Beyond Five In A Row

Beyond Five In A Row is a gentle, cuddle on the couch type of literature based unit study. Designed for ages eight to twelve, it is an obvious next step for those who love the Five In A Row series and a wonderful first step for those desiring a simple approach to home educating their children. Simple doesn’t mean fluff though. Just in the first chapter of the first book of volume two, your child will study the geography of Maine, begin a prairie notebook, discuss babies and human development, look at the three types of rocks, work on letter writing and creating a personal introduction, learn to avoid clichés, and get started with composition in drawing.

This unit study is based on chapter books, two fiction and two non-fiction, and is meant to be used for one semester (or about 90-100 school days). Volume Two uses the books Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan, The Story of George Washington Carver by Eva Moore, Skylark by Patricia MacLachlan, and Helen Keller by Margaret Davidson. Taking topics mentioned in the chapter books and going further with them, you will cover history, geography, language arts, science, fine arts, and human relationships. As with most unit studies, you will need to add math, grammar, spelling, and penmanship.

My ten-year-old daughter was very drawn to this curriculum. I picked up the books from the library (regular use of the library is recommended) and she began bugging me daily to get started. We had used Five In A Row a few years ago, and she must have retained good memories. As with Five In A Row, this is very easy to use. You simply read the chapter and choose the activities you’d like to pursue. My daughter was quite disappointed to realize we didn’t have the needed materials for the first art project. I’d recommend deciding which activities you’d like to do in advance, so that you can collect the needed supplies and books.

This, to me, is the epitome of the relaxed “hearthside homeschooling” I envision; sharing good books with your children, discussing what they’ve learned and what they can learn by digging a little deeper, working together in hands-on activities, and simply learning and growing together. Beyond Five In A Row seems like a great fit.

Beyond Five In A Row is available for $24.95 each. There are currently three volumes available. A book package and Christian Character Bible Supplement can be found on their website as well. If this sounds like something that would fit your family, give one unit a try and see how it goes. If this is a curriculum you own and love (or hate!), share your experience in the comments section. It’s always helpful to hear how it works for you!

Further Up And Further In

Cadron Creek’s Further Up And Further In is a literature based unit study utilizing C.S. Lewis’ series, The Chronicles of Narnia. Designed to be used in one school year, this program works best with grades 4-8, although younger or older siblings can be included with a bit of adapting. This study covers all seven of the Narnia books. Each book has it’s own unit and each unit takes an average of a month to complete.

If you aren’t familiar with unit studies, the way they usually work is that you take a certain topic (in this case, the Narnia books) and study a multitude of subjects branching out from that main topic. For instance, during the study of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe the student will study animal tracks, sculpting, greed, pride, pronouns, the Arctic, the North Pole, knights, Robert Peary, World War II, ice fishing, bird migration, fog, and more. History, mythology, geography, science, literature, practical living, health and safety, cooking, and some art and music are included throughout the year. As with most unit studies, you will need to add math, grammar, and spelling.

I found this study to be pretty easy to use. The set up was simple and the instructions weren’t hard to follow. This would be an easy study for those already experienced in using unit studies, the layout makes it easy to take what you want and add what you’d like. It also seems as though it would be a nice, gentle introduction to unit studies for those newer to this method of study. I am a fan of unit studies, especially for families with children in multiple grades, and I liked this one quite a lot. I really enjoyed the emphasis on the Bible and Scriptural application. This is a study written by a Christian for Christians. It could be used without the included Biblical application, but much of the richness would be lost.

Additional resources are referred to frequently, including Genesis: Finding Our Roots, Surprised By Joy: The Shape of My Early Life, Poems by C.S. Lewis, and Tales from Shakespeare. Other resources are also suggested, but these are the ones you may want to pick up and have available for the year. There are many suggested readings already printed for you in the appendix, which is helpful, as well as several Narnia recipes. Turkish Delight anyone?

You can orderFurther Up and Further In for $56.0o. A basic pack and additional resources are also available for purchase. If you have a love for all things Narnia, why not spend a year digging into Lewis’ world and sharing that love with your children?

Heads Up! Helping All Kinds of Special Kids

Heads Up! focuses on products and information designed to help learning challenged kids learn more efficiently. It's wonderful to see more companies working to meet the needs of homeschoolers with special kids who have special needs. The catalog is full of fun items that most children would enjoy, as well as products specific to certain learning needs.

