Home School in the Woods Time Travelers: New World Explorers Review

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

My family had the privilege of trying the Time Travelers U.S. History Studies New World Explorers from Home School in the Woods for this review to use in conjunction with our own curriculum at home. This is a Homeschool Review Crew Review. All opinions expressed are my own or those of my family.

Home School in the Woods is a family run business that creates Christian based history curriculum for homeschooling. This curriculum immerses your student in the topic. It is very hands-on with lapbooks, timelines, recipes, art, creative writing, notebook projects, dramatized audio theater, maps, crafts, projects, re-enactments, file-folder games, vocabulary to learn, etc.

The Time Traveler American History Studies are a seven part series that starts with the New World Explorers and concludes at the end of World War II. These are recommended for grades 3-8. There are two different versions you can purchase, a CD version or a digital download version. With the CD version everything that you access and print is on the CD. With the digital download version you download a zipped file, place all of the contents into a folder on your computer, and access it by the start.htm file that is in that folder. We received the digital download version.

 

Left: Main Menu, Right: Lessons 1-5

 

We found that there was a lot of preparation that needed to happen before getting started. There is a lot of things needing printed, items needing prepared for crafts and other projects, and general preparation of materials before one can begin the travel. The Beginning of the main menu includes: Acknowledgements / Copyrights and Usage / Bibliography, Introduction, Tips to Consider Before Starting..., and Teacher Helps which gives you a great foundation. Teacher Helps guides you with preparation and organization, gives you a Lesson Planner schedule to help you see an overview of the things being taught and Additional Resources to pull from. It also includes the printables for the 3-Ring Binder Covers and the Teacher Keys for the timeline.

Each study has twenty-five lessons and is supposed to last roughly 5-10 weeks depending upon how quickly everything is completed. These lessons have reading Text Pages and an activity that go with them. Project Pages accompany these to give directions, list of supplies needed, printing instructions, and illustrations for each project and activity. Masters are provided for all printables.

In the Other Resources section at the end of the main menu there are some visuals and directions to help you with the projects, activities, and lapbook. These include: All Master Pages in numerical order, A Gallery of Project Photos (final photos of what projects should look like at the end), and Lap Book Instructions. You can also have your student catch up with the five Project Days that are included in the schedule. The student will compile a lapbook in the 24th lesson. This lapbook is pieced together throughout the studies. The final lesson is a party with a theme that goes along with the series to celebrate the end of the study. These are very flexible and you can pick and choose what projects work best for your family.

You will need a few items to get you through the lessons:

• Working Printer
• Color and Black Ink for the printer to cover all the printing that will be happening
• White and Colored Printer Paper
• White and Colored Cardstock (this is best, but admittedly we didn't have any of this and used only white printer paper and it worked OK)
• One 3-Ring Binder for the Teacher's Binder (reading text, project direction pages, the "Guide-at-a-Glance," teacher keys, and any of the other teacher helps)
• One 3-Ring Binder for the Scrapbook of Sights (student binder for all notebook projects including)
• Colored File Folders or Colored Pocket Folders with Fasteners
• Scissors and/or an X-acto Knife (when using an X-acto Knife you will need a thick piece of cardboard or self healing mat to use as a cutting surface)
• Crayons, Markers, or Colored Pencils to color the pictures, if desired
• Glue
• Other Craft supplies specified for each of the different projects that your student wants to do

 

Lessons for Time Travelers American History Study: New World Explorers:

1. What is an Explorer?
2. The Life of an Explorer - Pt. 1
3. The Life of an Explorer - Pt. 2
4. Ship Ahoy!
5. PROJECT DAY - 1
6. Navigation
7. Brendan, Eriksson, & Columbus
8. Cabot & Vespucci
9. Ponce de León & Balboa
10. PROJECT DAY - 2
11. Pizarro & Magellan
12. Verrazano & Cortés
13. Cartier & de Soto
14. Coronado & Drake
15. PROJECT DAY - 3
16. Cabrillo & Ribaut
17. Raleigh & Smith
18. Oñate, Champlain, & Hudson
19. Bering & Cook
20. PROJECT DAY - 4
21. Pirates! - Pt. 1
22. Pirates! - Pt. 2
23. PROJECT DAY - 5
24. Pulling Together the Lap Book™
25. Exploration Celebration

Zari coloring the binder cover and spine.

 

How We Used This and Our Thoughts:
I enlisted my daughter Zari, who was in 4th grade this past school year, to learn about New World Explorers. She has loved doing Home School in the Woods in the past. This is supposed to be for 3rd through 8th graders so most of the projects she did very well on. She did need my help with some of the more advanced projects and writing assignments and it took her a lot longer to get through some of the written assignments than it might have taken for my older kids. I learned quite a bit too while helping her with this study.

We have been learning about an explorer and ship that is tied to the history out here. The Columbia Rediviva was under the command of John Kendrick and Captain Robert Grey. They sailed in the Pacific Northwest for the maritime fur trade. They used the Columbia River as a key transportation route. This ship is said to have been the model for the local high school being "The Columbians". The Home School in the Woods Time Travelers: New World Explorers goes hand-in-hand with what we have been studying.

 

My girls with a chainsaw carved sea captain sculpture at Rainier Jr Sr High in Dec. 2017.

 

This study was jam packed with information. This is all about early U.S. History. It is about the explorers that discovered the new world. In the weeks we had before this review we learned about explorers, their life, and ships, etc. There are creative writing, recipes of the era, notebook timeline, factfile cards, file folder games, penmanship pages, notebooking activities, three-dimensional projects, arts and crafts, lapbooking, and a Exploration Celebration to bring the whole unit to a close. We still have not gotten through all the lessons, but we have enjoyed everything that we have done thus far.

 

Zari coloring the ship and learning about ship's anatomy.

This was differently laid out than the Project Passports I was used to. There were no stops or pretending to be on a trip and these did not have any audio files to listen to. Like Project Passport though, the instructions are not hard, but there is a lot of things to set up and print out initially and throughout the program....so be aware of that and set some time aside to begin with to get things done so you are not overwhelmed.

Zari really liked our project time together the most. She loves art and making things. She especially loved tying nautical knots, making dried apples, making flags, learning about the ship's anatomy, making and drinking lime juice, and singing sea shanties. We can't wait to make the ship out of a large box that we acquired, dress up like pirates or seaman, find constellations in the night sky for navigation, making navigational tools, and make some of the recipes, etc. We are learning a lot and are enjoying every moment. These are so much fun!

