Running for President in The Presidential Game

We love games!  They are a wonderful way to get in some family time.  If you were to come to our house, you might possibly notice that we have a whole 3 tiered shelving unit solely dedicated to games.  We like action games, card games, board games and last but certainly not least, educational games!

Recently we were given the opportunity to review a game called The Presidential Game.  The Presidential Game

I thought it would fit in nicely with our study of the states and presidents this year.

The Presidential Game is really neat, it is fun and it gives the kids a really good understanding of how the election process works.  It is a strategy type of game that teaches kids (and lets face it, adults too!), exactly how those electoral votes work.  The object of the game is to get to 270 electoral votes to take the win, well the Presidency.

All of the kids, ages 5-12, have played this with me, but it is suggested for ages 11 and up. 

At the start of the game you decide how many weeks until the election, the amount of weeks you choose are actually the amount of rounds you play the game.  You split into two teams, Republicans and Democrats - this actually opened up a great discussion of what each party stands for.

There is also an optional WebMap Calculator that is available online to use during the game.  This calculator is a map that calculates the electoral votes each party has, as well as who is leading in the state or if it is still neutral.  The WebMap was a great visual for the kids, and it really added to the fun factor.  I thought that the WebMap was also a great way to help with keeping score.

This is the WebMap Calculator that can be used online.

To get started you pick teams, ,roll and the high rolling team goes first.  During each turn, the playing team can choose to campaign or fund-raise for their party.  Both of these choices include rolling the dice and placing votes, well chips, on various states.  For each turn your team rolls three dice, when you are campaigning the each one of the dice rolled end up being the amount of votes that you can place on three states of your choice. 

When you fund-raise, you can pick either Texas, California, New York or Florida.  You roll the dice and then you can use all or at least half of your total roll for votes in that state.  We seemed to be in constant battle of the state of California, because they have the most electoral votes.  One of the added benefits of fundraising is that you get to draw Politics Cards, depending on the card these can help or hurt you.  Here are two examples:

Wisconsin Teachers Union lays off 30% of it's employees. Your opponent adds 2 votes to Wisconsin.

Your opponent appears as a guest host on a popular late night comedy show and is very stiff and not very funny at all.  Pick up 5 votes to be used any way to like.

During each turn you have the opportunity to win the vote of different states, even those that are controlled by the opposing team.  We really enjoyed this part of the game, and we all became quite competitive too! The team controlling the state is the team that has the most votes, or coins on that state.  If you add votes to a state that an opponent "controls," each chip you place on that state knocks out one of their votes or chip.  So, if you have enough chips you can take the lead and control the state. 

After the allotted weeks, or turns are up, then all the teams each roll the dice to decide who wins the neutral states.  The team with the highest number of electoral votes wins the game, and takes the presidency.

Once you understand the game, and play a few rounds it is a lot of fun!  The kids and I all really enjoyed this, but they did mention that they preferred to play with about 15 weeks verses 30. 

You can purchase The Presidential Game online for $35.00.  It makes a great addition to any study on U.S. History, presidents, states or elections.  This game would also be an excellent choice for family game night.  My favorite games are the kind that are fun and have educational value, this game has both! 

Check out what other TOS Crew members have to say about The Presidential Game!

Notgrass American History {Review}

 

 

A few years ago a friend of mine mentioned the Notgrass Company's History Curriculum, America the Beautiful and how her kids really loved it.  After hearing her rave review, I knew that once my kids were old enough I wanted to check it out.

The America the Beautiful History Curriculum from the Notgrass Company was given to us to review for the TOS Crew.  Let me tell you what we were given to review and what we thought of them.  

 

America the Beautiful Parts 1 & 2

These two hardcover textbooks are the meat and potatoes of the curriculum.  They are beautifully bound hardcover books with pictures on most every page, some black & white and some color.

Part 1 takes you from 1000 to 1877, and Part 2 continues from the Late 1800's the Present.  Together they tell American history from a Biblical Worldview.  

I have to say, I am not usually a fan of textbooks, but these are pretty impressive.  

