Saturday, March 07, 2009
Rod & Staff Spring Sale and Bible Curriculum Review
Rod & Staff is having a Spring textbook sale, 10% off until 4/15/09. They don't have a website, so you have to call (606) 522-4348 to get on their mailing list, and request a catalog and order form.
My usual Rod & Staff online resource does not appear to be offering this sale. They may in the near future, so I may wait.
I must mention that Rod and Staff's fifth grade Bible curriculum has been so interesting! Not only have we learned Old Testament Scripture, Creation to Samuel, indepth(challenging) without doctrine, but it also covers ancient history customs and lifestyles. There are many illustrations(black & white only) and diagrams of battles, clothing styles, farming methods, etc. Included are discussions of these historical facts and many a map study(map skills). Research skills are enhanced with lessons on locating information in the Bible dictionary, concordance, Bible atlas, and the Bible itself. Before we finished up this 30 lesson workbook, I enjoyed reading a blurb on the ancient uses for flax. We plan to follow up this Bible curriculum with a visit to our local museum's ancient history section.
Happily, the Old Testament daily mass readings have more meaning for my son now. He can relate them to his past lessons, and this makes for good discussions. Applied education at it's best! :)
I noticed that my favorite Rod & Staff provider had a cool cut-out.jpg)
tabernacle paper model for sale. My son is too old for this, but it would be fun learning for younger children.
My usual Rod & Staff online resource does not appear to be offering this sale. They may in the near future, so I may wait.
I must mention that Rod and Staff's fifth grade Bible curriculum has been so interesting! Not only have we learned Old Testament Scripture, Creation to Samuel, indepth(challenging) without doctrine, but it also covers ancient history customs and lifestyles. There are many illustrations(black & white only) and diagrams of battles, clothing styles, farming methods, etc. Included are discussions of these historical facts and many a map study(map skills). Research skills are enhanced with lessons on locating information in the Bible dictionary, concordance, Bible atlas, and the Bible itself. Before we finished up this 30 lesson workbook, I enjoyed reading a blurb on the ancient uses for flax. We plan to follow up this Bible curriculum with a visit to our local museum's ancient history section.
Happily, the Old Testament daily mass readings have more meaning for my son now. He can relate them to his past lessons, and this makes for good discussions. Applied education at it's best! :)
I noticed that my favorite Rod & Staff provider had a cool cut-out
.jpg)
tabernacle paper model for sale. My son is too old for this, but it would be fun learning for younger children. 
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Homeschooling Books for the Spring Semester
As we wind down school this year, I find that as usual, we have finished many subjects and need to order or plan for the spring semester. In the spring semester I tend to rely more heavily on free vintage online etexts, the library, and book reports for homeschooling subjects beyond Math and English. I also buy inexpensive literature, history, and science reading resources from some of the established homeschool curriculum providers such as Seton homeschooling and Christian Liberty Press(Reformed - Presbyterian). I love those Faith and Freedom readers and saint biographies from Seton, and Christian Liberty Press has some nice nature readers and updated vintage texts.
This year I found some great deals on their already low prices at Christian Liberty Press. Much of the curriculum is 20% off right now; however in early December there were extra discounts. I got the fifth grade nature reader for under $4.00 and Exploring American History by D.H. Montgomery(fifth grade), also for under $4.00. This book, published in 1908 is in public domain; however, Christian Liberty Press has updated it to include present times. Upon browsing through the text, they appear to have done a nice job with the revisions. I'll be sure to update this post if we see anything weird in the revised sections after we are done.
From Christian Liberty Press: Exploring American History - Textbook
Young people are taught about American history by utilizing a “biographical” approach. The text begins with the Viking explorers and continues into the year 2002. Chapter review questions are included in this text, as well as numerous maps. (Christian Liberty Press)
Grade: 5th
Text, 362 pages
Online Price: USD $5.56
Exploring American History is not online, but D.H. Montgomery also published The Beginner's American History which is available free online at Project Gutenberg. This book is almost written in outline form with numerous references to maps and illustrations. Neat!
And since this is the year of St. Paul(Catholics), I got a board game for 10% off, The Journeys of Paul:
Bring the book of Acts to life with the Journeys of Paul®. This exciting, fast-paced board game blends strategy, skill, and chance while providing great fun and time together. Learn about the difficulties and challenges confronted by the apostles during the days of the early Church.