Dried fruit was a main staple of food on a ship while exploring.

 

I highly recommend the Time Travelers American History Study: New World Explorers from Home School in the Woods. This is great for anyone homeschooling who might need some help with teaching about explorers in the new world in a highly educational, fun, and very hands-on way. This is a great stand-alone unit study or can be used to supplement something already being taught. This would also be perfect for those wanting something fun to do with their kids in the summer time. I am looking forward to reviewing more from Home School in the Woods in the future and learning more about United States history with this study!

 

BUY IT
You can purchase the download version of the Time Travelers U.S. History Studies New World Explorers from Home School in the Woods for $27.95 and CD version for $28.95.

Download the scope and sequence, look at a sample lesson, see photo examples of projects, and watch a video of "What is a Time Traveler" when you click the link above, to get more of an idea about the program.

Follow Them on Social Media:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/homeschoolinthewoods 
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/HSintheWoods 
• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/hsinthewoods/ 
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/homeschoolinthewoods/ 
• Hashtags: #hsreviews #HomeSchoolintheWoods #HSitW #TimeTravelers #NewWorldExplorers #history #unitstudies #lapbooks #lapbooking #HistoryUnitStudies #HomeschoolHistory #handsonhistory #historyforkids #historycurriculum #ushistory #americanhistory #americanhistorystudies #americanhistorycurriculum 

 

Read other homeschool curriculum reviews for Home School in the Woods...

YWAM Publishing Heroes of History George Washington Carver: From Slave to Scientist and Unit Study Curriculum Guide Review

 

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

My family had the privilege of reading the Heroes of History - George Washington Carver from YWAM Publishing for this review to use in conjunction with our own curriculum at home. This is a Homeschool Review Crew Review. All opinions expressed are my own or those of my family.

YWAM (YOUTH WITH A MISSION) Publishing is a nonprofit organization that produces and distributes books that help Christians make a difference in the world by giving a portion of every dollar spent to buy books through YWAM Publishing to children and adults in other countries that are in need. Their books focus on evangelism, educational training, prayer, discipleship, and mercy ministries.

YWAM Publishing has two popular book series; one called Heroes of History and the other called Christian Heroes: Then & Now; in which true stories are told of real people that lived in our history. In the Heroes of History series we learn about great men and woman who changed the course of history. In the Christian Heroes: Then & Now series we learn about ordinary people who have put their trust in God and in doing so accomplish extraordinary things. Both of these book series help us as: parents, teachers, and caretakers; give our children wholesome biographies to read or be read to that teach good character traits, values, and virtues.

 

George Washington Carver: From Slave to Scientist

 

George Washington Carver: From Slave to Scientist by Janet & Geoff Benge is part of a series of 29 biography books called Heroes of History by YWAM Publishing. This series covers the years 1451 to 1951. This book tells the true life story of George Washington Carver who was a brilliant American agricultural scientist, inventor, and professor. This Christian biography book from YWAM Publishing about George Washington Carver teaches great character traits, values, and virtues too. This book covers the years 1864 to 1943. It chronicles his life from a baby to his death in 1943. It is a total of 16 chapters and 189 pages long.

 

George Washington Carver Unit Study download page tab.

The Unit Study Curriculum Guide that is paired with the George Washington Carver: From Slave to Scientist book that I received was in the digital downloadable format and opened as an executable file. The digital version is downloadable in a zipped format, so you will have to unzip before you use it. After selecting where it will go on your computer, unzip it, and find the folder it placed it all into. Find the file version you need: __MACOSX for Macintosh and the other for PC. Click on the file that has START HERE in its title and it will open in a new window in your browser. You can then read a very short synopsis of the biography under the George Washington Carver tab, download the unit study under the Unit Study tab, etc.

The Unit Study downloads in PDF format. It also has a 25 page guide for classroom and homeschool as well as a 12 page guide for a small group that tells you how to best use the unit study. This shows how flexible you can be with the unit study. You can do the whole study or just parts of it. It is all up to you how you use it. The unit study goes in depth to help you go above and beyond the book and explore other areas that pertain to the material like: crafts, cooking, art, and writing assignments; has questions to ask your children to see if they comprehended the reading, and quotes to use as copywork to enhance handwriting or memorization. The unit study is broken into two parts.

Here is the Unit Study Curriculum Guide Contents:
Part 1 -
Introduction (how to use the study)

1. Key Quotes (great for copywork, memorization, theatrical presentation, or art display)
2. Display Corner (an area designated for hands on display of items relating to the reading)
3. Chapter Questions (questions that enhance the reading: 1 vocabulary, 1 factual, 2 comprehension, and 2 open-ended)
4. Student Explorations (essay questions, creative writing, hands-on projects, audio/visual projects, arts & crafts)
5. Community Links (field trip ideas)
6. Social Studies (places, journeys, terms/vocabulary, geographical characteristics: mapping, timeline: plotting historical events, conceptual questions)
7. Related Themes to Explore (cultures, math, literature, history, current events, science & medicine)
8. Culminating Event (sort of a show and tell ending, ideas include: invitations, clothing, competitions, presentations, food, displays)

Appendix A: Books and Resources
Appendix B: Answers to Chapter Questions

Part 2 -
Appendix C: Social Studies Reproducibles

 

Zari reading YWAM Publishing Heroes of History George Washington Carver: From Slave to Scientist.

How We Used This and Our Thoughts:

My 11 year old daughter Zari and my 13 year old daughter Teela read the book. Both have been doing the study guide with me. We learned more about George Washington Carver's life from reading this book than any textbook we had read or movie we had watched previously. It was quite refreshing to learn more about this important man.

After each chapter Zari and I did the first three questions from the study guide which are geared toward the younger students. They include a vocabulary question, a factual question coming from the reading, and the first comprehension question. The study guide is geared toward ages 10+. Zari and I would look up the words in a dictionary and thesaurus as well, for more understanding. My daughter, Teela, had no problem with the reading and vocabulary, but that is because she is a voracious reader. I had Teela do all of the chapter questions. Besides the chapter questions I had Zari do copywork from the key quotes and I had Teela memorize them and say them back to me. I will have Teela do an essay as suggested in the study guide under the student explorations and essays. She will also be doing some creative writing.

We also tried to go to the websites in the books and resources section of the study guide to learn more about George Washington Carver, but most of them were unfortunately broken. We looked up our own and found some pictures of his paintings of flowers and explored the George Washington Carver National Monument Park in Missouri by virtual tour and multimedia. We didn't know he was an artist as well as a botanist and inventor until this study. He was a very well accomplished man.

