time to interact and even to play games.

Because the end of the grading period is Friday, October 23, this week we received an email telling us that they would send progress reports out next week. As a parent, I can see the grades for tests and quizzes on the website for those activities which have been completed. I appreciate how immediately after completing a worksheet, quiz, or test, the course provides immediate feedback on the submitted work. Students see what questions they answered correctly or incorrectly, but also the explanations for the answers. Another feature I love is they may repeat how most if not all activities multiple times. Because I believe students need to master mathematics to move forward, this feature resonated positively with me.

I firmly believe students should have a firm foundation in math before attempting this course.  I also believe students struggle with math may or may not be successful with this course.  I think it depends on the dedication of the student.  I definitely feel like the instructors will provide all help needed for students to thrive in these courses.

You can find Thinkwell Homeschool on Social media at the following links:  Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

So if you are looking for an instructor-led math course for your high school students, check out Thinkwell’s Instructor-Led Geometry for yourself.

Other members of the Home School Review Crew are sharing their thoughts and experiences with this course as well as THINKWELL’S INSTRUCTOR-LED ALGEBRA 1, THINKWELL’S INSTRUCTOR-LED ALGEBRA 2, So click here or on the graphic below to read their reviews.

#hsreviews #thinkwellhomeschool #mathonline #onlinehomeschooling #homeschoolalgebra #homeschoolgeometry #onlinemath #algebrahelp

Structure and Style® for Students Year 1 Level C from Institute for Excellence in Writing® – 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.

If you have struggled to teach writing, I encourage you to check out Structure and Style® for Students Year 1 Level C from Institute for Excellence in Writing®. Very early on in our homeschooling journey, we discovered Institute for Excellence in Writing® and more specifically Mr. Andrew Pudewa. Our oldest son, in the fifth grade, detested writing with a passion. Teaching writing took on nightmarish qualities and resulted in tears. Once we discovered IEW, writing became less of a chore.

 Institute for Excellence in Writing® provides a wealth of writing resources ranging from the Structure and Style®, Fix-It! Grammar, Spelling, Teacher Helps, Professional Development and more. The Structure and Style® for Students Level C consists of a Printed spiral bound Teacher Manual, a three-ring student binder along with access to streaming videos. When we first encountered IEW years ago, the videos came in the form of DVDs. Streaming the videos allows families to take less with them if they are on the go. Also, it eliminates the concern of damaged DVDs.

One our family’s (especially my three sons) favorite things about these courses resides in the source literature choices. Structure and Style® for Students Year 1 Level C provides students with step-by-step instructions and guidelines for becoming proficient at writing. Designed for high school students, I feel our sons have a firm grasp on writing. With our middle two sons preparing to enter college within the next year, and a daughter nearing the end of her high school homeschooling journey I felt this course would be perfect for reviewing writing skills.

The lessons include streaming videos, exercises and homework. One of our favorite parts about the videos remains the lessons being presented in front of a live classroom. The instructional portion from the streaming videos allows me to concentrate on other things besides preparing lessons or figuring out what I want our children to complete when writing. Check out these pages from the Student notebook and the Teacher Manual.

Our daughter (and our sons when they utilized the program) appreciate being told exactly what they need to do to complete each writing assignment. The expectations provide guidance on what will be graded and what needs to be done. My daughter watches the video, follows along the assignments, completes the homework, and then hands it to me to be graded. Once graded, she places it in her notebook and moves on to the next assignment.

In Week 3, which our daughter is currently working on now, the source material is “Caesar and the Pirates”. Literature suggestions are also provided. Optional assignments from Fix It! Grammar provide an additional source of language arts material. Check out what she completed so far this week.

You can find IEW® on Social Media at the following links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/excellenceinwriting/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/iew
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iew/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/iew/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/iewtv/featured

Truly writing produces anxiety and more in both parents/teachers and students alike. Trying to convince reluctant writers to actually write provides difficulty in the best of circumstances at times; however, Structure and Style® for Students Year 1 Level C from Institute for Excellence in Writing® allows families to embark on a writing journey that provides writing instruction along with the ability to include grammar and literature in a way that sheds meaning on the subject.

