Category Archives: Hewitt Homeschooling

Hewitt Homeschooling: My First Report Review

My First Report

Various Topic Themes

Unit Study Format

For grades 1–8

(depending on the skill level)
Grades 1-2 (with parental direction)
Grades 3-4 (independent)
Grades 5–8 (remedial work)

$8.95 each

or

SET of 14 Titles for $69.95

(40% savings)

My First Report uses a step by step approach to help elementary age students learn about a topic they are interested in and write a report about it. This is a unique approach using unit studies to motivate kids to learn how to write mini reports on various subjects. This curriculum helps students reach new challenges as they learn new skills, and learn to express their knowledge and ideas in complete sentences of their own.

Skills:

My First Report uses a variety of skills and encourages research. This curriculum is designed for kids in 3rd – 4th grades, but can be used for younger students in 1st-2nd grades (with the parents help), or used by older students in 5th-8th grades too.

Skills used in My First Report include:

Research (Encyclopedia, Dictionary, Books, Online, Interview, etc)
Organizing
Sorting
Writing
Penmanship
Vocabulary
Reading
Critical Thinking

Unit Study Format:

My First Report topic themes are cross curricular and are designed as unit studies. Each theme topic covers about 8-12 weeks of study and activities. You can go faster or slower depending on the needs of your family.

Each topic theme you purchase includes a number of corresponding worksheets (vocabulary word puzzles, research questions, maps, report forms, etc) and suggested hands on activities.

My First Report includes lots of optional suggested activities. You can do as many or as few of the activities you chose. The unit study is a beneficial method to cover a wide range of subjects and opportunities for students to learn hands on about the topic theme.

Various subject areas are incorporated into the study and will prepare your student to write an informed report about what they have learned. Cross curricular subject areas include:

Math
Reading
Social Studies
Music
Art
Language
History
Science
Health
P.E.
Bible
Suggested Field Trips

Topic Theme Titles:

Each My First Report retails for $8.95. Hewitt Homeschooling also offers a huge discount if you purchase a bundle set of 14 topic themes together for $69.95

My First Report: Focus On The World
My First Report: Music
My First Report: Transportation
My First Report: Weather
My First Report: Me
My First Report: Famous People
My First Report: Wild Animals / Large Mammals
My First Report: Wild Animals / Small Mammals
My First Report: Pets/Farm Animals
My First Report: Bugs and Worms
My First Report: Birds
My First Report: Reptiles/Amphibians
My First Report: Plants
My First Report: Solar System
My First Report: Marine Life
My First Report: Olympics
My First Report: Outdoor Activities
My First Report: Sports
My First Report: My State
My First Report: Eastern United States
My First Report: Western United States
My First Report: Middle United States
My First Report: Southern United States
My First Report: Lewis and Clark Expedition

Our Experience:

We chose to write about our experience with My First Report: Focus On The World for the purpose of this review. We have also began using My First Report: Weather . This curriculum is so fun to do and easy to implement. We are using several titles from the series through out our homeschool year.

My First Report: Focus On The World
My First Report: Weather
My First Report: Outdoor Activities
My First Report: Music
My First Report: Transportation
My First Report: Wild Animals / Small Mammals
My First Report: Birds
My First Report: Reptiles/Amphibians

After we finish Focus on the World and Weather, I have scheduled Outdoor Activities for the summer, and the remaining titles are scheduled for fall. Once you try these out you will see why kids enjoy doing them. My kids are having so much fun.

Everything is written out for you and easy to follow. Each My First Report contains 50-60+/- pages including reproducible forms, worksheets, suggested reading and resources, and a very detailed unit study.

My First Report are illustrated and full color on heavy paper. The pages arrived already hole punched, so it was easy to put each unit into a three ring binder for convenience.

Over the course of several weeks, the students are given small research projects that go along with the theme of the unit based on the title you chose. Our unit was Focus on the World and contained a World Geography and Missions around the world theme.

In My First Report: Focus On The World, we learned about 13 different regions around the world. Learning about 1 region a week, this title in the series would last about 13 +/- weeks or so.

