Curiosity Files - Red Tide / The Old Schoolhouse Review

"My research team and I specialize in the obscure, the abnormal and bizarre. We search land and seas for these oddities, and make each one a star." ~ Professor Ana Lyze

These are the opening words in the Red Tides Curiosity Files, which I have had the pleasure of reviewing for The Old Schoolhouse. The Curiosity Files (9 in all - published by The Old Schoolhouse) are science unit studies designed for ages 8-13, which can stand alone or be used to enhance a current unit study in your homeschool. (We just finished a seashell unit, and this dovetailed PERFECTLY!) Each unit study is 80-100 pages.

This current unit study is on sale for ONLY $1 in The Old Schoolhouse Store. The 9 unit studies in the Curiosity Files can be downloaded for just $46, or they are also available on CD for $49.

The Red Tides Curiosity File has many different activities, each of which are presented in formats for elementary and middle/high grades. Included activities are:

• Math - the Metric System
• Scientific Research Paper
• Persuasive & Descriptive Essays
• Spelling Word Lists
• Copywork (Print and Cursive)
  
• Coloring
• Wordsearches
• Science Experiments ("In the Lab")
• Opportunities for Creativity
• Mapping/Geography
• History
• Music
• Lapbooking/Notebooking
  
• .... and much more!

I love the unit study format, because it takes essential subjects we study each day (math, history, science, spelling, geography) and integrates them - making my children's learning that much more meaningful. My children - a kindergarten and fourth grader - enjoy this format very much. I could pick and choose the pages I wanted to print, and then put those in a three pronged folder for each child. I would follow along with them on the computer or iPad, so we were literally "on the same page". Each day we went through a few of the activities together. Even my youngest gained a lot from this study!

My oldest enjoys "fact finding" and hoarding information, but my youngest enjoys coloring and experimentation. This unit study provided each of them with an activity - so while they were learning, it made it easier on me because there was something each of them enjoyed every day! We did NOT cover every single thing in the study, but I like the flexibility of picking and choosing what works for us ~ and what works for each of my children. At first glance the amount of information can seem overwhelming, so know you probably will not accomplish everything, and that's OK!

I also appreciated having a book list, so I could reserve books from the library to enhance our study, as well as a list of additional online resources. So far, we have spent a week on this study, but with additional library books, online resources, and science experiments, you could easily expand it to two or even three weeks. (There is a very interesting timeline activity that is well worth pursuing, I might add!)

It's unique to find all of this quality information, organized so nicely, for just $1! If you average the price out for all the studies it's just a little more than $5 per study, so I think we'll be taking advantage of more of the Curiosity Files in our homeschool.

Take a look for yourself; it might just be a great fit for your children as well!

*Disclaimer: As a potential TOS Crew member, I received this product free of charge to review. This review is my honest opinion with, hopefully, enough detail as to why I liked or did not like a product so that my readers can make an informed decision. I received no compensation.

Learning About Drawing - See The Light Art Class Review

Courtesy of The Homeschool Village, my children have been learning the basics of drawing through See The Light's Art Class. This review has been a treat for us, because I have a six year old who loves to draw and wants to learn more, and a nine year old who thinks she can't draw (because she has never been taught!). I'm happy to report this series of art lessons is helping each of them.

About the Art Class:

• We received a DVD, called "The Basics", which consists of 4 beginning drawing lessons, each about 10-15 minutes in length (Tools of the Trade, It All Starts With a Line, Contours & Compositions, and Draw What You See). There are additional DVDs with more lessons.
  
• These lessons are available to watch online, for the price of $14.99 a month (includes four lessons or "art club meetings"). You can also purchase a nine month membership for $99. New lessons are delivered weekly with unlimited viewings.
  
• You can purchase the DVDs online for $14.99 each if you prefer.
  
• Pat, the teacher, is very positive and pleasant to watch. She speaks directly to the students, telling them everything they will need and encouraging them every step of the way. She also shows them samples of her own drawings.
  
• Famous artists are mentioned throughout the lessons (we liked Picasso's contour drawings)
• Each lesson is grounded in scripture, and a Bible verse or passage is read.
• You can sign up on See The Light's website for a 3 episode trial - great!
• See The Light can also be found on Facebook.
  

Our thoughts:

• My children were immediately drawn to the teacher. They readily gathered the supplies they would need and listened intently. The short lessons are wonderful for elementary aged children, but also kept mom interested, too (I am practicing now)!
• As the parent, you should watch the introductory lesson first and make sure you have the supplies you will need. Some things (such as a charcoal pencil or kneaded eraser) may not be readily available in your house.
• One of the very first lessons deals with drawing apples - this was the perfect thing for my children to do. They had a little bit of trouble at first, but so did the teacher! (wink, wink) She explained that drawing takes practice and patience. My children kept working and did much better. Pat encourages the children to practice between lessons, which mine did!
• I appreciated the way she did not talk down to the children, and used several art terms during the lessons. She chose activities that brought easy success and could be practiced in a variety of ways apart from the DVD.
  
• It was wonderful to have an expert instruct my children in a subject I know nothing about! Video instruction is fairly new to us, and we enjoyed the format.

