As I attended my state’s homeschool convention a few years ago, one of the booths displayed some of Zeezok Publishing’s Great Musicians classic composers’ series. These mid-20th century lively yet informative tales by Opal Wheeler and Sybil Deucher were so tempting that I just knew I had to purchase one of those sets, yet it was so very difficult to make my selection! I finally chose the Mozart-Bach set and have not been disappointed. These composers’ sets are accompanied by not only these wonderfully illustrated books but also study guides for each book as well as an enhanced CD (MP3 format) of selected music from the composers, accompanying sheet music and printable coloring pages. Perhaps my personal favorite part of these study guides has been the wonderful character qualities it highlights from these books. The set I own has proved a delightful way to bring the composers and their biographies to life for my own elementary aged children!
Many of the Crew mates were excited to be receiving from this vendor and a number of them have received the Brahms/Schubert, Chopin, Foster/MacDowell or Handel/Schumann Great Musicians sets. Yet other Crew members have instead received one of the Presidential Penmanship sets in one of six different available handwriting styles. These sets of handwriting practice pages are not only good for handwriting practice but also present some wonderful quotes from many of our former presidents from George Washington through Ronald Reagan. Great for reinforcing and developing your children’s character or for discussion as well as handwriting, the pages you desire for your 1st through 12th graders are immediately available to print from your computer (Windows and MAC compatible) whenever you need them.
Yet this publishing company is also known for its historical fiction as well as an allegorical fiction series (the second book, Song of the Trumpet, is set for release in March 2010), a unit study on China, a character-building set and even has a new high school government curriculum currently in the beta-testing stage of development. This self-proclaimed “little publishing company” is also humble; it has 50 titles currently in print and continues to grow. Here is Zeezok’s mission statement:
“Established in 2003, we believe “It is better to build children than to repair men.” To that end we strive to provide quality literature and educational books for use in training the next generation. We trust our products will assist you in developing your family’s love for God and country.”
You can see what the Crew has to say about the Zeezok products by clicking on the links below:
My children and I thoroughly enjoyed reading the two books about Chopin. We also loved listening to the piano pieces on the CD and reading the "extra" information in the study guide. We will definitely be using more of the composer series books and CDs.
I really liked these books.
hiddenjewelalaska@gmail.com
nice addition to curriculum
Wasn't right for our family, but we do not practice penmanship.
Tristan
http://ourbusyhomeschool.blogspot.com
Well, the "n" key on my computer has been getting stuck and it looks like I misspelled my link! Just wanted you to know that I know I spelled it wrong, but there isn't much I can do about it now! (Link #35)
The quotations in Presidential Penmanship make for great copy work! This program is especially good for older children who need to improve their handwriting.
Annie Kate
Spent a lot of time reading fabulous quotes on Presidential Penmanship. Not just a penmanship curriculum, but character, civics, copywork, etc…
while i loved the core of the curriculum and how they teach handwriting with wonderful character building quotes that inspire discussions of historical figures, the writing style of Italic writing from 3rd grade on wasn't perfect for us. Like i said in my review, though, we may switch b/c it seems like an easier way to write than traditional cursive.
This is something extra that the kids enjoyed. I learned a lot too!
While Italics wasn't something we'd done before I loved the quotes and the fact that grades 1-12 was all on one disk for my shelf so I can remember what I've got. We pulled the George Washinton quotes to work on since we were doing a biography on him at that time. Worked great!
Even if you aren't a big fan of copywork, I think you will enjoy the quotes. It is a great history study. But then I am nuts about history and quotes.
My son liked to do this – easier and tider than doing his own thing. Improved his writing somewhat!
Julie K
http://www.trainupforeternity.blogspot.com
The Great Musicians Series is wonderful. I can't wait to get more.
We really enjoyed this penmanship CD. We received the BJ style. We've never done this style before but I received no complaints from my crew.
This will be a great resource to have available through the years.
Heidi
http://www.homeschool-how-to.com
Great for practice
Love the Presidential Penmanship! Super product, super price!
Since we have always used the Getty-Dubay workbook series for handwriting, the Italic Style program was an awesome addition, and I LOVE having it to print out pages for our workfolders!! Great product, and it's great that they have 6 different styles to choose from! Very cool!
Loved it! Use it every day with my 3 children