Friday, June 28, 2013

Thrifty Thursday {On Friday}


Here are some thrifty deals for today!

FREE Science Experiment Guide {$25 Value} @ Supercharged Science

FREE Science Activity Manual and Video Collection {$30 Value} @  Supercharged Science

FREE Reading Comprehension and Activity Guide for Saige @ Krazy Kuehner Days

Art Instruction DVD Sale! 62% off and FREE Shipping @ Hearts at Home Store

FREE Animal Matching Games @ Home to 4 Kiddos

FREE Printable Monthly Calendar @ My Joy Filled Life

FREE USA Fun Facts and Copywork @ Currclick

FREE Patriotic Themed Printables @ Homeschool Giveaways and Freebies

I hope you enjoy some of these FREEBIES!  If you know of any others, please leave a comment below.  Thanks! 



©2010-2013 Our Homeschool Reviews. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://ourhomeschoolreviews.blogspot.com/

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Moving Beyond the Page Review

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Does your child enjoy reading?  Would you love to find a complete literature-based homeschool curriculum?  If so, you need to check out Moving Beyond the Page

Moving Beyond the Page is a complete literature-based homeschool curriculum that:

*  Encourages critical and creative thinking
*  Provides challenging and engaging projects
*  Supports different learning styles

Once you arrive at their website, you can shop for complete packages or individual units by age or by subject {science, social studies, language arts, or math}.

Funny Bunny and I chose her review selection by age.  If you need help with choosing the appropriate age range, you can read more at Choosing the Right Age Level.

She is in the 8-10 age range so she selected the Little House in the Big Woods Language Arts Package to go along with the Dirt and Plants Science Package. 


Here's how it works: {I'm going to use the 8-10 age level as an example}

There are 12 literature units included in the 8-10 age level. They are made to go along with one of the 12 science or social studies units that make up the complete curriculum package.

All units are broken down into daily lesson plans. When you begin lesson 1 of a science or social studies unit, you will also begin the first day of the corresponding literature unit.

I just LOVE how everything works together!!  You can read more here at the 8-10 overview {there is an overview for each age range}.  Scroll down and you will see the corresponding units.

Here's how we used it:

As I mentioned earlier, Funny Bunny selected the Little House in the Big Woods Language Arts Package to go along with the Dirt and Plants Science Package. We received the Dirt and Plants Science Package in the mail, along with the Little House in the Big Woods chapter book.  The Language Arts Curriculum was provided to us as an ebook.


Then each day after we began a lesson in the literature unit, we began the corresponding lesson in the science unit.  Everything was well laid out and all the instructions were very clear.

Below are a few samples from the literature unit.  Since it was an ebook, we had to print the worksheets.  I think that's a great idea if you have multiple children working in the same unit, but I would have liked the physical workbook so I didn't have as much printing.  It's nice to have both options though.


Below are a few samples from the science unit.  There were less worksheets and more projects, which we liked.  You can see how in the literature unit above we learned about plants and natural resources and in the science unit she made a mobile of the parts of a plant.  Other projects included experimenting with soil and a growth experiment. 


Thoughts of a 10-Year Old:  Moving Beyond the Page was a really good way for me to learn more about plants and soil.  For instance, I had no idea that depending on how light or dark the soil is, it's actually saying what kind of dirt it is.  I guess I had just never really thought about it before.  When you think of what's in the dirt, you typically think of worms, armadillos, moles - but there's so much more!  Just one square foot of soil can be home to as many as 300,000 different living things!  Also, the book Little House in the Big Woods was good.  I learned about how they did the things we do but simpler.  I even compared their life to ours and made a plant mobile!  I loved this science program and enjoyed it a lot!

Find Out More:  You can find out more online at Moving Beyond the Page.  Shop for complete packages or individual units by age or by subject.  Available for ages 4-14.

