Review of Analytical Grammar's Beyond the Book Report

Analytical Grammar is well-known in the homeschooling community. It has one of the most comprehensive and rigorous programs out there. I have often considered it for my kids, so I was quite excited when I saw that the Crew was going to review it this year. My excitement turned to intrigue when I saw that Analytical Grammar had a program that I had somehow completely overlooked before! Beyond the Book Report is Analytical Grammar's middle school/early high school language arts curriculum, and it's ideal for 6th-8th grades.
Designed to work with Analytical Grammar, we have found that Beyond the Book Report stands quite well on its own! In fact, for Nicholas (11) it was ideal to use it on its own, as I have found a grammar curriculum that is perfect for him and, unlike my other kids, he does not thrive on having his curriculum switched up frequently (OCD, ADHD, Tourette's...take your pick). The scope and sequence of Beyond the Book Report demonstrates that it teaches so much more than its name might imply.  What is Beyond the Book Report? Beyond the Book Report is comprised of three "seasons" (each of which costs $24.95, or all three of which can be bundled for $69.95), and includes both video lecture and printable assignment components. If you have previous familiarity with Analytical Grammar, the Teaching the Essay and Teaching the Research Paper components of the program were folded into this program.
Season One of Beyond the Book Report includes The Basic Book Report, The Pamphlet Book Report, and The News Article Book Report. Season Two includes The Poetry Book Report and The Drama Book Report. Season Three includes The Oral Book Report, The Essay, and The Research Paper.

Within the construct of each type of book report, a student learns about many different related concepts. So, for instance, as Nicky went through Basic Book Report, he learned basic literary terms like conflict, point-of-view, and protagonist and antagonist. He demonstrated his command of these terms in two ways. First, every time he has read a book since, he has loudly proclaimed who the protagonist and antagonist are, but, and more to the point, he completed the Literary Terms worksheet that is part of the Basic Book Report unit. 
For this first book report, Nicky chose (with some assistance from me!) to read Tom Sawyer. Thank goodness that wonderful book starts with Tom whitewashing (or not whitewashing, to be more accurate) the fence - I knew that scene would grab Nicky -- and it did. One thing that I did not use from Beyond the Book report (although I would have used it for a kid like Therese) was the Reading Log. The log uses a formula of how many pages a book has versus how many days you have to read it, thus giving you the number of pages you must read per day. You then log those pages each day. The grading rubric wants you to assess a 3 point penalty if it is not filled out correctly. With all of Nicky's behavioral issues, there was no way that I was going to make something this rigid a priority, although I can definitely see the benefit of using it with a kid that just needs structure or motivation. As long as Nicky is reading a book he likes, he'll read plenty per day. He's a slow reader, though, and no amount of requiring pages is going to change that.
There are two components to Beyond the Book Report - the written work (like the Literary Terms worksheet and the Book Log) and the video instruction. The video instruction is done by the mother-daughter team behind Analytical Grammar, and the lectures (for lack of a better word) are interesting and comphrehensible. Nicky enjoyed them. My only complaint is that I found the sound quality pretty inferior. It was hard to understand at times. It seems possible that these DVDs were dubbed from earlier VHS recordings or something of that nature, as the sound seemed quite muffled. Apart from that, though, Nicky was always anxious to "watch my videos" when it was time to do BBR.
Nicky's Experience with BBR
If you read my blog, you know that Nicholas is my challenging child. And challenging is an understatement. Hence, while I appreciate rigorous grading rubrics like the ones BBR includes (part of the one used for the Basic Book Report is shown here),

I only need to look at them for one minute before realizing that I can't use anything like them with him. For one thing, the use of exclamation points (Must include the ending!) just seems so...extreme. I think rubrics like this are great for parents who don't have much experience teaching writing and who have kids who don't tend to have any special needs when it comes to schooling. If you are comfortable with teaching writing and/or have a high-strung, obdurate, or otherwise difficult child, rubrics like this one are recipes for dead-end learning days.

Hence, I took a bit of a looser approach with Nicky, and he still learned a ton with BBR and, more importantly, he enjoyed the process enough to want to continue after the review period! He followed the schedule and watched the videos and completed the activities (which we printed off of the DVDs). The main difference between the program as written and the program as we used it is that I did not use the scoring rubric at all. I made him correct his spelling and grammar errors, of course, but I did not deduct points. I didn't "grade" his Literary Terms worksheet at all. I just went over it with him to make sure he understood what he had learned and could correctly identify all of the "players" in Tom Sawyer. Granted, Nicky is on the younger end of the recommended age for this product, having just turned 11 a couple of weeks ago and just heading into 6th grade, so I don't know how I might approach things if he were older. I guess much would still depend on his personality.

I thought that we would have finished more than one book report during the review period, but one is all we have done. Still, I am happy to say that Nicky is gearing up for his second and is excited to continue (he has quite an affection for the video lectures!). Having looked ahead to the next two seasons, I am glad he is happy with the program. Season Two covers poetry and drama, teaching things like haiku, limerick, and sonnet. Students learn poetry terms and poetic devices, along with drama, melodrama, comedy, and farce. They write four different types of poems and study A Midsummer Night's Dream. Season Three covers the Essay and the Research Paper, with an emphasis on writing essays on short stories and, finally, a step-by-step process on how to write a research paper. This season includes all new video lectures.

All in all, Beyond the Book Report is a very thorough writing program that covers a wide variety of writing topics all under the rubric of the book report. It is a neat way of teaching writing in a way that makes it less "boring" for kids who might be inclined to view it that way. The best thing of all about it is that it meshes well with any other program you might be using. Yes, it integrates seamlessly with Analytical Grammar, and it probably makes the most sense to use it with that program. If you already have a grammar program that works for you, though, as we do, it is not hard at all to fit it in. My best advice would be not to get too caught up in the apparent rigidity of the program. Just because there are scoring rubrics aplenty with strict rules (1 point off for this, 1 point off for that) doesn't mean that you have to use them. They are a resource that will be great for some parents, but they are, in my mind, optional. They shouldn't put you off the whole program if you don't tend to like such things.

Beyond the Book Report was surprisingly successful here. To see lots of other Analytical Grammar programs in action, click the banner below.

Review of Hewitt Homeschooling's Lightning Literature

We have used and loved Hewitt Homeschooling's Lightning Literature courses before, so I was thrilled to have the opportunity to review them again. This time around, we are studying Medieval Britain, so the Lightning Literature and Composition British Medieval Student's Guide with the Lightning Literature and Composition British Medieval Teacher's Guide was a perfect fit for Therese (13). 

