Weather and Motivation

I am unfortunately very driven by the weather.  

If it is cloudy I have to fight very hard to find motivation and energy.

(No, I don't think I have Seasonal Affective Disorder.. I think the sunshine just cheers me and energizes me.  Sunlamps have done nothing for me in the past.)

It has been so cloudy and so cold.

Spring has been torture for me.  We will have a nice day or two and then the temps will plummet again.

Here is the forecast for me for this week.

*SIGH*

Today we are experiencing beautiful sunny, breezy weather.  The thermometer on my very hot, sunny porch read 68 at 11:30 when we did math.  Dreamy.  The screen door is open.  I have gotten a TON of work done.  I can actually SEE in my home without any lights turned on.  It is wonderful.  I feel alive.

In my email box I received this warning:

*SIGH*

I always giggle when I get "Extreme Cold Weather" alerts in April.  It makes me wonder what I will be receiving next January when we hit our sub-zero spells.

I told the kids they need to play outside ALL DAY (minus our school).  Yesterday I was so tired, so unmotivated and nearly depressed in my gloomy feelings.   I accomplished so little all weekend since it was so cool and cloudy.  

Looking at the forecast I think I need to get extra done today so that tomorrow and Wednesday when the "It's cold and cloudy" blahs hit.

I AM SO READY for Spring to stop teasing us.  Did Mother Nature NOT teach her that it is not polite to tease?  

*SIGH* 

I keep hearing that Summer in deed WILL COME even if it feels like it is never going to happen.  

What did that little engine say?

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can, I think I can....

Lower Case Magnetic Tiles - A CSN Stores Review

PERFECT Magnetic Letter Tiles!

5out of 5

 

 Educational Insights: Lower Case Magnetic Teaching Tiles

86 lowercase plastic, yellow tiles.

Currently on sale for $20.99 at CSNStores.com

 

 

I ordered this product to use with my 7 year old who is composing sentences and my 4 year old who is reading simple words. I wanted something sturdy, Something with a uniform shape so that the low, fine motor skills of my 4 year old would not cause frustration as he butted letters against each other to create words. I also wanted something with a strong magnet so we could use our vertical board without the words slouching.

This product fit all of those expectations. We love these tiles and I often have disappointed children when I tell them that our work time is up.

Each letter block is approximately 2cm in width, 2.5cm in height. They are all 1/2cm thick. To me a perfect square would have been better but the fact that all letters are the same size allows for them to nicely rest against one another without twisting, turning or sloping. A word makes a wonderfully nice rectangle shape and the letters do not skew sideways.

I was also concerned about the magnet on the backside. I wanted something sturdy but the pictures from the vendors just do not show the backside of these letter tiles. A backside filled with magnet would have been perfect but what I found is a very acceptable alternative. Each tile has a round magnet that is 7mm in diameter centered in the back. The magnet has a molded plastic side around it which only exposes the flat edge of the magnet which would rest against your fridge or metal work board. I like how the magnet is enclosed with only one surface exposed. It is very much unlike the cheap letter shaped magnets that I grew up with that have a small magnet merely glued onto the back which can easily be pried off by a young child.

I would highly recommend this product to parents, grandparents, homeschoolers or anyone else who would like to allow a sturdy manipulative for children to use for word play and word building lessons.

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*Please note: I chose this product and paid for it using a CSNStores Gift Code in exchange for my honest review of this product here and on my Clothesline Musings blog. I have received no other form of compensation.

Originally submitted at Toys and Games Online

Nutrition 101: Choose Life! -- A TOS Review

Recently, as a member of The TOS Homeschool Crew, 

our family received

 by Growing Healthy Homes.

Nutrition 101: Choose Life! is a 448 page program that not only looks at food and nutrients but takes the student into an in-depth study of how we eat, what we eat, how the body works, and how food affects the body.

I received an electronic version of the program that is available both in CD and hardback book form. (Prices at end of review.)  The full color photographs, diagrams and illustrations are beautiful.

