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Review of Essentials in Writing

When I read the description of Essentials in Writing for Fourth Grade (ages 9-10), I saw it as a two-for-one curriculum; a comprehensive grammar and composition course, and I was not disappointed.

Essentials in Writing for Fourth Grade ($40) consists of 3 disks: two contained the DVD lessons taught by former middle-school English teacher Matthew Stephens, and the third contains the printable worksheets files with answer keys, which are all in .pdf format. I chose to print the worksheets myself, use a 3-hole punch, and add them to Kenny’s Language Arts binder. However, there is an option to purchase the preprinted workbook ($20).

The first thing to do with any new resource is look it over thoroughly. I read through the worksheets, and watched portions of several lessons on the DVDs to get a feel for how we would use it. Based on Kenny’s reading and writing skills, I decided to do the grammar and composition sections concurrently.

We also did several lessons per day until we reached a lesson with concepts we had not covered. “Why not skip those repetitive lessons?” you ask? Because using those lessons with content with which the student is already familiar gives them a ‘comfort zone’ of 1) learning to use the product and 2) not being confronted with both the ins-and-outs of the program and being introduced to new concepts.

Kenny and I read through the accompanying worksheet together before we watched the lesson on the DVD. This helps him focus on the concepts that will be illustrated in the audio/visual presentation. After we watched the DVD lesson, he completed the worksheets, which are labeled with numbers and letters. It is recommended that the parents only assign one worksheet per day. Worksheet 1A, for instance, would be Monday’s assignment, and 1B would be Tuesday’s. Kenny moved through the beginning lessons at a faster pace, slowed down for lessons about how to spell plural nouns, sped back up for adjectives, slowed down again for adverbs. I assigned worksheets according to his understanding, need for practice, and ability to progress.

I usually have Kenny read the worksheet out loud to me, as this helps him focus on the instructions, and I perceive fairly quickly whether or not he understands the content before we go any further.

There are some significant benefits for parents who sit down and watch DVD lessons with their kids. For instance, the Essentials in Writing creator and teacher, Matthew Stephens, teaches each lesson with energy and enthusiasm. He obviously brings his years of experience to this curriculum, illustrating each point on the whiteboard behind him. Occasionally he interacts with his class (which remains off camera). Parents can gain insight into how to present and demonstrate information to students in an orderly, engaging manner. Students also see other ways in which grammar and composition skills can be conveyed, practiced, and internalized.

As I said, Kenny did the grammar and composition sections of this curriculum at the same time. The first lesson, “What is Writing” gelled nicely with Lesson 29, “Parts of a Friendly Letter”. Then while he quickly progressed through lessons about simple and compound subjects and predicates, sentence errors, dependent and independent clauses, he practiced writing letters, and then moved on to lessons about the writing process, paragraphs, narratives, and description. I also had my high schoolers watch some of the lessons on descriptive and persuasive writing because I liked the way Mr. Stephens explained them.

The lessons about nouns gave me the opportunity to show Kenny that a word can’t accurately be labeled as a part of speech until it is used in a sentence. On the worksheet below, is “bark” a singular or plural noun, or a verb? Even the word “table” can be used as a verb. I’m just OCD enough to make this kind of detour during a lesson, as it is important to me that my kids use language precisely and don’t develop the habit of making assumptions.

The DVD lessons are quick and concise, but thorough. Seeing Mr. Stephens demonstrate each point himself on the whiteboard as he discusses language rules and reasoning is helpful for auditory and visual learners. Using the above described method, Essentials in Writing required 30-45 minutes to complete each day. This could easily be an entirely self-directed Language Arts curriculum. For the price of $40, this is an economical option for any homeschooling family.

For more information about how to use Essentials in Writing, read the “How to Use” page. To see a sample video lesson for EIW’s elementary and middle grade courses, go to the Course Catalog, choose the grade level you are interested in, and click on the video toward the bottom of the page.

