De-Shaun Jordan is the founder of Little Learners Mom Consulting and Little Learner and Mom Homeschool Blog. For the last 8 years, she has exclusively homeschooled her son. DeShaun holds a Bachelor of Arts in Healthcare Management and is Montessori Certified. She is married to her high school sweetheart and mother to their 10-year-old son. DeShaun enjoys being a mom, cooking, organizing, and helping others looking to homeschool or in need of guidance with education intervention.
Ok so I am in the 40+ club and I try to keep my brain sharp by working on logic games and puzzles. So when presented with the opportunity to review BrilliantPremium Subscription I thought this would be perfect for me. Well, I was wrong…my husband who was laying beside me became curious about what I was doing and took over.
Brilliant is a digital way to bring STEM to your family designed to provide daily math courses in areas of
Mathematical Fundamentals
Pre-Algebra
Geometry Fundamentals
Geometry 1
Algebra 1
Algebra 2
Brilliant is designed to help your student think logically in areas of math, science, and computer science. The program is for students in grades 6th – Adult. What is unique about Brilliant is students will move along a learning path as they work on areas of interest. My student is a rising 6th grader, but he really enjoys working at Brilliant. I think what caught his attention was one exercise with balance beam math, he instantly recognized the concept and enjoyed reviewing this in a digital form. I really enjoy the logical parts of Brilliant my husband and I take turns solving them. I also like how Brilliant will send you emails of new challenges and reminders to log in.
Brilliant exercises take about 10-15 mins to complete, if your student needs to break from the course the progress is saved until they are ready to work again. Students can toggle between math exercises, logic, science, and computer science fundamentals. There are over 60 + courses in the BrilliantPremium Subscription which is such a great variety of STEM learning opportunities that your homeschool is covered when using the Premium Subscription. Brilliant is downloaded to all of our Apple devices and we all are working on learning paths. My husband and I are in steady competition over who can complete the new challenges first. Our son has sometimes beaten us to challenges, but it is okay because I love the benefits we are getting from Brilliant.
If you would like to read more fabulous reviews on BrilliantPremium Subscription be sure to check out the Crew’s reviews by clicking the banner below.
We have reviewed Reading Eggs previously with the Crew, but this review is a little bittersweet because this is the last year my son will be able to use the online program. I am so sad that my son will be moving on to middle school, but Reading Eggs has prepared him for his next journey in homeschooling.
Reading Eggs has been at the start of our home-learning journey since my son was 3 years old. When we first started the company only had the Reading Eggs and Eggpress. Since then, the company has added, Reading Eggs Junior for 2-4 years to help jumpstart your little learner’s journey to reading with the use of interactive games and stories. Fast Phonics ages 5-10 years helps develop those phonics skills through 20 fun-filled interactive games. Reading Eggs not only features Mathseeds for ages 3-9 but is an award-winning online math program that helps teach your students the foundations of math and problem-solving.
Reading Eggs is an excellent program because it indeed grows with your student through early and lower levels of elementary. No matter what level your student starts with Reading Eggs easy placement test or through the parent dashboard you will find the confidence they will meet your student where they are at. The parent dashboard is comprehensive and gives you full control over your student’s learning path. The parent dashboard also includes a wonderful parent user guide, lesson overviews, a pacing guide, worksheets, and much more. As I am writing this review, I am rethinking what I said early that this may be our last year of Reading Eggs that they also have activity sheets in Spanish those sheets will be a great way to review my son’s Spanish!!! The parent dashboard also allows you to manually change your student’s learning path and or reassign the placement test.
So my son is doing a hybrid 5th and 6th grade this year, we used Reading Eggs Eggpress during this review period. Reading Eggs Eggpress is for students ages 7-13, once students complete the original Reading Eggs they move on to Eggpress. Reading Eggpress helps students to learn literary terms, spelling, reading comprehension, and grammar. Eggpress brings that same interactive experience, but at a higher level of learning. Through games and positive reinforcement, students will work on 200 lessons with 220 comprehensive lessons completed with an assessment test. What I really like about Eggpress is that I can adjust my son’s level whenever I would like, but this year I didn’t adjust his year I am letting him rework Eggpress from the very beginning and letting the program adjust for him. I am looking for holes he may have so I can reinforce and review those skills. Reading Eggs Eggpress encourages your students to work on the lessons by giving them targets to hit and earn rewards. The English skills area is phenomenal it not only reinforces grammar it works on spelling. The library section in Eggpress has a nice selection of books on different subjects. My son loves the science section of books, and he is running through the books. Eggpress is definitely for the older kiddos and it just works so well for us and where we are in our homeschooling. I really love the new addition of the journal to Reading Eggs it is great that Reading Eggs is also adding social-emotional learning and mindfulness to the platform.