Our research projects included learning about the cultures of people, languages, geography, animals, etc on each continent and learning how they were impacted by missionaries. Each time we focused on a specific region, for example South America, there was a corresponding map and research questions to complete.

Unit study projects can be applied to each research project. You can chose to do as much or as little of these optional activities as you like. Below I have shared a few examples for you to see of the different unit study projects we did specific to the South America region. When your student is ready, have them write their report from the research they did and information they have learned. There are report masters included in the packet for them to fill in.

They can choose to write their report with or without a picture.

For South America for example, some of the additional unit study activities we did included:

Bible Copy Work & Penmanship & Vocabulary:

We read a bible verse and practiced re-writing it neatly.

The kids did a word puzzle included in the packet.

We also wrote out a rough draft of the report by writing down answers to research questions and then forming the information into paragraphs.

Reading:

We read about Brazil.

Read about Animals and Birds of South America.

Art:

created sketches, painted, and drew with colored pencils various projects about Parrots.

Plan to learn to weave a traditional project. We saw brightly colored woven place mats on our food field trip that we would like to replicate.

Social Studies / Culture / Foods:

Learned about holidays and foods from the region. Made a traditional meal.

Field Trips:

Ate traditional South American foods at a local restaurant.

We have plans to visit a local missions outreach that traslates bibles and sends them with missionaries around the world. They have a museum and local housing for missionaries on sabatical and we hope to visit them too.

We also have plans to visit the zoo to see various animals from around the world.

Missions:

Interviewed a retired radio broadcaster who has been taking the message of Jesus into various nations around the world on short wave radio for over 40+ years.

Interviewed Nadia, a woman who works as a waitress at a local restaurant. She was born in Columbia and lived in Venezuela and Brazil before coming to the USA. We also had the opportunity to talk to her about faith in Jesus.

Music & Math & Language:

Learned songs in Spanish.

Practices words and counting in Spanish.

The same woman, Nadia, from South America also taught the kids a song in Spanish, taught them the names of money, how to say various family members (mother, father, brother, sister, baby, etc), and foods in both Portugese and Spanish.

Science:

Learned about the Amazon Rain Forest Habitat and Animals. We chose to learn more about parrots in the rain forest (animals vary in different regions and we learned about other animals such as tigers, elephants, monkeys, etc from around the world for other locations).

I found coloring pages for animals online and we also took some art lessons creating parrot projects in an art course the kids are taking.

The kids then made several more art projects related to parrots. One of my son’s liked the parrots so much he drew a parrot in the box for his report on South America. As you can see, we really enjoy using these products. We are learning lots of great information and having fun at the same time.

The My First Report products are consistently well written across all the various titles. We first tried out a couple of Hewitt Homeschooling My First Report (Bugs and Worms and Solar System) a few years ago with our older kids when they were a lot younger, and we continue to be impressed with all the information the kids learn. Now our younger kids are benefiting too from all of these awesome hands on learning adventures.

My First Report are fun for the whole family, from the young to the old, including grandparents. The thing I like most about unit studies is they are flexible and can be adjusted to use in any way, and for just about any age, that meets the needs of your family. These would also be great for summer boredom busters, study groups, summer school, Sunday School, or afterschool learning adventures too. This is a great curriculum resource and I would encourage other homeschool families to work My First Reports into their learning adventures.

Be sure to check out the various products from Hewitt Homeschooling. I am planning to include some of their Lightning Literature curriculum for various ages of my kids next year. For sure I would like to try the Lightning Literature: American Mid-Late 19th Century for my older boys, and many others look great too.

A few of the curriculum categories Hewitt Homeschooling has to offer include:

My First Reports
Lightning Literature
State Chronicles
Unit Programs
Hewitt Readers
Math-It
Winston Grammar
and much more!

Social Media

Stay in touch with Hewitt Homeschooling for all the latest news and updates through their social media links:

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

Twitter
https://twitter.com/HewittOnline

Pinterest
http://www.pinterest.com/hewittonline/

Google Plus
https://plus.google.com/b/115323246990194958229/+HewittHomeschoolingResources/posts

Hewitt Blog
http://hewitthomeschoolingresources.blogspot.com/

Homeschool Review Crew

Be sure to check out what others on the Homeschool Review Crew had to say about using Hewitt Homeschooling products with their families.