There was so much to learn and explore in this unit study. We were amazed at the very complexity of it all. We are going to check out some more books and biographies that they recommend in the study guide later. We didn't even begin to scratch the surface and were still very engaged in this lengthy unit study. This would be a great study to incorporate for Black History Month.

The YWAM Publishing biographies are historical and true. These true stories along with the unit studies are great for homeschooling families. We hope to get to read about Theodore Roosevelt next in their extensive biography list. I highly recommend these!

Follow Them on Social Media:

• Website - https://www.ywampublishing.com/
• Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/YWAM-Publishing-482973445102/
• Twitter - http://twitter.com/YWAMpublishing
• Pinterest - http://www.pinterest.com/YWAMpublishing
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ywampublishing/
• YWAM Publishing Blog - http://www.ywampublishingblog.com/
• Suggested Hashtags - #hsreviews #ywampublishing #christianheroes #americanheroes #christianbiographies #truebiographies #historicalbiography #HeroesofHistory #christianheroesthenandnow #herobiographies #TrueStories #homeschoolcurriculum #homeschooling #americanhistory #americanhistorycurriculum #Teachthemwell #GeorgeWashingtonCarver

BUY IT
YWAM Publishing Heroes of History - George Washington Carver book:
Regular Price: $9.99 YWAM Price: $7.50

Read other homeschool curriculum reviews for YWAM Publishing...

NatureGlo's eScience MathArt & Science Course Bundle Review #ComplimentaryProductReceived

 

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

My family had the privilege of trying a one year access to NatureGlo's eScience MathArt & Science Course Bundle from NatureGlo's eScience for this review to use in conjunction with our own curriculum at home. This is a Homeschool Review Crew Review. All opinions expressed are my own or those of my family.

NatureGlo's eScience is a neutral worldview (non-faith based viewpoint) math enrichment (MathArt) and science live and self-paced online courses and curriculum for home and school educators and students. It is founded and directed by Gloria Brooks; a nature lover, longtime RVer, and curriculum writer. She has been teaching since 1997 and holds a BA in k-12 education.

The NatureGlo's eScience MathArt & Science Course Bundle is a private bundle created only for The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Review Crew. It has roughly 25 courses with lessons in MathArt, Marine Biology, Herps (Reptiles & Amphibians), Botany, and Geology. Class content is completely digital with a year access. These self-paced classes are pre-recorded and include PowerPoint presentations with slideshows, study guides, lesson enhancing YouTube videos and web resources. Each class has a study guide and sometimes quizzes (using Quizlet) you can base grades off of also and participation and completion of activities can be recorded by parents. The study guide has questions and an answer key.

 

Roadmap

 

There are two ways to go about having your student do the courses. You can have them follow NatureGlo's eScience MathArt & Science Roadmap or go through the courses and lessons how you choose. This makes it more flexible. If you choose to follow the roadmap you will need to go in order of all the lessons, how they are presented. If you choose to skip around you may do so, but you have to be in the "My Courses" list in the "Student Dashboard". Once your student has selected and clicked on the course they would like to do they can scroll down and click on the first green bar lesson on that course page to start. This is courseware, which means when students go through and finish a lesson they can mark lessons complete and earn a digital award per lesson section they finish.

 

My Courses in the Dashboard

 

These courses are recommended for ages 10 and up. Content is appropriate for upper elementary, middle and high schoolers. Each course can be used with multiple students in the same household. You can either share one account or make individual accounts for each student using different emails/password per child's account so they can go at their own pace. These courses could be applied towards middle school and high school credits depending upon your state homeschool requirements. This can be used as a standalone curriculum, typically for very relaxed or unschooled families. Other families that homeschool in a more ridged way can use this as a supplement to their learning.

NatureGlo's eScience MathArt & Science Course Bundle Lessons:

MathArt Courses

• Introduction to MathArt
• MathArt: Patterns & Shapes in Nature – 1 Lesson
• Math Connections with the Real World – 6 Lesson Unit Study
• MathArt in Ancient Cultures – 6 Lesson Unit Study
• Mathematics in the Arts & Sciences – 6 Lesson Unit Study
• MathArt: Patterns in Nature – 6 Lesson Unit Study
• Bubbleology – 1 Lesson
• The Life & Mathematical Art of Leonardo da Vinci – 2 Lessons
• The Life & Mathematical Art of M.C. Escher – 2 Lessons

Marine Biology Courses

• Oceanography, Marine Plants and Invertebrates – 6 Lessons
• Jellies, Mollusks and Whales of the World – 6 Lessons
• Marine Invertebrates and Fish – 6 Lessons
• Cephalopods, Marine Turtles, Snakes and Mammals – 6 Lesson Unit Study
• Dramatic Deep Sea Creatures – 6 Lessons
• Tide Pool Communities – 1 Lesson
• Marine Zoology – Mandarinfish, Hermit Crab, & Queen Conch – 3 Lessons
• Marine Zoology – Seahorses, Beluga Whale, and Loggerhead Sea Turtle – 3 Lessons

Herps (Reptiles & Amphibians) Courses

• Herps Explorers: Anatomy, Caecilians & Crocs – 6 Lesson Unit Study
• Herps Explorers: Frogs, Geckos & Chameleons – 6 Lesson Unit Study
• Herps Zoology: Poison Dart Frog, Python, and Caiman – 3 Lessons
• Herps Zoology: Marbled Salamander, Children’s Python, and Galapagos Tortoise – 3 Lessons
• Marine Reptiles

Botany Lesson

• Exploring the Giant Redwood Trees – 1 Lesson

Geology Lesson

• Intro to Rockhounding – 1 Lesson

 

How We Used This and Our Thoughts:

We received NatureGlo's eScience MathArt & Science Course Bundle which is a private 25-course bundle of lessons in MathArt, Marine Biology, Herps (Reptiles & Amphibians), Botany, and Geology. I had reviewed NatureGlo's eScience MathArt Online 4-Class Bundle before and we enjoyed the courses so much that we wanted to review this as well.

When you go to each course they all have the same format. The courses have a main PowerPoint slide video that Gloria does. Some of the videos, since they were live previously, have kids that are interacting with her on them. There is a study guide that she has made to go with the main video. There are other resources in the form of links, projects, activities, and videos. This content is sourced from other parts of the web.