I received a sampling of the vision aids, including colored frames and readers. These are available in different colors, as some respond better to the darker hues and some to the brighter. A couple of my children preferred reading without any helps (including my color blind son!). The others preferred the brighter colors, especially the yellow.

The readers are nice, my eight year old daughter liked these because they helped her to focus on one line at a time. As a struggling reader, this was extremely helpful. She was less distracted and she thought the color was helpful as well. My children are using an online math program at the moment, but I can see how the larger frames would be helpful in isolating one math problem at a time. This would be less overwhelming for students who have trouble focusing on several things at once.

The vision aids I received are available for only $1 each, so it would be well worth trying these out if you think they may be helpful to your child! I'd also recommend checking out everything Heads Up! offers, especially if you have a child with learning issues.

The Heads Up! blog, which describes itself as "A forum for discussion of all things connected with special needs learning, inattentiveness, and distractibility (or ADHD, if you prefer). Medications, Non-medicinal strategies, nutritional supplements, approaches to different learning styles, environmental modifications, educational materials.", may also prove to be a good resource. If these are areas that impact your life, check it out and let me know if you find it beneficial!

Announcement: Storytime Writing Contest

"Exciting News from TOS!

Attention writers!
Grab your pencils and get those creative juices flowing!

The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine is hosting our second Storytime Writing Contest! We have two creative fiction categories: adults (16 and up 2,500 words or less) and children (15 and below 1,500 words or less). Deadline to enter is March 16, 2009. $7.95 fee per entry.

Grand prize winners in both the adult and child categories will receive prize packages valued at over $1,000, publication in the Summer 2009 issue of TOS, and publication in our Storytime 2009 Compilation E-Book. Eleven Honorable Mentions from each category will also be included in the E-Book in addition to receiving gifts from top homeschool companies.

We look forward to reading your entries!

For a detailed list of prizes, official contest rules, to meet our judges, and to upload your story, please visit: www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/Short_Story_Contest.php.

Need help teaching writing? We have over 200 writing products in the Schoolhouse Store!"

Bible Story Songs: David

According to their website, Bible Story Songs started fifteen years ago when two moms were looking for a fresh way to teach Bible stories at a children's camp. Using old camp tunes, they rewrote them to tell stories from the Bible and discovered that children remember more when they sing. These two moms are now grandmothers and have written over 300 songs.

I received the CD, David, which contains thirty-one songs. This provides over an hour of music. Sheet music, song books, puzzle pages, and the like are also available to compliment the CD. The songs are all sung by children with simple piano accompaniment.

I admire the thought process behind these Cd's. I agree that lyrics put to music are much easier to remember than simple spoken facts or even stories. There is something about music that stays with us and we may find ourselves singing a song we learned as a child with little provocation. However, our family just did not enjoy this style of music. These are old fashioned camp type tunes that reminded me of a toddler Sunday School class. Perhaps that age group would love these, perhaps your family would love these, and thankfully you can decide for yourself! There are sample clips available to listen to HERE.

Bible Story Songs: David is available for $9.99. There are other Cd's available as well, including The Bible, Moses, and Matthew. Whatever your choice of music, hiding God's Word in your heart is always a benefit!

Rocket Phonics

"There isn't a better phonics program around than Dr. Guffanti's Rocket Phonics. Follow these simple exercises and you will watch a miracle unfold before your eyes."

-- John Taylor Gatto, Best Selling Author
and New York State Teacher of the Year

This quote from John Taylor Gatto, endorsing Rocket Phonics, was my first indication that this was going to be a phonics program I would enjoy. I am an unschooler at heart but not brave enough to really take hold of it myself, so my desire for natural learning translates into a more relaxed homeschool and a preference for real, hands on, fun educational products and experiences. I was excited to receive my kit and my two youngest children joined in when we opened the box and saw playing cards, bingo chips, and prizes! They were anxious to begin.

This program is designed to help your child become a fluent reader as quickly as possible. Helps are introduced which contain the proper phonetic pronunciation. As your child becomes fluent, these helps are slowly removed until your child is reading our often confusing English language on their own. We have used another method in the past that contains helps such as these and have found that the student is able to make that transition between the coded letters and the regular text without issue.

