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

I know it is an online math practice program that provides supplemental math practice to students. It has practice for levels K-5 and is great to give your kids some extra math practice to go a long with your curriculum.

Using I Know It

One of the best things about I Know It is that it is so easy to use! We were given a family account for our homeschool. It is very easy to add your kids with their grade levels and/or math working levels if they are different. With a family membership like we have everyone easily uses the same login and then clicks on the appropriate user as soon as they log in.

I was able to easily go in and give my kids assignments that coincide with what they are working on in their curriculums to provide them with extra math practice. Each lesson is clear at a glance what will be covered, making it easy to know what lessons to pick for your students.

When your student logs in to their account, they immediately see their assignments. Assignments can have specific due dates or can be posted until completed. I liked that the students can work on any grade level assignments you choose for them. Your child can go back and review skills they need more practice on. Also, they can work ahead on more challenging lessons.

Math Practice

When a student chooses a lesson they then work through a set of 15 questions. There is a read aloud option for all questions for young children or those who struggle with reading. Each question has the options for hints to help if your kids are not sure how to solve the problem. (Hints can be turned off or the amount of hints can be changed.) After a child answers they are immediately rewarded with a fun animation if they answer correctly. If they answer wrong then a clear explanation for the correct answer is given. After all questions for the lesson are finished they are given a score and a celebration animation for completing the lesson.

Students can easily choose the assigned lessons or go down to their assigned math levels library of lessons. You could easily simply have students work through lessons in a grade level if you didn’t want to assign specific ones.

Math Practice Progress

Another benefit of I know it is that you can easily get reports on how your child is doing in each lesson. Both you and your child can easily view their progress reports for each lesson and overall scores. Progress reports can be printed easily if needed as well. You can also easily track which lessons that have been assigned have been completed. If students are choosing their own lessons you can view which ones they have done and their scores.

I know It according to Homeschoolers

My 3 boys all though I Know it an easy to use way to practice math. My youngest especially liked the silly animations after each question. They all liked that the lessons usually took them no more than 10 minutes. They are a perfect length for a supplemental program for extra practice. The dashboard is really clean, easy to find things and looks fresh. Overall we like the look of I know it. Also, the math practice is very solid and covers each grade level (K-5) content well.

Try I Know it for Math Practice!

I know it offers a 30 day free trial for families! So you can try out this online math practice program for yourself before you subscribe. The program is very flexible, easy to use, and a great resource for homeschool families. To hear more about how other homeschool families used I Know It this month, click below for more reviews from The Homeschool Review Crew!

The post Strengthening Math Skills with I Know It! appeared first on Entirely at Home.

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

If you are looking for a new kids devotional for your homeschool, check out Tommy Nelson Book‘s Roar Like a Lion: 90 Devotions to a Courageous Faith. This book by Levi Lusko is one I have enjoyed reading and am happy to add it to our library.

Roar Like a Lion

Roar Like a Lion is a beautiful book throughout. Every page is colorful with pictures that both you and your kids will love. The book also has a very nice sturdy hardcover, with a colorful lion picture on the front. Right away, my younger kids wanted to see what this book was!

The contents list every single devotion title. Therefore, it is easy to find a devotion you want to refer back to or pick and choose certain titles you want to read. The introduction is very well done. It draws a reader in by describing all the amazing and spectacular things about lions and what it means to Roar like a Lion. The introduction then explains the layout of each devotional and how it can be used.

Anchors!

The introduction to Roar Like a Lion also gave kids a mission to start looking for anchors! The author and artist hid 20 anchors throughout the entire book. The anchors are meant to be a picture and remind kids of what it is like to know Jesus as your Savior. This is a fun way to use this book with younger kids and keep them engaged. The end of the book has a page that tells you more about anchors and provides the answers to where all of them are hidden.

The Devotions

Each of the 90 devotions is 2 pages, and begins with a scripture. The author used several different scripture translations, however he always lists the abbreviation for the translation for your reference. After the scripture, usually just 1 verse, there is a devotional that helps apply the scripture and encourage your child in his faith in Jesus. The devotional ends with a prayer to help your child connect with Jesus. As a bonus, each devotion has a sidebar that adds a historical or sometimes scientific fact. These “Did You Know?” side bars help the child connect further with the devotional and provides interesting information for them.

How we used Roar Like a Lion

Roar Like Lion was a fun devotional book to use with my youngest son. He is 7 and I would say the perfect age to connect with and understand this book. The content is a bit young for my 12 year old. He did look through and read a little independently, however, I feel it is a more for younger children. This is a great book to read with your 6-10 year old kids. The writing is not too difficult so some kids could possibly read it independently, however I felt it was best read with my kids. I felt that there was more understanding and we could talk about the topics together this way.