Since we had already finished the MathArt courses except Bubbleology previously I had my daughter Teela who is 12 pick some courses she wanted to start from the "My Courses" page. We were expected to use minimum of three weeks of lessons for this review. We had a 6 week period. My daughter picked Botany: Exploring the Giant Redwood Trees, Geology: Intro. to Rockhounding, and Bubbleology because they were all one lesson long and would take about a week each.

We learned a lot about the Giant Redwood Trees the first week. I hope to take my family to see them someday. They are such awe inspiring massive specimens. We learned about the largest and tallest of the redwoods and the 3 main species: Dawn and Coastal Redwoods and the super giant, the Sequoia tree. We learned about logging that happened in the 1850's too. We are sad that so many of these magnificent and mighty trees were chopped down for lumber. There was a lot we learned from the extra resources too. We enjoyed going to the many web resources, literature, activities and videos. We however, couldn't listen to Grandmother Cedar Audio story, see Redwood Ed, Giant Sequoia Groves - Interactive Map, and The Three Trees PDF because the links were broken. We also got to explore the redwoods virtually by live webcam.

 

A part of my rock and mineral collection.

 

The next week we learned about Rockhounding. This was all about rock and mineral collecting. My family loves looking for interesting looking rocks and minerals and bringing them home with us when we can. We have gone agate and diamond hunting before too. The agates we usually find around here, but I found a nice one at the Crater of Diamonds State Park when we were looking for diamonds on our Memorial Road Trip in 2010. We also love going to rock and mineral shows to see what others have found. We learned about basic and advanced rockhounding equipment and I remembered that I have a hand loupe magnifier that I purchased when I was taking my Master Gardeners courses. We learned about storing and labeling your collection, good rockhounding practices. We also watched the video on Holleywood Ranch that is in Oregon where rockhounds go to dig specimens, especially petrified wood.

The third week we learned about Bubbleology. This was all about the science and mathematics of soap bubbles. We learned about how bubbles are made, soap bubble physics, soup bubble mathematics (minimal surface), etc. The main lesson video was a bit different than the other two lessons we watched. It was more interactive and had poll, quiz and short answer questions to answer that popped up in the middle of the video. There were 6 questions to answer and there was no right or wrong. We loved the other resources of links and videos. The link to the Soap Films in Action had a problem loading for us, but we loved the videos of Melody Yang.

There were things that could have been better. I wish some of the links were not broken and that the links would open in a new window instead of having to go back and forth between the Resource Virtual Library Pages and the links on the page. This would certainly make the learning flow a lot better. I also had some bonus? courses that were not in the Roadmap list that were in "My Courses" list, these were: Sharks Online Unit Study Free Sample Lesson, Herps Explorers: The Komodo Dragon, Invertebrates: Insects of the World, Mammals: Wildcat, Gray Wolf, and Right Whale; MathArt: Polygons and Patterns in Nature, and MathArt: The Geometric Beauty of Snowflakes. I might have purchased these "extras", on my own, but I am not certain. We were not given a list of the courses except from the Roadmap. If these "extra" courses should have actually gone with the Roadmap they should have been listed there...but they were not, so I wasn't sure.

There is a lot of content to NatureGlo's eScience MathArt & Science Course Bundle other than what we have experienced so far. I can't wait to have my kids go through the Marine Biology courses because that was always my favorite in school and the Insects of the World Course looks neat too because it has a science, history, literature, art, and math connection. 25 courses is a lot to consume and there was so much in the lessons we went through that even I learned along with my kids. We can't wait to delve in deeper.

 

Follow Them on Social Media:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/natureglo1/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/natureglo1 Tag: @natureglo1
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/natureglosescience/
• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/nesschool/pins/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/1hasc
• Hashtags: #hsreviews #natureglo #homeschoolscience #homeschoolmath #homeschoolmarinebiology #homeschoolunitstudies #unitstudies
  #onlineunitstudies

Read other homeschool curriculum reviews for NatureGlo's eScience MathArt & Science Course Bundle...

Home School in the Woods Time Travelers: Colonial Life Review #ComplimentaryProductReceived

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

My family had the privilege of trying the Time Travelers U.S. History Studies Colonial Life from Home School in the Woods for this review to use in conjunction with our own curriculum at home. This is a Homeschool Review Crew Review. All opinions expressed are my own or those of my family.

Home School in the Woods is a family run business that creates Christian based history curriculum for homeschooling. This curriculum immerses your student in the topic. It is very hands-on with lapbooks, timelines, recipes, art, creative writing, notebook projects, dramatized audio theater, maps, crafts, projects, re-enactments, file-folder games, vocabulary to learn, etc.

The Time Traveler American History Studies are a seven part series that starts with the New World Explorers and concludes at the end of World War II. These are recommended for grades 3-8. There are two different versions you can purchase, a CD version or a digital download version. With the CD version everything that you access and print is on the CD. With the digital download version you download a zipped file, place all of the contents into a folder on your computer, and access it by the start.htm file that is in that folder. We received the digital download version.

Left: Main Menu, Right: Lessons

We found that there was a lot of preparation that needed to happen before getting started. There is a lot of things needing printed, items needing prepared for crafts and other projects, and general preparation of materials before one can begin the travel. The Beginning of the main menu includes: Acknowledgements / Copyrights and Usage / Bibliography, Introduction, Tips to Consider Before Starting..., and Teacher Helps which gives you a great foundation. Teacher Helps guides you with preparation and organization, gives you a Lesson Planner schedule to help you see an overview of the things being taught and Additional Resources to pull from. It also includes the printables for the 3-Ring Binder Covers and the Teacher Keys for the timeline.

Each study has twenty-five lessons and is supposed to last roughly 5-10 weeks depending upon how quickly everything is completed. These lessons have reading Text Pages and an activity that go with them. Project Pages accompany these to give directions, list of supplies needed, printing instructions, and illustrations for each project and activity. Masters are provided for all printables.

In the Other Resources section at the end of the main menu there are some visuals and directions to help you with the projects, activities, and lapbook. These include: All Master Pages in numerical order, A Gallery of Project Photos (final photos of what projects should look like at the end), and Lap Book Instructions. You can also have your student catch up with the five Project Days that are included in the schedule. The student will compile a lapbook in the 24th lesson. This lapbook is pieced together throughout the studies. The final lesson is a party with a theme that goes along with the series to celebrate the end of the study. These are very flexible and you can pick and choose what projects work best for your family.

