Heirloom Audio' latest production~ St. Bartholomew's Eve (A Review)

My Middlest son has enjoyed many of Heirloom Audio's Henty productions, and I was hoping that perhaps my Youngest would finally be ready to appreciate one of these historical fiction audio dramas, so I was looking forward to the arrival of St. Bartholomew's Eve

In the past I have held off listening to previous Heirloom Audio producitons with my youngest to due to some sensitivities and the fact that typical battle descriptions (and audio) would have bothered him, but I figured that he could handle most of what I'd heard in past reviews.  I decided to use this as some "audio/history" schooling overseen by Middlest (who is now 18) while I drove to pick up Eldest from college for fall break, so I put it on the iPad for them to listen to, and I popped the CD's in the car so that I could pre-listen in my early-morning driving (You might recall that I listened to Heirloom Audio's Wulf The Saxon on my way to PA last February, these long, solitary car trips being a good time for *me* to listen).

Well, my friends, I'm afraid that I have a very different review to write this time. While the cast is still amazing, and the production is incredibly professional, this time I felt it really was too much. For family-friendly listening, I expect some of the violence to be tuned down, but in this instance, it appears that Heirloom Audio actually dialed it up.

After listening through a fair number of tracks I sent a panicked message to my son, telling him to remove the audio drama from the iPad, and to NOT listen to it with my Youngest. Why would I do such a thing? I freely admit, I avoid horror, and I tend not to watch heavy drama and shows with major battle scenes myself, but I can generally stomach most things termed "family-friendly." I understand and appreciate the value of the themes of honor and bravery, etc... However, by the end of this story, I was feeling bothered and queasy due to a number of scenes and themes, for quite some time after as well.

I was bothered enough that I later downloaded a free version of Henty's St. Bartholomew's Eve and skimmed through it, doing some word searches from particular scenes. While there is still some violence (This *was a terribly bloody uprising against the Hugenots), the actual Henty version is not nearly as graphic as the audio drama in my opinion. In fact, one of the storylines in the audio drama that bothered me centers around a young lad (11 or 12 years old, so right at my Youngest's age), but when I skimmed/searched the Henty novel, there was no mention of this boy. It would appear that his character was thrown into the plot mostly as a gratuitous emotional string to pull, which I really do not appreciate at all. Additionally, the use of Martin Luther's "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" is another instance of adding to Henty's work something that was not in the original and adds to the gratuitous flavor of trying to push a point that wasn't original to the story (It is integral to the non-Henty storyline of the aforementioned boy).

I don't believe that the age range is appropriate for this particular recording. I do think it could be a good supplement to a high school, or even college course covering this part of history. It could open up the opportunity for discussion about the dangers of Mob Rule, which is history we appear to be close to repeating, as well as the excellent character traits of the two main characters, who behave very bravely, with humility, and wisdom. But in my opinion, this is NOT suitable for young children.

That being said, it might be time for me to pull out some of my older Henty Audios for my Youngest to listen to. I think he would be fine with most of them now (although I will double-check with Middlest on the ones that he mainly listened and I only skimmed through, to get his opinion).
Here are those titles, and my reviews for you to consider:
Wulf the Saxon
Captain Bayley's Heir
In the Reign of Terror (might wait a bit on this one as well)
The Cat of the Bubastes
Beric the Briton
The Dragon and the Raven
In Freedom's Cause

I hope in future that Heirloom Audio will return to sticking fairly close to the Henty stories when they write the screenplays and consider toning down some of the audio violence if they really want to reach families. Not all of us have our media tuned in to the graphic blood, guts, and horror that are so prevalent today (some things are better left to the imagination...).

Not So Nutty Nitty Gritty 

• Company: Heirloom Audio
• Product: St. Bartholomew's Eve
• Ages: Heirloom Audio suggests 6-16, I would NOT  go by that, and instead would put it strictly at a high school and up.
• Price: Multiple options: 
• 2-CD Set $29.97 + $4.97 shipping
• MP3 Download $19.97
• Live the Adventure Club $7.95/month (1st month free, and St. Bartholemew's Eve CD's free, just pay shipping fee of $4.97) 

You can visit Heirloom Audio on their Social Media pages:
Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Instagram

Please click the banner below to visit the TOS Homeschool Review Crew and see what others had to say. Their opinions may be far different from mine since we all view things through our own lens, and mine is admittedly a little more old-fashioned. As always, I hope that this review was useful to you as you choose where best to spend your homeschool budget.

