{Crew Review} Christian Liberty Press: Mr. Pipes and the British Hymn Makers

Christian Liberty is a long time supplier of quality Christian materials for both homeschoolers and Christian schools. As a result, they began publishing their own products over 25 years ago through their own Christian Liberty Press (CLP) company. 

I have been homeschooling now for ten years. Over those years, I have slowly picked up some of the CLP history readers. I found them great to use as read alouds and I enjoyed the style of writing. It was well done and conveyed accurate facts in an engaging manner that made it easy for adults and children alike to enjoy and learn together.

It was for that reason that I was glad to have a chance to review a book from them called Mr. Pipes and the British Hymn Makers. I was given a copy of their eBook to review. This comes as a pdf and can easily be placed on eReaders. I have it on my Kindle Fire. It sells for $8.79 in this version. A paperback version is also available for $9.89.

The author, Douglas Bond, has created a series of four books. The British Hymn Makers is the first in that series. Each book follows the adventures of two American teenagers named Annie and Drew who befriend a man named, Mr Pipes, while on vacation in England. Through their time together, Mr. Pipes shares the stories of the great hymn writers from various time frames. For instance, the book that we had the joy of reading covered the lives and hymns of such notable British hymn authors as Isaac Watts, Charles Wesley, and John Newton to just name a few. 

The remaining books cover different time periods and locations. Volume Two is called Mr. Pipes and Psalms and Hymns of Reformation. Volume Three has Mr. Pipes and his young friends traveling to America where they learn about more hymn writers and American history (Mr. Pipes Comes to America). The last volume entitled Accidental Voyage: Discovering Hymns of the Early Centuries has Mr. Pipes and Annie and Drew traveling back to Europe where they learn about hymns from the early church. All four volumes can be purchased for $38.99 in paperback. 

Before I share much more about this wonderful book, I have to stop for a minute and share this. Over the last two years my boys & I have been taking piano lessons from a godly young woman. Her mom is a wonderful homeschool mom who has a heart for teens and a talent for writing. Over the last few years they have performed something they call HymnStories.

The mom researches and writes out the program sharing the story behind why the author wrote the hymn, some history about that time period that may have inspired the writing, or something that can be learned from the hymn. The teenagers and young adults memorize the script and then perform the hymns. I've been blessed to attend two of their presentations, one just last week, and I have been truly blessed each time I go.

I felt the same way while reading this book. It's a wonderful resource that shares not only the stories behind the hymn writers and the hymns, but it also shares the history of what was going on in that time - the leaders, the culture. This is not just a simple story book. It's a history book about our faith and one that I feel every Christian should read. Mr. Bond has a talent for weaving the history in to a more modern adventure story seen through the eyes of Annie and Drew.

Interspersed throughout the book is the music to some of the actual hymns discussed. There are also lovely pencil drawings as well that illustrate the story.

One thing I learned from reading this book is where the "Doxology" comes from. I grew up in a church that ended every single service with singing....

Praise God from whom all blessings flow;

praise him, all creatures here below;

praise him above, ye heav'nly host:

praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

What I didn't know until reading this book is that the words are  written by Thomas Ken and it's the sixth stanza of a larger piece of music called the Tallis Canon. The actual music was written by Thomas Tallis. I have fond (and not so fond) memories of singing that each Sunday in church. 

The richness of the history and the depth of the knowledge shared makes for a very enlightening read. However, this is not a dry, boring book full of facts. Mr. Bond has taken the lives of Annie, Drew, and Mr. Pipes, along with the rest of the supporting characters, and created a fun adventure story as well. We all thoroughly enjoyed this book and I look forward to adding the rest to our collection.

Be sure to head over to the Schoolhouse Crew Review blog to see what other Crew members had to say about this book. 

Disclaimer: I was not paid for this review.  All opinions shared are my own. Schoolhouse Review Crew members  are given the product free of charge in exchange for our unbiased opinion of the product.     

[Crew Review} Apologia: I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist

Over the last few years, Apologia has really begun to make a name for itself outside of the science realm it has been best known for. While they still make their fantastic science curriculum, they have also begun providing some really wonderful Biblical worldview products. 

This is one such product. Schoolhouse Review Crew members were recently given the opportunity to review the book shown above...I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist ($16) by Norman L. Geisler and Frank Turek. The book is geared for high school age students all the way through to adults.

