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Homeschool Curriculum Review: Learn Math Fast

April is curriculum review month on TheHappyHousewife.com. We want to help you find the best curriculum for your family by posting a curriculum review every day! You can find all the curriculum reviews here.

About six months ago, we did an in-depth curriculum review on a 1st-9th grade math curriculum called Learn Math Fast. They’ve recently released a 6th book in the series that covers applications of algebra including solving algebraic story problems commonly found on college prep tests. There are also hundreds of free printable worksheets available to anyone even if you haven’t purchases their math curriculum!

See the full curriculum review for Learn Math Fast here.

Spelling Power Review

by Toni Herrbach

by contributing writer Tabitha

Before finding Spelling Power, we really didn’t do spelling. When the kids misspelled a word, we corrected it. Sometimes, in whatever English book we were using that year, there would be a spelling segment for each chapter. Occasionally spelling was combined with vocabulary.

Here is our Spelling Power book. It has been well used over the years. We also have the resource CD with all the forms needed (or practice and testing sheets) in PDF format. Even without the CD-Rom, you have everything you need in the book to begin a great spelling program with your students. There is a quick start guide, placement tests, and the 5000 most frequently used words arranged in groups.

As it says on the cover, “15 minutes a day and this book are all you need to teach ages 8 to adult comprehensive spelling skills.” From the day I got this book to now, each of my children 8 and up have used this program. One has even graduated, meaning he has placed above what this book is meant to teach.

What I love about Spelling Power

Only 5 minutes of testing each day. This is not a time consuming program!
They only have to practice what they miss each day.
Words are grouped so students learn spelling rules.
Practice makes sense and applies to most learning styles.
Words are tested multiple times with review tests.
Lots of room for creativity in the 5 minute activity portion or making up sentences in the 5 minute paper practice.

Cons of Spelling Power

There is a temptation to go past 5 minutes. However, following the steps ensures that neither you, nor your child, gets burnt out by doing too many words. Even if it’s just 5 words, those 5 words are what you were able to do.
There is a temptation to skip steps. Make sure your students are truly learning by doing all 3 parts of the daily activities, and things will sink in.

Having used this book (and resource disk) with five of my children, ranging in age from 8 to 16, and varying in skills from the very first level to the very highest, I can honestly say this program has done wonders for my kids’ spelling. Some of my children are naturally good spellers. My 8 year old placed in the same spelling level as my 9 year old and my 14 year old and higher than my 12 year old. However, I can see the improvement every day in EACH of them and how their spelling skill have come along way over the years.

I definitely recommend this spelling program for any family, especially those with multiple grade levels. While the price might seem like a lot for a spelling book (and extras), it is the only spelling program you will ever need.

Visit the Spelling Power website for more information. You can purchase Spelling Power from ChristianBook.com.

I am in no way affiliated with Spelling Power, nor did I receive anything for this review. All opinions are my own.

Apologia Elementary Science Review

by Toni Herrbach

April is curriculum review month on TheHappyHousewife.com. We want to help you find the best curriculum for your family by posting a curriculum review every day! You can find all the curriculum reviews here.

We have been using Apologia Science curriculum for the past eight years. A few times I’ve tried other products but I always find myself going back to Apologia because simply put, I think they are the best.

This year we are going through Land Animals of the Sixth Day: Exploring Creation with Zoology 3 with my seven, nine, and eleven year old. The four year old sits in on lessons as well, but is not required to do any of the work.

Pros:

Biblical view of science
Great color photos
Easy to read aloud
Summaries at the end of each section to help kids remember what they learned
Notebook journal can be purchased separately
Detailed directions for experiments
Can be used for all elementary children
Inexpensive
Can be reused

Cons:

Biblical view of science
One topic for the whole year
Experiments need a lot of supplies
Might be a little too involved for kindergarten and too easy for 5th graders

This is our third Apologia elementary science book we’ve used over the past several years. When we started the notebooking journal and lab kit were not available, or at least I didn’t know they were available. The addition of these two products makes this science program significantly better.

One of my biggest complaints about this program years ago was that the experiments required random items that I never had in my house and I was always scrambling to find what we needed. With the lab kits they ship everything to you in a box and you are always ready for the experiment. The notebooking journal is great for kids would not be able to do all the writing on their own.

I love that this curriculum is written from a creation science perspective, with “creation confirmation” sections throughout the book. Scientific terms have pronunciations next to them when they are introduced which is very helpful for all of us who have government degrees.

There are map, experiments, and notebooking activities with each lesson. This is great for kids who need a little more action with their assignments. I’ve supplemented almost every lesson with coloring pages I found on the internet as well as youtube videos which my kids have enjoyed.

