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UltraKey Online Review

We are currently reviewing UltraKey Online Family Subscripton from Bytes of Learning in our homeschool. My kids love it! This program really makes learning to type fun.

UltraKey Online Family Subscription

UltraKey Online

Typing Course

Easy To Use

Self Paced

Family Subscription for up to 8 people

Ages 5+ – Adult

(8+ independent, and ages 5-7 with parental involvement)

Engineered for all Mac OS X and Windows computers

UltraKey is a self paced typing program, and likely the only typing training program you’ll ever need. All you need is a subscription, a computer with a keyboard, and internet service. You can set personal goals and proceed to achieve them at your own pace. It is adaptable to various ages and skill levels.

Lessons:

UltraKey Online lessons are self paced and accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There are 12 main lessons and you can use the program at your convenience and take as long as you need to master each lesson. UltraKey Online uses voice supported instruction, and the lesson format includes audio voice, video, and graphic animation. Lessons appeal to a wide range of learning styles and skill levels.

Dashboard:

Each student has their own dashboard. From your dashboard, it is easy to access lessons, set goals, see progress, print awards, and generate and print reports too.

The parent / family administrator also has a dashboard and can view and access the records, goals, reports, etc of all of their students at the same time or view each student individually.

Goals and Reports:

UltraKey has a great record keeping system. It is easy to access everything you need and helps parents review and keep up with their students progress. Parents can adjust program settings to guide the students as they operation the program, or leave it in default mode and the student can control their own settings. You can easily print progress reports for individual students to keep in their portfolio and also reports for the entire class of students if you are teaching more than one.

Parents and students can also create or import their own content for further practice or customized practice if desired. The program is flexible and allows you the option to import occupation-related, religious, or topics of your choice for practice and testing.

UltraKey is individualized learning and practice. You can choose from several different levels from beginner to very advanced. Many different options are available for challenge levels and the amount of practice can be tweaked to your individual preferences. It helps identify remedial problems and offers help if needed. Other ways UltraKey encourages progress is that it praises the student as typing improves and congratulates students when goals are achieved.

Game Zone

Game Zone is a lot of extra fun for the kids if they want to use it. It helps build typing knowledge and fluency.

There are different categories to choose from such as:

Mixed Up Words
Spelling’s Important
What’s Missing
To The Finish
Rhymin
Capitals Capitols

International Typing Performance Standard

With UltraKey Online, you can also generate certifiable typing performance reports based on International typing assessment standards. Below are the key International standards set for typing performance:

5 keystrokes is a typing word.
The gross speed is the number of typed words per minute.
A typing word error is any typing word with one or more errors in it.
The net speed score is the gross speed less a penalty of 2 typing words per typing word error, per minute.
The best speed is the highest net typing speed.
The accuracy score is the number of correct keystrokes, divided by the overall number of keystrokes completed.

Video

Here is a video that explains more about how UltraKey Online works.

Our Experience

I am very pleased with our Family Subscription to UltraKey Online. Before using it with our kids, I spent some time exploring the instructional interface, and the management dashboard to familiarize myself with the program.

In the “Dashboard” section, I can set goals and choose various settings. I can also let my older kids set their own goals and give them more freedom to create their own unique experience with the program.

All three of my older boys (ages 17, 15, 13) have used this program for 20 to 30 minutes almost every day. They all love using it. Two of the three boys are audio visual learners. One of the three boys can easily learn from just about any kind of program regardless if it is audio visual or not. This program has met the needs of all three of them.

Two of my younger kids have also used it a few times a week though they are proceeding much slower than the older kids.

The fact that the kids can play the video lessons, and listen to the instructions, and then follow the examples has been a great help to them. They started out completing the introductory videos, setting up his dashboard preferences, and set their typing level to beginner and practice level to heavy. At the end of practice each day they do skills checks and typing tests. Each day they practice, they make more and more gains in this program.

The 13 year old has improved from typing 7 words per minute to 27 words per minute with 99% to 100% accuracy consistently.

He just finished the program two days ago, got his diploma, and asked me to wipe the program clean so he can start over and improve his score.

After he started over and rewached everything from the beginning, his first few lessons and skill checks he was already mastering 34 words per minute. We will see if he maintains that and continues to improve. He is highly motivated to master this program.

My 15 year old really loves this program too. He has improved from typing 10 words per minute to typing 24 words per minute with 100% accuracy.

Here is an example of the progress the 15 year old made during three of the lessons and skill tests. Each day he worked through the program, I could see that he put in his best effort.

Skills test 1: 10 words in 1 minute 96%

Skills test 2: 20 words in 2 minutes 99%

Skills test 3: 22 words in 2 minutes with 99% accuracy.

and so on.

Every day when he is finished, he prints out a report of his skills check. It records what he typed, for how long, how many wrong keys, missed keys, additional keys, etc and generates a score of words per minute/accuracy percentage/result of passing or not. This has been great feedback for him.

My 17 year old is an independent learner. He has taken a typing class before, but did not have this kind of instant feedback to his efforts and see these kind of results. He is really enjoying this program and has improved from typing 15 words per minute to currently typing 30 words per minute with 99% to 100% accuracy.

UltraKey Online Family Subscription is great for a wide range of ages in the family. My kids are enjoying using it. The younger kids need more time and practice than the older ones to grasp the concept, but they too are doing really well with the program. I hope to start my youngest son as well as my husband and myself as students on it soon since we have the large family subscription with space for up to 8 people of any age from the same family. I can’t wait to see my own typing skills improve as much as I have watched my kids skills improve. The results from this program are very impressive!

Social Media

Be sure to check out Bytes of Learning and the UltraKey Online Family Subscription on their social media links for all the latest news, updates, and product information.

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/bytesoflearning/

YouTube https://www.youtube.com/user/BytesofLearning

Blog https://www.bytesoflearning.com/blog

Homeschool Review Crew

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Shepherd, Potter, Spy and the Star Namer Review

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Our family was recently sent Shepherd, Potter, Spy — and the Star Namer by Peggy Consolver – Author to review.

After I read the first four chapters to the kids aloud, my 12 year old son snatched the book from me and I didn’t get to finish reading until he was done! We tried everything to get his attention, to get him to share the book, even to get him to notice we were still breathing, but nothing could deter him from reading this book! He couldn’t and wouldn’t put it down! Not even big brothers or little brothers could entice him to put it down! This has never happened before!

Even food and bedtime didn’t distract him. By day or by night, even with the help of a flash light…he was determined to read and read and read…all 379 PAGES!

Shepherd, Potter, Spy — and the Star Namer

Paperback

379 Pages

46 Chapters

Retails $15.99

This story is historical fiction about a teenage boy who lived a long long time ago in the valley of Canaan. His name is Keshub and he is the youngest of five boys in his family. They are from the Gibeonite village and have strong family and community bonds and traditions. The book contains 46 chapters packed into 379 pages and includes additional pages for: Character and Relationship List, and Discussion Questions.

Even though the characters are fictional, many of the events, cultural aspects, and places are real. The true story of Kesheb’s people is told in the bible in the book of Joshua and the pivotal event for his people securing their future can be found in Joshua 9 and 10.

Keshub is a shepherd boy and tends his flocks every day. He is the son of a potter who earns a living making pots and selling or trading them with Caravans who travel through the Canaan valley. Keshub hears many stories of far away places and events not so far away from the travelers. The Gibeonites learn about the God of the Hebrews and how he protects, provides, and blesses them. They hear about the other tribes in the nearby areas being conquered in warfare with the Hebrews and as they approach their land, they decide to make a peace treaty with them.

