Schoolhouse review

Doorposts: Beauty in the Heart {Crew Review}

August 28, 2013 by Dana

We are HUGE fans of Doorposts in our home. We have so many of their wonderful products and have used them for years. We enjoy using Doorposts in homeschooling and child training.

Our library contains Polished Cornerstones for girls and Plants Grown Up for boys, Raising Real Men and Mighty Acts of God among other titles. We use the If-Then chart in our home discipline and find it helpful in maintaining character and order in our home. All of these things work together to help our children learn to be better young men and young women.

So when the Doorposts Vendor came up for the Schoolhouse Review crew this year, you can imagine my excitement. This is Doorposts very first time using the Schoolhouse crew as a review team and they offered us our choice of two of their wonderful products: Beauty in the Heart and Because You Are Strong.

For my review, I chose Beauty in the Heart. I chose this study for several reasons. One it’s designed to be used with girls who are ages 10 and up. My daughter is 10 and a half and has a hard to reach heart so I am always looking for things to soften it while teaching her about the Bible. Reason Two is that this study can also be used with boys, making it appeal to me to use along with my 12 year old son.

Now you are probably asking how in the world a boy can benefit from a study called Beauty in the Heart that is designed for young girls and I am going to explain that now. Throughout this book are marked questions that are designed for young men who are following along in the study to answer. Following along in the study allows young men to better understand young women and encourage them to grow in the Beauty of God’s design for them. It also helps them learn the differences between true and false beauty in their own personal relationships and when looking forward to marriage.

Now to get to the good stuff: Beauty in the Heart is a Study of Godly Beauty for Young Women written by the wonderful Pam Forster. Pam, John and the rest of the Forster family create the wonderful custom curriculum provided at Doorposts. Through this study, women will learn what it is to be beautiful God’s way.

Not only will you learn about beauty through this study though, you or your student will also learn how to better study the Bible. They will learn to compare passages, observe words repeated throughout the Bible, outline the passage contents, and gather all of the words of the Scripture on a topic. These are only a few things that Beauty in the Heart helps teach a student who is following along with this curriculum.

The book itself contains nine studies to be completed. Each study contains a short review at the end. The studies are broken down into daily assignments. These assignments can take anywhere from five to twenty or more minutes to complete. There are 86 days worth of Bible study equaling to approximately 17 weeks of lessons at 5 studies a week. More than one assignment a day can be completed in order to finish faster or you can break lessons down so that the program takes longer to complete as needed. Additional study ideas are included at the end of each study so that the study can be extended for up to a year if so chosen.

It is recommended that you have a Nave’s Topical Bible and a Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to use along with this program. It is also recommended that you have a Bible that you can mark words and verses in. You will need colored pencils or highlighters for this part of studying too. This study uses the King James translation of the Bible because it is easily accessible for most families.

The studies follow different books of the Bible. The first and second studies begin in 1 Peter. The third study moves into the story of Sarah. From there we move on to Esther. 1 Timothy, Proverbs, 1 Samuel and the story of Ruth also follow these in the study.

Each study begins with a small intro followed by reading and copying the verse into the study guide or a notebook if you so choose. Then the study furthers with specific study suggestions to help expand on how to study the Bible. As the student works through they learn to reference and cross reference from different sources, expanding and learning how to study their Bible better in the process.

We used this study as a group study. I allowed my son to follow along with both of my daughters as we read through the study, and the Bible. I enjoyed learning about God’s plan and design for Beauty in us through the study and I believe, like our other Doorposts materials, this study touched my daughter’s heart. I will continue to use this study with all three of my older children in the future.

Beauty in the Heart is 128 pages long. It’s available in softcover paperback for $14.00. This study is for Girls ages 10 and up, women included. There is also a study for boys’ called Because You Are Strong which sells for $12.00 at time of this post. It is also softcover paperback.

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In The Hands Of A Child: Pond Life {Crew Review}

August 23, 2013 by Dana

In the Hands of a Child is one of our favorite homeschooling companies. Their awesome products have been used in our homeschool for years and will continue to be used for years to come. They are easy to use and intriguing, bringing home education to a whole new level.

In the Hands of a Child offered the Schoolhouse Review crew their choice of several products. My favorite and my personal choice was Pond Life. Since we do a lot with water related activities and we have a pond and swamp on our property at home, the Pond Life project pack had a lot to offer to us.

As with all In the Hands of a Child products, our Pond Life project pack included all the reproducibles needed to complete the project. Purchasing rights give me permission to print this for every child in our home, more than once if necessary, so this study will be available to us for years to come. If we need to repeat the study, all we have to do is print out a new copy. It’s that simple.

Pond Life must be printed out to use. Make sure you have enough available copies for each member of your home before jumping into this study. You will also need a file folder or an old cereal box cut so that it can be used like a folder. Scissors, coloring utensils, and glue are also needed to complete this study.

