2013 - 2014 homeschool curriculum choices

I thought I would post my curriculum choices for this year.  Our local homeschool group has several new homeschooling families and with all the choices out there it can become very overwhelming.  I will be starting my 10'th homeschool year next week and I think I finally have everything I need.  YEAH!

I've also included the links for those who would like to learn more about them.


For high school -

History, Bible & Literature (all three combined)
"Exploring America" by: Notgrass

http://www.notgrass.com/notgrass/american-history-high-school-curriculum/


Math
Algebra II by: Mathusee 
 http://store.mathusee.com/catalog/secondary-math/algebra-2/


Science
Marine Biology by: Apologia 
 http://apologia.com/index.asp?proc=pg&pg=1


Spanish
Spanish Journey II  by: Mango Languages 
 http://www.mangolanguages.com/


Writing
Essay Writing/Research Paper  by: Essentials In Writing
 http://www.essentialsinwriting.com/

Health
Health Lifepac  by: Alpha Omega Publications
 http://www.aophomeschooling.com/




 For elementary -


 History, Bible & Literature (all three combined)
America the Beautiful  by: Notgrass
 http://www.notgrass.com/notgrass/about-us.html


Math
Zeta by: Mathusee 
  http://mathusee.com/


Science
Exploring Creation with Zoology 3: Land Animals
by:  Apologia
 http://apologia.com/index.asp?proc=pg&pg=1


Health
Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy & Physiology  by:  Apologia 
 http://apologia.com/index.asp?proc=pg&pg=1


Grammar
Explode the Code  by: EPS
 http://eps.schoolspecialty.com/products/details.cfm?seriesonly=1460M

Language Arts 5  by: Spectrum
 http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/cms_content?page=608609&sp=102656&event=1016SPEC|528057|102656


Writing
Student Writing Intensive  by: Excellence in Writing
 http://www.excellenceinwriting.com/



Picking curriculum is NOT easy.  Several hours of research goes into choosing what is right for my family's needs.  Price is a HUGE factor, but also reviews.  Read the reviews before choosing!  
TOS (The Old Schoolhouse) has reviews on tons of curriculum each year.

The link below will take you to the review crew for TOS.  Here you can look up curriculum and see what they have to say about it and tell about their experiences as well.

http://schoolhousereviewcrew.com/

We have tried several different curriculum over the years.  If you have any questions about a curriculum or something that I have chosen and posted, please feel free to ask.  Sometimes my choices are wrong.  This has happened with Math several times.  I had to switch math programs three times over one homeschool year before!  The key is to find what fits your child's needs.  Don't be afraid to swap, re-sell, exchange or return what you don't like.  Sometimes you won't know what fits until you try it out for a few weeks.  Keep in mind, making your child finish something that isn't beneficial to them isn't going to solve your problem; it may make it worse!  So if you need to swap programs during the school year, do it!  Your child will thank you for it later. ;)


Disclaimer:
Even though I do reviews for the TOS crew, this blog is MY opinion from my own experiences only.  These product above are what I (myself) have chosen for my family's needs.

And the winner is.........

Congrats to Kris Desimone! 

 She is our lucky winner of the  

"Well Planned Day Planner" 

from HEDUA!

Thank you for entering the giveaway and visiting my blog!

Teen drivers

Well, my oldest now has his drivers lic.  I have to say, he is a pretty good, careful driver.  But there is one problem.  He seems to know everything.  Why is it that a teenager that has had his drivers lic. for less than one month knows more than his mother who has had her drivers lic. for 24 + years?  The answer:  He doesn't.  Not sure what chemical in the teenage brain tells them that they know more than their parents.  For the record:  My parents will ALWAYS be smarter.  Why?  Because they have lived longer, that's why.  That is how we learn; by living.  Going through trials, hardships, tough times, is what makes us stronger.  It makes us who we are.  If I only could get that through the heads of both my teenagers we could save so much time, energy and lectures.