Geisler and Turek give a clear presentation of the facts of the Bible and show how it actually takes more belief to not believe in a Creator God than it does to believe. While that may sound confusing, the authors present their facts in a clear and precise way in order to help those who may be searching for the Truth as well as help those, who profess a belief in Christ, to share that belief effectively and clearly with others.

At 400+ pages, it's a pretty substantial paperback book, but it's not full of dry and boring facts. The authors weave in their personal stories throughout making it a very interesting read. You can view the table of contents and a sample of the first 50 pages from the book on the website.

Even if this were all that were offered, it would be a great resource. However, there is also a companion I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist Curriculum  workbook ($33) to make this a full apologetics curriculum geared for high school level students.

With over 200 pages, the workbook contains a chapter that correlates to each chapter in the book. Every workbook chapter lists the pages one should read in the book prior to doing the workbook. It also lists out the key topics, vocabulary and space to write out the definitions, comprehension questions, profiles of important people and topics, and study questions. There is a sample chapter available on the website which includes the complete chapter of the workbook that matches up with the first chapter of the book. You'll find that the table of contents lines up exactly with the book.

Once you purchase the workbook, you will be given access to an online site where you can also download the answers to the workbook as well as chapter tests and the answer key to the tests. These are all included for free with the purchase of the workbook.

Each chapter in the workbook is designed to take 2-3 weeks to complete and it's expected that a student will take about nine months - or a typical school year - to complete the course.

I found this course to be very thorough. I like how it was presented. It made it very easy to hand this off to my son to use. However, this is also a curriculum that would work well for adult Bible study. In fact, I may just have to borrow it from my child so I can finish reading it!

Please head over to the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog to see what other members had to say about this curriculum.

  Disclaimer: I was not paid for this review.  All opinions shared are my own. Schoolhouse Review Crew members  are given the product free of charge in exchange for our unbiased opinion of the product.     

{Crew Review} Vocabulary Spelling City

 

This is one product that I have heard of before and have used on occasion. Vocabulary Spelling City does just what the name implies - help make learning vocabulary and spelling fun. Learning spelling as well as vocabulary can be boring if you are simply memorizing lists and definitions. Vocabulary Spelling City makes it fun by using interactive games, lists, and all manner of fun learning tools.

The three minute video below gives an excellent overview of the program. While it is shared from the perspective of a public school teacher, all of those same features are available in a family premium membership as well (discussed below).

While Vocabulary Spelling City already has over 42,000 spelling words available in various lists that you can use as you would like, you can also create your very own customizable lists to tie in with what you are learning.

When your child is learning a new list of words, they can simply click on "Teach Me" and they will hear a real person read the word, spell the word, and give the definition for the word as well. For each list they can also play any number of games, take a vocabulary test, review flash cards of the word, and finally take a test.

Many of the these features are free, you simply need to register to use the site. However, they also offer a premium membership. It is explained very well in the three minute video below.

Family premium memberships are $29.99 and you can track up to five students. This is the type of membership that Schoolhouse Crew members were given in order to complete this review. You can see the difference below and what is included in the Premium membership.

Not only does the program cover vocabulary and spelling, but a new feature now also helps in teaching writing. All of these are weak areas in our homeschool so this has been a great fit for us.

I like how it makes it super easy to set up the word lists, create the assignments, and then allow my children to learn on their own with little input from me. While we don't have a super large family, it's still difficult to read three different spelling lists and teach three different age ranges in one day. Vocabulary Spelling City has allowed me to put some of that learning over to the boys and allow them to be independent. This is definitely a resource we will continue to use this year.

Be sure to head over to the Schoolhouse Crew Review blog to see what other Crew members had to say about this product.



Disclaimer: I was not paid for this review.  All opinions shared are my own. Schoolhouse Review Crew members  are given the product free of charge in exchange for our unbiased opinion of the product.     

{Crew Review} Vocab Videos

Let's face...studying words can be boring. Reading definitions. Memorizing. How can anyone retain the information if it's not made meaningful?

Vocab Videos has created a unique product to make learning vocabulary, specifically geared to the SAT, fun. Vocab Videos is simply that - videos created to help explain the 500 key vocabulary words used on the SAT. Each word is explained in a short segment as part of a larger "episode." Each "episode" contains about 20 words and each complete episode is based on a parody of more popular TV shows such as Lost or The Office.

