Review: Under Drake's Flag

A handful of weeks ago, we were given the opportunity to review Under Drake's Flag, produced by Heirloom Audio Productions.  This 2 CD set with an abridged study guide sells for $29.95, and is most suitable for ages 6 through adult.  
 

We really enjoy listening to audio books here at Larson Boys Academy, especially when we're all in the van together.  Now that the boys are older, it seems that we're running in different directions quite often so we don't get to listen to as many as we used to.  However, this CD set arrived just before we left on a road trip to visit family so the timing was perfect for all 7 of us to listen to the story.

 

This is a 2 hour long audio theater production of G.A. Henty's story about Sir Francis Drake.  Since it is an audio theater production, it's more than just a narrator reading the story.  There is a full cast of talented actors performing the story, along with sound effects and a musical score that make the story come alive.  

 

Sir Francis Drake lived from 1540-1596.  He circumnavigated the globe for England, helped defeat the Spanish Armada when they invaded trying to capture England, and was made a knight by Queen Elizabeth.  More importantly, he was a strong Christian and his Christian values guided what he did. 

This story tells about Sir Francis Drake and his adventures through the experiences of Ned Hawkshaw.  During Ned's travels, he experiences battles, a shipwreck, and even a shark attack, and then he witnesses the Spanish Inquisition.

 

Included with the CDs is an abridged study guide.  This abridged guide is divided into 19 sections, and each section has three parts:  "Listening Well" (comprehension questions), "Thinking Further" (questions that require your child to use critical thought to think more deeply about the story), and "Defining Words" (words that your child might need to look up in order to understand a bit more about the story).  There are also 3 short Bible studies in the back of the guide.

There is also a full study guide available as a PDF download.  This full study guide has the same sections as the abridged version, but there are a more questions and words listed.  For example, in the first section, the abridged guide has 3 "Listening Well" questions, 3 "Thinking Further" questions, and 2 words under "Defining Words".  The full study guide has 8 "Listening Well" questions, 9 "Thinking Further" questions, and 6 words under "Defining Words".

 

This audio drama is very well done.  It was enjoyed by all 7 of us on our road trip.  The cast did a superb job, and the musical score and sound effects transported us into the story so we felt as if we were on the high seas ourselves, even though we were actually travelling through the midwest. 

 

Since we enjoyed Under Drake's Flag so much, I was excited to hear that Heirloom Audio Productions is currently working on a second title:  In Freedom's Cause.  This GA Henty book is about William Wallace and Robert the Bruce, and the projected release date is November. 

       

Review: Old Western Culture-The Greeks

Every now and then a product comes along that really, really excites me.  Roman Roads Media has released one of these products:  Old Western Culture:  The Greeks.  The subtitle to this DVD course is "A Christian Approach to Great Books".

That's right--I said a DVD course that is a Christian approach to Great Books.  Now maybe you understand my excitement!

Way back when I was just starting our homeschool journey with Luke, I knew I wanted to give my sons an education using the Great Books as they entered Junior High & High School.   As time went on I never waivered in this goal, but our family ended up consisting of five closely spaced sons, I ended up with a chronic autoimmune liver disease, and last December I felt like God was nudging me to take a part time job at our church.  Combine these circumstances with the fact I did not receive the kind of education I wanted to give my boys, and I was struggling to provide what I'd hoped to. 

Enter Wesley Callihan & Roman Roads Media.

 

 





Wes Callihan is the highly qualified teacher on The Greeks DVDs.  He has a degree in history, has taught in many classrooms, has written Great Books study guides for Veritas Press, speaks at homeschool conferences, and is founder of  Schola Classical Tutorials.  All this to say, he is passionate about the subject matter he teaches.  His love of the Great Books shines through, and he's a wonderful teacher.

 

What exactly is Old Western Culture: The Greeks?  It is a four part DVD series that is a complete literature and social studies course for students in grades 8 and up.  This program was created for homeschoolers, so it is extremely homeschool friendly.  Each unit has 12 video lessons that are about 30 minutes each, for a total of 48 video lessons.  These video lessons aren't boring lectures, either.  As mentioned above, Wes Callihan is an engaging teacher who loves and knows the subject matter, and the lessons are full of wonderful graphics and artwork.

