To Grade or Not to Grade? That is the Question.

I'm almost afraid to answer this week's Blog Cruise question, "Do you keep grades?".  Those in a traditional school setting measure performance by a grading system and sometimes find it difficult to imagine a setting in which this is not always needed.  In some homeschools, a grading system is used.  In mine, it is not.  Well, for the most part. 

I think a lot of it has to do with your philosophy of homeschooling.  I want our schooling to be a more natural part of life.  I don't always succeed in this, but this is my desire.  Learning is just something we do each day, just like chores and eating meals and going to church on Sunday.  It's part of who we are, it's what we do because of who we are.  A grading system doesn't seem to work well with this view of education.  I don't feel the need to grade when we are learning together.  An F on a poor page of handwriting is not going to motivate my child to improve, working together toward mastering something he struggles with should work much better.  An A on a piece of paper is not what I want my child to strive for, understanding what they are learning is my goal.  I was a student who could pull off good grades and then promptly forget everything I learned.  That's not what I want for my kids.

That's not to say I never grade anything.  Our math programs are on the computer and they automatically grade for me.  This is a wonderful tool for me to keep track of where my kids are at and which areas they may need help in or are breezing through.  I don't use these as grades for a report card, but will let them they know they need to reach a certain percentage correct or redo the lesson.  Math is an excellent example of an informal grading system fitting into an informal philosophy of homeschooling.

Once they reach high school, I find myself needing to assign grades for the purpose of a transcript.  For subject areas that lend themselves to grading, such as math, I will grade by number of answers correct.  For other areas, such as history, I will use a more "contract grade" approach and assign a certain amount of work and grade based on if the work is completed and the effort given.  This is a more subjective grading approach but it mirrors that of the system used in my college days and seems to work best with our philosophy.  None of my high schoolers have had a 4.0 yet, so I'm not suggesting arbitrarily assigning A's for everything.  I hope that their grades will reflect their work but I don't overly stress about it either.

The fact that I graduated college with a 3.89 GPA has no impact on my life today.  I don't want to make it all about the grades because really, that is a superficial system.  I'd prefer having objectives and attempting to meet those objectives by graduation.  My main goals are that my children know how to learn and that they know how to walk with the Lord.  The second goal used to be that they would walk with the Lord and love Him with all their mind, heart and strength.  I have since come to realize that this is not a goal I can make.  They each have free will and will make their own choices.  As a parent, I can teach them how to learn and what it means to walk with the Lord.  They have to take it from there.      

I'm sure there are some who use a more formal grading system effectively in their home.  We are just one family and the main thing I have learned over fourteen years of homeschooling is that there is not just one right way to do it.  We're responsible to do what works for our family, and so far this has been the way we have approached grading.  How about you?  Have you found a grading system to be helpful or do you find it easier to work towards mastery?  Do you have a long term goal for your children that helps keep you on track, grading or no?  Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section!  
 

Check out more answers to these questions at the TOS Crew Blog Cruise Hub.  

Links will be posted each Tuesday!

Boneman's Daughters by Ted Dekker (52 Books in 52 Weeks)

I am a Ted Dekker fan and had picked up BoneMan's Daughters several months ago but hadn't found the time to read something that didn't have a due date.  I'm a bit under the weather at the moment, so I spent yesterday evening reading this book, finally.  

The story gripped me within a few chapters.  More than just a simple serial killer versus Naval Intelligence agent, this book contained layers and levels that crept into my thoughts and dreams and provided a lot to chew on.  

The story is pretty good, in and of itself.  A military man, fresh from escaping extreme mental torture in Iraq, returns to the States to find his wife and daughter want nothing to do with him.  When his daughter is abducted by a serial killer known as BoneMan, he must wrestle with the question of how far he will go to rescue her.  What does collateral damage mean, when it's up close and personal?

I love thrillers and really enjoyed this book.  While it won't replace my favorite Dekker series (The Circle Trilogy), this is one that I liked and would recommend if this sort of read appeals to you.

8/52

Cobweb the Cat, Beehive Reader #1

All About Spelling was one of the vendors last year who taught me that I sometimes overlook gems due to pre-conceived notions.  Despite my initial resistance to its workbook appearance, we ended up really enjoying All About Spelling.  So when I heard that this year we would be reviewing their new reader, I should have expected more than I did.  I admit to being rather blase' about the idea, until the package came in the mail.

The Beehive Reader (now known as Cobweb the Cat) is a beautiful, hardbound book that drew us in from the first moment.  My eight year old immediately claimed it, sat down on the couch, and read the entire book.  Now, I admit that this is below his reading level, but he enjoyed the stories and illustrations so much that he read it again.  And again.  After three times through, I was finally able to get a look at it myself.

I found it charming.  The stories are simple, as most readers must be, but they were enough to captivate my son.  The illustrations are black and white drawings and are really delightful.  The book is a solid, glossy hardcover that should stand up to multiple readings.  I'm impressed by a reader.  See, I learn things every year I review!

