Archive for the ‘Review’ Category

Review of Eat Your U.S. History Homework

10
Nov

Eat Your U.S. History Homework

One of our favorite subjects is most definitely history! When I was in school if someone had ever told me that I would one day love history I would have thought that person was crazy. I was taught to memorize dates and information, which was very boring and I do not remember much of anything about the history I learned in school.  I knew I wanted to teach my kids in a very different way, and keep things fun and interesting so that they will remember what they learn.  When I saw Eat Your U.S. History Homework I thought it would be a really fun way to learn some history, and it definitely fits into my hands-on teaching approach.

Ann McCallum is the author of Eat Your U.S. History Homework, as well as several other books including Eat Your Math Homework, and Eat Your Science Homework which you can learn more about at Ann McCallum Books.  The book we reviewed was Eat Your U.S. History Homework: Recipes for Revolutionary Minds, which is geared for children in grades 2-5.  It is a 47 page, hardcover book that includes 6 recipes.  Several historical events that occurred between 1620-1776 in American history are highlighted throughout the book.  These include when the Pilgrims arrived in America, life in original 13 colonies, the French and Indian war, Slavery,  the Boston Tea Party, and the Declaration of Independence.

Each historical event has three parts to it:

Eat Your US History Homework

First, there is a short, one page history lesson.  This particular recipe, Revolutionary Honey-Jumble Cookies, highlights America in 1773 and goes over the Boston Tea party and some of the events that happened at that time.  There are several bold words throughout the lesson which can be looked up in the glossary in the back of the book.

Eat Your US History Homework

The next part is the recipe.  All of the ingredients and equipment needed are listed.  There are step by step, illustrated instructions.

Eat Your US History Homework

The last part gives some brief, interesting information from the time period.  Then it ends with some thought provoking questions.

So, how did we use Eat Your U.S. History Homework?

Hailey is studying U.S. history this year, so this book fits in perfectly with our studies!  It definitely works as a great supplement to add some fun things into your U.S. history studies.  In the example I am sharing- we read about the Boston Tea Party and it reads more like a story than a boring history text book.

Eat Your US History Homework

Hailey looked over the recipe for the Revolutionary Honey-Jumble Cookies.  All of the ingredients were regular items that we already had at home, so I did not have to buy anything.

Eat Your US History Homework

Measuring some honey

Eat Your US History Homework

Stirring some of the ingredients

Eat Your US History Homework

Super delicious Honey- Jumble cookies

This is not a typical history book as it just highlights a few events.  I think it makes a great supplement to your history curriculum to add some fun cooking with kids.  The book is written in an entertaining manner, with cute illustrations, that keeps the readers attention.  It is very interesting to learn the origins of some familiar recipes- for example we learned that the Honey-Jumble cookies are now called snickerdoodles, one of our favorite cookies.   The recipes are simple and most of the recipes in the book use ingredients we already have at home.  Hailey, age 9 and in 4th grade, was able to follow the directions for the recipe and make the cookies entirely on her own.  While it is recommended for kids in grades 2-5 I think it would be fun for younger and older kids as well.

Hailey’s review of Eat Your U.S. History Homework: “I thought it was really interesting to learn about when they ate the cookies.  It was really fun to make cookies!”

I would definitely recommend Eat Your U.S. History Homework as a fun addition to your U.S. studies.

Ann McCallum Books Review
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Funtastic Unit Studies Review

04
Aug

Funtastic Unit Studies

 Science is one of our favorite subjects around here.  Which is a little bit surprising considering how much I hated science when I was in school.  Now that I am homeschooling I try to make science as hands-on and fun as possible.  When I saw Science Unit Studies for Homeschoolers and Teachers from Funtastic Unit Studies I was really excited to check it out.

 The author of Science Unit Studies for Homeschoolers and Teachers, Susan Kilbride, is a homeschooling mom herself.  She realized that science isn’t the easiest subject for parents to teach, so she created this curriculum using the methods she used while teaching science to her own son.  Science Unit Studies for Homeschoolers and Teachers is a paperback book with over 200 pages.  There are 20 different science units covered in the book.  The first 10 units are for children ages 4-7, the last 10 units are for children ages 8-13.  Some of the units covered include:

  • The Human Body
  • Fun With Magnets
  • Stars and Planets
  • Animal Ecology
  • Insects
  • Matter
  • Chemistry Fun
  • Weather

That is only 8 of the exciting topics covered- there are 12 more!

