Do You Have a Secret?

Last year after reading Books One and Two of the Secret of the Hidden Scrolls from WorthyKids, an imprint of Hachette Book Group, Colby and I began anticipating when the next two in the series would be published.  They are finally here and we are so excited to share a review with you! The Great Escape (Book #3) and Journey to Jericho (Book #4) did not disappoint.  Written by M.J. Thomas, these two paperbacks, about 120 pages each, continue the adventures of siblings Mary and Peter and their dog Hank.  While staying with their great uncle Solomon, they discover secret scrolls that, with the roar of a lion, transport them back into ancient Bible times.

The Great Escape sees the kids transported to Egypt during the times of the plagues.  There they meet a princess, Shephara, and witness the plagues first hand- rivers of blood, uncountable frogs, gnats and flies, dead animals, boils, and finally the death of the firstborn children.  In a race against time, the kids follow Moses into the desert chased by Pharaoh and the Grand Magician, trying to solve the secret of the hidden scroll before it is too late.

In Journey to Jericho Mary and Peter discover their archeologist great uncle was once a spy.  After explaining he had once discovered an artifact that could help prove the Bible was true, he told them he had since dedicated his life to that mission.  Once again, the roar of a lion sends the kids on a new adventure, this time to the city of Jericho.  There they meet Rahab and she helps them escape the city before its destruction.

Written for ages 6-9, with a reading level of 1-3rd graders, these little books are admittedly a simple read for my son who is a sixth grader.  None the less, we LOVE these stories and I highly recommend them for elementary and middle schoolers.  They also make fabulous family read alouds- if you can commandeer them from your child's room.  While they are fiction and embellished for the sake of fun, they do tell the intended Bible story well, backed with facts from the Bible.  They are exciting, well written, and encourage faithfulness and steadfastness, as exhibited in the actions of the siblings, Peter and Mary who don't give up, even when afraid of overwhelmed.

 

So how did we "use" these books?  Well, of course as soon as they arrived in our mailbox they were whisked away by my son.  We read the first two in the series out loud together, but this time he insisted that was silly and he knew how to read!  Oh, how fast they grow up!  As we do with all our our "school" books, (we are homeschoolers after all) I did require Colby to write a summary of each book after he read them.  This helps me know he understood them, as well as continues to help him improve on his writing and summarizing skills.  I typically have him write one paragraph about the book, and one paragraph on what he liked about the book.

What you probably cannot see is what he said, so let me share with you some of his thoughts-
"The most exciting part is when they have to escape the man in black.  I also like when they sneak into Jericho."  "...it is exciting and it also shows you what happened in the Bible." "I really like when they get clues to solve the puzzles."

If you are looking for a fun read for your kids, maybe even a fun Easter present, The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls series is one we think you will enjoy!

Sixty fellow Crew members also had the opportunity to review The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls books, including three that have done amazing video reviews.  By clicking on the banner below, you can see them all!

Our Favorite Blue Ribbon Winners

Each year The Homeschool Review Crew gives out Blue Ribbon Awards for their favorite review products of the year.  It is a much anticipated event among the Crew and sometimes the competition is fierce.  This year was no exception, as we were blessed by so many amazing vendors and curriculum this year.

The voting is finished and the results are in! Though it was a close race in several categories, 22 companies rose to the top out of the 66 total reviews the Crew did for the year.  That is over 4,500 review, you guys!

