A Kid’s Guide to Drawing the Presidents of the United States of America

Several weeks ago, I was asked to review one of the books in this amazing series.  Unfortunately, the book came while we were vacationing and working in Florida, and our lives have not been our own ever since.  So, while I’m a little late at introducing you to this awesome set of books (for sale at an incredibly reduced price), it’s never too late to tell you about great products, right?!

A Kid’s Guide to Drawing the Presidents of the United States of America is a set of 42 awesome, hard-bound books.  Each book focuses on a different president of  the United States.  (It should be noted that the set only includes up to George W. Bush.)

As the title suggests, these books contain great step-by-step drawing instructions.  But, they are much more than just a drawing book.  In addition to the drawing guides, these books also include interesting biographical information about the president – key  events, people, and places in each president’s life are covered. 

The print is large and easy to read, making these books ideal for elementary aged students.  In a homeschool setting, they will enhance any American history curriculum and can be used with all ages.  They would make a great starting point for further study for older kids (think research papers) and would also be ideal for creating mini-books for lapbooks and notebooking projects. 

In the  back of each book, there is a timeline of events for the president being featured (starting with the president’s birth and ending with his death).  Another great feature is a glossary of terms – these range from simple to difficult and would be super words for spelling and vocabulary (especially if you’re a unit-study family).

The book that we received is the one focused on John Tyler.  I found the text to be very informative – I definitely learned things about President Tyler that I had not known before.  The illustrations included in this book include the College of William & Mary (President Tyler attended here when he was 12 years old!), boats on a canal (as governor of VA, Tyler supported the building of roads and canals), the National Bank (which Tyler thought was unconstitutional), a log cabin (from the Harrison and Tyler campaign poster), and six other things.

The step-by-step illustrations, though somewhat small, are fairly easy to follow.  My 11-year-old avid drawer would be great at these; but they would be much too difficult for my 5 year old (and my 17 year old! LOL)

This set originally sold for $1,060.50.  But, guess what?  You can get the ENTIRE COLLECTION for only $195!  If you’ve got a child who loves to draw, or one who is a U.S. history buff,  or if you’re simply looking for a great supplement to your current studies, I’d definitely recommend grabbing this collection.

Since we’ve been away, I haven’t had the opportunity to put this book to practice enough to get pictures or video to share.  I can guarantee, though, that it will be  getting much use over the years to come!  I appreciated this video, which really describes this series well:

I just got my Timberdoodle catalog the other week (also while I was away) and it’s filled with tons of great homeschool supplies and curriculum. You can get a free catalog here.

NOTE: As a member of Timberdoodle's Blogger Review Team I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a frank and unbiased review.

Crypto Mind Benders®

Back in April, I was asked to review some products from The Critical Thinking Co.  At the time, we were finishing up our current school year because we had a lot of traveling on the schedule for May.  However, both girls expressed an interest in the products, so I agreed to the review.  Be sure to check back later for my review of the James Madison Critical Thinking Course – as Ashley is looking forward to adding this to her senior year.

For now, though, we’ll focus on the Crypto Mind Benders®.  Here’s a bit about this new series from The Critical Thinking Co.’s website:

Crypto Mind Benders® develop mathematical reasoning and critical thinking skills that are vital to achieving academic and lifelong success. They’re great for introducing children to encryption, algebraic thinking, and basic computer programming operations.

Crypto Mind Benders® compel children to break a secret code so they can identify a hidden joke or quotation. To break the code, children must apply logic and mathematical reasoning to 3 sets of clues. The challenge is getting all the information out of each clue! Once children break the code, they can solve the cryptogram by substituting the numbers with their corresponding code letters. The Quotations book familiarizes children with classic quotations from famous thinkers such as Albert Einstein, Voltaire, Socrates, and more! The Jokes edition familiarizes children with classic, good-humored, jokes that both kids and adults enjoy.

This series is for grades 3-12+ with a focus on mathematics.  Each book in the series sells for $9.99, and can be purchase in print format, or as an e-book download.