The photos speak for themselves, don't they?  I think even Charlotte Mason herself may have approved.  If she wouldn't, don't tell me.  Allow me to dwell in my bliss.  But I think she would, no twaddle here!

The Beehive Reader 1 is available for $19.95 and as there is that little number 1 there in the title, I hope that means there is more to come!

*Disclosure: I received this product at no cost for review purposes.  If you'd like to read more reviews of this product, check out the TOS Crew site.*

It's Here! The Lego Star Wars Giveaway Goes Live!

After hours spent browsing through CSN stores sites, I still haven't come close to seeing everything they have to offer.  Contacted last week about doing a giveaway, review, or review/giveaway for them, I thought I'd spend a few minutes during my writer's group checking out what they had available before making my choice.  A couple of hours later, I was still surfing through the sites and sharing what I had found with everyone in the group.  I mentioned that I really needed a blender (I actually don't own one. Weird, huh?), did a quick search, and then announced to the group that "They have blenders!".  One friend from my group always wears gorgeous shoes.  Yep, a couple of clicks and we had pages of shoes.  Pretty cool.

I decided to go with the big giveaway, 'cause I like you guys.  The product I chose is found on their kids furniture site, but this site is much more than just furniture.  I was amazed to find art supplies, building toys, games, and more.  They had some really cute bookshelves too, and what homeschooler doesn't love bookshelves?  When it came right down to it though, I just couldn't resist the Lego Star Wars.  I know my kids would be excited about these, so I figured yours would as well.

CSN Stores will be providing one of my readers with the 

LEGO Star Wars V-19 Torrent Building Set (7674)!

With a list price of $72, this 471 piece set is my best giveaway yet!  As both a Lego and a Star wars fan, I am super excited to have the chance to host this giveaway.  "May the Force be with you!"  

(Yeah, I know, I'm corny!  But you know you want to start with the quotes now too!)

Giveaway Instructions:
(USA and Canada ONLY, please!)


Click the link above and then return to leave a comment sharing something you liked from the site. (required)
Follow and/or subscribe to this blog (optional, for an extra entry.)
If you already follow/subscribe, leave two extra comments saying so and be entered twice more! 

Share this giveaway with your blog readers, linking to this post (optional, for extra entry)
Share this giveaway on your Facebook/Twitter (optional, for extra entry)


For all extra entries, please leave an extra comment, letting me know which option you chose.

Drawing will be held on Wednesday, March 3rd.

THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED. 

*Note: If you are reading this via my Facebook, you must enter at the site itself: HomeschoolReviewsandMore.com*

Sweet Giveaway Coming Soon.

This is a post preview, as I have run out of time for today!  I know the Blog Cruise goes live in the morning, so I thought I would let you all know that I will be adding a giveaway tomorrow for something Lego that also happens to be Star Wars.  I think it's the best giveaway I've done yet, so if you haven't yet clicked that follow button or added your email to the subscribe feed, you may want to do that now.  Just sayin'.  ;-)

Alternative Co-Oping: Parties and Shopping, Oh My!

The Blog Cruise question for this week is, "What do you think of co-ops?"  Co-ops can be a wonderful experience, I am sure.  While reading The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling, I tried not to be jealous of the great co-ops the author and her children participated in.  I wish my high schoolers had that opportunity but it hasn't worked for us when available and hasn't been available when it would have worked for us.  So what am I going to ramble on about, with a topic I have no experience in?  Actually, I find it to be a good opportunity to share how we connect with a few other families for a little homeschool fun and a bunch of other families for great homeschool discounts.

I have never participated in a formal co-op, but I have had several seasons of my life where one or two or three other homeschooling families and I would get together monthly or every month or whatever.  It's actually amazed me how this cycles through.  Just when we start missing the get-togethers (we have moved, others have moved, people decide they no longer like us. . .you know, the normal way things end), we connect with a couple different families and someone mentions regular get-togethers and we smile and nod excitedly.  We have had three or four seasons like this, and they have been good experiences for the most part.   

Sometimes these get-togethers were just for "socialization", sometimes we would take turns leading some sort of activity for the kids, sometimes we would plan field trips.  We have had tea parties, built gingerbread houses, learned about horses (pony rides included!), beach days, Cranberry Thanksgiving parties (that's my specialty), gone to the zoo, browsed the Boston Museum of Art, gone to the theater, and the like.  This has been an easier way for us to connect with other families than participating in a formal class.  I realize this may not meet all the needs a co-op can, but it is what has worked for us so far.

I guess we're just homeschool partiers.  I'm okay with that.

