I was so excited to review this game because the graphics were so cute and I was intrigued by the volcano. Animal Classification Escape the Volcano Flash Card Game from Warm Hearts Publishing did not disappoint. 

The game board, game pieces, and flash cards are bright and cheery. It is very easy to understand and follow the directions to put together the game board and the playing pieces. That's important to me because I am not the best at following directions and putting things together. 

Once the flashcards are printed and the game is set up, it's time to play. 

Each player tried to get to the last box for the playing piece reaches "The Lava has Reached You." Yikes! What a cool idea. You answer the flash card question and if you get it right, you can move your playing piece on top of the card. Anyway, I won't go into all the details. Just want to say this: It's creative, fun, and educational!

There are three levels of play: easy, difficult, and challenging. That means you can keep playing the game for years. 

The flashcards can also be used for other activities. 

I also received the extra set of Invertebrate Animal Classification Cards that included insects and echinoderms. 

​Art Masterpieces to Color: 60 Great Paintings from Botticelli to Picasso from Dover Press is a great coloring book to invest in.

Because the coloring book comes with small postcard size reproductions in the back of the book, you can turn this into an art appreciate class. Have your children or teens color these pages of famous paintings exactly like the original artist did. Believe me, they will be scrutinizing these paintings as they color. 

Some of the famous works of art in this coloring book are The Peaceable Kingdom (Edward Hicks), Mona Lisa (Leonardo da Vinci), Girl with a Pearl Earring (Jan Vermeer), and Luncheon of the Boating Party (Pierre-Auguste Renoir). There is a wide variety of artwork from different periods and styles. This is a wonderful and vaied taste of art appreciation.​

​I have told other homeschooling moms that there’s just no fun way to do spelling. I have used workbooks for years, while I encourage moms to also consider making spelling lists from unit studies or books their children are reading too. There is just no way to make spelling hands-on, or so I thought. I stand corrected.

All About Spelling comes with a workbook—of course! But there is more in the package! An Audio CD-ROM with a clear pronunciation of each phonetic sound is included. You press the alphabet letter, consonant team, vowel team, or phonogram and hear the sound! This is fun for those who like to touch and press (every kid under the age of ten!). There are also letter tiles to touch and handle. This is another plus of the program—it is very hands-on! There are also flashcards, letter tile magnets, and a magnetic tile board. You hear the sound, see the sound, and touch! This is truly a multi-sensory way to learn spelling!

My favorite part of the package was the games! Bingo with phonograms and several other games that you make by pasting the game to simple file folders. There were five cheery, colorful games: A Day on the Farm; Bunny Garden; Dog Walk; Horse and Pony Show; and Wild, Wild West. The games will be a hit with children!

​Do you enjoy the drama and personalities of history more than dates and facts? If so, these books are for you! Though written for grades fourth to eighth graders, your whole family will enjoy reading or listening to this book read aloud. We got together with another family and everyone from grade two to senior in high school listened each week as mom read the stories (lessons) aloud. Filled with information, little known, but thrilling facts and stories are included.
         
The author, Linda Lacour Hobar, takes us on a trip back in time to meet those who have made history and to experience them ourselves. What an adventure!
 
Laid out in chronological order, beginning with Creation, each week has three lessons accompanied by writing, craft and cooking projects. There are test and quizzes too. We normally ignore tests, but we enjoyed these tests too. 
         
Can you guess that these are my very favorite history textbooks? You learn what was going on in the world—at the same time. While one nation is in its height, another is beginning. It even covers China, India, and Africa!       

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​Times Tales: Times Tables Made Easy is a creative, innovative Mnemonic-based program that makes it fun and easy to memorize the upper multiplication facts.
 
With the same style and format, difficult to memorize times tables can be mastered easily by many children.  
 
Symbols are used for each number. 
 
See the picture of the page below. Can you see the numbers in each illustration?
 
What follows the numbers symbols page in the book is a collection of quick one page stories involving butterflies, chairs, Mrs. Week, Mrs. Snowman, the Treehouse, and the First Grade Class.  

An online unit study? I felt scared.

And the unit study is written by Techie Mom? Oh no. I can barely turn on my computer. 

Wow! Was I in for a big surprise. This online unit study was the coolest thing ever!

Famous Birthdays by Beth Napoli is a unit study, just like other units, that starts with a topic and integrates multiple subjects to make learning easier and more fun.

Now, here is the twist: EVERYTHING in this unit study is done online! 

Getting started is easy. You follow "Techie Homeschool Mom" on Pinterest and create your own "Online Unit Studies Project" Pinboard on Pinterest. Next, you join "Techin' Your Homeschool" Facebook Group. 

Students make a fabulous online timeline with Prezi, adding all the birthday men and women as they meet them in each lesson. They are also encouraged to use Grammarly for proofing and VidAngel for streaming videos. 

After you finish each lesson, you press the "Complete and Continue" bar to go to the next lesson. Are you ready to talk about the Birthday Men and Women?

I am so excited to tell you about this curriculum!