What I love about Rocket Phonics is the way they make learning fun. My seven year old was literally begging to "play Rocket Phonics". The Play & Read cards can be used to play games such as Go Fish. The Bingo games are fun. The Treasure Hunts exciting. The best part is they all reinforce and teach the sounds. Your child is learning as they play and I think that's the best way! Be sure to go and read about all the research they've done in creating this program, but the biggest selling point for me is that your child will have fun with this program and hopefully that will translate into a love of reading.

Rocket Phonics includes two over sized Rocket Phonics readers, two sets of Play & Read symbol cards, Bingo chips, a Rocket Peeker (this helps your child to focus on one sound or word at a time), Bingo sheets, word lists, Treasure Hunts complete with prizes (we had rubber balls and sticky hands, which were a huge hit with my seven year old), and email bonuses. This Reading Kit sells for $160 or they have a payment plan available at $53.34 for 3 months.

If you use this program or if you decide to try it, please leave a comment and let me know about your experiences! This is one I wish I had found several years ago.

Homeschooling ABC's Email Course

I remember way back, thirteen years ago, when I first began looking into homeschooling. I didn’t know anyone at the time who homeschooled their children and had no idea how to begin myself. I was finishing my last semester of college and asked my Elementary Education professors if they knew how to get started in homeschooling, but they had no clue. It was the early days of the Internet chat rooms and email loops and I finally found support and information that way, which was wonderful. Even then, I have to laugh looking back at my early expectations. It would have been nice if I’d had a veteran homeschooler who could come alongside me and hold my hand a little through the first year. The Homeschooling ABC’s Email Course is much like having that friend share what they’ve learned to help you get started in homeschooling your child.

Terri Johnson, of Knowledge Quest, sends you an email each week for 26 weeks. Each of these will cover a different topic to help you find success in your homeschooling venture. These start with A Quick Start- 10 Steps to a Great Start in Homeschooling, which is a very gentle reminder to relax and enjoy your decision and your children. The next several lessons include Begin With the Basics, Copy the Classroom-Not! (organizing your learning space & schedule), Dare to Differentiate (teaching to specific learning styles), Establish your Philosophy of Education, and Finding the Best Curriculum For Your Family. Many of the lessons include bonus e-books to help you implement the ideas shared.

These lessons are definitely skewed towards the author’s personal perspective and philosophy of homeschooling, much as it would be if you had a friend sharing advice. She seems to prefer a more relaxed, non-textbook format (as do I, although she seems more heavily influenced by Charlotte Mason’s philosophy). There are many variations in homeschooling and you will want to do what is best for your family. Even if her philosophy does not line up with yours, it is still very helpful to the beginning homeschooler to know what they should be looking at and considering. For example, most beginning homeschoolers do not even think about defining their personal educational philosophy. This is bound to evolve the longer you educate your children at home, but simply taking the time to think about your goals for your family is very beneficial.

The e-books included are very impressive as well. I was expecting fluff articles but instead found lapbooks, sample schedules and planners, an Internet Scavenger Hunt, 50Famous Stories Retold, and other gems. These are bonuses that will actually be useful to you in your first year of homeschooling and that tie in well to the lesson of the week. There also links included to helpful sites most homeschoolers know about but new homeschoolers may not yet have stumbled upon.

A Christian perspective is not just implied but is an imperative. The first basic listed is Bible and it is stressed as the most important tool for learning. A large sample of the curriculum Foundations 1: Preparation for Christ is included as a bonus. Several other books are also suggested to help in the Spiritual training of your children.

This lesson series seems to be geared toward the Elementary age bracket and so would be most helpful to those beginning homeschooling with younger children. Although you could start with this week one of your new educational adventure, I would recommend beginning a couple of weeks before if possible, as there is a lot to consider.

I wish something like this had been available thirteen years ago. I would definitely recommend this to my personal friends as a good resource for the first year of homeschooling, so I feel confident in recommending it to you as well! You can subscribe to Homeschooling ABC’s at Homeschoolingabcs.com for $10 a month for six months. This is a total of twenty-six lessons, spread over twenty-six weeks.

WriteShop StoryBuilders

WriteShop StoryBuilders are a fun and easy way to spark your children's creativity in writing. Consisting of cards containing the basic story elements (character, character trait, setting, and plot), your student draws, chooses or rolls for a card from each category. Using these cards as a prompt, he then writes a story. Simple and fun!

