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© 2008 - 2018 A Stable Beginning. All rights reserved. All photographs, text, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the author.
Tuesday, June 5, 2018
The Critical Thinking Co.™: Understanding Pre-Algebra ~ a TOS review
We have always loved all the curriculum we have used from The Critical Thinking Co.™ so I jumped at the opportunity to review Understanding Pre-Algebra for my logic loving daughter, Montana. We used this new book from The Critical Thinking Co.™ as a supplement for our summer learning, let me tell you a little more about it.
The Critical Thinking Co. is a family-owned business that has been “empowering the mind” for more than 50 years. They sell critical thinking products/supplements that cover reading, writing, mathematics, science, and history. Instead of rote drilling and memorization, students are encouraged to “carefully analyze what they are learning.” The Critical Thinking Co. is on a mission to develop the critical thinking skills in all children. The Language Arts book is available in either book form or Windows PC download.
I requested a digital copy of the book that includes 448 pages! I find that this format works best for our family because I have several children behind Montana who will eventually use this book too. I especially appreciate the generous copywrite The Critical Thinking Co. provides in letting the purchaser to make as many copies of the pages within the eBook as necessary for their family. This is extremely helpful to me as I try to provide quality learning materials for my family. This product is also available as a paperback, and carries the same “family” copywrite provisions if you have multiple children to use this book. This is something that as a large family homeschooler I appreciate.
This book is written for children in the 6th through 8th grade and teaches math concepts and thinking skills that a child will need to be successful in Algebra I and higher level math courses. The curriculum is marketed as a full curriculum and I will say that it definitely is meaty in the focus and teaching. Math is not Montana’s favorite subject like some of my other children and the concepts don’t always come easily to her. Since we are already on summer break, Montana has been using this math book three days a week to prepare her for next year’s math curriculum. I put little green and red sticker flags on the pages so she would know where to start and finish her lesson.
The book covers a lot of material within the 15 chapters included. You can get an in-depth look at the table of contents on the website, however, these are the 15 Chapters covered:
This math curriculum is standards-based and stresses practice and critical thinking when teaching the concepts through short lessons. Charts, diagrams, pictures, and graphs are in color with clearly presented concepts and math vocabulary your child will be set up for success for future higher level mathematics. Important information is highlighted so the student knows they should pay attention to it. There is a chapter review at the end of each chapter to show you where you need a little extra help. A glossary and several reference sheets including a table of square roots 1-120 are found in the back of the book along with the answer key.
Since we choose the digital edition of the book that requires using a Windows operating system, and I printed out the first the first two chapters of and placed them in a working binder for Montana. Normally, during a school year the student would complete two pages per school day and that would ensure you finished by the end of the school year. Montana also worked on two pages a day, four days a week during our review period. Instead of skipping around the book, which is fine, we started from page one just so she has a firm grasp on the concepts she is learning.
I really like that this book makes Montana put her thinking cap on. This book was challenging for her in a good way. Several of the answers not only want the answer but they want you to explain your thinking. To me this is priceless! Anyone can put numbers into a formula and come up with the answer, but this book teaches you to think “why” and “how” you came to your conclusion.
We definitely will be continuing with this book for the rest of the summer and throughout next school year. Since starting this math curriculum Montana has a good grasp of pre-Algebra knowledge and so have I. We both especially enjoyed the Cowboy story found within Chapter 2 on multiplying and dividing integers. So much so, that I made a copy for my rising 10th grader as she has been struggling a bit with this concept. The story helped to give her a visual and now she is not making sign mistakes within her Algebra I work.
I think this is a great book and if you are searching for a math curriculum move Understanding Pre-Algebra to the top of your list! In all the products we have tried, this company has never steered me wrong. Be sure to check out the other products including Critical Thinking Detective Book 1, Something Fishy at Lake Iwannafisha , Critical Thinking Detective: Vocabulary , Dare to Compare Level 1 , and Vocabulary Riddles Book 1 that my CrewMates reviewed from The Critical Thinking Co. by clicking the banner below.
