Memoria Press publishes materials for the Classical homeschooler. They stress "training in the liberal arts" and "familiarity with the great books and the great thinkers of the Western tradition". Their products remind me of curricula that would be used in a highly academic private school setting and include Latin, Logic, French, Classical Studies, Christian Studies, Copybooks, and New American Cursive. They also have a new online academy. 
Copywork is something the Classical and Charlotte Mason methods of philosophy have in common. I tend more towards the Charlotte Mason style, so I was happy to have the opportunity to review the set of Copywork books. Copywork is simply copying a written page. This helps build penmanship skills, as well as spelling, grammar, sentence structure, and memory work. Memoria Press' Copybook set ($39.95) contains Scripture from the King James version (Old English) and classic poetry. They are designed for Kindergarten through second grade and the difficulty increases by book, as the margins decrease. They are simple, yet well designed, and our family enjoyed them. 
The New American Cursive ($22.95) is a beginning cursive program for first grade and up. This is an attractive spiral bound, lay flat book. I was very intrigued by the idea of cursive for my first grader and my excitement was contagious enough to make him excited as well. A cute character, Mr. Meerkat, guides the student through this simplified version of cursive. I was happy to discover that my first grader found cursive to be easier than print, as it flows smoothly across the page. I was also pleased that the letter was displayed in print as well, helping him to connect the printed version with the cursive version. I love this particular cursive so much, that I plan to order the New American Cursive StartWrite Software and teach this to all of my children next year! 
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Memoria Press publishes materials for the Classical homeschooler. They stress "training in the liberal arts" and "familiarity with the great books and the great thinkers of the Western tradition". Their products remind me of curricula that would be used in a highly academic private school setting and include Latin, Logic, French, Classical Studies, Christian Studies, Copybooks, and New American Cursive. They also have a new online academy.
Their Classical studies include the Famous Men series- Famous Men of Rome, Famous Men of Greece, Famous Men of the Middle Ages and Famous Men of the Modern Times. I received a copy of the Famous Men of Rome book, as well as the Teacher and Student Guides. These are all over sized soft covers and are attractive and appealing from first glance.
The history text itself is made with high quality paper and contains full color illustrations throughout. As the title implies, it is full of short chapters about famous men of Ancient Rome. These are written in a more engaging manner than a typical textbook, with the hope that the stories will be enjoyed as the history is learned. There are thirty men covered, ranging from Romulus to Julius Caesar to Constantine the Great. Along with the beautiful illustrations, there are also maps and a glossary of people and places.
The Teacher and Student Guides turn the Famous Men book into a year long workbook course. The Student Guide contains sections on Facts to Know, Vocabulary, Comprehension Questions, and Activities. There is also an Appendix with maps, a timeline, pronunciation guides, etc. The Teacher's guide replicates the Student Guide, but with answers provided. I can't seem to find a grade level listed anywhere, other than a simple mention of elementary schools in the preface of the Famous Men book. I would suggest the guides for Junior High through early High School, if I had to make the call personally. A highly Classical, academically focused homeschooler may choose to use these with upper elementary students. The text itself could be read aloud to elementary students and above.
I was familiar with the text itself, having used it along with Greenleaf Guides many years ago. The Memoria Press version has added the full color illustrations and the maps and glossary, which does make it much more inviting. I read aloud the stories and we enjoyed them. As a relaxed homeschooler, I don't see myself using the workbook but know many Classically minded home educators who would find it useful. All in all, it's a good product although not one that fits our family's education style.
Famous Men of Rome is available for $16.95. The Student and Teacher's Guides sell for $17.95 a piece or you can purchase the set for $39.95.
"I am a noticer," he said. "It is my gift. While others may be able to sing well or run fast, I notice things that other people overlook. And, you know, most of them are in plain sight."
A young Andy, homeless and living under a pier, meets an unusual man named Jones and suddenly his life is changed. Jones has a gift, a gift of giving us perspective. He helps people notice the things and people and circumstances that were there all along but have gone unnoticed. He brings perspective, and that makes all the difference.