Each of the following four units can also be used as a stand alone unit, and as such, they can be used in any order:

1. The Epics:  The Poems of Homer
2. Drama and Lyric:  The Tragedies, Comedies, and Minor Poems
3. The Histories:  Herodotus, Thucydides, and Xenophon
4. The Philosophers:  The Works of Plato and Aristotle

If you do all four units, your child will read Homer, Plato, Aristotle, Herodotus, Thucydides, Sophocles, and more throughout the year.

 

In addition to the instruction, each part contains a PDF workbook, a Teacher's Edition, and needed texts in PDF format.  There is also an exam for each part, and writing assignments for your student.  Each DVD unit also contains a "Guide to the Art" booklet.  For $224, you have access to all that you need for the year.  Roman Roads does suggest that you purchase physical copies of the books read throughout the course, but if you choose not to, everything you need is included.

You can also purchase copies of the workbook if you'd rather not print them.  I received a hardcopy of The Histories workbook.  It is a spiral bound black and white workbook (with a color cover), and the answers are in the back of the workbook.  I have a black and white laser printer, and for our family I see no benefit in ordering a pre-printed workbook.  However, if you choose to do so, this is a quality product.

 



 

 

 



 

Now that I've described what it is, how does it work?  Luke and Ezekiel both fall in the suggested age range, and we began with the first unit, The Epics.  In this unit, your student will read both The Iliad and The Odyssey.  This unit has a schedule available for download on the Roman Roads website, while the other units have a schedule printed in the included Art Guide.  This schedule shows a recommended nine week schedule, working 5 days a week.  We followed this schedule pretty closely (we began with The Epics unit), though since it is summer we didn't always work 5 days a week. 

The first lecture of each unit is an introduction to the topic of the unit.  After watching the introduction, there are study questions in the student workbook for the student to answer.  An important point to note is that on each DVD there is a link on the menu for the study questions.  If your student has any trouble answering the questions, they can simply go to the study question link, find the appropriate question, and re-watch the pertinent portion of the DVD lecture.

After the introductory lesson, the student then begins to read the books for the unit.  Some days the student simply reads; other days the student will answer questions in the workbook about their reading; other days they will watch a video lecture about what they are reading and will answer questions in the workbook about the lectures.

The student is asked to write one paper for each unit.  According to the recommended schedule, they should take about 3 weeks to write the paper.  It is suggested that the paper be about 750-1200 words long.  In each workbook, there are several discussion questions, and if your student is struggling to come up with a thesis statement, they can use the discussion questions as a starting point for their paper.

Each unit also has a final exam.  These are available on the Roman Roads website.  If your student doesn't make a satisfactory grade on the exam, Roman Roads provides an exam B on the website as well.

I mentioned above that there is a "Guide to the Art" booklet included, and that the DVDs have wonderful artwork.  Throughout the lectures, related artwork is shown on the screen.  The "Guide to the Art" booklet contains full color reproductions of all this artwork, along with the title, artist, and information about the artwork and/or artist, meaning there is a mini art history course included as well.

 

 

Two years ago, Luke, Ezekiel, and I studied the ancients.  We were supposed to read The Odyssey, but I was intimidated.  It is not a skinny book, and it's not written in a style that I'm comfortable with.  This meant I was unsure how to approach this book with them, so we skipped it.  However, now that we're going through The Iliad with Wes Callihan, I look forward to tackling The Odyssey next with the boys.

While you could turn your student loose with the DVDs and reading, the parent is encouraged to watch the lectures and have discussions with their child.  I like that following this model, we are all learning together.  During one of our first discussions using the discussion questions in the workbook, the boys assumed I had the answers in my notebook.  The discussion questions do not have answers in the Teacher Edition, which meant (as I had to explain to them) that I was having to use my brain to think about and discover answers alongside them.  