I like how the word is pronounced and the definition shared both at the beginning and end of each segment. The videos, in the words of the company, are outrageous...and they are. They are very much over the top and aimed to be so in order to make the words memorable.

Since the product is aimed at SAT prep, I would recommend this for high school level students. There is mild cussing in some of the videos and, as mentioned, they are over the top in their antics. Designed as parodies for modern day television shows, the content can be a bit on the mature side as well. In fact, I originally started out by having all my boys watch them (ages 8-15), but after only the first one or two decided that it was best viewed only by myself or my oldest son.

 

Members of the Schoolhouse Crew Review were given a small educators account ($74.99 for 12 months) which allows use with up to 20 students. Vocab Videos does offer a one month free trial for educators as well in order to try it out first. The membership includes:

• The Teacher Dashboard (as shown above) so that you can monitor a students progress
• Individual accounts for each student
• Access to all videos and study materials
• Digital quizzes
• Multimedia Flash Card Maker
• Digital Worksheets

However, you can also purchase just a student account. A six-month account is $24.99 and a one year account is $39.99. This type of membership includes: 

• Access to all the videos in the library (500 videos)
• Access to all study materials which include
• Digital Quizzes
• Digital Worksheets
• Multimedia Flash Card Maker
• Downloadable Crossword Maker

 

There is also a separate workbook ($11.99) that can be purchased to help reinforce what is being taught on the videos. 

Vocabulary is a large portion of the SAT and it's helpful to know. However, I wasn't overly fond of this product. While I understand why the product was made, I struggled with letting my son watch it due to the language used. Now I know he's heard much worse on some of the TV shows and movies he has watched and even people he's encountered in real life. However, I simply had a hard time assigning it to him for schoolwork! 

Overall I think the concept is great, I just wish they had chosen to tame the language and situations a bit.

Be sure to head over to the Schoolhouse Crew Review blog to see what other Crew members had to say about this product.

Disclaimer: I was not paid for this review.  All opinions shared are my own. Schoolhouse Review Crew members  are given the product free of charge in exchange for our unbiased opinion of the product.    

{Crew Review} A Thomas Jefferson Education

Traditional teaching methods require a lot of different things. It requires dry textbooks to feed information to students. It requires teachers to take the information and give it back to the students to learn. It requires quite a bit of time and information to be imparted to students via a specific scope and sequence of information.

In contrast, A Thomas Jefferson Education (TJEd) is defined by the following "7 Keys of Great Teaching:"

1. Classics, Not Textbooks
2. Mentors, Not Professors
3. Inspire, Not Require
4. Structure Time, Not Content
5. Simplicity, Not Complexity
6. Quality, Not Conformity
7. You, Not Them

Styled after the method of teaching that many of the Founding Fathers learned by, TJEd is definitely far from mainstream.

Along that line of thinking, TJEd offers This Week In History (TWIH) via a web-based subscription. Just as the name implies, weekly content is shared via a blog like post that you can opt to also receive in your email inbox in relation to special days occurring during the upcoming that week. Sample weeks may be viewed on the website. Because of all the various information shared, this resource can also easily be used with any age.

TWIH is super easy to use. You can view the upcoming week prior to the start of it in order to prepare lessons based on upcoming events and even tie it in to special family days. Or, if you are like me, you can pull up the information the night before and pick something to do that correlates to the very next day. Okay, who am I kidding...it also works great to sit all the kids down and pull up the week's offerings right then and there and jump in with both feet. In other words, no planning is necessary to glean a lot of interesting information from TWIH!

Subscriptions are on a monthly basis and cost $9.99. Once you are a member, you are also able to search the archives for an entire year's worth of dates.

I am definitely a "fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants" homeschooling mom at times and most especially during our lighter school days in the summer months. As a result, I did a lot of last minute planning with TWIH. However, it worked great. TWIH has a list of information for each day. Included for each item that can be delved into is a photo (or two), basic information to get the ball rolling on what to learn, hands-on-activities, and links to other websites, videos, or information. This helped so much. It was so easy to just open the email, find what was going on that day, begin reading, click on a couple links, and have the information to share with my boys.

My boys enjoyed learning about the special happenings for the various days we studied. For example, we learned about bells, the Liberty Bell in particular, and explored the history of bells. We watched videos and read stories. Each day had new offerings and fun things to learn about including various states which ties in nicely with a geography study.

