History

This year, I decided to use Our Star Spangled Story for history for my third grader this year. We are having so much fun with this curriculum. The latest project that we did was to make hats and decorate them. My daughter wanted my 9th grader and me to help her make the hats and we had fun working on this craft together. I love the hands-on projects at the end of each unit. My daughter also loves doing the worksheets that come with it after each lesson. She is learning so much. I am so happy with my decision to switch to Our Star Spangled Story for history for my third grader.

It's Been A While!

It's been a while since I last blogged. I decided to keep this blog up so those searching for products that I have reviewed in the past are able to find them and not come across a broken link.

With that being said, I will blog every once in a while to keep updates on what is going on in our homeschool.

We recently started our 2019-2020 homeschool year. We have a 12th grader, 11th grader, 9th grader, and a 3rd grader. Things have been going great so far. Tomorrow we will end week three. My oldest is still working his job, going to soccer practice, and learning to fit his academics into his schedule. My 11th grader wanted to challenge himself this year by taking Pre-Calculus. He is doing well so far with the Teaching Textbooks Pre-Calculus program. My 9th and 3rd grade girls are going to be going to a co-op this year and they are excited to be able to do classes outside of the house. We start classes next Friday (August 23) and we are all looking forward to this new adventure.

Reading Eggs Workbook ~ Review

Having tried several different curriculum for my 7 year old daughter’s reading, she still somewhat struggles with reading. She loves trying new things, which I am very thankful for. She doesn't complain when I introduce a new curriculum to her. She gets excited to try something new. She wants to be able to read quickly and be able to love reading. I was able to try out Reading Eggs new reading workbooks. We reviewed 200 Essential Reading Skills for Second Grade.

Reading Eggs is an online reading curriculum developed for children ages 2-13. It is an interactive website that uses games and songs to help your child learn to read or become a better reader. Reading Eggs has introduced a full line of workbooks for reading and math that go along with the lessons on the website. The workbook can also be used independently.

I had my daughter take the placement test for Reading Eggs since she is seven. It placed her at lesson 71. It didn't look like it went along with the book we had, so we started with just using the workbook on its own. I had her start at the beginning so she wouldn't miss anything. After looking more at the website, I realized I probably should have had her take the placement test at the Reading Eggspress level which is designed for ages 7-13. It looks like the lessons here go along with the workbook.

The workbook is designed to be used five days each week. The first two days included a short passage to read for comprehension. It asks you to circle or underline parts of the story and answer the questions about the story.

The next two days are devoted to spelling. Each week a rule or spelling pattern is introduced. There are short activities to do to learn the spelling words such as matching the word to a picture, unscrambling the words, and copying the words.

The final day the workbook introduces grammar. The second grade workbook introduces nouns, proper nouns, articles, adjectives, action verbs, linking verbs, adverbs, contractions, and much more.

We used the workbook for four days each week. I am using a great spelling program already, so I decided to skip the spelling days in the workbook. We went through the reading and the grammar portions of the workbook each week. My daughter has been looking forward to the book each day. She loves that the reading portions are short. I like that the student marks important parts of the story to help them retain the story better.

She has also been loving the grammar portion of the workbook. She looks forward to getting to the grammar portion each week and learning about the different types of nouns. I hadn't really introduced her to any grammar yet, but she seems to be picking up on it quickly.

We both enjoy using this book. I like that she is picking up on reading comprehension and remembering the stories she reads. She likes that it is fun. She enjoys looking at the colorful images. She enjoys reading the different short stories. And she enjoys learning about grammar (so far). We give this workbook 5 stars and will continue using it throughout this year.

If you purchase a workbook, I have a code that gives you 10% off the price. Use code WK10BEEENYU when checking out. In addition, you can sign up for 4 free weeks of Reading Eggs by clicking on this link.

Traditional Spelling I from Memoria Press ~ Review

My 1st grade daughter was having a difficult time with learning her spelling words that we were using at the beginning of the year. She would get frustrated because there were so many words each week and many of them were confusing her when they used the same sounds but different letters. When we were offered Traditional Spelling I from Memoria Press, I was curious how it would work out with her. I looked at the samples on the website and decided to go with the first books since she was having trouble.

