Category: 3rd Grade Curriculum

2nd Grade Curriculum, 3rd Grade Curriculum, 4th Grade, 5th Grade, Reviews, Science

Scientific Connections through Inquiry Level 3 Review!

Little Learner and Mom

Complimentary review for Melanated Gold Review Squad!

January is usually the time of the year a fair amount of homeschool moms start researching and planning their curriculum choices for the upcoming school year. We all anticipate this new journey but at the same time, we are trying to make sure we find the best curriculum for our kids. One of the science curricula I reviewed for my son for his 3rd-grade year was Scientific Connections through Inquiry Level 3. I was really happy with what I saw in this curriculum and I thought this may be a good time to share with my followers this unique science curriculum.

About Scientifc Connection through Inquiry

Scientific Connection through Inquiry curriculum is designed to teach young students advanced interdisciplinary science in a way they can understand. The lessons allow students to connect science with the world around them by inquiry. Students embark on learning these lessons using:

  • Hands on Exploration
  • Movement
  • Discussion
  • Inquiry
  • Observation

Scientific Connection through Inquiry foundations is based on Dr. Bernard Nebe Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding. Scientific Connection through Inquiry can be started at any level but having done the previous level will guarantee that your student has a full understanding of scientific lessons as they progress.

Unit Breakdown

Each of the levels units give an overview, supply list, and resources. The unit begins with a discussion. The discussion is meant to open the door to the unit’s inquiry. Scientific Connection through Inquiry provides helpful information through the educator’s guide. The opening discussion prepares students for their learning experience. The unit continues to progress to the activity, student pages, videos, and end-of-unit checklist of what they have learned.

Level 3

Scientific Connections through Inquiry Level 3 is for grades 2nd through 5th grade, but you can start at any level. Scientific Connections through Inquiry Level 3 comes in pdf format (64-page student book and a 154-page educator guide). I appreciate both of these books are limited on pages which makes it affordable to have printed at home. I do think it is nice that the levels can be stretched across 3-grade levels this works well with families with multiple grade levels. Level 3 has 11 units that will cover chemistry, biology, physics, earth, and space. The discovery in these are:

  • Cells I and II
  • Flight
  • Atomic/Molecular Motion I
  • Balance
  • Fungi & Bacteria I
  • Density
  • Seasons
  • Life of Plants
  • Energy and Motion
  • Buyancy

Scientific Connections through Inquiry Level 3 is a 36-week curriculum that can be done at your own pace or you can follow the recommended schedule. At the beginning of the first unit, students are taught how to ” discern a good argument from a bad one which is a necessary skill in life, and particularly in science.” -SCI The “Baloney Detection Kit” has 13 points your student will learn these points and use them throughout level 3 and in my honest opinion, they will use theses skill throughout all their future studies. The biggest purchase I noticed in the supply list was a microscope, there is a helpful guide included for purchasing suggestions.

My son went through a fungi and bacteria phase, he was very much intrigued by Scientific Connections through Inquiry Level 3 Fungi & Bacteria I. We jumped to this unit, and let’s just say my son enjoyed it immensely he had stuff growing in the fridge and Petri dishes. He confiscated bread and the mushrooms we had in the fridge all in the name of science. He loved one of the books suggested in the educator’s guide so much I purchased it.

Scientific Connections through Inquiry Level 3 educator guide is laid out beautifully. If you have no knowledge of the concept presented you are given enough support with guided scripts and resources. Each unit also is divided into sessions (lessons) the number of sessions varies for each unit. The hands-on activities provide plenty of exploration and fun!

Scientific Connections through Inquiry Level 3 offers sample lessons on their website for you to preview. Even though we have a science curriculum we are very happy with Scientific Connection through Inquiry is an excellent science curriculum or even a supplemental resource. I feel like this is great for summer science. We will be revisiting level 3 and checking out level 4 for science fun this summer.

Scientific Connection through Inquiry is $40 and your receive both student and educators guide. You will need to invest in that microscope and supplies but the supplies are easily found at the Dollar Tree or your local dollar store. The curriculum is easy to follow and will work well with any homeschool setting.

Mom and J

1st Grade, 2nd Grade Curriculum, 3rd Grade Curriculum, 4th Grade, 5th Grade, 6th Grade, Art, Charlotte Mason, Curriculum, Education, Family, Geography, History, Homeschool, Math, Reviews, Science

The Schoolnest History Notebook and Timeline Review!

Little Learner and Mom
The Schoolnest

Last year when my son and I were studying voting rights I remember the frustration I had writing down the timeline of the sequence of events on our board. I wanted him to have a visual keepsake of this important historical time period. So on our little whiteboard, I squeezed as much as I could and left it up there for a week as we studied. When it came time to erase it I took a picture of it and went on a hunt to find a way to record things for our history. What I was finding I wasn’t happy with so our timeline would have to live on my phone in the meantime. Then it happened The Schoolnest published a History Timeline notebook.

About The Schoolnest

Megan is a Michigan homeschool mom of 2 littles who is bringing love for learning through art, nature, creativity, and reading. Her approach to education is respecting the beauty of childhood and play. You can’t help but notice how she embraces Charlotte Mason, Waldorf, and Montessori philosophies in her homeschool. Her website is full of beautifully crafted simple journals, notebooks, and homeschool resources. She also writes a wonderful blog that is full of helpful ideas for parenting, homeschooling, art, and mindfulness. All are welcome on The Schoolnest website and blog, I found several diverse blog posts and literature recommendations.