Blessings~

 #hsreviews #HeirloomAudio #LiveTheAdventure #BringingHentyBack #AudioAdventures

CashCrunch Careers Survey (What do I want to be when I grow up?)

With an eighteen-year-old in the house, my next review was definitely one of interest, especially as he isn't certain what direction he wants to go in the future. CashCrunch Games has put together an online tool, CashCrunch Careers, using information from the US Department of Labor and corporate recruiting to help answer the questions people might have as they are weighing the pros and cons of higher education and future employment. 

The basic concept is that there are many career options that are suitable for each individual's strengths, but sometimes some of those career options might be overlooked because they don't jump right out at a person. For example, a career in law enforcement doesn't necessarily point only to regular police officer work. Dispatchers, clerical workers, detectives, scientists, and positions like parole officers, which might be considered more social, all fall under that umbrella. 

Because I haven't been in the greater workforce for almost 2 decades, I decided that I would take this CashCrunch Career survey also (high school was a LONG time ago for me... and things (and I) have changed. I figured it would be interesting to see how our results compared as well.

So, the first thing to do once you have an account and are logged in is to take the survey, which is 75 questions long. It's one of those "Choose which of these words best describes you." I honestly don't know anyone who actually enjoys taking these sorts of surveys because they are very difficult to answer, particularly when some of the words seem so closely related.

Here are some examples of the questions in the survey:

Once you've filled out the survey, your report is accessible (for as long as you might need it) to return to and revisit/investigate various employment sectors that might be good fits for you. 

It was rather interesting to see the overlap (but not complete overlap) of both my and my son's results...

My Son's Matches

My Matches

From here you can click on each career area for more definition... This is an example of my #15 match, Food Service Manager. You can see that while there is a much slower than average projected growth in this "Hospitality and Tourism" sector, there is a high projected need of 83,7000 (this is somewhat confusing to me in that there are other career options that are listed as having a faster than average growth, but the projected need is less than 10,000). 

When I clicked on the Hospitality and Tourism link on the left there Food Service Manager was one of thirty-nine possible job descriptions (as were Lodging Manager and Gaming Manager, which also showed up on my list). I also found it rather interesting that 16 of 20 job matches were "managerial positions. I'm not quite sure how I feel about that, but to some degree, it does make sense based on my life experience for the past 20 years. :)

One of the things I would like to see would be the option to take the survey more than one time. I find that sometimes I might want to change some of my answers and see what sort of difference that would make. My son was wondering the same thing. We were also thinking that sometimes it would be nice to have a "neither" or "both equal" option for most of the words, as sometimes it was just very difficult to choose.

CashCrunch Careers is only one of the offerings of CashCrunch Games.
CashCrunch Jr. ($32.50) for ages 5-12 is a physical board game that helps kids think about the value of money.
CashCrunch 101 for ages 13-21 is currently a free online one-player personal finance game.
Personal Finance Bite-Size ($40) is a lesson resource for teaching high school and college finance classes. If you are a SchoolhouseTeachers.com member you can access this course for free from your member dashboard.

Not So Nutty Nitty Gritty 

• Company: CashCrunch Games
  
  
• Product: CashCrunch Careers
• Ages: I would recommend High School - Adult
• Price: $99

You can visit CashCrunch Games on their social media pages on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram,  YouTube

Please click the banner below to visit the TOS Homeschool 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~

#hsreviews #cte #careers #careerpathway #collegeready #careerreadiness #dreamcareer #dreamjob #careerpossibilities #college #recruitment #changeofcareer

Fitting Words Classical Rhetoric (Review)

Having a high school senior, I was very interested in the Fitting Words Classical Rhetoric curriculum by Roman Roads Media. Regardless of what career path a person is taking, the ability to speak and listen intelligently cannot be taken too lightly.

The complete set includes all the pieces that are necessary to teach the course yourself, the text, the workbook, answer key and exam packet. However, it also includes the DVD Video Course, by the author, which adds in-depth teaching going beyond what is included in the text, just as if in a typical classroom setting with an excellent teacher. * I don't know if this is typical, or if it was just a perk for reviewers, but our complete course came in a spacious Roman Roads Media tote bag!

