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Review: MaxScholar

July 8, 2020 By MommyOctopus Leave a Comment
By clicking my links, I may earn a small commission to support this blog. Please see our Disclosure Policy.

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.


The past few weeks, all 5 of my children from ages 16 down to 4 have been working on a reading program that is brand new to us.  MaxScholar offers a reading intervention program with their MaxScholar Orton-Gillingham Software.  Each child had different things to work on and had different perspectives of the program.  We received a 6 month subscription for each child to check it out.

MaxScholar is a multi-sensory phonics and reading program designed to improve reading skills, language, and performance scores.  It’s adaptable to different learning settings and can be used both in school and at home.  Programs can be accessed from any device so it can be used on the go.  The program is designed for children to work independently and at their own pace.

My older kids are given the option to work on MaxReading, MaxWords, MaxMusic, MaxVocab, MaxPlaces, and MaxBios.  I decided since it was summer to set a time limit and they could choose from any of the subjects to work on before they went on to play a computer game.  I like that the reading is often something worth learning and not just silly stories.  For example, my soon to be 8th grader was learning about Rosa Parks.  Here’s a small sampling from what he was reading.

After he reads, he then has to highlight important parts of the story, check his answers, work on an outline, writing exercises, and then answer questions.  After that he can play games on the program.

My 11th grader did well with the program since it’s all stuff she has learned before.  She liked working on the MaxMusic the best.  In that section she can choose an artist or Disney lyrics.  The program has you choose the verbs in the music and then work on a memory game.  She also liked the MaxVocab to work on letter sounds and spellings in words.

My 4th grader liked the games the best and reading all the different stories, but she didn’t like the work aspect.  She greatly preferred answering the questions over the highlighting.

My 5th grader liked the interesting stories.  MaxMusic was her favorite part because she liked playing the MaxGuitar.  She enjoyed reading the songs and then filling in the blanks afterward about what she read.

 

My 4 year old took the placement test and was started at level 0.  He does know his letters and his sounds, but missed a couple of the questions, so it started him at the very beginning.  He has the option of MaxPhonics or MaxReading.  He actually isn’t very fond of the MaxPhonics program because if you miss anything at all, you have to start the whole lesson over again until it’s done correctly.  We would have liked to see it just review the missed items with him and not have to do the whole thing over.

The part he kept getting stuck on would show several photos and ask for all the ones starting with a certain letter.  He would get some of them and forget to check all the pictures and end up missing some.  This was enough though that he would have to redo the entire lesson.  I ended up going back and fixing it so he could move on without getting frustrated on repeating.

For MaxReading, we both like that the program will read the stories to him. As far as the work on MaxReading, it required us to highlight main topics and such.  This he wasn’t able to do on his own, but we would work on them together.  I think it’s a good program for the younger age, but I probably won’t have him continue since it causes him frustration.  We will probably try it again when he’s a bit older.

Overall, we have been pleased with the program.  The kids will be continuing with the program, but I think I will be making some changes and requiring them to complete lessons before hopping on to the games or MaxMusic.  We are thankful for the opportunity to check out such a great program.

For More Information:

For more information, please visit the MaxScholar website.  You can also find out more on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.  You can also click the banner below to read more reviews on this program from other homeschooling families.

 

MaxScholar Orton-Gillingham Software {MaxScholar Reviews}

Review: Hey, Mama! Homeschool Planner for 2019/20 Year

June 6, 2019 By MommyOctopus Leave a Comment
By clicking my links, I may earn a small commission to support this blog. Please see our Disclosure Policy.


I love making plans on paper.  I’m more likely to follow through with them if they are in front of me!  If you are a homeschooling parent and are looking for lesson plans, I’ve got an awesome product for you!  Check out the Hey, Mama! Homeschool Planner for 2019/20 Year with devotions written by Gena Suarez and published by The Old Schoolhouse®.

I’m always hesitant to buy something like a planner online because I prefer to thumb through it first and make sure it’s a fit for me.  I’m glad I had a chance to review this planner because it’s now my favorite!  Within it’s 189 pages, you’ll find everything you need to keep your homeschool organized including calendars, forms, record-keeping, devotions, and more!  The planner consists of full size sheets of paper but with the binding, it’s easy to use on a desk.

