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 to 6 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.



Showing posts sorted by relevance for query homeschool easy. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query homeschool easy. Sort by date Show all posts

Tuesday, August 25, 2020

Homeschool Easy ~ 1st Grade Entire School Year Curriculum ~ a TOS review

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.  

Howdy friends! If you are new to homeschooling, today I have a great homeschool curriculum to share with you. Are you looking for a complete packaged curriculum that doesn’t implement the Common Core? If so, be sure to check out or need a complete package, you'll want to check out the Entire School Year Curriculum sets from Homeschool Easy.
We received the 1st Grade Entire School Year Curriculum and I have been using it with my son, Micah who is 6. This easy-to-use curriculum gets the job done without the extra fluff! Your children will learn all subjects including math the way you were taught, straight forward and to the point.

Through daily worksheets your child with work through the 32 weeks of curriculum material covering the 6 core subjects of: ~ Grammar: focuses on beginning English grammar ~ History: includes links to videos with a focus on basic American history and geography, art projects included too
 ~ Math: Common Core free. Includes flash cards to focus on traditional number sense ~ Reading: daily reading lists, books with corresponding comprehension sheets, flash cards, puzzle games, word search, and other materials to learn 1st grade level words. ~ Science: hands-on science related art projects and videos to cover basic science knowledge ~ Writing: beginning writing process Internet access is needed to access the curriculum materials and video lessons. You will also need access to a printer to print out the worksheets.

I love how organized this curriculum is! Every subject is tucked away into folders and subfolders. Finding exactly what you need is easy because everything is clearly labeled by week.

 

During this unprecedented time when parents are faced with what to do for their children education this year, Homeschool Easy is here to provide an affordable solution. For just $100.00 you can gain access to this consumable curriculum. You get access to an entire year of curriculum that not only is comprehensive but will save you the parent time and undue stress of what exactly you are supposed to teach your child.

 

For our review period I have spent time focusing on Micah’s reading. He, like his sisters excels in math, so while we did look over it, we didn’t spend too much time on this component. His reading has come a long way and he is reading even more fluently within the past 6 weeks. While he is not a huge worksheet fan I have tried to remedy that by printing the reading lists on vibrant colorful paper.

 

Overall, this program has been a great fit for us and we will continue to use it throughout the year. It is engaging and complete if you are looking for an all in one curriculum. Homeschool Easy also has complete grade level curriculum up through 5th grade so be sure to check out the other levels offered too. And don’t just take my word for it! Click the banner below to read some of the review of my 45 CrewMates and see what they thought of the 1st Grade Entire School Year curriculum and the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, an 5th grade programs as well.

 
Homeschool Curriculum for Grades 1 to 5 {Homeschool Easy Reviews}

Company ~ Homeschool Easy
 Format ~ online, PDF files
 Price ~ $100.00 
 Ages ~ 1st graders
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Friday, September 13, 2019

Grammar lessons in just 10 minutes with Easy Grammar Ultimate Series: Grade 11 ~ a TOS review

I’m a bit of a stickler when it comes to Grammar in our homeschool. Why? Because if you have a solid foundation in grammar, other subjects like writing will be a bit easier. I am trying to raise strong readers writers who can express their thoughts effectively in writing so I was so excited to get some extra help with Mikayla with the Easy Grammar Ultimate Series:  Grade 11 from Easy Grammar Systems.

Now, I’ve been homeschooling awhile now and I have always heard of Easy Grammar but never have jumped in to see what it is all about. I am sorry I waited so long because I love the quick and easy lessons it provides for my busy girl.


We received the digital copy of the Easy Grammar Ultimate Series: Grade 11 that also includes the Grade 11 Test Booklet. This curriculum includes 180 daily teaching lessons geared towards any student beyond 6th grade. With short 10 minute lessons, students will get step-by-step teaching lessons written at a fourth-grade reading level so that they can focus on learning the grammar concepts without all the fluff.

Each daily lesson includes several different types of grammar instruction including: 
~ sentence structure 
~ parts of speech
~ punctuation 
~ sentence combining and more

In our house, we have been using the Easy Grammar Ultimate Series: Grade 11 since the end of July to help Mikayla prepare for her upcoming ACT. Before we started back to school in mid-August, I had scheduled Mikayla to complete 3-4 daily lessons three to four days a week. Now that we are full force into our school year she only completes 2 daily lessons on the days that she doubles at the gym, which is two days a week.

