Dynamic Literacy: WordBuild: Foundations, Level 1 ~ a TOS review

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Words, words, words! They are everywhere and essential to everyday life. Today I am pleased to share with you a review of  WordBuild: Foundations, Level 1 from Dynamic Literacy.

Dynamic Literacy is a company committed to improving reading comprehension, vocabulary and language skills through their vocabulary development system. This program is based on frequently used Greek and Latin roots to help student gain the necessary skills to decode unfamiliar words.

The WordBuild program is divided into two series: Foundations and Elements. Foundations builds a vocabulary foundation by learning the prefixes and suffixes. Elements, on the other hand, builds on what your children have already learned in Foundations and starts to introduce more complex root families.

 

The Foundations program is recommended for students in  2nd -5th grades, or for students in 5th-9th who need remedial work. We received a physical set of two student level books and a teacher’s book.

Basics Student Activity Book is  a 20 page color workbook that uses pictures to expose students to different compound words. Prefixes and suffixes are introduced in a fun, graphic way.

Student Activity Book contains 184 pages in  workbook format and covers 30 prefixes, suffixes, and combinations.

Teacher Edition is essential to the program. It contains the complete copy of the student book with all the answers, periodic tests and comprehensive assessments. Also included with your teacher’s book is access to printable worksheets, a Bingo game, and many more useful charts.

I  worked with Foundations program with Montana, my rising 3rd grader, and followed the helpful schedule included. Each day we learned about the Prefix square, Affix adder, Magic Square, Word Search, and a review of the concepts learned for the week. Since we learn Latin in our everyday schooling, Montana was able to pick up and decipher some of the bigger words in our other schooling. She frequently asked to complete her Foundations lessons before doing her independent work, which makes me happy since she usually prefers other subjects to Language Arts. I can see us continuing to work through the rest of this program as we start school back up in early August. She has learned a lot and reading and decoding has come just a bit easier.

I would definitely recommend this product for anyone needing a vocabulary program. I think it is a great beginning to learning words and there meanings for when your students will need to take the ACT or {P}SAT. Montana enjoyed working with this program and we will be continuing with it throughout the rest of her 3rd grade year. Albeit at a slower pace of maybe 1 lesson, every 2 weeks.

Be sure to check out what my CrewMates thought of this program and the other two programs being reviewed, WordBuild: Elements, Level 1 Set and WordBuildOnline by clicking the banner below.

Company ~ Dynamic Literacy

Product ~ WordBuild: Foundations, Level 1

Ages ~ 2rd-5th grades or 5th-9th who need remedial work

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©2008- 2015 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. http://astablebeginning.com

Institute for Excellence in Writing: Deluxe Combo Package, Level B ~ a TOS review

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Teaching writing can either strike fear into you or make you giddy. I have been hovering between the two camps for the last few months as I was planning for next school year. You see, I have a reluctant writer. One who dreads putting pen to paper and avoids it at all costs.  We have dabbled with many writing programs before, but none just quite fit. I was so blessed to be chosen to review the Deluxe Combo Teacher/Student Writing Package Level B [FIX-1 & 2], A Word Write Now, and Portable Walls from Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW).

If you have been on the homeschool scene for any length of time I am sure you have heard of Mr. Pudewa and the company, Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW). His mission is to teach children “…to write well, think clearly, and express themselves eloquently and persuasively.“ Yep, that’s what I am aiming for with my students.

I was so happy when I received my shipment notification, and   I will admit to stalking my mailman waiting ever so patiently for my box to come. When my box did arrive, I did a happy dance as I unpacked the contents. Inside the box we received:

Teaching Writing Structure and Style, including the Premium Subscription ~ Is just for the teachers. It includes 12 DVDs, 9 of which teach the Structural Models and Stylistic Techniques IEW is known for, and the last 3 DVDs contain each of the four different levels of student workshops, with over 14 hours of instruction. Also included are a Seminar and Practicum workbook along with a premium one year subscription. The Premium Subscription includes one year of access to streaming videos of the DVDs, audio MP3 files of Andre Pudewa’s most popular talks, PDF downloads of handouts and access to monthly training.