About Traditional Spelling I ~

Traditional Spelling uses a phonetic approach to teach how to spell words. Each lesson gives different vowel and consonant blends for the child to learn. Each day the child learns the words by doing different spelling activities in a workbook. Traditional Spelling I is intended for children in grades 1-2.

We received the following books to use with the program:

The teacher manual tells you how to teach each lesson. Each lesson is set up to be covered in one week. There are are 34 lessons total with two lessons teaching how to make contractions (I am = I’m). Each lesson is laid out the same way each week. There are ten words per lesson with one word usually being a sight word. The teacher manual also tells you what phonics flashcards are used for that lesson and what pages to use in the Classical Phonics book.Each lesson also tells you what pages need to be completed each day (one per day) and what activities to do with your child to help them learn the words. The teacher manual also includes a dictionary at the back of the book. There is also an appendix that has the spelling test form (can be copied for each test), spelling review games, spelling rules reference sheets, common English contractions, phonics overview for the teacher, and the colorful letters key.

The Classical Phonics book is laid out to help your child read words that have the same rule as the one they are learning for the week. There are several pages with many different words such as CVC words, CVCC words, ck, double consonant, blends like sw, long vowel words, and silent e words. There are several words for each”rule” that the child can see and read. The book also includes sight words in the back. This book is required in order to use the Traditional Spelling program correctly.

The student book is where your child will do their work. You will need a student book for each child since they will need to write in it each day.

The student book is laid out the same for each lesson and you are to do a page each day. The first day, the child writes the ten new spelling words. They don’t write them in the order given, but rather in groups. For instance, it will say, “Write the words where long 0 is spelled o_e.” The child finds the o_e words and writes them on the lines. The second day, the child uses colored pencils to help them remember the words (red for vowel/vowel teams and blue for consonant teams/blends). The third day, the child reads a story that has uses the spelling words and fills in some sentences that use the spelling words. The fourth day is a dictation day. The child listens as you tell them what sounds and spelling words to write. They also write a sentence that you dictate from the teacher’s manual. The fifth day, a test is given.

The phonics flashcards help your child with visualizing the word/letter/blend and shows them more words with the same letters on the back of the card.The phonics flashcards are required in order to use the program as intended.

We also received spelling practice sheets which are just sheets with the spelling words that the child can write two times each. These can be reproduced for a single student in your home if they need more practice.

How we used (and what we thought of) Traditional Spelling I ~

The lessons are laid out very well in the teacher’s manual so it was not difficult to get started. As you can see from the pictures above, I did buy a mini crate to keep all of the phonics flashcards contained. I knew if I did not have someplace to store them, they would get lost or ruined.

The first day of the lesson, I introduced the words. I would show her the flashcards with the letter combinations she was learning for the week. I also had her read through the words in the Classical Phonics book. We would then go through the list and say, spell, say each word. Lastly, we would do any other activities listed for the day and finish the page for the day. The rest of the week (days two through four) are shorter than the first day. There are simple activities listed in the teacher’s manual to do each day and then you are to complete a page each day. The fifth day is a test day. Each day’s work took us about 15-20 minutes to complete.

There were some lessons where if she did well on the fourth day dictation and I knew she knew the words well, I would skip the test on the fifth day and just have her spell some of the words orally.

Her favorite day was when she could use the blue and red pencils (I let her use crayon on some lessons) to write the words. Seeing the words in the different colors helped her learn them.

My daughter has really been enjoying working through these short spelling lessons. She has retained so much more information and can spell more words than she could when we were using a different curriculum. She actually loves to do her spelling work each day now!

I love how the lessons are set up and how easy it is to use the products. I love how the manual tells you what flashcards and what pages in the phonics book to use. We will continue using the rest of Traditional Spelling I during next school year when she is in 2nd and transition to Traditional Spelling II when we have finished the first.

Memoria Press offers many different books on many different subjects. Some of the ones that crew members received besides the spelling were Music Appreciation and different Latin books.