Kesheb’s life is anything from boring. Everyday he must care for his sheep and defend them from predators. During the story we learn about an evil Ammorite King that lives nearby and Keshub becomes friends with his son. There is danger and risk involved through out the story. Keshub also serves as a young spy to keep an eye on the Hebrews as they advance in their conquest. His people have to choose to make a treaty with the approaching Hebrew army or make a treaty with the evil king to fight the Hebrews.

If God is for them, who can be against them? Be sure to pick up a copy of this book, to find out the rest of the story!

Peggy Consolver – Author

Peggy Consolver has lived a very interesting life. She grew up on a farm, went to college, and has been married 48 years. She and her husband have two kids and five grandkids. She is president of the Plano Garden Club, State Chairman of the Flower Show Schools for Texas Garden Clubs, Inc. Peggy is also an NGC Master Flower Show judge and Texas Design Consultant. In the past she served thirty seven years as a Sunday School teacher. She has a lot of interesting life experiences including traveling to Israel on a real archaeology dig which she based many details in her book on. Read more about Peggy Consolver and her inspiring archaeological trip.

Free Online Study Guide

Peggy Consolver has created a free online study guide called Digging Deeper Into HIStory to help further the learning, (She also has a print copy with more resources for sale, check the website for details). In the free study guide there are several links to websites and videos to help you learn more about what life is like in the region Kesheb lived. In the guide you will learn about a rock sling, bow making, how to braid cord and make rope, maps, stars in the sky, animals and predators that live in the region of ancient Israel, etc.

The free Digging Deeper Into HIStory study guide is divided into 13 Units:

Unit 1:
The Bible Dictionary: Gezer Calendar
The Syrian Brown Bear: A Brief Overview

Unit 2:
Alpha Centauri: The Closest Star System to Our Sun
Israeli Mammals

Unit 3:
Instructions for Plaiting and Braiding

Unit 4:
Google Search: Aerial Views of Jerusalem
Sacred Destinations: Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem

Unit 5:
Honey: Its Medicinal Property and Antibacterial Activity
How to Make a Tripod Lashing
Watch video: making square lashing.

Unit 6:
Tutankamun’s Senet Board
Watch video: Wadi Mujib Nature Preserve

Unit 7:
The Jewish Virtual Library: Jericho
Watch video: Intro to Bow Making

Unit 8:
Mt. Hermon Pictures

Unit 9:
Weapons Universe: Bronze Age Weapons
Watch video: How to use a sling

Unit 10:
Smokey Bear: Elements of Fire
How to Make a Fire

Unit 11:
Israel’s Nature Site: Mantids of Israel
National Geographic: Praying Mantis Overview

Unit 12:
Wild Fibres: Linen and Flax

Unit 13:
Bible History: Biblical Archaeology News 2016

Our Thoughts Using This Book and Study Guide In Our Home:

This book is very well written with lots of details. The story builds suspense and it is hard to put it down. It is so interesting that my 12 year old spent all his spare time reading the book and several nights stayed up past his bedtime.

So I thought it would be a good idea for him to share his opinion of this book, in his own words as our official review.

“I was inspired by this book. It gave me a new perspective of the bible and the Lord. I like the character Keshub because he has faith in the Lord and because he never gave up when times were rough. He had a lot of rough times. He fought a bully, a lion, a bear, and a soldier. Each situation he had faith that God would work it out for him.”

“I was also inspired because he took care of sheep and took care of his family and his friend. He was brave even when things were dangerous and even when others were evil. He used a sling with stones to fight a bear and the lion. He used a dagger to fight a soldier. He always wanted to learn to sword fight the enemy and he wanted to provide for his family. He trusted the Lord with all his heart and with everything in his life.”

“I enjoyed reading this book. The only thing I wish the author would have added was another 439 pages. I didn’t want the story to end.” Joseph

We also enjoyed using the free Digging Deeper into HIStory Study Guide. We enjoy learning how to make things ourselves that people used throughout history to live. They didn’t have modern abundance of products and plastic or a Walmart up the street, so folks had to make what they needed from raw materials they could find or buy from the craftsman or trade for.

My son would like to make his own cordage, leather, and also a rock sling and practice using it. He enjoyed learning and has watched other videos showing how to make these slings from leather and also from weaving grass and use them with larger rocks for hunting prior to doing this study. This would be useful to learn how to use a rock sling if you were hungry and had to hunt for a bird or if you needed to discourage a predator.

He has been wanting to make his own primitive hunting bow for a while. It was interesting to see the bow made in the unit study link, even though it is made in a workshop with modern tools and is very different from the primitive bow made by hand he eventually plans to make. Modern tools have shortened the time it takes to make things people depended on for survival for thousands of years.

Kesheb had to survive with ancient tools and ancient technology. We like learning about ancient technology and life skills. We have learned a lot from “how to” videos. These videos show how to use ancient skills with free resources in your own backyard, a field, or a forest, to create pottery and tools by a youtube channel called “Primative Technology”. We refered back to these videos as we did the study guide and compared them with the suggested videos. I would encourage folks to do the same as these videos give kids even more understanding about making tools by hand and ancient pottery like Kesheb’s people would have used. It would enhance their understanding of ancient Canaanite life and enhance the study guide even more. I would also encourage folks to read about Joshua and the Gibeonites in their bible.

This is a great historical fiction book. I would encourage every homeschool to read Shepherd, Potter, Spy — and the Star Namer and include the Digging Deeper into HIStory Study Guide. This book and unit study was right in my son’s interest range and we were very glad for this opportunity to review it.

Videos about the book:

Social Media Links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/peggy.consolver

Blog: http://peggyconsolver.com/blog-right/

Homeschool Review Crew:

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First Form Greek Review

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My oldest son is fascinated by ancient Greek, Hebrew, and Roman history, their cultures, weapons, and their languages. He is in high school and working towards his graduation transcript requirements. Thankfully, Memoria Press has many wonderful curriculum options that meet his variety of interests as well as requirements.

He was thrilled to receive First Form Greek Complete Set by Memoria Press to review in our homeschool. This course includes everything he needs to learn the ancient Greek language and it will meet his high school transcript language requirements. This course fit perfectly in reaching his interests and goals.

First Form Greek Complete Set

Grades 7-12

Retail $125

The First Form Greek Complete Set includes resources for both the student and the parent teacher. It includes everything you need for learning ancient Greek. Even though this is a beginner / intermediate level course for older students, it is recommended for the student to have some prior knowledge of Latin Language and to have learned the Greek Alphabet. Spending extra time learning Lesson 1 in the book will also help a new student learn this program if they have no prior experience. See the course recommendations on the website for more details.

The First Form Greek Complete Set contains the following:

For the Student:

Lessons DVD

Pronunciations CD

Student Text

Student Workbook

Flash Cards

For the Parent / Teacher

Teacher Manual

Teacher Keys

Quizes & Tests Booklet

First Form Greek covers general vocabulary and grammar in a logical organized method. The goal after finishing First Form Greek, is for the student to have mastered:

130 vocabulary words
Six indicative active tenses of the “omega” verb
Present tense of the “to be” verb
Two noun declensions
First & second declension adjectives
Personal & demonstrative pronouns

If your student desires to go further in their Greek studies, after completing First Form Greek, they will be better prepared for further studies in Greek New Testament and Septuagint or Classical Greek and understanding of Greek authors.

