Sonrise Stable Books - History on Horseback The Early Years

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 what my horse-loving daughter considers the greatest curriculum she has ever gotten to use. We have been using History on Horseback The Early years from Sonrise Stable Books for the past few weeks, and Lydia is finally glad to do her history reading everyday.

History on Horseback The Early Years was created for horse lovers and history buffs from the ages of twelve through adults. 

History on Horseback The Early Years covers the time period from 1493 to 1866, concentrating on American history.  It can be used as a standalone book, but not a full curriculum if you are looking for quizzes, comprehension questions, and tests.  Coming soon will be a study guide to use along with the History on Horseback series (yes, there will be more than one book in this series).  That will make it a complete curriculum.

Currently, Lydia reads a chapter a day.  She and I watch videos that center around the historical event that she is learning about that day.  Then we just discuss the material.  Each day, she spends roughly 15-30 minutes on history, depending on the amount of reading or videos we add.  Each chapter is generally 2-3 pages in length.  So not an overwhelming amount of material for student's that struggle with shorter attention spans.

History on Horseback The Early Years contains 53 chapters.  Topics range from the first colonists through the end of the Civil War.

The pages contain illustrations and actual photographs when possible.

Written as non-fiction, not every story has a positive outcome.  The author Vicki Watson has made sure to minimize the grim details of events, but still emphasize each horse's unique contribution to our country. 

History on Horseback The Early Years is the first volume in a series of three books that she is writing.  Volumes 2 and 3 are expected out later this year and early 2021.  I know we plan on continuing with this series.  Lydia is loving history on a daily basis.  I am not stressed about her rolling her eyes when it comes time for her history reading.  If you have a child that loves horses, or you love horses yourself, make sure you check out this series.

Several members of the Homeschool Review Crew were given the opportunity to review History on Horseback The Early Years.  Click on the link below to see how they used this in their homes and what their student's thought about it.

The Week I Fooled Them All.....

Like almost everyone in the country, our lives have come to a standstill.  The only things that has remained the same is Lydia's therapy at the stable.  Her coach has her times spaced out to keep contact minimal between people.  This is the only time that Lydia currently leaves the house.

But she is continuing her sign language.  She started online sessions with someone, but it didn't work out well.  So we now have a new online teacher.  We will see how this goes for the next few months.

Caty has been working on her 4H Yeast Breads projects.  I missed pictures of her soft pretzels.  But this was the start of a loaf of bread.  It didn't work out so well for her. I didn't watch her, so not sure what happened.  She's going to try again soon.  I'll watch what she does more closely.

I've been stress cooking..... this is one of my family's favorite meals... creamy chicken & noodles.  I've been stress cooking a lot.  I also have been making my own loaves of bread for them to eat sandwiches with.

Playing games with my niece and nephew this week.

We got a new toy delivered..... I'm super excited to make smoked meals for Joe.  He loves smoked foods!

Another one from a game night.

I went out one morning to run to get essentials.  Came out to this....ugh...

Out shopping for essentials....masked and ready to go.

Anyone who follows us knows that April Fools Day is big in this house....

Sponge cakes ...

"Ice cream sundaes" for lunch

Carra made poop cookies....she got her brother good!

"cheese pizza" for dinner

Someone left the water running...

I helped coordinate a safari hunt for teddy bears in our town.  Carra painted a bear on the front door !!

I am the mean homeschool mom.  My kids are still plugging away at work daily.  Unfortunately my niece and nephew's school is not keeping them in schoolwork.  It's really driving me crazy.  They are trying to use calamity days and not providing them learning opportunities.  I'm working on printing some items for them and keep them busy.  It truly makes me sad.

The girls studied about New Hampshire this week.  We didn't do a geography meal this week, mainly because I didn't plan one.  We did watch Aerial America and also State Plate.  

Caty's Japanese class will continue on Skype until our Stay-at-home order is lifted.  Currently it's through May 1st, but will most likely we pushed out further.  Joe and I watch the daily briefings from our governor, it's been hinted to another extension.

Caty has switched math programs yet again.  She is trying out Saxon Math.  After using AIM from Math-U-See, and also practicing her multiplication facts, we are trying the textbook approach and see if she likes this instead.  Lydia is still chugging along in her math.  I'm trying to figure out which direction to take her next.  She really does like Teaching Textbooks.

Brayden is finishing up life skills math and working on some Remedia Publications items on math.  I'm still working on constant reminders about cleaning processes and making list of chores and finishing them.

We got through out lessons and survived!!  Hope to see everyone next week!!!

Menu Monday

All things are still cancelled.  We are still practicing our social distancing as much as we possibly can.  I did run out and buy masks from a friend who is sewing them.  I want to have them for the girls and Joe in case we need to go out.  