The British Medieval Literature Guide is 238 pages long, is recommended for Grades 11-12, and costs $29.95. The accompanying Teacher's Guide is 76 pages long and costs just $2.95.

The literature covered in this guide includes the following:

• Beowulf
• Anglo-Saxon riddles
• Piers the Ploughman
• York Mystery Play Cycle 42, The Ascension
• Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
• Selection from The Gest of Robyn Hode
• "Sir Thomas Becket" from The Golden Legend
• Selections from The Canterbury Tales

The less common material is included in the guide (thus accounting for its length!). Each piece of literature focuses on teaching a literary concept (such as allegory, foreshadowing, symbolism, etc.). The course reminded me very much of my senior year in high school (which covered British literature). It is comprehensive and thorough, yet easy to teach and easy to understand at the same time. What better combination is there?

Each lesson (piece of literature) follows the same format. There is an introduction to place the piece both historically and in the canon of literature. There are questions to consider during the reading process. Then, during the course of the reading, comprehension questions are provided for consideration. After the comprehension questions, the literary lesson is presented. The concept to be considered is presented in detail. Finally, several writing prompts that allow the student to explore the literary concept presented are given. The prompts are thorough and challenging and really allow the student to synthesize the piece of literature with the literary concept.

Therese and British Medieval Literature

I have to confess that I have been disappointed in Therese's lack of enthusiasm for formal literature programs. When I was a kid, I loved reading books and answering comprehension questions (throw in some vocabulary and I would be in absolute heaven!). Maybe because Therese has lived in homeschool world, she has never really been a fan of more traditional literature approaches like the ones I grew up with. Hence, I would be disingenuous if I suggested that she jumped for joy when she found out that we were reviewing Lightning Literature again. Having said that, though, out of all of the literature programs we have reviewed, this one is, by far, her favorite. She appreciates that it is sans frills and furbelows (if you'll allow me my own literary reference) and *packed* with information that is new to her. When Lightning Literature teaches foreshadowing in Beowulf in this course, it goes into so much depth and detail that it doesn't matter how much you have learned about foreshadowing before - you will learn something new.

Beowulf was first up in this course. Therese has read Beowulf before, but it's been a couple of years and she was only 10. Hence, it's almost as if she had never read it. Because it is an epic poem that was meant to be heard orally, I chose to go with an audio version for most of the book. The problem was that the best audio version out there is Seamus Heaney's reading of his own translation which, for reasons undetermined, is only available abridged. Hence, I had to do a little background work to find which parts she would have to read. Most of it could be listened to, though, and I think that really delivers the true atmosphere of Beowulf.

Rather than "assign" Therese parts of Beowulf to read due at certain times, I let her listen to a section and then figure out which comprehension question sections were covered so she could answer them. That worked fine. She would listen at night and answer the questions the next day. Working this way, it took her about 3 weeks to get through the book and the questions. We then took a day to discuss the literary lesson. I gave her a week to write a rough draft of the writing exercise we chose (to analyze an example of foreshadowing in Beowulf). We went through it together and she had another week to complete her final copy. Now she is working through Anglo-Saxon riddles, which are really fun!

What We Think

I can't say that Therese loves Lightning Literature, but I can say that she doesn't object to it, and that's definitely something. However, my position as the mater et magistra has always been that the kids' opinions are essentially irrelevant -- and I *do* love Lightning Literature. Of all the literature programs I have ever seen and used, this is the one that is most reminiscent of how my Honors programs in junior high and high school approached literature (and, in case you're new to my blog, I received a STELLAR public school education). I don't think I would change a thing. 

Looking at the work Therese produced through the course of studying Beowulf, it is obvious that she *got* the material. She certainly understood the concept of foreshadowing. She answered the comprehension questions thoroughly. Basically, Lightning Literature took all the work out of it for me, as they did what I would have done if I had the time. It doesn't get better than that. I love that Beowulf was essentially the test case for this product, as I love the poem. I have great memories of reading it in high school and college. The first time I read it, it was unlike anything I had ever seen. I loved that going through it this time, I remembered things I had forgotten and even learned new things. 

Concerned that you don't know a particular area of literature all that well? Don't be. The Teacher's Guide has you covered. Not only does it include suggested schedules, but it has *in-depth* answers to all of the comprehension questions, scoring rubrics for grading the papers, and worksheets for calculating final grades. For only $2.95 it is an absolutely essential part of this course. There is no reason on Earth not to get it. Truly, I feel that I am completely capable of checking my children's comprehension questions, scoring their essays, and calculating a grade. I have a minor in English and am well-read. I write for my bread and butter. And I would not think of not buying a Lightning Literature Teacher's Guide. There is more in here than you can imagine. Don't be fooled by the low page count (it's double-sided) or the low price. You need this guide.

Because of this Crew run, I have been made aware of some of Hewitt Homeschooling's products that I didn't previously know about. In fact, some of them will be on my shopping list for fall. To read about all of the products the Crew reviewed, be sure to click the banner below.

Five Ways You Know You're a Makeup Junkie

1. You have a drawer(s) (each) full of blush/eye shadow/foundation/highlighter, all of which you love and work perfectly for you, but you still haul new makeup every time something new is released because it just might be your new Holy Grail product.

2. You know that you can never, ever have too many brushes.

3. You realize that technically, although you can contour with bronzer, you really should be using a sculpting powder because it has the right undertones. Further, in terms of bronzer, there is no way one (or five) could be enough because you have to account not only for different shades, but also for different levels of shimmer.

4. You have paid more for a highlighter than you have for a foundation (this is all your fault, Becca!).

Image Credit: Sephora.com

5. You are either VIB or VIB Rouge at Sephora (and wonder what's the big deal with getting to that status!). Honorable mention if you're Platinum at Ulta :-)

The Myth of the Flawless Complexion

I used to think a flawless complexion was a myth, at least for women my age. I mean, there's a lot you can do with makeup, but achieve a flawless complexion? Not so much. After playing with different combinations of products, though, I am pretty much a believer. Flawless is a pretty high standard, so I don't know if I want to claim that standard, but "skin that looks so good you can't believe it's yours" - I'll definitely go with that.