I pray for my children everyday.  I pray that my teens will never have to go through the hardships, heartaches and trials that I have endured.  Not saying that I had a terrible childhood.  I had a wonderful childhood.  I just want them to have an easier life.  If I would have listened to my parents way back when, it could've saved me so much!

But then, I wouldn't be who I am today right?  So do I thank God for my trials?  I do.  I thank him for not only letting me walk through those, but being by my side the whole time.  That is what I am going to be praying from now on.  Praying that my children's trials are handled with God by their side and faith on the other.

 

Cleaning House with children

Um, cleaning a house that has children living within it, is like brushing your teeth with Oreos.  Seriously.

There are days when I clean all day.  I go from one room to the next.  I look behind me and it's like I wasn't even in that room.  My boys are 17, 14 and 10.  Seriously, with children those ages, you'd think I'd finally overcome the 'messy house' syndrome.  NOT!  

 
My youngest is the lego king.  He has legs all over his room.  He picks them up and an hour later, lego land all over again.
   
I can follow him around the house and pick up after him.  That alone would be a full time job.  

I know what you are thinking.  'Give them some chores.  Make them help.'  I do.  They have daily chores.  They are good chores too.  Folding laundry, doing dishes (no, we do not have a dishwasher), feed the chickens, feed the dogs & cat, help cook dinner, clear table, fold throw blankets and straighten pillows, these are all on the chore list.  They are GOOD chores.  They complete them daily.  When they are finished with their chores  and I have finished mine, the house looks great!  They really do a terrific job!


 

 Then the next time I walk through the room it's like, "Where am I"?

How come my house is still dirty?

I think one day, after my children are gone, I will finally have a clean house.  That doesn't put a smile on my face though.  A clean house.......accompanies a quiet one. :(  I cannot imagine my boys not living at home with me.  

Ok, my messy house.....it isn't so bad.  ;)

"Well Planned Day Planner" review

I received the 'Well Planned Day Planner'

from HEDUA (home educating family association) 

for review.

Price:
$26.95
ISBN: 978-0-9850498-1-2
236 pages with 2 page monthly layout
2013 - 2014
Spiral bound 8.5 x 11


Note:
In my review, I chose to post lots of pictures.  When looking for a homeschool planner, seeing what you are getting is very important to determine whether it will fit your family's homeschooling needs.

What Is This? & How did I use it? -

This is a spiral bound 2013 - 2014 school year planner.  Full color 236 pages.

Each month has an encouraging article to read.  The picture below is a lists of the article for each month. 

ISBN: 978-0-9850498-1-2Each month has an encouraging article to read.  The picture below shows the titles for these articles.

ISBN: 978-0-9850498-1-2

This pic to the right is the article for October called 'Book Gluttony'.














Each month contains a beautiful, colorful, 2 page layout for easy documentation or activities that need to be added to your calendar.




There is a spot to the right of every month for writing 'notes'.  I use this area for things that are not set on the calendar yet but things that are to be scheduled or I need 'to do'.








The lesson plans are shown in the picture above.  There is a section for Bible, Math, History, Science, English and then 2 blank areas for you to fill in.  There are 4 lines in each subject for writing.  I split these into 2 lines for each of my 2 boys.  The "D" is for my older son, and the "B" is for my younger son.  In the past, I have always kept their lesson plans separate, but this year I am putting them together.  I think this will be easier to keep track of who is doing what and save me time looking through 2 different set of plans.





Here is a closer view of how the lesson plans are set up.  I added in Spanish II for my oldest son as shown in the picture above.


















In this above picture, there is a place to write a 'student schedule'.  The times start at 7:00am and goes through the day until 6:30pm, then an evening slot.







In the picture above, you can see that the months are well labelled and have indented tabs for easy page turning.




There is also a section for 'Household Duties' & 'Household Finances' as seen here.






There are a few report cards (seen above) in the back of the book as well.  They are very colorful and easy access.


Below there are some pages that are for any 'note' you may have to jot down.  This will be a great place to write something that the boys may need to work on during the school year or maybe something to review closer to the end of the school year.







