TOS Crew Spotlight

Oh, look! I'm in the Spotlight this week! Go to the TOS Crew Blog and read all about me!

Thanks! :)

Memoria Press: Geography I - A TOS Crew Review

In early May I was fortunate to receive a set of Geography I from Memoria Press to use with my son to review. 

Memoria Press, launched in 1994, is a publisher that provides easy-to-use curriculum for a Christian classical education. Classically educated students learn Latin, and through their years they study what is known as "the great works of the Western tradition". The  philosophy of a classical education is to cultivate wisdom and virtue by focusing on that which is true and beautiful and good. Classical study have a focus on liberal arts, and concentrate on the writings and the lives and thinking of great men from Western tradition. The liberal arts studies focus on grammar, logic and rhetoric (these three known as the "trivium"), and arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music (these four known as the "quadrivium"). What is known as the "Western Civilization", which the studies cover, is encompassed by a study of the Romans, the Greeks, and the Hebrews of ancient time.

There was a day in our history when everyone who was considered educated would have received an education of this nature. Students studied Plato, Socrates, and Justinian, and students read original works in their original languages of Greek, Latin, or Hebrew.

The concept of giving my children a classical education has long intrigued me, but for the longest time it was inaccessible to me, not only financially, but also practically. I began home educating in 1991, before this company's materials were available. I don't speak or read Latin, Greek or Hebrew. I'm challenged even in my native English when it comes to assigning and judging writing assignments. 

Since I have become familiar with Memoria Press, I no longer consider a classical education to be inaccessible! (I'm even working on learning Latin!) I was interested in using the Geography I materials with my son, because I have neglected his instruction in Geography somewhat.

Oh, happy day when the box arrived! What fun it always is to receive a new shipment of books!

We received five soft-cover books of various sizes. The Geography I program is appropriate for students in grades 4 through 8 (being part of the Memoria Press plans for Grade 4). The program  includes three books focused on the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe,

 

 

and two books focused on reviewing the geography of the United States.
 

My son showed an immediate preference for focusing on the geography of our own country, the United States of America. He is familiar with it, and yet it is challenging to him because although the names of states and capitals are familiar to him, he does not yet have state locations memorized or each state capital memorized.

The States and State Capitals Review Student Workbook (pictured above) contains 25 pages, and the Teacher Key, Quizzes, & Tests (pictured above) contains corresponding worksheets, quizzes and tests (on 95 pages). The country is divided into eight regions which are focused on in groups. I had my son work on one to two pages several times a week. My son does not like to color, so I did not insist that he color states (which the curriculum asked him to do). I do think I will have him go back later and in some way outline the states that belong to the different regions, as I do believe that is useful information for him to learn. My son still needs a lot more work on this material. (I think his brain was already more focused on summer break then school work when we were still in May...)

This student book was laid out using the method that I believe is most helpful to my son, where he is to fill the state name in the state itself, unless it does not fit, in which case he can write it in the ocean and draw an arrow to the state (Rhode Island, for instance).

 

When it was time to work on the materials for The Middle East, North Africa and Europe my son repeatedly resisted me. (This is part of his nature, by the way, to cling to that which is familiar and to resist and turn away from anything new, particularly if the new subject matter was not his own idea...) JD insisted that he had no need to know this information, and even while he was saying this the radio was on in the background tuned to our talk radio station, with conversation about Syria and Afghanistan. I pointed that out to him, and he said, "I don't even know where Afghanistan is!" And I replied, "Exactly!"  

The Middle East, North Africa and Europe is divided, as its title suggests, into the three sections of:

1. The Middle East;
2. North Africa; and
3. Europe.

The Student Text contains 103 pages, which include pages at the back with maps of the countries! The Teacher Guide does not have numbered pages (so I'm not sure how many pages are in it); it includes answer pages that correspond to the Student Workbook, as well as blank Quizzes and Tests with their corresponding Answer Keys. The Student Workbook contains pages and maps that correspond to the material presented in the Student Text, as well as review pages for student use. 

The teacher instructions recommend the teacher have the student work through 2-3 countries each week. It is suggested that for each country the following be done:

• name and country and its capital be written in (information gotten from the textbook)
• paragraphs about the country, from the text, be read by or to the students;
• student listen for and record "Fun Facts" about the country into the spaces provided in the workbook; and
• student mark workbook map showing geographic landmarks (mountains, deserts, etc.)