Overall I thought this was a fun resource. Implementing it into our learning was very easy. My boys seemed to enjoy it. I appreciate all the work that goes in to putting together something like this and Rachel DeMille has done a top notch job for TJEd on this resource. 

Be sure to head over to the Schoolhouse Crew Review blog to see what other Crew members had to say about This Week in History.

Disclaimer: I was not paid for this review.  All opinions shared are my own. Schoolhouse Review Crewmembers  are given the product free of charge in exchange for our unbiased opinion of the product.   

{Crew Review} Create Better Writers

 

I've realized one important thing in my ten years of homeschooling regarding writing...being a good writer does not necessarily translate to being a good teacher of writing. While I wouldn't consider myself the next Bronte, I feel I have some skill in putting words together. However, teaching my boys to have that same skill has proved a bit frustrating over the years.

Create Better Writers has taken that frustration and removed it. The curriculum was created by a writing teacher who realized that not all children have the skills necessarily to craft a well-polished paragraph - the building block of writing. David Dye, the author of the curriculum, also recognized that teaching writing in a home education environment can be difficult since home educators are typically teaching various levels at the same time. His products are designed with this in mind.

Schoolhouse Crew Review members were given three products from Create Better Writers. The first was the How to Write a Paragraph ebook ($7.99). This product is designed for grades 3 and up. Younger students will take longer to master this concept while older students may move through the book faster.

Once the paragraph has been mastered, How to Teach the Five-Paragraph Essay is next. This is geared for students in Grades 4-12. This can be purchased as an ebook ($17.95) or as a softcover book ($19.95).

 

Also included for review was The Home School Writing Action Plan ebook ($15.95). Again, this is also available as a softcover book for $19.95. The book includes three parts. Part 1 is a summary of the steps, Part 2 includes Pacing Charts to help you see how long to spend on each step (from Part 1), and Part 3 is the Road Map that ties it all together. Samples of all that is included is on the buying page linked above.

Create Better Writers also sells other writing products and includes some bundled packages for home educators. You can see a complete listing of all their products on their website.

I have three boys ages 15, 11, and 8. My boys are all voracious readers. They are well-spoken and many times I'm floored by the vocabulary used by them. However, none of this has translated to a love of writing let alone a skill in the same subject. I've come to realize that writing ranks up there with math for them - they are simply not a fan of either.

I've also come to realize that teaching writing ranks right up there with me in teaching math. I'm not a fan of either. Teaching writing is hard, but I loved how simple David Dye has made it in his books. Each step is explained thoroughly and it's super easy to implement. There is nothing fancy about his process, but it takes the elemental steps of writing and breaks it down into manageable pieces. Both of my older boys in particular did well with this program. In fact, my plan is to continue using it for the upcoming school year. Writing is a skill we will be focusing on this year and this is a product that will fit us well.

You can also check out the video below to hear David Dye teaching about his program at a workshop.


Be sure to head over to the Schoolhouse Crew Review blog to see what other Crew Members had to say about this product.



Disclaimer: I was not paid for this review.  All opinions shared are my own. Schoolhouse Review Crewmembers  are given the product free of charge in exchange for our unbiased opinion of the product.   

{Crew Hop} Homeschool Co-Ops

 

I fear that I will be in a minority today. I have heard many folks singing the praises of homeschool co-ops over the years. This will be my 10th year homeschooling and in that time they have grown to become a large part of the homeschool community. Many people complete all of their schooling via a co-op. Some use them for just a subject or two. Me? I've yet to find one that works and works well enough for me to want to use it often.

I began home educating so that I would be the biggest influence on my child. While I may know the people teaching at a co-op I attend, I have to be sure whatever influence they exert over my child's education is what I would want for my child.

I also need to evaluate time. One of the things that pushed me towards homeschooling was learning that my child would spend 40 hours of their waking hours a week at school rather than with me. I had just quite my job to stay home and "raise" my children. If they were gone the majority of the day at school, that wouldn't happen. I live in a very rural part of the state. So it most likely will be at least a 30 minute if not a 60 minute drive one way to get to a co-op. If the co-op is half a day, then I loose a whole day of being home and teaching.

