Aims ~ Hands on Math~ A Review

 

I was able to review Looking At Lines $24.95, a hands on math concept book from Aims.  Aims is a non for profit educational foundation.  They provide hands on math and science activities for kids of all ages. 

Looking At Lines is a book that focuses solely on graphing and linear functions for grades 6-9.  I used this with both my 5th grader and 7th grader.  My 5th grader is just learning the basics of linear functions and graphing, so we just did a few activities until she caught on.  My 7th grader has been struggling with the linear functions this year.  He learns much better hands on, and hands on math seems harder to fine.  These books are great and affordable.

Here is an example of an elevator we made.  She graphed where the counterweight was according to where the passenger car was.   The building had 7 floors, so she was able to figure out that X(the counterweight) plus Y(the car) equaled 7. This was a very basic concept and helped her to fully understand what the graph and the equation has to do with each other.

The activities do get more complicated as the book goes on. 

I feel like the book may have more activities than I could possibly use with my kids.  However there is such a selection of activities that I am able to pick which one would work best for our learning at the time. 

For $24.95 you get the book and a cd-rom with the worksheets on it so you can print them out for multiple students (up to 200).  

Try an activity out of Looking at Lines here.  It is a really neat one, where you graph the bounce of a ball.

You can sign up for their email and down at the bottom of this page there are also access to many free hands on activities.

Aims offers many hands on activity books check them out!

 

To see what others though of this check out this post. To see a wide variety of reviews check out our crew blog.

Disclosure: As a member of The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew I review products like this, which I receive for free in order to be able to share my honest opinion. 

 

Write With World ~ Middle School Writing ~ A Review.

Please tell me I am not alone in having a middle school child that doesn’t enjoy writing. 

I was fairly nervous to review Write with World which is a new Middle School aged writing curriculum brought to you by World Magazine and God’s World News because my son hates writing so much!

Write with World doesn’t go about the traditional way I have seen writing being taught. It goes about writing as a form of communication. (Isn’t that what writing is?) It works on really engaging the student and then teaching them how to be a better writer. 

 

Year one consists of 4 units, broken down into 4 lessons broken down into 5 capsules.  Each capsule is one lesson. So each lesson would last one week doing a capsule a day. 

UNIT #1: DEVELOPING CRITICAL READERS

Lesson 1: Reading Images and Advertisements
Lesson 2: Comparative Reading: Sentences
Lesson 3: Comparative and Critical Reading: Paragraphs
Lesson 4: Critical Reading: Essays

UNIT#2: DEVELOPING WRITERS: BUILDING BLOCKS AND BIOGRAPHY

Lesson 1: The Paragraph
Lesson 2: Composing and Linking Sentences
Lesson 3: Creating Focus and Arranging Ideas
Lesson 4: Linking Paragraphs: Transitions and Logic

UNIT #3: WRITING AUTOBIOGRAPHY

Lesson 1: Reporting Facts
Lesson 2: Creating Character
Lesson 3: Developing Ideas with Specificity o the
Lesson 4: Writing Autobiography

UNIT #4: CRAFTING NARRATIVES

Lesson 1: Developing a Point of View
Lesson 2: Showing vs. Telling
Lesson 3: Narrative with a Purpose
Lesson 4: Writing a Fictional Narrative

Each capsule has engaging activities.  You look up about one word each capsule in a dictionary. 

I used this with my two older children, and while We have only done a few lessons, (remember, they are reluctant writers). They have enjoyed the lessons we have done.  The size of the capsules has been just right.  They get enough to learn, but not so much they get burned out or overwhelmed.

I love that this is a much gentler approach to writing then we have been used to.  It is really helping my children be interested in writing. 

You can try a sample lesson here. 

Year one of this two year curriculum is $95 which includes the teachers edition as well as the students edition.  The student does their writing in a notebook of choice. That makes this curriculum easily reusable with other children.

There are also bundle discounts available.