The teacher is to encourage use of colored pencils, and to encourage neatness. I remember doing a year of Geography when I was in 7th grade. I remember mapping out the countries in Africa and the Middle East, Europe, Asia. I remember carefully coloring each country a different color with my colored pencils, and labeling the countries and trying to memorize them. I took joy in neatness. We students would compare our maps, and find fault with the maps of others to make ourselves feel better about the job we did on our own maps.

 

It is so challenging to be teaching a student that is so different from myself. My son does not want to use those colored pencils. He fills in the country names grudgingly. He does not consider facts about countries he is unfamiliar with to be "Fun Facts", and he makes sure I know it. Even after all the time he spent working on this material, he insists that he does not need to know this information. He has happy to learn that it was time for me to write the review because he mistakenly assumed that he would never have to complete the books. He is wrong, and I made sure he knew it. The reason I am so happy to do product reviews is that it gives me an opportunity to receive materials that I want for free, materials that when the review is finished I can then spread out over the rest of the school year to meet a curriculum and educational need in our home school.

To the left is a page from the Student Text, so you can see what that looks like. I saved Egypt for my son to do next year, as we gear up for our studies of the ancient cultures the following year. Next year we will be focusing on the 20th Century to present, and our studies of the countries of the regions included in this series will be so very relevant to our studies of the war and politics of current times!

The photos below from the Teacher Guide show the way the answers are all filled in -- country names, capitals, mountains, countries nearby. Countries with rivers have the river name labeled. The dotted line below shows the Arctic Circle. I chose to show this map of Norway because of my Finnish/Norwegian heritage.

The above photo, from  The Middle East, North Africa, & Europe Student Workbook, is an example of my son's work. Sorry the above photo washed out. The format of the workbook has sections where the countries are numbered, and the student is asked to write the country name on the corresponding number's line. The above photo showed an example of that method. When I saw that, I instructed my son to ignore the numbered lines and just write the answers in the outlined country itself. I did this because I know my son and his weaknesses. My goal is for him to learn the material. I am not currently concerned that he "test well". So if he knows the countries, their locations, the countries around them, the capitals, geographic differences of note, etc., he will be far ahead of where he is now. Sometime in the next two years I need to work with him to help him improve his test-taking skills, but I did not want to combine that training with this material at this time.

The Middle East, North Africa, & Europe Student Text

We have some busy months ahead of us this summer, so we will be very limited in the school work we will be doing until September. I fully intend, though, to work our way through the rest of this material this school year. This is a rich program, and I am so happy to have had an opportunity to try it out. I wish I had had this when my two older students were in Middle School.

I love Memoria Press. I love their products. I love their Geography I program. (I am not being paid to say this.) My son, though, does not like school, does not like these Geography I materials, and does not want to learn anything that is not his own idea. He reminds me of Thomas Edison, who got kicked out of school and was eventually able to pursue what was important to himself, and thus we have so many inventions! I expect great things from my son one day, but in the meantime educating him is very often so challenging. Because of this I end up adapting products to use them in a way that works for use. That is the beauty of home schooling. I find the products from Memoria Press are able to be adapted in this way. My son may never get the grasp of the material to a degree that he would if he followed the program the way it is laid out, but I am not certain he would actually learn it better if we followed the instructions, because his brain is just a little different. I had one student who would have thrived following all Memoria Press methods and procedures. My current student is not that student, but the products by Memoria Press are, nevertheless, excellent materials for him and I highly recommend them.

So if your student is needing to study Geography, I recommend you take a good look at Memoria Press's Geography I program. Its price is a very reasonable $48. You can see a Geography I sample Text page here, the Geography I Table of Contents here, and a Geography I Workbook Sample here. The Geography I web page also contains links to color images of places in the Text as well.

If you would like to see what other Crew members thought, click the link below.

Menu Monday - Week of 6/17/13

Here is my family menu-plan (vegan/carnivore blend) for this week.