I have rosacea. That's not a secret. Without makeup, my skin is pretty pale, but with bright red splotches on my cheeks and a tiny bit over one eyebrow (I know - weird and massively attractive). You know what's ironic? In grad school I had a professor with rosacea (although I didn't know it by name then - ah, the days of ignorance and bliss!), and I always felt so sorry for her. She didn't wear makeup at all (you know female academics) and she was blond and pale, so it really stood out. She was, of course, the first person I thought of when I got my own fabulous diagnosis a few years after I got my PhD. It turns out that people with rosacea don't actually require sympathy.

Back to the point at hand. I won't say it will work for everyone, but I have been flabbergasted at how well it works for me. Here is my flawless complexion regimen:

1. Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation (my color is 2C3 - Fresco)

Image Credit: EsteeLauder.com

I have applied this with both a Beauty Blender and a flat-top buffing brush. I think the coverage is sheerer with the Beauty Blender, so for more flawless, I use a brush. This is good stuff. Yes, it's $37.00, but you don't need much at all. In fact, you really should only blend one part of your face at a time (I mean, dot foundation on one part of your face, blend, then dot on other part of your face, blend, etc.) because it is easy to overdo and get cakey, plus this stuff sets fast (as does most long-wearing foundation. I was really surprised that I was such a dark color - I am used to being the lightest in any foundation (for example, in MAC Pro Longwear, I am an NC15), but I got matched at an Estee Lauder counter, and this color really does work well. I only mention this to say that you shouldn't assume you know your color - get matched in person if you can. You can also get a generous sample when you're matched to make sure you like the way it wears before you commit to a whole bottle. 

2. Set the foundation with It Cosmetics Celebration Foundation (my color is Light-Medium)

Image Credit: It Cosmetics

I got both of these products from QVC, so I got better deals than are on the It Cosmetics website, but the compact and brush above are $49.50 and the brush below is $48. I realize that this is technically a powder foundation, and it works amazingly for this purpose. In fact, used over a BB cream, it is medium coverage and works just fine on an average day. When I am using it that way, I use the brush above. When I am using it for the flawless look, though, I use the brush below. I can't express my love for this brush enough. It's stellar. 

 Image Credit: It Cosmetics

3. Bronzer, blush, eyes, highlight, etc.

4. Finish with Ben Nye Rose Petal Powder - the magic step.

Image Credit: BenNye.com

If you are into makeup at all (and if you're not, I can't imagine how you read this far without your eyes rolling so far out of your head that you can no longer see!), you know about Kim Kardashian and her Ben Nye Banana powder. I'm here to tell you that not everyone can wear that powder (I'm also here to tell you that not everyone thinks her makeup is flawless or attractive - at least one person in the world disagrees with that seemingly universal opinion, but I digress). If you're fair skinned and cool toned, you will likely look, well, silly if you try to copy her look. 

Having said that, though, Ben Nye powders are the best thing I have discovered since watching beauty videos on YouTube. They are inexpensive and beautiful. I use Cameo to set my under eye concealer and I use Rose Petal to finish my entire face. It's the last step before I use setting spray. I am convinced it is what creates that flawless look. In fact, the first time I used it, Henry commented that my skin looked unusually even. He says even, I say flawless. You know all the hype about the Ambient Lighting Powders? I'm not immune to it, but neither am I about to pay $45 for one powder, especially when the reviews are so incredibly mixed. For less than $3 on Ebay, I got a 10 gram sample of the Ben Nye Rose Petal powder. I have been using it almost every day and I haven't made a dent. I apply it with my Real Techniques Powder brush (another absolute gem). It doesn't take much, but it instantly just...blurs everything. I can't explain it. It does what the Ambient Lighting powders claim to do. I am going to buy the 85 gram size of this powder ($20) and I plan never to be without it. I still can't get over the size of that jar. It's huge. I already know it hardly takes any, which makes it an ever better deal.

So, there you have it. My recipe for a flawless complexion. If you have fewer skin issues than I, I would imagine you'd be golden with this routine (or, if you're cool toned like me, pale pink). If you have more problematic skin, I would definitely add a concealer. I only conceal under my eyes (a routine unto itself - I'm the dark circle queen) because the Double Wear is amazing enough to deal with my rosacea on its own most of the time. If I need a little extra help, I use the LA Girl Pro Concealer, which is terrific and costs $2-$3. I only use it when I absolutely need it, though, because I am already layering two full-coverage products.

I have rambled enough. Just one clarification. I recently found out from a friend who reads my makeup posts that she thought I may be getting paid or compensated for promoting certain products. Not at all so! I talk about the things I love, all of which my dear husband's money has purchased (some of which he even knows about - ha!). There are no affiliate links in any of my blog posts, ever. If I ever add one, it will be blaringly obvious.

Thanks for reading. If you happen to already use (or try!) any of these products, I'd love to hear about it!

Review of Apologia's Flourish

Apologia Educational Ministries is pretty much the first name in homeschooling. If it's not one of the first companies you learn about when you start homeschooling, you likely don't have a computer. Or a friend - because friends tell friends about Apologia. It seems entirely appropriate, then, that it is Apologia that brings us the book Flourish: Balance for Homeschool Moms by Mary Jo Tate, because Mrs. Tate talks to her readers as if they were her friends.


Simply reading the sample of this book available on Apologia's website spoke to me, as Mrs. Tate talks about something that I think about every day. She notes that there are great resources on the market for homeschooling moms - guides and planners that include schedules for school and home maintenance - but that these planners don't take into account the needs of working moms! Now, she speaks specifically of a home business. My work (freelance writing) isn't really a home business, but it is definitely a more-than-part time job, and I can't fit my life into someone else's schedule. In fact, it is axiomatic with me that I have time to do 2 out of 3 necessary things in an given day. Every day I need to teach the kids, work, and take care of the house. I can get two of those done, but never three. Right off the bat, Mrs. Tate seemed to "get" that conundrum. Needless to say, I knew I had to read this book!
What is Flourish?
Flourish is many things rolled into one book. Think of it as a self-help book, a motivational guide, a planner, a workbook, and something more that is ineffable. To give you some idea of what is in the book, here is the Table of Contents:

1. An Invitation to Flourish
2. Change Your Mind to Change Your Time
3. The FREEDOM Toolbox
4. Where Did My Time Go? (Me - Don't we all ask that?!)
5. Aim High: Setting Goals
6. What Do I Do Next? Seven Essential Planning Tools
7. We Interrupt This Program
8. It's Time for an Attitude Adjustment (Me again - I always forget that this is half the battle!)
9. Oxygen Masks and Monkey Bread Days
10. Training Your Children
11. Making Memories
12. Managing Your Home
13. All of Life is Learning
14. Solo Act: Flourishing as a Single Mom (me: I'm so glad for the inclusion of this chapter. There are so many women in this situation, and too few books in the homeschooling world address their needs.)
15. Home Business
16. Moving Ahead

