Sometimes you think something is a really good idea. You try it out, only to realize maybe it wasn’t the best thing after all.

I have come to realize that is the case with Homeschool Java. I loved the idea of a separate space for homeschooling posts. The truth is, I don’t have time to maintain two blogs. It just isn’t working, and I find myself not writing on either blog very often.

Recently, I made a decision. It’s time to move Homeschool Java over to my main blog, Closing Time. I will write a weekly “Homeschool Java” post there and share my curriculum reviews there as well. The rest of the posts will be non-homeschooling posts. I think you will find that I actually end up writing a lot more than I have for a long time.

I hope that all of you will hop over to Closing Time and subscribe there, follow via Google Friend Connect, or however you prefer to stay in touch. I am excited about this decision, and I think you will enjoy the posts to come!

Click the button below to visit Closing Time and subscribe so you don’t miss a thing!

Earlier this year, we had the privilege of reviewing  Talking Fingers: Read, Write, & Type. My girls loved it, and I was amazed as I watched them learn to type and practice their phonics at the same time. After our great experience with Talking Fingers, it was exiting to learn that we would also be reviewing the sequel, Word Qwerty – Foundations for Reading and Writing Fluency!

Word Qwerty is designed for 7-9 year olds as the next step following Read, Write, & Type. After completing the Read, Write, & Type program, most students will be able to read and type words that they can say. They may, however, still struggle with how to spell the words. That is where Word Qwerty comes in. According to the Talking Fingers website:

The overall purpose of Wordy Qwerty: Foundations for Reading and Writing Fluency, is to improve phonological and morphological sensitivity, to develop a deeper understanding of how words are constructed in English, and to provide reading and writing activities with helpful feedback, in order to increase fluency and comprehension in reading and writing.

Word Qwerty’s 20 lessons contain six steps:

1. Patterns – The students create two word lists by noticing spelling differences in words.

2. Karaoke – Each lesson has a song to teach one of the 20 basic spelling rules covered in the program.

3. Recycler – This game teaches the different vowel combinations that can make the same sound, and teaches students to distinguish between real words and non-words.

4. Pop-a-Word – In this activity, the students are given a four word phrase. They must then pop balloons with the correct words.

5. Write Stories – In these 8-line rhyming stories, the student is given one line and then they must listen to the next line and type it. This gives practical application of the spelling rules they have just learned.

6. Read Stories – As the students read the story, they have to choose the correct word that fits, giving them great reading comprehension practice.

Word Qwerty is a great continuation of the foundation laid in Read, Write, and Type. I would definitely recommend it! Completion of Read, Write and Type prior to Word Qwerty is not mandatory, but it would definitely make things easier (particularly in the area of typing).

Word Qwerty is available for purchase from the Talking Fingers website.

System requirements:

• Mac: OS9 with CarbonLib or OSX

• Windows: 98, SE, 2000, XP

It also requires QuickTime 6 (included) or greater.

You can purchase the CD version package for just $35. It includes: the program CD, the program guide in a 3-ring binder, and an audio CD of the 20 songs included in the program.The CD products are not compatible with Windows 7 or Mac OS 10.6.

Word Qwerty is also available through online subscription. All home online subscriptions are for five years. The prices are:  1 student – $25, 2 students – $40, 3 students – $52.50, 4 students – $60, and 5 students – $71.25.

Other members of the TOS Crew had the opportunity to review Word Qwerty as well. You can read about their experiences at the TOS Homeschool Crew Blog.

Disclosure: I received the online version of Word Qwerty free of charge for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was received, and the opinions stated are my own.

My seven year old, M, is very excited because she now considers herself a bookworm. She is reading everything she can find, from books, to food labels, to signs every where we go. When she heard that she was going to get a book to read all by herself for a TOS Crew review, she was elated!

The Circle C Beginnings series, written by Susan K. Marlow, from Kregel Publications is perfect for the 6-8 year old age group, children ready for their first chapter books.  This brand new series follows the adventures of Andi, a young girl living on a ranch in 1874.  We received Andi’s Pony Trouble, the first book in the series. Andi longs for a horse of her own, bur her family isn’t sure she’s ready for the responsibility. It is a very sweet story, with beautiful illustrations peppered throughout the book.