Funtastic Unit Studies Review

Each unit has a supply list at the very beginning of the chapter.  Most of the items you will need are things you already have at home, or you can easily purchase.  After the supply list there are lots of hands-on activities as well as explanations of the hows and whys things work.  The chapters for the older students also contain tests and worksheets.  The end of the book has the answers for those tests and worksheets.

So, how did we use Science Unit Studies for Homeschoolers and Teachers?

I decided that since I would be using it with kids ages 3, 5, and 8 that we would use one of the units for the younger kids.  I picked the unit about our five senses and it was a hit!  Since I am not doing formal homeschooling during the summer, I just set up our science activities a few times each week.  There were lots of hands-on activities to pick from.  If you want to do all of the activities you can do that, or you can pick and choose what you want to do.

Here are SOME of the activities we did:
(Keep in mind that I didn’t include pictures of everything we did do, and we didn’t even do every suggested activity.  So as you will see there are tons of choices!)

Funtastic Unit Studies

I introduced the topic of our senses by having the kids put body parts on Mr. Potato Head.  We talked about what we use our eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and hands for.

Funtastic Unit Studies

The first sense we covered was taste.  I put salt in one jar and sugar in the other.  First they looked at it to see if they could tell which was which.

Funtastic Unit Studies

Then they shook the jars to see if it sounded different.  Then we smelled each container.

Funtastic Unit Studies

Next they felt each one to see if they could figure out which was which.  Lastly, they tasted each one to determine for sure which was salt and which was sugar.

Funtastic Unit Studies

We talked about the 5 different kinds of tastes there are: sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and savory.  We did a little taste test to try each taste.  In this picture, they had just tasted sour, which is why Hailey is making such a silly face 🙂

Funtastic Unit Studies

Next up we talked about touch.  In this picture Hailey has one finger in a bowl of cold water and another finger in a bowl of hot water (but not too hot that it would hurt to touch).  The middle bowl has lukewarm water in it.  After a minute Hailey put her fingers into the lukewarm water.  To one hand (the one that had been in the hot water) the water felt cold and to the other hand (the one that had been in the cold water) it felt warm.  We talked about how our sense of touch tells us if something is hot or cold based on how your skin already feels.

Funtastic Unit Studies

We also made Sense of Touch books- Hunter is feeling the rough page (sandpaper).

Funtastic Unit Studies

Anthony is feeling the bumpy page (bubble wrap).

Funtastic Unit Studies

When we talked about our sense of sight, I had the kids try to draw a picture of person while wearing a blindfold.  Then they took the blindfold off and drew another picture while looking at their work.

Funtastic Unit Studies

For our sense of hearing I put different items (water, batteries, crumbled paper, goldfish crackers) into some containers- they shook the containers and had to guess what was inside.  I also recorded various noises (water running, piano playing, toilet flushing, money rattling) and they had to guess what the sound was.

Funtastic Unit Studies

Last we did our sense of smell.  I dipped cotton balls into various different things (vinegar, perfume, baby lotion, pickle juice, cinnamon) and they had to smell and see if they knew what it was.

Funtastic Unit Studies

They also made flowers for our sense of smell…

Funtastic Unit Studies

…then added a cotton ball dipped in perfume to the center of the flower.

We had a lot of fun learning all about our senses!  Remember, the book has even more ideas for teaching the five senses than I shared here.  Science Unit Studies for Homeschoolers and Teachers is full of fun units just like the one we did.  Hands-on is how we learn best, especially when it comes to science.  The lessons have lots of activities and explanations that make it easy for parents to teach science.  If you’d like to see some sample lessons you can download two complete science units.

I really like Science Unit Studies for Homeschoolers and Teachers.  I plan to continue using it this summer and this coming school year.  Most of the time the kids didn’t even realize they were learning because they were having so much fun.  I would definitely recommend this fun and educational curriculum!

