Freebie Friday

It's Like Having a Money Tree in Your Back Yard!

The Homeschool Blogger has put together another great selection of webinars and the price simply cannot be beat as it is all FREE!

See the Light: Bring an Art Teacher into Your Home April 14th – 12PM EDT / 11AM CDT / 10AM MDT / 9AM PDT Art instruction has always been part of a well-rounded education. Sadly, these courses have been cut from many Christian and homeschool curricula because parents and educators lack the funds to establish a quality art program or the expertise to properly train students in the visual arts. Impassioned to teach our children art in a fun and unique way, join creator & artist from See the Light as they share with you Art Class: Bring an Art Teacher into your home! •Step-by-Step Art Tutoring •Progressive Skill Building •Integrated Art History & Biblical Truth.

Nutrition 101: Choose Life! April 21st – 4PM EDT / 3PM CDT / 2PM MDT / 1PM PDT They don’t call her the Former Fast Food Queen for nothing! Sera Johnson doesn’t just tell others how to achieve nutritional wellness, she made that journey with her family too. Through the ground-breaking, award-winning curriculum Nutrition 101: Choose Life!, Sera shows how she improved her family’s health by teaching how food – good and bad – effects the body. This unit study has an impact on every member of the family because it is designed to give a foundation for a lifetime of wise choices. Pick up tips on how to get even the pickiest of eaters to eat healthy food and love it.

Enhance Your Child’s Writing Skills with Tikatok: A Cross-Curricular Tool April 28th – 4PM EDT / 3PM CDT / 2PM MDT / 1PM PDT Tikatok.com is a unique, book creation tool that integrates literacy and cross-curricular learning, including reading, writing, math, science, social studies, art and digital technology. Spark creativity, critical thinking, and 21st Century learning, while providing your child with a fun, interactive experience. All while demonstrating comprehension and the gains s/he has made through the year. Join us for a live Webinar and learn: •How to make use of this easy-to-use, creative tool – including how to publish your own book •Smart ways to incorporate writing into other subject areas •Tips and engaging activities to maximize learning fun over the summer •Plus a FREE lesson plan for each participant

Click here to register: http://homeschoolblogger.com/webinar/

Enjoy and have a blessed week.

Lauren

LATIN FOR CHILDREN

Latin For Children: Primer A By Aaron Larsen and Dr. Christopher Perrin Classical Academic Press http://www.classicalacademicpress.com/ I received the mastery bundle of Latin for Children: Primer A in exchange for my honest review of their program. When the box arrived, it was like Christmas in February! The mastery bundle includes:

• •LFC Primer A Student text and workbook. The foundation of the curriculum LFC Primer A Answer Key — features the actual text with answers in bold print


• •LFC A DVDs & Chant CD — offers chapter-by-chapter training by the author with 2 students. The chant CD contains all 240 vocabulary words chanted and sung in both the classical & ecclesiastical pronunciations.


• •LFC A History Reader — Read Latin stories from history that are geared toward the grammar and vocabulary being learned in each Primer.


• •LFC A Activity Book! — Play games and puzzles that help students master the Latin vocabulary and grammar from each Primer.

The Latin for Children mastery bundle is $99.95. Please check the website for individual prices: http://www.classicalacademicpress.com/

Latin for Children: Primer A book is the first book of a three year series. This engaging program is designed for use with children as young as third grade. It introduces the student to Latin vocabulary, grammar and English derivatives in a fun and interactive manner. The program is perfect for a parent who desires to expose their children to Latin, but have no previous knowledge of the Latin language. The 32 lessons are pre-recorded on a DVD and include catchy chants and informative lessons taught by Dr. Perrin which reinforce the lessons in the text book. Dr Perrin is accompanied by some of his Latin students who sing and chant the weekly vocabulary. The 15 minute lessons includes a grammar segment. There is a choice between the classical or the ecclesiastical pronunciation in the book, CD, and DVD.