Each player in this multi-level game plays a missionary who, like Paul, travels through the Roman Empire and attempts to start churches in key cities on the way to Rome. Along the way, the player will have to deal with such things as shipwrecks, angry mobs, Roman soldiers, and political unrest. It even has a solitaire level for solo play. (Cactus Game Design)For 1-6 players ages 10 and up.
Update: It appears that the board games are no longer on sale.
Customer reviews over at Amazon.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Educational Children's Gifts: Continent Puzzles
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Have you ever gotten a gift for a nephew or niece and ended up keeping it for your children?! We got these really neat geography puzzles for my neice and nephew to take back to England when they visit in January, but both my children really wanted to do these puzzles, so we ended up keeping them. Now my oldest wants to get more, including the big world puzzle. I've been enjoying these as well. My three year old daughter loves puzzles, and she asks me to help do these at least once a day. They are listed for ages 8 and up, but many children are good at complex puzzles at earlier ages.
We have Europe and North America which were $8.95 each, but I should have gotten the four continent set for $23.50. They are pretty sturdy and made of a thick pressed cardboard. There is only an outline under the many puzzle pieces as a guide, so it's challenging.
We ordered these puzzles published by A Broader View from my favorite curricula provider, Rod & Staff Books, old fashioned learning from the conservative Mennonites and Amish.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Childen's Living History Book Review: Sir Walter Raleigh by Adele DeLeeuw
Another living history public library book that has turned out to be a gem. The reading level is below my son's level, but it's still interesting, and great for filling in bits of basic history in an exciting way. The book has short chapter's and large print. I'd hazard to guess it's at a third grade reading level. It's not always easy to find living history books for early elementary.
Here's some excerpts:
"The Queen enjoyed poetry. Walter Raleigh wrote verses for her. His musical voice made pictures of the words. They both had quick minds. The two of them would toss sentences back and forth, each trying to better the other. This was refreshing to the Queen. Walter Raleigh made her feel young again."
Sir Walter Raleigh, published in 1964 is a part of the World Explorer Series, a subset of the Gerrard History Series "written especially for children who love adventure and exploration into the unknown". There is a nice big easy to read map of Raleigh's discoveries and adventures across the first two pages . There are large one page illustrations throughout which help expand interest into geography and social studies.
When I did a Google search, I found this book listed at Mary's Books, so I'm assuming that it is Catholic friendly. I believe Adele DeLeeuw was a Catholic apologist?
Valerie's Living Books has the 1960's Gerrard series listed by subcategory and general readability levels, a super resource for locating more living history books that your public library is likely to have available.
Nothing New Press, Christine Miller's All Through the Ages, Classical homeschooling education has this book listed under the grade 3-4 category.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Fifth and Sixth Grade Nature Study Resource/Curriculum
I hadn't realized this, but ds's fifth grade science book is all nature study. I had to order additional books(newly published) which cover regular fifth grade science. I was flipping through this book tonight, and it reminded me so much of a Charlotte Mason type nature study. The entire book is in black and white with charming hand drawings throughout. It's a thorough nature study with Scripture sprinkled among the pages. We'll be using both books, the nature study and the regular science fr
om Rod & Staff. The nature study is just too good to skip.There are two books: Book One for fifth grade, and Book Two for sixth grade.
God's Marvelous Works, Book One is 30 lessons covering Insects, Birds, Flowers and Reptiles.
God's Marvelous Works, Book Two is 30 lessons covering Algae and Fungi, Mammals, and Aquatic Creatures and Amphibians.
Links above show sample lessons.
I got mine on ebay for a few dollars plus shipping. Use Bigcrumbs.com as your shopping portal to ebay for additional discounts. I get a rebate of 36% of the seller's fees. Not a fortune, but every little bit counts.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Inexpensive Books, Foreign Language Audio Lessons, and Clip Art
From DoverPublications.com, "Dover Evergreen Classics are a collection of some of the greatest and most memorable novels for juvenile readers. These unabridged editions are printed in easy-to-read type and are value priced between $2 and $3 each." A super list of basic classics for middle elementary school or early middle school students, and check out the other inexpensive children's books.