More about Roar Like a Lion

I feel Roar Like a Lion is a good choice for a devotional book to read with your children to encourage them in their faith in Jesus. My family has enjoyed the time we have spent in this book. Many other homeschool families from the Review Crew have also had a chance to read this book. To hear about how Tommy Nelson Books’ Roar Like a Lion: 90 Devotions to a courageous faith has encouraged other families, click below!

The post Roar Like a Lion: A Homeschool Devotional Book Review appeared first on Entirely at Home.

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

This fall our family has enjoyed using a new online Literacy program, LightSail for Homeschoolers. My kids have enjoyed the time exploring this program and seeing new features as they have been added. There is so much that you receive with the Premium subscription to this program. We have been busy this past month trying to figure it all out!

What is LightSail for Homeschoolers Reading Program?

First of all, LightSail for Homeschoolers is an online Reading/Language Arts platform that is built for homeschoolers. It is not a complete reading curriculum or program to teach reading. It is a web-based program that has thousands of book titles available to read. The reading content also includes world book encyclopedia resources and thousands of classic books. LightSail for Homeschoolers incorporates Reading, Writing, Vocabulary, and Fluency throughout their program.

It also allows parents to track and view your child’s progress. Students will take a power quiz (placement test) when they first log on to LightSail. This will give you a baseline Lexile level. Throughout their regular use of their program they will have opportunities for quizzes and challenges to show growth in their reading level. Parents can easily see what your child has read, their progress. You can also assign certain books, memorization tasks, or fluency practice.

Cloze Reading Practice

LightSail for Homeschoolers provides ways for your child to practice vocabulary, spelling, fluency and reading comprehension. One of my favorite parts of LightSail so far, and one thing that sets it apart from other online reading libraries, is the Cloze interactions in the text while the child is reading. While your child is reading they will come to blanks in their text. To keep moving through the story they must click on the blank and attempt to fill in the blank by selecting a word that make sense in the story they are reading. This is an excellent way to make sure our students are understanding what they are reading and paying attention to meaning and context clues.

My kids do not love that they have to stop and do these while they are reading, however, I think this is a brilliant way to easily incorporate reading comprehension. It is also something I have not seen other reading programs do before.

Excellent Parent Features

My favorite part about LightSail is their excellent parent dashboard. Right at the beginning, when setting up accounts for your children, you can choose what type of content you want them to have access to. There is a wide range of books and reading material for kids and even adults. Therefore you can decide what content you feel is appropriate for your family. You can easily click through tags, and subject matter, like books with violence, or abuse and decide to hide them from your child’s library. You also can choose certain topics that you want your child to have to ask for approval on.

When you have books must be approve a student simply clicks on the book to request approval. You will receive an e-mail instantly that your child has requested book approval. It is very easy then to view the book and decide if you want your child to be able to read it. Right now it does seem that more books are set to request approval then should be. However, it seems that because LightSail is a newer program they are still trying to get all the books fully reviewed by LightSail to tag all content.

When a book is still “Pending LightSail Review” it seems to automatically require parent approval. My kids do not love that they have to wait for approval on certain books, but for me it is worth that extra time to know what my kids are reading and what content they are accessing. LightSail has done an excellent job with these safety features! It also makes it possible to create assignments send messages to your kids, and keep grades for their assignments.

Additional Fun LightSail Features

LightSail is a newer program, so even during our review period, more fun features were being unlocked and became available to use. My kids just discovered the writing features last week. Your kids can use LightSail to write notes on the books they are reading, write essays or even author their own books! Soon they will be able to write book reports, work on specific writing skills, earn writing badges and more.

Also, with LightSail you receive access to World Book Encyclopedia content. Your kids can use this for research, non-fiction reading, check out current events stories, view timelines, or maps. We even discovered that in addition to viewing specific timelines, you could use their program to create your own timelines. This will be a great feature to use with my older kids in their history courses.

In the library there are more than just fiction books to read online. You child can also find videos, see 360 degree pictures, and listen to audiobooks. There are also books that use augmented reality with the Lerner app, a sports encyclopedia and a biographies section. One of the coolest features I found here were the livestreams. You can easily access livestreams of so many different places, events, and animals all on LightSail.

As a homeschool family so many of these features fit perfectly in to how we learn. LightSail gives us access to so much content and information that my kids can use Safely. They even have unit studies that organizes their content into subjects or units for you to use as you study certain topics with your family.

Homeschool Kid Review Time!

LightSail has been the best fit for my 2 oldest kids, who both have the Premium Subscription access. My youngest has used some of the World Book access, however, he is a new reader an isn’t quite ready for all that LightSail has to offer yet. My 12 and 10 year old boys have been using LightSail regularly for the past month so they wanted to give you their thoughts on the program.

