Map Trek by Knowledge Quest - Schoolhouse Crew Review

When learning about history, it always makes sense to head to the globe or map and tie everything together by discovering exactly where a historical event happened.   Geography is an essential part of learning history and thanks to some amazing products by Knowledge Quest, stringing these events together is super easy!  As part of the Schoolhouse Review Crew we were able to review a great product called Map Trek that allowed us to look at mapping the world in a way that really brings history alive!

What is Map Trek?

Map Trek is an atlas plus historical outline maps that allow you to teach geography alongside history. This is a resource that any homeschool parent can use with brilliant success, even if you don't remember a thing from your history or geography classes in public school.

Map Trek is a 6 book set and you can choose from individual ebooks, CD-ROMs or a complete collection hardcover book with CD-ROM included for convenient printing.

The 6 books are:
1.  Ancient World
2.  Medieval World
3.  New World
4.  Modern World
5.  US Edition Vol 1
6.  US Edition Vol 2

Map Trek gives you complete lesson plans that walk you through historical places, unlabeled student maps allow your children to find each historical location and color them in.  Don't worry, full color and fully labeled teacher maps keeps the teacher from stressing out and allowing them to kick back and enjoy learning about geography as well!  Each lesson is divided by age range so all of your children can work through the same geography lessons, but at their own level while still working all together!

To find out more, click HERE.

Map Trek can be used by itself as a stand-alone geography curriculum or use it in conjunction with your regular studies.  No matter what curriculum you are using, Map Trek works with you to enhance your history studies.  Complete - FREE- Curriculum Integration Guides are available on the Knowledge Quest website.  Choose from Story of the World, A Child's History of the World, Streams of Civilization, Truthquest and so many others!  These curriculum guides coordinate weekly lessons from your history curriculum with the corresponding map lesson!  Easy and convenient!

How we are using Map Trek: 
Since we started using Sonlight this year we have taken full advantage of the Curriculum Integration Guide that fits with A Child's History of the World as it is used in Core B and C.  It is a great addition to our homeschool day!  It fits in nicely and we are LOVING it!

To make using Map Trek a bit easier on the pocketbook and to save time and money in copying the pages again and again I took the liberty of sliding each map into a page protector and giving Kayley dry-erase markers to use when labeling and coloring her map.  It wipes off easily and we can use that map again and again without stopping to make fresh copies! 

You can download a free sample HERE if you are interested in getting a peak and what we have been enjoying!

Purchasing Information:
Map Trek 6 ebook set as Instant Download:  $47.00
Complete collection on CD-ROM:  $39.95
Hardcover book + CD-ROM:  $55.00
Individual ebooks run from $14.95 to $19.95


Ready to order your own copy of Map Trek from Knowledge Quest?  Buy it HERE.

Would you like to read more reviews? 
Click the linky below to see what my fellow crewmates thought of Knowledge Quest maps!


Disclaimer:  I received Map Trek free of charge in exchange for an honest review.  All the opinions expressed herein are my own.

Keyboarding for the Christian School -Plus Coupon Code! -- Schoolhouse Crew Review

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Remember that?

I learned how to type in High School on a vintage, classic, HUGE, typewriter.  Of course that was back in the dark ages before they even had "self-correcting" typewriters.  I remember carrying around that little white box of correction paper that you stuck in the typewriter, then hit the special "fix-it" button to erase your error.  Don't get me started on what happened when you were writing a paper and made a serious error!  You had to type that page all over again!  Ugh!

Thank goodness for this day and age where everything is easily done on a computer.  Knowing how to use a computer is a great skill.  Since typing is second nature to me, I hadn't put much thought into exactly how or when I would teach my children to type...  Now I don't have to worry about it!  Thanks to an opportunity through the Schoolhouse Review Crew we had a fun time reviewing Keyboarding For Christian Schools, Elementary Version by Leanne Beitel.

Did you even know you could teach really young children to type?  I didn't either!  Keyboarding for the Christian School is Christian Small Publisher's Exclusive E-Book Winner for 2012.  This version offers the basics of learning the keyboard through the help of Miss Mabel the ladybug!  Simple and effective you learn the Qwerty keyboard without the seek-n'-punch!

About the Program:
The program is no-frills and easy to follow.  The lessons are broken up as follows:
1.  Introductory material - Why learn how to type, Qwerty Keyboard geography and terminology, and Touch Typing Technique such as how to sit, hold your wrists, etc.
2.  Lessons 1-20 are learning alpha keys.
3.  Lessons 21-25 are learning symbol keys.
4.  Lesson 30 is on horizontal and vertical centering.
5.  Lesson 31 on enumerated lists.
6.  Lesson 32:  Timed Writing tests

What we loved about Christian Keyboarding:
-Once you make your way through learning the keys you begin typing Psalms.  Love it!
-Kayley felt SO grown up and she was thrilled to be learning how to type.