Here is an illustration of the human eye.

 The information included within is as good if not better than what I have seen in most biology books and kept my interest much better than the Nutrition Text I used in college for nursing.  The anatomy and physiology information is perhaps only one notch or two lower (mostly in medical terminology) than most of the nursing books that I read on these body systems while obtaining my Licensed Practical Nurse Certificate.

Click play below to watch an informational video on the program:

What's in the Book:

The book contains 6 units which cover the 12 main body systems:

Unit 1 - The Brain and Nervous System
Unit 2 - The Digestive System
Unit 3 - The Respiratory, Olfactory, Auditory and Visual Systems
Unit 4 - The Muscular and Skeletal Systems
Unit 5 - The Cardiovascular and Immune Systems
Unit 6 - The Endocrine System and Emotions

Diagram from the Respiratory Chapter.

 Each unit contains 4 chapters allowing for the unit topic to be broken down into more manageable parts.  Here is an example of how the first two units are broken down:  

Unit 1(The Brain & Nervous System) is broken down into:

Chapter 1:  The Brain

Chapter 2:  Brain Health & Nutrition

Chapter 3:  The Nervous System

Chapter 4:  Nervous System & Nutrition

and Unit 2 (The Digestive System) is broken down into:

Chapter 1:  The Digestive System

Chapter 2:  Digestive Health and Nutrition

Chapter 3:  Enzymes

Chapter 4:  Elimination

Click here for a free download which includes the entire introduction, table of contents, as well as glimpses into the book.

Chapters are structured as unit studies to be completed in one week with the entire book to be completed in a year. Yet they are organized in such a way that you can skip over information (especially for younger students) or go deeper into information as your family desires.  The authors of the program state that this is a one time purchase that can be done over and over and can be easily adapted to the age, maturity and abilities of your family members.   

 In all honesty, there is so much information and so many fun activities, experiments and crafts in this book I can not fathom hitting it all the first time you work through the book. 

 This is a product designed to be used and then repeated again in your child's educational future.

Each chapter begins with in-depth body system information and then discusses how nutrition affects those body systems.  The chapter then breaks into: discussion questions, activities, additional resources and recipes that link into each chapter.

Examples of the Discussion Questions & Activities.

The back of the book contains an Activity Guide (answer key), an appendix that is over 120 pages and a detailed index.

If you want a better understanding of what this book has to offer you really need to download their free pdf and view their example pages, HERE or view the video above.

What did we think?

I personally am very impressed with the details in this book.  The book is peppered with scripture tidbits but they embellish the pages instead of preach.  The illustrations are as good as they get without going to medical textbooks.  The activities are fun and the recipes are intriguing.  There are also several opinions laid out in the text on some controversial food topics that my family is encouraged to see (promoting raw milk and goat milk for one).  

I would LOVE to see this book in it's hardback form.   I imagine it to be so beautiful that I would barely let my children touch it.  Each CD purchaser is given a permission to print one copy of the entire book.  I have plans to do this but was unable to do so prior to this review.  It was very hard for us to view this on the computer screen.  The full screen shot made the text too small for me to comfortably read and the half screen size required us to scroll which triggered my vertigo.  I look forward to having this product in print.  :)

My oldest who is nearly 7 loved the idea of this book but when we went to read it I found he either had no idea what I was reading or I needed to adapt most of what I read into his vocabulary range.  Because of this we did not get the full experience from this book.  We did some of the recipes and touched on the basic most parts of many chapters.  I look forward to pulling this book out in future years.  Again this book is one that you can use over and over again and I really see it being very beneficial to us in the future.

The other thing that did not fit with our family is that we try to grow much of our food and the rest we try to obtain locally.  We DID TRY the Guacamole recipe but it was a splurge since avocados just don't grow in Wisconsin where it snows in Mid-April.  There were some other ingredients that I envision us never purchasing as well.   With that said there were some other recipes (Carrot & Wheat Berry Salad) that I have all the ingredients in my house stock and that we found to be quite different but tasty.

