This blog is my attempt to document our busy but BLESSED lives raising and educating our children for His glory. A child of God, wife to one, and mom to6 fabulous kids. We are in our 17th year of homeschooling using a Classical ~ Literature based approach. Come along for the good, the bad & the ugly.
Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family. I am disclosing this in accordance with FTC Regulations.
Happy Friday friends! In our house February and March are spent writing the yearly research paper for my middle and high school students. Writing can be a daunting task for many students, there is a lot to remember in the writing process because the subject covers so much ground. However, knowing how to write well is an essential life skill for all students. If you are looking for a writing reference tool for your middle or high school student, be sure to check out Excellence in Literature Handbook for Writers from Everyday Education.
The Excellence in Literature Handbook for Writers is based on the work by Ian Johnston, a retired college professor. Janice Campbell from Everyday Education turned this into a one-stop writer’s reference handbook for middle and high schoolers to help teach them learn to write. What’s really great about this handbook is that it not only helps teach your student how to write, but teaches you the teacher how to grade the writing pieces.
At 400+ pages this handbook is a huge resource! It is available in PDF eBook version or a physical paperback version. I think it covers everything one must know to be a successful high school and college age writer.
The book is broken up into two sections:
Instructions and modeling arguments for writing essays covers:
~ Arguments: Some Simple First Principles
~ Setting Up The Argument: Definition
~ Defining Key Terms
~ Deduction And Induction
~ Organizing The Main Body Of An Argument
~ Paragraph Structure
~ Paragraph Functions
~ Writing Arguments About Literary Works
~ Sample Outlines For Essays And Research Papers
~Critical Approaches to Shakespeare
Some Criteria for Making Literary Evaluations
A mechanics section that goes over usage and style that covers:
~ Phrases, Clauses, Sentences
~ Words
~ Basic Punctuation
~ Pronouns
~ Parallelism Or Parallel Structure
~ Modifiers, Gerunds, Infinitives
~ Clarity, Logic, and Structure
~ References And Bibliographies
~ Basic Format for Essays and Research Papers
~ Keyhole Essay Graphic
It is simply put a one-stop reference book on how to write everything from essays for high school and college to also covering punctuation, usage, and style. Seriously, this reference book has got you covered!
We received an eBook PDF version of the book and I currently have the file stored on my iPad in iBooks for easy reference. This book has come in handy as Mikayla (12th) and Montana (8th) have been working through their current writing programs. Future plans for this book is to print it out and either bind it or 3-hole punch it. I still have three children at home to school and I know that this writers handbook will continue to be my go to source to prepare them for college level writing.
If you have a middle schooler or high schooler and you are need a little extra help with writing and all the mechanics, then this handbook is the helping hand you need to succeed! Be sure to check out what my CrewMates thought of this handbook for writers by clicking the banner below to read 27 other opinions.
Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family. I am disclosing this in accordance with FTC Regulations.
Once upon a time there was a little girl who struggled to learn to read. Many nights her Mama would stay up researching curriculum and how to implement reading strategies to get her girl to finally read. Then one day she was placed on the review for The Reading Game, 1st Edition, and her little girl began to take off reading with confidence! Said little girl is not so little anymore and is a voracious reader of all things, making this Mama a happy camper!
As a huge fan and proponent of gameschooling, I was thrilled to receive The Reading Game, 2nd Edition from Allsaid & Duun, LLC to use with my son, Micah, who is 6.5 and in the first grade. Thankfully he has never really struggled with reading or learning his sight words. Using this fun game he has gained so much confidence and fluency in his reading over the last six weeks.
The Reading Game which was created by Kenneth Hodkinson, the author of the popular vocabulary curriculum “Wordly Wise 3000” series. It is a fast-action memory card game that will get your kids’ reading from the very first lesson. The Reading Game is a supplemental learn-to-read program for beginning and/or struggling readers. This learning to read game also correlates with most standard curriculums and uses a whole language approach to learning to read, i.e. looking at whole words and memorizing them. It works well with the traditional phonics method of reading by learning to sound out the individual letters. The Reading Game also meets the criteria of the Common Core State Standards for Language Arts, Foundational skills, and Reading skills needed for both kindergarten and first graders, if that’s something you look for in a learning to read curriculum.
The Reading Game comes with six black and white illustrated storybooks: Skunk, Snake, Bear, Penguins, Unicorn, and Zebra. It can be played with two or more players. Memory games are played in six stages for each book, learning five words in each stage. So by the end of your first book your student will be able to read 30 words. By the end of the entire game, your child will know how to read 180 words from the Dolch Pre-K through First Grade list and also words from the Fry List.
The complete game comes with:
6 color-coded Memory word matching card game
6 color-coded Captioned Picture Flashcards
6 Storybooks
Parent/Teacher Guide
Plus Word Family Activities
To play the game you start out with the first ten red cards. These contain five matching sets of words. As in traditional Memory, flip over two cards and read the words without hesitation. Once your child has mastered reading the first set of cards, you more on to the next set of 10 words. Now, once this next set of words is mastered, pull out the red picture card labeled 1-2 and have your child read the caption under the picture. All of the words on this caption card are from the first two sets of word cards already mastered. If reading the caption card is easy for your child, move onto the third set of cards and proceed in the same manner as above for cards 1-2. Finally once all six sets of cards are read with mastery it is time to read the corresponding storybook. The back of each book includes a handy word list as well.
