TOS Crew Review: Homeschooling in the Woods - US/World Maps

I just love the thought of "homeschooling in the woods."  Well that is almost what we do here!!!  I downloaded the Old World US and World Maps from Homeschooling in the Woods. They were in WinZip format.  They maps then come in PDF format.  Each map is then available labeled or not labeled . I love the variety of maps available.

The US maps come as individual state maps.  They show all the major waterways in the state and the bordering states.  You can label yourself, or you can print off the blank version of the maps. There are also maps available throughout American history, such as colonial maps, civil war maps, and current political maps.  Homeschooling in the Woods encourages us to use maps as we teach history.

Also included are notebooking pages for each US state.  You are given a page where you can include info on state flower, flag, bird, history, etc.  An answer key for these are included.  Each page includes pictures of the state flag, bird, and state flower are printed on each page. The flag is in color.

The world maps are many as well.  They are broken up into ancient history and modern history. They also come labeled and not labeled, so you can decide what way you want to use the maps. There are 18 ancient history maps and 28 world maps.  Then there are three version of each map. The also include notebooking pages for the world maps.

These maps are great quality and beautiful.  They print out very nice and easy to label by the children. Homeschooling in the Woods always has high quality items that we love!

To find out more or to purchase, CLICK HERE.

TOS Crew Review: Critical Thinking Press - Language Smarts C

Critical Thinking Press is the publisher of a Language Smarts, Level C.  This consumable workbook is a huge book of over 300 pages arranged by its many topics. This book can be used either as a core curriculum or  used as a supplement. The company states it covers all of grade 2 standards for language arts and some 3rd grade topics. What is great is that this also teaching critical thinking and helps prepare students for standardized tests (if you use those.) 

After the introductory chapter covering various topics found in the book, there are sections covering vowels/phonics, rhymes, contractions, compound words, high frequency words, nouns and verbs, nouns or pronouns, word usage, subject/verb agreement, suffixes, prefixes, sequencing, compare and contrast, ordering, subject and predicates, sentences, capitalization and punctuation, friendly letters, inferences and facts, setting, and  more. For a complete list of what is covered CLICK HERE.

The activities include puzzles, creative writing, filling in the blanks, solving secret codes to get the answer, filling in charts, and lots more. What is nice is that the pages are not overloaded with endless problems to solve. The pages are very doable in bite size pieces.The pages are also in great bright colors and the pictures are inviting to children. They look so much like fun!  The website states also, that the licence on this is reproducible. There is also a downloadable answer guide available online.

My children were just a little too young for this workbook (or too old) but I do plan on using it as a supplement next year for two of my children.  It is probably best if the child can read before you attempt this workbook.

To learn more, look at sample pages, or to purchase, CLICK HERE.

TOS Crew Review: All About Reading...What Am I?

All About Reading just came out with a Level 2, Volume 1 reader for their All About Spelling (AAS) program.  Just like their past reader, the beautiful black and white photos are throughout the book. The stories correspond with level 2 of the All About Spelling program.

Stories are fun, mostly animal stories. They also include a robot and elf story and some poems. The stories are interesting, keep the child enjoying reading, and give much needed practice us moms like. When we are done with our reading lesson, we like to curl up in bed or on the couch and have the children practice their reading to me. The stories are just at their level so it helps them to feel more confident with their reading.

This book is part of their new All About Reading Program to be released later this year. This reader can be used stand alone or be used after level 1 of All About Spelling. There will be two readers for each level and each cover decoding, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, etc.

This book is to be released April 1st, 2010.  To find out more visit the All About Spelling website (Click Here.)

TOS Crew Review: Dollar Homeschool

A Complete K-12 math curriculum, from counting to calculus.

"The Ray's math series begins at a preliterate level with counting; then takes the child through addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and so upward until calculus, teaching concepts with thorough explanations followed by ample problem sets. The Ray's series provides a very full-bodied course of mathematics" quoted from website: http://www.dollarhomeschool.com/raysarithmetic/index.html

 

 

Ray's arithmetic CD contains 12 core textbooks, teacher guides, answer keys, and several other books that are math realted, for a total of 38 books.  The books come in PDF (ADOBE - which is available online for free if you don't have it.) format so you can print what pages you need at what level you need. This is textbook format, so once you print them out, you can keep them in a 3-ring binder or something similiar for your next child to use.

 

These textbooks date back to 1865 and were used exclusively until 1915. This texts were written by the best of the best in their fields at this time. There is a Welcome file which should be read first which gives tips on where to start and how to progress through the books.  It also has some frequently asked questions.

I looked over the Ray's Primary Arithmetic to start.  The lessons begin with counting and reading numbers one to one hundred. They then progress to oral exercise, including oral word problems.   "How many are one and one?" "How many are three take away one?" As you move through the lessons word problems include: "How many birds are two birds and five birds?"  "Francis had two cents and his mother gave him one cent, how many had he then?" "Jane had ten cents: if she gave 8 cents for a book, how many cents does she have left?"

The core of the program are word problems.  The focus early on is addition and subtraction then moves onto multiplication: "If one dozen apples cost nine cents, how many cents will 8 dozen cost?" So if you don't have a strong reader at this level, most will be oral.  But it is very doable for a first/second grader to get these concepts.

The next book in the series is Ray's Intellectual Arithmetic (and the last one I am reviewing).  It begins with a review for those who may not have covered the topics in the first book or need more practice. I found the concept from this level challenging for myself.  Yes, I could do it, but wow, made me think. For example in lesson 5 (V) you are instructed to start at 8 and goto one hundred four by adding 4 (to 8) successively. (8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, 32, 36, 40, 44, 48, 52, 56, 60, 64, 68, 72, 76, 80, 84, 88, 92, 96, 100, 104- phew - done!) Fractions, measurement, interest problems, and percents are also thoroughly covered at this level, and yes, using word problems!! 

This program is advanced, so you will have to look carefully over where your children are at, and possibly back it up a little to make sure they understand all the topics covered.

 

This is a great program.  One downside I see in it is that the pages require a lot of ink.  I did run the pages on "fast draft" and they were very readable, so that is an option. This is an economical option in that pages printed can be saved for the next child. The other downside is that work most likely will have to be done on another piece of paper, such as a notebook. My children balk at this.


To Find out pricing or for more information about this product and other products offered by Dollar Homeschool Click Here.