Vocab Cafe

I was surprised and pleased last month when I learned I had been chosen to review the Vocab Cafe series of books by College Prep Genius.

College Prep Genius is a company whose goal is to prepare students for college. Part of the concept is to prepare them for college testing by expanding their vocabulary.  The Vocab Cafe books are a series of books that deliver SAT vocabulary words incrementally by working them into a short engaging book with a thrilling plot, all the while subtly defining the new words at the bottom of the page as each new word is introduced.  It sounded like a great concept, and I couldn't wait to get a look at them. The books look well made. The covers are attractively laid out. The books range in length from 132 pages to 222 pages. They require absolutely no teacher preparation. The student can benefit just by reading, and glancing at definitions when the words are unfamiliar, but will benefit more by creating 3"x5" cards of new words to become thoroughly familiar with them. Being books, they can be used for all of your students.

In my perusal of the books I did not detect any particular religious leaning. Some fundamental-type families might shy away from the nature of the


Watching this video, I got totally excited about this program and want more, more, more.  Scoring high on SATs is such a racket! It's just one more test that you have to learn how to take. It doesn't actually test the student's knowledge, but rather has ways in which it tries to trick students into selecting the wrong answer. It is supposed to be a test of "logic", but apparently to a large extent it is a test of how well you prepare for it. I want to help my son be prepared for it.

I was intrigued to learn that College Prep Genius was developed by a mom, Jean Burk, who had formerly home schooled. Her son, Josh, had scored very well on the SATs as a result of her helping him prepare for it. Josh Burk is actually the author of this Vocab Cafe book series. Jean Burk has assisted others in preparing their students for college as well, and in addition to her printed materials she gives seminars to help folks know how to prepare.

When the set of books actually arrived, I was busy, and so they sat.  I decided I would surreptitiously leave them out where my son would see them, in the hopes that he would be curious, pick one up, read, and give me an opinion.  Didn't happen. Review due date drew nearer. I knew it was time to just jump into the reading on my own.

I received four titles for my review: (in order in picture above) Operation High School, I.M. for Murder, The $ummer of $aint Nick, and Planet Exile.  These books are currently priced at $38.85 for the set of four.   I decided to start with I.M. for Murder because it appealed to me. I was also thinking Planet Exile might appeal to my son, so I didn't want to be tying that one up in case he decided to pick it up to read while I was reading. These books are really for 8th through 12th grades, anyway, and my son is only 6th, so I didn't want to push it.

So, working my way into the story I found myself unsettled, unhappy, eneasy, ...grumpy.  This idea of working the SAT words into a story was a great idea. It really was. I just don't feel it was done well.

·       The words were pushed into the sentences in ways that did not seem natural, did not flow, and were not used in ways the words were commonly used.

·       The definitions were not ringing true with my memory; the words were not being defined the way I thought they should be based on my own understanding.

So, I didn't want to just get annoyed over this when maybe I was the one who was wrong, so I started looking them up.  I found my impressions to be correct, and the books to be ...off.  Here are some examples:

The word "jounce".  This word was used in the following sentence: "He stepped behind the court and threw the tennis ball in the air, jouncing it with his racket."  Now, first of all, someone serving in tennis would tend to "loft" or "lob" the ball into the air and then give the ball a whack.  My brain was twitching with the word "jouncing" being used here.  To my memory a "jounce" was a bump, a jolt, which would cause disheveling, like jouncing a stack of papers.  The definition given in the book was, "to move in an up and down manner".  Now my brain was really twitching. Not only was that not the way I thought the word should be defined, but how does "move in an up and down manner"  describe the serve of a ball when hit with a tennis racket?  I certainly couldn't reconcile a tennis ball being it by a tennis racket as being moved in an up and down manner, but further still didn't like the definition, so I looked it up. I found the definition of "jounce" to be: "to move joltingly or roughly up and down, bounce."  I still don't see the tennis ball being jounced by the racket. I see, maybe, bar bells or weights being used improperly, but can't reconcile the use of this word in this sentence above.



So, word after word I read through the lists and was finding fairly consistently:

·       I don't like the way these SAT words are integrated into these stories, and

·    I don't like the definitions that are given for these SAT words in these books.

 ·    In some instances, the story itself didn't even flow right. Like Will finishes playing tennis with his dad (in Phoenix, AZ, where it is hot), and drives straight to work. He walks into work, tells his supervisor he has he clean clothes in the car, then walks back out to his car to get them. He wouldn't have done that -- he would have walked into work with his work clothes in the first place.  I kept thinking, "Who was your editor?" I could have done a better job.