This work of fiction reads like a memoir. Author Andy Andrews takes us on a journey of a mysterious man and how his view of the world impacts everyone around him, as seen through the eyes of the young Andy. He dispenses little bits of wisdom all the way through, some familiar and at times somewhat cliche, but written in a way that may be more easily digestible to those who need it most. Andrews takes the core of these lessons and creates a wonderful, inspiring story that pricks at your heart.
This is not my typical genre of choice but I found that I quite enjoyed it. If you're looking for an easy read that's inspirational and heart warming, go ahead and pick up this little book. It may just give you a little more perspective.
The Noticer is being released tomorrow, April 28th. In the meantime, here is a little goodie from YouTube to whet your appetite;
Also, be sure and check out The Noticer Project. This is a movement to notice five influential people in your life.
WriteShop has been helping teenagers learn composition skills for years. They've recently developed a new early elementary level, Writeshop Primary. 
Writeshop Primary: an incremental writing program by Nancy I. Sanders is a gentle creative writing program for grades K-3. It is parent led and does not require reading or writing experience. Book A has recently been released and I was happy to have the opportunity to receive it for review.
The heart of the book is the Guided Writing Practice. You will sit down with your child and talk them through writing a short story of two or three sentences (You will do most of the physical writing). Prompts are given to guide you, along with topics and themes.
Activity sheets are included and are adorable. One of my favorites has a "Story Train", where you write the beginning sentence on the engine, the middle sentences on the box car, and the ending sentence on the caboose. Another is a primary level "Mad-Lib" and another has your child creating Book Titles for friends.
The Teacher's Guide gives ideas for creating a Writing Center for your child. There are also wonderful pre-writing ideas. One that I absolutely love is creating word banks out of file folders. Throughout the lessons, your child will be creating themed "Portable Word Banks". These would be helpful for vocabulary, spelling, and just plain creativity. I think this is my favorite idea in the book.
I don't know if it's proper to call a book "cute", but that's my first response to this program. It's cute. Sitting down with your child to make up sentences is a wonderful idea. I can't imagine any five, six, or seven year old protesting at spending fun time with Mom. This would be a nice addition to your early elementary studies, especially if this is your oldest child.
The print version of WriteShop Primary A is available for $26.95. You can also purchase this as an e-book for $24.25. When you add in what you save on shipping, this option is actually $7 less than the print version. Books B and C are not available yet, but I am assuming they are in process and coming soon.
Tapestry of Grace is a Christian multi-level curriculum designed for your whole family to be able to use together. It is Classical in nature and follows the four year history rotation. This chronological study of history is the basis for the unit study approach used by Tapestry. 
Tapestry includes lesson plans and discussion outlines for Grades K-12. Your entire family would study the same historical time period, with books and activities applicable to their grade level. The lesson plans are divided by week, rather than by day, and begin with the "Threads" page. These pages list teaching objectives for the week. This is followed by Reading Assignments, which are divided across the page by level. These are then in divisions down the page. Sections include History:Core, History: In-depth, Literature, Fine Arts and Activities, Worldview, Textbooks, History Supplement, and General Enrichment and Reference. They also state for you which books are considered to be Primary Resources and which are Alternate or Extra Resources. This is a nice addition if you are unable to find a certain book or you simply have a student who can't get enough of a particular topic.
The lesson plans continue with an Overview section, which suggests vocabulary words, geography, timeline activities, Fine Arts and other hands on or group activities. This is followed by Writing Assignments, again divided by level. General Information pages and Activity Instructions follow. There are also Student Worksheets and Discussion Questions. Teacher's Notes conclude the week, along with a glimpse into what's coming next week. As you can probably tell, this is a full curriculum.
