Home School Navigator (Reading/Language Arts Curriculum Review)

We've been checking out the interactive notebooks by Home School Navigator for the past few weeks. They are part of the overall Home School Navigator Reading and Language Arts Curriculum which offers 6 different levels of instruction which are indicated by color, with Red, Orange, and Yellow indicating earlier learning, and Green, Blue and Indigo more advanced. The interactive notebooks are included in the upper levels, and are what my review will focus on, although I will also give an overview of the whole program.

So, what is an interactive notebook? Well, it's a notebook with shapes and flaps that provide a more interesting and interactive way for your child to record their answers to comprehension and discussion questions about a particular chapter book instead of simply filling in blanks or writing on a plain sheet of paper.

Home School Navigator has placed their discussion questions, vocabulary words and comprehension questions into simple graphic formats that are then glued onto a notebook page and filled out. When you become a Home School Navigator subscriber, part of the monthly handouts includes the graphics for the Interactive notebook. You can see below a screenshot of some of the pages we used for the Because of Winn Dixie Interactive Notebook, which is found in the handouts for Month 6 of the Blue Level.

As your child reads through the book, there are items to fill out for every 4-5 chapters.

I recommend printing on colored paper if you have it, as it helps to add interest for most kids. :) Here is what our printed pages looked like before they were put into the notebook.
You don't need anything crazy~ I chose to use a wide rule, spiral bound notebook for my son's work.

A note: Know your children, and even if you think they know what they are doing, check in on them... ;)  Because my son is on the upper end of the age range, I figured he could take ownership of this activity more or less on his own. I handed him the pages, instructed him to cut out each piece and showed him how to glue them down. The pieces are flat with a dotted line where you fold the page up to write the answer beneath. I showed my son that you only glue down the part that is above the dotted line, but he got a little confused a couple of times~ you can see the orange pieces were folded the other way and glued down the wrong way... oops... These pieces are a little different from others we've used before with a similar idea. :) Another thing that wasn't in the instructions, but that I added was to draw around the edge of the shape so that when the flap was lifted he would know his boundaries for writing.

This set of pages shows vocabulary and discussion/comprehension questions with flaps up (kind of) and down.

And here you can see that there are a few pieces included that are informational (middle blue strip), and another that requested an illustration rather than an answer.

If your children are hands-on and enjoy cutting and pasting, this would probably be a hit for them. My son, sadly, is not in that camp. However, this was very good for him to continue practicing his cutting skills, which he generally avoids like the plague (no worries about important papers being turned into snowflakes by HIM! ;), and we had a few discussions that were interesting.
I will say that I do wish that the Master Book List was readily available to the public, as I am very picky about book choices in my home, and want to know up-front what the focus will be. I am sure there are other families with a similar wish. There were definitely chapter books in the upper levels that were not as good a fit for our family, so it was a little difficult for me to find one to use with my son at the appropriate level.  We had a false start with "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" which I thought he would enjoy, but freaked him out instead... (he has a bit of a phobia about robots which translated to the automaton in the story, which I didn't expect), and we ended up with "Because of Winn Dixie" as you could tell.

OK, that being said let me give you a quick glimpse of the rest of the program, even though it wasn't the focus of our particular review (I contemplated switching our focus, but chose not to as many of the books used were books that we had already read/studied/discussed, and that would not have been a good use of our school time~ another reason to make that book list public...),

Each level is broken down into 9 months of work. Each month focuses on a different genre of writing, including:

• Author Studies (Usually two or three in each year)
• Biography/Autobiography/Memoir
• Fables/ Tall Tales
• Folk tales/ Fairy tales
• Historical Fiction
• Mythology
• Nonfiction Texts/Persuasive Texts
• Poetry
• Procedural Texts
• Realistic Fiction
• Traditional Stories

Here is a look at the basic scope and sequence which can be found on the FAQ page 

You can see that there is a lot more to this program with a focus on many reading and writing skills. The monthly handout download I mentioned above is a good thing to skim through to give you a bit of an idea of what the month will hold.

The next item you will want to download is the weekly guide which shows everything you need for each day, each week as well as a breakdown of the day's activities. *Note: You don't have to do EVERYTHING for every day~ this is a "Buffet" of activities~ pick and choose what will work best for your own situation...

You can print these or just use them from your computer.
The rest of the program is accessed from the student dashboard. Each day has a bunch of buttons, for lack of a better word, that are clicked on in order, with all of the instructions and links required. If you haven't already printed out the month's handouts, they are linked individually here as well.

