As part of the Schoolhouse Review Crew, I received Pearson Homeschool myWorld Social Studies Grade 5b to review. Pearson Education is a curriculum supplier for public school districts. They now are offering books to homeschoolers through Pearson Homeschool.

From the Pearson Homeschool Website:

Every homeschool parent has moments when you think, “Uh-oh…what next?”  Maybe your child soaks up learning faster than you can plan lessons. You wonder how to cover the fundamentals efficiently – so there’s more time for life lessons. Or you just wish for ways to keep things fresh.

Pearson Homeschool has your back. From kitchen table to computer, our proven resources propel learning at your child’s perfect pace. You can teach core skills confidently with proven programs built on the best education research. You’ll never feel like you’re in it alone because Pearson supports you with tons of supplemental materials, plus lesson plans, instructional guides, and more.

Our easy-to-use homeschool curriculum packages are affordable, too. So do some idea-hunting now. And let Pearson help you do more to make sure your child achieves more every day.

We began with the world’s oldest educational technique—storytelling—and applied the latest educational research to create a ground-breaking approach to Social Studies instruction.

We connect to students’ emotions through stories, preparing them to learn, focusing on Social Studies content while reinforcing literacy instruction. Meaningful discussion questions and videos related to the questions will keep your child interested and engaged.

myWorld Social Studies is a comprehensive K-6 social studies curriculum designed to lay the ground work for civic competence, so that students develop the knowledge, skills, and values necessary to be active, engaged, and responsible citizens. myWorld Social Studies helps students become actively engaged in Social Studies content through experiences that personalize instruction and make learning meaningful as well as fun.

I received the myWorld Social Studies Grade 5B book, The Growth of Our Country. The 5B book is used in the second semester of the school year. Along with the Student Worktext, I received the myStory Video DVD, and the Teacher Resource Library. You can view the Scope and Sequence of K-6 Social Studies for more information.

In 9 Chapters, with 34 lessons, the 5B Student Worktext starts with the Civil War and Reconstruction and ends with Americans Today The student worktext is bright and colorful with a variety of activities. From answering questions and drawing pictures to writing paragraphs and critical thinking problem solving. My son enjoyed all the pictures of real people and places that are included. The worktext is designed for the student to write and draw right in the book. If you wanted to use the book for more than one student, you could have them write in a notebook. That’s what I would do. However, Zach is my youngest so he is enjoying being the last student and gets to write in the books. lol

My son loves the myStory Video DVD. There is a virtual tour that goes along with each chapter. It’s like going on a field trip on your computer. There are icons in the book that tell the students when there is a corresponding video. Zach wanted more videos, and keeps checking to see when he can watch the next one. The videos are well done, and include children as well as adults touring historical sites.

There is no Teachers Manual included in the bundles. The Teacher Resource Library DVD includes everything that the teacher needs. A Teacher’s Guide, lesson plans, an audio podcast, hands-on activities, editable tests and separate answer keys for each chapter. I can see why they put the Teacher Resource Library on a DVD, the book would be huge! The DVD is easy to use, you choose the chapter your working on, then the resources available for that chapter. You don’t have to scroll through all the tests, for example, to find the one you need. Simply go the the right chapter, then choose the test.

One more note….Pearson is a secular textbook publisher, you won’t find a Christian perspective of history included. This is a very nice secular social studies book that both my son and I liked.

myWorld Social Studies bundles sell for $69.99. The bundle includes the Student Worktext, the myStory Video DVD, The Teacher Resource Library.

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received these books in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. My opinions are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

As part of The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew, I received a Heritage History Ancient Rome CD to review.

From the Heritage History Website:

Our library contains hundreds of entertaining and easily-read history books which were written for students and non-specialists many years ago. Likewise, all the illustrations, maps, and other history-related material on our site were taken from traditional history books and student atlases that are no longer copyright protected and are available to republish without cost.

The mission of Heritage History is to make old-fashioned history books, written for the enjoyment of young people, easily available. The complete text of every book in our library can be read directly off the website, and both printable and e-Reader formats are available at the Heritage Store.

We developed the Heritage website with the intention of helping to repopularize old-fashioned narrative history. We believe that the current trend of teaching Social Studies rather than history to young people is unfortunate, not so much because it is politicized, but because it is boring. Too many students leave school with a vague disinterest in history because it was never presented in an engaging manner.

At Heritage History, we seek to promote, not so much the study of history as theenjoyment of History. By making available old-fashioned history, as it was enjoyed as a pastimerather than studied as a subject, we hope to help reawaken the interest of a new generation.

