A Net in Time

Curriculum and book reviews, faith, homeschooling and more!

Review

Florence and Her Fantastic Family Tree

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When I opened the cover to Florence and her Fantastic Family Tree, I was immediately brought back to a conversation with a cousin.  One of her children was being asked to do a family tree yet her child had a rather divergent family tree and was very frustrated by this.  The child didn’t want to look strange to peers, but wanted to complete the assignment.  The words “antiquated lessons” came up. 

Florence has a VERY divergent family tree and she handles this assignment with all these worries, and yet, she looks beyond her worries to her ability to show off her family.   A timely book I think hmm?  

Florence and her fantastic family tree

What I am Reviewing

On behalf of Raincoast books and Familius books I am reviewing Florence and her Fantastic Family Tree.  It will come as a jacketed hardcover of 32 pages.  Written by Judy Gilliam with the soft illustrations by Laura Addari.

From the cover

Florence and Her Fantastic Family Tree explores the idea of what it means to have a big, messy, complicated, and remarkable family as a young girl tries to complete her family tree assignment for school. With adorable drawings and the succinct words of a child, you can’t help but love your own family tree, no matter how large or small, simple or chaotic.

Florence and her fantastic family tree information

The problem is real so… does a child run away from it or grab up the opportunity?   Florence, using her own words, tells us how she handled this challenged.  How can she make a family tree when “my family tree doesn’t just have a trunk, roots, leaves and extra limbs.  My family tree is prickly, scaly, and partially overgrown.“

Using soft tones, the illustrator helps us watch Florence’s worry turn into a sense of accomplishment.  And I have to tell you as adult… it was wonderful to see.  I love watching children take what could be a painful assignment and turn it into something that is great.  THIS happens.

The story is told in Florence’s own words.  Sharing her words, her working out what her family is like.  It’s like sitting next to her as she does her homework listening in. 

You’ll find the font easy enough to read. It’s not in bold and appears handwritten. It would be easy enough to hold up with a group of children to share it. I could see a teacher using this with her class before she gives them a family tree assignment. What a great way to let children know it doesn’t matter what their family looks like, just follow how the branches go even if they intertwine or go off ways.

Should you Get it?

I thought Florence and her Fantastic Family Tree was a good read.  Enjoyable, easy to read, the character develops, and good results.  Regardless of what YOUR family looks like, it would be good to share with your children. Help them develop empathy for what other people’s families might look like.  Instead of calling it an antiquated idea, let us celebrate with children what their families look like. 

World’s Coolest Jobs

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I’m going to be doing a careers course with my son too, I think I will have him read World’s Coolest Jobs before we begin.  It will be a great way to get his brain working about the 40 careers found within the pages of this excellent read by Anna Brett.  It is my pleasure to review this Lonely Planet Kids book for Raincoast Books. 

world's coolest Jobs

What’s inside World’s Coolest Jobs

Lonely Planet Kits introduces us to 40 interesting and different jobs, ones that many people wouldn’t even think exist.  You’ll find jobs such as a ravenmaster, professional sleeper, and a sand sculptor.  More familiar jobs would be volcanologist, airline pilot, or an acrobat. 

You’ll be able to follow along in the lives of six different positions.  A Legoland model maker, a children’s book illustrator, a volcanologist, an astornaut, a ravenmaster and an acrobat.  

world's coolest jobs

Most of the job descriptions take place over a two-page spread.  Each of the Day in the Life has a four-page spread.  They detail where the job takes place, the type of things you do in each position over the first two pages.  The second spread details the events over the course of the day. 

The copious use of full-colour images and bright colours fill this 96 page soft-cover book. I just love the images, you get a great feel for what some of these different positions entail.  

Should you get it?

Even though it’s geared for children 6-9 years old, the World’s Coolest Jobs would do a great job of helping students struggling with future careers.  It won’t give the answers but it will open their eyes to the wide range of possibilities.  It might even lead them to see that one career path might lead to a different path not even previously considered.   For instance… who thinks about being a ravenmaster, train pusher or a professional sleeper?  They are jobs I have never heard of before… and somedays… being a professional sleeper seems like a WONDERFUL idea, don’t you agree?

