Nature Friend Magazine

Looking for a "Christian" alternative to Ranger Rick? Enjoy beautiful photography, art instruction and essays? Nature Friend Magazine and Study guide has much to offer!

Although my family couldn't afford to subscribe to children's magazines when I was a kid, I have fond memories of checking out my friends' copies of Ranger Rick and Cricket. I liked the cool photos and "kid submissions".

Now that I'm a parent, I'm more discriminating(and, I'm happy to say, so are my kids) about the material that we read. We've been sorely disappointed by gifted subscriptions of Ranger Rick and National Geographic Kids, with their evolutionary biases.

Enter Nature Friend, a publication that has been around since 1983. Although the magazine ownership has changed hands a few times, the commitment to "encourage children to believe in God as their Creator and to seek out, recognize, and appreciate His handiwork." has remained steadfast. The photography is every bit as stunning as any other you might see. The articles will enlighten and inspire your children as they consider God's creation, and there are fun activities in each issue, from a hidden picture search to the "You Can Draw A....." feature, a particular favorite of my 12 year old. There are actually two parts to this feature. Part 1 is the current month's instruction, and Part 2 is the page of reader submissions from past issue's instruction. Both are fun!

My children have greatly enjoyed reading the articles included in the August and September issues that the TOS Crew received to review. My 8 year-old particularly liked that it had so many puzzles to do. I was especially interested in the August articles on Owls (a personal favorite), and the stunning photographs.

You can also purchase an 8 page study guide that reinforces the articles and general information found in the magazine. These were included with the two monthly magazines that we were given, and my children enjoyed checking out the extra crosswords and acrostics. Mom (teacher!) appreciated the fill-in-the-blanks, "Writing lessons", "The Photo Critique"(which is great for the older children, and accompanying adults!), and more.

You may wish to click on one of the links I provided above, and check out some of the many free samples provided on the Nature Magazine Website, so that you can "Try before you buy".

I would highly recommend this for a Christmas or Birthday gift from grandparents, or friends looking for a "Family gift"! The quality of the paper, the photographs, and the content make this entirely "gift-worthy" in my book.

Now.. one reason that I recommend this as a gift subscription, is that it might be considered a little on the pricey side if you are pinching your pennies like we are. A one year subscription is regularly $36 ($3 an issue), or you can order a 2 year subscription for $68 ($2.83 an issue).
The Study guide is an extra $2/issue ($24/year) which would bring it up to $50 even for one year. Here is a link that explains a little more about the study guide, and adding it to a current subscription, if you have one... :)

BONUS: Until November 30th, the Shank's are offering a coupon for $3 off a new subscription. Use code BLOG93 when you subscribe. (It's like getting one month's issue free!)

It's actually a pretty good deal, when looking at it monthly... for the cost of one or two tall lattes you can educate and inspire your children for a whole month.... that's not bad! :) (However, if your budget has cut out those latte's, you might want to show this post to Grandma or Grandpa!)

Nature Friend Magazine also has available Back Issues for $5 each (Free shipping). You can click on each year, and each month for a list of the Table of Contents. So.. if you are studying, say, fossils and petrified wood, you might want to order the July 2006 Back Issue which has an article on the Petrified Forest National Park.

Another option (starting with the 2007 issues) would be to purchase a complete year's subscription, in a Smyth-sewn bound volumes. These hard-covers have a sewn binding that enables the book to lay open flat at any page, and the 304 pages are bound with beautiful, glossy, laminated covers. These run $66, and I think they would rival any Nature book you could find at Barnes and Noble.

Oh, and a thought for those of you who are blessed with extra monetary resources.... Nature Friend Magazine has a program called Cheer the Children that you may be interested in contributing to. They would like to be able to offer a magazine to every child that has to endure a hospital stay, and you can help by purchasing a "Gift subscription". If this is something that interests you, please click here to read more.

I hope you check them out (and make good use of those free samples... there are a lot of them, and although they can't show you the quality of the paper the magazines are printed on, they DO show the quality of the content!), check out what the other TOS crew members had to say about their free issues, and let me know what YOU think! (Feel free to leave a comment!) :)

Blessings~

*Disclaimer~ This review was made possible by the free gift of two month's of Nature Friend Magazine and Study Guide, for the purpose of review.

EDUDPS "Write With The Best" Volumes 1 & 2

Last, but certainly not least we come to the writing curriculum that Jill Dixon has put out:
I received the pages only versions "Write With the Best: Volume 1" and "Write With the Best: Volume 2 " to use with my 9 and 12 year olds.