What does Nutrition 101: Choose Life! cost?

The CD-ROM sells for $79.95.

The printed book sells for $99.95

 The Combo Pack (both CD-ROM & Book) sells for $129.95
CLICK HERE to visit the Nutrition 101: Chose Life! Store 

**License to print out one copy of the book from CD is given with purchase**

HOWEVER:   

 Growing Healthy Homes is currently offering a 

 15% discount coupon code:  TOScrew11.  

This is the same discount you would receive at a homeschool fair.

Also, on Thursday,  April 21, The Old Schoolhouse is hosting a webinar with Sera Johnson, one of the authors of Nutrition 101.  This webinar will take placeat 4:00 p.m. EDT.

Last year, the Crew voted Nutrition 101: Choose Life! as the best e-product of the year. 

Please don't take my word for it.... 
check out what my 2010-2011 TOS Crew mates have to say about this product, click here.

 Growing Healthy Homes LLC was established in 2007 " to educate and train families regarding God's plan to optimum health as outlined in the Bible."  The company was started by a homeschooling mother, her oldest daughter and a daughter-in-law.  TThey are wives, mothers, teachers, researchers and speakers.

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Disclaimer:  I am a member of The Old Schoolhouse 2010-2011 Homeschool Crew and receive free products and services in exchange for a thorough and honest review.  Though I am compensated with free products, I am not compensated in the form of cash for my reviews.  My reviews will always reflect my honest opinions, findings, beliefs and experiences on the products and services that I receive.

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Lamb Cuteness & my To Do List

I can NOT believe that I have done nothing on this blog since Wednesday!

Really, you all must think I'm slacking.  Perhaps someday I will be able to blog EVERYDAY Like my blog heroes do (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!!).


What have I been doing?

Let's see Thursday we took family photos.

Friday I cleaned most the day because my house was hideously neglected.  I even mopped!!

Friday night, Saturday and Sunday my mother-in-law was here.

Saturday, hubby and I sat at a coffee house working on our own Palm Sunday stuff while Grammy took the kids to a movie a few stores down.  Then I got home and cooked up two meals and took them to a neighbor who lost his wife last week (feeling horribly late but discovering it was great timing).

Today was Palm Sunday and recovery at home.

Other than that I have pretty much been looking at a to-do list of big tasks that is all of 3 inches from my face working as fast as I can (usually accomplishing things slowly) to check the highest priority task off so that I can move to the next high priority task to check it off.   I feel like there has been no time to lose (although then I get overwhelmed and freeze and DO end up losing time!  *sigh*

I HATE living this way.  It WILL come to an end.  I DO see some of my commitments just a bit out of reach but very, very close.

One task I have been up to is sketching out a course to teach on plants using my Wisconsin Master Gardener information.   Let it be known that gardening is not my favorite task.  I took the course in order for our own gardens to do better from the information that I learned.   Now I need to do 24 hrs of volunteer work educating the community.  I thought a course teaching children in a co-op that reaches at least 4-5 different counties should hopefully get accepted.

Now I have been asked to do this not just one semester BUT THE WHOLE YEAR!!!    YIKES!   Perhaps it will feel different (and not so overwhelming) when it REALLY sinks in that it REALLY IS only once a month!

Meanwhile, I have been figuring out WHAT the course would look like (the initial idea FOR the course hit me LAST TUESDAY).  I ran it by a friend who is in the co-op and was told I needed to present an official proposal, ASAP.   So I researched what a proposal LOOKED LIKE and started lassoing my thought cloud and wrangling it into something pleasing to the eye that was only one sheet.  THAT WAS HARD.  Now I need present them with what month I will teach what topic (I hate schedules.... blahhh... I like to decide 2 days before!) I also need to summarize the WHOLE ENTIRE course into one paragraph that will WOO kids into wanting to take it. 