Check out all that is included by looking at the Table of Contents:

When the planner first arrived, I was very pleased!  I love that it is spiral bound so I can easily flip through it.  I also like that it has room for plans for 5 different children!

One improvement that I’d like to see in next year’s version is some sort of tabs so I can flip to the page I need with ease.  It can be a pain to find the spot I’m wanting to work on with all those pages.  I am probably going to buy some sticker tabs to use in this planner. I also noticed that on one month, the numbers were off on the calendar, but with some white out, it was an easy fix.

I haven’t done a lot with the planner yet since we are still finishing up the current year of school, but I plan to soon!  (Maybe I should write that in the planner! Ha!)  I have started making lists of curriculum I plan to use with the kids next year.

I also like that there is an area to record books that my children have read, their yearly goals, and plenty of areas to make notes on each of the children.  The kids are already planning how we will fill up these sections once we work more on planning for the school year.

The Devotional section is nice.  After each devotion, there is a fully lined piece of paper so I can jot down any notes or reflect back on what I’ve read.  This is a lovely feature that I know I will use.

The weekly planner has plenty of room for seven subjects or categories for each of the five children spaces.  The blocks are a nice size and allow for writing down numerous assignments in each box.

This planner was a win for me!  I will most likely use this again the following school year!

For More Information:

For more information, you can visit the Hey, Mama! Homeschool Planner for 2019/20 Year website.  I heard that they are almost 98 percent sold out, so you’ll want to grab one soon if you are interested.  They are currently on sale for $22.

You can also find out more on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest.

Please click the banner below to read more reviews on this product and others from the Homeschool Review Crew.

Hey, Mama! Homeschool Planner for 2019/20 Year {The Old Schoolhouse® Reviews}
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Review: The Critical Thinking Co. Vocabulary Virtuoso PSAT-SAT Book 1 (Grades 8-12+)

May 9, 2019 By MommyOctopus Leave a Comment
By clicking my links, I may earn a small commission to support this blog. Please see our Disclosure Policy.

Having a 10th grader, I’ve been looking for a way to work on more SAT prep stuff.  I was very excited to receive The Critical Thinking Co. Vocabulary Virtuoso PSAT-SAT Book 1 (Grades 8-12+) to use with my daughter.

Since my daughter used the program, I have let her write the review below to share her thoughts,  but before we get to hers, I wanted to share something I noticed.  My daughter typically isn’t a fan of extra work.  I handed her the book and asked her to work on it for a review and for SAT practice.  I actually found her working on it quite often and I never needed to remind her.  She actually enjoyed working on this book and has already inquired about getting the next one once she’s done.  That makes this homeschooling mama happy to see my kids taking initiative and enjoying working on something on their own.

About Vocabulary Virtuoso PSAT-SAT Book 1:

Inside Vocabulary Virtuoso, there are 20 vocabulary lists.  After every set of 4 lists, there is a review list to remember what has been worked on so far.  This book is geared toward grades 8th-12th and is helpful in prepping for the PSAT and the SAT.  Helpful in both the traditional school setting and the homeschool setting, Vocabulary Virtuoso will grow your students knowledge of vocabulary.

My Daughter’s Thoughts:

Vocabulary Virtuoso is now one of my new favorite ways to learn vocabulary words.  It is not too hard, but just easy enough to not get frustrated or stressed.  This book has each lesson completed in about a week.  Each lesson has a list of words, definitions, and examples of those words in sentences.  Then the student has to complete activities to practice with the word list.  After every four lessons there is a review section that counts as one whole lesson.

I really enjoyed going through this book.  My favorite activity was called Story Challenge.  You read through the story and fill in the blanks with words from your word list.  You also get to learn about amazing things like characterization, idioms, jargon, euphemisms, and many more things!  Another thing I had fun with was the crossword puzzle in the review section.

There is an answer key at the back of the book.  I always do the work without cheating, then I check my work when I am done to make sure I am learning the work correctly.