Unfortunately, the Evergreen Classics 45 Book Set on sale for $107.95 has been sold out. It may be restocked soon, and you can request notification. This is a very well priced set for families who do not have easy access to the library, or would like to have these copies available in their personal library. Most, if not all are available free and in public domain online. I'm acclimating my son to reading books online, but he still enjoys the tactile sensation of a real book which you can take anywhere. We really need to get a laptop!
A number of the books listed under the Children: General category are reprints of vintage children's educational books also found in public domain. In this section, books appear to be suitable for grades five through middle school. G.A. Henty seems to be the most advanced reading level represented.
Dover's book listings are handy for reference as well. After having read descriptions and reading level recommendations, I've copied and pasted the titles into my public library search, or at Google Books.
I have purchased many of my spiritual classics(under Non-Fiction) from Dover Publications because
they are very inexpensive, and my library doesn't have a good selection of Christian literature. This section also offers excellent reading for the advanced high school level.Dover has an inexpensive audio section of foreign language lessons, "Listen & Learn" Series.
Browse by subject.
Dover has very inexpensive permission-free clipart in their Bargain Bin.
Dover's Free samples and ecards.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Children's Book Review: The Fallacy Detective 36 Lessons on How to Recognize Bad Reasoning
From Lady Lydia's review:
"The stories in it relate many examples that you will recognize: for starters, a father wants his son to do something, and the boy does not want to do it. The father reminds him that he didn't do his job, and the boy says, 'You ought to be glad that I am not a criminal or an axe murderer!' Then, the story shows the techniques used today, of distraction, false reasoning, and accusation, designed to take attention away from the point...It prevents circular reasoning, a problem that besets many people, not just children, today. I can't help but think some of these bad conversation habits (faulty reasoning, distraction, accusation, focus on self) are habits formed in childhood. These books help parents teach their children about sound reasoning, and teach them how to use their minds."
The Fallacy Detective 36 Lessons on How to Recognize Bad Reasoning
, a nice addition to any student's Christian summer reading! Geared for children age 12 and older. Sunday, February 17, 2008
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Christian Light Third Grade Social Studies
In March, I discussed using Christian Light's third grade social studies, but we hit a snag in the last Light Unit. We will be unable to use a portion of the unit because of strong doctrine. The lower grades hadn't any doctrine, but it appears there is some being introduced in the third grade. We had planned to switch completely to Rod & Staff, and use some traditional Catholic resources like Our Lady of Victory(Lepanto Press), or Seton for fourth grade anyway.
Ds really loves the format of Christian Light Education(CLE), so we continue to use it for social studies with some alterations. For fourth grade we will switch to Rod & Staff with no CLE. I love the presentation of CLE, but obviously the two denominations(Catholic{Us} and Mennonite{CLE}) differ in doctrine which is showing up now in third grade. So we have to be realistic, and say goodbye to CLE. Rod & Staff(also Mennonite) continues to be gently Christian, conservative but with no strong doctrine which makes it friendly for Catholics.
We'll continue to use all or some of Rod & Staff for as long as it is feasible. A full curriculum for Rod & Staff is only offered through eighth grade. I know some Classical homeschoolers use Rod & Staff's English, as recommended by Jessie and Susan Wise authors of "The Well Trained Mind".
CLE third grade social studies is a good supplement to Rod & Staff's third grade readers because they mesh so well. Some adjustment, like the deletion of a section of the last Light Unit will be needed for Catholics, and some other Christian denominations. Probably better to not use it at all if you are Catholic. In our case this curriculum really lit a fire under ds, and up until now, it was working for us. CLE's Learning To Read Program was excellent. Their readers for the lower grades are wonderful as well. Curriculum is a tool, so we made it work for us as long as we could. Ds has learned so much about ancient history this year with CLE's third grade social studies.
Mennonite curriculum is VERY affordable. Only Christian Liberty Press(reformed) rivals it's thriftiness in the category of complete traditional curriculum packages.
Speaking of Rod & Staff, a fellow blogger recently posted an article of a homeschool student who was accepted to Northwestern University on a National Merit Scholarship. He used Rod & Staff for curriculum.
