Category: Education

Critical Thinking and Logic, Curriculum, Education, Family, Geography, History, Homeschool

Curiosity Chronicles: Volume 2 Early Modern History Review!

Little Learner and Mom

Complimentary Product Received!

We love history in our home and focus on the gentle truth of history. We have several history curriculums we pull from and I always check actual true history that is secular. The gracious creators of the Curiosity Chronicles sent us their latest release Early Modern History Volume 2 to review.

We are no strangers to Curiosity Chronicles history curriculum; we actually own the Ancient, Medieval, and Early Modern Vol 1 curriculums. My son has really enjoyed the lessons we have done and I haven’t found any questionable text. Ted and Mona have been long-time friends of ours as we have journeyed our way through history over the years. Curiosity Chronicles is a multi-sensory history curriculum that works for students with different learning styles.

We believe everyone has a place at the table when it comes to telling history.

Curiosity Chronicles

Curiosity Chronicles is not your typical history of the curriculum. Students learn history through snapshots of historical time periods and global events. The curriculum follows Mona Ted through history through dialogues. The students are introduced to the characters then they begin to engage in historical conversations and take your students on adventures learning about artistic, cultural, scientific, and political perspectives in history.

Students learn history from a global perspective. History is never dull when using Curiosity Chronicles kids will engage in meaningful conversation with you and want to learn more. What I like about Curiosity Chronicles is that the lesson is actual snapshots of history topics. I have found that a vast majority of the snapshots in the text are never mentioned in other elementary history curriculums. I am also pleased the company includes so much diversity in the characters, illustrations, and subject matter.

Early Modern History Volume 2 picks up right where Early Modern Vol 1 leaves off and starts the conversations between Ted and Mona discussing Catherine the Great of Russia. Early Modern History Volume 2 has 36 chapters that are divided into 18 sections. Students will study history snapshots from 1550- 1850, with topics such as the Haitian Revolutionary War, Empires in Africa, Bolivarian Revolution, American Revolution, and much more. We received hard and digital copies of Early Modern History Volume 2 curriculum package.

The complete Early Modern History Volume 2 includes:

  • Snapshots of Early Modern History Vol. 2 text
  • Softcover Insrutctor and Student Guide
  • Audiobook Snapshots of Early Modern Vol. 2
  • Digital Ted’s Timeline Kit: Early Modern Vol. 2

In both Vol 1 and Vol 2 we see Ted and Mona’s friends Arthur and Lily in the cultural corners at the end of select chapters as they highlight important artists, writers, scientists, and musicians.

Curiosity Chronicles Early Modern History Volume 2 is truly a fun-filled comprehensive curriculum. Students will complete written lessons, mapwork, coloring pages, puzzles, STEM activities, and my son’s favorite Minecraft challenges. Lessons can be done family-style and the company is adding extension activities soon for older students. There are sections in the snapshot that invite students to research more on the historical topic they are studying. Early Modern History Volume 2 breaks important historical events down the curriculum is designed to with the children and not at them. My son enjoys curriculums that he feels are a part of the discussion.

Students will learn to discuss complex ideas, develop critical thinking skills, engage in hands-on learning, and find tangential learning!

Curiosity Chronicles Early Modern History Volume 2 comes with a Teds Timeline kit. The Timeline kit comes with templates and pictures for your student to construct a wall timeline (color or black and white) or notebook timeline. We have a history timeline notebook so we will be using this instead of the templates provided. For this review I let my son decide on what area of time he wanted to learn about and he choose Section 31 Empires of Africa Chapter 61 Shaka forges the Zulu. He listened to the audiobook snapshot during breakfast and later during the day we went through the Snapshots of Early Modern History Volume 2 text. We talked about the Zulu, Swazis, Basotho, Xhosa, Boers, and Southern Africa. Through our study, we discussed the different biomes of Africa and the migration of the great people of Africa across the continent. We were introduced to the great Zulu warrior Shaka and his military. My son was intrigued by this chapter he started researching EVERYTHING about the Zulu people. He went to work on his assignments and his Minecraft challenges. He really enjoyed this sneak peek into our history lesson for the Fall, not sure I am going to be able to keep this one on the shelf until September.