The Little House in the Big Woods Language Arts Package is $23.98 and includes the chapter book and curriculum workbook.  The Dirt and Plants Science Package is $30.89 and includes Dirt: Jump into Science, Experiments with Plants, and curriculum workbook.  The entire 8-10 Full Year Package is $772.53 and includes hard copy curriculum, literature, and manipulatives for science, social studies, and language arts.  What is great about this program is you can pick and choose what you want!

Make sure to check out the curriculum samples and these helpful Getting Started and FAQ pages.

My Crewmates are also reviewing Moving Beyond the Page, so you can check out what they think HERE.




©2010-2013 Our Homeschool Reviews. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://ourhomeschoolreviews.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Wordless Wednesday: Tacky Tourists


Funny Bunny and I as tacky tourists from VBS last week.



©2010-2013 Our Homeschool Reviews. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://ourhomeschoolreviews.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Art Instruction DVD SALE!!

This set is being discontinued! Get it while supplies last!

These 12 art instruction DVDs retail for $79.90! 

 YOUR PRICE is $30.00 - 62% off & includes
*FREE SHIPPING! ~ While Supplies Last!
 

*Free shipping applies to USA orders only.

 



Our Homeschool Reviews & Social Media


It's summer, and as we are winding down with school, I'm trying to find the time to update all my social media sites.  If you aren't already following me, I'd love for you to check me out on...

Facebook @ Our Homeschool Reviews
Twitter @ OurHSReviews
Pinterest @ ourhsreviews 

Hope to see you around!




©2010-2013 Our Homeschool Reviews. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://ourhomeschoolreviews.blogspot.com/

Friday, June 21, 2013

The Adventures of Lily Lapp Series Review

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I can't wait to tell you about a new book series we discovered through Baker Publishing Group.   It's called The Adventures of Lily Lapp Series and we received two books: Life with Lily and A New Home for Lily.

 photo lifewithlily_zpsc0af8377.jpgLife with Lily is about the adventures of a girl named Lily on a small Amish farm in upstate New York.  Each chapter chronicles a new adventure either at her farm or school, with animals or family.  There are lots of changes in her life, including a new baby brother, a new teacher at school, and a move to a new home.

Funny Bunny and I read Life with Lily together and found ourselves laughing hysterically at some of the silly and fun situations.  It was hard for us to put the book down because we were continuously wanting to know what would happen next.

It was also sometimes hard to remember that the events that take place in the book are timeless and most likely pretty current.  We would have to remind ourselves that her story wasn't taking place in the 1800's.  There was one point about seven chapters in that Lily's family rides in a neighbor's car.  Up to that point you would have never thought people had cars.  That led us to some great discussions about the Amish and their way of life.  We were able to find out more at The Adventures of Lily Lapp.

 photo anewhomeforlily_zps899a6825.jpg A New Home for Lily tells about Lily's move to Pennsylvania with her family and their joining a new Amish community.  We get to experience what it is like for her in a new town, at a new school, and meeting new friends.

This second book in the series is still filled with as much adventure and excitement as the first.  We also learned that although we may be different from the Amish in many ways, we are very similar as well. 

Funny Bunny and I have thoroughly enjoyed these two books and are looking forward to reading the third and fourth in the series:  A Big Year for Lily {July 2013} and A Surprise for Lily {Sept 2013}.

Thoughts of a 10-Year Old:  I really enjoyed reading these two books.  Life with Lily is a fun book about Lily Lapp and growing up Amish.  Lily has many adventures, trials, mishaps, and just can't find a way to get along with that pesky Mandy Mast!  A New Home for Lily tells about when Lily moved to a Pennsylvanian Amish town.  Lily has to face the difficulties of a new home, new friends, and coping with Aaron Yoder, the most aggravating boy in the whole wide world!  Still, moving isn't all that bad.  Like when Lily gets a new doll, sleds at school, and her cousin moves right next door!  Lily (and I) learned that change isn't always a bad thing.  I really liked the two books and can't wait for the next two to come out!