Please share.

Hewitt Homeschooling Review

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Hewitt Homeschooling has some great products for homeschool families. We are reviewing My First Reports: Bugs and Worms by Hewitt Homeschooling, and we are learning lots of great information and having fun at the same time. If you are in the process of putting your curriculum choices together, I would encourage you to add products from Hewitt Homeschooling to the list.

My First Reports

One unique product Hewitt Homeschooling offers is a curriculum supplement called My First Reports. My first reports uses a step by step approach to help elementary age children learn about a subject they are interested in and write a report about it.

Skills used in My First Reports include:

Research
Organizing
Sorting
Writing
Penmanship
Vocabulary
Reading
Critical Thinking

There are several My First Reports to choose from and they are geared for different ages, but all are flexible and can be used for grades 1 – 8 depending on the skill level of your student.

My First Report: Music
My First Report: Transportation
My First Report: Weather
My First Report: Me
My First Report: Famous People
My First Report: Wild Animals / Large Mammals
My First Report: Wild Animals / Small Mammals
My First Report: Pets/Farm Animals
My First Report: Bugs and Worms
My First Report: Birds
My First Report: Reptiles/Amphibians
My First Report: Plants
My First Report: Solar System
My First Report: Marine Life
My First Report: Olympics
My First Report: Outdoor Activities
My First Report: Sports
My First Report: My State
My First Report: Eastern United States
My First Report: Western United States
My First Report: Middle United States
My First Report: Southern United States
My First Report: Lewis and Clark Expedition
My First Report: Focus On The World

You can purchase My First Reports individually for $8.95 , or buy 14 titles as a bundle for $69.95 and save nearly 40% off retail.

Our Experience:

We chose My First Reports: Bugs and Worms for this review. It is designed for kids in 3rd – 4th grades, but can be used for younger students in 1st-2nd grades or older students in 5th-8th grades too. My First Reports: Bugs and Worms contains 52 pages including reproducible forms, worksheets, suggested reading and resources, and a unit study.

When we received the packet from Hewitt Homeschooling, I placed the pages into a binder. The pages come already hole punched so you can put it into a three ring binder for convenience, or into your students completed notebook if you desire. I am a unit study “collector”, or perhaps a unit study nerd might describe me better. I guess and I love being able to insert them into a binder and keep them for future use. If someday I pass along our schoolroom to my own grown kids, or to another family, hopefully all the unit studies we have acquired or created over the years will be easy to just grab and go because they are arranged neatly in their own binders. You could fill a whole book shelf with them. Ooohhh Awwhhhh. Yep, I am a unit study nerd!

We were very excited about this curriculum. This package covers information about 12 different bugs and worms:

Grasshoppers
Flies
Ants
Bees
Fireflies
Crickets
Ladybugs
Spiders
Caterpillars
Butterflies / Moths
Dragonflies
Worms

Unit Study Approach

This set is designed to used for 12 weeks, in a unit study method, covering one bug or worm and corresponding worksheets and suggested activities per week. Being a unit study, many different ages of kids can enjoy it, and it is cross curricular for many different subjects and covers:

Math
Reading
Social Studies
Music
Art
Language
History
Science
Health
P.E.
Bible
Suggested Field Trips

(Picture my son took of hundreds of new born baby spiders emerging from their nest on a tiger lily).

During the process of learning about a bug or worm you will also do many activities mentioned in the accompanying unit study. For example, various activities to choose from might include: geography you will take a map of your state or a region and list bugs found there. Younger students might cut out pictures and paste them on the map and older students would likely create a map and write a list of various insects identifying them and their locations or to add in an art aspect, they might sketch them too. In the bible they would learn about insects mentioned in various verses. For reading and literature they would read various books, magazines, news articles, and poems about bugs. For Language you would learn insect vocabulary words and spelling of each insect, as well as answer the report questions on the worksheets. You might create word puzzles and give an oral report too. For Math, you put the insects in order based on a category such as length or color or weight ect. Perhaps you could make a graph for comparisons. You might calculate speeds and distance traveled or the amount of food they eat. For Science you will make comparison graphs for body characteristics, learn about habitats and how to classify, catch-observe-release different insects when you are studying each one, etc. One suggestion is to build a wormery when you study the worms section. For art and science you might make a kite and then for P.E. you would go outside and fly it. Also for P.E. you would take a hike through your neighborhood or a park to look for insects and study where they are found, what they sound like, etc. For music you might study and recreate the sound of various insects, sing songs about insects and songs about creation including songs and praises to God. Art has so many suggestions like making a spider web, visiting an art museum, making collages or mosaics, sculptures, and various crafts. Field tips ideas include hikes or nature walks in various locations like parks, nature preserves, zoos, museums, the insect section of the library, a honey farm, or other farms where insects are used in some way, nature store, etc.