We received the Famous Quotations book.  My Gracie is almost 11 and would definitely say that math is her favorite subject.  So, I felt quite certain that she’d enjoy this book.  I sat it aside, thinking we’d start it with our new school year (which we plan  to start here in a few weeks).  However, when we were packing our entertainment bags for our trip to Florida the other week, I thought maybe she might enjoy working on the book on the way. 

Little did I know HOW MUCH she would enjoy it!  She had finished the ENTIRE BOOK (30 activities) by the time we arrived in Florida (granted, it was a trip broken up over 2 days time).  Still, she absolutely LOVED the book and literally BEGGED me to check The Critical Thinking Co.’s booth at the FPEA convention to see if there were any other books in the series.

Now she is not-so-anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Classic Jokes book!  I’m wondering how long it’ll take her to zip through that one, and if the company is planning on adding more books to this fun series (?!)

While visiting the convention booth, we did  grab up a few other resources to entertain us on our trip – one of the books in the Dr. DooRiddles series (which provided great family entertainment in the car), and one of the books in the Mind Benders® series (which the girls are literally fighting over). 

As a mom, I love that these products cross so many age barriers and are not just for a particular age/grade.  We appreciate products that we can use together, even though my kids are rather far apart in age.  And I also like knowing that, while my kids are having fun, they are also learning and getting a well-rounded education. 

So far, I have yet to try a book from The Critical Thinking Co. that we haven’t enjoyed.  We plan to use their Mathematical Reasoning(TM) series for Ian this coming year.  I enjoyed visiting with another mom in the convention booth and introducing her to the Crypto Mind Benders® by sharing my daughter’s experience (FYI: she bought the book!)  I will definitely be watching for more  books in this series, and will be recommending them!

NOTE: I received a free copy of the Crypto Mind Bender® book referenced in this review in order that we might use it and share our honest thoughts on it.  I was not required to write a positive review and I was not compensated in any other way.

The Earth – Its Structure & Its Changes

A few weeks ago, on one of my posts for The Homeschool Mother’s Journal, I confessed to my weakness in teaching science.  I’ve never been a fan of science – as a matter of fact, I don’t remember ever enjoying a science class in school.  If we run out of time during our school days, it’s always science that gets put on hold (and sometimes we never get to it – and I don’t even care!). 

I don’t think my friend Jennifer, from New Leaf Publishing, had any idea that I was this much of a science failure when she decided to send me The Earth – Its Structures & Its Changes by Tom DeRosa and Carolyn Reeves.  I’m thinking it was definitely a God-thing, because who better to review a science curriculum than a person who has issues teaching science?! 

Here is what the New Leaf website has to say about this book:

The Earth: Its Structure & Its Changes is a study of the fascinating world of geology. With explanations of how our Earth was shaped, this elementary science curriculum gives evidence to the Genesis Flood, accompanying earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and other powerful processes. Students will explore 20 “investigations” through experiments and a very specific learning progression.

The Investigate the Possibilities learning progression:
Engage - Students make a note of what they know or have experienced about the topic.
Investigate - Students will follow the instructions and make observations of what happens.
Explain - Students will begin to understand the science behind what they observed in the investigation.
Apply - Here, the understanding of the investigation is related to other situations and ideas.
Expand -Each investigation also includes a few “Dig Deeper” projects to further understanding.
Assess - Students explain what they have learned.

Students will examine natural occurrences such as mountains, volcanoes, rocks, minerals, crystals, water, and dirt (just to name a few). By using household items such as hard boiled eggs, oranges, measuring cups, maps, clay and markers, these scientific truths will come to life.

This title contains a full circle view of geology, creation, and history. All three of these topics are combined to create the big picture for your student and develop a stronger root in their faith. Also available is the combined teacher’s guide and student journal.

While geology is at the heart of this newest book in the Investigate the Possibilities series, other titles within this series include: Forces & Motion, Matter, and Energy. These are perfect for elementary education, grades 3^rd-6^th.

