Oak Meadows Curriculum Giveaway!

My friends over at Dens School are hosting this amazing giveaway!!! You could with this amazing Oak Meadow Curriculum Giveaway!!!  This product values over $300 and your children will love it! This is something anyone could use even people who are not home schooling their children!!!


Check out the review HERE!

Top 11 Benefits of using ASL Signs

Photo Courtesy of The Orange County Register

American Sign Language is a language that most people don't know.  They may know "I love you" or a couple of letters.  I know in Elementary School I was taught how to spell our school "Tyler" in ASL for our little school song.  I thought it was cute, but I never knew that's what we were doing until I was older.  Over the years I have studied ASL and in a couple instances have held some shorter conversations in it since my sign is a bit choppy since I am not fluent in it.  I found this list of reasons of benefits to learning ASL.  I think that this is something that could be done when children are young along side learning to read.

Top 11 Benefits of using ASL Signs in Second Language Learning

1.  Everyone uses gestures when they speak. Gestures naturally support and enhance spoken language.


2.  ASL sign vocabulary is very expressive and frequently depicts its meaning visually. (e.g., the ASL sign for COOKIE looks as if you are using a cookie cutter.) Easy!


3.  This visual association of signs with their meaning makes them easy to remember.


4.  Signs become a powerful common "bridge" that links two spoken languages. This helps the brain travel back and forth more easily between those languages.


5.  Established signs are what links people together successfully (not gestures that each individual invents on their own). When people make up their own signs it's just as if they made up their own spoken language...not too useful beyond just one or two other people!


6.  ASL is a kinesthetic language (it depends upon movement) and when linked with spoken language, it actively helps connect both hemispheres of the brain. That adds another powerful bridge.


7.  Signs act as a prompt to assist the brain in the recall of new spoken words. When you can't remember the spoken word, make the sign and you will be amazed at how it triggers the memory into action.


8.  Adding signs to the language-learning process provides a basis for a third language. Today, ASL is recognized as a fully-accredited foreign language in most high schools and universities.


9.  Signing adds focus, lowers noise levels, and helps boost self-esteem.


10. Almost all kids love to sign! It's simply fun!


11. Signing creates an environment for the inclusion of ALL children in the process.

This list was provided by Sign 2 Me

Curriculum Guide Giveaway 5/25

I joined up with Den School to giveaway this great educational product!  This is great for people who are homeschooling their children!!!  I hope you like it please read what she wrote.  You can view her full REVIEW HERE!


The Global Village School offers an accredited homeschool diploma program that can be customized.  They offer several options for classes, teacher support, etc.  One option is to simply purchase the Curriculum Guide, which is what I am reviewing.

 This little spiral bound notebook is a wealth of information.  It is not a curriculum “kit” that includes everything. The curriculum can be followed exactly as laid out in the book, by acquiring all the material,  or it can be used as a resource guide to augment your own plan.

The resources listed are divided into three categories; Core, Recommended and Optional.  Many of the books and movies can be borrowed from the library or bought used.  This certainly helps the budget conscious family, and who isn’t budget conscious these days?


The list of core, recommended and optional materials for this grade level allows each family to tailor it to their  likes and budgets.  In fact, the overall tone of the guide encourages and empowers the homeschooler to make the learning program specific and relevant to their educational goals.


What immediately impressed were the many alternatives to the standard textbook.  The lively and entertaining alternatives will work much better for our family,  I know my children will be more motivated to read!


The resources are listed under these academic areas:  Social Studies/Literature; Music; Language Arts; Science/Eco-Integrity; Math; Citizenship/Service Learning; Values/Character; Art/Nature/Science; and Health.  Each area has a variety of books, songs, films and websites that are recommended.

There are instructions, learning models and forms for using four week unit studies.  There are also three different sample record keeping formats which can be used or adapted to fit your own needs.

There are chapters on enhancing your skills, assessment and documentation, education myths, scheduling issues and setting up your learning environment.  I especially enjoyed chapter six which begins with a special note to the new homeschooling parent.


As a resource, it was very informative and empowering, debunking some of the widely held beliefs of traditional education that is critical of homeschooling.  I also appreciate the overall “tone” of this curriculum which acknowledges, at every turn, that there is no one method that is best for every family out there.


I feel very fortunate to have read and reviewed this curriculum.  I have already begun a journal of ideas and activities I have had while reading it, some directly from it and some inspired by it!  I will definitely use many of the resources and methods listed in this guide.  I am also now researching their middle school curriculum for my older son.


Although some chapters are geared to new homeschooling families, I feel that the information and resources in this guide could be useful at any point in the journey!

SkillaDo Giveaway!!! Ends 5/3!

Denschool’s Mindy (AKA MomOMany to Parent Palace readers) recently had the opportunity to review SkillaDo’s Easy Phonics Program with her six year old son.  In her review, she tell us that she liked their use of positive reinforcement; her son enjoyed dragging “pieces” to form letters; and she loved that they introduced keyboarding skills to her son! Enter today to share Easy Phonics with your child too!


YAY! IT’S A GIVEAWAY! Five (yes, 5) lucky readers/followers will win the Home Edition, plus one license, to use with their child.  Enter today using the Rafflecopter form below.  Good luck to all of the entrants from all of us here at Parent Palace!

The U.S. Constitution and You Giveaway! 3/19

Guess what everyone!?  I teamed up with Den's School again for another great Review and Giveaway!  Check out this review they wrote up and learn all about the US Constitution!

