homeschool

All the Curriculum You Need In One Place at SchoolhouseTeachers.com

March 2, 2022 by Amy Leave a Comment

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.

As a mom, I love being with my kids as we homeschool. As a teacher, I love being able to craft lessons that fit their strengths and needs – but even this teacher doesn’t like planning ALL the lessons, and that’s where the beauty of SchoolhouseTeachers.com a division of The Old Schoolhouse® comes in.

Read on to see what SchoolhouseTeachers.com has to offer.

SchoolhouseTeachers.com is a comprehensive website that has everything you need to homeschool. Lessons are designed by experts in each field, and everything needed to teach a child from preschool through twelfth grade is included – with more courses being added all the time.

That’s one element of SchoolhouseTeachers.com that we really like. While there’s a ton of courses available, it’s fun to see what’s being added each month. We’re counting on courses from this website to fulfill our foreign language requirements, and this is being built, too: they’re adding a Korean course this year! How cool is that? Korean is a language that’s not offered in our local public schools, nor is it taught within 60 miles of us even privately, but to be able to learn this language at home, in a way that fits into our routine and schedule, is a huge blessing. Other languages included in SchoolhouseTeachers.com are ASL, several levels of Spanish, Latin, French, and even Latvian.

Other new courses are also being added in 2022, and I’m liking this selection for my kids. With both of them now in high school, we’re specifically looking for classes that match their long-term interests. My Big Helper is interested in psychology to help her craft the characters for the books she writes, and that’s coming. Calculus is coming, as well, and since my Little Man is going to run out of math in his regular curriculum before he runs out of school years with me, that’s another huge bonus, because this mommy isn’t teaching upper-level math anytime soon.

There are now full curriculum boxes for high school at SchoolhouseTeachers.com!

Of course, not everyone likes planning all the lessons, and if you’d rather have it all put together for you, SchoolhouseTeachers.com has a fabulous new option for that. They’ve curated Curriculum Boxes that include everything that a prepackaged all-in-one curriculum would have, and it’s available as a digital download with your subscription: you get a course guide, supply lists, weekly and daily checklists to help you stay on track, and more. This looks like a great option for those of you who want to have the prep work done for you. Even so, if you find that you think most of it is a great fit for your student but you want to switch out a class or two, that’s easily done within the SchoolhouseTeachers.com framework. Having everything prepared and available for you – and not just for one child but for your entire family – is a great deal. These curriculum boxes are currently available for students in Grades K – 12, but boxes for Pre-K and parents are on the way.

SchoolhouseTeachers.com has other parental materials, as well, like recordkeeping forms, calendars, planners, and more. There’s even a special page just for parents, with parental courses, articles, an e-book library, unit studies, and other things.

Another of our favorite ways to use SchoolhouseTeachers.com is as a supplement. Not necessarily for whole classes, though that’s a fabulous option, of course; but we’ve gone into courses and pulled out the specific lesson, skill, or strategy that we want to learn and used just that part. I can’t give out the credit for completing the course when we do that, but often pulling these pieces allows my kids to learn in a way different from our usual and they get to do something fun with our regular studies. For example, when we were doing a year-long study of the Temple in our middle-grade youth group at church a few years ago, My Big Helper did an architecture lesson about it. She loved it and it was a very in-depth lesson – she ended up taking her work to church to show her classmates later. It was perfect!

With a SchoolhouseTeachers.com Ultimate Membership, you’ll have everything you need for the entire family.

SchoolhouseTeachers.com is a subscription website, so when you sign up, you have access to everything – and there’s a lot. With loads of online books, complete curriculums for every grade level, materials for parents, over 400 streaming materials, and new online live classes and showcases, you’ll find everything that you need for the whole family right here.

My family loves having SchoolhouseTeachers.com as an option – but don’t take our word for it! Read other reviews by the Homeschool Review Crew by clicking on the graphic below.