In addition to the issues with the vocabulary words, their usage, and the definitions given, I have some difficulty (as a homeschooler) with the characters in the stories being kids in classroom settings.  I don't personally  expect my son to see "classroom" time until college. So I would have loved it if the stories had been predominantly in non-school settings. Maybe others will disagree, but I think my son will have difficulty relating to stories of notes being passed in class, and I myself find the teacher's reaction to fall outside the realms of believability...

Anyway...

So, I guess this is sounding like I totally hate these books. In truth, that isn't so. I just wish they were different and wish they could be redone.  Personally I plan to go through these books, pen in hand, and adjust the definitions at the bottoms of the pages to match what I find in my dictionary.  Having these books I can discuss with my son, "Does this sound like a good way to use this word? Can you think of a better sentence to use this word in?"

I would love to see these books revised. I would like the vocabulary to be used more correctly, in a way that flows and does not seem stilted, and in a way where it uses the correct meaning. I would like to see the definitions updated to be more accurate. Those would be my recommendations for these books.

I think College Prep Genius is great. I am totally excited to hook up and buy more of their materials, and to use their materials for all four years of high school (maybe even 8th grade) to help my son prepare for college testing. Oh, wait! Did I hear you just ask, "What other materials?"

College Prep Genius also has the following college preparation materials available for sale at their website:

15 Secrets to Free College


 "Co-op Special": College Prep Genius Textbook + College Prep Genius Workbook;

Disclosure: I received a free set of this Vocab Cafe book series in exchange for my honest opinion and review. I received no other compensation (other than the aforementioned), and this page contains my honest opinions.

This has been a TOS Homeschool Crew Review.





To read more reviews of this product, visit the TOG Crew Review page for this product.Throw me a bone! Leave me a comment! I love comments!

Outdoor Hour Challenge - Thistles

Today's Outdoor Hour Challenge was to head out and find some thistles.

We got into the car and headed to the local park. While sitting cozy in the warm car, I opened Handbook of Nature and read the section about thistles (page 524).  While reading, I decided I had gone to the wrong park, because the thistles need to be undisturbed for two years to flower, and looking around I determined the park I had gone to was too well manicured to have first-year thistles, let alone two-year-old thistles in flower...

So we got back in the car and went to a different, closer to nature park, which turned out to be perfect. There were thistles everywhere!

First we took a small sample from the above plant. (Sorry, we really didn't want a 3' specimine to come home with us...). Then we walked to see what else we would find. Actually, some of the specimines were 5' tall!

After investigating thistle specimines available, we walked a ways down the path. I photographed other notable wildflowers:

 I was thinking this one might be teasle.

This one was so light and fluffy! And beside it was some wild blackberry.

My son found this area to be a haven for grass hoppers, and quickly grabbed a trash cup out of the car to collect as many as he could catch! Some of these grass hoppers were 3" long! Those big ones wouldn't sit still for their photograph, though. But this one sat for a photograph:

Having the gloves, because of the thistle hunt, was actually so helpful! My son was able to pounce on whatever grasshopper or spider he wanted to.

We also saw, very close up, a turkey vulture. But, unfortunately, when the bird was close my camera was ready, and when my camera was ready, the bird refused to come back. Go figure.

It was 4:30 in the afternoon, and it was so weird to find the moon was out!

I found some tulip poplar leaves, but as the sun was starting to go down the photo didn't turn out very well.

I also saw some deer, but they didn't get close enough for me to photograph. Also, there was an amazing little bird that kept teasing me. We thought at first he was a humming bird, but he wasn't. He was small, green, with gray stripes on his wings. He wouldn't stay still for me to photograph, and blended in so well that half the time when I could see him with my eyes I still couldn't find him through the viewfinder of my camera. I don't know if I could actually identify him if I found him in a book or on the web, but I might try.

So, we had a very nice nature walk, starting with the thistles. Looking forward to next week already!

First Form Latin Review

I was blessed, recently, to receive First Form Latin, by Cheryl Lowe, from Memoria Press to look at to review. First Form Latin is for students who begin their formal training in Latin when they are in Grade 5 or higher. Students who begin the study of Latin in 1st through 4th Grade would begin Latin using Prima Latina, and those who begin the study of Latin in 3rd through 6th Grade would begin with Latina Christiana I.  If you look at that closely you will see that there is a lot of flexibility in which Latin program to start with. In addition, the parent knows their own child and might decide on Prima Latina for a 5th Grader, or an advanced 4th Grader might start in First Form Latin if they are up to the challenge!

