1st Grade, 2nd Grade Curriculum, 3rd Grade Curriculum, Education, Family, Homeschool, Language Arts, Math, Reviews

Cross Seven Ventures – Homeschool Musical Memory Tool Review!

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

There is no secret that our family loves music if you follow me on all my social media platforms. One of the ways we make homeschooling fun and interactive is by including music. The crew was offered an opportunity to review Cross Seven Ventures – Homeschool Musical Memory Tool. Each reviewer was given a 1-year subscription to acess the program online.

Cross Seven Ventures – Homeschool Musical Memory Tool is for children in grades K-6 it covers subjects Timelines, History, Science, Math, English Grammar, Latin, Geography, Hymns, and Scriptures. The program has 4 cycles to help the children build a solid foundation. There is a parent dashboard in which you can track each students progress and interactive quizzes.

For this review we used the Math and English Grammar memory work. The English Grammar section really was nice way to review old concept mastered and new grammar concepts. What I did to make this more helpful for my son is I went through his grammar curriculum and paired the weekly concept with a Cross Seven Ventures – Homeschool Musical Memory Tool English Grammar song and we used that all week at the beginning of our lessons. There were times when we had more than 2 concepts and we learned the songs for those concepts. There were a few times I would hear him humming the songs while he was working on his lesson independently. I did notice that over the few weeks have been using the Cross Seven Ventures – Homeschool Musical Memory Tool for English Grammar his need for me to review or assist him was less.

For Math, we used Cross Seven Ventures – Homeschool Musical Memory Tool in the same way as English Grammar but I was able to skip several of the earlier weeks and find the memory work areas that he really needed help with and this mom was in panic mode about teaching. Cross Seven Ventures – Homeschool Musical Memory Tool made teaching my son fraction conversion to decimals a BREEZE! This mama was in panic mode 2 weeks ago when I saw fractions to decimals conversions come up in his curriculum. I prepped for the week and braced for the upcoming lesson, sure enough, I put the song on and we started the lesson and instantly he understood the concept and kept moving along. I think the one thing I would like to see included in the memory work math would be integers and exponents.

Cross Seven Ventures – Homeschool Musical Memory Tool does have a Christian foundation, but we only used the math and grammar and for those wondering if there were faith-based items in the sections, we used I didn’t encounter them. There are fun links included in each cycle for the kids to explore outside the memory work. Students can earn badges as they work through the memory work and quizzes.

Cross Seven Ventures – Homeschool Musical Memory Tool worked well for my son because he is an auditory and visual learner. The songs are short and easy to learn, I do like the videos that follow the songs as they play because it gives a nice visual for the children. I also like the option that all the memory work can be done in each cycle can be done by the week or you can pick the ones that work for you. I plan to continue to use this over the summer as part of our summer homeschool daily do’s to help prevent summer slide.

Cross Seven Ventures – Homeschool Musical Memory Tool is tablet and mobile-friendly “there are streaming channel apps on AppleTV, Roku, and FireTV, which are great for allowing the whole family to easily see the programming content.” At the time of this review, the cost for a 1-year subscription for all 4 cycles is $439.99. If the 1 year subscription doesn’t fit your family’s budget there is monthly and yearly subscriptions for each cycle. Be sure to check out the other crew’s reviews on Cross Seven Ventures – Homeschool Musical Memory Tool by clicking the banner below.

-Mom

Social Media Links: Cross Seven  – Musical Memory Work

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CrossSevenVentures
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Cross7Memory
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crosssevenventures/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/CrossSevenVentures/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/CrossSeven

Family, Homeschool, Morning Basket, Parenting, Read Alouds, Reviews

Everybody, Always for Kids Review!

I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew.

Over the last few weeks we have been transitioning our homeschool into our summer routine. What better way to swap out our morning readings with Everybody, Always for Kids by Bob Goff and Lindsey Goff Viducich.

The last 5 months we have been focusing on growth mindset and kindness. Everybody, Always for Kids has been a welcome addition to our journey. The stories in the book focus on kindness, service and empathy. Children are able to easily relate to the different lessons being taught in the stories.

Everybody, Always for Kids is written from the prospective of the Christian faith but I can honestly say that families of non-Christian faith will find the stories not intrusive and really just teaching the children to be kind to others and acts of service. I found the book very culturally inclusive. Diversity is one of the things I look for in books and we were very happy to see children and families of all ethnic backgrounds in the book as well as characters visiting other countries. Everybody, Always for Kids is a hardcover book with bright vibrant, glossy and sturdy pages.