Funtastic Unit Studies Review
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Review of Home School in the Woods ~ Project Passport Renaissance & Reformation

21
Jul

Hailey’s favorite subject during this last school year was most definitely history.  She loves it best when I read to her about the topic we are learning about while she colors or works on a project.  She learns best that way- she needs to have some sort of project she is working on related to our topic of learning.  The funny thing is that while I was in school I never liked history, but it has become my favorite subject now too.

Home School in the Woods Renaissance & Reformation

I was so excited when given the chance to do a review for Home School in the Woods!  Their unit studies are planned out exactly how Hailey learns- lots of hands on activities.  We looked over the choices in the Project Passport World History Studies and Hailey decided she was most interested in checking out Project Passport World History Study: Renaissance & Reformation.

Home School in the Woods Review

Home School in the Woods was developed by homeschooling mom, Amy Pak.  She understands the importance of having hands on projects and activities to go along with the information you are studying.  The activities that go along with the time period will make you and your children feel like they are really living at that time.  There are activities for cooking food from the time period, dressing up, making 3-D projects, and more.  In addition there are history readings, maps, and timelines.

Home School in the Woods Review

Project Passport World History has three different studies you can pick from.  There is Ancient Egypt, The Middle Ages, and the one we picked- Renaissance & Reformation.  The studies each have 25 stops- at each stop there are different historical figures or interesting events that you learn more about.  There are more than 50 hands on activities to pick from in each study- so there is definitely something for everyone!

The Project Passport World History studies are for children in grades 3-8 and can be purchased as a download or as a CD.  I reviewed the downloaded version, which can be used on a PC or a Mac.

So, how did we use it?

When I first downloaded Renaissance & Reformation, I have to admit feeling a bit overwhelmed.  There is so much to look through.  Once I took the time, when the kids were all in bed, to really look it over and read through the introduction and the travel tips, it made a lot more sense to me.   It took a while to go through the first few stops to get everything ready to start teaching.  There was a lot of printing to be done, on different kinds of paper (white paper, colored paper, white card stock, colored card stock, etc), and it took quite a bit of time.

At first I wanted to do all of the projects, but I realized very soon that was not possible.  I tend to feel like I have to do it all rather than picking the ones that are the best fit for us, but it would take a long time to do everything!  Since we are on summer vacation right now, we decided to do more of the scrapbook activities and 3-D projects that Hailey really loves to do.  There were some days that we were able to complete more than one stop and there were other times when we had to stretch one stop out over a couple of days.  Here are some of the activities we did:

Home School in the Woods Renaissance & Reformation

Hailey started out by making a passport to take on her journey through the Renaissance & Reformation.

Home School in the Woods Renaissance & Reformation

Hailey made a postcard of Florence, Italy after learning about Cosimo de Medici.

r&Home School in the Woods Renaissance & Reformation

Hailey tried a few different art techniques she learned about from the Renaissance era.  Here she worked on making a fresco.

Home School in the Woods Renaissance & Reformation

Hunter thought it looked fun and decided he wanted to join in and make one too.

Home School in the Woods Renaissance & Reformation

Hunter working on his fresco.

Home School in the Woods Renaissance & Reformation

Hailey decided to make a self portrait for her fresco.

Home School in the Woods Renaissance & Reformation

Hailey learned about the different social classes during the Renaissance.

Home School in the Woods Renaissance & Reformation

She also worked on a chalk pastel.

Home School in the Woods Renaissance & Reformation

The finished artwork.

Home School in the Woods Renaissance & Reformation

Another kind of art she learned about was Chiaroscuro, which means light-dark.

Home School in the Woods Renaissance & Reformation

Hailey enjoyed working on a masquerade mask.

Home School in the Woods Renaissance & Reformation

Her creation

Home School in the Woods Renaissance & Reformation

Hailey’s favorite project was definitely Shakespeare’s Globe.

Home School in the Woods Renaissance & Reformation

She worked very hard coloring and putting together the playhouse.

Home School in the Woods Renaissance & Reformation

Then she entertained us with a little performance.

I asked Hailey what she thought of Project Passport World History Study: Renaissance & Reformation.  She said it was a lot of fun and she liked doing the projects.  She definitely wants to do more!  I think the hands on projects are perfect for her learning style.  She is at the younger end of the recommended age range (she just finished 3rd grade) and some of the readings were over her head.  I would like to add in some of my own choices of historical fiction for me to read to her while she colors and works on the activities.  I also wish there was an option to buy everything already printed out- the printing takes a lot of time.  That being said, I really enjoyed using Home School in the Woods and would absolutely use more of their unit studies!  Both of us learned a lot and had fun creating projects and memories together.  I highly recommend it!