What I Thought -

I have to honestly say, I have had my eyes on this planner for a few years now.  I have always made my own planner pages and placed them in a three ring binder.  So when I had the chance to review this, I was so excited!  

What can I say?  This planner is awesome!  It has lots of room to write notes and things that I would probably lose in my three ring binder.  The calendar is nicely spread out over the two pages which gives lots of room for writing in events.  

It has uplifting articles and things in here to inspire me throughout the schoolyear.  I also LOVE the colorful design and pages!  There is something about having a colorful and organized homeschool planner at your fingertips to just make your day!  This has everything to keep me well organized during my homeschool year.  It isn't bulky or flimsy.  It is just perfect for carrying in my homeschool bag with the books I need for a day out doing school.  Let's face it, as busy mom's we have this thing called 'life' that gets in the way of homeschooling at times.  Things like doctor's appointments, sports events, piano lessons, etc. get mixed into our day and we have to do school over the road occasionally.  So bringing the books is one thing that isn't too hard, but bringing the planner is not too easy..........until now.  It fits in my bag perfect and I can't wait to use it this fall with my children!

So if you are looking for a good planner to keep your homeschooling organized, I highly recommended the 'Well Planned Day Planner'!  

And here is my great news!  

I am having a giveaway right here on my blog!  All you have to do is enter!  

The time to enter is limited!  

I am just running this for 5 days 

- NOW through Friday, Aug. 23'rd @ midnight -  

So hurry up and find the entry on my blog to enter now!

Disclaimer:
I received this item for free in exchange for my honest review.  I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.  
All opinions are my own or those of my family.

Are you a blogger? Read this!

Did you know that HEDUA has an affiliate program? 

If you are a blogger and would be interested in earning money just for sharing what you love 

click here for details: 

http://hedua.com/cart/index.php/affiliates/

The Family Hope Center TOS Review

http://www.familyhopecenter.org/

I was sent the "Understanding Child Brain Development"

DVD for review from 

The Family Hope Center.

Price: 
 $19.00  - ISBN:  978-1-62341-008-7  -  DVD

To order the DVD, please call 610-397-1737 or you can click HERE to order it from IEW (Institute for Excellence in Writing). 




 



What Is This? -

Family Hope Center is a team who teaches parents to help their children live a full-life and how to be in the drivers seat when it comes to controlling your child's health needs.  (They offer several different languages such.)

This DVD seminar, by: Matthew and Carol Newell, is an easy to understand interactive seminar to help you (parents) learn how your child's brain works.  Did you know that Autism, ADHD, even Dyslexia can be helped by you the parent?  Do you what causes these things?  This DVD will give you the answers as well as explain how you can help.   Matthew and Carol Newell run the Family Hope Center.  The Newell's and their team help you understand and come up with a plan to help you balance your child's brain for a better life.






A few things I have learned from this DVD:

EMR's (electromagnetic radiation) are not natural for the brain and can cause fogginess, digestive problems, etc.  We have all head that EMR's are not good, but this explains in detail the why's and how's of the problem occurring in children all of the world today.  The EMR's are actually causing heavy metals in our urine that causes the problems listed previously.  These metals compromise the neurological system.

Good food, water and sunshine are all things that will help any child whether they have ADHD, Autism, MS, Down's Syndrome, etc.  Yes, I knew this, but again, this DVD explained the why's and how's.  I didn't know that just 6 oz. of good, 100% apple juice is like eating 12 apples.  Good quality foods are essential to our bodies, which we all know, but have you thought about what are good quality foods?  He explains that anything with a label is NOT good quality.  Labels mean that there is something added to the food.  This is a great point that I didn't really take the time to think about until now.  Also, good water is needed.  He shows what happens to water when you place it near a TV for a small amount of time.  Under a microscope it goes into deformation.  To find out more about water, Matthew Newell recommends a book called 'The Hidden Messages in Water' by: Masaru Emoto.  You can find his book HERE through Amazon.  Fast food (aka convenient foods or processed foods) have the water removed from them.  Water is one of the most important items your body needs.  Your brain is made of approximately 80% water.  So it would be very important to provide it with good quality H2O as well as a high amount.

