Cheyenne’s been testing out a writing program for me lately that’s right – and write – up her alley.

She’s crafty and hands on, and is forever working on some project. (Little scraps of paper on the floor? 90% chance of Chey)

So when we received the Write Shop Junior book (level D), and I saw how activity based it is, I knew that she was going to *love* all the projects… and that she might just enjoy herself while she was doing the writing, too.

We were send download editions (it’s also available in print), so it was easy for me to print out the black and white pages and get it ready to go. There are three different books. Two are absolutely necessary: the teacher’s guide and the student activity book. The teacher’s guide has 266 pages full of detailed lesson plans complete with materials needed and optional, instructions for setting up a writing center (whether permanent or portable), and all sorts of helpful, realistic advice for a homeschool parent. (Nothing at all like those books that are created for the public school market where 99% of the instructions are not applicable to a homeschool, one or two students working solo situation!) Also available is an optional “time-saver pack”, and in my opinion, it’s worth the extra price unless you (or your child) really enjoy making all the little extras like spinners and playing cards for games.

There are multiple lesson plan options detailed in the teacher’s guide. One spreads each of the ten lessons over three weeks, filling out an entire 30–week school year. Additional options are given for 20–week schedules in case you need a shorter plan, and it would be easy to adapt the given lesson plan to fit your own needs.

What each lesson in Write Shop Junior includes

Activity Set 1:

• Fold-N-Go Grammer – a grammar flip book that is made each week to be used as reference material
• Reading Log – track and measure progress of books that are read both together and independently

Activity Set 2:

• Pre-Writing Activity – verbal or hands-on activities that introduce new writing concepts
• Model and Teach (for 30 minutes at most) – using examples to show that lesson’s new writing skills

Activity Set 3:

• Review and Skill Builder – worksheets, games, and other activities that provide an opportunity to practice writing skills
• Journal Writing Practice – journal prompts are given for freewriting practice; these should not be edited or corrected

Activity Set 4:

• Brainstorming – suggestions for generating and organizing ideas prior to writing

Activity Set 5:

• Writing Project – creation of a story, poem, article or short report using the newly learned skills

Activity Set 6:

• Editing and Revising – allows them to gain skill and confidence in editing and rewriting

Activity Set 7:

• Publishing the Writing Project – by publishing the project in a crafty way, it allows them to take pride in sharing the work with others

Activity Set 8:

• Evaluating the Work – evaluate their work and track their progress from lesson to lesson (this is one of the few areas where the material does sound a little public-school-ish)
• Want to Do More? (optional) – suggestions for incorporating writing into other content areas

Our thoughts About Write Shop Junior

Write Shop Junior was surprisingly easy to implement, and I appreciated that in the introduction of the teacher’s guide, a great deal of consideration was given to describing the focus of each of the particular steps in the lessons. It made it much easier for me to adapt the curriculum to our needs when I understood what the intentions of the author’s were, and could correlate those intentions with my own.

It almost doesn’t need said – but anything even slightly crafty is a winner in Chey’s book. It’s almost enough to make her forget that she’s learning at the same time… and isn’t that the point of homeschooling? (Or at least one of them?) That we want learning to be a constant life experience, and something that’s *fun*, not just something that’s pushed on them at school and they try to forget just as soon as they escape out the door?

Write Shop Junior Book D Materials

• Write Shop Junior Book D Teacher’s Guide - $39.95 print, $34.95 ebook –  REQUIRED –  266 black and white pages
• Write Shop Junior Book D Activity Pack - $39.95 print, $29.95 ebook –  REQUIRED –  includes the student worksheet pack and the Fold-N-Go grammar pack
• Write Shop Junior Book D Time-Saver Pack - $13.95 print or ebook – OPTIONAL – Make your own game spinners, cards and props following the directions in the teacher’s guide, or purchase this time-saving ready-to-use (or print) pack.

Writing Curricula For Every Age

Other Homeschool Crew families received Write Shop materials for Primary levels A, B, and C, covering grade levels K through 3^rd. Write Shop also offers its namesake junior/senior high school writing program, writing shop, though it’s currently only available in print. (I’d love to see it in a more budget-friendly ebook!) And if your family is in need of fun themed writing prompts, make sure to check out the Storybuilders ebooks for plenty of inspirational material.