One downside I’ve found with this curriculum is that it can be overwhelming to young children who have trouble sitting still. I’ve solved this problem with coloring pages, but some of the sections are fairly long if you have a fidgety kid.

I’ve also heard people unsure about spending a whole year on one “type” of science. I thought this was a valid concern until we spent a year going through a basic science program that covered many different topics. I felt that my kids didn’t have a solid grasp of many of the concepts that year because we spent so little time on each section.

If you are a mom who doesn’t have a ton of time to prep I highly recommend the Zoology 3 Notebooking Journal and Apologia Zoology 3 Lab Kit. They make kits and journals for every book in the series and they make teacher prep significantly easier. It is worth the extra money in my opinion. The year we didn’t have the lab kit we only completed about half of the experiments. We’ve done almost every experiment this year with the kit.

The hardbound book is less than $30 making it a very inexpensive science curriculum that can be used for all your elementary kids and reused later on. I’ve loaned out these books and borrowed them from friends over the years to save money on curriculum.

If you are looking for a solid creation science program Apologia is my favorite curriculum. I’ve tried a few others, but I always go back to Apologia.

The Mystery of History – Curriculum Review

by Toni Herrbach

April is curriculum review month on TheHappyHousewife.com. We want to help you find the best curriculum for your family by posting a curriculum review every day! You can find all the curriculum reviews here.

The Mystery of History is a chronological, Christian, complete world history curriculum for all ages. There are currently 3 complete volumes with a 4th being developed. Each volume is a stand alone curriculum for all ages and all are written in a user-friendly format that includes pretests, quizzes, mapping, timeline, and age appropriate activities. The four volumes cover:

Volume I – Creation to the Resurrection
Volume II – The Early Church and the Middle Ages
Volume III – The Renaissance, Reformation, and Growth of Nations
Volume IV – Wars of Independence to Modern Times

Check out Joy and Contentment’s thorough curriculum review of The Mystery of History for more information.

Teaching Textbooks – Another Perspective

by Toni Herrbach

April is curriculum review month on TheHappyHousewife.com. We want to help you find the best curriculum for your family by posting a curriculum review every day! You can find all the curriculum reviews here.

by Linda Etherton

You may have already read Toni’s Teaching Textbook review and how she was unhappy with her daughter’s ACT math scores. But hopefully you also know that there is no curriculum that is right or wrong for every family and every student.

I’d like to give a a different perspective on Teaching Textbooks by sharing why I used it and how it worked out for us.

I used high school level Teaching Textbooks for two of my three students. I believe it was a good choice, but I chose it for both of them for completely different reasons. One really struggled with math and the other really excelled at it.

The Struggling Math Student

For one of my sons, math was that subject that we both dreaded, and over the years, math time often ended in tears. He did learn and grow in his math skills, but the curriculum also kept getting harder. By high school I knew he would not be majoring in anything in college that required much math, and I was tired of math being such a burden to us both.

It was in the middle of a school year that I switched him to Teaching Textbooks, and once I did we never looked back. Math didn’t suddenly become easy for him, but it became manageable. It didn’t cause so much frustration. He was able to follow the lessons and do the problems without it taking all day. He could work independently, and most of the time he used the discs to figure out the problems he got wrong.

I used Algebra 1 and 2 and Geometry with this student, and then he went on to community college math. He did have to take a non-credit remedial math class there (which really wasn’t helpful due to a bad teacher), but he did fine with the college algebra class he took the following semester. He will take a statistics class next year, and then be done with math.

The Excelling Math Student

Another son was just the opposite. He was always way ahead in math, and by seventh grade was ready for Algebra 1. Considering that he is also on the young end of his grade level, I wanted something that wasn’t over his head in terms of the word problems that were used. One program that I liked was actually written for college level, and I felt it would be overwhelming for this student.

I did have concerns about Teaching Textbooks not covering enough material or properly preparing him for standardized tests. However, I figured that at the pace he was going, we would have time to go over things again.

He is currently in 11th grade. Last year he finished the pre-calculus book, which is the highest level that Teaching Textbooks goes to. This year I had him spend time doing SAT preparation (including the Chalkdust SAT Math Review), and he enrolled at the local community college for this spring semester.

I was curious to see how he would do on the college’s math placement test. He had no problems, and the woman giving the test was surprised and asked if one of his parents was a math teacher. He placed into the calculus class, but we decided for several reasons to start him with pre-calculus. One reason was that I wanted to be sure he had gotten a good enough pre-calculus course before moving on. I need not have worried. He is easily getting an A in the class.

He has not yet taken the SAT, so I can’t say how well the curriculum prepared him for that. Plus, he did other math preparation anyway. I do know that some people say you need to complete the entire Teaching Textbooks program to get everything. We did that, and it worked for him.