If I am going to loose a whole day at home teaching my kids, then I also need to look at what is being offered. Does it enhance what we are learning? If I am teaching, how much time will I be putting in to preparing? That is all time taken away from what we'll be doing at home.

Over the years I have discovered that for us, the best co-op method is small as in one or two other families only. It needs to be informal. It needs to fit a need I have currently.

The most successful co-op I have done is one just with my sister. She has one son. One year we got together every other week. We week would be at her house (an hour away) and one week would be at mine. We studied a lot of music and art together. For music we would learn about two different instruments each week. If we had access to the instrument, we brought it out for the kids to use and play. If not, we used a lot of YouTube videos to show others playing it.

We also did a study on a composer or two each week as well. We used various resources for all. For art we did a study on an artist and tried to find a hands on activity since we were teaching all boys. We used two video teaching series from Barry Stebbing for art instruction and for art history. I really enjoyed both.

This worked because it was just the two of us, my sister and I, teaching. I taught art and she taught music. There were only four students, my three boys and her one. It was subjects we wanted the boys to learn about but would let slip. Since we were accountable to each other to be ready, the boys had a great art and music education this particular year.

I have also done a mini-science co-op with a few others families. We got together every week for 11 weeks to do just the Apologia Biology experiments together. Two other moms and myself taught all the younger siblings ages 5-11 using Considering God's Creation while the other moms and all the high school level kids did the experiments. The rest of the course was "on-your-own." This worked because it was short and filled a need.

Every time I see the large co-ops, I am tempted. Then I remember that it's just not usually a good fit for us. I started this homeschooling journey in order to teach my children. I wanted to be the biggest influence and I wanted to be home. I guard our "at home" time fiercely and I'm looking forward to having more of it once we move in a few months.

Having said all this though, I am planning another small co-op (just two other families - five children total) for the fall. We'll be working out way through Apologia's General Science course and will again do the book work at home, but come together to work on the experiments.

I know I am in the minority on this topic. I also realize there are probably some fantastically wonderful co-ops out there, but I have yet to find one that makes me want to dive in feet first.

Hop on over to the other Schoolhouse Crew blog to read more about Homeschool Co-Ops.

{Crew Hop} Homeschool Classrooms

I really don't have photos of an uber-cool school room to share. We don't have one....yet.

When I first began homeschooling, we had just sold our 4,000 square foot home so I could stay home to raise my boys. We moved from all that room to a four room apartment. At the time I had a four year old and a three month old. In the three years we lived there, we added a third child. All three boys shared a bedroom. 

School was held at our kitchen table and on our living room couch. I used an old china hutch in my kitchen to store manipulatives and games. I had a plastic shelf next to it to hold our curriculum. I didn't need a lot as I was teaching just one son first and second grade. 

Then we moved to where we live now - a 14x70 foot trailer in the country. The hutch came along with us and, to this day, still holds games and manipulatives. I added a bookshelf or two or three or...well as many as I could squeeze in to the living room. There are currently seven. Books started showing up everywhere and we still did most of our schooling in the kitchen and the living room. We don't really have a dedicated space which makes things interesting at times.

Circa 2008

However, soon we will be moving to our new house. We still won't have a dedicated school room. My oldest is now almost 16 years old. I like sitting around the kitchen table together to work. They'll each have a space in their room if they need or want to work alone, but we'll still be using our kitchen dining room table to school. 

The wall from the window to the opposite side is where I'm hoping to have 

floor to ceiling bookcases built that go the whole length of that wall.

My goal is to reduce our seven bookcases down to one massive one that will line the wall of our dining room. My hope is it will hold all the educational books and curriculum. Each boy will also have a bookcase in their room to house their own special book collections. We do have a den-like room just off our living room. This will house the computer, piano, and the closet (rather than the old hutch) will house manipulatives and games and such. 

Our new to us piano will go where the desk is located now.

The staircase separates this room from the dining room.

Our computer will go where the bookcases are currently located.

At the front left of this photo you can just see the closet.

I'm also planning to get bean bag chairs for the boys to sit in. 

Needless to say I'm very excited to have space to spread out and around in. I'm looking forward to decorating and making the house feel like a home. I'm especially looking forward to having more space to educate my boys in. I'm sure I'll post photos after we move in.

Hop on over to the other Schoolhouse Crew blog to read more about Homeschool Classrooms.