My Goal

I’m planning on using World’s Coolest Jobs with my lad to get him thinking about different career options before I take the Career Explorations class on SchoolhouseTeachers.com.   You could also take this course!  It’s part of the ultimate membership package which is currently on Sale (pretty cool eh?). 

SchoolhouseTeachers.com career exploration
TOS bogo july

Winnie’s Picks

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Oh!  I need to tell you about this lovely paint-by-number windmill painting that I am reviewing on behalf of Winnie’s Picks.  What a marvellous piece of work, a wonderful way to entertain myself, while creating a masterpiece!  Let me tell you all about it!

winnie's Picks

What I am Reviewing

I am reviewing “The water-mill of my youth“, which is one of several painting available from Winnie’s Picks.  They sell a number of fabulous paint-by-number canvases that are excellent quality and fun to do.   These are not the dollar store paint-by-number paintings of your youth.   These are a high quality, solid paintings meant to delight adults. 

They sell on average for $25.95 USD without a frame.  You can design custom orders as well as buy with a frame.  Winnie’s Picks sells paintings in seven categories: 

  • Easy Kits
  • Paintings with a Frame
  • Famous Paintings
  • Flowers
  • Animal Kingdom
  • Landscapes
  • Vintage

Winnie’s Picks, details

My kit arrived much quicker than I expected after ordering.   The tube arrived with a bit of shipping damage but this damage didn’t affect the contents.  Nothing was missing, and the canvas, paint brushes and paints were in excellent condition. 

winnie's picks

Everything came tightly rolled.  The canvas was rolled number side in, and the paints and brushes came wrapped in plastic. 

winnie's picks shipping results

The acrylic paints came with big numbers so you can easily tell which is which.  You will note duplicates of paints that are used more often.  Each paint container opens easily and reseals well. 

The brushes have a good variety in tips and you will find them useful in filling larger areas quickly and tight spots easily. 

Areas that are carefully delineated, with fine detail.  It might look intimidating at first, but just take your time and have fun.  

How was the kit to work with?

Before you start you will want to lay out your canvas and let it settle after being in the tube all rolled up.   You might want to tack it down.

winnie's picks

The paints are smooth and have good coverage.  A few needed a couple of drops of water to thin them out a bit.  The brushes work smoothly and are great to work with. 

I am happy with how the painting is coming along. The paints are smooth and have good coverage. There are a few that I have added drops of water to thin them out a bit. The brushes are great.

I am really enjoying it.  It is so much fun watching the waterfall and windmill come to life right before my eyes.  I find that it is so relaxing to do every week. 

winnie's picks

It is really enjoyed applying the paints.  My only concern is that sometimes for the white areas I need to cover up the number by painting it twice.  But the brushes are smooth and the paint goes on easily. 

winnie's picks, the windmill of my youth

I was really hoping to get it completely done before I posted my review but I have a bit too do yet.  Isn’t it looking good? I am so looking forward to getting it all done and then finding just the right frame for it.  It’ll look great hung on a wall won’t it?

Should you Get Winnie’s Picks?

YES!

I am very tempted to order this one.  Isn’t it a cool looking cat?  Makes me think of my Miss Lizzie with that intense stare.

But seriously, with the great paintbrushes, smooth paints, and the variety that you can do, don’t you think you’d have fun doing them?  Large paintings done in detail on a real canvas backing that you can frame afterwards.  Not just done in a couple of hours, but take a few hours to complete each week.  Such a lovely use of time!  🙂 

Winnie’s Picks have just launched their new collection.  Collaborating with American artists to promote their work and give the opportunity to everyone to try them out. 

MaxScholar, a crew review

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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.