An Affordable Homeschool Online Option for All Grades with SchoolhouseTeachers.com

Here’s Why You Need Mr. Lemoncello’s Very First Game

February 7, 2022 by Amy Leave a Comment

Mr. Lemoncello’s Very First Game is a new prequel to Chris Grabenstein’s amazing Mr. Lemoncello series. Here’s what it’s all about:

Luigi has a knack for games and puzzles. But sometimes it feels like the cards are stacked against him. UNTIL a carnival arrives in town and Luigi gets the CHANCE OF A LIFETIME—the opportunity to work for the world famous Professor Marvelmous–a dazzling, banana-hat-wearing barker who puts the SHOW in SHOWMAN! When the carnival closes, Professor Marvelmous leaves behind a mysterious puzzle box along with a clue. A clue that will lead Luigi and his friends on a fantastical treasure hunt to a prize beyond anything they could imagine–if they can find it!

Read on for my review of Mr. Lemoncello’s Very First Game.

Mr. Lemoncello’s Very First Game is the perfect prequel to the fantabulous Mr. Lemoncello series. It has it all: fun-loving Luigi as a young teen, puzzles, wordplay, misled bullies, family feuds, fun foods, quotable quotes, timeless wisdom, character lessons, and even balloons.

Chris Grabenstein has created the perfect blend of fun and learning with this series, and he really knocks it out of the park with Mr. Lemoncello’s Very First Game. He traces Mr. Lemoncello’s witticisms, character traits, and unique style back to his thirteenth summer and shares how they were each formed. This makes for a fun story, but the thoroughness and signature flair with which he does so is awesome. The story is tight, the characters true to the series, and there’s depth that can really be mined in multiple ways.

Which is one thing I really love about Grabenstein’s stories in this series. Many authors writing for the middle-grade audience and younger water down the content or resort to lame jokes that involve bodily functions or sound like something from a locker room – but while he definitely has a unique sense of humor, he clearly respects kids enough not to talk down to them. He pays attention to issues that kids have at this age and writes stories that address them while still being fun – and that can’t be easy. Grabenstein writes with strong sentence structure and good vocabulary while keeping the stories easy to read, as well – it’s obvious that he’s a good writer in both skill and content.

Each book in the Mr. Lemoncello series has a ‘moral of the story,’ if you will: some type of life lesson wrapped up in fun, puzzles, and balloons. Mr. Lemoncello’s Very First Game takes that concept a few steps further, however, and shows how Luigi L. Lemoncello’s character is formed during that all-important thirteenth summer – and then how those lessons shape the man that he becomes and the lessons he teaches in the other books. This not only shows off Grabenstein’s character, but it makes these lessons accessible for the kids reading these books – and gives adults everywhere the opportunity to have fun sharing these with kids.

These are crucial character lessons like:

What do you do when you don’t fit in?
How should you handle bullies?
How far should you go to help a friend – or your family?
What is a gift – and how can you identify it?
How can you tell where your future path leads?
How should you handle betrayal?
What things in life are valuable?
How can you tell truth from lies – or jealousy?

Mr. Lemoncello’s Very First Game is a book that belongs on every bookshelf in America – along with the rest of the series. We need more examples of wisdom, kindness, and understanding. In a culture that tries to shove everyone into the same box of expectations, we need more people who understand that everyone has different gifts and talents and that it’s okay to be good at your own thing. We need people who are good at solving problems and good with people and good at building things and good at critical thinking and good with literature and good with kids and good with business – and nobody can be good at everything. The Lemoncello series shines through with scientifically researched, educational wisdom with a Superman-sized dose of character and wisdom, and I highly recommend that parents, teachers, and librarians snag their own copies of this series and read it with the kids in their spheres – starting with Mr. Lemoncello’s Very First Game.

Pin this to share Mr. Lemoncello’s Very First Game review with your friends.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Check out my reading guide for Mr. Lemoncello’s Very First Game!

BUT WAIT!

If you’re going to use this book with your students, family, or book club, I have just the thing for you! I’ve created reading guide with discussion questions, creative writing prompts, and vocabulary words, all designed to make the most of the fantastic themes in this book. Check it out here – and stay tuned because there’s more in the works!

Why Strange Star is the Perfect Autumn Read

September 21, 2021 by Amy Leave a Comment

When the leaves start to change color and the temperature drops, when pumpkins and apples rule every roadside market and suddenly orange is everyone’s favorite color, … one can’t help but think of autumn. Of color and beauty and abundance but also of the coming winter and full moons and stark branches. It can be a bit spooky, and anything that draws strong emotions just begs for a story. Especially when it’s a whole season.

