Institute for Excellence in Writing - Phonetic Zoo Spelling Level A - Review

Institute for Excellence in Writing is one of my favorite homeschool curriculum companies and I was so thankful that my oldest daughter had the opportunity to review Phonetic Zoo Spelling Level A [Starter Set] from them recently. Spelling hasn't came easy to her and I was looking forward to finding a curriculum that finally worked. 

What is Phonetic Zoo Spelling Level A [Starter Set]?

Phonetic Zoo Spelling Level A [Starter Set] is a self-teaching spelling program.  It is phonics-based and it uses auditory input to ensure that the correct spelling of each word is absorbed by the brain. The audio CDs allow students to work independently much of the time, while allowing for the repetition needed for mastery.

The Starter Set package we received included:

5 audio CDs as well as MP3 downloads
 - The CDs come in a hard case for protection

Lesson Cards with three levels of spelling words
 -  The lesson cards are are card stock and very sturdy. Each card has Level A, B, C spelling words printed on them. They also include an animal and a spelling rule.

Personal Spelling Cards to keep track of misspellings
 - These cards also include an animal and spelling rule

Zoo Cards that serve as a way to practice jingles or as rewards

A downloadable Phonetic Zoo Teacher’s Notes PDF file

A spelling and the brain video seminar link

How We Used It

The first thing I did was download and print the teachers manual out. I then spent time reading it over to ensure that I would be directing my daughter how to use the program properly. I found that it truly was going to be a self-teaching program.

My daughter used the program about three times a week. She devoted a notebook to all things related the the program and followed the instructions on the CD. Each lesson explained a spelling rule and included a corresponding card that also included the rule.

During each lesson she would have to listen the the words and write them. She would then have to cross out the words she missed and spell them the correct way. She would have to do this until she didn't miss any. I loved this, because it helped her understand how she was misspelling the words and allowed her to learn the right ways. She missed a ton of words at first, but I was very impressed at how much she was beginning to get right just based on the spelling rules she was learning and repeating the steps. Once she was able to spell everything correctly she could receive a little spelling card. She could display them on the wall or she could place them in a collection using a print out provided in the teachers manual. The print out is six pages and serves as a "Phonetic Zoo." The pages are sorted according to vowels and consonants. My daughter was able to take her card a place it on the pages and they serve as a "door" to a "cage." For review she could open the door to reveal the spelling rules as well as sample words. It was a great way for her to review what she had previously learned and help her to remember the spelling rules.

Final Thought

Phonetic Zoo Spelling Level A [Starter Set] has been a true blessing to my daughter. At first she was a little hesitate with wanting to use it. After she started to understand the process of it, she truly enjoyed it. I think she began to be proud of herself when she started to witness the progress she was making. It was a little hard for me to step back and let this actually be a self-taught program, but I seen the benefits of it with my own eyes and seen how important it really was to let her use it and prosper with it on her own. I recommend it to any parent that wants their child to understand spelling rules and spell better. 

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Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW) ~ Review

Hi friends, My oldest daughter and I just had the chance to review the Deluxe Combo Teacher/Student Writing Package Level A [FIX-1 & 2] which includes A Word Write Now and Portable Walls. What an awesome opportunity! Seriously friends, we feel truly blessed by this curriculum.  Writing is an area for my daughter that could use some work.

What is Deluxe Combo Teacher/Student Writing Package Level A [FIX-1 & 2] and what did we receive?

This deluxe package has everything you need to start your 3-5 grade student on the road to writing with ease and confidence and great products for teachers and parents as well.

It Includes:

• Teaching Writing: Structure & Style DVD set

This is a DVD seminar that I found to be very beneficial to myself. It includes twelve DVDs. It helps you teach writing to children and even helped me work on my own writing. It begins with the basics and works its way into advanced creative and essay writing. I have not finished yet and still have a way to go with it, but I can already see huge benefits. I also received a very helpful seminar workbook that goes along with the DVDS. 

• Student Writing Intensive DVDs Level A, including the Structure & Style Overview

This is a four DVD writing course for elementary children that is recorded live with Mr. Andrew Pudewa. Andrew Pudewa is the founder, principal speaker, and director of the Institute for Excellence in Writing. Over the course of  about 30 weeks, students will learn how to effectively use a wide range of structural models and stylistic techniques in their compositions, as they write on a fiction and non-fiction topics. It also includes a student notebook. This notebook comes with handouts, complete teacher's notes, source texts, assignments, and checklists. I really enjoyed that it comes with a three-ring binder that has dividers. Having the binder helped my daughter stay organized. 

• Fix-It! Grammar, Books 1 and 2 with downloadable student e-books

For this review we received book 1 and 2 teacher’s manuals with downloadable student e-books. The e-books are 126 pages and filled with wonderful easy to understand lessons. The teacher's book have been very beneficial in helping me understand the lessons. 

We absolutely love Fix It! Grammar! In these books children hunt for and correct errors in daily passages that cumulatively tell a story. My daughter loved the stories and always felt a since of accomplishment after each lesson. She loves that the lessons are not long or overwhelming. My daughter learned so much using Fix It! Grammar! and I highly, highly recommend them to everyone.