Daniel’s thoughts about LightSail

“LightSail is a good website. It has lots of books like classic, adventure, comics, fiction, humor and many more other categories. There are are also some features that aren’t books like 360 degree images, you can write a book, chat with your family, and many more that I haven’t tried yet that are coming soon. Sometimes when I open up a kid’s book I request approval, which is a little annoying. Also sometimes when I open a book it will only load up to 50%. Although I do believe that LightSail is a new website and some things will continue to be updated. So overall LightSail is easy and fun to use.”

Caleb’s thoughts about LightSail

LightSail is a good, fun website for school. I do think it needs a few adjustments. I don’t like when you open a book you have read, it starts you at the page you finished on. I want to be able to re-read books or start back at the beginning. I also don’t like that so many books need approval. I really like the variety of categories of books. I like that you have to check in your books like at a library. I also like the become an author feature! I really like using LightSail for homeschool.

LightSail is a Great Homeschool Reading Program

Overall LightSail is an excellent tool for homeschool families. There are a few small bugs like my kids mentioned. Occasionally books have trouble loading on my kids’ Chromebooks. Also, I’m not sure how well it is tracking Lexile growth currently. There are many features that I look forward to using more as they develop them. Even now, though, before all parts are active, I can see that LightSail is working to make a safe, easy to use, and beneficial reading and language arts program for homeschool families. I am looking forward to continuing to use it this year.

If you want to read more about LightSail for Homeschoolers and how other homeschool families from the review crew have used it this fall click below!

The post A Complete Online Homeschool Reading Program with LightSail appeared first on Entirely at Home.

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

Teach Sunday School provides a variety of resources that can be so helpful for Bible Studies for your family. This month we have been able to use their Bible Breakdowns.

What are Bible Breakdowns?

Bible Breakdowns are subject summaries and information sheets about each book of the Bible. It is a downloadable resource that can easily be printed or kept as a digital file. It can be purchased as an old testament set, new testament set or complete set. Each book of the Bible has it’s own Bible Breakdown page that teaches details gives chapter by chapter details of stories and topics of each book of the Bible.

The beginning of the breakdown page is a quick summary of the book, it’s author, and any other important background information about the book. Then the middle part visually gives you a picture of, how many chapters are in the book, what type of book, when it was written, what period of time it is written about, and then who the author was. The rest of the page gives the chapter by chapter breakdown. This gives you the book, chapter and verses, and then the subject matter. At the very end there is a list of popular verses.

Who is Bible Breakdowns for?

These Bible Breakdowns are excellent for anyone. They are great for kids to use in their Bible study. Kids can learn about each book of the Bible before they read. Also, they use it as a reference to look up where to find certain passages or stories. I also believe this is a great tool for adults as well. I found this to be informative. It is a great tool for family Bible study and a quick reference resource.

I also think Bible Breakdowns are excellent to have as a resource in youth rooms, and Sunday school classrooms. It could easily be used for students during Bible studies to get background. The pages are colorful but do not look like they are just for kids. So, this excellent resource would be great for anyone.

How to use Bible Breakdowns?

Teach Sunday school has done an excellent job of of creating a resource that can be used for in-depth Bible studies and provide context to passages. If printed on card stock and laminated they can easily be kept for long term use. I printed my set for now on plain paper with my home printer. I do not have a color printer right now but I plan to print them out in color on better paper so they will last longer as soon as I can.

Read more about Bible Breakdowns…

Other families from the Homeschool Review Crew also used Teach Sunday School’s Bible Breakdowns this month. Click below to read more!

The post Using Bible Breakdowns to Explore Deeper in a Bible Study appeared first on Entirely at Home.

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

My kids love when we get to try new computer programs in our homeschool! The kids love being able to use their computers or tablets for school. And I love when we find good programs that help my kids enjoy learning more! This past month my family had the opportunity to try out an online early math program called Counting Kingdom from Reading Kingdom. This program is not exactly what I expected however I feel it could be a very useful program for many homeschool families.

About Reading Kingdom

Reading Kingdom is company that began with an online web-based reading program for kids Kindergarten through 3rd grade. It now has 3 more added programs: Story Smarts, Spelling Ninja, and Counting Kingdom. All their programs are online web-based. Therefore internet access is required. I have not used any of their other programs before however, many other families on the homeschool review crew have this month! After you finish this review click below to find reviews about each of their other programs!

What is Counting Kingdom?

Counting Kingdom is an introductory math program that is for children 3 plus. It is broken up into 3 levels.

