Memoria Press - Fifth Grade Literature Guide Set Review

Caty loves to read!  We recently had the opportunity to review the Fifth Grade Literature Guide Set from Memoria Press.  During our review period she has been working her way through the classic title, Heidi along with the Heidi Literature Set.

We received the Fifth Grade Literature Guide Set from Memoria Press.  The set includes the stories of Heidi, Lassie Come-Home, and The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.  Each story includes a Student Study Guide, as well as a matching Teacher Guide.  You can purchase this set with the matching chapter books or you can purchase the three guides without the chapter books.  You can also purchase each guide individually, making this comprehension and literature set a very affordable option for families.

Each Literature Guide starts out with a table of contents that breaks down which pages go with each chapter.  The pages are marked also on the bottom of each page, which chapter the student will find the answers in.  You can also purchase lessons plans for a minimal cost for print or download to help you plan out your student's journey through the books if you need help.

At the beginning of the Student Study Guide, there are guidelines to read over with your student to help them see how to proceed through the pages.  Your student can work independently, or if your student is struggling with learning disabilities you can easily work on this with them.

Each chapter section starts with vocabulary and character development.  

There are also Quotations highlighted in which the student needs to mark who made the statement or asked the question.  Discussion Questions for you to discuss with the student and an Enrichment section to really encourage your student to think about what they just read and show them a correlation between what they are reading and real life.

The Enrichment section in each chapter's material can include geography activities, copywork, science research (one activity was to research cod liver oil), and other literature skills such as writing a letter.  This varies by each chapter and is a great addition for children to stretch out their learning...and in some cases learning important life skills.

Since it's been summer and camp/fair season, Caty has only been working on this program 3 days a week during the review period.  Since this is more than just fun reading, she has been working on a chapter a day.  Some days she is able to complete the chapter and usually two pages of material in her workbook independently.  Since she has a learning disability that affects her ability to allow her brain to unscramble her thought onto the written page, there were days where she dictated her answers to me.  This allows the program to be extremely flexible for students with special needs.  Another option is that you can use the audio book for your student, if they struggle with reading in general.  When Lydia has used other levels from the Memoria Press Literature Guide series, this is what we have done.

The Teachers Guide that I have pictured above provides the answers for parents who have students who are working independently.  The Teachers Guide also includes chapter quizzes and a final test if you opt to use them with your student.  We haven't quite made it that far yet.  Some states do require this information, and fortunately we do not live in one that requires this.  So I'm still on the fence about requiring her to take the book test, as long as she is understanding the material from each chapter and is showing me that she does.  

The Fifth Grade Literature Guide Set is not meant to make children dislike reading, but encourages them to dig deeper and realize that there is more to what they are reading than the black and white printed words on the page.

Caty is really enjoying this series and we plan to continue with the rest of the books in the Fifth Grade Literature Guide Set and order the Sixth Grade set when she finishes this series.

Click on the link below to read about the other grade level Literature series from Memoria Press.  The Homeschool Review Crew were given the opportunity to review several different grade levels.  The link below will take you to the page and you can find the specific grade level you are looking for.

Library and Educational Services LLC Review

We have been homeschooling for several years.  But I was just introduced to an absolutely amazing online book store Library and Educational Services LLC.  They allowed us to review several titles of our choice from the Reinforced Hardcover Library Binding Nonfiction Series, as well as a Who Was series title, and even an audio story from their Lifehouse Theater CD series.  This website is a game changer for us!!  Our homeschool library will be able to grow larger, and stay within budget.

We had the opportunity to review several products from Library and Educational Services LLC.  There were so many wonderful products, that I had a truly hard time choosing what to order.  In fact, I have already created my own wishlist to keep adding to our collection.

The first series that we checked out goes along with our American History studies.  Caty is really into fictional and non-fiction kids history books.  This Stories in American History series seemed to fit the range for Caty.

The Stories in American History series contains 4 books as seen below.  They were written for ages 10 and up.  These well written and information stories contain researched facts for students to use as their choice of reading or even to be used in their own history reports.  They are hardcover, library style books.  Well made and sturdy covers.  (Unfortunately they were dropped and stepped on a few times during the review period when Caty would fall asleep while reading them.  No ripped pages and the covers and binding are still in excellent condition.)  This set of 4 books is priced at only $25.70, retails for $137.80 normally.

The books contain full-color photographs throughout.  When these books were written, the authors did a great job including real photographs of the information that you are reading about.  So children are seeing pictures such as the one below of the valleys where the explorers roamed.  Or even cannons that were fired during battles.

One of our other choices was The How Animals Shaped History Series.  I thought this series would not disappoint my animal loving child.  I was right there.  This series is written for students in elementary school level, so it was a little below Lydia's "level".  But they were so much fun to read!