About the Authors:  Mary Ann Kinsinger was raised Old Order Amish in Pennsylvania. After her and her husband chose to leave the Amish church, Mary Ann began a blog, A Joyful Chaos, as a way to capture her warm memories of her childhood for her own children.  Suzanne Woods Fisher is the bestselling author of The Letters, the Lancaster County Secrets series, and the Stoney Ridge Seasons series, as well as nonfiction books about the Amish, including Amish Peace. 

Find Out More:  You can find out more about The Adventures of Lily Lapp Series online at Baker Publishing GroupLife with Lily and A New Home for Lily are $12.99 each and available as paperback or e-book.  Both are almost 300 pages and recommended for ages 8-12.  You can also find out more at The Adventures of Lily Lapp.

My Crewmates are also reviewing The Adventure of Lily Lapp, so you can check out what they think HERE.




©2010-2013 Our Homeschool Reviews. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://ourhomeschoolreviews.blogspot.com/

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Thrifty Thursday


We have been at Vacation Bible School all week so I've not had time to post.  I have shared a few FREEBIES on the Our Homeschool Reviews Facebook page though, so please take a look there.



©2010-2013 Our Homeschool Reviews. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://ourhomeschoolreviews.blogspot.com/

Friday, June 14, 2013

And the See the Light DVD Winner Is...

Comment #49: Lexi said...I liked See the Light on FB!

I used Random.org to pick the winner and I have already notified her via email.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the See the Light DVD Giveaway via Our Homeschool Reviews!

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Summer Schedule

Funny Bunny is officially finished with 4th grade but I still want her to work about an hour each morning on a few things.  Below is what she is working on now {along with math}.  Reviews coming soon!




©2010-2013 Our Homeschool Reviews. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://ourhomeschoolreviews.blogspot.com/

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Thrifty Thursday


Here are some thrifty deals for today!

FREE Science Experiment Guide {$25 Value} @ Supercharged Science

FREE Science Activity Manual and Video Collection {$30 Value} @  Supercharged Science

FREE Complete Curriculum @ Easy Peasy All In One Homeschool and Blogroll @ Good Work Academy

FREE Bowling for Kids @ Kids Bowl Free {We printed out a report card template a couple days ago and Funny Bunny was able to get 30 free games she can use over the summer}

FREE Printables at Free Homeschool Deals

FREE Spanish Lesson for K-2 @ SALSA

FREE PreK - K Farm Printables @ Currclick

FREE Sewing Resources @ Homeschool Giveaways & Freebies

FREE Writing Prompts @ Jenn's RAQ

FREE Copy of the movie Amazing Grace @ FEE

FREE Digital Homeschool Magazine Subscription @ TOS

I hope you enjoy some of these FREEBIES!  If you know of any others, please leave a comment below.  Thanks!

©2010-2013 Our Homeschool Reviews. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://ourhomeschoolreviews.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Wordless Wednesday: Cake Decorating


Funny Bunny's butterfly cake for the cake decorating contest at church.  I think she did a pretty good job, don't you?

©2010-2013 Our Homeschool Reviews. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://ourhomeschoolreviews.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Memoria Press: Prima Latina Review

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Memoria Press is a family-run publishing company that produces simple and easy-to-use classical Christian education materials for home and private schools.  Their products are characterized by three things: simplicity, quality, and affordability, and are designed to be accessible to homeschool families who have no familiarity with the subject being taught.

Prima Latina, an introduction to Christian Latin, is a gentle start to Latin for young elementary children in grades 2-4, and is what I received to review.

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Prima Latina includes:

* 25 lessons, each including grammar
* 5 vocabulary words with English derivatives per lesson
* A practical Latin phrase per lesson
* One line of a prayer per lesson
* Easy-to-read, 2-color format

Here you can view the Table of Contents and a Sample Lesson 1.

Before I start my review I want to preface it with the fact that Funny Bunny has been studying Latin for a few years now.  She started with a program for younger students and then moved on to a program that is a bit more advanced than Prima Latina.  Prima Latina would have been the perfect solution for her to complete between the two.  Of course we didn't do that at the time, so now it is more of a review, but I would recommend it, and below I tell you why.