Through the Pond Life study, your children will learn important vocabulary, spelling and all about life in the Pond. This particular study was written with the Kindergarten through 2nd grade child in mind but can easily be adapted to any age. I used it with my Kindergartener and had my 3rd and 5th grade students follow along.

So what did we learn through this study? We learned about Habitats, animals, organisms, and even pond safety. The study took us into the homes and lives of animals that we find naturally in our pond, like tadpoles and frogs, butterflies, dragonflies, turtles and more, some that we never realized may live in our pond!!

My kids really loved this study, and being able to view it first hand in our environment made it all the better! Hands-on studies are often our favorites and the fact that it was super easy to use makes us love it even more. We are still viewing the differences in water environments as we have a lot to compare in our area: the Atlantic Ocean, natural rivers, local ponds, ditches, swamp water areas. All of these can be located within 30 minutes of our home.

To get your own copy of Pond Life or any of the other available studies from In the Hands of a Child, visit their website. Pond Life is available for $12 regularly but is currently available for $5 at the time of this review (this is subject to change in the future).

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Reading Kingdom {Crew Review}

August 16, 2013 by Dana

Reading Kingdom is an amazing online reading program designed to help children that are ages 4-10 learn to read and build reading skills they may struggle with. This program is designed to be easy to use for both Parent and child. It can also be used in a classroom setting for schools.

Reading Kingdom is designed to work with the child’s skill level. Any young child can use this program at any skill level. How quickly your child completes this program will depend upon your child’s skill level. The complete Reading Kingdom program takes around 12-15 months to work through. Children with advanced reading skills can complete the program within 3-6 months.

Reading Kingdom is designed to be used at least 4 times a week with your child. Children should be at least 4 years old and able to sit quietly, paying attention for at least 15 minutes at a time. Children should know basic computer skills like using a mouse.

Reading Kingdom uses a balanced approach of reading skills to teach children to read. The program uses the 6 important skills of sequencing, sounds, motor, meaning, Grammar and comprehension combined together to master both reading and writing. This allows a child to fully comprehend reading and these skills last a lifetime.

The greatest thing about Reading Kingdom though is that it customizes to your child. Every child’s experience with this program will be completely different. When your child begins this program, they will complete a reading skills survey that allows the program to adapt to your child. Based on the results of this survey, the program designs itself to fit your child’s learning needs. It also adapts as your child progresses through the program, developing your child skills as they learn.

We have used this program with my struggling reader and he really loves it. Since it goes at his pace and adapts to his skills, he is able to really enjoy himself while using it. Winston is a whole word learner and struggles with phonics type programs. Reading Kingdom’s combined approach has allowed him to grasp concepts of reading that he usually struggles with when learning single reading programs like phonics or whole words.

Winston uses the program a few times a week and works as long as he wishes on his reading. There is no rush for him or pressure in learning. It’s complete fun and games in reading and this has helped him relax tremendously. We will be adding his little sister to the program in the future.

Reading Kingdom has a free trial available to view this curriculum before taking the jump into joining with a membership. Memberships are $19.99 a month or $199.99 a year for the first child. Additional children added into the program are $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year. There are also additional materials available for purchase to use with the program as well. Free online resources are also available for use.

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Bible Study Guide for All Ages: Primary Level {Crew Review}

August 12, 2013 by Dana

If you’ve been looking for a great way to teach Bible study to your children, Bible Study Guide for All Ages is a great program to choose. Bible Study Guide for All Ages makes learning about the Bible fun and easy. This program is sure to capture the attention of any age.

For this review, we chose the Primary plan. This plan is created for children in 1st-2nd grades and is a great plan for children who know a little about the Bible but are ready to advance into a deeper level of learning. Our Bible Study Guide for All Ages kit came with the Primary Level Teacher Guide, Color Bible Book Summary Cards, enough Primary Student pages for all the kids, and an accompanying Children’s Songs CD.

Along with the contents of the kit, each student will need a Bible of their own to use. This will be used for finding Biblical text throughout the lessons. Finding the Bible verses with help or on their own, allows students to learn the much needed skill of using their Bible and reading on their own.

Crayons, pencils and other writing utensils are also necessary for this program. We personally love anything we can color, draw and design so we broke out crayons and colored pencils for this program. I love anything that encourages the kids uniqueness in artistic ways.

The one thing we did not receive, that was not 100% necessary but would have been a nice addition to our kit, was the Unlabeled Wall Map and Time Line with Label book. This timeline is used throughout the program and mentioned in our lessons but it wasn’t something we had to have in order to complete any lesson. The bonus of it though, is that it would have allowed us to track Biblical events and figures in a hands-on way. I’m sure I could easily create my own or just a notebook type Timeline and captured the same effect for our family and we may do that in the future.