As it follows a Classical approach, the grade levels follow "stages not ages". There are four learning levels; Lower Grammar, Upper Grammar, Dialectic, and Rhetoric. Lower Grammar would be your non-fluent reader, could be Kindergarten through Third Grade. Your independent readers who are more concrete thinkers would be considered Upper Grammar. Typically this would be about grades three through six. Dialectic learners now read to learn and are usually middle school age, grades six through nine. Once they hit High School they would be considered Rhetoric learners and are ready to analyze and dig deeper into ideas and philosophies. This curriculum follows these four levels, with all assignments divided by their learning level.
The Classical method also often includes a four year rotation of history. Tapestry embraces this and, if you used Tapestry all the way through, your students would rotate through history three times. Obviously, each time would bring more and more understanding and depth to their studies. I know I learn more as a homeschool mom, even though I may studied these same subjects in school.
The four years of Tapestry bring you from Creation through September 11th. Year One of Tapestry covers "The History of Redemption", Creation to the Fall of Rome. Year Two continues with "Between Ancient and Modern", Byzantium to the United States Constitution. Year Three is "The 19th Century" and covers from Napoleon to Teddy Roosevelt. And Year Four concludes with "The 20th Century", from Teddy Roosevelt to September 11th.
Tapestry is a unit study program based on a chronological study of history. It covers history, church history, literature, geography, fine arts, government, philosophy, writing, and composition. As with most unit study programs, it does not include phonics, math, grammar/spelling, science or foreign language.
This is a rich curriculum. It is academically heavy but still full of great discussion materials and yummy books. I had heard of Tapestry before but not checked it out for myself. The opinions I'd heard in the past were mixed; some friends absolutely adore Tapestry and others found it too overwhelming. After looking at it myself I can understand both points of view. There is a lot of information provided for you. It is large and somewhat overwhelming at first glance but I was surprised that I found it rather easy to use once I sat down and spent a little time.
The discussion guide was what I found most exciting. If you enjoy getting into deep philosophical discussions with your children, this program is for you. I also liked the way it was scheduled by week. This seemed like it would be helpful in training your children to organize their time. I can see how this would be an answer to prayer for large families (like mine) who desire to teach everyone together. I don't think I would recommend this curriculum to those with only Lower Grammar children, but think it worth checking into if you have older children or older and younger.
I received the Digital Edition, Unit One of Year One. This was just too difficult for me to maneuver. I couldn't wrap my brain around while it sat as pages in my computer. Thankfully, I have a friend currently using Year One of Tapestry and she was finished with Unit One. She loaned me her print version and suddenly the clouds broke and the sun was shining and all was right with the world. I would NOT recommend the Digital Edition for those who are new to Tapestry unless you plan to print it. However, it may be a great option for those who are familiar with Tapestry, as you can just print off what you need. I'm sure those who already use the program would be more qualified to make that call.
Tapestry of Grace is available in print and digital. The print version is $225 for the full year or $60 each if you purchase the units separately. The digital edition is $170 for the year or $45 per unit. It seemed expensive to me at first but once I realized that this is for all grades and is meant to be reused every four years, the cost didn't seem as significant.
If Tapestry sounds like it may be a fit for your family, you can try a three week sample for free. They'll let you download the first three weeks of Year One Unit One. This would be a great way to discover if this will work for you. I love free samples! I would also suggest reading through the web site, especially their Exploring TOG page. It's very helpful in grasping the depth of this curriculum.
Math Mammoth publishes math workbooks and worksheets for first through eighth grade. Author Maria Miller strives to provide self-teaching math products at affordable prices. There are four series available, distinguished by color.
The Blue Series are for grades 1-5 and are organized by topic. They concentrate on one or two topics at a time, so the child is able to focus on learning one thing at a time. You can download these as PDF files for only $2- $5, depending on the topic.
The Light Blue series is organized by grade. This is available for grades 1-4 and is almost self-teaching. It includes explainations and problems, as well as tests, and asnwer key and a worksheet maker. A placement test is provided to determine what grade level i right for your student. These run about $30 for a downloaded version or $54 on CD.