 Student Writing Intensive, Level B (SWI-B) ~ contains 5 DVDs, 4 of which are the actual lessons. The 5th DVD is a parent overview of the Stucture & Style method for the parent/teacher. A handy three ring binder and student pack that contains the scope & sequence, teacher’s notes and student handouts are also included. SWI-B is geared towards students who are in 6th-8th grade.

~ Two Fix-It! Grammar: Books 1 & 2  with hard copy for the teacher book and student e-books ~ Fix It! Grammar was developed by Pamela White after she was frustrated with traditional methods of teaching children grammar. It is the newly revised language arts series that teaches the principles of grammar through real stories. The real stories use sentences that contain errors that your student may make in their own writing. The principle of parsing a sentence and finding the errors helps students in the long run learn correct grammar and punctuation.

A Word Write Now Thematic Thesaurus ~ this is a 108 page spiral bound book that covers Character Traits, Descriptive Words, Words for Movement and the Senses, and an Appendix. This book is choke full of helpful words to help your child in their writing.

 Portable Walls ~ this handy tri-fold pocket folder includes lists and charts that you would normally hang on your wall but can’t because you lack space. Everything included on here will gives your student access to the literary model to library research.

After speaking with a friend who is a longtime IEW teacher about combining my younger girls, Mikayla (12) and Montana (8), I also purchased:

The Writing Source Packet (WSP) for $29.00

I started out by refreshing my memory of the TWSS by watching the two DVDs so that I would be ahead of the girls. To combine Mikayla and Montana, they both watched the SWI-B DVDs and I used the WSP for Montana so she would have a source at her level. Mikayla worked with the B documents fully. I love that IEW includes a schedule that tells me what to watch and what to do. It helps me as a box checker to know that I am following the program and getting things done too.

Writing has been slow go, but I can confidently say that my reluctant writer is making strides. There have been many days when I wanted to throw in the towel and give up. But we have stuck with it in bite size chunks. After all, its not a race to the finish line in my book. It’s about making progress and gaining a confident writer who can express her thoughts clearly on paper.

Be sure to check out what my CrewMates thought of this program and the others being reviewed by clicking on the banner below.

 

Company ~ Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW)

Product ~ Deluxe Combo Teacher/Student Writing Package Level B [FIX-1 & 2] PLUS A Word Write Now and Portable Walls

Ages ~ 6th-8th grade

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©2008- 2015 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. http://astablebeginning.com

Apologia: Exploring Creation Field Trip Journal ~ a TOS review

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This great country of ours has so many exciting places to explore. My girls love to take field trips and travel, especially during competition season. We were excited to get our hands on the new Exploring Creation Field Trip Journal to review from Apologia Educational Ministries to help us preserve the memories built on taking these special trips.

We are huge fans of Apologia Educational Ministries and the products they produce! When most people hear Apologia’s name mentioned they immediately think of their award winning science programs for elementary through high school.  But did you know that they also offer Christian worldview curriculum and books too? Over the last few years, the girls and I have had the pleasure of using and reviewing several curricula and now we have been given the opportunity to review there newest field trip journal book.

This Field Trip Journal is a 64 page, 8 1/2” X 11” spiral bound notebook that is choke full with a variety of features and tips to help you make the most out of your field trips including special pages:

Preparing for a Field Trip ~ includes a checklist for the week before a trip, the night before, on the way, and at the field trip.

Field trip ideas ~ a two page spread with ideas for trips from your backyard to all over the world. Apologia also includes a special code to access state maps and virtual field trip ideas at the bottom of this page.

Places I’ve Explored ~ several pages to write down where you have traveled as well a handy map of the US that can be colored in.

Specific Trip Pages ~ are to record all the pertinent information of the trip you took. Space is included for where you went, the time of day for your trip, any book resources you may have used prior to taking the trip and a spot to include your favorite moments. With space for emergency contacts and photos, this is the place where you can make the journal your own.There are 10 of these pages included in the journal.