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Posted by Susan Raber on March 19, 2013 in Language Arts, Schoolhouse Crew Reviews

Tags: composition, DVD language arts courses, grammar, language arts, Schoolhouse Review Crew, self-directed curriculum

Review of ARTistic Pursuits

11 Mar

Art isn’t just about looking at pictures or learning to draw. A good art curriculum helps kids develop their creativity, problem solving, focus, nonverbal communication, and how to accept feedback. If you are looking for a comprehensive art program with resources for all developmental levels, look no further than ARTistic Pursuits.

We received The Elements of Art and Composition Middle School 6-8 Book One. A quick check of our supplies- good quality drawing pencils, erasers, a sharpener, sandpaper- revealed that all we needed was to restock on sketch paper.

ARTistic Pursuits books have been re-targeted, expanded and improved. The Elements of Art and Composition Middle School 6-8 Book One consists of 16 units with four lessons per unit, each lesson spotlighting a different aspect of artistic design and composition. There are also four additional lessons and a suggested evaluation rubric for assigning a letter grade.

The first lesson of each unit focuses on learning a ‘visual vocabulary’. Unit 4, for example, helps students understand the importance of shape, and how to look for shape by paying attention to every day places and things, with the objective of being able to see common objects in new ways.

There are samples of art in Lesson 2, and we learned about artists, their methods and styles, as well as the history and culture surrounding them. Specifically in Unit 4, a painting by Katsushika Hokusai called Beneath the Wave off Kanagawa was used to illustrate elements and traditions of Japanese art. The objective of this lesson was to see how water can take different shapes, and then draw a picture of water in motion.

In every unit, Lesson 3 centers on technique. The third lesson in Unit 4 taught about arranging objects for a still life, but making it a silhouette to bring out the positive and negative spaces created by the different shapes.

Applying all these principles in a final project for the unit is the goal of Lesson Four.

One of the best ways to learn how to do something is to explain it to someone else. My artistic child is Emma (14), so I gave this curriculum to her to work with and act as teacher to her little brother (11). She did a very good job of organizing the materials for each lesson, reading and breaking down each lesson for him, instructing him on vocabulary, technique, and encouraging him to apply the creative elements of each lesson. He enjoyed taking ‘serious’ art lessons instead of the usual scruffy pencil drawings of tanks and bombs dropping from airplanes.

There are a couple of ways to use this course. The recommended schedule is 2 classes or lessons per week, each of which require about an hour. We usually did more than that, often the entire unit, as we have been focusing on art instruction and projects on Saturdays. The kids had the entire morning for art, and they enjoyed the lessons so much they kept working through them.

All of the important ingredients of a solid art curriculum are present in ARTistic Pursuits , and it’s been shown that exposure to art and exercising creativity improves critical thinking and interpretation, expression of emotion, and even verbal skills. The more children are taught to look at the world with “artist’s eyes”, the more attentive to detail they can become.

ARTistic Pursuits, The Elements of Art and Composition Middle School 6-8 Book One is available for $47.95 (+shipping). They have books for every grade level:

Early Elementary K-3 Book One: An Introduction to the Visual Arts
Early Elementary K-3 Book Two: Stories of Artists and Their Art
Early Elementary K-3 Book Three: Modern Painting and Sculpture
Elementary 4-5 Book One: The Elements of Art and Composition
Elementary 4-5 Book Two: Color And Composition
Middle School 6-8 Book One: The Elements of Art and Composition
Middle School 6-8 Book Two: Color and Composition
High School 9-12 Book One: The Elements of Art and Composition
High School 9-12 Book Two: Color and Composition

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Posted by Susan Raber on March 11, 2013 in Art & Music, Schoolhouse Crew Reviews

Tags: art appreciation, art history, art techniques, benefits of art instruction, design and composition, Schoolhouse Review Crew, teaching art to children, visual vocabulary

Teaching creatively with delight-directed learning

11 Mar

One of the ghosts that insistently haunts homeschoolers is the specter of learning gaps, and this phantom is often why parents are afraid to try any approach other than the traditional textbook/workbook- such as “delight-directed” learning.

“What if we miss something important?” they ask. “How do we make sure they don’t develop learning gaps?”

Learning gaps- sounds like a job for an orthodontist.

