crew review

Homeschool Rescue {Crew Review}

May 17, 2017 by Dana

A little while ago the Crew was asked to take a look at this new online program for parents that could help with homeschooling challenges we may be facing. There wasn’t a lot of information because this program was so new but what a blessing it has been! Homeschool Rescue from Only Passionate Curiosity was a program that I wasn’t sure I needed when I first agreed to review it but in the end, it’s been the best online program I think I may have ever been blessed to use!

What It Is:

Homeschool Rescue is a complete online course offered by Only Passionate Curiosity to help struggling homeschooling families, specifically parents overcome the challenges we face every day.

If your day to day as a homeschool parent feels like a struggle, this is for you. If you have trouble dealing with your kids behavior as a homeschool parent, this is for you. If you need someone to put a boot in your butt to get you on track (lovingly, of course) this is for you! If you’re totally disorganized, unsure what to do next, can’t focus on schooling because your home, life, relationships are a mess, THIS IS FOR YOU!

Heather from OPC helps you work through all of these issues you may be facing by being supportive, straightforward and making you wake up to find a way to change these things that challenge you. She provides the tools necessary to get you back where you want to be in your homeschooling and home life. She helps you strengthen your relationships, find support for yourself and become organized, adept and ready to face whatever comes next.

What You Get When You Sign Up For This eCourse:

When you join Homeschool Rescue you are given lifetime access to this course for a one-time price of $97 for the Homeschool Rescue eCourse or $137 for the Homeschool Rescue VIP Support.

With the Homeschool Rescue eCourse you are given lifetime access to the full course of over 20 lessons, complete with audio and written transcripts. The actual online course includes videos for every single lesson as well and also includes homework, printable workbook assignments and other links for you to further develop with your lessons. The bonus resources are exceptional for expanding your personal growth. You also receive online support from other parents through the Facebook group (some pretty exceptional ladies from the Homeschool Review Crew are in this group). And there is additional bonus content added new frequently.

With the Homeschool Rescue VIP Support option, you get all of the above PLUS three one on one coaching sessions with Heather personally!

How I Used This eCourse:

This is a fully online eCourse. I was able to log-in daily to access it. Sometimes several times a day. I could listen and relisten to the ecourse videos as much as I needed to and trust me, sometimes I needed to listen 3 or 4 times to have it really sink in.

I was able to print all my ecourse materials directly from the ecourse itself. Each module breaks down into lessons and each lesson comes with it’s own video (modules too) and it’s own work to be completed, links to look over to help expand the lesson, and even some activities. You work at your own pace. You do as much as you wish to. You come back again and again if that’s what you need. And you stop when you need as well. There’s no time frame on how to complete this course. It works for you, with you and I really enjoyed that aspect.

I’ll be honest, I haven’t completed this ecourse yet. I cannot tell you what that last lessons says. I have taken my time working on this because I personally needed this ecourses help. I know others who can use this ecourses help as well and I will be suggesting it to all I see.

Heather saw a need in the homeschooling community and she created a program to meet that need. I’m truly thankful she was led to do this. I’m truly thankful for the support this program gives to those of us who struggle with our homeschools.

To Join In With Homeschool Rescue:

You can join the Homeschool Rescue eCourse by signing up on the Only Passionate Curiosity website. I know $97 may be a lot for some of us but this ecourse is worth every single penny. If you’re struggling and need help, you’ll find it here with Heather and her friends.

You Can Also Find Heather and Only Passionate Curiosity In The Following Places Online:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OnlyPassionateCuriosity/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/opchomeschool

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/OPChomeschool/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onlypassionatecuriosity/

Goggle+: https://plus.google.com/b/110290451358830656260/+OnlypassionatecuriosityHomeschool

To Read More Reviews of Homeschool Rescue Click Below:

Homeschool Rescue {Only Passionate Curiosity Reviews}

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High School Essay Intensive {Crew Review}

May 8, 2017 by Dana

The Institute for Excellence in Writing is one of the best curriculum choices available for writing curriculum and one of our favorites. So when we were offered the chance to review High School Essay Intensive with the Homeschool Review Crew, I was happy to jump on the review train. I must admit I wanted this program both for me and to preview for my high schoolers. I’ve not been disappointed, but then I never expected to be because the Institute for Excellence in Writing provides only the best in it’s products.