I learned that families are the best therapists for our children.  When a family is evenly yoked (includes spiritually) that this teamwork is beneficial to the child in need.

In this DVD seminar, the explanation of how people are looking at the problem in their children instead of looking at the system and how to help. Doctors are very quick to diagnose a child with Down's Syndrome, Autism, etc.  They explain that this is how it is and this is what you need to do to deal with it, instead of telling the parent how they can help their child and improve their child's brain balancing.

This DVD goes through the different parts of the brain, step by step in detail, telling each section and what it's job is to the human body.  For example, have you ever wore a hat all day and then had a headache?  This hat is tightening and restricting the brain from 'breathing' normally.  

Stimulating the brain in the part that is damaged or has the problem, is what this DVD is teaching parents.  If you can give your child some positive stimulation and help your child in the area of need, wouldn't you do this?  The best part is that it is free.  He gives several helps that cost nothing.  You can do these things at home with your children to improve their abilities. 


What I Thought -

I found this to be very interesting and informative.  There are so many things that we can do to help out children that the doctors usually do not suggest.  As a parent, I want to do whatever I can to make sure that my child has the best life I can offer.  

I found that nutrition and an active lifestyles plays a huge part in making sure our children are healthy.  Of course I knew this, but this made me realize just how much TV my children watch.  Although their TV programs are monitored, they do still watch way too much.  During the school year it isn't as bad, but this summer has been.  Although they play outside, swim and play sports, the TV intact on their brains is way too much.  I have decided to 'gently and gradually' reduce their TV watching.  

I was amazing to see how the many parts of the brain actually controls the health issues of Dyslexia, Downs Syndrom, Multiple Sclerosis, etc.  The way that this DVD is taught, it shows in detail the why's and the how's of the parts.

I would recommend this DVD teaching seminar to ALL parents.  Not just for the parents with children who have disabilities or issues.  All parents should know how they can contribute to the mental, physical and nutritional health of their children.

Read before you RENEW your valid Driver's License!

Ok, normally I don't use my homeschool blog as a soapbox.  But this needs to be said.

How are we supposed to teach our children the freedoms of America if we are subject to so much government control?

Let me tell you what happened to me the other day at the wonderful DMV office.  (For the record - all you DMV workers out there, I know this isn't your fault and you are just doing your job.)

I have lived in beautiful West Virginia now for 5 1/2 years.  I current have a valid WV drivers lic.  I am getting close to re-newal time, so I took all the info. required up to the local DMV office. 

I took:

current dr. lic.
original certified birth cert.
voters registration card
phone bill (for proof of residency)
current auto ins. card
original certified social security card


I get there, and the lady looks over my paperwork and asked for a original certified current marriage certificate.  Really?  I'm not changing my name.  But I was told that they need to follow the paper trail from my birth cert.  Ok, I handed her a copy of my current marriage lic.  (I, for whatever reason, had in my purse).  She said that she needs the original.  I was looking at her like 'are you serious'?  Then, I am informed that I need the "original certified marriage license from a previous marriage from 20 years ago"!  I said, "Honestly, do you really think I kept an old husband and my marriage lic from 20 years ago ma'am"?  She again, proceeded to tell me about the paper trail.

I had to contact the state I was married in (20 years ago) to obtain an 'original certified marriage certificate'.  It cost me $22.  Needless to say, I am NOT happy.

The thing that absolutely gets me the most is that in some states, you don't even have to show ID (dr. lic. or voters reg card) to VOTE!  Yes, to VOTE for our country's leadership!  But I have to prove who I am just to re-new a current, valid driver's lic.?  Are you kidding me?

How is this constitutional?  How are we supposed to teach our children about the liberties and freedoms here in America when good tax paying citizens go through this crud just to keep their current, valid drivers lic.? 

Also, it needs to be mentioned that this same DMV office DOES NOT REQUIRE A TEEN TO HAVE AUTO INS. WHEN OBTAINING THEIR FIRST DRIVER'S LIC.!  Really?  What?  So I asked the lady, "What prevents a teen from never getting auto ins."  Her response was "Well, it will catch up to them".  Really?

