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Logic of English Rhythm of Handwriting Cursive {Review}

September 9, 2013 by Emilee Evans

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Please read my Disclosure Policy for more information.
We had the chance to review Rhythm of Handwriting Cursive from Logic of English. Because our older kids (ages 5 and 7) are both learning at the same grade level and both have difficulties with fine motor skills I had them share the book to split the work. This worked well for us as each letter had multiple lines for different sizes, and each of them would use a different line. Because of their fine motor difficulties they actually tire easily when writing, so this was also a good solution for not having too much work for just one of them.

Logic of English recommends starting with teaching cursive as it is a fluid motion that comes more naturally. It specifically breaks down how to write each letter with instructions using the baseline, midline, and top line. The book comes with a helpful reference chart for each letter. This was good for me, so I could use the chart as a reference when they were using the book.

Before the children begin writing the letters I would first go into the detailed instructions on how to write the letters. It also recommends reinforcing phonemics while teaching the letters as well. I would have to work with them individually since they were sharing the book. They were introduced two at a time and were grouped by style. For example: swing letters, curve letters, loop letters, and so on. Each letter in the group would have a similar style. Lower case letters were introduced first since a majority of the letters we write are lowercase. The chart also broke down the different terms, so if I needed to review the terms I would know the exact term.
After we went over the instructions multiple times, they would then trace the letters with their index finger on the book while saying the instructions with me. This helps reinforce the motions. I would also write a few of the letters on the whiteboard so they could see how I write it as well. I would also have them write a few on their whiteboard for some extra practice before beginning to write them in the book. I found it was easier for them to get some practice making the motions in the bigger movements first before moving to the smaller motions of writing them in the book.
We worked on two letters a day for four days per week. This was a nice schedule for us. At the end of each group of letters there would be a whole page to review by writing each letter they had learned. I tried first by having them tackle the whole page, but this was really too much for them. They got tired, and their hands were hurting.
Logic of English Cursive Review
So after that first day I realized we needed to break up the reviews in smaller chunks, so we did them four letters at a time. I allowed them to do them on their own time, so if they needed to do two and then come back to do the other two that was fine as long as they finished it by the end of the day. Not only did this help avoid their feeling overwhelmed, but they also felt really great about having this sense of responsibility. They both usually finished fairly early!
Another feature of the Rhythm of Handwriting Cursive book that was helpful for us is the pages tear out easily. At first it was easy to write with the pages in the book, but the further along we got I realized it was easier to tear the pages out so they could lay flat rather than try to work over the curve of the book. This is particularly true since our children already have fine motor challenges! Cursive really has been much easier for our children to work on due to their fine motor challenges, and they feel more encouraged and accomplished when writing cursive letters.
Logic of English Rhythm of Handwriting is recommended for ages 7+ though it does have instructions for using it with younger children, and our 5 year old did very well with it. She is going to be starting 2nd Grade when we start our new school year in a few months, though. I hesitate to say anyone is “ahead” or “behind” in a grade level because I feel each child learns at their own level. It is generally recommended, though, that students ages six and under learn one letter per day, but I followed Schedule 1 for Students ages 7 and Up, which is the two letters per day. There are two other suggested schedule possibilities for ages 7 and up. Schedule 2 is to learn four letters per day, and Schedule 3 is to learn all the letters based upon one initial stroke each day. I knew Schedule 2 or 3 would be too much for either of our children, but Schedule 1 was definitely a good fit.

Logic of English Rhythm of Handwriting Cursive Review

Overall, I feel like Logic of English takes a really thorough approach to teaching cursive writing. I love that they offer a variety of complimentary products as well. You can view a sample of Cursive Writing. Logic of English also offers a lot of great resources. The Rhythm of Handwriting Cursive Student Book can be purchased for $18.00 for a printed copy or $15.00 for a pdf.
Members of the Schoolhouse Review Crew reviewed a few different products from Logic of English. Learn more about what else they offer and what other Crew members thought by clicking on the banner below!
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The Homegrown Preschooler Review

August 1, 2013 by Emilee Evans

early childhood education

I received The Homegrown Preschooler: Teaching Your Kids in the Places They Live from Gryphon House for my review. The Homegrown Preschooler is full of great information and resources for parents of preschoolers. The authors are not only homeschooling moms but between both of them they have more than 20 years of early childhood education and homeschooling experience. I love, though, that their backgrounds are different, and they share their journeys at the very beginning of the book.