IF YOU KNOW NOTHING ELSE FROM READING OR even LOOKING AT MY BLOG, ME THINKS YOU CAN FIGURE OUT THAT I AM NOT A SHORT, CONCISE SORT OF GIRL AND I DON'T KNOW IF I CAN PULL OFF ONLY ONE PARAGRAPH WORTHY TO WOO ANYONE!!!

But we shall see.

Before I can work on that I need to finish my 100 question Master Gardener TEST (of which nearly EVERY question is super specific and is going to require me combing through my three 6 inch binders of information!!).

Then I have two reviews to be working on.

*sigh*

So, when I can manage to get the TO-DO list off my face I like to look outside to see if I can catch a glimpse of these sweet fuzzballs.  The one with black on her back is a 1 week old girl.  The one with the black head and white body was born today while we were at church.

And please forgive the newly post-partum ewe's staging, she just gave birth and is too hungry to turn around and pose for a cute mom-baby photo.

All About Reading - A TOS Review

Recently, as a member of The TOS Homeschool Crew, 

our family received
All About Reading Level Pre-1

from All About Learning Press (Makers of All About Spelling).

For the purpose of review my family received the 

All About Reading Deluxe Package.

It included:

• Teacher's Manual (208 pages)
• Capitol Letter Poster (21.5" x 34")
• Lower Case Letter Poster (21.5" x 34")
• Certificate of Achievement
• My Book of Letters: a learning activity book (192 pages)
• Picture Cards & Sound Cards
• Divider Cards (keeps your Picture Cards and Letter Sound Cards organized
• All About Reading Card Storage Box
• The Zigzag Zebra: a rhyming alphabet hardcover book (110 pages)
• Lizard Lou: rhymes old and new hardcover book (112 pages)
• Two Audio books on CD of Zigzag Zebra & Lizard Lou
• Letter Sounds A to Z CD
• A Folkmanis SUPER SOFT and silky Ziggy Zebra Puppet
• And a Beautifully Constructed Canvas Storage Bag with Front Pocket to carry it.

 Designed by Marie Rippel of All About Spelling, All About Reading is a curriculum for Pre-schoolers and Kindergartners that
teaches the "Big Five Skills."  

The "Big Five Skills" include:  

1. Print Awareness
2. Phonological Awareness
3. Letter Knowledge
4. Listening Comprehension
5. Motivation to Read

While children work through this program they will play games, work with rhymes, listen to engaging & clever stories, do crafts and play with a very silly zebra puppet.  This curriculum makes the child think he is playing instead of learning valuable pre-reading skills that help them learn how language works and prepares them to read.

Here is Gracie playing with Ziggy.

The program is divided into 3 parts:
Capital Letters
Lowercase Letters
and the Sounds of Letters.

Each day falls into a pattern.  It starts with singing the Alphabet Song while pointing to the corresponding letter on the letter poster. 

 

 
Next a poem is read from The Zigzag Zebra in Part One for upper case letters or Lizard Lou in Part Two for lower case letters.  Letter & sound identification is done with these poems.
  

Next up is a craft sheet from My Book of Activities.  Each craft sheet contains directions on the back.  (I would suggest looking ahead so that you can gather materials.) 

 Here are our Letter A sheets with googly eyes for the A-Alligator and eraser painted apples for our lower case a-apple tree.

We also painted blueberries on our Capital B and placed stars in the night sky for the lowercase b-bat.

Marie has a list of 7 extra activities that can be done with the letters. These are more sensory than even the craft pages and include such things as writing practice, tracing the letter in finger paint or sand or going on a letter hunt.  My kids have been outside a lot lately so we just practiced writing in the sandbox.  :)

After this Ziggy comes out to and plays with the child.  Ziggy works on rhyming and syllables, beginning word sounds, ending word sounds and other listening activities.  My kids think that Ziggy is the silliest Zebra they have ever met.  Ziggy is scripted to help the parent make Ziggy make simple mistakes.  The children are then responsible to help correct Ziggy.

