Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.
I love math, but teaching it is not my favorite thing to do. I was excited to get a chance to review Math Galaxy 3rd Grade iOS app for Caty from Math Galaxy. This has been a great way to help get her caught up in areas she has been struggling with.
Math Galaxy has a wide range of grade levels and topics available for purchase through the iOS App Store. Games and math skills are available for grades preschool through middle school skill level. Also available are ebook downloads to practice these same skills. We chose the Third Grade math level since Caty has been struggling with Multiplication and division topics.
The Math Galaxy apps have been broken down into a wide range of skill topics for each grade level. There are videos available to watch. But steps are also created to work through for each student to be able to increase their knowledge and ability to solve problems.
One day Caty decided to take what she saw on the screen and work it out on the white board table in our schoolroom at co-op, By working through these steps, she has started getting a better grasp on why we use multiplication instead of just a HUGE amount of addition.
She has graduated from just multiplication onto division now.
I really like that feedback is given as students work through way through the problem. Each step to follow along the way is shown in the lower left corner.
Math Galaxy is not just a bunch of cartoon characters hoping all over the screen. In some kids these work, but in easily distractible kids like my own, apps like this work against them by causing their attention to be off topic. As she works along, we plan on continuing using Math Galaxy along with the materials that she is covering in her math program. Then we can practice more of what she is learning. Using apps such as Math Galaxy alongside your current curriculum are very beneficial. For Caty she is able to practice and not need a bunch of scrap paper which also can turn into a distraction for doodling, instead of figuring her problems. Math Galaxy allowed her to keep the steps in order in her brain.
And even better, she can use it anywhere in the house or even in the van when we are traveling around between co-ops.
We were also given the ability to use many of the different ebooks that Math Galaxy has to use alongside their apps. These provide extra printable practice for students on topics they are learning about.
These files are easily downloadable PDFs, which you can choose to print in either color or black & white. The reason the Math Galaxy workbooks are more fun....they center around riddles.
We have used a few of the pages from the eBooks. I like the simplicity. These also helped me to identify areas to help Caty with further. If you come from a large family, you know having eBooks to print are so much easier than the necessity of purchasing stacks of workbooks. Again, you can use these practice sheets right alongside the curriculum that you are currently using with your child.
We will definitely continue using both the Math Galaxy apps and eBooks right alongside the curriculum we are currently using. I have seen improvement in Caty's math skills the last couple weeks of our review period. It is as if things are finally clicking for her.
Several members of the Homeschool Review Crew were given the opportunity to review the apps and books from Math Galaxy. Click on the link below to see how they used these products in their home and what they felt about them.
Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.
We recently had the opportunity to review Heroes of History - Milton Hershey: More Than Chocolate by Janet & Geoff Benge and the accompanying study guide Milton Hershey Unit Study Curriculum Guide from YWAM Publishing. YWAM Publishing Heroes of History series helps to make history more fun for kids to study!
Who knew that man who is known world-wide for chocolate bars, was so much more.
Milton Hershey grew up poor and suffered through two failed businesses that bankrupted him. Several members of his family did not even support him and considered him a failure. Yet he did not let any failures or hurdles that came into his path stop him. He did allow his experiences to shape him and his past even influenced him to help children who did not have enough by opening The Hershey Industrial School in 1909.
He was a humble man. He and his wife helped others and helped to build their community up. He believed in treating his employees fairly and they would be loyal to the business.
Caty really enjoyed reading the story of Milton Hershey. A few years ago we had the opportunity to visit Hershey, PA, so this book gave her a little more of an understanding of the factory we toured and the city we drove through. I mean what kid wouldn't enjoy reading about the creator of one of her favorite candies?!?!
YWAM Publishing does a very good job of publishing books that will keep children's interest. The Heroes of History series features many men and women that have made an influence not only in their lifetime, but also made an impact on history. These chapter books have been created for late elementary through middle school reading levels, but a High School student could easily use this series for research materials for writing/history fair projects.
We have used several titles from the Heroes of History series from YWAM Publishing. Through the years we have had the opportunity to review several titles in this series, including George Washington, Alan Shepherd, John Adams, Davy Crockett, Harriett Tubman, Laura Ingalls Wilder, and Clara Barton.
In order to ensure your student gets a well-rounded education from the story they are reading, YWAM Publishing also offers an easy to downloadable study guide that accompanies most stories, including Milton Hershey, More Than Chocolate.
The Milton Hershey Unit Study Curriculum Guide is a downloadable PDF file. It's broken into two parts. The first part includes suggestions on how to use the book and study guide individually or in a group setting. I love the idea of creating a corner or poster area to create a display about the individual you are studying. This area could include a display of the products the individual you are studying created or just a poster of sayings and quotes that inspired the person you are studying.