{Crew Hop} Homeschool Planning

I actually considered not participating in this day's blog hop for the simple reason...I am so not a good planner. I try. Honestly I do. I just can't seem to get the hang of it. 

Over the years I have tried a number of different things. When I only had one child, I bought a handy-dandy planner and figured out what we would do each and every day for a few months in advance. Then our first spontaneous field trip occurred and my planner was off. So I went with Plan B. I wrote down what we did as we did it! That worked great until son #2 arrived.

I again tried planning ahead only to be thwarted every time something occurred that wasn't in my planner. It was at this point that I realized I need just a general idea of what I wanted to accomplish and how much I wanted to get done each day (1 page, 3 pages, 4 chapters...) and work that way. Then son #3 arrived.

The more I tried to plan things out, the more frustrated I became and the less we accomplished. Finally I hit on what works best for us and this is my "planning" method that I have used for last few years. I create a daily checklist for each child. I also create, as needed, a "together" checklist for subjects/activities we'll do together as a family. These are then saved and I enter them on my homeschool "log blog." And if you click over there, please note I am very behind in getting the current school year entered!

This helps keep me accountable not only to do the teaching and planning but also to correct the work. I find that otherwise I miss problem areas until they have been problem areas far too long. This also helps instill accountability in my boys.

This past year has been a tough one for my middle son in particular. Many times he would tell me his work was completed, but when I was later correcting it (unfortunately after he was in bed), I would discover a lot of it undone. When asked about it the next time I would hear that he didn't understand it or had questions. I'm typically available for questions so it was simply an excuse to not do his work. We've been working through the issue and it's been getting much better. Although, this year I plan to do as much work as we can together instead of separately.

While this does take time each day to plan, I have found this is what works best for my personality. The boys also like having a daily checklist. They know that once the checklist is completed, school is done. My middle son is an early riser and typically will have most of his checklist done before the rest of the house is even awake.

The beauty of the checklist is that not only do I include their daily work, but I can also include daily chores! This helps remind them what they should be doing every day. I can explain what I need to explain. And doesn't everyone like to cross things off their "to do" list?

While I wish I had the capability to plan ahead more, I do start my year knowing what curriculum I want to use and what I wan to accomplish. I also create a "days/subjects" list so I know how often we'll touch on subject each week. When I was only educating one child at home, I would teach every subject every day. That's much harder to do with three and three that are spread out in ages/grades.

Overall this is the method that works for me. And I'll definitely be continuing it this year. Now I need to go update my school blog before it's time to start adding days for the new school year!

Hop on over to the other Schoolhouse Crew blog to read more about Homeschool Planning.

{Crew Review} Schoolhouse Teachers

SchoolhouseTeachers.com is the creation of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. The creators have gathered some of the top curriculum writers to create original content for their site. There is a plethora of information on the site for students all the way from prekindergarten up to twelfth grade. In fact, there is just so much there that I have still just scratched the surface and I've been using it for months!

Some of the subjects/topics included are:

• Career Exploration (I'm having my 15 year old work through this one.)
• Chemistry
• Economics (Another one my 15 year old is using.)
• Figures in History
• Filmmaking (This is going on our "to do" list.)
• Geography - written by Terri Johnson of Knowledge Quest (Awesome - both my older boys are using this one.)
• High School Math (Again, my oldest is working his way through this section.)
• History - written by Diana Waring
• Home Economics - written by Malia Russell
• Lapbooking - written by members of the Hands of  a Child team
• Literature (A favorite!)
• Music - Voice
• Reading Lessons
• Special Needs
• Technology
• Writing - written by Kim Kautzer of WriteShop

However, that is just one list of subjects. Not only are the above added to each and every month, but there is also a Schoolhouse Dailies section that allows for, well, new daily content in grammar, math, writing, and even a monthly menu! Under this section is even a "This Day in History" section for fun learning. A hands-on learning section for your younger students is included as well and this is just a small sample of information here. There is even daily learning for the Summer Olympics currently.

Even though I began using Schoolhouse Teachers.com months ago, I'm still discovering new things here. If you used to have a subscription to the print magazine put out by The Old Schoolhouse it was converted to a subscription to Schoolhouse Teachers.com. This is why I've been using the site and I really think it's an awesome resource and I have used it often.