Early childhood education

The HomeGrown Preschooler has an Introduction followed by 9 Chapters that cover the topics of homeschooling, preschoolers’ development, how preschoolers learn, how to best prepare your home and make the most of your surroundings for the best homegrown preschool experience, and organizing both your time and your home. It also addresses different seasons in your life and special circumstances. As a mom of special needs children I particularly loved Chapter 9 about the Special Circumstances. Because our preschooler isn’t our first special needs child, but rather our third special needs child, I found myself absolutely agreeing with everything the chapter said. I love “Don’t Be Afraid of the Label.” So often Early Intervention isn’t sought because parents are afraid of receiving a diagnosis, but early intervention is key!
Each Chapter is filled with helpful notes from the authors, recipes, and beautiful pictures!
Homegrown Preschooler
Following the 9 Chapters The Homegrown Preschooler has an extensive activity section that includes: Home Life, Science, Gross Motor, Fine Motor, Math, Language and Emergent Literacy, Art, and Social-Emotional. I LOVE that the activities include self-help skills, health, nutrition, safety, etc. Obviously these are things we should be doing anyway, but I admit that sometimes I forget they can be taught in a fun way that would be more enjoyable!
The back of the book includes an Activity Checklist, Getting Started Checklist, Resources page, and instructions for the DIY projects like the Easel, Light Table, and Sensory/Sand Table.
Although The Homegrown Preschooler is written more for the parents of a new preschooler it was definitely written by moms that had older children, and of course, our older two children always joined in on the activities we did as well. After initially reading the main part of the book I started implementing the suggested schedule of one home life, language and emergent literacy, and social-emotional skill daily. We vary the other activities of science, gross motor, fine motor, math, music, art and sensory a few times a week. Particularly with having older children as well it helps me to plan ahead and choose an activity and write it into the schedule. We then implement these activities during circle time! Sometimes our preschooler continues them while our older two move on to their other subjects for the day! I have found that even though they are preschool activities all three kids have really benefit from doing the activities!
We don’t have a sensory/sand table, light table, or easel, and with the DIY instructions they really are something we could make! Because we expect to be moving in a couple of months, though, we decided the timing for these projects wouldn’t be ideal. After we move and get settled, though, they are definitely on our list!
I want to share one of our favorite activities. I’m not even sure why they love it so much, but it is the Cloud Dough. They ask for it regularly, and since we are moving to a gluten free diet it is a perfect way to make use of all the other flour we had left! Yes, the cat eats it. haha It’s OK, he’s not on a gluten-free diet. 😉

Early Childhood Education

I feel The Homegrown Preschooler has really enhanced our homeschool experience. It offers more insight and activities that are just fit our family so well, and it provides such a wealth of information that I feel would make it a good fit for any family with a preschooler! The Homegrown Preschooler can be purchased for $29.95.
Gryphon House offer a variety resources for early childhood education, and the Schoolhouse Review Crew had a chance to not only review The Homegrown Preschooler but one of their art programs as well! Read the reviews by clicking on the banner below!
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BrainFood Learning Fascinating World of Mammals Review

July 31, 2013 by Emilee Evans

BrainFood

MammalsWe received Fascinating World of Mammals from BrainFood Learning for review, and we watched it as soon as we received it in the mail!
Fascinating World of Mammals is an educational DVD that shares the life of various mammals like the beaver, bat, elephant, giraffe, dolphin, and so much more. Not only does it give you a peek into the lives of these fascinating creatures, but it provides special educational insights along the way pertaining to mammals. The kids learned basic mammal facts like mammals have lungs, hair, and backbones and more advanced mammal facts like habitats, echolocation, ruminants, and more. I love that there are a variety of both simple facts and complex facts as well as the visual words (both big and small).
After learning about a specific animal it is followed up by one of the mammal facts in detail before moving on to the next animal. The DVD is just under one hour long and is ideal for ages 3-11, though it would be appropriate for any age with an interest to learn more about mammals! At the end of the DVD there is a review section. It starts with simple mammal flash cards and builds to more difficult review sections. After the flash cards the reviews are multiple choice.
Our family watched Fascinating World of Mammals a few times during the review period. Our kids genuinely enjoy watching it! Even our 3 year old watched it by himself last night and answered all of the 2nd part of review questions correctly and even some questions in the 3rd section! Our older two children (ages 7 and 5) love learning the facts (and relearning them in some cases). The final review section is still challenging, but they are learning more every time they watch it! To be honest there were a few things I learned as well! Kangaroos are ruminants? I had never learned this! The information was thorough, informative and presented in a way that young children can understand while still being presented in a way that can be appealing to older children as well.
They also have a Lesson Plans to go along with each of their DVDs! The Lesson Plan is much more detailed than the review on the DVD and just takes it further to reinforce what they have learned!
BrainFood Learning’s Fascinating World of Mammals really provides a full educational experience as well as a nice family experience to all sit down and enjoy together! Fascinating World of Mammals can be purchased for $14.99 on the BrainFood Learning Website.
BrainFood Learning also offers two other “Fascinating World of” DVDs: Fascinating World of Birds and Fascinating World of Insects. Check out reviews of them by Crew Members as well as other reviews of Fascinating World of Mammals by clicking in the link below!
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Circle Time Review

