One of my most favorite curricula for homeschooling is All About Spelling by Marie Rippel. I have been using this system to teach reading, writing, proper grammar and sentence structure – and yes, spelling. You can read my initial review about this program. Today I will be sharing and reviewing something I am equally excited about: Beehive Reader 1.

This reader is perfect for those with young children. This will be helpful for your family whether or not you homeschool or send your children to a school outside of the home. It is the most quality reader I have seen yet for the children in the age ranges mine are.

Beehive Reader 1 is a chapter book for beginning readers. The words in the short, simple stories are all ones that have been learned in All About Spelling Level 1. You do not have to be using All About Spelling in order for him or her to use this. If your child has mastered some basics of reading, they will still be able to read this.

As you read my review you will see sample pages from the book. You will notice the quality of these illustrations. They are not cheap cartoon-type characters you find in most children’s books.They are well done and are a joy to look at as a parent.

In my own experience I have had difficult finding books that are not fluff. We do not watch much children’s television in our home. Yet when we head to the bookstores most of what we find to purchase for our children to read is based on Sponge Bob, Dora, and the like. The books are stories without any substance to make it worth my and my children’s time brain power. They are filled with useless, silly stories that do nothing education-wise for my child. (No, I am not bashing these kinds of books as once-in-a-while entertainment.)

We prefer our to train our children to desire books with substance. We also want the books they read to challenge them. Beginning reader books with nothing but “cat” and “hat” and “rat” and “sat” are useful at times. However they do not encourage them to think hard about the sentence and words contained therein. This book is more than just rhymes. It is a book with simple stories that encourage them in forming and speaking sentences.

Another thing I want you to know is that this is a chapter book. This is probably one of the things I loved most about it. Why? My children love to emulate me when I read my books. The like to see how big the book is, how many pages it is. They grab their own books and sit down. Oftentimes I end up reading to them. Most books geared towards young ones are just a story. There is no break up into chapters like “Mama’s books.” My kids notice these things. They can tell that their books are different. Beehive Reader 1 is broken up into chapters. They can now see that they are capable of reading books with chapters just like Mom. In this way it will not be as much of a transition to reading lengthier, more challenging books when the time comes.

This reader is hard-bound. At 160 pages it has many short stories. They are cute and interesting and my children love them. I am eagerly waiting for the next reader to come out because I know how much my daughter’s eyes will light up when I give it to her.

The price of $19.99 for this may seem a bit steep. And generally I would not buy a children’s book that was higher than say, $7 or $8. But this is a high-quality, well illustrated book that I know will last our family for many, many years.

I really do encourage you to get this for your young ones. If you do not have the money at this time to purchase it why not suggest it to Grandma and Grandpa or anyone else who is asking what Sam or Jenny want for birthdays/Christmas, etc.?

Be sure to visit the All About Spelling site to learn more!

You may or may not remember my first review of Math Mammoth from last year. In it I discussed how direct and to the point their Blue Series was. Let me tell you a little bit about something else the people at Math Mammoth offer. Perhaps it may just be a fit for your family!

One thing that I love to do with my own children are worksheets, or “worktexts.” I find that they are able to reinforce what they are learning in mathematics this way. It also gives them some busy, quiet time which helps me as I run a household and care for my husband and children. My children love to work a sheet and come up to me to show off what they have done. They know their hard work will be rewarded with a smile and hug from Mama!

At the same time, because they have done the worksheets, I can quickly and easily notice areas where they need to be firmed up and ones in which they are excelling. Using a pencil I mark a small start next to any mistakes and then set them back down to rework those. I love the diligence this teaches and if you have coupled this with teaching them a proper and willing attitude then you have a budding hard worker on your hands!

Math Mammoth’s Blue Series is comprised of just these sort of worktexts for mathematics. Designed for Grades 1-4 (though some topics needed for grades 5 and 6 are included) they cover a myriad of topics such as:

• Addition and Subtraction
• Place Value
• Clock and Money
• Measuring
• Multiplication and Division
• Geometry
• Fractions
• and, Decimals

Why would this sort of thing be useful for me?