That’s why Strange Star is the perfect autumn read for your middle-school classroom or your family. It’s great for book clubs – that’s where I taught it – or in lit class or for a student choice read. It’s a fast-paced adventure story that will engage your students immediately.

Because it’s the imagined backstory to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.

How did she write that story, anyway? What prompted a woman to tell a tale of corpses and surgeries and scientific experiments gone awry? What made this young woman pen a tale of heartbreak and horror?

Emma Carroll’s imagined version is definitely a modern idea of what might have happened – but that’s part of what makes it so great. It’s a colorful tale of adventure, of a diverse cast of characters considering what if: What if I could have saved that baby? What if people had the power to reverse death? What if, despite my history and reputation, I can be different? What if my past didn’t dictate my future? What if a person’s gender or skin color doesn’t define who they are or what they can do? What if society’s norms can be changed?

Carroll’s story is a work of historical fiction at its best: it acknowledges historical ideas and cultural norms but puts characters in place who challenge them in ways that fit the parameters of the story. It’s based on real science and real history, so it’s meaty, but it involves folklore and crushes and scientific experiments and gossip and enough murderous intent to engage any student. Strange Star will prompt your students to challenge old ideas and encourage lively discussions and creative writing – and I enjoyed digging into this book so much that I made it a book club read for both of the groups I work with.

Our book clubbers chose to discuss this at night, in the country beside a roaring bonfire at the side of a pond, while we roasted hot dogs and made s’mores and generally got into the spooky groove of the whole thing. We enjoyed being able to consider kid and adult opinions alike – but whether you meet in a classroom or a campsite, your students will have a great time with this story.

That’s why I’m sharing these Discussion Questions and Creative Writing Prompts for Emma Carroll’s Strange Star.

Emma Carroll’s *Strange Star* is the perfect autumn read for your family, book club, or classroom.

This resource includes discussion questions sorted by chapter for teacher use and organized additionally with a single chapter’s questions per page for student use for cooperative learning, homework, or assessment. There are also essay questions and creative writing prompts, all designed to encourage interaction with the story and to demonstrate comprehension.

There is so much to dig into with Strange Star – I know you’ll have great conversations with it!

What are you reading this season?

How to Teach Your Students to Separate Truth from Fallacy

August 18, 2021 by Amy Leave a Comment

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.

Do you ever worry about how your children will fare out in the real world? How they’ll know truth from fiction, reality from warped perspectives, and differentiate between what’s an opinion and what’s a sales pitch? This ability plays a role in everything from understanding the news to the weekly sermon to buying a car or house. It affects your choices in small and big ways in every way, every day of your life.

Learn how to separate truth from fallacy with the Fallacy Detective. Read my full review here.

That’s why I’m loving The Fallacy Detective from Hans Bluedorn! This fantastic book will teach your students to do all of the above in really fun ways.

Isn’t the cover of The Fallacy Detective fun?

I have the workbook edition, and it’s a softcover book slightly bigger than a mass market paperback. The inside pages are grayscale and consist of 38 lessons. Each lesson is short – usually not more than three pages or so – and contains very straightforward, direct information. Most lessons include a short comic, breaking apart the text, both illustrating the point and adding an element of fun to it.

Each lesson also includes an ‘exercise.’ Most of the time this consists of a short series of multiple-choice questions. The others are short answer. For all of the questions within a certain lesson, the point is for the student to identify to the strategy being taught within that specific lesson. This provides for immediate assessment and feedback. If your student doesn’t understand the lesson, you’ll be able to tell at this point.

The Fallacy Detective can be used as one-half to one high school credit. I think this is a really fun way to learn important skills and earn valuable credit! You could do this multiple ways:

If you have only one student, s/he could read the lesson and do the exercises independently. The teacher could check the written work in the book, and with good understanding, that could be all that is needed.

However, the exercises were intended to be discussed, so you could tackle this course another way. If you still only have one student, you could enter the conversation as the teacher. Allow your student to read the lesson independently and tackle the exercises, but then have a joint discussion about them.

Of course, if you have multiple students, even better! They could still read the lesson independently or read it together. Then, after a few minutes to review the exercises, hold a class or family discussion about each one. This will allow you not only to see who understands the concepts well but will also allow everyone to consider new perspectives.