The books are set in chronological order and consist of 15 units each, making a total of 30 units.  There are several different types of lessons in the America the Beautiful books:

• Our American Story - These lessons are about the major events in the time period the unit is based on.
• God's Wonders - These lessons teach students about God's creation, like the Chesapeake Bay, Yellowstone and the great Mississippi River.  
• American Landmark - Here you learn about important sites in American history, like Plymouth, the Erie Canal and the Alamo.
• American Biography - This focuses on a particular person that lived during the time period being studied.  In these lessons you get to learn more about people like John Jay, President of the American Bible Society, George Washington and Robert E. Lee.
• Daily Life - These lessons give a glimpse into the day to day lives of the people of the time period.  In the unit on the Civil War, the daily Life lesson is called Two First Ladies.  Here we learn about Mary Todd Lincoln and Varina Howell Davis.

I liked the layout of the books.  I found them to be very informative and enjoyable.  I do however wish they were a little more on the conversational style that we are used to.  

If you have read some of my other reviews, you probably know that I love to learn from living books.  I think using only a textbook can quench a child's love for learning.  In saying that, I do feel that there is a time and a place for a textbook.  Currently, the kids and I are starting to read about the American Revolution.  We are learning a ton from biographies, chapter and picture books, but there were several things in the America the Beautiful that did not read about in our other books. 

   

After reading each lesson, there is a list of several activities, usually about 4-6, that include writing, vocabulary, timeline, map, and workbook assignments.  There are also Thinking Biblically assignments that have the students looking up scriputre to answer questions.  There are literature assignments from We the People and recommended living books, like Amos Fortune, Across Five Aprils and Little Town on the Prairie.  You or the student can pick one or several of the assignments to be completed for the day. 

They encourage family discussions about the days lesson.  The book also has family activities, like making an Iroquoian Longhouse, have a peaceful Boston Tea Party, and make a Liberty Bell Mosaic.  

The way that we have been using this, is that my 8th grader has been reading the lessons independently and doing some of the actitivies on her own.  

I have also found myself picking it up and reading it for fun.  Yes really, for fun.  I have also used it to better educate myself on the topics we are studying, so that I can casually pass the information along to my younger kids. 

We the People

This hardcover black & white book is a wonderful collection of writings from America's history, that include historical documents, poems, letters, songs, newspaper clippings and songs. 

One of the assignment suggestions is to read selections from the book that relate to the lessons topic. We like this book and find it to be a wonderful addition to the curriculum.

Maps of America the Beautiful

This workbook has maps that correlate with the lessons.  Students are given assignments to color and label the various maps. 

Timeline of America the Beautiful

Also in workbook form, this black & white timeline allows students to color and label the timeline as they work through history.  

 

America the Beautiful Student Workbook

This workbook includes fun word searches, matching, multiple choice questions and drawing assignment.  Probably best suited for children in 4th-6th grade.  

 

America the Beautiful Lesson Review 

Full of daily lesson and literature review questions to help parents measure children's comprehension of the material being studied.

My 8th grader and I have done several of these together orally.  

 

America the Beautiful Answer Key

You guessed it, this is where all the answers are {smile}.  This includes answers to the timeline, vocabulary, Student Workbook and Lesson Review questions.  

  

Over all, I really love this curriculum.  I know it will remain on my shelf for the duration of our homeschooling years.  It is excellent as a source of reference for American history. It also makes a well rounded American History curriculum for 5th-8th graders, that could be used independently for older students.  I also believe this would work wonderfully for multilevel teaching.

America the Beautiful is designed to be completed in one school year, working on it 5 days per week.  It would, however, be very simple to adjust the schedule to complete it in two years.  

I appreciate the flexibility America the Beautiful offers with the variety of student assignments,  and literature suggestions. They offer all the bells and whistles of a traditional textbook, but also have a unit study type feel to them.  This my friends is a keeper! 

You can purchase the America the Beautiful curriculum, for $99.95.

The Student Workbook and Lesson Review can be purchased separately.

Please see what other TOS Crew members have to say about Notgrass products including America the Beautiful and the Draw the Learn Bible Series. 

Timeline Builder

 

History is one of my favorite subjects to learn, ahem, I mean teach.  As a high school student history was the one class that I really enjoyed.  Unfortunately, it wasn't until I started homeschooling that history really came alive and clicked for me.  Prior to homeschooling, what I knew about history seemed fragmented and sloppy.

One thing that I think has really helped the kids and I to put things in perpective is having a timeline.  It allows one to stand back and look at the big picture.  Enter, Timeline Builder from Knowledge Quest, a user friendly App for history lovers of all ages!