Almost every section includes a video with your child's guides (Ashley and Beth) showing them what to do, and explaining things along the way. This could be very helpful for the new homeschooling parent.

One other item that may be of interest to some parents is the fact that you can upload your child's work to the website, and they will save it/compile it into an end-of-year portfolio (there are reminders to do just that at the end of the daily teacher's guide).

Not So Nutty Nitty Gritty 

• Company: Home School Navigator 
• Product: Home School Navigator Reading and Language Arts Curriculum 
• Ages: Kindergarten to Fifth Grade
• Price: $97/year
  
  You can visit Home School Navigator on Facebook and Instagram

Please click the banner below to visit the TOS Homeschool Review Crew and see what others had to say, especially if you are more interested in the actual day-to-day use of the program, because many others focused on that in their reviews. As always, I hope that this review was useful to you as you choose where best to spend your homeschool budget.

Blessings~

#hsreviews  #readingsuccess    #readingstrategies   #makinglifelonglearners

Logic of English~ Essentials 2nd Edition ~ Review

A couple of years ago I reviewed the Logic of English Essentials Complete Set. In the intervening time, Logic of English  has published  Essentials 2nd Edition. The new edition has been expanded, and there is so much new material included that it has been split into 2 volumes. It looks like there is double the information, as the books are the same size. WOW!  Volume 2 has yet to be published, but Volume 1 has enough material to cover a full semester if following a general schedule of one lesson a week.

Members of the TOS Review Crew received a mix of totally new complete Essentials sets ( as well as the Foundations sets, which are for the younger learner) for those who have never reviewed it before, and an upgrade set that includes the new Teacher Manual, Student Workbook. Because we had previously reviewed, we were sent the Upgrade set.

The new Teacher's manual isn't just colorful on the outside, it's colorful on the inside. There are now three levels of teaching, and they are color coded, so that you can easily skip the information that isn't necessary for the level at which your student is learning.

Note: the student workbook is not "fun and games" colorful, and remains basic black and white. I didn't see too many changes, other than added and expanded material to coordinate with the extra material in the teacher's manual. No reason to change something that is working just fine. It also helps to ensure that an older student doesn't feel that they are being given material that is too young for them. :) However, this doesn't mean that there aren't fun and games included. Each week's lesson incorporates games using the various card sets included, as well as a number of games printed in the workbook.

Back to the Teacher's Manual...
Each Lesson starts with an "index card" on the printed page with an overview of what is included in the lesson for each level, which makes it easy to pull together all the materials required.  If you'll notice from the image of the Complete Set (up above), and as I mentioned, there *are* a number of card sets used with this program, so having the information laid out at the beginning of the chapter is very helpful. :)

One of the new features in the second edition is the inclusion of more vocabulary, and leveled spelling lists. Level Band C vocabulary include Greek and Latin roots, which interestingly enough seems to be one of my 8 year old's favorite parts of the program. He has enjoyed decoding the different parts of words, seeing how suffixes and prefixes can change the root meaning.

The lessons are also now broken down into "Days" which makes it easier to follow. I appreciate the new format, which solved one of my problems in the first edition of simpler phonograms being initially "introduced" but not reinforced before giving a "spelling test." With the new format, the test doesn't come until Day 5, while the spelling words are introduced on Day 2 with a "Spelling Analysis."  The Spelling Analysis goes over each word, with the teacher introducing the word, using it in a contextual sentence, and having the student repeat the word. They then break it down into its separate sounds, with the teacher giving clues when there are ambiguous sounds (which could be spelled a number of ways). Throughout the week all of the phonograms are reviewed (often in game or flashcard format), with special emphasis given to those that are trickier, but now the student doesn't go into the test as "blind" as before.

The manual is still very scripted, with precise directions on how to teach the various phonograms and spelling rules, as well as how to give the above-mentioned clues. The worksheets in the students book are also clearly labeled to help make sure that each one is completed at the correct time.

A couple more "notes"
The program does seem a little complex, and it most definitely isn't "grab-and-go" material. It is most certainly teacher-led, and not "independent" learning. Because of the volume of material, and the multiple levels included, the information may seem a little overwhelming to begin with, but it gets easier after the first week or two.

Because my son is a prolific reader, and apparently a natural speller like his siblings, we used a bit of a mash-up of levels for him. Some of the more complex words include some discussion that is a little long for him to follow, so I simplify that, but keep to the lists, making it work for us.