I really like the concept and the format of this curriculum, in that there are included excerpts from classic works of literature, in a variety of genres. They are each read, discussed, analyzed, and finally used as models of writing, from which the student creates their own piece of work in the given genre. Imitation is not only one of the greatest forms of flattery, but one of the best modes of learning.... :)

I also appreciate that these aren't lengthy dissertations on grammar, but a more natural approach to writing. Jill teaches attention to detail, and descriptive writing, with an emphasis on descriptive nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. She keeps her "lessons" fairly short (Which I like), although the units are somewhat predictable in form (which I don't mind, but some may find wearying). She recommends writing on topics that will keep the student's interest (well.... what a concept! "What I Did On My Summer Vacation" gets old after awhile, as does any arbitrary choice of topic on the part of the teacher), but she does so keeping within the genre at hand.

One of the handiest portions of this curriculum, and one that will most certainly continue to be used, is the "How To Write" Guide with a list of steps to follow to develop a certain genre of writing. My 12 year old, in particular was impressed with, and enjoyed using this portion of the curriculum.

There were only two things I felt were confusing :

• The "Answer keys" to the cited literary passages. The words are presented in alphabetical order rather than in the order they appear, which makes it more difficult than necessary to verify student work. The point is also made that not EVERY noun, verb, adjective, or adverb is listed in the answer key, only "the most descriptive", but that could be considered a little subjective, which was confusing to my children.... I finally figured out that I should just nod my head whenever they came up with one that was not on the list.... ;)
• The objective to "Find an example of _______ (current genre being studied) by a well known author and use it for further study. I felt this should be an objective detailed for the upper middle-school and/or high school student, rather than being a general objective for all. Of course as students progress through the course they should become more familiar with and recognize specific styles of writing, but to expect it immediately seemed a little presumptuous. There is a list of additional Literary Passages included in the back of the manual for "Reuse" of the curriculum, but I feel that they should be noted as options for the parents to bring up for their younger students to complete these objectives.

I am enjoying hearing my children pick up on and think about and use more descriptive words in their every day conversations as well as in their writing. OK, so my 9 year old is still addicted to words like "Sick" and "Cool", but I think he'll get the hang of it... maybe he'll even rub off on his skateboarding neighborhood buddies! ;) The 12 year old... she's another story! :)

I do think that while "Write with the Best Volume 1" is listed as being for grades 3-12, it is optimal for the middle to high-school years. Jill does give recommendations for expectations for younger students, and I appreciate that. I believe that "Write With The Best" is useful for my "School of Two", and would be a benefit for those who have more and varied ages in their "classes". :)

For those concerned about high-school "Credit hours"... I think that if your student is taking a reasonable amount of time to complete the writing and perfecting objectives, then they should fairly easily hit that average of 40 minutes/day.... Some days will most certainly be lighter than others(ie... reading and "Grammar exercises"), but when they get into writing short stories and fables, and more, some of those days will be much longer than others.... it should all come out in the wash.

Alright, so now I should get down to the nitty gritty and tell you some specifics.

From the Table of Contents:
Volume 1: (3rd-12 grade)

• Describing an Object from Jules Verne - a Place from Charles Dickens - a Character from Daniel Defoe
• Dialogue from Kenneth Grahame
• The Short Story from O. Henry
• Fables from Aesop
• Friendly Letters from Robert Louis Stevenson
• Poetry - Rhyming Verse from William Wordsworth
• The Ballad or Narrative Poem from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Volume 2 (6th -12th grade)

• Poetry - Free Verse from Emily Dickinson
• Business Letters from Helen Keller
• Persuasive Essays from Thomas Paine
• Expository Essays from Francis Bacon
• Literary Critiques from Edgar Allan Poe (That's right! Poe was a superb literary critic at one point.)
• Newspaper Articles from Ernest Hemingway (Yes, indeed! In his early career, Hemingway was a newspaper article writer.)
• Speeches from Marcus Tullius Cicero
• Dramatic Monologues from William Shakespeare

Pricing:
Volume 1

• $19.95 ebook (Currently on sale for $14.95... 25% off)
• $22.45 pages only (no Binder)
• $24.95 3- ring- Binder

Volume 2

• $24.95 ebook (Currently on sale for $18.65... 25% off)
• $27.45 pages only (no Binder)
• $29.95 3- ring- Binder

For more information and insight, don't forget to check out other TOS Crew member reviews!

EDUDPS~ Roots and Fruits: Vocabulary

Next...... Roots and Fruits

We all know (I'm pretty sure this is old news by now... ;) ) that having a handle on the Greek and Latin roots of our English language is a huge help in the ability to comprehend what is being said and written in the world around around us, not to mention useful for scoring well on the aforementioned ACT/PSAT/SAT exams.