However, when I ask for an example of ‘something important’, no one has ever come up with a particular fact or concept that would be crippling if missed. This usually leads them to realize that there were huge gaps in their own education that were filled when the need arose.

We simply cannot anticipate all the possibilities that exist in our child’s future, so what we focus on instead are critical skills instead of memorizing mountains of facts. As our students mature and begin pursuing their interests, as well as the process of deciding on a vocation, they will encounter any gaps that require bridging, and acquire the necessary knowledge and skills at that time.

Once you exorcise the Ghost of Learning Gaps, you are free to find an educational method that liberates your child, not only to learn, but to love learning.

We express our education liberation in “delight-directed” learning.

Delight-directed learning does not mean that kids are free to study anything they want at any time they choose. However, following a child’s interests does require taking these things into account, and allowing their curiosity to provide the direction and methods used to study different topics.

In the simplest terms, delight-directed learning is watching your children closely for glimmers of interest, for natural talents and gifts, for the spark of curiosity, and fanning these into a roaring fire of enthusiasm for learning.

The foundation for delight-directed learning is constructed of core skills in math, reading, and writing. But even as these skills are being introduced and practiced, learning can still be pleasurable and even exciting by including the topics and ideas the child delights in, and finding materials that will capture their attention and inspire them to continue.

OK, so it sounds great on paper, but what does this really look like with children of different ages, genders, and interests? If everyone can go off in their own direction, how is a parent supposed to keep it all together? If you’ve already purchased curricula, how do you incorporate delight-directed learning into your homeschool?

As with many other aspects of homeschooling, this will look different for each family, for a variety of reasons. Young children are still building their foundation of core skills, and need more parental interaction and direction, while older children can be more self-motivated.

Here’s an example of delight-directed learning from our homeschool in literature.

During their elementary years, we focus on reading and writing with competency. We also read books out loud as a family, many that we have chosen together, and I start introducing vocabulary and concepts that will help them learn to understand and deconstruct stories:

Describe the setting, and how it contributes to the story.
What does the protagonist need or want, and who or what is keeping him from it?
What does the protagonist learn about the world or himself?
Did you connect with a character or event in the story?
Was there a theme?
Did you detect any symbols or metaphors?

At this level, I do not require much in the way of ‘book reports’. I’d rather they be excited about reading, and write their own poems and stories. I try to remain in the background, so to speak, continuing to encourage and guide them in their choices.

At the high school level, we step it up a notch. Every August, we compile a list of books to be read by June, when we typically take our summer break. There are only a few requirements:

Books must be age appropriate.
For every four printed books on their list, they can choose one as an audiobook.
They must choose at least one ‘classic’.
A summary of some kind is to be submitted when they are finished with the book. This can be, among other things, a character sketch, a book review, a research paper on a related topic, or a short biography of the author.
They must schedule reading time every day so that they can meet their reading goals.

Their reports or papers are presented orally to the family, which gives them a chance to practice their speaking skills, and all of us a chance to discuss the book and ask questions about character and plot development, themes, and symbols or metaphors. Because their lists of books are very different, each of us gains some knowledge of works and authors with which we might otherwise have never become familiar. I have found that a child might not be interested in a book or topic themselves, but they are drawn in by listening to someone else who is excited about their choices. This, to some degree, addresses the issue of learning gaps and ’rounds out’ their education.

If they choose a book that is more challenging, I will find a study guide for them to use to while they are reading. Emma is going to be using the Progeny Press study guide for Beowulf, which we are also reviewing for the Schoolhouse Review Crew.

The threads that weave all through our delight-directed approach are togetherness and choice. As much as possible, we 1) read and discuss content and concepts in every subject together 2) the kids are able to choose topics of interest and books that explore those ideas.

Do you have any questions about how you could introduce delight-directed learning into your homeschool? Submit your questions in the comment section below.

This is the 5 Days of Teaching Creatively Blog Hop, sponsored by the Schoolhouse Review Crew. When you have finished reading and commenting on this post, you can click on the link below to find a list of participating bloggers.

