Schoolhouse Review ~ Middlebury Interactive Languages (Spanish) #hsreviews

I had the opportunity to review Middlebury Interactive Languages Spanish Courses. This course is available for Kindergarten through AP and costs $119 per semester without teacher or $294 per semester with teacher. We were given the without teacher option for this review. We reviewed the K – 2 level course. There are 35 lessons for one semester of this course and it is recommended to do two days a week for this grade level.

We enjoyed the fact that this program is interactive, colorful and the lessons are QUICK! Each “little lesson” within each “bigger lesson” is only a few seconds to minutes in length. This worked really well for my “attention span of a gnat” child. *grin* Buttt, we also did more than one little lesson at a time and would often finish almost one lesson in a setting. As you can see below, on the left side, there are eight “little lessons” within the first Lesson 1. For this particular lesson, since it was our first exposure to the program, we only did a few of the lessons at the first sitting.

This is a screenshot of the program. One of the things we REALLY liked was how you would click on the little speaker button (circled in red above) and it would read whatever was next to it. NICE to have when you are dealing with this age / grade level. (Yes, there are some programs out there for this age/grade that do not have that…always wondered why…)

If you will notice in the above picture, on the left in the unit / lesson area, at approximately the middle of that area you see “Speaking Lab: Greetings 1”. This would be where the teacher comes in [we did not get this option for the review]. This is where your student records themselves saying the words and then the teacher would review that and provide a grade. Once we found out we didn’t get that option, we simply skipped all of them in the future lessons. Although not required to use or complete this course, I think this would be an important part for the student…teacher acknowledgement of learning.

Above is an example of one of the reviews…the student drags the appropriate picture to the corresponding word. Again, they can use the speak “button” so they can hear the words (in Spanish).

We have found that “immersion” is not really for us – we have had exposure to several programs that use this method and it just doesn’t really seem to work for us. There are some parts where the Spanish is spoken and then the English but all of the stories are completely in Spanish. With this program, P kept asking “What is it saying?” during the stories in which I had to tell him I did not know. We both found that a bit frustrating.

Part of this program is learning Spanish culture – that was fun and interesting. Again, use of interactive learning was used.

Something I feel important to share, we did have several instances where the videos would freeze but it didn’t last long and although was irritating didn’t really stop us from learning. Additionally, there is A LOT of clicking in this program.

There is also a gradebook available for viewing. Sorry it is so hard to see and read. Because it is so wide I cannot make it any better for you. But it shows: activity, grading category, grade, date submitted, and some other columns that seem to be unnecessary. Overall for our grade level and our usage being “without teacher” we did not feel the need to refer to this area but it is nice to have for those in high grades and using the “with teacher” option.

Other ways to stay in touch:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Middlebury-Interactive-Languages/141015515949753
Twitter: http://twitter.com/MiddInteractive
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/middinteractive/
Google +: https://plus.google.com/b/110371351490550861545/110371351490550861545/posts

Read more Middlebury Interactive Languages reviews (the different reviews were on Spanish, French, German and Chinese) from the Schoolhouse Review Crew!

Here’s praying you have fun learning!

 

 

 

TOS Crew Review ~ Visual Latin

We had the opportunity to review Visual Latin as a part of the TOS Homeschool Crew. It’s kindof a funny story – that I didn’t really want to review this item because we already had a Latin curriculum for the year. However, one of our main ladies, Brenda from Garden of Learning, prays about EVERY list before it goes out…and let’s just say – I AM SO VERY GLAD she does that as Visual Latin has been an EXTREME BLESSING to our family! WE LOVE THIS PROGRAM!

What is Visual Latin? Well, it is EXACTLY what the name implies. The creators made this specifically for homeschool families and it is basically a teacher at a chalkboard teaching the students as if they are in a class…but it’s not as boring as it sounds. As a matter of fact, we spend a significant amount of time laughing while doing Visual Latin! And while I’m on the topic of “creators” now would probably be a good time to mention them: Dwane Thomas (the “teacher”) and his buddy Thomas Purifoy, Jr. (the “producer”) who are both husbands and dads to wives that homeschool their kids. AWESOME!

 

We absolutely LOVE this program, which is recommended for children ages 9 and up, not only does it make learning fun, but it makes learning easy. We would HIGHLY recommend this curriculum to others – without a moments hesitation. If you are curious about this program here are some FREE options for you:

Six FREE lessons
Check out / try a free lesson

Each lesson has three parts: Grammar, Sentences and Reading & Translation. Another quick, yet important point (in my opinion), is that there is a lot of reference to the God and the Bible…all the Reading & Translation sections are Christian focused – which WE LOVE!

With regards to price: I feel these are priced perfectly…not too cheap, not too expensive. They are $30 per DVD (or $25 if you download) which consists of 10 lessons – with 30 lessons being a “complete year” (so $90 for a full year curriculum, or less if you buy them all at one time). If you are ready to purchase, simply click HERE.

They also have a blog, you can visit it HERE. And a facebook page (which I already “like” and he posts a lot of funny things), you can like that page HERE.

The Compass Store has several other items available, one of which I think is interesting is a six series video set titled, “Seek Social Justice”. You can see more about it by clicking HERE.

For more information:
The Compass Store
609 West Iris Drive
Nashville, Tennessee 37204
Email them HERE

Have a wonderfully blessed day!