• Family of Numbers
• Working With Integers
• Working With Rational Numbers
• Ratio, Proportion, and Percent
• Percent Applications
• Algebraic Expressions
• Equations and Solving Word Problems
• Inequalities and Applications
• Understanding Square Roots and Irrational Numbers
• Two Dimensional Geometry
• Understanding Volume and Surface Area
• Graphing on the Coordinate Plane
• Transformations and Congruency
• Understanding Functions
• Probability and Statistics
This math curriculum is standards-based and stresses practice and critical thinking when teaching the concepts through short lessons. Charts, diagrams, pictures, and graphs are in color with clearly presented concepts and math vocabulary your child will be set up for success for future higher level mathematics. Important information is highlighted so the student knows they should pay attention to it. There is a chapter review at the end of each chapter to show you where you need a little extra help. A glossary and several reference sheets including a table of square roots 1-120 are found in the back of the book along with the answer key.
I really like that this book makes Montana put her thinking cap on. This book was challenging for her in a good way. Several of the answers not only want the answer but they want you to explain your thinking. To me this is priceless! Anyone can put numbers into a formula and come up with the answer, but this book teaches you to think “why” and “how” you came to your conclusion.
I think this is a great book and if you are searching for a math curriculum move Understanding Pre-Algebra to the top of your list! In all the products we have tried, this company has never steered me wrong. Be sure to check out the other products including Critical Thinking Detective Book 1, Something Fishy at Lake Iwannafisha , Critical Thinking Detective: Vocabulary , Dare to Compare Level 1 , and Vocabulary Riddles Book 1 that my CrewMates reviewed from The Critical Thinking Co. by clicking the banner below.
Company ~ The Critical Thinking Co.™
Product ~ Understanding Pre-Algebra
Format ~ digital eBook, for Windows platform only
Price ~ $42.99
Ages ~ 6th – 8th graders
Social Media Links:
Thursday, May 24, 2018
Home School Navigator: Home School Navigator Reading and Language Arts Curriculum ~ a TOS review
A few weeks ago I needed to go a different direction with our language arts studies. Nothing drastic, but I needed a little break because I was getting overwhelmed with everything life was throwing at me. God is good when He sends a program that will help you get over a “slump”. For the past few weeks, Montana (5th grade) and McKenzie (2nd grade) have been using the Indigo and Yellow Levels of Home School Navigator Reading and Language Arts Curriculum from Home School Navigator.
We received access to Home School Navigator for one year and it filled the need I had when I was overwhelmed. This program takes the worry out of teaching reading, writing, and grammar for my elementary aged students. One of the best features of this program is that it doesn’t label students based off grade, because we all know that different students work at different abilities. Instead, they have labeled each of the six levels of their program by color. The levels include: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and indigo. Here is a reference guide to choosing a level:
At the beginning of the program we had access to all levels for both of the girls. Choosing a level to start with was easy for McKenzie but a little more challenging for Montana. While Montana is an avid above level reader she still needs a little more work on the mechanics of language arts. I ended up starting and keeping both girls at their appropriate grade levels the program recommends. Logging them on and setting up their accounts was really simple. I just logged in myself and then set up a user name and password for their separate accounts.
Two days a week the girls would log into their account and complete a section of the work required for the day. Some days that included watching a video and other days it required Montana to do some reading. Everything you need for this comprehensive program is right at your fingertips! Well, actually you need to supply the literature but those can be found in your local library if not on your own bookshelf. We actually did not have the Holes book Montana was scheduled to read, but a quick trip to the library filled that need.
Overall, we have enjoyed using this language arts curriculum. It came at the right time when I needed a change of pace and still kept my girls learning at the level I strive to teach them at. Did it work perfectly for both of my girls? No, but it filled the need we had. Montana is not much of a computer learner, she does better with pencil and paper. On the other hand, McKenzie is an excellent computer learner so this program was a better fit for her. I plan to have McKenzie use the program throughout the summer.
Be sure to check out what my CrewMates thought of this program by clicking the banner below.