I was so happy when Megan the founder of The Schoolnest launched her rainbow notebooks, from the first glance on her Instagram I knew I had to have them all. I purchased several of the notebooks for our school year then she published her History Timeline and it blew me away because it was exactly what I needed.

History Notebook and History Timeline

The History Timeline notebook is one the most unique books I have seen. The notebook gives you the ability to track history from:

  • Prehistory
  • Ancient
  • Middle Ages
  • Early Modern
  • Modern Times

What I feel like is a great family heirloom in History Timeline, is the beginning pages called “My History” I love these pages because we can record our family history and document things we felt were important to us during a year. The paper quality is excellent there are 115 pages and there are blank pages at the end. The entire is book is grid paper except for the dates, there is also B.C.E-C.E also included. There is plenty of space to write and post pictures, drawings, and clippings for creativity. The grid paper is excellent for writing and helping students contain their writings neatly. What I like about this timeline notebook is that it is just that a notebook. I can keep everything contained neatly in one spot and it is easy to flip through and we can use this 1 notebook over a long period of time.

The History Notebook is great for notebooking. We have used ours to notebook our unit study of Mesoamerica and currently, we are working on Ancient China. We study so much history in our home and notebooking has allowed him to have fun with notebooking. In the history notebook, there are 100 pages on the left page is 1/3 blank and the rest of the page is a grid. On the right side, the bottom is lined and the top is blank. There is a blank table of contents page and a study reference page. Kids can draw, color, cut and paste, make notes, and be creative. We have added pictures and written notes in our history notebook and added notebook printables. The paper quality is excellent, writes, glues, and colors smoothly.

Rainbow Notebooks

If you are looking to explore the other notebooks in The Schoolnest collection you will not be disappointed. So far we have collected:

  • Science
  • Vocabulary
  • Spelling
  • Mathematics
  • Commonplace
  • Project Planner
  • Reading Journal
  • 4th Grade

All of the notebooks come in 12 vibrant rainbow colors, 8.5 x 11, matte softcover, and superior binding. The Schoolnest notebooks are inexpensive ($8) and can be purchased from Amazon. If you are in the market for a planner The Schoolnest has you covered she has a Homeschool Lesson Planning Notebook, you can check out a review of this great planner on Brittany Olga Youtube and Home Life with Quin 5 Instagram (Planner and Reading Journal) and check out Mama Sweet Baby (Spelling Notebook).

The Schoolnest notebooks are a must-have for your homeschool if you haven’t checked them out I highly recommend you do. We love our notebooks and I am looking forward to seeing any new books The Schoolnest publishes.

Blessings,

Mom and J

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3rd Grade Curriculum, 4th Grade, 5th Grade, Art, Charlotte Mason, Critical Thinking and Logic, Curriculum, Education, Family, Geography, History, Homeschool, Language Arts, Literature Base, Math, Read Alouds, Reviews, S.T.E.A.M, Science, Writing

The Learn & Live: Mesoamerica Review

Little Learner and Mom

Complimentary product received from The Learn & Live Letter!

This post contains affiliate links at no extra charge to you the reader.

As a homeschool mom, I have always been stuck on what part of history to teach in our home and how. There are so many wonderful curricula you can choose from, but if you are looking for true gentle history the choices tend to narrow down immensely. We enjoy unit study learning in our home and at times we just want to step away from traditional textbook history and have fun. I was really happy when The Learn & Live Letter ladies reached out to me to check out their November Mesoamerica unit.

About The Learn & Live Letter

The Learn & Live Letter was created by two homeschool moms who wanted to bring the joy of play-based learning to their children. They created their own homeschools around the philosophy of interested-led and hands-on learning. Cynthia and Justine enlisted the help of several well-known highly qualified contributors in the education and homeschool community to help create monthly themed 4-week play-based learning units. Each unit covers science, history, geography, art, music, math, reading, and writing. The Learn & Live Letter also embraces the Charlotte Mason approach, you won’t find worksheets or busy work in these monthly themed units. If you are wondering about the diversity of The Learn & Live Letter team you will not be disappointed.

Because learning comes naturally to your child’s development. They learn with and by the world around them—and, as parents and caretakers, all we have to do is open that door.

The Learn & Live Letter

The Learn & Live Letter units are designed for the homeschool parent, while non-homeschool families can benefit from this wonderful program, the design is for that homeschool parent. There are 3 levels to choose from level 1 (3 to 5 ), Level 2 (5 to 7), and level 3 (7 to 12). Families can choose to do a monthly subscription or a yearly subscription. The yearly subscription would guarantee you 36 weeks of lessons. Each level is different and provides age-appropriate activities. The units come to you via email and you click the link that will take you to your levels monthly instruction pages. The company also provides you a schedule of when you will receive the next unit’s email which is always a week before the upcoming month. There is also scope and sequence you can look at which is great for pacing and lining up your lessons. The company is still growing so the 2022 lineup is still building.

November Mesoamerica Unit

Mesoamerica Unit !

Our unit to review for you is the Level 3 November Mesoamerica unit. The Mesoamerica unit took us on a journey to Mexico and South America. Each week comes with its own supply list, resources, and embedded links. Everything you need is in your weekly guide you can add to it if you like, but you are fine with just the items they list. We studied about the Mayans, Aztecs, and Olmecs. The Mesoamerica unit captured my son’s interest he was intrigued to learn about these wonderful ancient Indigenous tribes’ culture, history, and contributions to civilization. For 2 weeks he was stuck on learning about the Olmecs and I let him stay in this history as long as he liked. We created terra cotta pottery, tried to play the Mayan game Ulama which gave us all quite a workout, and we built the Temple of Kukulkan out of legos.