Not only are these chapters almost compulsively readable, but each chapter is followed by time for reflection. I appreciated this forced stop at the end of the chapter, as I read fast and if I am not compelled to slow down, I won't. This book is one that is meant to be digested slowly, though, and not gobbled in one sitting. Of course, how you read is up to you, and you certainly can gobble. Doing so will cause you to miss so much, though, not the least of which are the exercises at the end of the chapters! Mrs. Tate has clearly anticipated her audience well, as she requires you to consider what she has told you in each chapter before you move on to the next. Because each chapter builds on the previous one, this step is necessary if you truly want to glean something from her book.
So what are you supposed to take away from Flourish? I think more than anything, Mrs. Tate's message is one of hope and encouragement. First, you have more time than you think (part of the process of the book is keeping a time log - that is *always* a painful process. It's like wearing my Fitbit - I learned that, for the most part, I *am* realistic about where my time (calories) go, but there are those cases where things get away from me.). Seeing those discrepancies is important - if not always enjoyable!
Second, it's okay not to be perfect. Whenever I read a book like this, I always worry that I will be smacked over the head with my own inadequacies over and over again (like anyone could do that better than I!), but Flourish does not do that. If anything, it does the opposite. Mrs. Tate encourages you to be at peace with the fact that the reality does not live up to the ideal. As a perfectionist, I balk at that notion, but as a WAHM who homeschools 4 kids (including one who is...difficult), it is a message I need to hear over and over again.
Third, organization can work. One great perk of buying Flourish (a bargain at $15) is that you then get access to bonus downloads including scheduling forms. Honestly, it's a work in progress (the organization, that is!), but that is no justification for giving it up altogether. I read some books and feel like throwing in the towel. When I read Flourish, I felt just the opposite.
Whether you are organized or not, work from home or don't, are a single mom like Mrs. Tate or an old married lady like me, Flourish has something to say to you. It is written for all moms and would be enjoyed by all moms. Click the banner below to see what other Crew moms thought.

 

Review of HomeSchoolPiano

I often reflect on technology and think about Alvin Toffler's 1970 book Future Shock. Naturally, I didn't read the book in 1970 (more like 1996), but I am often struck by how right Toffler was about so many things (technological overload = psychological breakdown). I find myself longing for the pace of life to just slow down and for technology to let up already! Of course, I have selective enforcement in my little world because when it comes to homeschooling advancements and technology, I always say, "Bring it On!" (yes - in caps, no less!). I'll explore my contradictory nature in another post, but for this one I get to tell you about the best piano lessons I have seen online anywhere...and I've seen a few. HomeSchoolPiano offers the equivalent of private piano lessons in your home (minus the personal feedback, but with great customer service) at a fraction of the price of non-online in-home lessons. The HomeSchoolPiano Complete Set of Books that we have been reviewing has blown me away with, yes, its basic lessons, but even more with its emphasis on improvisation - what a novel approach!

The Important Details
HomeSchoolPiano is for kids of all ages and has two different payment options, both of which give you lifetime access to all of their amazing online content, including the following:

• CorePiano - over 30 lessons to teach you the essentials of piano playing.
• Book 1 - for beginners, includes six original songs and lessons in how to read music and improvise.
• Book 2 - works through music reading, technique, rhythm, songs, and improvisation. 
• Book 3 - focuses on learning how to create piano arrangements.

Lifetime access (for 5 children) to the material costs $299, which can be paid all at once, or over the course of 3 months as three payments of $99.97 each. Each plan also includes access to all of the bonus material, which is comprised of a jam track download, sheet music (great to print out and bind as a workbook-style accompaniment for the lessons), and, best of all, the ability to download all of the material - including the video lessons!

How We Have Been Enjoying HomeSchoolPiano
I have had two kids in particular really liking this program (and another who can't wait to use it, but whose schedule is a little busier with school right now). Therese (almost 13) took piano lessons for a couple of years and was very sad to stop, so she has been quite happy to be taking lessons again. Since she has had lessons before, it has been a bit of an adjustment for her to get used to another teacher and style, but that adjustment has hardly been something that has compromised her learning experience. If anything, it has galvanized her to work more on the piano than she otherwise would. Not only has she been learning with HomeSchoolPiano, but she has also picked up practicing her previous material, so she has actually been learning piano on two fronts. She has not really had a "set" time to do HomeSchoolPiano this summer. Rather, she decides when she wants to work on it, and then she sits down and does so. I started her with Level 2, which was a hard decision. Technique-wise it was too easy, but because of HomeSchoolPiano's focus on improvisational work, it was where she needed to be. 
Michael (9) is perhaps a better look at HomeSchoolPiano in our home, simply because he started at the beginning. It's not that you can't start in the middle - you absolutely can - but I think HomeSchoolPiano is like a lot of curriculum: when you begin at the beginning, you are better able to get a feel for the curriculum.
Michael has never taken piano before, despite a sincere interest in doing so. Hence, he started with CorePiano and "scheduled" lessons. He was a little offended, as both Therese and Nicholas (11) have taught him the basics of piano (Middle C, scales, very, very basic music reading), but he wasn't quite ready for Book 1 yet (and with a Lifetime Subscription there is no need to rush! Yay!). 