You could even make this bigger than your family. If you have enough students, this would make a wonderful class for a co-op or learning group. Meeting once per week for an hour’s discussion would easily give you the required time to earn a half credit, and if you added homework and reading time, a credit should be very doable.

As we’re having a bit of a wonky summer and our schedule is out of whack, we’ve done a mixture of several of the above. My kids have been reading independently. Sometimes we discuss it together, sometimes they do the work on their own. I love the flexibility that this program provides!

Having studied Aristotle a bit in school, I love that many of the concepts within this book are based on his work. He had a huge body of work, so The Fallacy Detective concentrates on just logical fallacies.

Check out the Table of Contents for The Fallacy Detective.

This includes things like red herrings, avoiding the question, circular reasoning, generalizations, and analagies. These are all really important things to learn, and I love how clearly they’re presented. My favorite chapter, though, is the last one.

The last chapter is all about propaganda. While we’ve talked about this as a family and in book club, I appreciate how clearly and logically this series of lessons progresses. There are many practical applications for the information in this section, and I’m thankful that it’s included.

I’ve really enjoyed our work with The Fallacy Detective, and my students are going to continue with it to earn their credit. It’s a great and fun way to learn necessary skills while simultaneously working to complete high school requirements. Don’t take my word for it, though – click on the graphic below to read other reviews from the Homeschool Review Crew.

Hans Bluedorn Brings us Fallacy Detective and Archer & Zowie

How to Create a Comprehensive Record To Get Your Student into College

August 11, 2021 by Amy 2 Comments

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.

Are you homeschooling through high school? I’ve been excited for years about the opportunities that are available during this season – but the idea of creating transcripts and other records is scary to me. After all, these things are really important for getting into college, right? – and both my kids want to go! That’s why I’m excited for the opportunity to review the Comprehensive Record Solution from The HomeScholar LLC.

The Comprehensive Record Solution Resource from The HomeScholar will show you how to create the necessary documents to apply for colleges and scholarships.

The Comprehensive Record Solution is perfect for families with students who plan to attend college. It includes information about all of the records that one might possibly need to submit to a school for consideration, no matter what type of school or record that might be. While The HomeScholar LLC also offers courses and information about specific types of records, (transcripts, for example), the Comprehensive Record Solution goes far beyond only the transcript and includes many others.

My Little Man is beginning his freshman year of high school next month, and for him, the timing of this resource is perfect. I’ll be able to use these resources to start his high school career off with a bang in terms of administration – because, really, unless you’re a guidance counselor, who of us really knows how to do all of this?

My Big Helper, though, is a junior in high school – and begins college classes next week as a dual-enrolled student. That means that I’ve now been stressing and researching my way through all of this paperwork and these records for several years now – and it’s totally not my thing.

The very best part of this, to me, is that everything is in one place. I don’t have to go looking for reputable sites that can teach me about which tests are the best fit for my students or when to take them. I don’t need to find out where to go for templates or transcripts or what to call classes. Everything is in this resource – and I love that!

Those templates? They’re my next favorite thing. I love that it’s all laid out for me, ready for me to personalize. There are even hints about what to change, what could be optional or left out, and how to do the whole thing – printed right into each document! Does it get any better than that? Because, seriously, there are many places that claim to offer templates – but in reality, what you get is a downloadable, printable-but-not-editable document that has a URL but is basically blank. No help there – but these? These are real documents that are downloadable in three digital formats so that you have access to one that works for you. When you download them? They’re completely editable with all of those hints and hacks to help you make the most professional record possible. That means streamlined, easier work for me, and as the parent/mom/curriculum specialist/principal/guidance counselor/district superintendent, I need all the help I can get.

When you click through to your purchased resource, your Comprehensive Record screen looks like this – easy to navigate!

Another great thing? There are four modules, divided into sections, each with linked, pre-recorded videos that share information you need. They’re easy to access, and the software that hosts it all is easy to navigate. Again – easy. Something I definitely need in this stage of my life, and I appreciate that I can concentrate on learning and using the information and not on figuring out a new website or management system.

The videos vary in length. Some are short introductions, others are much longer and more comprehensive, but all are clear and detailed. While they’re not recordings of Lee Binz, the owner, live and on screen, they are recordings of Powerpoint-like presentations as she does voiceovers. There are pictures, lists, and notes. The format is very simple but effective.