Authors Tom DeRosa and Carolyn Reeves are committed biblical creationists with a combined 60 years teaching science. Both are excellent at helping students experience science concepts in the world around them.

Here are the things that I like about this book:

• It’s Biblical and God-honoring
• Each lesson (called an “Investigation”) is short and broken up into smaller segments – this makes this curriculum easy to schedule – you can do a few segments each day, or do the entire Investigation all in one day – whatever works best for you and/or your child
• The Think About This section is personal – the stories get the child involved in the lesson and wanting to learn more
• The Procedure & Observation section is very well laid out – the steps are simple to follow.  The items needed to perform the experiments are almost all items you probably already have laying around your house – and they are  broken out in such a way that you don’t have to go searching for them within the text.
• The Science Stuff portions are very informative without sounding too “textbooky”.
• I love the Making Connections section (tying the learning together with life) and the Dig Deeper ideas (these would be great for getting older kids involved as well). 
• The What Did You Learn? section is a great way to wind up each lesson and will help the homeschool parent determine what the child is retaining and where more study may need to be done.  These can be done orally or on paper, and could actually be used as quizzes, if desired.
• The Teacher’s Guide contains the full text of the book (love that!) In addition, it contains objectives for each lesson, extra notes, and answers to the What Did You Learn? questions. It also includes some ideas for further study and resources that are available from the publisher for those who want to learn more.
• The back of the Teacher’s Guide contains reproducible Student Journal forms.  I love these!  There is one for each lesson. They contain the Procedure and Observation activities and places to record your experience with it, as well as a place to illustrate what you’ve learned.  The What Did you Learn? questions are also on these forms. 

Gracie and I have done the first several investigations contained within this study.  They are quick and painless and – dare I say it? – even FUN!  I would definitely be interested in adding the rest of the books from this series to our homeschool.  If you have a science-minded child, these would make great personal reading as well!