In edition to the curriculum you will need a decent dictionary and thesaurus (which every home should have in my opinion) as well as a few household item, (ex: highlighters, timers, a writers journal which is a notebook)

I received a pilot edition of year one.

To see what others though of this check out this post. To see a wide variety of reviews check out our crew blog.

Disclosure: As a member of The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew I review products like this, which I receive for free in order to be able to share my honest opinion.

Truth Quest History~ Living Books ~ A review

 

My daughter has really disliked history so far this year.  The previous curriculum we had been using just skimmed the surface of events.  It is also textbook style.

Just when she would get interested it would move on.

I jumped at the chance to review TruthQuest History’s American History For Young Students II 1800-1865.

She enjoys reading in a living book format.  TruthQuest is a a big historical book list in chronological order.  However it is more than just a book list.  There are discussion sections, a writing prompts.  There are not very many of these.  Expect to spend most of your time reading right out of the various book you choose.

One thing about TruthQuest is that the books have been chosen because of their Christian perspective.  For me quiet a few books were not available at my library (I live in a very small town).  I do have interlibrary loan and requested some that way. I was also able to pull up similar books from the time period based on my searches for the books on the lists. They also offer a few spine choices, they are by no means required though.

What I have been doing is checking out enough books to last about 1 week.  Then I have been letting her choose the books to read from my basket.  If she is interested in the subject, I try to get more books on that time period and let her spend another week on it.  If she isn’t as interested in it then just a week has been fine.  She doesn’t fight me as much for history.  She is learning more and retaining more.  History is moving slower than it was, but that can be a good thing.  

Did I mention that there are book for all grade levels, K-12.  This has really helped me with my selection process.  I have been trying to get a mix of the younger level books, the books on her level and one above her level.  She feels less overwhelmed starting with the lower level shorter books first.

One that that I would have liked was more hands on/activity book choices.  There are a few.  This is a literature based curriculum.  So I expected there would be lots of reading.  I just like to do one activity for each main point.  There are suggestions for skits and you could easily come up with your own ideas based on the books you selected.   They also offer supplements on their website for this curriculum. 

Overall this has helped my daughter to enjoy history more and dive deeper into history than she was previously doing.

I was also excited that this curriculum included Brigham Young’s journey and books to read for that. 
Check out the Table of Contents to see what else is included. There is even a sample section.  

There are Truthquest Guides for every time period. 

This particular guide is $24.95 for the print version and $19.95 for the pdf version.

To see what others though of this check out this post. To see a wide variety of reviews check out our crew blog.

Disclaimer: As a member of The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew I review products like this, which I receive for free in order to be able to share my honest opinion.

Runaway Bunny ~Before Five In A Row~

 

 

Tyler has been obsessed (to say the least) with rainbows, ever since St. Patrick’s Day.  I added rainbows into his activities this week.

Day 1:

We began by reading the book The Runaway Bunny.

Once we read the book he played a bunny pattern game, a shape puzzle, and cut a rainbow cutting page. He was really proud of himself for cutting.  This was his first time using scissors.

Next we set up a fishing game for him he used a real carrot with a homemade fishing pole (thanks Daddy).  He fished for a bunny just like the momma did in the book. 

He caught one.

 

Then we had carrots for a snack.

Day 2: We read the book, did the shape puzzle, played the bunny pattern game all again.  He also climbed the stairs mountain looking for the baby bunny.

While reading the book we discussed the pictures.  We colored a color picture and drew a black and white one. 

 

Day 3: We read the story again, as well as the shape puzzle. We added in the bunny shadow match and tracing lines rainbow sheet.

We planted some flowers in a flower pot for the garden page. No, they are not crocus, but one was yellow.  Close enough, right?

Day 4:

We read the story, did the shape puzzle, played a animal match game. (We did it like memory, except with the cards face up.) We also played a rainbow match game, while eating a corn dog.