Luke and Ezekiel are both very good readers, however Luke tends to be a slower reader.  The amount of reading is stretching Luke (in a good way), and having the suggested schedule helps me to see what a reasonable amount of reading is for a typical student.  We have found that following the schedule means that we're working on this 60-90+ minutes a day.  I think this is a fabulous use of our time, though, considering all that we are learning.

I appreciate that the program approaches these Great Books from a Christian perspective.  It is recognized that even though the authors were not believers, they still had worthwhile thoughts and ideas and is not afraid to tackle these head on, using a Christian worldview.

We're all enjoying this program, and we're all learning so much.  This program has made doing a Great Books study possible for our family; not only has it made it possible, it has made it possible to do it well and I am so excited about continuing with the next 3 years (The Romans, Christendom, and Early Moderns) of Old Western Culture.

   

Review: Veritas Press Self-Paced History

Veritas Press has been one of those homeschool friendly companies that I've liked from the very beginning of our journey.  They produce beautiful materials that make me want to pick them up and look them over and use them.  I was thrilled when the opportunity arose for us to review one of their Self-Paced History courses.

I looked over the options, and chose the Self-Paced History:  Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Reformation course, since this fits the time period my younger boys will be studying in the fall.  This course is priced at $199, and includes access for 12 months.  In addition to the online course, we were also sent the Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Reformation Flashcards ($19.95) for review.

 

 

Have you ever wished you could have a passionate, engaging, knowledgeable history teacher come into your house every day and teach your child?  This is exactly what the Self-Paced History courses from Veritas Press provide.  The courses use interactive lessons, games, puzzles, and quizzes to teach your child history.

 

The Self-Paced History courses are designed for use by children in grades 2-6.  There are 5 different courses available:

• Old Testament and Ancient Egypt
• New Testament, Greece, and Rome
• Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Reformation
• Explorers to 1815
• 1815 to Present

These courses follow the history paradigm that history is best studied by beginning at the beginning and then progressing chronologically through until today.  Each course has 160 lessons that cover 32 major events, and you can view sample lessons for each course here.

 

The 32 events covered for each course are the same events that are highlighted on the flashcards.  This is handy because you can pull out your hardcopy of the flashcards to review the material your child is learning.  These flashcards are full color, with relevant artwork depicting each event on the front.  On the back, there are a few paragraphs that detail the event, and there are also resources listed with page numbers if you'd like to read more about what is on each card.

Some of the events covered in the Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Reformation course are:

• Barbarian Invasion and Vikings
• Otto I and the Holy Roman Empire
• Cathedrals in Europe
• St. Thomas Aquinas
• The Council of Trent

For example, in one of the earliest lessons in our course, the student is learning about St. Augustine.  As part of this, they also learn about the Trinity (the teaching is done by a person who is dressed as if they live in the time period) and then have to unscramble a puzzle that gives the meaning of "trinity".  The whole course is filled with examples like this, and as a result your child learns while having fun.

 

A great benefit for you, the parent, other than having the aforementioned engaging teacher, is that the child's work is automatically graded.  This allows you to keep track of how they're doing, even if you can't stay by them for each and every lesson.



 

Front of MARR flashcard

Back of MARR flashcard

I used this course with Micah, my 10 year old 5th grader.  I loved that I could have him do his history lesson without me, and I loved that I knew he was learning and could easily see how he was doing, even if I couldn't be around for his lessons.  Since I've been working part time, I've been looking for ways to have the boys be more independent.  This program fit that criteria nicely. 

Micah enjoyed the program for the most part.  It helped, I'm sure, that he loves all things Middle Ages, so he's super excited about studying these things for school.  There were a couple of the games/puzzles that I had to help him with, so that did discourage him a bit that he couldn't get it himself.  The ones he needed help with were mostly things that were timed, and he simply couldn't complete the task in the allotted time (unscrambling words and moving the tiles into the proper spot was one I remember helping him with).

Overall, though, I consider this program to be well worth the money.  Whether you're looking for a way to spice up your history studies, or whether you're simply looking for a way to have history be less teacher intensive, this is a program you should consider.