Favorite Reading Curriculum – Reading Eggs

Favorite Writing Curriculum – Memoria Press

Favorite Grammar Program- GrammarPlanet

Favorite Vocabulary Resource- Roman Roads Media

Favorite Penmanship Program- CursiveLogic

Favorite Literature Curriculum –Homeschool Navigator

Favorite History Curriculum- Drive Thru History Adventures

Favorite History Supplement – Home School in the Woods: Á La Carte Projects

Favorite Science Curriculum – Apologia: Anatomy

Favorite Math Curriculum – Whizz Education

Favorite Foreign Language Program – Roman Roads

Favorite Fine Arts Program – ARTistic Pursuits

Favorite Elective Curriculum – Code for Teens

Favorite Christian Education Curriculum – Bible Study Guide for All Ages

Favorite Christian Education Supplement – Planet 316

Favorite Preschool Product- Starfall Education Foundation

Favorite Elementary Product – Branch Out World

Favorite Middle School Product- The Critical Thinking Co.™

Favorite High School Product- The Master and His Apprentices

Favorite Parent Product – Great Waters Press

Best Resource I Didn’t Know I Needed – Lisa Tanner Writing

Best Online Resource – Drive Thru History Adventures

Best e-Product – Home School in the Woods

Favorite Book –YWAM

Favorite Audiobook or Audio Drama – Heirloom Audio: Wulf the Saxon

Kids’ Choice –Reading Eggs

Teens’ Choice –Drive Thru History Adventures

Crew Favorite –Drive Thru History Adventures

I am not going to tell you all which ones I voted for, but I will share the reviews I did for some of the winners!   As Product Manager for the Crew, let me tell you that all our vendors are winners in my book.  One of the cool things about homeschooling curriculum is what doesn't work for one family may be perfect for another.  That is why I always give you an honest opinion of what we have used and then encourage you to check it out for yourself.  Our kids are all unique and have different likes and needs.

As you explore these vendors, keep in mind that many have gone before you in using the products and the reviews out there are to help you navigate your decisions.

The Homeschool Crew may be fairly quiet for a few months, but have no doubt we are getting ready for another big year of more vendors and more products.  Get ready to be blessed in 2019!

Congratulations to all of the winners!

Our reviews you may want to check out-

 Drive Through History Adventures

• Apologia- All of their science programs are amazing!
• Bible Study Guide for All Ages
• The Critical Thinking Co.
• YWAM
• Heirloom Audio:Wulf the Saxon
• Whizz Education 

Blessings,

The Story of the Thirteen Colonies & The Great Republic and 200 Questions About Amerian History Homeschool Review Crew Review

Oh my word, what a blog title, huh?  It may be a long one, but stick with me, because it is so worth it!  You know we are history buffs around here but this review, well, it exceeded my expectations and has covered two kids and one adult! ME!

Yes, a while back we had the opportunity to review H.A. Guerber's The Story of the Thirteen Colonies & the Great Republic Set as well as the 200 Questions About American History Set from Memoria Press.  It was easy to jump in and say yes to this review because we love Memoria Press, having reviewed several of their other products in the past.  They never let us down and are becoming one of our favorite homeschool companies!

So let me start with the product details and then tell you the fun stuff!

 

The Story of the Thirteen Colonies & The Great Republic set includes:

•  The Story of the Thirteen Colonies & The Great Republic Book

• Student Guide (which contains the written worksheets)

• Teacher's Guide (which contains the answer keys, a huge appendix, tests, and test keys)

The 200 Questions About American History Set includes:

• Student Guide (which contains a recommended reading list and test schedule, drill questions, timeline, notable quotes, president list, and lyrics for a few songs.)

•  Teacher's Guide (includes answer guide, tests, and test key)

•  200 flashcards 

 

Recommended Use-
In the 200 Questions About American History Set you will find a Weekly Schedule for 34 weeks of use.  For each week there is a reading selection(s) from Guerber's book, drill questions that correspond with the reading, specific timeline events to memorize, quotes to memorize, and any presidents during that time to memorize.  Quizzes and tests are also listed.  Teamed with the recommended Story of the World, Volume 4, this weekly schedule makes this a complete year of history.   The target age is grades 5-8, but honestly I would easily use this as a read aloud to younger children without the questions, or for older kids who love history or need to review facts!

How we used it-
So you know the beauty of homeschooling is you can do things however you want, right?  Well this is how things played out in our house.  We are currently finishing up our school year which includes history.  Therefore, I decided I would review this curriculum by myself with the intention of using it next year when we started fresh.  So much for that plan!  I picked up the Guerber book first and began to read.  Hooked!  Seriously, I loved it immediately.  While chronological, each chapter is independent and are only a few pages long so each can be read in short spurts.  I even took it on vacation and read it on the beach.  I have decided that I should have paid more attention in school, but that is a whole different blog post.  

Since then, I have also been reading the chapters out loud to my almost 10 year old son who loves anything history these days.   

