Homeschool Easy

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

Homeschooling comes with plenty of challenges, but choosing a curriculum doesn't have to be one of them. This review of Homeschool Easy will show you how you can get everything you need for your elementary student all in one easy-to-use package.

Homeschool Easy is a "back-to-the-basics approach that focuses on the fundamentals." There are daily worksheets for the core subjects--history, grammar, math, reading, science, and writing--that can be completed in approximately 4 hours each day. This all-inclusive curriculum was designed to help those parents and guardians with no teaching experience to easily and confidently homeschool their children. While there are options for grades 1-5, we chose the 3rd Grade Entire School Year Curriculum.

Homeschool Easy comes as digital download. You'll need access to the internet, a printer and lots of paper. All of the lessons are divided by subject in folders. The parent can print the worksheets weekly, allowing the student to work at his own pace and then have time to focus on personal interests. Each subject will require instruction from the parent.

• Reading -- weekly word lists, flashcards, crossword puzzles, fill-in-the-blank, word search, and comprehension paper, daily reading of chapter books
• Math -- teacher instruction and video links, exercises, and printable flashcards and manipulatives
• Grammar -- teacher instruction and video links, exercises
• History -- video links and worksheets, teacher instruction for projects
• Science -- video links and worksheets, teacher instruction for projects and experiments
• Writing -- teacher instruction, 2 writing exercises weekly

The reading word lists are categorized into groups like short vowel words, long E words, homophones, three letter clusters, words beginning with un- and re-, proper nouns, and so on. Each word lists includes the same reviewing methods (as stated above.) My only concerns is the amount of ink it requires to print the crossword puzzles. A floating puzzle would be much more cost-effective.

Chapter books like Mr. Popper's Penguins, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, Stuart Little, and The Boxcar Children among others are incorporated. On average, the student will read a chapter a day and answer a few comprehension questions.

The math lessons focus on a topic each week. In addition to addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, the lessons teach concepts including place value, decimals, measurements, polygons, area, charts, and time. There can be anywhere from 12-34 exercises for each lesson with the daily number usually being around 15. There is no explanation on the worksheets and very few examples, but there is a teaching video included weekly on the teacher answer key.

Grammar covers topics such as statements and questions, parts of speech, compound sentences, commas, tense, contractions, pronouns, sentence combining, and more. Each topic is reviewed for a week before moving on. There is no full explanation for the teaching, but there are examples for many of the lessons and weekly YouTube videos.

The history course is packed with videos. Instead of one a day or one a week, like the other courses, there are multiple videos to watch each day. Since this course is American history, topics taught include patriotism and people, places, and wars of our past. Hands-on learning is encouraged through drawings, poster board displays, and paper projects.

Science is also filled with teaching videos. Topics are divided into months and study things like the solar system, energy and light, water and land, and animals. Projects include drawings, a comet craft, a dessert diorama, creating a model of a river, making an animal habitat poster board, and more.

The writing folder includes a simple teacher's guide, a grading rubric, and months, and two writing prompts for each week.

Homeschool Easy is a straightforward curriculum. Each week, the parent simply prints the needed worksheets and guides the student through the daily worksheets and videos. As it is very heavy on worksheets and filling in answers, it is not a good fit for our style of learning. The teaching videos are a variety of styles and voices from all over YouTube. As with all things, some videos are better suited for the age group than others. Some will keep the attention of a third grader, while others are more difficult to follow. For instance, we watched videos using heavy accents, and while sometimes that is fine, it might not be the best choice for teaching young ones, grammar especially.

Homeschool Easy definitely lives up to their name. It's easy to use for both the teacher and the student. If you're looking for an all-in-one package for your elementary student, this might be the option for you.

You can connect with Homeschool Easy on the following social media sites:

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Since everyone has different learning styles, you will want to read more reviews of this program from other homeschoolers to see how it worked in their homes.

World War II Study

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

World War II has become my favorite time period to read about on my own the last couple years, and while I've read the kids some biographies and talked about the circumstances during that time, we've never done a full study of it. When we had the opportunity to review a product from one of our favorite companies, I knew that the Time Traveler's U.S. History Studies: World War II would be perfect.