You can learn more about The Earth – Its Structure & Its Changes at Inspire4Less.  The price is very affordable, at only $10.40 for the paperback student book and $5.39 for the accompanying Teacher’s Guide and Student Journal.

~~~~~~~~

On February 22nd, at 8pm (CST), we will be having a Twitter party to discuss this  book and several other new resources from New Leaf Publishing.  We’d love to have YOU participate with us!  (I’m totally new to Twitter parties, so this will be an interesting experience for me!)

Hashtag for the party is #masterbooks.

If you would like to check out the other books that will be discussed, you can do so by visiting the links below:

Case of the Missing Mountain by Kim Jones  - My Home in the Smokies

Passport to the World by Craig Froman – Mama Hall

Dragons: Legends & Lore of Dinosaur by Master Books – Daze of Adventure

Hope to see you at the party!

NOTE: I received a free copy of the above-mentioned curriculum in order to use it in my homeschool and share my honest opinion of it. I have not been compensated in any other way.

TILT: Institute for Excellence in Writing

Since I shared a somewhat “fluffy” favorite last week, I thought I’d be a little more serious this week - - -

As a homeschool mom, I’m always on the lookout for new (and new to me) things to use with my kids to make our homeschool experience the best that it can be.  Homeschooling can be a challenge sometimes – especially when you have children who are very different and you need to find different curriculum/products to meet their learning needs/styles. 

Such is the case when it comes to writing in my home – I have a 16-year-old girl who could sit around all day and do nothing but write.  Then, on the opposite end of the spectrum, I have a 10-year-old who would much prefer to have a tooth pulled than write one sentence. 

I had heard of Institute for Excellence in Writing (great things) but never looked at it seriously.  I was recently introduced to this program by way of the Homeschool Crew (who will be reviewing this program over the next weeks).  We received several of their products to review and I was excited to view the first DVD in the Teaching Writing: Structure and Style set.  Wow!  I was knocked over with fascination! 

This actually seemed like a program that would work wonders with my reluctant writer.  And my writing-lover said “even if you don’t make me, I want to do this program, Mom!” 

We’re only about 3 days into using their Student Writing Intensive programs (levels A & C) with the girls – but, so far, I’m in LOVE – and I’m kicking myself for not looking into this more seriously in the past.  But, God works all things for good, right?  And, I’m sure he brought this program into our lives “for such a time as this” (because He’s been amazing like that when it comes to my job with the Homeschool Crew – I’m sure many of our members could share similar stories and experiences). 

And now I need to go and  measure my dining room wall for a white-board.  (We painted last fall and I said I didn’t want to hang anything on my freshly painted walls – but Andrew Peduwa says that we need one – and it’s been a year, so it’s time, right?!)

The Science Teacher's Activity-A-Day

Over 180 Reproducible Pages of Quick, Fun Projects that
Illustrate Basic Concepts

The Science Teacher's Activity-A-Day, Grades 5-10

New in the 5-Minute Fundamentals Series, this book provides science teachers with a huge selection of quick, fun activities that align with the national science education standards, including 180 easy, five-minute activities that capture learners' attention and introduce lessons.  It’s divided into three units: Physical Science, Life Science, and Earth and Space Science, and all the book's activities can be done with materials that are inexpensive and easy to find.

For new learning to occur, students must make a connection with what they already know and the new content that they're learning.  The Science Teacher's Activity-A-Day is structured to do this by providing two different types of activities: hook activities and sponge activities.  Hook activities enable students to link prior knowledge to a new topic, while sponge activities are designed to engage students' interest at the beginning of a lesson.  For the teacher, the sponge activity can help reveal any misconceptions that students and hook activities help teachers find out what students already know on the topic.

Pam Walker and Elaine Wood each have more than twenty years of science teaching experience. They are the authors of dozens of books for middle and high school science teachers and students, including Crime Scene Investigations and Hands-On General Science Activities with Real-Life Applications, both from Jossey-Bass.

Heidi Says . . . I’ll be the first person to admit – science just isn’t my thing.  Because of that, it’s really hard for me to go beyond the pages of a basic textbook and try to make science learning fun in our homeschool.  This book is just what I need because it covers all the science bases:

• Physical Science –
  Organization of Matter
  Interactions of Matter
  Energy of Motion
  Heat, Light, and Sound Waves
  Magnetism and Electricity
• Life Science -
  The Cell
  Genetics
  Evolution
  Diversity of Life
  Ecology
  Body Systems
• Earth Science -
  Structure of Earth Systems
  Earth’s History
  Meteorology
  The Universe
  The Solar System