In the meantime, my high school freshman has been studying for the CLEP tests and we realized that the 200 Questions are a PERFECT way to review for it!  We are currently using the flashcards to quiz him.  Well, we are quizzing each other, really.  He and I have had contest to see who can get the most right, and his father even got in on the action one night.  Let's just say he remembers more than we do.  After a few days of reviewing, we saw an improvement on his CLEP practice test, so we are continuing to use the flashcards to review.  Once he is finished with his current history program, he will begin to go through the written questions provided with the 200 questions set as well as read    The Story of the Thirteen Colonies & The Great Republic book.

 

This is what happens when the competition gets intense!

One of the subsets of the 200 Questions is a group of presidential flashcards.  Ironically, my 9 year old has an obsession with anything presidential and loves to entertain anyone who will listen with his knowledge.  He also loves seeing if you know more than he does, so those flashcards have become his quizzing cards.  Hey, if it works, go for it!

We HIGHLY recommend these two sets and well, anything from Memoria Press, quite frankly!  


Other reviewers also reviewed Memoria's Literature and Greek programs- check out those reviews!
 

KidsEmail.org- Homeschool Review Crew Review

I cannot even begin to tell you how much my 9 year old likes getting mail.  Seriously, it can make his week.  But in this world of technology, snail mail is slowly becoming a thing of the past.  We have been hesitant to allow him on email because of all the potential doors we felt it could open. And open doors we wanted to avoid-

Like security
and strangers
and spam
and p*rn
and...
the list goes on and on unfortunately.  Let's be honest, the world of computers and technology can be a dangerous place for little people these days.

Enter KidsEmail.org!  When I saw this vendor on our Homeschool Review Crew vendor list I knew I wanted to see what they were about.  The Annual Subscription we have been using is amazing.

Let me start with a WOW!!  We love this concept.

An email account for children with all the benefits of email and all the protection you as a parent can want.  Yep, I am sold.  And so is Colby, but more on that in a minute.

Let me tell you about KidsEmail.org.

It is such an ingenious idea and simple to use.  You simply sign your child up for an account using their hosting system which will add a kidsemail.org tag to your account.

And then the fun begins.  YOU get to choose all kinds of filters for your child!

Things like-

• Email monitoring-

          Yes, I want to see all outgoing emails.
          Yes, I want to see all incoming emails.

• Yes or no to attachments
• offensive word filter
• yes or no to pictures
• the power to choose your child's contacts
• the power to choose when a child is able to access their email
• the ability to block senders
• GPS tracker
• activity logs
• advanced modes for older kids and teens

In addition, there are no ads for your child to view!

Micromanaging?  Maybe!  But frankly, so what? I have been charged with the responsibility of raising the kids God has blessed me with and I take that responsibility seriously. So no, I do not mind micromanaging their world while they are young.

Our experience!
This has been such a blessing in our home.  Colby, age 9, has turned into an emailing monster.  But in a good way!  When we first began with the program, he emailed as many people as I gave him access to every.single.day!  Some may have even been blessed with multiple emails in one day.  (sorry friends!)  Let me tell you, they were not impressive emails.

So we regrouped and laid down some ground rules.  Like, you can check your email and email people ONCE a day!  And if you are going to email, you must make sense and use complete sentences! Score one for mom!  It has worked.  His emails have gotten a bit longer, not as random, and slightly more understandable.

In addition, we have been able to learn a bit about the keyboard and what the different symbols mean that are on the email form.  Things like font, bold, text size, how to add color, etc.  It has been a mini word processing lesson with some fun in between.

In case you are worried, it has been fun, I promise.  Having an email has given our sweet boy an opportunity to connect on his own with friends and family across the miles.  We are a military family, after all, so we have people we love both near and far.  Emailing them has allowed Colby to be in touch without the dependence on me or dad.

There are also template options that allow your child to change the look of their account and make it more personalized to fit their style.  A drawling board is also included that allows your child to draw pictures to include on his or her email.


Final words!
This is an easy product to gush about.  We simply have had a great experience using it and can't say enough about what we feel is value added to our son's day.  By giving him the freedom to communicate with friends, under the protection of the KidsEmail.org service, we are allowing him to better communicate with friends and family, while picking up some valuable skills as well.  Can't beat that!

Still on the fence?  You can try KidsEmail for free!  Give it a try!