New American Cursive: Penmanship Program Workbook 1 from Memoria Press: A TOS Crew Review

 

New American Cursive:  Penmanship Program Workbook 1 from  Memoria Press

 

Is cursive necessary anymore?  Many schools have opted out of teaching cursive.  However, I personally feel this is a BIG mistake! Thankfully, so does Memoria Press,   creators of New American Cursive:  Penmanship Program Workbook 1.  This series is designed for your First Grader, many schools wait until Third Grade to introduce cursive, if they do at all any more. 

 

The Bentz Test Laboratory was super excited to get this one!  My 1st grade tester was begging me to get to start learning cursive (yes, we still teach this valuable skill at Bentz Academy).

 

This program is based on years of experience and features friendly "Mr. Meerkat" to guide your student through learning the simplified strokes of "New American Cursive - NAC" style. 

 

The author choose meerkats due to the fact they are one of the few animals that actively teach their young. (looking for more meerkat trivia - www.fellowearththings.org). 

 

  My tester thinks that meerkats are the most adorable animals ever - so she was hooked before she ever opened the book!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love the educational philosophy behind starting cursive early.  By later grades, the student has very fixed writing habits, and it is much harder to learn cursive.  This program includes some great introduction information to help you get on board , the Teaching Guide is included in the Student Workbook. 

 

 They even offer a supplemental "Startwrite/NAC software ($29.95) which allows you to create customized worksheets for more practice.

 

 

 

I found the Teacher Guide extremely helpful.  A couple of key points I want to share:

 

• Cursive improves your students continuity in thought and writing - it's brain training!

• Cursive helps improve neural connections in the brain - since my tester struggles with apraxia and dyslexia - this is a huge benefit for her!

• Cursive is a hands-on process that develops both the mind and fine motor skills - focus, attention to detail, patience - just to name a few.

• Cursive is more individualistic - Can you close your eyes and picture or instantly recognize your mom's handwriting?  It's much more artistic and expressive than printing.

My tester absolutely loves this program!  She's working very independently with it, and I've noticed a huge improvement in her handwriting overall.  Like I mentioned, she has several "learning gifts" that have allowed her to learn slightly differently than my other children.  This program has really boosted her confidence - afterall, she's "Only in First grade, while they didn't get to learn cursive until Third grade."

It only takes about 15 minutes a day.  Capital and lowercase letters are introduced together.  Mr. Meerkat reminds them how to position the paper, and the 3 steps to follow:  Say the Letter, Feel the Letter & Write the Letter.  Once they have completed their practice, they circle their best letter.  I really like how this encourages them to slow down and look critically at their own work.

"Fun exercises & Artwork" pages allow for them to work on connecting letters in words and a space to draw their own artwork.  Cursive encourages them to be creative!  Toward the end of the book, they are already copying the Pledge of Allegiance. 

This is one we'll keep for sure!  They have 3 workbooks in the series.  Just $22.95 each.

Other members of the Crew reviewed another Bentz Test Laboratory favorite - First Start Reading  be sure to check it out!




 

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History Club - Fun!

We have been enjoying being part of a LitClub & History Club this year.  (More about LitClub later...) 

For History Club - we are walking decade by decade through the 1900's - a lot of major history during this time period! We meet once a month and discuss, then each student has an assignment to work on until the next meeting.

Their assignment has been to select 20 facts from a variety of topics  ( i.e. - famous people, inventions, music, religion, daily life, etc. ) and to put those facts on a collaborative time line (we use TimeGlider) and to integrate them together into a unified presentation.

Creativity is the key here - the sky's the limit!

I absolutely love how this has stretched my kiddos into using technology and thinking up new creative ideas every month.  We've had Prezi's, board games, even a lego creation "Decade at the Museum"  - I may need another blog post!!

This one has to be one of my favorites - the new "movie trailer"  - Hope you enjoy it too!

Greek Morphemes Lessons (It's NOT Greek to Me!) from Ready to Teach: A TOS Crew Review

Greek Morphemes Lessons (It's  NOT Greek to Me!) from Ready to Teach
Teacher's Manual - Includes a CD-rom with PowerPoint presentations for each lesson, quizzes, and templates for transparencies (future buyers will receive these digital files on a flash drive).

Student book - includes lessons and colored flash card pages.

Designed for secondary students, Greek Morphemes Lessons (It's NOT Greek to Me!) includes 12 lessons based on over 200 Greek morphemes (roots, prefixes, and suffixes). You can check out a sample lesson.