I am beyond disappointed in our government to say the least.

Any comments or thoughts?

Notgrass Company TOS Review

 http://www.notgrass.com/notgrass/

I was sent these 3 items 
from Notgrass Company to review:

1.)  America the Beautiful Curriculum Package

Recommended for ages 10-14 / grades 5-8.


The package includes:

*  America the Beautiful Part 1-
Hardcover, 452 colorful pages

*  America the Beautiful Part 2-
Hardcover, 572 colorful pages

*  We the People - 
Hardcover, 220 pages

*  Maps of America the Beautiful -
softcover, 30 maps with direction sheets, 61 pages

* Timeline of America the Beautiful -
softcover, timeline from 1000 - 2019, 57 pages

*  America the Beautiful Answer Key -
softcover, 55 pages

2.)  America the Beautiful Student Workbook

Recommended for 5'th & 6'th grade. 

spiral softcover, 150 pages 

3.)  America the Beautiful Lesson Review

Recommended for 7'th & 8'th grade or younger children who like a bit more of this type of review process.  
Spiral softcover, 110 pages 

PRICE:
1.)  Curriculum Package $99.95

2.)  Student Workbooks $11.95
3.)  Lesson Review $9.95

What Is This? -

This is a American history, Geography, Bible & Literature curriculum all in one!  This course is for one full year or you can spread it over two years if you'd like; it's very user friendly.  

There are 75 lessons in each text; Part 1 & Part 2.  The two texts total 150 lessons.  These lessons cover the Native Americans exploring all the way to modern times.  

Here are a few titles of some of the lessons covered: 

Natives of the Southwest 
America in the Jacksonian Era 
Stagecoaches and the Pony Express 
Polish, Jewish, and Italian Immigrants in America 
 Motor City, USA 
Eleanor Roosevelt
First Lady and Social Activist 

These are just to name a few.  These two textbooks are packed full of great information and colorful pictures!






The We the People text is filled with articles from the newspaper, poems, songs, some historical documents and even journal entries!  Here is a sample of letters from Abraham Lincoln.

The Maps of America the Beautiful book has 30 maps with assignments for the student(s) to do.  The maps are quite detailed yet very easy to read.





The Timeline of America the Beautiful is a timeline of American history.  The student writes facts that are learned from the lessons in the textbooks.






The America the Beautiful Answer Key consist of all the answers for the workbook, lesson review, vocabulary assignments (from text) and timelines.  (Seen in picture at the top of this review.)


The America the Beautiful Student Workbook contains lots of assignments like crosswords, codes, matching, etc.  This helps them remember what was just discussed in the main text of the lesson.  This book is optional.






The America the Beautiful Lesson Review contains daily literature & lesson review.  It also has weekly quizzes for the student(s) to do.  This book is optional as well.  If you would like your older child (7'th & 8'th grade) to do the quizzes and even more review sheets, that is what this book would be for.  Parents usually choose this or the workbook.  You of course can use both if you wish.






What I Thought -

My 10 year old son (starting 5'th grade this fall) used this curriculum set several times per week.  We didn't use the Lesson Review book because of my sons age / grade but we did use the Student Workbook.  (Remember, it was recommended to use one or the other.)  He really likes the workbook.  He liked the activities in the map book as well.  The finding and coloring the different parts of the map helps him learn the areas.






I liked that the lessons weren't too long for the attention span of my son. ;)  I chose to read it to him.  I asked questions throughout the lessons to make sure he understood what was being taught.  We also discussed every lesson.  The pictures were great!  The pictures and photos were very detailed, colorful and true.  Besides the text, we used our Bible, the mapbook, workbook and timeline book.  

The lessons were packed full of information in a way that the student(s) can really get a 'feel' for what was happing in that particular time period.  I really liked that.  