Items in the Complete Set:

Teacher Manual:

The First Form Greek Teacher Manual has everything the parent teacher needs to teach this class. You don’t need prior experience, all the answers and explanations are provided for you and you can learn as you go.

The Teacher Manual contains:

a full copy of the Student Text with answers in color,

lesson plans for each day,

recitation schedule for each week,

oral drills,

parsing and analysis of Greek sayings,

references to similar linguistic features in Latin.

additional notes.

Quizzes & Tests booklet:

The Quizzes & Tests booklet contains:

reproducible weekly quizzes

unit tests that ensure material is being mastered,

and a grading rubric for the teacher.

Teacher Key:

The Teacher Key booklet contains:

answers to the workbook

answers to quizzes

answers to tests.

DVD Set:

The set of 5 DVD’s contains:

8 hours of instructions covering

10-20 minutes step by step lessons used at the beginning of each week.

Teacher: Elizabeth Pierce

Oral Drills

On Screen Examples

Onscreen Charts

CD:

The CD contains:

Pronunciation,

vocabulary,

sayings,

grammar forms for each lesson.

Student Text:

The Student Text contains:

26 Lessons + 5 Unit Reviews,

Lessons are on two facing pages.

The student text provides a presentation of grammar in five units that cover 26 step by step lessons. It includes appendices with English grammar, prayers, conversational Greek, a vocabulary index, etc.

Student Workbook:

The Student Workbook is focussed on logical practice and mastery of concepts and contains:

6 pages of exercises per lesson,

Lesson exercises to be completed in 4 days

Blank drill forms

Weekly reviews of vocabulary and grammar on day 5.

Unit reviews.

Flashcards:

Flashcards contain:

vocabulary,

Greek sayings,

grammar forms.

Our Thoughts Using First Form Greek

All of the resources in this set are wonderful high quality products. So much is included to help you be successful and master Greek language skills. Even though they have provided everything you need, this course is not easy! It is very challenging and learning this language is harder than it looks!

This course is very well made. I would personally expect to find such an indepth course in college, so high school students interested in this are really blessed to have such a high quality resource to work with. I took French 1 and 2, German 1, and some intro in Latin for singers, in college and struggled learning languages because their were few resources. I personally would have been thrilled with all the resources that are included in this set if I had this class in college! It is very well put together.

My son and I found the DVD lessons to be an invaluable resource for this course. I don’t think we could get through the class without them. I know nothing about the Greek language, and it is very helpful to have a teacher on the DVD teach the lesson and demonstrate the correct pronunciation. I am also thankful for the Teacher Manual and Test Key, because I would be lost without them when grading and trying to search for answers to my son’s questions.

Another thing I like about the text book is that it includes scriptures and talks about Jesus and encourages our faith. I also like that it includes several pages of culture and ancient history with photos.

My son is very intelligent and focused in his personal learning objectives. He devours every piece of information he seeks out. He amazes me at his desire to learn knowledge. There isn’t a day that goes by that he hasn’t done some extensive research into a subject.

He has taken an introductory class for Latin, and has learned a few Greek phonemes. We moved in the middle of his Greek phonemes class, but expected he knew enough about Greek to take this course and do well in it. We both thought he was better prepared to start this class than he actually was.

He went at it full force in the beginning and gave it his best effort for a few stressful weeks. But he soon got discouraged because learning Greek was more challenging than he planned.

I would have probably given up by now trying to learn this language in my teenage or young adult years. When something was over my head, and I felt like I was failing, I would cut ties with it unless I could find a tutor or another solution to help me learn it. I was blessed in college to find wonderful tutors and later able to become a tutor myself because I had such good caring examples. My perspective about learning difficult things has changed as I am much older now, and the mother of six kids. My attitude now is “don’t sweat the small stuff” and “don’t take everything life hands you so seriously” and pray and ask for guidance and keep going until you reach your goal.

After thinking through it, he decided to let go of the pressure of trying to do a lesson a week and continue his studies at a more relaxed and slower pace.

What we found that is currently working better for him is to spend more time watching and re-watching the video lesson of the week as he begins his Greek study each day to get it into his memory before reciting the words and phrases and trying to work in his workbook. He has everything he needs so he can work independently at his own pace. Next to him he set up his laptop to watch the DVD lesson as much as needed, and he has his text book and workbook right there too. After watching the DVD lesson he reads the text lesson. Then he can work on recitation, flash cards, and write in his workbook. I only ask him to work 1 page a day in his workbook instead of the recommended two pages. At this slower pace, each lesson will take him two weeks to complete instead of 1 week. That is fine with me.

He is learning at a slower pace, and most importantly, at his own pace. That is the beauty of homeschooling, you can adjust where you study and adjust the curriculum to fit each kid’s skills and interests as needed. He is trying to absorb as much as he can in these high school years without getting overwhelmed as he tries to complete everything on the recommended highschool transcript for college. He is wise in his young years to not give up, to try to think outside the box, and to keep pursuing his goals. He is learning that you can adjust, life is flexible, and don’t sweat the small stuff.

I would highly recommend this course for folks who have taken introductory courses in Greek and those who are planning to study Greek on a college level. Memoria Press has several lower level Greek courses to get started with if you have never had Greek before. We plan to use the Elementary Greek courses and the Greek Alphabet course for our younger kids before letting them jump into this class that our older son is doing. Learning Greek will be a bit easier if they tackle those courses first. Be sure to check out the website recommendations and all of the various Greek language products they have to offer for different skill levels and ages.

Social Media

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/memoriapress/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/memoriapress/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MemoriaPress
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/memoriapress/

Homeschool Review Crew

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Bessie’s Pillow Book Review

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What would immigrating to America in 1906 be like? What if you were only 18 years old, female, and came by boat from Lithuania? What if you were in a life and death escape of persecution because you were born a Jew? I was thrilled to receive Bessie’s Pillow published by Strong Learning, Inc. and follow the journey of Bessie.

Bessie’s Pillow

Soft Cover

279 Pages

Retail $15.00

This book is the life story of Boshka Markman who’s name was changed to Elizabeth (Bessie) when she immigrated to the USA in 1906. She overcame tremendous obstacles and struggles. Along the journey she showed kindness, determination, wit, and she successfully made the transition in a new culture and a new life.

Bessie is a survivor and makes her own way in America. Most women of the day were still in their “approved” roles, submissive to cultural norms, and did what they were told. But Bessie showed an inner strength and resilience mixed in with her own independence that allowed her to survive on her own and make her own way. She was business minded and knew how to work a deal and worked her way towards her goals. She rejected many of the cultural norms of the day, including opinions from family and the Rabbi, and finds her own way.

Before leaving Lithuania, a woman gave her a hand made pillow and asked her to find her son and give it to him. He had also immigrated to America some time earlier. Bessie wasn’t sure how she would find this person, but she enjoyed the comfort of the pillow on her journey. She eventually does find the young man, Nathan Dreizen and they fall in love and get married. They work hard, build a business, buy a home, and establish their own family in America. When her husband dies, she has to learn how to cope on her own and earn money to care for the family so she takes over her husband’s business, a role that is typically only reserved for males in society. She also becomes a mortgage lender for family and friends to help them get a start in buying a home and reaching their goals too.