November Mesoamerica Unit

Each monthly 4-week unit has 5 lessons each lesson has 2 – 4 activities. What I did notice is that Lesson 1 of each week usually had 2 activities that focused on geography or history for that week. You do not have to do each activity in each lesson. We average 2-3 activities each lesson, but because we plan to do this unit again I left wiggle room for next year. While we worked on the Mesoamerica unit we discovered there were many other ancient indigenous tribes so we will look into these next year. I highly recommend you bookmark the monthly units link on your iPad or tablet. I also printed out each week. The company also provides you with a skills/activity tracker.

The Learn & Live Letter units provide gentle history if you follow me you know I teach gentle truth history in our home. The Learn & Live Letter provides the conversation starter for you and you are free to take it from there. They do use Honest History magazines in their units which are great history resource. So if you don’t have these you will need to invest in them. I found the supply list to be inexpensive and the majority of the items we already had at home. The book resources I found all of them at our local library and were inexpensive on Amazon. The Usborne Encyclopedia World History book is one of the core books but you can use this book or find a World History book that covers your unit’s topics.

November Mesoamerica Unit

The Learn & Live Letter provides so many hands-on and play-based learning opportunities in their units we had so much fun exploring. My son was super excited about learning history and doing the activities he ask for these lessons first during our homeschool day. We finished our Mesoamerica unit feeling confident and happy about our progress. When I asked him what he thought he said this was one of the best units we have done in a long time. With him being happy and I know that everything is planned for me and he loves it we are now working on Ancient China and Medival Level 3 from The Learn & Live Letter. We purchased a year’s subscription and we are both loving it.

Ancient + Medieval China

The Learn & Live Letter is hassle-free learning we were over all the traditional history lessons. We are doing what we love following our interest and back to enjoying our homeschool day.

Ancient + Medieval China

I highly recommend The Learn & Live Letter you will not be disappointed. It was such a sigh of relief to plan something he will both truly enjoy. Each unit is packed with much you can do and not feel overwhelmed. The Learn & Live Letter has excellent customer service and a wondering FAQ on their website. It is always great when homeschool moms create something that really puts the kids first, Bravo Ladies! For my followers, The Learn & Live Letter has provided my readers 10% off any year subscription, be sure to use my promo code DESHAUN10 at checkout.

Until the Next Time,

Mom!

Ancient + Medieval China

Learn and Live Letter Social Media

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1st Grade, 2nd Grade Curriculum, 3rd Grade Curriculum, 4th Grade, 5th Grade, 6th Grade, 7th Grade, Critical Thinking and Logic, Curriculum, dyslexia, Education, Games and Apps, Homeschool, Language Arts, spelling, Vocabulary, Writing

Mrs.Wordsmith Word Tag Review!

Little Learner and Mom

Complimentary review through Mrs. Wordsmith!

Word Tag

Are you looking to add some excitement to vocabulary building? Have you ever heard of Mrs. Wordsmith? Well if you haven’t heard about Mrs. Wordsmith what better way to introduce you to this company than telling you about their new app Word Tag.

Mrs. Wordsmith is an award-winning company based originally in the UK. The company was founded in 2015 by Sofia Fenuchell who wanted to create educational materials that actually worked and kids would love it. Using quality animations and game design to improve how kids learned vocabulary, Mrs. Worthsmith was born. Mrs. Wordsmith since their early beginning the company has grown and developed a full line of products for kids ages 4-13. The company has created books, games, curriculums, tons of free resources. We own several of the curriculums, books, and vocabulary sets. Mrs. Wordsmith’s newest addition to their line of literacy and vocabulary materials is the Word Tag app.

We were invited in July to join the team as a tester and my son has loved playing the Word Tag app. The company has taken video games to an entirely new level with fun vocabulary-building adventures. My son loves Hip-Hop culture so the game won him over instantly with the graffiti. The game takes place in Los Angeles, kids will go on a quest of collecting spray cans and spraying words while trying to avoid the street cleaners. Kids will complete daily activities at their paces, challenges, and pop quizzes.

With a methodology designed to teach challenging vocabulary, Word Tag boosts reading comprehension, advances creative and academic writing, and improves exam performance.

Mrs. Wordsmith

Word Tag 3D adventure is visually appealing to players and it encourages them to keep playing and learning new words. The kids are constantly reviewing the words they have learned. Kids will learn up to 1,000 words. Words a present in context to help reinforce their learning. The more words your student’s master more levels open for them to play. Players can earn more coins and unlock materials from the pop quizzes. I love how the words show the kids the definitions, parts of speech, and synonyms. The vocabulary the kids learn is Tier 2 academic words that are frequently used on SSSA. ISEE, SAT, STAR, and MAP exams. Word Tag also will increase your students reading levels.

Word Tag also allows students to connect with other players and their friends if they are using Word Tag to share the gameplay and compete with each other. Word Tag takes your student’s safety seriously and incorporated a safe social player. The program is adaptive and you will have access to player reports. The company also provides a parent guide that includes a sample word list and learning objectives.

So why does Word Tag work :

  • Active engagement
  • Word repetition
  • Learning progressin
  • Self-directed learning
  • Character-based learning

Our Review

I love Word Tag for all the reasons above I mentioned. I am familiar with the company and its products, so their brand is one I trust with my child. Now my son is crazy about Word Tag he was super excited when the Mall level opened for him and he has been playing non-stop. He said the graphics are cool and it is fun to learn the new words. The other great thing is he sees characters from Mrs. Wordsmith’s Storyteller’s Illustrated Dictionary, How to Write a Story, and Reading Comprehension Vocabulary.

