Luv'N Lambert Life

For this review, we were given access to CrossWired Science and the Sound, and Fluid Dynamics projects of their program. This review was a bit different as the program is not completely developed yet, though they hope to have it all ready for use by families like ours very soon. Overall, our experience with this company has been wonderful and we look forward to watching them develop and grow as they continue to create content and programming on their website.

CrossWired Science is Biblical based science that integrates subtopics into deeper topics, crosswiring them across the program to link from one to another and create a program that all ages can use to learn while providing a solid Biblical foundation as you learn. The program will cover lessons that go from Pre-kindergarten level to Chemistry leveled courses for your students to gain knowledge and have fun while they do so. The program also hopes to keep a low fee so that the projects are affordable for those who use it. They are still in the planning process and working out the kinks but overall they have high expectations that seem to be workable.

Above is a picture of the CrossWired Science dashboard. On it you can see bold lettering that links to various aspects of the page. Under the General Info tab, there are many questions answered. They speak about the Biblical relation of the program. They speak about the ages 4-adult that can gain knowledge and enjoyment of the site. They suggest doing Parent-Kid quiz teams, which helps the parent gain knowledge while teaching the child and creates a fun way to bond while learning science together. You will find a wealth of information here that helps solidify your choice to purchase the program. All wonderful stuff.

The next tab is Ed Whys? This is the About section of the program: why CrossWired is what it is. Why they chose to create this program. How it developed. And so much more. It’s a good read to find all the ins and outs behind the program’s beliefs and creation.

Then we move into the good stuff: Curriculum. Curriculum is currently broken down in to two levels: First Timers and Second Timers. They look a lot alike but each of the levels provides different lessons to help you learn deeper information about the project you’re working on.

Once you choose a project: at this time, either Sound or Fluid Dynamics, you will be taken to the next page that has a huge selection of choices to learn from. We started with the first lesson but you could skip around and learn from the one that grabs your student’s attention best. All of the lessons are fun and informative.

The lessons feature different things but most have a video available to watch, feature a worksheet download that is related to the lesson being covered, and you will find directions and info related to how to use the program as well. Worksheets are generally simple, black and white text in question answer form and line drawings. These can be colored by the student for extra fun.

Beneath the lesson video, you will find quizzes about the lessons details just covered through the video provided. These are simple and easily answered by the student. Once you complete this, you can submit for results and then you can move on to the next lesson.

On the Student tab, you will find results of the quizzes, info on completed lessons and your student can pick up where they left off there. The parent tab is a little more in depth with the ability to manage students as the program is able to accommodate multiple students for lessons. You can see student progress in this section, view quiz results, find teacher resources, view calendars, find worksheets, and general and unit links that go along with the program as well.

The CrossWired Science program is a wonderful curriculum that can be used as a full science program or as a supplement to your regular program as you choose. As more is developed, this program is only bound to become better and better, creating a wonderful experience for any student to learn through. We look forward to using this program more in our future lessons as well.

You can read more reviews of CrossWired Science from the Homeschool Review Crew by clicking on the banner below.

For this review, we were gifted Fix It! Grammar from Institute for Excellence in Writing also known as IEW. We have used and reviewed this program before. We love it!

You can read our first review of Fix It! Grammar The Nose Tree here: https://luvnlambertlife.com/?s=fix+it+grammar

IEW is an outstanding curriculum provider. They stand behind excellence in education and their products are top quality. Though we prefer in our homeschooling to use less formal curriculum, IEW is one exception that we make. The educational value their products provide outweighs our preference and gives my children’s education value for the cost. IEW is one provider we find ourselves returning to for learning again and again.

This time around, we chose the second book for the Fix It! Grammar program to continue what we were already learning in the first book. The second book is subtitled Robin Hood and is themed around the brave Robin who took from the rich to give to the poor. Robin Hood happens to be a favorite in our home so this was an intriguing level for our family.

IEW mailed us a Teacher’s Manual and Student Book for level 2 Robin Hood. Included in the Teacher’s manual is a link page that included links to wonderful resources, including a link to a download copy of the student e-book which is the same as the print student book. You also receive Mastery Learning e-audio and But, but, but… What about Grammar? e-audio. This link allows you to use the program with more than one student in your immediate family, which is wonderful for us since we use our curriculum with multiple students.

Now this book was ordered specifically with Emmalee in mind, as she works at a higher level but later I can print the student guide to use for Laycie as well. Generally, we do not write in our student books but use paper instead or print copies where we are able but for this review, we did use the student guide to show how easy it is to make the program work for us.