This product was reviewed as a part of the TOS Homeschool Crew…I received this product for free in exchange for my honest review. Everything stated here is my own opinion. You can see the direct posting with the TOS Homeschool Crew and what my fellow crewmates thought by clicking HERE.

TOS Crew Review ~ Latin Alive!

We had the opportunity to review Latin Alive! (for junior / high school students)…

…and here is what we think of it…

WONDERFULLY, AMAZINGLY, AWESOME!!!

The Lord truly saw a desire within our family and filled that need with this!!  We tried a different Latin curriculum earlier this year, and decided to put it off until next year.  We also had the opportunity to review another Latin item that was more of a supplemental piece.  The supplemental piece worked better for us than the first curriculum but it wouldn’t have been enough to really work with.  So, when we got this curriculum, I was SO EXCITED to open it up and check it out!

 

Let’s just say WE WERE NOT LET DOWN!

 

We were provided the entire Latin Alive! 1 Bundle that included the student book, teacher book, instructional DVD & CD set.  As someone new to Latin – we *HIGHLY RECOMMEND* the instructional DVDs!  Karen Moore is the instructor on the DVDs and she does it very well!  She is funny and doesn’t seem to have any funny quirks or little irritations.

I am actually literally doing this with ds14 and we are both GREATLY enjoying it!

 

For us, we like this program because it does exactly what the name says – it brings Latin alive!  It shows how it is still seen and used A LOT still today, and how a lot of the English language came from Latin.  This curriculum is not simply looking at Latin words – although it is definately that – but is is so much more as it shows you why you are doing what you are doing and how it applies to today.

 

Would we recommend this product?  YES!!!  Without one inkling of hesitation!  My thought: run quick to your nearest computer and buy it NOW!  *grin*  The bundle we received sells for $139, and in my opinion – is worth every penny!!!

 

They also have Latin curriculum for the younger ones…
K – 3rd: Song School for Latin
Then there is Latin for Children A, B, C

 

They also have items for Spanish, French, Greek, Bible, Poetry, etc.

As an added bonus, check out Headventure Land – from the site:

FlashDash is a speedy quizzing game, that tests your vocabulary skills in your language of choice. Chart Challenge tests your knowledge of important charts, such as conjugation tables, in a jigsaw puzzle game. In both games you race against the clock to reach your high score, and to see if you can beat the other students’ high scores!

For more information or to order, contact:
Classical Academic Press
3920 Market Street
Camp Hill, PA 17011
Toll Free: 866-730-0711
Phone: 717-730-0711
Fax: 717-730-0721

Have a wonderfully blessed day!

This product was reviewed as a part of the TOS Homeschool Crew…I received this product for free in exchange for my honest review. Everything stated here is my own opinion. You can see the direct posting with the TOS Homeschool Crew and what my fellow crewmates thought by clicking HERE.

Timberdoodle Review ~ Word Roots A2

Word Roots A2
by Cherie A. Plant
Publisher: The Critical Thinking Co.
Recommended for ages 9+ and Grade 4+
Soft cover, 65 pages
Retail $14.99
Consumable: Yes
Reproducible: Yes

We were given the opportunity by Timberdoodle to review Word Roots A2.  For purposes of this review, we used it with our ds14, 8th Grade.

Taken from the Timberdoodle website:

According to national standards, students in grades 4 – 12 must now be able to demonstrate their knowledge of how to use common Greek and Latin roots for analyzing the meaning of complex words.

Lovely! Isn’t this just what we needed, one more requirement from the government that our children will be tested for yearly? Yet surprisingly enough, it is one that makes sense. Children who have a solid grasp of word roots are bound to be children with better spelling and reading comprehension skills primarily because they have acquired the ability to decode words. But regardless of the benefit, you’re probably not looking for another task. In that case, assuming your children are independent learners, you will appreciate the Word Roots series. Written for grades four and up, Word Roots will teach your children the meanings of Latin and Greek prefixes, roots, and suffixes of words commonly used in English. A pre/post test, answers, and glossary are included. And with reproducible pages, the entire family can be prepared for any assessment tests their state throws at them.

Also taken directly from the website (because I just couldn’t word it any better!):

For each lesson students first learn the meanings of prefixes, roots, and suffixes. Then they

Divide known and unknown words into their elements or assemble elements to form whole words.

Match word parts or whole words to their definitions by analyzing their meanings.

Apply their new vocabulary in sentences.

We started Latina Christina 1  earlier this year and decided to take a break from it.  We were then asked if we would be interested in reviewing this product.  UH, YEA!  Isn’t the Lord’s timing AMAZING!  This has been EXCELLENT to go back to the very beginning and help understand more of what the Latin program has been talking about.  I am VERY EXCITED to see how ds14 has progressed and will progress after working thru Word Roots!  The next one we’ll get will B1 then B2…we’ll see where we go from there!

To see a sample page, click HERE.

To order your own copy, click HERE. 

For their FREE homeschool catalog, click HERE.

For Timberdoodle, click HERE.
800-478-0672 or 360-426-0672
fax 360-427-5625
mailbag@timberdoodle.com
1510 E Spencer Lake Rd
Shelton, WA 98584

Disclosure: As a member of Timberdoodle’s Blogger Review Team I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a frank and unbiased review.