What we didn't love about Christian keyboarding:
-Horizontal and vertical centering directions are incompatible with my Word for iMac program - I am running the 2008 version.
-The type was so small - I sure wish we had bought the large-print.  Kayley lost her place so easily looking back and forth.  I'd recommend one of those stand-up clip boards with the moveable ruler to help you find your place.

Christian Keyboarding-Elementary is available in a regular or large-print edition for $12.95 as a pdf download or you can order a hard copy for $45.00 (which includes shipping & handling). 

Check out some sample lessons HERE.

Great news!
Christian Keyboarding is offering a great deal for my readers! 
Save 20 percent off your purchase at checkout using code:

SUMMER2012

Expiration: 8-29-12

Ready to purchase?  Click HERE.

Want to find out what my fellow crewmates thought of Christian Keyboarding?  Check out there reviews by clicking the linky below:




Disclaimer:  I received Christian Keyboarding free of charge in exchange for an honest review.  All opinions expressed herein are my own.

Professor B - Schoolhouse Crew Review

My daughter is a fan of online learning so when we got the opportunity to review Professor B we were excited.  Math drill is always such a chore and flash cards are boring!  Thanks to the Schoolhouse Crew and Professor B we had an chance to practice our math facts sans flash cards!

Who is "Professor B?"
Professor B, aka Everard Barrett, served as an Associate Professor in the Mathematics Department, State University of New York from 1971 to 1997 and is currently the president of Professor B Enterprises, Inc.  Based on years of research and experience Barrett master-minded Professor B as a way to help children overcome math anxiety and become not only proficient, but confident.  In operation since 1992 Professor B maintains it "Structures the Content of Arithmetic So It Becomes as Connected and Flowing as a Story."  This methodology offers students, teachers and parents a way to make math understandable and meaningful to children and eliminate expensive tutoring.

How does it work?
Professor B is a bee who serves as your online tutor.  You do not need to know math before starting, in fact the FAQ  pages says that you can start your child as young as 3 using Professor B.  This works because the Bee is silent.  Yes, that's right...Professor B doesn't talk.  Barrett did this on purpose.  He wants the parent (or teacher) to sit down with the child and the computer, read the information together and discuss it while answering the tutorial questions.  

You move through the screens similar to a slide show.  It is very simple to use.  You can work through it from start to finish or, like us, we would pick and choose the areas we needed to work on and work through that particular part of the program.   Sometimes repeating it if we needed more work.

Here are a screen shot from Place Value in Level I that gives you an idea of how Professor B works.

As you work through the screen with your child there is NO noise.  No background music, no bells or whistles.  You (the teacher) would need to sit with your child and help them understand what they should be looking at, doing and reading.  Since my daughter is five I had to help her understand the directions, answer the first few questions together, and then help her navigate the "next" button and so forth.

Working together like this definitely had its advantages.  I could see immediately what part of learning place value Kayley didn't understand and which parts she totally "got" so we could move ahead.  I knew when she needed to back up a little and re-do a segment or when we needed to use the PDF practice sheets provided by Professor B as a little extra help.

Who can use Professor B?
Professor B is recommended for children ages 3yrs to 8th grade.  Professor B teaches three years of math in each Level.   Each Level takes about 10 months to complete. 
The Levels are as follows:

Level 1:   Pre-k though 2nd grade.  Introduction to Addition/Subtraction Facts – Counting to One Hundred – Lower Addition and Subtraction – Higher Addition and Subtraction – Place Value Fractional Parts & Order – Time – Money

Level 2:  3rd grade through 5th grade and remediation of older learners. Multiplication/Division Facts and Problem Solving – Introduction to Fractions – Fractional Equivalence – Addition and Subtraction Fractions

Level 3:   6th through 8th grades and remediation of older learners. Multiplication/Division of Fractions – Decimals – Percents

What we liked about Professor B:
-Parental involvement let me see exactly how my daughter was doing and where she needed help
-I did not have to prepare to teach, it is all ready to go when we log in


What we didn't like about Professor B: 
-The program does not keep track of where you left off
-The silence was deafening.  Coupled with the lessons being a bit long it was easy for my daughter to get distracted and lose focus.
-Kayley didn't care for me "hovering" - she wanted to do the lessons independently

 How much does it cost?
-Purchase One level for $20.00 per month
-Two levels $35.00 per month
-Three levels $45.00 per month

-You can also purchase a yearly membership for each level at $220.00 each and receive a free Professor B coffee mug and t-shirt.

Interested in trying it out for yourself?
 Click here to view a sample lesson.


Ready to sign up?
To learn more about Professor B or to sign up, click HERE.

Want to find out what my crewmates thought of Professor B? 

 Click the logo to read more!

Disclaimer:  

I received Professor B free of charge in exchange for an honest review.  

