VIRTUAL FIELD TRIP ~ GEOLOGY ROCKS!

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Beethoven for Kids

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

Beethoven for Kids – His Life and Music with 21 Activities is a wonderful introduction to Beethoven’s prodigious music and his tremendous influence on the world of classical music for children. The paperback book is 129 pages in length. Each chapter is full of pictures, historical side notes, fun activities, games, musical challenges, recipes, historical figures, and more. There are 10 chapters included in the book.

The book is intended to be read chapter by chapter. Each chapter is between 7 and 13 pages in length. The book is intended for ages 9+ and grades 4+. This book would be appropriate for both homeschool as well as the classroom. To give you an idea of what your child will learn let’s explore a chapter. Chapter 1, entitled, Vibrating Sounds, explores the early years of Beethoven’s life. Beethoven from an early age was said to be very gifted musically. In school Beethoven struggled with pretty much every subject and his teachers often complained. They describe how children used “hornbooks, which were pieces of wood with a handle on which a lesson was attached then covered with a thin piece of horn to keep the page clean. Ludwig’s hornbook was always messy, and the paper containing his lesson was often torn and blurry.” There are instructions given to Make a Hornbook and Quill Pen. Also, in the chapter, there are instructions for a game called, Blind and Bell. Side notes on, The Industrial Revolution, The Patronage System, and a Music Notes: What is Improvisation? is included within the chapter. The first chapter takes readers from Beethoven’s birth through about age 6. Important musical terms appear in bold print. There is a glossary in the back of the book with musical terms and their definitions. 

I thought that this book was very illuminating into the life of one of the worlds most talented composers, Ludwig Van Beethoven. Helen Bauer does a great job at capturing Beethoven’s life. She sensitively including many difficult situations within his family. She didn’t shy away from Beethoven’s negative character traits. Beethoven studied under Haydn and Haydn said that Beethoven an independent attitude, hot temper, was often impatient and unreasonable. With that said, it was Beethoven’s determination that eventually made him who he would become in the world of great composers and musicians. He was definitely a musical genius of his time. He didn’t care what critics had to say. His music was highly sought after and heard by many. The book does a wonderful job at keeping a child’s attention. My 11-year-old enjoyed learning about Beethoven and his life. She enjoyed the activities throughout the book. One of her favorite activities was to, Make a Model Eardrum. We all know that at the age of 31, Beethoven, began to experience hearing lose. He was experiencing tinnitus, which is ringing in the ears. Another fun activity that she really liked was to Make Austrian Apple Pancakes. Beethoven enjoyed Vienna and the food, one being apple pancakes. 

I would highly recommend this book as an introductory book about Beethoven for children. The book gives a balanced view of his life while adding in fun activities and historical side notes. 

-Product review by Jennifer Ladewig, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, March 2020

Memoria Press ~ A Review

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

Over the past weeks my daughter has been learning Latin with Latina Christiana Complete Set from Memoria Press. Latina Christiana is intended for students in 3rd through 6th grade. With that said, it is a complete Latin grammar course for beginner students of all ages. The course was written specifically written for the teacher with no Latin background. Memoria Press has a whole Latin curriculum beginning with Prima Latina for Early Elementary grade levels and First Form through Fourth Form Latin Levels. This curriculum uses the Christian or ecclesiastical pronunciation system which is closer to modern English. The other system is Classical.

The curriculum has a total of 25 lessons. The Teacher Manual is a mirror copy of the student workbook but with overlaid answers. It also had lesson plans and teaching instructions. And of course the Teacher Manual has the quiz and test answers. The Pronunciation CD provides the student with pronunciations for each lesson. It also has the prayers and songs. The Instructional DVD's consist of 3 disks. Lessons are on average about 15 minutes.

Here is my daughter eager but apprehensive to start this new adventure. 

In Latina Christiana the goal for students by the end of the year are:

• Pronounce, spell, and translate 200 Latin words
• Learn 25 Latin sayings, two prayers, and three songs
• Define noun, verb, and adjective
• tense, number, gender, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd person
• Conjugate verbs 1st and 2nd conjugation verbs in present, imperfect, and future
• Decline 1st and 2nd declension nouns and adjectives
• Singular and plural forms of 1st and 2nd declension nouns (nominative case)
• Complete Latin sentences, subject/verb agreement in number/person
• Make adjectives and nouns agree in number/gender
• Recite and spell five cases of Latin nouns
• Derivatives
• History and Geography (Optional)

As I stated earlier, Memoria Press has a whole Latin Curriculum. While Latina Christiana fits into their standard 3rd - 6th grade model, this course can be used for all ages. Third graders can complete the course in one year but may need two years to compete it. The older elementary age child should be able to complete the course in an academic year. A high school student may be able to complete this course in a semester.

So what exactly are the components of the curriculum?