So, a word about the materials from a strictly material point of view. As you can see in the photo of what we actually received, the workbook is spiral bound, which sets it apart from the Answer Key (softcover) and the Text (hardcover). Believe it or not, this was something my son appreciated and pointed out to me, as it made it much easier to reach for the appropriate book. The spiral bound was also a benefit to him as it lay flat while he was writing, and could be opened double page or a single page for more compact workspaces. Sometimes little details make a big difference in the usability of a product, even if they aren't directly related to the content. ;) 

The Lessons in the textbook contain 

• The main text of the lesson ~ (which is fairly conversational in tone) often includes excerpts from famous works when they are discussed.
• Sidebars when key concepts and Famous Orators are introduced~ Serve to highlight and emphasize important points in the text
• Thinking Deeper Questions ~ Are good discussion topics
• Developing Memory Exercises ~ Suggestions for memory work for each lesson. These aren't mammoth undertakings but instead more brief, good to keep the brain exercising it's memory muscles. 
• Reading Further suggestions ~ Just what it says...
• Notes citing sources quoted

My son started out just reading the text and going through the exercises on his own due to summer and less inside access to the DVD player. When we sat down to check out the Video Course, however, he was very impressed. The author/speaker is very easy to listen to, and although he does go through the lessons from the text, there are many aside comments that offer more in-depth information. Middlest also said that the video makes one slow down and doesn't allow one to skim over material, rather helping one to take it all in more easily. 

A little more information about video Lesson. It is set up so that there are two "Chapters" for each lesson. The first part is the "lecture" style portion mentioned above. I didn't actually time it, but I think they run close to 20 minutes. The other is the "lesson application." I believe those run close to 10-15 minutes. The author/instructor spends a couple of minutes introducing and discussing a figure of speech (These are covered as a group in Lesson 27, but I appreciate the "preview" given in the video course).  I will also mention that many of these are figures of speech that I recognize, but couldn't have named. There are often excerpts of famous contemporary speeches modeling the figure of speech.  The next part goes over the Thinking Deeper questions from the text. It then moves directly to the Exercises in the workbook. He gives some suggestions and clarifies what is being looked for in the questions in the workbook.

We haven't had time to get to Lesson 12 yet, but here's an example of the Application Video:

The video also includes Exam Reviews that cover the information that will be on the exam. This is extremely helpful and is similar to a "study guide" for your student as they prepare for their exams. 

The curriculum suggests that the student set aside a notebook as a Commonplace book.

Which brings me to another thing that is unique to the video course: the introduction to Commonplace topics like Public Speaking in Lesson 3 with this example quote: "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools talk because they have to say something."- Plato.

Fans of the Classical Approach should be delighted with this curriculum. Those who are more eclectic and dabble in many approaches... you should also be impressed, as were we. This is a solid curriculum that should be enjoyed by the student and homeschool parent/teacher alike. 

Not So Nutty Nitty Gritty 

• Company: Roman Roads Media
• Product: Fitting Words Classical Rhetoric (complete program) 
• Ages: High School
• Price: $204

You can visit Roman Roads Media on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest

Please click the banner below to visit the TOS Homeschool 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~

#hsreviews  #RomanRoadsMedia  #FittingWords #Classical #Rhetoric

GrammarPlanet (online grammar lessons from Analytical Grammar)

I have heard of Analytical Grammar, but have never had an up close and personal glimpse of the program. That all changed with my review of a subscription to GrammarPlanet, their online grammar program. This program is intended for students ages 10 through adult, for learning or reviewing, and currently has 13 units, with more being added regularly until it is complete at 60 units.

When you sign up, you will be taken to a parent/teacher dashboard where you add in your students. The teacher dashboard really just shows where the students are, and allows you to see the work completed. There is no instruction or extra material covered here. I think it would be helpful (for planning and preparing ahead of time) if the teacher dashboard in the paid subscription included things like all the unit notes in a downloadable file... instead of only accessing them through the student dashboard, and maybe a little bit of explanation for the feedback pages.

After your students sign in, they are taken to their own dashboard.

For the purposes of this review, I worked through some of the program myself, and had my 11-year-old use it as well.

Each unit is locked until the previous unit is completed. Each unit includes printable notes (we just opened them up in a separate window on the computer, and usually had both windows side by side) which can be accessed by clicking the "reprint notes" button on the right side of the screen.

An instructive video is included for each unit. I had my student read the notes, and then watch the video. The video goes over the notes, with a couple of short quizzes (one or two questions) to make sure the student understands the instruction, followed by examples and a reinforcement of the process to be used when identifying the parts of speech for that Unit.

I will point out that the videos have close-captioned capabilities which I often use as another point of reinforcement (or for those who really don't like the auditory side of things, it's another walk-through of the notes with a little extra added in).

