TOS Review: Christian Kids Explore ~ Biology

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For the past 6 weeks or so I have been trying to narrow down our curriculum choices for next school year.  Science, this year has been the hold out and has had me wracking my brain. When the interest form for Christian Kids Explore series by Bright Ideas Press came out I was ecstatic that I was chosen.  Bright Ideas Press is a Christian company that publishes Christian curriculum for science, history and language arts.  As a member of the TOS Review Crew I received a free copy of the Biology curriculum which is suggested for grades 3-6 and is priced at $34.95.

Christian Kids Explore Biology is a 291 page paperback text which is broken down into 8 Units. Each Unit includes  3-6 lessons which comes out to be 35 weeks of hands on F-U-N science. You can check out the Table of Contents and a Sample Unit by clicking on the links. You and your child will study everything from Creation to Photosynthesis to Monkeys and Apes to our five senses.  This book has you covered for Biology. Everything is broken down and laid out in a easy to follow arrangement with a “Teaching Time” and a “Hands- On Time”, which includes an experiment or a diagramming assignment.  I love the simplicity of this curriculum so that either the parent or the child can read the short  “Teaching Time” section for each particular unit. Best of all is that there is a schedule included so that you can get science done in only 2 days a week! This program also has a Resource CD so you do not have to struggle to make photocopies of handouts from the book.  The Resource CD is available as an instant download for just $7.95 – regularly priced at $12.95.  This is a great plus for me since I am using this program with multiple students.

Christian Kids Explore Biology is written for your 3rd-6th graders. In our homeschool we used this book as a supplement to our current science program with excellent results. Once we received the book I was able to go through the lessons and  place a paperclip on the corresponding  lessons that I wanted to explore a little bit more. We were able to dig a little deeper into certain areas and do different experiments which really helped to cement the ideas for the girls. I should note that because I used this book as a supplement to our current program we did not start at Lesson 1 and progress through, rather we skipped around as needed. I did find that it lacked the rigor that I was looking for in a stand alone program for my logic stage child, however, my both of my girls enjoyed it so much that we are going to continue using this book for the rest of our school year. There are lots of extra’s in this book that you can use to make this more in-depth including the coloring pages and the extra book resources listed in the appendix. We are changing up the way we study science starting next school year so I also plan on purchasing each of the remaining guides including Earth Science, Chemistry, and Physics along with there corresponding resource CD’s. I would recommend this book if you are looking for a great, easy to follow science program. Check out what my Crewmates thought of all the books by clicking, HERE.

 

Company ~ Bright Ideas Press

Product ~ Christian Kids Explore Biology

Price ~ book $34.95, Resource CD $12.95 *on sale for $7.95

Ages ~ 3rd – 6th grade

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Disclaimer ~  I received a copy of Christian Kids Explore Biology, in exchange for a thorough and honest review. Though I am compensated with free products, I am not compensated in the form of cash for my reviews. The opinions I have given are mine and may differ from others but are not influenced by the company or the free product provided.

TOS Review ~ Write with World

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For the last few weeks we have had the opportunity to review a brand spanking new writing curriculum called, Write with World.  It is so new that it is not even available for purchase yet to the general public (but it will be in Summer 2012).Write with WORLD was written by the publisher’s of God’s World News and World Magazine. Developed by educational and media professionals, Write with World strives to help you to effectively teach writing with confidence. This curriculum will help to train and inspire your students to become proficient communicators.

With the help of Write with WORLD your child will be exposed to:

• reading that develops discernment
• contemporary subjects and professional guidance to pique interest
• flexible exercises to build confidence and skill for using today’s new media
• a thoughtful and meaningful Christian worldview

As a member of The Old Schoolhouse Crew our family received the first year of the  2 year program, which is recommended for middle-school students.  Madison being the aspiring novelist in the family is just the right age to try out this program.Year 1 materials include a teacher and student book. The student book has 16 key lessons divided into 4 units, covering topics such as:
•Writing fundamentals
•Narratives
•Reporting
•Reviewing
•Critique and opinion
•Concepts of comparative and critical reading

The teacher book thoroughly explains each unit and has multiple assignment choices to fit the needs of you and your student(s). Click HERE for a link to the table of contents and HERE for a sample lesson. The student book is non-consumable, so your student(s) will need to use a notebook to record their work. Having multiple children makes this one of many of my favorite features about this program.No need to buy multiple books to reuse this program, thus in turn helping my budget :-) 
Write With WORLD also gives students who use this program an extra incentive of being able to submit samples of their writing for possible publication on the Write With WORLD web site. That is a great incentive for aspiring writers like mine!