If you are looking for an online reading program for your family for children ages 2-13, I highly recommend Reading Eggs. Reading Eggs is one of the most trusted learning platforms among homeschooled families. The Crew members have all loved Reading Eggs, so check out the other crew member’s reviews by clicking the banner below.
As we move through our current school year my mind is always focused on the future of upper-level math for my son. We are pretty much set for this school year for math curriculums, but I have been wondering if we are on the right track for Algebra. I was given the opportunity to review TabletClass MathPre-Algebra.
TabletClass MathPre-Algebra is an online math curriculum with pre-recorded lectures. There is a student and parent portal, student portal is where your student will do their coursework. I really do like the parental portal it gives you an in-depth understanding of the curriculum along with answer keys. Once the student completes the course student you can print out a certificate. The parent portal is easy to use and gives you a pacing guide which I really love because it shows you the different levels of pacing from slower, average, and accelerated. Having this pacing guide will allow you to use TabletClass MathPre-Algebra as it best works for your family.
TabletClass MathPre-Algebra is a little long and reminds me of a traditional classroom lecture. Mr. Zimmerman opens the class by him teaching the lesson on a whiteboard, I really like this method of teaching because it encourages students to take notes. We are working on taking notes in our other curriculums and I am always on my son about taking accurate notes in his current math curriculum. I like how Mr. Zimmerman uses highlighting as he teaches the lessons, my son loves to highlight. I had my son watch a few of the videos and asked him what he thought of this teaching style, and if would it be something he would like to try, and he did point out to me that lessons are long, but he likes how Mr. Zimmerman writes great notes and teaches slowly each of the steps. I totally agree with his observations, and for this reason, I will pull this out when we are really struggling with a concept.
Parent Portal
How to Complete a Lesson
Students will take notes from the instruction video, I highly recommend you encourage your student to do this. After they watch the instruction video students will then work on the example problems, which are available to print out or students can work in a notebook. Once the student completes the first set of examples problems, they can go to the video that is marked for that section of problems and check their answers or correct the problems they didn’t get correct. I love this self-correcting option because Mr. Zimmerman walks them through the steps of each problem and your student can see what they did wrong and make the adjustments accordingly.
Student Portal
There are sixteen chapters in TabletClass MathPre-Algebra currently out of those sixteen chapters I can honestly say that my son has had exposure to each of the topics covered. Now I said exposure not mastery, so with that being said will start from chapter one. One of the things I really enjoyed was Mr. Zimmerman’s tone of voice/pace, visual aids, and bits of humor in the lessons. I felt like he was having a conversation with the students rather than talking at them and rushing through the concept. My son watched the first video and instantly caught on to the concept being explained and didn’t feel overwhelmed.
What I found different about TabletClass MathPre-Algebra is they really concentrate on those pre-algebra concepts that I remember in 8th and 9th grade. If your students don’t have the proper foundation for basic elementary skills, you will know right away once you start TabletClass MathPre-Algebra. My son is almost 10 years old and works at a 6th-grade math level he had no problem looking over the topics we previewed, so I highly recommend you make sure your student has basic and early middle school math skills nailed.
Overall Review
I really like TabletClass MathPre-Algebra it gives me that old-school way of learning upper-level math. Notetaking is a huge plus in my opinion because it is setting your student up for success with math and independent learning. The self-correcting alongside Mr. Zimmerman is also a plus because it not only helps your student to see their errors but also allows the parent to help students. The self-correcting also helps support your student with the organization. I don’t know how many times I have to tell my student to show his work in his current curriculum and have to explain why he needs to make this a habit. Mr. Zimmerman wants your student to show their work so they can review and better understand.