What Is High School Essay Instensive?

High School Essay Intensive was created by Andrew Pudewa, the Director at the Institute for Excellence in Writing. This program is designed to provide high school students with a firm education in how to write essays. Pudewa breaks down each element of an essay to make it easy to follow and complete the lessons provided for high school students. This program is also designed to help your student preform better on the essay portion of the SAT®.

What We Received:

We were sent a box for the program containing a small DVD case filled with 5 DVD’s required to work through and complete the program. The contents of the lessons are included upon these DVD’s.

Also included and needed for the program, is a cardboard three fold folder called Portable Walls for the Essayist. This folder begins with the word “Essay” displayed in cursive, followed by the definition of what an essay is. A list of essay types follows this definition.

The second page of the folder shows a list of essay models, breaking each down for better understanding. The next page provides specific essay models such as the Argumentative Essay, Persuasive and Rhetoric among others. In the center, the Essay Writing Process is explained. Discussed on the pocket page are Essay Writing Strategies and Sentence Pattern Variety.

On the back of this folder is a full list of Transitional Words and Phrases as well as Prepositions to help guide your writing and expand your vocabulary when writing. These are great for any writer to use. The entire folder is a wealth of information that is great for all writers and a major asset for the program as well.

Inside, filling the folder, is a 25 page guide for the program. This is where you’ll find the program’s questions and other required exercises for completing the program. This is basically your student workbook. I personally would have preferred it to be bound and a little nicer but it works for it’s need.

The DVD’s are led by Andrew Pudewa himself and he jumps straight into the reason for the course and the first assignment for you to complete. The DVD’s are fully directed, telling when to pause and for how long, then you come back to complete more of the program. The DVD’s are also closed captioned making it easy to follow along either by listening or reading the prompts as you go. This helps to eliminate confusion as well.

How We Used It:

This program was for me and my two high school students. I used it as a brush up for my personal writing and blogging and they used it as an introduction to high school essays and more structured writing for their high school assignments. This program is styled more as formal classroom instruction, reminding me more of my high school college-prep courses. I liked this and so did my kids because it gave them a more independent style in learning which they prefer. It also gives choices for their writing instead of keeping them writing only one thing at a time. Having a choice allows more thought to go into their writing and allows them to create better writing in the end.

Together we watched the program. We discussed what we were learning together and then on separate sheets, we wrote our answers using the provided guide/student packet for the program. As I mentioned, I would have preferred this to be an actual workbook but it was more like a classroom handout instead.

Where Can You Buy This Product:

High School Essay Intensive is for high school students to prepare them for Essay Writing. It is available for order through Institute for Excellence in Writing for $79. This includes the 5 DVD set for the program in it’s own DVD case, the Portable Walls for the Essayist folder and the printed Student Handout.

Social Media Links for Institute for Excellence in Writing:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/excellenceinwriting

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/iewtv

Twitter: https://twitter.com/iew @IEW

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/iewriting/

Read More Reviews:

High School Essay Intensive {Institute for Excellence in Writing Reviews}

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Lamplighter Publishing {Crew Review}

May 4, 2017 by Dana

The Secret Bridge

Lamplighter Publishing creates publications that truly speak to you. From books to theatrical audios, Lamplighter Publishing creates quality content that is wholesome in content. For this review, we were given a copy of The Secret Bridge by Amy Le Feuvre to read and review.

This is the prettiest book I have ever seen. Pretty doesn’t even describe it. It’s absolutely gorgeous in design. From the teal blue leather cover, with it’s carved and gilded design to the thick paper pages with their scrolling script design. This book rivals the beautiful books of the past and is now one of my absolute favorites in our book collection, along with my late 1800’s math primer and my 1800’s copy of an early medical book.