Jill Dixon has compiled a list of 1716 vocabulary words in a handy manual that comes complete with a daily lesson plan that address all learning styles, 14 activities to use throughout the program that reinforce the learning of those root words, and a couple of extras~ Words are marked that are appropriate for the youngest learners, including Kindergartners, and the most common words found on the high school/college assessment tests are also highlighted.

Now, the way this is set up could be helpful or confusing, depending on YOUR style of learning/teaching! There is no program of "learn this set of words this week, test of Friday". Rather the teacher (You!) are in charge of what words you address each week. Sometimes this works well for me, because I have a group of words that we are using in a particular section of study, so it makes sense to use them for "Root" Vocabulary. Other times, however, I feel far too "random" in my choices. However.... the proof is in the pudding, and when my kiddos can recall what words we were studying a month later, I am reminded that "it's not about me"..... ;)

There are three ordering options for Roots and Fruits
$14.98 Ebook (Currently on sale for $11.25.... 25% off)
$17.48 Pages only (Three hole punched)
$19.98 Comb Binding (The version I received for review)

Don't forget to check out other TOS Crew member reviews!

EDUDPS "The Complete Career, College, and High School Guide for Homeschoolers"

Next up.... No anacronym this time.....:)
"The Complete Career, College, and High School Guide for Homeschoolers"~
This is similar in part to the POC4U, in that it surveys learning styles, but it goes much more in depth, with surveys that cover:

• Work/Service preferences
• Personality profiles
• Preferred Work environment profiles

For each preference there are numerous possible jobs and/or careers listed, with a general listing of pages of occupations, listed alphabetically. There follows a lengthly section that details " Popular careers/College Majors for Homeschoolers", and suggested courses of study for Middle and High School, as well as activities to consider pursuing, and suggestions for people that the student might like to "interview" to further narrow down their choices. (Jill also handily includes a list of interview questions for career possibilities, which I thought was most useful!)

Beyond this, Jill has included a plothora of information on

• How to go about actually running a homeshool "high school"
• How to create a course of study and translate that into a transcript
• How to figure out and count "Credit hours" and "GPA"
• There are recommendations on how to "test out" of college courses for a relatively minimal fee, when compared to course fees, as well as information on taking the ACT/PSAT/SAT tests
• Scholarship information and more....

Now, my daughter is only in 7th grade, so this wasn't quite as easy for her to fill out a bunch of the questions, but I think that it is going to be a great tool.

• For the present, in that it is getting her to start thinking about her interests, and where they may someday lead her
• For the future, as she becomes more aware of who she is as a person, and where she would like to go as an adult

"The Complete Career, College, and High School Guide for Homeschoolers" is the sort of thing that many people never even think about until they've changed their major 3 or 4 times, or even beyond. What a jump start you can give your kids, if you start helping them to assess in the middle and/or early high school years!

I appreciated the emphasis on discipling and raising Godly children, regardless of whether they will be following a college/career path, or a technical/career path, or a home/career path. :) I did find that the manual as a whole didn't "Flow" exactly, with high school information following College/Clep information, etc..., but since this is more reference than novel, "Flow" isn't really all that important to me, content is. :)

Oh, and just for the sake of it, I checked around a little and "Career Counseling" goes for anywhere from $125 for an hour (Not including the time that it takes you to fill out assessments/personality tests, etc...) to $220 for 6 hours, and there were some offerings that didn't list a price, so I can just imagine..... considering that, I think that
"The Complete Career, College, and High School Guide for Homeschoolers" is a very reasonably priced for the resources and information offered!
$39.95 for the softbound version that I received to review and
$34.95 for the ebook

Don't forget to check out other TOS Crew member reviews!

EDUDPS(POC4U) Learning assessment/Curriculum Guide

The TOS Crew members were blessed with the opportunity to review any of a number of Jill Dixon's Curriculums and Guides. Because I have a MAC, however, I was not able to review the ebook versions, and was given hard copies of the books to review. (Note: EDUDPS is currently offering their ebooks for 25% off their list price) The next 4 reviews will be from products that I received from EDUDPS.