After going through the materials, the student moves on to the exercises. Each unit has 5 levels, so going through one/day would be a good pace. It is suggested that the student not spend more than 15 minutes per day on GrammarPlanet, keeping the lessons short and sweet. The exercises are essentially diagramming sentences, but they start out simply with identifying nouns, then adding in proper nouns, articles and adjectives, and so on, as shown in the outline towards the top of the review. The student gets instant feedback, showing them what they identified correctly and what they missed or misidentified.

Here is a little quirk of the program that we found somewhat confusing. In the example above the name "Father Niccolo Lorini" was properly identified using the proper noun with wings symbols  --PN   PN-- (when used on the first and last word, this added the PN in the middle automatically).
In the example below, I'm not quite sure why the PN symbols in the middle weren't added automatically when the --PN  PN-- was used on "Father" and "Physics."

In my opinion, it would be helpful if the mistakes were clickable with an explanation, especially for those who are on the younger end of the age range, which might help clear up any confusion with things like this~ or it could be a mistake on the part of the program.

My son was also getting confused by words that can be more than one part of speech (nouns and adjectives like gold and silver for example), and explanations would have been extremely helpful to him, or reminders to ask all the questions. The way the program is set up currently is great for an older student or as a refresher, but there could be a few more "helps" added in for the 10-12 year olds.

I also found the order of terms interesting, learning all things relating to nouns before moving on to verbs. I might have preferred to have subject/verbs introduced directly after proper nouns, which would have alleviated some confusion for my son. He knows what verbs are, but not being allowed to identify them for so long made him second-guess himself on a regular basis, resulting in multiple incorrect exercises.

So... what happens when a student identifies a number of words incorrectly? First, they are given extra exercises to work a little more. If there is still an issue, an email is sent to the parent/teacher advising them that there is a problem, and the account is locked so that you can go over the material with your student again before unlocking the account. A feature here that I appreciate is the ability to click on the lessons that were a problem so you can discuss what went wrong.

In this unit I had to unlock the account a couple of times... You can see that I'm checking out "Practice 12" and that the majority of the words are correctly identified, even though there is a big red X by the practice in the list on the left... the same goes for the tests where only one word was misidentified, but there is a big red X... I think those graphics could be changed to be a bit more encouraging, maybe? I will say my mathematically inclined son took issue with the concept that "A majority of the words were incorrectly identified" when he was locked out~ he actually counted his errors and wasn't pleased when they were definitely not a majority~ a significant number perhaps would be better wording here for concrete thinkers. ;)

Occasionally my son would just speed through the lesson, which led to careless mistakes, and repeated exercises... hopefully reinforcing the concept of checking his work twice before clicking submit.

After the five lessons in each unit are completed, there is a unit test (which doesn't give immediate feedback like the lessons), and the student can move on or not, based on how well they do. In the graphics I included here, a blue background is for the practice exercises, and the yellow/mustard background is for the tests.

Suggestions and room for improvement aside, I think that this program is a good tool to help your student get a handle on the English language, as they learn when, where, why, and how words are used the way they are. You can check it out for free and see what you think yourself. For kids who absolutely hate writing, this can be a boon, and for the parents, it does the correcting for you, which can also be greatly appreciated.

When I asked my son, he says he gives GrammarPlanet a B+ (that boy!). He found the content interesting,  he liked the feedback, and thought the notes were well done. In spite of some of his frustrations he felt overall the system was good, and even though it took him longer to get through some units, he feels like he is learning well.

Not So Nutty Nitty Gritty 

• Company: GrammarPlanet
• Product: no-ad online subscription
• Ages: 10-99+
• Price: $39 which covers the program until they get all the way through, no time limit.

You can visit GrammarPlanet on the Analytical Grammar social media pages on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest

Please click the banner below to visit the TOS Homeschool 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~

#hsreviews  #GrammarPlanet #grammar #onlinelearning

Northwest Treasures ~ Dinosaurs and the Bible (An online Geology classreview)

Northwest Treasures is a nifty little niche company (based in Washington state) that offers online and live classes in geology, as well as field trips and educational kits, all with a Biblical Worldview. We were offered two of the online classes to choose from for the purposes of this review: Dinosaurs and the Bible, and Geology and Apologetics, as well as Taking the Mystery Out of Geology. I chose Dinosaurs and the Bible, as I figured it would have the broadest appeal for our family, although we are all interested in Geology, rockhounding and such. (I seem to have passed on my interest which was definitely nurtured by growing up in the fossil and rock rich state of Montana, with a history buff for a father, and a rockhound for a grandfather. ;) )

Here is a trailer to give you a feel for this particular class:


Trailer of the Dinosaurs and the Bible class from Patrick Nurre on Vimeo.