My Special Spot ~ includes 4 pages, one for each season, so you can take time to enjoy and notice the fascinating changes that take place in your special spot in the world. Your special spot can be anywhere you choose, just as long as it is a wild, unmaintained spot.

As I See It ~ provides blank page space to draw your favorite things from your trips.

  

I love everything about this journal, from the thick, heavy cardstock to the bright colorful pages. You will not have to worry about markers bleeding through the pages or making indents on the next page. I especially appreciated all the field trip ideas. It’s nice to have ideas to places I would not have thought of on my own. Our first field trip with did using this journal was to go strawberry picking with our Girl Scout troop. I love that we were able to keep a keepsake journal of this special time with our Girl Scout friends. And for just $22.00, its a great deal for us!

Be sure to check out what my CrewMates thought of this journal by clicking the banner below. Also, take a sneak peak at some of the sample pages.

Company ~ Apologia Educational Ministries

Product ~ Exploring Creation Field Trip Journal

Price ~ $22.00

Ages ~ all ages

 

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©2008- 2015 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. http://astablebeginning.com

Softball girls

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Madison and Montana both played Spring ball this season. It was Madison’s first season playing with the 14U group, while  Montana has completed her 3rd season with the 8U group.

 

Montana’s season is over as her team, Lightnings,  is out of the tournament. She has had a great season and improved so much. She did a great job backing up 1st base while playing right field, however, her favorite position is catcher.

Montana’s bat got real hot around mid-season and she was hitting the ball left and right and getting RBI’s. The last few games she lost her hitting streak and she was not seeing the ball. Not sure exactly what happened, but by the tournament she was able to connect with the ball again.

She has her heart set on playing All * Star summer ball but we won’t know if she makes the team until early next week.

Madison decided to pick up a bat and put down her tennis racket this spring. Softball is a great sport for her. She is fast on the bases and frequently steals them. She also knows how to stand in the batters box and find her pitch. Her teammates are a great group of girls who welcomed her to the team right away. That warmed my heart since she is at the age where girls can be pretty cliquey.

  

Madison’s team, RAGE, is still in the tournament, however, they have been delayed from playing all week because of rain. Last Saturday, Madison made a pivotal catch in the game. It was the bottom of the 6th inning and the score was tied 5 all with 1 out. The batter hit a solid shot out to right field. I am petty sure I stopped breathing for a second as the ball sailed towards Madison! But she caught it!!! I wish I had it on video, it was an amazing catch. If they win the next game they will advance to the championship game!

Madison even told me this week that she enjoys softball so much that she wants to try to play in college! That makes me happy and nervous at the same time, especially since I now need to worry about navigating NCAA guidelines for student athletes. Madison’s number one school choice right now is Calvin College (yep, the one Marie did her summer scholarship at last summer) because they have a dedicated Astrophysics degree and they are a Division 2 school. They don’t have NCAA guidelines, but I want her to be prepared to play at any school down the road.

Being a softball mom is really quite fun once you get used to the cold and heat of being an outdoor sports fan. I have made some great softball mom and dad friends and McKenzie and Micah have softball sibling friends that they play so well with. Practices and games go so much smoother when they get to play with their friends. I probably yell and cheer a little too loudly but I am so proud of my girlies!

 

 

 

©2008- 2015 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. http://astablebeginning.com

Memoria Press: Latina Christiana I ~ a TOS review

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As classical homeschoolers, we study Latin through 10th grade. Why, you ask? Quite simply because I have seen the benefits of learning this language in our other subjects and in our testing. It was like Christmas in April and I was pleased as punch to find out we were selected to review the Latina Christiana I Complete Set from one of my favorite curriculum providers, Memoria Press. I’ve had my eye on this program for a few months  to use with Montana, my rising third grader and I was ecstatic when we were selected to review.

Founded in 1994 by Cheryl Lowe, Memoria Press is a family-run publishing company that strives to provide easy to use classical curriculum for private and homeschool families. Written from a Christian worldview the company helps to provide three things: simplicity, quality and affordability.