I’m not sure I would recommend Teaching Textbooks for an average learner, but I can say that for us, it worked for the struggling math student and the student who excels and was ahead of schedule with math.

Linda Etherton is the managing editor here at The Happy Housewife. She also blogs about gluten-free living at The Gluten-Free Homemaker.

Steve Spangler Science Review

by Toni Herrbach

by contributing writer Colleen

I’ve homeschooled now for several years, and in that time I’ve found lots of great, good, and mediocre resources for teaching different subjects. Most I just use as a springboard to other ideas; a jumping off point. Some I use as a go-to anytime I need something hands-on to do with my kids.

Steve Spangler Science is one of my go-tos.

An author, teacher, toy-inventor, and science personality, Steve Spangler knows how to make science fun for kids. His blog features simple experiments, projects, and demonstrations that are easily done at home with readily-available materials. His books, like the one pictured above, are fun, and they engage kids right off the bat.

Are you a bit science-phobic?

The Steve Spangler store has science kits and supplies that make it easy for even the most reluctant homeschool mom to bring some hands-on fun into the school week. There are science toys and other great gift ideas organized by age, and easy-to-use examples of how to do the experiments he shares.

What I love best about Steve Spangler, his inventions, books, and blog, is that he loves science and wants to inspire that love in kids everywhere.

Encouraging kids to wonder and explore their world is important if we are to bring up a generation of lifelong learners and thinkers. This guy gets that.

Check out:

Steve Spangler’s Blog full of projects and experiments.
Steve Spangler’s Store with materials, kits, toys, and projects.

Do you have a favorite go-to place to find homeschool projects or resources? Share them in the comments.

Updated Curriculum Review: Veritas Press History

by Toni Herrbach

April is curriculum review month on TheHappyHousewife.com. We want to help you find the best curriculum for your family by posting a curriculum review every day! You can find all the curriculum reviews here.

A year and a half ago I wrote a review of our experience with Veritas Press History with my elementary aged children.

We are still using this curriculum for history and are onto Grade 3: New Testament, Greece, and Rome. The kids really enjoy the lessons and all the supplemental reading activities. And, one of my lovely readers has also sent me a link with all the supplemental reading material that goes with each grade level and is marked with importance and frequency of use within the curriculum.

See that helpful link and my original review of Veritas Press History here.

Math Worksheets: Fish Themed Free Printables

by Toni Herrbach

by contributing writer Lauren

This month’s free printables focus on April’s Fish Theme. The math worksheets in this packet are geared towards 2nd-4th graders.

Math Worksheets Overview

In this 4-page printable set you’ll find:

Graphing: Finding Ordered Pairs – Identify the fishy objects located at the specified points
Word Problems: Fishy Style – Using the hints, solve each of the problems each with a fish theme
Multiplication Race – Timed multiplication drills in each section, then determine the difference in seconds needed to complete the drills
Fascinating Fish Fact – Solve each of the addition or subtraction problems, then solve the fish fact code

Click the Image to Download

Fish Themed Worksheets and Printables
Fish Themed Printables April 2013.pdf

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God’s Design for Science Curriculum Review

by Toni Herrbach

April is curriculum review month on TheHappyHousewife.com. We want to help you find the best curriculum for your family by posting a curriculum review every day! You can find all the curriculum reviews here.

Looking for a biblical Science curriculum that is creation-based and is very easily used when teaching multiple ages/grades at once? Check out this curriculum review from The Cozy Nook for God’s Design for Science, which is created by Answers in Genesis.

And, tune in next week, when I give my personal curriculum review for Apologia Science that our family loves!

Elective Curriculum Review: Web Design for Kids

by Toni Herrbach

April is curriculum review month on TheHappyHousewife.com. We want to help you find the best curriculum for your family by posting a curriculum review every day! You can find all the curriculum reviews here.

Are your kids interested in computers and websites like mine are? Being in the business of blogging, I can fully appreciate the need for our children to be computer literate even to the point of being able to code and design their own websites starting at an early age (meaning before high school and college)! If you are looking for a basic curriculum to begin teaching your kids how to do web design, then check out Web Design for Kids…(And Curious Grown-Ups!). The DVD is targeted for children 8 years+ and is approximately 1 hour and 22 minutes long and consists of seven chapters that cover topics such as:

The 10 Basic Lines of Code
Coloring the Background and Letters
Making Letters Move Across the Screen
Designer Backgrounds
Changing Fonts
Adding Pictures

Take a look at the review for this Web Design elective on Raising Olives for more in-depth information!

Platforms:	Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7
License:	Freeware
Date:	March 20, 2013

Homeschool Curriculum Review: Learn Math Fast