If you have an older student, Veritas Press also has Self-Paced Omnibus programs.  You can read reviews about all the different history courses and Omnibus I if you click on the banner below.

 

 

 

 

   

Review: America the Beautiful

America the Beautiful is an American history and geography course for students in grades 5 through 8.  It was written by Charlene Notgrass of the Notgrass Company.  We received the America the Beautiful Curriculum Package  for review, and this consists of two hardcover textbooks (America the Beautiful Part 1 and America the Beautiful Part 2), We the People, Timeline of America the Beautiful, Maps of America the Beautiful, and an Answer Key.  We also received America the Beautiful Lesson Review and America the Beautiful Student Workbook. In addition, there is a literature package available for purchase.

America the Beautiful is a chronological study of American history. It begins with a unit on Native Americans, and continues through the election of President Barack Obama. America the Beautiful Part 1 covers America from 1000 through the last 1800s, while America the Beautiful Part 2 covers from the late 1800s through present day. There are 75 lessons in the first book and 75 lessons in the second book (15 units with 5 lessons each), and each book is designed to be completed in a semester. The books are loaded with pictures and photographs, and the text is written directly to the student. 

Each lesson is only a few pages long, so it does not take a lot of time to read the daily lessons. There are five different lesson types:  “Our American Story”, “God’s Wonders”, “An American Landmark”, “An American Biography”, and “Daily Life”.  The “Our American Story” lessons teach about major events, “God’s Wonders” lessons describe a remarkable place in America, “An American Landmark” lessons teach about significant places in America, “An American Biography” lessons tell about a famous person, and “Daily Life” lessons describe the day-to-day life of people who lived during the time period being studied. Each unit typically contains one of each lesson type.

Each lesson ends with a list of activities, including writing assignments, vocabulary assignments, family activities, “Thinking Biblically” assignments, and assignments from the timeline book, map book, student workbook, or lesson review workbook. Mrs. Notgrass expects you to pick and choose from the list of activities.  In addition, after many lessons in the America the Beautiful textbooks, the student is asked to read a something out of the book We the People. This book contains the text of various letters, documents, songs, speeches, articles, and other original source documents that are important to our nation’s history.

Maps of America the Beautiful contains various maps of the country that coordinate with many of the daily lessons. Students are asked to look at the maps and label or color during the lessons. Timeline of America the Beautiful will allow students to fill in events important to America’s history. There are various dates preprinted in the book for the student to reference.  The America the Beautiful Student Workbook is filled with various puzzles, drawing activities, word searches, and other activities that reinforce what was studied. There is one activity for each lesson. The America the Beautiful Lesson Review contains lesson review questions and questions from the books in the literature package. It also contains quizzes for every unit. The Answer Key includes answers for the Timeline, Student Workbook, Lesson Review, and the vocabulary assignments from the main textbook.

I absolutely love this curriculum and used it with all my boys.  I read the lessons from the main text and the assigned readings from We the People.  Sign of the Beaver is used alongside Units 4 & 5, and the storyline dovetails perfectly with these units on Colonial Life.  I used the Lesson Review book with my older 3 boys (9th, 8th, 6th), and the Student Workbook with my younger 2 boys (4th, 2nd).  These books are not reproducible, so you'll need a copy for each student.  Using both these books with the same student would be overkill; I'd recommend the Lesson Review book for those in middle school, while the Student Workbook is great for those in late Elementary.  We worked on the Timeline and Maps together.  

This American history curriculum is fabulous and I look forward to finishing it with my younger 3 boys this year (I loved America the Beautiful so much that I purchased their high school American history program, Exploring America, for my older two boys). America the Beautiful is in-depth without being overwhelming, and I love that the layout and ease of use for me as the teacher (it's pretty much an open-and-go curriculum). There is a great mix of activities to keep the attention of various types of learners. At a price of $99.95 for the package, $11.95 for the Student Workbook, and $9.95 for the Lesson Review, the price is reasonable and the materials are high quality. I would definitely recommend you take a look at America the Beautiful if you’re looking to give your children a solid education in American history.