While learning about each “critter”, my 3rd grader completed a worksheet for each bug we learned about. The worksheet includes a picture of the bug, its class and scientific order, vocabulary words, and several questions to research further. He is encouraged to write complete sentences when answering the questions. When the week of learning about the insect is complete, and he has answered all the questions, he can transfer that information into a finished report by using his answers to help create paragraphs for a report about the insect he is writing about.

I have always loved the hands on aspect of Field Trips. My kids love the adventure and learning outside the classroom / house. We took a field trip two weeks ago to the Creation Museum to learn more about the history of insects and see various species in their collections.

This is a great curriculum resource and I would encourage other homeschool families to work it into their learning adventures this school year. My First Reports would also be a great adventure for summer school, Sunday School, or afterschool learning adventures too.

Social Media Links:

You can follow Hewitt Homeschooling on their social media to keep up with all the latest news and updates.

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

Twitter
https://twitter.com/HewittOnline

Pinterest
http://www.pinterest.com/hewittonline/

Google Plus
https://plus.google.com/b/115323246990194958229/+HewittHomeschoolingResources/posts

Hewitt Blog
http://hewitthomeschoolingresources.blogspot.com/

Be sure to check out what other families on The Old Schoohouse Review Crew had to say about using various products from Hewitt Homeschooling to meet your homeschool needs.

Please share.

Hewitt Homeschooling

2 Replies

Our family is very blessed as a member of The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew Review Team to be given wonderful reviewing opportunities of homeschool curriculum. It is exciting to share our experiences and honest opinions about these curriculum products with you.

We recently received Hewitt Homeschooling’s My First Report Solar System and My First Report Transportation to review. My First Reports are wonderful packets filled with worksheets to help your child express what they have learned about a given subject.

It is a unit study in a packet. It guides your child in researching a given subject or topic and helps them express in writing what they have found out. It contains question/ answer research worksheets, as well as essay worksheets that your child can illustrate with a picture too. There are word puzzles, coloring pages, and other fun worksheets.

Each packet contains at least 12 topics on a specific subject, plus reproducible report forms and additional unit study activities. If you chose to do one topic a week, a packet of My First Reports would last for 12 weeks. If you wanted to complete it faster, you could do it 3 times a week and accomplish it in 4 weeks or however you decide works best for your family.

For example, in the My First Report Solar System, the packet contained 57 pages.
The subject is the solar system, and there are worksheets for the topics of:
    Sun,
    Mercury,
    Venus,
    Earth,
    Moon,
    Mars,
    Jupiter,
    Saturn,
    Uranus,
    Neptune,
    Pluto,
    Asteroids-Comets-Meteors.

In addition to the topic worksheets, there is also an in-depth unit study covering:
    Bible Scriptures and in-depth questions
    History
    Geography
    Social Studies
    Reading
    Language
    Math
    Science
    Health
    Physical Education
    Music
    Art
    Field Trips
    Resource Lists
    Library Books and suggested reading
    Places for more information with addresses and websites
    Vocabulary words and definitions

Additional items in this packet are:
    Word Find Puzzle
    Graph Paper
    Solar System Map
    Star / Sky Map
   Star Identification Page
    Planet Facts Table
    Copy-work Pages
    Report Forms
    Instructions for teacher

I loved this product. We will definitely be using this more in-depth in our fall homeschool learning. The unit study is very well done and though we only had a few weeks to review it, it is definitely something my kids will continue to enjoy doing. If you ask my opinion, this unit study can definitely last 3 months or if you include all the fun in the unit study you could do a whole school year of learning. There is way more to do than just a few simple worksheets.