The Secret Bridge tells the story of sweet Bridget who finds herself on a ship while mourning the death of her loved ones. She meets Godfrey who is absolutely mesmerized by her. She brings a longing to his heart that can only be filled by her love.

Godfrey convinces sweet Bridget to marry him but there are many secrets surrounding their relationship. They keep their marriage secret from his family and friends. This is disheartening to Bridget who suffers mild depression already from her great family loss and she begs Godfrey to tell the truth.

Love brings these two together and love will bring their family together as well as they learn to overcome, tell the truth and trust in the Lord for their happiness.

It is suggested that this book is a coming of age story but as it is a love story, sharing of marriage, I suggest it more for a young lady or gentleman who is a little older, more 12 or 14 in age, depending on level of maturity. There is nothing shameful, or out of the way shared within it but the ideal of marriage is more of a subject for older students in my opinion. However, it is a great story to prepare young girls for romance and I truly would have enjoyed it as a first romance novel as a child myself. As an adult and a lover of all things Romance and Historical Romance, I greatly enjoyed this book myself.

The Secret Bridge by Amy Le Feuvre from Lamplighter Publishing is available for $28. It is worth every penny spent. It is a hardcover book with a gorgeously designed cover. It is part of the Lamplighter Collection of books.

Social Media Links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lamplighterministries/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lamplighterbook @lamplighterbook

Google+: https://plus.google.com/107546529632801860503

Read More Reviews:

The Secret Bridge {Lamplighter Publishing Reviews}

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ArtAchieve® {Crew Review}

May 3, 2017 by Dana

Entire Level I

For this review, we were gifted the art level of our choice from ArtAchieve®. I wanted to be able to use this product with my younger children so I chose Entire Level I as our product for review. This allowed my children to start from the beginning and work their way up.

What We Received:

We were sent access to ArtAchieve®’s online program’s subscription for Entire Level I. There are 12 lessons in this Level. The first 3 lessons of Entire Level I are free so I had to download those separately after signing up but it was very easy to do. These lessons give a basis in drawing and shading for young children.

How It Works:

ArtAchieve® is an online program. You must sign up and add your levels to your subscription. You can choose any entire level, I-V. I started with Entire Level I to have my children work there way from the beginning to higher into the program. You can purchase each lesson separately but the best deal is to purchase the level bundle which gives you a 25% discount when buying. Entire Level I would cost $40 without the bundle discount but costs $30 with the discount applied at purchase.

Each of the lessons are basically the same but showing a different art. There are downloadable sheets for you to print out for your student to work on their art. One sheet gives them practice with drawing their shapes and lines as they work through the lesson. The other sheet gives them the drawing of what they are working on to color and design in the style they are doing.

There are videos and powerpoint displays used to teach the lessons. The powerpoint lessons are for you to teach your students. They are simple in design and show you the related Cross Curricular Connections and Art Standards taught with that lesson. They flow quickly by but you can pause where needed to read about the art technique and the ideals and artists behind the art form.

The videos are fast and fun. The man teaching the lessons shows you actual techniques and design style used in the each lesson. He brings the lesson to life through these videos.

All of these elements work together to create a whole lesson for your student to easily be able to follow and complete. The lessons are for 4th grade through Adult but younger students could use this program as well. It’s well designed and easy to complete for each lesson.

Cross Curricular Connections

On the main page of each lesson, you will find more of the Cross Curricular Connections, which helps you to expand the lesson to other parts of your student’s educational program. For instance, In Entire Level I, Art Lesson 3: The Hungarian Insects, it is suggested you visit the PBS website to learn more about Hungary, that you read a book about Hungary and learn quick facts about Hungary through the provided links. Several of Eric Carle’s beautiful designed insect books are suggested for English and Reading lesssons. There are even related Science links to learn more about Insects as you complete the lesson.

How We Used It:

ArtAchieve® wasn’t hard to implement into our day to day lessons at all. I was able to show the kids a lesson and show them a completed product of the lesson and they were able to work on them easily. I did worksheets from the lesson with my younger kids and had my older daughter draw the design herself and color it in her style. They all enjoyed using this to create Art of their own.