I'm also a homeschool shopper.  And when I hear the word co-op, I now think of Homeschool Buyers Co-Op.  I've actually been meaning to share about the Buyers Co-Op with you all, so this is a great way to make me sit down and write it!  Homeschool Buyer's Co-Op is free to join and the more members they have, the more deals they can offer.  They work with companies that offer products of interest to homeschoolers, usually online subscriptions, software, e-books and the like, and provide discounts for bulk purchases.  We have purchased Descarte's Cove software, Pokemon Learning League (unfortunately discontinued), Explode the Code Online, and Click-N-Read Phonics through the co-op at greatly discounted rates.  Just to give you an idea, we saved 58% on the Explode the Code Online and 50% on Click-N-Read.  I always check the Co-Op before ordering any kind of online subscription.  It's been a great way to save on the computer learning that helps me out as a mom of many.

If you click on the Homeschool Buyer's Co-Op box in the left hand sidebar and sign up that way, I will receive Smartpoints which can be used towards some products.  But that's not why I'm sharing with you, so if you'd rather just click through yourself, no worries!  Here's the non-Smartpoints link; Buyers Co-Op.

It's a different take on co-ops, I know.  With ten years of homeschooling left (OH MY!), I may experience a co-op yet.  For now, these two versions of co-oping work well for us.  What about you?  Have you had great experiences? So-So? Survived the co-op from Hades?  This is a great question to get some feedback on from you, I love feedback!  Give me some comment love. :-D

Check out more answers to these questions at the TOS Crew Blog Cruise Hub.  

Links will be posted each Tuesday!

Math Mammoth: Revisited

We reviewed Math Mammoth during last year's TOS Crew journey and I had to write a short, sweet review explaining that I couldn't really review the product because I was apparently lacking in the caffeine the day that I chose which series would fit our family best.  Here it is for your reading. . .er. . pleasure:

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 answer key and a worksheet maker. A placement test is provided to determine what grade level is 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!

A returning vendor this year, I was happy to have the chance to redeem myself.  I discovered that the Blue Series is exactly like the Light Blue series, only instead of being divided by grade level, it is divided by subject.  As we have a full math program we are happy with, I opted to try a few of the Blue Series in topics I thought my now eight year old mini math man could use a little extra reinforcement in.  We downloaded (which was easy) worksheets on reading a clock (You know, the ones with two hands that move around. Yeah, they still have those!), measurements (He baked brownies last night, remembering to warn me to, "Watch out for eggshells!"), and money (Um...yeah...he's learned this one much too well.). 

This was a much better choice for us.  These worksheets worked well for us.  I printed a few off at a time and he happily completed them.  It was simple, inexpensive (well, for us it was free to review, but it is definitely an inexpensive option!), and effective.  That's a great combination, in my book.  I was grateful to have the opportunity to try out a series that worked well for us and will remember Math Mammoth if I need a little extra reinforcement in a subject area.  They do have a full curriculum though, so check it out if you're in the market!

*Disclosure: This product was provided to me at no cost for review purposes.  To see more reviews of this product, click HERE.*

Zeezok Publishing: Presidential Penmanship

 

Zeezok Publishing provides the Presidential Penmanship program on CD or e-book.  This handwriting program is good for 1st grade through high school (if you have a high school student who still needs handwriting help, as I do!).  The neat thing about this program is that your child can learn a bit of American history while practicing their handwriting skills.  The practice pages consist of excerpts from historical documents, speeches, quotes, etc.  Practice pages actually describe this well, as there is no specific teaching involved.  Rather, the student is to copy the sentence or group of sentences given.  This is very much in the style of Charlotte Mason and learning through copywork.   

I received the Italic version on CD, but they have many different styles available.  The chart below gives you an idea of the handwriting options they provide;

I really like the fact that you can print the pages you need, when you need them.  When you have a large family, the ability to print multiple pages is also a plus.  There is no need to buy five different copybooks when I can simply print five pages and choose the pages based on the child's age and ability (and sometimes they assume more ability than I think is appropriate for the grade level, so this may be better for a tad older than recommended).  It's a non-consumable product in that it can be used for the whole family, year after year.  That's a great selling point.

The main reason I am not using this in my family is that we have decided to stick with one handwriting style (as my children's handwriting needs help!) and it is not one they happen to carry.  However, we also use a program that prints from the computer and I highly recommend that flexibility and convenience.

Presidential Penmanship is available on CD or e-book for $39.99.  You must choose your style when ordering, they are not all available on the same CD.  You may also purchase e-books by grade level for $9.99.

*Disclosure: This product was provided to me at no cost for review purposes.  To see more reviews of this product, please check out the TOS Crew site.* 

Hear No Evil by Matthew Turner (Blog Tour) + Giveaway!

As one who considers music "a sermon to my soul" and is married to a man who grew up among "fighting fundies", the description of this book drew me in immediately.  Hear No Evil: My Story of Innocence, Music, and the Holy Ghost is a memoir of one who grew up in an extremely legalistic Independent Fundamental Baptist household and yet decided that God had called him to be the Christian version of Michael Jackson.  His experiences in Nashville as he pursues this dream and is faced with a world he had been taught was all "caca" are sometimes hilarious, sometimes touching, and sometimes a tad eye opening.  