Though the book is written as historical fiction, Bessie is a real person and most of the information in the book really happened to her. The book covers her life between the years of about 1904 to 1936. The books is written on a reading level for older students and adults, though younger students will enjoy it too.

We loved reading this story! The experiences shared are realistic and were actually experienced by many immigrants when they left their home country and came to America at this time in history. Bessie faced huge obstacles being a young Jewish woman, that she had to overcome at this time in history. Bessie’s Pillow will keep you on the edge of your seat as you experience the ups and downs and tragedies and successes right along with this amazing young woman. My son loves reading and he enjoyed reading about Bessie’s journey and gives the book two thumbs up.

Video about Bessie:

Unit Study

Bessie’s America is a wonderful FREE online Unit Study Guide full of links to cross curricular resources that go along with Bessie’s Pillow. This guide was created especially for middle and high school age students but can be used by the whole family for discussions and to further the learning in American history and cultural heritage, etc, and gives a lot of additional background. Bessie’s America is an interactive, multi-media guide for use by Teachers, Parents, and Students. The links and resources are helpful for students to do additional research.

There are additional study questions, and learning projects in Bessie’s Pillow Teacher Guide.

These additional resources will assist students in exploration of the cultural background, various musicals and theater, movies, radio, immigration, the Progressive Era, events, diseases, food and recipes, places, famous people and life events that Bessie and her family experienced.

Author Linda Bress Silbert:

The book is written by Bessie’s granddaughter, Linda Bress Silbert as told to her by her mother. Her mother asked her for many years to write the book. Linda has included some family photos at the back of the book that show several aspects of her Grandmother’s life. She has also included many additional cultural and historical events in the back of the book to further the learning of the reader.

In addition to writing this wonderful historical fiction novel about her grandmother Bessie, Linda and her husband are also the owners of the StrongLearning.com publishing and tutoring company.

They have written over 40+ children’s books, plus additional books for parents and teachers. They have sold over a million copies of their books over the years. They have also dedicated over 40 years to improving the lives and educational opportunities of children and provide a lot of great resources on their website.

Full Video is available about the process of how Bessie’s Pillow was written and came together. Linda tells a very interesting and humorous way she gathered the stories of her grandmother and put the book together. She says the book is 95% actual events of her grandmother’s life, and about 5% of the book comes from research she did about that time period in history.

Social Media Links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BessiesPillow
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BessiesPillow

Homeschool Review Crew

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Creating a Masterpiece Review

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Creating A Masterpiece is an online Fine Arts Masterpiece program for students of all ages. They offer affordable and easy to follow step by step instructions by master artist Sharon Hofer.

We were given a 6 month subscription to the Monthly Plan for our whole family to use in exchange for trying it out and writing an honest review. I was so inspired by the instructor that I am doing these art project lessons right along with my kids. It is a lot of fun!

Creating A Masterpiece Monthly Plan

Online Fine Art Instruction

All Ages

Video Lesson (online)

Supply List (online and PDF)

144 Lessons

18 Media

58+ Fine Art Projects

Retail: $39 month.

This is an online fine arts program with 144 lessons covering 58+ projects. The projects are divided into 5 skill levels plus an Art History section. The projects cover 18 different media types. This program is flexible and you can choose to work on a specific skill level or with a particular media. It is recommended to complete at least one lesson a week. How you choose to progress through the program is up to you. You can also move around in the program however it best suits your needs.

Levels:

Beginner
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
Level 5
Art History

ART MEDIUM:

18 different media are covered in the lessons and you can choose work with specific media rather than work on a specific level:

Acrylic
Batik
Block Printing
Carving
Conte’ Crayon
Copper Tooling
Glass Mosaic
Gouache
Ink
Mixed Media
Oil Painting
Oil Pastel
Pencil/Charcoal
Sculpture
Silk Painting
Soft Pastel
Watercolor
Wood Burning

Projects:

There are 58+ different projects. You will need to decide on the project (choose either by level or by media) you wish to work on. Click on that lesson and go over the supply list as well as watch the video(s) to begin the project.

Each beginner lessons take about 1 hour or so to complete. Most upper level projects have 3 to 5 lessons, and a few projects have as many as 7 lessons built in, so those projects will take longer to complete.

Check out this short 11 minute video of a young girl completing an online lesson and you will see how easy this program is for kids of all ages.

Supplies:

Each project has it’s own list of supplies needed. Supply costs vary depending on the project you choose, and you may have some items currently on hand in your home, or you may need to purchase supplies in the craft section of your local store or online. The program does not dictate how you buy the supplies, you are free to pick up your supplies however it works best for you to acquire them.

Sample:

If you would like to “try before you buy”, then check out the “Lessons in Soft Pastel” FREE Sample Lesson. This is an excellent way to see how this program works. You can also get the complete supply list of all the projects when you are given access for the sample lesson.

Art Teacher Sharon Hofer:

Sharon is dedicated and passionate that every student young and old regardless of skill level has the opportunity to create beautiful artwork and she is confident every student will excel with her program.

Sharon Hofer, has learned, mastered, and taught almost all forms of art media. She began her love of art as a young child, and began her career teaching art while she was still a student in highschool. She helped as a teaching assistant for the elementary grade art classes. She went on to college and learned every media of art she could so that she could be the best teacher she could be. She became a pastor’s wife. She then homeschooled her own kids and taught them art. She then taught other homeschool art classes in larger settings and her home art studio grew to over 180+ students a week.

She loves teaching art!

A quote from her website: “…you will be amazed at what they can do. As you will see, children as young as 4 – 5 can make masterpieces using media usually reserved for the high school student and beyond.” Sharon

Sharon is the owner and teacher of Creating A Masterpiece online fine art program, and the Hidden Acres Art School. She has taught art classes professionally for over 16+ years. She includes many forms of art media in her lessons so that each student has fine art instruction and exposure to a variety of learning opportunities.

Using this program with my family:

I love this teacher!!! Before I did any research about Sharon’s background, that she was a homeschool mom, loved kids and teaching, or that she was a pastor’s wife, I felt a deep love for her. I can’t explain it. There was something so special about the way she presented herself and encouraged me right through the computer screen. I knew she cared about me and my kids even though I had not met her in person.

I really like this program. Sharon is so easy to follow and very encouraging. I have never heard an art teacher so easy to follow and interesting to listen to. She is so encouraging that I want to, I desire to, make these projects. I am sure that sounds weird to someone who has not heard her speak, but trust me when I tell you that you will want to work on the project after you hear her teach the lesson. You feel like you can do it!

This program is flexible in choosing what projects you want to do and when you want to do your lessons. We can log into our account from any computer, any time of day, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and fit these lessons into our life where they fit best.

To do a lesson, my kids log into our account. Then the kids gather the listed materials. Next they begin implementing the steps they learned in the lesson.

You can listen to the lesson over and over again as you work and pause it whenever it is needed. For example, you may want to let your masterpiece dry before moving onto another step, so pausing at a specific step is a good idea. Also some of the lessons are broken down into short videos so you naturally pause between one video and the next.

We did improvise some of the materials where we needed too. For example, for the lessons in watercolors, we didn’t have sponges on hand, so we used paper towels or just got extra water on our brushes to achieve similar (but not quite as nice) affects. We also didn’t have the “nicer” paper for painting, so we used the paper we had on hand. Sharon says in the water color lessons the lesser grade paper will wrinkle a little more as it gets wet and she gives instructions to iron the paper when completed to reduce wrinkles in the final product. It still worked out great! No worries!