You will need a few items to get you through the lessons:

• Working Printer
• Color and Black Ink for the printer to cover all the printing that will be happening
• White and Colored Printer Paper
• White and Colored Cardstock (this is best, but admittedly we didn't have any of this and used only white printer paper and it worked OK)
• One 3-Ring Binder for the Teacher's Binder (reading text, project direction pages, the "Guide-at-a-Glance," teacher keys, and any of the other teacher helps)
• One 3-Ring Binder for the Scrapbook of Sights (student binder for all notebook projects including)
• Colored File Folders or Colored Pocket Folders with Fasteners
• Scissors and/or an X-acto Knife (when using an X-acto Knife you will need a thick piece of cardboard or self healing mat to use as a cutting surface)
• Crayons, Markers, or Colored Pencils to color the pictures, if desired
• Glue
• Other Craft supplies specified for each of the different projects that your student wants to do

Lessons for Time Travelers American History Study: Colonial Life:

1. America's Colonies Begin
2. The Colonial Home Pt. 1
3. The Colonial Home Pt. 2
4. The Colonial Home Pt. 3
5. PROJECT DAY - 1
6. Colonial Clothing
7. Colonial Food
8. Family Life
9. The Colonial School
10. PROJECT DAY - 2
11. Faith in the Colonies Pt. 1
12. Faith in the Colonies Pt. 2
13. Colonial Pleasures & Pastimes
14. Villages & Cities
15. PROJECT DAY - 3
16. Health & Medicine
17. Colonial Artisans Pt. 1
18. Colonial Artisans Pt. 2
19. Holidays in the Colonies
20. PROJECT DAY - 4
21. Crime & Punishment
22. Plantations & Slavery
23. PROJECT DAY - 5
24. Pulling the Lap Book™ Together
25. Colonial Spree!

How We Used This and Our Thoughts:
I enlisted my daughter Zari, who was in 3rd grade this past school year, to learn about Colonial Life. She has loved doing Home School in the Woods in the past. This is supposed to be for 3rd through 8th graders so most of the projects she did very well on. She did need my help with some of the more advanced projects and writing assignments and it took her a lot longer to get through some of the written assignments than it might have taken for my older kids. I learned quite a bit too while helping her with this study.

Zari coloring the Colonial Farm pages.

This study was jam packed with information. This is all about early U.S. History. It is about the growth of this nation and the people that left their mark on it. In the weeks we had before this review we learned about The Lost Colony & Jamestown, The First Thirteen Colonies, Indentured Servants and Slaves, etc. There are creative writing, recipes of the era,  notebook timeline, factfile cards, file folder games,  penmanship pages, notebooking activities, three-dimensional projects, arts and crafts, lapbooking, and a Colonial Spree to bring the whole unit to a close. We still have not gotten through all the lessons, but we have enjoyed everything that we have done thus far.

This was differently laid out than the Project Passports I was used to. There were no stops or pretending to be on a trip and these did not have any audio files to listen to. Like Project Passport though, the instructions are not hard, but there is a lot of things to set up and print out initially and throughout the program....so be aware of that and set some time aside to begin with to get things done so you are not overwhelmed.

Old-Peas Soup

Zari really liked our project time together the most. She loves art and making things. She especially loved making the yummy Old-Peas Soup from one of the A Book of Goode Cookery Colonial cookbook recipes. This was like split pea soup in my opinion. She also loved learning and playing the games. We can't wait to make the Rope Bed, Colonial attire to dress up, a loom to weave on, an apple head doll, an embroidery sampler, silhouette art, quilling, a punch tin candle holder, and the other recipes etc. We are learning a lot and are enjoying every moment. These are so much fun!

I highly recommend the Time Travelers American History Study: Colonial Life from Home School in the Woods. This is great for anyone homeschooling who might need some help with teaching Colonial Life in a highly educational, fun, and very hands-on way. This is a great stand-alone unit study or can be used to supplement something already being taught. This would also be perfect for those wanting something fun to do with their kids in the summer time. I am looking forward to reviewing more from Home School in the Woods in the future and learning more about United States history with this study! There is also a U.S. Elections Lap-Pak that is relevant now because of the presidential election coming up this year.

BUY IT
You can purchase the download version of the Time Travelers U.S. History Studies Colonial Life from Home School in the Woods for $27.95 and CD version for $28.95.

Download the scope and sequence, look at a sample lesson, see photo examples of projects, and watch a video of "What is a Time Traveler" when you click the link above, to get more of an idea about the program.

Follow Them on Social Media:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/homeschoolinthewoods 
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/HSintheWoods 
• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/hsinthewoods/ 
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/homeschoolinthewoods/ 
• Hashtags: #hsreviews #HomeSchoolintheWoods #HSitW #TimeTravelers #ColonialLife #history #unitstudies #lapbooking #HistoryUnitStudies #HomeschoolHistory #handson #ushistory #americanhistory

Read other homeschool curriculum reviews for Home School in the Woods...

Home School in the Woods Project Passport World History Studies: Renaissance & Reformation Review #ComplimentaryProductReceived

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

My family had the privilege of trying the Project Passport World History Studies Renaissance & Reformation from Home School in the Woods for this review to use in conjunction with our own curriculum at home. This is a Homeschool Review Crew Review. All opinions expressed are my own or those of my family.

Home School in the Woods is a family run business that creates Christian based history curriculum for homeschooling. This curriculum immerses your student in the topic. It is very hands-on with lapbooks, timelines, recipes, art, creative writing, notebook projects, dramatized audio theater, maps, crafts, projects, re-enactments, file-folder games, vocabulary to learn, etc.

There are icons that help along one side and buttons that link to nice clear photos of the finished projects.

The Project Passport World History Studies are a virtual trip through history. These are recommended for grades 3-8. There are two different versions you can purchase, a CD version or a digital download version. With the CD version everything that you access and print is on the CD. With the digital download version you download a zipped file, place all of the contents into a folder on your computer, and access it by the start.htm file that is in that folder. We received the digital download version. This "trip" is supposed to last roughly 8-12 weeks depending upon how quickly everything is completed. For Each Project Passport World History Study you make a passport and "luggage" folder to hold some of the stuff you print off and make along the journey. Each "trip" has 25 chapters called "stops", where you observe action-packed events and meet fascinating people along the way. At each stop you come to there will be "Guide Book Text" which is information for the student to read about a certain topic explored and a "Travel Itinerary" that covers the project choices and directions. There are also helpful icons that let you know what you will be doing and color photos of all the completed projects so you know how they are supposed to look like when finished. There are a lot of printables of information and projects to do. Masters are available for all printables. There are so many things to do on the trip, for example: creating a "Scrapbook of Sights" (notebook for storing the notebook projects), dining on local cuisine with the "Dining out Guide" (recipes to create food and drink that was popular in the area at the time), taking pictures ("Snapshot Moments in History" scrapbook timeline), reporting on important people and happenings (a newspaper creative writing assignment - In the Renaissance & Reformation study it is called "The Renaissance Reporter"), making "souvenirs" to remember your stay (craft/art projects), dressing like the locals (clothing of the era: fun dress up craft), making a lapbook, playing games (file-folder games), collecting postcards, listening to tour guides (dramatized audio theater - there are 8 of these), and so much more!