The biggest excitement one of my children ever had (and even though he turned 24 this summer) resulted from our oldest son riding in an elevator with Mr. Pudewa at a homeschool convention. Both in person and in the videos Mr. Pudewa’s personality and passion for writing come across. So if you are looking for a writing curriculum, I strongly recommend checking this product out for yourself.

Other members of the Home School Review Crew share their experiences and thoughts about this product this week. So click here or on the graphic below to read their reviews.

#hsreviews #iewsss, #iewfreelessons

My Teaching Library Download Club- 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.

If you are looking for educational resources to add to your homeschool, be sure to check out the Download Club from My Teaching Library. With two children in high school and nearing the end of their homeschooling journey, online homeschooling resources have become valuable to our family. I love having the freedom and flexibility to select resources which work for our family. For this review, we received a one-year subscription that allows us to access all downloads and all the other resources on the site.

My Teaching Library offers the flexibility of either purchasing just the specific resource you need or getting a subscription that allows your family unlimited downloads. With resources from Pre-K to Twelfth grade, this site has a lot of resources to offer. The site offers resources for:

• Arts
• Character Education
• Electives
• Language Arts
• Languages
• Math
• Science
• Social Studies
• Miscellaneous Areas
  • Skills and Concepts
  • Classroom management
  • Family and Home
  • and more

The site offers educational videos, diplomas, coloring pages, flash cards, and more. Families have the option to pick resources that work for their family. Whether you need materials for notebooking, worksheets, or just want items to keep younger children occupied while you teach your older children, you should be able to find waht you need on this site.

Whether you need resources for your Pre-K student or high school resources or a mix of all the grades, you may find exactly what you are looking for on this site. I loved the ease of navigating and downloading on this site. I just selected the resources I wanted to download them. Then the resources were added to my download center where I could download them all or just particular ones at one time.

Because our children are in high school, I concentrated on two major areas: math and music. We selected a Geometry resource entitled “30 Minutes A Day to Geometry” as our first resource. It comes as a PDF download. So I elected to print out some initial pages, but I also loaded it to a note-taking app to allow for learning on the go. Here are some sample pages from this book.

This Geometry book covers topics such as:

• The Basci Building Blocks of Geometry
• Types of Angles
• Working with Lines
• Measuring Angles
• and more

I selected this book for our 17-year-old daughter to use. She is not necessarily a mathematics lover, so I thought perhaps this book would be one she could make work. She found it adequate, which was acceptable to me.

The second resource I selected was The History of Music. I selected this book because our youngest son and third-born child plans on majoring in music in college. So I thought this would be the perfect homeschooling resource for him. This book covers everything from Ancient Music to Medieval Music to the Sixteenth, Seventeenth, Eighteenth, and ends with the Middle Nineteenth Century. I elected for him to just read this book and then verbally tell me different things he discovered. We are using it more than a Unit Study approach instead of a complete textbook. Here are some pages from this resource:

You can find My Teaching Library on Social Media at the following links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MyTeachingLibrary/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/homeschool_mtl
Instagram:
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/lyndaackert/my-teaching-library/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLCFIasgcKaLD5lHu2x6bNA

So if you are looking for educational resources that include notebooking, homeschooling worksheets and more, you need to examine the educational resources to add to your homeschool, because the Download Club from My Teaching Library may be exactly what you need.

Other members of the Home School Review Crew are sharing their thoughts on the Download Club from My Teaching Library this week, so click here or on the graphic below to read their reviews.

#homeschooling #Homeschool #education

The LIFE Plan from The LIFE Network – 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.

 

We are using The LIFE Plan from The LIFE Network for Bible instruction.  With a husband who is an ordained Primitive Baptist preacher, I am always on the lookout for new resources for our family to use for Bible study time, since I know the importance of spending time in God’s Word.  We can not develop a deeper relationship with Him unless we spend time reading the Bible and praying.  So when we had the opportunity to review this six volume set, I was excited to examine it.

According to their website, The LIFE Network’s mission is, “The LIFE Network is dedicated to the production, publishing, presentation, and provision of Christian learning resources.”