Prima Latina's approach and format are very simple!  Each of the 25 lessons have just four pages.  The first two pages teach the lesson and the next two include exercises for the child to complete.


I absolutely recommend the dvd to go along with the lessons in the book!  I am not a Latin teacher so not only does it help teach each lesson, but it also helps with pronunciation. 

I also appreciate that the exercises in each lesson provide a constant review of materials learned throughout the course.  Now I will say that some parts of the dvd became a little too repetitive for me, but I'm not in elementary school, so I know it is helpful to the young student.  And even though this was mostly review for Funny Bunny, she never complained about the dvd and seemed to enjoy it very much.

Lastly, I LOVE that songs and prayers are included!!  One constant complaint from my daughter about learning Latin is that no one speaks it.  Teaching songs and prayers is a great way for students to actively use the Latin they have learned.  

So how did we use Prima Latina?  Funny Bunny and I watched each lesson on dvd one day and she completed the exercises the next.  I would recommend that students brand new to Latin also then follow up with the flashcards and CD. We plan to work through the rest of the book over the summer.

Edited on 3-11-14 -  The Latin program that we were using became to difficult for Funny Bunny so I decided to let her take a step back and use Prima Latina.  We are now on the last chapter, and even though it was mostly review for her, she did learn some new things and she did not have a hard time with it.  I would definitely recommend it!


Thoughts of a 10-Year Old:  Prima Latina was fun, even though I already knew a lot of the words.  I think that all in all, it was a good Latin program. I also really enjoyed learning one of the the prayers, the Sanctus. (I can't wait until I learn it by heart - when someone asks me to pray at dinner, nobody will know what I'm saying!)

Find Out More:  You can find out more online at Memoria PressPrima Latina is for grades 2-4 and can be purchased individually or in a bundle.  The Prima Latina Complete Set includes the Student Book, Teacher Manual, Pronunciation CD, Instructional DVDs, and Flashcards and is $90.90.  The Text Set includes the Student Book, Teacher Manual, and Pronunciation CD and is $32.95.  Like I said before though, I really recommend the DVD. 

My Crewmates are also reviewing Memoria Press, so you can check out what they think HERE.




©2010-2013 Our Homeschool Reviews. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://ourhomeschoolreviews.blogspot.com/

Monday, June 10, 2013

Curriculum Giveaway!!

Click Here to Enter Now!
This is such a fun way to possibly win a $75 Curriculum Gift Certificate!!

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Thrifty Thursday


Here are some thrifty deals for today!

FREE Science Experiment Guide {$25 Value} @ Supercharged Science

FREE Science Activity Manual and Video Collection {$30 Value} @  Supercharged Science

FREE Creation Science Study Guides @ Creation Science 4 Kids

FREE Classic Book Download @ Heart of Wisdom

FREE R.C. Sproul’s Crucial Questions Series @ Ligonier Ministries

FREE How to Make Friendship Bracelets @ Homemade Gifts Made Easy

FREE How to Make Friendship Bracelets @ WikiHow

FREE Madagascar: My ABCs @ iTunes {through 6/9}

FREE End of Year Award Printables @ Great Peace Academy

FREE Build a Year Planner @ Unit Studies by Amanda Bennett

FRUGAL Summer Movies @ Ben & Me

I hope you enjoy some of these FREEBIES!  If you know of any others, please leave a comment below.  Thanks!


©2010-2013 Our Homeschool Reviews. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://ourhomeschoolreviews.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

See the Light DVD Giveaway!

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Last week I reviewed See the Light's DVD God's Special Surprise and this week I get to give one away to one lucky reader!!

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GIVEAWAY!!

So, here's how one reader can win one (1) See the Light: God's Special Surprise DVD!  For each comment, you will get one (1) entry.

