Friends and Heroes Homeschool Unit Study {Review}

I was so excited when Friends and Heroes approached me about reviewing their Homeschool Unit Study 1. I actually had never heard of their materials until recently when reading reviews by fellow bloggers. I was highly intrigued. I’m always on the lookout for good bible resources.

For those of you who might not be familiar, Friends and Heroes is a DVD-series that follows Macky and his family in their everyday lives in AD 69 Alexandria. Along the way they learn life lessons and are told stories about the Heroes of their people, which are the accurately-portrayed accounts of Daniel, Rahab, Gideon, Moses and many others. For those who want to dig deeper into the shows, Friends and Heroes Homeschool Curriculum boasts a cross-curricular resource combining history/geography, creative writing, Bible study, creation-based science, crafts and discipleship. 

I don’t know about you, but for me there are two things I look for when in search for curricula: 1. instruction consistent with biblical teaching. 2. Comprehensive lesson plans. The Friends and Heroes Homeschool Curriculum provides both.

TOP 2 Reasons to Investigate this Resource Further

• Show Quality- The quality of the show is on par with most anything your kids will see on TV these days. Each episode runs about 25 minutes. The animation, storytelling and music are all well-done and engaging for the target audience of 7- to 11-year olds. Not to mentioned, I believe even your 5 and 6 year olds will enjoy them as well. I know my son did.

 

• Comprehensive Curriculum- The curriculum is truly comprehensive and I think appropriate for their target audience. My son (6 yrs) is a bit young for a variety of their included activities. However, that is the beauty of their materials. You could take each unit and work through the entire lesson plan or you could pick and choose the part you would want to focus on or that works best for your kids – age, level, interest, etc. Since every part of the lesson spring boards from the video episode you’re not compelled to work through each subject in the curriculum. In our case, since my son is a big art fan we decided to do several of the art and craft activities. (Roman soldiers drawing and paper strip weaving pictured below)

   

Overall
I think Friends and Heroes is on to something here. I could see our family making use of this curriculum as an occasional break from our current lesson plans. If you follow a 4-day schedule and are looking for something to keep your kids engaged on a Friday you might consider the Friends and Heroes Homeschool Curriculum. Or maybe this is a resource you turn to during your summer break to keep those young minds sharp. Either way it’s used, I could see more Friends and Heroes’ products finding their way into our home.

Now’s the Time to Buy
For the month of January, Friends and Heroes is having a promotion.

Here’s the scoop:

• 20% off all Friends and Heroes Homeschool Resources
• 10% off all other Friends and Heroes resources with curriculum
• 10% off all Friends and Heroes Home and Family DVD Collections

The offer began Jan. 1 and ends Jan. 31.

Learn More
If you’d like to learn more about Friends and Heroes Homeschool Curriculum, head over to their webpage for a detail look into what they have to offer.

The Friends and Heroes Homeschool Curriculum really is a great resource. I highly encourage you to take some time to check it out!

Please be aware that affiliate links may be present.  If you purchase anything through an affiliate link, you give back a percentage to our family…thanks!

2 Teaching Mommies Review Disclosure:  The featured product for this review was provided to me, at no cost, by Friends and Heroes, LLC. I do not accept monetary compensation for reviewing or writing about products. All opinions expressed are my own.

Song School Latin {Review}

One of my goals while attending homeschool conventions this past year was to find a foreign language program I could incorporate into the boy’s schooling.  He has been very interested in speaking different languages and asking me questions on how to say things.  After talking to various friends and teachers, I had several recommendations to start him with Latin. To say the least, I was very excited when I came across Song School Latin from Classical Academic Press. I just knew it would be a great fit for our family. (FYI: Classical Academic Press also has Song School Greek and Song School Spanish is coming soon!) 

A Little Info About Song School Latin...

• Grade level: K-3rd
• Comes with music CD (30 songs)
• Classical and Ecclesiastical pronunciations
• Interactive workbook text with lots of activities
• 31 weekly lessons including review chapters
• 100 + everyday vocabulary
• Gentle intro to Latin grammar

Here are some chapter samples from all 3 language options: Latin, Greek, and Spanish.