Allen L. Elder is the author and the founder of The LIFE Network.  Perhaps because he is from South Carolina, and I called South Carolina home for a number of years or perhaps because he is an ordained minister, I felt a connection with him and therefore his resources.

All of us as Christians are called to fulfill the Great Commission of going out and creating disciples of God.  I can remember my husband’s paternal grandfather (and an ordained minister) repeatedly stating to us that he was told to go out and tell God’s People what God had done for Him and I strongly believe in that ideal.  As a parent, I want our children to be able to commit to that idea as well.

This set of 6 physical volumes are meant to be interacted with and used for your family’s own unique experience.  The six volumes include the following:

• VOLUME 1 – THE BIBLE’S STORY: GENESIS 1-11
• VOLUME 2 – ABRAHAM AND ISRAEL
• VOLUME 3 – THE STRUCTURE OF THE BIBLE
• VOLUME 4 – THE LIFE OF JESUS ON EARTH
• VOLUME 5 – THE CHURCH
• VOLUME 6 – YOUR PART IN THE STORY

Here are pictures of each volume along with pages from inside them.

 

Since our family has gone through the story of Creation and the book of Genesis numerous times, I decided we would skip to Volume 3 instead and look at the structure of the Bible first.  My intention is for our family to go through these books at a pace that allows us to dive deeper into ideas that capture our attention or that we desire to learn more about from any lesson.  I love that all you need to use these materials are the workbooks, a Bible or Bible App, some type of paper, pencils or pens, and I would recommend highlighters.

Each volume has 36 chapters.  So theoretically a family could go through one volume per school year.  Or if your family choses to do it year round, you could do it quicker than that.

Each lesson includes the aim of the lesson, background information, Scripture pages to read, outlines, a lesson glossary, and questions to complete.  At the end of each volume the answers are provided.

Our youngest child is 17, so I allowed everyone to do the reading and the questions on their own.  Then we came together to discuss the background, discuss the answers to the questions, and add any additional thoughts any of us might have had.

I appreciate that only the Scripture references are given too families can use the Bibles of their choice. Here are some pages from Volume 3 along with some pages we have completed.

You can find The LIFE Network on Social media at the following links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-LIFE-Network-107086190833458/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUTsUJO23JGLPF1oi3lRZZg

So if your family is looking for a Bible curriculum designed for disciple-making check out        The LIFE Plan from The LIFE Network for yourselves.  It is worth examining.

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

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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.

I am so thankful that there are online courses for homeschool biology such as Experience Biology: Upper Level from Journey Homeschool Academy.  When our three sons completed Biology, they used a normal textbook.  However, I knew I wanted something different for our daughter.  So I was excited to review this online product with our daughter.  For this review, we received the Advanced Mastery Program which includes:

• 35 weeks of lessons
• Student Guidebook that contains outlines for the student to complete
• Research Questions
• Weekly Quizzes
• Quarterly Exams
• Course Guide
• Lab Manual and Videos
• Certificate of Completion

Parents have the option to either print out the materials from PDF files or to order the Student Guidebook and Lab book as spiral-bound books in color.  We elected to print the materials ourselves.  The Riot and the Dance is an optional textbook families can purchase.  We elected to not purchase the textbook.

For several years, I have enjoyed reading posts by Luke and Tricia Gilkerson.  It excited me when they introduced their science materials.  For this course, Luke does the videos and Tricia does the labs.  The videos are of top quality and very engaging.  This course is a college-prep course.  They give families a full year to complete the materials, even though the course is only 35 weeks.  As homeschooling families, things do not always go as we plan, so having that extra time allotted is helpful.

When I was in high school, one part of Biology I despised and had difficulty with was the dissections. The smells just about did me in, so I was glad the videos provide step-by-step instructions on how to complete the dissection, so our daughter will complete those on her own. I also appreciate how a sample lab report is available in the Resource Section of the Parent site, so our daughter could see what a lab report should look like.