This is not a book that tries too hard to make its point.  It's not preachy, it's not bitter, it's simply an honest look at life from one who lived it.  And if I were to try and pin point a message in the book, it would be one of honesty, of being real with your faith and where you are in that process.  When one friend confesses his failures and believes himself a total failure, the author encourages him with these words, "I guess we've all made God look like a slob at some point. . .But I don't think we do that by being human.  I think we do it when we pretend we're not."

I really enjoyed the writing style.  There was a humor there, even a touch of sarcasm, without it being biting.  One section demonstrates this well, "Whenever my church deemed a beat 'syncopated', it meant it was the kind of beat to which Baptist missionaries had witnessed evil spirits conjured among naked African tribes.  That was why we covered our ears- just in case some of them tried to shimmy their way inside our heads.  Demons were scary enough, but nude demons gyrating their hips inside our brains- that would require a prescription.  And Baptists who required antidepressants often turned into atheists or, sometimes, Methodists." 

I love that he does not assume bad intentions upon those who have no idea what grace means, but instead treats their peculiarities with love and humor.  His descriptions of his upbringing are crazy to those of us not raised that way, but I've known enough families in this category to realize that most have good hearts and sincerely want to do what's right.  I think he portrays that well, not shying away from the extremism but laughing at himself right along with them.  I'm not sure those who consider themselves Fundamental Baptists would appreciate the book, but this Baptist preacher's wife did.  And I have to say I'm glad not everyone who identifies themselves as Baptist can identify with this story.  At least not to this extreme.  But I'm sure every Christian can relate in one way or another.  We all want that real, authentic faith but sometimes find ourselves stuck in that "contract Christianity" referred to in the book. 

There are little things I could pick at, but this is Matthew Turner's story and I don't have to like every little bit of it.  As a whole, it was one I enjoyed.  It made me view my inability to be fake as a blessing, rather than the curse I sometimes view it as.  Being vulnerable hurts, but the other option is pretending to be someone else and yeah, I think that reflects a lot more poorly on God and His people than someone admitting they're a screw up who needs His help.  

Hear No Evil is available from Random House, as well as your favorite local or online bookstore.  You can also check out the author's website at MatthewPaulTurner.com .

Would you like to win a copy of this book?  Simply leave a comment on this post and be entered to win.  Follow or subscribe to my blog, Tweet, blog or Facebook this giveaway and leave an extra comment for an extra entry!  Winner will be announced on Wednesday, March 3rd.  US only for this one, please.

7/52

*Disclosure: This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.*

The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling by Debra Bell

While I wouldn't necessarily agree with the title, The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling is a big book, chock full of homeschool information.  Written by Debra Bell, a former public school teacher and homeschooling mom of four children (K-12), it was both encouraging and discouraging at times.  Ultimately, I found it to be a good resource that helped renew and re-spark my own homeschool vision.

The book is divided into ten parts; Homeschooling: Is It for You?, Choosing a Curriculum, Organization and Planning, Preventing Burnout, What to Teach- When and How, Homeschooling Teens, Computers in the Homeschool, Creative Solutions, Measuring Your Success, and a Resource Guide. 

I began reading, taking notes as I read for the purpose of the review.  It began on a down note, my first raw notes read; "Feeling discouraged as I read of her super star graduates and co-op and high school class opportunities.  This type of thing is unavailable to us and I am feeling like a poor homeschool mom before I even get into the book.  :-(  Ooo, but I like the point made in the intro about it being all in the family."  It improved as I got into the next couple of chapters.  "She encourages you to determine your vision, I needed this reminder as I feel I have lost mine." . . ."Loved section about learning at own pace, rather than artificial time table of skills. . .Want better writers? Write.  Better readers? Read."   I soon went from jotting down notes for review purposes and began taking notes that applied to us as a homeschool family.  I stopped reading it as a reviewer and began reading it as a consumer.  By the time I finished reading the book, I was enthused about my own homeschool and started planning changes for the rest of the school year.  This book took a burnt-out homeschool mom and gave her a renewed vision for her family.  That's awesome and due to that, I would recommend this book.

I do have a few caveats though.  There are times you can tell she is a former public school teacher.  Her sample educational plan for her third grader is very overwhelming and a little over the top.  As a former Elementary Education student, I know how to write these types of objectives and IEP's, but have never found them necessary or even profitable.  What I can take away from this though, is the encouragement to write down objectives for the beginning of the year and then a summary of what has been learned at the end.  I know I am always amazed at how much we have accomplished, even in the "rough years".  

I also found some of the advice to be contradictory.  In one place she advocates flexibility in homeschooling, even mentioning that if the kids are up late for an opportunity, they can sleep later the next morning.  A few chapters later she states that you should not allow your children to sleep in but should stay on a regular schedule (Wonder if our regular schedule of sleeping in would count?).