For more reviews of America the Beautiful, along with Notgrass' Draw to Learn program , visit the Schoolhouse Review Crew.

 

Review: Tunnel of Gold

Goldtown Adventures is a new historical fiction series, written by Susan Marlow. They can be purchased at Susan Marlow and Kregal Publications for $7.99 each.  We received the second book in the series, Tunnel of Gold.

The Goldtown Adventures series is set in the 1864, which is near the end of the Gold Rush in Goldtown, California.  In Tunnel of Gold, Jem is caught in a miners' riot when the mine runs out of gold.  The miners want to reclaim an airshaft to try and get the mine running again, but the Chinese miners have been lawfully working this area.  Tough decisions have to be made when his father, the sheriff,  is told that he needs to kick the Chinese miners out of their mine or lose his job.  

Author Susan Marlow (a twenty year homeschooling veteran) has spent time travelling in California, visiting old gold camps and learning how miners lived.  She puts this knowledge to use in her Goldtown Adventures series.  The books are written for ages 8-12, and Tunnel of Gold is 144 pages long.  The book is broken down into 18 chapters, which keeps the chapters short enough that reluctant or new readers aren't intimidated, and also makes them a great length for reading the book aloud.

You can read a sample chapter of Tunnel of Gold here.  A free 25 page enrichment study guide is available here, which allows you to dig a bit deeper into the book.

Tunnel of Gold is a very fun read.  I was concerned that we might not fully understand the plot, since it is the second book in the series, but that wasn't an issue at all.  The plot is engaging, and it was hard to stop at the end of a single chapter.  I like that it's a wholesome story, with good values taught.

Whether you're studying the Gold Rush time period, or just looking for a fun adventure series, check out the Goldtown Adventure series from Susan Marlow.

For more reviews of Susan Marlow's Goldtown Adventures books , visit the Schoolhouse Review Crew.

 

Review: Classical Conversations PreScripts

Many homeschoolers have heard of Classical Conversations.  They are best known for their communities across the country, where parents and children gather together to study and learn using a classical education model.  They've recently designed a series of four cursive books, called PreScripts, that combine art and penmanship.  We received PreScripts Cursive Passages and Illuminations, which is the 4th book in the series.

The PreScripts books increase with difficulty as you move through the four books.  The first book begins with letter formation and coloring, while the fourth book has your child copying passages from American documents and creating illuminated letters (using the Zaner-Bloser style of cursive).  These books are not labelled with grade levels, though there are general age guidelines for each book (Cursive Passages and Illuminations is recommended for ages 9 through high school).

We're starting our new school year, and we're studying American history this year. Cursive Passages and Illuminations was a wonderful fit for our family, since it uses passages from American documents as copywork.  Your child will copy the Declaration of Independence, the Monroe Doctrine, the Gettysburg Address, Reagan's Speech at Brandenburg Gate ("Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"), along with many other important and memorable writings and speeches from American history.  After each page of copywork, the facing page has an illuminated letter for your child to copy. You can check out sample pages here.

Priced at $12.99, this book is a bargain.  The quality is impressive:  a thick and shiny cover, heavyweight paper inside, and a spiral binding so the book lays flat.  It can be used as a consumable workbook, or your child can copy the passages and illuminations into their own notebook. 

I used this with all 5 of the boys.  In the preface of the book, it is stated that "The key to good writing is daily practice".  Keeping this in mind, I had my boys practice for 10 minutes a day (I knew some of my boys would balk at having to copy an entire passage--some are quite long).  The first thing I had them do when they began a new page was to read what they were copying, since reading cursive still requires them to think through the letters.  After they read, I had them copy the passage, in their best cursive, for 10 minutes.  I told them it didn't matter how far they got, as long as they were doing their best work.  After they finished the passage, they then spent their 10 minutes of penmanship practice time working on their illuminated letters.