This day his fun activity was ice boats, I put some water in a cupcake tin, put tinfoil over it, stuck in toothpicks and froze it.  The next day I cut out paper triangles and stuck them on as sails, he loved this.  I just let him play at the kitchen sink on a stool.  I showed him how to blow the boats around without touching them. 

 

 

Day 5: We read the book, did the shape puzzle, played the animal match game and colored a rainbow page.

We did a tightrope walk this day as well.  My camera battery died so no picture of it.  I just laid a piece of string out and we practiced walking in a straight line. 

 

Another thing was we did a science experiment making milk rainbows.  All the kids loved this one.  In fact we have done it twice.  We learned this from watching Amazing Science Volume 1.   (Review coming soon)

 

 

I got my ideas for this unit from:

Before Five In A Row Manual

1+1+1=1.com

Homeschool Share

Do you want to know more about Before Five In a Row?  Check out my review of it here. 

This is linked to Tot School

Blogging through the Alphabet Letter G

I was so so so ridiculously busy last week, that blogging took a back seat to my life. As often happens. 
I am disappointed that I didn’t blog about the letter F. 
I don’t even know what I was going to blog about for that letter. 
Anyway…..

Letter G
Grandparents!
Let me share a little background.
My paternal grandparents were killed when my father was just a child.  He grew up in foster care.  I never knew them.
My maternal grandparents lived a few hours from us my entire life.  We only saw them a few times a year and it was mostly at family events.  There is/was very little one on one time with them.  My Grandpa died about a year and a half ago.  The biggest regret I have about the whole thing is that I wasn’t closer to them.  I didn’t/don’t call them or see them as much as I would like.   I plan on changing that.  You can’t go back in time and my Grandma may need the communication as much as I do. 

My husband’s paternal grandma (I never met his grandpa, he died before we were married) however I have grown very very close with.  I would see her a few times a week.  At first it wasn’t all peaches and cream either.  We had our struggles.  We understand each other now and really get along.  I supported her when she decided to give up driving by offering to take her on her errands.  She is getting old (well, not getting, she is 93).  Just over a year ago, I moved 4 hours away from her.  She suffered a mini stroke on Jan 1st of this year and has had a few more since then.  She has broken both of her hips and she is still staying strong.  This past week I went down to the city.  I went to visit her at the care center she now lives at.  It was great, we talked and laughed.  All seemed well.

I was heading back home the next day and got a phone call that she had another stroke and was back in the hospital.  I made the time to go and see her and she didn’t know where she was, she didn’t know why she was there, but she did recognize me.  I was able to tell her where she was and spend a few quick minutes with her before I had to head back.  I have heard today that she has no additional brain damage and is doing really great.  {PRAISE} 

With all this I still have regrets that I don’t make a bigger effort to be closer to my Grandmother, I guess I just think make excuses that she doesn’t have time for me.  I know that I miss my Grandpa immensely and I wish I spent more time with him.

Well, I am off to go and call my Grandma.

Amazing Animals By Design

One of our very own Crew members has written an amazing book.
Properly titled Amazing Animals By Design is a book in which two children head to the zoo and find out why God designed certain animals the way He did.
This book went perfectly along with our animal science unit that I just completed with my first grader.  The full color photographs as well as the content in the book kept her completely interested the entire time.  I even learned a few things myself.  

Why is a giraffe's neck so tall? Why do zebras have stripes? Did all of these things happen by accident? When John and Sarah visit the zoo, they ask these questions and many more. Their parents and the zookeepers keep using the word design, but what does that mean? With its relevant message and exciting presentation, this is the perfect book to help introduce children to intelligent design. Come find out in Amazing Animals by Design by Debra Haagen!     ~ from the website


This 24 page book is offered in
Paperback for $8.99
Ebook format for $7.99


To see what others though of this check out this post. To see a wide variety of reviews check out our crew blog.



Disclaimer: As a member of The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew I review products like this, which I receive for free in order to be able to share my honest opinion.

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