The Bible Study Guide for All Ages Primary Level Teacher’s Guide is wire-bound which allows the guide to lie flat for lessons. In it, you will find directions to every lesson and task for this level of the program. The book begins with Teacher Instructions, explaining how this program works and how to use it in your classroom. I found it very easy to understand and make work for us at home, though it can also be used in a Sunday School classroom if you’d prefer.

Lessons can be completed once a day or spread to a few days in a week, depending upon the child. Generally, only one lesson a week would be completed though you can complete more if you wish. This program is designed much like a Sunday School Bible Study which would only be used once a week on Sunday’s.

Lessons are fairly short and should take only an hour or so to complete, if that. Each lesson has an objective to teach the child some important lesson of the Bible. In the beginning of each lesson in the guide there is also a list for the lessons needed materials. These are things you will gather to be able to complete the lesson with the child(ren).

Lessons always begin with a review of the previous lesson. This allows the child to show what they know and what they remember from the previous lesson. This also allows the teacher to gauge the child’s learning and reteach areas that may have been missed in the previous lesson.

The second part of the lesson is the Memory Work. This is generally where important Bible facts and songs are introduced. Bible verses are also reviewed during this section. Anything that a student needs to memorize for the lesson is introduced here.

The third section is the Things to Know section. This is the real introduction to the week’s lesson and where the backbone of the lesson is found. Things to Know sets the background for the main lesson to come.

The next step is to Get Active! This is the give and take of the lesson, where the teacher questions the students and challenges their thinking to get them thinking lessons through. This section if scripted well for the teacher and easily followed, though students answers will always differ from the suggested ones in the book. This section also sets the stage for the story of the lesson.

Finally, we reach the Bible Text. This is the story portion that brings the Bible story into relation of all we have learned so far. Stories vary in length and are always followed by review questions to keep students challenged and thinking during lessons. As you read through this section, students can follow along with their comic book images in their student text workbook. This helps bring the story to life for the student learning.

Following the text section, students learn where it happened on the Map. This is included in their student text but you can elaborate by using a wall map or a timeline. This allows the child to see for themselves where this part of the story happened and relate it to today instead of just a story from a book. It helps to bring the lesson and story to life for the child.

The last step of the lesson is to Apply It! Show what you both have learned, parent and student. Talk about the lesson, why it’s important, how you can prevent yourself from doing something you shouldn’t or encourage others to do what they should. Each lesson’s Apply It! is different but every one has an important lesson to be taught.

The Student lesson pages are extra long and come in black and white. This allows the child to be creative in coloring the pages. It also helps cut down printing costs. The pages are full of character, using comic book type imagery to keep children engaged.

The Bible Book Summary Cards are fully colored and work to bring life to this program. The back of each card provides information that goes along with each lesson. It also includes questions for the teacher to ask the student. The great part is that all of this is on the back of the card, so as the teacher holds it up for the student to view, the teacher can be reading this part of the lesson without the student realizing there is anything there.

Children’s Songs CD is also included with this program. This 2 CD set includes 90 songs for your students to use along with the lessons. These also help bring the stories to life and get your child off the couch and into the lesson. These aren’t the usual, every day Bible songs either but they are catchy tunes that your family will be singing again and again.

We used this program as directed, following through the lessons together. It was simple enough to do and the kids enjoyed the time spent with one another on it. Winston especially enjoyed the comic book characters and the easy reading, which helped encourage him with his reading skills. Emmalee read much of the lesson to us, which allowed me a break from doing all the reading myself. The lessons were just the right amount of study and time for Laycie too. They were not overwhelming and were just the right amount of detail for each one of us.

Bible Study Guide for All Ages: Primary Level is available to purchase online for $9.95 for the 1-26 lesson Teacher’s Guide and $5.95 for the 1-26 Student Lesson pages. Lessons are broken down into sections of 26 lessons at a time. There are a total of 208 lessons available for the Primary Level of this program.

The Bible Book Summary Cards are also available for purchase. These come in Full Color 8.5″x11″ cards or Color-It-Yourself 11″x14″ posters. Both come with 66 cards to use with the program and are both priced at $24.95 each.

The Children’s Songs CD set is a 2 disk set containing 90 children’s Bible songs. The cost for it is $19.95.

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Brain Food Learning: Fascinating World of Birds {Crew Review}

August 4, 2013 by Dana

From Brain Food Learning comes The Fascinating World of Birds! Through this DVD, your child can learn important facts about almost every bird type imaginable. The Fascinating World of Birds teaches your child important tidbits by showcasing each bird type in a information packed portion of video.

I knew The Fascinating World of Birds would be a HIT in our home because my children absolutely LOVE to learn about Birds and Nature. We already have several bird watching apps on my iPhone so we can learn specifics about the birds we come across when we are out in nature.