Sometimes there are games to play with the Picture Cards.

Rhyming.

In Part Three the worksheets become a bit more challenging where children cut out four pictures and glue the three that begin with the letter of the day.

Children practice letter recognition by circling letters that sometimes have different looks. Other worksheets for part three include color by letter and dot to dot letter pictures.

The program also suggests that the family read together for at least 20 minutes a day.

 What do we think?
I think this would be a wonderful program for a child who does not know their alphabet or letter sounds.  I find it to be very comprehensive and is peppered with very fun activities.


Having said that I must admit that I always promise to be 100% honest in my reviews which is sometimes hard for me.   When I received this program I was thrilled.  I was VERY impressed with the quality of the materials.  The bag was sturdy, the box & divider was thoughtful, the hardback books were nice, the crafts looked very fun and the prep time was very minimal.  I thought this was going to be absolutely perfect for my 4.5 year old with whom I have done very little work with.

When we sat down to do the capitol A sheet he was pretty excited.  He LOVED Ziggy. I thought we were doing great. 


The following day I decided to pull the lower case letter A out.  We did that lesson and did okay but he was not as energetic as the first day.  I just figured it was a grumpy day.


Day 3, I pulled out both the capitol and lowercase B's out, he did the lesson but begged for us to stop on many occasions. I pulled out the Rhyming Card game and he pouted until I showed him what we were doing and then he decided it was fun to do, but only once and quickly at that.


Day 4 he began protesting the moment he saw me with the papers.  He complained that he didn't want to do any letters.  I had him do the "C" page and he scribbled as fast as he could be done with it.  I tried a few of the alternative activities and he breezed through them and announced how much he didn't like school.


That night he looked at his alphabet place mat while waiting for supper and was pointing randomly and announcing (correctly) what the letters were.  My oldest then started asking him what the letters "said" and he knew all the letter sounds.  I guess he had been paying closer attention to a video we have than I thought.

 The next day I began teaching him beginning reading and he is now skipping to the school table and announcing with great joy how much he loves school.

I think this program is a BEAUTIFUL program, I just don't think that it fit our family at this current time.  I will be tucking much of it away and am praying that I will know when to pull it out to use with Gracie.


In the meantime, I do plan on continuing the silly Ziggy activities.  I think the lessons of rhyming, beginning and ending sounds are ones that my other programs have been weak in and I think both my boys could benefit from the super silly Zebra.   :)


What does All About Reading Sell For?
You can purchase the individual components separately, click here.
You can purchase the Deluxe Package for $119.95 (what I received).
You can purchase the Basic Package for $79.95 which does not include the puppet, the box and the bag.

Would you like to look at some samples of Level Pre-1?

Check out these links.

  Teacher's Manual
  My Book of Letters Activity Book (part of the Student Material Packet)
  The Zigzag Zebra: a rhyming alphabet hardcover read-aloud book
  Lizard Lou: rhymes old and new hardcover read-aloud book

Also, go visit the All About Reading website and
download your very own FREE Activity Booklets.

To view samples and place orders click HERE.

And as always, don't just take my opinion, please check out what other TOS Crewmates have to say, click HERE.   

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Disclaimer:  I am a member of The Old Schoolhouse 2010-2011 Homeschool Crew and receive free products and services in exchange for a thorough and honest review.  Though I am compensated with free products, I am not compensated in the form of cash for my reviews.  My reviews will always reflect my honest opinions, findings, beliefs and experiences on the products and services that I receive.

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Blog Walk! Blog Walk!

(Thanks to Debbie, over at Debbie's Digest for the great picture)

Blog Walking is a great way to meet new people and read about their experiences homeschooling.  You might find someone who schools or thinks like you.  You might find great information on a new resource, curriculum or teaching technique. Blog Walking is a great way to learn more about the world of home education.

Please click around on the links below and feel free to leave a message or two if you feel led.  We bloggers like to see that other homeschoolers have found us and like what they have read.