Looking at some of the topics on the list above, you can see that this book is not written with a Christian worldview.  There are, obviously, some experiments that we won’t be doing.  However, there are enough other activities in this book that we can do to make it worth the price. 

The materials needed are those that are easily available and probably already in your house – a big plus for me because I don’t always have  time to plan ahead. 

NOTE: I received a free copy of this book from Wiley Publishing in exchange for my honest review of it.

Evolution: The Grand Experiment Vol. 1 by Dr. Carl Werner

We received Evolution: The Grand Experiment Vol. 1 several weeks ago.  I was excited when it arrived because it’s an 8 1/2 x 11” hardbound book containing 276 pages in full color!  It’s very much a textbook, which appealed to this homeschool mom!  Here’s what New Leaf Publishing has to say about Evolution: The Grand Experiment (I’ll share my thoughts below):

“A BOOK THAT CHALLENGES YOUR VIEWS AND DEMANDS A VERDICT.”

If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed, which could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down. -Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species

Darwin’s book on evolution admitted that “intermediate links” were “perhaps the most obvious and serious objection to the theory” of evolution. Darwin recognized that the fossils collected by scientists prior to 1859 did not correspond with his theory of evolution, but he predicted that his theory would be confirmed as more and more fossils were found. One hundred and fifty years later, Evolution: The Grand Experiment critically examines the viability of Darwin’s theory.

Separate the science from myth:

Primordial Soup

Survival of the fittest

Mutation

Similarities

Adaptation

Fossils

Meet scientists from around the world:

What do they say about transitional fossils?

What do they say about the fossil record?

What do they say about the origin of life?

Dozens of special features:

Interviews with scientists from leading universities and other institutions

Hundreds of color photos

Balanced views

Informative summaries of scientific concepts

Easy-to-understand, concise format

In addition to the book, we also received the Teacher’s Manual, the Presentation CD, and the DVD.  (You can click on the links to see more information about these supplemental resources.)

Heidi Says . . . I’ve been very impressed with this book/set.  I wanted to take some time to use it with the girls in our homeschool before writing my review.  So, we’ve completed the first 3 chapters, done the chapter tests, and just finished up the review test for chapters 1-3.  We plan to continue using it throughout the remainder of our school year, so that’s a testimony to my thoughts on it.  Here’s more - - -

The book is made up of 20 chapters.  We cover one chapter per week – starting out with a pre-reading discussion, then reading the text. We spend the next few days going over the chapter objectives (these and the discussion questions are found in the Teacher’s Manual).  Then, we take the test (also found in the Teacher’s Manual, or available to print from the Presentation CD). 

There are 3 different versions of the chapter tests.  Test A is to  be taken after each chapter, Test B is used for the chapter review tests (after every 3 chapters), and I think Test C will be used at the very end of the study (as a LARGE, final review). 

The course is designed for students in grades 6-12.  I wasn’t sure that Gracie would be quite ready for it yet, at only 10, but I made her follow along anyway.  It’s been amazing to me how many times throughout our week – when we’re watching a movie or driving along in the car – that she’ll bring up something that we learned in this book.  Even though she seems to complain when I say it’s time for “evolution”, she is picking up much more than I could have imagined. 

The text is rich with pictures and actually rather light on words.  So each chapter is quick and really simple to read, but the questions get you thinking.   It’s shocking to us to think of the number of people in the world (many that we know) who believe in evolution and some of the other scientific theories that seem ludicrous to us (because we know the truth).  It’s nice to know that my children are being grounded in the truth.

I’d recommend this study.  It’s not only great in a homeschool, but would work nicely in a co-op setting, or even in a church setting.  It’s not just  for students, but for adults also.  If you don’t have time to do the full-course study, I’d recommend checking out the DVD.  It’s worth watching and pretty much covers everything covered in the book.  I’m counting this as a 2nd science credit for Ashley this year (though I’m not sure how I’ll word it on her transcript yet!)  I’m thinking that we’ll plan to add Vol. 2 to our homeschool schedule for next year (if it’s available in time). 

For more information or to purchase Evolution: The Grand Experiment and other great resources from New Leaf Publishing, click here.

NOTE: I received free product from New Leaf Publishing in exchange for my use and honest review of it.  The thoughts expressed herein are my own and I was not compensated in any other way.

Marvels of Creation (Magnificent Mammals) by Buddy & Kay Davis

Did You Know?

A camel can go without water 10 times longer than a human.

A cheetah can run up to 70 miles an hour.

25,000 sharp-pointed quills cover the porcupine.

