Back to School

Well, vacation is over and it is time to get back to real life. For us that means homeschooling! This year Unicorn is a sophomore in high school, Ladybug is in 3rd grade, and Monkey is in 1st grade!

Time to Catch Up {Photo Style}

I haven't posted many regular posts for a while. So I have decided to catch you up on what has been going on around here using photos. It has been a CRAZY few months!

Monkey and Ladybug spent their birthday money at IKEA. Monkey bought trains and Ladybug bought art supplies.

Monkey beat MarioKart Wii and played a lot of Wii Fit.

I became a Thrive Independent Consultant.

Flash vacuumed the floor.

Frackle mopped the floor.

Our old washer and dryer died so we had to get new ones.

A HUGE storm came through!

A leak in the wall during the HUGE storm.

The tarped roof because we lost more than 70% of our shingles during the HUGE storm.

Another leak during the HUGE storm.

A huge moth that Ladybug found.

Monkey loves to learn!

Taking care of Frackle.

Hanging out with Flash.

Monkey finally overcame his fear of floating on his back.

Monkey loves Happy Handwriting.

Watching them load shingles onto our roof.

Working on the roof.

Swimming with Frackle.

Swimming with Flash.

I became a Norwex Independent Consultant.

Ladybug finally got her swimming party.

Monkey loves Math.

Monkey starts Kindergarten

Ladybug starts 2nd grade

Unicorn starts 9th grade

Ladybug learning cursive.

Monkey working on Calendar Math.

Unicorn working on Oceanography.

Unicorn gets glasses.

Ladybug's creative sentence.

Monkey learning even and odd.

Cleaning/organizing/unpacking (after 17 months in the house) the school room area.

View from My Desk.

Another view from My Desk.

Another view from My Desk (this area will be Unicorn's new room).

The little kid's learning area.

Unicorn at work.

A ninja with a samurai sword.

Another ninja with a samurai sword.

Unicorn's new English curriculum...so excited for this one!

Termites! (not cool)!

Sink or Float Lab.

Ladybug's paper cup pyramid! It was almost as tall as her!

Unicorn's new room! Just needs walls!

The Classical Historian ~ A Mosaic Review

Today I have some neat history products from The Classical Historian!

Products Being Reviewed:

Ancient History Go Fish Game $11.95

The Socratic Discussion in History w/DVD $79.99

Take A Stand: Medieval Civilizations $18.95

32-Week Lesson Guide $24.99

Vendor:

The Classical Historian

Contact Information:

Website

Facebook

Other Products:

Games and Game Bundles $11.95 - $59.99

Complete History Curricula $168.99 - $256

The Socratic Discussion in History w/DVD & Take A Stand Bundles $99.99

California History books $14.95 - $24.95

Individual Products $11.95 - $99.99

Our Thoughts (and More Information):

We don't play games very often here but we really enjoyed playing the Ancient History Go Fish Game. It is actually 4 games in 1! You can play Go Fish, Collect the Cards, Chronology or Continents. The kids enjoyed playing Collect the Cards and Go Fish the best. The games are easy to play and the price is reasonable. The cards are sturdy and larger than your average card game cards (very nice)! There are 48 Jumbo cards, the games are for ages 3 & up, and for 2 or more players.

Take A Stand Medieval Civilizations is an 88-page paperback workbook that includes Reading, Discussing, and Writing. It is written by Jon De Gree and published by Take A Stand Publications. This little workbook can stand alone or be used as part of The Classical Historian's complete Medieval Curriculum. There are two parts. Part One includes Social Studies Essay Questions and Prewriting Activities from The Fall of the Roman Empire to The Age of Exploration. Part Two is Skills for the One-Paragraph Essay.

The Socratic Discussion in History & DVD includes a 77-page coil bound workbook and 4 DVD's. The workbook has 14 chapters including How to Use This Program, What is a Classical Education in History, The Thinking Tools of the Historian, Six Essential Thinking Tools of the Historian, Open-Ended History Questions, The Fall of the Roman Empire, Teaching with the Socratic Discussion, The Writing Process for a One-Paragraph Assignment, Advanced Thinking Tools of the Historian, The Writing Process for a Five-Paragraph Assignment, Grading Essays, The Essential Tools of Literary Analysis, Encouraging Family Discussion at the Dinner Table, and Evaluation. The DVD's include an Introduction to the Socratic Discussion Method and 3 DVD's that help you teach the Socratic Method in History.

The 32-Week Guide is 62 pages of Lesson Plans, so you don't have to figure it all out yourself!

I am very impressed! While the games are fun and educational, I really like that this program helps you help your child learn how to think and analyze history. I LOVE the open-ended questions and the how to write an essay part!

I know that budgets are tight (I know ours is) and that this program is on the pricy side. IF it were me considering this program I would start with the card games to supplement ANY history curriculum. Then I would purchase The Socratic Discussion in History w/DVD's. This can be used with ANY history curriculum and the thinking skills and essay writing process is excellent. Then if I could afford more I would add in the Take A Stand workbook and then the 32-Week Guide. If I was blessed with $170 to spend on a full history curriculum I would!