I did run into something else that gave me pause. There are some unusual words used for simple grammar. For example, at the beginning, on the level C list, "abstract" was listed as a noun, even though it is more commonly used as an adjective. This seemed odd to me, and is an example of where I chose to simplify for my 8 year old, but makes perfect sense for an older student, who might hear the term in their science or math class.

All in all, this revamped edition is very thorough and methodical, structured to help the instructor cover the material on a specific schedule, for a variety of ages and abilities. Although I don't have children who face difficulty with spelling, I imagine that this method would be one that would help those with difficulties gain solid success reading, writing, and understanding the written word.

Not So Nutty Nitty Gritty 

• Company: Logic of English
• Product: Essentials 2nd Edition
• Ages: 8-adult
• Price: 
• $198 Essentials 2nd Edition Complete Set Volume 1
• $93 Essentials Upgrade Set Volume 1

You can visit Logic of English on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and Pinterest.

Please click the banner below to visit the TOS Review Crew and see what others had to say. As always, I hope that this review was useful to you as you choose where best to spend your homeschool budget.

Blessings~

Shakespeare: Comedies and Sonnets (11th-12th) (Hewitt Homeschool TOS Review Crew)

A couple of years ago I had my first taste of Hewitt Homeschooling's Lightning Literature and Composition, when I reviewed their Early 19th Century Literature guide with my daughter, who was then a rising 10th grader. This summer I was pleased to receive a new Literature Guide for review that tackles one of the trickier topics~ Shakespeare. We received the Shakespeare Comedies and Sonnets Student's Guide and Teacher's Guide.

Note: My fellow TOS Review Crew members received a wide variety of curriculum, covering grades 1-12, so please click on the link at the end of my review to access their reviews if you have younger children. I know that I am intrigued by the early elementary options, and plan to check out some of those reviews myself.

Hewitt Homeschooling Resources Lightning Lit and Comp: 

Shakespeare Comedies and Sonnets by Elizabeth Kamath

The Student Guide is a 174 page paperback book intended to help the student "acquire college-level composition skills by responding to great literature."

The first twenty pages are an introduction to the Lightning Lit way, answering questions like "Why Read Literature?" and "Why Learn How to Write?" along with helps on HOW to read Literature and Poetry, Paper Writing 101, and instructions on using the student guide.

The next 18 pages familiarize the student with William Shakespeare by addressing the following topics:

• Why Read Shakespeare? 
• Shakespeare's Life
• Schools of Shakespearean Criticism
• Introductions to the Plays, Comedy and Sonnets
• Shakespeare's Language
• HOW to Read Shakespeare (emphasis mine)
• How to Approach the Lessons

Because it had been some time since my daughter had used Hewitt, and my Middlest hadn't used Hewitt at all, I used a week for each of these introductory portions, so that they would have a better handle on their study of Shakespeare. This was particularly important for my Middlest, as he is a young rising ninth grader, so this a definitely a stretch for him.

The Study Guide is split into 4 Units with 2 Lessons in each~ the first lesson being a comedy and the second covers 2 sonnets.

• Unit 1 
• Twelfth Night
• Sonnet 27 and Sonnet 28
• Unit 2 
• As You Like It
• Sonnet 130 and Sonnet 136
• Unit 3 
• A Midsummer Night's Dream
• Sonnet 93 and Sonnet 138
• Unit 4 
• The Merchant of Venice
• Sonnet 116 and Sonnet 129

The Comedies include Literary Lessons on Themes, Characters and Language, and occasionally Symbolism. 

The Sonnets include Literary Lessons on Content, Language and Contrast, as well as some Perspectives. NOTE: the Sonnets are included directly in the guide, the plays must be picked up separately.

The Lessons encompass introductions to the specific material, questions to consider while reading, plot summaries, comprehension questions, the afore-mentioned literary lessons, writing exercises, and perspectives.

There are also Appendices with Discussion Questions and Project Suggestions, Additional Reading, Movie and Video Recommendations, and Schedules for either 1 semester or 1 year. 

The Teacher's Guide is a 52 page 3 hole punched set of pages that can be placed in a binder or folder. It includes answers to the Comprehension Questions, a Teaching Schedule, Teaching and Grading Aids, and a copy of the Writing Exercises and Discussion Questions. You can download the Table of Contents, Intro and Grading Tips, and Schedule from the Teacher's Guide purchase page. 