My girls really enjoyed the story, and they loved the activity pages that are available for free download at andiandtaffy.com. The book illustrations are available for coloring pages, and the activity pages include mazes, word matches using vocabulary from the book, practical math application (word problems) using situations from the story, and recipies. Below are examples of the coloring pages. Each book has 20 activity pages available.

The Circle C Beginnings books are available in the Kregel store for an affordable $4.99 each. I definitely recommend them for young readers, particularly little girls!

Children can grow with Andi and follow her adventures in the Circle C Adventures books, written for ages 9-12. You can find Circle C Adventures on Facebook as well!

In addition, Kregel has many more books available for children and tweens (and more). You can view their children’s product catalog here.

My fellow TOS Crew members reviewed this and other books in the series as well. Be sure to visit the TOS Crew Blog to read more about our experiences with Andi!

Disclosure: I received Andi’s Pony Trouble free of charge for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was received, and the opinions expressed are my own.

If you’re children are anything like mine, they don’t miss much. If I sneak a bite or two of chocolate, they smell it from several rooms away!

When it comes to nutrition, kids definitely learn from example. Our eating habits are teaching them, for better or for worse. That is why I consider Nutrition 101: Choose Life!, from Growing Healthy Homes. to be such a valuable family resource!

My family definitely makes an effort to eat healthy foods. I’m the lady in the grocery store who reads the ingredient list of almost everything that goes in the cart. My seven year old is becoming a label reader as well. She knows that “high fructose corn syrup” or “hydrogenated” in any form is bad.  What she doesn’t know is why. Now we have a way to change that!

Nutrition 101: Choose Life! is a Biblically-based health and nutrition curriculum for the whole family. The 448 page book takes an in-depth look at foods, our bodies, and how the foods we eat have a direct impact on our health. The book is comprised of six unit studes, which include:

1. The Brain and Nervous System
2. Digestion and Elimination
3. Respiration and Olfactory
4. Muscular and Skeletal Systems
5. Cardiovascular and Immune Systems
6. Endocrine System and Emotions

Each unit includes a Chapter of information, Discussion Questions, Activities including options for younger and older children, Additional Resources giving opportunity for further learning, “Power Recipes” which include foods discussed in the chapter, as well as Additional Recipes.

The studies are designed for the whole family, from toddler to adult. It can be adapted for a daily or weekly schedule. It can also be used in homeschool groups, co-ops, or other groups. Nutrition 101: Choose Life! is far more than your typical book on nutrition. It is truly a way for families to learn together and develop healthy eating habits. Parents can do more than just say, “Eat it because it’s good for you.” This program gives families the knowledge and understanding of why we need to eat healthy foods.

The activities for elementary ages are the kinds of things my children really enjoy. The informational chapters contain enough detail and terminology to give me plenty to learn! This is a product that we can use now and continue to use as our children grow. It will be a lasting resource for our family.

Growing Healthy Homes was established in 2007 to educate families about God’s plan for health. They also have other products, including books on raw foods and essential oils as well.

Nutrition 101: Choose Life! is available for order on CD-ROM ($79.95), in hard-copy book format ($99.95), or a combination of the two ($129.95). Growing Healthy Homes has generously allowed members of the TOS Crew to offer you a 15% discount with the coupon code “TOScrew11″ – the same discount they typically offer at homeschool fairs. Remember, you get 448 pages of detailed and practical information in this book. It is the kind of book that you can use for a reference for years to come, even after you have completed the unit studies.

To read what other TOS Crew members had to say about this product, visit the TOS Homeschool Crew Blog.

Disclosure: I received a digital copy of Nutrition 101 for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was received, and the opinions expressed here are my own.

In March, I was blessed to be able to attend the Southeast Homeschool Convention in Greenville, SC. I had two main objectives, to look at curriculum and meet up with some fellow TOS Homeschool Crew members.

Kelly, Merit, me, and Kimberly

The four of us met up at The Old Schoolhouse Magazine display and chatted for a while on Gena’s couch, and then we ate lunch together. We had a great time!!

Going into the conference, I had everything pretty much settled for our coming schoolyear. My main question was what phonics program to use for E, my hands on learner. The expo hall was massive and I spent five hours looking at all the displays.