The Latin for Children text is a 230 page, soft bound book. Each lesson introduces ten vocabulary words and a grammar lesson. The textbook also includes worksheets, quizzes and a reference section. Although the book is printed in black and white, the pages are appealing and easy to read. The accompanied answer key has all the answers for worksheets and quizzes. The Activity book is packed with puzzles and games designed to reinforce each lesson. Libellus de Historia is a Latin History Reader that allows the student to utilize their new vocabulary and learn translation skills. Also included in the mastery bundle is a 3 DVD set and 2 Chant- Cds. The DVDs have 6+ hours of video that is integrated with Shurley Grammar. Even though the mastery set provides a complete Latin curriculum for children in 3rd-8th grade, the Classical Academic Press website has an abundances of free resources to enhance your lessons. The website not only has worksheets, quizzes, games, and chapter test, but there are numerous links to informative websites, lesson ideas, and articles. It is obvious that the publishers of Latin for Children are committed to provided a high level Latin curriculum.

I used the Latin for Children: Primer A program with two of my children. Karina,who is currently in the 6th grade enjoyed the DVD lessons and was constantly singing the chants. The exercises in the Activity book was also a favorite part of each lesson. Kwan, who is a seventh grader preferred to study the lesson from the text book and then listen to the chant CD. Both children enjoyed the interactive vocabulary game on the Classical Academic website. I found the curriculum extremely easy to use and it required no previous knowledge of Latin. The DVD lessons were well done home style videos. The children used in the videos were very natural and easy to relate to. The chants were catchy and a great memorization tool. I plan to continue to use this program with my children.

Click the banner below to see what others have to say about Latin for Children.

BIG IQ KIDS: Premium Membership

Synergy 1 Group, Inc

Phone # 443-266-7267

Website: http://www.bigiqkids.com/

BigIQkids is an online program for students in grades K-8. I was given a premium membership to BigIQkids' daily academic lessons in exchange for my honest review of their program. The website is very colorful and appealing to the eye. It is very easy to navigate around this interactive website. BigIQkids includes lessons in spelling efficiency, vocabulary building, math fact mastery and U.S. geography knowledge. The website is designed for kids to learn independently. Success is rewarded with tokens to an online arcade. The arcade has more than 35 fun and educational games to chose from.

The premium spelling program consists of five steps which is equivalent to one lesson per day for each week. In the first step, the weekly spelling words are introduced. There is a choice between using the preloaded grade level words or modifying the lesson by adding your own words. During the second step, the words are practiced as the student types in the dictated spelling words. The student is asked to write all the misspelled words three times in order for mastery to take place. In the next step, the student can chose between participating in a spelling bee or completing word scrambles with their spelling words. Step four is a pop quiz and step five is the final spelling test. Each of the five lessons can be printed and completed offline.After the completion of each lesson, the student is rewarded with a game token.

The vocabulary program is very similar to the spelling program. There are forty units, each unit has five lessons which can be customized with your own words. The lessons introduce the vocabulary words, provide practice activities and tests.

The US geography program teaches the US capitals, their locations, spelling, abbreviations and common facts. The site has an interactive map which really brings the lessons to life. Upon mastery of the state facts the student has the opportunity to play the State Fun Fact Game.

The math fact mastery program allows your students to practice math facts in the areas of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Like all the other programs in BigIQkids, the lessons can be modified to meet your student's needs.

I used the BigIQkids program with my 10 year old daughter, Karina and my 12 year old son, Kwan. They both enjoyed using the program and saw it as a fun addition to their school work. Karina used the spelling program with the words from her regular spelling book. On Monday she would type in her words and complete the spelling activity each day. She liked the interactive nature of the program. The robot-like quality of the voice took a little time to adjust to. However, after awhile she seemed to forget about the voice and had fun with the program. Karina also used the US geography program. Kwan's favorite program on BigIQkids was the US geography. He especially liked the interactive map and of course the reward tokens dispensed at the end of each lesson. Both children were motivated by the reward of game tokens to the arcade.