Lessons in watercolors:

The first lesson we chose to do was a beginner level watercolor lesson with flowers. The lesson was divided into three short videos about 4 minutes, 5 minutes, and 6 minutes in duration. After we watched the videos, we sat down to do the lesson and paused the video as needed and complete the steps as you let the project dry for a bit then watch the next section and complete it. Overall, the video and art project took about 45 minutes to 1 hour for each of my kids to complete. This was very easy to do and motivated us to do more.

Floral Medley Project:

Lessons in Watercolor: Floral Medley

There are 3 videos in this project comprising one lesson for beginners. The goal is to simply explore colors of flowers using water color paints and try to keep the main focus in the middle third of the page while placing various faded flower colors throughout the page. Sharon teaches you the basics of watercolor and you can put your own ideas with it and use your imagination.

The kids spread out throughout the house and got busy with their first project. Some followed the steps closely and some improvised their projects.

Field of Wheat in watercolors:

More random flowers with watercolors:

Landscape Projects:

African Sunset

Another lesson in watercolors is painting landcapes. This lesson shows how to paint an African landscape that includes a blazing sun. Sharon has traveled to Africa many times and shares her first hand experience in creating this masterpeice. This beginner lesson is made up of 2 videos and was a little more complicated than the floral medley lesson.

My son was working on a landscape picture here. You need to let projects with watercolors dry in between stages so he was working on different ones giving him something to do while one was drying. I took these pictures before he was through creating them.

Other landscape projects:

Another son wanted to paint from his experience and enjoys the flowers (lupines) in bloom in the front yard. He wanted to make his landscape picture look like them. The front yard is an open space surrounded by pine trees with a sky above and the grass in front of the trees is filled with lupines in bloom.

Painting a yard landscape of lupines:

A younger sibling went out and picked a few to compare his picture to and he did a beautiful job expressing his idea of a field of lupines.

Lessons in Pencils:

Sunflower Project

Lessons in Pencil: Sunflower

The Sunflower project is comprised of 6 lessons divided into 14 videos. “The students will start by drawing basic shapes and finish with a beautiful masterpiece. You will understand the importance of value as you learn how to shade. In creating this masterpiece you will be using tools such as kneading erasers, stiff-bristled brush, and tortillons.” (from the website).

My son age 12, not yet finished working on his sunflower:

Other sketches:

Using these lessons and the art work listed in the references, he sketched a sailboat

and also sketched a dog:

And he sketched a bird too:

Planning The Next Project:

There are so many options for wonderful projects with this program. The next lesson I am looking forward to learning is working with clay (and I would like to work with concrete too). My kids don’t have any experience with clay. I have very little experience when I did ceramics in 4H as a child and made a few free hand projects. That was over 30+ years ago. I think I would enjoy creating projects with clay. We are not really interested in making sculptures per se. but we are interested in making useful items with clay. Sharon has a Level 1 Lesson working with self hardening clay and make’s a turtle in that lesson. I think the techniques she teaches will be helpful as we work towards our goals.

Personally I want to make things that are practical and useful that I can put in the garden. I would like them to serve a function such as to hold compost to feed worms, or collect water, or keep the birds from eating my seeds and fruits or interesting pots for plants to climb and drape from. I am not sure yet what kind of clay will work for that or if I will need to consider a different type of media to use outdoors. Some other future projects with clay or concrete I would like my family to do are earthen vessels that can hold water, vessels that can hold or cook food, beautiful flower pots, stepping stones and stone mosaics to walk out to the garden on and decorate some flower beds, and a bird bath for another area in the front of the house along the sidewalk. I would like to make an outdoor oven that is beautiful and functional so I can bake bread and pizza but yet it is a work of art too.

Final thoughts:

The instructions for each lesson and clear and easy to follow and you can make improvisations where you want. It is flexible and so simple to do. Everyone can create a masterpiece!

There are lots of art programs out there. Some are in book form, and some are classes you attend. Some are also in video format and you can use them right from the comfort, convenience, and freedom in your schedule right in your home.

If you are looking for an art program you can do from home, 27/7 at anytime day or night, with a competent art teacher and benefit from the most savings to your wallet, then I would encourage you to buy a subscription to Creating A Masterpiece monthly plan or yearly plan. I believe these lessons are more affordable and flexible and better instruction than other programs I have seen.

Low Cost divided into monthly, yearly, or various skill levels subscription plan. An entire family (we have 8 people in our family) can use this program learning multiple kinds of media, for less than half of what it normally cost for 1 student to receive art instruction using only one form of media.

Choose a plan that meets the needs of your family:

If you bought the monthly plan for $39 a month, and you have 1 kid and he did one project a week, then each lesson would cost you about $10 plus your supplies. This is very reasonable for professional instruction and convenience.

However, if you know you need more than just a few months worth of lessons, then consider the yearly plan subscription for $349 a year. 1 kid using the yearly plan completing only 1 project a week, your lesson costs would be about $6.71 ($349 / 52 = 6.71). You are already saving money! If your 1 child did two lessons a week, your cost would be $3.49 (349 / 52 / 2 = 3.49) for each lesson. See where I am going with this? The more lessons your child completes, the less each lesson costs.

But lets change up this a bit and look at it from my point of view. I have six kids and using this program for art lessons is a huge savings for us. Both the monthly and yearly plans are much more affordable than buying individual lessons in town for my kids.

In my case, our family will see a huge savings! If you are in the same boat as me and you have 6 kids and each kid completes 1 lesson per week, then on the monthly plan would cost $1.62 (39 subscription / 4 weeks / 6 kids = 1.62) per child per week each month. WOW! The year subscription would cost even less at $1.12 (349 subscription / 52 weeks / 6 kids = 1.12) per child per lesson plus art supplies. I wouldn’t be able to go anywhere for art lessons for my children for this price. I am truly thankful this high quality and affordable art program is available to us.

Social Media Links:

Facebook Creating a Masterpiece

Youtube Sharon Hofer

Homeschool Review Crew

Be sure to check out what other Homeschool Review Crew members had to say about using Creating a Masterpiece with their families.

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Circle C Stepping Stones Review

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If you are looking for a wholesome and fun book series for your kids to read, then give your kids access to the Circle C books written by Susan K. Marlow available through Kregel Publications. My kids are HOOKED! Don’t even try to pry these books from their hands!

We were recently sent two new books by Susan K Marlow to review from the Andi series, Circle C Stepping Stones : Andi Saddles Up and Andi Under the Big Top .

The Circle C book series are wonderful! They focus on the life adventures of a girl named Andrea Carter (Andi), her family (brothers, sister, mom, dad (he passed away when she was around 6 or so). You also learn about her relationships with ranch hands, the housekeeper, and her various friends.

Each Circle C book series about Andi’s life is set in the late 1800’s (1870’s-1880’s) in rural California, and is a historical work of fiction. Many of the historical facts are true even though the actual characters are made up. These stories are well written and include a glossary of new “vocabulary words” at the beginning, beautiful hand drawn illustrations, and at the end of the book is a “History Fun” section that gives more details about different aspects of life in the 1800’s.

Through out all of the Circle C stories, in all the different series, kids learn about what life was like in the Old West. The main setting of the series is Andi’s family’s ranch and sometimes involve her trips to various events or places in town.