Bytes of Learning ~ Review of UltraKey Online

It has been a difficult task for me to try to find some curriculum for the different classes I want my children to learn or study. I research different curriculum and try to get the best or close to the best for my children. Even while doing research and trying to find the best fit for our household, it is easy to overlook some products that are affordable and gives you the best. Bytes of Learning is something I wish I had stumbled on when I was looking for a typing/keyboarding curriculum to use for my son.

Although my 10th grade son was using a different program for his keyboarding/typing class this year, I thought he could use something different that had more to offer. And the program I was using was geared more towards younger kids while UltraKey Online Family Subscription is geared for any age and does not use any childish features. With the family subscription, you are able to choose between 3 users, 5 users, and 8 users at an affordable price.

UltraKey Online is based completely online. There is nothing to install on your computer or download from the internet, it is all online. It is easy to set up a subscription and once you become familiar with the management dashboard it is easy to set up all of your users. From the manager dashboard you are able to create accounts for each person and also generate reports to see the progress of each student. This program is also self-paced so the student can work at their own pace. You are also able to repeat lessons and skill checks. There are also games that can be played to help learn the letters.

When we received the information to set up our account, I went ahead and set myself up as a student so I could use the program myself and see how it all works. My 10th grade son also has his own account that he is working through. When you log in for the first time, you can just start the program or take an assessment that will tell you how much you already know like your typing speed and mistakes and will set a goal for you to try to aim for each time you take a skill check.

There is also a settings menu where you are able to adjust the settings of each user. This is the spot where you are able to pick a background you like, choose how you want the keyboard displayed on the settings and even change the skin tone of the hands that show you where to place your hands on the keyboard. You can also turn off the step by step learning that is automatic when you log in for the first time. If you don’t want to go through each step, such as posture and finger position before starting the lessons, it is easy to turn off that setting and just jump right into the lessons.

UltraKey Online is meant to be used each day for 20-30 minutes or less if you are using the program with a younger child. You start the lessons with the home keys and take a skills test after completing each lesson.

I tried to get familiar with the dashboard so I would know what all is available there. There is an area where the administrator is able to generate reports. You can take a look at the progress each student has made and see when they passed their skill checks and what lessons they have completed. I’m not sure why when I generated the reports it only shows one user having completed some of the areas when both of us have completed them (for example, the home row line in the picture to the right).

Since my son had been already typing, he has gone through this online typing program fairly quickly with just a few more lessons remaining. I may have him go through again to see if he can improve his typing. After you complete a lesson, you are to take a skill check and a report generates when you are done telling you your accuracy and words per minute (wpm).



I didn’t go through the program as fast as my son (he was doing a lesson every day), but from what I have used of the program, I like it a lot. I also think that this program has helped my son increase his accuracy and wpm. He didn’t do well on one of the skill checks so he went back and tried it again to get a better accuracy and wpm that was at his goal or above his goal. I liked that I am able to generate a report that tells me his progress and what lessons he has completed. One thing I also liked about this program that we were able to take an assessment to help us move along at a good pace. My son likes that this program is not childish and that he has a goal that is set based on his own assessment and not a goal I set for him. This is a program that is affordable and easy to use and I will definitely use this for my other children.

We give UltraKey Online Family Subscription 5 stars!

L is for Literature

Finding the right literature curriculum to use in our homeschool has been a somewhat difficult task. I’ve looked at several curriculum choices over the past couple of years trying to find the best one for my kids where they would be exposed to some great classics.

Last year, I had my oldest son go through Everyday Education’s Introduction to Literature. Even though he didn’t like the idea of reading Jane Eyre, he did read through some good classic books and learned a lot. He enjoyed many of the books from this program. One of his assignments was to write his own (short story) version of Animal Farm and he did so well with this assignment by using two well known political people in his story. It was actually a good short version of Animal Farm and showed he understood the meaning of Animal Farm.

My younger son read through Abeka’s Of Places book for his literature last year. This book just had excerpt's of many books and he never was able to get the whole story of any book.

So, this school year, I wanted something that both boys could do together. I did a lot of research and decided to give Hewitt Homeschooling Lightning Literature a try.