It’s two feet long and weighs 132 pounds—the heart of a giraffe.

What an incredible design these animals have! The Master Creator made such wonderful and beautiful animals for our enjoyment!
Children and adults both will delight in this illustrated guide to birds of the world. Filled with spectacular photographs and “bird brevities”- it is great for any home or school library.

And God created…every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good (Genesis 1:21).

8 X 8 • Casebound • 80 pages

Buddy Davis is a speaker and singer/songwriter for Answers in Genesis (AiG) in Hebron, Kentucky. There he leads the “Creation Adventure” children’s workshop at AiG conferences. His easy-to understand style makes him popular with listeners of all ages and he plays a variety of acoustic and folk-style instruments.

Heidi Says . . . I previously reviewed another book from this series  - Sensational Sea Creatures – here.  This year, as we’re planning to study Land Mammals, I thought this book would make a great supplement to our science studies once again, and I was not disappointed. 

About the Sea Creatures book, I said:

“ . . . a full-page picture (in full color) on the left hand side, and an information page on the right.  In addition to the information, each page also contains a box with extra information about each creature, such as scientific name, length, weight, life span, special design features, and a “did you know?” fact.  The color pictures are real photographs, and are bright and eye-catching.  The information is easy to read, yet very informative and interesting.”

That same description holds true for the Magnificent Mammals book as well.  Some other things that I like about this book are the fact that they don’t just share about common, everyday mammals; but, instead, include some more unfamiliar mammals such as the two-toed sloth and the echidna.  The back of the book contains an appendix with sketches of each mammal’s footprint and a handy-dandy glossary of terms. 

I’ve come to expect quality, educational products from Master Books and New Leaf Publishing.  I can trust them to include God and Creationism, which is something I really appreciated when using books to educate my children.  The very first paragraph in the introduction by the authors sums it up perfectly:

“It seems that no matter what book about wildlife we read, God isn’t even mentioned. Wildlife programs are full of indoctrination in evolution. This book erases all evolutionary concepts and gives God the glory for His creation.”

And to that I say emphatically “Amen!”

Marvels of Creation by Buddy & Kay Davis

Did You Know?

The skin on a walrus can be over three inches thick and the fat under it up to six inches thick, protecting this amazing creature from the 100º below temperatures of the Arctic.

A giant squid’s eye can measure up to nine inches across.

What an incredible design these animals have! The Master Creator made such wonderful and beautiful animals for our enjoyment!
Children and adults both will delight in this illustrated guide to birds of the world. Filled with spectacular photographs and “bird brevities”- it is great for any home or school library.

And God created…every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good (Genesis 1:21).

8 X 8 • Casebound • 80 pages

Buddy Davis is a speaker and singer/songwriter for Answers in Genesis (AiG) in Hebron, Kentucky. There he leads the “Creation Adventure” children’s workshop at AiG conferences. His easy-to understand style makes him popular with listeners of all ages and he plays a variety of acoustic and folk-style instruments.

Heidi Says . . . We love this book.  My 9-year-old has  been studying swimming creatures throughout her 5th grade year, and I thought this book would tie in perfectly.  I was not disappointed. 

Each 2-page spread of Marvels of Creation – Sensational Sea Creatures contains a full-page picture (in full color) on the left hand side, and an information page on the right.  In addition to the information, each page also contains a box with extra information about each creature, such as scientific name, length, weight, life span, special design features, and a “did you know?” fact.  The color pictures are real photographs, and are bright and eye-catching.  The information is easy to read, yet very informative and interesting. 

Not only would this book make a great supplement to any marine life study, but it’s also just plain fun.  This is definitely a book that we will pick up and look at over and over again throughout the years.  My youngest (4) loves looking at the pictures, while the rest of us very much enjoy the information gained from this book. 

One of my favorite aspects of this book is the fact that it is written from a Christian perspective.  I love this quote, taken directly from the introduction:

“It say in the Bible that God created the sea creatures on day five. In most of the books, films, or programs you see today, God is not even mentioned, but these media are filled with evolutionary theories stated as facts. This book is meant to give God the glory for creating these wonderful creatures of the sea.” [emphasis mine]

I would highly recommend this book.  If you’re looking for other books where God is the focus, check out New Leaf Publishing.

The World of Chemistry by John Hudson Tiner