I wish that I had known about this resource two years ago as My Big Helper headed into her freshman year. I’m thankful to know about it now, though, and I’ll be going back to create aallllll of these resources and to continue to watch videos, click through to links for more information, and download more templates and forms and workbooks so that I can make the best and most comprehensive record for my kids as possible – so they can present their high school education in the best light possible for future review.

Don’t take my word for it, though – click on the graphic below to read reviews from other members of the Homeschool Review Crew.

Homeschool High School to College with The HomeScholar

How to Add Art to Your Homeschool Easily with Creating a Masterpiece

July 15, 2021 by Amy Leave a Comment

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.

I love doing art with my kids – but I’m definitely not an art teacher. My kids really enjoy art, too – especially My Little Man. Knowing about art, artists, and movements is something he definitely likes, but we all need help learning about techniques and such. That’s why I was so excited for the opportunity to review the Art History Program from Creating a Masterpiece.

How to Add Art to Your Homeschool Easily with Creating a Masterpiece

We all had fun looking over the project list and choosing which one we wanted to do first. My Little Man was especially happy to see several projects involving fish! He chose to do a charcoal drawing of Angling for Trout.

For this one, we gathered the needed supplies and set up shop at our kitchen table. I put my computer on the opposite side, and My Little Man and each worked across from it.

Each of these lessons are taught via video. The first video is a supply-gathering one, and the actual instruction begins after that. All of the videos in this particular lesson are only a few minutes long.

I was a bit concerned that the number of videos meant the project would be complex and difficult – there were seven! – but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Instead, the work was extremely doable. I like how the instructor broke down the lesson into small pieces, and then those small pieces were made possible by comparing the required work to something that everyone could understand.

For example, when creating the fish’s fins, she likened them to triangles. Actually, for this piece she did this often: pointed out the shape of the work that needed to be done, and then demonstrated it with her materials.

I found it very helpful to watch her movements and then to make my own marks. Most of the time, because they were so simple, we could keep up in real time with the video, though a few times I paused it to make sure that we wouldn’t miss anything.

My Little Man is very patient, and because the steps were simple, we did the entire project in a single session. We watched one video right after another until we had finished the whole thing.

My Little Man created a wonderful trout with this Creating a Masterpiece resource.

This was a really fun project to do, and it made for a great introductory piece for My Little Man, who had never used charcoal before. His trout looks really great, too, doesn’t it?

I had fun making this trout in charcoal – and I’m very happy with how it turned out!

I haven’t used charcoal since high school, and even then, it wasn’t something I used often. It was really fun to break out these materials and be creative. I don’t get to do that nearly as often as I’d like, but it needs to happen more. This resource definitely makes it possible.

My Big Helper went in a new direction. She wanted to try making the peacock feathers with ink. Again, this was a very new technique for her, but she spread out all of the materials on the kitchen table and worked through the videos one step at a time. There were six videos in this series, but just like the trout, the steps were very simple and easy to follow. My Big Helper loved the process and her finished project so much that she’s started to use this same technique to make other, simple drawings of her creation.

We’ve had a tough summer – with a relative’s long hospital stay and subsequent death taking over several weeks and the aftermath lingering – we haven’t been able to do nearly as much with this curriculum as we’d like. My kids liked these resources so much, though, that they’ve asked to do more of them even while on an upcoming vacation with their grandparents. They’re checking out projects together and choosing which art supplies to pack. It’s fun to see them so excited about something that they can do together, and I love that it can be so easy for all of them to do learn something new and make memories together.

Moving forward, we’re looking forward to calmly learning more art and techniques with Creating a Masterpiece. I can’t wait to do this with the kids, too! It’s such a great way to blend learning and fun.

Don’t take my word for it, though. Click here to read other reviews from the Homeschool Review Crew.

Hands-on Resources for Teaching About World War II

July 6, 2021 by Amy Leave a Comment

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.

I had a fabulous professor in college from whom I took several classes about World War II history – thanks, Dr. Khippan! – and ever since we started homeschooling, I’ve looked forward to our World War II unit. I’ve been collecting resources for years to be sure that I had the materials we needed to do this time period justice – and that’s why I was excited for the opportunity to review Time Travelers U.S. History Studies: World War II from Home School in the Woods.