There is much to love here, however.  Her ideas for raising independent learners were great, her encouragement to make learning applicable to their lives now was excellent, her resource list was very helpful. I would highly recommend this book if you can read it without feeling like a failure when you come across areas that you are unable to implement in your home.  Take what you can, and leave the rest.  There is a lot here to be taken, I believe, and I know that it has been instrumental in my own renewed sense of purpose.  For that, I am grateful.

The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling is available through Apologia for $20. 

*Disclosure: I received this book at no cost for review purposes.*

Percy Jackson & the Olympians; The Lightning Thief

A friend from my writer's group mentioned that she and her family were enjoying the Percy Jackson series.  I knew the movie was coming out soon, we had just finished studying Greece, and it had taken us months to wade through our last read-aloud.  It seemed like a good idea to try reading The Lightning Thief to the kids and see how it went.

We finished in six days.

My kids begged me for just one more chapter until I spent the last day reading aloud from 10am until 4 pm and at last, we finished the first book in the series.  A couple of days later, we attended the fan party at Borders and I was excited to see my 12 year old reluctant reader (who thinks he is "too cool" to get into a book) enthusiastically raising his hand to answer trivia questions.  We looked forward to seeing the movie, wondering how our favorite scenes would be re-enacted on film.

They weren't.

We just returned from seeing the movie and the response across the board was one of extreme disappointment.  I understand the difficulty of adapting a book to the screen.  A book can go deeper into things that a movie doesn't always have the time to delve into.  The book is frequently better than the movie.  Unfortunately, this time the book and the movie are two completely separate animals.  It didn't seem like the screen-writer made any attempt to follow the book at all.  The plot was completely changed, major characters were missing, our favorite scenes were replaced with unfamiliar scenes that didn't even come close to matching the original.

It could have been such an engaging movie and instead it fell flat.  My husband, who has not read the book, found it to be simplistic and lacking any kind of depth or character arc.  I would agree.  They took a book about a 12 year old boy who struggles with dyslexia, ADHD, and an absentee father, a boy who grows into a hero, and turned him into a "typical teenager" on an adventure.  They changed his best friend from one who has failed and is seeking redemption so that he may follow his dreams, into a girl obsessed sidekick.  They took out the heart of the story and left something less than the Cliff Notes.  It's like the Cliff Notes of someone who has never read the book and only has a vague idea of what this whole Percy Jackson 'verse is like.

And they took out Ares.  That's just unforgivable.

I highly recommend the book.  It's a great adventure story that our whole family enjoyed.  The movie...well, not so much.

Dollar Homeschool: Eclectic Education Series

Dollar Homeschool desires to provide the opportunity for an old fashioned one-room schoolhouse to the homeschoolers of today.  They believe that the education provided in this country prior to World War  II was superior in emphasizing "patriotism, traditional values, and the Bible".  To that end, they have collected the textbooks of old (most now in the public domain) in one place on CD.   

They describe themselves thus;

"The Eclectic Education Series (EES) is a set of textbooks which from roughly 1865 to 1915 WAS education in the United States, almost exclusively. They were the standard textbooks in many states and were chosen independently by over 10,000 school boards as their standard textbooks."

As a member of the TOS Crew, I received this set via download and can attest to the fact that you do receive a large amount of books.  These include math, science, history, grammar, and readers, with book titles such as Ray's Arithmetic, Thalheimer's Histories, Schulyer's Principles of Logic, McGuffey's Readers, Pinneo's Grammar, and much more.  A full list of included books is available HERE and is quite impressive in scope.  In theory, one could homeschool using only this CD set (and perhaps a library card).

I know there are homeschoolers who will really appreciate and enjoy this, just as there are people who enjoy hearkening back to the life of the pioneer and getting back to "our country's roots".  The truth is, I'm not one of them.  I am sure there is some great content in these books from years past, but I am such a visual person that I could not get past having to read old fashioned font on the computer screen (printing the books would not have solved this problem for me either).  The company is proud of the fact that they have changed nothing from the originals, and for some that will be a huge bonus.  For me, I would prefer taking the information, the critical thinking skills, the depth of the material, and updating the way it is presented to make it more appealing.  Call me shallow if you like, but I have embraced the twenty-first century and technology and would enjoy the same patriotic, value driven, Biblically based material in a more modern format.

I can't see using this as a stand alone curriculum.  Scientific breakthroughs since the 1800's are obviously not included, history past the 1800's had not happened yet. But I do believe it could be a great resource for those who enjoy this type of thing.  So if it sounds intriguing to you, check out their website and see what they have to offer.

The Eclectic Education Series is available on CD for $159.

*Disclosure: I received this product via download at no cost, for review purposes.  To read more reviews of this product, click HERE.*

Homeschooling All These Kids. . . And What About Baby?

How do you handle multiple ages? 

Okay, so I have seven kids.  I have homeschooled them all since the beginning.  I guess that means that I can handle multiple ages.  And if I can, so can you  Because believe me, I am not Super Homeschool Mom.  I'll admit, it's not always easy.  Seven different grades was tougher than I imagined and I can look back and see many areas where I could have done better.  But I can also see many areas where I can say, "Yeah, that worked pretty well." 