Home School in the Woods is known for their detailed, hands-on history curricula. We have used various resources from their many product lines over the years and have loved each one. From their Project Passports to their Activity Studies to their Hands-on History Lap-Paks to each À La Carte item, the choices are full of information, high quality, and so very fun. This was our first experience with the Time Traveler's U.S. History Studies series, and it did not disappoint!

Home School in the Woods is a family business that was started as a way to make history real, understandable, and applicable. Using timelines and realistic illustrations as a foundation, they've created many resources to make learning history an enjoyable process.

The World War II study is part of the Time Traveler's U.S. History Studies series which covers topics such as Colonial Life, The American Revolution, and The Civil War among others. Each Time Traveler's is a complete study of a specific topic with multiple projects and accompanying text. The units are geared toward grades 3-8 and were created to include everything for a compact assignment.

The download (also available as a CD) comes as a zip file. Once you open it, and see the multiple folders, click on the "start" file. At that point, the entire program will open in your browser, making it very easy to use. Instead of clicking through multiple folders, trying to bounce back and forth among the resources, everything is laid out as you need it.

There are full step-by-step instructions for each component. The Text Pages are the informational part of the lessons. The text is engaging and fact-filled and can be read word-for-word while teaching. The Project Pages list each project for the lesson, including detailed instructions, illustrtions, and needed materials. The Masters are the printable pages for the projects. They are individual PDFs and sometimes offer different choices of style and format.

I love studying together as a family as much as possible and appreciate that these studies from Home School in the Woods can easily be used with a range of ages. My kids are 14, 12, 10, 8, and 5 years old, and each one is enjoying learning about World War II. I read the lesson texts to them, stopping many times to further discuss an idea, research additional information, or look at a map. We've had many good discussions about freedom, the abuse of power, keeping leaders accountable, and fighting for what is right. 

The lessons begin long before the war by explaining what the world was like after WWI and describe the events that led up to the next world war. From there, the study teaches chronologically touching on topics such as individual battles, America's official entrance to the war, Hitler's Fortress, concentration camps, peace, and more. Lesson 25 ends the study with a Celebration Day, complete with authentic ration recipes, activities, games, and more.

Like all the resources from Home School in the Woods, this one is packed with activities! Many of the pages--timeline, penmanship quotes, war terms, propaganda posters, military medals, and many others--will be kept in a 3-ringed binder. There are some multi-step projects that will be added to throughout the study, such as a detailed lapbook, sample newspaper, record book, and mapping major events. There is also hands-on learning options, too, like planting a victory garden, sewing a garrison cap, cooking war ration recipes (like the buttermilk sponge custard that we made), making a souvenir pillowcase, and sending a soldier care package. 

There are so many activity suggestions that you can easily choose which ones would be best for you and your kids.

We have been doing 1-2 lessons a week depending on the number of activities we've chosen and taking into consideration our relaxed summer schedule. The text is perfect for the target age, explaining the details in simple terms while sprinkling in more advanced vocabulary and concepts. The study offers many options for activities that vary in both content and skill. There are even a few games included like Bingo using foreign war terms, a Battleship-type on paper, and a trivia file folder game. 

While there is already plenty of information and activities in the study itself, you can find many more books, videos, and other suggestions in the Additional Resources section to further your learning.

The World War II Time Traveler's U.S. History Studies truly is a hands-on adventure in history!

Home School in the Woods offers many products that teach history. With this being an election year, the U.S. Elections Lap-Pak would be a perfect addition to your school day. It's important that our children understand the election process and appreciate their responsibility to vote. If you'd like to see just how thorough the study is, you can read our review from a few year ago. I think it's time we pull it out and work through it again, too!

Home School in the Woods is generously sponsoring a giveaway through the end of August. You can get a FREE copy of Greek Life! File Folder Game when you use code TOSGameNight. Happy learning!

You can connect with Home School in the Woods on the following social media sites:
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If you'd like to learn more about all that Home School in the Woods has to offer, you can read more reviews of their products on the Homeschool Review Crew blog.

Experience Biology

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

Since my oldest child is in high school, I appreciate when we get reviews that focus on the advanced subjects. He was planning to take a biology class starting this fall, so when the opportunity came from Journey Homeschool Academy to use their Experience Biology: Upper Level course, we jumped at the chance to start early.