​If you have a preschooler, you are probably teaching him letters and/or letter sounds. Annette Breedlove has created a 689-page letter workbook, Apples to Zebras, just for you to teach letters and sounds to your little ones.

With bright, cheery illustrations and easy-to-understand instructions for Mom, Apples to Zebras is divided into nine sections with three letters each. Children learn letters F, B, and M first. In the next sections, students learn K, T, R; followed by P, S, N; J, H, D; C, L, G; W, Y, V; Z, Q, X. Finally, at the end of the book, after learning all the consonants, it’s time to learn the vowels. A, E, and I are first, followed by O and U.

Take a look at each of the letter combinations. Do you notice how different each letter in the triplet sounds from the other two? This makes it easy to tell the difference between them so children can tell the letters and their sounds apart. When they review, it’s easy to tell them apart.

I love how kid-friendly the pictures are! In fact, each page has kid appeal. The pictures throughout the entire workbook are adorable.

I kid-tested them on my grandson who loved the bright happy colors and pictures. 
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Restoring America's Biblical Foundations​ by Pilgrim Institute is a DVD course for high school students and adults on a topic that is dear to my heart: Truth. 

Over the years,  history has been taken out. Godly men are glossed over or their faith is hidden. Many people have only heard revisionist history--they know nothing of the truth of our Christian heritage and biblical foundation. 

I applaud the Pilgrim Institute for speaking out!

This course covers the biblical view of government and a Providential view of history. God gives a plan for government in His Word which the founders respected and tried to follow. The Lord intervenes in the affairs of men. Our Founding Fathers believed both.

​As Christians, I believe it's time to teach the truth to the next generation, starting in our home schools. Restoring America's Biblical Foundations is a great start! 

​Let me tell you about the kit.

1. Reading Comprehension with Aesop's Fables​ by Bonnie Rose Hudson includes ten of the fables of Aesop. Popular for centuries, the timeless tales have been retold so that a first-grader will enjoy them.

​Mom reads a fable aloud followed by fun comprehension activities. These include tracing, vocabulary practice, sequencing, coloring pages, and sight word puzzle.

​I love the coloring pages. They are adorable and fit in perfectly with each story, while being kid-friendly.

​Often Moms wonder if children understand the stories they read aloud to them. These comprehension activities will help Moms to discover how much little ones understand.

​Though this was created for first graders, I think older children would benefit from Reading and Comprehension with Aesop's Fables. ​They might even read and do the work on their own.

​Aesop's stories have been enjoyed by all ages, so everyone will love listening in, including teenagers. A timeless story never grows old.

You can purchase Reading Comprehension with Aesop's Fables at Currclick. 

​Happy Homeschooling,
​Meredith Curtis

When my son was younger, he dreaded writing. I wish we could have had this curriculum back then. Jimmy would have loved it! He enjoys battle and adventure.

What fun for a boy to learn to write about soldiers! In this creative writing curriculum, Battle Cry: Write A Soldier Adventure by Jan May, boys will write a soldier adventure.

Boys will complete thirteen lessons. Each lesson has writing time, hands-on learning activities, and battle role-playing assignments.

Writing assignments start with creating your main character and his buddies. Every lesson that follows covers all the important lessons of story writing including showing, not telling about characters, dialogue, setting, plot, using humor, editing, and putting it all together.
 
Hands-on fun includes crafts or battle activities. Students make a tank, build a fort, drawing a map of their story’s battlefield, creating a clay diorama of battlefield, and creating top secret military files.
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The role-playing is great for inspiring your young writers ages 8-12 to get their mind on the subject and write with enthusiasm. Interested?
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​"Are you serious? You want me to color a coloring book for science class? I'm in high school, Mom." 

"I know sweetie, but this coloring book will be such a blessing!" 

Aren't teens to old to color?

The Human Anatomy Coloring Book by Margaret Mott is an amazing asset to any course on human anatomy, whether its health or human physiology.

There is nothing that makes memorization of body parts easier than to color them. 
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Flip 3 Pancakes with 1 Spatula by Cheryl Bastian is book filled with hands-on learning ideas for teaching math without a textbook. It's a handbook to teach to the heart of your child, who most likely LOVES your kitchen and is constantly asking if he can "help." Cooking is fun. Math can be learned by cooking with mom in the kitchen. Ergo, learning math can be fun. That sounds logical to me!

You will love this book! Set up like a cookbook, it is divided into the following categories: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Snacks & Desserts, and Holidays & Celebrations. Each page contains a complete math lesson set up unit study style with a yummy recipe. You start out by reading one or two picture books. After gathering the needed materials listed on the page, the math lesson takes place while you are cooking. There are also Add Ons. The Ad Ons include additional math lessons, social studies activities, more books to read, science projects, writing or language assignments, and art projects. All are easy and fun!

​When Sarah's Wish by Jim Baumgardner arrived to be reviewed, I decided to read the book and found myself immediately involved in Sarah's life and dreams.