The Golden series is also organized by grade level and is for grades 3-8. These contain problems only and are good for review and/or tutoring. There is one topic per sheet with a variety of problems. These start with multiplication and go through Algebraic topics. The package of all worksheets is $65 for the download version or $70 on CD.
The Green series duplicates the Golden series but in topical format, rather than grade level. Each one covers a different mathematical concept, spanning three or four grade levels. Individual worksheets range in price from $2.50- $9.
I am not a math person and made the mistake of asking for something from the Golden series, which is designed for tutoring. I'm not really qualified to review any math tutoring worksheets as I sometimes ask my seven year old to remind me what 9x8 equals! If you're looking for tutoring or review sheets, these may be just what you need. I should have checked out the Light Blue series myself!
If you're a Christian homeschooler, chances are you've heard of Apologia. One of the most popular science publishers, Apologia delivers a scientifically sound program from a Creationist perspective.
The word apologia appears in the New Testament and refers to people defending their faith using reason and logic. According to their website, "Apologia Ministries exists to give the home-schooled student a scientific education that will help him or her make a reasoned defense of the Christian Faith." They take this seriously and provide a highly academic textbook methodology in their science curricula, starting with General Science and going all the way through the Advanced Sciences and Marine Biology. Most are authored by Dr. Jay Wile, who has a PHD in nuclear chemistry. See Meet the Apologia Family for more insight into the who and why's of this publisher. 
I received General Science and Biology for review. Exploring Creation with General Science is the first book in the series and is suggested for 7th grade. It covers the history of science, what science is and how it works, the history of life, foundations of geology, and how the body works. It consists of sixteen modules, with a test and solution packet available.
The text is written to the student and contains experiments and illustrations throughout. Experiments include growing crystals, building a DNA model, and making a model of kidney function. Illustrations and videos are also provided on an optional companion CD, with graphics in the text indicating a corresponding video. There is also a special website for users of the course, with interesting links related to the study and FAQ's. The password is included in the text.
On Your Own questions in little yellow boxes are scattered throughout the modules. These encourage your student to dig deeper into the topic, with questions such as "Based on the Principle of Superposition", list the artifacts pointed out in Figure 5.10 in terms of increasing age. In other words, list the youngest artifact first and the oldest one last. What is the underlying assumption of the Principle of Superposition?" or "If antibodies are ineffective against a pathogen, what other defenses can the lymph nodes use against it?"
This is a full science course. Science oriented kids who are comfortable with the textbook method would probably do well with it in 7th grade. Non-science oriented kids would probably enjoy it more at an older age, in my opinion.
Exploring Creation with Biology is similar in set up to the General Science book. It is designed to be used in the 9th grade, although we are currently using this program for my 10th grade daughter. Most of her peers are studying Biology as sophomores in traditional school settings and this has worked well for us.
Biology also contains 16 modules, with each module taking about two weeks to finish. There is a test and solution packet available, as well as a companion multimedia CD. A special website for this course is also available, with the password to be found in the text. This is a lab science course and there are three lab types; microscopic labs, dissection labs, and household labs. The household labs are a required part of the course, while the dissection and microscope labs are optional due to cost. A vendor, Nature's Workshop Plus, is recommended if you'd like to purchase microscope and/or dissection kits.
On Your Own questions are also found in the Biology texts. Examples include, "Since dehydration reactions link amino acids in order to form proteins, you can probably guess that hydrolysis reactions break them down. Why don't proteins quickly break down into their amino acids when they are mixed with water?" and "If an amniotic egg develops without an allantois, will the embryo live? Why or why not?"
I am not a textbook lover, yet we have used and enjoyed the Elementary Science books and the Biology. They are traditional, yet not dry and dull (which is what I usually expect from textbooks!). There's a reason they are so popular among Christian homeschoolers- they fulfill their purpose.