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Home School in the Woods Review
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Tales from the Circle C Ranch Book and Lapbook Review

25
Jun

Our Crafts N Things CIrcle C Ranch

Our favorite time during our homeschool day is when we read together. On a typical day I read a chapter from a book and Hailey reads a chapter from a book. We both look forward to reading time and I am always on the lookout for a good book we can use for school.  When the opportunity came up to review Tales from the Circle C Ranch by Susan K. Marlow author of the Circle C Adventures series, I went to the website to check it out.  I was able to download the first story in the book and was I immediately hooked!  There is also Andrea Carter’s Tales from the Circle C Ranch Learning Lapbook that goes along with the book, and we love lapbooks so we were excited to check that out too!

Tales of the Circle C Ranch Bookk Review
Susan K. Marlow has three different series of books about Andi Carter.  The first series, Circle C Beginnings, is geared for kids ages 6-9.  The second series, Circle C Adventures, is for kids ages 9-14.  The third series called Circle C Milestones is for ages 12 and up.

Tales of the Circle C Ranch Bookk Review
The book we reviewed, Tales from the Circle C Ranch, is a book of short stories that answers some of the questions fans have had about the other books about Andi Carter.  We had never read any of the other books about Andi Carter but we were still able to enjoy the collection of short stories without any confusion.  The stories are set in the 1880s and tell a variety of adventures that Andi was a part of.  Tales from the Circle C Ranch is a paperback book that is 151 pages and includes 11 short stories.  This book is part of the group of books recommended for kids ages 9-14.  Hailey is 8 and she really enjoyed the book, so depending on your child I think it’s a good fit for younger kids too.  Andrea Carter’s Tales from the Circle C Ranch Learning Lapbook is 39 pages long and can be purchased as an ebook or in printed form.  The lapbook ties US history and literature in with the stories in the book.

So, how did we use the book and the lapbook?

Our Crafts N Things

 Each day we read a portion of the book.  Some of the chapters were short, so we could read more than one and others were longer.  Sometimes Hailey did the reading and sometimes I did the reading.

Our Crafts N Things

Then if there was a part of the lapbook that went with the reading for the day we would do that as well.

Our Crafts N Things

This is the front cover of the lapbook.

Our Crafts N Things

This is inside the first folder.

Hailey’s favorite part of the lapbook was the Mercantile activity on the bottom left side of the red folder.  In it is a price list of items one might have found at the general store in the 1800s.  Hailey had to pretend it was 1874 and that she had $2 to spend at the store.  She was able to pick several items, including a toy whistle for 10 cents, a comb for 40 cents, a harmonica for 60 cents, and a few other items.

Our Crafts N Things

This is the inside of the second folder.

One of my favorite lapbook activities was the limerick section.  We learned how to write a limerick and that the sillier the limerick is the better.  I thought it was going to be a hard activity for Hailey to do, but she loved it!  She wrote several limericks, and we spent the rest of the day making up more silly limericks.  She picked one of her favorites for me to share with you:

I had a lovely cat,
who was ever so fat.
He had another owner,
who was covered with toner.
The owner was a stinky rat.

Pretty silly, but we had a lot of fun with it!

I asked Hailey what she thought about Tales from the Circle C Ranch and she said it was a lot of fun to read.  She said her favorite short story was The Best Gift of All, a story where Andi was at the store trying to find the perfect gift to buy for her mother.  The problem was that Andi had spent most of her money, rather than saving it, so she couldn’t find anything to buy.  Hailey said she enjoyed that story because she thought it was more special that Andi made a present for her mom than it would have been if she had bought her one.  She also said she really enjoyed making the lapbook and all of the parts in it were fun to make.

I really enjoyed Tales from the Circle C Ranch and would definitely recommend it.  Not only does it include fun stories, but it’s a great way to learn about the 1800s.  I love historical fiction and I think using a historical fiction book with a lapbook is one of the best ways to learn.

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