HT to The Thinking Mother.
Ds really loves the format of Christian Light Education(CLE), so we continue to use it for social studies with some alterations. For fourth grade we will switch to Rod & Staff with no CLE. I love the presentation of CLE, but obviously the two denominations(Catholic{Us} and Mennonite{CLE}) differ in doctrine which is showing up now in third grade. So we have to be realistic, and say goodbye to CLE. Rod & Staff(also Mennonite) continues to be gently Christian, conservative but with no strong doctrine which makes it friendly for Catholics.
We'll continue to use all or some of Rod & Staff for as long as it is feasible. A full curriculum for Rod & Staff is only offered through eighth grade. I know some Classical homeschoolers use Rod & Staff's English, as recommended by Jessie and Susan Wise authors of "The Well Trained Mind".
CLE third grade social studies is a good supplement to Rod & Staff's third grade readers because they mesh so well. Some adjustment, like the deletion of a section of the last Light Unit will be needed for Catholics, and some other Christian denominations. Probably better to not use it at all if you are Catholic. In our case this curriculum really lit a fire under ds, and up until now, it was working for us. CLE's Learning To Read Program was excellent. Their readers for the lower grades are wonderful as well. Curriculum is a tool, so we made it work for us as long as we could. Ds has learned so much about ancient history this year with CLE's third grade social studies.
Mennonite curriculum is VERY affordable. Only Christian Liberty Press(reformed) rivals it's thriftiness in the category of complete traditional curriculum packages.
Speaking of Rod & Staff, a fellow blogger recently posted an article of a homeschool student who was accepted to Northwestern University on a National Merit Scholarship. He used Rod & Staff for curriculum.
HT to The Thinking Mother.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Handy Math & English Reference Charts
Christian Light Education has the handiest laminated math and English reference charts for $3.00 each. Reference charts are available for grades 2-6 and grades 5-8. Language arts reference charts are available for grades 3 & 4, 5 & 6, and grades 7 & 8.
Also helpful from Christian Light Education is On Teaching Writing, a spiral bound book for $8.95. I just got done reading through this, and it will be helpful to form a working framework for future writing assignments. For a student, getting started is often the most difficult part. This book explains how to guide the young writer painlessly through a topical or creative writing assignment.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Homeschool Curriculum Purchases
Our Rod & Staff box arrived today. We always order our books around this time every year because of the special discounts. Ds gets really excited when the big Rod & Staff box arrives, and all those new smelling books come out.
We'll be doing all Rod & Staff next year for fourth grade(fifth grade math). We used the Christian Light Education(CLE) social studies curriculum this year because it meshed better, and gave this year more continuity. The third grade CLE social studies covered ancient history, complementing Rod & Staff's Bible and Nurture 3rd grade reading which was primarily the Old Testament. Rod & Staff's third grade social studies covered only neighborhood communities. Inspite of this, the remaining grades seem to be well integrated.
Rod & Staff gives a cohesive framework and builds on itself. You can look at the table of contents in any of their books, and take it all in with a glance. Nothing is scattered. In their fourth grade social studies book, Homelands Around The World, the chapters covering various countries are divided in each unit by climate zones: Tropical, Temperate and Frigid. I find this so much easier to grasp than skipping around to different continents, and I know ds retains more information with sort of big picture learning framework.
Rod & Staff's English series reflects their foundation approach on the front cover art. Each progressive year has a picture of a different stage of a house being built on the front. When ds started second grade the ground for the house was being prepared, now he's moving into the wall building stage with a good foundation set underneath him.
I'm already looking forward to next year's learning. This curriculum makes our life so much easier. There is a good learning flow here, and it's a sign that we have found a good fit for us.
We continue to use Seton for Religion which is just as fabulous. Ds is more than ready for receiving his sacraments. There is quite a bit of review and repetition in the second grade book which we used this year. All the prayers are listed in the front, and he learned them by simply reading them once everyday. This beats flashcards and memorization drills. Too bad these books are so pricey compared to Rod & Staff. I try to find them used whenever I can.