Luke and Trisha Gilkerson from Intoxicated on Life are focused on raising kids God's way. They believe in "nurturing your children's bodies, cultivating their minds, and inspiring their souls." They have been public speakers for over 15 years and guide parents through topics such as screen time, anger, sex education, discipline, Scripture memorization, and more. They also believe it's possible to have a balanced approach to high school science while learning at home and that the process can be characterized by both excellence and fun. Using these guidelines, they have created the Experience Biology course.

Experience Biology, taught with a Biblical worldview, contains everything your student needs for a high school credit class with approximately 180 hours of study.

• Video Lessons -- 2 engaging teaching lessons every week for 35 weeks
• Comprehension Quizzes -- weekly quizzes along with quarterly exams, graded score given immediately
• Lab Assignments & Research Questions -- weekly hands-on lab experiments with videos and thought-provoking questions to deepen the scientific concepts
• Reading Assignments -- optional weekly reading assignments from The Riot and the Dance: Foundational Biology

Luke teaches the lesson videos, while Trisha guides the step-by-step lab videos. Both of them are engaging and easy to follow. I'll be honest, my son was not thrilled with the idea of a biology class. He thought he would be learning only about plants and animals and had no interest in studying either one. The very first lesson video grabbed his attention though. He stopped it multiple times to tell me some tidbit of information that he learned. The first quarter of biology covers things on the cellular and molecular level which can be more difficult to understand because it doesn't relate to visible objects, but Luke does a great job explaining the concepts.

The labs ensure that there is hands-on, interactive learning nearly each week. At least 15 labs are needed to count the class for a science lab credit, so there are many options to choose which ones work best for your family. There is a custom kit that you can purchase if you want the full experience, or you can buy individual supplies a la carte from the course's wish list. You can also see a list of needed supplies for each lab so you can prepare in advance. Animal dissection isn't on the schedule for many weeks, but we're looking forward to that! Other labs include looking at multiple slides with the microscope, replicating the process of meiosis and reproduction in imaginary creatures, creating a classification system, observing various plant life and their parts, examining carbon dioxide exhaled from the lungs, and more.

All the resources your student needs come as digital downloads with the course such as the parent curriculum guide, student guide book, and student lab guide. There are also individual answer keys for both student books, research questions, diagrams, and a sample lab report. If you don't want to print the books yourself, there is also the option to buy full-color copies of both the spiral-bound student guidebook and the student lab guide.

The Student Management page lets me see how my son is doing at a glance. It shows me what percentage of the program he has completed along with each of the weekly quiz scores. He has to turn in the research questions and lab work to me, so between those and the online grades, it's easy to make sure he stays on track.

Even if the only thing I had to say about this course was that my son likes it, I would still think it's a good program. He knows what he likes and often asks why he needs to learn something if he doesn't think he will need it in the future. Yet, Experience Biology has won him over! He doesn't complain about the work and is interested in the videos. He's a little off track with our lighter summer schedule, vacation, and summer camp, but he's already learned a lot.

Here's what he had to say about it:

"I like that it's very straight forward with multiple examples. I like how it's a combination of a

video of him talking while showing other videos and pictures. It's very well done

and easy to understand. I've already learned a lot."

On top of his enthusiasm though, it is a truly great program. The videos are engaging, the information is complete, and the grading and tracking is simple to follow, but my favorite part is the labs. I love that the class is called Experience Biology because it's so fitting! Our learning style in our home is based on experiencing learning. We incorporate hands-on education every day because I believe in the importance of my children learning by doing. When I took biology in high school, we learned from a dry textbook and lectures. The only two labs I can remember at all were dissecting a flower and dissecting a frog. I am pleased that my son will have a thorough study. Experience Biology: Upper Level helps the student make practical applications based on factual learning in an interesting, thought-provoking manner.

If you're looking for a science course for your children, I highly recommend Journey Homeschool Academy.

You can connect with Journey Homeschool Academy through Intoxicated on Life on the following social media sites:

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Some of my Crewmates were able to review the elementary biology course and the elementary astronomy course. You can read more reviews of the science curricula from Journey Homeschool Academy on the Homeschool Review Crew blog.

