Homeschooling Helps for All Homeschool Styles (Joyce Herzog Review)
Dr. Joyce Herzog is an author of many educational products and a gifted teacher. She taught for over 25 years in classrooms of learning disabled students and has been working with homeschooling families for over 20 years. She is a sought after speaker, author, and consultant conducting workshops all across the United States and Canada.
Besides counseling, Dr. Joyce Herzog has developed a variety of learning products. These products are designed to provide a unique and appropriate education focusing on the talents and skills of each individual. Her products fit well with most homeschooling approaches including: Charlotte Mason, relaxed homeschooling, the “real book” method and more. Those families with special needs will find that her philosophy and materials serve them well.
The Schoolhouse Review Crew Reviewed twelve different products from Joyce Herzog.
Scaredy Cat Reading System Levels 1 ($75), 2 ($75), & 3 ($100) and Scaredy Cat Reading System Express ($30). This is a mastery based phonics reading system. This system teaches students to think and works where others fail. This system works with normal, gifted, learning disabled and dyslexic learners of all ages. Spelling is also taught as a part of this program. The Reading Express system consists of teacher training with activities and suggestions as well as board games, all the stories, all the word lists and sentence lists for Levels 1, 2, & 3.
Learning in Spite of Labels ($15) This is a book about practical teaching tips and a Christian perspective of education.In 22 chapters this book looks at various teaching strategies for all sorts of learners. The book is full of tips and strategies for working with all types of learning disabled learners.
Timeless Teaching Tips ($15) This book is the culmination of Joyce Herzog’s decades of learning through teaching. It shows how to interject fun and personality into your teaching.
Choosing and Using Curriculum Set ($15) (one physical book, one e-book) This book and resource e-book is a home educators guide to choosing curriculum. Curriculum types are discussed as well as homeschool styles, avoiding over-spending, grade levels, your child’s progress and much more.
Luke’s Life List ($30) and Luke’s School List ($30) Based upon Luke 2:22 Luke’s Life List is a list of Christian Knowledge and skills in Early Childhood, Wisdom, Structure, Favor with God, Favor with man and Adult life skills. We should never get so “busy” covering curriculum that we forget important lessons needed for living a Christian life. Luke’s School List is a K-8 checklist of school skills. Use this book to decide what needs to be learned and what is not important.
Stepping Stones to Praise and Worship ($15) and Stepping Stones to Bigger Faith for Little People Book and Audio ($12) These two books are devotions based on Scripture. The Praise and Worship book has 52 devotions written at a 4th grade reading level. This devotion book is designed to minister to all ages in a family. The Little People Book and Audio is 37 devotions based on Scripture. These are written at a 2nd grade reading level, but designed to appeal to all ages.
Budding Authors ($10-$15) (five book set) and 6 Weeks to Understanding Grammar ($12) Help your budding author discover his /her talent. This series develops writing skill step by step from simple sentences to research. The Grammar book teaches parts of speech, kinds of words and sentences, verbs and a variety of other grammatical terms.
Bible Quotes ($12) These are Bible verses that go along with each rule in the Scaredy Cat Reading System. This book gives practice with reading, spelling, handwriting and works with any phonics program.
Educational Dice Bag ($23) This is three different bags of dice and one Math Operations die. One bag is an Alphabet Dice Delight which includes an alphabet die, a vowel die and instructions. One bag is a Rolling Dice Games which includes one number word die, one numeral die and two colored dot dice. The third bag is Deca Dice Fun. This includes one deca numeral die, one deca number word die, one deca dotted die, and one double deca die.
One-Minute Science Mysteries! (Science Naturally Book Review)
Science, Naturally! wants to “bridge the gap between the blackboard and the blacktop.” As an independent press, they do this by publishing fun and interesting science and math resources that kids enjoy. They strive to make these topics “intriguing and accessible” to students of all ages.
The Crew had the opportunity to review their book One Minute Mysteries: 65 More Short Mysteries You Solve With Science! ($9.95) It was written by the father-daughter team of Eric and Natalie Yoder, who have been featured guests on NPR. Their books have won multiple awards and accolades from the education and publishing communities.
Designed for kids 8-12, these fun brain teasers get kids thinking about science to solve these quick mystery stories. This is the second book in this series. They’ve also written a book of one-minute math mysteries, too. You can read a mystery sample here.
Preparing Your Homeschool High School Student for College (College Prep Genius Review)
For parents and students who have questions about how to prepare for college, High School Prep Genius provides information, explanations, and guidance packed into eighteen chapters in a high quality glossy trade paperback.
Published by College Prep Genius, this 440-page book introduces how to use the book with instructions for creating a college and career notebook following student timelines from 9th to 12th grades. Then it outlines Foundations For Personal Success that include guidance for personal development, being physically healthy, building a support system, and encouraging financial independence.
The section titled Foundation For Academic Success has chapters on academic development, effective studying, taking tests, being organized, and going beyond the basics.
Chapters under Foundation For Future Success cover future development, choosing a school, preparing for standardized tests, completing college applications, paying for school, and college essentials.
Supplemental information includes building a homeschool transcript, tips about talent searches, recommended high school reading, how to relax and reduce test anxiety, and definitions of common terms used in college admissions.
A valuable resource for homeschoolers who want the inside scoop on how to navigate from high school to college and beyond, High School Prep Genius is available for $29.95.