Write Shop Junior Levels E and F (for 8–11 and 9–12 year olds, respectively) are mentioned in the placement guide in book D, but they’re not available yet.

To see what other Crew members had to say, check out the links on the TOS Homeschool Crew blog post, Write Shop.

**Disclaimer – As part of the The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew, I received the download version of Write Shop Junior Book D Teacher’s Guide, Activity Pack, and Time-Saver Pack for free so that I could provide you with an honest review of it by our family.**

Math facts.

Love them, hate them, we can’t live without them. Sooner or later, we’ve just got to give in and memorize them.

As homeschooling parents, we’re fortunate to live in the computer age, where we have tons of unique alternatives for math facts practice – we never have to resort to the simple old flash cards of our childhoods.

Software that provides practice in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and addition can run the gamut from basic to edutainment. At the game-enhanced end of the spectrum, certainly, there is an increased rate of interest –  but at what cost? Time, and a much of the student’s attention on the game aspects, rather than on the material that he’s supposed to be learning.

Sometimes, it’s better to remove all the bells and whistles, and get straight to the point, without all the potential distractions. And that’s where CapJaxMathFax comes in.

One math solution

CapJaxMathFax is pure math, with incremental levels of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, designed to allow a student to succeed in memorizing the tables. Students compete against their own bests, so both challenge and success are built-in to the program. Recordkeeping and scoring is done automatically.

It’s suggested that CapJaxMathFax just be used for a few minutes a day, over a period of time, for the best results, and that students start at the lowest level, and work their way up through the program so that they are able to see the results of their hard work. CapJaxMathFax records and charts their scores over time. Success is measured and rewarded in multiple ways: students can see daily the change in their scores; students can earn virtual “merit badges” for completing objectives, and certificates recognizing milestones may be printed.

CapMathJaxFax is designed to be supplemental to any math program; the primary virtue is that it allows for math drill with minimal parent involvement for either preparation or scoring/recordkeeping. All that is needed is access to a computer; no additonal supplies are necessary.

Our impressions of CapJaxMathFax

In our house, my younger two students have used CapJaxMathFax as recommended; I had a bit of a mutiny on my hands with my older two students (8^th  and 10th) about yet another math practice software. In all honestly, the 10th grader doesn’t need it – and the 8^th grader, well… let’s just say I’m glad when he’s doing his regular math these days.

The kids were initially *very* turned off by the graphics of the program – they declared the character (Captain Jax?) “creepy” while they were still on the title page. I had thought the initial reaction would be to the primarily text-based interface – nope, not at all. They were too busy talking about the “creepy dude”.

The second surprise – that I have to admit got all of us, myself included, the first time we ran the program, was how to start it. Rather than buttons that say something like “start” and “exit”, they say “GO FOR IT” and “BAIL”. I appreciate the effort to be different, but those word choices just seem a bit odd.

Once we were into the meat of the program, we were pleasantly surprised. CapJaxMathFax does exactly what it promises, and does it well. The focus is on math, not on potentially distracting amusements, and the challenge of trying to beat their own scores is enough to keep the kids interested. (Nothing quite like having to kick the kid off the computer because she’s been trying to beat that score for a half an hour…)

CapJaxMathFax is works on either PC or Mac; an evaluation version may be downloaded here.

CapJaxMathFax is moderately priced at $29.95 (download version, or plus $5.95 shipping on CD), which includes a year’s license for up to 10 users. With annual re-licensing requirements, it’s clear that CapJaxMathFax was created for the public school market; despite being called the “home version” the pricing structure is atypical for homeschool or afterschool software.

To see what other Crew members had to say, check out the links on the TOS Homeschool Crew blog post, CapJaxMathFax.

**Disclaimer – As part of the The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew, I received the download version of CapJaxMathFax for free so that I could provide you with an honest review of it by our family.**

I’ve been looking for a bible study curriculum that we could –  and would –  use in our home. To get regular use in our household, it’d have to rank fairly high on the ease-of -use and flexibility scales.