Chemistry is an amazing branch of science that affects us every day, yet few people realize it, or even give it much thought. Without chemistry, there would be nothing made of plastic, there would be no rubber tires, no tin cans, no television, no microwave ovens, or something as simple as wax paper.

This book presents an exciting and intriguing tour through the realm of chemistry as each chapter unfolds with facts and stories about the discoveries and discoverers. Find out why pure gold is not used for jewelry or coins. Join Humphry Davy as he made many chemical discoveries, and learn how they shortened his life. See how people in the 1870s could jump over the top of the Washington Monument.

Exploring the World of Chemistry brings science to life and is a wonderful learning tool with many illustrations, biographical information, chapter tests, and an index for easy referencing.

160 pages • 8 1/2 x 11 • Paperback • Includes Black & White illustrations

Other books in this series can be found here.

Heidi Says . . . This book came to us at exactly the right time.  My 16 year old daughter and I were plugging away at chemistry and wondering why in the world we were wasting our time!  John Hudson Tiner’s Exploring the World of Chemistry actually makes sense!  Now, we not only know why people study chemistry, but we also understand how various things are made. We learned how chemistry ties in with a lot of the things that we are using in our day-to-day lives.  And, guess what?  We’re pretty amazed by chemistry now!

If you’re trudging along through chemistry with no end in sight, I’d highly recommend adding this book as a supplement to whatever chemistry curriculum you are using.  It’s very simple to read, there are black and white illustrations throughout, and each (short) chapter concludes with a question section (these work great for quizzes). 

I will definitely consider adding more books in this series to our school shelves in the future.

Uncover Exciting History by Amy Puetz

This school year, my girls and I have been studying U.S. history, using All American History (published by Bright Ideas Press).  While I like this study/curriculum in some ways, there are other areas in which I feel it is lacking.  One such way is the writing.  I’m simply not impressed with the author’s writing style and I don’t like how it jumps back and forth and isn’t the nice chronological approach we were used to with The Mystery of History.

So, I was very excited at the change to review Uncover Exciting History by Amy Puetz.  I had heard her name before, but not had opportunity to view any of her products.  This e-book came at just the right time.  We were in need of a much-needed break from our history text – so we started reading a chapter of Uncover Exciting History each day until we got caught up to where we were in our study.  Now we go back and forth. 

We’ve all enjoyed Amy’s writing style.  It makes the history that we’re studying seem so much more “real” and applicable.  The history stories just really came to life once we read Amy’s version. Now, looking back on our school year, we find ourselves discussing what we read in Uncover Exciting History much more than we do what was in the actual textbook. I will definitely consider purchasing other resources from Amy in the future.

Here’s what Amy’s website says about the book:

History Is Not Boring!

What is history anyway? It is the story of real people who did real things. For history to be fun for everyone (even those who think they hate history), it must go beyond hard facts and meaningless dates to the real people who made the significant events happen. People like George Washington, who bravely crossed the partly frozen Delaware River to attack the British at Trenton. Stories like that of the bold Americans who bravely fought against the Barbary pirates during the little-known Barbary War show how interesting history is.

True History Is Exciting!

Here are some of the stories in this book:

• Discover how the U.S. created the Constitution
• Experience the miraculous victory at the Battle of New Orleans
• Explore America's expansion west
• Uncover one of America's best weapons used during World War II

This book is great for:

• History Buffs
• Those who want the story behind the event
• Adults who want a snapshot view of American history
• Homeschool families, either as a read aloud or for students 12 and up

In this 184 page book you will meet some of America's most famous people like George Washington and some of her not so famous people like Daniel Webster. Click here to see the table of contents. There are also four bonus chapters! The first bonus chapter is about famous mothers and the next three are about famous explorers.
Bonus Chapters:

• The Hand That Rocks the Cradle: Mothers Who Changed the World Through Their Children
• Medieval Explorer: Marco Polo
• Evangelistic Explorer: David Livingstone
• Daring Explorer of Antarctica: Robert Falcon Scott

And here’s a bit about the author:

Amy Puetz is a homeschool graduate and servant of Christ. In 2001 she earned a degree as a computer graphic designer and began A to Z Designs. Over the years she has made t-shirts, cards, and books that reflect her passion for Christ and her love for history. Because of a chronic illness (fibromyalgia) she has developed an online business that will allow her to work from home. Her other interests are writing for her column in HomeSchool Enrichment Magazine, doing contract design work for others, and creating historical costumes. To read an article that she wrote for the Homeschoolers of Wyoming newsletter click here. She works with the Wyoming state organization as a layout designer for the newsletter.