My least favorite thing will happen when I get to the end of the book.  I actually really enjoyed doing it.  Vocabulary Virtuoso has taught me so many things and I don’t want to stop.  The book gives me fun activities and challenges.  When I am done I will actually be kind of disappointed that it is over and I never expected I would feel that way about a school book.  I look forward to doing the next book from this company.

Discount Code:

The Critical Thinking Co. would love to offer readers free shipping and 15% Off Any Size Order!  I love free shipping deals!  Simply use code TOSCREW19 to enjoy the discount.  This code will expire 12/31/2019.

For More Information:

In addition to Vocabulary Virtuoso PSAT-SAT Book 1, The Critical Thinking Co. offers many other books for practice.  Be sure check out their website to find out more.  You can also find out more on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram.

You can also read more reviews on this product and others by clicking the Homeschool Review Crew banner below.

Critical Thinking, Math, Vocabulary & Writing Skills {The Critical Thinking Co. Reviews}
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Review: The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls – Books 3 & 4

February 26, 2019 By MommyOctopus Leave a Comment
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My 2 older kids are avid readers.  They devour books as quickly as possible.  After reading the first 2 books in the series, my kids were super excited for more of The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls from WorthyKids, an imprint of Hachette Book Group to read.  My kids are wanting to be more involved with our reviews lately, so I’m turning this post over to my 15 year old so she can give you her thoughts:

G’s Thoughts:

I know these books were made for tweens and younger, but I enjoy reading them as well.  They put a good spin on Bible stories that are great to think and talk about.  The books follow the adventures of 2 kids, Peter and Mary.

My favorite book is The Great Escape (Book #3).  It tells the story of Moses, the Israelites, Pharaoh, and the ten plagues.  Peter and Mary are in Egypt during the Exodus and Pharoah’s daughter finds them.  This story is seen mostly from the Egyptians’ view, which we don’t usually think about.  On top of staying alive and battling the Great Magician, the kids have to solve the scroll’s secret in time.

In Journey to Jericho (Book #4), Peter and Mary end up in the desert to solve the secret of the scroll.  This story is about the Israelites entering The Promised Land and defeating Jericho.  The kids help spy for the Israelites.  They also help Rahab and her family escape the crumbling walls.

These stories are short, sweet, and straight to the point in a fun way.  The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls books help children want to learn more about Christ.  The books take the Bible, which is sometimes hard for younger children to understand, and changed it to a story that seems too good to be true.  The amazing thing is that though Peter and Mary are fictional, the rest is Biblically accurate.  Kids might have a lot of fun acting out these stories while learning.

There really isn’t anything I don’t like about The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls series.  This would be a good book series for children just beginning to read chapter books.  I do like the characters, the stories, how everything is portrayed, and the books in general.  I can’t wait to read more!

My Thoughts:

I’m always excited when my kids are eager to read wholesome books.  I have been very pleased with what I’ve seen produced by WorthyKids and we look forward to reading more from them in the future.  I hope they continue this series for many years.

For More Information:

For more information, you can visit the The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls website.  You can also find out more on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.  You can find the books on Amazon.

You can also read more reviews on this product and others by clicking the Homeschool Review Crew banner below.

The Great Escape & Journey To Jericho {WorthyKids Reviews}
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Reviews: St. Bartholomew’s Eve From Heirloom Audio

October 16, 2018 By MommyOctopus Leave a Comment
By clicking my links, I may earn a small commission to support this blog. Please see our Disclosure Policy.

St. Bartholomew's Eve
 

My children love listening to radio dramas.  We have thoroughly enjoyed our newest from Heirloom Audio, called St. Bartholomew’s Eve. Typically our family would start playing the CD during our after lunch quiet time while working on puzzles or quietly playing while the toddler napped.  My oldest son also liked to take the CDs into his room to listen to as he falls asleep at night.  I love that The Extraordinary Adventures of G.A. Henty stories always leave my children begging for more.