Unit studies is a key for our family in homeschooling a diverse age group.  With unit studies, you take a topic and dig in, branching out into various subjects that connect as a whole.  The whole family can study the same thing together, working individually only in those subjects that demand it (such as math and reading skills).  We typically would base these in history, following a chronological method of study.  Sometimes we would choose by topics of interest to the kids, sometimes I would decide to alternate history and science.  At times I would put these together myself (Valerie Bendt books are a great help in this!), but we've also used Weaver, Sonlight, Learning Adventures, Night Owl Creations, Live and Learn Press, Greenleaf Guides, Christian Cottage Studies and Truthquest.  I'm not very good at sticking to someone else's plan and always ended up tweaking these to suit our family.  Having a jumping off point is always a plus though (And the Truthquest Guides are now must haves for us).  We have kept the kids together for unit studies as long as possible, depending on the student.  As they get into high school, they tend to want to work more independently but I miss their interaction and try to keep them involved with at least read alouds, even history when I can.

Unit studies are great, but how do we handle different levels of math and reading skills?  This was a tough one for awhile.  I found myself frequently trading in math and reading programs, as each year presented new challenges in juggling it all.  For us, the answer has been found in making good use of the computer.  Teaching Textbooks teaches and grades right on the computer for grades 4-7.  This has been a lifesaver for me!  I consistently failed at checking math papers in a timely fashion.  I hate math and the last thing I want to do in my "free time" is grade icky old math papers.  It was also a struggle to be enthusiastic in teaching it.  Now the software does it for me, he teaches and lectures right on the computer, they input their work and voila- I just have to glance at the gradebook to see how they are doing.  We have also made use of Videotext Algebra in the past, Key to Algebra for my math phobic girl,and the Professor in a Box Accounting Course.  We did the same thing for phonics skills with my youngest two.  Click and Read and Explode the Code Online have allowed them to work independently, while teaching them the skills they need in this area.  Spending a greater chunk of my budgeted homeschool money for curriculum that can do that has been a great help in teaching multiple ages (The last two I subscribed to through Homeschool Buyers Co-Op for a great discount!). 

How do you homeschool with a baby or toddler?

This question's a tougher one to answer.  I did it but it's been awhile and I don't really remember specifics, just that it worked.  I remember having a toddler crawling all over me while I read aloud, I remember taking breaks to nurse the baby, I remember the "School Time" tub of toys I hoped they would play with long enough for me to accomplish something.  I know I didn't wait for naptime (I wanted to rest then too!) but somehow we managed to get school done with a baby and/or toddler in the room.  I did make good use of the baby swing, the Sling, and the playpen.  And Goldfish were always a plus.  Otherwise, my memory has failed.  Maybe I've purposely blocked it out.  GRIN.  What I can say in encouragement though is that I managed to graduate my oldest and he had babies and toddlers around the majority of his life.  That season of life will come to a close at some point and you'll be scratching your head, wondering how you possibly managed to do it all and encouraging someone else that, yes, you can homeschool with babies and toddlers.

Just don't ask me how.       

Check out more answers to these questions at the TOS Crew Blog Cruise Hub.  

Links will be posted each Tuesday!

*Disclosure: None of the links above are affiliate links but are merely there for your convenience.  Which is probably really silly of me and someday I should figure out how to do affiliate links so I can supplement my budget!  Heehee. :-D*

Heat Wave by "Richard Castle"/ 52 Books in 52 Weeks Review

As a fan of both mysteries and Nathan Fillion, I was excited when the TV show Castle premiered.  On this show, Fillion portrays an author shadowing a real life detective in order to realistically portray his fictional homicide detective, Nikki Heat.  It quickly became one of my favorite TV shows.  When I discovered they had actually published a book, Heat Wave, by the fictional Richard Castle, I had to read it.

The hardcover book gives no indication that it's listed author is a fictional character, other than the "Watch Castle on ABC" on the cover.  The back features a photo of Nathan Fillion (enough of a reason to buy the book if you are a Firefly fan!) and the author bio is that of the character he portrays in Castle.  The book reads like an episode of the show, with the detective being shadowed by a journalist rather than an author.  The character of Nikki Heat is more crass and more cynical than the character she is based on, and there is a bit more language (as well as one steamy scene I skimmed over) than is found on the television show.  I tend to be more interested in the characters than the case, in the book it was the opposite.  The case was interesting.  The characters, not-so-much.

If you're already a fan of the show, it could be a fun read.  If not, I'd recommend the TV show over the book.

6/52

*Disclosure: I bought this book with my Borders Bucks and cold, hard cash for the purpose of reading it.  GRIN.* 

Math Tutor DVD: Young Minds- Numbers and Counting

This DVD makes me wish I still had toddlers.  Well. . .maybe.  Okay, it makes me want to run over to my friend's house and watch this with her toddlers.  Which I actually hope to do soon.