We will defiantly be using TabletClass MathPre-Algebra once we finish our last 10 lessons in our current math curriculum to bridge the gap until we start our new curriculum in January. I would love to fit it into our rotation now, but I want us to finish these last 10 lessons first. I highly recommend this curriculum if you are looking for pre-algebra support. TabletClass MathPre-Algebra also works well for those independent learners and for those families looking to help transition their students to independent learning. TabletClass MathPre-Algebra tests and exams are also a big plus for me. I know some homeschoolers aren’t big on tests and exams, but I do like to have something that reflects that my student understands what he has been learning and use these results to help me with lesson plans and for his portfolio.
Be sure to check out the other crew member’s reviews of TabletClass Math by clicking the banner below.
This year as part of our electives I am making more of an effort to work on critical thinking and logic skills. I am so serious about us spending more time working on logic I have made it a family affair. We were given the opportunity to review SmartGames IQ Six Pro to review. Smart Games IQ Six Pro is included in the 2022 Ninth-Grade Curriculum KitTimberdoodle Co. and rightfully so because this game is great for younger and older students.
SmartGames
SmartGames is award-winning company, that creates educational and inspiring games for kids for all ages. We are no strangers to this company we have owned several of their games when my son was younger. SmartGames work on providing games that children and adults will play and learn. SmartGames target the following areas:
Cognitive Skills
Social Skills
Language Skills
Build Confidence
At SmartGames we believe Learning through Play is one of the most important concepts in childhood development. Through play children can learn cognitive, social and language skills, and build the self-confidence needed to navigate challenges in life.
IQ Six Pro is a compact game, but just because it is small doesn’t mean that it is not mighty. The game comes with game board with a clear lid. Inside the little box you will find the 12 game pieces and instructional manual. The game is for ages eight years and older and includes 120 puzzles and their solutions. There are four levels of gameplay starter, junior, expert, master, and wizard. The game can be played 2D (inside box and on back on the back of box) and 3D. I am personally still working out the kinks with the 3D version. The 2D gameplay has been fabulous for us to play as a family. The instructions are easy to follow, and you will find yourself having to really think about the solutions and the outcomes before placing your pieces.
The gameplay simple your goal is to place the pieces as the challenges tells you and then fit the remaining pieces into the original challenge. Sounds easy right? Well, that’s where the critical thinking comes into play because there is only 1 solution. IQ Six Pro is like a handheld interactive Tetris game and but better.
So, this is how my family used IQ Six Pro Wednesday nights is family logic game night. Like I said previously we are longtime users of SmartGames so we own a few of their compact games. I set our games out and we all grab a game and start playing, but because IQ Six Pro was new, we all wanted to jump in a play. So we set a timer and each person got 3 mins to try to solve the puzzle then we would switch and sometimes we would play the one challenge together taking turns trying. My husband who was super confident he had this in the bag quickly finish challenges we told him he had to do a wizard level. Sure, enough he got stumped and spent a lot of time working the challenge.
My son uses IQ Six Pro as part of his brain breaks and logic learning rotations. He prefers the interactive games over any book logic work. He has worked his way up to the master level. I have noticed he will do previously challenges over and will time himself. We have taken IQ Six Pro on car rides; vacation and he even took it to his summer camp and introduced it to his friends.
We really like IQ Six Pro and I plan to give my mother one for her birthday and send a set to my sister for the holidays. It makes a great stocking stuffer and fits well in a morning basket. Just a few minutes a day your student can work on their critical thinking skills and have fun. What really like about IQ Six Pro is that it is screen free and he really has to work to get the solution.
Smart Games IQ Six Pro is a great compact game for the entire family. We plan to invest in many more of these compact games over the next few months to add to our collection. You can also get your own Smart Games IQ Six Pro from Timberdoodle Co. and it is also included in the 2022 Ninth-Grade Curriculum Kit. I would like to thank Timberdoodle Co. for sending this great game to add to our collection.
We love audiobooks in our homeschool we try to use them when we are doing activities, as well as to avoid screens. For the last several weeks, my family has been enjoying Jonathan Park – The Adventure Begins, Series 1. The Adventure Begins, Series 1 is not an audiobook this is an audio adventure for your children to listen to. I was a little skeptical because my son likes to have the book and audio when does things like this, so I wasn’t sure how he would take to this.
