Vocab Videos (Schoolhouse Review)

Are you studying vocabulary for the SAT’s? Or do you just want  to improve your vocabulary? I think I’ve just discovered the most fun way to do this.

Vocab Videos are short vignettes that illustrate each of the target vocabulary words. The program teaches 500 key SAT vocabulary words in memorable (and funny!) videos.  Each word appears on the screen with its definition, is acted out in a 30 second skit, then appears again on the screen. Each 10 minute video teaches 20 new words.

Emily enjoyed copying the words and definitions onto her iPod as she watched. She then had a study list for the week.

Accompanying each “chapter” of 20 words/episodes is a  worksheet, a crossword puzzle, and an online quiz. We found these perfect for practicing the words further. We also wrote a couple of words on our chalkboard each day and tried to incorporate them into our conversation.

We have really enjoyed Vocab Videos and plan to continue using them throughout our school year. Vocabulary practice is now something that Emily looks forward to! Even though she is not old enough to need to worry about studying specifically for the SAT yet, the vocabulary is still worthwhile learning and she’ll just have a head start when she gets to high school if she masters all 500 words!

Caution: The videos are geared for a secular, high school aged audience. Many of them are modeled after TV shows such as “Lost” or “The Office” and address topics such as dating. The characters also occasionally take the Lord’s name in vain. I watched each of the videos with Emily because of this. Other than the taking the Lord’s name in vain,  thus far, I haven’t personally found any of the plot or situations inappropriate for my 12 year old (and I am protective enough that she is not allowed to watch any of the actual TV shows that the skits are spoofing.)

I received the Small Educator Premium 12 month subscription ($74.99) which provides unlimited access for 12 months and includes:

• Teacher Dashboard to monitor student progress
• Up to 20 individual student accounts
• Access to all videos and study materials
• Digital Quizzes, Multi-media Flashcard Maker, Digital Worksheets

A   Vocab Videos individual student account starts at $24.99 for a 6 month  subscription.  Several clips are available online to help you decide if this is something that would be useful in your home.

Disclaimer: As a member of the TOS Crew, I received  free online access to Vocab Videos  in order to write this review. All opinions are my own. 

This Week in History (Schoolhouse Review)

I’ve seen a lot of calendars with a “this day in history” feature.  We’ve had printed ones that hung on our wall for a year. Sometimes, we would actually remember to look at them and read the event for the day. I’ve seen others online. Generally, they are a single fact or two. Kind of interesting, but we read them and move on. Initially, I thought that Thomas Jefferson Education’s “This Week in History” would be the same. Well, I was wrong. I think I’ve found something that we’ll stick with!

A subscription to “This Week in History” allows the user to access the weekly information online or in weekly emails. I like the email format because, with the information in my inbox, I’m less likely to forget about using it.

Each weekly email includes a colorful article for each day of the week.  The articles are accompanied by links to additional information, craft and activity ideas, and so on.  There is honestly almost enough here for it to be a full unit study curriculum!

For example, July 5 featured the publication of the first chapter of Pinocchio, by Carlo Lorenzini. Included were information about and links to sites with:

• Pinocchio coloring pages
• Bio of Carlo (Lorenzini) Collodi
• link to different versions of the story of Pinocchio
• discussion topics
• cricket links—chirps, crafts, etc
• telling the temperature through cricket chirps
• bugs that are eaten around the world (yuck!)

July 5 featured the opening of the Famous "Hampton Court Palace Flower Show."  Emily saw and learned about:

• flower photos
• parts of a flower
• Fibonacci sequence

I always think that seeing for yourself is easier than reading about something, so here is an excerpt from the Aug. 9 reading:

August 9

The Leaning Tower of WHAT???

Just kidding!

On this date in 1173, construction began on the campanile of the cathedral of Pisa. This is more commonly known as...

The Leaning Tower of Pisa!

So first of all, we sort of breezed through a couple of words that might be new: "campanile" and "cathedral".

If you speak Italian or Spanish you can probably guess at the meaning of "campanile" based on the similarity of the word to its root: campana. A campanile is a special tower that holds campanas -- bells!

So, campanile means "bell tower". Before we investigate the other term, let's learn more about this campanile.