Young Minds- Numbers and Counting by Math Tutor is a beautiful, lovely way to teach numbers and counting from 1-10 to your little one.  Do you need a DVD to teach this?  Not anymore than you need adorable picture books.  You don't need it but it sure is enjoyable.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this.  We popped the DVR in the computer and were enthralled with the gorgeous photography, the soft classical music, and the child's voice narrating.  My husband commented that it is like a picture book on film and I think he nailed the description.

Check out a still shot, which doesn't quite do the filming justice;

                                  

You know those beautiful picture books that your toddler brings to you several times a day?  This has the potential of being one of those types of favorites, only it can be popped into the DVR while you are cooking dinner or catching up on your blog reading.  There are also bonus materials, which consist of puzzles, dot to dots and discover the animal.  Watching a puzzle or dot to dot being done wasn't too exciting for me (then again, I'm not a pre-schooler) but in the animal one,  the camera is zoomed in on an animal while the cute narrator describes the animal and you try and guess what it before the camera zooms all the way out.  My 9 and 11 year olds even enjoyed this one (Sh! Don't tell them I admitted that in cyberspace for all to see). 

Who knew I'd be such a fan of a DVD for pre-schoolers?  But as you can tell, I fell in love.  Pretty much at first sight.

Check out the video clip from YouTube below.  If you like what you see and you have toddlers, or friends who will loan you theirs, you can find this for $19.99 at  MathTutorDVD.com

*Disclosure: This DVD was provided to me at no cost for review purposes.  

Check out more Math Tutor reviews HERE. *

Revisiting KinderBach

One of my Top Ten's from last year's review cruise was KinderBach.  This year's Crew has also had the opportunity to try out these adorable piano and music lessons for preschoolers.  As a returning member of the review Crew, I did not need to try this again to know that I really liked it!  So I will just link to my original post, hopefully sparking the interest of any new readers with kids in this age bracket.  It is seriously cute. 

Sound appealing?  Here's the link to the review; KinderBach!

The Comparison Trap

The TOS Crew Blog Cruise question this week asks,  "How do you know if your kids are keeping up with their peers?"  I believe I answered this pretty well in last week's post- "Each family is different and needs to find what fits them, what their children need to learn that year, their own homeschool vision."  I don't see the need for pushing our kids to meet an arbitrary system designed by someone who does not know them.  If there is a definite learning disability, that will become clear.  But does it really matter if they learn American History in 4th grade while the school system teaches it in 3rd?  What if my son is working in 4th grade level math but 1st grade level reading while in 2nd grade?  Do I brag on his achievement or hang my head because his reading level doesn't match up?

I have had children who learned to read at 4 and children who learned to read at 8.  I did fall prey to the comparison trap with my late readers.  Oh my goodness, my child is sitting in Sunday School class unable to read while everyone around them can, how humiliating.  There's the evidence of my failure for all to see. They can all read now and most enjoy it.  Did it harm anything more than my own pride that they learned at their own pace rather than "keeping up with their peers"?  Not really.

I try not to worry about if they are keeping up with their peers.  Setting individual goals and seeing individual progress seems to be a more productive and valuable way of homeschooling.  This allows them to excel in strong areas and take a little more time to work on weak ones.  It keeps learning enjoyable and helps ease frustration for both mom and student.  

I have not perfected this yet myself.  My philosophy stands but my reality falls to the comparison trap too often.  Usually this either creates too much pride (if they are doing well) or too much despair (if they are lagging in an area).  Neither is healthy for me, my children, or my homeschooling.  So I will keep plugging along and try to keep my focus on what my family needs, not on what everyone else is doing.

Free Book by Brian Tome

My Thoughts on Free Book :  I don't come from classy stock.  This reality hit me a few weeks ago when getting together with my extended family.  We are a bunch of regular ole' people, a little rough around the edges, with great, big hearts.  We're not haughty and we like to be told how it is.  Just give it to us straight.

This book is written for that kind of people.  At times, I think he tries too hard.  He gets in your face at the beginning of the book, almost trying to offend you at times.  I think I understand his point, he wants to shock the reader into understanding the bondage they are entangled in, but some will stop reading and miss his message altogether.  Others will continue and then may not be ready to take in the gems that are to be found in the book.  And there are gems.  Hidden in the pages, there is definite treasure to be found.

His definition of freedom and the theme of the Bible is imperfect, in my view.  I'm not sure I would agree that freedom is the central message of Scripture.  I do believe it is a significant message though and too many of us stay trapped in our bondage, afraid to live.  His chapter on living an unbalanced life was only too true for me.  His encouragement to live without fearing man's approval, but seeking only God's, was excellent.  And I could relate to the four general cycles he described.  I took much away from reading this book but could not recommend it to all and cannot agree with everything within the pages. 