We actually reviewed Fix It! Grammar last year and fell in love with the books then. 

You can read that review by clicking on the link below:

http://www.homegrownheartsacademy.com/2014/09/institute-for-excellence-in-writing-fix.html

• A Word Write Now

A Word Write Now is a thematic thesaurus that contains a treasure trove of  words that will spice up your child's writing. I even find myself referring to the book. It's pretty great. It is organized into four sections. They are:

1. Section A: Character Traits

             This section includes twenty-three character traits which include lists of words categorized by nouns, adjectives, adverbs, verbs, phrases, and additional words. Children can also find famous quotations related to the trait.

1. Section B: Word to Describe

                In this section a list of descriptive words for appearance, color, size, time, temperature, texture, and size can be found. My daughter loved referring to these lists often. She learned many new words this way.

1. Section C: Words for Movement and the Senses

               This section includes a list of synonyms for actions of the feet, hands, thinking and all of the senses.

1. Section D: Appendix

             In this section my daughter found a list of words for transitions, prepositions, and literary genres. My daughter is in the process of trying to memorize all of the prepositions.

• Portable Walls

The portable wall is a handy fold-out that contains writing models, tips, and word lists. Having this really eliminates the need for tons of posters that take up wall space. my daughter really enjoyed having it and it is something that will come in handy many times in the future. It is very sturdy so there is no worry about it getting torn through all the use it will be getting. I love that my daughter has all of the information she needs right in front of her. 

Final Thought

This isn't a program that can be rushed through. We plan on taking our time and continuing it through the year. I'm very thankful for the opportunity to review it and can't wait to see how much more my daughter and I learn. My favorite part about the whole program is how nicely each lesson is laid out. There is no need for me to go into panic mode to try to get a lesson together. This not only make learning fun. but also makes teaching easier. I'm very thankful for that.

What does Deluxe Combo Teacher/Student Writing Package Level A [FIX-1 & 2] cost?

Currently you can purchase it for $299.00

Want to Connect with Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW)?

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http://vimeo.com/iewtv

https://twitter.com/iew

https://www.youtube.com/user/iewtv

http://iew.com/help-support/blog

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Memoria Press ~ New American Cursive: Penmanship Program Workbook 1 ~ REVIEW

Does your child struggle with writing in cursive? My youngest daughter did struggle with it until we had the chance to review New American Cursive: Penmanship Program Workbook 1 from the wonderful company, Memoria Press. She is now writing her name and everything else in cursive. It's been a wonderful accomplishment for her.

A Little About Memoria Press

Memoria Press is a family-run publishing company that produces simple and easy-to-use classical Christian education materials for home and private schools. It was founded by Cheryl Lowe in 1994 to help promote and transmit the classical heritage of the Christian West through an emphasis on the liberal arts and the great works of the Western tradition.

What is New American Cursive: Penmanship Program Workbook 1?

New American Cursive: Penmanship Program Workbook 1 is the first book in the New American Cursive program. It was developed by Iris Hatfield, with over 35 years of experience in the handwriting field, the book improves the process of teaching handwriting and allows students to start at a younger age.  It was designed with the first grader in mind. I must say that I started late and my daughter is in the third grade. Was it still beneficial for her? Very! Do I believe it is perfect for a first grader? Absolutely! As a matter of fact, I wish I would have had this when my daughter was in the first grade. I don't think we would have struggled with cursive as much as we did. There is a wonderful page in the workbook that talks about the benefits of starting cursive training early.

New American Cursive: Penmanship Program Workbook 1 uses a delightful meerkat as a teaching guide. Mr. Meerkat is adorable! In the beginning of the workbook there is a page introducing Mr. Meerkat and also a link to learn more about meerkats. My daughter loved learning that meerkats are among the few animals known to actively teach their young.

How did New American Cursive: Penmanship Program Workbook 1 teach my daughter to write in cursive?

The New American Cursive: Penmanship Program Workbook 1 breaks down learning cursive in a bunch of different but very effective and easy ways. 

The first thing my daughter learned about was the Three P's of Penmanship. 

• Posture

         My daughter learned about how important it was to place both feet on the floor and sit straight

• Pencil Position

         She already knew how to properly hold a pencil, but this was still good to review. 

• Paper Position

         She also learned that her paper should be slightly off-center towards her writing shoulder.

I appreciated the fact that illustrations are included for the Three P's of Penmanship. Seeing the illustrations helped my daughter understand what was being asked of her.

The next step was to learn to correctly write the letters. There are three exercise pages per cursive letter. 

• Instruction 

        In this step my daughter learned how to correctly form the letter.

• Practice

        This is where my daughter was able to trace and then practice writing the letters.

• Play

       This page allowed for additional exercises as well as free space for artwork and trying out new            letters.  My daughter loved that Mr. Meerkat showed step-by-step how to form the letters. 