• RED: Letter recognition and formation. (Approx. K)
• ORANGE Reading simple words and sentences and beginning to write. (Approx. 1st grade)
• YELLOW Reading simple stories and can write complete sentences. (Approx. 2nd grade)
• GREEN Can read short chapter books and is writing longer passages. (Approx. 3rd grade)
• BLUE Reading chapter books and is writing in paragraph form. (Approx. 4th grade)
• INDIGO Can read longer chapter books, critique ideas and write longer pieces of writing. (Approx. 5th grade)
You can take a look at the scope and sequence HERE.
Each level of the Home School Navigator course includes:
~ 36 weeks of instruction
~ 60 instructional videos
~ Daily lesson plans that include reading, writing, poetry, and a word study program with a word wall
~ Engaging activities that cater to multiple learning styles
~ Portfolio
At the beginning of the program we had access to all levels for both of the girls. Choosing a level to start with was easy for McKenzie but a little more challenging for Montana. While Montana is an avid above level reader she still needs a little more work on the mechanics of language arts. I ended up starting and keeping both girls at their appropriate grade levels the program recommends. Logging them on and setting up their accounts was really simple. I just logged in myself and then set up a user name and password for their separate accounts.
Two days a week the girls would log into their account and complete a section of the work required for the day. Some days that included watching a video and other days it required Montana to do some reading. Everything you need for this comprehensive program is right at your fingertips! Well, actually you need to supply the literature but those can be found in your local library if not on your own bookshelf. We actually did not have the Holes book Montana was scheduled to read, but a quick trip to the library filled that need.
Overall, we have enjoyed using this language arts curriculum. It came at the right time when I needed a change of pace and still kept my girls learning at the level I strive to teach them at. Did it work perfectly for both of my girls? No, but it filled the need we had. Montana is not much of a computer learner, she does better with pencil and paper. On the other hand, McKenzie is an excellent computer learner so this program was a better fit for her. I plan to have McKenzie use the program throughout the summer.
Be sure to check out what my CrewMates thought of this program by clicking the banner below.
Company ~ Home School Navigator
Product ~ Yellow and Indigo Levels of Home School Navigator Reading and Language Arts Curriculum
Format ~ online learning
Price ~ $97.00 per student
Ages ~ PreK - 5th
Social Media Links:
• Pinterest: Home School Navigator
© 2008 - 2018 A Stable Beginning. All rights reserved. All photographs, text, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the author.
Wednesday, May 23, 2018
Wordless Wednesday ~ Last day of Girl Scouts
© 2008 - 2018 A Stable Beginning. All rights reserved. All photographs, text, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the author.
Tuesday, May 22, 2018
Reformed Free Publishing Association: T is for Tree: A Bible ABC ~ a TOS review
This morning I want to tell you about a sweet Christian children's book called T is for Tree: A Bible ABC from Reformed Free Publishing Association. Each page in this hardcover book is beautifully illustrated and includes a corresponding Bible verse as you make your way through the alphabet.
This alphabet book is new to their collection and is filled with Bible passages, short rhymes, and detailed illustrations to teach the youngest ages about their heavenly Father’s almighty power and faithfulness. My son loves looking at the beautiful pictures in T is for Tree: A Bible ABC from Reformed Free Publishing Association.
I think we have read this book every single day since it arrived. The beautiful page layouts are perfect for instructing your children in the truths of salvation for all of God’s children and they keep his attention. We have had some thoughtful conversations about what is included in each letter picture. I especially enjoy the fact that there is a corresponding scripture reference. Micah’s favorite letter just happens to be letter “M is for Moon”.
Overall, this has been a great addition to our family library. I appreciate that it is hardcover because I know it will get many years of use with my children and future grandchildren to come. I would really love to see these pages shrunk down and made into flashcards. Even if it was a digital file that I could print at home. We travel a lot and that format would be an excellent extension to the book for our family for learning and reviewing on the go.
Be sure to check out what my CrewMates though of this book by clicking the banner below.
Company ~ Reformed Free Publishing Association
Product ~ T is for Tree: A Bible ABC
Format ~ hardcover book
ISBN ~ 978-1-944555-27-6
Price ~ $17.95
Ages ~ 3-6 year olds
Social Media Links:
© 2008 - 2018 A Stable Beginning. All rights reserved. All photographs, text, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the author.
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