I highly recommend you try out Mrs. Wordsmith’s Word Tag it is available on Apple Store and Google Play and is currently a free download.

Until the Next Time,

Mom & J

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3rd Grade Curriculum, 4th Grade, 5th Grade, 6th Grade, Charlotte Mason, Critical Thinking and Logic, Curriculum, Education, Family, Geography, Homeschool, Read Alouds, Reviews

Heritage Mom: Civil Rights Movement

Little Learner and Mom

Complimentary product received!

If you don’t know who the Heritage Mom is I am super excited to be able to tell you about this wonderful blogger, mom, homeschooler, philanthropist, and Charlotte Mason guru. Okay so I had had the pleasure of meeting Amber O’Neal Johnston and once a member of her Heritage Homeschoolers group in Georgia and I can honestly tell you she is one of the sweetest and kindest people I have met during my homeschooling journey.

Civil Rights Heritage Pack

When Heritage Mom offered to have the Squad review 3 of her culture guides, I knew had to be part of this opportunity. Let me keep it real I own about 90 % of her culture guides already and we are still working our way through Amazing Africa. We own Schomburg, Heart and Soul, Harlem Ressianance Stomp, and now the Civil Rights Heritage culture guide. All of the culture guides are excellent, Heritage Mom gives you everything you need to use these guidesto teach African and African American history.

The Civil Rights Movement guide is divided into 10 topics of study starting the journey in the 1950s and ending with Civil Rights today. The guide is meant for grades 4-6 but you can review the suggested living books and materials you can stretch to 2nd grade. Civil Rights Movement is 36 weekly lessons now you can stretch to the entire 36 weeks or you can do more lessons a week. We are averaging 3 lessons a week in Amazing Africa, but after looking through the Civil Rights Movement guide we will spend a little more time on our lessons because is one of my son’s favorite areas of history to study. Anyone who says they were able to unpack any of her culture guides in 8 weeks, I can honestly say they didn’t give these carefully planned guides the respect they deserve.

The Civil Rights Heritage Pack is a survey of the brave men and women who risked their reputation, livelihoods, and often their very lives to press towards what they knew to be right.

Heritage Mom

The Civil Rights Movement includes two core books, you need to select one of these books to use with the guide, both reasonably priced. She also includes bonus books and recommends not substituting the core books because those books are impeded throughout the guide. She also has movie suggestions that hyperlinked and inserted disclaimers to prescreen them to make sure they are appropriate for your family. There are additional books used in the lesson plan, they are a nice mixture I love she included picture books and chapter books. Now that my son is reading more chapter books I miss those days of really great picture books. I found all the books listed in the lesson plan at my local library. There are also additional books for older or advanced children but these books are not scheduled in the lesson plans.

The lesson plans are easy to follow, with clickable links that take you to videos and she tells you what book you will be using and pages to read. There are 4 weeks of plans one page. The culture guides are meant to be just that guides, if you are looking for a long-drawn-out lesson plan with tons of writing and worksheets you aren’t going to find it in this guide. Amber O’Neal is a Charlotte Mason-inspired homeschooler and her guides are written in that way of homeschooling. These guides are literature-based and meant to allow you and your student to explore and go down rabbit holes.

Out of respect for her and all her hard work you won’t see pictures of pictures of her hard work in this review. You can literally go on her social media and you will feel the admiration so many people have for these creative works. Each guide of the Heritage Mom packs are filled with so much potential you can stretch these materials for years to come.

Until the Next Time,

Mom and J

2nd Grade Curriculum, 3rd Grade Curriculum, Curriculum, dyslexia, Homeschool, Language Arts, Orton-Gillingham, Reviews, spelling, Writing

Spelling You See Level C Wild Tales Review!

Little Learner and Mom

Complimentary product received.

We were sent Spelling You See Level C Wild Tales for us to check out and look at spelling from a different approach. We currently use a curriculum we have used for the last 2 years, but my son isn’t 100% in love with it, So when the opportunity to review Spelling You See Level C Wild Tales was presented I decided this would be a good chance to look over a new program.

When my son first started down our path of homeschooling we used Demme Learning Math U See Primer and Spelling U See A. He did extremely well with both programs and we were happy, but he needed a little more of a challenge when it came to both areas as we entered 1st grade. Spelling You See uses the five development stages of spelling:

  1. Preliterate
  2. Phonetic
  3. Skills Development
  4. Word Extenstions
  5. Derivational Constancy

Wild Tales provides opportunities for students to study words in the context of factual passages about animals.

Spelling You See

Spelling U See is different from other spelling programs, there are no list, grade levels, or extensive prepping of lessons. We were sent Spelling You See Level C Wild Tales it picks up from where Level B ends, so it is really important that you check out the placement assessment on Spelling You See if you haven’t done the previous levels. The Spelling You See Level C Wild Tales comes with an instructor guide, 2 student workbooks, and erasable Crayola color pencils. There are 36 lessons students will work on:

  • Vowel, Consonant, Bossy R Chunks
  • Tricky Y
  • Silent Letters
  • Various Combinations.

You can check out a full scope sequence on the website. The lessons are simple for students the Spelling You See Level C Wild Tales takes the students on an adventure with nonfiction passages about animals. The program does require parent involvement and your student needs to read the passages, day 1-3 students will do copy work (only 10 mins ). You should tell your student to stop writing and then chunk their words with you and that’s it for the day. Day 4 is No Rules day students draw something related to that week’s passage and write at least one sentence about the weekly passage. On day 5 it is dictation day you will dictate to the student the passage of the week and help them when prompted.