Because Shakespeare (AKA Elizabethan English) can be more difficult for today's students to follow (particularly with the decline of the use of the KJV Bible, which certainly gave *me* a foundation in understanding the syntax), I went a bit outside of the box, and chose to have my kids watch their first play (Twelfth Night) while following along with their copies of the play, rather than simply reading it first. We attempted a couple of different versions (found on YouTube), before settling on Kenneth Branagh's production (which was not included in the recommendations in the guide). We discovered that there were far too many liberties taken in most of the other versions (swapping scenes, and leaving out dialogue!!! The Horror!!), and Kenneth Branagh's was most true to the script. Here is a sample:

Speaking of Scripts~ we used a regular script, an "authorized graphic novel" and the full script via the computer, available from MIT edu. I used the MIT script, Eldest used the regular paperback script, and Middlest started with the graphic novel, but decided that graphic novels just aren't for him... (hurrah! ;) ).

Scripts used and a page in the Study Guide

After watching/reading, Eldest dug right in and read through the script, following the guide, and answering the comprehension questions. Due to summer-time activities and a Missions Trip, we followed the Full Year Schedule for this unit, and she has not completed her Writing Exercise as of yet, as the rough draft was scheduled to begin this week.

She was the most horrified when we tried watching a couple of other versions and one of her very favorite sections of dialogue was cut! EEK!
It is in this snippet that I took as a screenshot from the MIT page... can you guess the line? This section also contains one of my least favorite lines, but there you have it~ a study in Antithesis...

Middlest is approaching this more as an introduction to Shakespeare, and as such, I am not requiring as much written work from him.

Youngest (7 years old) is receiving an earlier introduction to full Shakespeare plays than either of my two eldest, as he tagged along on the viewing end of things. Although much went over his head, he enjoyed watching, and listening to Twelfth Night, and I expect that this may create a thirst for good literature and stage presentation in him later on (I recall going to "Shakespeare in the Park" when I was close to his age, and have fond memories of such).

I am still very impressed with Hewitt Homeschooling's Lightning Literature Guides, and hope that you will give them a peek. You can download the 1st Lesson (That we used) on Twelfth Night directly from the Student Guide page linked below, so that you can get a good feel for how it is set up.

You can visit Hewitt Homeschooling on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google Plus, and at the Hewitt Blog.

Not So Nutty Nitty Gritty 

• Company: Hewitt Homeschooling
• Product: Lightning Literature and Composition
• Shakespeare Comedies and Sonnets Student's Guide $29.95
• Shakespeare Comedies andSonnets Teacher's Guide $2.95
• Ages: 11th-12th grade

Please click the banner below to visit the TOS Review Crew and see what others had to say about this and other Hewitt Homeschooling resources. As always, I hope that this review was useful to you as you choose where best to spend your homeschool budget.

Blessings~

Logic of English (Essentials Complete Set) TOS Review

Last fall the TOS Review Crew used and reviewed a number of products from Logic of English (I reviewed their Rhythm of Handwriting: Cursive course). This spring the Crew is once again reviewing their products, and this time around I received the Essentials: Logic of English, Complete Set and the Phonics with Phonograms App.

Essentials is a systematic phonics based reading, writing, spelling, and grammar program, available with either a cursive or manuscript workbook. I chose to use the manuscript workbook with my almost 7 year old. The teacher's manual includes sample schedules for struggling readers and spellers (8 years-adult), struggling spellers (9 years-adult), emerging readers and spellers (6-7 year olds,) young emerging readers (5-6 year olds), and ESL students of any age.

The Complete Set includes:

• Essentials Teacher's Manual
• Essentials Student Workbook (In either Cursive or Manuscript)
• Spelling Journal 
• Basic Phonogram Flash Cards
• Spelling Rule Flash Cards
• Grammar Rule Flash Cards
• Advanced Phonogram Flash Cards
• Game Book
• Game Card decks
• Phonogram & Spelling Rule Quick Reference Chart

Some of the items (like the Quick Reference Chart) will be useful later on, and would be more practical for older students.

I was very interested in the remedial aspect of the beginning of the manual, and we actually spent a fair amount of time (a couple of weeks) in the "before you begin" section that covers Phonemic Awareness. My youngest is not the clear speaker that his siblings were at early ages, and I found the section on developing a Kinesthetic Awareness of Sounds to be very helpful in getting him to say the sounds correctly by watching my mouth and lips, and feeling his own mouth, lips and voicebox.