All of the books are written from Andi’s point of view. We learn about challenges she faces, her hopes and dreams, the goals she works towards, her relationship with God and building her faith, her love for animals, and her relationships with friends and family and ranch hands who help out around the farm. Kids also learn many details that go into homesteading and taking care of horses.

There are six Circle C Stepping Stones books in all:

Book 1: Andi Saddles Up
Book 2: Andi Under the Big Top
Book 3: Andi Lassos Trouble (November 2017)
Book 4: Andi to the Rescue (November 2017)
Book 5: Andi Dreams of Gold (July 2018)
Book 6: Andi Far from Home (July 2018)

My kids and I highly recommend these books. The Circle C books are fun to read and are a great collection of interesting and character building stories for kids. They will challenge your kids to trust God and do the right thing when they face choices in life. The only questionable side effect of letting your kids read these books might be that every kid will want to own a horse! Put these books in their hands and your kids will be HOOKED too!

Andi Saddles Up

Andi Saddels Up

By Susan K Marlow

Illustrated by Leslie Gammelgaard

For kids (BOYS and GIRLS) ages 7-10

Paperback

104 Pages

ISBN # 978-0-8254-4430-2

Retail $7.99

The first book in the Circle C Stepping Stones series is called Andi Saddles Up. It takes place in the Old West in the spring of 1877. In this story, Andi turns 9 years old and earns the “grown up” rite of passage of freedom to ride her three year old horse named Taffy whenever she wants to and without supervision. This is a big deal because up till this point she used to ride under the supervision of her older brother which caused some internal conflict for her. She doesn’t always like her older brother bossing her, but he has stepped up to keep an eye on her safety and run the ranch since their father died. Also because the horse was young, she had to usually ride her bareback. But now the horse was old enough for the weight of a saddle and a rider.

Also during this story, Andi’s family is in a land dispute with another rancher because a flood changed the course of the creek boundary that bordered their properties. Andi’s family stands to loose a lot of acreage if they allow the other rancher to keep the land that was cut off by the creek. Her brother stands up to the other rancher and they struggle to resolve the conflict. During this time, Andi also becomes friends with a girl named Sadie. The girls have a lot in common, they both live on ranches, and they really like each other. When they learn their families are the ones arguing over the new boundary disagreement their friendship is put to the test. Due to some unforeseen circumstances when Andi gets hurt, the families learn to forgive and work through and overcome. So many powerful messages are conveyed through this book, it is a very exciting read for kids and adults too.

Andi Under the Big Top

Andi Under The Big Top

By Susan K Marlow

Illustrated by Leslie Gammelgaard

For kids (BOYS and GIRLS) ages 7-10

Paperback

112 Pages

ISBN # 978-0-8254-4431-9

Retail $7.99

When my kids were through with book one, they couldn’t wait to jump into book two. In Andi Under the Big Top, Andi goes to the Circus. This story is filled with excitement! My kids were on the edge of their seats!

After church one day, while waiting on her family, Andi finds out from a friend that the circus is coming to town. We have to wait a whole week with Andi until the “big day”. During the wait, she practices all sorts of silly tricks imagining herself in the circus. Finally the big day arrives and she goes with her brother and sister to see the circus and they ride on their horses all the way there.

At the circus, Andi meets a boy named Henry. He works for the circus. Andi thinks his life is great and exciting until she learns he is a runaway, and he is trapped working for the circus. She realizes his life is not so great and she feels sorry for him and wants to help him get free and return to his family. She takes a huge risk in helping him, and eventually her family helps him too. You will need to pick up a copy for yourself to hear the rest of the story!

This story is so exciting you just won’t be able to put the book down until you are through! Susan K Marlow has done such a great job with details and suspense and dealing with the real heart issues people experience in life in these books!

Additional Resources

Unit Study Guides

FREE Downloadable Unit Studies are available for each of her books.

Or you can purchase a printed 56 page copy of the study guide for the first two books (Andi Saddles Up and Andi Under the Big Top) in the Stepping Stones series level for $6.00.

Each Unit Study Guide that Susan K Marlow produces is filled with lots of cross curricular learning opportunities. Kids learn about history, geography with maps, culture, arts and crafts, science, language arts, bible study, math, music, and extra special project focus for each story like learning the Morse Code when we learned about the Telegraph, and about the bone structure in the arm and how to care for a broken bone, and wood working skills to build their very own set of wooden stilts (or you can make a different version with tin cans) and so much more.

Inside the study guide for each book is a suggested lesson plan with a 28 day schedule.

So if you followed this plan the way it is designed, and worked on one book and unit study guide curriculum and lapbook for 4 days a week, for about an hour +/- each time, it would take you 7 weeks to complete the whole thing. You could complete a lesson a day and finish in 4 weeks, or do it twice as fast and complete two lessons a day and finish it in 2 weeks. You can set your own pace. Your kids will be so excited to find out what happens next!

But if you want to go slower (my personal preference), and work on the book and unit study and lapbook about 2 days a week, giving it time to “sink in”, it would take you about 14 weeks to complete. Even if you only have time to work on this wonderful unit study 1 day a week, and fit it in for an hour+/-, this fun curriculum with interesting activities and projects, and lots of suspense that will keep your kids wanting more, this could last you a full 28 weeks! This curriculum is so flexible, it is a real homeschool treasure!

Coloring Pages

FREE Coloring Pages are available for each book. These are designed by the same illustrator of the books and are the pictures found scattered throughout different chapters. They are very detailed and beautiful!

Lapbooks

Lapbooks, lapbooks, lapbooks….they have lapbooks!!!

Did I mention they have lapbooks?

Lapbooks have been created (by A Journey for Learning) for each of Susan K Marlow’s books, with printables and projects and loads of fun! These work great along with Susan K Marlow’s Unit Study Guides for an awesome well rounded curriculum filled with projects. This is a wonderful way to further the learning. Your kids will have a fun “scrapbook” of memories of their learning adventure to share with family and friends when they are through.

We have completed one these lapbooks previously for another Circle C book by Susan K Marlow we reviewed called Tales from the Circle C Ranch . These lapbooks are so much fun to make, and they help kids tie all the learning together in a hands on way. We love using lapbooks and unit studies and they have been a big part of our homeschooling over the years because they make learning fun and easy for kids to remember and share what they have learned. These lapbooks created for the Circle C books are very well made with lots of fun projects and we would like to have them ALL!

Bundles

You can purchase the books by themselves for $7.99 as mentioned above, or you have the option to purchase the books and resources in various bundles. See the website for more details.

Paper Dolls

There are also beautiful paper dolls available. Pictured below are a few for you to see. Check the website for all the paper doll options available.

Author Susan K Marlow

Susan K Marlow has authored many books for children of all ages (I think there are 25+ books currently available). These books are fun and filled with adventures that will keep your kids interested all the way through. Susan is a homeschool mom who understands the needs of homeschool families for wholesome affordable and interesting curriculum that kids will enjoy. She lives with her husband on fourteen acres on a mountain in north-central Washington. She has four grown children and ten grandchildren.

In addition to a lot of great children’s books she has written, she has also authored unit study guides for EVERY book! She offers the guides in both a printed “for sale” option and digital download “for free” option too. These guides are cross curricular and help further the child’s learning about their faith in God, history, culture, crafts, science, math, music, language arts skills, and more. Susan is passionate about reading and writing and she has also authored a writing curriculum for kids called “Reach for the Stars“. She also sponsors an annual writing contest and shares giveaways on her blog. The writing contest is called Circle C Short-story Writing Contest.