I found the vocabulary program and the spelling bee to be excellent in reinforcing language arts skills. The math program took the pain out of drilling math facts. This program is geared towards independent learning, which freed me up to prepare for other aspects of our school day. I also appreciated the educational component of the games in the arcade. I believe BigIQkids would be a welcome element for not only homeschool students, but for all students who need a fun way to reinforce or learn their schoolwork.

BigIQkids also has chapter story e-books and a summer newsletter for kids, called the BigIQkids Time. This is definitely the kind of website you want your children playing on!

Although BigIQkids has several free programs, the premium membership has some great features. With the premium membership, your child is able to customize their BigIQ buddy, have access to all the games, save high scores, advances students based on proficiency, email progress reports and provides access to review test. The premium membership for all 4 programs is $9.99 per month or $99.99 for 12 months. The programs can also be purchased separately(click here for more details: http://www.bigiqkids.com/Pricing.html ). They also offer a FREE 7 day trial program.

Click the banner below to see what others had to say about BigIQkids

Freebie Friday

It's Like Having a Money Tree in Your Back Yard!

Happy Spring!









This weeks freebie is from a website my children and I reviewed this month for the Old Schoolhouse Magazine. This program was such a blessing to my family that I wanted to share it with you. The program is called BigIQkids and you can see my review of the program here: http://laurensschoolroom.blogspot.com/2011/03/big-iq-kids-premium-membership.html


If you would like to check it out for yourself go to: http://www.bigiqkids.com/

Enjoy!
Lauren

Freebie Friday

It's Like Having a Money Tree in Your Back Yard!

Well, here we are, half way through March and the homeschool convention season is in full swing. This is the time of year that many of us start to decide on curriculum for the upcoming school year.















This week's freebie will be great for anyone looking for a good high school level American History program. Right now the Homeschool Buyer's Co-op is offering a one year subscription to The Idea of America.




Pearson Education has authorized the Homeschool Buyer's Co-op to give away 1,000 full-year subscriptions ONLY to The Idea of America, absolutely FREE (excepting our service fee of $7.95). Ordinarily, this would cost $39.95 value. Membership to the co-op is free. This deal is to good to past up!



The idea behind The Idea of America is that Americans are engaged in a constant debate -- the "Great Debate" -- over the proper balance between certain essential values. Students discover the "value tensions" that define and strengthen our republic, study their role in American history, and develop their own opinions on these enduring fundamental issues.

The goal of this curriculum is to give students the knowledge and skills they need to fulfill the duties of citizenship in our participatory democracy. Students analyze, debate, and form opinions so that they can help make the decisions that will guide our nation.Check it out at: https://www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org/index.php?option=com_hsbc_epp_order&Itemid=1528




While you are at the Homeschool Buyer's Co-op website be sure to check out all the other great freebies!

Have a great week!
Lauren

What We Believe: Biblical Worldview Series

Who Is God? And Can I Really Know Him?



Authors: John Hay & David Webb
Publisher: Apologia Press
Website: http://www.apologia.com/
Phone number: 765-608-3280
Format: Textbook
Prerequisites: None
Target Age: 6-14
Price: $39


Apologia Educational Ministries together with Summit Ministries have developed a new Bible curriculum, which focuses on teaching children a Biblical Worldview. I felt so blessed when I received a copy of Volume 1 of the, What We Believe: Biblical Worldview Series, in exchange for my honest review of their book. Who is God? And Can I Really Know Him?, is a hard covered textbook written for children between the ages of 6 to 14. It was co-authored by John Hay, an international consultant and staff writer for Summit Ministries, and David Web; a writer, editor and veteran of Christian publishing.

Who Is God? is written in the same conversational style as the Apologia Science books. This Bible based curriculum is designed to teach children to discern the truth about who God really is. It also emphasizes using God's Word to answer questions regarding the world around them. Questions such as, what is right or wrong? What is God really like? As stated in the Apologia 2011 catalog,: Volume 1 introduces the concept of worldview while laying the foundational truths upon which the evangelic Christian worldview is built.

