©2008 - 2017 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, June 14, 2017
Friday, June 9, 2017
MarshMedia ~ a TOS review
Have you ever wished you had access to the educational videos that you may remember watching as a school-aged child. I had a public school education and have fond memories of the days when the teacher would forgo lessons and pop a video in instead. Today I would like to introduce you to MarshMedia a company that produces health education products mainly for use in schools but would like to start reach out to the homeschool community with a Homeschool Special.
MarshMedia offers a wide variety of educational videos that cover topics such as hygiene, health and safety, immune system disorders, nutrition, bullies, head lice, and puberty education. If I have stopped you right in your tracks with the puberty education, its not what you think! The focus is not on sexual education but rather a wide scope of puberty in general and how the body begins to change.
Many of the puberty videos are separated by boys and girls and are meant to be watched separately. The videos use the real medical terms to talk about the changes that begin to happen to the body and not slang words or silly made up names. Their puberty educational videos are what the company is known for and they handle it in a tactful way in my opinion. All of the videos range about 15 minutes and leave room for discussion at the end if you so choose to do so with your children.
My younger girls and I took advantage of watching the video about Taking care of your skin, hair, and nails. We learned all about the skin and how germs can be spread. Montana, is especially sensitive to mosquitos so the parts on insect bites and poison ivy were insightful and helpful. This video is geared towards kids K-3 but Montana was able to get something out of it since she is a rising 5th grader.
Right now you, as a homeschooler, are in luck to take full advantage of their Homeschool Special. In short you can receive access to all 59 videos MarshMedia has for just $50. And the best part is that you can watch the videos as many times as you would like without restriction! The Homeschool Special gives you access to the videos until the end of December 2017 so it’s a really good deal to take advantage of. If you wish to take advantage of the opportunity to introduce the MarshMedia curriculum to your home schooler(s) click on the link below for more information: https://marshmedia.com/pages/homeschool-offer "
Be sure to check out what my CrewMates think of these educational videos by clicking the banner below.
MarshMedia offers a wide variety of educational videos that cover topics such as hygiene, health and safety, immune system disorders, nutrition, bullies, head lice, and puberty education. If I have stopped you right in your tracks with the puberty education, its not what you think! The focus is not on sexual education but rather a wide scope of puberty in general and how the body begins to change.
Many of the puberty videos are separated by boys and girls and are meant to be watched separately. The videos use the real medical terms to talk about the changes that begin to happen to the body and not slang words or silly made up names. Their puberty educational videos are what the company is known for and they handle it in a tactful way in my opinion. All of the videos range about 15 minutes and leave room for discussion at the end if you so choose to do so with your children.
My younger girls and I took advantage of watching the video about Taking care of your skin, hair, and nails. We learned all about the skin and how germs can be spread. Montana, is especially sensitive to mosquitos so the parts on insect bites and poison ivy were insightful and helpful. This video is geared towards kids K-3 but Montana was able to get something out of it since she is a rising 5th grader.
Right now you, as a homeschooler, are in luck to take full advantage of their Homeschool Special. In short you can receive access to all 59 videos MarshMedia has for just $50. And the best part is that you can watch the videos as many times as you would like without restriction! The Homeschool Special gives you access to the videos until the end of December 2017 so it’s a really good deal to take advantage of. If you wish to take advantage of the opportunity to introduce the MarshMedia curriculum to your home schooler(s) click on the link below for more information: https://marshmedia.com/pages/homeschool-offer "
Be sure to check out what my CrewMates think of these educational videos by clicking the banner below.
Company ~ MarshMedia
Product ~ Homeschool Special
Format ~ online streaming videos
Price ~ $50.00 subscription until Dec 2017
Ages ~ elementary and up
Social Media Links:
©2008 - 2017 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.
Thursday, June 8, 2017
K5 Learning ~ a TOS review
We have been using a supplemental online program for math and reading from K5 Learning to shore up my younger children’s math and reading lessons. With K5 Learning you can help your child unlock his or her potential by using the math, reading, and spelling activities the website provides.We received a 6-month subscription to K5 Learning for this review. K5 Learning is an online program that can be used to help your child review topics in math, reading, and spelling that they already know and improve on areas they have a bit of a weakness in. For this review we only focused on the math and reading portions. In all of the lessons available, the program is able to customize the learning experience based on your child’s skill level, not just grade level so you get a truly tailored program just in the areas your child needs help in. At the same time study habits are introduced to help the child fine tune those areas too.
5 Key Reading Skills:
• Phonemic Awareness – identifying individual sounds in spoken words.
• Phonics – written letters and spoken sounds.
• Sight Words – recognizing high frequency words .
• Vocabulary - understanding words and constructing meaning from their context.
• Reading Comprehension – understanding of fiction and non-fiction reading materials.