All opinions expressed herein are my own.

Virginia

 Well, we've been gone a long time!  I've done the bare minimum on my blog since I've been so busy.  The girls and I had a great, extended trip to Virginia to spend time with Gramma & Papa.   We enjoyed Gramma here on this end for a whole month, then left to VA to spend 3 weeks out there!  It was a mixed bag of emotions to come home.  We were tired of being out of a routine but we were having so much fun that getting back into a routine didn't sound like much fun either.    Here we are though.  We've been home a week and I'm just now getting around to posting some pictures from our trip.

Papa bought this awesome thing called a trail-a-bike.  It is probably about one of the coolest things ever.  Kayley had a great time riding behind Papa.  The best part?  That thing folds up!  So Papa folded that little bike up and stuck it in the back of my van!  When it is not 100+ degrees outside Kayley and I will be out tearing up the pavement!

 There is a great playground near Gramma and Papa's house.  

We spent several evenings there.

The whole time we were there the weather was amazing.

 

While we were in VA my dad rode his bike in the MS 150.  

We waited a bit for him near the finish line...

Does this expression on Kayley's face not crack you up?

 Then cheered when he rode in!

Papa decided my van needed to be cleaned out (I don't know why, the floorboards were only a little crunchy from our trip).  So we had a full morning of "car washing."  Kayley scrubbed out her carseat and got drenched playing in the hose.

Then we decided to build this little fire pit so we could roast marshmallows.

We did some educational travel while we were there too.  We went to Jamestown settlement.  It was really interesting.  We had watched the Nest video about Pocahontas.  This is a much more accurate depiction of the real Pocahontas (not like the Disney version which is pretty inaccurate).  We also enjoyed the Nest video about William Bradford which tells the story of the first Thanksgiving.  To go along with all of these we read the Magic Treehouse book "Thanksgiving on Thursday."  I know, it is a little off-season but I had to take advantage of the fact that we were going to Jamestown.    In addition we read Boys and Girls of Colonial Days and several from the American Girl Felicity series.  I had so many big plans to lapbook and such but in the end we just never got around to it.  In hindsight I've decided that reading library books and visiting cool places makes a pretty decent unit study already.  We learned a lot and had a great time.

Can you tell which one is the real Powhatan?

 In a wigwam...or is it a wiki-up?

 Kayley grinding us some corn.  

We were hoping for a tortilla but decided it would take too long.

 The boat is a replica of the vessel that John Smith and the Virginia company sailed on.  It cracked me up during the tour when a lady asked, "so how much of this replica is original?"  The tour guide was very patient when he explained..."uh, none of it.  It is a replica."

Trying on some armor in the settlement.

I hope we are not relying on this guy to protect our village.

We also went to George Washington's birthplace.  Last time we visited Virgina we went to Ferry Farm...Washington's boyhood home, but this time we went to his actual birthplace.  Believe it or not both places are within 30 minutes of my parents house.  I found it so incredible to step out the door and be in the shadows of history within minutes.

While we were at George Washington's birthplace Kayley completed their junior ranger program and earned a really cool patch.  Even cooler?  Her Ranger mentor's name was Pocahontas.  For real!  Kayley was really thrilled to be able to tell her that she knew all about Pocahontas.

 Maggie along for the ride....

 Kayley identifying plants in nature.  It was a good thing we had Papa along or this would've taken us a really long time.  This Mom is NOT very nature-ly.

Back at home the girls had their picture taken in the ye old Corvair.

 And Maggie had a great time scootering around on this vintage radio flyer.

Eventually we returned home where Kayley was blessed with an early birthday present from Gramma and Papa.  She rode off into the sunset....

I really love my parents.  We had such a great time! 

By Faith, Not By Sight - book review

Ok, I admit it!  I am a big fan of American Idol and Season 8 was one of the most memorable seasons for me.  It was the first time I had ever seen a blind contestant compete in American Idol.  Scott MacIntyre didn't win - but in American Idol that doesn't really matter.  What Scott did do was show the world that even the blind can see when you walk by faith and not by sight.

Born blind, Scott knew that he would have to work longer and harder to achieve his goals.   He was homeschooled (yay!) and went on to graduate summa cum laude with a bachelor of music degree in piano performance from Arizona State University.  After suffering serious illness, major setbacks, Scott goes on to wow the world on American Idol.

His story is amazing.  Here is what this book did for me:  it made me grateful.  I am so thankful that I have not had to climb these mountains.  Watching his faith bloom despite insurmoutnable odds is inspiring.   A truly incredible story.   It is written as thought Scott is your friend and he is telling you his story.  If you love American Idol, if you are a fan of Scott MacIntyre, or if you want to be purley inspired then I recommend this book.

Disclaimer:  I received this book in exchange for an honest review.  All opinions expressed herein are my own.