We then spent about a week going over the basic phonograms, and DRILLING the vowel phonograms with the Phonics with Phonograms App. For a child who spoke mostly in vowels when he was a 2 year old,  I find it interesting that Youngest has had a difficult time including vowels ever since he started learning to read, so the app has been very useful in quizzing him on them. I made use of the "custom level builder" to include only those sounds that he was having trouble with. While he still gets tripped up from time to time, usually he'll remember the order from most common to least common when I remind him.

Back to the Main program...
After the introductory/before you begin/ section of the manual, there is a unit on "Teaching the lessons" that details how to walk through the three parts of each lesson~

Part 1: phonograms, sounds and spelling rules
Part 2: spelling dictation and analysis, and spelling markings
Part 3: grammar, dictation, composition, vocabulary

Followed by Teacher resources that include the spelling lists, phonograms, spelling rules, and grammar: parts of speech, sentences and clauses, punctuation, etc...

Once I felt that his foundation was fairly strengthened we moved on to the lessons, going through about 1.5 every two weeks (somewhere between the recommended 1 lesson/week - 2 weeks/lesson).

clockwise from top right~ teacher's manual, game book
phonogram flash cards, workbook, and spelling rule cards

The Lessons are fairly detailed in the teacher's manual, and the workbook pages and activities are clearly marked. You can download Sample pages from the Teacher's manual and Workbook at the Logic of English website.

So far most of my impression has been fairly positive, but there is one thing I found that is worth mentioning.

The first lesson is fairly straight forward, reviewing the a-z phonograms, and introducing /qu/. Consonants and vowels are covered, as are nouns and plurals. The second lesson, however, jumped into words using four *new* double letter phonograms. This isn't really so bad (particularly when going at a one lesson/2 week pace), but only one of the phonograms was emphasized through the first part of the lesson, which meant that we didn't actively review or work on the other three once I introduced them as directed. As a result, when we got to part 2 of the lesson (The spelling test) there was some confusion. I think it would be helpful if the phonograms received equal emphasis (or at least some activity) in the lesson and workbook, in order to relieve the frustration of not "getting it" by the time the student is asked to spell new words.

Moving right along...
The lessons do incorporate games, whether a phonogram bingo game, or a card game from the Phonogram & Spelling Game Book, which has games to suit a variety of ages and abilities.

One of my son's favorite activities to date is making new words with the phonogram cards laid out on the rug~ We started with a specific ending (in this lesson using /ck/ as directed in the manual), and a single vowel (/a/). Youngest then chose letters to put in front of the /a/ to make words. He built pack, sack, whack, back, jack, black, tacks, tack, and hack. Before I could even suggest it, he decided to replace the /a/ with /e/ so that he could make the word neck. This is definitely a game that we will be playing again, as we add new phonograms to our repertoire.

In addition to card games there are gross motor games that incorporate hopping and stepping, drills, sensory/tactile ideas and more. The Phonogram and Spelling Game Book is a great resource, and would be particularly useful in a larger family, where there would be more children to play. :)

From my look ahead, I think that Essentials could be a very good buy, particularly for families who can use it with younger as well as struggling readers. And if it's already in your home library when your kids hit high school it might be useful to pull out and have them do a little review before starting all those college assessment tests, and/or let them use it to help tutor an ESL student as part of a volunteer project.

While this is not my son's favorite subject, I have felt it to be a worthwhile use of time, as he is being introduced to grammar, doing more spelling, and for us, learning to speak more clearly (A happy byproduct of the Essentials introductory material).

Essentials is not a fun and games curriculum, more of a down to business literacy program, but with some very worthwhile information and straightforward, systematic lessons. If your children are younger, and it seems too academic(?) for them, then you might want to check out the TOS Reviews of the Logic of English's Foundations Sets which are much more colorful, and geared for ages 4-7 (follow the link at the bottom of this review).

Not So Nutty Nitty Gritty 

• Company: Logic of English
• Product: 
• Essentials: Logic of English, Complete Set  (7 - adult) $243
• Phonics with Phonograms App (4-adult) $2.99

Please click the banner below to visit the TOS Review Crew and see what others had to say. As always, I hope that this review was useful to you as you choose where best to spend your homeschool budget.

Blessings~

Bridgeway English 1 and 2 (Grammar and Writing for Review/Remedial High School work)

As my daughter is heading towards her last year of high school next year, and my Middlest is starting next year, I have been wondering how we have done with our eclectic schooling when it comes to English skills. Because of this, I was pleased to be able to review Bridgeway Academy's English 1 (with a focus on grammar) with my 13 year old, and English 2 (focus on writing) with my Junior. 