• Level 1: Teaching and understanding number concepts with numbers 1-10
• Level 2: Begins introducing Higher level math concepts using general terms such as same, all, and others.
• Level 3: Begins adding memory tasks and introduces basic operations.

All levels focus on using numbers 1-10, basic shapes, counting, and a 10 frame to visualize and understand numbers. Students begin at Level 1 answering questions and learning number concepts with numbers 1-10. Each level has 10 lessons and each lesson has 21 questions.

How did Counting Kingdom work for us?

Unfortunately, Counting kingdom was not quite what I expected and it did not quite fit in with my family’s homeschool needs. My youngest son is 6 and working at first grade level. I had expected the program to provide a placement test. Or that I would be able to pick a level of early math for him to begin at. As we started the Counting Kingdom program Ethan went straight into lesson 1-1. It was 21 questions about counting, using, and recognizing the number 1. It was very easy for him. I began to look into ways to switch him to a different level but did not find one for Counting Kingdom. However, I did find that the reading programs appear to have placement tests and the ability to manually switch your child’s level.

My 6 year old, very high energy boy did not enjoy this program as much as I hoped he would. He had already mastered the concepts it was teaching it it was too easy for him. The questions were very repetitive for him and it moved at a slow pace for him. After reviewing the lesson topics in the other levels I saw that the program as a whole would be too easy and slow paced for him. We did do a few more lessons. This way I could get an better idea of what the program was about and how it would progress. However, I did not want to force him to keep spending time on something that was not a challenge for him that he didn’t really enjoy.

Who would Counting Kingdom be helpful for?

Even though counting Kingdom did not work for my son, I do not feel that it is a bad program. Coming from a special education background, before I started homeschooling, I think this program could it being helpful for a lot of young children. Counting Kingdom would be great for very young children (3-4) just beginning to learn number concepts. With its repetition and slow pace, I think that it would be very helpful for children with learning disabilities or delays. The program makes sure that students master each number and concept and asks questions in a variety of ways.

If you have a preschool child you want to introduce number concepts to, or a child struggling to understand numbers then Counting Kingdom would possibly be a very good fit for you. I recommend checking out the program with the free 7 day trial first. Then you would know if it will work for you before you subscribe.

Don’t forget to check out more from Reading Kingdom!

Reading Kingdom, Counting Kingdom, Spelling Ninja, and Story Smarts are all great subscription based online learning options for your homeschool family. Click below and read more about all that Reading Kingdom has to offer.

The post Counting Kingdom: A Homeschool Review appeared first on Entirely at Home.

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

This month my oldest son and I had the pleasure of using and reviewing another great resource from The Critical Thinking Co., Vocabulary Virtuoso: Mastering Middle School Vocabulary. This workbook has been a great resource to use this year to improve my son’s vocabulary knowledge, spelling, and word usage. Just like other resources from The Critical Thinking Co I have used I am impressed with it’s content and how easy it is to use in our homeschool.

About This Book

This first think I noticed about this book as I started previewing the book, were the vocabulary lists. Vocabulary Virtuoso contains 15 lists with 12 words on each list. The vocabulary words in this book are challenging words that they may encounter as they continue to read more advanced material. Also, the words are chosen from PSAT vocabulary prep lists. Therefore this is an excellent test prep resource.

Physically this book is a sturdy softcover workbook. All pages are perforated. So, you can choose whether you want to keep the pages bound in the book, let your student write in it as a workbook, or tear out pages for easier use or copying for your family or classroom. It provides 155 pages of vocabulary practice and also includes an answer key at the back of the book. Each vocabulary list includes the definition, the part of speech, the pronunciation, and synonyms for the every word. Having this reference for each word on the list is very helpful. Students can easily use this page as they the complete activities that follow it.

Vocabulary Virtuoso for Middle Schoolers provides 6 separate activities for each list. Each list follows the same format for activities. I find this very helpful. Students do not need to learn new directions or a different format each week. Instead, they develop familiarity with the activities and are able to focus on learning and using the words.

How We Used Vocabulary Virtuoso: Middle School Vocabulary for Academic Success

Vocabulary Virtuoso fit easily into our homeschool curriculum. Each list is a lesson. We focus on each lesson over a week or 2 week period. There are 6 activities for each list. I first tried to squeeze in a complete lesson over a week. This could be done if students completed multiple activities each day. However, for us I found it much easier to study a lesson over a 2 week period. This will spread the book out over my son’s entire 7th grade year. I think practicing the words and activities over 2 week periods will also bring more long term retention for him.

On the first day we go over the words, definitions, and pronunciations together. Then he completes an activity each day. Also, some days we take time to make corrections instead of moving on to a new activity. This has helped that he is using and understanding the meanings of the words as we work through the book.