1. Accidentally Homeschooling
2. Live The Adventure
3. Garden of Learning
4. Reviews by Heidi
5. C.H.I.N.A. Chronicles
6. A House Upon The Rock
7. Tumbleweed News
8. Simply at Home
9. Life at Rossmont
10. Abundant Blessings
11. Blue Skies Academy

Homeschool Mother's Journal #12 - April 10, 2011

Please click on the picture above to zoom over to The Homeschool Chick's website.  :)  Click HERE to see what other's were up to this week.

In my life this past week... I received, via email/download, the test for my Master Gardener Class.  I downloaded it, saved it and printed it in draft mode.  It was 13 pages, 100 question, multiple choice.  I printed a second answer sheet to be turned in on April 19.   I'm afraid of it.  I really think it is just disguised as paper and in reality is a big ol tiger with sharp teeth that could break my head off with one quick bite. Yep.   I know what pile I buried it in but that is as far as I have gotten.


Places we went and people we saw... This week we did NOT go to gym.  You can read about our lessons in "privilege" and "what nice looks like" HERE and HERE.  We DID go to the library, although on the drive there I remembered there was no "Story Time"  Saturday we went to a local strip mall that has been on the verge of death.  All of the 4H'rs in our county had tables with crafts and games.  Our club did origami.  It was amazingly fun.  I overheard a local lady tell the County Extension Staff Member that Saturday was the fullest she, in her entire 54 year old life, had ever seen the mall parking lot at one time!  Fun stuff.


In our homeschool this week...  We hit KinderBach hard because I REALLY want to finish the program before our free subscription ends.  We worked on some history: SOTW and reading about President Lincoln from a Yesterday's Classics e-book.   I also reverted back to our OPG reading program and our Saxon Math.  There is just something comforting about digging into our old faithful school text books.  :)

My favorite thing this week was ... Hubby took my oldest to the farm store on Friday and came back with donuts for us all and a bunch of purple tulips for me.  Tulips are my favorite.  My oldest son brought them to me on Friday, yet yesterday he began to announce that they were HIS flowers.  I am pretending that he did NOT demote me.  :)


Homeschool questions/thoughts I have... What are we going to do this week?  I have not sat down to plan yet.  I sat and stared at the month of April in my calendar and counted 3 more gym days left, 2 more Master Gardener evenings left, 2 reviews to write this month, 5 reviews for next month (one is drafted), 3 special church events that need me to do extra work for, my nursing license with required state survey to submit, that dreaded Master Gardening Test and the month ends in a neighboring state at a Church Planting Conference.   So I guess my question is: Will I remember to just do what we can and trust that we will be able to ramp up next month.


A photo, video, link, or quote to share...  

 And in order to fit my role as "Farmer's Wife" I of course had to put them in a milk jar!  :)

Then there was this cute little one that just looked nuzzled up in it's leaves.

Welcome to MUDVILLE -- Beware of the Quicksand!

I am thankful for all the things that I have received this past year as a reviewer for The Old Schoolhouse's Homeschool Review Crew.

One that I was ESPECIALLY thankful for today was an opportunity to review The Curiosity Files: Quicksand.  You can read my review HERE.

We have been muddy.

Last night it stormed all night.  ACTUAL RAIN (instead of something frozen)  fell from the sky along with lots of thunder and lightening.  Today that means even MORE mud everywhere.  

 There is the reason why I HATE Spring.

However, I do enjoy that it is currently 64 degrees and all the kids are outside playing.  The quiet is BLISS!  I keep a watchful eye out the window as Gracie (2.5) can now adequately maneuver the entire front yard.  Thankfully there is not a ton out there that can hurt her and nearly always I see her near a brother.

