Courage, New Hampshire ~ a Colony Bay Productions Review {and Giveaway}

I have to admit that I am a HUGE fan of period dramas. Although my husband is a history buff, he typically isn’t interested in the movies that I like to watch. We recently heard about Colony Bay Productions, a small company of filmmakers and actors that are retelling the story of America ~ in a way that will inspire and encourage viewers.

We were both intrigued by the movie trailer and the mission of the company and couldn’t wait to watch the first episode in a new series called Courage, New Hampshire ~ The Travail of Sarah Paine.

“In the winter of 1770, the township of Courage lies on the raw edge of the frontier, in western New Hampshire. When a detachment of British soldiers arrive in search of deserters, they fail to catch their quarry, but one of them does catch the eye of the justice of the peace. Sergeant Bob Wheedle, of the 29th Regiment, was here a year before — and he left something behind.”

See the trailer for Courage, New Hampshire ~ The Travail of Sarah Paine here.

The episode follows the story of Sergeant Bob Wheedle and Sarah Paine as he is arrested for deserting her and fathering a child out of wedlock with her. Sarah is convinced throughout the story that he will realize his error and make things right, but endures the further humiliation of a public trial in a time when having a child outside of marriage was a huge disgrace.

While this is a dvd that can be used as a stand-alone movie to watch, it definitely left us wanting to see more of the series and support the company producing them. The content in this episode is something that I would be comfortable letting my children watch as we learn about American history. It gives a glimpse into life at that period of history, especially from the perspective of everyday citizens. The production quality of the film was wonderful and Colony Bay features some talented actors as well, making it overall a great film.

Colony Bay Productions is working on teacher’s guides that will include lesson plans, worksheets and more to go along with the episodes.  The Travail of Sarah Paine is the first in the series Courage, New Hampshire series, with the next episode, The Sons of Liberty, scheduled to release in October.

Would You Like to Win Episode 1 of Courage, New Hampshire?

One of my readers will win a copy of Courage, New Hampshire ~ The Travail of Sarah Paine. To enter, simply leave a comment on this post.

Additional Optional Entries: Come back here and leave a comment letting me know you did any of the below so you can get your extra entries!

• Subscribe via email to Homeschool Creations
• Blog about this giveaway ~ Come back and let me know with a link to your blog post URL
• Share on Twitter about this giveaway, feel free to copy the text below:

Win a copy of Courage, New Hampshire from @jolantheerb and @colonybay Enter thru 8/23: http://bit.ly/nSZjL9 #history

Additional Information

Feel free to visit Courage, New Hampshire on Facebook and ‘like’ them. I can’t give you an entry for it, but it would be nice if you did!

The give away will be open until 8pm EST Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011. Winner will be announced by Sunday, August 28, 2011. This giveaway is open to US residents only.

DVD Running time: 61 minutes

Price $8.95

 

Disclosure: I received this product for free in exchange for an honest review. This review reflects my personal opinions and thoughts.

Olde World Style Maps {Review}

After opening the first set of world map files from Home School in the Woods, the one thought running through my mind was “It would have been so nice to have had these two years ago when we started our geography studies.”

{sigh}

They are that lovely. And well done.

Olde World Style Maps {for US & the World} are hand illustrated maps with an ‘old fashioned’ flavor ~ they look older and are very well done. The World Maps set {$18.95} offers maps from both the ancient world and modern day. You can print the maps with all of the information or blank, so that your child can fill in the information. Modern maps feature political lines while older maps have a physical map format. As a bonus, the Old World Style Modern and Ancient Maps: World Maps also includes 40 notebooking pages {fact sheets, information sheets, etc…} along with flag clip art and country clip art {see a sample of the world maps here}.

The United States Maps set {$18.95} includes maps for each state as well as DC and other American History maps. Like the World Maps, you can print them off with all the information or blank and ready to fill in and color. The Olde World Style Modern and Historical Maps: United States Maps set also includes bonus notebooking sheets for each state along with clip art for each state flag {see a sample of the US maps here}.

