A raving review of City on Fire by Tracy Higley!

We reviewed Honing Your Study Skills from Hands of a Child.

I chose the note pack. What’s a note pack? From the company:

Note Packs are ready-to-go notebooking units.  With our Note Packs your students are able to enjoy the same Research Guide and activities as our lapbooks, but without all of the cutting and pasting! Simply 3-hole punch the fun and interesting pages and add them to any 3-ring binder. Note Packs are available in the same formats as lapbooks.

Also available as a lapbook – eBook, CD, printed, combo, or kit. Prices vary.

When I saw this, I knew it was just what I was looking for to help my teen with her study skills and note taking. We’ve kinda winged it until now, but her work load is getting too much for her to not have a plan and study skills in place.

I printed the pages out on pretty paper and after she completed them, we 3-hole punched it all and put it in a folder for her to keep in her minioffice file.

I put the file on her iPad mini so she could read the lessons and instructions as she went along. Perfection!

Liz independently completed the note pack in just a couple days.

Then we reviewed what she learned.

I especially liked the pages on time management and reference materials. We try to do it old school and I make sure my kids know how to use dictionaries, thesauruses, and encyclopedias. Then they can search the Internet. I extended the lesson by comparing primary and secondary sources. We discussed plagiarism and the reliability of Wikipedia as a reference source. We discussed research and source citation methods for different subjects. I can’t wait until she’s ready for complex research assignments! I plan to have her complete a small literary analysis this year. I love MLA.

The note taking and study success pages were eye-opening for Liz who has never really had to study before. (I think I went until my 3rd year of college before I had to study…)

Of course, I could have gathered all these materials and taught the lessons, but Liz loved the concept of the notebooking. She read, wrote, and narrated it back to me! All keys to learning well.

The best part? I can reuse many of the pages for any subject. There are biography notebooking pages. A weekly schedule is a great tool for her to learn to manage her time. I’ve been providing her with a schedule, but now I will release that responsibility to her! A mnemonic page is useful. We did the study area evaluation and decided on how to best utilize study and learning spaces.

3 main types of learning:

1. Auditory
2. Tactile
3. Visual

It will also play nicely into another review coming soon!

Honing Your Study Skills contains:

• 5-day Planning Guide
• Related Reading List
• 15 Hands-On Activities
• 11-page Research Guide
• Answer Key

Note pack or Lapbook eBook on sale for $5.00 (orig. $12.00)!

Recommended for grades 5-10. Liz is 12.

I reviewed the DVD Understanding Child Brain Development produced by The Family Hope Center and introduced by Andrew Pudewa of Institute for Excellence in Writing. WHERE HOPE COMES FROM.

My kids don’t have any known special needs but I thought this DVD might help me understand families who struggle with differences. I want to walk alongside them in prayer and learn and help any way I can. I thought it might help me in my ministry of being a natural health advocate. I want to learn about all the research available so I can pass on information to those who need it. God has given us amazing knowledge and resources to heal the human body!

What I learned. And some affirmations.

With the DVD comes a link to download a companion 52-page eBook with copies of the presentation slides. Super helpful!

Mr. Newell stresses the positive. They focus on abilities rather than disabilities. YES!

Their team views a child as a “whole person, not a collection of parts and specialties.” I love that.

I love this quote. Mr. Newell says to replace “society” with “parents.”

I love that they desire to treat the source of interference, not the symptoms! “The problem is the problem. The parent is not the problem.” So many parents of kids with special needs experience guilt that they did something wrong! We don’t understand God’s will. He is in control. He is driving the car.

It seems the team doesn’t want to rely on allopathic medicine to solve problems but believes that the body can heal itself with proper therapies. A company after my own heart.

Their first level of therapy is nutrition/detox. I think this could solve many health and brain disorders right there. Mr. Newell says about 85% of kids from 17 different countries who come to his center have evidence of heavy metals in their system {which causes an explosion with the CNS}.

Did you know the brain expands and contracts? Most of the kids who come to the center have no brain movement. I don’t know much about cranial-sacral therapy, but I plan to research this now! Don’t wear tight hats. Search for a cranial-sacral therapist near you! The compression of the birth canal and the expansion of birth helps the brain function normally.

He mentions the sensitivity of our olfactory system. I so agree that it’s important! Did I mention we do essential oils?

I agree that understanding and working with the child and proper nutrition and fitness are keys to brain health! He stresses the importance of a regular schedule. Structure and organization! Be consistent.

What you can expect.