Resources:

• Facts about the Tower

Here's an idea: Why not make a tower using Legos, Lincoln Logs, blocks, pancakes, or what-have-you.

• How tall can you make it before it falls?
• Why does it fall?
• Does it lean? Why or why not?
• Do you have materials that are less inclined to fall or lean? Why are they different?
• Can you make a 3-D model of the Campanile of Pisa?
• Can you draw a dot-to-dot or other activity for others to use?

 

As you can see, the format is appealing and interesting! And this is just part of one day’s material! We will enjoy incorporating This Week in History into our schooldays in the upcoming year.

A subscription to This Week in History is $9.99 per month and includes the ability to search the site for any topic and to view the whole year’s archive. The topics will appeal to a wide range of ages. Several sample weeks are available for viewing on the Thomas Jefferson Education website.

Disclaimer: As a member of the TOS Crew, I received  a  free  membership in order to write this review. All opinions are my own.

 

King Alfred’s English

A couple of months ago, Emily told me that she wanted to “learn about where words came from.” Shortly afterward, I was given the opportunity to review King Alfred’s English, A History of the Language We Speak and Why We Should Be Glad We Do.  How perfect!
King Alfred’s English is a fascinating account of English history from pre-Roman Empire days to the present. The chapters on the Reformation are particularly thorough. Woven into the historical account are the origins of our present day language. I already know that English drew from the Germanic, Latin, and Greek languages, but I never really knew how it came about until I read this book. Here are just a few things I learned:

• One reason that we often have many similar words for the same concept is that we’ve adopted the same word from Anglo-Saxon, Norse, and French!
• Many English words have silent letters (night, knife) because  these letters were once pronounced. The “ugly” guttural sounds were dropped during a period when the people wanted to sound more French and sophisticated.
• Oral language (pronunciation) evolves much more rapidly than written language does, resulting in differences between spelling and pronunciation.
• Languages always become simpler as time progresses. Even though modern languages may have more vocabulary, grammatical structure is simpler  in modern languages than in ancient ones.
• Some of the phonetic symbols that I when transcribing speech (for speech therapy) were actual letters in Old English.

I highly recommend this book! It is very interesting, well-written, and focuses on a subject that I haven’t seen addressed elsewhere. Not only did I find the information about the origins of our language fascinating, but I was able to fill in some gaps in my history knowledge. It would be an excellent supplement to any curriculum, or a just a fun book to read.
King Alfred’s English is written for middle schoolers and up, although I think some younger children might enjoy it as well. Emily has read and enjoyed the first two chapters so far and I intend to have her read the rest throughout our school year as the chapters correspond with our world history studies. The website includes additional student and teacher materials, including articles, videos, and images, and worksheets and tests, allowing the book to be used as the core for an even more thorough study of the topic.
King Alfred’s English may be purchased at Rainbow Resource for $14.95, CBD for $14.89, or Amazon (print or Kindle versions).  Interested in buying now? I have a few discount codes to buy the (print) book for 50% off list price ($8.47).  Leave a comment with your email by Aug. 16  if you’d like one. First 3 comments only!
“Like”  King Alfred’s English Facebook page to read more interesting tidbits about our language.
Disclaimer: As a member of the TOS Crew, I received  this book  free in order to write this review. All opinions are my own.

Our Homeschool “Classroom”

For years, we didn’t have a specific homeschool “classroom.” The kids generally did their seat work at the kitchen table. I have a cabinet and hutch that held their schoolwork, so everything was close at hand. Sometimes, the kids would choose to work on the couch or lying on their beds, especially as they got older. We did (and still do) a lot of reading aloud, so that took place on the couch. We kept books and supplies that we didn’t use daily on other shelves in our family room and study.

I now only have one child still at home, so things have changed a bit. We have a nice study with a large desk and lots of bookshelves. It used to do double duty as a playroom, but there  wasn’t room for a table or desks for the kids to work at. Now that I am down to just one child, however, our study has become the primary schoolroom. Emily uses a small desk/play table to work at. Meanwhile, I can be on my computer or doing other work at my desk and be nearby if she needs help. The small table is really getting rather small for her, but she still likes to work there. I still have some school supplies and books scattered throughout the house, but am working on moving everything to the study and organizing it a little better.