I highly recommend Curiosity Chronicles Early Modern History Volume 2 as well as all of the other history curriculums published by Curiosity Chronicles. The history is easy to follow and interactive.

Critical Thinking and Logic, Curriculum, Education, Language Arts, Vocabulary, Writing

Michael Clay Thompson Language Arts: Level 2 Grammar Town Review!

Little Learner and Mom

Complimentary Product Received!

This homeschool year has been difficult choosing a language curriculum. I decided to go with the curriculum we had last year, but that was an epic fail. After 3 months of trying to find a new language arts program before our 2nd semester started, I ran across Royal Fireworks Press language arts curricula Michael Clay Thompson Language Arts: Level 2 Grammar Town. The Melanated Gold Squad was offered the opportunity to review MCT Level 2 Complete Homeschool Package and I was selected to review it.

My son is newly turned 9 and he loves grammar, we noticed early on he was gifted in this area of his homeschool studies. Finding a grammar curriculum that was both rigorous and amusing has become arduous. This year alone we have set aside 3 curriculums and decided on multiple review books. Michael Clay Thompson Language Arts: Level 2 Grammar Town has been the curriculum we needed to feed his ferocious grammar inclinations.

Michael Clay Thompson Language Arts: Level 2 Grammar Town is for students ages 9-11 in grades 4-5. Grammar Town picks up where Grammar Island leaves off with the continued practice of the “4 grammar analysis of (1) parts of speech, (2) parts of the sentence, (3) phrases, and (4) clauses.” No worries if you haven’t done the previous level as long as your student has a strong understanding of grammar they will be alright with starting level 2, but I wouldn’t recommend jumping into level 3 without previously doing level 3. Even though the curriculum is presented for children who are gifted/dyslexic I have found that children who are able to read fluently and have strong reading comprehension will find this curriculum gratifying.

Level 2 : Grammar Town Layout

MCT Language Arts: Level 2 Grammar Town is beautifully designed with simple distinctive vibrant illustrations. The curriculum covers 5 strands Grammar (Grammar Practice), Vocabulary, Writing, Poetics, and Literature. The complete homeschool package comes with a lesson guide, student books, and teacher’s manuals (this includes the readers) for each of the MCT sections. The program in my opinion is designed to be conversational. MCT is not like your typical language arts curriculums you will not find the typical question and answer busy work. The lessons are intellectually stimulating and thought-provoking. I found myself relearning and grasping a better understanding of grammar. My son instantly took to the Grammar Town book, he repeatedly would point out how he better understood grammar concepts.

There are 30 weekly lessons of MCT Language Arts: Level 2 Grammar Town the lessons are designed to gradually include the other textbooks included in the MCT Level 2 Complete Homeschool Package. Students should work at their own pace and make sure they have a complete mastery of the Grammar Town book before moving on to the next book. There are assessment pages in the books, but you can also download the assessment pages from a link provided by Royal Fireworks Press inside the book. The assessment pages are there to make sure your student is mastering the materials before moving on to the next section in the book. These assessment pages are not the same as Practice Town.

The very first-week students are to read the Grammar Town book on their own. I was amazed to see how intrigued my son was by the illustrations and the story. Several times he came to me and asked questions and wanted to discuss the stories. On the days we didn’t do lessons he requested MCT Language Arts: Level 2 Grammar Town over his other language arts books.

Today lesson was intellectually restorative….Learning about the complexity of sentence structure and how all the the words we use in sentences are reflective of the 8 parts of speech that make a sentence cohesive. Thinking about it from that point of view makes sense into why a sentence must a have a subject and verb.