The great thing about this program is that it only takes 15 minutes a day for four days a week to work on. That’s right – you heard me. 15 minutes to learn some grammar and practice. Homeschooling doesn’t require tons of excruciating time to complete your work. That’s one of the many reasons we love it so much. And my daughter can do most of her work, including this, on her own without much assistance from me, which is just how she likes it!

Following the guide, your student will Get Ready by getting their books together along with an extra spiral notebook to record their vocabulary words, definitions and passage rewrites in. They will Get Started by listening to lesson directions and completing the tasks as directed. They will learn that “a mistake is an opportunity to learn” as directed on page 4 of the lesson guide. They will Learn It by referencing the grammar cards provided within the book, as well as following the lesson itself. And they will Fix It but correcting the provided passage as they’ve learned to do through the lesson they are covering. Finally, they will Rewrite the passage in corrected form showing they’ve learned the lesson as it’s been presented to them.

In the back of both books, you will find a Grammar Glossary for your reference and the students. This is a great help for the lessons itself. If you do use a download copy of the student guide, your student can use a regular dictionary or use the glossary found in the back of the teachers manual.

Grading of this program is not recommended. We love that since we don’t issue grades in our day to day homeschooling and like to keep learning without stipulations.

Easy, easy, easy. Fix It! Grammar from IEW makes learning Grammar so easy for us. It’s all laid out right within the pages of this book. The only extra thing needed is a notebook or some notebook paper and a pencil.

You can purchase Fix It! Grammar from IEW for $19 for the printed Teacher’s manual and $15 for the printed Student book or $89 for the entire set of the program. e-Book versions are also available.

You can find IEW online at:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/excellenceinwriting
Twitter: https://twitter.com/iew
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/iew/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/iewtv
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iew/

You can read more crew reviews for this product on the Homeschool Review Crew blog:

For this review, we were sent the Rhythm & Writing With The Get Write Crew workbook from Rhythm & Writing. As a Mom of young kids, I am always looking for fun ways to keep them writing so I thought this workbook would be great, especially for Jackson who is still learning the ins and outs of writing. It did not disappoint.

Initially, this book reminded me of those great handwriting books we used to use for writing in the public school growing up. It’s a wide, flat book with a spiral binding to allow it to lay flat for work. Pages are mostly black and white with red, yellow, and black handwriting lines for your student to practice on. The font is childlike but clearly legible and easy for your student to follow. It is black and bold so it’s clear and easy for young children to read.

The book front features a “This Book Belongs To:” perfect for your student’s name so they can learn to write and recognize their name in written form. After the introduction page, acknowledgements, and copyright information, you will find a Table of Contents listing the order of letters presented in the pages of the book. This is helpful if you’d like to skip around or just work through. It also helps you plan around the letters for lessons.

Next you will find a few pages of helpful information on how to use the program, followed by a short Pre-Assessment with name, date, and two lines of words for your student to write. Then the lessons begin with Making the Band, a short write up about the theme behind the writing program. The letters begin with “L” and “l”.

The artwork featured within the pages of the book are adorable line drawings in black and white that really pop and allow your child’s imagination to bloom. The simple line drawings look like their own artwork and can be easily filled with color by your child as they work through their workbook. It’s a great way to help them practice holding their utensils for writing, as well as developing the handwriting process as they work through the book.

The Rhythm & Writing With The Get Write Crew workbook is a little over 100 pages in length and so easy to use. Included with the program are online videos that can be viewed with a provided website link. These fun videos go along with the theme of the pages, in music and writing and help your student become engaged in wanting to learn more. They’re fun and happy, bringing joy to the process of writing for children.

Also included with the program is a laminated cover sheet. This is great to lay over the pages to practice writing with a dry erase marker before actually writing in the book. You could tap the laminate sheet to the days lesson to help ensure that your child can use the page with ease.

Jackson’s least favorite subject is writing but he greatly enjoyed this program. He struggles with pencil grip but this was just enough practice to allow him freedom to try writing. The videos were intriguing to him and really helped his interest and focus with the program. He was willing to work on these a few days a week which was wonderful since he really doesn’t like to write. I chose to laminate the pages for him, which made it easier for him to work on them and reusable so that he can practice over and over until he’s comfortable with the formation.

Rhythm & Writing is a part of the Dreamworks Children’s Therapy Network located in nearby Smyrna, Georgia. 20% of your purchase is donated to Dream Makers Youth Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides community-based services to special needs children throughout the Atlanta area. You can find more information about this program on their website at www.dmyf.info

You can purchase Rhythm & Writing With The Get Write Crew for $19.99.

You can find Rhythm & Writing online in the following places:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/learntowritewithmusic/
www.facebook.com/rhythmandwriting/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/dreammakersyf
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNzZpKs0dOJDLXpYHRIGnsA

You can read more reviews of this program on the Homeschool Review Crew blog: