Review on: VocabularySpellingCity

About VocabularySpellingCity:

VocabularySpellingCity is an on-line award winning game learning tool for students in grades K-12. The program encompasses subjects such as vocabulary, spelling, writing, and language arts. VocabularySpellingCity offers customizable sentences and definitions. Teachers and parents have the ability to save their customized lists. If you do not have your own list, the program offers over 50,000 words and 60,000 sentences read by a real person. VocabularySpellingCity also has twenty five games to play on-line or to print such as "Hang Mouse", "Crossword", "Word Search", "Word-O-Rama", "Vocabulary Test Me", and "Alphabetize." Free printable handwriting worksheets and teacher training videos are also available. The teaching resources with lesson plans are very beneficial for instructors. Teachers also have parent letters available as a PDF form to print and send home with the student's word list. VocabularySpellingCity offers a free version and also the Premium Membership. With this option the user will receive:

• Vocabulary, writing, spelling, and language arts activities
• Access to ALL games and interactive Flash Cards
• Student progress tracking
• Automated testing and grading
• Personalized learning with assignments for differentiated instruction
• Student logins with no commercial ads

Contact

 Families Up to 5 students $29.99
Price subject to change without notice.

Our Homeschool Experience:

My daughter really enjoyed playing some of the games provided by VocabularySpellingCity. One of her favorites was "Hang Mouse." "Hang Mouse" is an on-line version of hangman. To play she would click on the letters one at a time and try to complete the word before the cat caught the mouse. This is one of the games offered for free. "Word-O-Rama" was another game she wanted to try out. "The object of "Word-O-Rama" is to identify words by their definitions, synonyms, antonyms, or by their context within a sentence." She also enjoyed completing the "MatchIt Definitions." In this vocabulary game, she had to match the word to its correct definition. "MatchIt Defitions" was also able to be printed.

Since we have been learning about the different parts of speech, I had her try the game "Parts of Speech." The object of the "Parts of Speech" game is to identify the part of speech of the given word as it is used in each sentence.This game provided a fun way for her to learn not only the different parts of speech, but the parts of a sentence as well. "Word Find" was a fun educational game that helped her learn her spelling words while searching for new ones. The game also provided an opportunity for her to make other words using the letters in each word on her spelling list. The more spelling words she found, the more points she earned.

The "Teacher Resources" page had many useful lessons, word list, educational articles, and how to videos. The "Premium Teacher Tool Box" had all of the links the teacher/parent would need to review the students' grades, manage the assignments, and many other useful information.

We loved VocabularySpellingCity and we would recommend it.

I have been given this product free of charge for review purposes. 

"Read what the rest of the Crew had to say about VocabularySpellingCity."

Schoolhouse Review Crew

Review on Time 4 Learning

About Time 4 Learning:

Time 4 Learning is an online curriculum for kids in preschool - 12 grade that combines education with interactive fun. "Animated lessons, interactive activities, printable worksheets and detailed reporting make the learning system a top selection of the Homeschool.com "Top 100 Educational Websites" list, year after year." Time 4 Learning provides automated grading, lesson plans, and detailed reporting that track progress. The lessons are presented at the student's pace. Language Arts and math correlate with your state's standards and science, social studies, and art are available in most grades. Please click on this link so you may find some demos.

PreK-8th Grade:

$19.95 Per Month

$14.95 each addt'l child

High School:

$30 Per Month

Includes 4 Courses

Prices subject to change without notice.

Contact Information

Our Homeschool Experience:

My 7 year old really loved completing the assignments found in Time 4 Learning. From all of the subjects offered, she loved Science the best. Once she signed in and clicked on the icon for Science, she saw 3 choices, "Patterns in Nature", "Force in Motion", and "Earth and Space". Even though there was an arrow showing the suggested sequence,  she decided to complete them out of order. The first one that she was interested in was "Moon and Earth". Once she clicked on this icon, she had two other choices to choose from. The 2 resources provided were "Sun, Earth, and Moon" and "The voyage to the Earth, Moon, and Sun". When she clicked on "Sun, Earth, and Moon" the animation made it seem like she was inside of a spaceship. Here she met "Neep". "Neep" would teach her about the sun, earth, and moon. With "The voyage to the Earth", my daughter was at a carnival. Here my daughter learned about the Sun being a star and how it shines on the Earth and Moon. She also learned that Earth is a planet and has water, air, and life. As far as the Moon, she learned that it is cold and it does not shine on its own. After these two lessons, she was given a quiz.

She had so much fun playing some of the games found in the "Playground". But the only way she was able to access this section was if she completed the lesson until the timer ran out. The "Page Color" gave her an opportunity to personalize the look of the site.In the section "Parent" I was given the opportunity to change the time settings for that particular day or permanently. In the section labeled "My portfolio"I was able to find what assignments she had competed that day, week, or month.We really loved Time 4 Learning and we would recommend it.

 

I have been given this product free of charge for review purposes. 

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Schoolhouse Review Crew

Homeschool Mega Giveaway

A Child's Geography Book Launch: Explore the Classical World

Prize List:

A Child's Geography Volume 3 with Wonders of Old Timeline Book ($59.90)

NotebookingPages.com Treasury Membership ($99.95)

Philosophy Adventure Physical set ($89.95)

Romans, Reformers, Revolutionaries Intro Pack from Diana Waring ($64.95)

Writeshop Primary Level (winners choice of A, B, or C) ($51.85)

Raising Real Men prize package ($100) Raising Real Men Book, My Beloved and My Friend Book, A Cry From Egypt Book, Boot Camp 9-12, Hero Tales Complete set

A Journey Through Learning $50 Gift Certificate

3 Months A+ Tutorsoft ($49.95)

Lilla Rose (2 Flexi Clips) ($32.00)

See The Light (2 DVDs) ($30)

King Alfred's English and Baktar (Laurie White) ($25)

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Back to School Giveaway

Back to School Giveaway

Have you heard of Awana, Study Smarts, Classical Composers, Institute of Excellence in Writing, Music Together, and See the Light? For this month's giveaway, the vendors mentioned have kindly donated items for me to giveaway.Thank You!!!!

"Whether you attend a public school, private school, homeschool, on-line school or a combination of a few, Study Smarts will help you maximize your education."

"While the DVD cover and workbook are the same for 5-8 and 9-12, the content and the delivery is age appropriate in the DVD presentation. We figured high school students could have a little fun with the characters because the content is college preparatory!"

See the Lightshine brings artists with different specialties together to bring a variety of techniques, art history, chalk artistry, performance arts, gospel chalk art (with black light), crafts, and creative lettering. Musicians include songs they have personally written, performed, arranged, and produced. "The SEE THE LIGHT team is dedicated to bringing scripture and biblical principles to viewers in a fresh, engaging way. . . and promising to teach some exciting art skills along the way!" See The Light offers 5 Bible Stories that incorporate hands on art lessons.

Read more about See The Light on my blog. 

"Music Together is an internationally recognized early childhood music and movement program for children from birth through age 7—and the grownups who love them™. First offered to the public in 1987, it pioneered the concept of a research-based, developmentally appropriate early childhood music curriculum that strongly emphasizes and facilitates adult involvement."

"Music Together classes are based on the recognition that all children are musical. All children can learn to sing in tune, keep a beat, and participate with confidence in the music of our culture, provided that their early environment supports such learning."

Now families may enjoy learning about fine art. Fine Art Pages Collection 1 provides an easy and inexpensive way to introduce your children to amazing artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Vincent van Gogh, and Claude-Oscar Monet. With this collection you will receive a printable collection of 25 famous paintings. All you would need to do is print out the fine art pages onto regular paper or card stock. Then stick the art pages anywhere in your house.

Read more about the Fine Art Pages Collection on my blog. 

 

Excellence in Writing Teaching the Classics uses short stories and the Socratic approach as a model to teach about character, plot, theme, and other elements of fictional and literal analysis.