Emotionally involved, I wanted her to find a family, to help her friends escape to freedom through the Underground Railroad, and to protect her from the evil slave catchers that made her life miserable.

I felt scared with Sarah sometimes and, other times, found myself laughing aloud at her antics.

When I finished the book, I wanted to read more about Sarah, to stay involved in her life. I felt like I had made a new friend. ​

"Is this an exercise video? Is this a math video?" I wondered aloud when Exploramania Gymathtics arrived in the mail to be reviewed.

The answer to my question is YES! It is an exercise video and it is a math video.

What a fun, colorful, exciting video to watch! Our hostess, exercise leader, and math teacher is energetic and upbeat. She reminds me of my spinning teacher at the Y. Her name is Carrie and she is the creator of Exploramania. The exercise video is a high-energy aerobic workout with a twist. The twist is that you are always doing math while you move and sweat.

"Isn't exercise fun?" perky Carrie asks throughout the 30 minute workout.

"Yes, Carrie," I have to agree. "This is fun!"

"You got a package of stuff to review," my son, Jimmy, informed me. "Do you need us to open it for you.

"Would you, boys?  That would be great!" I gave my son and his best friend the nod and within minutes, they had kitchen knives in their hands and were hacking away at the boxes.

"Guess what?" Josh asked with excitement in his voice.

You tell me!" I laughed at the boys' happy faces.

"It's from that company that sent the Nativity scene," they both said together.

"Oh, let me see." Now, I was excited too and soon all my daughters were gushing over One2Believe's latest shipment, an adorable replica/toy, Noah's Ark. This s a great Christmas present idea. 
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The Renaissance was a rebirth of Classical Greek and Roman art, literature, and culture that took place mostly in Southern Europe. 

The Reformation was a spiritual rebirth that took place in hearts as they rediscovered the Truth found in Scripture: Salvation through Faith alone. The Reformation took place mostly in Northern Europe. 

As these earth-shaking movements were happening across Europe, men were bravely sailing to the New World.

​What an exciting time to study! How thrilling to see God moving through time and history to glorify Jesus and spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth!
​

Originally published by E. P. Dutton Co., Inc in 1941, Stephen Foster and His Little Dog Tray by Opal Wheeler and illustrated by Mary Greenwalt is a biography of Stephen Foster with music scores of his most famous works included in the book. The story is lively and engaging, beginning with his birth into a large, slave-owning family in Pennsylvania.

From the very beginning, Stephen loved music! When he was two years old, he "borrowed" his sister's guitar and plucked a melody out on the instrument. Soon, he was plucking piano keys with lovely results to his family's delight and enjoyment. Stephen's music was profoundly influenced by Negro Spirituals sung by the black slaves of America. His songs often adopt the style or melody of a specific spiritual. Because of this, I had always assumed that he was a "Southern Boy," but it turns out he spent most of his life in Pennsylvania!

This biography is easy enough to be read and enjoyed by young children, but interesting and full of enough information that older children would enjoy it too. My first thought:  a great family read aloud book! Best of all, the Bible is mentioned, as well as the family's devotion to God!

The study guide, Stephen Foster and His Little Dog Tray Study Guide by Judy Wilcox, impressed me! This slim book and companion guide was jam-packed with great info and divided into four sections. Each section covered a section of the book with maps, timelines, tidbits of interest, reading comprehension questions, and a focus on character qualities evident in Stephen Foster's life.

"Look at this beautiful picture book!" I gasped as I opened the unexpected package that had arrived from the mailman as we were leaving for homeschool coop.

"C'mon, Mom, we're going to be late...Wow! That is beautiful! Where did you get that book? It's amazing!"

We brought it with us, passing it around in the car. I gazed at it intently every time I stopped at a red light. We were are entranced by the pretty artwork.

I was so excited to finally be able to sit down and study each page carefully. It made me feel little a little kid again. I wish I had learned U.S. geography with this book. It made everything so simple!

I wasn't the only one in the family who couldn't wait to sit down and spend time curled up with this book. Little Man in the Map was one of the most popular items with my children that I have reviewed!

And so began our introduction to The Little Man in the Map by E. Andrew Martonyi. This large and lovely picture book is the most creative way I have ever seen to learn the fifty states. Of course, I do love well-written beautifully illustrated picture books. Is there anyone who doesn't love them?

This book is filled with little clues to help you remember the fifty United States of America. Betcha didn't know that there is a state shaped like a chair, another like a cup, and one state is even shaped like a dining room table. But you have to start with the Little Man in the Map.

And just who is this Little Man in the Map? Well, I won't tell you, but I will give you a clue. Look carefully at a map of the United States and you will see him in the center facing east.

What follows are fun clues to help students find and remember the location of all the states on the map. Of course, the center of it all is...The Little Man in the Map!

This is a fun, innovative way to learn United States geography. The book is  illustrated by Ed Olson. I loved his artwork--bright and colorful! His animation is happy and fun! Take a look at some of the book's illustrations at Design Loft Studio.