science

What Homeschooling Is Like For Us {Homeschooling} {Epilepsy Awareness}

April 18, 2017 by Dana

5 Days of Homeschooling with Epilepsy and Other Issues:

What Homeschooling Is Like For Us

One of the BEST things about Homeschooling is that you can make it work for you! You don’t need to follow anyone else’s schedule. You don’t need to do Public School at Home. You simply do what’s best for you and your family.

Homeschooling for us varies throughout the year. Because our schedule is usually crazy with appointments at different times of the day, we have had to learn to adapt things to fit around this. We homeschool year round, which means when the public school kids are at home, we’re usually still having school.

We’re also pretty eclectic educationally which fits right in with the Homeschool Review Crew since we never know ahead which vendors we will be selected to review and which we won’t. We’ve been blessed to be selected for many wonderful items over the years while being a part of the crew and these items have easily been adapted to fit our homeschooling because of our personal style.

We also tend to use materials that allow us to work together as a family instead of individually which can take a ton of time. Things like Apologia for science, unit studies by Amanda Bennett, Apologia for Biblical Studies and Story of the World for history have helped us to have a well-rounded educational experience while allowing us to adapt to the challenges our health issues present.

Unit studies have been a huge blessing because it allows us to often work through subjects of interest instead of following a more formal plan. Many field trips end out our studies to give that hands-on experience my children crave. This is just a fun bonus for all of us.

As you’ve probably guessed, we don’t follow a strict schedule. I feel that learning is most important, not meeting a timeline that my children may not necessarily be ready for. I enjoy watching their little faces when they truly learn something that speaks loudly to their hearts. This is the method we’ve used for years and greatly enjoy following.

This is just a small glimpse into our homeschooling life. We hope you’ve enjoyed it and look forward to sharing more with you! Next up is Homeschooling On The Down Days.

Blessings,
Dana Lambert-Hodge

This post is a part of the 5 Days of Homeschool… Blog Hop from
the Homeschool Review Crew!

5 Days of Homeschool Annual Blog Hop - 2017

Visual Learning Systems: Digital Science Online: Elementary Edition {Crew Review}

March 19, 2015 by Dana

Visual Learning Systems is Digital Science Online for both Elementary and Secondary school levels. For this review, we used the Digital Science Online: Elementary Edition with my 6 year old, Laycie. The program has been great for our family. Laycie has absolutely LOVED it! Digital Science Online: Secondary Edition is also available to use with older students.

Digital Science Online is the all in one place to access Elementary science lessons. I like this program because it’s interactive, allowing Laycie to work at her own pace and it’s informative which allows her to learn as much as possible in the time she works online. This program fits both her and our family well.

Digital Science Online: Elementary Edition is an annual subscription allowing you access to the program for one year. There are more than 135 units of study covering grades K-5. Each of these units are visual in design, drawing the students interest to the lesson and keeping the mind intrigued.

Parents, students and teachers also have 24/7 access to the program so learning can happen at any time. It’s easy to use and allows many options for lessons. This makes for a great program to learn by. There are videos, images, and animations available throughout the program, along with access to student and teacher content.

Some of the primary subjects we covered have been measuring length, exploring sound, using electricity, observing weather changes, learning about seasons, and so much more. Subjects covered through the program for Elementary are Physical, Earth, Life and Health science. We learned so much for these wonderful lessons.

Laycie and all the kids have enjoyed using Visual Learning Systems: Digital Science Online. It’s been a great program for our family and has fit well with our learning style. I look forward to using the program throughout this year with my children.

I also love the fact that the lessons are laid out so thoroughly. The videos are easy to access along with the animations. There are worksheets available to use with students to ensure they are learning the information provided to them in each lesson. Learning objectives are also provided which are great to show just what is being taught by each lesson covered.

Laycie enjoys the lesson videos the most. The simple things she learns intrigues her and leaves her wanting to learn more. Since the lessons are thorough though, we don’t have to outsource a lot to teach her more. It’s all provided right on the website, easy for her to see and learn.

Visual Learning Systems: Digital Science Online is available for $99 a year for either Elementary Science or Secondary Science access. Digital Science Online: Elementary Edition is for students in grades K-5. Digital Science Online: Secondary Edition is for students in grades 6-12.

Visual Learning Systems can be found online in the following places:

Facebook -https://facebook.com/visuallearningsystems
Twitter – https://twitter.com/visualearning

To read more reviews of Visual Learning Systems, click on the banner below!

Moving Beyond The Page {Crew Review}

July 10, 2014 by Dana

Have you ever found a curriculum that simply blows you away and makes you reconsider everything you’ve ever used for homeschooling? For me that curriculum company is Moving Beyond the Page. Their unit studies are so thorough, so simple to use and yet so much fun!