J

Caesar’s English is the vocabulary section students will embark on a historical language journey. Students will learn Latin roots, history, and word origins. Again students are exposed to wonderful visual and practice pages. Students will also see a brief intro to Latin roots in Grammar Town on the first pages. Practice Town includes 100 sentences of practice for students on the skills learned in Grammar Town and writing. Paragraph Town is another fun-filled narrative about learning paragraph fundamentals and punctuation. The poetry book Building Poems is metaphoric it is written to teach students poetry terms as if they are constructing a building. MCT Language Arts: Level 2 Grammar Town includes the literature books:

  • Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
  • Peter Pan
  • The Wind in the Willows

Each book is reproduced in its entirety and includes Michael’s “language illustrations”—close-ups of poetic techniques, four-level analyses of interesting grammar, and comments about writing strategies

Royal Fireworks Press

How We Used MCT Language Arts: Level 2 Grammar Town

For the first 3 weeks, we used the curriculum as the implementation guide suggests. I made little tweaks here in there. My son was introduced to some Latin roots and I wrote these roots on index cards for him. I also wrote out grammar cards for him of all of the parts of speech components. We also put together a vocabulary journal for words we were instructed to define. My son enjoyed the assignments on select pages, some of these we did in his notebook, and some we did on a dry erase board. The lessons are short we spent time in meaningful discussions.

MCT Language Arts: Level 2 Grammar Town was used daily for the first 3 weeks and I added in some supplemental resources just to ensure mastery. After week 3 we went to a 3-day-a-week schedule and 2 days a week supplemental materials. I was sure to use supplemental material that would complement MCT Language Arts: Level 2 Grammar Town. Overall my son prefers MCT Language Arts: Level 2 Grammar Town over his previous language arts curriculum and I have shelved what we were using prior. We are in week 6 of the suggested implementation lesson guide and have begun using Caesar’s English I, Classical Education Color Edition.

Wrap up

MCT Language Arts: Level 2 Grammar Town is a rigorous and complete language arts program. If you are looking for a new way to introduce grammar to your student I highly recommend this curriculum. The curriculum does require parent involvement in my opinion wasn’t intense and I welcomed it. I enjoyed having conversations with him and seeing his face light up. The curriculum is designed for mastery and it is suggested you don’t move on until your student has mastered each section.

While the literature part I thought was going to be monotonous. I understand why the books were selected and remastered to complement the curriculum. I do hope in the future the company would consider adding some optional remastered diverse readers.

Would I buy Level 3 in the Fall absolutely! I again caution against not jumping into level 3 without going through level 2. You can get away with not doing Level 1, but making that jump into level 3 is not advisable. The levels don’t coordinate with the grade levels so please take note of this. If you are the type of homeschooler that needs tons of worksheets after each lesson this is not the curriculum for you. MCT Language Arts: Level 2 Grammar Town is in a class by itself rigor without the complexity of busywork, this was more of relaxed conversational language arts. MCT Language Arts: Level 2 Grammar Town takes its time to ensure students really understand language and how they work together. I learned so much in the last 6 weeks reviewing MCT Language Arts: Level 2 Grammar Town.

MCT Language Arts: Level 2 Grammar Town works on this sequence per their website:

  1. Do grammar first.
  2. Begin the vocabulary text after you finish the parts of speech in the grammar book.
  3. Begin the practice book after the entire text of the grammar book is complete.
  4. Begin the writing text once the four-level analysis is strong, as seen in the practice sentences.
  5. Begin the poetics text after the writing book is complete to develop expertise in controlling the sounds of sentences.
  6. Extend the curriculum with literature.

Royal Fireworks Press provides Overview Chart, Elementary Guide, and Secondary Guide on their website. There are seven levels to the MCT Language Arts program and there are also implementation videos.

The cost of MCT Level 2 Complete Homeschool Package is $290 the company is also converting their books into Kindle format which may help you cut costs. This program is comprehensive and worth the cost. I highly recommend MCT Language Arts: Level 2 Grammar Town if you are looking for a different way to teach language arts. Be sure to check out the other squad’s reviews of Royal Fireworks Press curriculums.