Today I heard her crying.  It was a "You Better Help Me Now" sort of cry.  I put on my slip-on farm shoes and walked straight toward the woodshed (an open shelter-- not a closed shed) from which the crying was coming.  My mind did an inventory.  We currently do not have wood high enough to fall but we do have a smaller pile that might twist an ankle if one were to climb it and the spilt logs began to roll.   I had also fallen just the other week as my foot went down in the hole of a wooden pallet used to keep the wood off the ground.  What if that had happened?

THIS is what I found (although the girl was still attached to the shoe.)

Do you even see it??

Look close!

The dark hole?

Here I will zoom in for you...

I pulled her foot out of the shoe, pulled her pants off and wiped off her feet (after all *I* was not in the mood for a mud bath).  I then whisked her into the house for a convenient nap.  :)

I needed to double stack some wood to stand close enough to get good pictures so that *I* would not sink in.  It took lots of wiggling to pry that shoe out... pulling straight out did NOT work.    I guess I need to be thankful she was not old enough to pay CLOSE attention to the Quicksand Videos that we watched as she did NOT roll onto her tummy and start to float and swim out. *giggle*

Here's what the shoes looked like when I got them into the house.

Quicksand!  The more you move the farther you get stuck and if your shoes go... scream for you mother to come get you!   Thank you Curiosity Files.  Gracie thanks you too.

Blog Walk! Blog Walk!

(Thanks to Debbie, over at Debbie's Digest for the great picture)

Blog Walking is a great way to meet new people and read about their experiences homeschooling.  You might find someone who schools or thinks like you.  You might find great information on a new resource, curriculum or teaching technique. Blog Walking is a great way to learn more about the world of home education.

Please click around on the links below and feel free to leave a message or two if you feel led.  We bloggers like to see that other homeschoolers have found us and like what they have read.

1. Homedaze
2. Pondering on the Prairie
3. Mrs. D's Homestead
4. Training Children Up for Christ
5. Ahoy Maties!
6. Mountaineer Country
7. Life with the Tribe
8. Tenacity Divine
9. Ramblings of the Blonde Mother Bear
10. Circling Through This Life

Science Weekly - A TOS Review

Recently, as a member of The TOS Homeschool Crew, 

our family received 6 grade levels and the teaching notes
for the INFLUENZA issue of 

Science Weekly to review.

Science Weekly is a printed publication providing science topics to students in homes or in schools.  Each issue is color printed on sturdy
11" x 17" paper that is then folded into a 8.5" x 11" newsletter.  They are written to National Educational Standards, include interdisciplinary applications, interactive hands-on experiences & reading in content area.   There are 6 levels offered ranging from Level Pre-A (Kindergarten) up to Level E (Grades 5-6).  When you order you will also receive teaching notes which are printed and folded in the same matter on thick 11" x 17" paper.

Here is what Science Weekly has to say about their product:

Our family received 6 levels to review on the topic of influenza.

When one sits and looks at all of the levels in one setting you can see how the information begins very simple and increases in intensity of information, vocabulary, interdisciplinary activities and lab activities.  There is much repetition between neighboring levels.  Some levels are nearly the same with very minor differences.

The teaching note pages contain background information as well as initiating questions and more in depth descriptions of the activities found within the student newsletter.   The teaching notes for the influenza edition included information about how vaccinations work and states "The best way to fight the flu is to avoid it. People should get vaccinated against both the seasonal and H1N1 flu viruses."  I was glad to see this vaccine information was only brought into the actual curriculum at level D (Grade 4) and level E (Grade 5-6).

Science Weekly has covered topics such as:  pulleys, cats, influenza, glass, fractions, composting, scuba diving, poisonous animals, caves, teeth, deserts, the moon and green buildings.

Here are some glimpses inside:

Pre-A (Kindergarten)

Level A (1st Grade)

Level C (Grade 3)

Level E (Grade 5-6)

Click HERE to view interactive online programming.

Click HERE to view Science Weekly's coloring pages.

What does Science Weekly cost?
For 20 students or more: 
Science Weekly sells for $4.95/student for 15 issues/year

(plus 10% shipping/handling).