MaxScholar, using the MaxScholar Orton-Gillingham Software, is a complete reading program, helping YOUR students read and write better. A reading intervention, that also includes phonics, reading comprehension, and spelling words.  This multi-media, online program provides encouragement to your student in the way of games and other interactive elements.   Come see what I am talking about won’t you?

MaxScholar Review

What I am Reviewing

MaxScholar is a reading and phonics program that will help students learn how words are put together, letter sounds, and how to read a story or essay.  They use a systemic approach starting with Kindergarten level and working their way up.

When you start the program you need to take a test to help place you at the appropriate level.  I had my son take the test to see where a typical ninth-grade student would place, and that was level seven.  My review will be based upon what he would see. 

MaxScholar Logo

Teacher Dashboard

Parent/Teacher and Student each have their own login and password.  The teacher dashboard looks like this.  From it you can look at your class/students, see their reports, check out the scope and sequence and much more.  

In the teacher dashboard everything is readily at your fingertips. 

You can monitor student progress.   Also you can pull up class reports, reading reports or phonics reports. You can also look specifically at a particular student. 

It takes a bit of time to set multiple students, but it’s not onerous.  If you change something and don’t like it, you can go back and change it again.   

Read through the scope and sequence for each section. This way you can see what is coming next and be able to help your student where needed.  

Make backend changes to the student’s workload, like removing the need to highlight text, getting rid of all kindergarten material (like practicing letters), and remove access to games if needful.  This is where you fine-tune the program to meet the individual needs of your students.

Student Dashboard

Students have a dashboard of their own.   They can choose where they want to start.  If they start with three main areas, they will find it helps with the games they can play. 

With MaxWords: helping you build words from roots, prefixes, suffixes, and spelling rules. Delve into the Latin and Greek roots. 

Then MaxPhonics: four sections helping you understand the sounds of the English language.  PreK, Alphabet, Blends and Digraphs.

Along with MaxReading: Choose from four chapters, that open into different books.  Practice your reading comprehension. 

There are three main areas to focus on.  MaxPhonics, MaxReading and MaxWords.  Each area allows to you choose what you want to do.  You might want to in MaxPhonics work on blends, in MaxReading take up inventions or reading about places, and MaxWords lets you learn a list of new words, choosing the category you want to learn from.  The sheer variety of options means that a child isn’t forced to read something that they aren’t at all interested in. 

From there you can branch off to MaxMusic, MaxBios, MaxPlaces and MaxVocab.  Each of these areas assesses different parts of learning to read.  For instance you will be understanding verbs in MaxMusic,  comprehension with MaxBios and MaxPlaces, and focusing in on words with MaxVocab.  

Each new section you enter presents you with a tutorial explaining what you need to do.  Read a passage, highlight words, drag definitions etc. 

Take your time, responsive grading

One of the things I love is that you can take your time.  I found no timers or countdown clocks for any marked work.  The only timer I found was for the challenges where you are encouraged to read through a list of words.  I never found meeting the timeline difficult, but for students who might read slowly, or who lack confidence, this might prove to be more of a challenge then they want.  Those students can also choose to have the word list read for them. 

You will find that each area covers somewhat different things.  For instance MaxMusic let’s you read the lyrics of various songs, and then focuses on finding the verbs hidden within.  Later on, it will see what nouns, adjectives and adverbs you remember. 

Everything that is graded gives you immediate feedback. 

Refinement through Change

I noticed a change to the system with one game.  Hangman changed!  They reinvented it maintaining the name but better focusing on enabling students to learn new vocabulary.  The change made playing hangman a great deal less frustrating to play while maintaining it’s intent – testing new vocabulary!  I rather like seeing how programs refine themselves. 

Recommendation

A MaxGuru Pack subscription gives one child twelve months of access and includes all the different Max programs for $279/year.  They even have a free trial program for 15 days.  Try it out!

MaxScholar has been specifically created to help students with a variety of learning disabilities. MaxScholar Orton-Gillingham Software addresses various issues by teaching the grapheme/phoneme connection through visual, audio and kinesthetic step-by-step instruction.  The creators very much want your students to succeed with their early intervention program.   Their programs are systematic, explicit and multi-sensory.  They have the best of various research-based methods to help your students learn. 