We found that there was a lot of preparation that needed to happen before getting started. There is a lot of things needing printed, items needing prepared for crafts and other projects, and general preparation of materials before one can begin the journey. The Travel Itinerary and Travel Planner: Quick Stop Itinerary helps with this a lot!

You will need a few items to get you through the lessons:

• Working Printer
• Color and Black Ink for the printer to cover all the printing that will be happening
• White and Colored Printer Paper
• White and Colored Cardstock (this is best, but admittedly we didn't have any of this and used only white printer paper and it worked OK)
• One 3-Ring Binder for the Guide Book (teacher binder for Introduction, Travel Tips, Travel Planner: Quick Stop Itinerary, Travel Itinerary, Guide Book Text, and Additional Resources)
• One 3-Ring Binder for the Scrapbook of Sights (student binder for all notebook projects)
• Colored File Folders or Colored Pocket Folders with Fasteners
• Scissors and/or an X-acto Knife (when using an X-acto Knife you will need a thick piece of cardboard or self healing mat to use as a cutting surface)
• Crayons, Markers, or Colored Pencils to color the pictures, if desired
• Glue
• Other Craft supplies specified for each of the different projects that your student wants to do

This is what the Project Passport World History Studies: Renaissance & Reformation covers:

1. Laying the Foundation (Packing for the Trip)
2. Italy & Da Vinci
3. Everyday Life - Part I
   
4. Everyday Life - Part II
5. Renaissance Art
6. Famous Artists of the Renaissance
7. Music of the Renaissance
8. Literature, Drama, and Shakespeare
9. Science, Math, and Astronomy
10. Inventions
11. Exploration - Part I: The Americas
12. Exploration - Part II: Africa, Asia, and Around the World
13. The Early Reformers
14. Martin Luther
15. The Thirty Years' War
16. Zwingli and Switzerland
17. John Calvin
18. France and the Wars of Religion
19. Henry VIII
20. Henry's Children
21. Civil War
22. Knox and Scotland
23. The Counter-Reformation - Part I
24. The Counter-Reformation - Part II
25. The Final Stop - Packing Up!

Zari coloring the Scrapbook of Sights Cover.

How We Used This and Our Thoughts:

I have reviewed many products from Home School in the Woods before. Each product was a lot of fun to do with my kids and they enjoyed learning with them. Renaissance & Reformation is part of a series called Project Passport. The Project Passport world history studies we have done reviews for are: Ancient Rome, Ancient Greece, The Middle Ages, Ancient Egypt and now this one.

I enlisted my daughter Zari who is in 3rd grade this school year to learn about  Renaissance & Reformation, a Project Passport Study from Home School in the Woods, since she loved listening to and helping out with the other studies before. This is for 3rd through 8th graders so she did need my help with some of the more advanced projects and writing assignments and it took her a lot longer to get through some of the stops than it might have taken for my older kids. I learned quite a bit too while helping her with this study.

This study, like all the other ones we did, was jam packed with information. I am glad that I already had experience doing this type of program because everything seemed to go faster. The instructions are not hard, but there is a lot of things to set up and print out initially and throughout the program....so be aware of that and set some time aside initially to get things done so you are not overwhelmed. We still have not gotten through all the stops, but we have enjoyed everything that we have done thus far. I love that it is from a biblical Christian perspective too.

Zari enjoying the rice Pudding we made from "A Booklet of Renaissance Feasting".

Zari really liked our project time together. She loved trying some of the recipes in the "A Booklet of Renaissance Feasting" cookbook. We loved the Rice Pudding! It is great to add interest to history with recipes. She loves art and making things. She had fun making the circlet for her head. Dressing up in period clothing is a great way to learn history. We used beads and wire we had and it turned out fairly well. She learned a lot about: everyday life, music, art, literature and drama of the Renaissance, science and invention, Reformers and their influence across Europe, wars and conflicts, Henry VIII, exploration, the Counter-Reformation, and much more! There were so many projects to do to go with all the reading, creative writing, and listening to the audio tours. We did so many fun things and learned so much about the culture so far. I can't wait to get all the way through the whole program with my daughter. We are looking forward to learning more about the Renaissance & Reformation.

Zari making braiding the circlet together and finished project.

I highly recommend the Project Passport World History Studies:  Renaissance & Reformation from Home School in the Woods. This is great for anyone homeschooling who might need some help with teaching about Renaissance & Reformation in a highly educational, fun, and very hands-on way. This would also be perfect for those wanting something fun to do with their kids in the summer time. I am looking forward to reviewing more from Home School in the Woods in the future. There is also a U.S. Elections Lap-Pak that is relevant now because of the presidential election coming up this year.

BUY IT
You can purchase the download version of the Project Passport World History Studies: Renaissance & Reformation for $33.95 and CD version for $34.95.

Download the scope and sequence, look at a sample lesson, listen to a sample audio tour, see photo examples of projects, and watch a video of "What is a Project Passport" when you click the link above, to get more of an idea about the program.

Follow Them on Social Media:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/homeschoolinthewoods 
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/HSintheWoods 
• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/hsinthewoods/ 
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/homeschoolinthewoods/ 
• Hashtags: #hsreviews #HomeSchoolintheWoods #HSitW #ProjectPassport #Renaissance #Reformation #history #unitstudies #AncientCivilizations #lapbooking #HistoryUnitStudies #HomeschoolHistory #handson

Read other homeschool curriculum reviews for Home School in the Woods...

YWAM Publishing Heroes of History Clara Barton: Courage Under Fire and Unit Study Curriculum Guide Review #ComplimentaryProductReceived

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

My family had the privilege of reading the Heroes of History - Clara Barton from YWAM Publishing for this review to use in conjunction with our own curriculum at home. This is a Homeschool Review Crew Review. All opinions expressed are my own or those of my family.