The appeal and relevance of working with current, real-world topics and news stories.
Instead of stale, canned writing prompts, lessons are coupled to real-life experiences, current news stories, and other changing topics to add interest and relevance to the assignments and examples. In many lessons, students can choose the subjects that interest and motivate them.

                                                                                      ~from the website

Write With World sells for $95 for Year 1or you can purchase both the first and second years of this program for just $165. Remember, when you purchase you also get  access to the website coming in the fall of 2012. With a very Christ-Centered, God-Created tone this writing program is definitely worth taking a look at!  Want to know what my fellow Crewmates thought about this program?  Click over here and read through some of the 100 reviews and see if this is right for your family.

Product ~ Write with World

Price ~ Year 1 $95. or purchase both years for $165.

Ages ~ middle school and up

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   Disclaimer ~ I received a copy of Write with World, in exchange for a thorough and honest review. Though I am compensated with free products, I am not compensated in the form of cash for my reviews. The opinions I have given are mine and may differ from others but are not influenced by the company or the free product provided.

Wordless Wednesday

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TOS Review : TruthQuest History ~ Middle Ages

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History does not have to be boring!  Your study of History should come alive so that you can experience the wonders of the One who made mankind. I will be honest here, when I received the Truth Quest History Guide on the Middle Ages at first glance I was not impressed.  We were in the mist of our super busy competition season and I was a bit stressed, so I set it down for a week and then took a look at it with fresh eyes.

TruthQuest History is a deep and rich literature-based history study…but with a difference. You will not learn the story of mankind; you will learn the lovestory of mankind. You will not focus on the rise and fall of human civilizations; you will focus on the arrow-straight line of God's unchanging existence, power, love, truth, and plan for civilization. You will not simply 'meet the culture' or 'get the facts;' you will probe the truths of history so deeply that your students will be equipped to change their world!

                                                                                 ~from website

Wow, was I wrong!!! TruthQuest is an awesome guide filled with wonderful booklists and not some boring textbook that we learned history from in our schooling.  As a literature based curriculum your children will be learning from real books that  bring history alive and make it meaningful and easy to remember. With no schedule to follow you follow the rabbit trails that you come upon and delve into further areas of interest. Or you can omit some items or add in what you like.   What is a literature based curriculum without book lists? TruthQuest includes a massive list of books and resources to further aide in your study. I loved this, everything was nice and neat and easy to find and my library had a majority of the books listed. In the Middle Ages Guide you will be studying some of the following areas/people:

• Beowulf
• Mighty King Arthur
• Augustine
• Islam
• Norman Conquest
• Crusades
• Stained Glass Windows
• Knights
• Bubonic Plague
• The Hundred Years’ War
• and much, much more

All in all this is an awesome history curriculum that I would recommend for anyone looking for a chronological, literature based program.  It is available in print or PDF download formats and it is economically priced at $24.95 for print copies and $19.95 for PDF. Truth Quest can be your spine or you can pair it with another History program for the best of both worlds. I plan on purchasing the TruthQuest American history binder builders to go along with my 4th graders study for next school year. Check out what my crewmates thought of TruthQuest and the other 10 guides that are available by clicking, here.

  Company ~ TruthQuest History

Product ~ Middle Ages, Level II

Price ~ $24.95 print, $19.95 PDF

Ages ~ 5th –12th grades

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Disclaimer : I received a PDF copy of TruthQuest History guide, Middle Ages, in exchange for a thorough and honest review. Though I am compensated with free products, I am not compensated in the form of cash for my reviews. The opinions I have given are mine and may differ from others but are not influenced by the company or the free product provided.

Happy Easter!!!

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TOS Review~ Amazing Animals by Design

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"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?"-from website
You know we like books in this family and I am pleased to say that we just added a really great one a few weeks ago. It's called Amazing Animals by Design by Debra Haagen, a fellow Crewmate. Amazing Animals by Design is an awesome book with really nice illustrations that helps children to understand that God created them with His perfect design. We enjoyed this book tremendously especially the illustrations. The girls now want to take a trip to the zoo to see all of the animals up close. We received the E-reader copy of the book and I will be purchasing a physical hard copy too for $8.99. An e-reader version is available also for Kindles and Nooks alike for $7.99 instant download. Click on over here and read what my Crewmates thought of Amazing Animals by Design.

Product~Amazing Animals by Design

Price~$8.99 hard copy, $7.99 e-reader

Ages~ Pre-K- 3rd
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I received an E-Reader Copy of Amazing Animals by Design, in exchange for a thorough and honest review. Though I am compensated with free products, I am not compensated in the form of cash for my reviews. The opinions I have given are mine and may differ from others but are not influenced by the company or the free product provided.