Chunking – provides hands-on experience with the many irregular letter patterns in English. Copywork – requires the brain to pay attention to details in print. Dictation – gives the student the opportunity to recall the proper letter patterns from memory.

Spelling You See

Our Review

Spelling You See Level C Wild Tales is a stress-free way to teach spelling, you don’t feel pressured to have your student memorize these ridiculously long lists of words and busywork. Students are able to use their phonetic knowledge and learn to spell. The really nice part is that once the 10 mins are over we are done. In observing our current curriculum I noticed how stressed he was doing word lists, activities and having to move on to the next list. In my heart I felt like is he just moving from the list to list and not really retaining all of the words? There were so many activities he needed to get through during the weekly lessons that we started stretching the lessons to 2 weeks.

Spelling You See Level C Wild Tales just makes things so much easier and it just flows better for us and our new path with homeschooling. We did the sample lessons of Spelling You See Level C Wild Tales first before we dove into the entire book and he said he liked the way it works and that it seem easier and he didn’t feel anxious to get things done in a hurry. I do think we need the Spelling You See Level D Americana, but we will work on the Spelling You See Level C Wild Tales as a review, possibly making the change to Spelling You See Level D Americana in the Spring. We aren’t in a rush so we will take our time and I will move at his pace. I do wish the upper level themes would be different topics for the passages, I did look over levels D – G. My son is able to read all of the passages with no problems and he is familiar with all the different areas of phonics and targeted areas of spelling.

The cost of the Spelling You See Level C Wild Tales at the time of this review is $53 plus taxes and shipping.

Until the Next Time ,

Mom and J

3rd Grade Curriculum, 4th Grade, 5th Grade, Curriculum, Education, Homeschool, Math

I Know It Review !

Little Learner and Mom

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.

I Know It is a great way to make math practice fun for your students! We were sent a 1 year subscription to I Know It online digital math supplemental program.

I Know It is a math supplemental program meant to support your current math curriculum. I Know It is for grades K-5 grade there are over 600 math lessons that will challenge your student to review their skills or practice some new one.

I Know It is excellent way to get your students away from traditional book work and doing something interactive. Math is a skill that requires ongoing practice and if your student is like mine he needs to keep his skills fresh. I Know It comes with a full parent dashboard that allows you to set your students grade level, assign lessons and track their progress.

One of the things appreciate with I Know It is being able to look for the skills I want my son to practice instead of having to follow a sequence. My toggles between 4th/5ht grade math so I am able to select skills in both area and assign him. In the progress tracker you can see a lessons complete detail of your students work and how they are doing and what they need to work on. Assigning lesson are super easy, I really like dislike programs that make it so complicated when trying to assign lessons. I Know It makes it easy you just select the grade level and click the check mark in the grade level and your done. Students can follow the sequence of the platform or do the assignments.

Working the lessons in I Know It are simple and to the point, I appreciate at how the program mixes things up as they are presented. The multiplication exercises my son worked on combined word problems, arrays, number sentences, graphs, and pictures. He was able to see all of the ways to solve multiplactions equations, which is very helpful because it is important that he can see all these forms and be able to solve. The cute little character that encourages the kids does all kinds of cool dances and animations. When a student answers a question wrong they are given the correct answer and how it is solved.

I Know It is great online platform for grades K-5 grade it is not a complete curriculum , its meant to be supplementary. This is a great program for practicing skills, and to use on breaks if you would like your student to have practice when they arent doing school lessons. I do wish the kids could log in individually instead of through the main log in, I am hoping the company adds this feature. You can adjust features such as the animations, holiday themes, hints allowed, and students ability to explore on their own.

At the time of this review the cost of I Know It is $45 for a family membership for up to 4 children and $7.50 for each additional child. Be sure to check out the other crew’s reviews of I Know It by clicking the banner below.

Social Media Links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iknowitcom/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/iknowit_com

3rd Grade Curriculum, 4th Grade, 5th Grade, Art, Critical Thinking and Logic, Curriculum, Education, Family, Geography, History, Homeschool, Language Arts, Math, mindfulness, Reviews, S.T.E.A.M

Know Yourself Adventure Series and Dr. Bonyfide Review!

Little Learner and Mom

Complimentary product received from Know Yourself.

I love putting together unit studies, it is just something about gathering all the materials that just makes homeschooling so much fun. My son enjoys our unit studies and he learns so much, but we all know putting together unit studies requires a lot of time and research. Science unit studies are our favorite but it requires a lot of books and external resources. This year I wanted to finally really tackle a solid unit on the human body so while I was researching over the summer I came across the Know Yourself Systems of the Body Adventure Series and that’s when then the fun began.

After browsing the Know Yourself website I realized, that I actually owned one of their Dr. Bonyfide books, but then it happened I previewed the Systems of the Body Adventure Series Book 1 Five Sense and it was a done deal I had to have the entire bundle. I purchased the digital version of the bundle and I was confident I found the answer to my human body unit with just a click of the mouse.

About Know Yourself

The company was created in 2013 by a mom with two girls, she wanted to teach her daughters about the human body and anatomy but have fun doing it. Nancy Howe and her team have created an award-winning books series and have partnered with many companies such as Timberdoodle, Rainbow Resources, and Christian Book just to name a few. If you noticed all 3 of those companies are top-tier and respected homeschool merchants so you know these books have to be quality.

Inspire children to be grounded in the awesomeness of their own self-worth and equip them to make healthy decisions about their minds and bodies. Through a deep sense of self, children are able to better relate to others and contribute to a society with more compassion, love and respect.