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Posted by Susan Raber on March 11, 2013 in Homeschool styles & methods, Language Arts, Carnivals & Memes, 5 Days of Teaching Creatively

Tags: delight-directed learning, Schoolhouse Review Crew, using study guides, 5 days of teching creatively blog hop, teaching literature with real books

Review of Lone Star Learning – Target the Question

05 Mar

Motivating students in the morning is sometimes the most difficult part of the day. Want a great jump start activity to get mental muscles warmed up for school? Among the many educational products offered by Lone Star Learning, we were given Target the Question Digital to review, and found it to be an enjoyable way to engage our brains and enhance our thinking skills.

Target the Question Digital is an online program geared to systematically practice and strengthen problem solving skills using real life scenarios. It isn’t enough that students have memorized math fact families, or learned to add, subtract, multiply, and divide – they need to know when and how to apply these operations.

After you choose the desired grade level (from grades 1 through 7) and purchase the subscription ($59.99 for one year), you have access to your dashboard which shows your subscription and the date it expires. You can also view your assigned product licenses and basic account settings.

We worked with the 4th grade level of Target the Question Digital. The program itself starts with the Problem of the Week screen, with boxes numbered one through forty, one for each week.

It is important to work through this program in order, as each week the problems increase in complexity. Choose a week, and you will see the question and the menu for the week.

At the top of the screen the basic problem is presented, based on every day activities like monetary transactions, or calculating time or distance. Also included is a visual, such as the receipt pictured for Week #23, as the basis for the questions. Others may have a chart, graph, or map to illustrate the Problem of the Week.

I learned a long time ago not to take for granted that my kids understood common terms just because they heard these words on a regular basis. Each Problem of the Week makes a great little vocabulary lesson. For the above question, we talked about the parts of a receipt and the purpose it serves as a record of your transaction. We also noted the way items are described and packaged- as gallons, jars, loaves, by the dozen or the pound.

At the bottom of the screen are the days of the week. Choose the day and a question appears highlighted below the problem graphic.

Another feature of the program is the ability to ‘draw’ on the screen itself, or use the ‘drawing pad’. We used a mouse or touchpad to sketch out the process of finding the solution, or work relevant math problems. Above, on Monday, the question was “What is the cost of 1 gallon of juice?” You can see on the receipt that 4 gallons of juice were purchased for $12, and as we discussed how to solve the problem, we drew it on the virtual pad on screen. We could also use different colors of ink to work out different parts of the problems. It’s a great way to show how to think through a problem step-by-step and discourage guessing.

On Wednesday the question involved working with time, and we examined possible ways to find the solution. You can see how we chose to work out the answer. Then on Friday we again focused on the information we needed for this particular problem.

If you or your student have questions about how to use the Problem of the Week screen, the Help button creates a graphic that shows the purpose of each feature of the menu.

Even though we used Target the Question Digital for the 4th grade level, it was fun to talk about the different scenarios together, or have my older kids coach their younger brother through the various problems presented. Each week became more challenging, with complex problems and situations to work through. Programs like this offer a unique opportunity to evaluate your child’s critical thinking skills in small daily doses that only take about 10-15 minutes to complete. We used it as an opening exercise for school, but it would also serve as a great warm up before using one’s regular math curriculum.

There were a few days that the kids just wanted to keep going and work through the whole week’s problems. When kids say “More!”, I say “Why not?”

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Posted by Susan Raber on March 5, 2013 in Math, Online courses and programs, Schoolhouse Crew Reviews, Thinking skills

Tags: critical thinking skills, online math programs, real life math, Schoolhouse Review Crew, teaching math concepts

Review of College Common Sense – Going to College and Paying for It

26 Feb

Admit it- when faced with the challenge of helping your homeschooled students apply to colleges, and figuring out financial aid and scholarships, don’t you wish someone would just hold your hand and walk you through it?

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That’s what Denise Ames has done with College Common Sense- Going to College and Paying For It. We reviewed the online videos and workbook and found it thorough and packed with useful information that our 16, 14, and 11 year old all absorbed with interest.