I'm working hard at zero food waste. I keep a pencil by the menu that is hanging up.  I keep making changes and adjustments depending on leftovers.  Last week's menu had lots of adjustments.  I am also being inventive with all the food that we have in our pantry and also what food my sister-in-law brought to the house.  They are staying with us until the social distancing order is over.  And currently we will be doing this through May 1st, and they are saying longer.  The states around us have closed their school buildings until the end of the school year. 

Good news..... we did get an electric smoker!!  So I'm working on practicing with that.  Last week we did have a menu change, I got a turkey and we smoked a turkey.  It was really good Joe said, and they spent a couple days having sandwiches off of that.

Here's what is on the menu this week....

Sunday
B- Biscuits and Gravy
L- Leftovers or sandwiches
D- Smoked beef roast, scalloped corn, green bean casserole, and rice

Monday
B - cereal or apple cake (the apple cake is a treat for Brayden)
L - Leftovers
D- Smoked pork loin w/ rosemary biscuits

Tuesday
B - Quesadillas and yogurt
L - Fried noodles w/ chicken
D- KFC Mashed potato bowls

Wednesday
B - Cereal w/ fruit
L - Cincinnati chili
D - Turkey gravy w/ hash browns and garlic toast

Thursday
B - Oatmeal cookies
L - Sandwiches/soup cups
D- pork shoulder, creamy potatoes, and green beans

Friday
B- Cereal w/ fruit
L- Macaroni and cheese w/ chili
D- Creamy garlic chicken w/ rice

Saturday
B- sprinkle pancakes
L- Leftovers used up
D- Tamales

Why I plan.....
Who isn't busy?!?!  Kids schedules, schoolwork, work, WOW!!  Life just does not stop!

When I create a menu, I include our schedule on it also.  In fact, I type the schedule into the table that I created first.  Then I know what is going on that day, and I can plan crockpot meals or even know if I need to have a make-ahead meal ready.  I do not use a fancy downloadable calendar, I simply use Microsoft Word.  I have a table I created on there.  At the bottom, I keep a running list of menu items that either I want them to try or food that is loved by all.

Hope everyone has a great week!!  See everyone next Monday!

Accelerated Individualized Mastery (AIM) for Addition and Subtraction Program - Math U See Review

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.

Math can be a tricky subject for students with learning disabilities. We recently had the opportunity to review the Accelerated Individualized Mastery (AIM) for Addition and Subtraction program from Math-U-See. What a great way to give that extra practice that students need to have a firm foundation for their math skills.

The Accelerated Individualized Mastery (AIM) program takes the time-tested Math-U-See strategies and combines them along with visual manipulatives (blocks) to help students to excel in learning single digit addition and subtraction problems. Students who do not master these problems at a young age can and will struggle with their future math levels.

Included in the AIM program kit that you receive are Math-U-See integer blocks, Math-U-See colored pencils, the Accelerated Individualized Mastery Resource Guide (teachers guide), 12-month Digital content code, fact check flashcards, and math facts strategy posters.  

Unlike the traditional Math-U-See, there is not a DVD.  The 12 month digital code gives your student online access to their class.  They can watch each lesson, and re-watch whatever they are struggling with.  I did have PDFs that I printed.  These were located in the online area of her login.  They were easy to download and print out for the week.  This made my planning easy.  I simply just stapled her packet together for that week and marked them for her to find easily.

Even though you do have the lesson taught online, there is a thorough explanation for each lesson in the Resource Guide.  This allows parents to not only plan what the student will be covering, but also gives them the ability to answer questions.

There are twenty-two lessons in the AIM program. The length of the lesson really depends on the student. Each lesson tackles a new number that needs to be learned.  The next lesson continues to reinforce concepts from the previous lesson. Thus just continuing the building of confidence in each student. 

The AIM program is very visual (like most Math-U-See levels).  Flashcards are made of a thicker card stock and can be used repeatedly.  They display the problems that the student is working on in each lesson.  They really help students to visualize the how and why of a problem and the solution.

The problems are easy to understand and not overwhelming for students that may already be struggling with learning disabilities.

Caty has struggled with math her whole life.  The AIM program has helped her really grasp some of those hard to remember addition/subtraction facts where she has been struggling.  During our review period, we took a step back from her regular math and concentrated on concreting these facts into her memory.  She worked hard and managed to now move up to reviewing her multiplication/division facts.  

The AIM program really helped her gain confidence and move up to the next level.  Each day her lessons only lasted roughly 15-20 minutes, so not an overwhelming time. Very manageable for someone with ADD and other learning disabilities.

The Accelerated Individualized Mastery (AIM) for Addition and Subtraction program can be used with students from ages 8-16, and with any learning style.

Click on the link below to see how other members of the Homeschool Review Crew used the Accelerated Individualized Mastery (AIM) for Addition and Subtraction program from Math-U-See.  See how they used this in their home and the benefits they have seen.