Home School in the Woods has several series of resources, including time lines, world history materials, map packs, and Biblical studies. Many of these are targeted for students in third through eighth grades, including the Time Travelers study we used.

While my kids are definitely at the upper end of that range, we still enjoyed parts of this study – and there’s much to dig into.

I like that the resource includes a lapbook. If you’re using all or most of the resource, that gives purpose and functionality to the work. The pieces then can be put together in the lapbook, which makes a great keepsake or souvenir.

Even without the lapbook, though, there is much to study. Many of the lessons include readings with lessons. There are also many pages of copywork featuring famous quotes related to the war. We especially liked the pages that were available for coloring: propaganda posters and a variety of maps. We studied propaganda used by both the Allied and Axis powers, and so these coloring pages were really neat to use and display.

The maps were also important references. We printed them at the beginning of our study and referred to them as we learned about battles and events in different places. Even though we were constantly talking about new places, using the maps was a huge help as my kids tried to wrap their minds around just how big World War II was and how many places were involved in fighting physically.

I really like all of these options. They provide a great deal of versatility and make it possible for a wide range of ages to learn together. While my two kids are close in age and ability, the flexibility provided with these materials would make it very easy for a family or larger group of kids to study together. Parents could easily differentiate by adding pieces or removing them for younger kids.

On the flip side, however, the depth and variety of materials does have a down side: there’s just so many of them that the files are cumbersome to use. There is a clickable document that helps to navigate much of it, but I found printing the files to be very frustrating. I don’t like having to have multiple windows and programs open, but that’s what happened as I tried to navigate through the folders and documents. I like that the document is clickable, as that does make it easier to navigate, but I’d much rather have a single file with everything in it. If the table of contents was hyperlinked, then navigating the larger file is still rather easy. When there are many documents with only a page or two in each one, remembering where something is and how to find it again is much more complicated.

I really love that variety, though. I became a fan the minute I noticed the recipes – we love cooking and baking along with our historical studies! There are several included here, and they’re really good ones.

Another perk is the inclusion of primary sources. I loved being able to see a ration card, because as many times as I’ve heard about them, I’ve never seen one before. That was really neat, and we all spent quite a long time studying it and then discussing what we observed.

We used these materials in conjunction with our regular history plans. These could easily be everything you need for younger students, but this resource makes a great hands-on supplement for books or other materials, as well.

Don’t take my word for it, though. Click here to read other reviews from the Homeschool Review Crew.

Hands On History with Homeschool in the Woods

Ultimate PreK-12 Annual Membership from SchoolhouseTeachers.com – Review

January 5, 2021 by Amy Leave a Comment

Disclosure: I received this product free through the Homeschool Review Crew.

We chose to begin homeschooling when our kids were in primary school. At first, it was really easy as they learned through play and worked well together. We did all of our lessons together and they loved almost everything.

As they’ve gotten older, though, their own unique interests and abilities have come to the forefront, and with every year it’s more important that I design studies that fit each child. That’s why we love the Ultimate PreK-12 Annual Membership from SchoolhouseTeachers.com.

SchoolhouseTeachers.com is a subscription-based website that operates like a … well, like a college. It holds courses and curriculum, video libraries, digital book libraries, banks of printables for parents, and so much more. With the Ultimate PreK-12 Annual Membership, it’s all there, waiting, so that you can access as much or as little or whichever parts you want, when you want.

I really love that flexibility. We design our school schedule around family events and the history competitions that we love, and so we aren’t on a September-through-May schedule. Because the classes are digital, and you can take a single session or entire courses, you can really design your own schedule to suit your child specifically. I love this aspect of it – we can hop in and pull out the elements that we need to work with what we’re doing without being locked into a bigger chunk that’s more than we want.

My Big Helper has taken a few classes from courses because she was super interested in those specific things. I’ve also pulled pieces from courses to supplement our own assignments when we’re working with subjects that aren’t … ahem … my favorite. Foreign language, anyone?