Using Vocabulary Virtuoso this way made it easy to add to our other resources we have been using in our homeschool. We usually spend no more than 15-20 minutes studying vocabulary. It is definitely worth it for the improvement I believe this will create in his vocabulary and word knowledge.

More From The Critical Thinking Co.

The Critical Thinking Co. is a reliable company that I have found always delivers quality educational resources. Vocabulary Virtuoso is no exception. To read more about Vocabulary Virtuoso or other educational resources to use in your homeschool, click on the image below. You can then check out more reviews from the crew this week. Other homeschool families in the Homeschool Review Crew had the opportunity to try out this product and many others from The Critical Thinking Co. this month. Check them out to see if they may help you in your homeschool!

The post See Vocabulary Success With Vocabulary Virtuoso appeared first on Entirely at Home.

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

When I hear about Reading Eggs I have always just assumed it was only for young children, or beginning readers. Therefore when I had the opportunity, I was excited to get to try out this program with my youngest son, who is just learning to read. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find out Reading Eggs and Mathseeds offer online games and programs for kids up to age 13. So this past month all three of my 3 boys ages, 6-12 have all been working with Reading Eggs.

Reading Eggs offers so much more than just a beginning reading program for young children. My boys and I were thrilled to get to try out this excellent program. The Reading Eggs online program now has: Reading Eggs Junior, Reading Eggs, Fast Phonics, Reading Eggspress, and Math Seeds. You can easily decide which programs work best for you child and lock the ones that are too easy or hard. Also, each of the programs will begin with a placement test, so that you can be assured your child will be starting at a reading or math level appropriate for them. Each program has it’s own unique features to make them fun for each age group, but with the same easy to use dashboard and progress tracking. All parts of the program can be used on a computer through a browser through apps on tablets, or other mobile devices.

Reading Eggs Junior

Reading Eggs Junior is made for preschool children or ages 2-4. It provides online games and activities for that develop pre-reading skills. We didn’t try this program out in my family, as all of my children are ages 6 and up. This program looks like a lot of fun for young children. It would be wonderful for a family with older children using Reading eggs, and a younger child that wanted to learn just like their older siblings. There are fun games to introduce letters and sounds. Also, there stories and activities build vocabulary, and work on memory skills! After looking at some of what is available on this program, I know my kids would have loved it when they were young.

Reading Eggs

The basic Reading Eggs program is for kids 4-7. It has been excellent for my 6 year old beginning reader. My youngest has not been extremely excited about reading until this year. We added Reading Eggs to our curriculum this year and it has been wonderful for him. This has been an excellent independent activity for my youngest to do this year. Each day, while I’m working with his brothers on other schoolwork, he can use his tablet to continue learning with Reading Eggs. What Ethan loves about Reading Eggs is that he feels like he is playing games. When kids sign on to Reading Eggs the first time they will take a quick placement test if you’d like them too. You can turn this off if you know that you would like them to start at Lesson 1.

Your child is able to choose their egg character avatar and explore their “house”. As they complete lessons they are rewarded with eggs. They use the eggs to unlock costumes for their avatar, pets, items for their house, and play games. The lessons teach letter sounds, decoding words, and sight words in a sequential order. As kids master more sounds and words they unlock more lessons and stories they can read. At the end of each map they complete there is a quiz they must pass to go on to the next level. Ethan is so proud after each quiz he completes and loves showing me the certificates he gets in his award section. His reading has improved so much in the past month and he is having fun learning.

Fast Phonics

Fast Phonics focuses on games and activities to learn and practice phonics rules. It is for kids age 5-10 or for any kids needing help improving phonics skills. This program moves more quickly than Reading Eggs and helps with reading and spelling skills. Just like other Reading Eggs programs it gives you regular progress reports so you can keep up with what your kids are learning. Ethan has enjoyed Fast Phonics just as well as Reading Eggs.

In this program your play with a Yeti as your character and a fun mountain snow theme. It moves quickly and the games are a lot of fun for my youngest son. Fast Phonics keeps track of each phonetic sound and word your child learns. Also, Ethan loves his reward certificates and seeing the words and sounds he learns. At each the end of each mountain peak they also collect a book to read. The books use the words and sounds they learned to read, so your kids will have success in their reading.

Reading Eggspress

Reading Eggspress is for kids who are already reading. It develops vocabulary, reading, spelling, and grammar skills. The dashboard works very similar to the Reading Eggs program but it is geared more towards older kids. The avatars are animated comic book style kids. As students complete lessons they earn eggs. They can use the eggs to play games in the arcade, buy costumes, unlock trading cards, and items for their apartment. One different feature in Reading Eggspress, that is fun for older kids, is the Stadium. In the stadium kids compete against each other in different spelling in grammar games. They earn points to place on a leaderboard. There are so many different games and activities to learn and help kids grow their reading and language arts skills. Both my older kids, 10 and 12, enjoyed these games. They enjoyed playing the games and the trading cards.

