CTC Online Math Curriculum Review

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.

I will be honest, I am spread very thin teaching two kids at different learning and grade levels.  I was grateful to get the opportunity to review the CTCMath Online  math program from CTCMath for the girls.  It has helped me out so much already these last few weeks.

CTCMath is an online math program that provides extra help for students who may be struggling in various areas of math.  It offers video instruction which can be repeated as many times as the student needs.  Each lesson includes quizzes to reinforce and provide practice in the skills that your student needs extra help in.  You could use it as a standalone curriculum/teaching program or as supplemental to help reinforce skills your student may be struggling with.

CTCMath allows students to work at a pace that encourages them to master a skill, not just learn it.  The videos are short and yet are full of information which helps those with short attention spans. They give several examples of how to complete the problems, and allows students to really understand it.  If they are struggling still, they can easily re-watch the video.

CTCMath provides 

• Almost 1,400 math videos and interactive lessons
• 57,000 interactive questions
• Diagnostic tests
• Instant feedback for both parents and students
• Help with higher level math such as algebra, trigonometry and calculus
• Math lessons are available for students in levels from kindergarten through high school

We have been using the CTCMath online math membership for the last few weeks with the girls as their full math curriculum.  We have been working on fractions, review multiplication and division also.

The girls like the short length of the lessons.  If they do not understand the steps being taught, they can easily watch the video again and work at the skill they need to master.  

The lessons start out with the video and then there are usually ten questions that students need to answer.  They get immediate feedback.

But at the end of the lesson, you can also see a summary of all the problems they completed and the student can look at the problems they missed so they can work on what they answered wrong.

One of my favorite things about CTCMath.  The simple videos.  My kids like playing math games online.  But sometimes the flashier the program, the less they learn.  There is just too much distraction for their ADD brains.  The videos on CTCMath are simple and to the point.  They give a great explanation with several working examples.  If they need to, they can easily watch them again.  These videos save me an extraordinarily large amount of time in dealing with math instruction.  

This video from the CTC Math Youtube site, will give you a thorough explanation and shows how the individual lessons work.

Along with the student account, CTCMath Family Membership also gives parents a login.  They can use this login to not only track their student's grades, but parents can also assign out the lessons for their students.  The lessons are not laid out in order for students.  You can login and see all the lessons for each specific grade level or skill type.  Parents though can assign lessons to be completed on specific days.  You can assign out for several weeks, and also make sure that each assignment has a due date.  This is then tracked in a report that is sent to your registered email.  So you can track what lessons your student is completing on time.  

The girls have been enjoying the ease of lessons.  I like that I can adjust Caty's learning levels on various math topics.  For example she was struggling with fractions, and needed to take a couple steps back.  We discovered an area where she successfully hid that she was struggling.  I was able to easily adjust her assigned lessons, and re-assign a younger grade level on the same topic.  A "light bulb went off" and she suddenly realized that she did understand the problems!!  CTCMath online math membership is very adjustable for kids with special needs and those with learning disabilities.

I plan on continuing to use CTCMath online math subscription   as a stand alone curriculum for Caty this upcoming school year.  Lydia will also continue to use, but as a supplement for her math program, to help her master skills with extra work and video explanations.  

Several members of the Homeschool Review Crew were given the opportunity to review the CTCMath online math membership  from CTCMath.  Click on the link below to read what they felt about this program.

 

Renita

Homeschool In The Woods - Project Passport World History Studies Ancient Greece Review

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.

 We recently had the opportunity to review Project Passport World History Studies: Ancient Greece  from Home School in the Woods.   I love creating my own unit study programs for our family.  Looking up books that are tailored to each of our children takes a lot of work, but I think they appreciate it when we sit down to do the work each week.  But there are some weeks where I just am out of time and energy.  Learning must still go on, and that is when I am grateful for pre-made unit studies. 

Project Passport World History Studies: Ancient Greece (Download $33.95 and CD $34.95) is a, 8 - 12 week unit study packed with hands-on project study on Ancient Greece.  It includes 25 passport stops as you and your students travel throughout this land and time period.  You will learn about religion, medicine, writing, education system, farming, Alexander the Great, and aspects everyday life.

Your students though are not just reading and filling out a lapbook.  Project Passport World History Studies: Ancient Greece provides exciting writing opportunities disguised as creating a newspaper.  Each stop takes you on fun-filled adventures.  Included also are informational reading, instructions on how to create a folder to collect all your information in.  The pieces are included and easily printed out and assembled.   

We received the downloadable materials, but Project Passport World History Studies: Ancient Greece is also available in a CD format.  The souvenir postcards have also been a huge hit.  Since we travel so much, we send out a lot of postcards.  The kids thought this was a great feature and looked forward to creating postcards to go along with our Story stops as we traveled through this time period.  There is even a really great timeline that students can add pictures to as they complete each stop.

Caty had recently finished her ancient world studies, and so I decided to use the Project Passport World History Studies: Ancient Greece as summer reinforcing materials.  

This unit study is extremely easy to use.  I felt a little overwhelmed when I first started opening the files.  But I quickly discovered how to print the files that we needed for each lesson.  I was also able to quickly adjust activities to make any of them interesting for Caty.  