My Thoughts

After seeing the quality of these maps, I started browsing the Home School in the Woods website and managed to get myself a little distracted with some of their Time Travelers History Study Series.  Next year we’ll be studying Early American History and the unit studies that they offer make me want to learn more! Take a look at their Colonial Life pack and also the American Revolution pack. They include a ton of hands on projects that look amazingly fun ~ something we always like to have while learning!

To Purchase

Old World Style Maps are available as pdf downloads from the Home School in the Woods website. You can purchase either set for $18.95 each or as a combo for $28.95. If you prefer cd-roms, you can also purchase them on cds.

This product was given to me for review purposes, and I do not have to return the product to the vendor. I was not paid for this post. All opinions expressed in this post are mine.

American Heritage Education Foundation {Review}

I received a CD-rom from American Heritage Education Foundation in the mail recently to review and was a little puzzled at first about what exactly it was. After reading through the information that came along with the CD, I discovered that I had a wonderful little tool in my hands ~ it was actually a FULL American history curriculum for grades K-12.

You want to know the best part? It is completely FREE. As in, no charge. How wonderful is that?

The Mission of American Heritage Education Foundation {AHEF}

AHEF is a non-profit, non-partisan education foundation dedicated to the understanding and teaching of America's factual and philosophical heritage to promote constructive citizenship and Freedom, Unity, Progress, and Responsibility among our students and citizens.

AHEF accomplishes this patriotic mission by writing, producing, and distributing FREE K-12 lesson plans to teachers, students and families in all 50 states and through additional initiatives, programs, and partnerships.

More about the Curriculum

America's Heritage has full lesson plans and resources for grades K-12 in history and related subjects. It is a curriculum that was developed by teacher and lesson plans are divided into three different age levels: elementary, middle, and high school. The plans can be adjusted and made age appropriate through for different age groups. The creators of the plans also provide any national standard information {NCSS or Core Knowledge Skills} as they relate to the lessons. Although it was originally developed for use in the public school system, it can be easily used in a homeschool setting.

Each lesson focuses on at least one {or more} of the following core themes: freedom, unity, progress, and responsibility. The plans are broken down into three sections which each cover different topics/areas.

Plans for elementary aged children include the following topics:

• Colonial American and the American Revolution
• Declaration of Independence
• George Washington & US presidents
  
• history of Thanksgiving
  
• Statue of Liberty
• America the Beautiful

Middle school topics include:

• US Constitution
• Bill of Rights
• Gettysburg Address
• National Motto
• Pledge of Allegiance

High school topics also cover:

• Mayflower Compact
• First Amendment
• American's Creed
• Federal Flag Code
• National Documents
• Entrepreneurs in history

Each level of curriculum is set up in a similar way and provides the teacher with several different things ~ the purpose of the lesson, the lesson objective, time it takes to teach the lesson, material needed, and any prior preparation that needs to be done ahead of time. Lessons also include extra activities that relate to the lesson like games, copies of documents {such as signatures, the Declaration, Constitution, etc...} and other fun things like theater scripts, puzzles, and puppets.

Find Out More

Did you catch the fact that this is a free resource for everyone? That fact alone should get you hopping over to the page to request a free CD of the curriculum {a $150 value} or you can order it all in a 3-ring binder {$19.50}. Depending on the speed of your internet provider, you can also download the curriculum.

I'm excited to have this as a resource for us to use next year since we'll be studying early American history ~ and the less planning I have to do and the more resources I have the better!

Click on the Homeschool Crew banner to read other reviews about this product.

Thank the FTC...This product was given to me for review purposes,
and I do not have to return the product to the vendor. I was not paid for this post.
All opinions expressed in this post are mine.

All American History {Review}

Bright Ideas Press recently sent me All American History Volume 1 ~ The Explorers to the Jacksonians by Celeste W. Rakes to review as part of the Homeschool Crew. We were able to choose a product from the company and I requested this one knowing next year we are going to be covering early American history and I can use all the help I can get! I was only expecting the student text , but also received the teacher guide and student activity book that go along with the student text.

About the Curriculum

All American History: Volume 1 Student Text {$44.95} is a full year's history curriculum that features 32 weekly lessons for grades 5-8. Volume 1 covers the time period from the early explorers til 1840 and includes European exploration, the colonies, revolution period, and the period of establishment and expansion. Celeste Rakes, the author, wants children to experience and know that history is NOT boring while providing parents and teachers with a helpful framework for teaching history to their children.