I was so totally blessed when I found that Memoria Press sent me the complete "First Form Latin Plus", which includes the Teacher Manual (soft cover), Teacher Manual: Workbook & Test Key (soft cover, spiral), Student Text (soft cover), Student Workbook (soft cover, consumable), Quizzes and Tests (soft cover, consumable), Pronunciation CD, Latin Flashcards, and DVD set! This complete set sells for $115.

Homeschools can purchase a First Form Latin package that includes only the Teacher Manual, Student Text, Student Workbook, Quizzes and Tests, and Pronunciation CD, which sells for $55. I don't see, though, how the average homeschool mom who knows no Latin can possibly be successful without the DVD set, though. My advice would be that this less expensive set would be for someone experienced with Latin themselves. Someone with no previous Latin education themselves should seriously find a way to buy the "Plus" set, to ensure a successful Latin program in their home.

I had to figure this out so that I could make an official announcement. I have decided that I am a linguaphile, particularly of Latin.  From the very first Lesson, I am learning. (Yeah, I know, this was supposed to be my son learning, but he's going to start it after I get a better footing so that I can better support him in his studies.)

About 20 years ago, I learned the chant: "amo, amas, amant, amamus, amatis, amant". I knew it was the root word for "love", but I knew nothing else. (Suffice it to say I was trying to teach Latin to a different child using a different Latin program."

In my opinion, this program starts out a little rocky. I began by watching the DVD Introduction and Lesson 1. The instructor asks the student to open the textbook, and the DVD lesson follows the textbook. The instructor explains how to do the Lesson 1 conjugations (1st Conjugation, Present Tense) before the next lesson. He instructs the student to work on memorizing the word charts in three different ways: endings of the six conjugations by themselves (-o, -s, -t, -mus, -tis, -nt); the endings attached to an example verb (am-o, ama-s, ama-t, ama-mus, ama-tis, ama-nt); and the student is to memorize the meanings (I love; you love; he, she, it loves; we love; y'all love; they love). What is recited will change as different verbs are introduced, and the student is supposed to work on learning the new vocabulary and all the declensions and everything quickly. He goes over Lesson 1's new vocabulary and instructs the student to make conjugation charts for all the new Latin verbs that are introduced in Lesson 1 of the Textbook.

That is a lot to work on until Lesson 2 next week, but as I worked on the conjugations I found that the process really was beneficial. But I looked at my materials to go with the program only to find that there were more materials that looked like they were meant to be used that he had not mentioned: the Workbook and the Flashcards  So, I looked over the workbook only to find that not only would there be 4-6 pages in the workbook for each week's lesson, but also there were pronunciation pages that needed to be studied to answer the workbook pages about pronunciation that came before the Lesson 1 workbook pages. (I haven't even figured out how I will integrate the flashcards, yet.)

In addition, there is a pronunciation CD to be used each day between lessons to help the student with the pronunciation and each weeks' recitation. (I think he mentioned this somewhere in the DVD lesson, but did not mention it at the end where he seemed to be summarizing what the student needed to do on his own before the next DVD lesson.)

What I'm saying is that it would have been very helpful if the DVD had covered the use of the Workbook, Pronunciation recording, and Flashcards, giving the assignment to go through the pronunciation pages in both the textbook and the workbook, as well as the recitation CD, as part of the assignment for Lesson 1. Even if these are optional, it would have been helpful for them to be mentioned for those who are using them...

That said, I did my conjugations and listened to the recitation recording. Ideally the student would  listen to the recording daily through the week while working on/reviewing daily on the conjugations and workbook assignments, and do a new lesson on the same day of the following week, working on each lesson for a week with incremental daily assignments and repetitions of recitation. However I have a whole year's curriculum to review and only have had the material for about a month, so I need to abbreviate what I do to give you the review.




This is actually a partial lesson. While watching the DVD lesson, the student would follow along in the Student Textbook. Following the lesson you would conjugate the verbs in the lesson's vocabulary list.  The work in the lesson can be spread out through the week, but the student would work through all the material, as well and do the pages for Lesson 8 in the Workbook. The teacher actually begins the workbook pages with the student, working from the Teacher Manual, until the student understands what is required and can try to complete the rest of it on his/her own. Throughout the week the student works on the week's Oral Recitation to prepare for the next lesson. The student should listen to (and repeat after) the pronunciation recording, possibly daily, to help cement it all in. I did notice a link to Corrections in First Form Latin, which I am printing out so I can go through my book and make the corrections.

First Form Latin comes broken down into 34 Lessons. Since there are 36 weeks in a school year, this means you can take two weeks for a couple of lessons, or take the first introductory week to do the Pronunciation work before Lesson 1, but I don't think that is necessary. It's nice to know there is a little "wiggle room" in case you get sick or off schedule, so you can still finish close to when you originally planned to.