The boys enjoyed this copybook.  The illuminated letters were a reward; they enjoyed the break of having to write.  I liked that even though they weren't writing, they were still using the same fine motor skills they need for penmanship.  It's nice having ready made copywork that coordinates with our studies as well.  If you're looking for a fun and creative way to practice and teach cursive, check out the line of PreScripts books from Classical Conversations.

  

For more reviews of Classical Conversations PreScripts books (all levels) , visit the Schoolhouse Review Crew.

 

Pages of History, Secrets of the Ancients

I recently received a PDF copy of Veritas Press's Pages of History, Volume One: Secrets of the Ancients.  This is a brand new book by Bruce Etter and Lexi Detweiler, and is the first of two volumes.  It's a 448 page hardcover book, and it's priced at $19.95.

Pages of History covers 96 major historical events from Creation through the Reformation.  It is written from a strong Christian worldview.  It fits well with a classical approach to education, but I wouldn't shy away from the book if you're not a classical educator.

The book opens with James and his friend Lance, who are on a field trip to a library.  We quickly find out that James is a Christian and Lance is not, and that there has been an event known as "The Cleansing".  "The Cleansing" wiped out God from all documents, books, records...everything.  There is no written record of God anywhere, but James's parents were part of the resistance to "The Cleansing" and have taught James about God and who He is.

While in the library, James and Lance stumble upon a secret room.  This room contains Bibles, books by C.S. Lewis, Augustine, etc--basically all of the Christian literature ever written.  They also find a notebook in a safe, and in the notebook, the words "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free".  Once they read these words, the ground began to shake, two books fall on their heads, and they pass out. They wake up in the Garden of Eden, and so begins their adventure.

This is a fabulous story, and perfect for logic/middle grade students to read for themselves.  By taking historical events and presenting them through the adventures of James and Lance, the events come alive and will stick with your child.  I'm going to have Jacob (5th grade) start reading this book immediately to supplement his history (he's currently using Veritas Press's Self-Paced Old Testament/Ancient Egypt course).

Veritas Press has hit a home run with Pages of History, and I look forward to the next volume in the series.

Disclaimer: I received this product, at no cost to me, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine.

The Pilgrim Story

Dayspring Christian Academy is a Christian Academy that utilizes the Principle Approach, and is located in Pennsylvania.  They also operate an online school, and they provided a 6 month subscription of their self-paced course,  The Pilgrim Story to the Crew to review.

This review came up at a perfect time, with Thanksgiving just around the corner.  We're currently studying Egypt, so this program was an easy way to get in some teaching about the pilgrims before Thanksgiving gets here.  This program is intended for students in 3rd through 6th grade, and Jacob (5th), Micah (3rd), and Nicholas (1st) all watched the lessons.

The program is broken down into the following lessons:

Introduction
Unit One:

• King Henry

• Geneva Bible

• Life in Scrooby

• Liberty of Conscience

Unit Two:

• Leaving England

• The Second Escape Attempt

• Leiden

• Preparing to Go

Unit Three:

• Leaving Leiden

• Conditions on the Mayflower

• Building Christian Character

Unit Four:

• The Mayflower Compact

• Exploration

• The First Winter

Unit Five:

• Spring, 1621

• The Wapanoag People

• The Rest of the Story

Virtual Field Trip

The lessons are presented in slide format, and there is a narrator that reads the slides to the student.  There are activities and games in some of the lessons, and some live-action slides as well.  These lessons take about 30-45 minutes to complete, though any enrichment activities will extend the amount of time needed for each lesson.  At the start of each lesson, you are instructed to print out various worksheets for the lesson (note taking sheets, maps, vocabulary sheet, and any other resources needed).  The Principle Approach relies heavily on notebooking, and all of this information is intended to help your student create a notebook for this course.  The notetaking sheets are fill in the blank worksheets; these are easy to complete because the text is underlined on the slide so it's easy for the student to copy.  Each lesson begins and ends with a review, so the student gets repeated exposure to the information.  There is a unit test at the end of each unit.