Features of All American History include:

• hands-on activities and ideas for further study
  
• an emphasis on the social and cultural history surrounding an event
• context for different events {each chapter has an 'Atmosphere' section}
• weekly summaries of the important parts of the lesson
  

Each week students read a chapter from the Student Text and use the Activity Book {$16.95} which contains forms, maps, review questions and activities for further study that go along with the weekly lesson. The Teacher's Guide/Answer Key {$18.95} provides resources for each lesson, recommended books for further study, and additional options that can be used with each unit. The back of the book also includes the answers for the Student Activity Book as well as additional forms that can be used with students.

My Thoughts

You all are probably wondering how {because we're studying world geography} we incorporated it into our curriculum. While we haven't been going through American history over the last few weeks and using all the resources that came along with it, the book did come in rather handy when we were studying Spain and Italy, because several of the explorers we were learning about were covered in the first part of the book.

The text was a little above our kid's level right now, but it can be adapted easily enough for children that are a little younger {part would depend on your child's reading level also}. Instead of having our kids read it, I would 'retell' the story in easier to understand words. Next year I plan on using this to refer to often when we study early American history.

Find Out More

If you are interested in learning more about Volume 1 of All American History or seeing some of the other products that Bright Ideas Press offers, visit their website. You can view the a sample from the Student Text, see sample pages from the activity book, or see the table of contents from the curriculum. Each of the books I reviewed is available for purchase as follows:

• Student Reader, 443 pages ~ $44.95
• Student Activity Book, 312 pages ~ $16.95
• Teacher's Guide/Answer Key, 268 pages ~ $18.95
• Set of all three books ~ $68.00
  

Click on the Homeschool Crew banner to read other reviews about this product.

Thank the FTC...This product was given to me for review purposes,
and I do not have to return the product to the vendor. I was not paid for this post.
All opinions expressed in this post are mine.

Geography Songs: Sing Around the World

Several of you have emailed and asked what we are using when I mention our 'geography songs'. Last year I purchased a song book and CD set from Rainbow Resource that is called Geography Songs: Sing Around the World by Kathy Troxel/Audio Memory.

Amazon just made the entire cd available as an mp3 download for $8.99. While the download doesn't come with the book, that is considerably less than the $21 that I paid for the book/cd combo. You can also listen to clips of the different songs and get an idea of what the cd is like before buying it. Right now we're using the 'Southern Europe' song {#5} if you'd like to hear it! :)

Now while the songs are super-catchy, you will find yourself humming various songs ~ especially if you wake up in the middle of the night and can't fall back asleep.

Not that I speak from experience or anything.

We try to sing the song that goes along to the area we are studying every day or every other day. The first few days we get the country names down and then move over to a map and point out the countries while we are singing the song so we can get a bigger picture of where the countries are. I can honestly say that the kids aren't the only ones learning something using the songs!

Little Passports {Review}

Traveling the world for your kids can be as simple as taking a quick walk out to your mailbox with Little Passports. We received the starter kit from the company to review and our kids were THRILLED when the box was opened up and they pulled out a little suitcase filled with goodies.

What to Expect

Little Passports sends a monthly explorer kit addressed to your children so they can follow the global adventures of Sam and Sofia who are able to travel the world using a magical scooter. In the starter suitcase, your children receive a letter from Sam and Sofia introducing themselves, along with a large world map, a passport, some stickers, an activity sheet, and access to some online games and activities.

Each month after, your children will receive a package from Sam and Sofia in the mail filled with souvenirs from the country they are visiting that include: a letter from Sam and Sofia, a passport stamp, crafts, cds, fun projects, a photo from the country, and other appropriate items. The suitcase received in the starter kit is great for storing the country packs that you receive with your subscription.

In the first six months of their travels, Sam and Sofia visit Brazil, Japan, France, Egypt and Australia. They then continue on to China, Mexico, Argentina, Germany, and India.