We recently received a download version of the Judah Bible Curriculum for our perusal, and I was pretty excited about it. After reading through their website, I’d been really excited about it.

Judah Bible Curriculum is designed as a framework to make it easy to give your children a comprehensive knowledge of the bible while building strong, Godly characters. By studying the Bible together with the Bible as the primary textbook, each student can develop their reasoning ability and learn to apply Biblical principles in their lives.

Due to the non-reliance on traditional textbooks and workbooks, it takes a little bit more work for the instructor to learn how to teach the Judah Bible Curriculum.

In fact, I’ll go a step beyond that and say that it’s a bit intimidating. Judah Bible Curriculum is a bit of a misnomer, really; it’s more a framework, a listing of themes with relevant biblical topics and locations.

Lesson-planning and activities are entirely up to the teacher, which is excellent if you’re highly organized and have the time to spend on weekly prep, or are working together with a team of teachers in a co-op or a sunday school.

The teacher’s manual includes an overview of the curriculum, blank and sample notebooking pages, and the schedule. Also included are diagrams that support material presented in the audio lectures. The schedule is bare bones; that was my first hint that my expectations weren’t in line with reality.

The reproducible notebooking pages consist of charts to fill out that are used to illustrate each theme. While I understand the purpose behind the author’s desire to encourage a permanent record that the student can refer back to, it really did not appeal to my kids. By the third week, we found ourselves discussing the verses out loud, and doing very little writing. For more about the notebook approach, read here.

Perhaps that’s just our family? For me, personally, I prefer specific discussion questions. We can read together, or individually, think about or write our answers, and then come together and discuss them. But beyond discussing the verses themselves, and trying to guess at how they might tie into the theme that week, I was at a loss.

I eventually found myself fairly frustrated. I really wanted to like Judah Bible Curriculum. I admire its goals, and I love the concept. It’s just not a good fit for me or for my family. I apparently don’t deal well with something that conceptually open-ended, especially when the topic is religion.

A scope and sequence is available here.

There are two purchase options for the Judah Bible Curriculum:

• A physical hard copy, for $69 plus $5 postage and handling, that includes: the Judah Bible Curriculum K-12 Manual; an Elementary Notebook Ideas booklet, and an eight-lecture Teacher Training Seminar on CDs, or
• a download, delivered online, a 40% discount at $44, that includes: Judah Bible Curriculum K-12 Manual, e-book format to download; Elementary Notebook Ideas booklet to view online or download; eight-lecture Teacher Training Seminar. listen online or download.

To see what other Crew members had to say, check out the links on the TOS Homeschool Crew blog post, Judah Bible Curriculum.

**Disclaimer – As part of the The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew, I received the download version of the Judah Bible Curriculum for free so that I could provide you with an honest review of it by our family.**

I’m a book addict. I admit it.
I’m on a self-imposed book diet at the moment; no books unless we *really need them for school* until AFTER we get everything unpacked. (It’s been slow going – for homeschoolers, we sure haven’t been home much this spring!)

I’m tempted, though. Come a little closer and I’ll whisper you the secret… wouldn’t want anyone to catch on that I’m thinking about falling off the [book]wagon. Somebody reminded me about a bookseller… nothing quite like dangling it in front of me!

Where to find your book fix
Hop on over to Homeschool Library Builder, where they specialize in filling your shelves without emptying your wallet. During the month of May, all items are 25% off – a fantastic savings!

How to find books
In addition to themed categories and general searching, Homeschool Library Builder also offers the ability to search by age level, geographic area, or the curriculum the book with be used with. Curricula references include Ambleside, Beautiful Feet, Five In A Row, Heart of Dakota, Sonlight, and Tapestry of Grace.

There’s even a category for hard-to-find and vintage books. But should a recommended book prove particularly elusive, don’t hesitate to contact them for help; they’re happy to search for a hard-to-find treasure, at no extra cost to you.