The DVD progresses through the stages of brain development from

• birth-2 weeks
• 2 weeks-2 months
• 2 months-8 months
• 8 months-12 months
• 12 months – 18 months
• 18 months – 36 months

The DVD explains the development of critical life skills:

• seeing and reading
• hearing and understanding
• sensation and tactility
• locomotion and mobility
• communication and speech
• manual dexterity and writing
• emotional and social maturity

Fascinating review of how water reacts to environment. Showed water crystals from pristine locations and how it’s “happy.” Compared water crystals from home cooked food with convenience food. oh my! This affirms our lifestyles choices. I am so happy to see this.

The the slides show water next to a mobile phone. oh dear. Should there be legislation that kids shouldn’t have cell phones due to radiation exposure?

Then we see water near TVs, microwaves, computers. We rarely use our microwave and Mr. Newell recommends not using them because it changes the molecules of food and it is therefore of no value to the human system.

Recommended reading:

I cannot recommend this DVD enough – to ALL parents and care givers. It will help you understand child development.

To order the DVD for $19+shipping, please call 610-397-1737 or you can order Understanding Child Brain Development from IEW.

Also check out their program Your Thriving Child: The Essential Guide to Your Child’s Learning and Development.

Click for their conference schedule!

I was so excited to share with my girls Little House on the Prairie: The Legacy of Laura Ingalls Wilder DVD biography by Dean Butler with Legacy Documentaries. Check out the Walnut Grove Store!

Under his Legacy Documentaries banner, Dean Butler has produced nearly 8 hours of DVD bonus content for the Little House on the Prairie series as well as two original documentaries, Almanzo Wilder: Life Before Laura and Little House on the Prairie: The Legacy of Laura Ingalls Wilder.

I was quite obsessed with Little House on the Prairie as a girl. I dressed like Laura and wanted to be Laura. I love reading the books with my girls.

This documentary was perfect. I love that it was narrated by the actor who played Almanzo, Dean Butler.

I learned so much about Laura’s life that I never knew! I didn’t know much of anything about Laura’s relationship with her daughter, Rose, or her writing career. I didn’t know she began as a journalist! I didn’t realize the books were originally written as historical nonfiction.

Of course, the TV show focused more on prairie life and relationships when Laura was a girl and young woman. This documentary focused on Laura’s writing and how she went from a little article about farm women to writing award-winning children’s historical fiction books.

I loved the interviews with experts such as history professors and biography authors. The theme of the documentary is success despite adversity. Such a lesson.

View a sample:

This is a must-have for anyone who loves Little House on the Prairie. It’s definitely for older kids and adults. My younger kids wandered away as Liz and I sat enraptured.

The Legacy of Laura Ingalls Wilder is $24.95.

Also, check out the companion DVD, Almanzo Wilder: Life Before Laura for $21.95

We loved watching and reviewing Fascinating World of Insects by BrainFood Learning.

I put this DVD in our van and we watched it while driving 4 kids to and from nature camp and the library this summer. {kinda hard to take pictures while driving around!}

We loved learning about these insects on the DVD: grasshopper, ladybug, rhino beetle, firefly, mosquito, honey bee, water strider, ant, praying mantis, dragonfly, and butterfly.

The video is very well-done to attract a wide audience. The cinematography is amazing. I love the slow-motion shots of the wings and close-ups of the mouths. My family was very interested and watched it over and over!

Here’s a preview:

Each “chapter” tells about that bug and its special characteristics. The kids learned important vocabulary like antennae and elytra that were in bold orange on the screen so the kids would remember them. They soak up these facts like sponges!

I was fascinated to learn that fireflies (or lighting bugs) don’t light up west of Kansas. So that explains it! I sure miss em.

My kids loved it so much that they wanted to learn more and we picked up books at the library and did some research. It’s a great catalyst to an insects unit study! And the kids have been really noticing the insects outside more now – especially bees, ladybugs, ants, butterflies, dragonflies, and grasshoppers. We had an ant farm in the spring and this was a great addition to studying that. I really think this video helped my preschool son overcome his irrational fear of all bugs. He’s almost ok with them now and will inspect them from a distance while playing outside.

We’ve also been fascinated to read about insects in Christian Liberty Nature Readers. The girls (ages 6 and 7) are quick to tell me what the DVD says and they love the affirmation from the book!

At the end of the DVD, there are two levels of games and quizzes. I was tickled to hear Alex (age 3) answer all the flash card and quiz questions from his seat while driving around! He’s advanced. There are flash cards, and review of the insects, parts, facts, and vocabulary. Love that reinforcement. Check out the printable curriculum to go along with it. We found plenty of insect notebooking online too.

The Fascinating World of Insects is $14.99 and is appropriate for all ages. Also, check out the other two DVDs in the series: Birds and Mammals. I want em all!