So far, I am really liking the results I am seeing. So, here are what I liked and what I didn't like.

What I liked:

• This program is thorough. If one follows the Memoria Press Latin program through all four years, the student will come away from the program really, really reading Latin. The student will be able to pick up Latin manuscripts and read the book in Latin, for books like Caesar's Gallic War, and any other books in print in the original Latin.
• The program teaches the student to learn how to learn. The student needs to recognize that it is their own responsibility to learn, to apply themselves, to work hard, to achieve goals, to seek excellence in themselves.

What I didn't like (or what someone might not like):

• As I mentioned above, when you are first beginning the program it is hard to figure out. Things are not as spelled out as they could/should be. If the week's assignments include conjugating, memorizing, pages in the workbook, listening to the recitation tape, and practicing with flash cards, then the DVD should not only say the first two. Or, if everything else is optional, the DVD should still mention what *could* be done when, so that people who are trying to use each item know when to implement them.
• The teacher on the DVDs goes really fast! What I mean is this: he speaks the Latin, and the student is supposed to repeat the Latin after the teacher speaks. However, the teacher barely gives the student time to repeat what he says. If the DVDs were actually recorded in a classroom setting, I think the teacher would have realized this, but without the students attempting to repeat in his presence, I think he forgets this. The student can get around this by getting in the habit of speaking with the instructor instead of trying to repeat after the instructor finishes speaking. (There are sections where the student can know what the teacher is going to go over).

Finally,

• Because of all the different modalities used in First Form Latin Plus, I believe it would be a good program for students of all different learning styles.
• Although, with a motivated student, this program could be successful with little to no teacher preparation and participation, I believe the student (and the teacher) would benefit from the teacher watching each DVD lesson in advance, as well as participating deeply with the student while working through the different facets of each lesson.
• I believe this product would be considered "Christian" in nature, but I have not encountered any aspects of the program that I believe would be offensive to someone approaching it from another persuasion.  Much historic Latin is Catholic in origin, owing to the history of the Middle Ages. This is just a fact.

So far I have been working through the program on my own, because of my own personal interest and for my own continuing education. Soon I will begin to introduce this to my 6th grade son. I might spread this course out over two years for him, but I hope to continue on through all four years of the Latin program with him to enable him to be fully fluent in Latin by the time he graduates. (And I hope to be fully fluent with him! How cool will that be!) So, yeah, I love this program.

In addition to a full line of Latin products, Memoria Press also sells materials for Classical Studies, Logic and Rhetoric, Literature guides, American Studies (History, Geography, & Insects!),  Christian Studies, Primary Curriculum packages, Cursive and Copywork, and Greek and French.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of First Form Latin Plus in exchange for my honest opinion and review. I received no other compensation (other than the aforementioned), and this page contains my honest opinions.

This has been a TOS Homeschool Crew Review.

To read more reviews of this product, visit the TOG Crew Review page for this product.Throw me a bone! Leave me a comment! I love comments!

Excellence in Literature:

I have just been looking at a curriculum by

 ...a product line called Excellence in Literature, by Janice Campbell. The specific product I was given to review was called Introduction to Literature - which is a college prep course in literature for the 8th grade level.

If you have been reading my blog for any time at all, if you have ever read my profile, then you will know that my homeschooling philosophy is a complicated mix between Charlotte Mason and a Classical Education approach.  Because of that, I have been totally intrigued and delighted by this

product! 

My son is not in 8th Grade yet, and for this year we are already firmly enmeshed in our current year’s literature curriculum for 6^th Grade.  For that reason, my review will be more of a personal review, rather than a review of, “This is what we did, and here is how it went…”

That being said, I can very easily look at this curriculum and envision choosing to use Excellence in Literature for 8^th – 12^th Grades, to give my son an excellent grounding to prepare him for college. And the thought excites me because of what I have seen!

The Excellence in Literature program, a five year program of reading and writing through the classics, offers the following courses:

8th Grade - Introduction to Literature;
9th Grade - Literature and Composition;
10th Grade - American Literature;
11th Grade - British Literature; and
12th Grade - World Literature.

Each year's plan is broken into nine 4-week units. For Introduction to Literature, Unit 1 contains short stories, and the units 2-9 are each devoted to a key piece of great literature from the western literary tradition: Around the World in Eighty Days (Jules Verne); A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (Mark Twain); Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte); Pygmalion (George Bernard Shaw); Treasure Island (Robert Lewis Stevenson); Animal Farm (George Orwell); The Tempest (William Shakespeare); and Gulliver's Travels (Jonathan Swift).