Since we received the digital copy, I simply just print the worksheet pages Mikayla needs each week. She keeps her completed papers filed within her school binder. As you work through the lessons you will find an assessment test after every 10 lessons. I found these to be a good assessment of how much information Mikayla had retained and helpful to know what she needed to spend a little more time on.
Overall, Mikayla and I have both enjoyed this language arts curriculum. She especially likes the short and sweet lessons because it makes it easy for her to get her grammar lessons completed, especially on our busy days. I love that the program is spiral and comprehensive but doesn’t take all day to learn and/or teach. I also like that the answers are provided. I have other children that need to be taught and having the ability to grade Mikayla’s work without having to spend too much time on my end is priceless for me.
Easy Grammar, Daily GRAMS & Easy Grammar Ultimate {Easy Grammar Systems Reviews}
Sixty-nine of my CrewMates reviewed several different curriculum including: Easy Grammar:  Grade 1,  Easy Grammar:  Grade 3, Daily GRAMS:  Grade 3, Easy Grammar Plus, Daily GRAMS:  Grade 7, and Easy Grammar Ultimate Series: Grade 9. Be sure to check out their reviews and see what their thoughts are on these language arts curriculums. As for us, Mikayla will continue to use this grammar curriculum in her weekly studies as well as her test prep.

Easy Grammar, Daily GRAMS & Easy Grammar Ultimate {Easy Grammar Systems Reviews}

Format ~ digital copy 
Price ~ $29.95 
Ages ~ 6th grade and up

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Thursday, September 8, 2016

Christian HomeSchool Hub Download Club ~ a TOS review

I am always on the lookout for quality resource materials to enrich our homeschool day. I am really excited to tell you about the CHSH Download Club from CHSH-Teach.com.


CHSH Download Club stands for the Christian Homeschool Hub Download Club and it was created in 2010 by Lynda Ackert, a veteran educator of 20+ years. Mrs. Ackert has a passion for teaching and creating educational material for teachers and homeschoolers alike. She pours her heart into her online community as a way of giving back.

Christian HomeSchool Hub {Download Club}

The CHSH Download Club gives subscribers access to over 50,000 downloadable pages of quality educational material on an easy to navigate website. With products on everything from Preschoolers to High Schoolers, this club has you covered. And if you like creating products, you can upload your items to the site too and share with the community.

Christian HomeSchool Hub {Download Club}

Since CHSH is also a community, you can connect with other members through the self-contained forum and receive helpful information and newsletters too. Membership to the CHSH community is free. A subscription to the Download Club affords you access to all the member benefits plus access to all 50,000+ downloadable products. There are two subscription levels, Annual for $25.00 or Lifetime membership for just $99.00. One of the best features, in my opinion, is that since the founder creates and sells hundreds of educational products on sites such as Teachers Pay Teachers {my favorite go to site}, I now have access to all the products she creates, SCRORE!

Christian HomeSchool Hub {Download Club}

Finding the download you need is as easy as clicking in the “search for downloads” box. You can also view the downloads by category, subject, or grade by looking at the handy download catalog.


This year we are concentrating on character building within the walls of our Academy. I found the perfect companion in the Character Traits, Volume 1 and Volume 2 to help guide us. Getting started was super easy. I just clicked on the link and the download started right up. This character curriculum is literature based and included 2 volumes which teach 40 character traits. The curriculum helps students to start thinking about both positive and negative character traits. It helps children see and start discussing how to make the right connections within their own lives. A suggested book list is included which is super helpful.

Volume 1 teaches the following traits through characters in literature:
 ~ Grateful
 ~ Greedy 
~ Confident
 ~ Sincere 
~ Diligent
 ~ Hopeless
 ~ Courageous
 ~ Optimistic
 ~ Pessimistic 
~ Compassionate 
~ Fearless 
~ Persistent 
~ Impatient 
~ Ambitious 
~ Stubborn 
~ Forgiving 
~ Loyal 
~ Arrogant 
~ Wise 
 ~ Generous 

To begin, I printed both Volume 1 and 2 and put the posters inside sheet protectors. The corresponding weekly papers are included in each week. My favorite part of the worksheets is the little box that includes a quote from a famous person or just a helpful saying corresponding to the specific trait being covered. So far we have loved this set and incorporating it into our Morning Time routine.