Subscriptions to Little Passports


Little Passports is recommended for children ages 5-10 and is $10.95 a month {that includes shipping} and you can cancel at any time. Part of the subscription proceeds are donated to SOS Children’s Villages and the Ubuntu Education Fund to help children around the world ~ a great little bonus to your subscription.


If you are looking for a fun way to introduce geography to your kids, be sure to check out Little Passports. It would be a great way to learn more about the world around you ~ from the comfort of your living room.

Disclosure note: I was given this product to review,
and I do not have to return the product to the vendor. I was not paid for this post.
All opinions expressed in this post are mine.

Tapestry of Grace: Digital Edition

Tapestry of Grace is a curriculum that I'd heard briefly about but had never taken the time to look in-depth at what it completely entailed. As part of the Homeschool Crew, I was sent the third digital unit Year Two: Of Crowns and Colonies (Colonial America) from Tapestry of Grace's new digital edition format.

About Tapestry of Grace

Tapestry of Grace (TOG) is a classical-style homeschool curriculum from Lampstand Press that uses a unit study approach to look at history chronologically. The curriculum uses a four year rotational study and is designed for use from Kindergarten through High School (meaning you can use it through your entire time homeschooling your children). The history study begins at Creation and ends present day. This is a curriculum that you can use with all of your children simultaneously - each studying the same part of history together, but at their own learning level.

Tapestry of Grace covers the following subjects in depth: history, church history, literature, geography, government, philosophy, and writing & composition. It does not include a phonics program, science, math, grammar, spelling, or foreign language.

The TOG curriculum itself is primarily a guide for the teacher that includes extensive notes. It does provide complete lesson plans from K-12, but requires additional resources (mainly books) to use the curriculum. Some of the books might be found at your local library, or you can purchase them through TOG or elsewhere. It is not a curriculum that you will purchase and be able to use the day after your purchase/receive it. It will require additional planning on your part to have other resources on hand to go along with the curriculum.

Tapestry of Grace Units

To give you an overall idea of how extensive a Tapestry of Grace unit is, the Of Crowns and Colonies I received (an 8 week study) is 528 pages. At the start of each unit there is a summary that introduces the unit and gives special notes and 'heads-up' for that particular unit. Each unit is then broken up into weekly segments that list activities by subject and also by the level that they are targeted to. The format is very user friendly (although a bit overwhelming at first) and includes check-boxes to mark off what you would like to complete or have completed. Teaching objectives are given for each week along with extensive notes and helps for the teacher. Suggested assignments are also provided, along with long-term unit projects, printable student worksheets, so much more.

Specifics About Tapestry Digital Edition

The DE (digital edition) of TOG uses a program called LockLizard and is stored on your home computer. The program searches for updates that are made to TOG and keeps everything up to date for you - so you don't have to! You are able to print off your lesson plans as many times as you like. It is available for immediate download so you don't have to pay shipping charges or wait for it to arrive in the mail - instant gratification! It also comes with a lower price than the print edition. You can purchase individual digital units for $45 each or the whole year of 4 units for $170. A print version is also available for $225, or a print/DE combo package for $270.

My Thoughts on Tapestry of Grace DE

~ 'Layered Learning'. Cycling through the levels every four years is such a great concept! The children will understand so much more each time they return to study the different periods of time. Knowing it is a four year cycle also helps with the "I need to do it all NOW!" mentality - you can relax and know you will be returning to it again later and can learn more then.

~ Digital vs. Print. Overall, the curriculum itself is extremely impressive. I personally have a harder time with digital products because I am a hands-on girl ~ especially when it is a product of this magnitude. The unit I reviewed was over 500 pages, and having to pick/choose what to print was hard enough. In my case I would invest the extra money for the print edition so that I had it on hand and didn't have to put my printer into serious overdrive. The other option would be purchasing the combined version of print and digital to make copying/printing student worksheets easier.

~ Four Years = Entire Schooling. I love the concept and plan that Tapestry offers. While the price of the curriculum might seem overwhelming at first (each year digital is $170 or print is $200-225), you only have to buy four years of curriculum. The number of children you have doesn't matter, because you will use it for your entire time homeschooling.