Creative Problem Solving

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

One of the reasons we homeschool is that we want our children to be able to think for themselves, to be able to problem-solve to find a solution. That's why we love when we get to review for The Critical Thinking Co.™. We want to develop those critical thinking skills in our children to prepare them for life, not simply teach them facts from a book and how to pass a test. We strive to give our kids the tools necessary to make clear, reasoned judgments by teaching them to identify and evaluate evidence to guide their decision making through life.

The Critical Thinking Co. is "committed to developing students' critical thinking skills for better grades, higher test scores, and success in life." They offer many books and curricula to prepare students, not by teaching through drill and memorization, but instead by teaching in a way that empowers the mind. In the past, we've used a variety of their products from a critical thinking detective book to a phonics program to an analogies software. This time, I was excited to use Creative Problem Solving Level 1 with my little ones.

I often say that my kids got my husband's engineering mind. He is able to see a problem and find a viable solution. At home, at the store, with gadgets, everywhere--he's able not only to recognize an issue but also to figure out how to fix it. The kids naturally have inherited that cleverness, and I want to encourage their ingenuity and allow it to grow.

The Creative Problem Solving book is perfect to bolster that process. It is designed for grades PreK-2 and makes finding solutions fun for little ones. In fact, the first day we used it, one of my boys told me, "Mom, thank you! This is so much fun!"

Unit 1, The Magic Pencil, gives kids 28 challenging situations in which they need to creatively solve a problem. For instance, they need to draw a way to protect a boy from the school bully, stop a bee from stinging a child, help a turtle win a race, save a special tree from being chopped down, and more.

My boys (ages 5, 8, 10) have been working through this unit. I am not exaggerating when I say that it is one of their favorite things! I knew my 8-year-old would love it (after all, he is my child who will sit and doodle all over his pages, drawing elaborate machines that accomplish tasks), but I was pleasantly surprised just how much the other boys like it, as well. In fact, when they are finished with their challenge for the day, they often draw their own scenarios for each other to finish, like helping the mouse get over the wall to get the cheese and helping the astronaut get safely back to his ship. Not only is Creative Problem Solving encouraging them to use their imaginations to solve problems, it's inspiring them to let their creative juices flow in deeper ways, also. In fact, they were having so much fun with these simple exercises, that their 12-year-old artsy sister even joined in on the fun. She puts much thought into her solutions and enjoys adding minute details.

The other units of the book build on The Magic Pencil concept. There are sections creating creatures to survive in specific locations, choosing super powers to help in proposed difficulties, drawing aids to meet the needs of aliens, inventing gadgets, determining the steps to take in an emergency, and more.

I like the Enigma unit which shows various random drawings and asks the child what it might be and then to draw it. There are also mind riddles and puzzles at the back of the book. Many pages have lines for writing why the student chose what he drew and why he thinks it will work.

I appreciate that the pages are open-ended. Sometimes--many times--there is more than one way to solve a problem in life. It is no different in these scenarios. One child drew ropes connecting a broken branch to another branch like a swing so a sloth wouldn't fall and get hurt, another drew a connecting piece like the branch was repaired, and another drew people on the ground holding a giant blanket.  Some of the stories are silly (who honestly needs to worry about a flying shark who shoots teeth with  a tranquilizing potion?), but that only adds to the fun! The more unlikely the situation is, the more creative the child needs to be. 

Here's what my kids think of the book:

"I love it! I love all the pages!"

"I like it! Drawing the pictures is really fun!"

"I think it's pretty cool that you can solve the problem using anything that will work."

"I like that it's creative and every answer is different. I like finding the funniest way to do it."

Creative Problem Solving is designed to be a stand-alone activity book that students can complete on their own. I chose the paperback book because I like physical copies, but there is the option of an eBook, as well. Honestly, that would have been easier than photocopying the pages in the book (the Critical Thinking Co. does allow reproduction within one home), but the perforated pages of the paperback make it easier to remove and send through a printer. Since the kids have already asked for additional copies to rework certain pages, that is probably the better option for me.

Creative Problem Solving Level 1 has been a huge hit with our family. I love that my kids are strengthening their critical thinking skills and having fun while doing it.

Happy kids. Happy Mom. The perfect supplement.