I don’t recall ever hearing about Heritage History before, but I sure am glad I know about it now! They have five history curriculum choices available. Young Readers, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Middle Ages, and British Empire. Heritage History is a reading based curriculum that uses “living books”  and includes biographies, legends, hero stories, and historical literature as well as comprehensive histories.

Everything, as in the entire curriculum, is available for viewing on the website. For free. All the books, there are thousands of Maps and Illustrations available on the Heritage History website. Also available is a Characters List and a Battle Dictionary with over 2,000 battles listed.

You can also purchase the curriculum on CD. I really loved the convenience of having the CD. If you use the CD, you don’t have to be on the internet to access the books. As you can see from the graphic above, all the books on the CD come in 3 different formats. You can easily put the books you want your students to use on the ereader of your choice. Since all the books included are no longer copyrighted, but public domain, you can print any part or all of the books that you want. This makes it so easy to use the same curriculum for all your students, in the format that works best for your students.

I think Heritage History is a perfect curriculum for families with students in different grades. All students can study the same history at the same time, using books at their own levels.

Since it is a reading based curriculum, there are no lesson plans or tests. You choose the books you want your student to read and the pace you want. All of the books are rated as one of three reading levels, grammar school, middle school, and high school. If you want to test, you can easily make your own tests using the information in the Study Guide.

The Curriculum User Guide, shown below, is printable, or you can read it on your computer. It has guidelines to help you use this curriculum with your students. It covers topics such as determining reading level, how to prepare to use this curriculum and scheduling. There are also sections on how to review so you know your student is retaining information and how to combine Heritage History curriculum with other history curriculums.

The Ancient Rome CD includes stories for students of all ages, from legends of early Roman heroes for younger students, 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. The CD, selling for $24.95, includes 45 books, over 60 maps, teaching aids, and a Study Guide.

See what other The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew Members are saying about Heritage History.

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a CD in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. My opinions are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

As the 2011-2012 Crew year comes to a close, we are once again presenting awards to our vendors.

The awards are known as the TOS Homeschool Crew Blue Ribbon Awards.

The following vendors are the recipients of the award this year. Click on their name to check out the Crew reviews!

Favorite Reading Instruction Product: Reading Eggs
Favorite Writing Product: Write Shop
Favorite Language Arts Product: Progeny Press
Favorite Social Studies Product: TruthQuest History
Favorite Science Product: Amazing Science
Favorite Math Product: Math Mammoth
Favorite Online Math Product: Math Rider
Favorite Foreign Language Product: Visual Latin
Favorite Fine Arts Product: Artistic Pursuits
Favorite Christian Education Product: Apologia: Who Am I?
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Favorite Preschool Product: Before Five in a Row
Favorite Elementary Product: All About Reading
Favorite Middle School Product: Write with WORLD
Favorite High School Product: Excellence in Literature
Favorite College or College-Prep Product: Excellence in Literature
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Best Online Resource: Reading Eggs
Best e-Product: Heritage History
Best Homeschool Resource: Apologia: Educating the Wholehearted Child
Best Book, Novel, or Magazine: Apologia: How to Have a HEART for Your Kids
Best Children’s Book: Amazing Animals by Design
Best Game or Toy: Northstar Games: Wits and Wagers and Say Anything
Best Hands-On Resource: Pitsco Education
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Best Resource I Didn’t Know I Needed: eMeals
Best Customer Service: K5 Learning
Most Adaptable Resource: Creek Edge Press
Most Family-Oriented Resource: Northstar Games: Wits and Wagers and Say Anything

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Kids’ Choice (favorite of CHILDREN ages 0-12): Reading Eggs
Teens’ Choice (favorite per the TEENAGERS): Pitsco Education
All Around Crew Favorite: Visual Latin

Each winning vendor has received this wonderful award to display with pride:

Congratulations to our winning vendors! We hope you will sail with us again!

Many Crew Members are blogging about these awards as well. Click below to see what they have to say!

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Click here to see the Crew Blog Posts…

As part of The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew, I was given a free download of CapJaxMathFax to use with my children. I used it with my 11 year old son.

From the CapJaxMathFax website:

“Put a little happy in your math”

Sure, there are a ton of math games and all sorts of versions of electronic flashcards. But which of them, if any, offers a systematic program that takes the student from beginning to mastery? For all four operations? Which of them automatically determines levels and objectives for student practice and then leads the learner to success, working independently at his or her own pace? And which of them allows parents and teachers to observe and monitor student progress?

There’s more. While assurance of success is essential, it’s not the only criterion that counts. The student must also feel good about the process. That means the program has to provide a balance between challenge and success, pressure and achievement, and a good system of evaluation and feedback.