Susan K Marlow books are divided into 5 different levels of wholesome reading fun. She is busy writing and adds in new books all the time. She has something to peak your interest for all ages!

In addition to the “Circle C Stepping Stones” level for kids ages 7-10, she has also written a “Circle C Beginnings” level for kids ages 6-9 , “Circle C Adventures” level for kids ages 9-13, “Circle C Milestones” level for kids ages 11 and older, as well as another series of books called “Goldtown Adventures” for ages 8-12, about the life of a boy named Jem who lives in an old mining town.

Check out this video about the “Beginnings” series:

Check out this video about the “Adventures” series:

Check out this video about the “Goldtown Adventures” series:

Final Thoughts

My kids have read several of the Circle C books and love them all. We are in the beginning stages of building a family library filled with these wonderful books. So far we have read six of Susan K Marlow’s books: Tales from the Circle C Ranch, Thick as Thieves, Heart Break Trail, The Last Ride, Andi Saddles Up and Andi Under the Big Top. My kids have asked me over and over to get all of the books available. That is a lot of books, and I want the study guides and lapbooks to use to complete the wonderful curriculum program too. So I have a long wish list!

The kids have really enjoyed learning about Andi’s life and how people lived in the Old West in the late 1800’s in rural California. I think anyone can relate to her life to because she has the same ups and downs as any kid growing up. But I think my kids can relate even more to some of the details about Andi living on a farm and caring for animals because we have homesteaded for several years too. We also have a big family of 6 kids, and they can all relate to Andi and her family relationships between brothers and sisters. These details make the stories so realistic, relatable, and her life journey is interesting, and the challenges she faces keeps the children asking for more.

As a parent, I am thankful there are wonderful authors like Susan K Marlow who write wholesome children’s books like these. We are looking forward to building an entire library and homeschool curriculum with these wonderful resources.

Kregel Publications

Since 1949, Kregel Publications has been supplying Christian resources to meet the spiritual needs of Christian families, schools, pastors, missionaries, teachers, and Christian leaders. They currently publish over 900 titles including books on Christian education and ministry, contemporary issues, Christian living, fiction, and biblical studies, as well as many reprints of classic literature. They offer something for everyone, so stop by their website and see what they have to meet the needs of your family too.

Social Media

Be sure to check out the various Social Media links for all the latest news and product updates:

Twitter (Kregel Books): https://twitter.com/KregelBooks
Twitter (Susan K Marlow): https://twitter.com/SuzyScribbles
Facebook (Kregel Books): https://www.facebook.com/KregelBooks/
Facebook (Susan K Marlow): https://www.facebook.com/SusanKMarlow?fref=ts
Youtube (Susan K Marlow): https://www.youtube.com/user/susankmarlow/videos?view=0&shelf_id=0&sort=dd
Andi’s Blog: https://circlecadventures.blogspot.com/

Homeschool Review Crew

Be sure to check out what other families on the Homeschool Review Crew have to say about using books and resources written by Susan K Marlow with their kids.

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Smoky Mountains ~ Here We Come! Review

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We are reading through Smoky Mountains ~ Here We Come! We were sent this wonderful book for review from the By the Way Book Series and it has given my kids and I a great way to start a discussion about the animals and their habitat in this wonderful mountain range of the USA.

Smoky Mountains ~ Here We Come!

“Discovering Biblical Truth in Everyday Life”

Hardback 10″ x 8″ Large Book

48 glossy full-color pages

For ages 5-12

Retail $14.99

This story is about two siblings: a brother named Alex, and his sister named Lexi, who went to spend three days and nights with their Uncle Ted who is a forest ranger in the Smoky Mountains. They decide to hike up the mountain and camp overnight in the wilderness.

It is spring time, and flowers are starting to bloom. As they travel along the hiking trails, they learn about lots of the wildlife that live there. They learn about God too and how he created this environment for the wildlife and people to live and flourish in.

Some of the animals, birds, reptiles, insects, and other fascinating facts kids learn about in this book are:

White tailed deer

Skunks

Black bears

Bobcats

Wolves

Salamanders

Otters

Elk

Northern short tailed shrew

Wood peckers

Ravens

Hummingbirds

Wrens

Snow birds or dark eyed Junco

Peregrine falcons

Butterflies

Mountains and different topography forms: waterfalls, bald,

Forests and different kinds of trees

Weather

Different kinds of flowers and plants

Different kinds of mushrooms and fungi

Fireflies and insects

Some other things my kids learned about in this book:

Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Appalachian mountain trail, specific landmarks on the trail like Clingman’s Dome, Cades Cove, Cherokee Indians, pioneers, Civil War, specific mountains that were named for historic events or famous people and also for ancient legends by the Cherokee Indians, and a mountain musical instrument called a dulcimer.

Video of a dulcimer playing “I’ll Fly Away”.

Another Video of an 1800’s replica of a dulcimer that was a bit more primitive than the ones we usually see played today.

There is also a mini-lesson on Geo Caching (finding clues and a location of “hidden treasure” in a weather proof/ waterproof box for you to find using GPS coordinates). This is a popular hobby but one we have not participated in before. We got out our GPS map on the phone, and also a compass, and a compass/whistle that someone would use on their journey during this activity. We might like to put together a Geo Caching activity in our local area soon.

Reading this book encouraged us to take a closer look at the wildlife around us and the habitat they live in. We used to live in the Appalachian mountains in the Blue Ridge region. We often went for a drive and visited the Smoky Mountain region that was only a few hours from where we lived. But now we live about 2 hours down the mountain and foothills from where we used to live. Now we live at a lower elevation in a forest covered area filled with pine trees, oak trees, maple trees and other hardwoods. We live next to a small pond, lots of woods with several local streams, and a large lake nearby too. So we have a wide variety of wildlife here and some we have in common with the mountain region too. We have seen woodpeckers, hawks, crows, lizards, snapping turtles, frogs, snakes, wild turkeys, fox, coyote, red cardinals, robins, deer, a raccoon, an opossum, worms, red fire ants, termites, beetles, and more. I will post a story about this soon, but here are a few pictures we have taken of the wildlife in our yard and nearby.

This snapping turtle crawled up to the fence in our yard and was trying to enter the gate when we spotted him.

In the book Smoky Mountains Here We Come, there are many real life photos of animals and historical people and places. My favorite photo is a an old time Mill House with a water wheel. We would often seen wonderful old barns and mill houses on our trips to see the mountains. I would love to hang that picture on the wall.

The illustrations on every page in this book are wonderful and kept my kids interested all the way through. This book is like a regional American geography, history, science, and bible study adventure all wrapped up in one.

Biblical Worldview

This book presents God’s amazing creation in the treasure of the Smoky Mountains from a biblical worldview. Along the way, kids are reminded often of God’s handiwork and his amazing creation.

We are stewards of this land. We can either be good stewards and care for it, or we can be reckless and neglectful stewards, the choice is ours. In his word, God instructs man to be good stewards of the land, animals, and resources. Jesus also shared several parables about good shepherds, wise servants, faithful caretakers. It is clear that God wants us to understand the He created all of this and he wants us to take care of it.

The book begins with the verse from Psalm 32:8 inside the front cover:

“I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou should go: I will guide thee with mine eye.”

The book ends with the verse from Psalm 97:6 inside the back cover:

“The heavens declare his righteousness…and all the people see his glory.