I decided on the mid to late 19th-century pack for my boys. It looked like it had some books that my boys would like to read.  After having gone through our first semester with this program, I will say that they have enjoyed going through the different books and learning about the different authors and books. They are learning to write different styles of reports and have done great with the assignments. I plan to use one of the British Literature packs from Hewitt during our next school year.

My oldest daughter started 7th grade this past fall and I wanted to use something different than what I had used for my boys when they were in 7th grade. I looked at different curriculum and decided on three books for her to read this year. She started with Anne of Green Gables from Memoria Press.



For her other two books to read, I decided to use Progeny Press. She is almost done reading Shiloh and will start with Little House in the Big Woods in a couple of weeks. Even though Little House is designed for upper elementary, I think she will enjoy reading the book and doing the study. I am not 100% sure what she will use for 8th grade next year so I may let her choose what books she would like to read and work from there.

With my youngest, I have just been reading grade level chapter books and she has enjoyed them so far. There were a couple that we reviewed (Imagine...The Great Flood and The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls) last year and she is looking forward to hearing more from those series. We also did a review from Progeny Press for her grade level and she enjoyed that one also. As she gets older I will have read books like Charlotte's Web, Little House on the Prairie, etc.

I am linking up with:

F is for Favorites

It’s time for the annual Blue Ribbon awards from the Homeschool Review Crew. You can find the post here of all of he favorites from the crew. Last year, I mentioned our top five favorites. This year we have so many favorites, I am going to post our favorites in the different categories.

ART ~
We have a couple favorites that we used this year in the art category. The first one is the Thin Stix from The Pencil Grip, Inc. We were actually lucky enough to review this product twice this year. This product is one of my girl's favorite art supplies.

Another art product we enjoyed this year was the  ACTÍVA rigid wrap that we used to create a butterfly. We plan to make some Christmas items with the product that we have left.

HISTORY ~
This year, we have reviewed many history curriculum and supplements it was difficult to choose our favorites because there are so many great ones. We narrowed it down to the following products.
Drive Thru History ~ This was a favorite of my high school boys. We all learned so much from the videos and look forward to watching more.

Another favorite history curriculum is from Home School in the Woods. We reviewed Make A State and The Middle Ages. Even though there is a lot that needs to be printed, this curriculum is packed full of information and hands-on activities.

Our favorite history supplements are from Heirloom Audio Productions. We reviewed two of them this year, In the Reign of Terror and Captain Bayley’s Heir.

BOOKS ~
We reviewed so many great books this year and we are looking forward to the next books in both of these series, Imagine…The Great Flood and The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls.

Here is a link to all of the products we reviewed this year and past years. You can read through to see how we used and how it fit or did not fit for us to learn more about these different companies.

Be sure to stop by the Homeschool Review Crew blog to see the rest of the crew’s favorites from this year.

I am linking up with:
Hopkins Homeschool

CTCMath ~ Review

I reviewed CTCMath a few years ago and used it with my daughter for several years for an elementary math. When it came up for review this time, I wanted to review it myself to see how the high school subjects worked. I also thought it would help me to help my son who is taking Algebra II right now. This time I am reviewing CTCMath’s Single Membership for myself and homeschoolers get 60%off + 6 bonus months.

CTCMath is an Australian based company that offers an online, video based math curriculum. It is self-paced so your child can go as fast or as slow as they want to go. The curriculum from kindergarten through 12th grade is a full curriculum. There are diagnostic tests that can be taken before or after to find out where your child needs more help.

Each lesson consists of a short video that goes over the concept taught for that lesson.After watching the video, the student completes an online worksheet and answers the questions. The program keeps track of the right and wrong answers and gives the student a grade at the end of the lesson. If the student doesn’t pass the lesson they are able to go back and redo the lesson until they understand it enough to pass.



Some of the high school level work is not completed online and needs the worksheet to be printed or use a pencil and paper and copy the problems down. On some of the lessons, at the high school level, the student completes the worksheet, grades using the answer key, and enters their own grade.