Last year at the homeschool expo, I was a bit overwhelmed, and Phil and the girls were with me. Knowing that we would not have the patience or energy to look at everything, I only stopped at the displays I thought might be relevant to us. The downside of that was that I wasn’t able to look over the curricula I was not already somewhat familiar with. This time, I wanted to do it differently, to educate myself as much as possible on all the resources that are out there.

I also spent quite a bit of time looking at the next levels of some of our current curricula: Sonlight and Math-U-See.

Since M switched to Math-U-See a few weeks ago, our “math time” has gone from being a real struggle to a joy. At the convention, I was so thankful for the lady who spent a lot of time with me helping me determine which level E should start in the fall (Primer or Alpha).

Stopping at the Sonlight display is always fun…a bit like exploring a good bookstore. The great variety and colorful pictures of the books have really helped us this year as we eased E into school. M has always been interested in books, but E is a bit too busy to sit on the couch and read for long. As I looked at our planned curriculum for next year, Core B (previously known as Core 1), I saw that it was definitely along the same lines.

That evening, I went home and looked through the catalogs I had collected, talked with Phil, and did some more research online. A nagging thought began to emerge that maybe what I had planned wasn’t the right direction.

Have you ever experienced that as a homeschooler? You have a curriculum that has been wonderful. There’s nothing wrong with it. It has worked well for your children. But suddenly you realize that it is just not what you need for the following year.

Phil and the girls went back to the convention with me the next day. I showed Phil the curricula I was considering. I also showed him the next level of what we’ve been using and we talked about it. It was just so clear that we needed to go in a different direction next year.

As our time in the expo hall went on, I began picking up books I had not even considered before. Ideas began to emerge. They took me by surprise, as it’s a direction I never expected to go in our homeschooling journey. Over this past month I have read, researched, and prayed, and I’m excited about the path I think we will be taking next year. I’ll share more of that with you soon!

Today I would like to introduce you to someone who has become a very dear friend to my girls. Readers, meet Ziggy…

Ziggy the Zebra, that is.

Ziggy arrived at our home in a package filled with goodies. I opened the box after the girls had gone to bed. Instantly, I knew I had stumbled upon a great find, thanks to the TOS Homeschool Crew!

The incredible company behind All About Spelling now brings you…. All About Reading Pre-1, an absolutely incredible curriculum for little ones who are ready to take their first steps towards reading.

I have a five year old who wants to read but is just a bit too busy to put in the time to learn. All About Reading has been the very thing we needed to meet her needs! E begs to “do Ziggy” every single day.

Each of the 78 lessons is clearly laid out and well planned, presenting each letter of the alphabet one by one, both upper and lowercase. The lessons include reading selections from the two gorgeous readers, Lizard Lou and The Zigzag Zebra, fun games and activities, and activity pages. The curriculum is design to work well for a variety of learning styles. The highlight of the lessons for us is always Ziggy. Ziggy is a bit confused, you see. She always says the wrong word, or leaves off the beginning sound, or some such silliness. I don’t know if E even realizes that she is learning because she is so busy helping Ziggy say the right word. By the way, the teacher’s manual says Ziggy is a “he,” but my girls quickly told me that it must be a mistake. Ziggy is definitely a girl.

If you have ever seen any of the All About Spelling Readers, you know how incredible they are. I could sit and look at the illustrations for ages. The two Pre-1 level readers are filled with poetry and alliteration. They captivate my busy little girl who struggles with sitting still long enough to read.

The activity sheets are perfect for little hands on learners, or for little ones who love to color, cut, and glue. There is no writing involved, just fun, creative activities that reinforce each letter’s sound. The phonics based lessons are also reinforced by the picture card activities. E’s favorite game is called “Get Out of the Wagon,” where she has to choose the picture card that doesn’t belong with the others (based on rhyme or beginning sound, depending on what we are learning that day).

The All About Reading Pre-1 curriculum is for preschoolers and kindergarteners, and focuses on learning the Big Five Skills:

• letter knowledge
• phonological awareness
• print awareness
• listening comprehension
• motivation to read

I encourage you to visit the All About Reading site to learn more and download the two free activity booklets!

All About Reading Pre-1 is available in a Basic or Deluxe Package in the All About Spelling Store.