Sunday (Father's Day):
Steak, Caesar salad, baked potatoes (stuffed baked potato - vegan chili)

Monday:
Pot luck picnic activity (taking black bean dip and chips)

Tuesday:
barbecued chicken, corn on the cob, green beans (vegan "chicken" patty)

Wednesday:
cheeseburgers, baked beans, cole slaw, rolls (vegan "quarter pounder")

Thursday:
leftover lasagne (wheat spaghetti noodles, sauce), salad, TX toast

Friday:
Tuscan White Bean and Spinach Soup, salad, rolls

Saturday:
Homemade chilimac, broccoli (vegan leftovers)


 

Blogging Through the Alphabet - The Letter M

 This week is brought to you by the Letter M!

In my world, M reminds me of Mathematics. Last year's book is dying. Next year's book is not yet out of its box.

M is for Milly, my daughter's dog.

 M is for mummy, when studying Egypt.

 M is for homemade marshmallows!

 M is for mullien, which we studied in our nature study.

 And M is for music. This month's composer is Giuseppi Verdi. Here is "Triumphal March" (Grand March) from Aida:


What does the letter "M" make YOU think of?

George Washington's Rules - Rule #7

In continuation of my previous weekly theme, we are up to Rule #7 of George Washington's Rules which says:

7th	Put not off your Cloths in the presence of Others, nor go out your Chamber half Dressed.

In other words,

Do not take off your clothes in front of other people, and do not leave your bedroom only half-dressed.

Backyard Birds, by Birdcage Press: A TOS Schoolhouse Crew Review

In late April I learned that I would be receiving Backyard Birds, a game and learning product by Birdcage Press, to use with my son and then review.

Birdcage Press is a small company created by a mom who was making games for her three children to make education more fun. She made fact books to go with each game, and her kids acted as her editor. The company now produces many award-winning products to help make learning fun. These games are in the categories of Art, Wildlife and Nature, Air and Space, and History.

Backyard Birds, geared towards ages 6 and up, arrived at my door in early May. My son and I had the weeks following to peruse the informational book, familiarize ourselves with the cards, and play games. The card deck contains 36 cards (18 pairs). As you can see in the photo, each card has a number on it, as well as an informational section below the bird's picture and its name. The cards are also numbered #1-#6, dividing the birds into (1) Tricksters, (2) Songbirds, (3) Woodpeckers, (4) Hummers, (5) Little Chirpers, and (6) Waterbirds. There are six cards for each number, so it is not quite like a traditional card deck. When we played "Fish", we just collected pairs. ("Fish" can also normally be played by collecting groups of four, if you prefer. I guess with this deck you could go for groups of six to make it really challenging. We didn't try that; I'm not sure how well that would work.)

The 33-paged informational book, by Kathleen Yale, has a very nice section on ways to differentiate birds at a distance based upon shape (crest, bill shape and size, tail length and width, head and neck, body size, webbing of feet), overall size, color pattern, behavior, habitat and field markings. Each bird type (numbered above) is described. There is a North American map showing where the birds live, breed, and winter (if they migrate). There are icons for each bird to teach habitat, food preferences, how they nest, and specific types of behavior. Each bird then has a page where more specific information about the bird is available.

We received Backyard Birds shortly before leaving the East Coast for a week in southern Arizona. This was fun because in our area the only hummingbirds are the ruby throated hummingbirds, which we rarely see anyway. While visiting Tucson and Sierra Vista, we also got to see Anna's Hummingbirds and Roufous Hummingbirds, which are also included in the book. (We actually got to see six types of hummingbirds in Arizona, but I covered that in a previous post.) I had hoped my son would get to see Black-billed Magpies, as well, but they do not live in that area. I first encountered these magpies in the Denver area, but that was many years ago, before my son was born. We actually had an airport layover at Denver during this trip, but the magpies did not cooperate by landing for us where we could see them from the window airport...

We used Backyard Birds  to learn and quiz each other on bird trivia. (Which backyard bird is so smart it sometimes uses a tool to get food?) We played fish, and we played memory. These cards can also be used to play "Old Maid", but my son doesn't like to play that game. I also like to play a kind of "Jeopardy": with the cards upside down, the contestant taps a card of choice. I look at the card (hiding it), and create a question from the card's information to see if the contestant can guess what bird it is. "I am a water bird, and I have a big, bushy crest." Answer, "What is a Belted Kingfisher!" Mostly I just liked poring over the bird facts on the cards and in the book.