About the Story:

St. Bartholomew’s Eve is about the Huguenots in France. It tells of how the Huguenots were being killed for just believing Christ. Ned and his cousin, Sebastian sneak out of church and run into George Henty. George tells them the story of an English Huguenot boy who goes to France to fight in the war along side his cousin Francois and his new friends. Soon the people are wondering who they should obey, the king of France or the King of Kings. At the of George’s story, Ned and Sebastian realize that they should take time to worship God, since people fought and died to give us the freedom to worship God without having to fear. What an amazing story and much can be learned from this audio drama.

St. Bartholomew’s Eve is a wonderful choice for evening together time as a family or quiet time during the day. Heirloom Audio uses “active listening” in their dramas so that the listener can experience the full effect of the story through sounds.  The sound effects throughout the CD are extremely well done.  So well, in fact, that it makes you feel like you’re in the midst of the story.  With over 2 full hours of story-telling, Heirloom Audio truly brings Christian history to life!

While listening, you might hear some familiar voices!  Some of the voices include:

  • Brian Blessed – Star Wars, Tarzan, King Lear
  • Elizabeth Counsell – The Chronicles of Narnia
  • David Shaw-Parker – The Muppet Christmas Carol
  • Brian Deacon – Bonhoeffer, The Jesus Film
  • Andy Harrison – The Secret Garden
  • Huge Docking – Oliver Twist

Our Thoughts:

We’ve reviewed for Heirloom Audio before and like the others before, St. Bartholomew’s Eve did not disappoint.  The audio dramas by Heirloom Audio are quickly becoming our family’s favorites for passing the time on long car rides, enjoying quiet time, or just sitting together as a family. Although it’s geared for children ages 6-16, I found this particular one might be better suited for older children.  All of the kids enjoyed listening, however there were a few intense parts that caused my 7 year old to be a little fearful, especially given the sound effects.  The older kids were fine, though.

As a family, we are a huge fan of Heirloom Audio and are looking forward to their next release!

For More Information:

For more information, please visit the Heirloom Audio website or check out St. Bartholomew’s Eve.The 2-CD set can be purchased for $29.97 plus shipping and handling.  MP3 download is also available for $19.97.

We also recommend reading our reviews on other Heirloom Audio dramas.

  • Wulf the Saxon
  • Beric the Briton
  • The Dragon and the Raven
  • Captain Bayley’s Heir

You can also find out more on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Instagram.  You can click the banner below to read more reviews on this product and others by other homeschooling families.

St. Bartholomew's Eve {Heirloom Audio Reviews}
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Review: CashCrunch Careers by CashCrunch Games

October 9, 2018 By MommyOctopus Leave a Comment
By clicking my links, I may earn a small commission to support this blog. Please see our Disclosure Policy.

Cash Crunch Careers
 

I always find it fun to figure out what careers are good for myself and for my kids.  I was eagerly looking forward to this review doing the CashCrunch Careers survey with my family from CashCrunch Games.

For this review, we had 4 of our family working through the CashCrunch Careers survey.

  1. I have been a stay at home mom for 15 years so I thought it would be fun to see what jobs would be a good fit for me if I ever went back to work.
  2. My husband wanted to give it a try.  He works in law enforcement, and although he’s not looking for a career change at the moment, he wanted to see where his strengths were and suggested careers for him.
  3. My 15 year old daughter doesn’t quite know what she wants to do with her life so we wanted to see if CashCrunch Careers gave her an idea from her personality.
  4. My almost 12 year old son right now wants to be a missionary, so we thought we’d see if his career aligned with his current dreams.

When we received our codes to try the program, we had to set up an account and then click through the 75 question survey.  Each person needed to have an email address and create their own login to use the program.  The survey was fairly simple with questions and didn’t take more than 10-15 minutes to complete.  At the end, it revealed my motivators and de-motivators, career attributes, and suitable careers.

Below, you can see what it has listed as my motivators and de-motivators.  I’d have to agree for the most part on these results.

For my careers, it listed the top 20 career categories that were recommended from my survey.  I found these results extremely interesting but a little out of my comfort zone.  I definitely wouldn’t picture myself as a manager, however I think I could totally pull off being a farmer and rancher!  Funeral director made me chuckle, as well.  From here, I could click on the career categories to read the general overview and view more detailed jobs under that category.