The Basic package ($79.95) includes:

• Teacher’s Manual (208 pages)
• Student Material Packet
  • My Book of Letters and Sounds Activity Book (192 pages)
  • Picture Cards
  • Letter Sound Cards
  • Capital Letter Alphabet Chart
  • Lowercase Letter Alphabet Chart
• The Zigzag Zebra: a rhyming alphabet hardcover book
• Lizard Lou: rhymes old and new hardcover book
• Divider Cards (keeps your Picture Cards and Letter Sound Cards organized
• “Letter Sounds A to Z” CD-ROM

The Deluxe package ($119.95) includes the same items as the Basic package (Teacher’s Manual, Student Material Packet, Divider Cards, “Letter Sounds A to Z” CD-ROM). It also includes

• Ziggy the Zebra puppet
• a charming Activity Box to hold your student’s learning cards
• All About Reading tote bag to keep your components organized

The quality of everything I received was excellent, and I think it is definitely worth the price! There is a Level 1 in the works as well! Watch the website for more information!

Click here to go directly to the webstore, where you can download samples of the teacher’s manual, the student activity book, and the two read aloud books, as well as order this wonderful product! I am including this one in my “top picks” for the year!

Don’t forget to visit the TOS Homeschool Crew Blog, where you can read other reviews of All About Reading and so much more!

Disclosure: I received the All About Reading Pre-1 Deluxe Package free of charge for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was received, and the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Did you know that instrument based music lessons are excellent for a child’s development? It prepares the child’s mind for skills such as writing, reading, math, and science.

Kinderbach is a video based music curriculum for 3-7 year olds, with both online and DVD options available. This is a highly entertaining, fun-filled approach to music. While piano is the focus, much emphasis is placed on theory as well.

In the first lesson, the children are introduced to Dodi, a lonely donkey who lives on the D key. His house is the two black keys that surround D. Other cute characters, including Dodi’s friend Frisco and others are introduced to help children remember the names of the keys. My girls loved Dodi and his friends!

Each of the six levels of Kinderbach includes ten lessons. The lessons are short and are geared for multiple learning styles. Each level has a PDF activity book, which gives the children coloring pages and activity sheets to complete during the lesson. Through the program they learn the basics of music theory and beginning piano. The lessons are filled with activity and definitely will entertain the age group they are designed for.

I am the daughter of a piano teacher, and I grew up listening to my mom give piano lessons in the afternoons from a very early age. The Kinderbach approach is completely different than traditional piano lessons. However it takes into account the young age of the students and creates a way for them to gain a musical foundation from an early age. It would be particularly good for children whose parents don’t have the knowledge or ability to teach music to their kids. It would also be helpful for families with many children, since the online membership is available for the whole family.

There are different pricing options available. The online program is $95.88 per year (billed yearly) or $19.95 per month (billed monthly). There are many DVD package options available here.

Kinderbach makes it easy for you to decide if their program is right for your children. Simply sign up for the free trial and see for yourself!

To read what other crew members thought about Kinderbach, visit the TOS Homeschool Crew Blog.

Disclosure: I received a free subscription to Kinderbach online for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was received and the opinions expressed are my own.

This is my third year to participate in the Ultimate Blog Party hosted by 5 Minutes for Mom, but the first time I’ve partied here at Homeschool Java. My little homeschooling blog is only a few months old. I started blogging two years ago at Closing Time, but realized our homeschooling adventures needed a home of their own.

Before my girls were born, I never dreamed I would homeschool. I just didn’t think I would be able to pull it off. But God’s leading was unmistakable, and here we are in our third year.

My oldest daughter is in first grade and my little one is in K4/5. We started out using a very traditional homeschool method, but we seem to be growing more eclectic with each passing year! Right now we are using:

Sonlight  K – History, Science, and Read Alouds

Horizons Phonics 1

Math-U-See Alpha

Song School Latin

Peterson Directed Handwriting

All About Reading Pre-1 (for my little one)

This year I’ve been tremendously blessed to be a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew, reviewing some great homeschool products and sharing them here on my blog. Some of my favorites have been Peterson Directed Handwriting, Song School Latin, and All About Reading (review coming soon).