YWAM (YOUTH WITH A MISSION) Publishing is a nonprofit organization that produces and distributes books that help Christians make a difference in the world by giving a portion of every dollar spent to buy books through YWAM Publishing to children and adults in other countries that are in need. Their books focus on evangelism, educational training, prayer, discipleship, and mercy ministries.

YWAM Publishing has two popular book series; one called Heroes of History and the other called Christian Heroes: Then & Now; in which true stories are told of real people that lived in our history. In the Heroes of History series we learn about great men and woman who changed the course of history. In the Christian Heroes: Then & Now series we learn about ordinary people who have put their trust in God and in doing so accomplish extraordinary things. Both of these book series help us as: parents, teachers, and caretakers; give our children wholesome biographies to read or be read to that teach good character traits, values, and virtues.

Clara Barton: Courage Under Fire Book

 

Clara Barton: Courage Under Fire by Janet & Geoff Benge is part of a series of 29 biography books called Heroes of History by YWAM Publishing. This series covers the years 1451 to 1951. This book tells the true life story of Clara Barton who was a nurse on the front-lines of the Civil War and the founder of the American Red Cross. This Christian biography book from YWAM Publishing about Clara Barton teaches great character traits, values, and virtues too. This book covers the years 1821 to 1912. It chronicles her life from the age of 4 to her death in 1912. It is a total of 17 chapters and 191 pages long.

Clara Barton Unit Study download page tab.

 

The Unit Study Curriculum Guide that is paired with the Clara Barton: Courage Under Fire book that I received was in the digital downloadable format and opened as an executable file. The digital version is downloadable in a zipped format, so you will have to unzip before you use it. After selecting where it will go on your computer, unzip it, and find the folder it placed it all into. Find the file version you need: __MACOSX for Macintosh and the other for PC. Click on the file that has START HERE in its title and it will open in a new window in your browser. You can then read a very short synopsis of the biography under the Clara Barton tab, download the unit study under the Unit Study tab, etc.

The Unit Study downloads in PDF format. It also has a 25 page guide for classroom and homeschool as well as a 12 page guide for a small group that tells you how to best use the unit study. This shows how flexible you can be with the unit study. You can do the whole study or just parts of it. It is all up to you how you use it. The unit study goes in depth to help you go above and beyond the book and explore other areas that pertain to the material like: crafts, cooking, art, and writing assignments; has questions to ask your children to see if they comprehended the reading, and quotes to use as copywork to enhance handwriting or memorization. The unit study is broken into two parts.

Here is the Unit Study Curriculum Guide Contents:
Part 1 -
Introduction (how to use the study)

1. Key Quotes (great for copywork, memorization, theatrical presentation, or art display)
2. Display Corner (an area designated for hands on display of items relating to the reading)
3. Chapter Questions (questions that enhance the reading: 1 vocabulary, 1 factual, 2 comprehension, and 2 open-ended)
4. Student Explorations (essay questions, creative writing, hands-on projects, audio/visual projects, arts & crafts)
5. Community Links (field trip ideas)
6. Social Studies (places, journeys, terms/vocabulary, geographical characteristics: mapping, timeline: plotting historical events, conceptual questions)
7. Related Themes to Explore (cultures, math, literature, history, current events, science & medicine)
8. Culminating Event (sort of a show and tell ending, ideas include: invitations, clothing, competitions, presentations, food, displays)

Appendix A: Books and Resources
Appendix B: Answers to Chapter Questions
Appendix C: Social Studies Reproducibles

Part 2 -
Appendix C: Social Studies Reproducibles (continued)

Teela reading YWAM Publishing Heroes of History Clara Barton: Courage Under Fire.

 

How We Used This and Our Thoughts:

I read the book to my 9 year old daughter Zari so we could have time to get through some of the study guide too. My daughter Teela who is 11 and my sons who are 17 and 19 have been reading it to themselves and doing some of the projects from the study guide on their own time. Zari enjoyed listening to me read about Clara Barton. We learned more about Clara Barton's life from reading this book than any textbook we had read or movie we had watched previously. It was quite refreshing to learn more about this important woman.

After each chapter my girls and I did the first three questions from the study guide which are geared toward the younger students. They include a vocabulary question, a factual question coming from the reading, and the first comprehension question. The study guide is geared toward ages 10+. So I had to help Zari with the some of the vocabulary because of its advanced nature. We would look up the words in a dictionary and thesaurus as well, for more understanding. My boys, Jaedan and Delbin, who are 17 and 19, had no problem with the reading and vocabulary, but that is because they are voracious readers. I had my boys do all of the chapter questions. Besides the chapter questions I had my girls do copywork from the key quotes and I had my boys memorize them and say them back to me. I will have my sons do an essay as suggested in the study guide under the student explorations and essays. They also will be doing some creative writing.

We also went to other websites in the books and resources section of the study guide to learn more about Clara Barton, Civil War, Spanish-American War, Red Cross, nursing, etc. We also loved learning about how to dress like Clara Barton and what women wore back then. We also loved learning about the Red Cross more from their website. My sister-in-law, Amy, is in the Red Cross as a volunteer, so this was very cool to learn about.

There was so much to learn and explore in this unit study. We were amazed at the very complexity of it all. We didn't even begin to scratch the surface and were still very engaged in the lengthy unit study.

The YWAM Publishing biographies are historical and true. These true stories along with the unit studies are great for homeschooling families. We hope to get to read about George Washington Carver next in their extensive biography list. I highly recommend these!

 

Follow Them on Social Media:

• Website - https://www.ywampublishing.com/
• Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/YWAM-Publishing-482973445102/
• Twitter - http://twitter.com/YWAMpublishing
• Pinterest - http://www.pinterest.com/YWAMpublishing
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ywampublishing/
• YWAM Publishing Blog - http://www.ywampublishingblog.com/
• Suggested Hashtags - #hsreviews #ywampublishing #christianheroes #americanheroes #christianbiographies #truebiographies #historicalbiography #HeroesofHistory #christianheroesthenandnow #herobiographies #TrueStories #homeschoolcurriculum #homeschooling #americanhistory #americanhistorycurriculum #Teachthemwell #ClaraBarton

BUY IT
YWAM Publishing Heroes of History Clara Barton: Courage Under Fire book:
Regular Price: $9.99 YWAM Price: $7.50

Read other homeschool curriculum reviews for YWAM Publishing...

