Homeschool Archives - Page 7 of 56

Beric The Briton {Heirloom Audio Productions Review}

July 22, 2016 by Emilee Evans

We have really enjoyed the audio adventures from Heirloom Audio Productions. It really brings history to life in an exciting way. They offer stories that take children back in time and introduce Christian Heroes for Christian kids. Their latest in The Extraordinary Adventures of G.A. Henty is Beric The Briton. I was definitely excited to share our Beric The Briton review!

Beric The Briton offers two hours featuring a story of grace, sacrifice, and redemption. From our previous Heirloom Audio Production reviews, we have found the best way for us to approach studying the great stories is to listen to the entire audio production at once. Because it is two hours, we do only listen to one hour the first day and another hour the second day. It is an audio CD so it can be used in a computer that plays audio CD’s, DVD players on audio, and in the car with a CD player! We love listening to them in the car!
Although the audio CD alone offers a great story and lesson, Heirloom Audio Productions offers a variety of great bonuses including: a Study Guide & Discussion, the Beric the Briton MP3 Set, Beric the Briton E-Book, Official MP3 Soundtrack, Printable Cast Poster, an Inspirational Verse Poster and Live the Adventure Letter.
We have always found the Study Guide & Discussion to be so helpful in really ensuring the kids are comprehending what they’re learning. Open ended questions can be challenging for our kids. As they get older, though, (and we work on it more), it has become easier. Alternatively, I can ask the questions more in a way that gives them options to choose the answer. Of course, I have to make sure I’ve been listening well, too!

Beric The Briton Review

After we’ve listened to the audio production completely through, we then break it up by track as it does in the Study Guide. Generally, listening to only one track at a time is best for our kids (ages 10, 8 and 6). The Study Guide not only asks comprehension questions but also stirs discussion in Thinking Further and even offer Defining Words. We all listen to it together and participate in the questions and discussion together as well.
Overall, we have followed the patterns we’ve used with previous audio productions, but I did find Beric the Briton was a little harder for our kids to get into. Our summer has been quite overwhelming, though, so it may simply be stress is making it harder to concentrate. The overall quality of the audio and cast is fantastic as usual. Beric the Briton is overall of high quality and engaging.
I always love what Heirloom Audio Productions has to offer. I appreciate their desire to bring history to life and “ignite a passion for living boldly in God’s world.” They want families to learn and pass down stories from history as they are and not how they’ve been changed.

Get Connected with Heirloom Audio Productions/Beric The Briton

Beric The Briton Facebook, The Extraordinary Adventures of G.A. Henty series Facebook, Heirloom Audio Productions Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Google+.
Other members of the Schoolhouse Review Crew had the chance to review Beric The Briton with their families as well. See how they used it and what they thought by clicking on the banner below!

Revisiting an Old Favorite in a New Way {ABeCeDarian Review}

July 14, 2016 by Emilee Evans

A few years ago we had the opportunity to share our ABeCeDarian review. ABeCeDarian Company offers a reading program that addresses the key areas of phonemic awareness, phonics, and fluency. It was a new way for us to learn reading, and I was recently considering starting it with our youngest (age 6). When I was introduced to the ABeCeDarian Interactive A Workbook I was excited to check it out with him!
In addition to now offering the Level A Workbook as an interactive digital resource the Teacher Manual – A is available as a digital version as well. It is a PDF download, so it could easily be viewed on your computer. I, personally, prefer to save PDF’s in iBooks on both my phone and iPad for easy access. I do still have the physical book, of course, but I find I much prefer the the digital download!

ABeCeDarian Interactive A Workbook

The ABeCeDarian Interactive Workbook is accessed online. We created a user account, and when we are logged into that account we can select the Interactive Workbook to get started. Because of this there is nothing to download.
We have found it does take a bit for the Interactive Workbook to load. It is completely normal to have a blank screen during that time. Shortly a loading page will come up and will load the workbook. Every time the Interactive Workbook is loaded it starts at the first page (the cover). Because of this, I found it’s a good idea to make note of where you left off. This will ensure you’re following the reading program as suggested. You can then click on the specific lesson you are on to continue.