Reading Eggspress tracks your kids progress just like every other Reading Eggs program. It keeps track of each lesson, and your child’s Lexile (reading) level growth. As your child continues through lessons and activities you can see a clear picture of their progress or exactly what they are having trouble with. I am happy to have my kids continue using this program this year. It is a fun for them to have Reading Eggs to use to practice reading. So many online reading programs for for young kids or beginning readers. They were so excited that Reading Eggs had something that they could enjoy playing with as well!

Mathseeds

My kids and I spend most of our time this past month using the Reading programs on Reading Eggs. However, my youngest tried a little of Mathseeds as well. Mathseeds has fun lessons and games to teach math skills to kids ages 3-9. It was a bit too easy for my older too kids, however, my youngest enjoyed these lessons. They work just like the reading programs except instead of using eggs students have an acorn for their avatar, and earn seeds. It is a very cute program with fun games and lessons. I look forward to letting him spend more time on it.

Try Reading Eggs

Reading Eggs is such a versatile program that has been a fun, and helpful addition to our homeschool. It has been easy to use for me and my kids. I am so happy that we have had the opportunity to use it. Reading Eggs offers a free trial so you can try it out and see if it works for you family also! Also, click below and check out what all the other homeschoolers from the Homeschool Review Crew have to say about how Reading Eggs has worked in their families.

The post Learning to Read with Reading Eggs: Kindergarten to Middle School appeared first on Entirely at Home.

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

As I’m now homeschooling a 7th grader, High school is just around the corner. I am happy to tell you today about a resource, The Homescholar LLC, that is here to help us homeschool families learn how to keep good records for our high school students. The thought of homeschooling high school can be a bit overwhelming. The dreaded transcripts, course descriptions, all the questions of what needs to be kept, how to do grades, and what courses to choose float through my mind!

The HomeScholar LLC is here to help us with all those questions. I am so glad I have had a chance to see this incredible resource this past month. Now I get to share with all of you a way to get all of your Homeschool High School questions answered! I had a chance to look at 2 of the many different options that the HomeScholar LLC has available: Total Transcript Solution and Comprehensive Record Solution.

What is the HomeScholar LLC?

HomeScholar LLC was started by Lee Binz who is a veteran homeschool mom who homeschooled her kids through high school. With her detailed records, course descriptions and transcript system she created for her family they were able to get into colleges of their choice and get scholarships! Now her goal is to share her system with all of us! Now we don’t have to figure everything out for ourselves through trial and error.

On her website she has so many resources to help us make the last leg of our homeschool journey easier. Her programs and membership options you can purchase give you access to her thorough online vide/audio courses and templates to give you everything you need to get going. But she doesn’t stop there! She offers coaching, 1-1 help, and review of you records so that you can be sure you are doing everything right for your kids!

I’ve only just begun to make it through all the coursework and resources you get with Lee Binz’s solutions programs on HomeScholar LLC. However, just in this short amount of time I’ve had access, I’m already more encouraged in my homeschool. She speaks to you as a homeschool mom who has been where you are. She encourages you that you are doing the right thing and making good choices for your child’s education by homeschooling! Also, she encourages you that you are capable of giving your child a good high school education by homeschooling (whatever method you choose) and give them good options for college! I’m so glad that I saw these courses now, before my kids get into high school. I know it has saved me a lot of stress and worry in the future.

The Comprehensive Record Solution Makes Keeping Thorough High School Records Easier

The first program I want to tell you about from the HomeScholar LLC is the Comprehensive Record Solution. This program has 4 modules: Encourage, Equip, Educate, and Empower. The Encourage Module gets you started. This give you the answers to your what and why questions! Lee spends time telling you what types of records you need and why you need them. She also shows you examples of good records. As you move in the Equip section you get the tools you need. Lee Binz provides you with multiple options for templates for all your record keeping needs! These have multiple formats for download and are so easy to use! Everything is laid out for you and all you have to do is fill in your student’s information.

The Educate Module helps you understand how to use those templates and your records that you are keeping. The HomeScholar doesn’t just give you tools and leave you to figure it out. She guides you step by step through the whole process with her course videos. But then Lee Binz takes it a step further with the Empower Module. She gives you the chance to e-mail her some of your course description records and will review them for you. This way you know you are on the right track!