The Adventure Begins, Series 1 takes the listener on a wonderful journey of science and faith. Students meet Jonathan and his father and immediately throw into an action pack adventure with him and the Brenan family. My son was hooked from the start. The Adventure Begins, Series 1 audio adventure includes amazing sound effects and all the makings of a great book in audio format. I found myself sipping coffee and listening and wanting to know what would happen next in the story.
What is different about these science lessons is they are taught from a faith-based perspective. I didn’t find this an issue because we enjoyed the storyline and liked that it was something different for us to listen to and opened up doors for discussions about these topics and our faith. The Adventure Begins, Series 1 also includes character-building lessons that I appreciate.
Jonathan ParkThe Adventure Begins, Series 1 includes four albums, and each album includes three 26-minute adventures. We received the digital version, but Jonathan Park does offer a hardcover version. Downloading the digital was easy to do and I put them on my son’s iPad and we would listen during his handwriting and morning time. Jonathan Park – The Adventure Begins, Series 1 is based on real places and historical events. The story is fiction but exciting. My son wanted to binge listen to these audio adventures and I had to pace him. The Secrets of the Hidden Cave kits the adventures off as Dr. Park (paleontologist), his son and Brenan’s family stumble upon an exciting discovery. I think what drew him in was that Jonathan was a relatable character.
I know what you are thinking I am being really vague about the story, but you will have to grab Jonathan Park – The Adventure Begins, Series 1 so you can join the adventure. Right now is the perfect time to grab this wonderful series because The Adventure Begins, Series 1 is on sale for nearly 60% off with free shipping in the US using the jpcrew22. Be sure to check out the other Crew’s reviews on Jonathan ParkThe Adventure Begins, Series 1 by clicking the banner below.
If you aren’t familiar with Hewitt Learning the company has always been at the forefront of supporting homeschool education since the early 1960. The company has since created award-winning literature-based curriculums for grades 1st-12 grade. They also have administered over 350,000 P.A.S.S tests to homeschool students for standardized testing. Along with the curriculum and standardized testing, they have ventured into the arena of STEM with their Innovators Challenge program. Hewitt Learning is currently developing an online component coming soon. This Fall their highly anticipated release of Kids Chemical Solutions is coming in the next few weeks.
I love the design of the student book, the illustration are colorful and not overwhelming. There are 36 weeks of lessons which include grammar/mechanics and reading comprehension. Lightning Literature & Composition Grade 5 students will read nine novels. Students will also work on poetry which is included in the student text. The included poetry is new for us this year. In grade 4 we used a poetry book that my son LOVES and had me buy the sequel to the book.
The literature selections for this year’s curriculum are phenomenal. Every book selected for this year was on my to-be-read list. You can purchase the literature pack from the company or check them out from your local library. I was equally impressed by the inclusivity and diversity of the book selection. The very first-week students are The Mighty Miss Malone.
Gary, New York City, and the Deep South; they’ll journey to Canada, Europe, and Pakistan; they’ll travel from a hundred years in the past to some unknown time in the future; and they’ll explore a fantasy world peopled with strange characters.
Lightning Literature & Composition Grade 5
I love the student checklist that breaks down the chapters the students are responsible for reading for the week. The checklist also includes the grammar/mechanics as well as the composition assignment for the week. Each week has four days of written work including reading comprehension questions. The fifth day is reserved for finishing the final draft of the composition or extension lessons. Students are expected to work on their compositions throughout the week.
Students will also review sentences diagramming. My son loves to diagram sentences I am not a huge fan, but I do understand the reason behind learning the skill.
Lightning Literature & Composition Grade 5 doesn’t include spelling, reading, and handwriting. These other disciplines can easily be supplemented and blended into the curriculum.
About the Teacher’s Guide
Lightning Literature & Composition Grade 5 Teacher’s Guide is comprehensive. The how-to-use sections provide parents with information on how to teach the lessons. I really like how the guide tells you to tailor the course to your needs. The teacher guide also includes a week at a glance for the lesson along with the answers to the student text. There are also extra resources available on the the companies website.