I like being able to stop, discuss, answer questions, etc. during the lessons and not have to rush.  That brings me to something I need to mention.  We are going to continue using this curriculum this fall but  we will be stretching it out over 2 years.  (Which was an option that the writer has given up in the introduction of the texts.)  There is just so much information in these books!  And of course, we are getting 2 years of the three subjects for 1 years price!  (Which mom really likes!)  I also think the 2 year time span will work best for our family.  That is one of the joys of homeschooling, we can tweak the curricula to fit our needs.  

This course is very homeschool friendly. I highly recommend it to any homeschool family.  I do feel it would work well in a classroom setting as well.  It is clean, Christian based, beautiful detailed pictures, great end of lesson assignments and very well written. 


About the Authors:

I also wanted to mention that I had the privilege of meeting and talking with Charlene Notgrass & her husband Ray at the MidWest Ohio Convention this spring.  Charlene took a lot of time with me to explain just how the curriculum works, flowed, and why it was written the way it was.  She took me step by step through the process in depth!  She and her husband really are a loving couple who truly care about teaching American History the best way possible!

I give this one an A+

Bible Study Guide TOS Review

 

 http://biblestudyguide.com/

I received the  
Advanced Level Student Pages
(Lessons 1-26)

 &

  Bible Book Sumary Cards

to review from Bible Study Guide.

Price:

Bible Book Summary Cards - $24.95

Recommended for ages 3 - adult.

Advanced Student Pages - $5.95 
(Lesson 1-26) Recommended for 5'th & 6'th grade.

They offer several ages groups (grade levels) for the student pages. I was sent the 'advanced' student pages for review. 

This Bible curriculum is no particular denomination.  All it's content is from the word of God - Bible.

What Is This? -

This is a Bible study curriculum for all ages.  
The Student Pages have several levels.  The levels are ages 3 - adult.  You can order by grade / age levels or you can order for 'family' or 'adult'.

These pages have so much information on them and are filled with scripture and detail.  Here is a picture of the second page of lesson 2.  There is a front and back page to every lesson. There are a total of 26 lessons in this booklet.

They have several different sections to each and every lesson.  

They sections are:

* Remember It
* Memory Workout
* Guess What....
* Map
* Get Active
* Apply It!
* Discover the Bible

In the Discover the Bible section (pictured above), they have comic style cartoon for the children to read that include fun puzzles to do.

Here is another view / sample.  This one is the first page from lesson 33.

You can clearly see how each section is there for the child to do.  The Discover Section (mentioned above) is on the back side.

These can be used in a Sunday School class, homeschool or Vacation Bible School!  It is very teacher / student friendly!

The Bible Book Summary Cards are full-color 8.5" x 11" cards.  They remind me of giant flash cards. They have lively color and detailed cartoon-like pictures for the child to remember the Bible story easily.   Pictured below is how the front of the cards look.

On the back of each card, there are some questions for the student(s) to answer.  The answers are in small print after each question.

Here is what the back of this card looks like - 

I used this product twice per week for the review period with my 10 year old son.  

These Bible cards can also be used in a Sunday School setting, homeschool or Vacation Bible School!  These would be great to hang on the wall in the classroom after each card is completed!

What I Thought -

I thought this product was pretty neat.  It had tons of information for my son.  I was amazed on how reasonable the price was on these two items!

My favorite part of this was the workbook pages.  It had such a great variety of different assignments.  Some curricula gives you the same 'find a word' or 'fill in the blank' activities to do.  This had matching with shapes, multiple choice, fill in the letter, draw a picture, circle the answer, cross out the word that doesn't fit, etc.  There are several more and they are all fun!

I also liked the large colorful Bible cards.  They are created nicely so that the teacher can show the card while reading the lesson/story on the back.  The pictures are drawn to where the kids remember each lesson/story told.  Excellent!

My son's favorite part of this was trying to figure out the pictures on the Bible cards believe it or not.  As I was reading the back of the card, he would try and figure out what parts of that lesson/story I was going to tell.  He knows the Bible pretty well and this part was really fun for him.  He was so proud to get all of the questions right on the back of the card!  He did also enjoy the student workbook pages.  Again, the variety was great!

