The World's Story 1 review

 

 

The World's Story 1



 

 

 

 

The first thing I would like to say is I am a huge fan of Masterbooks!  The books give us a solid Biblical World View to teach our children.

 

First off, let me say the pictures and illustration in this book are amazing! This is the one thing that makes this book stand out for me and my bugs (my children). They love looking at all of the pictures in this book. Young and old alike!

 

In this book, each chapter begins with a "Start Here" section. It tells us what will be discussed in the chapter we are about to read and scripture to go along with it. It lets the reader kinda get an idea of what's coming up next!

 

The book also has what is called "Narration Breaks". This gives the reader time to discuss what has been previously talked about. I think this is a fabulous thing to have. I am able to see just how much my bugs are retaining and learning from the reading we are doing. It gives us a time to talk and ask questions. I really like this part of the book.

 

There are also little sections that are labeled "Read" where it gives us scripture to read and discuss. Another nice section is called "Connect". This section gives us a detailed look into history across the ages. All of these sections, in my opinion, are wonderful. I really like having places to stop and discuss things together instead of just reading to the end and not able to take out time to discuss or stop while reading and forgetting where to start back up. Maybe thats just me but it really helps having a designated place to stop and discuss things. I really feel like it helps everyone to learn and understand things better.

 

Lastly, I would highly recommend this book!!! We are still reading this, taking our time enjoying this fabulous book! From what we have read and studied and discussed, we are loving it! This is one of many excelllent resources from Masterbooks and New Leaf Publishing Group.  We have numerous titles and so far, they are all loved.

 

Go check all of the fabulous books, you won't be disappointed!

 

 

 

 

 

Disclaimer:  I received a digital copy of this book free in exchange for my honest opinion.

Curriculum Review: History Revealed: True Tales Set- Volume 1-3

History Revealed: True Tales Set is a multi-cd set that teaches the truth about history from the creation point of view. It was written by Diana Waring, a "history evangelist" that has been teaching history and education since 1990.

This multi-cd set spans the time from the Genesis account of creation through the ancient cultures and even reveals recent discoveries on these amazing times. These cd's are told in a storyteller's enthusiastic manner and is very entertaining to listen to.

This set was originally developed for use with the History Revealed curriculum. We haven't used it in that way as we don't own the History revealed homeschool curriculum.

There are three volumes in this set.

Volume 1: Ancient Civilizations & The Bible contains captivating events and biographies from Creation to Christ

Volume 2: Romans, Reformers, Revolutionaries contain captivating events and biographies from Resurrection to Revolution.

Volume 3: World Empires, World Missions, World Wars contain captivating events and biographies from Napoleon to Korea.

We used these CD's for road-schooling. When we had errands to run, groceries to buy and eye appointments to go to, we would pop a cd into our cd player in our van and listen to these as long as we were riding! I really enjoyed them and really liked the fact that we could still be learning away from home.

I highly recommend this audio series!!! If this is something that interests you and would like to try it in your homeschool, CLICK HERE. 


I received this History Revealed: True Tales Set by Diana Waring from Masterbooks in exchange for my honest review.

Homeschool Legacy Review

For a while now, I have been wanting to do a unit study with my bugs on the Lewis and Clark expedition. Well, it so happened that Homeschool Legacy was offering 10 different titles for us TOS members to review and the one we were blessed to review is entitled Lewis and Clark: From Sea to Shining Sea. We were so excited! This fit so well into our homeschool. It is recommended the unit study be done once a week for 7 weeks and one entire day be devoted to just that. It couldn't have worked out any better. We do unit studies as part of our homeschool anyway, so us taking an entire day to focus on Lewis and Clark was right up our alley.

 

 

HOMESCHOOL LEGACY offers once -a-week unit studies written by Sharon Gibson. They are biblically centered, pre-planned, hands-on and inexpensive. What more could you ask for! Each week gives you a list of books and video choices that can be checked out at your local library. They also have a suggested schedule to go by to make things easier.

These studies encourage the use of a History Timeline. If you have already begun compiling a timeline, great, just add to it. If you  are like us, have NOT, don't worry. In our study, it gives you directions for a simple, history timeline notebook. We had so much fun making our timelines. We are still adding to them. I plan on getting many more of these once-a-week unit studies from Homeschool Legacy so we can continue adding to our timelines.