CapJaxMathFax provides all these things, not by accident, but through careful application of the principles that govern how people learn.

CapJaxMathFax works with the comprehensive math curriculum that you normally use to help the kids memorize math facts. CapJax makes math fun!  CapJax has a pdf flyer that has a lot of information in it. If your child needs extra motivation to memorize math facts, there are Merit Badges available for purchase. These Merit Badges work with CapJaxMathFax. You order the Merit Badges ahead of time, and when your child earns one in the program, you have one to award to the child. You could sew these onto a shirt or a hat, or mount them in a frame on the wall.  There are four badges available, and they are $4 for all 4. That’s a great deal.

Here is a screen shot from CapJaxMathFax:

As you can see, the student can pick what to work on each day. There is a summary on the left so they can see their progress. I liked that there is a “Keyboard Practice” that the child can use before starting the program that will help them learn to enter the numbers quickly. Using the keyboard quickly will help them get the most out of the program.

My son, Zach, said that CapJaxMathFax was different from the other math programs we’ve tried. He liked that he could earn points quickly so he could go up levels quickly.

CapJaxMathFax is available on the website beginning at $29.95 for the downloadable product. A cd version is also available for $35.90. There is a free evaluation available that demonstrates the full program.

See what other The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew Members are saying about CapJaxMathFax.

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a free download of CapJaxMathFax in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. My opinions are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

I had never heard of Homeschool Library before. So in writing this review, I am telling you about my experience with viewing the website. I have not placed an order with them.

On my first visit, I visited their About Us page, and the Membership Benefits page.  Then I had fun clicking around the hundreds of pages of books listed. There is also a great search feature that I used to find books.

I am very impressed with the selection of books available and the prices. I found quite a few books that we need/want. There are also homeschooling books, and curriculum. I even saw a video or two available.

Membership is free! I wasn’t expecting that. Not only is membership free, but you can earn Book Points for every dollar you spend. Then use your Book Points to buy books! You can even earn Book Points for having your friends sign up.

During the month of May, Homeschool Library Builder is having a 25% off sale on all items!

I am very glad to have found the Homeschool Library Builder website. Now I need more bookshelves!
See what other The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew Members are saying about Homeschool Library Builder.

Disclaimer:  As part of the TOS Homeschool Review Crew, I was asked to review this website, but I did not receive any compensation. I was not required to make a purchase  All opinions are my own.

As part of The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew, I received an Amazing Science DVD to review.

From the Amazing Science website:

Here at ScienceAndMath.com, we believe that Math is a
tool to explore our world.  We also believe that all
people, young or old, are fascinated by Science.

Our aim is to bring you the very best Science and Math
videos to tickle your curiousity and entice you to want to
learn more about the world around you!

Amazing Science Volume 1 offers 23 experiments on 2 DVDs.  Some of the experiments included are: Egg in a Bottle, Inverted Cup of Water, Lift an ice Cube with String, Unburnable Money, Floating Eggs,  Ocean in a Bottle, and Invisible Ink.

We tried several experiments on the DVDs. I found them to be very informative and fun. The host doesn’t just tell the kids what to do. He shows them. While at the same time giving them all the science behind the experiments. He’s very likeable and held the kids interest.

Here are some pictures of some of the experiments we tried. In Reversing an Image with Water, we did just that using a glass of water. On the left, you can see my sons drawing of arrows.  And the same drawing looking through the glass of water. See how the arrows are pointing in the other direction?

We also tried Keeping Paper Dry Under Water. You guessed it, we kept paper dry under water! He also shows several other things for the kids to try with the glass and the water. Abby and Zach really had fun with this one. Just make sure you have towels handy! lol

This next experiment involved candles and balloons. And popping the balloons. Which Zachary found to be great fun. lol See how he set the balloon right on the flame and put the flame out without popping the balloon? Here’s the secret: You put a little water in the balloon before holding it closed with a paper clip. The water takes the heat away from the balloon and it doesn’t pop.

Here’s a video showing what happened when Zach put a balloon with no water up to the flame.

The kids had great fun doing the experiments on this DVD set. Not only did they have fun, they learned a lot. They repeatedly ask to do more experiments, also. In fact just a little while ago Zach was watching me put the pictures in this post and asked if we could get more DVD sets. And that’s the greatest review a product can get. Kids having fun, learning and asking for more!

Amazing Science Volume 1 DVD set sells for $19.95 on the Amazing Science website. It is also available as an instant download for $17.95

See what other The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew Members are saying about Amazing Science.

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a free DVD in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. My opinions are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”