To purchase Uncover Exciting History, click here.

This is a Mama Buzz review. The product was provided by the author, Amy Puetz, for my review.

A Child's Geography

 

I just received one of the neatest books in the mail that I’ve seen for awhile – A Child’s Geography by Ann Voskamp.  Why am I so impressed with this book? Well, it’s because I have looked high and low for a geography book that I can actually work with, one that will fit our schooling schedule, and one that is interesting and fun.  This book meets all of those criteria and more. 

A Child’s Geography is written in a Charlotte Mason-style.  Though I never actually set out to find Charlotte Mason-style books, I always find myself extremely attracted to them when I do find them!  Here are some of the things that impress me about A Child’s Geography:

·         It is set up to be used two days per week (you could do it in one but it would either take a lot of time or you would have to just pick and choose what you want to do)
·         It is written in a personal style – when reading it, you feel as though the author is talking to you personally
·         Each reading selection contains “Tell the folks at home all about it!” sections (which are prompts for the children to share what they have learned so far) and “Postcard Home” sections (which are “Notebooking” activities that your children do on oversized postcards)
·         After each reading selection, there is another section called “Reaching Out to His World” – these sections talk about ways that we, as Christians, can be praying for and helping those in the world who are less fortunate than we are
·         Book lists for extra reading are included in each lesson
·         Each lesson also contains two “Too-Fun-to-Resist Excursions”, which are easy-to-do activities that relate to the lesson and require very little preparation or materials, but are fun and effective learning tools

In addition to all of that, the book also comes with an accompanying cd-rom.  It includes 27 pages of copywork activities that directly relate to the lessons in the book, 4 styles of copywork templates (for older and younger students, with or without sections for drawing), 5 different postcard templates (to be used with the Notebooking activities), 2 review tests, and more!

If you are in search of a geography book that is easy to work with, can be used with multiple age groups, and approaches geography from a Christian perspective, then I’m sure you’ll be impressed and pleased with A Child’s Geography. 

 

Much like its predecessor, Explore His Earth - Volume 1 of A Child’s Geography, Volume 2 – Explore the Holy Land is an excellent geography resource and one that I would highly recommend.  This book is divided into 16 chapters, covering 6 Middle Eastern countries (Turkey, Israel, Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan).  Various scheduling options are recommended to spread this course out over an entire school year.

Each chapter of A Child’s Geography, Volume 2 is divided into several sections:

·         The readings – these may be read all at once, or divided into two sections, they may be read aloud to younger students and older students can easily read them on their own.  They are written in a personal style, making you feel as if the author is speaking to you personally.  To enhance the readings, having an atlas and/or globe handy is a good idea.

·         Field Notes – these are narration prompts and are just suggestions to get your child talking about what they have learned

·         Travel Logs – these are the Notebooking activities and are suggested to be placed in a 3-ring binder, in plastic sheet protectors.  For each country, your child will be encouraged to draw a map of the country (outline maps are included on the accompanying cd-rom) and label cities, landmarks, etc. that have been discussed in the chapter.  On the back of each map, they will be recording special things that stood out to them during the lessons.

·         Bring it Home – these are great ideas for bringing each country’s culture into your home; they include things such as music, art, reading, poetry, and recipes (some web addresses are given for further ideas, etc.)

·         Prayer Walk – these are included at the end of each section of study on a particular country, they are written as a prayer and include specific requests pertaining to that particular country.

Also included with A Child’s Geography, Volume 2 is an accompanying cd-rom.  On the cd, you will find more resources to help make Explore the Holy Land even more memorable.  These include copywork passages that directly relate to the studies, 4 different copywork templates, 4 travel log templates and a travel log cover sheet, maps of the Middle Eastern countries (both labeled and unlabeled versions), recipes from the Holy Land, and review tests (or quizzes) for each of the 16 chapters of the book.

I am every bit as impressed with Volume 2 as I am with Volume 1.  I hope there are several more installments in the series!  These books are great for working with multiple ages, and they will easily fit into any homeschooling schedule.

*Both of these great resources can be purchased from the publisher or at the Schoolhouse Store (where they are available in e-book format).