There are so many great features to these studies:

          ---Lots of suggestions on reading material and many are at the library.
          ---Hands on activities
          ---Arts & Crafts
          ---Geography, History, Vocabulary, Science and more.
          ---Field Trip Ideas
          ---And additional book suggestions for your Non-Readers or Early ones.

Lewis and Clark: From Sea to Shining Sea

 

Unit Study - $19.99

Grades 2-12

 

 

Homeschool Legacy has 10 other UNIT STUDIES!!!

 

Revolutionary Ideas: The Story of the American Revolution and We the People: Getting to Know Your Constitution looks like something we will be studying in the near future.


Check out what other TOS members have to say about Homeschool Legacy.
 

 

 

 

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this unit study, free of charge, in exchange for my honest opinion and review.



 

 



The Oregon Trail & The Pony Express DVD Review from Marshall Publishing

Recently, my family and I reviewed the DVD, The History of The Oregon Trail & The Pony Express.

About the DVD: (from the back)

The Oregon Trail -
     The reasons for going....the hauntingly beautiful landscape....the rivers they followed and crossed....the joys and hardships....and the elation and the dissension as described in immigrants diaries....all come to life in this detailed account of America's longest and most famous pioneer trail.

The Pony Express -
     Glossed over by all of the adventure and romance attached to it, most people don't realize the Pony Express lasted only 19 months. It was a grand gamble that eventually led to the bankruptcy of the three men who started it. Yet, during it's brief life span, it caught the attention of Americans, made a legend of the riders and provided a vital link between California and the Northern states at the onset of the Civil War.

There is also a free study guide that follows the description of the programs on their website. This DVD seemed very dated which is a plus for me. You felt like you were back in the day with these people, which is very intriguing. We learned so much from this video. The many hardships and deaths and how difficult it must have been to travel over 2,000 miles on this trail. The DVD, to me, did a really good job of showing the many details of the Oregon Trail.

The Pony Express was short but we learned things we didn't know. For instance, how the Pony Express went bankrupt. Also, how difficult it was to deliver mail back then and how long it took to deliver these pieces.

We decided to find a map and map out the Oregon Trail. It was fun. We love MAPS!

Marshall Publishing has an array of DVDs. Trains, cars, planes and animals are just some of the DVDs they offer.

Some other historical DVDs they offer:

~~~~~~~The Historic Expedition of Lewis and Clark
~~~~~~~Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Battle and the Address
~~~~~~~George Washington Carver: His Life and His Work
~~~~~~~The History of America in the 1880s

These are just a few of what they offer. Visit Marshall Publishing to see their complete collection.

Each of their historical DVDs retail for $24.95, but now through a Web sale, they are $19.95 and if you use this code TOS27, they are offering free shipping.

Read what other members are saying about Marshall Publishing at the Schoolhouse Review Crew Blog.

Disclaimer: I received The History of the Oregon Trail & The Pony Express free, to use in our homeschool, in exchange for my honest opinion and review.

plans.......The Prairie Primer

We are starting our Prairie Primer on Monday, September 10th. Everyone is so excited!!! I have been gathering information for a little over a week now. The only thing I am lacking is the hog's bladder. I haven't tried to find one yet. I am not sure how easy or hard it will be to find one. I am going to call a slaughter house tomorrow and see if they can she some light into this matter for me.

I have been reading a lot in the primer to decide what we are going to do from day to day. I feel that we will not be able to do everything it lists. So, I will definitely do Bible, Vocabulary and Living every day. The others I will spread out.

I found the Little House Cookbook on Ebay for a really good price.

We are planning to cook out of it at least two times a week.

I am still trying to decide if I want to purchase the Prairie Binder-Builder Lapbook.  We will start without it Monday.

So, as we start our Prairie Primer, I will continue to blog about all of the fun things we are planning with this study!



I am linking up to www.theusualmayhem.blogspot.com. Go check out the other Little House link ups!


God Bless!

changes made.....new curriculum......

We are definitely a homeschool family! Our plans have changed. Earlier this summer, I sat down and decided what our school year would consist of. I had it all laid out and knew just what we would start with the day after Labor Day. Well, after alot of thinking and praying, I feel I have been led to change our science and history. Everything else will stay the same as planned. We will continue using our Language Lessons, Words of the Week, and other copywork from Queenhomeschool. The bugs will also continue using Life of Fred and Math for a Living Education for math.

