Luv'N Lambert Life

Mental Health, Homeschooling, Epilepsy and More

2014

Roman Roads Media: Dave Raymond’s American History Part 1 {Crew Review}

by

For this review we used Dave Raymond’s American History 1 DVD set which are lessons for home.  This program is for grades 6 and up.  This curriculum sells for $75 through Roman Roads Media.
Until this review, I had never heard of Roman Roads Media or Dave Raymond.  Both the company and Mr. Raymond were completely new to me so I didn’t really know what to expect.  I have been pleasantly surprised by Dave Raymond’s American History 1.
Dave Raymond’s American History 1 is an 8 DVD disc set containing 26 lessons with 4 projects to be completed while using this program.  Also included in this multimedia disc are Teacher’s Guides and Student Readers which help to complete the program’s lessons.  These are found in files stored on Discs 1 and 5 and are accessible by computer.
I chose to review this DVD using the computer.  I found that it was a little tricky to get the program to work at first.  I had trouble accessing the menu through the DVD player I was using.  Once I figured that out, we were good to go.
The program begins with an Orientation in which Dave Raymond tells viewers what is expected by using the curriculum, how to take notes, and other specifics to using this program.  I must admit, though this part was extremely important, it was also extremely boring to view.  I was happy just to get through it.
Lesson 2 jumps right into to the beginnings of History.  The program is Biblical based and does discuss parts of the Bible throughout.  I found this nice since I am always looking to relate the Bible into our daily curriculum.
Dave Raymond teaches every lesson on these DVD’s.  Viewing them reminded me of sitting in my US History class in High School.  He was quite animated and thorough in the information provided per lesson being taught.  He never strays from the subject and uses speech to help create visuals for students using the program.
Each video also shows photos related to the era of time being covered and the topic being discussed throughout the video.  This was a so-so aspect to me as I like videos that really bring places to life for my children.  It wasn’t quite what I was expecting but it worked well for the program.
Overall, this program is like an online course with an instructor talking you through the lessons.  You check in for each lesson and complete the tasks he directs you through.  You are expected to take notes and also keep a portfolio as you work through the program.
Dave Raymond’s American History 1 would be amazing for students who like that classroom feel.  It’s also great for students learning to note-take in lessons and complete school lessons in preparation for a college classroom.  I can see structured students in grades 6 and up using this.  I found it challenging and fun to use, a definite review and reminder of American History for me.
My children were honestly bored with this program but I think in time it will be a great asset for our family to use.  I like they get to see a structured lesson that allows note-taking as this is not at all what we do normally in our homeschooling classroom.  The videos are packed with wonderful information about American History though and this was extremely beneficial to our learning at home.  Also, important words and phrases are written directly onto the video section where they are being discussed and I loved that because it allowed the kids to really see those words, helping to promote reading and recognition of these important words and phrases from History.  Really great stuff in my opinion.

I will be continuing to use this program for myself at this time.  I really enjoyed the videos and lessons personally though my children aren’t quite ready for this program.  I can see us definitely using it in the future for schoolwork.  I personally found the review of American History refreshing and it has helped me remember important details to cover with my children as I teach them American History in the future.

This curriculum retails for $75 for the full set of Dave Raymond’s American History 1 DVD program.  It can be purchased through Roman Roads Media and would be a great addition to any homeschool wanting to learn more about American History and looking for a more structured curriculum to use.  It is all on DVD but a Teacher’s Guide and Student Reader are included and can be accessed from the disc through the computer.
You can also find Roman Roads Media online in the following places:

To read more reviews of Roman Roads Media products, please click on the banner below!

Click to read Crew Reviews

Crew Disclaimer

3P Learning: Mathletics {Crew Review}

by


For this review, we were gifted a one year subscription for two of my children to 3P Learning’s Mathletics program online.  This is an online program for grades K through 12.  We used the Kindergarten and 4th grade levels.  This program costs $59 per child currently with the program discount being offered at the time of this review.