This course covers the following topics:

• Introduction to Biology
• The Chemistry of Life
• Cytology
• Cellular Metabolism Part I, II, III
• Life Cycle of a Cell
• Genetics Parts I and II
• Living Organisms
• Microbiology
• Kingdom Protista, Fungi, Plantae, Animalia
• The Worms
• Creatures in the Sea
• Phylum Mollusca, Arthropoda, Chordata,
• Human Anatomy
• Introduction to Ecology

Students complete note-taking activities, research questions, labs, quizzes, and exams.   The exams come after lesson 9, lesson 17, lesson 26, and lesson 34.

Parents can monitor their student’s progress from the parental dashboard.  They require students to have their own unique email address to log in.  My one wish for this program is for the parental dashboard to provide everything the student sees and receives.  But that is a minor detail for me.
You can Journey Homeschool Academy on Social Media at the following links:

Facebook: facebook.com/intoxicatedonlife
Instagram: @intoxicatedonlifeblog

So if you are looking for a homeschool biology course for elementary school, a homeschool astronomy course, or a high school homeschool biology check out Experience Biology: Upper Level from Journey Homeschool Academy.  I am sure you will be glad you did.

Other members of the Home School Review Crew are sharing their thoughts on Experience Biology: Upper Level and Experience Astronomy: Elementary and Experience Biology: Elementary this week.  So check out their reviews by click here or on the graphic below.

 

#hsreviews #ExperienceAstronomy or #ExperienceBiology

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

Review of the High School STEM Innovator Pack from Pitsco Education

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.

If you are looking for a homeschool STEM project, you’ll want to check out the High School STEM Innovator Pack from Pitsco Education. This pack is designed for grades Grades 9-12.  The kit comes with all the necessary materials and printed instructions for five kits your student can create.  The instructions are designed for the student and limited involvement from the parents are to be expected.  According to their website, “Our scalable resources enable students to practice the future-ready skills they’ll need no matter their path after school – all while integrating STEM disciplines in real-life, practical scenarios.”

This kit contains supplies for making catapult, a Trebuchets, a Kite kit and a solar car. Perhaps if her oldest brother still lived at home and she could have made these projects with him, she would have been more interested.  I have to say these projects are perfect for those with patience for doing sometimes tedious work or work that requires hand strength.  Hand strength is something my daughter and I do not have.  In addition to the supplies to make the items, pamphlets are included to provide additional instructions, information, and activities for the students to complete.

I also must admit we had to look up the definition of a “trebuchets”.  From the picture, I could tell it was some kind of catapult, but I was not sure exactly what it was used for. When we did a Google search, here is what we discovered.  A Trebuchet is a type of catapult utilizes a long arm to throw a projectile. It was commonly used as a weapon until gunpowder came to be.  When we tried making this project, again a lack of hand strength coupled with the thin string we were supposed to use prevented us from completing this project.  The goal is for her father to help her with this later this week.

As I said before this kit would have been perfect for our oldest son when he was in high school.  he would have taken the kit and gone off and built everything in it.  However, my daughter was not so inclined.

However, I must say from our family’s experience, our daughter required assistance from her father.  I wish I could say she loved this product, but I can not.  When building the solar car, her dad had to basically build the car because he had the strength to put pieces together that she and I were unable to do. Here are some pictures while making the car.

My husband enjoyed building the car for the most part and was excited to see it run.  He appreciated how the instructions could be downloaded if the instructions became lost or damaged.  We also appreciated how all of the kits came in one box that allowed everything to be kept together until we were ready to use it.

Here is a video of the car going on our driveway.

 

You can find Pitsco Education on Social Media at the following links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PitscoEducation/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/pitscoed
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pitscoed/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/pitscoeducation/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/PitscoEd

You can enter here for your chance to win your own High School STEM Innovator Pack

So if you are looking for hands-on learning opportunities check out Pitsco Education and their homeschool STEM projects for your family.

Other members of the Home School Review Crew are sharing their thoughts on this product as well as other products from Pitsco Education this week, so click here or on the graphic below to read their reviews.

 

#hsreviews #handsonmindson #PitscoSTEMatHome #ThePitscoExperience #BuiltwithPitsco

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