ENGLISH 1

I had my 8th grader use English 1, to see how his grammar understanding is at this point. There were some "Technicalities" that we discovered were "holes," and were able to "Patch them up."

This is a consumable book, so I went through the first few units and assigned dates to the pages, so that he could see exactly what needed to be done on what day. This way if he slacked off a day or two (Which happens occasionally, especially if mom has a sick day or two), he knew precisely how far he had to go to "catch up." :)

The book is intended to be self-instructional, with very little input required from mom or dad, which *is* part of the desired outcome for my kids~ independent learners are what I'm aiming for. 

What is covered: subject and predicate, fours types of sentences, sentence fragments, run-on sentences, compound sentences, noun functions, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions and prepositional phrases, conjunctions, interjections, and grammar review.

My Middlest said that he like the way that it was laid out, that he was learning things, without running into things that were *too* challenging. I like that it is a good solid review of basic grammar for him *before* he hits high school. 

General Comments

I have to say that these courses are meant to be review or remedial for High School. They are out in a very methodical mastery manner, with each skill building on the next.

The book is divided into “Section” and Paks. Each Section has skill/topic boxes with instruction, followed by some activities (Workbook-style). At the end of the section there is a review, which the student should complete (without looking back). If there are any trouble spots, the student is prompted to check the instruction for that skill, correct their mistakes, and then recheck their answers, before continue to the next section.  After 3 Sections, there is a Self-Test, and then a final test for that PAK. 

ENGLISH 2

The timing for our review worked out really well for my 11th grader, as she was preparing for the PSAT. While there is no actual "Writing" on the PSAT, there *are* questions pertaining to understanding writing. Using English 2 gave us a start in seeing exactly where she is in her writing skills/understanding the technicalities of grammatical composition. She isn't in need of remedial learning, but we have found this useful as a review/tool to assess where we are.

What is covered: clauses, sentence variety, subject/verb agreement, grammar and mechanics, writing skills, rules of capitalization, rules of punctuation, proofreading, editing, letter writing, business writing, study skills, critical thinking and reasoning, and learning about fact versus fiction. 

Eldest is appreciating this exercise, and she discovered a few little holes in her learning that have now been patched up. Again, I like the fact that this is mostly a self-paced, independent approach, which works well for her.

TEACHER ANSWER KEY

The Teacher answer key has the answers for *both* English 1 and 2. The pages are printed 2-up so that you open the book horizontally, rather than vertically. It is handy to have this to use as the teacher, saves a boatload of time. It is also suggested that the student might use the answer key on their own to find their mistakes in the Section Activities. At the same time, it is recommended that the teacher be the one to grade the tests. 

My only negative comment has to do with the correcting/scoring of the reviews and tests. The point system seemed to be rather haphazard, and somewhat more complicated than necessary. I am used to working from a total of 100 possible points. In this program, each section review and test seemed to have a random number of total possible points, with 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 points being assigned to "each answer." This in and of itself was confusing~ sometimes it said __ points for each blank, other times __ points for each answer, but sometimes there were multiple answers (a.b.c.d.) for each question... so I wasn't always entirely sure how to assign the points.  Clearly not a deal-breaker, but I would like to see this made more intuitive. 

Not So Nutty Nitty Gritty 

In general I feel that both books give a fairly thorough review of foundational English grammar and writing basics. The exercises don't take an inordinate amount of time, and are self-learner driven. I would suggest using it in 8th grade, if possible, in order to help your students prepare for the PSAT/SAT/ACT tests in the high school years. A strong foundation in grammar and writing skills will certainly help your students in their quest for a higher test score. 

• Company: Bridgeway Academy 

• Product: English 1 (Grammar) and English 2 (Writing), with Teacher Key

• Ages: 7th-12th (Review or Remedial) 

• Price: $23.33 for each book

Please click the banner below to visit the TOS Review Crew and see what others had to say about these materials as well as online courses that Bridgeway Academy offers. I understand that they were a hit with my fellow crew members.  As always, I hope that this review was useful to you as you choose where best to spend your homeschool budget.