Fully accessible on any computer or tablet.  If you use it on your phone you’ll find yourself scrolling around the screen a bit, but it is still fully usable. 

As I played around with the various programs I found that overall they worked well.  I occasionally ran into glitches (the drag and drop word definitions) but overall everything worked well.  The responsive feedback and the ability to see where you went wrong was fantastic. 

If you are looking for an online program, that will support your student through kindergarten up through highschool, you’ll find MaxScholar a helpful, highly researched and well-executed program 

Links and Invitation

Social Media Links for MaxScholar are:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MaxScholarLLC/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MaxScholarLLC
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maxscholarsoftware/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/MaxScholarLLC/pins/

60 People from the Homeschool Review Crew took the time to check out MaxScholar on your behalf.  I invite you to check out their reviews. 

MaxScholar Orton-Gillingham Software {MaxScholar Reviews}

Miss Austen

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I expected when I saw the title of my current review book, Miss Austen, to be learning about Jane Austen as she’s the one I’m most familiar with. Interestingly enough though, it’s about her older sister Cassandra Austen. It’s a tender book filled with memories, mostly good, some sad.  Let’s walk through it shall we? 

Miss Austen: the novel

What I am Reviewing

Miss Austen: A Novel is a tender look into the life of the Austen family.  Cassandra, an elderly lady now, seeking to restore and to relive her memories of her dear sister Jane. Visiting the family of her long-dead fiance she discovers letters that reveal much about herself, her sister and her family.  The question remains… what will be left when she is done?  Will the letters remain, or just the memories?

288 pages, 28 chapters, years covered.  I received at ARC copy, it sells as a hardcover. Written by Gill Hornby and published by Flatiron Books. A biography that covers the lives of Cassandra Austen and her family.  There is a ton of historical data that brings the early 1800’s into vibrant detail.   I am reviewing this book on behalf of Raincoast Books. 

The Details for Miss Austen

The past, as depicted in vignettes based on letters, and the present reality intermingled.  A sweet, but sometimes hard looking back into her history.  It wasn’t all roses and sweetness, but difficulties arose like in all families. 

Miss Austen: The novel

I loved the realness of it all.  An old lady, going to visit extended family, doesn’t let them know until it’s just a bit late for it, spends her time with them while on a secret quest.  She knows what she is up to, the question is, how long will she remain undiscovered?

The villalge of Kintbury, Miss Austin

Miss Austen opens with a map of the Village of Kintbury as well as a family lineup for the Austen, Fowles and Lloyds.  We are privileged to see how these families were connected. 

My Thoughts

I haven’t quite finished though I’ve skipped ahead a bit just to see if my suspicions were correct.  (They were but I’m not telling you since this is a review, not a book report).  This is a lovely story.  I loved seeing Cassandra as she is now, trying to be kind despite some of the hostility she faces.  The walks into her history as she read letters… I love this.  I really do.  It was so fascinating watching her relationship with her sister.  That love they shared clearly shown.  Get to know the Austens.  Get to know Cassandra Austen in particular.  You won’t regret it. 

Review: The Unbreakable Faith Course

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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.

Conversation, it’s one of the things I love best as my lad grows older. Conversations about God, life, purpose, people and whatever else he (or I) am learning about.  It is absolutely fantastic.  Recently we’ve been reviewing an apologetics program called The Unbreakable Faith Course.  It’s been put out by Pilgrim’s Rock, LLC… and it is causing lots of conversation in our household and I love that.   I can’t wait to tell you all about in this review for the Homeschool Review Crew. 