3 Key Math Skills:
• Numbers and Operations – counting through fractions and beyond.
• Measurement Concepts – telling time and counting money.
• Geometry – characteristics and properties of geometric shapes.
I used this supplemental online program with my two youngest daughters, Montana, rising 5th grader, and McKenzie, a rising 2nd grader. I choose to test them at their rising grade levels instead of their current grade levels so I could get a feel as to what we needed to work more on over the summer weeks.
McKenzie on the other hand loves computer time. She was eager to do her lessons on this site everyday, so much to the point I would have to tell her that her time was up. She frequently would log in and do lessons when it was her free time play. Her reading has improved so much and while she is not quite at 2nd grade reading level she is oh so close. For the math portion she is at 2nd grade level and I see from the reports that she is not as strong in measurements.
Overall, we have enjoyed this program! I love the detailed reports this program gives because it lets me know the areas we need to focus on a little bit more on to get the girls on track. With the 14-day FREE trial I think you should definitely check this program out. You have nothing to lose but everything to gain because it is FREE for two weeks. The assessments alone are a valuable asset to making sure your child is on the right track during the school year.
Click the banner below to see what my CrewMates think about K5 Learning.
Company ~ K5 Learning
Product ~ Online programs ~ K5 Reading, K5 Math, and K5 Spelling
Format ~ Online
Price ~ $14.95/month or $119/year for the first child, $9.95/month or $79/year for each additionial child
Ages ~ K-5th grade
Social Media Links:
©2008 - 2017 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, June 7, 2017
Wordless Wednesday
©2008 - 2017 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.
Memoria Press: Second Form Latin ~ a TOS review
It was like Christmas in April when I found out I was selected to review the Second Form Latin Set from Memoria Press! I’ve had my eye on this program for a few months as Mikayla, my rising 9th grader, had just finished up her online Latin class and I needed a curriculum to start using. Believe me when I say I searched high and low to find a curriculum for her. Then one day I was cleaning our bookshelves and I came across our old First Form Latin pronunciation CD. A lightbulb went off in my head as I raced to the computer to look more into Memoria Press’s curriculum which we were not strangers too since we have used many of their products in our homeschool including the Prima Latina Set in the past.
After searching the website I called the company because I just was not sure where exactly to place Mikayla based off the programs/curriculum she has completed. The lady who answered the phone was so helpful and I hung up knowing exactly which level to place Mikayla in and which curriculum I should use for my other Latin students, Montana (10) and McKenzie (7) in the fall.
As classical homeschoolers, we study Latin through 11th grade. Why, you ask? Quite simply because I have seen the benefits of learning this beautiful language in our other subjects and in our testing. 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.
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 way back in the 2014 Memoria Press magazine, The Classical Teacher, 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 get done daily just like I require Math and Grammar.
For this review, it was recommended to me by the staff at Memoria Press to have Mikayla finish up the last few units of the First Form Latin Set to fill in the gaps of using our last Latin program before heading into Second Form Latin. I quickly purchased this the First Form Set on my own and we got started reviewing the last few units. By the beginning of May we were able to dive right into the Second Form Set with confidence.
We followed the suggested four day a week schedule outlined in the Teacher’s Manual that recommends three hours of study per week over the course of 30 weeks. Latin is a tough subject to learn and yes, there were days that Mikayla just didn’t feel like studying Latin, but once we got started she was eager to learn and finish the lesson. Incorporating fun review games and working through the lessons with her has not only strengthened my Latin but made it more enjoyable for all involved. I am pleased with her progress thus far of completing the first four lessons.
Memoria Press Latin has changed the way we study the Latin language. In fact I have planned and purchased our Latin curriculum for next school year already and each of my students will be working in one of the levels that Memoria Press offers.
I was ecstatic when we were selected to review the Second Form Latin Set and I will sing praises to everyone who will listen about the program! Yes, it’s that great!!! There are so many adjectives to describe this Latin curriculum, but I will just pick one, Amazing!
Be sure to check out what my CrewMates thought of this Latin Set or the other products offered for review by clicking the banner below.
Company ~ Memoria Press
Product ~ Second Form Latin
Price ~ $125.00
Ages ~ Recommended after completing First Form Latin, may start in grade 5 and up
Social Media Links:
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/memoriapress/ Tag: @memoriapress
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/MemoriaPress Tag: @MemoriaPress
• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/memoriapress/ Tag: @memoriapress
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/memoriapress/ Tag: @memoriapress
• Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/104379865092561103366
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/memoriapress/
• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/memoria-press?trk=nav_account_sub_nav_company_admin
©2008 - 2017 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
Thursday, June 1, 2017
Heros of History: Ronald Reagan ~ a TOS review
Learning through living books makes learning more memorable for my girls. We just finished up the second half of our history study on Modern history and one of the topics we studied was on a true Heroes of History, Ronald Reagan. History is a favorite subject of mine right after science that is, and since we use a mostly Classical, literature based curriculum we get to read a lot.