We have come a long way since we first started homeschooling, but we still have so much to learn! I’m thankful that I have this place to share our ups and downs and hopefully offer some encouragement to you in the process.

If you’d like to read more here at Homeschool Java, you can subscribe in a reader, subscribe by email, or follow via Google Friend Connect in the sidebar. You can also find me on Twitter @erinclosingtime and the Homeschool Java Facebook page.

I hope you’ll stop by my other homes on the web, my main blog Closing Time.

And don’t forget to visit my business site, Insight Blog Design, where I’m…

giving away a custom blog design!!!!!

I’d love to see you there!

Thanks to 5 Minutes for Mom for hosting this great party!!

One of the highlights of our school year is Song School Latin from Classical Academic Press. This Latin curriculum, suited for grades K-2, has been a true delight for my two daughters. At five and seven years of age, they fall perfectly into the age range for this gentle introduction to Latin.

Each of the 31 lessons teaches key vocabulary words through stories, Bible stories, writing practice, English application, and music. The best part, according to my girls, is the songs! It is not rare at all to hear my girls singing one of the songs they have learned through Song School Latin as they play. They also love to practice saying the words to each other, and trying to have conversations in Latin.

The student workbook is perfect for my first grader, giving her good writing practice and helping her review the vocabulary she is learning. The extra practice activities in the teacher book include word searches, crossword puzzles, and more. There are coloring pages available for download on the Classical Academic Press website for every vocabulary word covered in the Song School Latin curriculum. This is a perfect way to include my five year old, who absolutely loves the songs and learning to speak the words, but has less interest in writing. This makes the Song School Latin very adaptable for the K-2 age range the publisher suggests. I am always looking for ways to include both my children in the same activities whenever possible. Song School Latin allows me to teach my 1st grader on her level, while also introducing my little one to a new language. In a couple of years, I can repeat Song School Latin with my younger daughter when she is ready to complete the student workbook.

For extra practice and fun, students can visit the Headventure Land website, where they can play games connected with the curriculum.

Classical Academic Press has many other wonderful curricula as well. Students can continue their Latin studies with Latin for Children (a 3 year study for 3rd-5th graders) and Latin Alive (for middle and high school). Other curricula include Song School Greek, Spanish for Children, The Art of Argument (Logic), and The Art of Poetry, and God’s Great Covenant (a four year Bible curriculum for children 2nd grade and up).

As a side note, I visited the Classical Academic Press table at the Southeast Homeschool Convention recently. I was impressed with every book I picked up. They have a standard of excellence and a desire to see children learn well and enjoy the process. I am greatly looking forward to continuing to use Song School Latin this year, and God’s Great Covenant is my pick for our Bible curriculum for this coming school year. I truly hope you will visit their website and see all they have to offer!

Song School Latin is available for purchase here. The prices (which I consider to be a great value!) are as follows:

Song School Latin Bundle – $64.95 – Includes Song School Latin student book with CD, the Song School Latin: Teacher’s Edition, and the Latin Monkey Match Flashcard Game

Song School Latin Student Text with music CD- $22.95

Song School Latin Teacher’s Edition - $22.95

Latin Monkey Match Game – $24.95

If you are reading this review and wondering if Latin would be a good language for your children to learn, here are some interesting quotes from Christopher Perrin, a publisher at Classical Academic Press:

Latin is the mother tongue for over 50% of all English words, so the study of Latin greatly enhances one’s English vocabulary.

The grammar of the Latin language is logical, straightforward, and highly regular, making it an ideal language to learn grammar that can be applied to many other languages, including of course, English.

It has been shown repeatedly that the study of Latin quickens and enables one’s mastery of English. SAT and GRE (Graduate Record Exam) scores rise. In fact, the students scoring the highest on the verbal section of the GRE are not English students–but Classics majors.

Finally, we should mention that Latin is also the mother tongue of the so-called “Romance languages” of Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, and Romanian. …up to 90% of the words in these languages come from Latin.

(Quotes from An Introduction to Classical Education, by Christopher A. Perrin, M.Div., Ph.D.)

My fellow TOS Crewmates have reviewed not only Song School Latin, but also Latin for Children, and Latin Alive. Visit the TOS Crew Blog to read more!

Disclosure: I received Song School Latin free of charge for the purpose of this review. The opinions expressed here are my own!