Our bookshelves…

The cabinet where we keep our currently used curriculum.

Emily’s desk with her workboxes behind her.

I recently took some video of our “school room” to be featured in the November issue of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, so if you’re a reader, keep a look out for it and for the monthly features on other homeschooling families’ homes. (If you are not a reader, you should be, because it’s free now!)

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Planning out the School Year

 

How do you plan for your school year? A detailed day by day schedule planned out months ahead? An unschooling or “wing-it” approach? Something in between?

I always start with a yearly plan. I decide which general books and curricula I’ll be using for the year.

Then, I use a marking period planner (from The Old Schoolhouse Planner) to sketch out which weeks/months I’ll be using each item. Since we often use short-term unit studies or more than one book in a subject, this helps me see the big picture at a glance. This schedule has the weeks numbered, so it’s no problem to take off a week here and there. (Since we’ve been doing school much of the summer already, we plan to take time off during the year.)

Then, I fill out daily/weekly schedules. We don’t do every subject every day, so Emily and I just check each day to see what is on the schedule. I usually plan 2-3 weeks of daily/weekly schedules at a time.

I haven’t been this organized every year. When Emily was in K-2nd grades, all I really had was a big picture sketched out on one sheet of paper and we were a lot more flexible day-to-day. Now that she’s in middle school, I feel the need for better record keeping and  to make sure that we’re devoting enough attention to each subject.

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Homeschool Curriculum

 

 

 

 

When I meet another homeschooler, often one of the first questions asked is, “What curriculum do you use?”  Maybe it’s just a conversation topic. Maybe we’re looking for new ideas. Maybe we want to compare our teaching styles. Whatever the reason, the topic of curriculum seems to come up often.

For me, it’s actually a question that doesn’t have an easy answer. I don’t stick to any one curriculum across all subjects and, in many cases, I don’t stay with the same curriculum in a subject from one year to the next. Since I review a lot of curricula, we have to change our schedule frequently to try out new things. Sometimes the review item is something we love, so I either add it to our current plans or substitute it for something we were already using. Sometimes, we just use the item for a month or so and move on or save it for another year. I’m sure this would drive some people crazy, but I love it!

This is our basic plan for this year (7th grade):

Math: No Nonsense Algebra, IXL

Language Arts: Lightening Literature, Write with the World, Excellence in Literature (2nd semester), Vocab Videos

History: We’re studying Rome through the Renaissance, using Diana Waring’s Materials as a spine. I also have Truth Quest (Reformation/Renaissance) from last year’s review that we’ll use.

Science: Apologia, TOPS Magnets

Spanish: Spanish in 10 Minutes a Day, Rosetta Stone (if I ever get my desktop computer fixed)

Art: Artistic Pursuits, Imagination Station (recorded from PBS years ago)

Bible: The Most Important Thing You’ll Ever Study Bible Survey, Discovering Our Amazing God,  Apologia’s Who’s My Neighbor—We’ll be doing a lot of switching around here!

Many of these books have been review items in the past couple of years—the Schoolhouse Review team has been a great blessing to me!

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Back to Homeschool Blog Hop! Coming Next Week!

Do you like to hear how other homeschoolers plan for the next year? What curriculum they use, and why? What their “classrooms” look like? Are you interested in joining or starting a homeschool co-op?

Next week, the Schoolhouse Review Crew will be sponsoring a
“Back to Homeschool Blog Hop,” that addresses all these subjects making it easy to read what a variety of homeschoolers say about these topics. The daily topics are listed above.

Zane Education (Schoolhouse Review)

Zane Education is a source of over 1500 online educational videos, covering a wide variety of topics, from astronomy to classical music to history. These videos include downloadable lesson plans and interactive quizzes that ensure that your child is learning the material. A unique aspect to the videos is that they are all subtitled, providing students with both visual and auditory input of the narration. This aids in retention as well as being beneficial to beginning readers and ESL students.

   

A Gold membership to Zane Education includes a copy of the 424 page e-book, Christian Home Learning Guide. This guide begins by discussing the Christian world view of education, then  discusses each time period and video, advising parents of points they might wish to discuss with their children about each topic, since the Zane videos come from a secular point of view. A Learning Video Guide is also available that makes it easy to find videos catalogued by grade or topic.