Blessings~

King Alfred's English~ A History of the Language We Speak And Why WeShould Be Glad We Do

Have you ever thought that maybe English has gotten the sort end of the stick? The mongrel of languages, difficult to learn, hard to understand the rules, and difficult to spell? Are you interested in the history of words? Are you disappointed when your dictionary doesn't include the etymology of the words? Well, have I got a book for you!
Enter  King Alfred's English: A History of the Language We Speak And Why We Should Be Glad We Do, published by The Shorter Word Press. The back of the book tells us that it was designed for students Grades 7-12 and Curious Adults, and I'll tell you that I fit right into that "Curious Adults" designation. What a fascinating read!
There are so many little facts and bits of information included in this book (for instance, I now understand why a Contemporary Christian Band would choose to call themselves Caedmon's Call), that I found myself sticky-noting pages with snippets that I wanted to remember.

Something interesting to note~ King Alfred’s English is the only book that covers the history of our language for students below the college level.

 A couple of things that are emphasized throughout the book:

• Any language that is being spoken (A Living Language) is going to change and move along with the culture that speaks it. Consider that each year new words are added to the dictionary. Some recent additions to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary are "tweet," "boomerang child," and "helicopter parent."
• Living Languages always simplify over time~ This is interesting, as I would have assumed that English became more complicated over time. The grammar itself is simpler (We now use  simply "you" when previously we had to choose between "thee," "thou," "ye," or "you"~ better, no?), but "the rules have become more numerous and exact." 

There is also a staggering amount of words in the English Language. The book gives this comparison:
French Dictionary: 100,000 word entries
Russian: 130,000
German: 185,000
Oxford English Dictionary: 615,000 word entries.
Wow! That's kind of crazy, but somewhat expected when England was such a melting pot of languages....

For the purposes of this review, I simply enjoyed reading (And sharing snippets with others) the book myself. A perfectly good and pleasant purpose for this book. However, please recall that the book was intended for students in 7th-12 grade as well as adults.  King Alfred's English is a "light course" in four subject areas: History, English Literature, Linguistics, and The English Bible, so is a great option for at least 1/2 semester credit for your high school student (I have yet to figure out keeping track of credits... YIKES! Time to get a handle on it, with a rising 10th grader!).

TheShorterWord.com maintains a student page with resources for each chapter including links to images, articles, videos, primary sources, and literature related to each chapter– and a teacher page with worksheets for each chapter and 3 tests covering the information in the whole book, as well as answers for each one.

This is another one of those marvelous review items for which I have nothing negative to say~ it's all good in my book! :) I shouldn't forget to mention that this is written from a distinctly Christian worldview and the Bible features in the spread as well as the life of the English language.

You can download and read the first chapter of the book. I warn you though, once you do, you will probably be hooked! :)

Not So Nutty Nitty Gritty
Company: The Shorter Word
Product: King Alfred's English: A History of the Language We Speak And Why We Should Be Glad We Do,
Price: List price is $16.95, but The Shorter Word has mentioned that it can be found for less at the following sites:
Grace & Truth Books ( $14.50)
CBD ( $14.89),
Rainbow Resource Center has it for $14.95
The Kindleprice is $5.95

As always, I hope that this review is helpful to you as you choose where to best spend your homeschool budget. Be sure to click on the banner below to read more reviews.

Blessings~

Disclaimer: I received this/these item(s)/service for free as part of the TOS Review Crew Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. 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."

Excellence in Literature

Perfect timing once again~ This year my eldest is in 9th grade, and we need to be making sure we have good solid courses to enter on her transcripts. Literature is one of those subjects that I wasn't sure exactly what to do, so it was wonderful when we found out we were to receive a literature course from Everyday Education to review. The course we received was English 1 Introduction to Literature with Honors Option. We were given the ebook version for review.

I will preface this review by mentioning that we were only given enough time to fully complete the first unit, which was a short story unit, so I'm not able to be as thorough in my thoughts and assessment as I normally like to be, given that the majority of the units are dealing with novel length literature.

The basics of the program~
Each unit is broken down into 4 weeks of reading, analyzing, and writing. The first 2 weeks in most of the units are spent reading the novel(s) and beginning to analyze them. This is done in a number of ways.

Janice Campbell has pulled together extensive resources to encourage the students to read, listen to and watch material that will enrich their understanding of the historical, artistic and literary events and times that shaped the author's worldviews.

Each unit (With the exception of the 1st Short Story Unit) requires an Author Profile as well as an essay of one variety or another. In Unit 1 the required essay is a "Compare and Contrast" essay. Other Units require essays that answer a specific question or are historical in nature.