During this time frame, we did study Inventors and Innovations of our state. This was one of the suggested topics to help your student to delve into while studying about Milton Hershey. There are roughly 25 different suggested activities to help students really dig into the life and times of the individual they are reading about. Suggestions for Milton Hershey also included studying about the Civil War, Spanish-American War, studying candy making, and geography ideas such as map-making.
There are comprehension questions already created for each chapter in the book. Each set of chapter questions are meant to draw out the student and help them to work on their short-answer skills and increase their vocabulary. To increase the success in parents creating a well-rounded study, there are several suggestions for creative writing projects and language arts activities.
In fact, there are activity suggestions for art projects, social studies activities, science studies (who doesn't want to learn how to make and temper chocolate!!), and suggestions are made for further books, magazine and article suggestions to increase your study materials about the person you are learning about. YWAM Publishing has done such a wonderful job on creating the Milton Hershey Unit Study Curriculum Guide as a companion study to Milton Hershey, More than Chocolate.
Our study of Milton Hershey did not take us deep into the science of chocolate, but we were able to learn more about this man and the legacy that he left. Caty is a reader, so she actually finished the book in under a week. I tried assigning chapters to match up with the study guide, but gave up. She and I discussed the comprehension questions. You could really adjust your study to be roughly a week, but extended out to what length you would like. Using the Heroes of History series with your family is very flexible and you can adjust it to fit your needs and your student's learning styles..
I highly encourage your to check out Heroes of History as you begin planning your studies for the next school year. Or even check them out for easy summer studies. You can easily find a full list, in historical order, on the YWAM Publishing site. They are a great, and inexpensive way to enhance your history studies. And even better.....the downloadable Unit Study Curriculum Guides have all the hard work already done for you!!!
Several members of the Homeschool Review Crew were given the opportunity to review books from the Heroes of History from YWAM Publishing. Click on the link below to see how they used these in their homes and what their family thought of this book series.
Some people choose to just let art projects to just happen. Whatever they want to do on a whim. Others though, need preparation and planning. When we started our Art History this year, I definitely at least needed a basic outline plan of what we were going to do.
A friend shared this book online and I ordered it right away! Vincent's Starry Night and other Stories.
I used this to make our outline for the year. I had a few projects in mind as I was going through the list, but usually planned out a month in advance. I really liked this book. It gave a little story for each. We also watched a quick biography video on all the artists that we could and looked up their art work. Another suggestion I got from a friend was to print coloring pages of each artist's work and let the kids color those. So that is what we did for most of the artists. We all know that Pinterest is the mecca of art projects!! So I would surf around if I didn't have any ideas and borrow from here and there to create our projects each week.
Behold the Beauty Art Curriculum - I used this along with the above book. It was a great addition to our year this year. This copy is for Grades 4 - 6, but you can also purchase for lower grade levels and beginning artists.
Great American Artists
Discovering Great Artists
Online resource.... Art Hub for Kids ... the girls love drawing these pictures! Their Youtube channel is jammed packed with fun art lessons.
Artistic Pursuits is a wonderful program. Projects are completely laid out for you. So very little planning needed, other than pre-reading lesson and collecting supplies
You honestly could find thousands of tutorials on Youtube to help with drawing basics. There are also online schools such as Outschool.com that also offers several levels of drawing classes. (Remember Youtube is FREE for almost all the videos, so that is always budget friendly!!)
You can read more reviews both at the
Cathy Duffy Reviews
and also
Homeschool Review Crew
This year we started back on American History. We have spent the last few weeks studying the Colonies and the American Revolution. We were excited to get chosen to review the Heroes of History - John Adams ($9.99) book and John Adams - Digital Unit Study ($9.99) from YWAM Publishing to go along with our studies.
We received a print copy of Heroes of History - John Adams, and the Digital Unit study downloadable guide that corresponds with the book.
John Adams is such an overlooked man in history. He was very intelligent and thought things through. He dedicated his life to the colonial movement and spent many years apart from his family to help with the Colonial Government. So I assigned Joey to do some extra research on him using the Heroes of History - John Adams book.
The Heroes of History - John Adams book is very well written. I would recommend this for upper elementary through middle school. Joey is at a late middle school comprehension level, so it fit perfectly in for him.
The story starts out with an exciting, attention-grabbing story that will get your child wanting to continue reading. But the book covers the life of John from an early school age through his death on July 4, 1826. There are 17 chapters, and Joey was able to finish the book in about a week. But the possibilities are endless for how you choose to use the book though. Joey read the material and used the comprehension questions from the Digital Unit Study. But if you are working on this for a family project, you could use it as a read aloud and work on projects together based on John Adams life. You could space out a study for about a one month period, using both the Heroes of History - John Adams book along with the Digital Unit Study - John Adams.