With HomeSchoolPiano, Michael simply gets my iPad and sits down at the piano to work. It is completely student-friendly. Apart from printing the sheet music, there is nothing I have to do. Brilliant! Best of all, Michael really enjoys it. The overhead view of the piano keys (which I hope is apparent in these pictures) is the best way that I have yet seen to teach an online piano class. The orientation is exactly what the student needs to see. There are no distracting characters, cartoons, or cuteness. Such things may be nice for really young kids, but for kids the ages of mine, they are annoying and they result in the perceived loss of legitimacy for the program. 
Why HomeSchoolPiano is Different
There are several different options for piano lessons online, so it's important to understand why HomeSchoolPiano is different (better) than the others. First, you are purchasing lifetime access for up to five students. That makes this program almost ridiculously affordable. And these are *legitimate* lessons. You can sign up for a free lesson on the website to see what I mean, but you won't be disappointed. Second, and this is the biggie for me, Willie Myette's, the vision behind HomeSchoolPiano, inclusion of improvisation makes this program unlike any other. 
Knowing how to play music is half the battle, but how much more adept a player is the one who can sit down and take off on a song and make it their own? Learning with HomeSchoolPiano will allow your child to master that skill. It is the part of the program that Therese enjoys the most. She is really excited to learn more. I think everyone has heard someone playing a familiar song on the piano and then taking it in a new turn. Being able to do so is what sets them apart from the crowd. In order to be able to do that, you really have to understand how to play, rather than just memorizing notes. The fact that HomeSchoolPiano can teach that just blows me away. I find this program so impressive. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that my kids like it, but they would be doing it even if they didn't.
I actually do think about technology and its limits all the time (and I do recommend Future Shock - it's a funny combination of quaint and percipient and, in an odd way, timely), but when technology can bring Willie Myette and his piano lessons into my home, I'll cope with my own future shock for awhile longer.
Obviously, I'm a big fan of HomeSchoolPiano. To see what other Crew families, thought, please click the banner below.

Living with Chronic Pain

Please forgive my absence. Please also forgive the repeat topic posting. I know I've posted on this issue before, but because it is so ever-present in my life, I think there are things I've said that bear repeating. Living with chronic pain affects everyone around you. There are many different kinds of chronic pain and some are more debilitating than others. In case there is one person on the planet who doesn't know mine, I suffer from severe migraines. When I say severe, I mean the kind that puts you to bed for days at a time. I was about 8 when I was diagnosed, but I have had them since I can remember. It's just that migraine is not a common diagnosis for a kid (and I had to have all of the "rule out" tests to make sure I wasn't actually dying, which is what it felt like). Sometimes I have nausea and vomiting (I know - savory), but not always. It's not a requirement for a migraine, contrary to popular belief. In any case, here are four things to keep in mind if you live with someone with chronic, debilitating (as in it compromises their ability to live a normal life) pain:

1. They don't enjoy it. I know that some people say that they would love to spend a day in bed like I "get" to once or twice a week (or more). No you wouldn't. I'm not getting extra rest. I'm in pain - sometimes so much pain that I can't move a muscle, sometimes so much that I writhe. When the headache breaks I'm much more exhausted than I was before it started...and guess what exhaustion can lead to? Yep - migraines.

2. They hate what their pain does to their families more than they hate what it does to them. In my case, my migraines meant that Therese (10 days away from being 13!) knew how to change diapers on infants when she was 3 (and she was good at it!), could make lunch for toddlers when she was 3.5, and could be trusted to monitor a toddler's crib and twins' swings for signs of activity/irregularity at the same age while I was passed out on the couch. Now that everyone is older, it means that the kids do school by themselves some days and carry on quietly while I exist in my quiet, dark bedroom. Sometimes they miss their activities. I often feel that my life is slipping away while I am lying in bed.

3. They are not faking it. I know that sometimes it is tempting to look at someone with pain issues and say, "Really? Man up for Pete's sake...it's just a headache/other ailment!" I am quite sure that there are people out there who do milk their suffering for sympathy, but there are far more who don't. Just because you can take two Tylenol and be rid of your headache does not mean that someone who is not that fortunate is faking it or not trying hard enough. Many people with severe migraines can take some serious drugs and have absolutely no pain relief at all. I'm in that category, so much so that I have a cabinet full of impressive sounding drugs that I wouldn't even consider touching when I have a headache - there's just no point.

4. Pain can seriously impact a person's life. I often think about the fact that I don't think I could hold a "real" job. As it is, I often find myself scrambling to keep up/catch up with my work-at-home job. I have a wonderful boss who doesn't blink an eye if something is a couple of days late (primarily because of my long history with him and the fact that I have never not delivered something I said I would deliver), but there are times I have had a deadline and I have had to drag myself up to pull it together. There are many times where I have had to let something go that I have wanted to do because I couldn't make it with a headache. On days that I *don't* have a headache (and it's rare that I don't have some kind of headache, but most days I can at least function), I have to get as much done as I can so that I can hedge my bets for those headache days. Sometimes, though, I just can't get ahead because I have so many stacked consecutively. Then the dominoes start to fall...

I absolutely don't want this post to sound like I'm complaining - I'm not! In fact, I have a very Catholic view of suffering. I consider it a gift (read the article - I promise I'm not just saying that!), and on my better days I am truly thankful for the opportunity to share in the tiniest way in Christ's suffering for me. Plus, as I remind my children migraines aren't fatal, and as long as we're dealing with something that's not fatal, we'll all be okay. I just think it's so important for people not to jump to conclusions about others and to keep in mind that just because you can't see at a glance what someone is going through, it doesn't mean that they are not going through something quite impactful.

Review of WriteShop Junior Book D Set

Writing is one of those things that I assumed would be easy to teach my kids. I love to write. I write well. Ergo, I can teach my kids to write well. That approach worked really well with Therese. With Nicky...not so much. In general, if an approach worked well with Therese, it will not work all that well with Nicky. When the chance came to review the incredibly well-regarded WriteShop, then, I was very anxious to see how it would work for my newly 11 year-old!

Deciding what level to get for Nicky was very, very hard for me. He has not done much in the way of formal writing, but his grammar program is high school level. In fact, he is almost done with formal grammar altogether. Because WriteShop incorporates grammar, I knew that we would be adapting the program regardless of the level we chose. Finally, I decided to go with WriteShop Junior: Book D Set.

The WriteShop website indicates that this level is ideal for third and fourth graders, but that it can also be used for reluctant fifth grade writers and, possibly, some sixth graders. Since Nicky is a rising sixth grader and has, as I indicated, not done much of a formal writing curriculum, I decided to put him here (just for perspective, the Crew was able to pick from WriteShop products through Level E). The WriteShop website indicates that students who have not yet learned punctuation and grammar skills should start with this level. Again, Nicky has mastered both of those skills, so I was hesitant to start him here, but it was the fact that Book D teaches structuring sentences, writing paragraphs, and using sentences of varying length that convinced me to start him here. Book D teaches these skills through letter writing, historical fiction, personal narrative, and mystery and adventure stories (among others).