Game play should be done over the course of several days but each book follows the same method:
Memory game for card sets 1 – 2
Read the picture card for 1-2
Memory game for card sets 3-4
Read the picture card for 3-4
Memory game for card sets 5-6
Read the picture card for 5-6
Read the corresponding illustrated book
Since Micah knows a lot of his sight words already he has breezed through the first 3 books. He has just finished Book 4 on Penguins and is ready to move into Unicorns this week. We normally ended up playing this game 2-3 times a week after dinner and chores. This is the perfect time for us to fit in the game and reading time as he also reads a Reader book each night before bed. We review previous word cards he already knows during the day as a flashcard fluency race during his Phonics time.
Overall, I am just as pleased with this new edition of The Reading Game as I am with the first edition I used back in 2011. The major difference that I can tell from each edition is the addition of the Captioned Pictured Flashcards to check for mastery.
I am so pleased with the way Micah is learning through play with this curriculum! I have already told several of my friends about it. Also, I am looking forward to Micah progressing into The Magic Stories curriculum, for grades 2-4, after he finishes Book 6 of The Reading Game. At the rate he is progressing we should be using the new program by mid-April.
Do you want to win a copy of The Reading Game for your student? Head over to the Homeschool Review Crew Blog to enter the giveaway to win one of 5 games! Also, definitely click the banner below to read my CrewMates thoughts on this educational game that builds confidence in reading.
Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family. I am disclosing this in accordance with FTC Regulations.
Happy Friday guys! Today I am excited to share with you a fun boardgame from Byron’s Games. As a game-loving, music-loving family, we have enjoyed playing Maestro Mastery - Explore the Composers over the last few weeks. Let me tell you more about it.
Bryon’s Games is a company that was created by a 6 year old boy, Bryon, when he found himself hospitalized in the Children’s Hospital of Chicago for six months. During his hospital stay he was inspired to create something fun and educational for kids like himself during their hospital stay. From that stay his first game, Continent Race, was created. Like with his other games that Byron created, Maestro Mastery shows you that learning doesn’t have to be boring!
Maestro Mastery – Explore the Composers is the third game that Byron has created. While playing it your students will learn all about 52 classical music composers and discover the way each of them contributed during the Medieval to Contemporary era. Inside your game box you receive the following game play items: > Instructions > 104 color-coded matching composer cards (separated into two decks) > 1 music timeline card > 1 fold-out poster of all the composers
* A link to listen to musical samples from each of the composers is also included.
To play the game use just one of the decks unless you have a large crowd of people playing. Set the game up just as you would like classic game of memory. Proceed to playing just like the game of memory, except with Maestro Mastery you want to try to match your matches by musical era.
The winner of the game is determined in one of two ways. You can either have an:
Overall winner ~ the player with the most pairs of composers
Era winner ~ the player with the greatest number of pairs from a specific era.
*there can be multiple Era winners.
Maestro Mastery also has a built in challenge to the game to make it more challenging. To take advantage of this portion of the game the players would click a link and be taken to a YouTube video to listen to musical compositions to try to match the card. Or you can match the cards by laying the cards out face up and try to identify the person who composed the musical selection.
I have played this game several times with Montana (8th), McKenzie (5th), and Micah (1st) over the last several weeks. Each time we play the kids are getting better and better at identifying the composer and eras. We always choose the winner by the one who gets the most pairs of composers. I think this game is an excellent supplement to any music/composer curriculum. I am excited to continue to use this game as we learn about the great classical composers of the Medieval to Contemporary era.
Check out what my CrewMates think of this boardgame or The Family Journal that was also reviewed by clicking the banner below.
Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family. I am disclosing this in accordance with FTC Regulations.
Sometimes learning to read can be hard. When the child struggles the mom/teacher may begin to feel as if they are failing their child. I have been there with one of my children. It was so hard to watch this child of mine struggle and for it not to click as easy as reading had for my other children. If you have a child struggling to read, I recommend checking out Failure Free Reading Home Edition. I wish I would have had this program to utilize nine years ago.
Failure Free Reading Home Edition is an online program that is geared for students who are having difficulties with learning to read. The Failure Free Reading company has received national recognition for helping to turn struggling readers into confident readers by changing the approach to learning to read. Specifically, this program focuses on reading comprehension. They believe that by improving your student’s reading comprehension is the most helpful way to improve reading skills.
The program is suitable to use with students who have cognitive disabilities, autism, dyslexia, or a hearing imparement. Since the program does not include any cartoons or illustrations that would make an older student hesitant to use the program it is perfect for any and all students who are developmentally six years-old and older.
We received a six-month subscription to try with my son Micah, who is currently 6. While Micah does not specifically struggle with reading, I wanted to take advantage of the other features of this program to help increase his reading vocabulary. Each lesson takes just 20-30 minutes to complete and you the teacher can choose whether the student learns in the self-paced program or the parent-led program.
When you first set up your account, the student needs to take a diagnostic test for level placement. Micah tested into the Red level for reading. Once I had his profile set up with an easy password and picture verification, he is able to log into the program all by himself. The self-paced program is geared for more independent use by the student. The computer reads the material to the student as they progress through the lessons. The parent-led lessons allow the parent to interact and work with the student in a one-on-one setting.
Overall, Micah and I have found that this is a great reading program that will help any struggling reader feel confident in their reading ability. At first we found the programs reading voice to be a distraction, but once we got used to it it has been no big deal. I really like that his reading and spelling has improved dramatically! He now tells me how to spell words. Seventeen other members of the Review Crew also reviewed Failure Free Reading Home Edition, I highly recommend that you click the banner below to read their thoughts.
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