Until the Next,

Mom and J

Education, Family, Homeschool, Writing

Typesy Review !

Little Learner and Mom

Complimentary Product Received.

Did you take typing or keyboarding in high school? Well, I did and it was BORING!!!! I suffered through a semester of typing on an old-school electric typewriter. Fast forward a few years and now have your own kiddos and technology is forever changing. Kids spend more time on tablets and computers, the need for learning how to properly type is important skill students need. The Melanated Gold Review Squad was given Typesy Homeschool accounts for up to 5 students to review.

About Typesy

Typesy is an interactive online typing program that combines curriculum-based lessons to improve students typing and overall academics. The program includes the Typesy kid’s curriculum for students K-10. Students will learn to type across ELA, Math, Science, Social Studies passages no more gibberish we all knew.

Typesy program provides:

  • Over 4,000 lessons
  • 3D Animated Story Based Teaching
  • Fun Games
  • Tracking
  • Parent Dashboard
  • Student Logins

How We Used Typsey

Using Typesy this last few weeks has been my son’s first introduction to typing. Now he does use a computer on a regular basis but his typing skills need some work. Typsey 2.0 Curriculum 4th- 5th grade starts students off with the basics of learning the home row keys combing ELA skills such as similes metaphors and narratives. Parents can print out the helpful guide to use along with students’ homeschool ELA lessons. Students build confidence as they practice with gentle encouragement and practice from the program.

My son enjoyed playing the games and learning the proper way to place his hands on the keyboard. He also has told me he noticed it easier for him to find the letters now that he is practicing his typing. I personally like that I can import his spelling words into Typesy word bank. Typsey also teaches students computer basics, web skills, google suite, career skills, vocabulary, and much more.

Typesy Homeschool is more than just a typing program, the additional programs and lessons are of huge value for homeschoolers. The program is affordable and can be useful for the whole family. I found myself testing my own typing skills and realized I was a little rusty on WPM.

I recommend Typesy Homeschool, gone are the days of those weird typing gibberish. Students can learn while they practice typing. Typesy Homeschool extended learning resources stand out above other typing programs. If you would like to learn more about Typesy Homeschool check out the other Melanated Gold Review Squad reviews by clicking the banner below.

Education, Family, Games and Apps, Homeschool, Unit Study

The Waldock Way Human Body Unit Review!

Little Learner and Mom

Complimentary Product Received!

One of my favorite homeschool mom influencers is Jessica from The Waldock Way. I have always been a fan of her Instagram and YouTube. We have used all of her unit studies and they are in constant rotation in our home. To date, our favorite has been Traveling the World with a strong runner-up Holidays Around the World. My son stalks her YouTube channel for her Amazon Hauls.

Quite natural I am a member of The Waldock Way Community Facebook group, but then it happened the rumors started she has possibly had a new unit in the works that would debut sometime early 2022. Then it happened she announced the new unit would be Human Body which dropped on February 28th during her annual Spring Sale.

So it was an honor to be one of the first people to get an exclusive first look at this amazing unit study! So let me begin this review with OMGOSH!! Human Body Unit is a full package deal it covers EVERYTHING! I mean I saw lessons on cells, tissue types, scientist study, mazes, puzzles, diagrams, human body idioms, and play-doh mats. This is truly an extraordinary unit study.

The Human Body Unit includes:

  • 13 Family Lessons
  • Comprehensive Resource Guide
  • 9 Human Body System
  • Anatomy
  • Health & Nutrition
  • Review Pages
  • Writing Themes
  • Interactive Activities and much more!

The Human Body Unit is beautifully illustrated by Jessica’s husband. Excellent attention to detail in the illustration as well diversity in skin tones (much appreciated ). One of the things I love about how the Human Body Unit is laid out is that you can go at your own pace and order. My plan is to use the Human Body Unit over a period of time. We will begin with her Health and Nutrition and Five Senses.

The Hunan Body Unit is easy to follow and very relaxed. I was able to locate all of her suggested books at my local library. The unit is written in such a way that you can use almost any human body books you may have on hand.