For instance, in the Sports StoryBuilder set I drew a cheerleader. She was a moody girl and ended up on stage where tragedy strikes. This could become a story of life change or a comedy of errors. It could be used with a high schooler for creative writing or a pre-schooler narrating a story to you. There are five ideas given for ways to use these cards and I'm sure your children could come up with even more.

These remind me of the plot twist cards we made for National Novel Writing Month once. When someone got stuck, they could simply draw a plot twist card and hope inspiration struck from there. It's a great idea for those kids who say, "I don't know what to write about."

These are purchased in e-book form and have two choices for printing. You can print them on different colored card stock to distinguish between the categories or you can print them on white card stock with colored ink. Two set of cards are provided, one with black letters and one with color. A few different storage suggestions are given as well.

There are currently four categories available; Sports, People, Animals, and Christmas. At $7.95 (the Christmas one is a mini set and is only $3.95), this is an inexpensive way to jump start your children's creative writing.

One Year Adventure Novel

Wow. My first reaction upon opening the box containing the One Year Adventure Novel curriculum was an exclamation of pleasant surprise. I was impressed immediately. OYAN is very professionally done and visually exciting, but would my interest continue after I actually took it out of the box? You bet.

The One Year Adventure Novel is a high school writing curriculum that will guide your student through writing an adventure novel in one school year, just as the title suggests. All the teaching is done for you by author Daniel Schwabauer via seven DVDs. You also receive a textbook, workbook, Teacher's Guide, and the adventure novel, The Prisoner of Zenda. It can be used three days per week for about an hour and a half each time, or you can spread it over five days at about an hour per day. Upon completion your student will have earned one credit in English.

Daniel guides your student through setting up her novel, setting parameters to help her find success in what can be an overwhelming prospect. He states in the first lesson that "boundaries inspire creativity" and then has your student perform an exercise effectively demonstrating this principle. The limitations he gives the student provides definition and shape and breaks the novel writing process into chunks a high schooler should be able to manage.

The program is set up in two semesters. The first semester is spent looking at good stories to help your student understand the elements of story, outlining the novel, and writing several chapters. The workbook will be completed by the end of the first semester. The second semester is similar to the first but instead of answering questions in the workbook, the student will be writing the novel.



The textbook is referred to as The Compass and the workbook is called The Map. They both completely lived up to my expectations, as I found them to be appealing, well laid out, and easy to follow.


The DVDs did not disappoint either. Daniel Schwabauer is easy to listen to and quite interesting. These are professional looking DVDs and include video clips that illustrate his points. Again, I was very impressed and quite excited about this wonderful program!

Each day your student will watch the DVD lesson (these usually run about fifteen minutes, but they can be up to thirty minutes long). She will then turn to The Compass where she will read an excerpt of a story and answer questions. Some days there will be a chapter of The Prisoner of Zelda assigned. Then it will be time to work in The Map or write the novel. Every third lesson there is a quiz.

As all the teaching is done on DVD, there is no prep work and it is very easy for the parent to use. All that is required for you is to read your child's novel as they write it and provide feedback. Daniel gives you simple instruction on how to provide the feedback your student needs. He also gives you a basic grading Rubric, which is explained in the teacher's guide, so that you have an objective way to provide your student with a grade at the end of the year.

The web site states that "The content of this product is licensed, not sold, to you by Daniel Schwabauer for the exclusive use of one student in your household. Household means you and your immediate family living in the same residence. Additional students in your household may use this product under this household license if they purchase a separate workbook and forum registration." I'm not fond of this type of restriction but it wouldn't keep me from using this product. Even at $199, it is less expensive than many of the writing courses I have looked at for myself. It may be more pricey than the typical High School English program, but I feel like the quality of the instruction is worth the cost, especially if you have a student who would flourish with a less typical English program.

You can request a free demo DVD on the One Year Adventure Novel web site. Check it out! This is one product that's going on my list of favorites. Maybe it'll be one of yours as well.

My thirteen year old is chomping at the bit to get started but I am holding him off until we can devote the full year to this program. I am looking forward to watching the DVD's with him and gleaning what I can to help with my own writing! I will update late next year and share our experiences upon completion.