1. Visit my See the Light Review and come back to leave a comment telling me why you would like to win.

2. Like Our Homeschool Reviews on Facebook

3. Like See the Light on Facebook

4. Follow my blog using Google Friend Connect

5. Follow me on Twitter @OurHSReviews

6. Leave a comment on any of my others posts and come back to tell me which one you left it on.

7. Tweet about this giveaway up to once a day:  I entered to #win #SeeTheLightArt @OurHSReviews http://ourhomeschoolreviews.blogspot.com/2013/06/see-light-dvd-giveaway.html #Giveaway ends 6/12

**Remember to please leave a separate comment for each entry**

Contest ends on Wednesday, June 12, 2013 at 11:59 EST.  The winner will be chosen by Random.org.  This contest is open to U.S. residents who are 18 or older.  If I am unable to reach the winner by email within 48 hours, an alternate winner will be selected.  Your entry is only valid if you include a way for me to contact you (either an email address in your comment or on your profile).  The winner's name will be obtained and publicly announced.  The number of eligible entries determines the odds of winning.  No purchase is necessary to win and this contest is void where prohibited by law.



©2010-2013 Our Homeschool Reviews. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://ourhomeschoolreviews.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Math Mammoth Review

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Math Mammoth offers affordable, yet quality math worktexts and workbooks for grades 1-12, and was created by Maria Miller, a homeschool mom with a degree in mathematics. 

Math Mammoth offers a LOT of options for students, and it can be a little confusing...so let me break it down for you.

You can choose from many different series of books:

* A complete curriculum for grades 1-6 (Light Blue Series)
* Books by topic for grds 1-7, w/instr. and exercises (Blue Series)
* Worksheets by grade for grades 3-8 (Golden Series)
* Worksheets by topic for grades 3-7 (Green Series)
* Review workbooks for grades 1-5: Comprehensive review of the specific grade level of math.
* Make It Real Learning workbooks for grades 3-12.  Real life math.

I received the Math Mammoth Complete Math Curriculum (Light Blue Series) for Grade 5, so I'll be sharing with you our experiences with it.
The Light Blue Series is a complete curriculum for grades 1-6.  Each grade has two student worktexts (A and B), and supportive materials, which include answer keys, tests, and additional cumulative reviews.  In the download version {which is what I received}, an additional worksheet maker to make extra practice worksheets is included.

Each sheet contains explanations of the topics and it's like a textbook & workbook in the same book.  For this review, Funny Bunny completed Chapter 1: The Four Operations.  This was a nice review for her {and she even learned something new}.  If you click on the picture below you can see instructions at the top and her work below.  Click the link to see more samples of the Light Blue Series


My Thoughts:  Once downloaded, the worksheets are easy to access and print out.  For me though, it was too much to print out each day, so I would have rather had the spiral bound printed copy.  It costs a little more, but for one child, I think it would be well worth it.

Unfortunately, although I felt each worksheet was straightforward and simple, Funny Bunny did not like them.  :(  I think for us, we would probably be more drawn to the Green Series to supplement our current math curriculum.  And I also think the Real Life Math looks neat and since it is so affordable, I may try it out!

Thoughts of a 10-Year Old: I did not really like Math Mammoth for some reason. It wasn't harder then any other math I've used, I think maybe I just didn't like all the worksheets.  I did learn some new things, though, so that was good.

Find Out More:  You can find out more online at Math Mammoth.  The Math Mammoth Complete Math Curriculum (Light Blue Series) for Grade 5 is just $34 for the whole downloaded set.  The full set on CD is $39.  This is great for large families!  A spiral bound printed copy is $17.95 for A and $17.95 for B.  A printed answer key is $14.95 and printed tests and cumulative reviews are $15.95 each.  Still more affordable than many other math options! You can also sign up by email and get over 350 FREE sample worksheets!  And back in 2011 I reviewed the Math Mammoth Complete Math Curriculum for Grade 3, so make sure to check that out too.

My Crewmates are also reviewing Math Mammoth, so you can check out what they think HERE.




©2010-2013 Our Homeschool Reviews. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://ourhomeschoolreviews.blogspot.com/