In fact, each travel stop is laid out for parents.  You simply need to follow along with the activities suggested.  This is the part where Caty picks and chooses materials to go through.  So it could be used by parents or students who are working independently.

I generally print the stops, itineraries, newspapers, timeline materials, and extra projects.  To print this unit study, it does require a bit more ink and definitely paper.  I keep it all together in a 3 inch binder.  I use the itinerary pages to keep track of Caty should have completed each week.

Book lists and video suggestions are provided with each lesson.  These materials were easily gotten from the library, but I was also able to find other titles if our library didn't have the suggested titles.  These books though really were not necessary because each Passport Stop was packed full of information.  You could stretch this material out with a Passport Stop each week or do 2-3 stops a week, depending on in depth you want to study Ancient Greece with your family. 

This is such a perk when using Homeschool In The Woods products.  You can easily adjust to your child's abilities.  Caty has been working independently.  She chooses one activity to due with each Stop.  One day she might work on a post card, and she always writes out the newspaper articles for those readings.  She can read the materials independently.  She was able to complete 3 stops a week per her history schedule.  

We have used Home School in the Woods Project Passports in the past, and I absolutely love them and so do the children.  All the projects included are amazing.  That is what sets Home School in the Woods apart from other unit studies.  It's not just a lap book or a few pages to read.  You can fully immerse your whole family in a historic time period.   So it's great for multi-level teaching. Homeschool in the Woods provides the materials....and you just need to provide the costumes if you really want to make it come alive....lol.  Caty hasn't gotten to this project yet, but she's super excited to work on the Greek Pottery project.

Because We have such a love for the projects from Homeschool In The Woods, I already purchased the study of Ancient Rome and she'll be spending the rest of the summer on that before starting her study of the Middle Ages.

Several members of  the Homeschool Review Crew were given the opportunity to try out various products from Home School in the Woods.  Take a few moments to see how they used them in their homes and if they enjoyed the Passport stops as much as we did.  Visit the Homeschool Review Crew blog below.

 

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Renita

 

Smoking A Chicken in a Watermelon - Gluten/Dairy Allergen Friendly

Life is always crazy around our house.  Even during the pandemic, life for me did not slow down.  I just became busy in other ways, new ways that others needed help so I changed my direction and went where I could help.  We are still a homeschooling family, but with a sophomore and an 8th grader...well they are not into the cutesy hands-on projects anymore.  It's sad...I am still grieving as I see all the pictures of projects we have done through the years.  So I have come to the mind set that we will embrace and head in a new direction.  

Cooking like for many others during this time, took a few different directions.  I have severe allergies/sensitivities.  So eating can be a challenge for me.  Lydia has opted to go gluten free because she was having some intestinal issues.  Joey got very sick in April, and it appears he developed a gluten/dairy allergy.  Just to add to the mix, Caty is following a gluten/dairy free diet due to her PCOS.  I am very used to making adjustments to recipes that I do not mind, but for the kids...a whole other story.  So my brain is in overdrive every time they want something, how can I make this differently.

So I'm going to be adding our adventures in re-creating the more typical recipes into allergen friendly for our house.  Today was an adventure in smoking.

I first hollowed out two watermelons.  We use seedless.  Obviously enjoying a few days worth of watermelon in the process.  

Then I rinsed two whole chickens.  I created my own rub for the chicken:

My Chicken Rub:

2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp onion powder

2 tsp salt (we always use pink salt)

2 tsp sage

2 tsp thyme

2 tsp rosemary

In the meantime, we started the smoker and set it for 250 degrees.  The recipes we found on the web poured beer inside the chicken.  But that brings up a gluten allergy.  So I chose Angry Orchard since it's considered gluten free.

So pour the alcohol of your choice into the watermelon shell.  Be careful.  You do not want it overflowing.

Then I covered the chicken and alcohol up with the other half of the watermelon.  Put on the smoker for 5 hours, or until it reaches the internal temp of 165 F.  In the last hour I pull the top half off of the watermelon.  This last hour will then allow the chicken skin to brown/crisp up.

This recipe is so moist. The chicken will literally fall off the bone.

Be very careful about rind.  Make sure that you use a spatula to remove the watermelon.  You will also need to pour out the alcohol.  I found that setting the watermelon on the counter inside of a casserole dish is helpful.  Lift the chicken out onto a separate large plate

Everyone loved the flavor!!

Another note.....using a metal pan to hold the watermelon does make it much easier to remove from the smoker when it is done.

Enjoy....happy smoking!  I'll be back next week with more cooking fun.

Renita

EdAlive - Words Rock Online Review

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.

We recently had the opportunity to review Words Rock Online from EdAlive.  Caty has found the game style approach to vocabulary a definite relief from book work.

 

EdAlive is an Australian based online learning company that has received many educational awards for their work in creating excellent teaching games for students of all grade levels and ages. 

