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Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Review of Home School in the Woods


We have used so many products from Home School in the Woods over the last ten years that I could not even begin to remember, much less list, them all. Products from this amazing company were some of the first I ever bought as a homeschooler. Some of my kids have loved them, while others haven't been as crazy about them (artistic kids will go nuts for these innovative projects, though!). One reason some of my kids haven't loved Home School in the Woods previously is because some of their studies are rather long and intense and it just ends up being a lot of creative work for kids whose strength isn't creativity. Home School in the Woods solved that problem in a big way, though, with their  Á La Carte products! Now, instead of buying an entire unit study product from Home School in the Woods, you can just buy the projects that you want to do! It's such a great idea! And with dozens of projects to choose from, you're sure to find something for every single one of your kids. There are timelines, games, file folder projects, lap book projects, and more. You can choose something from Ancient History, World History, Early America, 19th Century America, 20th-21st Century America, or Bible Times. Honestly, the hardest part is narrowing it down to which projects you'll do!



In my case, I knew that Mary-Catherine (13) would want to do a lap book, so that helped me narrow down my choices. Then, when I saw the Literary Genres Lap Book Mini-Study, I knew we had a winner. Mc loves to read, and she knows what she loves to read, but we have never formally studied the different types of genres before, so this lap book would hit on all cylinders. First, she loves lap books (my kid loving cutting, coloring, and gluing? Must be a genetic anomaly...). Second, she loves Home School in the Woods (I have to agree with her there - everything they put out is just so visually lovely). Finally, this lap book covers an actual curricular need that I have not addressed. Yay!

The lap book is downloadable and includes incredibly detailed instructions on printing and assembly. If you, like me, glaze over when you have to read long detailed instructions, be patient. The instructions aren't actually complicated - they just look like they are. Home School in the Woods wants to make sure that you don't waste your printer ink and paper, so they tell you everything you need to know up front. It's all pretty basic. And when you're finished, you'll have a beautiful lap book, complete with a center insert, that looks something like this:




Your child will have learned ten genres: poetry, biography, autobiography, fantasy, fairy tale, tall tale, mystery, science fiction, historical fiction, and realistic fiction. She will have also been given sample pieces of literature from each genre. She will have learned vocabulary and steps to story building. There is also room in the lap book for some story summaries. The lap book itself is, of course, a thing of beauty, as you can see from these in-progress pictures of Mary-Catherine working on hers:






If the Literary Genres lap book isn't for you, be sure to check out some of the other projects that Home School in the Woods has available - perhaps the Science, Invention, and Mathematicians Timeline or the The Art of Quilling (3D) - something I've always wanted to try! Other Review Crew members tried a bunch of different projects! Click through to the Crew Blog to read all of their reviews!


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