The Total Transcript Solution is a great starting place for Homeschooling High School

If you are getting started Homeschooling High School or even in the middle and need to figure out what’s involved in creating good High School Transcripts, this is an excellent resource. The Total Transcript Solution gives you the basics you need to keep grades and create transcripts. There are 4 modules for this course as well. The first Module gives you training on how to get started keeping grades, credits, and creating your student’s transcript. She also instructs how to calculate GPA, and gives tips for winning scholarships and getting in to colleges. The second module is an ebook entitled, “The Easy Truths about Homeschool Transcripts”. This book is 107 pages that will help you understand more about Homeschool Transcripts. There is so much wisdom and valuable information that Lee has shared in this book!

The 3rd module gives you templates to get you going! Again you get multiple options to choose from so you can find the right fit for your family. The last module is another way for you to get 1-1 support from The HomeScholar LLC. You get access to a 20 minute private phone consultation. In this phone conversation you can go over a transcript or record. Also, you can ask questions, get advice, and go over your thoughts or ideas.

The HomeScholar LLC is a valuable tool for Homeschooling High School.

Homeschooling high school looks so much clearer and easier for my family after viewing the HomeScholar’s resources. I know more of the steps I need to take and have the tools I need ready to build good comprehensive records. Knowing what I know now, I am more confident that I can give my kids what they need to have options to pursue careers of their choice after High School!

If you are getting close to or in the middle of homeschooling your high schooler, I recommend that you check out The Homescholar LLC. You will not regret it! You don’t need waste time worrying and trying to figure out how to make transcripts, write course descriptions, or keep grades by yourself. The resources Lee Binz offers on The Homescholar LLC will put your mind at ease.

Many other Homeschool Families had the chance to review The Homescholar LLC this month. Check out the programs they used and how it has helped them as they homeschool as well! Click Below Now!

The post Get Help Homeschooling High School from The HomeScholar LLC appeared first on Entirely at Home.

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

Summer break is over for us and our homeschool is running full steam ahead. This year I am excited to tell you about one of my favorite new additions to our daily school routine. Math Essentials Speed Wheel Drills books in Addition, Multiplication and Division are a fun and easy way to increase your kids math fact fluency. I am so happy to have found this new method of math fact practice. My kids are definitely excited about a new spin on our math drills!

How Math Essentials Speed Wheel Drills Work

In each of the Math Essentials Speed Wheel Addition, Multiplication and Division books you get 144 pages of Math practice and resources. Each book is setup exactly the same however, the drills in each book are focused solely on it’s operation. The first few pages of the book explain how to use the speed drills book and give helpful math tips for students. Starting on page 7, there are 120 pages of speed wheel drills. Each page has 12 drills.

Speed Wheels are different than math fact drills you have seen before. Instead of just full pages of mixed facts that students try to complete in a time limit, each wheel works on one set of number facts. For instance, in the addition facts, a speed wheel for 9’s facts will have a 9 in the middle circle with numbers 1-12 all around the circle. Then there is a space in the next layer of the circle for your answer for each fact. Students then try to complete the circle as quickly as they can timing themselves with a stopwatch. After they complete a wheel they then check and correct their own answers with the included addition chart. At the top of each wheel there is a place for students to record their number correct and time. Students try to get faster and faster as they practice each day.

I love how easy these books are to use. Everything you need is laid out for you. After just a one day of teaching them how to use these books, my boys were able to use these, completely independently. They have been a great part of our school routine each day.

How we are using Math Speed Drills to Build Math Fact Fluency

I started this year with my oldest working out of the multiplication book, and my middle son practicing in the addition book. We have started the year with each of my kids doing 3 speed wheels each day. This takes them less than 5 minutes, usually finishing each wheel in less than a minute. They time themselves, check their work and log their progress independently. I just check over what they do each day. There is no planning or prep work for me at all. My boys are getting daily fluency practice and improving their speed with math facts every day.

I plan to have my kids work in each of the books for a period of time. The books have so many drills that it will be easy to share them rotating them between both my older 2 kids. We plan to switch off between addition, multiplication and division each month so my kids get regular practice on each operation throughout the year.

This resource has been so great, I am so happy that we had the chance to try it this year and make it a permanent part of our daily school routine.

Read what other Homeschool Families Have to Say…

I highly recommend checking out Math Essentials’ Speed Wheel Drills Books. They are an excellent, easy, affordable, way to build your students’ math fluency skills. Many other families from the homeschool review crew had the chance to use these books, too. If you want to read how Math Essentials Speed Wheel Drills worked for their families click below.

The post Improving Math Fact Fluency with Speed Wheel Drills! appeared first on Entirely at Home.

