elementary Archives - Page 2 of 4

Stop Motion Animation Kit from Stopmotion Explosion (Review)

04.17.2019 by myblessedmess // Leave a Comment

I have a ten year old who dreams of one day being a movie producer/director, so when we found out we were being sent the Stop Motion Animation Kit from Stopmotion Explosion he was so excited! He would sit and watch for the mail to come to see if it had arrived for days after I told him it had been sent.

The Stop Motion Animation Kit we received included a 1080p HD video camera, animation software (cd and download versions), a 290 page book covering all aspects of stopmotion animation, and a quick-start guide. I will talk about a few of these components in detail later in this review.

What is stopmotion animation?

Before I get into sharing more about this awesome kit, let me explain briefly what stopmotion animation entails. When creating a stopmotion film, objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion when the series of frames is played back as a fast sequence. A film as short as one minute can contain as many as 30 or more individually captured images! Creating this kind of film can be very tedious and attention to detail is required. Think of all those classic claymation films from your childhood - Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer being my personal favorite. These were produced with stopmotion animation using elements made from clay! Read More...

Homeschool Grammar with IEW – Fix It! Grammar Review

04.09.2019 by myblessedmess // Leave a Comment

I am a total grammar nerd. So it’s very important to me that my children learn and develop strong grammar and writing skills. However my children don’t tend to enjoy homeschool grammar lessons so it’s tricky to find curriculum that is thorough without being tedious. Enter Fix It! Grammar by Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW)!

We were blessed to receive Book 1: The Nose Tree of the Fix It! Grammar curriculum to try out in our homeschool. Because Fix It! is not a grade-level based program, I chose to use this book with Isaiah who is 17 and complete lessons at double pace, completing two weeks of material per calendar week.

This program is set up so that each book builds on the book before it, so IEW recommends starting with Book 1 - The Nose Tree regardless of grade level. However, a placement test is provided if you think your student can skip a book or two. There is also a recorded webinar video HERE that is an introduction to the program.

Homeschool Handwriting with the Get Write Crew – Rhythm & Writing Review

04.08.2019 by myblessedmess // Leave a Comment

Being a mom of four boys, homeschool handwriting instruction has always been challenging. We’ve used a lot of penmanship programs through the years, but when I got the opportunity to try out Rhythm & Writing with the Get Write Crew by Rhythm & Writing I was excited to see such a unique approach to teaching letter formation!

What makes Rhythm & Writing Unique...

This homeschool handwriting program was developed by an experienced occupational therapist who saw an alarming trend in the schools she worked with. So many students were unable to write legibly or form their letters correctly! She decided to do something about it and what started out as making up short rhymes for each letter to help children form them correctly grew into a complete instructional curriculum.

The program uses catchy phrases and music videos to teach proper letter formation. Phrases such as “long line down and across the middle” (lowercase t) and “down stop, up stop” (uppercase V) are easy for kids to remember and recite as they write, reinforcing correct formation.

Homeschool Latin with Memoria Press – Latina Christiana Review

04.05.2019 by myblessedmess // Leave a Comment

Our homeschool is very eclectic - meaning we use bits and pieces from various methods in our course of study. We lean heavily towards Classical, Charlotte Mason, and Unit Studies to keep things interesting. One aspect of Classical education I really love is the instruction of Latin as a foundation to strengthen the student's vocabulary, grammar, and critical thinking skills. When we received the complete set of Latina Christiana from Memoria Press, both I and my son were ecstatic!

We received the complete set of the Latina Christiana program which includes everything you need to teach Latin to one student for an entire school-year:

consumable Student Book (25 lessons + 5 review lessons)
Teacher's Manual (spiral bound)
Pronunciation CD
Flashcards set
Instructional DVD set
Quizzes & Tests (pdf download)
Vocabulary & Grammar Drill pages (pdf download)

Latina Christiana is a beginning course for students of all ages (who are reading and writing with ease) and was specifically written for the teacher with no previous latin experience. This program is very thorough and covers pronunciation, spelling, and translation of approximately 200 latin words, 25 latin sayings, 2 prayers, and 3 songs. Read More...

STEM Activities – Full Year of Challenges (with close reading) by Tied 2 Teaching – Review

03.22.2019 by myblessedmess // Leave a Comment

We are very nerdy kind of family, so when we found out we had the opportunity to review STEM Activities, Full Year of Challenges with Close Reading by Tied 2 Teaching, my kiddos couldn't wait to dig in! This awesome collection of themed monthly bundles is a mash-up of science, technology, engineering, and science all in one package. Each challenge includes a high-intrest close reading passage and related comprehension questions for your child to complete before tackling each project.

Each month contains FOUR challenges, with August instead including the Mega Pack of Building Block Challenges. Our Lego collection has dwindled over time, so we haven't yet been able to take advantage of these, which we plan to remedy in the near future. There are over 70 activities for you to use and enjoy!

Most of the activities are pretty simple and don't require you to go out and purchase a lot of extra supplies. We were able to complete all our selected challenges without purchasing anything we didn't already have in our supply or craft stash. In fact, my kids were able to sit down and complete several challenges independently once I printed the PDF and directed them on where to find the needed materials. The challenges included have something for everyone, with a wide array of topics to choose from.