Read more about the Institute of Excellence in Writing on my blog. 

    "Looking for a complete ministry for preschool to high school
    or seeking a program for a specific age group?
    Needing curriculum that changes young lives through God's Word
    And interested in reaching the community with the gospel?"

Read more about one of the products Awana offers.

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Review on Classical Conversations: PreScripts Cursive Sentences and Art Lessons

 

 About PreScripts:

Classical Conversations provides resources for homeschool families that are interested in using Classical Education. The book that I was given to review was PreScripts Cursive Sentences and Art Lessons. In this book, students ages 7-12 are taught how to write sentences in cursive and learn drawing techniques. The sentences provided for the students are about the medieval and world history. "The book is divided into four sets of six history notes each, so upon completion, your child will have had the opportunity to master twenty- four history notes about Charlemagne, the Magna Carta, and the Hundred Years’ War, among other topics." The drawing opportunities will not only help your child learn how to use a grid, map, and many other techniques but also assist in developing fine motor skills. Once the child learns the drawing techniques, the book provides practice in working independently so she may experiment with the different techniques that she just learned. These sample pages will give your student an opportunity to experience the  PreScripts Cursive Sentences and Art Lessons.

 

$12.99

Our Homeschool Experience:


I was really excited when I was selected to review PreScripts Cursive Sentences and Art Lessons. We have been learning about the Medieval Times so I was able to incorporate many of the sentences and art techniques provided in this book. The first section of the book, helped my daughter try to learn how to write her letters in cursive. Since I'm wanting to use this book with my second child, I had my oldest use tracing paper to write her letters in cursive. I would place the tracing paper on top of the page with the cursive letters and tape the paper to the front cover of the book. This would prevent ripping when I would remove the tape. My daughter would then trace the letters. We did this for a few days until she became a bit frustrated. Her frustration had nothing to do with the program. I thought she was developmentally ready to learn how to write in cursive at 7 years old but maybe I was being a bit too overzealous. Since we then skipped the whole cursive lesson, I would read the sentences provided in the book and have my daughter complete the art assignments. One of the sentences that I read to her was " In 800 AD during the medieval period, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne Holy Roman Emperor of Europe." Since we had been learning about this particular era, we had learned about Charlemagne, the Crusades, and the Magna Carta. With this particular sentence, the art technique that we learned about was pattern. " An artist creates a pattern by repeating an element." In the drawing provided in the book, Charlemagne was being crowned Holy Emperor.Another art technique that we learned about was foreground, middle ground, and background. The drawing told the story of a battle during the Crusades. The sentence provided for this art technique was " Eleanor of Aquitaine and her son Richard the Lion - Hearted, fought the Turks for Jerusalem during the time of the Crusades, which occurred from 1095 to 1291." Depth was the next technique that we learned about. The drawing provided to illustrate the technique showed King John signing the Magna Carta. The history note provided for the handwriting lesson stated " English King John signed the Magna Carta in 1215 limiting the king's power. Later, England's King Edward III claimed to be king of France and began the Hundred Years' War in 1337." There were many other art techniques that we learned about such as illuminations and point of view. I'm sure that you have noticed me using the pronoun "we" a lot. Yes, I also learned about history and many art techniques. We really loved this book and we would recommend it.

 

I have been given this product free of charge for review purposes. 

"Read what the rest of the Crew had to say about IEW PreScripts Cursive Sentences and Art Lessons"

Schoolhouse Review Crew

Review on Institute of Excellence in Writing: Teaching the Classics

About Excellence in Writing:

Excellence in Writing Teaching the Classics uses short stories and the Socratic approach as a model to teach about character, plot, theme, and other elements of fictional and literal analysis. Adam Andrews (The instructor in the videos.) will help you equip the student with literary tools that can be used with children's books and adult literature. Teaching the Classics includes a video seminar on DVDs and a spiral bound syllabus. This teacher training program is suitable for teaching all levels. Using the strategies taught in these DVDs helps students think critically about literature. For example, every story has its own setting, characters, and climax. These tools helps the student to think rationally,examine, criticize, or reflect about the issues presented in the story. Teaching the Classics approach is able to be used with all works of fiction. Children's stories are the best tools for teaching the common elements: contact, structure, and style. Once the children grasp an understanding of the elements, they may apply this knowledge to longer more complex reading.