 

 

 

Things we really liked about the Timeline Builder:

• We do already have a LARGE timeline on the wall in our school room, but I love that this one can be seated right next to me wherever I am.  Like when the kids and I are snuggled on the couch reading a good historical fiction and we want to add some thing we learned to the timeline or look something up.

 

• Timeline Builder is very user friendly, for moms and kids! This App has instructions that explain how to get the most out of your timeline.  I felt that the timelines were easy to create, change and add to. 

 

• When adding a new timeline event or figure you can connect to Wikipedia to add facts and pictures.  I must say this is quite an awesome feature!

 

• I like that you can create several different timelines.  You could have one for American history, Ancient history, your state's history, composers, scientists or even your family tree!  Endless possibilities!  The kids can also personalize their timeline a bit by choosing their own background.

 

• Fun!  The Timeline Builder is actually really fun to work with.  The kids and I both enjoy using it. We like that you can be creative and design your own timelines.  Kids love to move the pictures around to arrange their timelines.

 

What I felt could be improved:

• While this is not a huge deal, I would like to be able to create a timeline from creation to present that we could scroll through.  This doesn't seem to be possible due to the fact that each timeline is a as big as one iPad page.  Not a deal breaker by any means, just a feature I wish they had.

Here is a great video of the Timeline Builder in action....

 

The Timeline Builder is one of our favorite products that we have reviewed.  We will continue to use it for years to come!

You can purchase your own Timeline Builder through the App store.  Normally it is $6.99, but it is currently on sale for $4.99.

 

 

You can see what others on the Schoolhouse Review Crew have to say about the Timeline Builder over at the SRC site.

 

 

Dayspring Christian Academy - The Pilgrim Story

 

 

For history this year we have been focusing on early American history.   I have been excited and blessed to be able to teach my children the heritage of our nation from a biblical point of view. 

To go along with out studies, we requested to review The Pilgrim Story from Dayspring Christian Academy.  Dayspring Christian Academy is a Principle Approach School, based in Pennsylvania, whose goal is to teach according to biblical principles for the purpose of America being the restored to it's original heritage.  Their belief is that...

By educating ourselves and our children in the biblical principles that formed our nation and affect every aspect of our lives, we will once again see America as “one nation, under God.” 

Dayspring Christian Academy recently launched an online, self paced, interactive class called The Pilgrim Story.  This class is offered as a six month online subscription, geared towards children in grades 3-6.  The Pilgrim Story teaches children about the foundation of our great nation.  With this course, children learn the true history of the Pilgrims from a providential point of view. 

 

The Pilgrim Story offers 17 lessons.  Some of the lessons included are:

King Henry
Geneva Bible
Liberty of Conscience
Leaving Leiden
Conditions on the Mayflower
Building Christian Character
The Mayflower Compact
plus many more

The Pilgrim Story's online video lessons, which are in the form of interactive, narrated, slide shows, can last anywhere from about 30-45 minutes to complete.  In addition to the video lessons, there are many activities to go along with each unit.  There are crafts, map making, application, vocabulary words, live action and a virtual field trip to Plymouth, MA at the end of the course.

We are enjoying The Pilgrim Story.  The lessons are engaging and enjoyable for the children.  For mom, I am glad to rest easy that the history lessons that they are getting are truthful and biblically sound.  We also like that there are book suggestions at the end of the units. 

The Pilgrim Story has the children putting together a notebook for their note sheets, activity and vocab papers and any other worksheets that they complete. 

The Pilgrim Story is currently available for $99.  Your purchase includes full access, at anytime, for six full months. Access to the course begins about 48 hours after your purchase.

We look forward to continuing to use The Pilgrim Story along with our current history studies.

 

Please take a peek at other reviews from TOS Crew members!
Disclaimer: We received a six month subscription to The Pilgrim Story at no charge in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Marshall Publishing

 

 

I love it when we get the opportunity to review a product from a company we already know we love!  A while back we reviewed, and loved, the Lots and Lots of Firetrucks video from Marshall Publishing. 

This time we were given the chance to review one of 4 videos that Marshall Publishing offers.  We could choose from.....

• The Historic Expedition of Lewis and Clark – We Proceed On
• The History of America in the 1880′s – A Decade of Progress
• The History of the Oregon Trail & The Pony Express
• Lots & Lots of Penguins and their Happy Feet – 2 DVD Set

They all sounded good so I took a vote.  The History of the Oregon Trail & The Pony Express won!  The kids all seemed to have an interest in learning about the Pony Express.  This year we are focusing on early American history so I knew this video would fit perfectly into our studies. 