I also have been using the worksheets in the preschool category for my 2 year old son who loves to do school. Printing pages for him to work on is super easy and it makes him feel special to be apart of the group learning with his own papers.

Overall, I give this product two thumbs up! Having access to all of this quality material is really priceless because of the sheer amount of products available to download. Be sure to check out what my CrewMates think of this product by clicking the banner below!

Christian HomeSchool Hub {Download Club}

Company ~ CHSH-Teach.com
 Product ~ CHSH Download Club
 Format ~ digital 
Price ~ Annual for $25.00 or Lifetime membership for just $99.00. 
Ages ~ Mom’s and preschool – high school

Christian HomeSchool Hub {Download Club}

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©2008 - 2016 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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Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Successful homeschooling MADE EASY ~ a TOS review

Successful Homeschooling Made Easy Review

The thought of homeschooling can a new parent shake in their boots. There seemingly is so much information to take in and learn as a newbie that quite frankly it can become overwhelming really quick. But you know what?! It doesn’t have to be overwhelming if you break it down into bite sized chunks. That is exactly what Successful Homeschooling Made Easy does!

Successful Homeschooling Made Easy Course was started by Stephanie Walmsley, a Christian wife, mother, and grandmother whom started her own school at home journey in 1985. It is a 26-week-long online course for homeschooling parents, whether you are a newbie or a seasoned veteran.

So how does it work?

Immediately after purchase you are emailed a PDF lesson of your first week which is on creating a homeschool schedule that works for your family. Each subsequent week thereafter the course member gets an email with a the next weeks lesson.

So, just what’s on the lessons? A wealth of Successful Homeschooling Made Easypractical information to make this homeschooling journey a little bit less stressful and overwhelming. With helpful scheduling templates and weekly assignments you will not only save time but also money with helpful topics like:

  ~ Practicalities

~ Schedules

~ Lesson plans

~ Organization

~ Planning

~ Teaching

~ Housekeeping

~ Extracurricular activities

~ How to choose curriculum and much more!

I have been on this homeschooling journey for 6 years now. While it hasn’t always been butterflies and rainbows, we have made strides and I am happy to say my oldest, Marie will be finished with her formal schooling next week and then graduating in June. We have tried many schedules and many more curricula during these 6 years and have finally settled into a comfortable groove to our day.

Following along with this program is super easy. You can either print out the weekly lessons and store in a binder as I have done or just read on the computer or Kindle. I will say that some of the lessons are quite long, but printing double sided has helped me.

While I did not change our schedule as the topic covered in week one suggested, we did tweak our schedule. I have been racking my brain these past few weeks before getting the opportunity to use this subscription program. Things just were not getting done each day.

Taking the time to read the first lesson and really think and focus on our schedule helped me to see that I needed to go back to the 4-day school week for my younger girls, Montana (2nd) and McKenzie (JrK), so that I could really focus with Mikayla (6th) and Madison (8th) on that 5th day. Just that little reminder has made a world of difference over the last 6 weeks in our school. Things are getting down and that makes this box checking Mama excited!!!

Overall, I am really excited for this program. It has definitely arrived at the right time to help me avoid the classical homeschool burnout that comes with Spring. I enjoy checking my mailbox on Tuesdays, the day my email arrives, and finding out what my assignment for the week will be.

If this sounds like something that may interest you, I recommend you preview the course. Whether you are a newbie or a veteran or anything in between there is something for you to gleam and put into action in your homeschool. Be sure to check out what my Crewmates thought of this program by clicking the banner below.