Know Yourself

Know Yourself is built on 3 principles as listed on their website:

Self-literacy: A journey to a better self through knowledge of the body and mind that ultimately results in happier, healthier, and less fearful SUPER-AWESOME human beings.

Self-worth: Knowing that your value on this Earth is as great as any other human being on this Earth.

Self-advocacy: Find your voice. Ask questions and speak your truth.

Representation: Acknowledge and represent the diversity of the community that we live in and build appreciation for various human intelligence and learning styles.

The company is committed to providing solid foundations while identifying the need to be inclusive and include all diverse characters so your child will see themselves as they learn.

Dr. Bonyfide Series

Now that you know a little about the company let’s talk about the first set of books f Dr. Bonyfide. There are 4 workbooks in the Dr. Bonyfide :

  • Bones of the Hand, Arm, and Shoulder: Book 1
  • Bones of the Foot, Leg, and Pelvis: Book 2
  • Bones of the Rib Cage and Spine: Book 3
  • Bones of the Head, Face, and Neck: Book 4

In each book, students will explore the human skeletal system using 3D x-ray glasses, puzzles, activities, and readings. All of the books are interactive and feature Dr. Bonyfide and his friends. The Dr. Bonyfide series provide students with real pictures and the anatomically correct names for the skeletal system and provides fun ways to help the students remember the names of the body parts. Just to give you the heads up all the friends your kids will meet in the Dr. Bonyfide series you will see them again in the Systems of the Body Adventure Series.

Systems of the Body Adventure Series

If your student loves graphic novels they are going to love the Systems of the Body Adventure Series. There are 12 workbooks in this fabulous series and your students will meet the Loops Crew. Each one of these books includes a graphic novel storyline complete with a ton of activities and takes you and your student on a worldwide adventure to learn about the body systems.

The Systems of the Body Adventure Series is a multi-subject workbook, students will learn about art, culture, geography, music, history, food, growth mindset, and much more. Systems of the Body Adventure Series books are:

Our Review

We love both series of workbooks, when the company reached out to partner I was thrilled my son was super thrilled we would receive a complete set. Know Yourself combines my son’s 2 favorite things graphic novels and science therefore he is hooked. I literally have to hide the books from him because he will read them all. The company sent us the last 4 books just in time for this review and he saw book 10 has the Loops Crew traveling to Tenochtitlan he grabbed and ran with it. So I am guessing that this is the book we are doing for this month along with our Mesoamerica unit study.

In the month of October, we decided to Adventure 2: The Skeletal System (Russia), talk about a breath of fresh air. The workbook has everything we need for a complete unit study. I just needed to check the supply list at the beginning of the book and we were ready. The great thing about the Systems of the Body Adventure Series books they are broken into 4 parts, each part tells you exactly what the student will be learning and the estimated time for each part. In all honesty, there is NO WAY you can get through an entire book in 1 month there is way too much information to cover. You want your kids to enjoy what they are learning and take their time. My recommendation is to do 2 parts a month and spend your time immersed in the geography culture of the book. The recipes included are easy to follow and require limited adult supervision. The book also includes the answer key and review section.

Dr. Bonyfide and Systems of the Body Adventure Series gives you everything you need for a human body and anatomy system unit study. The books are for children ages 8 years and up and can be done independently. I personally really like the books and I really want to be a part of the learning alongside him because I am the first to admit that I don’t know a lot of detail about the human body systems.

The books have cut back on my human unit study planning by 95% and it also included things I would have never included in my own study. You can purchase the books individually or by bundle. The Systems of the Body Adventure Series is available as a digital download and you can use them on a device. Reasonable price, great customer service, and fast free shipping. To save on your purchase be sure to include our referral code: DESHAUN .

I highly recommend you check out both Dr. Bonyfide and Systems of the Body Adventure Series, if you would like to see a complete walkthrough of the books check out our Little Learner and Mom Instagram.

Until the Next Time

Mom & J

3rd Grade Curriculum, 4th Grade, 5th Grade, 6th Grade, Charlotte Mason, Curriculum, dyslexia, Education, Family, Homeschool, Language Arts, Literature Base, Morning Basket, Parenting, Read Alouds, Reviews, Writing

Brave Writer Arrow: Amari and the Night Brothers Review

Little Learner and Mom

Complimentary product received through Melanated Gold Review Squad!

This year I was confident in my choices for grammar and writing until mid-August when I started to notice my son was less than enthused about his lessons. Observing his lack of enthusiasm I started to think we may need a change. We have used the same curriculum for the last 2 years and he has a pretty solid foundation in grammar, but writing is still a work in progress. I was thrilled when the opportunity to review Brave Writer Arrow Amari and the Night Brothers was made available to our family. So here we are taking the leap and using Brave Writer Arrow and we are loving it.

About Brave Writer

Brave Writer uses a Charlotte Mason-inspired approach to teach grammar and writing. The goal is to continue to strengthen the parent and child bond by creating a safe environment to learn and work at their own pace. Brave Writer programs are designed to be the complete opposite of the traditional learning style of grammar and writing. Brave Writer supports the whole child and lets them be in control of the process with the parent gently leading them. Brave Writer program believes students go through different stages of writing and each stage deserves respect and students should only progress when they are ready for the next stage. The growth stage of writers are :

Jot It Down

Partnerships in Writing

Faltering Ownership

Transition to Ownership

Eavesdropping on the Great Conversation

The growth stages start at ages 5-18 years old and students will work on mechanics and literature through online classes or using one of the product packets such as Arrow.