My Big Helper has been loving all the options available. She’s very slowly working her way through the Introduction to Architecture course. This was especially wonderful when we were building a replica of the Temple with our youth group, because she had already studied it, mapped it out, and had a ton of resources at her fingertips that she could easily share with the other kids. Because she’s a super busy kid, and this class isn’t one that she formally needs right now, she’s not able to take it at a normal pace, and that would create problems with other venues. Because most classes remain hosted on the SchoolhouseTeachers.com website for quite some time, however, and you’re able to work at your own pace, My Big Helper is slowly but surely working her way through as she’s able.

ASL Adventures with the Ultimate PreK-12 Annual Membership

She’s also going to start taking ASL Adventures when she finishes the project she’s currently engaged in. She’s been fascinated with sign language for a long time and is looking forward to taking this class to meet part of her foreign language requirements.

My Little Man loves the video library. I like that there’s a selection of holiday videos, and he enjoyed watching the Advent ones in December.

He’s also especially fond of the World Book Readers. He loves nonfiction books, books full of facts and trivia, and books about animals – all of which are plentiful here! I love that everything he’s reading is safe for kids and it’s super educational, too.

Whether you’re an experienced homeschooler or just starting out, whether you just need the occasional resource or you need it all, the Ultimate PreK-12 Annual Membership will have what you need. It’s a great resource! Don’t take my word for it, though – click here to read other reviews from the Homeschool Review Crew.

Learn Python with Homeschool Code Academy

November 9, 2020 by Amy Leave a Comment

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

One of my very favorite classes in high school was computer programming. I spent a semester with Mr. Hardison in the fall of my freshman year learning how to write simple code in C++. I never imagined how useful that would be, but now, too many years later, I find myself using the logic and the structure of those basic lessons for all sorts of things. Although I don’t know of anything that C++ is actually used for today, other computer languages seem to use some of the same organization, and I’ve been able to tinker with tiny things on the back end of this blog because of those classes.

That’s why I’ve been so determined that my own children learn something about programming before they graduate – and it’s why I think that the Python for Beginners class from Homeschool Code Academy is worth checking out. While my kids weren’t able to use these classes during this review period, I’ve watched several of the classes and checked out the course structure. From a teacher who used to know a bit about coding, here are some thoughts:

Matt Bohn is the instructor for Python for Beginners at Homeschool Code Academy.

I admit, I don’t know a lot about Python. Matt Bohn at Homeschool Code Academy walks you through the basics slowly and carefully, though. He advertises the class as suitable for beginners, and I think that could be true for programming-ready mid-elementary students and older.

You don't need any previous coding background to learn Python with Homeschool Code Academy. — You don’t need any previous coding background to learn Python with Homeschool Code Academy.

The first few lessons are all about tech in general. He defines hardware, software, and programming. He gives instructions about how to download the software, set it up to look like his own, and then it’s finally time to get started.

Learning Python by immersion with Homeschool Code Academy.

Bohn teaches by immersion. He starts off by typing in a line of code, showing what it does, and then defining each part and explaining why it works. From there, he works backwards: he puts in bugs and then shows what happens with those mistakes in the code and how to fix them. As he works through this process, he’s teaching the language of both basic tech and Python. Before beginning, he asks the student to open their own Python window and mimic what he does. This gives the student the opportunity to learn the lessons well and it makes the lessons more interactive and fun.

I really liked this style of learning. It’s much more interesting than sitting idly, watching letters pop up on his screen – and if you decide to test out what you’re learning and type in a few extra lines of code, what would that hurt? While I enjoyed it, though, I do think it might be a bit more confusing for students who are very young or who have absolutely no experience with coding whatsoever. I would understand if they needed to rewatch certain parts to pick up everything.

The video lessons are short – most are only a few minutes in length – but students are advised to watch repeatedly or to replay parts that aren’t understood until they are able to code that lesson correctly. In the beginning, as well, an email address was provided so that you could send questions if necessary.

While the videos themselves are short, the lessons have multiple videos – one even has 25! That lesson is all about loops, and loops are tricky to write. Back in my own programming days, I wrote my final program with a loop that contained a bug but stumped my teacher – and so I got an ‘A!’ The detail written into this piece of the course assures me that this won’t happen here, though, and students will learn about many different types of loops and not just one.

At Homeschool Code Academy, you can learn Python at your own pace.