I'm okay with that, though.  Taking the meat and spitting out the bones is not a problem for me.  And I can think of a few people I know who may prefer this message delivered in this manner.  I'm willing to trust God to keep them from being bogged down in the sections I disagree with and speak to them through an imperfect book written by an imperfect man.  

Summary:  '"I am a fanatic about freedom. And I'm fanatical about coming at you hard in this book."

Maybe you're not as free as you think you are. Even worse, you may have been duped into believing that a "balanced" life is the key to happiness (it isn't) or that a relationship with God is about layering on rules and restrictions (nope).
Whether it’s media-fueled fear, something a parent or teacher said that you just can’t shake, or even the reality of dark spiritual forces bent on keeping you down, something is holding you back from the full-on freedom God intends for you.
The Bible says, "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." Not fear. Not guilt. Not morality. Freedom. You can have the sort of joy you thought only kids could have. The day of freedom is here.'

*This book was provided at no cost by Thomas Neslon for review purposes.*

5/52

Facts First

Facts First is an online math practice subscription site. It's distributed by Saxon Homeschool but don't let that scare you. Created by Skills Tutor, a sister company to Saxon, it is not connected to the famous math books but is designed to supplement any math curriculum.

This site keeps it simple by focusing on basic math skills- addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.  The student creates a character, works his way through a lesson, and then has five (timed) minutes to play a game, using the facts he just practiced.



I loved this site from the minute we logged on.  It's bright and cheery and makes even math seem fun.  If you can make me think math looks like fun, you've won me over immediately.  My kids felt the same way, and even with an overabundance of math drill programs, were happy to try it out.   

They enjoyed the site as well, loved the way everything looked, and only had one complaint.  They were looking for instructions for the game play and weren't able to find them.  With a five minute time limit, we didn't take the time to search either.

 Aside from that, this was a winner.  If we hadn't already purchased a different math drill program for this year, we may have been persuaded to continue with Facts First after our complimentary 90 days end.  This is one that I would highly recommend and just absolutely love the graphics and design.  Check out the pictures in this post and see if you agree!

A one year subscription for up to four students is available for $49.99.

*Disclosure: A 90 day subscription to FactsFirst was provided at no cost for review purposes.*

Mathscore

I am not the Math/Science type.  I am more the Literature/History kind of girl.  All of these math drill programs have actually been great for forcing me to force my kids to do more math practice.  The bad thing about reviewing multiple math practice programs is that trying not to compare them is impossible.  The great thing about reviewing multiple math practice programs is that trying not to compare them is impossible.  If the last two sentences made no sense to you, then this particular math practice should be right up your alley.  If it made sense, this one may not be the best fit.

Mathscore.com is great in that it adapts to what your children have already grasped.  They won't need to continue to drill concepts and facts they have down pat, the program will adapt the difficulty of the topic based on the student.  It was very easy to set up and very logical in it's presentation.  The student begins with an assessment test, which will allow you to see their strengths and weaknesses.  Topics in which the student is below grade level are highlighted in red and the program will suggest which topics with which to begin working.  While I see it as more of a math practice site, it could be used as a full curriculum as it does cover 2nd grade math through Algebra I.

The site is very simply done and uncluttered.  While trophies are awarded, they are not flashy.  I didn't find it to be very visually appealing, as I personally like bright colors and cheery graphics.  This seemed like a site created by someone with an engineer's brain, made for others with an engineer's brain (If you know an engineer, you know exactly what I am talking about).  I have to give this a mixed review, as it is not a good fit for my artsy fartsy family but I know would be wonderful for a family who needs or enjoys things kept simple.  The meat of the program is wonderful and I would recommend it highly to those students who either don't like or can't handle a lot of "stuff" on their page while working.  This would be a perfect fit for them!

The pricing for Mathscore is very reasonable, if a little complicated.  The basic pricing has you paying $14.95 a month for the first child, $5 a month for the second, and $3.95 for each child after that.  Right now the first child is only $9.95 for the first two months.  There is a free trial available, which lasts half a month (which is a great way to find out if this is a good fit for your family).  A 9-month subscription is also available, which reduces the first child price to $9.95.  After the 9 months, the price is locked in and it becomes $9.95 month by month.  He also offers lump sum payments; you prepay $50 and get $60 account credit or prepay $100 and get $140 account credit.  You may also freeze your account when vacationing and not waste any credit on your subscription.       

If the pricing info all made sense to you, then you should head right over to Mathscore.com and sign up (because I wrote it and don't get it)!  Even if it didn't but you'd like an uncluttered math program, try the free trial.  Each family's different and this may be a perfect fit for you, even if it wasn't for us. 

*Our family tried out the free trial for this review.*

Fiber One 90 Calorie Bars Giveaway Winner

And the winner is...

Heidi at Chatter, Clatter, and Things That Matter!  Congratulations, Heidi.  Please send your mailing address to HomeschoolReviewsandMore at yahoo dot com, so that I may pass it along to MyBlogSpark.