Arrow

Arrow

Arrow is a digital year-long writing and grammar program for students ages 11-12. Families can purchase the entire year’s bundle and each month you will receive the Literature Arrow guide or you can purchase individually. With your purchase, you will receive the Arrow guidelines and the literature guide. The Arrow guideline teaches you how to present the literature guide. Arrow literature guides cover spelling, literary elements, writing activity, punctuation, and grammar, each monthly lesson is paired with a novel. Each week the lesson directly correlates with the novel. The monthly lessons are divided into 4 weeks, which include vocabulary, dictation, and grammar. The guides also come with discussion questions, a planner, a skills tracker, and book party ideas. There are 10 Arrow guides for a complete school year older guides are available to purchase, but new books are added every year.

We teach both parents and kids how to build a partnership in writing that leads to both creative expression and academic success, all while preserving the parent-child bond.

Brave Writer

Our Review

Amari and the Night Brothers have been on our list to read since it was released so I was super excited to have a literature, grammar, and writing guide to pair with it. At first look, I knew I had to sit down and prepare for working with a non-traditional way of teaching grammar and writing. The biggest issue had was letting go of my thinking of how grammar and writing are taught. Once I was able to release this way of thinking it made the transition easier. My son and I decided we would both read and listen to the book. I really enjoyed the cultural context section it gives background information on the novel, this little information was really nice and helped us better connect to the book because we are actually living 20 mins away from the Atlanta area.

Arrow is really the complete opposite of a traditional grammar and wiring curriculum, I was expecting to see some worksheet practice sheets and a huge writing assignment for this novel. I was blown away because what expected was not what I received. The Arrow guide gives you a quick start that instructs you to read the Arrow Guidelines. The Arrow Guidelines are key to understanding how to implement the Arrow program, not reading these will confuse you about the literature Guide. The guide also gives you sample routines and it is where you will find the Arrow Skills Trackers and Our Week With Arrow.

The Spin and Spiral told me exactly what we were going to be covering in this month’s literature guide. I pulled a couple of extra supplements, just in case. I was blown away by how Brave Writer uses a novel to teach grammar, in a million years I would have never thought to pull passages out of a book and examine the grammar components. My son was introduced to writing and literary elements such as how to indent, first-person narratives, and dialogue, and much more over the 4 weeks. The grammar areas are highlighted in what Brave Writer calls Spotlights, we found the grammar sections a welcomed review of concepts he has covered previously. What I did appreciate is that I was able to identify some areas of his grammar that he needed more practice on.

Students will tackle:

  • Proper Nouns
  • Commas
  • Conjunctions
  • Idioms
  • Pronouns
  • Parallel Structure and much more

What I like about Brave Writer is that my son and I were having meaningful conversations about the book and we talked about grammar in a new way that he was really thriving and loving. He asked several times mom can we do Brave Writer over his current language arts curricula. I begin to see both of our frustration and stress levels come all the way down while using Arrow. We went from fighting over getting his lesson done to letting us just talk, drink tea, and enjoy each as we learn.

Dication for us is something new we haven’t done much of this type of writing before so we took things very slow and I assured him that we weren’t in a rush and we are both learning how to do things. I did the first dication for him just to show him how. We did 1-2 sentences at a time so he didn’t feel overwhelmed moving forward. We did modify a few things to make it work for us, we used highlighters to highlight the grammar and literary elements in the literature guide. My son didn’t want to mark up his book and I was okay with this. I also printed my son his own the literature guide, I used mine on my tablet but I did have the Arrow guidelines printed out for myself.

Parent Involvement

By now you may realize that parent involvement is a necessity for the Brave Writer Arrow curriculum. The program does require the parent to be their child’s partner in this process. That brings me to the Brave Writer Partnerships in Writing growing writers stage one of the most overlooked stages according to the Brave Writer website. “Your child shows growing proficiency in handwriting, reading, and spelling, but still finds the hard work of transcription tiring if asked to write for more than a few minutes.” We didn’t receive this to review, but after using the Amari and the Night Brothers Arrow, I feel that this is something we will need in order for us to continue forward with the Arrow curriculum.

Brave Writer Arrow Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids

Final Words

We really like Brave Writer Arrow Amari and the Night Brothers, my son has requested to do this over his current language arts curricula. We have put what we were using on the shelf and have moved on to the November 2021 Brave Writer Arrow Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids. I will be looking into Partnerships in Writing for us as well. It has been so nice to have a great month of learning and enjoying our time together making memories. At the time of this review for the full program is $129 or $14.95 per literature guide (includes Arrow guidelines). To learn more about Brave Writer programs please click the banner below to read more of the Melanated Gold Review Squad reviews.

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3rd Grade Curriculum, 4th Grade, 5th Grade, Homeschool, Read Alouds, Reviews, S.T.E.A.M, Science

BookShark Level D Science Homeschool Curriculum Review!!

Little Learner and Mom

Complimentary product received from BookShark in exchange for my honest review.

When you have a science-loving kid, finding the right science curriculum can be a daunting task. When my son was in 2nd grade, he breezed right through an entire science curriculum in eight weeks. For 3rd grade, we decided to forgo another box curriculum and chose to use a variety of supplemental resources to build our own science curriculum. This year things changed. My son requested an engaging and challenging science curriculum that was:

  • Hands – on
  • Experiments he could do independently.
  • Interesting and fun!

With so many requests I knew I had to find the best curriculum that would work for him and myself because I had my own set of requirements.

  • Literature-based
  • Easy lesson planning
  • Hands-on
  • Low prep

I looked around and then I came across BookShark Science Level D and I was blown away by what I read and saw in the package. I had heard of BookShark, but I didn’t know a lot about the company until I started researching the science.