My husband also received similar suggested career categories, however had completely different career attributes that I had listed.  Even though his suggested careers didn’t quite line up for him, I completely agree with his career attributes.  Self control, adaptability, attention to detail, integrity, and independence are all qualities that he possesses and are much needed in his current career.

My 15 year old received very similar career suggestions as well, but in a different order than her father and I.  It’s really intriguing how the career suggestions are similar, yet the motivators, de-motivators, and career attributes were all different.  I agree that her motivators and de-motivators are definitely inline with her personality.

My almost 12 year old son also received the same set of career suggestions but everything else was different.  I found it fascinating that it picked up on his innovation abilities and on concern for others.  That’s definitely my son’s personality!

Overall, I think the program was interesting but the career list wasn’t quite what I expected.  I was hoping for more questions pertaining to likes and dislikes to narrow the field down.  It was neat to see the various personalities for each individual according to our strengths and weaknesses and click through the potential career ideas.

To find out more about CashCrunch Careers, please visit Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram,  and YouTube.

You can also read more reviews on this product and others from other homeschool families, by clicking the banner below.

CashCrunch Careers {CashCrunch Games Reviews}
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Review: I Know It – Interactive Math Practice

September 24, 2018 By MommyOctopus Leave a Comment
By clicking my links, I may earn a small commission to support this blog. Please see our Disclosure Policy.

I Know It Interactive Math Lessons K - 5 grade
I’m a big fan of websites that offer math supplements for my children.  One that we recently found out about for  math practice is called I Know It.  I was very interested in checking it out since it’s made by one of my favorite websites for extra worksheet printables, SuperTeacherWorksheets.

The I Know It program is geared toward Kindergarten through 5th grade.  With over 400 math lessons and more being added, it is perfect to be used as a math supplement for both classroom and homeschool.  This program does align with Common Core and teachers can read about the concepts when assigning lessons.  When assigning a lesson, I can select individual students or my entire “class”, so the program can be tailored to exactly what my children need.

I Know It is available for families at only $90 for the year for an adult and up to 4 children.  Each additional child is $8.  Interesting in checking it out?  I Know It is offering a free 60 day trial to interested homeschoolers and teachers.

I Know It is designed for use on for laptops, Chromebooks, iPads, and desktop computers. It also works on mobile phones, but some features may be limited.  I really appreciate that we can take it on the go with our iPad!

We used I Know It with our 6th grader, 3rd grader, and 2nd grader.  Since our school year has just begun, I chose the previous year’s levels so they can work on building more math confidence with the program without finding themselves on concepts that they haven’t learned yet.

We’ve used a variety of different math supplement programs with our kids during our homeschool adventures and many they grumbled about.  I Know It didn’t cause any grumbling amongst the 3 that were enrolled.  Even my most resistant student gladly participated!  They enjoyed the instant satisfaction knowing they answered the problem correctly or getting an explanation on what went wrong.

Below I’ll show you what happens when my daughter picked the wrong answer:

The program simply lets you know your answer is incorrect and explains why.  In the above situation, it let my daughter know that the coin was a quarter and not a nickel and she selected for the example.

The program is very easy for children to use and navigate.  At the top of their login page, they can immediately see assigned lessons and click directly to them to get started.  If they choose to work on other topics, they have that option as well.  The graphics are very kid friendly and they loved hearing the fun noises when they answered correctly.  It shows a progress circle so your child knows how much further they need to go with that assignment.  There is a “read-aloud” option if your child has trouble with reading.  That was very helpful to keep my struggling reader from getting frustrated.

On the parent or teacher side of things, in addition to creating assignments, I can also monitor their progress.  I can see how much time has been spent on the concepts and how much accuracy there has been.  I can see the most recent activity by all students or select individual ones to look at for my records.  We like the I Know It program and will continue it for math supplementing throughout this homeschool year.

 

 

 

For more information, you can visit I Know It on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.  You can also read more reviews on this product from other homeschooling families by clicking the banner below.