How You Can Get ArtAchieve®

ArtAchieve® is available by online subscription to their website. There are different levels to choose from and you can start with any level. Each lesson costs between $4-$6 in price or can be purchased for a discount as a bundle together.

Places To Find ArtAchieve® Online:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Artachieve @Artachieve
Instagram: https://www.instragram.com/johnahafland @johnahofland
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ArtAchieve @ArtAchieve

Pinterest: https://www.pinteret.com/artachieve artachieve
Google+: https://plus.google.com/+JohnHoflandartachieve ArtAchieve

Read More Reviews: Click The Link Below!

Art Lessons Inspired From Around the World {ArtAchieve Reviews}

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Drive Thru History®: The Gospels {Crew Review}

April 27, 2017 by Dana

For this review, we were asked to take a Drive Thru History® with Dave Stotts by viewing Drive Thru History® – “The Gospels”. “The Gospels” covers Matthew, Mark, Luke and John from the Bible. We made this a family event, taking a few days to share in the adventure. Everyone took something away from these amazingly developed videos.

What We Received:

We were sent our very own 3 DVD set of Drive Thru History® – “The Gospels”. The Gospels chronical the life of Jesus of Nazareth from before his birth forward. This “Special Edition” set from Drive Thru History® comes in it’s own hard backed case that greatly resembles a book. It features a simple font in white lettering to stand out to the eye. It also features a spine with the same lettering so you can easily find it in a stack or on a shelf.

Inside the “cover”, you find two DVD’s in the front and a third in the back of the set. Behind the DVD’s a map of the land Jesus’s life events took place is featured. Between these DVD’s there is a full study guide to be used with the DVD’s as you work your way through them.

These DVD’s each feature different content about the life of Jesus. In total, there are 18 episodes each 30 minutes in length. Just long enough to capture your attention without becoming boring. Not that this show could ever be boring.

As the videos begin, Dave Stotts takes you straight into the adventure, wasting no time to show you the history of Jesus’s life from beginning to end. The fast pace and catchy music keep you going along but when the important stuff is discussed, he slows it down to really show you what, how, why and where history happens. I like this and so does my family.

There was also a DVD Book Jacket included over the boxed set when it arrived, featuring Dave Stotts standing in front of his vehicle in what looks to be the desert. Information on the DVD’s and the series itself are included on this jacket cover. The cover can easily be placed back over the set so it keeps it neat and clean.

How We Used It:

We used this one as a family. I had originally asked for this review when I thought I was going to have a hysterectomy last month. I thought it would be a wonderful way to still have class with my kids while I was couch bound. Thankfully, I did not have to have surgery at the time but we still had this wonderful review.

So as I said, we watched together, sharing Jesus’s story with one another.

Dad: Don aka Dad loved these. Growing up Catholic and in Catholic School, he was taught religiously about the Bible but rigidly as well. Watching this series really brought all these lessons he’d been taught to life. Even though it was video, he was able to see where the Mother Mary lived, where she had Jesus, where Jesus preached, walked, who he trusted, how he lived and even his death. This was something he was really able to absorb and learn with and something he very well enjoyed.

Winston: Win is my video-gaming teen. It takes something pretty interesting to make him stop and capture his attention. These DVD’s really got him though. He enjoyed seeing these places even on TV. He enjoyed listening to these true accounts of Jesus’s life. He really learned from viewing these along with the rest of us.

Emmalee: Emma, of course, loved these! She’s a history buff and loves to learn. DVD viewing of history or science are her absolute favorite and she was already a huge fan of Dave Stotts and Drive Thru History®. This was a huge win all the way for her.

Laycie: Laycie just turned 9 this month and she’s on a roll learning about Jesus. She has three or four of our family Bibles she’s been “reading” through with some help from me and big sister. She’s enjoying learning God’s story and that of Jesus as well. Though she wasn’t as interested in watching these DVD’s for long periods as the rest of us were, she did learn a lot. Since we’ve watched, she’s compared many of the topics discussed and segments we watched to stories in her different Bibles, truly making the connection between each. This brings my heart great joy and hers as well.

