Friday, January 29, 2021

Homeschool Review Crew Blog Round-Up

 


 
The January edition of the Homeschool Review Crew Blog Round-Up was just posted. I invite you to grab a cup of coffee (or your favorite beverage) and join us for some homeschool help.

I also invite you to complete The Old Schoolhouse survey and share your curriculum choices for a chance to win a digital gift valued at over $200!

Happy Homeschooling!


Saturday, January 23, 2021

My Music Workshop

 

My Music Workshop was founded in 2009 by husband and wife duo Elias and Lianna Berlinger. But, in March 2020 a global pandemic hit, and all classes came to an abrupt halt. So, the duo quickly got to work designing an online music learning platform – My Music Workshop.

Through this music learning platform, elementary school children can take piano lessons, ukulele lessons, or drum lessons. There are also fun music lessons that teach children about reading music, how instruments work, music theory, rhythm, musical patterns, and more!


As a piano teacher, I explored the piano lessons. The lessons presented are very basic and begin with the right hand. In lesson one, students play C-D-E on the keys and then on the staff as they practice together with the teacher. Then they practice this lesson with a band, simply playing these three notes, over and over again. Parents may download and print practice sheets for each lesson.

In my opinion, this program does not replace in-person lessons. The lessons throughout this course only present the basics and at a much slower pace than using the piano books I teach out of. For example, one week, students learn C-D-E-F-G on the staff with their right hand, then the second week, they learn C-D-E-F-G on the staff with their left hand, and then they play both hands together. Whereas, students work through several lessons with only the right hand before moving on to the left hand with this program.

On the plus side, if your student wants to take piano lessons, ukulele lessons or drum lessons, and you cannot find a local teacher, My Music Workshop provides a great start for learning at home. Your child will enter a world of music that will excite and prepare them for the joys of a musical life.

Happy Homeschooling!



Tuesday, January 19, 2021

Princess Cut Movie

 

In Princess Cut, we enter the world of headstrong but helpless romantic Grace Anderson and her life in the rural Carolina town of East Bend. Grace has dreamed all her life of the day when “Mr. Right” slips a Princess Cut diamond on her finger and swears to love her forever. Tonight may be the night as Stewart has something special planned after 15 months together! But when things don’t go as planned, and romance crashes down around her, it launches her on a quest, aided by her father, to understand what it means to truly love another person and that true love is worth waiting for.

I may be old-fashioned; but there are many things I love about this movie and what it teaches our daughters. Grace’s father takes full responsibility as head of his household to prepare Grace for marriage. Through a lesson using soybeans, we learn what it means to truly love another person. Our daughters should seek a husband who is trustworthy, willing to lead his family, and understanding of his wife’s needs.

Grace allows her father to guide her and as she allows God to write her love story she seeks her father’s approval before entering another relationship. Then as God writes her love story, Clint seeks approval for a relationship with Grace and with her father’s blessing, they prayerfully consider the possibility of marriage.  

But there’s two more truths found in this movie when Clint brings Grace flowers. He gives an iris to symbolize Jesus and how we need to build our identity around him to be truly satisfied and a rose to represent the need for purity in the relationship.

My husband and I watched this movie with our daughters and I am so glad they see that true love is worth waiting for when you allow God to write your love story. The best Christian romance movie I have seen in years!

Tuesday, January 12, 2021

Great Expectations: Chapter-by-Chapter Literature Study Guide

 

Great Expectations: Chapter-by-Chapter Literature Study Guide is a chapter-by-chapter approach to Great Expectations for 9-12 grade levels and is intended to be used with the novel Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (ISBN 978-0-451-53118-6). The study guide includes: comprehension questions, composition assignments, and a detailed answer key.

Charles Dicken's Great Expectations is at once a superbly constructed novel of spellbinding mystery and a profound examination of moral values. An orphan living with his older sister and her kindly husband, Pip is hired by wealthy and embittered Miss Havisham as a companion for her and her beautiful adopted daughter, Estella. His years in service to the Havisham's fill his heart with the desire to rise above his station in life. Pip's wish is fulfilled when a mysterious benefactor provides him with 'great expectations' - the means to be tutored as a gentleman. Thrust into London's society circles, Pip grows accustomed to a life of leisure, only to find himself lacking a suitor competing for Estella's favor. After callously discarding everything he once valued for his own selfish pursuits, Pip learns the identity of his patron - a revelation that shatters his very soul. 

The study guide is best used in conjunction with a good quality notebook, which the guide refers to as the Literature Notebook. Students will be expected to complete the chapter assignments in their Literature Notebook. Throughout the course, students will read one chapter each school day, complete four comprehension questions, and one composition assignment in their Literature Notebook.

Great Expectations: Chapter-by-Chapter Literature Study Guide is a great teaching tool for high school students and thoroughly examines each chapter in the novel. From the agony of Dicken's disenchantment with Victorian middle class comes a work that gives an added dimension to his matchless genius. A must have for every homeschool library!