Join for Free Membership
Homeschool Library Builder also offers a free membership. The best part of this membership is that it allows you- and Homeschool Library Builder – to keep track of Book Points that you earn. For every dollar spent at Homeschool Library Builder, you earn one book point – and every 15 book points is worth $1 off your next order!

One thing I should mention – I haven’t personally ordered from them. I’ve seen their prices, I’ve read online mentions of excellent service, and I’ve meant to order from them a time or ten. Even if you’re not in the market for books today, I strongly urge you to sign up for their newsletter so that you’ll receive notification of future sales.

Homeschool Library Builder is owned and operated by fellow homeschool families, and they’re dedicated to providing both new and used materials at affordable prices. They also provide a link "homeschool marketplace" for fellow homeschool businesses.

To see what other Crew members had to say (yes, some of them *have* purchased from HSLB before), check out the links on the TOS Homeschool Crew blog post, Homeschool Library Builder.

**Disclaimer – As part of  The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew, I was asked to review this website, their current sale, and the free membership, but I did not receive any compensation or product.**

It’s apparently science week here at casa crazy. The birds are singing, the deer are hanging out across the street, and the spring flowers are out in full bloom. I’m ready to jump into gardening… but first, a different kind of science.

Generally when we think of physics, we think high school science. But it doesn’t have to be, and in fact, usually isn’t – it’s just usually hidden under more generic terms like general science. So don’t let the scary “physics” term scare you – it *can* be something that you – and your kids – enjoy, and Christian Kids Explore Physics from Bright Ideas Press is a user-friendly way to do so.

The new 2nd edition of Christian Kids Explore Physics comes with an easy-to-use resource CD that includes printable lesson plans, supply lists, and a student activity book. (The activity book isn’t different material – it’s actually all the reproducible pages from the text, in one place, for easy printing. Makes the task of printing out the student materials MUCH easier!)

Created for grades 4-8, Christian Kids Explore Physics is detailed and thorough. Intended to be used just twice a week, there are 30 lessons and six unit reviews. A daily lesson plan suggests that on the first science day, teaching and discussion of the material, vocabulary, and review questions occur, along with any memory work and supplemental reading, plus a coloring page if desired. On the second day, information would be reviewed and the hands-on activity completed, plus supplemental reading. The review weeks consist of reviewing study materials on day one, and a test on day two.

I have to say, I absolutely adore that everything is totally, completely laid out and scheduled for me. No big long spiel to read, no theories to digest, it’s ready to implement. Print and go. And it’s two days a week. This would have been VERY nice to have about five years ago! I’m not sure this could be made any easier to use – if there’s any hang ups whatsoever, it’s somewhere farther into the book where I haven’t gotten yet!

Christian Kids Explore Physics is a year-long curriculum if used as laid out by the lesson plans. This particular curriculum is the first one in a great while where I can actually see us continuing to use the curriculum as it was intended to be used, at least for the most part. At some point, a few things will migrate a bit toward our more typical patterns of usage.

For example: I have one early bird, one night owl, and a couple of in-betweens, plus we stay pretty busy on top of that. Chances are, the “day 1″ will turn into a series of short conversations, and day 2 will be the only “everyone in one place” type of activity.  That’s more a reflection on our busyness and lifestyle than it is on the curricula, and an adaption that we tend to migrate toward as a rule. The kids are generally fairly independent and can usually be trusted to remain on task and get what they need to done, allowing me to be facilitator rather than taskmaster, which works out much better for all of us – and, imo, serves them much better in the long run.

The Christian Kids Explore Science series is apparently considered classical-style curricula, though it wouldn’t have occurred to me if I hadn’t read it on the website. Perhaps it’s because of the emphasis on reading about the science in additional texts, and the extensive (and much appreciated!) book lists that are included that correspond with each lesson? I’ve never really considered us to do much in the manner of classical homeschooling, but then again, to us, pretty heavy book usage is the norm rather than the exception.

Christian Kids Explore Physics is a huge text, with over 400 pages. (My review copy is in PDF, but I wanted to give you a heads-up that it’s a pretty hefty tome on real paper!) The enclosed CD will work on PC or Mac. Christian Kids Explore Physics is just $39.95 – a great deal, in my opinion, for a text of this quality.