 

Interactive Math Lessons K - 5 grade {I Know It Reviews}
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Review: Smart Kidz Radio

July 25, 2018 By MommyOctopus Leave a Comment
By clicking my links, I may earn a small commission to support this blog. Please see our Disclosure Policy.

Smart Kidz Radio
We love listening to the radio while we clean up around the house or go about our daily business.  We recently heard about a new program from Smart Kidz Media called Smart Kidz Radio and were eager to give it a try.

Smart Kidz Radio is a free online radio station designed just for kids!  You can listen in 24 hours a day, 7 days a week through the website or one of their apps.  The Smart Kidz Radio Live Stream is available in the app store for both Android and IOS devices.  If you prefer to not add another app to your device, it can be streamed from your computer as well.  Once you’re ready and either have the app or the website open, all you have to do is create an account and start listening by pressing the play button!  My kids were able to do this independently after I set up the account.

In the Podcast section, you can find some of your favorite fairy tales available for instant listening.  These were pretty neat to listen to while we were doing an art project or enjoying some quiet family time.  My younger children liked to scroll through the different podcasts and pick which one they wanted to listen to at that moment.  Some of the fairy tales you can listen to for free anytime include:

  • Alice in Wonderland
  • Cinderella
  • Goldilocks and the Three Bears
  • Hansel and Gretel
  • Jack and the Beanstock
  • Little Red Riding Hood
  • Pinocchio
  • Rip Van Winkle
  • Robin Hood
  • Rumplestiltskin
  • Sleeping Beauty
  • Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
  • The Three Little Pigs
  • The Three Musketeers
  • The Tortoise and the Hare
  • Treasure Island
  • Aladdin and his Magic Lamp
  • The Itsy Bitsy Spider
  • and more!

 

In addition to the free channel and stories, Smart Kidz Radio will be offering a membership for $3.99 a month.  With this membership, you will receive access to their On-Demand Radio programs with over 1,000 original children’s songs and stories!  The On-Demand Radio program includes songs from the following:

  • My First Life Skills
  • My First Baby Signs
  • Good Behavior Builder
  • Living Skills
  • Skills to Survive and Grow
  • Bedtime
  • Children’s Favorite Sing-along
  • Relaxation Program
  • Animal Songs
  • Treasury of Christmas Classics
  • Classic Fairy Tales
  • Best Loved Bible Stories
  • Grandpa Tyler’s Storytime
  • Not So Scary Tales

We’ve listened a lot over the past few weeks and my younger children really like the songs.  I definitely think the songs on this website are geared toward preschool and younger elementary school students.  Most of the songs have a teaching aspect like respecting your parents or being kind to friends.  At times, it did seem like we heard several of the songs more often than others, but that’s okay with us given it’s a free program. Our family will continue to use Smart Kidz Radio when the littles want to listen to the radio.  I also see us continuing to use the podcast section to listen to the fairy tales.

For more information, please visit the Smart Kidz Radio website.  You can also find out more on Facebook and Twitter.

Want to read more reviews about this product and others?  Simply click the banner below to hear what other homeschool parents had to say.

 

Smart Kidz Radio Homeschool Reviews
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Review: Apologia’s Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology

April 18, 2018 By MommyOctopus Leave a Comment
By clicking my links, I may earn a small commission to support this blog. Please see our Disclosure Policy.

A couple years ago, we reviewed Apologia’s Exploring Creation with Astronomy, and since then, we have been hooked on Apologia’s science programs.  We were very thankful to get a chance to review Apologia‘s Young Explorer Series science again, this time with Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology.

 

Anatomy & Physiology
 

About the Product:

Apologia’s Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology is available as a textbook, notebooking journal, junior notebooking journal, and the MP3 audio CD.  This set is geared toward the elementary school age and helps children understand what is going on in their bodies and how wonderful God has designed us.  There are 14 lessons that cover various subjects including the digestive system, your senses, nervous system, growth and development, and more.  If you’re like me and like to take a peek inside products before purchasing, you can even view a sample of the products on their website.

Our Experience:

As I mentioned early, we are huge fans of Apologia.  I love that there is a lesson plan already put together in each of the Notebooking Journals that can be followed.  It takes a bunch of planning out of my workload by following the included plans. Apologia’s Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology is meant for working through twice a week and flows nicely as such.