Lightning Literature & Composition Grade 5 Teacher’s Guide includes detailed help for guiding your student through writing their composition for the week. Lightning Literature & Composition Grade 5 Teacher’s Guide is must have when working with your student, please don’t skip purchasing this guide.
How We Use
Okay, this isn’t our first time working with this curriculum, so I consider ourselves pros now. We have used both pdf and hard copies of Lightening Literature & Composition curriculums. I like both versions, but for this review, we are using the Lightning Literature & Composition Grade 5 hard copies. My son is a grammar monster he loves grammar. This year we have a spine English curriculum, but Lightening Literature & Composition Grade 5 is also being used alongside his spine as his independent work.
This year we are excited to use Lightning Literature & Composition Grade 5 and have already started listening to and reading week one novel. We use the novels from Lightening Literature & Composition Grade 5 Teacher’s Guide & Student Workbook novels as our read-aloud. My son works on the lesson on his own and he does the compositions as part of his writing time on Fridays.
Parent Involvement and Preparation.
With any curriculum there is some level of parent involvement. With the upper elementary levels 4-5 grade students are on the independent track. I personally preview the lesson each week on Sunday and evaluate if this something my son can do on his own or do I need to review with him. I also enjoy reading/listening along to the literature so we use them as our read a-louds and do the reading comprehension questions together. If you purchase the hard copies you don’t need to prep the lessons you can tear them out the book and put in a binder or keep them in book. My son prefers I tear them out each week. If you feel you need to prep external resources for the lesson that is clearly up to you. The pdf version does need some preparation. The curriculum is low prep and requires parent involvement based upon your students capabilities.
Final Thoughts
Lightning Literature & Composition Grade 5 is a great curriculum it can be used as a stand-alone or combined with another spine. The lessons are short and in-depth. Students have plenty of practice over the week of the grammar and mechanics. After every five lessons, students will get a review of the previous lessons. The poetry is spread throughout the book over the course of 36 weeks.
Is it on grade level? Absolutely, actually above grade level in my opinion. My son works well in Lightning Literature & Composition curriculums, the literature picks are great and keep his interest. If your student doesn’t have a strong grammar background I would consider looking over the sample pages of each of the grade levels before purchasing. I would also recommend that if your students aren’t familiar with the writing process you give them a quick review or use the composition as a way of teaching them about the mechanics of writing.
Lightning Literature is a language arts curriculum designed to:
instill a love of literature in students,
expand their ability to read intelligently and deeply, and
prepare them for more advanced language arts concepts.
Hewitt Learning
Hewitt Learning’s website provides excellent sample pages of the curriculums and great customer service. At the time of this review Lightning Literature & Composition Grade 5 Teacher’s Guide & Student Workbook combo is on sale for $80.65 and the regular price is $84.90. If you would like to purchase the Lightning Lit — Gr-5 Pack w/Readers the cost is $154.33 on sale!
I highly recommend Lightning Literature & Composition Grade 5 we have used their curriculas for several years. One of the things I really enjoy about this curricula is their commitment to including divirsity in their booklist and illustrations. My son loves the books and academically they have been phenomenal. I think that curricula works well for those looking for a relaxed approach to grammar while being challenging. The upper grades provide checklist for students allowing them to be independant and a steward over thier learning. You can do the lessons as part of a morning basket and the learning schedule will fit into a loop homeschool schedule perfectly.
For the last few weeks, I have enjoyed planning our new homeschool year using Super Teacher Worksheets. We received a 1-year membership to Super Teacher Worksheets, the membership has been a valuable resource for planning.
I am not a huge worksheet homeschooler, I prefer more of a literature-based, hands-on activity style of learning. Now I am not saying my son doesn’t have written lessons, because does have his fair share, I just prefer not to give him busy work. The great thing about Super Teacher Worksheets is that their resources aren’t busy work and I can print what I need and go.
Super Teacher Worksheets is not just a website for printing worksheets, there are resources that include games, a worksheet generator, writing prompts, flashcards, puzzles, and much more. Super Teacher Worksheets for students in grades PreK- 5th grade. I did notice reading comprehension resources for 6th grade as well as math resources for Algebra and Pre-Algebra. Super Teacher Worksheets include resources for the following subjects:
Math
Reading Comprehension
Reading & Writing
Phonics & Early Literacy
Grammar
Spelling, Science, Social Studies
Chapter Books
Teacher Resources
We have reviewed Super Teacher Worksheets previously with the Homeschool Review Crew, so I know my way around the website pretty well. If you are new to the website you will find it easy to navigate and you will come to appreciate the File Cabinet feature that helps you keep your saved resources organized. One of the features I am loving this year is the Worksheet Generator.