Okay let me put in a side note the Human Body Unit is a unit study, just like her other products. Nowhere on her website or in her materials does she claim that her unit studies are curriculums. Jessica does what she does best create unit studies that are meant to engage your student in an exploration of learning through literature, game schooling, crafts, adventures, resources, and hands-on activities.

The Waldock Way is nonsectarian. None of our products promote any specific view, so that they can be enjoyed by all homeschoolers.

-Jessica

For copyright reasons I am not sharing many pictures from the actual Human Body Unit but you can see a full walkthrough of the Human Body Unit on The Waldock Way YouTube as well as follow The Waldock Way on Instagram.

So I know what you think how much? Right now at the time of this review the unit is on sale for $19 but regularly priced at $28. I highly recommend the Human Body Unit and I can’t wait to dive into it.

If you are interested in reading more about The Waldock Way products be sure to check out the Melanated Gold Squads reviews by clicking the banner below.

Until the Next Time,

Mom and J

Education, Family, Homeschool

SchoolhouseTeachers.com: Ultimate Membership Review!

Little Learner and Mom

I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew!

If you are a new homeschooler and in search of a homeschool curriculum that is low cost the Ultimate Membership from SchoolhouseTeachers.com may be your one-stop-shop. The Crew members were given an Ultimate Membership years subscription to review.

We have been using the Ultimate Membership for the last 3 years as a great resource for our homeschool. I love all the variety of materials that are at your fingertips, over the last few years I have used their certificate, monthly recipe menus, printable calendars, and their scope sequences. Ultimate Membership has just been one of the members that I have come to count on when I need extra practice items for my son.


Along with all the great memberships the Ultimate Membership has all kinds of great virtual events such as the upcoming science fair. If you remember those science fairs when you were younger it is nice to be able to pass this experience to your students. Students will have the opportunity to enter their project on their grade level along with other students all over the country.

The Ultimate Membership has these great curriculum boxes, we have taken advantage of using these comprehensive curriculum boxes because they are all you need for your student’s academic year. The best part is if you are a big family your membership covers all the students in your home. If you are looking for a PreK curriculum, the Ultimate Membership from SchoolhouseTeachers.com will have those PreK curriculum boxes and parenting boxes coming soon.

One of the biggest struggles some homeschoolers have is when their students reach the high school level. No worries the Ultimate Membership from SchoolhouseTeachers.com has you covered because they also have comprehensive 9-12 grade curriculum boxes that cover:

  • Math
  • Literature
  • Writing
  • Spelling
  • Science
  • Art
  • History Classical and Art

Each topic comes with a curriculum guide to help you over 36 weeks of study. Students also have elective options they can include in their curriculum and they look great on a transcript. Speaking of transcripts Ultimate Membership members receive a free silver membership to AppleCore, but those members who purchase a 1-year membership to Ultimate Membership, are upgraded to gold receive and free membership to Applecore. The gold Applecore membership helps with building transcripts and recordkeeping.

SchoolhouseTeachers.com wants to help you plan for a successful and enriching year ahead. If you are concerned about what your child should be learning for the year, members may check out the Scope and Sequence to make sure he is on track. Need help with recordkeeping? Applecore is also available with membership giving you access to reporting cards, transcripts, and more. Joining the SchoolhouseTeachers.com community means your entire family has access to over 400 courses, a print subscription to The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, and FREE access to World Book Online, Total College Success, and RightNow Media. Pay only $90 today and lock in your next nine months of homeschool curriculum. Use code: FRESHSTART23 at checkout to gain access to these essential homeschooling tools and so much more today.

Ultimate Membership from SchoolhouseTeachers.com is a great membership for families there are so many wonderful resources available. The Ultimate Membership from SchoolhouseTeachers.com is reasonably priced and worth every penny don’t forget to Use code: FRESHSTART23 . Be sure to check out the other Crew’s review of the Ultimate Membership from SchoolhouseTeachers.com by clicking the banner below.