Zeezok Publishing Music Appreciation Book 2: for the Middle Grades Collection Review

My family had the privilege of trying the Zeezok Publishing Music Appreciation Book 2: for the Middle Grades Collection for this review to use in conjunction with our own curriculum. This is a Homeschool Review Crew Review. All opinions expressed are my own or those of my family.

Zeezok Publishing is a Christian provider of enriching educational materials for homeschoolers. They strive to supply the best and most affordable homeschooling textbooks and supplementary materials that will compliment your educational needs. Zeezok Publishing is continuing to expand its curriculum, books, and supplementary materials to help the homeschooling family have the opportunity to give the finest possible education to their children.

Zeezok Publishing Music Appreciation Book 2: for the Middle Grades Collection, minus Nutcracker Ballet book.

Music Appreciation Book 2: for the Middle Grades is more than just teaching music theory or music appreciation to your student. This collection is from the Great Musicians Series. The collection includes a student activity book and nine composer biographies. This is geared for grades 5th-8th and a variety of learners including: auditory, kinesthetic, visual, etc. It also meets all national standards for music appreciation.


What is included in detail:

• Student Book: This soft cover book by Elisabeth Tanner and Judy Wilcox starts off with a Table of Contents, Introduction, Scope & Sequence, and Music List. Then it has each of the seven composers listed, each with 4 weeks of hands-on activities that include:  American and world history, grammar, geography, music studies, concert etiquette, timelines, character trait studies, and so much more. The activity book ends in Endnotes, a bibliography for each section. This is a great companion to the biographies and they suggest getting one of these for each student being taught. Comes with Music Appreciation for the Middle Grades App–QR codes and their app website that provides easy access to all the songs from the biographies, interactive quizzes, and a variety of additional website links to enhance the learning experience. MSRP $59.99
• 9 Composer Biographies: Nine different biography books for seven composers studied. Included is: Frederic Chopin, Robert Schumann, Richard Wagner, Stephen Foster, Brahms, Peter Tchaikovsky, and Edward MacDowell. These biographies describe the childhood and adult life of each of these composers. These are true and accurate with every important event mentioned. These also have written music and lovely pictures throughout.

Music Appreciation: Book 2 Collection includes one Student Book and the following nine composer biographies: 

• Frederic Chopin, Early Years
• Frederic Chopin, Later Years
• Robert Schumann and Mascot Ziff
• Adventures of Richard Wagner
• Stephen Foster and His Little Dog Tray
• The Young Brahms
• The Story of Peter Tchaikovsky
• Peter Tchaikovsky and the Nutcracker Ballet
• Edward MacDowell and His Cabin in the Pines

How We Used This and Our Thoughts:

I used this set with my daughter, Teela, who is just starting 6th grade. We focused on Frederic Chopin and the book Frederic Chopin, Early Years and some of the Frederic Chopin, Later Years for the 4 week study and this review. First we looked through the Student Book and found that besides a nice table of contents, each composer had its own colored tab along the side to find the pages easily. The tab colors also go with the some of the reader colors. When we flipped to Frederic Chopin on page 17 we found the Weekly Lesson Outline layout for each of the four weeks. These Weekly Lesson Outlines are given for each composer too and is very well structured and spelled out for you so you know exactly what to do and when. At the end of the 5 weeks they also include an answer key to help the teacher with grading.

I noticed a few things when we received the set through the mail. We received all but one of the physical books in the series because of an error in shipping. We were instead given a digital download of the Peter Tchaikovsky and the Nutcracker Ballet, the last one we were missing, but I would have rather had the physical book. There is also a lapbook and coloring book that we did not receive and that are sold separately to go along with the materials. Also, I noticed that one book, The Young Brahms, was a hardcover not softcover like the rest.

In the Student Book there are Music Appreciation for the Middle Grades App–QR codes and a link to an app website that provides easy access to all the songs from the biographies, interactive quizzes, and a variety of additional website links to enhance the learning experience. We couldn't use the QR codes because we don't have a device to read them, but had a lot of fun with the website link which had all the same information. There are also activities in the student book that are starred and this means that those certain activities are required in order to meet national music appreciation standards.

Chopin Weekly Lesson Outline and an illustration in the reader.

The Student Book had 5 weeks about Chopin. Each week we had different things to work on; some included: chapters to read from the biographies, comprehension questions to answer, character qualities to read about with page numbers from the biography to correspond with, tidbits of interest to read about with page numbers from the biography to correspond with, listening to tracks, vocabulary to learn, musical parts to learn, recipes to try, etc.

We learned a great deal about Chopin's early years. Not only did we learn about his life, but we also learned about his birthplace, Poland; music, foods he ate with recipes of a similar facsimile, etc. Some of the things we learned was that he went by many names, he weighed only 100 pounds even as an adult, he liked doing smaller recitals than large concerts because he played softly and some people couldn't hear him, and that his sister died of tuberculosis.

All of the parts of this curriculum complement each other really well. We loved how easy it was to follow along each week in the Student Book. It was really fascinating to learn about Chopin's life in the Frederic Chopin, Early Years biography reader. The link, instead of the QR codes, worked better for us for the tracks of music to listen to for each composer, videos about his life and music, and there is a quiz at the end of comprehension questions about the reading. As you can see there are a lot of different activities besides reading.

Teela is excited to learn about the other composers in this collection as well. We are going to finish Frederic Chopin, Later Years soon and then start on the book, Robert Schumann and Mascot Ziff. We can't wait to learn more about Chopin's life and other musicians in the series.

We highly recommend the Zeezok Publishing Music Appreciation Book 2: for the Middle Grades Collection! If you are looking into a great classical music appreciation curriculum or homeschool music program look no further. This would be a great summer music program too! Also, look for the Zeezok Publishing Music Appreciation Book 1: for the Elementary Grades Collection if you have children in that age group. Book 1 includes: Bach, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Paganini and Schubert. I have loved learning about these composers.

BUY IT
Retail Price is $185. 54. Sale Price is $169.99. Save 10% when purchasing the complete Music Appreciation Book 2: for the Middle Grades collection!

Follow Them on Social Media:

• Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/zeezokpublishing/ 
• Twitter - https://twitter.com/ZeezokPub @ZeezokPub
• Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/zeezok/ 
• YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/user/ZeezokPublishing 
• Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/zeezokpub/ 
• Hashtags - #hsreview #musicappreciation #homeschoolmusicprogram

Read other reviews for Zeezok Publishing LLC Music Appreciation Book 2: for the Middle Grades...