The fun part of this series, the stories were so interesting.  Do you realize how much of an impact that animals have had on our society?  Beavers were very important in early Colonial times because of their furs and tails.  Wars were fought between tribes over beavers!  Horses for transportation, Bison for food and fur, and even Mules were important for our history in America.  These fun reads were even fascinating for me.  

The How Animals Shaped History series is available for only $17.70, normal retail price would be $94.40.  They are also well constructed and beautiful full color photographs and illustrations.

But the generosity of the Library and Educational Services LLC did not stop with those titles.  They also allowed us to review the American Revolution Through Primary Sources series of books.  We received 4 hardcover titles in this series.  Retail for these titles $105.08, and they sell on Library and Educational Services LLC for only $19.70.

This series was written for Grades 4 and up.  I would definitely gear them for more advanced 4th grades and gauge them toward Middle school ages students for use in their history studies and report writing.

They contain full-color illustrations and photographs from the areas that you are learning about.  And are perfect as supplemental material to go along with American History studies and also help with writing required reports.  These are great for any type of schooling style that your family chooses.

We also had the opportunity to a new to us audio adventure called Trapped in Aesop's Fables from Lifehouse Theater CD series!  We listened to how Henry was whisked away into various famous Aesop's Fables while trying to learn the object and life lesson of each experience.  The fables included The Ant and the Grasshopper, The Tortoise and the Hare, The Boy Who Cried Wolf, The Goose and the Golden Egg and The Milkmaid and Her Pail.  Even though it might seem like this was written and recorded for younger children, all of our kids actually enjoyed this audio book one day while we were out running errands.

I plan on purchasing more in this series and keep them in rotation when we just need a short book to listen too.  This audio book length is approximately 60 minutes.

Our last treasure were received in our box from Library and Educational Services LLC was form the Who Was series?  This is on of my absolute favorite history resources for the kids.  These books are mainly paperback.  We have a quite a collection already, but did not have Who Was Betsy Ross?  And even though we have been to her historic home, have never read this particular book.

We did enjoy this title and it fits in perfectly with our current early American History studies.  I really love the special that Library and Educational Services LLC are running currently for the Who Was series titles.  You can get them right now for $2.89 per title.  They carry both the Who Was? and the What Was? series titles.  I actually collect and use these titles to enhance the kids history experience.  They are short and easy reads to go along with their current history topic.  You can easily assign out these as they cover a wide range of historical figures from both the ancient and modern time period.  And Library and Educational Services LLC has you covered on the price to make it easier for your budget!!

The package I received from Library and Educational Services LLC was well packed and there would have been no damage to the books if jostled too much in shipping.  They have a wide range of book prices ranging from $1.00 and up.  I now have a new go-to place for low priced books, and fast shipping.  

Several members of the Homeschool Review Crew were given the opportunity to review products that were generously given to them by Library and Educational Services LLC.  Click on the ad below to read more about the materials they chose to review!

Caty's 2019-2020 Curriculum Choices

Math - Teaching Textbooks Grade 6 - We use the online subscription for the girls.

A History of the U.S. by Joy Hakim - We'll be going through 4-5 volumes this year in this series depending on how long we spend studying extra certain areas of history.

Kingdom Code - She wants to learn about starting a business.  Her goal is to own a food truck someday.  So we want to pave the way as usual.

Literature/Spelling/Grammar - Memoria Press Literature series - For this I plan on using a variety of grade levels to help her "catch up" closer to her grade level.  She may always have a slight delay in the spelling and grammar area.  She loves reading, so I am going to gear her choices toward the area in history we are and individual books I want her to read.

She'll also be using the newer Reading Eggs 200 Essentials for Grade 5.

Writing - Powerhouse Writing - Grades 4 - 8.

Science - We are going to continue with our Science Club.  This year is Earth Science using Prentice Hall Earth science textbook and comprehension guide.

A Beka Health - Health in a Christian Perspective - this will be a slower study for Caty.  She'll work on this book over a two year period most likely and really explore the internal working of the human body.

US Geography - Using various resources over the next couple of years for this.  We'll be visiting each state and working our way through the country alphabetically.  State meals and snacks will be prepared.  They will also work on their drawing skills using the A Kid's Guide to Drawing America Series.  We have all 50 books.  They are hard to come by and I'm super excited to get started!  We'll also use Smithsonian Aerial America and various books from the library.

This year Caty is going to try taking Japanese lessons.  She is about all things Japan.  I was fortunate to have a friend get me connected to a professor that teaches beginners Japanese.  I am nervous and excited for her.

Music - Zeezok Music Appreciation

Drawing/Art - For drawing, she has started a drawing course on Udemy.  She is doing really well with this class.  She asked to learn how to really add detail and be able to draw humans.  So far she has mastered drawing the human eye.

