The Youth Virtue Journal is a slim ring-bound workbook with a huge goal: to help teens choose virtues. Working with a mentor, teens will learn how to be attentive, content, forgiving, gentle, helpful, honest, obedient, perseverant and respectful. The booklet contains a form for parental input as well. Each of the nine chapters contains [...]
Reviews: Curriciulum Choice
Review: English Literature for Boys and Girls by H.E. Marshall
Ambleside Online has influenced our family in many ways, not the least by introducing us to great books. One that we’ve been using for many years is English Literature for Boys and Girls by H.E. Marshall, written in 1909. We are blessed to have a century-old copy for our teens, complete with roughly cut pages [...]
Sisters in the Wilderness, an Introduction to Canadian History and Literature
Here’s a wonderful introduction to Canadian history and literature for the whole family: Sisters in the Wilderness. This DVD portrays the mid-19th century pioneer life of two sisters who sailed from England expecting an easy existence in the Canadian bush. Incorporating both contemporary artwork and dramatization, this quality film full of beauty, pathos, humanity, and [...]
Review: Geography Songs
You know how, in secret societies, people recognize each other by a sign, a gesture, or a word? Well, that’s how I used to feel about Geography Songs. You’d just have to start, “North A-MER-i-ca,” and any homeschooler nearby would join in, “South A-MER-i-ca!” That’s how we could tell who homeschooled. I haven’t heard much [...]
How to Raise Your High School Grades by Half a Point in One Semester
Teens need to think about thinking, studying, time management, and the future. There are all sorts of serious, sober, and expensive approaches to these topics. However, if your family has a sense of humor and likes outside-the-box ideas, Gary North’s free study course might work for you. How to Raise Your High School Grades by [...]
CalcuLadder: Turning Finger Counters into Number Crunchers
We’ve tried many computer and online math drill programs. We’ve even used flashcards. But we often return to the first formal drill program we bought years ago: Calculadder by Dr. Myers. It’s quick, simple, very effective, and can be used for all the children in a family…. You can read the rest of the review [...]
Foundations in Personal Finance Curriculum, Revisited
During school time Mr. 16 was sitting at the computer, chuckling. Having that much fun doing ‘schoolwork’ suggests to me that it’s not really schoolwork on the computer…. So I sternly asked, “What are you doing?” Sweetly he answered, “Dave Ramsey,” and continued chortling. After listening to a few more minutes of this laughter, I [...]
Review: Anno’s Math Books
It is very difficult to find living math books that present complex topics in an accessible way. One math author whose books we have learned to love is Mitsumasa Anno. Anno believes “that mathematics is more than merely manipulating numbers, it is a way of thinking, and that it has bearing on all scholastic subjects, [...]
Review: How to Read a Book by Adler and Van Doren
So now your children know how to read. Congratulations! That’s a major step, but does it mean that their reading instruction finished? Not at all, we’ve found. How to Read a Book: The Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading teaches the average reader how to understand, analyze, and learn from books. It takes students beyond [...]
Curriculum Choice Review: Comprehensive Record Solution
The prospect of getting homeschooled kids into university can seem quite frightening. I was recently talking with a mom who is going to do online public school so that her children will have ‘the right courses’ to enter university. She was cheerfully determined to follow this course, so I didn’t try to dissuade her, but [...]