You may have heard of 3P Learning if you have ever heard of Reading Eggs.  3P Learning is an innovative online company that produces quality educational programming that can be used as a supplement to your regular educational programs.  Mathletics is a part of this programming and, as it suggests in the program’s name, this program is all about Math.
Mathletics is a mathematical program that works well for any child as a supplement to their regular math curriculum.  It helps to ensure that students are learning math concepts they are being taught for their grade level.  This is not an instruction program.  It is Common Core Aligned to go along with the current standards set forth by the government for education.
This program allows the parent to keep up with what the child is doing in the program by sending out weekly statements with your students reports.  This is great to be able to print and see where your child is struggling, as well as to see where they are exceeding in their lessons.  These updates come straight to the parents email.
Also this program allows the student to see accomplishments by providing the student with an award or online trophy for completion of parts of the program lessons.  This gives the child confidence in learning and helps them strive to do better as they learn new math that is on their grade level.  This is a great learning incentive for students.
When the student logs into the program for the first time, they are able to create an avatar that fits to them.  They can change clothing color, hair color, eye color and shape and much more.  Once this is complete they find themselves on the main page.  Here you can click on settings where you can change your program’s background to different scenes.  We choose a lovely horse scene for Emmalee since horses are her favorite and we chose an outdoor scene for Laycie which includes cute houses and lots of butterflies.  There are lots of other scenes to choose from for both boys and girls.
Initially, the program was a bit tricky to figure out, especially for Laycie, who is in Kindergarten level.  There is a lot on the main page for students that I feel isn’t really necessary and I would have liked to see more of the games front and center to get her started easily.  This site can also be a bit competitive which I don’t like in educational program because it’s our family belief that competition is not needed in learning.  Overall, it was very helpful and Emmalee did really enjoy being able to test her skills in this way.  Emmalee is in the 4th grade level for this program.
Both girls really enjoyed the games and learned a lot from those.  They were eye-catching graphically but not overwhelming and the concepts taught were easily followed.  Nothing over their heads was presented but it was still challenging them in learning.  It is easy to change their level in the parent section if need be and move them ahead to the next grade level if they finish their current grade level during use of the program.

This was a program I could let Emmalee loose with and she was able to follow along with well.  However, I was not able to do that with Laycie.  Because of the set-up, she needed me nearby to help her figure out what to do and what areas to visit to play the games.  So my recommendation is to either make sure you have time to work on the program, you have an older child help a younger student or you use this program with more independent children than my 6 year old happens to be.

The thing I loved most about Mathletics was the workbooks that were in the Parent section.  These were awesome and easy to print to use right away.  Both girls love workbook pages and most Math workbooks are so boring and lifeless.  These were far from that with their cute graphics.  The problems were challenging and well they were just great accessories for the program.  I wasn’t expecting such great materials to use offline.
Mathletics will be a program that we will continue to use in the future and one we look forward to using through the year.  At $59 a year per child, it’s an affordable program to use at home.  We definitely have enjoyed it.
You can find 3P Learning and Mathletics in the following places online:

To read more reviews of 3P Learning’s Mathletics program, click the banner below!

Click to read Crew Reviews
Crew Disclaimer

A Week Without the Kids: Part 2 {Thoughts From Me}

by

It’s Friday and this week has flown by.  I originally wanted to write a series this week but, well, there hasn’t been much excitement to expand on. You see the life of a Mom without her kids gets pretty boring.  Really, there isn’t a lot to do once you get your homekeeping done because no one is here to  make a mess.

I have two more days before the kids come back home.  I have no real plans for those days.  The dayswill be filled with things that need to get done around the house, like any other weekend.  I would like to go back to the beach and we do have a bit of shopping to do but otherwise, no plans.  Just a normal weekend.

My week has been filled with cleaning house and working on photographs that I’m behind on.  I shot a friends wedding earlier this month so those photos were first to be completed.  It took me three nights but I’m finally done – whoever said the life of a photographer was easy was completely wrong.  Photo editing takes a long time even with the nifty software that helps to make it easier.

I’m pretty proud of myself though.  I did accomplish a lot this week but there is still a lot I did not get done.  Many neglected areas of our home have received attention but there are still many areas that require my attention calling.  One day I will get to those.

Next week will be extremely busy.  I have some kind of medical appointment every single day except next Friday.  Things we have been putting off getting done are finally happening.  I will update on all of that next week though.