She also wants to continue her work on learning how to repurpose and change dolls.  She is working on old Bratz dolls.  She's got all her tools to change out the hair and is practicing reapplying their makeup.

As always, we'll continue taking fun and cool classes that we find on Outschool.com.  If you haven't seen this resource, I highly encourage you to check it out.  We've only had one really boring teacher.

In addition to her regular studies, she'll also have her weekly Bible story topics and character studies.

Caty will also be taking the next level sewing class and a crafts class at our co-op.  She'll be participating in Special Olympics track, swimming, cheerleading, soccer (Hopefully), and bowling.

This is our base for her "6th grade" Year.  I'm getting that overwhelming feeling that you always get just before school starts.  I know we'll find her niche and how she will work best.  It just takes a couple weeks to get back into the routine.

Home School In The Woods - Time Travelers U.S. History New World Explorers Review

I absolutely love teaching history....most of my kids do not enjoy history though.  We recently had the opportunity to review the Time Travelers U.S. History New World Explorers study from Home School In The Woods.  This program takes the boredom out of history by using a hands-on approach to learning U.S. History.

The creators of the Home School In The Woods curriculum are a homeschool family themselves.  They want your student's to love history and have a memorable learning experience while studying.  We all know history can be a bit dry and boring to read.  I will admit that can be true.  It can also be a hard subject to teach, especially when a student has a bad attitude.  Home School In The Woods uses a creative approach to exploring history that include lapbook type activities, printable timelines, costumes, games, hands-on crafts, and recipe ideas.

We had the opportunity to use the Time Travelers U.S. History New World Explorers unit.  This unit was created for students in Grades 3-8.  So it's great for multi-grade level teaching.  It is easily adjustable for your student's learning level.

We received an easy to download PDF file for our studies.  It does seem a little daunting when you do download your ZIP files, but they are clearly labels where to start.  Your download also includes teacher keys.

Each of the lesson project pages includes textbook style reading materials.  There are 25 lessons, including a final lesson on how to throw a Project Party to share with family and friends how much you have learned about the famous explorers of the New World.

Caty is getting started in U.S. History again this school year.  I was looking for something other than regular textbook studies for her.  I really liked that she could do her reading on her Lesson-Text pages independently.  She really liked some of the project lesson activity ideas that include anything from drying meats and vegetables (dehydrating) the way explorers had to preserve their food to making board games (which she has not gotten to yet but will be soon.

You can really go through the Time Travelers U.S. History New World Explorers study at your own pace.  If you really want to dig into a topic plan the amount of time you want to go through the material on your own terms.  You could use a lesson a week, or a couple lessons a week depending on your student's learning level.  We were going slower since it is summer, and we do not do lessons daily in summer months.  But as we get started on school year, I can see us going through the material a little quicker, allowing her to start on Colonial Life by the middle of fall.

She loves to bake.  So she really enjoyed learning more about spices in lesson 1 and baking cookies based on the recipe included in the Lesson Activities.

Other activities include learning why lime juice was so important for explorers, and we also learned a popular location for sailors (and pirates) to come and get this life saving food.  She opted to not build a ship, but that type of activity is great for younger students, while older students can watch videos on the parts of the boats and type of boats that many explorers used in their travels.  We watched a few family movies that featured ship transportation.  

Since Caty is not a fan of lapbooks, we talked about the pieces that she could have been cutting out and including in a notebook for her studies.  This is one of the big reasons that I truly enjoy unit studies from Homeschool In The Woods, adaptability!!  You can easily adapt the material to your student's abilities.  If your student struggles with writing, verbally discuss materials and you can decide what to decide how much writing according to their abilities.  If they thrive on hands-on activities and lapbooks, all the materials are ready for you to print and go in your downloads.

We plan on continuing to learn more about the New World Explorers in the next couple of months and graduate into the Colonial Life studies. Such a great way to learn about U.S. History and be a real time traveler as you re-create how the explorers lived.

Home School In The Woods has several individual units in the Time Travelers U.S. History studies that include:

• New World Explorers
• Colonial Life
• The American Revolution
• The Early 19th Century
• The Civil War
• The Industrial Revolution through the Great Depression
• World War 2

Through the years, we have had the opportunity to review other products from Home School In The Woods.  Click on the links below to see how much we enjoyed those products also.

Project Passport World History Study: Ancient Egypt

Make-A-State Project Review

A'La Carte Project Review

Homeschool In The Woods really knows how to bring history to life for your students!

Click below to read reviews from other members of the Homeschool Review Crew that had the opportunity to use other products from Home School In The Woods that includes other units in the  Time Travelers U.S. History series, as well as the Project Passport World History Studies, and the Timeline Collection: A Collection of Historical Timeline Figures in their homes over the past few weeks.