 

 

 

We enjoyed watching The History of the Oregon Trail portion of the video, which was about 35 minutes long.  It really explained the reasons why so many people risked their lives to take the 2,000 mile trip across the country on the Oregon Trail.  Seeing the trail, covered wagons and illustrations were very helpful in visualizing what it was really like to take this massive journey.   We learned a little about steam boats, the prairie, and wagon trains.  We also learned about the beautiful landscape that they encountered on their journey.   

Our favorite part of the video was the part about The Pony Express, which is about 16 minutes long.  It was neat to see how the Pony Express started, how it worked and how it paved the way for US Postal Service.  The boys, of course, liked watching the cowboys race across the prairie to deliver the mail.  Until watching this video I did not realize that The Pony Express was an independently run company, I always thought it was run by the government.  Nor did I know that it lasted such a short time and went bankrupt!  I really loved hearing the oath that the Pony Express riders took!

 

Lots and lots of interesting information on this video.  The History of Oregon Trail & The Pony would be a great addition to any early American History study. This video would be most helpful for audio and visual learners. 

 

The History of the Oregon Trail & The Pony Express video is currently available for $19.95.  You can use the COUPON CODE - TOS27 to receive FREE SHIPPING! 

 

 

Check out what others on the TOS Crew have to say about Marshall Publishing Videos!

 

Disclaimer: We were given this video free of charge is exchange for a honest review.

Heroines of the Past Bible Study by Amy Puetz {Review}

 

 

 

One of my very favorite things that we have reviewed this year with the TOS Crew has been the Heroines of the Past Bible Study from Golden Prairie Press. 

Golden Prairie Press is owned and operated by Amy Puetz, a homeschool graduate with a passion for God and for history.

 

Amy offers several different studies that look amazing, but we finally settled on Heroines of the Past.  This study included my two favorite subjects, Bible and history!

 

 

Heroines of the Past is a 13 week long study about real women from the past that showed real virtue in their lives.   The stories we read were powerful and the Bible study portions were pretty meaty.  I was very impressed!

Each study starts off with a story of a girl or women.  For instance in the story "Living and Dying for Jesus," we read about a young slave girl named Blandina and her Mistress.  We read about the Mistress, how she shared her faith in Jesus and how Blandina came to know the Lord. 

After the story we started a new memory verse for the week (Hebrews 11:1) and then answered a few discussion questions.  We read and discussed several scriptures, including the Parable of the Sower. 

Through out this study we got to read stories from the lives of women like Mary Slesslor (missionary), Katherine von Bora (Martin Luther's wife), A Brave Little Girl and many others.  The stories that we read displayed acts of courage, faith, compassion, gentleness, mercy, and love.  I felt that the stories included were great examples for my children, especially my girls. 

You can view sample pages and the table of contents for Heroines of the Past here.

We really are enjoying this study and I plan to continue using it.  I think it would be a great study for Bible or history or both! 

My first thought was that this study was going to be too girlie for my boys.  For the record, my boys really enjoyed the stories, especailly the one with a knight in it!  When we worked on memorizing Proverbs 31:10 (Who can find a virtuous women, for her price is far above rubies) my initial thought was to give the boys something else to memorize but the Lord led me to have them memorize it too.  My boys may not need to learn how to be a virtuous woman, but they are going to need to know what one looks like!  So, in other words, boys can definitely join in this study too.

As I mentioned, Amy offers several different studies to choose from:

• Heroines of the Past (this is the one we did)
• Ten Girls From History
• Costumes With Character
• Uncover Exciting History

These studies are available in Print or Ebook format and they range in price from $14.95 - $27.00.  Currently on sale for 20% off! The sale price of Heroines of the Past is currently $21.60.

I highly recommend this study, especially for young ladies in training to be Virtuous Women. 

Please check out what other bloggers from the TOS Crew have to say about studies from Golden Prairie Press.

 

 

Disclaimer: We received this product at no charge to us in exchange for an honest review.

Thomas Jefferson Education {TOS Crew Review}

We received a subscription to This Week in History, from A Thomas Jefferson Education, to review for the TOS Crew.  This Week in History was created by Rachel DeMille to inspire children to learn and explore thru history!