To progress through the Interactive workbook we use my Windows laptop with touch screen. To advance pages, we simply click on the top right corner, and to go back we click on the bottom left. It is actually not that common for us to use the touch screen, so just that fact alone was fun for our son. I was also finding he just responds so much better to the digital version.

About the Reading Program

The ABeCeDarian Interactive A Workbook has been identical to the physical version up to this point. It takes a unique approach to learning to read. It really stresses the importance of letter sounds rather than the letter names, and I have found it’s much easier to teach this from the beginning rather than after they know and recognize all letters by name. It starts with simple three letter words and continues to build upon those same sounds while eventually progressing to new sounds.
Additionally, it does include the writing as well. The touch screen really comes in handy for this. I am unsure whether or not you could use it without the touch screen, but I imagine it would be difficult if so. The writing is the biggest difference I have seen as far as how Chaz does with the program. Due to his fine-motor delays holding a pencil is challenging for him. This has allowed him to still practice the letter strokes without a pencil. He simply uses his finger to trace and write them.

Occasionally, it will make a random mark or line. If that had been on paper, he would have gotten very upset. If it happens in the Interactive Workbook, though, he thinks it is hilarious. Sometimes it is just a random error from another part of the hand touching the screen, but sometimes it’s just due to his challenges. Regardless, I love that he is still enjoying it because that makes a big difference in his attitude toward learning to write!

Teacher Manual – A

The Teacher Manual offers a step by step guide on how to conduct the lessons. It really includes a lot of detail, and I definitely recommend reading the introduction before beginning the program. It not only breaks down each activity but also includes what you should say out loud and what to do when a mistake was made. This has helped to avoid the frustration!
Overall, I think ABeCeDarian is a great reading program. It worked well for our older children, and now it is working well for our youngest. He has really been recognizing the letter sounds he has already learned and is doing great with learning the new letter sounds. I was glad to see how quickly he picked up the word building activities. This is definitely a reading program where I sit down with him, of course, and he’s just been enjoying it overall!
Plus, the digital options really make it convenient. It can be accessed easily, and the fact that it’s interactive makes a great difference. He can trace and write his letters without the frustration caused by holding a pencil. He is still able to practice those letter strokes and build those skills along the way!

Get Connected with ABeCeDarian

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Fellow members of the Schoolhouse Review Crew had the opportunity to review this great reading program as well! Check out their reviews by clicking on the banner below!

Online Art Lessons {ArtAchieve Review}

July 13, 2016 by Emilee Evans

Our kids have completely different feelings about art. Our daughter absolutely LOVES art and could draw all day long every day if given the opportunity. Our oldest son, though, really doesn’t like it much at all. His feelings are more because he feels like he can’t do it well, though. So I was definitely excited to receive the Entire Level I share an ArtAchieve review.

ArtAchieve offers online Art lessons that comply with the U.S. National Standards for Art Education. There are five levels available that are suitable for a variety of ages (including adults). It requires no background in teaching art so anyone can both take the lessons or “teach” them! In addition to learning art, though, our kids have also been learning about various other topics related to the art lessons. We’ve really been having a lot of fun with it!
ArtAchieve lessons are accessed online through your account. You simply log in and view your list of lessons. It doesn’t require you to follow any specific order as the lessons don’t appear to build on themselves, so we kind of bounced around. Each lesson is presented in different ways: a video and PowerPoint. Plus, each lesson also includes a Warm-Up and a Printout.

ArtAcheive Review – Level I

We have been using ArtAchieve with our oldest two children (ages 10 and 8). Their love for learning art is also relevant to their current skill. Our daughter does very well with almost any art project whereas our son has challenges. I wasn’t sure we could work through this program together, but we have been. It has been working out great! Our daughter enjoys the challenge of learning new techniques, and our son is growing in his confidence. It’s really been a joy to watch!