Super Teacher Worksheets worksheet generator has been my go-to for planning this year. Our spine curriculum this year is literature and research-based. My son is really enjoying all the hands-on activities, but there are a few things I would like to add to it such as some written activities for his vocabulary words, and extra resources on the topics he is studying about. The worksheet generator has been fabulous for creating my own crossword puzzles, word searches, ABC order, and quiz generator. The worksheet generator alone is worth the value of having a membership to Super Teacher Worksheets. I do like that the worksheet generator adjusts to the student’s grade level as far as the layout.
The other area I am really enjoying is the science resources, my son loves all things science. We are currently studying frogs and wetlands. I was dreading having to pin through the internet to find grade-appropriate materials to add to his lesson, but having the Super Teacher Worksheets saved me from hours of searching. The resources I found on frogs and the wetlands were exactly what was I looking for and my son was pleased with the content.
At the time of this review, Super Teacher Worksheets is $24.95 for a 1-year membership. The cost of this yearly membership is a super value and will fit most budgets. There are so many resources you will certainly find something of great use. For this mama, I am going to be using the worksheet generator a ton. If you would like to learn more about what the Crew has to say about Super Teacher Worksheets be sure to click the banner below.
We have never read any of the Laura Ingall book series, I know how could we be a homeschool family and never read any of her books? It’s simple for us my son and I didn’t find the books relatable as an African -Latino family. When the crew was given an opportunity to review Progeny PressFarmer Boy Study Guide 4-6 grade, I thought this would be an excellent opportunity to check out the series.
Farmer Boy is the second book in The Little House series, the story follows the adventures of 9-year-old Almanzo Wilder as he works on his family’s farm. As the book moves through the different seasons we learn about the chores of a farmer boy and Almanzo’s many adventures in farm life.
We have previously reviewed two other Progeny Press study guides and have found them to be comprehensive literature guides. We received the pdf and answer key, you will need to purchase the book or you can use the audio. Farmer Boy Study Guide follows the same flow as the previous guides providing the student with:
Instructor Notes
Book Synopsis
Author & Historical Background
Students start the study guide with activity ideas for pre-reading the book. These activities can include reports, giving an informative speech, map work, and much more. The goal is to get your student’s mindest prepared for the book as it whisks them away to the Wilder farm at the turn of the century.
As the student moves through the study guide the lessons are divided into chapters, some lessons covering more than one chapter. Students will work on vocabulary, literary terms, comprehension questions, projects, and writing. You will see Biblical scriptures reference in some of the activities, but it isn’t overwhelming and can be easily skipped over if that is your preference.
I really do like Progeny Press study guides and the Farmer Boy Study Guide was a welcoming introduction to one of the Little House book series. I like how we can easily use the activities that will work well for us and do some activities orally. The study guide can be done over a period of time or it can be used just as your literature lesson for a month. One of the other things I do like about these study guides is that each study guide works on character-building and moral lessons. Farmer Boy Study Guide is for grades 4-6, so your student can work independently.
There are a few more Progeny Press study guides I plan to pick up over the next few years. I really like how they have organized their guides and it’s not a bunch of busy work. The guides are affordable and are in black and white so they don’t eat up your ink. Be sure to check out the other Crew’s reviews of Progeny Press study guides by clicking the banner below.
I think the CTCMath is one of my favorite reviews to write for the Homeschool School Review Crew! We received a 12-month family membership and we absolutely love CTCMath it is a must-have for our homeschool resources.
CTCMath is an online complete math curriculum for grades K-12 grade. The online math platform comes with:
Instructional Videos
Customizable Printables
Parent Dashboard
Task Manager
Lesson Tracking and Self Grading
Record Keeping
Award Certificates
Fluency Games
This year we approached CTCMath in a different way, I decided to make the program a part of our weekly math rotation. Previously we used it as a way to supplement when my son needed help with concepts he was learning in his spine curriculum. This year we are starting from the beginning of the 5th-grade concepts and we are going to work our way through all the concepts in order from start to finish. I decided to do it this way this year because I want to pinpoint and find holes. So far he has been progressing very well and we have only hit one hole I am making sure we review this concept and have it reviewed.