Backyard Birds is a great resource to add to your home school supply of educational games. It sells for $10.95. Other titles by Birdcage Press that I have my eye on: Van Gogh and Friends, Impressionist Artists, and Ancient Egypt (prices vary).

This product was a little "young" for my 13 year old as a card game, but the clear, close bird photos, the information in the book, and information on the cards give it value in our home. My son is currently working on his Bird Study merit badge for Boy Scouts, and this has been a helpful addition to his work to identify 25 specific birds that he can recognize by sight.

If bird study is a regular part of your home school, or you want to do more study of birds than you are currently doing, I encourage you to consider adding Backyard Birds to your plans. Summer is a great time to start!

The Schoolhouse Review Crew had a variety of card games to review. Go to the Schoolhouse Review Crew Blog to read more reviews of this and other card games by Birdcage Press.

 

 

Blogging Through the Alphabet - The Letter L

When I think of L, this time of year, I think of flowers (predominantly lilies): Lily of the Valley, day lily, and tiger lily. Only my Lily of the Valley has bloomed so far.


Then there are the lizards we met last month in Arizona.

 What can YOU think of that starts with "L"?

Christianity Cove - A TOS Crew Review

In April the TOS Homeschool Review Crew learned that we would have the opportunity to receive a product from Christianity Cove to review. 

My son has experienced some bullying, so I was intrigued by a title called Bullying and the Bible. I was asked if I had a second choice, so I also put down the title Freedom Ride. I was really surprised when I received both Bullying and the Bible AND a copy of Freedom Ride! So I will be reviewing both. I will review Bullying and the Bible first.

Bullying and the Bible is available for two age-ranges. Each file contains six lessons. The first file, Bullying and the Bible for Young Students Ages 5-9 has six lessons spread out over 76 pages. The titles in this first download are as follows:

1. Identifying bullying behavior;
2. How to handle bullies vs. meanies;
3. How to help victims of bullying (being good bystanders);
4. How to safely warn bullies (being courageous bystanders);
5. What to do if you are a victim of bullying;
6. Ways to change if you have bullied.

Lessons are divided up into the Lesson Capsule (teacher intro), Top of the Lesson Attention Getter, Intro Material Presented by the Teacher, Scripture Reading, Discussion, and This Week in Prayer (to keep them thinking of the content during the week.

Bullying and the Bible for Young Students Ages 5-9 is available as a PDF download for $27.
          ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My son is 13, for purposes of this review I focused only on the version for older students. The above chapter titles are so good, though, that I guarantee I will be going over that material as well to see what I can glean from it.

So my son and I spent four weeks working on the material for teens in the  PDF file of Bullying and the Bible for Tweeners and Teens (ages 10-16). The material includes six lessons  that are spread out over 48 pages. Here are the lesson titles:

1. Joseph
2. Moses
3. David
4. Shadrach, Meshach & Abednego
5. The Adulterous Woman
6. Jesus

We jumped into the lesson for Joseph and worked our way forward. From the very first lesson, my son was engaged with this material. I had suspected he would be, but with my son I never know until I get there. But this subject material struck close to my son's heart and experiences.

The program begins with a good definition of bullying:

Bullying: Negative verbal or physical behavior that is done (a) directly to a
person or personʼs property, (b) with the conscious intention of either
upsetting the person or manipulating the personʼs behavior, which (c) God
would not approve of.

The material then walks the student (class) through different biblical stories with scenarios that can be thought of as bullying, and then talks about modern-day scenarios the student might be able to relate to. My son certainly could!

The lesson format is clearly designed for Sunday School groups. I just adapted it to use with one student. I can see ways in which using this material in a class-room setting would open conversation up and get it flowing in a way that might not happen with one student. But in my situation, I even think one-on-one was better so that my son felt the freedom to speak freely and transparently. We have a good relationship, and he felt free to dump his heart. He didn't need to feel concern about what other students might think, or concern that he might be mocked or harassed later about what he had said.

The most interesting thing I have learned so far from this material is the concept that an individual can inadvertently set themselves up as targets for bullying, but can also learn techniques, and an attitude, that can deflect a bully, cause the bully to reconsider that maybe the individual is not really a good target. I never thought about this when I was a child, but in retrospect I can see situations where I was bullied to a point, but at that point I had had enough and refused to tolerate it any more, and inevitably that, in itself, seemed to send an invisible message to the bully that I was done, and she quit. So this curriculum helps our kids learn that, and helps them begin to learn how to behave differently so they are no longer targeted by the bully.