Each lesson runs around 20 minutes, and comes with a worksheet (Set of 8-13 questions) to check comprehension and retention of the information found in the lesson. These worksheets are a little tricky to locate, so here are some instructions (that I think could be included on the course page).
When you are logged in (on a computer), there is a list of lessons with a "watch" button following each one. It isn't clearly obvious that the lessons themselves are clickable links that bring you to an overview of the lesson and links to the worksheet, and answer key (the answer key only needs to be downloaded one time, as it covers all 6 lessons). 
The final lesson also includes a 15 question multiple choice exam that covers information from the entire course.

The lessons are pretty much Vimeo powerpoint slide presentations (We watched on our TV via the Vimeo Roku channel, but you can also watch in a browser on your computer or tablet), with narration/instruction by Patrick Nurre. Through each of the videos, Patrick discusses the differences between Secular Paleontology and Christian Geology, always bringing it back to the framework of the Bible, as well as pointing out inconsistencies promoted by Evolutionary theorists and noting when Science becomes confused with Philosophy...

One of the things I particularly appreciated was the placement of the scientists in historical and geographical context, which helped to explain some of their philosophy and personal opinion/conjecture. The lessons progress from general discussions of the modern secular view of dinosaurs (and how it came about), their classification, to discussions of the catastrophic events that would have caused their demise and fossilization. All very interesting and intriguing for both my 11-year-old and myself. The lessons are:

• How We Got Our Modern View of the Dinosaurs 
• The Classification of Dinosaurs
• The Great Dinosaur Rush

The first three segments are more historical/technical aspects of the discussion, the terms, and classification. The last three highlight the Biblical answer of "how" the extinction occurred, and the fossils were created... something that eludes those who hold a secular view, but so simply explained in the Bible. 

• The Extinction of the Dinosaurs
• Dinosaurs and the Ice Age
• Fossils, Age, and Soft Tissue

I particularly enjoyed the last two lessons, as they referenced my home state, Yellowstone National Park, the Gallatin Valley, and other National Parks we visited last year as a family including Devil's Tower and the Petrified Forest. I grew up hunting for fossils (Although sadly I don't know what happened to the trilobites and others that were discovered on hikes and outings as a kid) and petrified wood. Thankfully I still have the chunks of petrified wood that I found as a kid in the Gallatin Valley. 

my petrified wood, crystals, and a piece of jewelry created by my rockhounding grandfather

I mentioned the worksheets at the beginning of this review, and I would suggest that if you are using them with kids on the younger age that they are printed up and used as a note-taking exercise while watching the video. Older students could use them as quizzes...

Taking the Mystery Out of Geology clarifies 13 terms that are frequently used in the field of Paleontology and Geology and shows how Science, History, and the Bible really do go together. 

As mentioned at the end of each of the video lessons, Northwest Treasures offers kits and hands-on material to enhance the lessons, and they also offer field trips to those fortunate enough to live in the Northwest, and/or those who have funds to travel for school. My father had moved out to the Glendive area where the Dinosaur and Agate Expedition tour takes place, and I would highly recommend anyone able to participate to do so. The Glendive Dinosaur and Fossil Museum doesn't get the press of the Creation Museum, but it is actually a larger facility and extremely close to the dinosaur site digs. We found it fascinating when we were there in 2016, and would have loved the opportunity to go to the fossil fields (weather and time constraints did not permit...). 

Glendive Dinosaur and Fossil Museum

I understand that they offer some classes on SchoolhouseTeachers.com, and while I haven't personally used/checked those out, if you have a membership and are interested in Geology, I expect they are well worth checking out. ;) 



Not So Nutty Nitty Gritty 

• Company: Northwest Treasures
• Product: Dinosaurs and the Bible (currently $19.99) and Taking the Mystery Out of Geology ($5.00)
• Ages: 5th grade - adult

Visit Northwest Treasures on their Social Media Channels on Facebook and Pinterest 

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

Blessings~

#hsreviews  #geology #dinosaurs #apologetics

A Review of Persuasive Writing and Classical Rhetoric: Practicing theHabits of Great Writers

Writing is one of the more difficult subjects to tackle, in some respects because it is both subjective and objective, so I always appreciate the chance to check out a new curriculum. This Spring Silverdale Press LLC offered a few of their products to the TOS Review Crew, including a number of Unit Studies for grades K-12 as well as Persuasive Writing & Classical Rhetoric: Practicing the Habits of Great Writers for high school students. We were selected to review the Writing Course.