The table of contents and samples of Lessons 18 and 19 are available from this page: Christian Kids Explore Physics. It will give you a very clear representation of what the entire textbook is like. The lesson plans, book lists, and answer keys are just as simple and efficient.

Other Homeschool Crew members also reviewed three additional Christian Kids Explore Science titles; Biology and Earth & Space are written for grades 3-6, while Chemistry, like Physics, is aimed at grades 4-8.

For reviews of Physics and the other titles, check out the links on the TOS Homeschool Crew blog post, Christian Kids Explore Science.

**Disclaimer – I received this product for free as a member of the 2011-12 The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew so that I could provide you with an honest review of it by our family.**

I’ve been thinking it’s about time we did some kind of a homeschool human body science refresher, and just in the nick of time, we received this neat text/CD combo from AIMS Education Foundation.

From Head to Toe is for grades 5-9 – and yes, it’ll stretch a bit to grades 4-10 – that’s what we’re doing. It’s chock-full of all sorts of interesting activities, plus quirky little booklets to print and put together called “rubber band books”. It’s clear that this book was designed for the public school market, with these take-home friendly little tools… but they’re a hit in my book. Cute little mini text books.

My recommendations for the rubber band books:

1. Don’t hit every store in town trying to find #19 rubber bands. I’m not convinced they even exist. Just guess at the nearest size you can find, and trim if needed.
2. Have colored pencils available for coloring. Markers are a bit wide and bleed through; crayons are just plain too wide. Unless they dig the sharpener out… and just believe me. Save yourself the hassle, have the colored pencils at ready, because if your kids are anything like mine, they *will* end up coloring them.

One of my favorite things? The rubber band books – along with any other student pages that would generally need to be photocopied – are available in PDF format on the CD that accompanies the book. This makes printing out pages a piece of cake, and those rubber band books line up perfectly.

The instructions for each of the 39 activities are clear and concise. A materials list is included, but the instructions go even farther than that. Any prep work needed is explicitly listed, along with any other details that might be necessary to check beforehand, such as “make sure the rulers have markings in inches” or “cut plastic straws into 1 1/2 inch lengths”. Absolutely perfect for keeping things organized, and essential if you’re crunched for time.

With the focus on hands-on activities, From Head to Toe could be used alone as a unit study, or as an add-on to more traditional science curriculum. It’s entirely project-based, and kids that enjoy hands-on activities will love using it for science. Parents will love the ease of use – it’s all laid out ahead of time, and intended to be as quick and no-brainer as possible. A win-win situation. All the fun and flexibility of unit studies, none of the confusion.

Questions for later discussion or written work are also included; use these to help reinforce and articulate what the students have learned through the project.

We received a softcover print edition of From Head to Toe; it has approximately 275 black and white reproducible pages. (But as I mentioned, I’m *very* glad that I don’t have to fight with a photocopier – I love being able to print student pages off via PDF – so the included CD is a wonderful thing. Since From Head to Toe may be purchased in either print or PDF versions, the choice is yours – but either way, you’ll have it easy, too, with no-hassle student printables, priced at just $24.95.

Five other titles were reviewed by TOS Crew members:

• Looking at Lines - For grades 6-9, Looking at Lines introduces “algebraic concepts in their natural setting” through 32 activities drawn from real-world situations. A CD with printable student pages is included with the physical book, or it may be purchased in PDF form instead. $24.95
• It’s About Time - Students in grades K-2 will learn do hands-on activities and build a strong conceptual sense of time and its measurement with the 22 activities in It’s About Time. The print edition includes a CD with student pages in PDF format; it’s also available as a PDF to download immediately. $21.95
• Fabulous Fractions - Manipulatives abound in Fabulous Fractions, with 22 activities designed to help grade 3-5  students visually understand the concepts they’re learning. Fabulous Fractions is available in print or PDF form. $24.95
• Earth Rocks! - Students in grades 4-5 will explore soil, rocks, minerals, the water cycle & properties of water throughout the 50 activities in Earth Rocks! Sections on weathering, erosion, renewable & nonrenewable resources, and pollution are also included. Available in print or PDF. $29.95
• What on Earth? - An introduction for grades K-1 to the natural sciences, What on Earth? has 30 activities on natural resources, rocks and soil, water, changes in the earth’s surface due to natural events, day and night, and the seasons. Available in PDF or print form – the physical copy includes a CD with printable student pages. $21.95

To see what other crew members had to say, check out the TOS Homeschool Crew blog post, AIMS Education Foundation.