The WriteShop Junior: Book D Set I received came with a lot of components that can be purchased separately! First is the Teacher's Guide ($45.95 - print, $35.50 - ebook). This book is 266 pages long and includes daily lesson plans (which, I know, is a must for some moms!). There is a *ton* of information in this guide. It is ideally suited to the mom who truly has no idea as to how to go about teaching her child writing. Interspersed throughout the guide are quotes from moms who have used the guide explaining features they like. Part of the lesson is 100% scripted, telling you exactly what to say to your child, even going so far as to script the child's correct/anticipated response. You can see a sample here.




The set I received also included the Activity Pack with Fold-N-Go Grammar ($45.95 - print, $35.50 - ebook). This product is really neat and will be the primary reason some families will want to seriously consider WriteShop. This product is actually two separate components of WriteShop Book D. One we used extensively and the other we did not (but some families will!). The first part is 60 pages of worksheets that are integral to the writing program. They are the student worksheets, including brainstorming sheets, journal prompts, reading logs, and self-editing checklists. The Teacher Guide will always tell you when you are going to need one of these worksheets. 

The second part of the book is the Grammar portion of this program. It is the part that was redundant to our studies, but for families with a need for a grammar program, it is a year's worth of grammar lapbooks! I actually tried to get my son to make one of these Fold-N-Go guides despite the fact that it is years too young for him, but he balked severely (and if you have a special needs child of any kind, especially one with an explosive temper, you know that you pick your battles). These guides are quite ingenious for crafty kids, though. Using your own file folders, you print what are essentially reference guides on each of the parts of speech, capitalization, and references on colored paper and you then assemble portable reference guides you can keep on hand. Reference bookmarks are also included. Throughout the WriteShop Teacher's Guide, you are prompted to have your child refer to the Fold-N-Gos if he forgets what, for example, an adjective is.
I also received the Time Saver Pack ($11.50 - ebook only). This one is optional, but it is neat to have. 

This resource contains 20 pages of game cards, tokens, and other materials that are referenced in the WriteShop Teacher's Guide. If you plan to use every aspect of the program, you will want to purchase this add-on. While you could make these materials yourself, for the small added cost, it is definitely worth it to buy it from the company. You will save yourself so much time!
Nicholas (11) and WriteShop
This is a program I wanted to love. There were parts of it that I really did enjoy, and using it with Nicky definitely showed me where I need to concentrate my efforts in teaching him to write, but the main thing I learned from trying to use WriteShop with Nicky is that the program is not suited to either one of our personalities. First of all, I don't do well with fully scripted programs. I don't need the script. I never stick to a schedule laid out for me in a program to begin with (I always do way more than is allotted for a single day), and I never use a program without tweaking it at least a little. All of that adds up to Script=Bad. Second, neither Nicky nor I are crafty. This program lends itself to crafty. There are games that require some cutting of materials, the Fold-N-Gos are all about crafting, etc. Third, for me, the amount of teacher preparation required for this program seemed very intense. Please let me clarify: for some moms, this wouldn't be the case. We are all so different! I don't mind reading 200 pages of Homer in order to get ready to discuss The Iliad with my daughter. I love it. It's not work. Ask me to try to look between different books to print this page and collate it with that page because we have to consider this game or that all just to write a letter of invitation and I glaze over. I just sat down with Nicky and said, "Write a letter of invitation." Bada boom. This program is definitely one of those that is either right up your alley or not. It's that simple.
So I've made it pretty clear what we didn't do (cutting, games). What did we do? Ah, the beauty of homeschooling! There is a ton in this program that makes it very worthwhile even for those of us who don't care for the "extras." I knew pretty much right away that 85% of the program was too young for Nicky (even in the lesson in Haiku, which he really enjoyed, the script, which I didn't use, but enjoyed reading parts out loud to him, prompted me to remind him what an adjective was if he didn't remember - he thought that was hilarious). That was my fault. When they say 3rd grade, they are pretty much right on. I was going on the lack of formal writing instruction, but, as it turns out, Nicky writes pretty well for someone who hasn't had much formal writing instruction - I credit that to reading quality books. I digress. What I did was not go in the order of the book, and I went MUCH faster than is intended. I did the first lesson immediately upon receiving WriteShop, and then realized that if I didn't want open rebellion on my hands, we were going to have to move forward and jump around. This is not the way the program is intended - it is definitely iterative and builds on itself, especially if you are also using the grammar portion. However, we were not using the grammar portion, and when you are teaching a 2e (twice exceptional) kid, you are used to asynchronicity and to jumping around!
My next stop was Haiku. I remember loving learning about it when I was a kid, and I hoped that learning something completely different would be interesting for Nicky, too. It was! Again, much of the material in the Teacher's Guide was superfluous. It has one teaching syllables. Nicky *did* have trouble learning syllables back when he was 4 (it is legendary in our family how he made "mailbox" have first one, then three), but thankfully those days are behind us! He enjoyed the challenge of thinking of multi-syllable words to describe his subject (dogs), however, and I relished a little less the challenge of requiring him to spend more than 10 minutes on the task. 

In the end, though, he came up with this:

Dogs

awesome, loving, cute

bounding playfully outside

bright, black, beautiful

Now all of the kids want to write Haiku. The process through which WriteShop takes a student in order to write a finished Haiku is quite good. Whether you need a complete script or whether you prefer to free form, the worksheets for brainstorming are terrific, and I love that you can print as many as you want with the ebook version.

After Haiku, I backtracked to science fiction (we're on a big Doctor Who kick here right now). Again, while I skipped a lot of the "extras" that I know some other moms are going to love, but that send Nicky into a tantrum-tailspin, there was still so much in this chapter to love! The objective of this lesson is adding details to the middle of a story, and this is an area where Nicky is weak. Like most kids, he loves to write stories and, like most kids, he starts off with a bang, writes enthusiastically, wanes in the middle, and then has his surprise stellar ending! Again, for us, it was the journal prompt and brainstorming pages that were instrumental in helping Nicky understand the importance of those middle section details. For kids who are more tactile, there is a neat construction paper "sandwich" activity that could be very illustrative of the key ingredient that is the middle! 

Nicky wouldn't let me include his story here. He was embarrassed enough that I wrote down his Haiku (I was allowed to do so on the condition that I edited for spelling - his original spelling of beautiful was not included in the final draft posted here). I was so pleased, though! He definitely learned from the WriteShop lesson.

Recently, Nicky has been working on writing a personal narrative. Here he is sitting in my room working on writing down emotions he experienced and the senses through which he experienced them (ignore the knitting bags spilling over in the corner). This assignment has been a little challenging for him. Like most boys his age, he is not used to really thinking about the nuances associated with his emotions. I am anxious to see how this assignment plays out.