Since I’m homeschooling 4 kids and I have a toddler in the house, I love to combine kids for our lessons where I can.  One of my favorite things about Apologia is that they offer a student Notebooking Journal and a Junior Notebooking Journal so this program can be used with multiple ages at once.  The Junior Notebooking Journal is a little easier with some coloring and other activities, which makes it perfect for the younger crowd.  For our family, I used this Apologia program with my 5th grader and my 2nd grader.  My 5th grader used the regular Notebooking Journal, while my 2nd grader used the Junior Notebooking Journal.  Each of the books was similar, but geared more toward the appropriate age.  Both had work pages for the experiment logs.

Another thing I like about Apologia is that most of their experiments are easy and most use items that we already have in our home anyway.

Above, you can see a couple photos from when we did an experiment this week about how muscles work.  My kids had to use a clothespin (we used a chip clip for a similar concept), and guess how many times they could open it in a specific length of time.  Afterward, they had to see if they felt sore from opening the clip and working their finger muscles.  It was an easy experiment, but much was learned.

The MP3 audio CD in this set actually came in great use during our weeks reviewing because for several weeks, I  lost my voice!  Fortunately, we had the MP3 audio CD and the kids were able to listen to their day’s lessons without me having to read it.  In fact, it was so easy to just pop in the CD that we used it on busy days in the car to refresh what we have been learning.

For More Information:

For more information, you can visit Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology to check out these products.  You can also find Apologia on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.

You can also read more reviews from the Schoolhouse Review Crew on this product and others by clicking the banner below.

Apologia - Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology Reviews
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Review: Princess Cut from Watchman Pictures

April 11, 2018 By MommyOctopus Leave a Comment
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Princess Cut The Movie

I’m always looking for good Christian movies to watch with my children.  Finding something that the my teen and tween would appreciate is even more difficult to find.  We recently recieved Princess Cut from Watchman Pictures to check out for you guys.  A few nights ago, we put the littles to bed early and watched Princess Cut with our older 2 children.

About the Movie:

Throughout Princess Cut, you follow the life of a Carolina farm girl named Grace as she gets her heart broken by her boyfriend and then waits for her dream guy to show up in her life.  Grace and her father work together to discover what love really means.  You can watch the trailer below to see a preview.

Our Thoughts:

I definitely think this movie is a great one for older tweens and teens to watch with their parents and learn about love and boundaries with dating.  Littles definitely need to be in bed for this one.

The overall theme of the movie is that “true love is worth the wait”.  Throughout the movie, some topics came up that definitely needed to be discussed afterward.  Grace’s new boyfriend is very pushy and touchy and makes her uncomfortable.  One scene included a friend of Grace’s asking “Did he force himself on you?” and telling her that being physical with her boyfriend wasn’t a big deal.  Other scenes included a therapist suggesting to Grace that she should live with her boyfriend before marriage.  Even still, there was an intense scene where an ex-boyfriend became abusive when he saw Grace with a new guy.

I appreciate that the movie brought up these topics in a safe environment in our home so we could talk about them with our kids.  I also appreciate that while it is a Christian movie, it’s not overwhelmingly so like other movies we have seen.

I like that they show Grace being strong enough to talk to her parents about the things that went wrong so that they have the opportunity to help her.  The parents were understanding and forgiving and helped her after their conversation.  They surrounded her with support and encouragement.  I loved the moment when her dad gave the analogy of how Grace is trying to benefit from the harvest before planting the seed and letting it take time to grow.

Overall, I think the movie was a good one to spark discussions as long as you’re willing to overlook some of the acting.  It was fairly easy as an adult to figure out what would happen next, but my teen and tween seemed to enjoy it.  Many scenes didn’t seem natural, but it wasn’t enough to deter us.

For More Information:

For more information, you can visit the Princess Cut website.  You can also follow along on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Google+, and YouTube.  You can also click the banner below to read more reviews on this product and others from the Homeschool Review Crew.

Princess Cut {Watchman Pictures Reviews}
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