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Calculadder
We used the Calculadder math drill program when ds was learning addition and subtraction. It's a leveled Christian timed math drill program with scripture sprinkled throughout. We loved it, but we didn't do a high pressure timed drill. Ds worked each page until I could see if he could do it in the alloted time. Some children don't do well under pressure at very young ages, and mine was one of them. He doesn't mind it now, but it would have brought him to tears in first and second grade.
As I was checking out the website again, I noticed that they also have drills for penmanship, Bible, alphabetizing and more. You can peek at sample pages. The penmanship actually looks like fun, much like the Rod & Staff preschool workbooks are fun. The drawings are so cute and lessons clever in a wholesome way. I plan to order the Bible and penmanship curriculum.
As I was checking out the website again, I noticed that they also have drills for penmanship, Bible, alphabetizing and more. You can peek at sample pages. The penmanship actually looks like fun, much like the Rod & Staff preschool workbooks are fun. The drawings are so cute and lessons clever in a wholesome way. I plan to order the Bible and penmanship curriculum.
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Christian Curriculum Reviews
I mentioned in previous posts that we use Christian Light Education, Rod & Staff, Climbing to Good English, Pathway Readers, and Christian Liberty Press. Here are some reviews of these products by others:
Review of Christian Light Education
Review of Pathway Readers
Reviews of Rod & Staff
Climbing To Good English
Review of Christian Light Education
Review of Pathway Readers
Reviews of Rod & Staff
Climbing To Good English
Sunday, October 22, 2006
Homeschooling - Climbing To Good English Curriculum
These small workbooks are made to accompany the Pathways Readers. Published by Schoolaid for Amish children, they are plain and simple - no color, but lots of content. These books are meant to have one page done daily through the school year. We do them on them on the Friday and the weekends with the Pathway readers...gives a little rest from the more challenging curriculum during the week. I like the way the books both review phonics and work on writing stories. It could be used by itself, but it's less meaty and more fast paced than Rod & Staff. I noticed in a review of this curriculum, someone else was also using Climbing to Good English as a reviewing tool. It really is a nice complement to Rod & Staff English. Climbing To Good English is getting easier to find, but it still takes a bit of searching to find a vendor. We buy ours here:
Climbing to Good English
Climbing to Good English
Saturday, October 21, 2006
Homeschooling - Learning To Read Curriculum
We couldn't pick a favorite, so we ended up doing two Learning to Read programs! We used the Rod and Staff and Christian Light Education programs. Both are excellent but cover things slightly differently, so the child really comes out well rounded after finishing both programs. The Christian Light Education reading program is bent a bit more toward sight reading, and Rod & Staff is heavy on the phonics. We loved the flashcards and the step by step approach to learning to read. Christian Light Education has a sound slider, which really helped with letter blends. Both are very meaty programs and the children learn with a spiraling approach - a good amount of review with incremental forward motion. It was a painless way to learn to read.
The programs are patient, taking the child by the hand and leading him up the reading ladder, and without even knowing it, the child is reading at an advanced level after first grade. These books are a bit more challenging than public school curriculum, so they'll be excellent readers by third grade. The biggest gift is the phonics instruction which leads to the ability to spell well and read words well beyond their comprehension.
Rod & Staff books
Christian Light Education
The programs are patient, taking the child by the hand and leading him up the reading ladder, and without even knowing it, the child is reading at an advanced level after first grade. These books are a bit more challenging than public school curriculum, so they'll be excellent readers by third grade. The biggest gift is the phonics instruction which leads to the ability to spell well and read words well beyond their comprehension.
Rod & Staff books
Christian Light Education
Homeschooling - Rod & Staff Curriculum
Rod & Staff curriculum for the lower grades is challenging, and puts a good foundation down for future learning. All the nuts and bolts of language and math are here, and the children learn it thoroughly. The curriculum is a Mennonite publisher and the great price reflects this. No nonsense, no waste here, you get your moneys worth. I like it because it's not full of doctrine which makes it attractive to more than just the Anabaptist denominations. I guess you could call it generic Christian.
The Rod & Staff math curriculum is challenging and spiraling, so the child gets a constant review. It comes with extra practice drills which reinforce learning. Grades one through three are consumable workbooks, and grades four and up are hardcover, and reusable.