The parent dashboard shows what tasks you have given to the student and if they have completed them. It also shows the activity of the student, awards given to the student, and weekly reports about what the lessons the student finished during the week. Also from the parent dashboard, you are able to download checklists for the different levels to keep track of when the lesson was completed and what grade the student received, export the data from your student, and browse the lessons where you can see the video, questions, worksheet, and answers. When browsing the lessons it also gives a direct url to that lesson.

When you sign up, either the single membership or the family membership, you are given access to all levels of the program.

I am not that great at math. I started out going through the Algebra II and was having a difficult time. So, I went back to the Algebra I for a while and went through a few of the lessons and did great (go me!). I do really like this curriculum. This program is a great tool for anyone that wants to learn or re-learn math. I did also look over some of the elementary math and found that it was engaging and would be a great curriculum to use if you are looking for a math program that is online. My younger son is actually wanting to re-take Algebra I because he said he does not understand it at all from what he learned last year with a different curriculum. I think I am going to let him go through the Algebra I course and see how he does and hope he learns something.

CTCMath offers a free trial where you can view the first lesson for each topic. And don't forget that until November 15, 2017, homeschoolers receive a 60% discount + 6 bonus months.

Let’s Go Geography ~ Review

Wanting my youngest daughter to learn more about the world we live on, but not having a good geography program to introduce her to the places around the world, had me grateful that we were chosen to review Let’s Go Geography. Let’s Go Geography is a fun homeschool geography course that is also a hands on based geography curriculum for K-4th grade children.

What is Let’s Go Geography?

This program takes you and your child through all of the seven continents during the year. Year 1 is available at this time and you will learn about several countries such as Canada, Nicaragua, Chile, Ecuador, Finland, Sweden, Iceland, Hungary, and many more (see image below). Each lesson takes one week to complete  with the lessons being spread out over 36 weeks. 

Before starting the program it is recommended to create a travel journal (3 ring notebook) to keep all the pages together. You will receive a travel journal cover to print out when you purchase the curriculum. You will also need dividers for each continent.

During the week of learning, you will print out several pages for your child to work on. These pages include maps of the country, a flag of the country, and a coloring page of a landmark in the country. Your child will also listen to the national anthem and watch videos on the country. If you want to explore the country more, you can go to the library and check out some books on the country. There is also a craft to go along with the country. And, if you want your child to write what they have learned about the country, there are notebooking pages included.

Every 12 weeks is a review week to review what your child has been learning over the weeks. They will label and color the countries, match the flags to the country, read some facts, and color some coloring pages.

How we used Let’s Go Geography:

We went through this program as scheduled, but if you would rather skip around it is okay to do that to. During the review period we learned about the Northeast US, Hawaii, Canada, Haiti, and Nicaragua. I printed the pages that were needed each week and my daughter colored the countries, flags, and coloring pages. We used the computer to watch videos about the countries and to look at the pictures from each place. We also did the crafts each week.  While it is recommended to spend an hour each week doing the lesson, we broke this up into about 20 minutes each day to work on the lesson each week. We would color the map and flag and learn about the country (where it is located, the size, the population) on the first day. The next day, we would watch some videos on the country. The rest of the week  we looked at the pictures of the country, worked on the craft, and colored the landmark coloring pages.

What we thought about Let’s Go Geography:

My daughter has been enjoying learning about the different countries of the world. At her age, it is easy to go through the program slowly and it keeps her attention during the time. She has already learned so much in the short period of time that we have been working on the program. We will continue to go through learning a country a week until we finish out the Year 1 program.  We will likely keep using this program as Years 2 and 3 become available. I love how easy it is to use and that everything is laid out for the teacher. I also love that links to videos and pictures of the country are included for easy navigation. This is a well laid out geography curriculum and is easy to use.

This program is available for purchase as a whole year, a semester, or there are individual lessons available for purchase. There are some sample freebies that are available for download. Click below to see how other crew members used this in their homeschool and what they thought about it.

The Bears on Hemlock Mountain Study Guide from Progeny Press ~ Review

My older children all have literature books that they will be reading throughout the year. My youngest is in 1st grade this year and she still loves to have stories read to her. I didn’t really have any books picked out for her to listen to and learn about. I was glad to be chosen for The Bears on Hemlock Mountain E-Guide from Progeny Press.