As my daughter progressed through the book and began to master letter formation, she was then able to focus on the Three S's 

• Size
• Slant
• Spacing

I loved the fact that unnecessary strokes are eliminated in this program.  The New American Cursive alphabet has 26 fewer strokes than the top three most common cursive programs. I believe this was very beneficial to my daughter. She didn't seem to show much trouble in learning and writing the letters. Even though the letter forms are simplified they still retain the classic form for legibility. The workbook was simple, clear, and effective for my daughter. 

There is also a teacher's guide included in the front of the workbook. This was helpful for me, as I was able to make sure she was using the book as needed as well as offer additional help and support. In the back of the book there is a wonderful handwriting evaluation checklist. I loved having this! It was very helpful in seeing the areas that my daughter may or may not need more help in. It is recommended to test correct letter formation and connections on a weekly basis.

Final Thoughts

My daughter worked in New American Cursive: Penmanship Program Workbook 1 for about 30 minutes a day and she thoroughly enjoyed it. This was a true blessing for her and I know that it would be very beneficial to other families as well. It was really fun as a mother to see her excitement when she finally got it. It really was simple and effective. I highly recommend it!

What does  New American Cursive: Penmanship Program Workbook 1 cost?

You can currently purchase

  New American Cursive: Penmanship Program Workbook 1 

for only 

$22.95

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Creativity For Kids - Create Your Own Books

Today my daughters and I learned that the first American novel was published on Jan 21, 1789.  This cool fact prompted us to talk about creating their own books. I loved the idea of them writing, illustrating, and reading their own creative books. So I created some printables to help them and asked them to have their books to me by the end of the week. I'm super excited to see what they come up with. 

Would you like to do something like this with your children? 

I have included the download link for the FREE printables below. 

I hope you enjoy them! 

Click here to Download and Print our Create Your Own Book Printables 

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Wordsmith Apprentice Review

My oldest daughter and I recently had the opportunity to review Wordsmith Apprentice, a self- directed writing program for grades 4-6 in the Wordsmith Series.

I had never heard of Wordsmith, but after researching it, it looked like it could be a good fit my daughter and I was really hoping she would enjoy it and that it wouldn't be to difficult for her!

Also, it's one of Cathy Duffy's 100 Top Picks for Curriculum!

I have to say that after actually receiving Wordsmith Apprentice, and looking through it myself, that I did have some concerns. While it looked like something I thought my daughter would enjoy, I wondered how much "hand holding" it would require. I also worried that my daughter would find it to be to much writing and maybe a bit advanced beyond her current level of writing.

Boy, was I wrong! When she started into the book, she would hardly put it down.   That was encouraging, especially from the daughter, who does not, and I mean does NOT, like writing. Well I should say, who didn't like writing, because now she has a new found confidence in her writing. 

My daughter enjoyed the fact that she got to be a reporter. This was a new concept to her and one that she surprisingly embraced. This curriculum brought to her attention, the importance of writing and a new found love for our local writers and newspapers. It started out with a pretty basic application for a newspaper position. This is what really caught her attention and made it fun. Here is an example of her application. 

The day she filled this out, was a happy day for her. I remember vividly, her dad returning home from work that evening. He was just through the door, when he was greeted with an overjoyed daughter. She told him, that she had a job, and it was an important job. She was a reporter for a newspaper and she was reporting the news!  His smile was enough to make anyone also smile. I remember him looking at me with a look of "What have you done to excite her into writing?" Well friends, I can honestly say it wasn't me. I secretly hoped that this wasn't short lived. That it would continue to excite her.
I think it did continue to excite her because Wordsmith Apprentice started out very gently and it was exciting to her. It covered basic sentences, and then covered all four types of writing -- descriptive, narrative, expository, and persuasive.  It didn't just ask my daughter to write 'such and such'. It taught my daughter the skills to be able to write and to do it independently. Not to forget, it has wonderful comic sections. My daughter, being more of the visual type learner, really enjoyed these sections.  My six year old also enjoyed being read to by her older sister and looking at the pictures. 

Would you like to give Wordsmith Apprentice a try? We have enjoyed it!

 I hope you find as much success with it as we have. 

Are you looking for Language Arts Curriculum for Homeschooling?

Check out Timberdoodle Company on Facebook for updates on curriculum and also enter some great giveaways. 

Legal Disclosure:

As a member of Timberdoodle's Blogger Review Team I received a free copy of Wordsmith in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

What a colorful Day!

We are gearing up for a great school year at home.

Today the girls made books titled "About Me". On the inside we included facts about them and they drew a picture of themselves. While I was helping Gracie with writing her name, Raylee managed to get a hold of the glitter. Needless to say we had glitter everywhere. Oh what a colorful day!
I guess thats better than the egg incident we had a few weeks ago. Apparently Raylee wanted some eggs. She removed a small pan from the cabinet and eggs from the fridge. Sat down in the middle of the floor and proceeded to attempt to fix eggs. When I walked around the corner all I saw was egg yolk everywhere and I do mean everywhere you could walk! She was covered from head to toe! I do wish I had got a picture, but I was to busy running to the shower with her. LoL :) I would love to hear stories from other mothers. I'm sure you have a few! :) Have a great Day! *Blessings

On another note. Breanna has learned to write her name. We are very trilled and she to is excited about this.