First up, POC4U is a title that is not available in ebook format, but since I had a package of print titles coming, I was asked to review this title as well. :)

So... what does POC4U stand for?
"Person Optimized Curricula For You" ~ That title is still somewhat difficult to figure out, but the basic concept is that each child's education should be optimized for their own person. This is a tool for homeschoolers to figure out their own IEP, if you will... ;)
POC4U includes

• Surveys for the child to take which will help to pinpoint your child's predominate learning style.
• Diagnostic surveys that are helpful in determining what grade level your child may be working at in reading/decoding, math computation, and written expression from K through grade 8.
• Eight points or "hints" in effectively utilizing curricula based on a student's inclinations

The rest of the book is broken down into the 3 learning styles (Auditory, Visual, and Tactile/Kinesthetic), and specifics for each one. This includes:

• Cues to help recognize a particular learning style
• General Teaching Techniques for the particular style
• Specific Teaching Techniques and Curriculum suggestions in each of the following:

1. Reading
2. Spelling
3. Grammar/English
4. Writing/Composition
5. Math
6. History, Science, and Geography

I think that POC4U would be most helpful for those who are just starting their homeschooling journey, whether homeschooling from the beginning, or bringing their children home from public/private schools. I feel that it would also be a helpful tool for those who are feeling frustrated in their homeschooling efforts, as it could illuminate a "Disconnect" between a student's learning style and the current teaching style~ A possibly simple solution may be found between the front and back pages of POC4U, that could ease a seemingly complex and stressful learning environment.

I found it interesting, when my son took the learning style assessment in POC4U, and when my daughter took the assessments in the next item I'll be mentioning "The Complete Career, College, and High School Guide for Homeschoolers", that they both tested almost identically. While neither one has a strong leaning in any direction, they both rated visual the lowest in their assessments, but even that was in the zone of being a preference.

My final analysis is that POC4U helps me to feel confident that at least my two olders can benefit from any style of curriculum that we choose to use, and that's a good thing. Likewise, if either of them had shown a strong preference and/or dislike for a particular style of learning, I would feel comfortable in taking Jill Dixon's guidance in tailoring my curriculum choices to my children's needs (we have yet to figure out my 2 year old... he may end up with a strong preference, and then I'll be doubly happy to have this guide handy!).
-----> Not bad for the nominal investment of $12.98.

Don't forget to check out other TOS Crew member reviews!

A Journey Through Learning Lapbooks

TOS Crew members were given the option to review one of 5 lapbooks from A Journey Through Learning:

• Amphibians
• Autumn
• Desert
• Parables of a King
• or Reptiles.

Being that we live in New England, and having fall right around the corner, we decided to complete the Autumn Lapbook/Unit Study. (These units are able to be spread out over a week or a month... your choice!)

I won't bore you with the details of malfunctioning printers, and icky weather(making some of the activities in a fall lapbook difficult).... but the photos of my lapbook will show that even * if * your printer decides that it is no longer using red ink, you can still "make do", and come up with a fun product! (I did have to adjust and print a lot in grayscale, on colorful paper to make the lapbook more colorful.... I mean, come on... it's autumn... red and orange leaves, pumpkins......{sigh})

OK.... so on with the nuts and bolts of a Journey Through Learning Lapbook!

Just a quick informational note... the lapbooks are available as:

• Instantly downloadable pdfs ($13)
• CD-Rom ($14)
• and Printed ($21) formats (hmmmm the printed version would have come in handy for me this time... who knew??)

This lapbook/unit study is perfect for a novice to lapbooking! Everything is included and well laid-out, so that you are almost guaranteed to end up with a pleasing product. There are:

• Study Guide pages with enough information for your children to be able to complete theMini-books(no scouring for extra books, unless you WANT to!)
  
• Full color mini-books, ready to be cut out and assembled (each mini book follows the study guide page that goes with it in the pdf~ all nice and easy and in order!)
• Directions on assembling each mini book~ Very helpful
• Instructions and visuals (in two places!) for placing the mini-books in each folder~ Excellent! (Your older kids should be able to do this mostly on their own, and if you're helping younger child, having it laid out for you is a huge time saver!)

There are also helpful hints and tricks, suggestions on how to go about the study, options for how to schedule your time, a table of contents, a Bibliography, an "Additional Reading" list, and Enrichment Pages:

• Book Log- A fun place to keep up with extra reading!
• Biography Book Report (if included)- Learn more about the people you are studying!
• NICK Notes-An easier way to organize information
• Outline Form-A little bit harder way to organize information. (This may not work for all study guides. Some study guides may not be detailed enough to use the Outline Forms. Use only as it works for your child.)
• What I Have Learned-Pages for narration: There are two versions to choose from: Younger-includes a place to draw a picture. Older-for children who are capable of more writing and narration.