**Disclaimer – I received this product for free as a member of the 2011-12 The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew so that I could provide you with an honest review of it by our family.**

You know that old saying, you don’t know what you have til you’ve lost it? Well, there’s a corollary. You don’t know what you’re missing til you find it… or in my case, til the package arrives in the mailbox.

Middle school years are gawky, in-between ones for some subjects. In public schools, class materials treat these years as extensions of grade school, or as watered-down high school courses, and students tend to fall into a holding pattern until their freshman year.

As homeschoolers, we fight against falling into that trap, and often push our middlers on ahead into high school subjects.

Language arts is one of those awkward areas. They’ve already practiced handwriting, learned to read, and spell and paraphrase. They’ve worn their name off their library card; now, what do we do?

And for those in-between years of growing pains, what we really need are the best tools yet, for they must:
- be new and different
- not be babyish
- not be overwhelmingly difficult
- be interesting enough to hold their attention
- and above all, be something worth investing their time in – not just a rehash of elementary skills.

And into this gap comes Write with World.

Write With World is a innovative new writing curriculum designed to imbue a new generation of writers with the tools necessary for effective communication in our media-centric world.

Created by a partnership of educators and journalists, Write With World doesn’t just teach the bare bones of writing. Instead, it successfully delivers a greater truth – that writing is not merely a mundane chore to fill a page, make a grade, answer a question – writing has purpose, meaning, force. It has made men wealthy and it has destroyed lives.

Words are power. As writers, we must learn to wield that power to the best of our ability.

Write with World comes from the publishers of God’s World News and World Magazine. As such, it does have a Christian focus. It’s also devoted to teaching how to interpret what is seen and heard, because only by understanding slant and bias can we choose to use or withhold it in our own writing.

Write with World is a refreshing change from traditional writing programs. Students are encouraged to write for their audience, for the written word, like speech, has little meaning without someone to communicate to.

A sample lesson (Unit 1: Lesson 1) of Write with World is available for your viewing; it’s representative of the style of the rest of the book. (Unit 1 is the only one that I’ve found with full color images; later units have just the black and orange text.)

The review copies that I received were the pre-release version of the first year of a two-year program; the final versions of the Write with World books won’t ship until summer 2012. I was sent two books: a (9″ x 9″) student text and a (9″ high x 12″ wide) parent/ teacher text. Both are perfectbound, aka paperback softcover, and approximately 200 pages in length. (Non-standard book sizes irritate me; the kids liked the student book, finding it comfortable to use.)

A supplementary website for users of the curriculum will be available September 2012. The publishers informed us that it will provide an online publishing opportunity for students and additional writing subjects to refresh and enhance the textbook material.

Pricing for the final version (pre-orders begin in April) will be $95 per year, or $165 for both years, when purchased at the same time. (The purchase includes access to the website mentioned above.)

Write with World was created for grades 6-9; it could easily be used as a high school text. Multiple grade levels within this range would work well together. My 4th grader did join in with some of the activities, but I found myself answering many more questions for her, and I believe she would get far more out of this curriculum in a couple of years.

Creation of a high school curriculum is under consideration; if one is developed, a tentative release date would be for the 2013-14 school year.

At this time, there are not digital editions available, but the publisher did include a note to us reviewers that he would like to know what we – and our blog followers – would think of having an electronic version instead of printed books.

My answer is pretty simple. I think everyone around here knows that, no matter how much I love holding a real book in my hands, there’s just no way to get past the money-saving, space-saving, time-saving, resource-saving, ultra-portable benefits of ebooks. And when so many of us homeschoolers are low-income because we’re choosing raising our kids over material things… lower cost is always a good thing.

