Brookdale House: Middle School Grammar Workbook Set Review ~ TOS Crew

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Do you have a student in Middle School yet? Maybe you have one that will be in Middle School one day. If so, this blog is for you! If you are like me, the closer your kids get to High School, the more pressure you put on yourself when it comes to the selection of curriculum. It isn't always easy locating and trying out new resources. That is one reason I love The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew. They have a whole library of blog reviews for you to read through and see what fits your needs. I recently had the opportunity to review The Grammar Workbook Set by Brookdale House, and what a great resource this is!! The set includes not only the Grammar Workbook to work through, but we also received the answer key....BONUS!

The Product:

What do you get when you purchase The Grammar Workbook Set? You get middle school grammar.....everything from sentences, parts of speech and verb tenses to clauses, gerunds and punctuation. The workbook is very well done with learning as the goal. With each new section, there are several different exercises that your student can complete that will help to teach them whatever the topic of the day is.

 At the beginning of the workbook there is an introduction that talks about the way the workbook is broken down. It is divided into four sections. The first section is all about sentences, which helps your student build the framework necessary for the study of grammar. The second section covers the parts of speech. The third section covers phrases and clauses and how these work inside of sentences. The fourth section is all about punctuation.

  Also included in this workbook are writing exercises to build your student's writing capabilities. The first type of writing exercise included is copying of a model. This method is to teach them a specific writing style. As they work through the copy work, you will see their writing improve little by little. The second type of writing exercise included is dictation. There are short instructions that will help you utilize it in a manner that will be best for your student.

I also like how the Introduction gives you instructions on how to incorporate sentence diagramming as well. When I was in school, that was actually my favorite part of grammar. Come to find out, my daughter is not as big of a fan as I was of diagramming, but we have given it our best shot through this study!  ha ha ha!

If you don't already have a distinct schedule in place for your student, don't worry.....there is an optional schedule included in the front of The Grammar Workbook. Take a look at it and see if you think that schedule will work for you. It seems that Brookdale House really thought of everything when it comes to The Grammar Workbook Set.


How We Used It:

Lucky for us, this review came right about the time we were starting school for the year. So we just plugged it right into our planner and dove right in. I had my daughter work in the workbook three times a week and that seemed to work out nicely for us. I can tell that she is learning a lot, the workbook pages are great for her. They mix up the worksheets so that you are not doing the same things over and over again. So my daughter never seemed to get bored with the "class work."

My Bottom Line:

We absolutely loved The Grammar Workbook Set by Brookdale House. Grammar isn't always the most fun subject, but the structure and exercises included within this workbook are such a huge help to get your student going and keep them going!

Social Media:

If you are like most people these days, you like to stay connected via social media. Here are some links to check out.

Twitter https://twitter.com/BrookdaleHouse

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/brookdalehousehomeschool

Pinterest:

https://www.pinterest.com/BrookdaleHouse

Google+

https://plus.google.com/107691583736742187981/videos

FishFlix.com: Faith of Our Fathers Review ~ TOS Crew

  This post may contain affiliate links. Thank you for supporting my blog and homeschool! See my full Disclosure statement for more information.

Although there are times my children may not agree with this statement, I believe myself to be a pretty normal parent. [Ha Ha!] You guys know what I mean, your kids may think you're a little crazy sometimes too!! I mean, we all try to do our best to make sure that our kids eat the right things, sleep the right amount, take time to play, and watch things that are appropriate. All of these things seem to be getting harder, and harder to accomplish for us as parents. We live in a society where moral high roads are deemed intolerant, and instant gratification is the norm. That only makes it even more difficult to teach the need for a strong relationship with Christ to our children.  The need for us as parents to monitor everything that our children consume even more diligently has arrived.  Children/Families are consuming more TV, video games, social media, etc. than ever before.......and not all of it is good for us! That is why I am glad to have found FishFlix.com.  My girls and I reviewed the movie Faith of Our Fathers which is available on the website.