Concluding Thoughts

As I said, I really wanted to like WriteShop. While I definitely found ways to use it with Nicky, it is not exactly what I hoped for. I can definitely see it being an ideal program for some families, though. For kids who love any curriculum that incorporates crafts or games, this is perfect. For moms who want to make writing fun and want a program that makes grammar integral (and crafty!), this is perfect. If you require a script, this is perfect. Further, for all you get, it's very reasonably priced. Finally, if you start your journey with WriteShop, you will not be disappointed with the later levels of the program!

You can find WriteShop at the following places on the Web:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/writeshop
Twitter: https://twitter.com/writeshop
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/writeshop/boards/
Instagram: http://instagram.com/kimkautzer
Google+: https://plus.google.com/+Writeshop/

Our family's is just one opinion. To read 54 more, click the banner below.

Is It Just Me?

...or is it much harder to sleep when you know you have to get up early in the morning?

...or is it infinitely frustrating when there is a book whose story is so good that you are dying for your daughter to read it, but *one* scene renders that impossible? (I'm talking about you, Clan of the Cave Bear)

...or is it a bit of a shock to spend time with non-homeschooled kids after spending almost all your time with homeschooled ones?

...or is there anything more heartbreaking than seeing your child constantly passed over for the prettier/more popular/more outgoing/pushier girls in (insert activity of choice)...and that's by the teachers?! Okay, yes, there are plenty of more heartbreaking things, but 30 year old ladies: high school is over. You don't have to kiss up to the popular girls. Oh, and that goes double for you moms.

...or is it kind of hard to read Facebook posts wherein moms rhapsodize about how much they have learned from their little hellions? About how parenting their alphabet soup child has made them come to terms with their failings as a parent and as a person and how they wouldn't change a darn thing. Maybe I'm just a bad person or a bad mother, but I hang on by the skin of my teeth every day. If not for the grace of God, I don't know how I would cope with my alphabet souper (ADHD, OCD, TS). I am not grateful to him for making me come to terms with my failings. I sort of begin every day praying that we'll both make it through the day relatively unscathed and that my other children will come through the entire experience of their childhood somewhat undamaged (no drama here - I have stories I could tell). Of course I love my son, but I am not going to go posting all over FB about how he has made me a better person. I try very hard to keep it real for all the moms who struggle and need it real. It is a struggle. By keeping it honest, though, even the small victories mean something.

...or is it just ridiculous when people make interpersonal comparisons of personal angst...of any kind? It's a social choice/game theory maxim that you can't make interpersonal comparisons of personal utility. In other words, what is important to me and to what degree it is important can't in any meaningful way be measured against the same for you. Well, it's true for angst, too. You may look at my life and wonder what on Earth I'm carping about: after all, x, y, and z (surely you've met them?) have it so much worse. That is an invalid statement. I'm getting far afield, but I've written on this before, so when I'm on my computer, I'll link the articles.

Anyway, maybe it's all just me! Does anything resonate?

Review of Veritas Press' Self-Paced Omnibus I

Before I started homeschooling, I taught at a Catholic classical school. I could write volumes on that brief experience, but suffice it to say that it was at that time that I first became acquainted with Veritas Press, not because our school used their curriculum (remember, it was a Catholic school), but because while exploring our local homeschool store for materials for my class, my eye was caught by the gorgeous Omnibus text. Having once seen that baby in person, one is not likely to forget it. It is (literally) a work of art! When I started homeschooling shortly thereafter, I kept returning to that beautiful textbook, but I could never quite bring myself to commit to the program, primarily because I am such a peripatetic homeschooler!


Imagine my utter delight, then, when Veritas Press Self-Paced Omnibus I was offered for review! Recommended for ages 12 (7th grade) and up, it is tailor made for Therese and me! Before I get into the delights of this course, let's get the boring (but highly necessary!) basics out of the way. This course costs $295 (with a $100 sibling discount!). The time period studied is the ancient world through the end of the first century. The course is presented through a series of lectures, interviews, and group discussions (among experts) that you, the student, get to "sit in" on and observe. It is primarily a lecture course, though. Assignments include reading and worksheets. Works considered in Omnibus I include:

• Genesis and Exodus
• Gilgamesh
• Codes of Hammurabi and Moses
• The Odyssey of Homer
• Landmark Herodotus
• Aeschylus' The Oresteia Trilogy 
• Plutarch Vol. 1
• Sophocles' The Theban Trilogy
• The Last Days of Socrates
• The Early History of Rome
• The Aeneid
• The Twelve Caesars
• Julius Caesar

The gorgeous Omnibus I text itself is strongly suggested, although not required. 

Before signing up for the course, the website will test your computer's compatibility for you. The requirements are pretty basic. You will need Flash, a decent connection speed for streaming, and a pretty basic screen resolution size. Now, I realize I just said that you need Flash, but Therese has done all of her work on the iPad, and we have not used a Flash browser. I'm not sure how. I'm curious if other people have been able to do that as well. Ironically, I was not able to use my laptop as it kept telling me that I needed a certain screen resolution size and mine doesn't fit the bill. My laptop is only a few months old, and it is top of the top of the line. Its screen resolution is twice that required by Veritas. No matter what I did, though, Omnibus would not run on it. I didn't call customer service (I'm sure it would have been an easy fix) for two reasons: Omnibus I runs fine on all of our other computers and, as I said, Therese has been doing it on the iPad anyway. In fact, I have lately been projecting the iPad onto the TV (I *love* technology!), so I saw no need to pursue the issue of my fussy computer.

How It Works

The course is *very* easy to use. There is a parent account and a student account. The student launch page looks like this:

You can see from Therese's name in the upper right hand corner (in the above picture) that she is logged in.

In the picture below, I am logged in. I can see at a glance what assignments Therese has done, what she has upcoming, and what her grades are. Please ignore her grade. She is mortified that it is not an A. She got an "F" on a quiz about covenants. I watched her retake it. I have a minor in Theology and *I* found that puppy hard! It was a definitional thing more than anything else. Too much justification (no pun intended - ha!)? In any case, you can see how easy it is to follow what your child is doing from this page.

Also, your child can't move ahead in the course until she has completed the current assignment. Succeeding assignments remain locked. That means that no matter how much she may want to get to Homer, the Code of Hammurabi comes first! In a Great Books course like this one, that enforced progression is necessary, and I appreciate that Veritas Press has set up its self-paced course that way. 