In brief, the online course is six video sessions, each approximately 20 minutes long, and with an accompanying .pdf file for you to download and print. The .pdf files are a slightly abridged transcript of each session, which makes them an efficient tool for note-taking and future reference. Sprinkled throughout are all the links to websites that students will need to access in order to work through the process of considering the cost of college, applying for financial aid, and finding scholarships.

“How do you eat an elephant?”

“One bite at a time.”

This program takes a lengthy and intimidating task, and chops it into time managed and mentally chewable bits for parents and students.

Starting with the first video, “The Big Picture”, Denise explains briefly, with a combination of slides and speaking on camera, the three major steps of going to college, as well as the real cost of going to college – not just the price of tuition. This is a great introductory session for both parents and kids to watch together. The .pdf file also contains a college campus visit checklist. Be sure to set aside time for all the discussions that these videos will generate. We sat at the table and talked for at least 45 minutes about our educational goals and plans after viewing just this first session.

The second and third videos are “How Financial Aid Works” and “”All About the Free Money”. While these are probably of more interest to parents holding on to their checkbooks for dear life, students need to know what it takes for them to qualify for financial aid and scholarships. One of the things Denise emphasizes throughout is that the student must take ownership and responsibility for their education, and be involved in every step of the process. Parents have an important role, but the student truly is pivotal.

Also included with the files for these sessions are worksheets for using FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) and calculating the Cost of Attending.

The unique and valuable gem right in the middle of College Common Sense is session #5 “The System That Works”. Anything that involves a 3-ring binder, dividers, and a highlighter sounds totally cool to my compulsively organized mind! Denise has created a system for keeping track of what would otherwise feel like an overwhelming task. In this section she outlines seven steps for doing scholarships. If a scholarship requires personal references or an essay, the instructions for these are included as well.

I appreciated all the details about different kinds of scholarships and where they come from, and how to make prudent and informed decisions every step of the way. The exercise at the end of the fifth session using the examples of real scholarships illustrates the differences in types of scholarship and the application process.

“You in the Process” brings the focus and responsibility for the entire procedure back to the student. It’s the one time that your child needs to be completely self-involved, but in a good way. Thankfully the file contains the outline of this session, because we will come back to all of this wise advice again and again.

The last video session truly does “Pull It All Together”. I’ve told my kids over the years that their lives will be the sum total of the decisions they’ve made. Denise puts it this way-

The people we call lucky are the ones who recognize the opportunities as they pass through their lives and take advantage of them.

We were inspired by this program to start using Denise’s binder system to keep all of the future reference information organized as we research the college question for our high schoolers. The front of the binder contains all of the College Common Sense files for each video, along with our notes. Both Noah and Emma have their own section to organize their specific plans, and we are keeping it on a coffee table in our school room so that it is always in view. There is something motivating about seeing it there every day, and it helps remind us to regularly review and accomplish what needs to be done next.

There’s more to College Common Sense, though. Each week we received an email with lesson plan ideas, some even directed toward middle schoolers. At first a parent might think that considering college during middle school is a bit premature, but the earlier parents start planning the possible financial costs, the better. And the tween years are a great time for kids to start thinking ahead about what direction they’d like to take their education. It’s been my experience that the sooner a child owns their education, the more invested and self-motivated they become. This program resonated with me as a parent because Denise also approaches this topic from that perspective.

To sample Denise’s wisdom, gained from 10+ years experience in college admissions and financial aid counseling, you can subscribe to the free newsletter, and receive free lesson plans via email. Check out the links on her website for scholarship and grant information, colleges, and helpful articles from around the web for students to read and ponder.

College Common Sense is available as a DVD and workbook for $50 + $5 shipping/handling, or a one-year online access to the video and workbook materials for $25.

Does all this feel like too much information? Have doubts about whether or not your child is college bound? Thinking about skipping the traditional college route and using an alternative method to earn a degree? This course still applies to you, as we do not know what direction the Lord has in mind for our children. Having this resource on hand instead of scrambling to figure things out is worth all the Tums at Walgreens.

Others on the Schoolhouse Review Crew also used College Common Sense.
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