$89.00

Price may change without notice

YouTube Video

Our Homeschool Experience:

When I was selected to review this product, I was so very excited. I LOVE the Institute of Excellence in Writing. When the package arrived, I could not wait to open up the box and see all that I had received to review. That night, I viewed the 1st DVD ( I did not think my 7 year old daughter would sit and watch the DVDs with me.) and watched Adam Andrews discuss why reading and understanding literature is important. If you are asking "Why should I want my child to read and understand literature?" Mr. Andrews states" So that he will get the chance to think critically about literature and about life." In this lesson, Adam Andrews also discusses the Socratic Method and the Socratic List. Lesson number 2, taught about plot and conflict. For this particular lesson, the story provided in the spiral bound book was " The Tale of Peter Rabbit". I decided to read the story to my 7 year old and then ask the questions found in the Socratic List. One of the questions that I asked was "What does the protagonist want?" This question provided the opportunity for me to explain to her what a protagonist is and also discuss what the rabbit wanted to do. Lesson 4 taught about character and the story provided was "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer." A few months ago my homeschool group attended the play "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer." After reading to my daughter the story in the book, we were able to talk about the characters and also about the play we had just watched a few months ago. The Scope and Sequence section provided a weekly outline of the lessons and the stories that Adam Andrews used to teach that particular lesson.

I loved that the DVDs provided strategies on how to teach the 5 elements of fiction. For example, when Adam Andrews would finish reading the stories in the spiral book, he would then give specific instructions on how that particular lesson should be taught. He would dissect the story and show strategies that I may use to have a productive discussion of context.The workbook included suggested reading and provided a list of Socratic questions that I could choose from.Teaching the Classics provided me with an approach on how to help my daughter experience literature by equipping her with the ability to express and debate her ideas. I really appreciated that I was able to not only use the stories provided in the book but also use stories that I already had at home. I love Teaching the Classics and I would recommend it.

 

 I have been given this product free of charge for review purposes. 

"Read what the rest of the Crew had to say about Teaching the Classics"

Schoolhouse Review Crew

Excellence in Writing

Excellence in Writing:

Excellence In Writing is a program that teaches students from grades K-12 how to write well. "In order to succeed in every area of life, children must hone the skills needed to communicate confidently and effectively. Through the process of learning to write well, students learn how to think clearly and to express themselves eloquently and persuasively." Excellence in Writing offers two programs PAL Reading and Primary (K-2) Primary Arts of Language. The reading program uses poetry to teach phonics and whole words. Each student is introduced to letters through stories and with daily games the lessons are reinforced. PAL Reading should be used in conjunction with PAL Writing.

$69.00

The Language and Reading package includes:

Primary Arts of Language: Reading Teacher’s Manual

Primary Arts of Language: Reading DVD-ROM

• Instructional Video by Jill Pike
• The Four Language Arts MP3 Audio by Andrew Pudewa
• Nurturing Competent Communicators MP3 Audio by Andrew Pudewa
• Poetry as an Integrator MP3 Audio by Anna Ingham
• Intro to the Blended Sound Sight Program MP3 Audio by Anna Ingham
• Primary Arts of Language: Reading Student Book (e-book)
  (Would you rather have us print out your PAL student e-books for you? Click here)

Primary Arts of Language: Phonetic Games

Primary Arts of Language: Phonetic Farm folder with Stickers

Primary Arts of Language is their writing program. The program introduces letters through printing practice.This program is divided into three parts: printing, copy work, and composition. For the printing section the student learns how to correctly form her letters. She will learn her letter sounds by learning how to write them. "The copy work exercises will make printing automatic in preparation for the composition lessons, which will gently teach your student to write stories and paragraphs with style."