FishFlix.com

I became acquainted with this company several years ago, but this may be the first time some of you have heard the name of this company. FishFlix.com is a one stop shop for Christian movies and entertainment, but also Christian books, Bibles, apparel and so much more. I love browsing through their inventory online and putting together my list of "must haves." I am sure this website will quickly become a favorite in your household.

Faith of Our Fathers

Something you might want to put on your list of "must haves" would be the DVD, Faith of Our Fathers. This movie is amazing! I do tend to have a soft spot for Vietnam stories.  This one has a beautiful twist to it that shows the live that can be changed when you live your life with eternity on your mind. Eternity minded people can be in the middle of a battle and still take time to share the power of God's forgiveness with those around them! Like a lot of you, I too know someone who served in the military during that war. War is a hard story to tell, but the story told in this DVD is full of faith, hope and love. It also includes a little bit of Si Robertson, which is always fun!  To watch the movie trailer click here.


 

How I Used This Product:

I watched this movie with my girls. They are middle school age and older and we all loved the movie! What we found the most touching was the powerful message of the love and forgiveness of Christ that flows through the entire movie!

 

My Bottom Line:

Where I live the weather is getting cooler. A stark reminder that all too soon Christmas will be here, and I am not done with my shopping yet!! For all of you that are in the same boat as me, check out FishFlix.com. You will no doubt, find something for everyone on your list. Just make sure that at the top of the list is the movie, Faith of Our Fathers. If you are anything like me, you might find yourself watching this through tears at times, but the message of faith, hope and love is timeless.    

 

Social Media:

If you are like most people these days, you like to stay connected via social media. Here are some links to check out.

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/fishflix

Twitter:
https://twitter.com/christiandvd

Pinterest:
https://www.pinterest.com/fishflix/

Google+:
https://plus.google.com/+Fishflix/

YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/user/familychristianmovie



 

Progency Press: Tuck Everlasting Interactive Study Guide Review - TOS Crew

  This post may contain affiliate links. Thank you for supporting my blog and homeschool! See my full Disclosure statement for more information.
   

I have homeschooled my girls through many different grade levels and found challenges at each new grade level. As my girls got older, I found it difficult to find study guides that I didn't have to make myself. Now, those of you that have made your own study guides know that it takes a lot of time and effort to put it together. That is where Progeny Press has got your back!   

 

My daughter and I had the opportunity to review the Interactive Study Guide for Tuck Everlasting, by Progeny Press. How wonderful! I love that they have study guides for books that you don't have to build yourself!! And yes.......it comes with an answer guide too! Both items are digital downloads and available almost instantly after purchase.

 

It has been difficult getting my daughter to read. So when she does read a book, I would like to be able to not just monitor her comprehension, but utilize it for part of her classwork. So finding Progeny Press and their library of Study Guides for Literature has been an amazing find for us. I also find it a blessing that they are written from a Christian perspective. I know that is very important for us and our homeschool.

 

 

 

 

How We Used It:

 

We checked the book, "Tuck Everlasting" out at the library. Then we were able to work through the book on our own schedule and then we could stop and work through the Tuck Everlasting Interactive Study Guide.

 

The study guide helps your child with vocabulary, recognizing parts of the story, parts of speech, comprehension, understanding foreshadowing, and much, much more. Personally, I liked the sections of the study guide where it takes a paragraph from the story and has it in the guide with blanks and your student is supposed to find that paragraph and fill in the blanks. It worked well with my daughter because it is a different way to aid with comprehension. I think with her learning needs, this was just the way to solidify the concepts of the story with her.

My favorite part of this guide from the perspective of a Christian mom who is trying to do my best to raise my girls to follow Christ, is that this guide stops and has your student look up scriptures. For instance: What do the following passages say about obedience? Then they list out four scriptures for your student to look up. This helps reinforce the right behavior even if the main character in the book is not really making good choices at that particular time.