Tuesday, January 5, 2021

SchoolhouseTeachers.com - Crew Review

 


Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

The Homeschool Review Crew had the opportunity to explore an Ultimate PreK-12 Annual Membership with SchoolhouseTeachers.com. SchoolhouseTeachers.com offers Christian, self-paced, online homeschool courses for PreK through High School. SchoolhouseTeachers.com offers a variety of courses for each grade level – Art, Bible, Computer & Technology, Drama & Speech, Electives, Foreign Languages, Geography, History, Language Arts, Math, Music, Science, Social Studies, and Unit Studies. Simply select your course, download and print the lesson plan, download the class PDF file and start learning! Parents can evaluate their student’s progress throughout the course on the lesson plan. Upon completion, parents can print a Certificate of Completion and celebrate a job well done!

Throughout this review, Isabelle and I explored the 9th grade curriculum. SchoolhouseTeachers.com has allowed us to learn more about history while working on or writing skills with the course – Writing on This Day in History. Each day in history provides writing prompts. There are also 5 days of pages that can be printed for your student to record the date, write the prompt, and write their response; but we simply used a spiral notebook.




Throughout this review, we also explored a Bible study – A Study of Extraordinary Women of the Bible. In this series, we looked at some well-known women of the Old and New Testament to see what it really means to be a woman of God. Each week, students study one character trait – Courage, Determination, Faithfulness, Initiative, Obedience, Responsibility, Loyalty, Sincerity, Reverence, Integrity, Leadership, Contentment, Trustworthy, Resourceful, Hospitality, Peacemaker, Dependability, and Attentiveness – through women of the Bible. What I like most about this course, is the Scripture Writing Plan which allows students to write a weekly Bible passage that corresponds with each lesson.




SchoolhouseTeachers.com also has many resources for parents and I enjoyed reading through the College Prep Series written by Denise Ames. Each 20-to-36-page unit includes dozens of tips, resources, ideas, and suggestions to help both parents and high school students explore the topics listed below.

College Prep Tips – Focusing on Interests and Strengths

College Prep Tips – Focusing on Wood Roots, Prefixes, and Suffixes

College Prep Tips – Focusing on Scholarships

College Prep Tips – Focusing on Job Trends and Future Careers

One membership to SchoolhouseTeachers.com serves the entire family. There are no per-child fees and no textbooks required. Best of all, there are no limits to the number of courses or tools you can use!

Visit the Crew Blog to read more reviews from the Homeschool Review Crew.


Sunday, January 3, 2021

Using Literature to Teach American History in Middle School

 


Many of us use a curriculum to teach history; but using literature to teach history can be a great teaching tool. I am continuing this history literature series with some of the best books to teach American history. Using literature to teach history illuminates the time period, helps integrate the history curriculum, and enriches social studies. With my love for literature and history, it only makes sense to combine the two, so I have gathered some of my favorite books that teach American history in middle school.

The Landing of the Pilgrims by James Daugherty takes students back to the early 1600s when everyone in England was forced to join the Church of England. Young William Bradford and his friends believed they had the right to belong to whichever church they wanted. In the name of religious freedom, they fled to Holland, then sailed to America to start a new life. But the winter was harsh, and before a year passed, half the settlers had died. Yet through hard work and strong faith, a tough group of Pilgrims did survive. Their belief in freedom of religion became an American ideal that still lives on today. Based mainly on William Bradford’s personal diary, this is a must read for all who are interested in knowing more about the Pilgrims.

Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt presents the unforgettable story of Jethro Creighton – a brave boy who comes of age during the turbulent years of the Civil War. In 1861, America is on the cusp of war, and young Jethro Creighton is just nine-years-old. His brother, Tom, and his cousin, Eb, are both of fighting age. As Jethro’s family is pulled into the conflict between the North and the South, loyalties are divided, dreams are threatened, and their bonds are put to the test in this heart-wrenching, coming of age story.

Amos Fortune: Free Man by Elizabeth Yates is a powerful book about Amos Fortune. Amos Fortune was born the son of an African king. In 1725, when he was fifteen-years-old, he was captured by slave traders and brought to Massachusetts, where he was sold at an auction. Although his freedom had been taken, Amos never lost his dignity and courage. For 45 years, Amos worked as a slave and dreamed of freedom. And, at the age of 60, he finally began to see those dreams come true. This is a moving testimony to his faith.

America’s Paul Revere by Esther Forbes is a biography of the patriot of the Revolution who had many trades, among them silver work, manufacture of copper, casting of bells, engraving, and dentistry. This tells of Revere’s dedication to the fight for liberty from his participation in the Boston Tea Party to his long ride to warn of the coming Redcoats.

A More Perfect Union: The Story of Our Constitution by Betsy and Giulio Maestro is an introduction to the Constitution. Students learn about the founding fathers and their meetings at the Constitutional Conventions. This easy-to-understand book tells why and how the Constitution of the United States was created.

These are only a few of my favorite books that teach American history, there are so many more out there! Feel free to share in the comments what you consider the best book to teach American history.

Happy Homeschooling!