The Fascinating World of Birds showed us some of these birds in their personal environments.

The Fascinating World of Birds takes you to the birds habitats. It teaches the purposes of feather types, beaks, claws, and so much more. It shares with you how each species of bird differs, how even some of the same species differ from each other and how the bird is adapted to the environment which it is found in.

That’s not all. The Fascinating World of Birds also teaches you about how each bird raises it’s young. This video shows you how the bird hunts and lives every day. The Fascinating World of Birds takes you into the birds own fascinating world.

The DVD can be played all the way through, showing every bird episode continuously. This option also plays straight through each review portion. This is the option we used when reviewing this video. My children were able to grasp the video as a whole learning important pieces of information while viewing which we then discussed afterwards. Each took a different lessons from the video and different pieces of information which they have shared with each other in the past few weeks.

The DVD can also be played section by section by choosing the Birds option on the menu screen. This allows you to concentrate on one type of bird, instead of all the birds at once. The review portion allows the user to choose only a review of certain sections, allowing you to quiz your student without covering all the information at once.

As an added bonus, Brain Food Learning has recently released an accompanying PDF study for each of their videos. These additional lesson worksheets help to reinforce the lessons provided on their videos. We did not get these worksheets in time to complete with our earlier review of this video but I was able to print it
off for my older daughter to work through. The questions and answers were easily completed by her and the extra lesson activities were enjoyable to her as well.

The Fascinating World of Birds would make a great lesson addition for students learning about Birds. It could be used as part of a unit study, zoo lesson, or along with any flying creatures study. The video covers a wealth of information that would be beneficial to anyone learning about birds.

The Fascinating World of Birds is available through Brain Food Learning for $14.99. Brain Food Learning has many other wonderful videos available for purchase similar to The Fascinating World of Birds as well.

For more reviews of The Fascinating World of Birds and the other Brain Food Learning products reviewed by the Schoolhouse Review Crew, please click on the banner below.

Gryphon House: The Homegrown Preschool {Crew Review}

August 2, 2013 by Dana

Gryphon House Publishers graciously offered the Schoolhouse Review crew their choice of two products for this review: Global Art and The Homegrown Preschooler. I must say I was extremely torn over which I would chose. Art is a HUGE deal in our house but so is preschool learning for my younger two.

Weighing my choices, I chose to review The Homegrown Preschooler: Teaching Your Kids in the Places They Live, which actually went very well with my last review, Circle Time by Kendra Fletcher {Read that review here!}. The books complemented each other well for our lessons but enough about that.

The Homegrown Preschooler was a great reminder of many of the concepts I have previously used in our homeschooling. It gives a great explanation of using play and hands-on activities for active lessons with younger children. The Homegrown Preschooler gives examples throughout the book of activities, ideas and games that can be used with children of any age to develop their learning and life skills.

This 204 page book is packed with beautiful images of children engaging in various activities. This fully-colored guide for “Teaching You Kids in the Places They Live”, is jam-packed full with activities dealing with math, science, reading, and much more. It includes great meal planning recipes for kids along with great recipes for play dough and other useful preschool tools.

The Homegrown Preschooler guides you in turning your home into an environment in which your children can learn. This book teaches the parent how to use the things that are available to them to bring learning home, and how to create a safe and educational place for the learning to be done in. Preschool is about play and fun and all the things that children love to do!

Inspirational stories can be found throughout this book from the authors and others who have been there done that. Fingerplays, songs and other fun activities are shared for you to utilize in your own preschool environment. There’s also a great section of printables and design instructions in the back of the book for your personal use.

The Homegrown Preschooler is written for parents of preschoolers between the ages of one and five. I chose to read and use this book with my five year old, who is a bit old for some of the activities. We were able to use much of the books suggestions though since Laycie is slightly delayed in learning due to her Epilepsy.

After reading this book, I decided making my own play dough doesn’t sound too bad. I also started using more hands-on elements with Laycie, creating a few sensory bins using toys, rice and other things we have around our house. Some of these sensory play times have also made it into our bath where Laycie enjoys making a mess and then washing it up, teaching her the skills of homekeeping as she works.

Many of the suggestions in the book, are things we have been doing a long time. We work together and have Circle Times and field trips that allow our family to bond and socialize. We clean together too, learning skills from one another as we work. Sometimes I even let each child teach another the skills they are good at.

The Homegrown Preschooler is a great book for any parent with a young child. I know I will be pulling it out in the future as Jackson grows and I am in need of a reminder for activities to do with him. This book will be beneficial for years to come as it teaches you skills and techniques that can really be used throughout the child’s younger years.

The Homegrown Preschooler is available from Gyphon House for $29.95 plus shipping. For more reviews of The Homegrown Preschooler, please click the banner below!