For now, I’m off to dinner with my man.  Not sure what’s happening this weekend but I’m sure wherever we end up will be wonderful.  I’m hoping to hit the beach at some point if this weather will clear up.  Water and sand sounds like the perfect plan.

Until next time, here are some recently completed photos to get you through…

Isn’t Love beautiful?? 

Hewitt Homeschooling: The Joy Of Discovery {Crew Review}

by

For this review we were given a free copy of Hewitt Homeschooling’s The Joy Of Discovery: How to Teach With Unit Studies by Barbara Wagner.  This is a resource designed for homeschool teachers to help them to plan unit studies to be done at home.  This resource also includes Hewitt’s Learning Objectives for children in grades Kindergarten through 8th grade.  

The Joy Of Discovery retails for $21.
Unit Studies are an important part of our homeschooling days.  I personally seek out unit studies and other curriculum that can be used with multiple children in various grade levels at the same time.  Unit studies work great for our type of homeschooling and for our family.
The Joy Of Discovery is a resource to help with planning unit studies created by Hewitt Homeschooling.  It is a jam-packed binder filled with everything one needs to be able to plan a study on any topic that interests them.  The Joy Of Discovery comes in a binder much like you would find in any classroom.  Inside are all the things that are needed to create an interesting unit study for your family.
Hewitt Homeschooling uses what they call the I3 Unit Study.  The 3I’s stand for Individual, Inquiry, and Instruction.  This method of teaching turns questions into studies.  What this means is that when you ask questions, you find the answers you need for learning new things.  So when your child (the individual) says “Mom, I want to learn about Dinosaurs”, you can easily ask questions about this topic, find things to answer these questions and then provide the Instruction needed to get the answers which in turn is a unit study.
Unit studies can be as small or as big as you’d like them to be.  We have done unit studies that have consisted of a few books and websites, that only took a day to process and learn through.  At other times, we’ve completed unit studies that have taken weeks to work through and complete.  How long it takes and how detailed should be up to the family, but The Joy Of Learning helps you to figure out exactly what you’d like to cover, how you’d like to learn it, when you’d like it completed and even plan out the activities you will do in during the process.  The Joy Of Learning also helps you to evaluate the learning gained during the study following the ending of the lessons.  And the great thing is this is found all in one place: in The Joy of Learning Binder!
As a bonus, in the back of The Joy Of Learning, you will find a copy of Hewitt Homeschooling’s Learning Objectives.  These objectives cover grades Kindergarten through 8th grade.  They are a great asset in evaluating your child’s knowledge compared to their grade level.  These aren’t terribly complex but they are a thorough guide for learning that many parents would find helpful.  Additionally, there are Art, Music and Character Development objectives shared within this booklet as well.  These are wonderful reminders of what to teach at what age for parents and students alike.
I used this book as a guideline for setting up a few small summer studies for my children.  My daughter’s most recent interest is Dinosaurs so we used the guidelines within the book to set up a unit study for her.  After choosing her topic, we then selected books to go along with it and websites as well.  While she read, I was able to choose some games online and projects to help her extend her learning.  One thing she did was a homemade Dinosaur dig in our sandbox.  We didn’t find any Dinosaurs but we did find shells, fake bones, and rocks in there.  She really enjoyed our study and she looks forward to learning more in the future.
The Joy Of Learning is a great resource and one I will be using frequently in our planning.  I enjoyed the ease of use.  It’s easy to copy the planning sheets from the reproducible section to plan out what we wish to do.  These sheets are simple and very easy to follow, making planning even easier for me.
I will also be using the objectives section frequently as I plan out our lessons.  I found a lot that we have not covered and several things we have that I haven’t even realized we have covered.  This is an excellent section and a wonderful bonus to this planner.

The Joy Of Discovery is for adults to use to instruct students.  It is available for purchase for $21 from Hewitt Homeschooling.  This would be a wonderful resource for any homeschooling family interested in creating their own studies from scratch.

You can find Hewitt Homeschooling online in the following places:

Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

Google Plus

Hewitt Blog

To read more reviews of Hewitt Homeschooling’s wonderful products, please click on the banner below!