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

Last year, my middle son and I enjoyed using and writing about Positive Action Bible Curriculum’s Building Life Castles Study for 4th Graders. So this year, I am happy to tell you about their Bible Curriculum, Wise Up. Wise Up is a an in depth look at wisdom from the Lord by studying Proverbs. This is such an important study for young teens and tweens to build a foundation in truth from the Lord. I am so glad that my 7th grade son is able to work through this study right now. Now is the time to learn and understand what true wisdom it is and how valuable it is.

Wise up: Wisdom in Proverbs

Positive Action Bible Curriculum’s Wise up: Wisdom in Proverbs includes a Student Book and a Teacher’s notebook. I love the look of this book and so does my son. The student workbook is a soft cover, paperback book. The cover is a dark brown with gold letters and an embossed design. The pages are a made with nice sturdy decorative light tan style printed paper. It has 264 pages with 35 lessons. Each lesson in the student material provides reading for the student, directs the student to read certain scripture, and questions for the student to answer. Many lessons provides charts to help the student visually organize and see the information in the scriptures they are reading. There is also a specific page with visuals and guidance for the student for each teachers lesson.

The Teacher Guide is a 3 ring binder with a matching cover. It includes 3 sections: teaching material, testing material, and an answer key. The beginning of the teachers book gives you suggestions for weekly schedules to help you fit the lessons within homeschool schedule for your family. You can easily complete 1 lesson each week with a 3-day, 4-day, or 5-day schedule option. Each lesson in the Teacher’s Manual provides clear target truths, teaching strategies and suggestions, and information for the teacher’s lesson. It then gives you answers to the student workbook activities. There is a quiz for each lesson and answer keys for them in the back of the teaching manual. At the beginning of the teachers manual there is also a Scripture Memorization Chart. This shows you a scripture for your child to memorize with each lesson.

The Curriculum

Lesson one of Wise Up begins with students understanding what wisdom truly is and why it is important or valuable. The study also teaches very clearly and concretely the difference between what the Bible says wisdom is versus what the world or humanism defines wisdom as. This lesson is very important and lays a foundation for the rest of the study.

The next few lessons go deeper into introducing wisdom by explaining what the Bible says is the difference between wisdom and foolishness. Students will use scripture to compare the differences between how a wise man and a foolish man react in various situations. It then gives specific examples of wise men in the Bible.

Throughout the rest of the study we see how to use Godly wisdom. It also teaches how we can apply Godly wisdom to all areas of our life. Students will study roles in the home and authority, responsibility, attitudes, friendship and what true friends are, love, recognizing sin, self-control, courage, obedience, knowing and staying in God’s will, money, and making decisions to name just a few. Each lesson is grounded in scripture and helps students understand what they are reading in God’s word. The questions and readings also help them understand how to practically apply these truths to their life as they grow and mature.

The writing in the book is definitely geared to kids that are around 12 and older. I would not attempt this study with kids younger than that. The text is well written and easily relatable for middle school aged students. The lessons are not overly long and hold the student’s attention well. Questions and scripture are mixed in throughout each reading in the lesson.

While a student could technically work through much of the student workbook independently, I do feel that this study is best completed by a student going through this study with a parent or teacher, as suggested by the teacher’s manual. Especially younger middle schoolers will need the instruction, guidance, and explanations provided in the teachers manual. Also, I think it would be very valuable for a young teen go through this study with a parent as is it such a crucial time in their lives for them to understand these truths and take them to heart.

How we used our Wise Up Bible Curriculum

This summer we have started Wise up going at a bit of a slower pace than we probably will when we start our school schedule again in August. Through May and June, we have completed about 1 lesson every 1-2 weeks. We have worked through the first 4 lessons and are enjoying the flexibility that Positive Action Bible Curriculum provides. Because of travel and other summer activities we have been following a 3 day a week schedule for the curriculum. I did not want to speed through the first few lessons. So we have taken our time making sure to fully complete each lesson before we move on. They provide a foundation for understanding what wisdom is. We will be applying these things they learn throughout the rest of the study.

My husband actually started working through this study with our son. They have both enjoyed this time. We have found that this is a perfect study for a father to work through with their son. My husband has been able to read with him and help impart these important truths to our son as he is in this crucial time of understanding and growing in his life. I know that this will be a key time for my son and that this will help him as he grows into a wise young man in the Lord. I am excited to see how this Bible study continues to help us teach, train, and guide our son into becoming a wise man of God.

More from Positive Action Bible Curriculum

I have loved the foundational Bible Studies that I have found for my family from Positive Action Bible Curriculum. If you are looking for Bible Curriculum for your children I highly recommend you check out all the different studies from Positive Action. I have told you about our experience with the Wise Up study for middle school students this summer. However, many other reviewers from the Homeschool Review Crew have also had to use this study and a 5th grade study, Possessing the Land. Click below to read more about these amazing foundational Bible curriculums for 5th through 8th students.

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