Well, quite simply put, many children need a little extra help in certain mathematical topics. Your child may have picked up addition and subtraction, time and money, and know their place values. But perhaps when it comes to measurement they need a little extra practice. The Blue Series allows you to print off those measurement worksheets right from your own computer and hand it to your child. Whether working together or independently those math skills needed being soaked up into their minds slowly but surely. Eventually, after practice, they will “get it!” Simply put, you are training them to know how to use those mathematical facts that they need to know in order to progress to the next level. Of course this method may not work for every child or every homeschool.

What format does this come in?

You can purchase this as a .zip file that you will download straight to your computer. Also, you can get these workbooks as a print copy or on a CD in some cases.

So how much does this cost?

Each individual workbook is available for purchase. You can see their individual prices here.  You can also buy all 28 Blue Series books for $70 (download) or $75 (CD).  Or get just the books needed for Grades 1-3 (18 books total) for $40 – Download only.

Want more information? Head on over to Math Mammoth to learn more!

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I have a discussion started over at my Wisdom Begun Blog Frog forum about mathematics curricula. I’d love to hear your suggestions for what works for you!

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Zeezok Publishing has put together a compilation of handwriting sheets that have found a permanent spot on one of my homeschooling shelves. My daughter is doing so very well in print writing. We have used copybooks for the most part to practice penmanship. But italic handwriting was another matter. Thankfully as part of the TOS Crew I received the Presidential Penmanship Italic Style Complete Program CD. Let me tell you more about it.

This CD, priced at $39.99, contains handwriting practice sheets for grades 1 through high school. I used the 1st grade set with my oldest. That level alone has 36-weeks worth of Italic style penmanship practice. Each week contains 1 quote –  ”presidential quotes and speeches along with famous documents from American history.” 2 sheets for that week have a bold version of the quote, followed by two tracing versions and then an area for students to practice on their own. This is not a daily practice and I was only able to get 1 day’s worth of work out of each week. I suppose you could print out 5 copies of each quote and have them complete it each day.

Also included are some extra lined worksheets for children to copy whatever they (or you!) would like.

The style of Italic penmanship is Getty & Dubay. The 1st grade level is very basic and easy, as are the quotes. As the levels progress, the Italic practice becomes a bit more advanced and the quotes much lengthier and meatier. One wonderful benefit of this type of practice and copywork is that your student will be memorizing while he or she is learning neat penmanship.

And since the feasibility using this with many children will be in question, from the program itself:

“Permission is granted to make/print copies for the original purchaser only.” While not allowable for commercial use, you are free and able to make as many copies for your homeschool as you need. A HUGE bonus in my book!

The only problem I have with this is the price (what is it with me and the price of things lately?). While this is a useful compilation I feel like $39.99 may be a bit steep. However, when you factor in that it has all grade levels and that you will not have to purchase many different individual books, the price of printing does not seem so bad.

Overall, I love this program and I am grateful I have it. I feel it could benefit almost any family who desires their child to learn neat, practical handwriting in an efficient manner. It will definitely become a mainstay in the Wisdom Begun household! Be sure to check out the publisher’s website to browse around their other offerings!

Designed by the Math Tutor DVD people, Young Minds – Numbers and Counting, is a wonderful alternative to commonly offered entertainment for young children. I was given a copy of this to review as part of the TOS Crew.

My family has run the gamut on young childrens’ educational videos. We tend to stay away from watching anything that does not have something of value. Encouraging our children to become readers and healthy, active members of our family generally does not include watching lots of television. It is great, though, when we go on long trips or for a treat to pop in a DVD and enjoy a little entertainment. (I am sure we are not the only family that enjoys Family Movie nights!)