The Bentz Test Laboratory choose to do this program as a "class". My testers were 8th, 9th and 11th grade boys... a real lively class :-)  They were in desperate need of something to bring some excitement back into vocabulary study, and this was just the ticket!

Each lesson is divided in to several bite-sized sections designed to introduce, practice and commit these morphemes to your memory bank. 

 
To begin a Lesson : watch the Powerpoint presentation of the morphemes & record the meanings. There are three types being introduced: Roots - Prefixes - Suffixes

• Assignment A - "Work" 8 new words (Assignment A). This is breaking down a word into it's morphemes systematically. Once you identify each morpheme's meaning, you come up with "MD" - my definition. The final step in working the word - look up the "DD" - dictionary definition, and see if you are as smart as the dictionary!

• Assignment B - Repeat the "Working the Words" (Assignment B) process for the remaining 8 words in the lesson.

• Assignment C - Create context clue sentences for any 8 of the words you have worked, and label the sentence. Also, create 2 NEW words with your new knowledge. 

 

• Assignment D - Break down more words with your morphemes, and write possible definitions. Then, match the definitions to them. Can you create funny definitions? 

Create your own set of Study cards - colored templates are included in the Student Book. However, I went to the office supply store and picked up some handy notecards, already the punched and with a ring. (they are sturdier than the paper versions as well - a plus with my testers!)

Last, take a test and see what you learned!!

My Testers are willing to give most anything a try. What surprised all of us, was how much they enjoyed this easy-to-use program... It didn't need shiny, colorful, highly animated bells and whistles - it was still fun and very effective.   They worked on one assignment per day, so it was a manageable amount. Depending on your student, you can adjust the pace to their needs. By learning to look at words and "see" their parts - they are able to break down new vocabulary and build words - sorta like legos, only with morphemes! 

The repetition really cemented these useful language tools into their minds. Then, by getting to do something "hands-on" with this new found knowledge - through making study cards and creating silly new words... they kept what they learned! It's even spilling out into other subjects! Yeah!!

Vocabulary skills are extremely important for the all important college exams, but often overlooked in the secondary grades. I think Greek Morphemes Lessons (It's NOT Greek to Me!) has been the most useful program we have ever tested. It helped them learn the process to breaking down new words, and was much more fun than boring lists of words to memorize.

Definitely go and check this one out!

See what other members of the Crew thought here

Birthday Season has Begun!

March is the official beginning of Birthday Season at the Bentzs!

We have tons of family traditions- my favorite is our Birthday journals.  Instead of cards,  I purchased a blank journal for each family member.  We all write a message to the Birthday person. 

What a treasure these journals are!  We read them to the Birthday person at breakfast.  It's a way to celebrate each of them, and what we love about them.  Reading back through them is a great memory book as well.

Happy Birthday to my March babies!!

Thick as Thieves from Circle C Milestones: A TOS Crew Review

Thick as Thieves - Circle C Milestones - $9.99 plus $2.50 shipping & handling

Thick as Thieves is the first book in the Circle C Milestones series.  This 176 page, 26 chapter book is set in the 1880's.  Circle C is a ranch in California.  The main character, Andrea Carter, is a horse-loving 14 year-old girl.   To begin Andi's saga - check out the Circle C Beginnings (ages 6-9), Circle C Adventures (ages 9-14) Circle C Milestones are great for ages 12 and up.  For your sons, check out Goldtown Adventures (ages 8-12).
Horses, Horses, Horses!  Anyone else out there have a horse-crazy daughter like me?  My newly 12 year old daughter has an equine love affair going on... 
When I told her that Susan K. Marlow has a new series,  she jumped up and down!  A huge fan of her other books - she begged (yes, really!) for the new book - Thick as Thieves.  When the book arrived, my daughter disappeared.  She could not put it down!
From the first pages, you are caught up into Andi's world.  She is a plucky, strong, and Godly character.  My tester loves Andi - she's a horse lover, she's got annoying older brothers, and she loves Palominos (so, basically - "she's just like me, Mom!")  This is one of the parts I love best!  It's hard to find fiction for our young ladies that shows them a character that they can use as a role model.  However, this series is a perfect fit - great characters, interesting settings, and a plot that draws you in.  
This is a great addition to our American history studies.  Historical fiction brings the time period to life - the 1880's.  The author weaves suspense and surprise into the story and has you at the edge of your seat.
My tester has really enjoyed growing up with Andi - and living the horse-lovin' life through her eyes.  Since we are smack dab in the middle of suburbia,  this is a wonderful way for her to escape to a different time and place.
Susan K. Marlow's books are more than just an enjoyable read,  woven throughout are valuable life lessons for your children to learn as well.  Friendship is a main theme in this story as Andi must learn to overcome differences and trust others.
Be sure to check out the FREE - downloadable Study Guide - 40-page study guide contains not only vocabulary and comprehension questions, but also further explorations of the themes in the book, including the care of horses and a closer look at some of the places that Andi would have been exposed to in her late 19th century lifetime. There are crossword puzzles, diagrams, a foal timeline to fill in, and even math problems from 1880. We learned about lice, cattle rustling, and the Palace Hotel in San Francisco. This additional resource turns this into a fun unit study for your horse lovers!
You can also check out Andi's Blog - a fun way to learn more about her and her life.  Pictures of Andi and her family, ranch news and more - a great place to visit!
You can read a sample chapter of the book here - Warning - you'll be hooked!