For this review, we were given access to our choice of products. Trust me, this was NOT an easy decision to make. Since we have been studying the Revolutionary War in relation to our Hometown of Georgetown, SC, I choose two units that I thought we best fit to our current lessons. For our Language Arts Package, I chose Abigail Adams and for our History Package, I chose Revolution.

{Language Arts – Abigail Adams, History – Revolution}

As soon as I saw Moving Beyond the Page listed as one of our vendors, I knew I didn’t want to miss out. I reviewed another set of packaged programs for this company with the Schoolhouse Team last year and we absolutely LOVED it. I wanted to see if we’d feel the same way this year and I’m happy to say we still LOVE them.
Our Language Arts Package provided us with an online guidebook to use and a physical book to read to learn all about the life of Abigail Adams. The book we received is Abigail Adams Witness to a Revolution by Natalie S. Bober. It is filled with information on Mrs. Adams life and the things she saw during this important time in the early beginning of America.

The online guide for Abigail Adams provides a wonderful lesson plan which is simple to follow. You simply log into the website and follow the links. There are activity pages that can be printed out to use with the lessons being learned. There are also bonus suggestions from others to help you extend your lessons even farther. I really enjoy the formatting of the online guide and the extra content that helps to bring the lessons to life.

I must admit though, my children found the book on Mrs. Adams lengthy and slightly boring and so did I since I was reading it to them. I think this book and lesson package would be better suited for a more structured homeschool setting than ours. I was able to find readings from various websites and books from the library to help us make our lessons more interesting. There were some areas where reading the information provided in the book Abigail Adams Witness to a Revolution could not be avoided and we read through and did learn a lot from the reading.

For our History Package, we were sent a physical copy of the Revolution Guidebook, along with the hands-on book Great Colonial America Projects You Can Build Yourself by Kris Bordessa and We Were There, Too! Young People in US History by Phillip Hoose. I will admit this package was immediately a favorite of both myself and the kiddos. Both these books are amazing and they add so much to the lesson itself.

Great Colonial America Projects contains so many interesting facts and super-fun projects to complete! It includes words to know which can be used for Vocabulary exercises and also for copywork. It features different persons from the time period throughout the book, providing a better look at those important historical figures and their influence on American History. This book also gives timeline tidbits would could easily be used to create a physical timeline in your lessons. There are so many things we learned from this one little book!

We Were There, Too! is a beautiful book itself. It’s a glossy covered, hardback book that is sturdily made. It reads like a textbook but the stories are so interesting. They really draw the reader in and the students as well. Beginning with the discovery of America, this book takes you on a long walk through History. One that you won’t soon forget.

We Were There, Too! also contains new words that can be used for Vocabulary, Spelling, Copywork and more. Lessons on the specific people who made History happen can be easily expanded upon though the book is pretty thorough in examining these people and is historically accurate in it’s information. This book is a wonderful addition to our lessons and our homeschooling.

The Revolution Guidebook is approximately 168 pages long. It begins with covering history from the settling of America which did surprise me, as I was expecting it to only cover the actual Revolutionary period and the War itself. I was thrilled to discover it began with America’s settlement and covered some information that we had already been discussing in our homeschooling over the weeks before we began this study.

The guidebooks for both of these packages are written so that the teacher can jump right in and begin right away. The packages come with the books and some packages come with extra activities that may otherwise be hard to locate so that you can easily begin the study. These packages are set up as unit studies and as most unit studies do, they cover the information being learned thoroughly both by providing excellent reading selections with the chosen books and by providing a thorough and completely planned guidebook to direct the teacher through the lesson.

We used these unit studies together in conjuction as much as possible. They fit well together, since Abigail Adams was a witness to the Revolution which we were discussing in the Revolution study. We used these lessons almost daily over the review period and we learned a lot from them. We also learned a lot about the history of our hometown, and nearby Charleston in the process. We enjoyed how the lessons brought so much of our home’s past to life for us.
The guidebooks provide lessons activities, extensions, suggestions for extra books to read and so much more. Best yet, they are so so so easy to follow. We have learned so much with these lesson packages in such a short time because of the simple and easy layout which makes it easy to jump right in and learn. I’m really considering switching other parts of our learning program to Moving Beyond the Page because of the ease of using the program and it’s completeness.

The packaging prices aren’t bad either. The Language Arts Package for Abigail Adams with the Online Guidebook is priced as $26.88 at time of this review. This includes access to the guidebook online and the physical book Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution. This package is designed for use with students ages 12-14 or who have a reading level of 8-9th grade.

The History Package for Revolution with a printed copy of the guidebook is $65.93. It comes with the guidebook in print copy, a copy of Great Colonial American Projects You Can Build Yourself and We Were There, Too!: Young People in US History. This package is designed for use with students age 12-14 or who have a reading level of 8-9th grade.

You can also find Moving Beyond the Page on Facebook:

www.facebook.com/movingbeyondthepage

To read more reviews of Moving Beyond the Page and see other curriculum packages available, please click on the banner below!