So, here is my honest opinion of the products I received:

• Accompany Music CD – This was our family’s favorite part of the program.  My son loves music and we all know how powerful an aid music is in memorization. The included CD has a song for every chapter. The songs teach the Latin words by using them in context. The melodies are catchy and repetitive, perfect for little ones to jump in quickly. The songs are short so you can play them as many times as necessary to help the new words stick for your child.
• Workbook/Activities – The activities in the book may have been a little advanced for my son because my son is a young kindergartener and struggles with writing. That didn't deter us though. We were able to just work our way through pages orally.
• Teacher’s Edition – I would recommend the Teacher's Edition for parents of older children (2nd/3rd grade). It's loaded with extra activities such as word searches, crossword puzzles, drawing activities and more. It seems like it would be a great tool to help extend the lesson or maybe give the child something to work on while you attend to a younger learner or just put your feet up. Otherwise, the Teachers Edition isn't essential because the answers are easy to figure out on your own.
• Flashcard Game – The Latin Monkey Match Flashcard Game offers a fun option for reinforcement and review. This is a way for the whole family to test their Latin skills. 
• Free Resources  – I was very excited to discover that Classical Academic Press offers a few free resources (coloring pages, pronunciation audio and website of video/review activities) to go along with Song School Latin.  My two favorite being the coloring pages and free chapter videos on their website Headventure Land.  These are a great way to extend the lessons and reinforce new vocabulary.  Besides my son absolutely loves to color and do anything on the computer!

Overall, this is an unique product that offers an easy introduction to Latin.   Although some of the activities were difficult for my kiddo, the variety of free resources helped us tailor it to his abilities.  This is definitely a foreign language program worth checking out.

 

Disclosure:  The featured product for this review was provided to me  at no cost, by Classical Academic Press for the sole purpose of product testing. All opinions expressed are my own.

We Choose Virtues {Giveaway}

I recently received four products from We Choose Virtues to review and giveaway.  

Parenting Cards-Faith Based	Virtue Flash Cards
Virtue Clue Cards	Virtue User Review

A Little Info About We Choose Virtues...

• It was developed by Heather McMillian, a preschool teacher & children’s pastor.
• It has memorable catchphrases and endearing characters.
• Offers products for home, school or church use.
• Each Virtue Card has a short story to illustrate what the virtue looks like when it is lived out.  Plus, various application activities.

During the month of March they are running a special. Use promo code HOMESCHOOL25 to get 25% off your Homeschool Kit purchase.

So, here is my honest opinion of the products I received:

• Colorful Attention Grabbing Graphics – Each virtue has an unique character illustration that is used to help the kiddos recall the virtue.  My son loved flipping through them and looking at each character. Plus, the layout of the cards is well organized making it easy to read and use.
• Practical Application Tips – I personally loved the What to say after “I’m sorry” section.  Takes the guess work out for the parents, but also helps to reinforce the virtue in real life situations for the kiddo.

• Helpful Tools – The Virtue User Review pack is a helpful tool for keeping parents informed.  As a previous teacher I always loved things that were quick to fill out, so that I can let parents know how their kiddo is doing.  However, this was also great for in the home.  I was able to use it as a report for Daddy, so he knew how he could encourage good behavior, as well as help with reinforce things the boy needed to work on.     

Overall, this is a quality product that would be ideal for any home, church or school.   Although some of the virtues are difficult concepts to grasp for my son, we’ve been able to pull them out in teachable moments to help him make the connections.

Now for the Giveaway
One lucky reader will receive all 4 products pictured above from We Choose Virtues. This giveaway is OPEN TO ALL. Ends Mar 30th at 11:59 pm EST.

Don’t want to wait?  Use the following promo codes to apply towards your order.  Only ONE promo code per order.

• HOMESCHOOL25 to get 25% off your Homeschool Kit
• VIRTUE15 is good for 15% off your cart
• SHIPFREE for free shipping

To ENTER simple fill out the widget below and make sure to grab some extra entries. (Feed readers you’ll have to click over to the blog to enter).  Before entering make sure you look over the Terms Conditions.Good luck ladies.