Our subscription gives us a weekly email that shares tons of information about what has happened on that particular day in history {This information can also be found via their website, with a paid subscription}. 

This Week in History is filled with daily facts, math, science, language skills, current events, geography and arts, all of this being tied to history. 

For instance, with This Week in History we learned about The Leaning Tower of Pisa.  Here are some of the suggested activities and things we learned:

Facts about the Tower of Pisa:
I never knew that the Tower of Pisa was a bell tower!
Did you know it took over 200 years to construct the Tower of Pisa?

Hands on Activities:
Make a tower out of Legos, Lincoln Logs, blocks, pancakes, or what ever you have.  Then answer these questions -

• How tall can you make it before it falls?
• Why does it fall?
• Does it lean? Why or why not?
• Do you have materials that are less inclined to fall or lean? Why are they different?
• Can you make a 3-D model of the Campanile of Pisa?

Ideas for writing or discussion:

• Do you know of other campaniles? Are there any examples in your community or somewhere not too far away?
• What is the purpose of a campanile?
• Does your home have some system for calling the family together?  (in our house, Mom whistles!)
• Does your community have a system for calling people together for important events or circumstances?
• Ask an elderly friend or family member if they have memories of bells, sirens, horns or other sounds in their community, and what those meant for them.
• Is there a landmark in your area – some building, mountain or other feature – that is especially memorable or iconic?
• What is the history of your local icon?
• What is a cathedral?
• Is there a cathedral near your home?

We also learned about the State of Missouri, Annie Oakley, Silly Putty, Tim Tebow, T- Rex Sue and Meteor Showers {and this isn't even the complete list!}

This Week in History is jam packed with facts, learning activities, links, and pictures.  I thought that this was a great starting point to get kids interested in something that they could further study if they wanted to. 

You can view a sample week here!

The goals of This Week in History are to:

• relieve fear, stress and burnout
• energizes your kidschool
• fill in the gaps
• cultivate cultural literacy
• facilitate state or provincial compliance
• correlate resources for co-ops, classrooms and family learning
• harness the power of technology in a classical leadership education
• harmonize with Unschooling, Charlotte Mason, Montessori, Trivium/Quadrivium, IEW, eclectic, etc.
• deliver new ideas and areas of learning to you and your child
• instigate discussions and projects that expand wisdom and understanding
• connect the subject areas–from music to math, from geography to world religions, from hobbies to science projects, etc.
• motivate you and your students to greater excellence
• deliver Face to Face with Greatness
• empower you to mentor your students in the classics
• enliven the 7 Keys of Great Teaching
• activate Phases of Learning

This Week in History is available for $9.99 per month.

Check out what others on the TOS Crew have to say about Thomas Jefferson Education!

Disclaimer: As a member of the TOS Crew, I received this product, at no cost to me, in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are mine.

TOS Crew: Heritage History

Heritage History is a homeschool curriculum company based on classical children's history books.  This company strives to produce the easiest, least expensive and most enjoyable way to learn traditional history.  They focus on living books instead of textbooks -which we love!

Here is how The Heritage History company explains the approach that they take to teaching history (from their website):

•Takes a Living Books rather than a textbook approach to history—students read a variety of engaging biographies and historical sketches rather than one comprehensive text.

•Is based on national histories rather than epochal histories—students study one civilization at a time, rather than contrasting contemporaneous civilizations.

•Is narrative rather than analytical—students are introduced to the great characters and events of history without being required to make comparisons or draw conclusions.

•Focuses on studying the most important periods of Western Civilization in depth, rather than touching lightly upon dozens of unrelated cultures.

•Explicitly encourages students to pursue historical topics of personal interest in addition to making selections from directed reading lists

Three books in one!!

With history being one of our favorite subjects, I was very excited to be able to pick one of Heritage History's Classical History Curriculum CD's.  Our choices were:

• Young Readers - includes easy-to-read, introductory selections from many historical periods and provides a broad introduction to Western Culture suitable for grammar school age students. Specially featured are short stories from American, European, Ancient, and Biblical history.
• Ancient Greece - covers Greek history from the earliest days of myth and legend, through the Golden age of Athens, to the Greco-Roman Era. Of special interest to older students is a selection of simplified classics based on the works of renowned poets, historians and playwrights.
• Ancient Rome - includes romantic stories for students of all abilities, from legends of early Roman heroes that fascinate youngsters to stories of political turmoil in the imperial era that provide food for thought to older students. Stories from Gothic, Carthaginian, and Byzantine history are also included.
• British Middle Ages - features books that cover the 5th through 17th centuries in Europe and the British Isles. Topics include barbarian invasions, Christian conversion, feudalism, medieval war-craft, church-state conflicts, and the Reformation, all covered with a special focus on British history.
• British Empire - focuses on 18th and 19th century world history, with a special emphasis on colonial development. Stories that highlight scientific discovery, exploration, invention and industry are featured, along with those that cover regional histories of Ireland, Canada, British Africa, India, and East Asia.