For less than 20 students:
Science Weekly sells for $19.95/student for 15 issues/year

(plus 10% shipping/handling).

Teaching notes are included with orders of 25 or more but if you order by phone they may be obtained simply by asking.
IT IS POSSIBLE TO MIX GRADE LEVELS in one order.

 For an example of the Science Weekly issue on Sports Science click the order form HERE and then click on the sample button for the level you would like to view.

How did we use our Science Weekly Sample?

In our every day school life my children are presented with information well above what their school counterparts are exposed to.  The usage of Science Weekly did not change this.  I read to my 6.5 year old and 4 year old from level C (Grade 3) and then my 4 year old did the activities in Level Pre-A (Kindergarten) and my 6.5 year old did the activities in
Level B (Grade 2).

Here is a quote from Science Weekly:

The love‚ interest‚ and motivation to study science are part of a developmental process. It will not happen in one or two days. If the teacher doesn’t exhibit an interest and passion for the world of science‚ the development process is 
slowed down.

In our schools today‚ most instruction is focused on test preparation‚ not in-depth understanding of concepts and/or ideas. Because of this‚ coupled with teachers who are under-trained to teach science‚ science is not taught with understanding‚ interest‚ or motivation.

What did I think of Science Weekly?
I love the quote above.   I believe it is completely true.  However, I unfortunately must admit that I do not personally think that Science Weekly is the cure.  The quote states that "It will not happen in one or two days."  To be honest, Science Weekly did not come close to providing much study for us in even one day and that was with me pulling from many grade levels, a luxury that would not be available to the average subscriber. 

 I have a hard time seeing many homeschooler's using this product.  It is clearly designed for large classrooms that are divided into age levels where all the children fall within one small range of abilities in most disciplinary areas.  Homeschoolers rarely fall into that description.  I found my near 7 year old could do some disciplinary activities all the way up to level D yet could not grasp some of the vocabulary and concepts at that level.  However, that same 7 year old felt the wording to Level A (1st grade-his "grade level") was babyish.

A leveled approach is just not conducive to homeschoolers.   Our students are often all over the map individually and then when you toss siblings into the mix the way Science Weekly is designed just seems like it would not  work easily.

Not only did the levels not fit for my children but some of the activities are geared toward large groups.  One activity asked the student to make a tally mark for each child in the class and then circle one tally mark per cluster of five to represent children 1:5 having influenza.   When there are 3 children and only 2 can talk such an activity is not very helpful.

What could be altered to change my opinion?

I would be much more interested if Science Weekly would merge all the levels together so that all the information is included per one subscription and the teacher (homeschooling mom) could pick and choose the information given and activities assigned.

Also, I feel that if Science Weekly is to appeal to homeschoolers it needs to be redesigned to fit the home environment.  Homeschoolers are master tweakers but it is sometimes a great challenge to continuously change activities to fit a family when they were written for a classroom full of 25-35 students.

My last alteration request would be reducing the price for individual subscriptions!  If shipping were the issue I could understand the large price difference between the class option and the individual option but then I realized the 10% is charged for shipping and handling for all orders.   A $15 difference seems outrageous when one is receiving the same product with activities that can't even be used as written by the homeschool teacher.

My final thoughts:

   I think the idea of this product has potential.
I think this product might work really well in large classes.
Personally, I feel the topics are all over the map and if I am not capable of developing my own science curriculum, and I am going to be spending money, I would rather at this time spend that money on a lapbook or unit study developed for the homeschool environment.

BUT. . . . 

don't just take my opinion, please check out what other TOS Crewmates have to say, click HERE.   

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Disclaimer:  I am a member of The Old Schoolhouse 2010-2011 Homeschool Crew and receive free products and services in exchange for a thorough and honest review.  Though I am compensated with free products, I am not compensated in the form of cash for my reviews.  My reviews will always reflect my honest opinions, findings, beliefs and experiences on the products and services that I receive.

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