Everybody, Always for Kids also includes a lesson plan which is fabulous. There are 5 lessons included in the lesson plan. Each lesson comes with :

  • Objective
  • Activity
  • Supply list
  • Lesson steps
  • Discussion questions

We did lesson 5 The Oaks Garden for Earth week and revisited the frog life cycle. My son really likes Everybody, Always for Kids he has been reading it the last few weeks on his own and we talk about what he has read. One story that stood out for us was Chapter 7 Building Schools it taught a lesson about gratitude and a little about the country of Afghanistan and the need for building schools for girls. As a mom Chapter 6 My Bucket also rang home for me about filling my own bucket something I dont do enough and I like the idea of having a real bucket and writing things I need to fill it with. This visual bucket is something I plan to do do not just for myself but for all of us.

We did not read the the book in order I let him read the stories that peeked his interest. The stories are short and they keep his interest and he enjoys them. We will continue to read through the rest of the book and look forward to any new of Everybody, Always for Kids by Bob Goff and Lindsey Goff Viducich series.

At the time of this review the cost for Everybody, Always for Kids by Bob Goff and Lindsey Goff Viducich is $10.27 for the hardcover on Amazon. We really like this book and recommend it if you are looking to add some positive literature for your students. Be sure to check out the other Crews reviews on Everybody, Always for Kids by Bob Goff and Lindsey Goff Viducich by clicking the banner below.

Until the next time

Mom and J

Social Media Links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tommynelsonbooks
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rootedfamily/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/rootedfamily/_created/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8czPXeM9a-OULnyks60How

Family

The Family Journal by Byron’s Games Review

Disclaimer: I received this product free through the Homeschool Review Crew.

We received The Family Journal by Byron’s Games to use for the last few weeks and it has been a real eye opener. I love this journal it was so needed for our family. The Family Journal is a great journal if you are a busy family or large family and want to plan out family quality time and you want a deeper connection with your family. The Family Journal is meant to be done as a family its not a solo journal.

We received our journal just in time for the month of February, I was really happy to get this journal because my family has really been so much this year and I really wanted a way to help us heal from 2020. When I first received the journal I was super impressed by all the personal connections. These personal connections were s needed for us. We all have been dealing with the affects of Covid-19 and family deaths in our own way and I could feel the disconnect.

What makes this The Family Journal so unique is the deep connection questions. We have always had a mission statement for our homeschool, but we have never had one for us as a family. It was fun being able to sit down as a family and talk about what our mission is for our family.

Sunday Family Coloring Night
Family Drag Race Fun!

In The Family Journal families will embark on a journey of deep connection and accountability. The Family Journal comes with these areas to work on as a family:

  • Yearly Goals
  • Monthly Planning
  • Weekly Meetings
  • Monthly Review

Our family set down after dinner on February1st and planned out the entire month of goals for us as a family and individually. The Family Journal makes it easy for families to set goals and help each other with our goals. On the monthly calendar we wrote down activities we wanted to do each week as a family. The monthly calendar is really helpful because it held my husband and I accountable. We made it a point to shut work related and stressors down. We all really looked forward to these activities, because that meant cellphones were off and it was all about us as a family. My son really liked the calendar as well because he would check the journal each week and copy down in his own planner that weeks fun family activity.

Game Night

The weekly meetings were FABULOUS we always had our meetings on Sunday nights during our family Sunday night coloring sessions. Complete with talking points, gratitude journal and quotes this made our family meetings more connected and meaningful. We found out so much about how our son was really coping with Covid-19 and the loss of his grandmother. My husband and I had no idea that he was still grieving the loss of his grandmother and that he was afraid to talk about it because he didn’t want to make us sad. The Family Journal also allowed my husband and I a new way to communicate with each other. The end of the month review was a way for us to see if we were holding each accountable for the month and just an overview. I was really impressed that we did so well at our goals.

Planning for March

I can highly recommend The Family Journal by Byron’s Games for any family. The journal is great way to improve your families accountability and quality time. We will continue to use the journal for the rest of the year I am really thinking about getting us another one just so I will have it already on hand for 2022.

Be sure to check the other Homeschool Review Crew reviews on The Family Journal by Byron’s Games by clicking the banner below.

Until the Next Time

Mom

Social Media Links: Byron’s Games

Facebook: https://facebook.com/byronsgames
Instagram: https://instagram.com/byronsgames
Pinterest: https://pinterest.com/byronsgames
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqc5skcLby7XPMPubub8CRw