A Journey Through Learning currently offers 48 lapbooks/lapbook templates, and they are mostly intended for the 2nd-7th grade age range. They are available in the following categories:

• Mini Lapbooks
• Science Lapbooks
• History/Social Studies/Government Lapbooks
• Holiday/Seasonal Lapbooks
• Bible/Family Lapbooks
• Preschool Lapbooks
• Literature Lapbooks
• Templates and Organizers
• Unit Studies

I found this to be an extremely easy way to add a little seasonal information to our school time. While the Autumn lapbook wasn't as "academic" as a couple of the other choices, it was fun and interesting, and my kids learned a few things. I also appreciated that it was a group effort to put it together, with one child reading while the other cut out the mini-books. Mom helped assemble, and they took turns filling out information. Chalk one up for cooperation!

I am looking forward to checking out one of the more academic titles(science-ish) next... the studies look good, the lapbooking is relatively painless, and the final product makes for a great study/review item.

On another side note.... don't let the two year old get into the lapbook, unless you've chosen to print on card-stock, or another slightly sturdier paper... ;) Brads and flaps are just waaayyyyy too interesting! ;)
Here are some photos of our finished product:


The Cover~

First folder opening... I printed the
"Study Guides" 1/2 size, 2 to a sheet,
and made a little pocket to hold them
(Big red sqare), which I glued to the
back of the 3rd folder.


First and 3rd Folders open

All three folders open

If you are thinking of doing a unit study on a particular topic, and would like to try lapbooking (Or if you want to make your lapbooking easier), I suggest you check out A Journey to Learning, to see if they have something that strikes your fancy!

Visit the TOS Crew Blog to check out some of the JTL lapbook experiences of other Crew members.....

Blessings~

Nutrition 101: Choose Life!

Nutrition 101: Choose Life! from Growing Healthy Homes LLC is a very thorough nutrition course (or tome~ it's HUGE! 448 pages) that doubles as an anatomy course! The basic text is divided into 6 units, with each unit covering two specific areas of the body and the nutrients required to help those parts of the body function as the healthy, efficient machine that God designed it to be.

• The Brain and Nervous System
• Digestion and Elimination
• Respiration and Olfactory
• Muscular and Skeletal Systems
• Cardiovascular and Immune Systems
• Endocrine System and Emotions

Teaching style: UNIT Study!
The material in Nutrition 101 is intended to be used for K-12, which means that there is a vast amount of information included. If your teaching style adapts material easily, you will probably love Nutrition 101. If you prefer a more "scripted" approach to teaching and have younger children, this text may be more difficult for you to use. The "Text" portion of the course is NOT leveled by age. I found it helpful to highlight the portions that I felt were appropriate for my children when reading through the text. I did find it useful that the activities/discussions following each section were divided into age-appropriate sets.

Pros:

• LOTS of information
• Helpful charts, HUGE Appendices
• Lists of "Good Foods/Bad Foods" for each system's nutritional needs
• Colorful text
• Biblical base
• Recipes that apply to the nutrition/anatomy topic being covered. ie: when learning about the brain and good fats/bad fats, you can emphasize that section with the included recipe for guacamole. (Avocado is a GOOD fat... YUM!)

Cons:

• I have to say that I struggled with certain aspects of this course, and the sporadic"tone" that I read in it. I am fairly health conscious, but I tend to be more in the camp of "eat these things because they will help a, b, or c be healthy and function correctly" vs. "if you don't eat these things then you might end up with x, y, or z..." This was what I felt through many of the portions of the study that we went through. I may be more than normally sensitive to this, because I have a child that is going through the "Worry about everything" stage and I was reading through the lens of his current perspective.
• I also struggle with courses or books that are somewhat dogmatic in their stance. I felt that sometimes the authors were in some measure forcefully stating their opinions on nutrition, which others may or may not totally agree with. *This was not a constant, just something that "nudged" me upon occasion~ Worth mentioning, but not a "deal-breaker" when considering whether or not to use this for a curriculum.
  
• In general, I felt it was a little difficult to distill the information for the younger student.
  

Cost:

• $79.95 for an e-book on a CD-ROM (Similar to the e-version I received for review purposes)
• $99.95 for a hardcopy printed book
• $129.95 for the book and CD-ROM together

Overall opinion:
I do feel that Nutrition 101: Choose Life! is a profitable and educational book, particularly when being used with an appropriate age. I would consider this a great course for 9-12th grade specifically (Teenagers tend to be past that "worry-wort" stage and are able to discuss their opinions when faced with certain statements). I wouldn't purchase it exclusively for K-4th grade students, but I can see that it's inclusion of activities for the younger children can be a boon to mothers with a wider age-spread than that of my own.

For many other opinions please hop on over to see what other members of the TOS Crew had to
say about this prodigious tome on the physiology of the Nutrition of the human body.

Blessings~