So… this is the page to order Write with World. And on the left hand side, there’s a “Your Feedback” link? Do me a favor. If you agree with me and you’d like to see them publish digital editions, tell them so. And leave me a message here, too, and I’ll pass it on to the email I’ve been given. (I don’t think it’s a public email, so I’m not sharing it here.)

To see what other crew members had to say, check out the TOS Homeschool Crew blog post, Write With World.

**Disclaimer – I received this product for free as a member of the 2011-12 The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew so that I could provide you with an honest review of it by our family.**

Wow. When the review copy of TruthQuest History Middle Ages guide landed in my email, that was my first reaction, and still, I’m in awe. I think we’ve been blessed with *our* history… and I wish I’d found it several years ago.

Actually, I should say, I wish I’d really SEEN it for what it was. I’d heard of it. I’d hazzard a guess that many of us have. But I’d never really looked inside the covers and lived with it… and that’s what it took to fall in love.

The TruthQuest History guides aren’t pages and pages of dry, boring history, followed by multiple choice quizzes and fill-in-the-blanks. Instead, each section is a living, breathing, vibrant introduction to an era of history… followed by an easy-to-use booklist, with even chapters and pages cited.

The booklists are not there because you MUST use them all – or because you may ONLY use titles from that list – but to give you a tool to use. Pick and choose what you prefer for your family – seek additional titles if you desire – and use TruthQuest History as your homebase for real-life learning about history.

TruthQuest History is excellent for families spanning muliple grade levels. Younger children would need to have material read to them, making this a hands-on program for lower grades. For students from older elementary through high school, Truthquest History can easily be used as a mostly-independent program. “ThinkWrite” questions are included in each section, and could either be done as written work, or be discussed conversationally if desired.

This is perfect for us at the moment – at least in the manner I’m using it. Low time commitment for me; I get the books in the house, make sure the kids know what they’re to be working on – which means leaving them a task list, and check in to make sure they’re making progress and answer questions. They let me know if they have any questions, if they’re run out of things on their to-do list, or if someone’s hogging a book. Everybody wins, and we’re actually doing history on a reliable schedule for once, instead of mish-mash, whenever someone’s interested in something. Definitely sounds like a win-win situation to me! (Note: my ultra-flexible method isn’t going to work for everyone. My youngest is 9, almost 10, and all the kids will actually follow a list of instructions I’ve left. Your mileage may vary.)

TruthQuest History was created for classical-style homeschooling, but may appeal to any homeschoolers seeking to teach history through living books rather than textbook and drill and memorization methods.

TruthQuest History does have a Christian focus – though so far, in the Middle Ages book at least, there is very little emphasis compared to what I was expecting based on the information on the website. Samples are available of all Truthquest products.

With eleven products spanning the breadth of history, even figuring out where to start might be overwhelming. The people at TruthQuest History understand that, and they’ve provided an extensive reference to help you choose where to begin TruthQuest History.

TruthQuest History products are available in both print and pdf format. Print prices range from $24.95-$34.95, and pdf from $19.95-$29.95. Supplemental lapbooks are also available for many of the guides.

To see what other crew members had to say, check out the TOS Homeschool Crew blog post, Truthquest History.

**Disclaimer – I received this product for free as a member of the 2011-12 The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew so that I could provide you with an honest review of it by our family.**

We all know it’s important to be ever-vigilant about what our kids are doing on the internet. And while we KNOW that, and KNOW that the best way to do that is to supervise every moment, in reality, that’s easier said than done.

As eclectic homeschoolers, we use the internet – a LOT. We’re busy, active people; we’re not always home at the same time. It just isn’t practical or realistic to think that every moment a kid needs to use the computer, an adult is going to be in the house, let alone in the same room, occasionally peering over their shoulder.

That’s where internet safety software like Action Alert comes in. Action Alert is there when you can’t be.