The Unbreakable Faith Course

What I am Reviewing

Pilgrim’s Rock, LLC is the designer of the The Unbreakable Faith Course.   With this course you’ll receive online information as well as two books.  These books are called God the Reason and The Box.  I received these books as PDF’s but there is an option to get the physical books as well.    This is a credited Christian apologetics course.  Their goal is to help teens, young adults and families take on a biblical worldview so we can show and talk about God’s infinite excellence to those around us. 

viewing The Unbreakable Faith Course

How we used it

Our goal was to do The Unbreakable Faith Course with the whole family.  My son wanted dad to be involved.  My husband works long hours into the early morning hours, which made working out the logistics a bit of a challenge.  🙂  What we ended up planning was two-three days a week we would read “The Box” together, and watch one video. We ended up missing watching videos since life sometimes get complicated with later than normal shifts and a need for sleep!  🙂   

The first thing I did was connect with Staples and get them to print off the PDF’s.  These are fairly large books and I didn’t want to print them all off at home.  My son and I read hard-copies of books easier than using e-readers.  

How far did we get?   We’ve watched three videos, and I’ve read the first two chapters of “God the Reason”, and have finished “The Box”.    My son has been steadily reading one chapter a week.  The Box is mostly finished, and he’s about to start on God the Reason.  

The Box

The Box book cover

The Box, written by Craig Biehl, is covered in the first lesson.  17 chapters, much of which is a conversation between Mr. A and Mr. C.   It is broken up into three sections.

  1. Answering the Faith of the Atheist (9 chapters)
  2. Answering the Faith of the Agnostic (5 chapters)
  3. Concluding Remarks (3 chapters)

The book closes with acknowledgements, about the author and resources for parents.    The Box demonstrates how to have a conversation with non-believers.  The conversation is at times stilted but that’s to be expected when you are “setting the scene”. I did find it to be a bit repetitive at times. My son sometimes struggled with the authors not taking everything thought into account.  Many of his questions were about “what if this” and “what about that”. He’s a bit of a perfectionist so wording matters to him.

Presuppositional apologetics are a big part of The Box.  If we get to the root of a person’s thought process, the better we are able to ask questions to help them see truth and deception. 

God the Reason

God the Reason

God the Reason is the larger of the two books.  It has 15 chapters with distinct sections.

  1. God is Eternal (6 sections)
  2. God Needs Nothing (5 sections)
  3. God Cannot be Known unless he reveals himself (five sections)
  4. God is Boundless perfection (7 sections)
  5. God Does not Change (2 sections)
  6. God is Undivided (3 sections)
  7. God is Spirit (3 sections)
  8. God knows everything (4 sections)
  9. God is Wise (3 sections)
  10. God is True and Truthful (3 sections)
  11. God is Good and Love (4 sections)
  12. God is Holy (4 sections)
  13. God is righteous (4 sections)
  14. God is infinitely powerful (6 sections)
  15. God Rules over all (8 sections)

There is a conclusion, two appendices, acknowledgements, works cited, and two indexes.

This book was very much appreciated.  Easy to read and understand.  I love the short sections contained within each chapter with the clear headings of what they were about. This book was also written by Craig Biehl and really helps people understand the nature and majesty of God.

The more we understand the nature of God, the more we are enabled to import worldview truths to those around us. 

reading from God the Reason

Course Set Up

This is a self-paced course.  Take it at your own speed, but if doing it for a credit needs to be finished within 36 weeks of start. 

self-paced

One of the many helpful aspects of Pilgrim’s Rock is they give you a tour of your dashboard. Helping you to understand the many different parts in this presuppositional apologetics course.

dashboard tour

Your lesson work is set up in such a way that you need to complete each section before heading into the next one.  This ensures that you can’t jump ahead, though… if you really want to.. it is possible. 🙂

Unbreakable faith course lay out

We haven’t gotten to the point of taking a test yet.  It is important to note that these tests are timed.  You have 36 weeks to complete the course from the time that you start it.  