 

I was very impressed by the variety of videos available on Zane. Since we’re have been studying Ancient Greece, we focused on those. We found several in the Art History division and enjoyed being able to see and hear about a variety of Greek architecture and sculpture. But….there was a LOT of nudity shown in the sculptures—something to be aware of.  Emily really enjoyed the retelling of the many classic Greek myths that we found in the literature division. She was also fascinated by the insect videos in the Biology division.

 

The videos (at least all the ones we’ve seen) are in a slide show format, with still pictures, music, narration, and subtitles.

 

I found the quizzes helpful as a means to review and to ensure that Emily was paying attention. I also liked the subtitles and Emily did note that they helped her remember the material better.

 

I really look forward to using this resource over the next year and am excited about the potential to have videos on nearly every imaginable topic available within seconds to supplement our other subjects.

 

Zane offers several membership levels:

• Basic Membership that provides demo videos and free math videos.
• Gold Membership—includes all videos, quizzes, lesson plans, and many bonus materials ($17.99/month or $197.89/year)
• Silver Membership—includes all videos for an age/grade level plus quizzes and lesson plans ($12.99/month or $142.89/year)
• Bronze Membership—includes all videos for a subject ($8.99/month or $98.89/year)
• Topic Taster Membership—includes videos for a single topic plus lesson plans and quizzes ($5.00/month)

SPECIAL! Through August, 2012, Zane Education is offering a 35% discount on any Gold, Silver, or Bronze 1-year membership with the coupon code, “ZE395HSM.”

If you would like to learn more,  please look at the Getting Started Guide or visit  Zane’s Facebook page.

Disclaimer: As a member of the TOS Crew, I received a free Gold membership to Zane Education  in order to write this review. All opinions are my own.
 

Math Essentials—Algebra and Geometry

We recently had the opportunity to try out two different books from Math Essentials --Geometry, which is part of the Mastering Essential Math Skills series and No Nonsense Algebra. I’ll describe each of them separately.

Geometry ($11.95), as stated above is part of the Mastering Essential Math Skills series. This 80 page book is an upper elementary/middle school geometry workbook that covers vocabulary, points, lines, planes, perimeter, area, volume, and the Pythagorean theorem. Each page is designed to take 20 minutes to complete and includes “helpful hints” that cover the main points of the lesson and daily review of previously learned concepts. Many students might find the “helpful hints” enough to teach the material, but I discussed the lessons with Emily before she worked the problems.

We are finding Geometry to be a good review of concepts that Emily studied last year as well as a way to fill in gaps of some concepts that she doesn’t have yet.

 

No Nonsense Algebra ($27.95), is a complete algebra course. Each lesson is presented  on one or two pages and includes an introduction (teaching), examples, exercises, and review. Additionally, there is an online teaching segment for each lesson (included free with book purchase). These 8-10 minutes videos are taught by “America’s Math Teacher,” Richard W. Fisher. The student is reminded frequently to write out every example to aid in retention. The topics covered in this course include:

  Chapter  1            Necessary Tools for  Algebra
  Chapter  2            Solving Equations
  Chapter  3            Graphing and Analyzing Linear equations
  Chapter  4            Solving and Graphing Inequalities
  Chapter  5            Systems of Linear Equations and Inequalities
  Chapter  6            Polynomials
  Chapter  7            Rational Expressions (Algebraic Fractions)
  Chapter  8            Radical Expressions and Geometry
  Chapter  9            Quadratic Equations
  Chapter 10          Algebra Word Problems

Emily enjoyed using No-Nonsense Algebra because the lessons are fairly short and each lesson focuses on a single concept. She is a student who needs the daily review, so the 4 daily problems that review previous lessons are very helpful.

Emily says that the videos “are interesting and make the math easy to understand.” Thus far, I haven’t had to re-explain anything to her, so they seem to be doing a good job!