You can connect with The Critical Thinking Co.™ on the following social media sites:

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You can read more reviews of this book or learn about one of the other materials reviewed by my Crewmates on the Homeschool Review Crew blog.

Beyond the Stick Figure

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

Most of my kids enjoy art to some degree, but my daughter is the true artist of our home. She is always looking to improve her skills and widen her abilities, so I'm excited when we get an art-related review for her. While she can knit and sew and embroider and cross stitch and create with clay and spark her creativity in a dozen other ways, she has been focusing specifically on her drawing  and painting skills.

She was eager to get pen to paper--or rather, brush to paper--with Beyond the Stick Figure Complete Drawing Course PLUS 3 Bonus Courses, a brand new set of classes from Beyond the Stick Figure Art School.

Beyond the Stick Figure is taught by Sally, a trained artist from England. After pursuing her dream of a career in art, she moved to the States, got married and had kids, and started homeschooling. It was while teaching her own children that she realized that the ability to create art wasn't given only to those with a gift, but could be taught to anyone. Just like learning to read or to play an instrument, art techniques should also be taught incrementally. Piece by piece, skill upon skill. Anyone can be an artist! 

She started these classes as a way to share her passion and help budding enthusiasts learn the skills they need to succeed.

There are 4 types of courses included:

• Drawing
• Pen & Ink and Watercolor
• Acrylic
• 3D Design

The drawing course is divided into 3 units with multiple steps broken into days. Remember, Sally's goal is to train artists by teaching them skills incrementally. She begins the course with encouraging the students to find shapes in the world around them: circles, dots, and various lines. Drawing takes place on day 6 when the students begin practicing the shapes they've found. On day 12, the shapes are combined to draw a flower. The remaining 3 days of the unit cover primary and secondary colors and learning to overlap shapes.

The second part eases the students into learning to draw things that look realistic. Each day, the student focuses on a small shape in a box. For instance, the first one looks something like a triangle coming out of the side of the square. The student practices that shape in each box on a 4x4 grid. The 33 lessons in part 2 are similar in style. 

The third and final part of the drawing course is 5 days and teaches how to combine those random shapes into a flower. It reminds me of those grid pictures that you find in activity books, where the child copies the picture by drawing each portion in the corresponding boxes. It is neat to see how all the pieces come together.

 

As I mentioned, my 12-year-old loves art and is already fairly skilled. I had a difficult time getting her to work through the drawing lessons. She was bored and could not be motivated. Because of Sally's philosophy of teaching step by step, you cannot move to further lessons or mediums without completing them in order. We ended up doing what many homeschoolers do and adapted the lessons to fit our needs. We sat down one day and clicked through all the lessons in all the courses. Once my girl saw the acrylic videos, her excitement rekindled. 

The acrylic course, like all the others, is divided into 3 parts and walks through 3 projects step-by-step over the course of many days. My daughter loved creating these artworks! She learned how to blend her colors to create an ombré sky, how to finger-dab realistic wispy clouds, how to use a toothpick to make a grassy meadow, how to use color to create perspective, and more useful skills. She even took a simple cloud painting and made it her own by adding a hot air balloon. I love watching her abilities blossom.

Sally's videos are calm, slow-paced, and filled with instruction. Each one is short (I don't think I've seen one that's longer than 10 minutes) so it's easy to find time to add art into your day. One complaint that my daughter has is that she can't make the videos full screen. Sometimes she would like to have a bigger visual instead of the small image on the computer. Also, Sally is soft spoken and has a bit of an English accent. Even with the volume all the way up, it can be difficult to hear and understand in a busy household. It can be tricky to keep 4 boys quiet while their sister is trying to create a masterpiece! Otherwise, the videos are easy to understand and it's fun to see how she pronounces some things differently than we do. 

There are downloadable pages of drawing guides included with a few lessons along with a checkup at the end of each unit to evaluate your students' work and help keep them accountable. 

A purchase of Beyond the Stick Figure Complete Drawing Course PLUS 3 Bonus Courses will give you lifetime access to all of the classes for everyone in your family. There are over 180 lessons that are good for anyone ages 5-95. If you can draw a stick figure, you can learn to draw your own realistic masterpieces.

Beyond the Stick Figure Art School can help you learn the skills needed to become a true artist.