Updated: January 11, 2023

Social Media Links

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4th Grade, 5th Grade, Curriculum, Education, Homeschool, Language Arts, Math

The Critical Thinking Co: Mathematical Reasoning E and Language Smarts Level E!

Little Learner and Mom

Complimentary Product Received!

We have been long-term users and reviewers of The Critical Thinking Co. My son’s first math book was Mathematical Reasoning Beginning 1 and his first logic book was Building Thinking Skills Beginning 1 we developed a love for this company’s products over the years. I was really excited when granted an opportunity to review the Mathematical Reasoning Level E and Language Smarts Level E.

About Critical Thinking Co.

Just to give you a little background on The Critical Thinking Co. it was established in 1958 and its mission has been to supply learning resources that are fun and have students work to their highest abilities. All of their resources integrate logic and critical thinking skills.

“If we teach children everything we know, their knowledge is limited to ours. If we teach children to think, their knowledge is limitless.”

– Michael Baker, President

Mathematical Reasoning Level E

Mathematical Reasoning Level E arrived just in time when we were doing a complete overhaul of our math curriculum choices. My son was not struggling with math concepts he was disliking his current math curriculum layout and busywork approach. I looked over the Mathematical Reasoning Level E with him and the first thing he said was “It has color!”. Then he noticed how the book didn’t look like your typical math text. Mathematical Reasoning Level E uses vibrant colors, and festive illustrations to teach math. There isn’t a lot of wording it’s straight to the point then kids practice the skills. The text is 384 pages of slowly spiraled concepts that include easy-to-follow explanations, charts, and examples.

“This book emphasizes problem-solving and computation to build for success in higher-level math and math assessments.”

The Critical Thinking Co.

Each page is an adventure in learning 4th-grade math. Mathematical Reasoning Level E is a comprehensive full math curriculum that can be used as a supplement or a full curriculum. Mathematical Reasoning Level E teaches all the concepts for 4th-grade math and also includes concepts that aren’t presented until 5th-grade math. What I like about Mathematical Reasoning Level E is that it provides my son with just the right amount of rigor while promoting mathematical reasoning.

Mathematical Reasoning Level E is available on hardcover or ebook. The Mathematical Reasoning series has books for Toddler- 6th grade. Keep in mind from my experience with the grade-level books they will cover those grade-level concepts as well as introduce the next grade. Mathematical Reasoning Level E is a full curriculum this isn’t a workbook. We are using the book as a full curriculum alongside our RightStart Level E this is a perfect pairing. We love Mathematical Reasoning Level E so much that I went ahead and picked up Mathematical Reasoning Level F.

Mathematical Reasoning Level E (4th grade) and Mathematical Level F (5th grade)

Language Smarts Level E

I was pleasantly surprised by the Language Smarts Level E, I had no idea this textbook was so comprehensive. We have been using the Word Roots Beginning and the Reading Detective Grades 3- 4 this year we love these 2 texts and now we are enjoying Language Smarts Level E. The Language Smarts Level E is a fantastic language arts textbook it provides 400 pages of rigorous, vibrant, vocabulary, and critical thinking skills. Students will also learn skills meant for 5th grade which means you can stretch this book into your student’s 5th-grade year. Language Smarts Level E can be used as a supplement or a full curriculum.

The textbook also has easy explanations and provides students a fair amount of practice. What I really enjoy is the simplicity of the lessons, my son didn’t feel overwhelmed and he could do lessons independently.

I highly recommend The Critical Thinking Co. Mathematical Reasoning Level E and Language Smarts Level E comprehensive full curriculum textbooks. They are both available as physical and ebook. I also highly recommend any resources from The Critical Thinking Co. This is one company that will be a permanent fixture in our homeschool. The website provides excellent sample pages and details of all of their books. You will find your student loving these vibrant funny pages that engage them to think critically and logically.

The Critical Thinking Co. Social Media

Website | Instagram | Twitter | Pinterest | Facebook

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

Website | Instagram | Blog |

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

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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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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