I really hadn’t decided what math program to use for her this coming year. The one that my older kids used at her age is very challenging and I was afraid that she would find it overwhelming. Another text that I already had on my shelf was very “busy” and seemed like it would be too distracting with all the sidebars, cross-curricular connections and features about scientists, mathematicians, and math in the world around us. I think this is exactly what she needs—just the math, clear explanations, worked out examples, and daily review. Although she is really at a pre-algebra level, the first two chapters are perfect for her, so we’ll do those, then probably supplement with some other materials until I am sure she’s ready to go on with Algebra and continue with this book.

I think this is a great program at a great price. I’m hoping that future volumes of Math Essentials higher math will be published soon!

Interested in a discount? Math Essentials will be offering a special promotion for the months of July, August, and September.  The promotion applies to any order placed through the Math Essentials website. Any order that includes Mastering Essential Math Skills Book 1, OR, Mastering Essential Math Skills Book 2, OR, No-Nonsense Algebra, will include a free copy of Geometry (A $14.95 value) plus a free Homework Kit (A $4.99 value).

Disclaimer: As a member of the TOS Crew, I received these 2 books free  in order to write this review. All opinions are my own. 

Big Truths for Little Kids

I recently received the book, Big Truths for Little Kids from the Crossway Homeschool Book Review Program, but it actually is not a new book to me at all. I read through this devotional book with Emily several years ago and liked it so much that I bought two more by these authors: Discovering Jesus Through Genesis and Discovering Jesus Through Exodus.
The purpose of this book is to teach children that they are created for God’s glory, to help them apply this truth, and to teach children their need for God’s grace. This is done through the continuing story of two children, Cassie and Caleb, and their daily life and interactions with others. Each of the 36 chapters begins with simplified questions and answers from the “First Catechism.” Although it is recommended that the children memorize the answers, we just reviewed them without requiring memorization. A story follows, that reinforces the questions of the day. Finally, discussion questions and a prayer help the children to apply the truths to their lives.
Emily says, “This book makes it so much fun to study God’s word!! I think that a lot of little kids would love this book and would be influenced by it!
I would suggest this book for ages 4-10. The story is simple enough to be enjoyed by young children, but the theology is deep enough to engage and benefit much older children. The lessons taught are consistent with reformed theology.
I received this book free from the Crossway Homeschool Book Review Program in order to write this review. All opinions are my own.

HearBuilder Auditory Memory Games (Schoolhouse Review)

I’ve known of Super Duper Publications for many years. The company sells a huge variety of special education materials, focusing largely on speech therapy products. The items that the Crew is reviewing are products that are fun (and educational) for all kids. It is designed for grades K-8.

We received the Hearbuilder Auditory Memory Software to try out. This set of computer games helps children improve their memory skills and covers five essential listening activities:

• memory for numbers (3-7 digits)
• memory for words (3-5 words)
• memory for details (1-4 details)
• auditory closure (sentence completion)
• memory for WH information (2-3 sentences/2-4 questions)

These activities are very much like the ones I used when I was doing language therapy and would be great for language delayed children to use on their own or under the supervision of their speech pathologist. They are also great activities for normally developing children (or even adults) as well.

As children play, they are on a “mission to foil the wacky plans of Dr. Forgetsit.”  They are encouraged to progress through more difficult levels in order to solve the mission. Each activity gradually becomes more difficult by adding challenges such as delayed recall and removing visual clues. After each set of game-like drills, the child is rewarded with a fun activity.

A record of all activities completed can be viewed on the child’s progress report. Initial game levels can be set and self-adjust as the child successfully completes activities.

Emily has enjoyed using HearBuilder Auditory Memory and I am hoping that the memory practice will transfer over to other subjects. I was happy to see that the upper levels are challenging enough that they are useful even for middle school aged children who do not struggle with (but still could benefit from improvement in) auditory memory.

The Home Edition of HearBuilder Auditory Memory sells for $69.95 and is very similar to the much more expensive professional edition. It will keep records for up to 4 children. (The professional version works for an unlimited number of children and provides a few more customization features.)

Super Duper is offering a 30% discount on HearBuilder Auditory Memory Home Edition until August 31!

Coupon Code:       BLGAM30

Save 30%    Expires 8/31/12

Please visit the Crew Blog to read reviews of (and find coupon codes for) other Super Duper products.

Disclaimer: As a member of the TOS Crew, I received  this software free in order to write this review. All opinions are my own.