You can connect with Beyond the Stick Figure on the following social media sites:

Facebook

Instagram

Pinterest

YouTube

You can see more art projects by reading the reviews on the Homeschool Review Crew blog.

Focus on Fives Kindergarten Curriculum

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

I love when we get to review materials that are geared toward early education. Learning with little ones is always such an exciting experience! Everything is a new adventure that is filled with endless possibilities. 

I often have people ask me what curriculum I use for kindergarten. Honestly, I am a big believer in learning through play and taking a more relaxed approach to education in the younger years. Hands-on play and learning by doing are vital, but it is also important to teach written skills. I was intrigued by the BJU Press Focus on Fives kindergarten curriculum from BJU Press Homeschool and couldn't wait to get started with my little one.

BJU press first started writing curriculum that is both biblically and academically sound in the early 1970s. Over the next few years, textbooks for all elementary grades and various secondary courses were completed. They became the first publisher to respond to the needs of home education in 1982 and have been "giving Christian educators the tools they need to teach from a biblical worldview and help young people be prepared to live a godly life" ever since.  

I personally used some BJU Press curriculum materials during my junior high and high school years. I was eager to see what they offered for the opposite end of the spectrum as I worked with my 5-year-old.   

The Focus on Fives curriculum set is designed to help kids develop the skills they need through age-appropriate introductions of science, social studies, handwriting, phonics, and reading. The program instills a multi-sensory approach as it incorporates visual, auditory, tactile, and kinesthetic learning activities. Kids need to see, hear, touch, and move!

The full curriculum includes the following materials:

• Worktext
• Phonic Practice
• Phonics and Review Cards
• Phonics Flip Chart
• Reading Books
• Write Now! Handwriting
• Teaching Visuals Flip Chart
• Teacher's Edition

The Worktext contains over 400 pages of learning worksheets. The first two-third of the book has a page to accompany each lesson. There are exercises that involve writing letters of the alphabet, circling correct answers, drawing lines to matches, coloring, cutting and pasting, dot-to-dot, and more. Each unit begins with a letter to the parent explaining the scope, tips, and optional books and is separated by color-coded tabs at the bottom of the pages.

The end of the worktext contains supplemental materials including a kindergarten diploma, cutouts that are needed for specific lessons, and checkup pages (similar in format to a quiz) that correspond to the units and have the same color-coding at the bottom.

The Phonics Practice workbook is filled with pages that provide practice of phonic skills and word families. This book, like the Worktext, has an open spine to make it easier to remove the pages for the student and color-coded tabs to match each unit. This one follows similar fine-motor skills for the exercises, but varies in content. The phonics book focuses solely on words--reading, recognizing, writing--the worktext also relies on pictures and relationships such as differentiating between seasons, practicing size comparison, noting animal qualities, and more.

The Phonics and Review Cards are approximately 2.5" x 5.5" on glossy cardstock. These flashcards include the letters of the alphabet with multiple examples and high-frequency words. There is also a card for each of the mascot characters that are used throughout the lessons that can be cut out and glued to a craft stick.

The Phonics Flip Charts has nearly 125 pages of visuals used for teaching. Though the website lists a spiral-bound collection, my version consists of loose, glossy cardstock pages. Included are alphabet charts, high-frequency word cards, phonics characters, mascot characters, word family cards, phonics songs charts, handwriting wall charts, spelling cards, and phonics charts. The majority of the pages are double-sided with additional teaching information on the back. The pages are numbered in the bottom right side corner for easy organization. 

Teaching Visuals Flip Chart is a spiral-bound collection of visuals that are used in the lessons. The covers are sturdy cardboard while the pages are very thin. There are 46 pages that show students healthy habits, insect life cycles, nursery rhymes, musical instruments, landscapes, seasons, history, and more. The back of each page lists the lesson it's from along with teaching helps and information.

While I appreciate the notes on the back, it would be more beneficial to have them on the back of the previous page, so I can have access to that while my child can still see the picture.

There are 34 Reading Books included with the curriculum. Each book is a 9" x 6" paperback with full-color pictures that fill the pages. The books are numbered on the fronts and follow the same color-coded unit tabs of the other materials. The back of the books are colored to match the unit, as well.