Recently, I have been reading aloud to the girls from the book Heroes of History- Ronald Reagan and the corresponding Digital Unit Study Guide from YWAM Publishing as we have been studying all about his fascinating and his path to the White House.
YWAM, who? I know that’s probably what you're thinking because I know I was when I first heard of the company. However, when I read the titles that were offered for review, I quickly realized that I was already familiar with the YWAM Publishing company since our history curriculum uses several of the books. The familiar covers are recognizable by many as many curriculum providers use these quality books.
YWAM Publishing is the publishing division to the Youth With A Mission organization and is headquartered in Seattle, WA. Their mission is to provide quality Christian materials to help fund children and adults around the world through vital mission’s programs. We received a physical copy of the book and a PDF copy of the study guide for this review. I should note the book is available in either paperback, Kindle or Nook version, eBook, or audio book in MP3 or CD formats for just $7.50.
Our book on Ronald “Dutch” Reagan is a 224 paged paperback book all about the man who was a hardworking, determined problem solver who eventually became the 40th president of the United States. We learn from his childhood days of growing up with an alcoholic father to his days as an accomplished Hollywood actor we see him emerge as a true American hero. We also received a digital PDF of the Unit Study Curriculum Guide which allows you to turn your Heros of History into a unit study. The study guide provides geography, history, writing, critical thinking, vocabulary, and science instruction to help tie everything together. Comprehension questions are also included, just to make sure everyone is paying attention. I love the fact that there are questions for each chapter for younger and older students. Also included are helpful maps, and my girls favorite, hands-on projects. If you are into timelines, then you are in luck because that is also included in the study guide as well as a Reagan fact sheet.
We used the book and study guide in our family for group learning during our Morning Time Recitations. I found it easier to print the chapters individually and read aloud to the girls. We would then go over the discussion questions out loud for what we had just read. While the story is recommended for ages 10 and up I still feel like my 7-year-old learned something along with her older sisters even if it is the basic facts of his life. I wholeheartedly recommend this book from YWAM Publishing! Be sure to get your hands on this book or any of the others in the series they produce. You will be glad you did!
Check out what my CrewMates thought of this book and the other book / study guide combinations being offered for review by clicking the banner below.
Recently, I have been reading aloud to the girls from the book Heroes of History- Ronald Reagan and the corresponding Digital Unit Study Guide from YWAM Publishing as we have been studying all about his fascinating and his path to the White House.
YWAM, who? I know that’s probably what you're thinking because I know I was when I first heard of the company. However, when I read the titles that were offered for review, I quickly realized that I was already familiar with the YWAM Publishing company since our history curriculum uses several of the books. The familiar covers are recognizable by many as many curriculum providers use these quality books.
YWAM Publishing is the publishing division to the Youth With A Mission organization and is headquartered in Seattle, WA. Their mission is to provide quality Christian materials to help fund children and adults around the world through vital mission’s programs. We received a physical copy of the book and a PDF copy of the study guide for this review. I should note the book is available in either paperback, Kindle or Nook version, eBook, or audio book in MP3 or CD formats for just $7.50.
Our book on Ronald “Dutch” Reagan is a 224 paged paperback book all about the man who was a hardworking, determined problem solver who eventually became the 40th president of the United States. We learn from his childhood days of growing up with an alcoholic father to his days as an accomplished Hollywood actor we see him emerge as a true American hero. We also received a digital PDF of the Unit Study Curriculum Guide which allows you to turn your Heros of History into a unit study. The study guide provides geography, history, writing, critical thinking, vocabulary, and science instruction to help tie everything together. Comprehension questions are also included, just to make sure everyone is paying attention. I love the fact that there are questions for each chapter for younger and older students. Also included are helpful maps, and my girls favorite, hands-on projects. If you are into timelines, then you are in luck because that is also included in the study guide as well as a Reagan fact sheet.
We used the book and study guide in our family for group learning during our Morning Time Recitations. I found it easier to print the chapters individually and read aloud to the girls. We would then go over the discussion questions out loud for what we had just read. While the story is recommended for ages 10 and up I still feel like my 7-year-old learned something along with her older sisters even if it is the basic facts of his life. I wholeheartedly recommend this book from YWAM Publishing! Be sure to get your hands on this book or any of the others in the series they produce. You will be glad you did!
Check out what my CrewMates thought of this book and the other book / study guide combinations being offered for review by clicking the banner below.
Company ~ YWAM Publishing
Product ~ Heros of History - Ronald Reagan
Format ~ paperback book, ISBN – 9781932096651
Price ~ $7.50
Ages ~ 10 and up
Social Media Links:
©2008 - 2017 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
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