Successful Homeschooling Made Easy Review

Company ~ Successful Homeschooling Made Easy

Product ~ Successful Homeschooling Made Easy Course

Price ~ $10 (£6) per month. There is a 20% discount if you choose to pay for the full course up-front - $48 (£30)

Ages ~ homeschooling Mom’s

Format ~ weekly email subscription

Successful Homeschooling Made Easy Review

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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

Friday, November 1, 2019

Calvert Homeschool Online ~ a TOS review

About six weeks into our new homeschool year I felt as if I were drowning. Things were not going as planned and I felt like we were falling behind each and every day. Like throw me a life vest because I can’t even tread water anymore. That’s about the time that I saw that Calvert Homeschool Online was going to be offered for review. After checking into the program I knew I needed to get on this review to use specifically with Mikayla, my Junior.  Calvert Homeschool gave us 6 months of access to their full line of courses for three students.


Calvert Homeschool Online is an online curriculum that offers individual and family plans for grades 3-12. While my focus was for Mikayla, I did have Montana, 7th grade, and McKenzie, 4th grade, sign up for an account as well. I have Mikayla enrolled in Physics, Economics, and Government, while Montana and McKenzie each did grade level science courses.


There are placement tests for those needing help selecting the best fit for courses. Your student is able to work at or below grade level which is a nice feature and the amount of courses to choose from is a great variety.



Getting started was relatively easy once I received my log in information. I simply signed up for an account and then created student accounts for the girls. To get the program running I had to select start and end dates as well as how many days the courses would be used. There are several options for the parent to select as far as how tests and quizzes are handled and how much feedback is supplied to the student.


The parent dashboard is the hub of the program where you can track everything from grades to assignments. You can also conveniently reschedule assignments to another day if needed. Everything you need is at your fingertips to see how your child is progressing.


I have always been curious about Calvert Homeschool since I have heard their name in homeschool circles for years.  When they offered their Calvert Homeschool Online program with access to all the courses, I knew I wanted to check it out to help supplement her online studies. Mikayla was my main focus for this review because she was struggling to keep up with her online physics course. I wanted her to see the physics presented in a different way and I am happy to say that the Calvert approach is working for Physics and Government. The ability to have the material read to her as she follows along helps her tremendously. There are several different voices to choose from. She enjoyed picking the voice to be read to her in a British accent.  The ability to have the material read aloud is also my favorite feature of the program.



She is now back on track with her courses and I owe that to Calvert for giving the extra support and different teaching style. The fact that it is portable is another huge plus for us! We were able to take her school work on the go so she could work on it while at the gym or on the way to physical therapy. Montana and McKenzie did not mesh well with this program. But that’s OK! They are very much book learners so this was not a good fit for them.

Calvert Homeschool Online {Calvert Homeschool Reviews}
Overall, Mikayla will continue to use the program for the rest of our subscription to help her in Physics and Government. Be sure to read the other reviews from my CrewMates to see if this would be a good fit for your family and students by clicking the banner below.

Calvert Homeschool Online {Calvert Homeschool Reviews}

Price ~ Family plan $ 
Ages ~3rd-12th grades


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© 2008 - 2019 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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Thursday, May 30, 2019

Homeschool Science Curriculum from Supercharged Science ~ a TOS review

Morning friends!

Today I am excited to share with you a hands-on science curriculum that will have your kids begging to do more. You might not be super confident in teaching science or you may think it is boring. In either case I am here to tell you that science does not have to be the same old boring subject day in and day out. It can be supercharged and exciting when you find the right program that fits your needs. And that’s exactly what has happened in our house when we started using the e-Science Homeschool Science Curriculum from Supercharged Science.

Supercharged Science generously provided us with a full year of access to e-Science Homeschool Science Curriculum for all levels, K-12. It’s really easy to get excited about science in our house. My kids love it and so do I. When I found out that we were to receive a year subscription for Supercharged Science I did a happy dance. Yes. Yes, I did! Supercharged Science’s e-Science Homeschool Science Curriculum is an online science program complete with over 1000 activities and experiments to do in all the science categories, including Earth Science and Advanced Astronomy.


Supercharged Science was started by Al and Aurora Lipper 10 years ago with the mission of improving the way kids learn science. Aurora is an accomplished Rocket Scientist who received her Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Cal-Poly State University and went on to become one the youngest instructors in engineering at Cal-Poly State University. Pretty impressive!