~ Variety of activities. Tapestry offers suggestions for crafts, discussions, plays, and so many other activities to go along with the lessons so that you can fit something to how your child learns.

~ Resources. I had a difficult time finding the bulk of the books that were recommended to go along with the unit I received. My library did not have many of the books available. There is flexibility in the guide to use other books in place of the recommended resources, but it did require additional planning time for me to search/find books that would work in place of the ones mentioned. The other option is purchasing the books directly from TOG or elsewhere online ~ a lot would depend on how much extra money you had to use toward homeschool curriculum.

~ Lapbooks. I love lapbooks. In fact, I'm pretty much a sucker for them. Tapestry also offers lapbooks to go along with each unit they offer. They are geared toward lower-level students, but are a great addition to give a more 'hands-on' learning touch. Individual unit lapbook kits are available for $15 or you can purchase a complete year set for $55. Each kit comes with full instructions on how to assemble the lapbooks. The lapbook for the unit I received contains 25 pages filled with minit books that correspond to the unit on Colonial Times.

~ Resale. At the end of our school year, I always sort through our curriculum to resell at local co-ops or our homeschool convention. The digital edition of Tapestry is non-resaleable. Personally, I would rather have a print copy that I can resell should it not be a great fit for our family. To give you a little more 'in-depth' understanding, this is from the Tapestry site:

"When you buy Tapestry of Grace DE, you are not buying a copy of the curriculum. You are buying software which grants you the permanent right to use (and print) copies of the curriculum for your family's personal use. LockLizard is controlled by a computer-specific license that you purchase.

Thus, DE products are non-resalable and non-returnable, so it's important for you to read the EULA and play with our Samples before you buy. For no additional charge, network licenses are also available should you desire to have Tapestry DE running on several computers in your home."

The index page for Tapestry of Grace provides numerous downloads for you to get a more in-depth look at TOG including 3-week sample downloads, brochures, as well as an introductory packet with sample cds and brochures if you need a more 'hands-on' view of the curriculum. In addition, Tapestry has a wealth of resources available through their site: forums/community, a store with coordinating resources for Tapestry, and so much more.

Click on the Homeschool Crew banner to read
about other units from Tapestry of Grace.

Around the World in 80 Tales

Somewhere I heard reference to the book Around the World in 80 Tales by Saviour Pirotta and filed the book name away in the back of my brain, put it on my wishlist at Amazon and figured I would never get around to buying it.

Because we have a plethera of geography and other random books around this house, and adding one more book might just throw us into the major fire hazard category.

But a few weeks ago I had a gift certificate burning a hole in my pocket and decided to take the plunge and buy a copy of the book, and all I can say is...

I.am.in.LOVE.

And please tell me I'm not the only one who finds this book beautiful. It was so pretty I had to take pictures of it. Dragged my mom into the room so that she could drool over it with me.

Opening it up, the inside cover and facing page is a beautifully illustrated map of the world.

The book has eighty folktales from six continents and the stories are broken up by the continent they take place on.

Each continent has it's own special top border featuring landmarks from the countries on that continent...

...and the illustrations we loved.

The stories had our three oldest laughing and begging for more. And how am I supposed to say "no" to that?

Geo Puzzles ~ I'll Buy Them All...

I do believe that I have a new favorite toy in our house. Our kids love to do puzzles and this little gem has added a touch of 'education' into the mix.

And if the truth be told, I'm learning something at the same time.

I've been eyeing this particular GeoPuzzle Europe for a few weeks and wavered back and forth on ordering it. Should I? Shouldn't I?

Let me tell you, I'm about ready to plop the whole lot of them into my cart and checkout.

But I'm pacing myself. 'Cause I'm disciplined like that. haha.

The Geo Puzzles are so worth it! They run about $15 apiece with free shipping (I put them in my left sidebar widget for you to see). We bought the one that focuses on Europe, since that's the continent we're studying, and many of the pieces are shaped like the individual countries. The puzzle pieces also includes the names of the countries and their capitals along with any major bodies of water. The girls are having a great time with them and learning exactly how the countries all fit together.

Although I haven't bought them all (yet), I do have some of the others in my cart now. Waiting patiently until we start studying those continents.

If I last that long.