Recently I purchased two new books. The Prairie Primer and The Zoo Guide: A Bible-Based Handbook to the Zoo. These will be our science and history curriculum for at least this semester.

 

The Prairie Primer by Margie Gray is a literature-based unit studies utilizing the "Little House Books" series. There are nine units in the Primer - one corresponding to each nine "Little House" books. We will be using this as our history this year. We are so excited about this. I have also found a Prairie Primer Binder-Builder Lapbook.



It is a lapbook done in a binder instead of folders. It covers the first three books: Little House In The Big Woods, Little House On The Prairie, and On The Banks of Plum Creek.

I also purchased a cookbook entitled, The Little House Cookbook. I think I am more excited about this book than the bugs!

 

 

For our science, I purchased Zoo Guide: A Bible-Based Handbook to the Zoo from Answers in Genesis. It is a wonderful book that will give your students and children a biblical understanding of creation that refutes the evolutionary perspective zoos so often promote. This book features more than 100 animals. It has beautiful pictures, amazing facts and design features that point to our  AWESOME CREATOR! This will be our science.

 

 







 

We purchased a zoo membership at the beginning of the summer so I thought what a better way to use our membership! We will use this book, along with a visit to the zoo every other week to study science this semester. I am planning on doing a unit study on a different animal every two weeks. We will take our Zoo Guide, pick an animal and learn all we can about that  animal for two weeks. Within the two weeks, we will visit the zoo and physically see the animal we are studying. How fun is that! Everyone is so excited about Science this semester!

 

This is definitely a change from what I had planned but I think it's a good change. We want to learn as much as we can but at the same time, we want to have fun doing it.

 

I am planning on  posting as much as I can on our blog about these exciting and fun things we have planned, so stay tuned!

 

God Bless!

 





This Week in History-----A TOS Review

I recently was able to try THIS WEEK IN HISTORY from A Thomas Jefferson Education. It is an online resource to teach students different events in history for each day on the calendar year. It also delivers a weekly lesson straight to your email inbox. How wonderful is that!!!! For just $9.99 per month, you can log onto tjed.org and click "This Week in History" and obtain numerous resources to specific events that happened in the upcoming week in history.

Each week I receive an email from Rachel DeMille that sets up each date for the upcoming week. Very helpful if you like to be organized in your homeschool. Under each one of the dates are listed at least one, if not more, events that occurred in history on that date. Then under that, there are all kinds of links listed from websites to visit, books to read and many, many activities to do. It's amazing! There is even a This Week in History Archives. If you missed a day, you can look that day up in the archives and see what happened on that specific day.

One of our favorite days was July 24. You can go here and see this weeks events between July 19 - July 25. On the 24th, in 1847, it tells us that pioneers cross the plains to settle the west. Well, this period in history is one of our favorites. So, we decided to do a few things on this day. We completed a couple of worksheets that are available from a link on the website. One entitled Pioneer Life Vocabulary and one entitled Pioneer Life Alphabet Activity.

That same day we prepared a pioneer supper. We made Chuckwagon Beans and cornbread. We even used our grain mill to grind fresh corn for the cornbread.
Here is our chuckwagon bean recipe from backwoodshome.com.

Chuckwagon Beans

1 16-ounce bag of dry pinto beans

9 cups water

Two large onions, peeled and chopped

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano

2 cloves garlic, minced or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 tablespoon brown sugar or molasses

Wash the beans and heat them along with 6 cups water until they boil for 5 minutes, then turn the stove off.  Let them sit for an hour. Add three more cups of water and boil it all again. Now add everything else, stir it up and cook it for another hour.

This site makes learning history so much fun.

I do know one thing, we will use this source all year long in our homeschool for learning and enjoying history. I am planning to pick two events per week for us to work on in our homeschool. We might do more if we can fit it into our schedule. We LOVE THIS WEEK IN HISTORY!

If you would like to enjoy history lessons like we are, go here and subscribe.

To see other reviews, go here.

Disclaimer: I received a full subscription from tjed.org in return for my honest opinion and review.