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Apologia Writers in Residence Review
I’ve been really impressed with the quality of products from Apologia Educational Ministries, so I was excited to review their Writers in Residence program when it was offered to us. I was not disappointed! The books themselves are beautiful, for those of us that are curriculum junkies and appreciate well made materials! The student book is both a text and workbook all in one, so it’s a thick 576 page manual. It’s spiral bound for durability, and so the pages will lay flat as the kids work. The answer key is a more modest 144 pages. I am still a little intimidated at teaching the writing…
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Review: A+ Interactive Math
Math is possibly the scariest homeschool subject! I hear many moms say they’re hesitant to homeschool because they get overwhelmed by the math. We may even have negative memories of math from our own schooling years. A+ Interactive Math wants to help parents overcome that math obstacle! We were given access to two of their Math Mini Courses and we chose to focus on Money and Tables, Charts, and Graphs. Each mini-course offers a year’s access to the material and has between 10 and 35 lessons. Topics include addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, percentages, elementary algebra, elementary geometry, decimals, fractions, and more. After logging in, the kids…
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Review: Talking Fingers (Read, Write & Type!)
My Sweetheart is busy learning to read, so I relish the opportunity to try out programs that will help her build that oh-so-valuable skill. I was especially intrigued by Read, Write & Type because of the typing skills it incorporates. Sweetheart hovered over Super D as he learned to type with a different program and was super excited to have a version of her own. Talking Fingers, Inc kindly gave us a one year subscription, good for multiple users to their program, Read, Write & Type. This is an internet based program, so no downloading is required! Read, Write & Type is ideal for ESL students and works really well for parents…
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Review: Homeschool Copywork
I regularly scour the Internet for copywork and so I was eager to try out the offerings from Homeschool Copywork! They offer three levels of membership, and kindly gave us a Lifetime Membership to their site. I like to incorporate regular copywork into our schooling for a number of reasons. The most obvious is that my kiddos need to practice their handwriting!! Good handwriting doesn’t just come naturally to kids (right?!), and so they need to practice! I well remember learning to write in cursive in 3rd grade, and practicing over and over (and over) again! I also like to give my kids copywork because it gives them…
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Review: Times Tales by The Trigger Memory Co.
Super D has been working hard on his multiplication skills this year, and so I was excited to introduce him to the Times Tales by The Trigger Memory Co.! They kindly sent us a digital download pack that included two videos, two sets of printables, and an answer key. Times Tales is designed to help kids memorize their multiplication facts, focusing on the more challenging upper times tables. Super D has memorized his skip counting songs, and uses those to multiply. He has balked at memorizing the facts, and prefers to skip count. I was excited to review Times Tales and see if they could help him with memorization! The Trigger…
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5 Days of Tips for Homeschooling Parents: Stretch Your Homeschool Budget!
Look for free curriculum! Lots and lots and lots of sites offer free curriculum! Even some public schools are offering their programs online for free, if you want to go that route. Pinterest is FULL of free curriculum as well and you can find great sites like How to Homeschool for Free. Look for used curriculum! One of my favorite sites to look for used curriculum is HomeschoolClassifieds.com. It pays to look in unusual places if you’re looking for a specific kind of curriculum. I’m part of a yahoo group for Math U See users where they post used materials. I’ve gotten LOTS of our Math U See…
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5 Days of Tips for Homeschooling Parents
Visit these homeschooling mama’s and see what sort of tips they have to offer today! Jeniffer @ Thou Shall Not Whine Jennifer @ A Peace of Mind Jennifer @ Faithful Homestead Joelle @ homeschooling for His Glory Joesette @ Learning Curve Kari @ Random Acts of Boyhood Katie @ Katie’s Daily Life Kemi @ Homemaking Organized Kim @ Homestead Acres Kylie @ Our Worldwide Classroom
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Review: Logic of English Foundations B
I had the pleasure of listening to Denise Eide speak at a homeschool convention last year, and I was so impressed by her knowledge and experience in teaching kids to read, and to read well. Literacy is a HUGE issue in our nation, despite the enormous amount of funding dedicated to helping kids learn to read. I purchased Logic of English‘s Foundation Level A materials last year for Sweetheart, and am thrilled that they sent me Foundations Level B to review! Logic of English was super generous and sent us the Foundations B Teachers Manual, Manuscript workbook, and Readers, as well as their Phonogram & Spelling Rule Quick Reference Guide,…
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5 Days of Tips for Homeschool Parents
Check back tomorrow for a new tip from me! In the meantime, hop over to see what my fellow bloggers are up to! Annette @ A Net In Time Brandy @ Kingdom Academy Homeschool Brenda @ Counting Pinecones Carol @ Home Sweet Life Cassandra @ A Glimpse of Normal Chareen @ Every Bed of Roses Cristi @ Through the Calm and Through the Storm Crystal @ Crystal Starr DaLynn @ Biblical Womanhood Danielle @ Sensible Whimsy
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5 Days of Tips for Homeschool Parents: Simplify the Little Years
You’re in for a treat this week! I’m teaming up with 50 other homeschool bloggers to bring you 5 Days of Tips for Homeschool Parents, all designed to make your life easier. You can find the links to more of the bloggers at the end of this post – enjoy our blog hop! As a first time parent, and first time homeschooling mom, I was ready to dive into school with intensity. The clock was ticking, after all, and I needed to get my son ready to take on the world. I started when he was 4, but only because we didn’t settle on homeschooling until then. …