Circle C Milestones Book 2, Heartbreak Trail, coming July 2015

Find Thick as Thieves - Circle C Milestones   on Social Media: 
Facebook:   https://www.facebook.com/CircleCAdventures
Twitter:  http://twitter.com/SuzyScribbles 
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HomeSchool Office from Lord Heritage: A TOS Crew Review

+ HomeSchool Office from Lord Heritage
This is a handy, online complete, home school lesson planning program.  You can plan and keep track of schedules, resources, lesson plans, and grades all in one integrated program. Annual subscription price - $79
I do love a good plan, don't you?  A course to track, a path to take, and way to look back at what we've accomplished.  I know after many years of homeschooling (and now with many students too!)  that  "By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail" - Benjamin Franklin.  HomeSchool Office from Lord Heritage is an online planning tool for you to put POWER into your home school planning.

• Plan (based on Jeremiah 29:11)  – schedule course goals, build a master schedule, setup lessons and even plan your budget. 

• Order (based on 1 Corinthians 14:40)  – schedule lessons, integrate home & school activities, create lists & reminders 

• Work (based on John 17:4)  – provide student access, print schedules, follow lessons, manages to-do lists 

• Evaluate (based on Matthew 28:20) – track grades, attendance & hours spent 

• Report (based on Romans 14:12) – create transcripts & crest reports for personal use and to meet state requirements 

The Bentz Test Laboratory is always looking for new tools that can make our journey easier.  HomeSchool Office looked like just the type of program we would like... 
First, you have to set up your TEAM - this is your students and  anyone that helps with your homeschooling effort.  If you have outside teachers or Coop members - this is your place to keep all that information handy. 

PLAN is the next section.  One thing I noticed right away is that there is a large volume of entry work to do in order to modify and customize this to your individual home school's needs.  I choose just to enter 4 students, because I really don't need to keep this type of detail (and set up effort) for every one of my 8 students.  Afterall,  I could spend more time creating a perfectly designed schedule than teaching them!
For each student, you must set up their Subjects (individually) - you must choose from a drop down menu of subjects which is not customizable (a major drawback).  After each subject is created, you create your Master School Year Plan of days teaching (glad I live in TX - where we are FREE to home school on our plan, and not someone else's!).  Then, you move into adding each subject onto each student's personal calendar.  

Okay, to be honest - this is where this program loses me.  4 students x 5 days per week x # of subjects becomes a daunting task to enter in item by item.  I could not find a way to enter this information over a range of dates, or even to just copy/paste.  This is a major drawback if you have multiple students (and I was only working with 1/2 of mine!)  They offer "help" - but, I really had a hard time learning to navigate around in this program.  
One useful feature I did discover wad the ability to "Push" or "Pull" assignments that you have created to different days.  Since our days rarely, if ever, go as scheduled - this is nice!

ORDER, WORK & EVALUATE - these sections allow you to print daily lists, see your progress and track grades & attendance.  Every section requires you to complete the required information in the section previous.  It doesn't appear that there is a way to modify this to just the information you really want or need, without wading through all the sections.  For instance, I do not make daily lists for my students - I prefer to give them a big picture look at what I need them to accomplish, and then let them take the responsibility to manage the order they want to complete assignments.  I could not find the path to creating that type of list.
REPORT - this section will allow you to print Progress Reports and Transcripts.  You can customize fields you want to include, but there are limited fields to choose from.
Overall, I love the "idea" of this program.  However, the amount of tedious entry and the lack of ability to customize to my individual needs makes it one that doesn't work well for us.  
I do think that faithful planning has been the biggest blessing in our home school journey!  Make sure you check out the free 30-day trial  to see if this program may be a good fit for your home school.
  See what others members of the Crew thought here