For this review, we were blessed to receive the complete Latina Christiana 1 set which includes:

     

Student book: The student book contains 25 lessons plus 5 review lessons which are spread out over 30 weeks.

Each two page lesson is presented the same way each week with a Latin Saying, Vocabulary, Grammar Forms, Translation, and Derivatives. There are 10 vocabulary words for each week, and include the Latin words and the corresponding English words. Maps of the Roman Empire and Ancient Italy are included along with 86 history questions to tie into history and culture of Rome and the Middle Ages when Latin was the dominate language spoken.

  

Teacher’s Manual: Is the perfect companion for the teacher who has never studied Latin before. This is a soft cover spiral book with 158 pages. It lays completely flat for ease of teaching. This book is the exact copy of the student book with lots of helpful information for the teacher, including the answers.

It also includes an Appendix which has all of the Prayers and Songs with both English and the pronunciation for each Latin word broken down, including a helpful table of Noun, Verb, and Pronoun forms in chart form. An extensive Index and Glossary provide  helpful things to remember and a Latin-English Derivatives section broken up by lessons. Musical notes are also included for each song.

Pronunciation CD: A CD that provides you the opportunity to hear the words, phrases, and songs used throughout the program.

Instructional DVD: This 5- DVD set is a huge asset to the program. Leigh Lowe goes over the lesson and gives you important parts of Latin history. Each lesson runs about 3 0 minutes in length.

Flashcards: These perforated cards  are printed on heavy cardstock and have Latin on one side and the English on the other. They are numbered and include derivatives, conjugations, and declensions.

In addition to the items listed above, I purchased the following four products to use along with the program. These items are completely optional and are supplemental to help your students master the grammar and vocabulary.

Latina Christiana I Year pace lesson plans

Latina Christiana Review Worksheets/Answer Key

Ludere Latine I: Latin Word Games

Why study Latin you ask? Memoria Press gives three really encouraging answers to why Latin should be considered the one master subject.

1. Latin teaches English better than English teaches English.

2. The mental discipline Latin instills in students makes it the ideal foreign language to study.

3. Latin is the ideal tool for the transmission of cultural literacy.

I read an article in my  Winter 2014 Memoria Press magazine, The Classical Teacher,  over last Christmas break about why Latin is not an Option. It spoke to me as a classical homeschooler and convicted me at the same time because I know that I have not put the best effort forward in seeing that our Latin studies for my younger girls gets done. Sigh! But, you know what? It’s a new year and today starts a new week of learning and making new habits! That’s why I was so excited to be chosen for this review. It has jump started our Latin studies again and gotten us back on track.

I primarily used this Latin curriculum with Montana, my rising third grader. We followed the teaching guidelines outlined in the Teacher’s Manual and followed the 5 day plan listed in our year pace plans. We started each day with Recitations, Table Blessings, and Music for each lesson, building upon each week.

We began each week by watching the DVD instruction first so that we could hear the correct pronunciation for the words. Throughout the day we would review and test our knowledge when we came about a derivative. Because life got busy during this review period and we needed a little extra time to really learn the vocabulary, we ended up spending two weeks on our lessons. Which is totally fine for me because I want Montana to master the vocabulary and language.

Overall, we LOVE this Latin curriculum and can’t wait to continue on with it over the rest of the summer and into our next school year. Montana frequently asks to do her Latin studies first and that makes me overjoyed that she does not see learning this language as a chore but as something fun and exciting! I love this program because it gives me a refresher as I am teaching my older girls Latin also. We both especially enjoy the songs and saying the prayers in Latin.

Do I think you should check out this Latin curriculum? YES!!! It’s perfect for the beginner student and for the Mom/teacher who does not have a Latin background. I think you will be pleasantly surprised how much you learn and love the program. Be sure to see what my CrewMates thought of the Latina Christiana I Complete Set and the other two products being reviewed, Famous Men of Rome Set and The Book of the Ancient Romans Set by clicking the banner below.

Company ~ Memoria Press

Product ~ Latina Christiana I Complete Set

Price ~ $98.90

Ages ~ 3rd grade and up

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©2008- 2015 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. http://astablebeginning.com