Click to read Crew Reviews

Crew Disclaimer

Junior Analytical Grammar {Crew Review}

by

For this review, we were gifted a complete set of Analytical Grammar’s Junior Analytical Grammar set, which includes a teacher’s guide and student workbook.  This set retails for $39.95.  Additionally, we were also sent the Junior Analytical Grammar Companion DVD.    This is an additional purchase for $19.95.  Extra workbooks may also be purchased for $19.95 each.  This set is for students in grades 4-5.
Over the years of homeschooling, I have heard many great things about Analytical Grammar but I always avoided purchasing this curriculum because I wasn’t certain if it would live up to it’s huge reputation in the homeschooling community or if it would even be a good fit for us.  We are pretty laid back when it comes to homeschooling and I admit that I often look for the easy way to educate in order to keep school fun and to avoid battles that using heavily structured programs have caused in our home in the past.  I didn’t want to spend money on something that we most likely would never use in our school days.
When I saw Analytical Grammar come up on the Vendor List this year, I knew I wanted to give it a shot.  For one, I couldn’t say no to trying this program if I review it and two, I felt it time for a more structured program for us in homeschooling, especially for Emmalee who I used this program with during the review period.  I knew it was past time to cover these lessons with her and this was the perfect way to make that happen.
When Junior Analytical Grammar arrived, I immediately thought “this is just another workbook but I’ll give it a shot”.  The books have bright orange paper covers and spiral bindings.  They aren’t very thick books but they a jam-packed with lessons to complete.  Junior Analytical Grammar wastes no time getting right to work with the program.
Additionally, there was a sheet in the package and a booklet included which explained a bit more about Analytical Grammar – who Robin and Erin are and how they came to create this amazing company, as well as more detail on the programs available through Analytical Grammar.  I was excited to find that as middle school specialists these ladies had created an easy to use curriculum to help students really learn Grammar.  Growing up, my career goal was to be a middle school English teacher until I decided I wanted to be a Homeschool Mom instead.  The fact that Robin created this program especially for use with middle school students because she believes these years are educationally valuable really spoke volumes to me.  Her logic was the same as mine in reason to work with this particular grade level, educationally.
Another thing that really hit home with me about this program was the encouragement to delay Formal Grammar education until the 4th or 5th grade.  There are very few programs that support and are effective in promoting delayed academics in any manner.   We do practice delayed academics in our homeschool and prefer to allow our students to thoroughly study a concept before thrusting the next concept upon them.
It is suggested that Junior Analytical Grammar be completed as a prerequisite course to Analytical Grammar in preparation for the course in the 6th to 8th grade.  This allows students to really know their grammar basics before moving forward in the Analytical Grammar program.  It also allows their young minds to master these basics before moving forward.
Junior Analytical Grammar is an 11 week program that covers all the parts of speech, parts of a sentence, classic sentence diagramming and the five sentence patterns.  It introduces grammar, punctuation, capitalization and usage to students who are new to these concepts and helps prepare them at a slower pace than the original Analytical Grammar.  These concepts are also covered in Analytical Grammar’s first ten units, however the exercises in Junior Analytical Grammar are shorter and written at a lower reading level than the original program.
Since English is my absolute favorite subject, it was very easy for me to read through this program and put it to work for my family.  I did allow my 11 year old daughter, Emmalee to work through the program and she was able to do so on her own.  She would watch the video and then complete the exercises as explained in the DVD lessons without much input from me.  She would then complete the worksheets as directed by the lesson she was working through.
I also used this time to review these concepts with my son and my younger daughter, discussing what each part of speech is and how it works.  Together we diagrammed sentences using the dry-erase board and also using the examples from the book itself.  It was very easy to make work for all the kids together and also very easily completed alone by Emmalee.  This was a bonus for us as a family, since Emmalee wishes to do more independent study away from her siblings while I still prefer teaching them together as a unit.  Please not these workbooks cannot be copied in any manner so if using this program with more than one student, you will need to purchase extra workbooks or work through the program orally using paper or a dry-erase board to work through the examples.
The DVD was easy to use as well.  Emmalee just popped it into the DVD player and listened to the short lessons provided.  The DVD is a bonus to the curriculum and not necessary to use the program but it is nice to have.  Since it’s instructional, it prevents the “teacher” from having to put a huge amount of time into instructing the program and allows more independence.  This gives Mom more time to prep for the next course or to work one on one with another student or even just have a little me time.  The teacher will still need to check the students work once the worksheets have been completed.
In the teacher’s book there is an example plan for how to use Junior Analytical Grammar suggesting a 5 day a week programming.  This didn’t work for us and really wasn’t needed either.  I allowed Emmalee to work at her own pace, as she pleased and as we normally do for independent schoolwork.  She chose to watch the video and complete several of her worksheets on the same day for most lessons.  Sometimes she would chose to go ahead and test and sometimes she would feel she needed more review and would ask for that.  I allowed her to do what she thought best and discussed with her what I thought best when I felt she needed more time with a concept.  This worked well for us.
I must say that I am extremely impressed with Junior Analytical Grammar.  It is easy to use and Emmalee really loves it.  This program will be one that we continue to use in our homeschooling and I regret not having added it into our lessons sooner.