Each week I assign my son 3-5 tasks a week and when he finishes those tasks I assign the next set. I decided not to do the diagnostic assessment when we first started because I really wanted to work through the 5th-grade concepts, just in case, the assessment placed him higher because this homeschool year we are focusing on mastery of foundations.
Since I have made CTCMath part of our routine math lessons I am sure to include them in my lesson plan and my son’s checklist. I set the task to expire in 7 days so he has all week to get them completed and I have his pass grade set at 95 percent and 3 attempts. My son likes to spread his task out but he knows to get them done before the week is over.
What I really like about CTCMath is how easy it is to use, the lessons adapt to your students, the instructional videos are clear, and give excellent step-by-step examples. Sometimes I will print out the instructional lesson and place the examples in his math folder so he can reference them back. I really like the flow of CTCMath because it is straight to the point and not boring. If you are looking for a lot of graphics and huge amounts of math gaming CTCMath has very minimal.
CTCMath provides extensive reports of your student’s progress that can be easily printed off and slid into a student portfolio. I also enjoy the 5th-grade checklist you can also print out and track your student’s grades.
CTCMath is an affordable online math curriculum it has won many awards and remains to be one of the Homeschool Review Crew member’s favorite online math programs. It can be used as a supplement or a full math curriculum. Students can do their lesson digitally or they can print it out. Highly adaptable students have access to all grade levels on their dashboards. With individual student logins, this is great for multiple families.
I highly recommend CTCMath for all students it is worth the cost and I really love how it has grown with my son over the years. Be sure to check out the other Crew’s reviews by clicking the banner below.
I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew!
The crew was given the opportunity to review ARTistic Pursuits: Painting with Watercolor Pencils, Art Core 2.It is an excellent opportunity to study again for this great company, we have reviewed several of their other levels they have been a pleasure to have in our home.
This year we shifted our homeschooling focus to a more relaxed Waldorfish curriculum. One of the benefits of this switch is incorporating more into our lesson. Most importantly use more watercolors in our artwork. I personally don’t have a lot of knowledge on water coloring painting so I am learning alongside my son. Painting with Watercolor Pencils, Art Core 2 is not like typical watercolor instructions your student is using watercolor pencils! If you are not familiar with ARTistic Pursuits they have homeschooled art curricula with 8 eight levels for K-3, upper elementary, and middle school.
Painting with Watercolor Pencils, Art Core 2 instructions are available on DVD/Blue Ray or digital access through your personal dashboard. You also can purchase the supplies kit to go along with the curriculum. There are 36 lesson illustrated lessons included in the hardcover book and 9 video lessons that are the same as the book. Mrs. Brenda breaks the lesson down in easy-to-follow steps. I really enjoyed the color swatch videos, because I know all watercolors aren’t created equal so it was nice that she went through these swatches with the different types of watercolor pencils. The introduction videos were very helpful in getting used started with watercolor painting because I wasn’t aware of the different colors and how they blend together and create beautiful masterpieces.
We slowly worked our way through lesson one of Painting with Watercolor Pencils, Art Core 2, we learned about wash and line and hard and soft lines. My son instantly noticed that the amount of pressure you use with your open will determine the light and deepenest of the color when activated. Would you look at that I am using artist lingo…LOL! We practiced our technique a few times a week because we needed a lot of practice before we felt comfortable moving on. The online streaming service is a major plus with this curriculum because it allows you to have a personal lesson in your home at your pace.
Painting with Watercolor Pencils, Art Core 2 is the second level in the upper elementary series. I really think we need to try out the first level, I was super excited to see the watercolors book and I choose this one to review, but my son said he wants the first one because he wants to learn how to draw like Mrs. Brenda. He always gets excited when a new ARTistic Pursuits book arrives in the mail. Painting with Watercolor Pencils, Art Core 2 is a wonderful curriculum, I love the online streaming and the use of watercolor pencils I don’t feel as intimidated by using watercolors.
Little Learner and Mom 