The first two books have no words but rely on picture reading with discussion starter questions found in the teacher's book. The third book, which is read in lesson 15, introduces rebus reading where a picture represents a more complicated word. Starting with book 4, the students will be reading full sentences, beginning with one 2- or 3-word sentence on a page and progressing through full paragraphs on each page. The last page in each book lists trickier words to note along with a quick phonics review from the story.

The Write Now! Handwriting book is the only black and white in the set. Almost every lesson is a half sheet and generally has places to write letters, then words, and eventually sentences and includes a small picture to color. There are also a handful of dot-to-dot pages that feature either lowercase or capital letters.

There are 6 parts to the Teacher's Edition. There is a spiral-bound book for each unit with a paperback cover on the front and a hard cover on the back. As expected, the book matches the unit color, keeping everything consistent and easy to use. The introduction of each teacher's book contains the same information: goals, learning center ideas, routines, assessments, tips, instructional materials, and more. There is also a lesson plan overview for the unit that lists the pages needed for each resource along with the objectives of each lessons.

The teacher's edition books are packed full of teaching information. When I taught first grade many years ago, I had a teacher's manual for each subject. With the Focus on Fives curriculum, all of the information for the day's lessons is kept in one place.  There are sections for each topic that list the needed materials along with bulleted notes of what to teach. The last page of each lesson gives suggestions for extended activities: story and rhyme time, arts and crafts, learning center, motor skills, science, heritage studies, show and tell, songs, Bible connection, language arts, and more. The back of each book contains additional teacher resources including instructional aids and reproducibles, creative writing prompts, songs, and more.

My little guy and I have been working through the curriculum 3 days a week. He's not officially in kindergarten until the fall, so we're taking a slower approach to formal education right now. The curriculum is written for a classroom setting with enough activities and learning to fill a kindergartner's school day. I love that there are so many options that make it easy to find what works for us.

He enjoys completing the Worktext and Phonics Practice pages, hearing the listening stories, in the teacher's book, and the hands-on and motor activities. His favorite part is the snack of the week which coordinates with the lessons, such as a graham cracker firetruck while learning about firemen, apple and marshmallow mouths to enhance the dentist lessons, chocolate turtles while learning about the pond, "dirt" cupcakes for learning about the garden, tropical fruit cups for Hawaii, and other yummy treats.

One thing that I'm excited about is starting the post office section next week. With all that is going on (or not going on, ha) with our stay-at-home order, we've been trying to reach out to people in other ways. Since we can't physically be with our friends, I've been having the kids send mail. These lessons are perfect as they teach about zip codes, how mail is sorted, how to write letters and thank you notes, the history of mail delivery, using stamps, how to send packages and letters, and more. There is even a suggestion to send a missionary a care package. Other activities include sorting letters of the alphabet written on envelopes into capital and lowercase mailboxes, making stamps out of carrots and marking mail, pretending to be mail carriers, explaining how many of the books of the New Testament are letters, and crafting a mail carrier hat.

Focus on Fives is a full curriculum that teaches much more than reading and writing. The 6 units for the year cover a vast amount of topics through supporting activities: All Around the Town (community helpers), Bookshelf Friends (books, hymns, nursery rhymes), Ants to Elephants (animals, insects, pond, farm), Mountains High to Oceans Deep (landscapes, sharing the Gospel, America), Blue Skies and Gray (seasons, weather), Garden Paths and Wandering Trails (places).

The curriculum begins with identifying letters and recognizing their sounds and teaches students the skills necessary to read full sentences such as "He sent His Son to die for men." It works on rhyming words, compound words, short and long vowel words, and consonant blends. It teaches writing skill such as forming letters and proper pencil hold, but also tracing, punctuation, and copywork. It also teaches valuable motor and life skills, too--all while making learning an enjoyable experience.

If teaching all the components seems overwhelming, BJU Pres Homeschool will be offering online learning course videos beginning this summer. The videos are an hour long and incorporate a variety of learning activities for your little one. You can preview sample videos to determine if they're right for your family.

The BJU Press Focus on Fives curriculum is packed full of resources, activities, and ideas that are sure to help your child be prepared for first grade. There are many options for each lesson to ensure that you find the perfect balance for your growing learner.

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You can see how other homeschool families used this curriculum by reading the reviews on the Homeschool Review Crew blog.