The book is loaded with scriptures to connect us to our Heavenly Father and remind kids and parents about our loving creator who made this wonderful bounty of life in so much variety and beauty.

Additional Resources Available

This book series is perfect for using as home school curriculum, family devotions, Sunday schools, clubs, and encouraging extra reading for kids too. You can use the book as a stand alone resource, or you can add to the learning by using maps, puzzles, games, field trips to the region of the country the book discusses or to visit a zoo to see the animals discussed, science experiments, writing assignments, research assignments on animals and habitats, spelling words, crafts, bible copy work, videos online about things discussed in the book etc. and turn this into an amazing learning journey filled with exploration.

Besides the books, there are additional resources available to further the learning with this wonderful book including: flash cards, activity guides, stuffed animals, and poster packs.

For an additional $2.50 you can purchase the flash cards.

The flash cards are full color and feature eight of the many different creatures we studied in the book. On the front of the cards is full color real life photo to clearly identify each creature. Also listed on the front is an accompanying bible verse that reminds you about God and the beauty he has created. On the back of each card is a long description of the habitat it lives in and it’s behavior characteristics.

For an additional $2.50 you can buy the “Keep On The Path” “Exploring the Smoky Mountains Study Guide” to further the learning.

After reading through the book, I was so impressed to want to learn more that I purchased the activity guides and flash cards for all six of my kids. $2.50 is much cheaper than I can print these myself. It is a really good buy. We are currently waiting for the cards and guides to arrive as I write this review.

There are also poster packs and stuffed animals available on the website that go along with the books too. I didn’t not purchase these but they would be great to use for a classroom where you need larger visual aids and reminders for the classroom. You could use this as part of a vacation bible school summer program too and use the posters to decorate walls, tables, or stations.

I plan to expand our learning we began with this book. My goal is to turn this book learning into a unit study and lapbook this spring. We will use the activity guide pages and flash cards plus the additional ideas I mentioned earlier (maps, puzzles, games, field trips (we live about 4 hours from the Smoky Mountains in TN and 2 hours from the western edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains in NC also part of the Appalachian trail), visit a zoo, science experiments, writing assignments, research assignments on animals and habitats, spelling words, crafts, bible copy work, videos, etc) as we re-read the book again.

We will create a colorful lapbook to go along with the unit study and record what the kids have learned. Stay tuned for a follow up story to this review to see what the kids learned and how this adventure turned out. For now, while we wait for those resources to arrive, I found a few coloring pages online about woodland animals (such as the black bear, otter, bobcat, deer,) and a butterfly for the younger children to color while we read through the book. We really enjoyed this book and can’t wait to learn even more.

Besides the additional resources for Smoky Mountains ~ Here We Come, I also ordered additional flashcards for the other books in the series too. Some of the animals and insects in other regions are also found in the region we are currently studying and also these cards are so nice that I would like for my kids to have the flash cards from all the regions as a learning resource. They are high gloss full color heavy duty cards loaded with lots of information about creatures from the different regions all over America. These inexpensive cards can be used for science and geography and crossovers with other subjects and are a great resource to have on hand.

By The Way Series

Check out all these great books from By the Way Book Series. We want to read more of them as soon as we can. This is a wonderful way to teach kids about all these amazing animals and creatures and geography that God has created and some history of the people in various regions around the USA.

More books are in the works and coming in 2017!

IRELAND

NEW YORK

IDAHO

INDIANA

Be sure to read more about the wonderful author, Joy Budensiek and her desire she expressed for writing these books to help kids and their parents talk about God and draw closer to him. These books are part of a movement to turn our nation and our children back to God. You can read more about “Renewanation” mission here.

Social Media

Check out By the Way Book Series on their social media links for all the latest news and product updates.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bythewaybooks/?fref=ts

Homeschool Review Crew

Be sure to check out what other families on the Homeschool Review Crew had to say about using the By the Way Book Series with their kids.

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Schoolhouse Teachers

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If you are looking for curriculum, or help with lesson planning, or just want a helpful time management resource, you might want to try SchoolhouseTeachers.com They sent us a Yearly Membership to review.

Whether you want education courses (preschool through highschool), or you just want some resources for managing your household more efficiently, they have something for everyone and you can get started for just $1. Be sure to check out the website for special offers too. They currently are running a great sale for 50% off their yearly membership.

Schoolhouse Teachers.com

Online Education Resource

300+ courses

Preschool through Highchool

Resources for Teachers

Resources for Parents

Yearly Membership – Premium Access

Our Thoughts about SchoolhouseTeachers.com

I spent some time looking around this website and planning several of the courses they offer in our curriculum for the remainder of this year. I am impressed with the huge variety of resources available at SchoolhouseTeachers.com.

We have 6 kids and they range from preschool to highschool. We have a child in preschool, first grade, third grade, sixth grade, eight grade, and tenth grade. Having a resource like this with something for each one of them, all in one place, and for one low price, is a huge blessing!

There are no additional textbooks required. The classes are an online format and video format. They offer printouts with various classes and you can print as many as you need. Some classes may suggest additional reading materials that can easily be found online or free at a local library. They offer lots of planning resources to coordinate your classes and materials so you can plan your days, weeks, months out as far as you want to best meet the needs of you and your family.

We can choose a class based on the grade level or based on the subject matter. We are not locked into selecting a class and we can change the class at any time. There are 300 classes and we can choose one class, two classes, or we can do all 300! There is only one small fee and our entire family can benefit. This is such an amazing opportunity to learn what we want when we want.

I love everything they offer, but I am especially fond of the support they have for parents just getting started and for veteran homeschool parents of highschoolers. They walk you through the homeschool process at each stage and grade level. They have help for families with children of special needs too.

Some of the supportive benefits of using this program with my older students for me as a parent of older are: Portfolio Assistance, Tracking Courses, Report Cards, A Scheduler, and help creating Transcripts with lots of tips and suggestions.

Another resource that I am so excited about is the menu planner. They have recipes organized for months at a time. Not only can I use them, but I can also use these to motivate the older kids to plan and fix meals too.

My younger kids are excited about all of it. This resource opens so many fun classes for them. They are excited about the art classes, unit studies, guitar classes and Spanish. My oldest is excited about the science classes and foreign languages he will be able to complete for his highschool credits.

I am thrilled will be able to do these classes together from the comfort of our home. I don’t have to hop into the van and run them to lessons here and there which takes a lot of time and extra resources. I am also excited we can go at our own pace. We can log in when we want and stop when we want and each class will keep track of our progress no mater how fast or how slow we go.

Check out this short video clip to hear first hand from another homeschool mom about how easy it is to use SchoolhouseTeachers.com with her family.

50% Off Special Offer:

SchoolhouseTeachers.com is running a 50% off special offer until January 15th. LOCK IN NOW at the $9.95/month rate so that you save 50% on the NEW regular price that will go up the 15th of January to $19.95 /month. Even at the full price, this is such a great deal the whole family will benefit from using! And if you just want to try it out, you can get started for $1.

Social Media:

Be sure to follow SchoolhouseTeachers.com on their social media links for all the latest news on resources, course updates, and special sales offers.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/SchoolhouseTeachers/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOSMag/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/tosmag/

Google+: https://plus.google.com/118111005169451277551/posts

The Homeschool Review Crew

Be sure to check out how other Homeschool Review Crew families used SchoolhouseTeachers.com in their homes.

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