Our Own Personal Favorites and the TOS Review Blue Ribbon Awards (2015)

This has been an AMAZING review year and I’m happy to announce that I have been invited back for another year with The Schoolhouse Review Crew!  This will be my 4th year on the Review Crew, and it’s been nothing short of an amazing experience!

 

Below you can find the Crew Favorites (we all voted, our kid did too!), but I wanted to take a second to highlight a few of MY personal favorites!  Many of what we have reviewed over this year, I am currently using as part of our curriculum for the current school year. 

 

First and foremost I want to give a HUGE SHOUT OUT to IEW!  This is a program I always wanted to try, and I so thankful and feel so blessed to have been able to try this program this year.   I love it!  We use IEW for Writing, Grammar and Spelling!  I recommend it to everyone I talk to, particularly those whose children are struggling in writing and spelling!   It has been an amazing gift! 

You can read my reviews for IEW Writing and IEW Spelling to learn more about these amazing programs!  You can also see below that it won OVERALL favorite for the crew!

 

The more kids I am homeschooling, the harder it is to spend the one on one time with them.  The more they can do on their own, the easier it is for me.  My 9 year old has become a lot more independent over this year and CTC Math couldn’t have come about at a better time!  It has been great for my son to have the freedom and independence to complete his math assignments ON HIS OWN! 

 

Another great digital program is Visual Learning Systems, Digital Online Science!  My kids love to watch TV, and these short clips, followed by worksheets and experimental applications have been an awesome way to do science with my kids (together, all at once!).  We are still loving this program and using it for our core science program.

 

Reading Kingdom has also been an amazing blessing for my 6.5 year old.  The lessons are short and sweet, and I really feel like they fit his learning style. This was our second round with this program, and it definitely came around at the right time this round.

 

And last, but not least… Homeschool Planet has been an amazing tool!  I have not really liked any planner that I have tried, it was never flexible enough for our crazy, (sometimes up in the air) schedules.  This program has worked perfectly!  I also love that I can print off a daily checklist for my 9yo, to further his independence! 

 

I’m really looking forward to the coming year!  I really enjoy doing reviews, and hope somehow my reviews are benefiting you! 

 

 

Favorite Reading Curriculum: Reading Kingdom

Favorite Writing Curriculum: Institute for Excellence in Writing

Favorite Vocabulary Program: Dynamic Literacy Favorite Spelling Program: Institute for Excellence in Writing: Phonetic Zoo

Favorite Grammar Program: Institute for Excellence in Writing: Fix-It! Grammar Favorite Penmanship Program: CursiveLogic

Favorite Literature Curriculum: Progeny Press

Favorite History Curriculum: Home School in the Woods

Favorite History Supplement: Heirloom Audio Productions: In Freedom's Cause Favorite Science Curriculum: Visual Learning Systems

Favorite Science Supplement: Ann McCallum Books: Eat Your Science Homework Favorite Math Curriculum: CTC Math

Favorite Math Supplement: SimplyFun

Favorite Christian Education Curriculum: Grapevine Studies

Favorite Christian Education Supplement: Brinkman Adventures

Favorite Foreign Language Curriculum: Middlebury Interactive Language Favorite Fine Arts Product: Maestro Classics

Favorite Elective Curriculum: Apologia Educational Ministries: Field Trip Journal Favorite Audio Drama: Brinkman Adventures

Favorite Video: FishFlix.com

Favorite Preschool Product: La La Logic

Favorite Elementary Product: Star Toaster

Favorite Middle School Product: The Critical Thinking Co

Favorite High School Product: Writing with Sharon Watson

Favorite College or College-Prep Product: Freedom Project Education

Favorite Parent Product: Koru Naturals

Favorite Planning Product: Apologia Educational Ministries: The Ultimate Homeschool Planner

Best Resource I Didn't Know I Needed: Homeschool Planet

Best Online Resource: Super Teacher Worksheets

Best e-Product: Home School in the Woods

Just for Fun: USAopoly

Kids' Choice: La La Logic

Teens' Choice: YWAM Publishing

All Around Crew Favorite: Institute for Excellence in Writing

Thank you!

I'm so excited, I received a email this morning containing this:

Nominations were submitted by our readers from January 18th through February 15 for six homeschooling award categories. I will be awarding total of six Homeschooling WINNER badges on March 30th.