When first accessing the lessons, I was sure it was ideal to choose either the video lesson or the PowerPoint. What I discovered, though, is it was actually best for us to use both! So for each lesson I play the video, and the kids follow along as instructed. We pause when necessary, and what I found was during those times, it is easier to refer to the PowerPoint slides than to continuously go back and forth through the video.
This method has really worked out well for us. The kids can see the still image of the step they are currently on. I think this has been easier for our son as well, in particular, because he likes to have that visual rather than watching the live action over and over again.
The lesson times really do seem to vary by lesson type and even by child. Our daughter does always seem to finish first. The Warmup is usually fairly short as they complete a quick activity to prepare them for the lesson. The video lessons themselves are generally between 20-30 minutes. So overall, I do find the lessons to take a total of around 45 minutes up to an hour. The best part, though, is the kids were enjoying this time and learning about other things as well!

ArtAchieve Review

Overall, I think ArtAchieve is a great art program. It’s easy to access online wherever you have internet access. It can work for a variety of ages and abilities, and it doesn’t require a background in teaching art. The art and corresponding mini lessons within the art lessons are presented in a way that is easy to follow. It has been great for both of our children!

Get Connected with ArtAchieve

State the Facts {Laurelwood Books Review}

July 8, 2016 by Emilee Evans

Something we have been lacking in our homeschool is a solid resource for learning about our state – Ohio. The resources I find are either geared for younger children or are too complicated. Recently, though, our daughter has been learning about Ohio with State the Facts: a Guide to Studying Your State from Laurelwood Books.

For our Laurelwood Books review we received the State the Facts: a Guide to Studying Your State workbook. It is a 58 page workbook designed to guide children to learn about their specific state. It can be used for any U.S. state. It’s not a book full of facts or even questions or answers about your state. Instead, it is just as it notes – a guide to studying your state.
I was actually surprised by the type of information it covers. It covers topics I expected like government, state history, facts about your state, etc. It really goes into great detail, though, to not only include questions about your state but to also know where to find resources to learn about your state. It even includes conversation scripts for talking to the librarian as well as your Congressman and Senator.

Laurelwood Books Review

Our daughter (age 8) has been working her way through State the Facts. It is recommended for ages 8 and older, but I did find it to be too much information to take in on her own, and I gladly helped her through it. I love that she’s not only learning about Ohio, but she is also learning how to research and obtain this information for herself.
State the Facts has also opened the door to numerous conversations that have allowed us to dig deeper. She has not only been learning about Ohio but government as well. It opens up the door to discuss our government – who each person is, how they represent us, etc. Of course, I also appreciate that they encourage them to learn about how to contact them as well! It opened up the door to explain instances where you may need to contact them in addition to obtaining information.

Another thing I found unique is that it provides scripts for contacting people to get more information. As she worked through it, we used the internet as our guide for finding information mostly, but I explained how I used to use the library. It has a script to call the Librarian to ask questions as well as government officials. So it goes beyond just looking up information to encouraging them to go straight to the source!

Learning About Ohio

Of course, she has been learning more about Ohio in general. She has learned how and when it became a state, how it got its name, the Ohio (and US) flag, important people in Ohio history, and more. We haven’t finished yet, so there is still so much more to learn! It encourages reading books and learning about laws and not only learning these things but forming an opinion on them. I really find it’s a thorough resource!
State the Facts includes unique information like local nature, weather, resources and travel. Throughout it encourages hands-on and in-person activities to gather information. Sure we could continue to just look things up online, but it’s not the same as getting out there! So this is definitely something I appreciate!
State the Facts does provide some key information in the back of the workbook including the list of presidents and a map of the United States. It also encourages them to draw (or trace) their own map and mark various items. It has definitely filled that gap in our state history and so much more!

Get Connected with Laurelwood Books

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Fellow members of the Schoolhouse Review Crew reviewed a variety of curriculum from Laurelwood Books including Latin and Penmanship. Learn more and check out their Laurelwood Books review by clicking on the banner below!

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