The English, spelling, reading and penmanship are all consumable in grades one and two. In grade three, the English book is hardback. English is heavily phonics based, and the reading brings the child right into reading comprehension in the first grade. There is a lot of meat here, nothing is covered superficially. The reading program is both New and Old Testament Bible readings. They do double time for both reading and Bible study.
The science and social studies seem good as well, although we decided to go with a consumable workbook approach, and chose Christian Light Education for these subjects after grade one. Both these Rod & Staff subjects are consumable workbooks in grade one, and then are hardback books for the remaining grades.
There is no Kindergarten, but they have an excellent preschool set which is pretty much like Kindergarten.
Rod & Staff
The Rod & Staff math curriculum is challenging and spiraling, so the child gets a constant review. It comes with extra practice drills which reinforce learning. Grades one through three are consumable workbooks, and grades four and up are hardcover, and reusable.
The English, spelling, reading and penmanship are all consumable in grades one and two. In grade three, the English book is hardback. English is heavily phonics based, and the reading brings the child right into reading comprehension in the first grade. There is a lot of meat here, nothing is covered superficially. The reading program is both New and Old Testament Bible readings. They do double time for both reading and Bible study.
The science and social studies seem good as well, although we decided to go with a consumable workbook approach, and chose Christian Light Education for these subjects after grade one. Both these Rod & Staff subjects are consumable workbooks in grade one, and then are hardback books for the remaining grades.
There is no Kindergarten, but they have an excellent preschool set which is pretty much like Kindergarten.
Rod & Staff
Friday, October 20, 2006
Homeschooling- Favorite Children's Readers
Pathway readers make you feel good. They are warm and cozy stories published by Amish folks for their schools. The readers are available for grades one through eight. Stories center around farm and home life, and the trials and tribulations of childhood. The stories teach good moral values, and the children find themselves in situations to which any child can relate. They are plain hardcover illustrated books with no color, and very inexpensive. We used them along with the matching workbooks. The workbooks give an excellent phonics and reading comprehension workout. They work especially well for children who may be distracted by lots of color. The third grade readers introduce vocabulary which is challenging. Be sure to have a children's dictionary handy for word look up, otherwise the children will be guessing. It's nice to have readers which do double time: teach reading and character development.
We buy our Pathway books at Milestone Ministries
Another of our favorite readers are those published by Christian Light Education, a Mennonite publisher. These have color, are hardcover and feature stories from around the world as well as homelife, poems, biographies and more. They are very inexpensive and like Pathway readers have matching workbooks.
We buy this directly from Christian Light Publications
Nature Readers from Christian Liberty Press are so interesting, and challenging. These readers are detailed with fabulous information, and the price is right! If you have a child who is interested in animals and nature, these books will entrance them. These are interesting for adults as well. I've learned things about bees and ants that I never knew. They are soft covered and have no color inside, but many illustrations. We have the history readers, but have not tried these yet.
We buy them directly from Christian Liberty Press
Old 1940's Dick and Jane readers with the matching workbooks are wonderful for beginner readers - very non-threatening. With the exception of some preschool readers which are compilations of the originals, these are out of print for the public. I recently learned Dick and Jane type readers are still being printed in limited quantities for the Amish schools only. I bought the readers online at ebay.
List of Dick and Jane readers by publishing year and grade.
We buy our Pathway books at Milestone Ministries
Another of our favorite readers are those published by Christian Light Education, a Mennonite publisher. These have color, are hardcover and feature stories from around the world as well as homelife, poems, biographies and more. They are very inexpensive and like Pathway readers have matching workbooks.
We buy this directly from Christian Light Publications
Nature Readers from Christian Liberty Press are so interesting, and challenging. These readers are detailed with fabulous information, and the price is right! If you have a child who is interested in animals and nature, these books will entrance them. These are interesting for adults as well. I've learned things about bees and ants that I never knew. They are soft covered and have no color inside, but many illustrations. We have the history readers, but have not tried these yet.
We buy them directly from Christian Liberty Press
Old 1940's Dick and Jane readers with the matching workbooks are wonderful for beginner readers - very non-threatening. With the exception of some preschool readers which are compilations of the originals, these are out of print for the public. I recently learned Dick and Jane type readers are still being printed in limited quantities for the Amish schools only. I bought the readers online at ebay.
List of Dick and Jane readers by publishing year and grade.
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