The material, which is a full 36-week course is offered as a digital download, and comes with four parts:

• Rhetoric Lesson Book: each Lesson is written directly to the student (Not requiring a parent/teacher for learning), with an overview of the week, a schedule, interesting, instructive text, ending with a "Profile in Rhetoric" featuring some of the greatest writers. 
• Rhetoric Reader: includes excerpts from the authors featured in the "Profile in Rhetoric" for the lesson. 
• Rhetoric Workbook: Also written towards the student (obviously), with four parts:
• Review questions from the lesson 
• Review questions from the Reader 
• A Writing Exercise that relates to the lesson
• A Writing Prompt for a 500-word essay each week, again relating to the lesson.
• Rhetoric Answer Book: Answers to the review questions from the workbook. 

The authors directly suggest that the students use the workbook to "correct" their own papers, but that it is very important for the parent/teachers to discuss and give feedback on the writing exercises and the weekly essay. A rubric has been included in the front of the answer book to assist with this, and to help the students see what is expected in their writing. 

This is very much a "Classical Education" approach to Rhetoric, based upon three main habits the authors focus on, Writing, Reading, and Thinking on a regular basis.

After two introductory lessons, the students focus on three stages of Classical rhetoric, with 14 lessons covering "Invention" including The Subject, Stasis Theory, The Claim, Inartistic Appeals, Logical Appeals (Deductive and Inductive), Emotional Appeals, and Ethical Appeals. This is followed by 7 lessons in "Arrangement" which include The Introduction, Statement of Facts, Confirmation, Refutation, and Conclusion. The final stage is "Style" and there are 7 lessons here as well, that speak to Correctness in Words and Sentences and also Punctuation, Clarity in Character and Actions, Zapping Clutter, Ornamentation and Propriety. The final 5 lessons discuss "real world" writing including knowing the audience, what real writers today do, pitching your work, and dealing with rejection.

This is a very complete course of instruction, broken down into step-by-step details, which should allow your student to become a successful writer.

The Author Profiles in the Lessons, and the works in the Reader cover a wide variety of people including Patrick Henry and Alexander Hamilton, William Wilberforce and John F. Kennedy, Dorothy Sayers and Jane Austin, Ronald Reagan and Winston Churchill, and E.B. White and Augustine, among others. Your student will be introduced to some of the facts of their history, as well as some of the things they were known for in their writing. I found this to be an interesting aspect of this curriculum, and appreciate the personalization of the lesson being taught.

A portion of the lesson book pdf layout.
You can see where the profiles are, with photos of the featured writer, as well as other illustrations.

From a purely aesthetic point of view, the lesson book and reader are set up very well with color illustrations, bold text, bullet points and spacing that make it easy to see the organization of the text/lesson. My son appreciated accessing the text electronically, rather than having one more set of books to keep track of (Which is a little bit of an issue when you live in a "reviewing" homeschool...).

He also thought that the lessons were a very reasonable length, and felt that the daily writing (whether answering questions, doing the exercises, or the longer essay) worked well as a way to improve his skills. The "Great Writers Write" point at the beginning of the book appears to have stuck.

The Workbook was not set up in a way that worked well with my son, however, again from a purely aesthetic point of view (not speaking to the content here at all). As is often the case with workbooks, the lines for the answers often leave too much space, or not enough. I personally would prefer to have the workbook be a streamlined set of questions, that wouldn't take as much ink and paper to print, (Or viewing them on the screen with the questions from each section on a single page) with answers written in a spiral or composition book, but that is purely my opinion.

You can download a sample from the product page linked below.
Not So Nutty Nitty Gritty 

• Company: Silverdale Press LLC
• Product: Persuasive Writing & Classical Rhetoric: Practicing the Habits of Great Writers
• Ages: 14-18
• Price: $119.99

Visit Silverdale Press on their Social Media Pages:
Facebook   Twitter  Pinterest  

Please click the banner below to visit the TOS Homeschool Review Crew and see what others had to say about this as well as the Unit Studies mentioned at the beginning of the reivew. As always, I hope that this review was useful to you as you choose where best to spend your homeschool budget.

Blessings~

#hsreviews #HomeschoolWritingCurriculum