Words Rock Online (Ages 5 – 15 and beyond) adapts to student’s skills as they really get to dig into vocabulary. As they play these vocabulary-based games, they can earn achievements. It allows students to improve on their vocabulary to express their thoughts with clear and meaningful texts. With Words Rock Online, students are awarded with Agent cards for their achievements. This reward system encourages students to keep playing as the game continues to adjust to each individual student’s learning levels.

Words Rock Online covers:

· Spelling

· Grammar

· Punctuation

· Vocabulary

· Pre-literacy

Words Rock Online also adapts to student’s abilities.  As they play this vocabulary bases game, they also earn achievements.  It allows students to improve on their vocabulary to express their thoughts with clear and meaningful texts.  

Students can play vs. the computer or other students.

With Words Rock Online, students are awarded Agent cards for their achievements.  This reward system encourages students to continue as it continues to adjust to each individual student’s learning levels.

The games were created to help the students to learn through repetition and just being cute with pictures and activities that will draw their attention.

I can see an achievement report for Caty to make sure she is playing and working.

Students can mark questions as being too difficult.  This will allow the game to adjust to their abilities, and as they improve the questions will become more difficult again.

Words Rock Online was not created to be a sole curriculum for students, but to provide them extra practice and allow them "game" time away from textbooks.  So it is definitely meant as supplemental material.

Caty has been using this a few weeks now, and she has made some improvements in her sentence creation.  I am going to keep her "playing" this summer as we continue to work on her language arts delays.

 

EdAlive has created all of these programs to work through several different web browsers and computer and mobile devices.   Caty is able to play on her tablet through her browser.  No need to worry about downloading separate apps for each system that your child may use.

 

Click below to read the reviews from other members of the Homeschool Review Crew that had the opportunity to use Words Rock Online and other EdAlive programs in their homes over the past few weeks

 

Renita 

Winding Down the Year.....

Anyone else feel like this...

Renita

Funny Friday

I have been sooooo feeling this lately....

Funny Friday

Who else knows the feeling???

YWAM Publishing - Heroes of History - Benjamin Rush Review

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.

We recently had the opportunity to review the book and study guide for the Benjamin Rush - The Common Good - Heroes of History book from YWAM Publishing.  We also received the PDF Study Guide that went along with this title.  My history fan devoured this book!
I am a huge history fan, and I gradually have turned Caty into a history fan also.  We were very excited to get the opportunity to review the Benjamin Rush book in the Heroes of History series.  This series has been a fun way to learn more about history in the United States and around the world.  

The Heroes of History series from YWAM Publishing is a biography series written for upper elementary through high school students to that bring to life 29 different individuals from history.  These include historical figures like George Washington, Elizabeth Fry, Clara Barton, Milton Hershey, Orville Wright, John Smith, John Adams and so many more!

The series is written in a way that is not just reading facts about the historical figures life, but the child feels like they are reading an actual story.  
From the publisher, we received a paperback copy of the title - Benjamin Rush - The Common Good .  The chapter book is well printed, and sturdy.  Caty is not always the most gentle with her books.  She carries around her current books interests in a bag that gets dragged all over.  She falls asleep with the books while reading them also.  So for this book to still look as though we may have just received it, is saying a lot. 
We also received the PDF Study Guide - Benjamin Rush - The Common Good.  This easy to download file is packed full of extra information and activities to really bring the historical figure you are learning about to life.  Activities include chapter review reading comprehension questions, creative writing prompts, essay writing ideas for older students, ideas on how to bring the historical figure more to life in your classroom area, field trip ideas, vocabulary, art projects, and even printable maps. 

All of this material is easily presented in a way that you can use it with multiple learning styles.  One way we made an adjustment was for Caty and I to review her comprehension questions orally, instead of writing her answers.  She struggles big time with writing, so I knew that even though she knew the answers, she would not be able to put her thoughts on paper and would be frustrated.  We changed these to an oral review.  I would assign her chapters to read (which she didn't follow since she couldn't stop reading it...lol) and then I would review the comprehension questions from the study guide with her.  We worked on the printable maps together and she has been reviewing important events of the American Revolution.
We have had the opportunity to review other books from the Heroes of History series in the past, and I have always found them to be well-written and fun to read.  Several of them are available on audiobook also, so that makes it easier for students who struggle with reading disabilities and comprehension problems.   
The Heroes of History series really are great for students that have high comprehension levels (through both reading or listening), because they are packed full of life  experiences that are beyond just basic facts.

The Study Guides that you can purchase to go along with the stories are excellent for all ages and all learning styles.  They are packed full of ideas and activities that really help your student to experience history and bring it to life for them.  I love the fact that I can print the materials that I choose to print, thus saving paper.  I leave the PDF opened on my laptop and we just read it off the screen as we were working.

Several members of the Homeschool Review Crew were given the opportunity to review various titles from YWAM Publishing Heroes of History and the Christian Heroes series.  Click on the link below to read how they used this series in their homes and what they thought of it.

 

Renita

Happy Star Wars Day!

Do you have any fun plans today??  Star Wars science is a lot of fun.  There are some great resources.

Star Wars Trivia

Star Wars Learning Packs

Star Wars Ideas for all Subjects

Star Wars Day

The Kuehners