1. Greetings, oral conversations, oral recitation, oral review
2. New Lesson: saying, vocabulary, derivatives, grammar, history (optional)
3. Exercises
4. Written drill with CD (3x a week is recommenced)
5. Review, games
6. Quiz

The curriculum is very flexible depending on your schooling situation. We opted to complete one lesson a week. Each lesson has the above components. After 5 lessons there is a cumulative test over the lessons. There is a quiz after each lesson. Each lesson begins with a saying. The saying for Lesson 5 is, Mea culpa which means My fault, I am guilty. Students practice sayings from previous lessons. Each lesson has new vocabulary words. Some of the vocabulary words from Lesson 5 are pugno - I fight and luna-ae - moon. Again, students needs to practice vocabulary words from previous lessons. Vocabulary flashcards are included in the complete set. I had my daughter go through the vocabulary cards twice a day. The grammar section introduces the student to Latin declensions or conjugations, etc. These need to be memorized. Students then have an exercise section where they put into practice what they have learned. They translate phrases and saying that they have been learning. They answer fill in the blank questions pertaining to grammar questions. There is a section on translation from Latin to English and English to Latin. Sometimes there will be a declension fill in the blank. Last, there is a Derivatives section where the student must complete sentences with derivative they have learned. The quizzes at the end of the lessons are a wonderful way to ensure that students have mastered the lesson. 

Here my daughter is working hard at practicing her Latin vocabulary. 

It is FINALLY TEST TIME. My daughter did wonderful on her first test. 

She made a 94%!

Here is some snapshots from one of the video sessions. 

At first my daughter was very unsure that she would be able to learn Latin. She proved to herself that she was very capable of learning Latin and doing it very well. It took time and hard work but it is fun to watch her master Latin. 

I would highly recommend Memoria Press and Latina Christiana to homeschoolers and educators. Definitely check out what my Fellow Crew Members had to say about this curriculum. Some of the other crew members reviewed the other Latin levels so definitely check the reviews out. 

Social Media

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/memoriapress
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MemoriaPress
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/memoriapress/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/memoriapress/memoria-press/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/memoriapress

Math Essentials ~ A Review

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

Over the past weeks my 11th grader has been working her way through No-Nonsense Algebra from Math Essentials. This is a softcover textbook. The author and teacher of the book, Richard W. Fisher sees No-Nonsense Algebra as not simply your everyday algebra textbook. Rather, he has turned the text into a system of teaching algebra. The 5 key parts are:

1. Introduction and Explanation of each new topic
2. Helpful Hints, important tips and shortcuts
3. Examples with step-by-step solutions
4. Written Exercises
5. Review Section to ensure that the student remembers what they have learned

There are a total of 10 chapter in the text and they include:

1. Necessary Tools for Algebra
2. Solving Equations
3. Graphing and Analyzing Linear Equations 
4. Solving and Graphing Inequalities
5. Systems of Linear Equations and Inequalities
6. Polynomials
7. Rational Expressions 
8. Radical Expressions and Geometry
9. Quadratic Equations 
10. Algebra Word Problems

At the end of the book students will find a very helpful section that includes the following:

• Glossary
• Important Formulas
• Important Symbols
• Multiplication Table
• Commonly Used Prime Numbers
• Squares and Square Roots
• Fraction/Decimal Equivalents

At the end of the book students will also find the solutions to all of the problems found in the lessons. There are also quizzes and a final reviews that are included after each chapter.

Here is an example of one of the lessons.

There really isn't space to do the work in the book so my daughter used a notebook to do her work in. I think that is what is intended for the student to do, but don't quote me on that. 

All lessons have a companion video lesson that is taught by Richard W. Fisher. These video lessons are extremely helpful. Mr. Fisher does a wonderful job at breaking down each new concept being taught step-by-step. Plenty of examples are worked through before students are sent off to do the written practice. I also love that there is a review built into each lesson so that students are able to continually reinforce what they have already learned. Math builds upon itself and it is so important to ensure that past concepts are not lost. 

Math is definitely not one of my daughters strong subjects and she GROANED when I presented her with this book. As she began the lessons she kept on saying, "This is definitely not No-Nonsense." She was definitely challenged but she has been doing well with the lessons overall. I think that the workbook has been quite positive. It has been the best resource for getting her Algebra that I have found so far. Due to chronic medical conditions she has struggled to keep up with math. So for her it has been a DOUBLE WHAMMY! A twofold setback, a dislike and struggle with the subject and health issues. 

I would recommend No-Nonsense Algebra to parents looking for an Algebra book for their students that are struggling with the subject and need help over the summer. This is a great tool for homeschoolers. This would also be a great text for adults wanting to refresh on their Algebra skills. Definitely read what my Fellow Homeschool Review Crew Members had to say about No-Nonsense Algebra and some of the other math books that were reviewed by Richard W. Fisher. 

Social Media

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/math.essentials/

New York Historical Society Museum and Library ~ Virtual Tour

We have never been to New York and so it was a real treat to

get to have an hour long history lesson on some of the greatest 

historical landmarks and events that have taken place in 

New York. My 11-year-old learned so much during this time. She was

most fascinated by P.T. Barnum, the Mermaid, the World's Fair, 

Coney Island, and the theater. 

This coin is a very interesting read. 

The fascinating history behind the "mermaid" was presented. 

This gentleman is viewing one of the first movie's through this box. 

There are lights in this woman's dress that light up the torch that she is holding. 

Thank you New York Historical Society for the wonderful

virtual tour!