Exploring Creation Through General Science and Exploring Creation Through Biology are available for $85 for the text and test/solutions packet. The multimedia companion CD is $15. You can also purchase the book and test packet separately, or the full course on CD. Check out the web site for details.
If you're a Christian homeschooler, chances are you've heard of Apologia. One of the most popular science publishers, Apologia delivers a scientifically sound program from a Creationist perspective. 
Jeannie Fulbright authors the Elementary Science books. These are designed for grades K-6 (although I think they could be used through Grade 8 without issue) and are brightly colored, hardbound textbooks. Currently, there are five available; Astronomy (which also has an optional Notebooking Journal), Botany, Zoology 1 (Flying Creatures), Zoology 2 (Swimming Creatures), and Zoology 3 (Land Animals). Each book in the series is available for $35. Samples are available to preview on their website.
We received Exploring Creation with Zoology 1: Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day for review. Last year, our science consisted of Exploring Creation with Botany and the corresponding lapbook from Live and Learn Press, so we were already familiar with this product.
The books are over sized, glossy, and very inviting (especially for a textbook!). It begins with an introduction to the course, with suggestions on dividing the lessons to provide thirty weeks of instruction, and ways to integrate notebooking, narrations, and experiments. A supply list is provided at the beginning of the book, listing items needed for each lesson. This is very helpful to those parents like me, who tend to just skip the experiment if the supplies are not readily available. If this is you, I would suggest putting together a supply kit at the beginning of the year with everything in one container, ready to go when needed!
The text itself is written to the student and is engaging and full of colorful illustrations. Drawing on Charlotte Mason's methodology, the students are encouraged to reinforce their learning through creative writing, projects, and drawings which they compile in a notebook throughout the year (photographing the projects are a great way to save these in the notebook as well). In the Zoology 1 book these include a nature scavenger hunt, bird mapping, building a birdhouse, making a comic strip, writing a bat script, and creating an insect zoo.
I'm not typically fond of textbooks, especially in the elementary years, but these are not dry and dull. This may be due to the author's tendency toward the philosophy of Charlotte Mason (who encouraged the reading of "living books"). Whatever the reason, I found myself enjoying Apologia's Elementary Science books and will continue to use them for our family.
"Education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire." -William Butler Yeats
I am a homeschooling mom of seven. We've been homeschooling from the beginning and currently have children in 1st grade, 3rd grade, 4th grade, 6th grade, 8th grade, 10th grade, and 12th grade. Yes, I will be graduating my oldest in June! Crazy.
My husband is the senior pastor of our church and that keeps us busy. We tend to be a more artsy family and love theater, music, movies, and pop culture. My oldest just built a recording studio in the basement. My husband and I can be found gaming in our spare time. I'd say we are rather eclectic, and that is definitely reflected in our homeschooling!
In the fall of 2008, I was chosen to participate in a project through The Old Schoolhouse Magazine that involves reviewing home education products. Known as TOS Crew, we receive and review products and then share them with you via our blogs. There is also a Crew hub blog, where you can find many reviews on the same products. The hope is that this will be helpful to you in discovering new products and determining which may work well for your family.
I was about a year or so into my personal blog, but had no plans to transform that into a homeschool oriented blog. I thought maybe it would be wise to create a seperate blog, for the purpose of collecting all the reviews in one place.
And thus, Hearthside Homeschool Reviews comes to life.
Why the name? Several years ago, my children and I decided to name our "school" and chose the name Hearthside Academy. Hearthside fits better than Academy, as we have always been a more relaxed homeschooling family. My desire has been to teach my children how to learn, so that they would have the tools to dig deeper into whatever interests them and carry this throughout their lives. One of my favorite educational quotes is by William Butlet Yeats; "Education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire." My prayer is that somewhere in our homeschool journey, they will find that spark that burns within them and drives them to fulfill their purpose and passion in this life.