Who is BookShark ?

BookShark is a literature-based multi-subject homeschool curriculum company. Their curriculum is secular and they follow all the state standards. Their leveled curriculum covers a three-year age span. With the 3 years, age-span families can find it helpful that they can use the same curriculum for all their students within those ages.

BookShark Science Level D ages 8-11

BookShark Science Level D

BookShark Science is a literature-based science that uses engaging and recent book resources to spark the love of science in budding scientists. BookShark Science follows the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). What makes the BookShark homeschool science curriculum unique is the company gives you everything you need in one package. Unlike many homeschool science curricula, BookShark Science is a secular science curriculum. I know what you are thinking, not another box curriculum with a ton of books and materials that need a lot of prepping.

BookShark’s Science curriculum combines a hands-on and literature based approach that is engaging and fun! Students will focus on three to four topics per year and gain in-depth knowledge of subjects including Geology, Meteorology, Physics, Biology, Animals, Electricity, Human Anatomy, Chemistry, Astronomy and more!

BookShark

BookShark Science Level D is for ages 8-11 so this will work well if you have more than one student that fits in that age range and you can do the lessons family style. You will receive:

  • Instructors Guide
  • Classic BookShark D-binder
  • 10 Literature- Based Books
  • Experiment book and kit

Prepping

You will find prepping your BookShark Science Level D requires minimal prepping. The instructor guide includes 36 weekly student activities sheets and schedules, you will need to purchase another set of student activities sheets if you are working with more than one student. The instructor guide is easy to read and follow.

Bookshark Science understand kids , because they dont repeat the same kind of lesson they put a different spin on things!

Jaidyn

BookShark Science recommends that you work with a working binder. The working binder is for your daily use of the lessons. It is suggested that you pull four weeks of student activity sheets and place them in the binder. When I pull the activity sheets I also pull the experiment recording sheets that are printed on sturdy card stock and experiment materials from the kit.

Let’s talk about storage. I keep the BookShark D-binder and books in a cube storage unit and the experiment kit in a latchmate box, but you could keep the items in the sturdy box the materials come in! I store all of these in a cube on our shelf, and his working binder is on our homeschool cart along with the books for that week’s BookShark Level D.

Lessons

BookShark Science Level D works on a 4 days a week schedule. The fourth day is for experiments, the curriculum gives you the flexibility to work at your own pace. The 5th is suggested for field trips, exploring that week’s topic further, or just a day off. On our 5th day, we play games and find extension activities on that week’s topic.

I like the Bookshark Science because it has topics that actually interest me and I can do the lesson on my own!

Jaidyn
Week 7 Coral Reef

The schedule tells you what book you are reading, pages, and what questions from the activity sheet exercise for that day. The schedule also tells you what materials you need for the experiment kit and what you need to prepare for the next week. You will also find vocabulary words on the schedule – don’t skip over this part because these words show up in the reading. I decided to have my son keep a science notebook, in his notebook are the vocabulary words and anything he found of interest from that week’s lesson.

The Experiments

The experiment kit is probably one of my favorite items in BookShark Science Level D  because of the convenience.  When we were winging it, I was always scrambling to purchase something at the last minute or skipping the experiments altogether because the materials were hard to find. . Now I am able to just pull the needed materials out of the kit, and my son can start his experiments. The kit is so well labeled, that even my son can pull the necessary materials by himself. EThe BookShark Science Level D experiment book has easy-to-follow instructions with illustrations. You know how you may do experiments with your kids and you’re not 100% sure of the “Why”? BookShark Science Level D has you covered with objectives, questions, and conclusions. Students will encounter projects that require them to use all of their five senses, engineering, art skills, logic, and critical thinking skills.

Sunday lesson planning prepping!

Currently,  we are moving into Week 9 – Sea Animals; during the first 7 weeks, we learned about food chains, animal adaptations, wolves ecosystems, animal adaptations, living things, characteristics of animals, ocean, and coral reefs. Can you believe we covered all of these topics in-depth and it has only been 7 weeks?! BookShark Science Level D also allows you to go down rabbit holes that have

BookShark makes science interesting and fun!

Jaidyn
Wolves drawings

Virtual Access and Planning!

I am using the virtual access for BookShark Science Level D to help keep us organized. The virtual access is new for this school year. The virtual access seat is available at an additional low cost. Virtual Access gives you and your student the ability to have virtual access to BookShark Science Level D in a virtual space. Be sure to check out my review of BookShark Science Level D with Virtual Access.

Last Remarks

During October, we took a break off from homeschooling for 2 weeks, but he insisted on doing science. BookShark Science Level D has found a place in our home and we look forward to finishing up Level D and next year starting Level E. My son was so impressed he asked me are all of their subjects this much fun and if so can we get those also? With all the planning done for me including the books, experiment supplies, student activity sheets included, I can spend the time I would spend agonizing over what to do for science, enjoying our weekend as a family.

My favorite book is Bringing Back the Wolves! Who knew that wolves had such a impact on the ecosystem!

Jaidyn

At the time of the review, the cost of BookShark Science Level D is $250.94 plus tax and shipping. The virtual access is an add-on for $50. I find the cost of BookShark Science Level D very reasonable for 36 weeks of lesson plans, activity sheets, science kits, and books. The cost breaks down to $6.97 a week. If you are looking to try out a lesson the company offers a 3- week sample lesson on their website. BookShark offers generous freebies on their website such as the new Volcano Unit. The company has great customer service. Support team, and you can request a catalog.

Until the Next Time,

Mom and J