The top five finalists in each category will be put to a vote starting February 22 through March 21. Readers are allowed to vote once a day during the voting period. Please get the word out to your friends, family members, Facebook Friends, Twitter buddies, etc. to cast votes on your behalf... be sure to let them know to return often and keep voting! FYI, voters are required to give their email address OR be logged-in to Facebook or About.com before casting their votes. This requirement assures a fair contest for all the finalists.

Please click the badge above to vote for me, as stated ONE vote per day is allowed per facebook account!  

VOTE HERE

The Versatile Blogger Award

Thank you to The Learning Hypothesis and The Chaos and the Clutter
for this award!

I love hearing about how my blog has given other ideas and/or helped them in some way!  Thanks for nominating me and for reading my blog!  It made my day!  The whole reason I blog is in hopes that I might help someone else, even the slightest bit, since so many bloggers have been such an inspiration to me!

To accept The Versatile Blogger Award, I need to:
1. Link back to the bloggers who awarded me.
2. Share 7 things about myself.
3. Nominate 15 other blogs.
Let’s get started:

1.  I served in the US Army, I studied Arabic, I wasn’t very good at it and I never completed training because I received a medical discharge with just under 3years of service (due to Fibromyalgia, which I swear was caused mostly by studying Arabic!)

2.  The one good thing that came from my short term of military service, was that I met my husband, we have been married for just under 10yrs now.

3.  I’m the oldest of 5 children, all boys and me….The Lord must have figured I knew what I was doing, I’ve since been blessed with 3 boys of my own

4.  I graduated from High School a year early, and was only 16 years old.

5.  My first job (aside from babysitting) was working at McDonald’s at the age of 16, I quickly moved up the ladder to Assistant Manager at the age of 19.

6.  After graduation I went straight to community college, my short term goal was a certificate in phlebotomy, my long term goal was a nursing degree, at just 4credits from my cert, I switched my major to Early Childhood Education….I was the first student they thought was going to pass out drawing someone's blood, and figure it’d be best to quit before clinical…phlebotomy was NOT my thing!  Changing my major was the best thing I ever did, I completed my CDA, my AAS, my BS and my MS all in Early Childhood, and feel it’s been a great help to me in homeschooling my children.

7.  My first Early Childhood Job was at La Petite Academy, at age 17, (I worked 2 jobs, and at one point I worked 4).  As much as I love children, I would never trade being able to take care of my own!

I nominate (listed in no particular order):

Adventures in Home Education

Schooling in the Sun

Our Side of the Mountain

Homeschool Escapade

Discovery Days and Montessori Moments

Kathy’s Cluttered Mind

The Ophoffs

Homeschool Mo

Living Life Intentionally

Keeping it Simple

Home Grown Hearts Academy

Rockabye Butterfly

Our Little Monkeys

The Princess and the Tot

Teach Beside Me

The Versatile Blogger Award

Thank you Kristi from The Potters Hand Academy Blog for this award :D

The rules of the award are:
Thank the giver.
Tell seven things about yourself.
Award fifteen bloggers with the award.

Seven things about myself:

1.  I'm always tired
2.  I love to read, but rarely get past one page before falling asleep
3.  I spend too much time on the computer
4.  I'm a bit OCD, and am seriously stressed about still not being settled in the new house (it's been 3mos)
5.  I shop online WAY to much
6.  I like to scrapbook and do other crafts, but never find the time to do them
7.  I just moved to Hawaii and I'm loving it!

I’m awarding the Versatile Blogger Award to:
1. http://unitstudy.blogspot.com/
2. http://dev.myfourmonkeys.com/
3. http://our-homeschool-journey.blogspot.com/
4.  http://ourbusyhomeschool.blogspot.com/
5.  http://almostunschoolers.blogspot.com/
6.  http://helpinglittlehands.blogspot.com/
7.  http://livingmontessorinow.com/
8.  http://ahensnest.com/
9.  http://mamato3blessings.blogspot.com/
10.  http://homeschoolmommatoccm.blogspot.com/
11.  http://www.hsclassroom.net/
12.  http://growingyourhomeschool.blogspot.com/
13.  http://teachbesideme.blogspot.com/
14.  http://nogginsandnonsense.blogspot.com/
15.  http://thebagelfactory.blogspot.com/