One of the new things I just discovered are the monthly reading lists. This is a fantastic resource and lists books for all grade levels and for various subjects. The June list focused on Art. The July list focused on Foreign Language. I can't wait to see what the August list focuses on! There is even a more general summer reading list that focuses on fun summer activities.

Another resource that is included in your subscription are copies of all the Schoolhouse Planners. This includes planners for Special Needs, Elementary, Intermediate, High School, and the Parent planning pages as well which includes pages for helping to schedule the home. I used this just today to print out book report forms for my boys. 

Membership to SchoolhouseTeachers.com is only $1 for the first month. After that it is $5.95 a month. You can cancel at any time with no obligation. You can check out a tour of the site as well as the Frequently Asked Questions plus there is a great sample page so you can see how things work on the site. You can check out this page to see what is included in your membership as well as sign-up.

My Thoughts

One could easily use this to home educate all children in the household ranging in age from 4 up to 18. It covers all subjects and then some. I've been using it at the moment to just supplement our learning and to use it for some fun things. However, this is a resource I will be using more fully come the new school year. I really like the daily information as well as the monthly. It's very well put together and a really wonderful resource for home educators. 

Be sure to head over to the Schoolhouse Crew Review blog to see what other Crew members had to say about the site. 

Disclaimer: I was not paid for this review.  All opinions shared are my own. Schoolhouse Review Crewmembers  are given the product free of charge in exchange for our unbiased opinion of the product.   

{Crew Hop} Homeschool Curriculum

For a number of years I worked with my state's organization as a regional representative for new homeschoolers. I've hosted yearly workshops for the last six or seven years designed to support new and seasoned home educators. 

The biggest question I am asked time after time..."What about curriculum?" 

When "veteran" homeschoolers began educating their children at home years ago, they had very few choices. It was either purchase materials from some of the bigger supplies of curriculum for private Christian schools or write your own. Thankfully many decided to write their own and we are benefiting from that today.

Today's homeschoolers face a different challenge in picking out curriculum....there are too many choices!

The first thing to consider is what I discussed yesterday about determining your homeschooling method. Figure out what works best for you and begin eliminating curriculum that doesn't fit. For example, if textbooks are not what works best for you or your child, than you can cross those off your list of curriculum to look at. However, if reading aloud is a favorite activity for everyone, then begin looking more closely at providers who teach through literature. 

I also always tell people that you will buy curriculum that does not work for you or your child. You may also  buy curriculum and think that it doesn't work and change your mind. This, however, seems to only occur after you have sold it to someone else!

Those are my basic tips for picking out curriculum and I will share that even after 10 years of teaching, I still change my mind a lot about what we use. I'm still refining what we'll be using in the fall, but for now, here are some of my top picks for curriculum for the 2012-2013 school year...

• History - Simply Charlotte Mason: Early Modern Times & Epistles - this is a curriculum that combines history, geography & Bible and gives a study guide/reading lists for grades K-12. This will allow me to use this for all my boys at once. It also contains a daily schedule for all 180 lessons. 
• Science - Apologia Elementary Series: Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day - I'll mostly likely be using this only with my youngest son. I love this entire series of books and we'll probably finish this in half a year. I'm not sure yet what we'll do for the second half. My two older boys will most likely be using Apologia's General Science series. 
• Language Arts - All the boys will be using Learning Language Arts Through Literature this year. This may prove challenging as they're all at different levels, but the older boys will be able to do most of it independently. 
• Foreign Language - We reviewed Visual  Latin last fall. We are going to continue with this program as our foreign language this year. 

I'm still working on finalizing the rest of our studies. I almost have math figured out for the two older boys. They will all continue with piano lessons (fine arts) and we typically do outside art classes throughout the year as they come up. We also attend various plays. I'm also considering buying a level of Harmony Fine Arts to use with them. This is a music and art appreciation course in the style of Charlotte Mason. I have her fourth grade study and it's fantastic. I'm not sure if we'll continue with that or if we'll buy a new one.

As you can see, even seasoned homeschoolers change up what they are using and have a hard time figuring out what to use. There are so many great curriculum providers out there that it's sometimes hard to narrow them down. Just remember the tips I shared above and remember that you will buy something that doesn't work. Not if you buy, trust me at some point you simply will buy something that doesn't work. Realize it and move on. Home educating is more about instilling a love of learning than anything else.

Hop on over to the other Schoolhouse Crew blog to read more about Homeschool Curriculum.