My Bottom Line:

I really enjoyed the opportunity to review this item. I had been doing all the hard work trying to build my own study guides......which is horribly hard!  When you are building your own study guide, it means that you are studying the book yourself first and then you can put together the study guide and answer key......it is time consuming! Which I guess wouldn't be too bad if it was just one book, or easy to read books, but when your children get into Middle School and High School the complexity of the books increases and so does the complexity of the items that you need to add to a study guide.

I LOVE THESE STUDY GUIDES! I have to say it is a lot like when you go out to eat and you order something you could have made, but somehow it tastes better because you didn't have to cook it.......yeah.....it's like that! Wonderful because you didn't have to make it!

Social Media:

If you are like most people these days, you like to stay connected via social media. Here are some links to check out.

Facebook:
http://facebook.com/ProgenyPress

Youtube:
http://youtube.com/progenypress

Twitter:
http://twitter.com/progenypress

      

What a Great God!

Do you ever just sit and ponder the greatness of God?

I am so thankful for a God that cares about every aspect of our lives. He definitely deserves ALL our praise!

We need to be careful to not forget or take for granted the wonderful things that God has done for us. He forgives all our sins and heals all our diseases. He has redeemed my life from the pit of hell and instead has crowned me with love and compassion. I am also thankful that in Him our youth is renewed! 

The promises of God are amazing! 

Middlebury Interactive Languages: High School Spanish 1 Review - TOS Crew

This post may contain affiliate links. Thank you for supporting my blog and homeschool! See my full Disclosure statement for more information.     My daughters and I had the opportunity to review High School Spanish 1 by Middlebury Interactive Languages recently and we fully enjoyed our learning experience.  This is our fourth year as a homeschool family, so this is not our first online language class.......we have tried quite a few. With that being said, we are so glad to have found Middlebury Interactive Languages. What we found in this online class was an interactive, fun and engaging forum to help us learn a foreign language! That is what we look for when it comes to digital learning. If the attention of our children can be held, then they will be able to learn more effectively.

 

 

What We Received:

 

Middlebury Interactive Languages granted us 6 month access to this wonderful online language class, and it has been our extreme pleasure to log on and use this wonderful course. The problem I had found with the other online classes we tried in the past was they all seemed to lack that interactive quality that helps concepts and foreign words to stay in your long term memory. That is not a problem that Middlebury Interactive Languages online classes duplicate.

 

This digital language course is built on a well thought out concept and has really helped my girls with their Spanish.

 

 

What we found very helpful was the different sections of the class that were designed to do different things. Take a look on the left-hand side of the picture. There is a listening section, a warm-up section, a matching section, and a speaking lab. How great is that?! You are able to work through each section at your own speed and move on when you have mastered it.

 

Each section builds on the other and helps to solidify comprehension! When you log into Middlebury Interactive Languages courses, you log into a real classroom learning experience. You will find it easy to navigate and easy to use. We found it tons of fun and great for us to do together.

 

How We Used It:

 

 With 2 girls both trying to learn Spanish we were able to utilize this Middlebury Interactive Languages Course for both of them. It was fun for all of us to work on this course together. Even though we didn't do the class at the same time, we worked through the class together and were able to discuss it together and practice with each other. That definitely adds to the learning fun!!

My Bottom Line:
As a homeschool mom, I find it difficult to locate curriculum that meets my requirements as well as my children's learning styles and needs. It is probably the one thing that I concern my self with the most. We found High School Spanish 1 from Middlebury Interactive Languages to be a well thought out concept of digital online learning and it was a great find for my girls. Finding a curriculum that keeps your children's attention and helps them learn easily is like finding gold! If you are looking for a language class for your homeschool, take a look at what Middlebury Interactive Languages has to offer.

They have several other language classes to pick from, all built on the same interactive concepts. Click here to see what they have to offer. You can also stay abreast on their news and any new offerings through social media.

Twitter:
https://twitter.com/MiddInteractive

Instagram:
https://instagram.com/languageacademy/

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Middlebury-Interactive-Languages/141015515949753

Pinterest:
https://www.pinterest.com/middinteractive/

Google +: https://plus.google.com/b/110371351490550861545/110371351490550861545/posts