Theme-based Spanish Instruction for Grades 3-8 (Spanish for You Review)
The most effective way to learn a foreign language is to actually use that language in day-to-day life. Most of us can’t just pick up our families and move to another country for language immersion, so products that help you replicate that environment into your home are extremely helpful to homeschoolers. Spanish for You! was created especially for mixed-age groups in the 3rd-8th grade range. Students learn to write, read, and speak Spanish through materials appropriate for their age, while providing plenty of opportunity for practice communicating.
Two full-year programs centered around topic areas, Fiestas (Celebrations) and Estaciones (Seasons), are currently available. Reviewers have been using Spanish for You! with their families, and are ready to share their experiences. Spanish for You! is centered around themes, rather than levels, allowing parents to choose packages based on interest, rather than level of experience. A third theme, Viajes (Travels), is available right now as a short trial program; the complete package will debut in June 2013.
Each Spanish for You! package has been tested by the author, over a full school year, in a teaching environment. This has allowed her to check for consistent quality and usability. Spanish for You! incorporates a variety of learning styles, with workbook pages, audio files, and s
uggestions for interactive learning and communication.
All Spanish for You! programs include a soft-cover textbook, plus multiple downloads that include:Lesson Guides include plans for 4-days per week, but it’s flexible enough that more or less material may be covered, so long as the lessons are worked through in order.
- a 24-to-30 week lesson guide in PDF format (grades 3-4 is 30 weeks; grades 5-6 and 7-8 are 24 weeks) – Sample lesson guide
- self-checking worksheets for grades 3-4, 5-6, or 7-8 in PDF format – Sample worksheets
- MP3 files of the entire book to use as the lesson guide instructs
- bonus MP3 files of a native Spanish speaker reading the entire book
- pictures for creating flashcards and other activities in PDF format
Spanish for You! has free mini lessons and free worksheets so that you can preview their style and approach. Also provided for free are many activity and game suggestions for practicing Spanish.
Spanish for You! allows you to purchase the configuration most appropriate for your family. A theme set that includes materials for all grade levels is $64.95. A package that contains just the file needed for a specific level – 3rd-4th, 5th-6th, or 7th-8th – is $39.95. Extra volumes of the textbook are $12.95 each. (The same text is used for all three levels.) Optional teacher lesson plans, only needed if you plan to use Spanish for You! in a classroom setting, are $12.95.
Papa’s Pearls Book Review
Teach Your Child to Read with the Phonics and Reading with McGuffey App! (LiteracySoft Review)
If you are familiar with McGuffey Readers, you know that they have been a trusted name in education, teaching more than 10 million children.
The Phonics and Reading with McGuffey App from LiteracySoft brings these lessons to life in an app, teaching your child to read with 52 step-by-step lessons. Phonics and Reading With McGuffey works on your PC, Mac, and Apple devices.
The Phonics and Reading with McGuffey App is carefully crafted to:
• Ensure no expert phonics supervisor is needed for students to gain maximum value from the lessons
• Work for any literacy level
• Act as your own personalized tutor, except in a computer
• Let students set their own pace, repeating or slowing down lessons as much as they like
• Guide your student step-by-step through reading and spelling practice
• Provide multi-sense learning including sound, vision, and motion to appeal to a wide variety of learning styles
• Utilize the power of synthetic phonics – the dyslexia-busting learning technique
• Be simple and easy to use for students at any level
The first 10 lessons of the PC version and the lite version of the app are available as well, to try out before you buy!
Hands-On History for Elementary and Middle Grade Homeschools! (Home School in the Woods Review)
Home School in the Woods specializes in writing hands-on history timelines, activity packs, lapbooks and more! Home School in the Woods was created by the Pak family who began homeschooling in 1996. They found that they enjoyed history a lot more if they could ‘see’ how it all worked together. They began using timelines but their mom — a former graphic design artist-was disappointed in the images in products they found to use.
Finally, in 2002, the family used their talents to start Home School in the Woods. They began with timeline products and have grown to offer many more products to help history come alive for you and your family. The Schoolhouse Review Crew was given an opportunity to try out three of the Homeschool in the Woods products.
Hands-On History Activity Paks — Composers includes six detailed projects to help you get to know over 40 composers, including:
Vivaldi
Beethoven
Handel
Mozart
Gershwin
The six activities include an orchestra seating chart from the 4 different periods, music history timelines, composer matching cards, and much more.
This Composers pack is designed for students in grades 3-8. It can be purchased as a download for $18.95 or CD for $19.95.
Using over 35 projects and activities, Great Empires Activity Study covers a total of 14 Ancient and Modern Empires beginning with Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, and Ancient China and ends with the Russian Empire and the United States of America.
This interactive study includes art projects, recipes, reading, a timeline and much more!
Great Empires Activity Study is designed for all levels of Elementary students and retails for $18.95 download or $19.95 CD.
The 20th Century in America Hands-On History Lap-Pak is a hands-on History Lap-Pak is designed for students in grades 3-8. This pack guides students through some of the most important moments in the 20th Century, while helping them to create a beautiful lapbook that contains over 20 different activities!
Some of the events highlighted in this pack are:
World Wars
Political Events
Modern Missionaries
The Stock Market crash of 1929
The Space Race and more!
The 20th Century in America Hands-On History Lap-Pak is available as a download for $21.95 or CD for $22.95.
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