All three of my sons that did this program really enjoyed it.  Jacob found the notetaking sheets helpful, and he enjoyed learning about the Pilgrims.  Micah thought this course was fun, and he liked the activities and games.  Nicholas liked that he learned about the Pilgrims sneaking away from their homes.  None of the boys  liked the tests, but that is to be expected.

The only complaint (other than the test) was they didn't like having to listen to the instructions to download the worksheets at the beginning of each lesson.  They did this program mostly without my help, and Jacob was able to get to the website and easily navigate each day's lesson on his own.  They asked daily to do this course, and it's always encouraging to have them ask to do schoolwork.

For $99, you'll get a 6 month subscription to The Pilgrim Story.  You can watch the lessons on your timetable during the 6 months, which makes it very convenient.  If you're looking to study the pilgrims, I would recommend that you check out Dayspring Christian Academy.

For more reviews of The Pilgrim Story, go here.

Disclaimer: As a member of the TOS Crew, I received this product, at no cost to me, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine.

King Alfred's English

Have you ever wondered about words in the English language?  You know those words...the ones that make no sense (like "knight").  Why do we speak the way we do?  I have--especially since I started teaching my boys.

King Alfred's English will answer all these questions, and more.  Author Laurie White is a retired homeschooling mom (her children are grown up) who originally set out to write an article on the history of English.  She had used notes from her college class to teach her children, but wanted to make the material suitable for younger children.  The book, King Alfred's English, was born.

This book is aimed at students ages 12 and up.  I did not use it with my boys, but instead read it as summer reading for myself.  It is absolutely fascinating.  We follow a chronological order when studying history, and I've taught this cycle twice now.  I came away from reading King Alfred's English with not only a better understanding of our language, but with a better understanding of history and geography and civilizations of the past.  It begins in the year 55 BC,and continues through modern day, those most of the book is focused on 1066-1611 AD (view the Table of Contents here).

I plan to fold this book into our history studies during high school.  There are teacher helps, including tests and worksheets, available for free, along with additional resources (movie recommendations, links to articles,   primary sources, literature suggestions, etc.) for students.  By using the additional material, you can create a 1/2 credit course in history or 1/4 credit each in history and English.

I received a hardcopy of this book, and it retails for $16.95.  You can also purchase this book for kindle for $5.95.  King Alfred's English should be a part of every family's home library, and at this price it is a great bargain.

For more reviews of King Alfred's English, go here.


Disclaimer:  As a member of the TOS Crew, I received this product, at no cost to me, in exchange for an honest review.  All opinions are mine.

Knowledge Quest: TimeMaps

We have used Knowledge Quest's Map Trek since they first came out.  These have simplified geography in our homeschool, so I was excited when the opportunity arose to review TimeMaps.  

There are currently 7 TimeMaps available, and they are priced individually at $9.95, or you can purchase the set for $44.95.  The titles are:

• Ancient China
• Rise of Rome
• Fall of Rome
• Rise of Islam
• The Black Death
• European Exploration
• Atlantic Slave Trade

TimeMaps are interactive, allowing you to follow how civilizations have changed over time.  The maps run using Adobe Flash.  As you click on the arrows by the date, the map will move forward in time (or you can go backwards as well), showing the changes in the region.  In addition to showing the changes on the map, there are little information buttons that provide a mini history lesson.  When these "i" buttons are clicked, the changes are explained in a little text box.

Since describing TimeMaps don't do them justice, here is a short video you can watch that shows the maps in action.

A teacher's guide is also included with the maps.  It's a pdf file that contains a few activity suggestions, as well as a printed commentary on the maps that you can read with your child.  This gives a great overview of the map and the changes shown.  Also included are timeline pages that you can print for the time period and a printable map of the area.

TimeMaps are another fabulous product from Knowledge Quest.  Being able to see the changes in various regions over time is wonderful, and we look forward to utilizing this resource in our homeschool for many years to come.

To read more reviews of TimeMaps, as well as reviews of MapTrek, go here.

Disclaimer:  As a member of the TOS Crew, I received this product, at no cost to me, in exchange for an honest review.  All opinions are mine.