When I received Young Minds – Numbers and Counting in the mail I was leery. There are a plethora of DVDs out there that promise educational experiences. Turns out that most of them are poorly directed and edited and it becomes painful for anyone to watch. (Of course, I grew up in a time where watching Colby was great fun, so who am I to judge? Oy vey.)

I was happily wrong. This DVD is such a blessing! Well made and containing professional photographs, Boo was especially mesmerized. She plopped down onto her little Winnie-the-Pooh couch and settled a blanket over her knees. She was ready to watch the show.

The focus of this DVD is to teach young children the numbers one through ten, using great visuals and classical music. There is nothing hokey about this as it is only normal every day objects shown, such as trucks and animals and things from nature. For each number, the correct number of objects is displayed. You will find two trains for the number two, one sea turtle for the number one, four hungry baby birds for the number four, and so on.

There is nothing flashy or loud and obnoxious. Your child’s brain will not turn to mush from watching hyper, over-stimulated images flash on the the screen. They will come away with knowing how to count and recognize numbers.

This video is priced at $19.99 and is available for purchase at the Math Tutor DVD website. I do find the price a bit pricey. Many parents are not able to purchase a DVD for that many clams. Personally, while I love the video, I just could not reason paying that much for it. If Math Tutor comes out with more of these I hope that they lower the price.

See you next time for another review!

Last year I review Kinderbach as part of the TOS Homeschool Crew. Here is a little bit about the program and a link to read what I thought!

“Kinderbach is a preschool program that aims to teach young ones lessons in piano. Using the internet,dvds, or their provided curriculum, children can be taught by parents who have little or no music background. The program is geared for the 2 – 7 age group.”

Read more!

I love review and practice drills, especially for mathematics. At least with Sally, this is a very efficient way to reinforce what she has already learned and build up new facts. So far simple homemade flash cards have done the job. I am thrilled when she gets to do things out of the ordinary.

I was able to try out Mathscore.com to review as part of the TOS Homeschool Crew. I enjoyed reviewing this product and will share why after I tell you just what is mathscore.com.

What is it?

A mathematics practice online program that seeks to build up skills in students through “adaptive math practice.”

Who is it for?

Students in grades 1-Algebra 1

How much will it cost me?

Home service prices are as follows – $9.95/monthly for first student + $5/monthly for 2nd student, and $3.95/monthly per any students after that.

What is covered?

A lot. You can see a sample topics listing at their homepage, but to give you a taste of what is covered:

• Fast addition
• Fast subtraction
• Patterns
• Division
• Multiplication
• Weight conversion
• and more

Sally used these in place of drill cards during this review. The activities started with ensuring that she knew how to type in the correct numbers on the computer’s keyboard. From there it moved on to various topics. I liked the fact that she was using to learn a computer while she was shoring up what she already knew from her mathematics textbook. It also gave her something a little bit different than regular flash cards. Each practice session is timed so she was encouraged to work at a brisk pace instead of dawdling. Each topic comes with worksheets, mini lesson, and sample questions. I liked the sample questions because it gave Sally an idea of what types of questions she would need to answer.

I did see it mentioned on the site that this could be used as a full mathematics curriculum. I suppose I must be missing something but I do not see how this can be the case. I looked very thoroughly through the provided parent’s panel and the student’s area and couldn’t see any more than just drills. I did only review Grade 1 level so perhaps the higher levels offer more that would be considered a full curriculum.

It also seemed to me that this program was based to “teach to the test;” the facts drilled were designed to raise test scores. Since we are not teaching for any particular test scores I feel that the scope could have been broader in the particular math facts that were reviewed. If you were living in a state that required homeschoolers to participate in state testing then this might be perfect.

One thing I appreciated was the fact that there is a preview option so that you can “try before you buy.” There is also a short intro video that will help explain the purpose for this program. Also, they have available for free math worksheet generators which I appreciated. Make sure to check those out.

I hope you found this review helpful. Why not head on over to mathscore.com and see if this is something you could use in your home?