Something new this year is that there are two main ways to use this program. Choose between studying a specific topic or learn by grade level.Topics ~ everything from matter, to energy, to thermodynamics is covered. There are “advanced topics” for high schoolers as well. With so many topics to explore, you’re sure to find something just right for you! Grade Level ~ Study a specific grade level appropriate topics all arranged for you. For example the 7th grade year includes studying topics in Life Science, Energy, and Physics of Light & Lasers.


With over 1,000 videos on hundreds of science topics, the e-Science Premium Membership guides kids step-by-step through hands-on activities, projects and experiments. The lessons in the e-Science program are formatted so that children actually DO the lesson and discover on their own, rather than watching someone else do them. There is a video of Aurora doing the experiment if you want to watch that as well.


There are multiple ways to use this curriculum, you can use it as: 

~ as a stand alone K-12 unit study. Check out this page and find out what units are offered. 
~ use the program concurrently with your favorite science curriculum. A handy conversion chart is provided to help you combine e-Science with many of the popular science programs out there including Apologia, Considering God’s Creation, REAL Science, God’s Design, Bob Jones, A Beka and more! 
~ as a delight directed approach show your child the list of topics and let them choose what interests them most.

The e-Science programs includes: 

 • Access to self-guided lessons that kids can complete on their own 
 • Detailed video instruction taught by a real Rocket Scientist 
 • Step by step videos to show how the experiment is to be done 
 • Comprehensive parent/teacher guides 
 • Textbook readings 
 • Exceeds most K-8th State Standards 
 • Exercises and Quizzes 
 • Unlimited support for teachers and students 

 Want to know the best part about Supercharged Science?


The eScience program does not cover creation or evolution so ALL families can participate with our programs. By focusing on the how’s and why’s of things they just teach Science!!! This review came just in the nick of time for us as I am trying to get my rising 7th grader, Montana, ready for her college prep curriculum next school year. She doesn’t necessarily know what she wants to study but she knows she wants to do science.


So, like my daughter Madison, who used this program in the past, we used the program as a unit study/delight directed study. Over the last few months, Montana has been showing the same signs of increased intelligence, to put it mildly, just as my Madison did at this age. Now, that I am navigating these waters a second time around, I want to learn from my mistakes so to speak, and get her off on the right direction right from the start. To do this I let her explore the website and topics and then she took off and soared from there!

It is as easy as printing off the unit PDF files and watching the corresponding video. We found that watching the experiment first was more beneficial for Montana and then she started digging into the learning the how and why’s to the experiment. Her favorite experiments thus far are creating a roller coaster and trapping hidden carbon dioxide invisible gases.


I love that for these two experiments, they especially made her think outside of the box to get the end results. At first she couldn’t get the carbon dioxide experiment to work, because her set up was incorrect. Instead of telling her that, I let her go by trial and error and then she figured it out successfully. Afterwards she was able to explain to her siblings and myself why the way she did it worked.

e-Science Homeschool Science Curriculum {Supercharged Science Reviews}

This is a complete online curriculum for students in grades K-12. It retails for $57.00 a month. Yes, that seems a bit pricey, but really it’s not for the quality of instruction your child will receive. If you are like our family, you have a strict homeschool budget that might not have room for all the extra bells and whistles. After reviewing and using this program I can confidently say it is worth every single penny! Plus, the e-Science Homeschool Science curriculum has won many awards, including being one of Cathy Duffy's top 102 picks and Homeschool World's best science curriculum.


Homeschool science can be so intimidating for moms to teach but Supercharged Science makes it easy with their fun e-Science Homeschool Science Curriculum. Overall, we have truly enjoyed this program and I have made provisions in our budget to renew our subscription when our year is up. I truly think it is worth every penny and a true asset to our homeschool. If you are looking to get your children riled up for science this is the program you need. Want a special deal? Supercharged Science e-Science curriculum wants to give my readers access to some of the amazing sample experiments the program has to offer for just $1.00! Yes, you read that right, $1.00. Head right over to Supercharged Science and check out their “Super”e-Science Premium Membership. You won’t be disappointed!



And be sure to check out what 64 of my Crewmates thought of this program by clicking the banner below.

e-Science Homeschool Science Curriculum {Supercharged Science Reviews}

 Format ~ online instruction 
 Price ~ $57.00/monthly subscription 
 Ages ~ K-12th grades


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© 2008 - 2019 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.