Progeny Press offers many study guides (downloadable and print) for elementary, middle, and high school age. Progeny Press offers study guides for literature from a Christian perspective. They have over 100 E-Guides available (samples of titles in parenthesis) starting with lower elementary (Frog and Toad Together), upper elementary (Charlotte’s Web), middle school (The Giver), and high school (The Hobbit). They also have the same study guides available on CD or a printed workbook.

The Bears on Hemlock Mountain is a  story that was written by Alice Dalgliesh. She wrote this story based on a folk tale that was told to her by a state archivist in Pennsylvania in 1952. There are many variations to the story, but the boy, the iron pot, the mountain, and the bears are all part of the original story and remain unchanged.

The Progeny Press E-Guide about the book The Bears on Hemlock Mountain is geared for the lower elementary range (1st through 3rd grade). The E-Guide gives a brief synopsis about the book, background on the author,and background on the story. There are also several activities to choose from before reading the book. Some of these activities include doing research on animal tacks, listening to bird songs, and tracing a cookie pattern shape to make a border. My daughter said she didn’t know what a bear print looked like, so I found an image of bear tracks and showed it to her. I also had a picture of a bear and the bear print for her to color.

During the review period, I read a couple of chapters a week (the book only has 10 short chapters). After reading the chapters to her, I would go over the questions with her. We spent a whole week reading and going over the questions. Some of the questions she didn’t understand and I would explain those to her. She also needed help with looking up the words in the dictionary and writing the answers down.

We both loved reading through the book and studying more about the book. *Side note: after we were chosen for the book, I went online to see more about the book and after seeing the old book cover I realized I had read this book as a child. I had forgotten about it, so it was fun to re-read it to my daughter.* At this level (1st grade), my daughter needed a lot of help with the study guide portion. She did enjoy going over the questions and learning more about the book. She also liked doing the activities that were listed before and after.  Overall, this is a great study guide and it helps the child learn more about the book and remember the book.

Be sure to click the banner below to read through the other reviews. There are reviews on Macbeth, Charlotte’s Web, The Silver Chair, and The Bears on Hemlock Mountain.

Curriculum Choices 2017-2018 School Year

This week, I am joining my fellow crew mates over at the Homeschool Review Crew blog for a back to homeschool blog hop. Today we will be discussing the different curriculum we use in our homeschool.

This year my oldest son is in 10th grade. 

He will be using the following for his studies:

• Science ~ Apologia Advanced Biology
• Literature ~ Hewitt Homeschooling Lightning Literature (American Literature: Mid-Late 19th Century)
• Grammar ~ Easy Grammar Grade 10
• Bible ~ The Most Important Thing You'll Ever Study (He is working the 2nd half of the Old Testament)
• History ~ Abeka World History
• Math ~ Abeka Algebra 2
• Typing ~ Typing Instructor (It is a little childish, but he is already learning so much. We will move on to a more adult version when he get's through this basic kid's version)

My youngest son is in 9th grade this year.

He will be using the following:

• Literature ~ Hewitt Homeschooling Lightning Literature (American Literature: Mid-Late 19th Century)
• Math ~ Teaching Textbooks Geometry
• Grammar ~ Easy Grammar Grade 10
• Science ~ Apologia Biology
• Health (2nd Semester) ~ Abeka Health
• World Geography (1st Semester) ~ Abeka World Geography
• Spanish ~ Duolingo (for right now)
• Bible ~ The Most Important Thing You'll Ever Study (he is doing the 1st half of the Old Testament)

My oldest daughter is in 7th grade this year.

She will be using the following:

• Science ~ Abeka 7th Grade Science
• History ~ Abeka History of the World
• Grammar ~ Easy Grammar 7th Grade
• Math ~ Teaching Textbooks Math 7

For literature she will be using the following:

• Memoria Press Anne of Green Gables
• Progeny Press Shiloh
• Progeny Press Little House in the Big Woods

My youngest daughter is in 1st grade this year.

She will be using Abeka for everything except science. We are using Apologia Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day for science.