Therese (12 - but almost 13!) and Omnibus I

I will confess that while Therese was excited about getting this course, I was beside myself. This reading list is a condensed version of my first year in Honors at University of St. Thomas, a Great Books program. Freshman year in the Honors program is the Old Testament and the Greeks. I knew when I started homeschooling that I would be teaching my Honors curriculum to my kids when they were old enough. I suffered through phonics and addition and have, I will admit, held Therese to a very high standard and schooled her year-round to get to the point where we could study the fun stuff (disclaimer: she is ridiculously bright and she loves school - she hasn't resented my efforts. Much.)...and the fun stuff is here!

There are other Great Books-ish programs out there. They call themselves classical. They succeed at some things and fail at others. Their primary failure is that they base their programs off of one essay by Dorothy Sayers and think that they are accomplishing classical education. I don't really care all that much what you call it. If it doesn't teach the Great Books - that canon that has been taught for hundreds of years - I'm not interested. Veritas Press teaches the Great Books. I could write reams on why they are important, but that's not my focus here (note to self: write reams on why the Great Books are important). Moreover, it doesn't dumb them down or teach the kiddie version (I'm not sure how you could do kiddie Sophocles...the mind boggles). It introduces kids of a fairly young age to works of great importance (and perhaps to the first feminist - Anitgone).

I'll admit - I thought that Therese was in love with this program as much as I was. When we first got it, she abandoned all her other school work to work on it and I was completely fine with that. She started off doing multiple lessons a day and moved through the Genesis section very quickly. She really liked watching three Bible scholars discuss the three views of Creationism (although she did not appreciate me making her read the relevant sections from the Catechism of the Catholic Church in order to make sure that she was completely grounded in Catholic teaching on Creationism. Yes, it's something we have talked about extensively, but I realized she had never actually read the Magesterium on the subject and I thought it entirely appropriate that she did. She just saw it as a lot of work. Oh, well. It's what I do.), and I liked the balanced presentation of the material. I really enjoyed seeing people discuss such a subject in a somewhat rational manner. It's very rare in my world!

I know that Therese does enjoy the course, and I know that she is looking forward to continuing with it, but I was a little surprised when I asked her to share her opinion for this review. This is what she said:

"I enjoy it. I like that it is a self-paced course. I find the reading material interesting and a nice break from my normal school work. I think the lectures are kind of long, and while I have learned some things from them, they served best as a review before the quizzes. I have already studied much of this subject matter before, so I am hoping that I will learn more as the course gets into material that is completely new to me. As a Catholic, I have found a couple of things Mr. Etter has said to be either confusing or at odds with what I believe. For example, I don't believe the Greek and Roman gods were real and were demons. However, I am prepared for things like this to come up in Protestant courses. I did enjoy it when Mr. Etter interviewed the Rabbi who talked about reading certain parts of the Old Testament more figuratively, as that is consistent with how we as Catholics are taught to interpret the Bible. I appreciate the presentation of different points of view. I am not a big fan of the street interviews included as part of the lectures."

I so enjoyed her perspective! While I am looking at the big picture and see this as a wonderful Great Books course, Therese is, of course focusing on what is immediately relevant to her: the presentation of the material. As she mentioned, she has covered Genesis, Exodus, and Gilgamesh in other courses, so she is definitely looking forward to moving on. She is studying the Code of Hammurabi and Moses right now (more review), but Herodotus is coming and, apart from snippets I have read to her, that will be new material. Also, I definitely understand that she struggles with this material being delivered from a Reformed Protestant perspective, but she is very well grounded in her Catholicism, and she knows when the beliefs presented conflict with what we believe. It makes for some great apologetics training!

Further, because she is the one actually reading all of the material (while I have just skimmed), she was able to tell me something I hadn't realized about the program: her primary observation is that the essays are far more about how the readings relate to God and a Christian worldview than they are about the readings themselves. In less convoluted terms, the essay on The Code of Hammurabi is not so much on The Code of Hammurabi as it is on laws in general and on how people without God's laws (these are Therese's words now) were not able to have a successful society. This approach is not the one that I take toward teaching the Great Books. It sounds awful to say that I don't teach everything as it relates to God, but, well, I don't. Our whole day is imbued with our Catholicism, but sometimes a classic is just a classic. That's my take.

Final Thoughts

I think I've been pretty clear about most of the things we like and dislike about this program, but there are a couple of minor things I wouldn't mind seeing changed. As I said, Therese failed a quiz miserably. She went back and took it (multiple times!), but could not change her grade at all. For a kid who loathes anything other than an A, that was irritating for her. I'm not a fan of allowing an F to be replaced entirely, but I think allowing two grades to be averaged would not be a bad thing. 

Also, as I have said, you can't start this course anywhere but the beginning. As I have indicated, overall I think this approach is a very good one. For some kids who have studied this material before, though, repeating the reading can be tedious. Allowing them to "place out" of it by taking a quiz might be an option. Then again, though, as Therese observed, the entire point of the course is to impart this particular worldview, so allowing this kind of skipping ahead would probably not be tenable.

I have such mixed feelings about this course! On some levels I really like it a lot! For what it is, I think it ends up being as balanced as it can be. To be clear, Veritas makes no bones about where they are coming from. You know going in that you are taking a Biblical Worldview course from Reformed Protestants (so many serious capital letters!). For this time period, I don't find that to be all that problematic for Catholics (caveat: I absolutely don't think that Catholics who are not well-grounded in their own faith should ever take courses like these). In fact, the course has raised several great talking points for Therese and me. 

However, Therese has made some great points. She wants to learn about the literature she is reading. She does not want to learn about why the cultures that produced this literature would have been better off with God. Of course they would have - that's a given. Again, that is one girl's opinion. If you are seeking a course that introduces your child to some of the must-read literature from (mostly) Western Civilization, but you want to ensure that your child gets this literature delivered with a healthy dose of Biblical Worldview, this course is EXACTLY what you are looking for! Especially if you have not studied these works yourself, you can rest assured that your child will be in eminently qualified hands and that she will only be learning things consistent with a Biblical Worldview. For parents who are a little gun shy about letting their kids study ancient cultures because of the prevalence of pagan gods, this course is an excellent choice: you can study the material without fear of learning false teaching.

Other Crew families got to review Omnibus I as well as other really neat Veritas Press online classes. Click the banner below to read about their unique experiences.