Action Alert includes 8 internet safety tools in one easy-to-install software:

• Access Control – This allows you to shut down the computer from elsewhere if you need to.
• Activity Notification Alerts – The software sends you alerts via email or texts when questionable activity is detected.
• Activity Video Recording – Up to 60 hours of computer use is recorded – you can see exactly what was happening on the computer while you were away. (This is pretty hard for the kids to argue with! It’s time-stamped, too!)
• Time Allowance – So you can specify what times during the day when the computer can be used.
• Site Blocking – Blocks inappropriate sites or sites you’ve chosen not to allow access to.
• Content Filtering – Filters out unacceptable material during searching.
• Keystroke Logging – Captures all usernames and passwords – especially important if you have a child that’s into keeping unsafe secrets.
• Chat and Email Logging – Ensure that only safe conversations are happening, and have a record of conversations later, “just in case”

And just a few words about our personal experience with Action Alert:

Installation - I was a bit nervous about installing it. I haven’t had good luck with parental control software in the past. I installed on a fairly new Windows 7 computer. Installation went well, was easy, no conflicts.

Setup - Fairly straightforward. Reading the instructions helped. Re-reading them helped even more. The instructions are clear; it was my assuming I could figure it out without them that wasn’t so good.

The kids’ experience with it - It creeps out one of my teens. He didn’t like the fact that I could “see everything”. Of course, the friend he complained to told him that her mom could, too – so that pretty much ended the complaining. The younger kids didn’t care. Nobody really cares for the start page, and I’ve been meaning to see if I can change it, but haven’t yet. (I don’t have the one I want to change it to ready yet.) Also, we had one Log Error – but more on that in a moment.

My experience with it - It’s ok. I don’t really care for having to sit and watch the video – that’s tedious – but I’m not sure what a better option would be. (I don’t have texting, or get email on my phone.) Now that I think about it, I wish the video was divided into sections by webpage or computer program. (And yes, I realize that’s probably wishful thinking. But half the video on there one week was me installing firefox plugin updates, all mixed in with kid use!)

We’ve had one Log Error that was promptly remedied by the program once I entered the password. Other than that, no technical difficulties. Very happy with it.

Action Alert comes highly recommended. It’s been featured on NBC’s The Today Show, and won awards, including Disney’s iParenting Award. It’s the only internet safety solution endorsed by The Child Safety Network.

Action Alert is available in two versions, Free and Maximum Protection

The Free Version includes everything you need to set up a kid-safe computer in seconds. The Maximum Protection version, $29.99, is fully customizable, offers multiple user protection, and full social network monitoring.

To see what other crew members had to say, check out the TOS Homeschool Crew blog post, Action Alert.

**I received this product for free as a member of the 2011-12 The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew so that I could provide you with an honest review of it by our family.**

It might seem a little bit early for Hummingbird season, but here in the Pacific Northwest, we have one species, Anna’s Hummingbird, that stays during the winter rather than migrates south. We’ve seen a few out and about – three on our back deck in just one day – and thought we’d better get a feeder up for them.

Hummingbird nectar is quick and easy to make, so there’s no need to buy the expensive already-prepared nectars sold in stores.

The ratio of water to sugar is 4:1.

We measured 1 cup sugar into a heat-safe bowl.

Then we boiled slighted more than four cups of water. (There needs to be four cups left after the water has been heated, so err on the side of too much, then measure. And I apologize for the picture – all our reasonably-sized pots are still packed!)

After measuring out four cups water, into the bowl it went. Chey stirred until all the sugar had dissolved. (I don’t think kids ever grow out of their amazement at watching powder vanish into water.)

And then it was time to put together the hummingbird feeder. The kids are slightly dubious when I claim it will not leak.

And we’re all done! The hummingbird feeder is, as Chey says, ready for its first customer.

Note: We also added a couple drops of red food coloring. From everything I’ve read, these days, that choice is a matter of personal preference – that while there may have been problems with food colorings from the 70s, there’s nothing in today’s food dyes that makes them dangerous for hummingbirds. I’m sort of amazed at how red the nectar looks in this pic – it was actually a very pale pink, so the majority of the “color” in this picture is coming from the reflection of the red plastic, and not the dye, which surprises me.

For more info on hummingbirds and hummingbird nectar check out About.com.