We are almost done with this program, and it has been good. I will also be looking over the material for ages 5-9 as well, just in case there is also material in there that might be helpful for my son. I have not been happy that he has been bullied, and I have been very glad we were selected to review this product. 

Bullying and the Bible for Tweeners and Teens (ages 10-16) is available as a PDF download for $27.
      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The second book we worked on during this review period was Freedom Ride. The purpose  of the curriculum Freedom Ride is to prepare high school students to own their own faith and know how to walk in that faith on their own, so that when they move on to college they do not walk away from what they believe. 

The Freedom Ride program has 12 lessons spread out over 82 pages, and is written for Sunday School or youth group settings. Like Bullying and the Bible, they can be adapted to be used with one student, but it means there are cute activities you can't really use. I sort of described the activities to my son when we couldn't do them. Some of them we were able to do, just the two of us switching back and forth, taking turns. They would be easier with a larger class.

The Lesson Titles are: 

•   How to Talk with God (and not break out in hives and actually enjoy yourself);
•  How to Hear God’s Voice (& not scoot under the bed or break out in more hives);
•  3 Reasons We Don’t Hear God (& how to get the wax out of your ears);
•  Following God’s Leading (& not ending up in Catawangawanga);
•  Loadies, Cokeheads, Drunks, Stoners (& the psychology of stooping so low);
•  Gossips & Other Trumpet Mouths (& ways not to join the band);
•  Peer Pressure: You’re Not a Zit (& how to get the wax out of your ears);
•  Peer Pressure 2: You’re like a Balloon (so don’t end up deflated);
•  Facebook Fights & Texting Wars (& how not to get your face blown off);
•  Finding Your Gifts from God (& therefore some meaning in life);
•  Putting Yourself in Others’ Shoes (& not catching their foot fungus);
•  Loving Your Brothers ‘n Sisters (even when you want to clobber each other).

Lessons are divided into a "Lesson Capsule" for the teacher, as well as a description of the "Preparation" for the Class Activity. Once the teacher is prepared, the class includes a Class Activity, Small Group Discussion (with two or more sections to choose from), and a personal application section called "Help All Week".  The lessons can be completed one per week or one per month (it seems like it would work best to be used weekly).
 

My son did not like this program right away. He warmed up to it with the second lesson, which is amazingly quick to me (if you only knew my son...). He still was not enthusiastic about the content of this particular e-Book, but then he is a little young for the content. The material is very "real-world", and my son having been home-schooled all his life, he hasn't been exposed to some of the real-world topics the way a public-schooled student may have been.

This particular program was more difficult to adapt to use with one student. As a curriculum for a Sunday School or youth group, though, it looks excellent, particularly for high school students. The author is right spot-on that our Christian students need to cover this material and be firm in what they believe before we send them out into the world where they need to stand on their own two feet. I do recommend this material, and I will revisit it when my son is a little older.    

Freedom Ride is available in seconds as a PDF download for $29.00.
           ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Schoolhouse Review Crew had the opportunity to choose from a large variety of titles available from Christianity Cove. To read more reviews of the above products, or to see information about other products by Christianity Cove, click the button below.

Menu Monday

Here is my (carnivore/vegan blend) menu plan for the week.

Sunday:

Church picnic (each family brings food just for their family--we got subs from Subway. Did you know they have a veggie patty sub now?)

Monday:
Boy Scout Court of Honor Picnic - I'm taking Speedy International Stew and blue corn chips.

Tuesday:
Salsa Soup, salad, chips

Wednesday:
Barbecued chicken, corn on the cob, broccoli (leftover vegan food)

Thursday:
Hamburger/baked bean casserole, salad (vegan crumblies and no bacon in my part)

Friday:
Salmon, yams, spinach (the vegan is happy with yams and spinach)

Saturday:
Lasagne, salad, Texas toast (trying for vegan lasagne, but cannot find whole wheat or brown rice noodles this week...)

What's for dinner at your house this week?

Cicada Life Cycle

Oh my! Amazing video I just watched! Enjoy!