I felt that Young Readers was the best choice for our crew, it was well rounded and fit the age of our children pretty well (3,5,8 and 11).  Along with a Teacher's Guide, there were 86 stories included.  The stories included Joan of Arc, American History Stories, Vikings Tales, Napoleon, Nursery Book of Bible Stories and Aesop's Fables. 

I liked that the Young Readers Curriculum had a such a wide variety of stories that we could choose from no matter what time period we were currently focusing on.  The stories included are exciting, interesting and very informative! 

I believe that the variety of this particular CD makes it a very useful resource that we can use over and over through the years.

I found the Teacher's Guide that was included on the CD to be very helpful.

The Curriculum CD's allow the user to view the stories as a PDF file, which is what I did right on my computer, as well as EPUB and MOBI files for e-readers.

Heritage History Curriculum can be used as a stand alone history curriculum or as an additional resource to whatever you are currently using.  They even have a section on their website that explains how you can use it along with another curriulum like Tapestry of Grace or Ambleside Online.  

If you are interested in purchasing any of the Heritage History Curriculum CD's now would be a great time to do so!  They are currently having a Buy 2 Get 1 FREE Spring Sale!  Each of the Curriculum CD's are $24.99.

Check out what other members of the TOS Crew are saying about Heritage History!


Disclaimer: As a member of the TOS Crew, I received this product, at no cost to me, in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are mine.

TOS Crew: TruthQuest History

We were blessed with another great product from the TOS Crew.  We received TrustQuest History - Middle Ages (500-1400), written by Michelle Miller to review.

TruthQuest History is a literature based history guide.  This guide was a little different then I was used to.  I am used to having my lessons planned out, with do this today and that tomorrow.  TruthQuest History is not written in this format, but in a manner that gives complete flexability to the homeschool mama. 

After first glancing at the Middle Ages manual that we received, I wasn't quite sure I was going to like it, because it wasn't all planned out for me.  To my pleasant surprise, it ened up being one of the very things that I liked best about TruthQuest History.  With out having a plan layed out before me, I had the freedom to do my own thing.  I ended up really liking this.    I didn't feel obligated to things we weren't interested in. 

Another goody about the TruthQuest History guides are the wonderful booklist lists.  What Homeschool Mom doesn't like book lists, right?  All I could say is W.O.W!!!  The booklists are great!  With the book lists in place, all the hard work has already been done for me.  FYI: I did not in any way feel like, "Oh, no!  I have to read all of these books." It was more like "Oh, boy!  Look at all these great books I get to CHOOSE from!"   I liked taht this is a pick and choose curriculum.

I appreciated the introduction that the author gives for each new topic and that it is in a conversational tone.  The authors style of writing is very engaging and not at all boring.  It was nice to have a launching pad to send us off from.  It gave us a clue about what we are going to be studying and possibly how in depth we wanted to dig on a particular subject. 

The TruthQuest History Guides, in my opinion, are geared towards students in grades K-12.  The books listed each have the reader's suggested age listed.  I thought there was a pretty good mix of books at each grade level.  I am, however, not quite sure that I would purchase this history guide for a child in 2 grade or under but would definilty include them if there was an older sibling.  If I only had younger chidlren I would consider the American History Guides for Younger Students.

While there are writing exercises and a few activities included in this guide, I really wish there had been more hands on project suggestions. 

If you are looking for a history guide that is God centered and gives you the freedom to run your own show then TruthQuest would be a very good fit for you.  If you are used to having everything laid out for you day by day, this might take a little getting used to but I don't think it would disapoint you.  It didn't me. 