Library and Educational Services: Go Science DVD Series 2 {Crew Review}

June 26, 2014 by Dana

Welcome to Learning Time with Ben Roy! Ben Roy is the “teacher” on Library and Educational Services excellent Go Science DVD’s. He’s so much more than a teacher though as he loves to bring Science to life for children.

Go Science DVD’s have been created to be used with children who are ages 6-10. For this review, we used the second series of the DVD’s. Last year, we reviewed their original series. Because we LOVED those so much, we chose two new videos for review this year.

Go Science Volume 1: Sound, Gravity, Space

and

Go Science Volume 2: Life Science, Weather

These videos were just as great this year as they were last! Over the past year, we’ve watched our original Go Science DVD’s multiple times. I didn’t notice a lot of differences between series one and two. There are some new transitional effects but the main content is just as great as the originals.

Each video is a little over an hour long with segments in each covering the topics that the DVD is about. Each segment lasts just a few minutes but packs a lot of information into that time frame. You can choose to view the DVD by individual segments or to play all. We like to play all because once we start learning, it’s hard to stop. Plus Ben Roy really makes Science interesting with his comical ways and his witty humor. I really learn a lot just listening along! So do the kids!

Go Science videos are a huge hit around our house and this series is one we go to over and over. The kids and I both enjoy watching the experiments and we have tried a few on our own after watching. We’ve also used what we’ve learned through the videos to try out other experiments of our own. Just viewing these videos has definitely changed our learning process and our own experiments in Science.

Through Go Science DVD Volume 1, we learned about the sounds that instruments make and were able to see an piano that had been taken a part. Ben Roy showed us how the piano works which was completely new information for me. Another fun experiment was the screaming soda pop can. This one can be done at home with supervision.

On the main menu of Go Science DVD Volume 1: Sound, Gravity, Space you can choose between these three topics. Clicking on each will provide a second menu of experiments that are related to each of these topics. Between the three topics, there are 15 different segments with experiments to watch and learn about.

Go Science DVD Volume 2: Life Science and Weather starts the same way. Clicking on each topic leads to a second menu. Between the two menus, there are 12 episodes with experiments to watch. Things like a Fire Tornado and Ping Pong Cannon, or How Much Do Your Lungs Hold are covered on this DVD.

Two of our favorites from Go Science DVD Volume 2 are the Naked Egg and Cloud In A Bottle.

The Naked Egg is the experiment where you soak the egg in vinegar until the shells dissolves leaving only the egg membrane and yolk in tact. The egg feels rubbery and is see through. This is a great experiment to really show what’s inside an Egg.

Cloud in a Bottle is an experiment where you place a bit of alcohol into a 2 liter soda bottle then pump air inside. Clouds really form from this experiment. Watching and learning how clouds are created lead us to find other cloud experiments to complete at home.

We love that Go Science DVD’s leave us thinking and wanting to learn more. You can purchase these wonderful DVD’s through Library and Educational Services for $8.97 individually or you can purchase the 7 DVD series set for $59.82.

You can also find Library and Educational Services on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/libraryanded

Please click the banner below to read more reviews of Go Science DVD’s!

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).

For more reviews of In the Hands of a Child, please click the banner below!

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DIVE Into Your Imagination – Who Live In the Sea? {Crew Review}

May 31, 2012 by Dana

Who Lives In The Sea? is a part of the Dive Into Your Imagination series from Annie Crawley. Ms. Crawley has traveled the world as an underwater photographer, dive instructor and boat captain for more than 15 years and has brought her life at sea to video for all to enjoy. “I want to share the beauty and wonder of the REAL world. Come experience the oceans with me!” Ms. Crawley says.

In Who Lives In The Sea? students and parents alike learn more about the ocean and how it works. You can swim with dolphins, seals and sea lions. You can see whale sharks as the super big fish they are. You learn about turtles, the dinosaurs of the sea and about baby bird’s families.

Also included in this video are The Ocean Song, the Ocean Alphabet and a special feature called “Helping Your Kids Love the Water”. My children greatly enjoyed viewing this video and learning more about life in the Sea which is a huge part of our own day to day life, living on the Coast of the United States. The images and animals shared throughout the video are amazing and beautiful. It is one of the BEST videos we have been asked to view. We are extremely thankful to Ms. Crawley for creating this wonderful video series to use in our homeschooling.

Dive Into Your Imagination’s series includes: Who Lives In The Sea?, What Makes a Fish a Fish? and Dive Into Diversity. You can purchase each video for $19.95 a piece on Ms. Crawley’s website: www.diveintoyourimagination.com. Separate Educational guides are available for this set of DVD’s. The guide set is available for $299 per printed set, or $69.95 for single PDF file per video.

For more reviews of Dive Into Your Imagination, please visit the TOS Homeschool Review Crew blog!

*Disclaimer – This video was provided to me free for review by Annie Crawley and the TOS Homeschool Review Crew in exchange for my honest opinion in review of this product.