YAY! IT’S A GIVEAWAY! 

THREE LUCKY READERS/FOLLOWERS WILL WILL A SET OF THE FOLLOWING THREE BARRON’S BOOKS: THS U.S. CONSTITUTION AND YOU, HOW THE U.S. GOVERNMENT WORKS, AND PRESIDENTAL ELECTIONS & OTHER COOL FACTS; I CAN’T IMAGINE A BETTER FIND TO ASSIST YOU IN TEACHING YOUR CHILDREN ABOUT THE UPCOMING ELECTIONS! GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF THE ENTRANTS FROM ALL OF US HERE AT DENSCHOOL- VICTORIA

Framers…Delegates…Legislative…Executive…Checks…and Balances

Do you know the difference between a democracy and a republic? When did women get the right to vote? What is the Bill of Rights?

Find all those answers and much more in The U.S. Constitution and You!

This book was the easiest understanding of how our government works, that I have ever read.

My children and I spent about a week reading this wonderful little book of only 48 pages. Each day we covered a different section in the book varying from Rules of Government, Rights of the People, The Three Branches of Government, to the Checks and Balances of our Government.

The U.S. Constitution and You was amazingly illustrated as well, with pictures to show you exactly what the author was explaining in print. It really made studying this topic a lot easier and a whole lot of fun.

I must admit we truly learned a lot about our early framers (founders). And we were able to see just how much thought and work went into creating our one of a kind system of government. This book teaches the basic fundamentals of our government and works well for children in elementary school all the way up to adulthood.

I cannot tell you just how much I highly recommend this book, especially during this election year. Everyone should know how our glorious country came from being ruled by a king…. to Having The Articles of Confederation…. to what we now are blessed with The U.S. Constitution.

Look for more reviews from this Barron’s Book Giveaway next week! Or check out our review of A Day in the Life of Your Body… also from Barron’s Educational Books!

Please visit Barron’s for more information to view their Spring Catalog.

*Disclaimer: I was given a complimentary The U.S. Constitution and You, for the purpose of facilitating my review. No monetary compensation was given. All opinions expressed herein are unbiased and not influenced by the authors, artists, publisher, or their affiliates in any way.*

Logo Adventures Review & Giveaway!

My friends over at Den School wrote this awesome review of Logo Adventures as well as a Giveaway that I am joining up with!  Check out their great review and then head on down to the Rafflecopter form below and Enter to WIN!

After our first year of homeschooling, we decided to move towards a more interest led approach for our children’s homeschooling.  This was a “dream come true” for our oldest child who is very interested in electronics and computers.

To begin his quest, he got ready to go to the library to stock up on great computer materials. With his recyclable grocery bag in hand, he headed to the card catalog in the children’s department prepared to toss in a ton of books, he instead found…nothing.

My husband took him over to the main section of the library where he was able to locate two computer books.  He brought them home but was unsatisfied with what he found.  They were very mature for him and he was lost.  Our confident “computer whizz” felt incapable.  This is not what we wanted to accomplish at all.

His disappointment sent me on a quest to find an appropriate computer curriculum for kids.  I knew it had to be out there, but where?  I asked around, and none of my friends we able to offer suggestions. I asked the library, and they were unfamiliar.  I finally hit the internet and found Logo Adventures fromMotherboard Books.

Logo Adventures, by Phyllis Wheeler, is used to teach simple computer programming along with MicroWorlds 2.0 or MicroWorlds EX.  (My set came with MicroWorlds EX.)

The first day, I told my little tech kid to go ahead and play around with the program to get a feel for it without the book.  (This is how he is anyway, he likes to skip directions and figure things out. Typical man).  During his first hour of “playing” he had created a city with airplanes flying, cars moving, and music playing.  He thought this was wonderful.   He didn’t understand why he needed the book, the program allowed him to do everything he wanted and if he had a question, he could follow the on screen tutorial…

Well, the next day I completed the first lesson on my own.  Afterwards I asked him a few questions to see what he learned by “playing”. I asked: “What is the command box? What does fd 50 lt 90 mean? What does pu and pd mean? What will cg and cc do?”… needless to say, he was learning the difference between playing and knowing.   He was also ready to learn the answers to those questions… after all, no one in our house is allowed to know more about computers than him!

I use my laptop to complete the lesson with the children while I conduct the “class”. After the first three lessons my oldest two decided they were ready to complete each lesson on their own without me “hovering” over them.  I think it is fantastic because I can rarely get them to do anything on their own… actually, they don’t do anything else on their own… I could get used to this (smile).

Logo Adventures was designed to be used as weekly lessons. However, my children enjoy this so much that they are already on Lesson 8… we have only had this program for 2 weeks!   They are learning so much more than I could have imagined (hello Geometry!) The best part is: they are ASKING to do this, ON THEIR OWN!

This is the main goal of any interest-led learning foundation.  To find something your children WANT to learn. To my greatest surprise, all of my little ones are enjoying this curriculum.  I searched this out with my oldest in mind, not realizing that all of my little ones would become captivated by it. Recommend doesn’t begin to describe how I feel about this curriculum… I strongly encourage it!

Do you want to know more?  My little ones will start Animations very soon… I can’t wait to tell you how they are doing!  Keep an eye on Denschool for more of my little one’s “Logo Adventures”!

Visit Motherboard Books for more information on computer programming curriculums for children AND don’t forget to enter the giveaway by using the Rafflecopter form below!