Other assignments include taking on the voice of the author and writing in their style. I am interested to see how these future assignments go over with my avid reader/reluctant writer.

Here is a list of the literature covered in this first year program: you can see that this is no lightweight Literature program~ it is indeed college prep-worthy!
Unit 1: Short Stories by-
• Sarah Orne Jewett: A White Heron
• Edgar Allen Poe: The Purloined Letter  (Not scary, if you’re concerned about that.)
• Guy de Maupassant: The Diamond Necklace
• O. Henry: The Ransom of Red Chief
• Eudora Welty: A Worn Path
• James Thurber: The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
Unit 2: Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne
Honors: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
Unit 3: A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain
Honors: The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain
Unit 4: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
Honors: Shirley or Villette by CharlotteBrontë
Unit 5: Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw
Honors: Murder in the Cathedral by T.S. Eliot
Unit 6: Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
Honors: Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson
Unit 7: Animal Farm by George Orwell
Honors: 1984 by George Orwell
Unit 8: The Tempest by William Shakespeare
Honors: A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare
Unit 9: Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift
Honors: The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan

Now for some pros and cons~ 
Pros: 

• This course is mostly intended to be done independently. This is very appropriate for students heading towards college, and it doesn't hurt those who have other plans either. Taking responsibility for their time and work is always a good ethic to instill. The main job of the homeschool parent is to make sure that the work is being done, and to offer a little support and guidance when necessary.
• I really appreciate all of the "Behind the scenes" work that is suggested. It makes the literature more accessible, interesting, and alive when one has more background. 
• Many resources and links are included for background author information, audio options, visual resources, music and other online information. How handy not to have to scour the internet ourselves!
• In this case, I enjoyed the ability to add the ebook to my eldest's itouch library, so that she always had the ability to look things up quickly and on her own. 
• I am fairly impressed with the selections required for reading~ good classic literature is... Good! :) (Learn more about how Janice chose the literature for the course in her blog post)

 Cons:

• This one is a little nit-picky, but the links provided don't always seem to be directly clickable for some reason. They appear to require copying and pasting if they comprise more than one line of text, which isn't unreasonable, just not as seamless as I might hope. 
• Another nit-picky item~ Many times the assignment schedule starts on one page, and ends on the next. I would like to see this organized so that the assignment schedule for each unit is completely on a single page, so that we can see at a glance what needs to be accomplished. It would be nice to be able to print up just one assignment page for each unit to add to her schedule (clearly, I CAN copy and paste and make my own assignment page... see, I told you this was nit-picky.... ;) ).
• We were not able to locate a copy of any recommended writing handbook in time to use it to help complete any of the assignments before this review was due, so I am sure that there are things that would have been a little easier if we had had the book in hand. I do not recall ever writing an "Approach Paper", or actually, several of the other styles of essay required for this course, so I am glad that our writer's handbook is enroute to us. I have heard from local friends that Writers, Inc is VERY good, and that they use it on a weekly if not daily basis. However, this is not really a CON  for the program, just my particular situation during the review period.

You can download a sample unit (Unit 3 A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain) to get a feel for the course. (Thank you, Janice! Love the try it before you buy it option!)

Now the rest of the Nitty Gritty
Age: The entire curriculum covers  Literature and Writing for grades 8-12, and comprises 5 separate levels. You can download a pdf of the complete course booklist here.
The individual levels are:
English I: Introduction to Literature (The one we reviewed)
English II: Literature and Composition
English III: American Literature (Co-published by Andrew Pudewa of IEW)
English IV: British Literature (Co-published by Andrew Pudewa of IEW)
English V: World Literature

Price: Each unit is available with 2 options:
Print version $29 +$4.95 Priority Mail or
Ebook version $27 and no shipping, obviously. :)
There is also an option to purchase The Complete Curriculum
Print Version (In a professionally printed binder with tabs) $139 + Shipping ($10?)
Ebook Version $135 and no shipping (This brings each year's course down to $27!)

To sum up, I feel that this course would be perfect for the student who is motivated and responsible. It would be good for the student who is interested in and curious about the way people think. I believe it would also be beneficial for those students who aren't naturally inclined towards diligence and structure, if used correctly and with a little more parental guidance.

As always, I hope that this review is helpful to you as you choose where best to invest your time and money as you go about the business of training and teaching your children. For more opinions, please be sure to swing by the TOS Crew blog and see what others had to say.

Blessings~

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this/these item(s)/service for free as part of the TOS Crew Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. 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."