Who Is God? is divided into 10 lessons. Each lesson takes approximately 2 weeks to complete. The lessons are broken up into smaller sections, including short stories, questions to stimulate thought and discussion, memory verses, and worldview. The lessons are well suited for notebooking and the Apologia website offers free notebooking pages to supplement each lesson.

I used Who Is God? with my ten and twelve year old children. It was such an easy fit for us since we are currently using one of the Apologia's science programs. We really enjoyed the story like quality of the book. It gave our Bible time a very relaxed feel which was conducive to great discussions. The kids loved the pictures and the notebooking activities. Another bonus was the wealth of information on the website to support each lesson. In addition to notebooking pages, there are teacher help pages and answer keys. My children both gave this Bible program two thumbs up!


What We Believe: Biblical Worldview Series consist of 3 volumes. Volume 1: Who is God? (And Can I Really Know Him?), Volume 2: Who Am I (And What Am I Doing Here?), and Volume 3: Who Is My Brother?(And Why Do We Need Each Other?). Volume 2 will be available this summer and Volume 3 will follow in the fall.


Supplemental materials for Who Is God will be available in the spring of 2011. They include:
Audio MP3 CD $15
Notebook Journal $24
Coloring Book $8


Click the banner below to see what others had to say about Who Is God?

Freebie Friday

It's Like Having A Money Tree In Your Backyard!





This week the focus is on math. Each of these FREE websites provide enough information to use as a full year of math education.

The first site offers a full year of Algebra .THESE ARE NOT SAMPLES OR REVIEWS, BUT A COMPLETE COURSE IN ALGEBRA!

Every chapter and every lesson is here, including examples, chapter reviews, and tests. You'll have access to all 73 VIDEOS with lectures and over 700 solved exercises in Flash (same as YouTube, but with better resolution). Also to the ENTIRE TEXTBOOK with over 6,000 exercises in Acrobat. If you need Acrobat, get the latest free Reader.

THE BEST TEACHER'S AID AND STUDENT HELPER YOU'LL EVER FIND, AND IT IS FREE!
CLICK HERE. http://www.algebrafree.com/

The next is Zane Education's website.Zane Education provides 579 math videos, math videos and movies for K12 curriculum elementary school, middle school, high school and college students and homeschool students and home educators studying Arithmetic, Pre-algebra, Algebra, Linear Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry, Precalculus, Calculus, Differential Equations, Statistics and Probability.

And it all FREE! Click here: http://www.zaneeducation.com/Videos/Videos-Mathematics.php

The last site is a favorite of mine. I frequently share this site with my math students. Over 2,100 videos are included. Their library of videos covers K-12 math, science topics such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and even reaches into the humanities with playlists on finance and history. Each video is a digestible chunk, approximately 10 minutes long, and especially purposed for viewing on the computer.
The best part is...IT'S FREE!!! www.khanacademy.org

Wishing you a wonderful week!
Lauren

Freebie Friday

It 's Like Having A Money Tree In Your Backyard!






This week I have some great FREE math and science websites!

The first site is a new twist on the periodic table using videos. The University of Nottingham has put together this collection of informative videos to explain the Periodic Table of Elements.
http://www.periodicvideos.com/


The Teacher's Toolkit is a great collection of interactive math games for elementary age kids. Try out the place value calculator, screen calculator, tables tester, 12 hour clock, double dutch, double's tester, virtual place value cards, hundred square, counter, 24 hour clock, sequences, and 10 digit number line.

http://www.crickweb.co.uk/ks2numeracy-tools.html#Toolkit-index2a


If you are studying physics, then you may be interested in these APS Physics Posters. You can download or order them for free.
http://www.aps.org/programs/education/posters.cfm


Have a great week!
Lauren