You can find Analytical Grammar in the following places online:

To read more reviews on various Analytical Grammar products, click the banner below!

Click to read Crew Reviews

Crew Disclaimer

A Week With No Kids: Day One and Two {Thoughts From Me}

by

In an impromptu effort to encourage family relationships with my children, I have allowed them to travel with their Grandmother to Florida to visit their uncle (my brother) and his family.  Anyone that knows me knows that this is totally out of character for me, as I rarely let my kids go anywhere that I am not, much less 2 states away from me.  It was a last minute decision that I can honestly say I am pleased has happened though I miss my kids very much – I’m sure they are not-so-much missing Mommy with all the Florida fun and sun though.

It all started last year when Emma asked could they go with Grandma to Florida in which I replied no but she was so sad and so disheartened that it saddened me.  So this year when time for the trip came, I first said “no” but at the last minute I changed my mind and told them they could go.  I was looking forward to alone time with the kids per my original “no, you aren’t going” but I know they want to see their uncle and cousins who they rarely see due to the distance in living.  Needless to say the kids couldn’t be happier!

So the weekend was spent washing up clothing, packing and gathering necessary items to send them on their way.  We gassed up the Tahoe and filled it up with loads of things to keep them occupied on the overly long trip.  Then early Sunday morning, we sent the four plus Grandma on their merry way.  They stopped off and picked up their cousin Megan to go along on their travels too.  Grandma gets a week with all seven of her Grandkids at one time!  Whoo Hoo!

With the kids gone, that leaves me as a Mommy with no one to parent.  You’d think I’d be living it up, enjoying this vacation that so many long for every day.  Nope – I miss those four beautiful kids desperately in just the few hours they’ve been gone and have been keeping busy so that I don’t miss them more.

After the kids left yesterday, the Bestie (Tamara) and I all loaded up in Mom’s car since she has my car and went down to the beach for the first time in forever – definitely the first time this year but maybe the first time in 3 years.  We sat in the edge of the water and played for several hours like young children would.  It was wonderful and so relaxing. 

By the time I left the beach, the day was almost over and I felt as though I’d had a relaxing massage from the beating of the waves hitting me as they washed upon the shoreline.  Tamara and I also gathered some pretty shells while we were there.  The whole day was just what I needed to keep my mind off of the kids being gone.

After the beach, we grabbed some Subway Subs and headed home.  The rest of the night we sat around watching TV, catching up on missed episodes of our favorite shows.  It was 4:30 in the morning before we finally went to sleep.

Today I woke up around 11.  It was nice to sleep in.  I immediately ate something and started on laundry.  I cleaned up the living room and put all the out of place things away.  I headed over to Grandma’s and did the laundry there as well.  Just basic housecleaning that needed to get done.

I also had a wonderful surprise.  The books I had ordered from my dear homeschooling friend Carole, had been delivered!  The overstuffed large box was waiting for me on the porch.  It was filled with books on animals, great readers, science educational stuff and more.  Carole’s books are always the best!  I can’t wait for the kids to return and find so many new, interesting things to read!

It’s now 7:30 in the afternoon.  For the rest of the night, I will be working on pictures that I have been putting off.  Tomorrow brings a new day and I will be working on more things around the house.  You’d think this was a vacation from the kids but really it’s just catching up on all the things I am not able to get done when they are home with me.  Lots of work that needs done while they are off having fun.

Verified by MonsterInsights