Pilgrim's Rock, Timed Tests

The structure of the course is to read chapters of God the Reason and The Box. These readings and chapters are followed up by a quiz.  These quizzes can only be taken once.  I loved the questions that my son came up with, they showed he was understanding the chapters he read.  I do regret that the course itself asks no questions to help you understand what you are reading or how it all fits together into a cohesive unit. 

unbreakable-faith-course-calender

Watching videos is a great way for my lad to learn.  He’s generally audio-oriented so having video just adds.  He did mention that he would like to have a transcript of the videos as well.  His intention is to watch the videos again, and if he had the transcript he could circle the parts of the transcript he wanted to remember for the quiz. 

pilgrim's rock - unbreakable faith course

They have different pricing options depending if you need credit or not.  The course is designed for individuals 15 years or older.  As I read through it and listened to my 14 year old, I think the age range is pretty good.  My son didn’t seem to struggle with it at all, but it’s definitely not geared for elementary students. 

pilgrim's rock logo

So What Did we Think?

My thoughts: “I really like how God the Reason is done. Short chapters with smaller sections that reinforce the main topic. The videos do a good job of supporting this book.  I would really like if the test could be printed out and wasn’t timed.  I absolutely adore the fact that my son asks great questions with this course.  That in and of itself makes this an excellent course.”

My son’s thoughts: “It’s okay.  I don’t like the conversations in The Box, I like just straight-forward writing. I like the videos.  I like when mom can read God the Reason to me and I can listen and ask questions.“

Dad’s thoughts: “They approach apologetics from a different perspective then I would, but they don’t do a bad job.  It would be good if it came with questions, or at least conversation starters.”

watching unbreakable faith

35 members of the Homeschool Review Crew have taken a look at Pilgrim’s Rock, The Unbreakable Faith Course.  You can check out their reviews at this link or by clicking on the image below.   

The Unbreakable Faith Course {Pilgrim's Rock, LLC Reviews}

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Ninja Cat: Whiskers of Doom

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As I reviewed Ninja Cat I saw Lando learn to let his friends make their own decisions. Lando also learned some secrets of his past, allowing him to be the Ninja Cat that he needed to be. 

Ninja cat

What I am Reviewing

The story tells of a mischievous cat named Lando who lives alone in the big city and hangs out with friendly humans as well as the City Crew―his diverse team of animal friends. The Crew gets into a heap of trouble after borrowing money from the notorious Loan Shark to buy a big TV, gaming console, video games and, of course, a mountain of snacks they immediately devoured―but now it’s time to pay him back. With no money, and the interest mounting, they have no clue how they’re going to do it…

Ninja Cat: Whiskers of Choice is written by Justin and Corrigan and is independently published.  Reviewed for Ascot Media.   A soft cover book of 144 pages.  Topics in clue money, loan sharks, interest rates, and crime.

Details for Ninja Cat

Conversation and black/white images fill the pages of this 144 page book.  The writing is rough, and appears (at least to me) like it’s a first draft. Varying sizes in print, with the appearance of being done in pencil.  The drawings are unsophisticated and fairly basic.  I suppose that is to be expected as they are all done by an 11 year old lad. 

Ninja Cat

We are introduced to all the characters and the various bands they are part of.   We have pond patrol, city crew, street gang, and loan shark.  In their introductions we discover their strengths and weaknesses. 

ninja cat

As the story progresses we see not only Lando, the ninja cat, develop new skills but also the members of the city crew as well. We see them overcome obstacles before the story is finished.  This is good, it’s great to see progression in characters. 

ninja cat

My Thoughts

Can I recommend Ninja Cat to you? That’s a tough question for me with Ninja Cat: Whiskers of Choice. 

I understood the following

  • the gangs
  • the loan shark and the precarious position he put people in
  • fulfilling a debt and the pressure it placed

I didn’t understand the position of Lando and his ninja cat skills. 

The mixed up jumble of graphics, poorly written storyline and characters made the story difficult to comprehend.  I kept expecting the story to go in one direction, and then it would twist and go into another direction.  In the end it didn’t seem like the majority of characters made wise decisions. In the end Lando (Ninja cat) helped his friends accomplish their mission.

ERGO, I am hesitant to recommend it.