All About Spelling is the spelling program that Excellence in Writing uses. The spelling program teaches your child what she needs in order to know how to spell. The lessons are multisensory and mastery - based. The child will learn by using sight, sound, and touch. All About Spelling uses letter tiles, flash cards, word banks, spelling lists, dictation, and writing exercises.

 

$89.00

Writing package includes:

Primary Arts of Language: Writing Teacher’s Manual

Primary Arts of Language: Writing DVD-ROM

Includes the following:

• Instructional Video by Jill Pike
• Reading Comprehension MP3 Audio by Adam Andrews
• Dictation, Narration, and Public Speaking MP3 Audio by Andrew Pudewa
• The Four Language Arts MP3 Audio by Andrew Pudewa
• Primary Arts of Language: Writing Student Books (e-book)
  (Would you rather have us print out your PAL student e-books for you? Click here

All About Spelling Basic Interactive Kit

All About Spelling Level 1 (Teacher’s Manual and One Student Material Packet) By Marie Rippel

Bonus e-audio downloads:

• Units 1 & 2 in the K–2 Classroom MP3 Audio by Shirley George
• Unit 3 in the K–2 Classroom MP3 Audio by Shirley George
• Preparing the K-2 Writing Environment MP3 Audio by Richelle Palmer

Homeschool Experience:

Last year, my girl friend told me about IEW and how much she loved the program. At the time, I was using something else so I decided not to pursue purchasing it. When I was selected to review the product, I was so excited. I viewed the webinar and saw how the program is to be used and I loved it. The lessons began with poetry which I would read to my daughter and then we would discuss them. She would then journal about any topic she wanted to. I would then respond to her journal and we would go back and forth. After she completed the journal, we would begin Stage 1. In this stage, I had to modify the lessons since my daughter already knew her letters and sounds. She played with Mugs the dog and I would incorporate the letter sounds from the spelling book All About Spelling. Every time a new sound was learned, I would write it on a piece of paper and tape the paper to the wall. Now, we have a "Sound Wall." We would also play the Card Game. Once we were finished with sounds, she would place the letter sticker on the Phonetic Farm. Since I will be using this program with my youngest, my oldest did not place the sticker on the Phonetic Farm Folder. I would cut out the sticker, place a tape on the back, and have her stick it were it belonged.

Mugs

The writing program made writing fun. My daughter loved to journal and instead of learning how to print, she learned cursive which she really loved. We enjoyed reading Aesop poems and she learned how to summarize a story by recalling the characters and setting, problem, climax/resolution, and clincher. These topics were taught by using stories she was already familiar with such as Goldilocks, Three Bears, and Red Riding Hood. Some of the lessons also included fables written by Aesop for example, The Ant and the Grasshopper and The Ant and the Chrysalis. With these lessons not only was my daughter learning comprehension skills she was also understanding the importance of character. She also learned what a Who/Which Clause is and reviewed what nouns and verbs are. For the lesson dealing with verbs, I wrote down on a large piece of paper the word "said". My daughter was to think of stronger synonyms for the verb. With this one lesson she reviewed what synonyms are, what a verb is, and learned new  vocabulary. I then taped the piece of paper to the wall and we review the vocabulary words every so often. After our lesson, my daughter would read a book and have to summarize it by using the Story Sequence Chart.

Illustration of  September Poem

All About Spelling is a great program. I loved that the program reinforced the previous lesson and used multiple senses to teach my daughter sounds. My daughter is a tactile learner so using the tiles helped her to remember the sounds and also visually see how a word is spelled. The CD was very beneficial to my daughter and I. There were a few sounds I had forgotten and listening to the CD helped me to remember and be able to teach them to my daughter correctly. I also appreciated how the program taught the spelling rules. Every time my daughter had to spell a word that uses the letter C, she goes over the rule. This helps her to spell the word correctly. My daughter and I loved IEW. It is complete for its purpose and we would recommend it.

All About Spelling

1-800-856-5815

info@excellenceinwriting.com

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Schoolhouse Review Crew 

I have received this product free of charge for review purposes.