The Digital Unit Study was very easy to download. I saved it for easy reference. It is a PDF, so I was able to read it on my laptop screen, and I only printed the pages that I wanted to. There are a few pages that are great to print and that includes a mini-biography, a map of the 13 Colonies, and a timeline for John Adams life.
There are many project suggestions throughout the Digital Unit Study. One of the project ideas suggested was to create a display corner about the life of John Adams. As you learn about his life, the kids can add display items that they create about him. It could center around a timeline, a copy of the Declaration of Independence, famous quotes, or maps of where his travels took him. What an awesome idea!
There are six comprehension questions for each chapter in the book. I simply re-typed the questions into a word document for Joey to type up answers to me. You could also verbally discuss the questions with your students.
The Digital Unit Study covers topics of geography, history, literature, creative writing, public speaking, art, and reading comprehension. Suggestions include ways for you to easily adapt this study from your youngest students through high school age. They also include ways to increase your student's research skills and hands-on projects for multi-sensory learners. Field trip ideas are also included to make it so your student can really see how John Adams lived.
We have used many of YWAM Publishing Heroes of History books through the years. I have loved every single one of them. It's really a great way for your student to learn history without being overwhelmed. I enjoy reading them, even as an adult. The Digital Unit Studies just take the work out of your lesson planning. I can't wait to continue our time through history while using the Heroes of History books.
Several members of the Schoolhouse Review Crew were given the opportunity to try out different books in the YWAM Publishing Heroes of History and Christian Heroes series. Take some time to see what stories they reviewed and how their families enjoyed the product they received.
CONNECT ON SOCIAL MEDIA WITH YWAM
We recently had the opportunity to review the documentary IndoctriNation by Great Commission Films ($19.95).
The movie IndoctriNation is based on the research of Colin Gunn, a Scotland-born homeschool father of seven. He and his family travel across the US in a big yellow school bus. He wants to understand why public education prevents Christian beliefs and values to be included in the education system, yet secular views and ways of life are allowed. Why can't both sides be allowed in school? He also wants to understand what the impact this way of thinking will have on future generations of American students. Is keeping your children home for homeschooling the best option?
During the film, you travel with Colin around the US while he interviews Christian teachers while they speak of the degradation that they see happening in the schools, and yet there is nothing they can do to stop it. They speak how they feel helpless, but if they speak up, they will surely lose their jobs. In fact, teachers have lost their job for simply answering questions asked by students about religion.
Interviews also include Ken Hamm and even graduates of public school. It was very interesting to hear from the former students. I have to agree with them, thinking back how hard it was to be Christian over 25+ years ago in a public school. Morals were downgraded then, and I cannot imagine how it is now for students with all the changes in society.
There are many examples provided showing that Christianity is not even to be mentioned. One example shows a young student delivering her valedictorian speech, and as soon as she mentions Jesus Christ the mic is immediately muted and no one is allowed to finish hearing her comments. Something so simple as thanking God for allowing her to make it through high school is not allowed. This is how that student believes, and yet she is not allowed to express her beliefs for fear of offending others. Where will it stop?
I will admit, that I am very laid back about many things. I do not homeschool my children for strictly religious reasons. We allow them to make decisions based on facts and the biblical teachings that we have taught them. But I do admit that not having the bad influences on them is a great benefit. Joey has a hard enough time making decisions without extra influences feeding him lies.
After watching IndoctriNation I will have to say I am even more thankful for having the opportunity to homeschool. IndoctriNation did open my eyes to how so many things are just plain confusing for typical students, let alone children with special needs. I am able to give them a well-rounded education from both a typical educational standpoint, but also teach them about honesty, good morals and being the best person they can be.
I found the movie to be a little scary to watch. It definitely shows the real examples that children can face in public school. The bad situations that parents can try and protect them from. I will even admit to having tears in my eyes a couple of times just thinking about the examples of Columbine. But it also showed me an underlying debate among Christians. I guess I never thought about the many Christians who decide to leave their kids in public school to have a good influence on others. It seems that this is a very strong debate in the community.
It was a very eye opening documentary. It has definitely made me appreciate homeschooling our children even more. If you are a Christian who is contemplating homeschooling as an option for your family, I do recommend viewing this film. I did not watch this with our children though, because they have a tendency to misunderstand beliefs. I was afraid they would not fully understand the debate involved between the Christians.
I would not recommend it though if you are not Christian or do not believe in God. This is definitely from a Christian standpoint. There are examples of very religious individuals that, in my opinion, cannot see how extreme they are being in their views.
Be sure to check out Great Commission Films on Social media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IndoctriNationMovie
Twitter: https://twitter.com/indocmovie
Vimeo: http://vimeo.com/indoctrination
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/IndoctriNationMovie
Several members of the Schoolhouse Review Crew were given the opportunity to review IndoctriNation. See how they enjoyed this film in their families. Visit the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog and read their stories.