Even within each of the above units are instructions on how to adjust the unit if the student wishes to take an AP or CLEP test at the end of the year. (An AP test can give the student up to .5 more points on their grade, so a 4.0 in English Lit. can become a 4.5, which helps overall grade point average. A CLEP test can get a student college credits for work done before enrolling in college.)

Even before introducing the student to the great works themselves, though, the author does an excellent job of explaining to the student what his/her responsibilities and goals are. The student taking this course is going to learn how to learn, so he doesn't have to be spoon-fed, so he knows how to dig in and tackle new material without a teacher/mentor prodding every step of the way. The author wants the student to understand that this is his responsibility. The importance of understanding the historical context of the work is explained. I wish, when I was a student, it had been explained this way to me. I remember thinking, as the setting of a work work was explained, "Stop talking, already, and let me read the book!" In my education I had learned that "getting it done" was the goal, not literary understanding.

Steps and procedures are laid out in the beginning chapters instructing the student to set up a notebook, divide it into certain sections. The student is instructed to read with 3x5 cards, write down new words, look them up.

The introductory chapters are key. The whole process is seeking to get the student to understand the importance of and take responsibility for their own education with the goal that they become a life-long learner.

From the book:

"The Learning Process: The Roles of Excellence in Literature, the Student, and the Writing Mentor

"This book will:
• Establish the scope and sequence for the class.
• Assign appropriate readings.
• Provide a suggested schedule for assignments.
• Provide time management and organization tips.
• Provide a rubric for objectively evaluating completed assignments.

"The student will:
• Study this book and understand the sequence and timing
of assignments.
• Ask questions of the writing mentor when something is not
clearly understood."

The writing mentor will provide follow up and feedback on writing assignments, accountability and grades.

The curriculum provides historical context for the assigned literature, instruction for literary analysis, and assignments for writing assignments. The great works themselves, however, are not included. Janice Campbell recommends purchase of books, so the student can mark in the book while reading, applying what is defined as literary reading. (Libraries frown on readers doing this to library books... ) Even with books, the author is able to recommend certain publishers, steering the reader toward well produced versions with a good introduction, possibly a small author biography, and print that is not hard to read, margins that are large enough to make notations in.

Introduction to Literature itself has only 139 pages, which is broken down into 27 sections... not exactly chapters... Nine are the actual units, but before the units there is a section providing valuable information to the student, and after the units are sections of resources, tools, and important information to help the student with the various different writing assignments.

There is so much to this book I cannot possibly cover it all in this review without your eyes glazing over. But Andrew Pudewa, from the Institute for Excellence in Writing, created a video to tell about the course, which is a much better medium.  It is a "Viddler" video, not "YouTube", and I can't figure out how to load it to my page, so I'll just have to link it: Andrew Pudewa on Excellence in Literature

There is so much about this curriculum that I like. I really straddle here between Charlotte Mason and Classic -- Charlotte Mason promotes slow reading with careful digestion of the material; Classic methods promote in depth study of a work that you read fast and then go back and re-read while you analyze.  I love the way this curriculum brings the homeschool to a higher level of educational excellence.

The only thing I dislike, which isn't the curriculum, but only the form I received, I dislike having the material in PDF form, because now I need to print it out. (If I had it in print form I would probably be dissatisfied with it because then it wouldn't be searchable... Maybe I just want both print and PDF format...)

In many ways this requires very little teacher prep and hands on work. In other ways the teacher's job goes to  whole new level as writing mentor, unless an outside service is used, and options for that are mentioned in the curriculum. Many moms are scared to death at the thought of grading their own children's high school writing assignments, even though clear rubricks are provided showing the student what is expected and showing the parent-teacher how to score different aspects.

If I have at all intrigued you, then why not take a closer look? You can download a free sample unit! Take a look at the material, and then come back and leave me a comment so I know what you thought.

Introduction to Literature is available from Everyday Education for $135 as an e-book, or in print form, in a big, beautiful, professionally printed binder with tabs, for $139 (plus shipping). I received the e-book, but I'm sure wishing I had the printed version, because I'm going to spend a ton printing this out!

In addition to the Excellence in Literature Series, Everyday Education also carries:

Disclosure: I received a free copy of Introduction to Literature in exchange for my honest opinion and review. I received no other compensation (other than the aforementioned), and this page contains my honest opinions.

This has been a TOS Homeschool Crew Review.

To read more reviews of this product, visit the TOG Crew Review page for this product.
Throw me a bone! Leave me a comment! I love comments!

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