Home School Product Reviews

All the reproducibles on your computer!

If you are like me the thought of going to a copy store to be ready for school next week is not high on my list of fun things to do. Mystery of History is a great program and the Mystery of History Reproducibles CD makes the program even better. It is so easy to open and print what I want when I need it. I love having the access at my fingertips instantly. Highly recommend adding this if you are using Mystery of History.

Love it! This is a great game to teach your children all about the history of the settling of our country, in a fun and easy way. Both our children, ages 5-11, and we parents love this game. It is fun to play, rewarding, educational, and a great deal for the money you pay. I highly recommend Settlers of America Trails to Rails to anyone who wants an indepth game to play with many ages, while teaching about things such as settling, creating towns, connecting towns, manifest destiny, and so much more.

Fun way to learn history

I purchased How to Draw the Life and Times of Abraham Lincoln because it was a combination of history and art. When I got it, I was concerned that my boys would freak out a little because some of the drawings are rather challenging (and art is not our strong point), but they are learning a lot about the presidents and they are having fun with the drawings. Some of our drawings of people look a little unsophisticated, but it’s been fun to challenge ourselves.

I was looking for something easy and painless to teach my son history and geography but it also had to be engaging, fun and interesting. I wasn’t sure about trying SOS (Switched on Schoolhouse History and Geography) but I am SO glad I did. It is wonderful. My 14 yo son is excited to do his history everyday and spent 2 hours yesterday exploring the links provided in the lesson with interest and enthusiasm. I wished I had used this earlier. We are also going to buy the science. I love it! Another bonus was this was even less expensive than buying it from Alpha Omega directly. So thank you Timberdoodle for offering this great product at a great price!

I’m impressed! This book (The Usborne Sticker Dressing Soldiers) is a generous size, the stickers are bright and I love the little history “bites” for each war/soldier. My daughter’s eyes lit up as it came out of the box and it is her favorite school activity. The stickers are heavy weight and are able to be repositioned (which is nice when a jacket goes on upside down!). I have to assist her with some of the more trickier pieces, like swords or shoes, her fingers aren’t able to manipulate the sticker edges yet. However, as the pages are being finished it makes a nice book. The younger girls can’t wait for their turn to have a soldier book! I would (and will) certainly purchase this again.

Excellent books-Kids love them (so do we!)

My kids just love these books (Max Axiom Graphic Science Set of 15)! The information contained in them is more in-depth than you may think for a graphic book. Real scientists were consulted and it shows. It is presented in an engaging yet thorough format. I was not a fan of graphic books before this purchase so I am amazed at how much I have enjoyed these. We are creationists so please note that on pgs 8,9,11&16 of the Earthquakes book there are small references to millions of years as well as the Volcanoes book on pgs 11,13&21and Magnetism pg 17. The other 12 books had no mention of millions of years. These references are small and easy to line through without disrupting the flow of the text and can be used as an opportunity to point out differences in understanding. I wouldn’t let those minor mentions keep you from purchasing what truly are fun and informative books your kids are sure to enjoy! You may even find yourself to be ‘scientifically refreshed’ as well!

Timberdoodle carries over 50 graphic novels with everything from Classic Literature to Historical novels.

As our 9-year-old son was reading an old Indiana history textbook he read about how Chicago used Indiana limestone to rebuild after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871; he then had an interest in fires, earthquakes and other disasters, so we purchased the set of 8 Disasters in History Graphic Novels from Timberdoodle.

The graphic novels make a great starting point for a unit study. If your child especially enjoyed the Apollo 13 and Challenger Explosion books, you could do a study on NASA, astronauts, etc.

Our whole family has enjoyed this set.  My husband and I learned some information we hadn’t known, while the kids could easily read about a true-life action adventure without a focus on fear and gore.  This set was definitely worth the investment for our homeschool.

Thanks to homeschooling my kids, I LOVE history! These graphic novels have added a new way to learn about, and enjoy, history!

What a great way to get read aloud time done when you don’t have any time to actually READ aloud! The great quality Henty books combined with the skillful storytelling of Jim Hodges makes for a great combination for audio loving children. My 6th grader is an auditory learner, so he learns best when I, or someone else reads aloud to him. I’ve found though that stories on CD while they work GREAT for Nik, don’t necessarily have the same effect for children who don’t possess the skill of auditory learning! Of course, its important to refine that skills so i still have my visual children listen, but this book in particular (For the Temple), i’ve found, it is much easier for the auditory type to follow.

I just finished reading The Swamp Fox of the Revolution aloud with my 9-year-old son. We both loved it. I was amazed at how much historical detail the author was able to put in the book without it being boring. I have often gotten bored with books about historical wars because there are so many confusing details that it gets dry, but that didn’t happen with this book. It doesn’t read like a novel or even exactly a biography. It simply tells the story of Francis Marion’s involvement in the Revolutionary War but with enough interesting details to hold your attention (such as what drink Marion always kept in his flask.) Marion was an intriguing man and he and his men did amazing things, so there is no need to sensationalize to make the book interesting. It’s supposed to be for 12 and up but that’s mostly because of reading level. As a read-aloud, it engaged my 9-year-old but not my 7-year-old. There was nothing graphic or disturbing to make it unsuitable for younger ears.

50 People Every Christian Should Know should be on every family’s bookshelf! This is a really great book to introduce great Christians to your family. There are a lot of books out there on lots of different people, but this one takes it to a new level. We all know who Martin Luther was. But how much do you know about his wife? Did you even know his wife? This book has a chapter focusing on her. Plus, it included details about Martin Luther that I had never heard. This is a big thick book and is definitely a keeper and worth every cent that it cost!