There are several TruthQuest History Guides available for purchase, ranging in price from $18.00 - $34.95 (available in PDF or Spiral Bound Book):

• American History for Younger Students I
• American History for Younger Students II
• American History for Younger Students III
• Beginnings
• Ancient Greece
• Ancient Rome
• Middle Ages
• Renesance, Reformation, Exploration
• Age of Revolution I
• Age of Revolution II
• Age of Revolution III

I am sure I am not the only Crew Member that loved TruthQuest History!  Check out what other members are saying here.

Disclaimer: As a member of the TOS Crew, I received this product, at no cost to me, in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are mine.

Mystery of History Review

History is one of my favorite subjects, always has been.  I can vividly remember sitting in history class listening to my teacher tell us stories of people and places from long ago.  I always liked to listen to the stories being told verses reading them out of a stuffy old textbook. 

When I became a homeschooler I started of with stuffy old textbooks for history because that is what I knew.  I eventually graduated to living books and only used textbooks when I had too.  I had heard many great things about The Mystery of History  but thought it was just another, say it with me, stuffy old textbook.  Once we received Mystery of History Vol.1: Creation to Resurrection and dug in I realized how wrong I was. 

 

It is a textbook, I guess, but it has such a different tone to it that I hesitate to call it a textbook.  The Mystery of History author Linda Hobar has way of presenting history in a way that you feel like you are reading a great book or that someone is telling you a story.  We loved this about Mystery of History.  It was not stuffy and boring but fun, interesting and quite refreshing! 

 

Let me tell you some of the things that we enjoyed about Mystery of History:

• Like I said, we liked the story form of the book.  The content is interesting and holds our attention. 
• Love, LOVE the strong biblical base of this book!  Mystery of History is definitely taught from a biblical world view.  Biblical men, women and events such as Adam & Eve, David, Noah, Ruth & Naomi and The Tower of Babel are included.
• I like to teach as many subject together as I can with my children, even though they are in different grades.  MOH allows me to do just that. The reading is geared toward kids in K-8 grades and each lesson has activities that are appropriate for younger, middle and older students. 
• Mystery of History is chronological.  They recommend doing a time line as a visual. 
• We like that it is hands on.  MOH recommend that the kids make memory cards (index cards) for drilling purposes and games.
• Not that anything else is needed, but I really liked that Linda gives ideas for extra books and videos to dig a little deeper in each lesson. 
• The Mystery of History Folderbooks are amazing, they make great lapbooks!

Mystery of History is a very well put together curriculum that can stand alone or be used as a wonderful history resource.  Bright Idea Press has all 3 of the Mystery of History volumes available as well as folderbooks, craft packs, notebook pages, cds and coloring pages to compliment your Mystery of History Curriculum. 

 

Mystery of History Vol. I - Creation to Resurrection, $49.95
Mystery of History Vol. II - Early Church and Middle Ages, $49.95
Mystery of History Vol. III - Student Reader, $59.95

 

If you are interested in purchasing any of the Mystery of History curriculum please Click Here

 

Please be advised that we were given Mystery of History Vol. I and MOH Folderbooks Vol. I Quarter 1 at no charge for review purposes only.  The opinions expressed here are mine and I was not influenced by the company or the free product. 
I am an affiliate of Bright Ideas Press, because I love their products.  If purchase thru one of my links I will make a small percentage from your sale.

TOS Crew: Yesterday's Classics

We love to read here in the LSG house.  I think I have even said a time or two that I am a collector of books : ) I love to have great books available for our reading pleasure or for topics we are studying.  So, when I was asked if we wanted to review Yesterday's Classics for the TOS Crew, my answer was "You bet we do!"

Yesterday's Classics is a company that republishes classic literature for children.  They have taken books from the golden age of children's literature, 1880-1920, and republished them into easy to read paperback and e-book formats.   Many of the books that they have republished were otherwise out of print.  Children's literature from this time period is generally wholesome, educational and very enjoyable. These stories are like little lost treasures that have been found!

Yesterday's Classics offer a large variety of books, 225 different books to be exact.  Topics include:

• History Books - from different time periods, such as Ancient Civilization, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, and the Middle Ages, and American History
• Poems
• Literature
• Faith and Bible Stories
• Fables and Fairy Tales
• Nature Studies
• Hero Tales
• Children from Around the World

We were blessed with all 225 Titles from Yesterday's Classics in the ebook format to review. (You can see the complete list of titles available on Yesterday's Classics website)  While we were not able to read and view them all, here are some of our favorites:

READING-LITERATURE: The Primer 
by Harriette Taylor Treadwell
This reading primer includes classic stories like The Little Red Hen, The Gingerbread Man and Chicken Little.  I love the fun and simplicity of these classic stories for the little ones. 