Homeschool Code Academy‘s classes are self-paced, so you can go as slowly or as quickly as you want. They consist of pre-recorded videos with no live component, so you can work on them anytime. You can email the company if you get really stuck, so there is help available, but the videos are very detailed, so I think that must be rare. I think that Homeschool Code Academy is a great option for someone wanting to learn Python – but don’t take my word for it. Click on the image below to read other reviews from the Homeschool Review Crew.

Python for Beginners: Learn Coding at Home {Homeschool Code Academy Reviews}

NatureGlo’s eScience MathArt and Science Course Bundle – Review

October 7, 2020 by Amy Leave a Comment

Science and math are not my favorite subjects to teach. I much prefer to devote my time to lit and history and let someone else plan those subjects. That’s why I was interested to learn what the NatureGlo’s eScience MathArt & Science Course Bundle from NatureGlo’s eScience included.

I love creative lessons and hands-on projects. That was the part about this company that most interested me. My Little Man chose to start with the Exploring the Giant Redwoods Trees Workshop, and we jumped right in.

The NatureGlo eScience MathArt and Science Course bundle comes with 25 classes! These are just a few of them.

This class starts with a series of videos. One is made by Gloria, the class creator. This video is 33 minutes long and is bookended by information for teachers. The middle part, the majority, is Gloria walking students through the printable study guide and discussing the artwork and related tree trivia. The video goes into great detail about what makes the three types of Redwoods different with lots of facts and figures, and as a trivia nut, My Little Man was enthralled for that part. Non-factual me was less interested. The other videos, which were linked up from around the internet, were easier to follow and much shorter.

Gloria’s video could have been made more professional by separating the parts, I think. By putting all of the teacher information into one document or one video, it would be easier for students to watch the videos and stay focused on just the information they need without getting bogged down by extra stuff. Since the whole point for me of a program like this is to allow my students to be independent, I’d much prefer that approach. I think making a separate presentation, whether a Prezi or a PowerPoint, to use with the video instead of the pdf would make for a smoother lesson. It would eliminate the need to scroll and move around the screen as much; as a very visual learner, I found that to be very distracting.

After watching the videos, there were questions to answer in the comments. We did so, and we were also instructed to leave kind feedback on another student’s answers. I like this attempt to make the class feel more interactive.

The next page took us to projects and additional resources. I thought this would be a place where the students would extend the lesson in other ways, but it turned out to be a list of links where students could go for more information. Some of it was extension information, but in the form of additional videos, poems on websites, etc. Several of the links recommended were from WikiPedia, which is a big no-no for academic research in our school. As evaluating sources is a big deal for us, this poses a big problem. Essentially, this page attempts to turn this lesson into a vague unit study by offering a round-up of resources from around the web.

NatureGlo eScience classes are for relaxed homeschoolers and unschoolers. While we don’t always follow formal, big-box curriculum for all subjects, this lesson was much too casual for my college-prep high school students. I expect more rigor and preparation out of their lessons, and I was surprised that this lesson would be considered appropriate for high school.

The image above shows the format of the online forum where classes are taken. Videos and assignments are on the left side of the screen, while the different parts of each NatureGlo eScience course are on the right. — The image above shows the format of the online forum where classes are taken. Videos and assignments are on the left side of the screen, while the different parts of each course are on the right.

We chose to work our way through the Leonardo da Vinci class next. These two classes mix art and math. The videos for this class are recorded from live classes and are, for the most part, more professional and easier to follow. Round robin reading has never been my favorite, though, and watching it on a video does leave something to be desired. I like the discussion aspects and think that the question-and-answer format definitely adds to the class structure. While my kids don’t like live classes, I think they would be more fun.

The resources that accompany this class are more advanced and interactive than those that go with the Redwoods class. There are STEM projects, interactive timelines, sites with additional videos, and more. All in all, this NatureGlo eScience class feels much more complete.

My Little Man is looking forward to NatureGlo’s eScience Marine Biology and the MC Escher classes next.

While NatureGlo’s eScience classes are intended for high school, I think they’d be great for middle school students who want to explore a variety of math and science areas. With high school students, I think they’d definitely be geared more for students who don’t want to pursue these areas in college, and as the author points out, supplementing with other materials would be recommended.

Don’t take my word for it, though – click on the graphic below to read other reviews from the Homeschool Review Crew.