My hope is that these reviews may in some way be helpful to you, as you also walk this path of home educating. I am a self-professed curriculum junkie and am excited to share some of my passion and purpose with others. I admit to being biased to my own interests and preferences and know that some of the products I love, others may not. Some I dislike intensely, others may love. But hopefully within these reviews will be enough information to help you determine if something would be an encouragement, a help, a resource for your family. And if so, leave a comment and let me know! I'd love to hear from you.
I've decided to bold pertinent information, to make it easier for you to determine if it's applicable to you! I've also placed the label section in the sidebar. If you're looking for reviews on a certain subject, that's the place to start. I'm hoping to add to the Homeschool Helps section in the future, as well as adding in reviews of my favorites. So keep checking back, I want this to be a place that's helpful to YOU!
TruthQuest History was already in my unofficial list of "Top Ten Homeschool Products I Love" (someday I may make it an official list!) and I was completely thrilled to have the opportunity to review their products for TOS Crew. We have been using TruthQuest (or TQ) for the past three years, so this review may be a little different from most, as I share what TQ is and how it's worked well for our family.
TruthQuest is a Christian literature based study guide for history. These guides contain book lists, both fiction and non-fiction, that correlate to the time period being studied. However, TQ is not merely a book list. The heart of TQ is the commentary by Michelle Miller that ties everything together and teaches your children to think and discern as they study historical events.
Michelle teaches the student to ask two questions; Who Is God? and Who Then Is Man? and, using these, to try and discover the worldview of historical figures, authors, artists, etc. When the student can deduct what the person believes about these two things, it helps them to evaluate their actions and writings. I find the commentary to be rich and thought provoking and the reason why I love this program.
The past two years we have all gathered in the living room together, grades 1-12 at this point, while I read the TQ commentary to them. We also usually have a spine book chosen for that year from the list provided and we'll read the sections listed aloud. I then assign independent reading at grade level. One of the nice things about the guides for grades 5-12 is that the author also includes reading suggestions for younger grades. ThinkWrite assignments are sprinkled throughout, which can be used as writing assignments if desired. We usually use them as discussion prompts. This allows me to see how much they are retaining and how well they are processing the information.
Preparation is fairly simple. I usually sit down with the guide and skim through the upcoming weeks. I decide which sections I will focus on and which I will be content with just reading the commentary. I'll hop on my computer and see what the inter-library loan has available from the books listed and if I can't find a certain one, I can choose another based on the topic. Any of the Christian books I want to use, I will purchase ahead of time and keep on my shelf until needed. I often order extra books, outside of the ones I will assign, and fill the book box with them for free reading.
I have used the Renaissance,Reformation,and Age of Exploration through Age of Revolution III guides and found them to be fascinating. This history curriculum also includes the study of scientists, artists, authors, musicians, etc. and I tend to branch out into various topics as we come across them, essentially using TQ as a history based unit study.
I love the fact that it is open ended and flexible. This is a great option for relaxed homeschoolers, as you can make it fit your family and use it however you'd like. I love that you don't have to have certain books, but can pick and choose and even find your own books on the topic. I love that the commentary ties together the literature based learning that I prefer. I love that you can sit down with your kids and teach them how to think and discern and discover what other's worldviews may be and compare them to the Scriptural worldview. To me, these are thinking skills that surpass any mere knowledge of historical dates and names and will last after graduation. I highly recommend TruthQuest for Christian homeschoolers wanting to delve into history from a Christian worldview!
There are currently ten guides available for purchase. For grades 5-12, you can choose from Ancient Egypt/Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Middle Ages, Renaissance,Reformation and Age of Exploration (1400-1600), Age of Revolution I (1600-1800), Age of Revolution II (1800-1865), and Age of Revolution III (1865-2000). Remember, younger siblings may join in with the older guides, making this a good option for larger families. There are also three guides for grades 1-5. These cover American history and are divided by American History for Young Students I (Exploration-1800), American History for Young Students II (1800-1865), and American History for Young Students III (1865-2000). These range in price from $24.95 to $34.95.
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