Jackson: Jack’s attention span is a little less than the rest of us since he’s four but even he enjoyed viewing the DVD’s with us. He’d go back and forth between playing but some segments just caught his attention and he’d sit down beside Daddy and watch along. He learned some from them as well and asked questions as he viewed, giving him a good base in Biblical study even at four.

Mom: Me (Dana) aka Mom. I enjoyed these DVD segments. I enjoyed watching and seeing the places where Mary walked, where Jesus led, where he spoke and prayed and where he was last. Mostly I enjoyed seeing my children’s faces as they learned more, as they saw these things for the first time and as we discussed these events as a family. My heart is overjoyed from the experience we shared while watching “The Gospels” together.

The Study Guide:

I must admit, I did not use this as much as I could have. We had such deep and natural conversations about what we viewed with one another that I didn’t feel the need to use the guide. I think as we rewatch I will use the guide to dive deeper but our conversations were satisfying without the additional help.

The Study Guide shares quotes from famous people, great people who have led our world and who have affected the world greatly. It suggests reading from the Bible for each of the 18 segments, verses that relate to the segment in order to connect the Word to the segment itself. It shares images of people, of places and things that relate to each segment, each differing for each different segment. And it shares around 5 questions to help you build upon what you are watching, to help you grow in your knowledge of what’s been shared in the segment in order to expand your thought on the segment itself.

The Study Guide is beautifully designed and wonderful to learn from and share but as I said, for us we discussed enough through our own sharing that I didn’t feel it was needed as part of our lessons. Perhaps later on.

Where Can You Get Your Copy:

You can obtain a copy of the 3 DVD set Drive Thru History® – “The Gospels” from Drive Thru History® from their website for $89.95. It is well worth every penny! This DVD series is generally for 5th grade to adult but can be used with much younger children, as I have mentioned above. This is a Christian series and there are other historical topics available for purchase as well.

Places You Can Find This Vendor Online:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drivethruhistory/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/drivethruhistory

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drivethruhistory/

Read More Reviews By Clicking Below!

The Gospels {Drive Thru History® Reviews}

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Planet 316: Daily Bible Jigsaw {Crew Review}

April 24, 2017 by Dana

From Planet 316 comes the Daily Bible Jigsaw. This is a free app on Apple iOS, Google Play or Facebook. Let me tell you, it is TONS of fun!

After you chose your format and method of play (mine was Apple iOS) and get it downloaded, you will be taken to a log-in page to create your username and password. This is easily and quickly done. The the fun really starts.

There is one new puzzle a day. Each puzzle you complete gives you extra coins. You get coin bonuses for completing quickly. I was slow do I did not get a lot of extra coins myself.

Each puzzle is inspirational and beautifully designed. One of my favorites was a picture of flowers with a beautiful butterfly featured on it and a quote. It took me a while to complete it but it was great fun. There were lots of pieces to put together and honestly I’m just not good at putting these things together but still I did it.

On the iPad app, which I used for this game, you can press on the puzzle pieces with your fingers to slide them to the side or place them into the puzzle. I, personally, placed all puzzle pieces onto the side, then worked on the edges. These are the pieces with one flat side. Once I found two pieces that matched, they’d link to one another and connect. Once the outside of the puzzle was built, I would then work on the inner parts of the puzzle. When you finish, the puzzle then ~~magically~~ digitally comes to life and the inspirational quote appears. This is a Christian app so all messages are Biblical and Christian based.

As a bonus for reviewing this item, Planet 316 gifted us each a 500 Puzzle Coins Bundle, which is a $39.99 value, for free for additional play time. These coins allowed us to buy extra puzzles. As I mentioned, you get one puzzle a day. There’s a calendar which shows each day for the month. Completed puzzles show here as well as ones you may have missed in the month. You can purchase the missed puzzles for a small fee.

Mostly I played this app, though my kids did play a few times. Laycie liked it. Emmalee loved it. They were faster than me at playing it. It is a great family game to play with your younger child as well. It is a lot of fun to share with one another.