July 27, 2013 by Emilee Evans

Homeschool Preschool

Circle TimeI had the opportunity to review Circle Time by Kendra at Preschoolers and Peace. Circle Time: Plan the Best Part of Your Homeschool Day! helps families make the most of their precious time together so it is both productive and enjoyable. She offers a variety of helpful strategies to engage your children of all ages and get them involved in Circle Time. Because she is a homeschool mom with children from high schoolers down to preschoolers she shares tips for bringing together all ages!
Although the title “Circle Time” may make you think of younger children, it definitely provides ideas and strategies for all family members. Kendra even mentions that sometimes she wished she had used another term. Ultimately, it is about bringing the family together for opportunities to learn together, pray together, and plan the rest of the day together. It’s a great way to make sure everyone is on the same page and let them know they are welcome to join in the homeschool day and not to be ignored as sometimes this impression could be given to the little ones.
Since our kids are so close together in age we generally do most of our homeschool together. Our oldest two are actually on the same academic level, so they are definitely always together. Whenever I would work with our preschooler the older two always join in. There was still more, though, that I wanted to do together. I didn’t know what, though! So when I first read Circle Time I was thinking well, we already do most of our school together, so what can we change? Luckily, it includes many ideas as well as a “Circle Time Wish List” and “Independent/Group Work” sheet so I could take notes, fill in the bubble next to the ideas/subjects I wanted to cover in Circle Time and more. That activity alone helped me fill in some missing pieces.
There were definitely things we could implement in our Circle Time that we weren’t already doing as well as making sure Circle Time is the FIRST thing we do! Usually, the older two kids and I just gravitate toward the back room (where the school stuff and white board is) when we were all ready to start, and our preschooler did his own thing until we worked with him during our mini-breaks. It seemed fine enough, but we all feel much more fulfilled starting our day all together with singing, worship, prayer, and Bible time. It also gives us a chance as a family to discuss important things like life skills, which is something our children need a little extra help learning due to their special needs. It is also a great time to tell them what to expect for the rest of the day!
At first, our preschooler was reluctant. He still has days that he is. In Circle Time it mentions using it as a time of training for younger children as well. As the mother of special needs children, though, I still sometimes have a hard time finding that fine line between what should be expected and what is unrealistic based on his special needs. He also was still recovering from his surgery when we started, so even activities he usually loves were not appealing to him at all. Because I knew for certain if he has a sensory meltdown it could potentially lead to the other two children reacting negatively and resulting in their own sensory meltdowns (and potentially ruin our entire day) I decided to tread the waters carefully and invite him patiently but not push him. It worked! He may not always finish the work with us, but he does stay in the room with us during Circle Time, and we all enjoy the time together! We have Circle Time before every homeschool day.
Circle Time also shares stories from other moms who have implemented the strategies in different ways. It was really neat to see how the moms do some things the same and some differently. It was nice to see additional tips as well. I also love that Kendra stresses there is no “right” way to do Circle Time, but to find what is right for your family. Circle Time is meant to be a resource to guide you to finding what is right for your family by offering strategies and ideas so you can find what works for your family.
I found the resources and the list to be really helpful. I didn’t personally use the Independent/Group Work list because we don’t have that much to juggle. Plus, because of our children’s young ages almost everything is Group Work. She also shares two Circle Time schedules as well just to give the reader an idea of what their day looks like. Since all of our children are young ours is much less elaborate, but I will definitely be referring to them when they get older! I know they will come in handy since we want to do as much of our homeschooling together as possible!
She also shares helpful hints for getting kids on board and questions and answers from moms like us! Circle Time can be purchased for $4.99 in PDF format.
Other Crew members with children of various age ranges also shared their experiences! Read them by clicking on the banner below!
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