Supplies gathered and ready for our first lesson!

Practicing different types of lines in Lesson 2: It All Starts With a Line

My nine year old told me "I never thought I could draw well, but now I think I can with some practice!". My six year old said "I liked it a lot but the bonus feature was too hard." (note: the bonus feature on our DVD was another artist walking you through a chalk exercise - beautiful and achievable for slightly older children).

As I was finishing this review, Miss B bounded into the room with a drawing she had just completed - it is for her grandaddy's birthday later this week. She NEVER would have done something like this before. I am so proud of her! She drew fruit (as suggested in our DVD) and she drew what she "saw" not what she "knew" (another huge point in the lessons!). Yay!

Once we practice the skills in Volume 1: The Basics we will be purchasing the next volume. I will purchase the physical DVDs rather than watch online, because then I can pass along to other homeschool friends - always good to pay it forward!

If you need simple, sophisticated, engaging art lessons for your children, this might be just what you need, too!

If you visit The Homeschool Village you can also read others' thoughts about this art curriculum and enter in A GIVEAWAY!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or
services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it
on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally
and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance
with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the
Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Do You Need Structed Physical Education?

Over the past several weeks my children and I have been trying a new homeschool PE curriculum, put out by Family Time Fitness. I have been given this curriculum to review by The Homeschool Village - hop over to their website to link to other reviewers and to participate in a giveaway!

Our physical education to this point has consisted of many different things (we are members of our local YMCA and the each of the children also play an organized sport), and we always have "outside" time at home. It has been good for us to have a structured PE time, which this curriculum has provided.

About the Fitness 4 Homeschool Physical Education Curriculum:

It is essentially an entire physical fitness curriculum sent to you, which includes 260 physical activity lessons, 5 days a week, 52 weeks a year. The lesson are emailed to you 20 at a time each month. The lessons are designed to be completed indoors our outdoors, and should take 30-45 minutes. Each lesson consists of a warm-up, activity, and cool-down.

The curriculum also comes with an introduction/instructions for parents, as well as detailed explanations of all of the exercises. Most of the exercises and activities also are demonstrated with Youtube videos. You also receive a daily motivational email, and a monthly tracking and assessment chart.

According to the introduction for parents,

"The Family Time Fitness movement education program stresses the development of physical fitness, systemic exercises, play, and games. The goals of the program are to improve health, promote a sense of well-being, develop sensory motor skills, and enhance self and social awareness."

Our impressions:

It has been a huge hit with the children! The lessons are easy to follow and the videos are highly instructional. It's interesting to watch my children's reactions as they watch other children on the videos. For example, my son was discouraged with jumping rope and claimed he was "too little" for that skill. As he watched the video, he saw children his own age jumping and having trouble, too. That made him feel better, and now he tries and realizes he's not supposed to be perfect! The videos are very short (usually no longer than 30 sec.) and are accompanied by a nice variety of music. Most everything you need for the lessons are things you would already have, but here is a list of the recommended equipment:

• bean bags
• jump rope
• hula hoops
• playground balls
• foam balls (blow up beach balls)
• cones (or even a box or bucket)
• measuring tape
• stop watch
• exercise mat (optional)
  

We have completed lessons outdoors, but on a day last week when it was raining we did some of the activities inside. Most days we wind up spending about an hour outside, because somehow my nine year old figures out ways to extend the lesson. Instead of printing the lessons, I have just saved them on my phone and then the lessons are right in my pocket! We watch the videos at the computer first and talk about the lesson, then head outside to actually have "PE". *Note: I read the lessons from the email on my phone. In this format the videos would not play on an iPhone - but if you open the .pdf attachment in iBooks there are NO PROBLEMS. Jeremiah Knopp, of Family Time Fitness, fixed my problem within an hour after I emailed him about the problem. A+ for customer service!

While there are enough lessons for every day of the week, we have been completing 2-3 lessons each week. The activities from the lessons give my children ideas for outside free-play, and I've observed them teaching their neighbor friends or co-op buddies some of the games, too.

Here's a picture of Miss B playing "Jump the River" in the very first lesson:

At a cost of $57 (the website says it normally retails for $199.99) you get a full year of PE lessons. If you're looking for a highly structured PE curriculum that covers a comprehensive area of physical skills, then the curriculum from Family Time Fitness is for you. Visit their website to learn more about the curriculum ~ I've also found them to be very helpful and easy to reach via FB, Twitter, and email.

Perhaps the biggest benefit of the program is that it gets my children and I moving and exercising together! It is impossible not to have fun while doing the lessons, and I know some of my neighbors get a chuckle seeing me do the activities with my children outside -- I don't see many moms out there galloping and skipping up and down the driveway with their children in the middle of the day (too bad, isn't it?) ! The curriculum helps promote an active, healthy lifestyle - and shouldn't that be one of the TOP goals of our homeschool?

*Please note that I have been provided a complimentary copy of this resource by The Homeschool Village specifically for review purposes. If you visit The Homeschool Village you can also read others' thoughts about this PE curriculum and enter in A GIVEAWAY!