 

A Child's Own Book of Verse, Book One
by Ada Skinner
There are actually 3 volumes in this collection.  Each volume is filled with poems, lullaby's, rhymes and lyrics for the children to enjoy.  Wonderful for memory work!



 

The Natural History Story Book
by Ethel Talbot 
This is a fabulous collection of stories about some of the most interesting animals in the world.  Children will read about man's encounters with elephants, ostriches, ant eaters, wild boars and many more from the nineteenth century.

The Burgess Bird Book for Children
by Thorton Burgess
Here you will read about a variety of birds, as seen through the eyes of Peter Rabbit.  Learn about different birds, their nesting habits and food preferences. 
You will meet new friends such as Jenny Wren, Scrapper the King-bird, Redwing the Blackbird, and many more.


 

Saints and Heroes Since the Middle Ages
by George Hodges 
In Saints and Heroes you will read stories about great Christian men such as Calvin, Luther, Knox and Bunyan.  We will be studying the Middle Ages next year and I am looking forward to getting in this book more.

 




If you have have ever tried to build a home library with good children's literature, then you are well aware that it is not cheap to do so. Tracking down great books at bargin prices (online, yard sales and book sales) is not always an easy task, either.  From May 1st to May 31st Yesterday’s Classics is offering the 225 Book Collection in either Kindle and EPUB format for the sale price of $99.95.

I think it is a great deal to purchase the whole collection for several reasons:

• The price is phenomenal!!  If you purchase all 225 books for $99.95, that is like $.44 per book! 
• You will have a wonderful selection of books, mostly living books, that are great for independent reading, read a louds, memory work, and studies in history and science.
• I love that they are in e-book format.  Not sure about you, but if I were to purchase 225 paperback books I would have to go but a new bookcase or two!  I like how the e-book version take up now space in my home. 

If you would like to order Yesterday's Classics 225 Titles you may purchase them on sale, here.

You can also read what other TOS Crew Members have to say about Yesterday's Classics.


Please note that we received the 225 Ebook Collection from Yesterday's Classics at no charge, for review purposes only.  The opinions expressed here are mine, and I was not influenced by the company or the free product.

(Please excuse the spacing on my post, Blogger is acting up and after 30+ minutes of trying to fix it I threw in the towel.0

TOS Crew: Roman Town

We were given Roman Town by Dig-It Games to review for the TOS Crew.  So far, my kids are diggin' it!  They want to play and play and play some more!

Roman Town is fantastic educational game that teaches kids about archeology and history in a very hands on kinda way. The kids get to "be" archaeologists and have their very own digging team to explore the ancient Roman Town of Fossura (of course they LOVED THIS!). Once an ancient artifact is found the kids get to learn more about it through games, puzzles and fun, educational facts.  Along the way the kids also get to learn from and interact with children that lived in Fossura.

The Roman Town game offers 6 levels of play, so there is lots to do and discover. The game is geared toward students in 5th-8th grad,e but my 4 year old, and 2nd grader enjoyed playing as well (they did need a little bit of help from mom). My 5th grader really enjoys playing and it definitely holds her interest for quite a while.

This is a picture of our diggers.  The kids get to pick the tools that they use to do their digging. 

Once your workers think they have found something, you get to go over to finish excavating.   The kids really liked this little feature.

Here are some of the artifacts that were found.  Now, the kids get to see if they all fit together.  The puzzles and games were favorites for everyone, even mom!

These are the helpful children that live in Fossura.  The kids get to play games with them and learn lots of facts from them.

This is a fill in the blank report that the children can do to show what they have learned. 

We really enjoyed playing Roman Town, it was great to have fun and learn all at the same time!  Roman Town would go along great with any study on Rome and Ancient Civilization, we will continue to use this again and again. 

If you would like to have your own copy of Roman Town, it will be on sale from now until February 21st for only $19.96.   To get the sale price please use the coupon code TOS2011.  The regular price after the sale is $39.95. 

Please check out what others on the TOS Crew thought about Roman Town.

We received the Roman Town game at no charge for review purposes only.  The opinions expressed here are my own and were not influenced by the free product.