I also love that fact that this product encourages my children in their faith. It has scriptures and in-depth bible study with thoughtful insights and questions to develop and encourage their walk with God.

I love science too, so as you can guess, my favorite part of the My First Report Solar System is the science section of the unit study. WOW! It contained 15 science experiments that are fun and engaging. We completed 3 of the experiments, so we have plenty yet to do. There are also 10 art projects, and there is an endless list of field trips and other activities.

A few things we did over the past few weeks to learn about our solar system:
    Take a walk after dark and observe the sky.
    Sit outside at night and observe the moon and stars.
    Take a picture of the moon.



    Take several pictures of the moon over the course of an hour or so and
     observe how it changed positions in the night sky.
    Make a solar oven with a pizza box and record the temperature over the course of a
     couple of hours. (our own experiment, and we converted degrees in celsius to fahrenheit.)



     We even did a Sun Science program in the local park with lots of kids and helped them
     learn to make solar ovens to make smores and nachos, and cook sun tea, did several
     science experiments including using a solar panel to power a motor and run a fan. A
     story is coming soon to share more about this fun learning adventure.



    Use a balloon and observe how a rocket travels in space.


   &
nbsp;
    Draw a space ship.
    Visit a planetarium (we have visited the planetarium at Roper Mountain Science Center and
    we are headed back to RMSC this coming week and looking forward to learning more).

But there is so much more to do. I can’t wait to build the astrolab, a telescope, a planetarium on our ceiling, and visit the ocean again to observe the tides, make a paper mache earth, make a solar system mobil and more. There is just way to many cool things in this packet to mention here.

All of the pages in the packets come three hole punched to easily insert them into your notebook, binder, or folder. They are also reproducible for home use. In my case, with 6 kids to homeschool, having reproducible is great! Just buy one and all the kids can use it.

My First Reports will encourage your children to share their knowledge about a subject by encouraging them in language, penmanship, and reporting skills. It will guide them to investigate a given topic using the library, encyclopedia, and dictionary. They will also draw a picture and illustrate what they know. It will take them on a learning journey about a fun subject with lots of topics to investigate, explore, experiment, create, and write about.

My First Report retail for $8.95
Click on the above link to read about each one. They are available in various subjects including:

    My State
    Eastern US
    Southern US
    Middle US

    Western US
    Birds
    Bugs and Worms
    Me
    Marine Life
    Music
    Olympics
    Outdoor Activities
    Famous People
    Plants
    Reptiles and Amphibians
    Solar System
    Transportation
    Weather
    Wild Animals: Large Mammals
    Wild Animals: Small Mammals
    Lewis & Clark Expedition
    Focus On The World

Want to save? Then check out the deals for buying in bulk and on sale.
My First Report also come in a set of 14 in a binder for $69.95 and a set of 5 in a binder for $24.95   Right now, you can order the My First Report Plants on sale for $4.48.

Hewitt Homeschooling started out as the Cedar Springs Foundation in 1964 and changed its name to Hewitt Research Foundation in 1967 after its founder, Carl Hewitt.  Hewitt primarily provided research for education. What it found over the years was a strong need for the family unit to be supported in the formula of education and it became a pro-ponent of home-schooling. Hewitt provides support to homeschools in three main areas: services, testing, and products and is able to support parents with children in Kindergarten to 12th grade.

They have many great products and I hope you will check them out and see if they can meet your homeschooling needs. Please stop over to The Oldschool House Review Blog to read what others had to say about their products.

Disclaimer: I received the above mentioned product as a member of TOS Reveiw Crew in exchange for writing an honest review. All opinions expressed are my honest opinion.

Please share.

Weiser Academy

Homeschool and Family Life Adventures

Category Archives: Hewitt Homeschooling

Hewitt Homeschooling: My First Report Review

My First Report

My First Report

Various Topic Themes

Unit Study Format

For grades 1–8

$8.95 each

or

SET of 14 Titles for $69.95

Our Experience:

Social Media

Homeschool Review Crew

Hewitt Homeschooling Review

Hewitt Homeschooling