Where has the summer gone?

Seriously, where HAS the summer gone?  As a homeschool mom, I need the summer to recoop, revive and replan....my 3 R's.  But this summer has just blew by.  I don't feel rested or revived.  I did however, complete my curriculum choices and have things in order so at least I have that accomplished.  

I think as mom's we are so busy taking care of everyone & everything else, we forget about us.  Running the kids to activities, cleaning, cooking, shopping, organizing new homeschool items, canning (yes, I can too), etc. - I just don't have time for me.  I also, to throw a wrench in the mix, started working part time from home.  As I am doing all this, I now realize that something has got to give.

I have decided to go to a hotel and stay overnight one night.  I am planning on lying by the pool, UNPLUGED, for a full 24 hours!  




This is a big deal for me.  Not only do I work part time (along with the other things I listed) but I am the coordinator of our local homeschool group.  Again, taking care of others.

I know I am not the only mom out there that works like this.  As moms, we are pulled in several directions all the time.  As Christians, we are always serving others in many ways.  

So don't forget about you.  God has blessed you with many hats to wear and he appointed these hats to you knowing you could do it with his help.  What an honor to be blessed with such a gift from God.  But God also knows that you need rest as well.  So again, don't forget about you.  Take a breath, take a day (or more) and pamper yourself......rest......relax......and revive.

Dean Butler with Legacy Documentaries TOS Review

 

      

I received the DVD "Almanzo Wilder: Life Before Laura" from Dean Butler with Legacy Documentaries for review.

Price:
DVD $21.95 (PayPal accepted)

Recommended for children and adults of all ages.
















What Is This? -

This is a DVD of Almanzo Wilder's life.  It contains his life before Laura Ingalls.  This DVD tells the story of Almanzo and his growing up in northern New York in the mid 1800's; his disappointments, happy times and his family.  His father was very good at colt training.  Not many people think about Almanzo being so involved in his love of horses.  This DVD tells the story of the one colt he desperately wanted to touch, love, and train on his own.  It took some major work convincing his father that he was ready.  

Almanzo's mother and father worked so hard on the farm.  They had nice things, but worked very hard for the everything they had.  Their family lived very differently than the Ingalls family.  The Wilder family had nice things, lots of food, several horses and supplied much of their own food.  The Ingalls family struggled a lot.  They were in poverty and the children were malnutritioned.  Some do not realize this as they watch the TV series "Little House on the Prairie".  We do see them struggle a bit, but I think this DVD tells a bit more on how they really lived as Laura wrote in her books.  This DVD shows how their lives really were.  It also tells how Laura began writing her books and how Almanzo helped.  He even made sketches for Laura on how their farm (growing up) was laid out while she was writing 'Farmer Boy', which we all know was about Almanzo's life as a young boy.  This drawing helped show where the horse barns were, the house, pastures, etc.  

This DVD will take you to that place, back in time, to not just see, but to experience the life of Almanzo.  It shows that he was a hard working, honest young boy and later grew up into a well respected man. 

The DVD also tells about the Wilder Homestead.  It is located in Malone, NY.  It is 84 acres of farmland, their home, which is on the original posts and beams, barns, outbuildings, etc.  They just finished a replica of a one room schoolhouse on the property.  You can visit the Wilder Homestead during certain times of the year.  To find out more about visitation, click the picture below. 


 


What I Thought -

This is a great educational DVD for all ages.  I enjoyed all the references to the Little House books that it supplied.  One of my favorite references was in 'Farmer Boy', the one where Almanzo found a wallet containing a large amount of money.  He returned the wallet to the rightful owner and the owner gave him a tiny reward until an onlooker threatened the owner.  He then gave Almanzo a respectable and well deserved reward.  That story always inspires me.  Not too many children would be so honest and return that sum of money, if any, in today's time.  

On day, I would love to take my children to the Wilder Homestead.  It would be such a wonderful experience for all of our family.  We live in WV at the present time, and have some chickens.  We had some pigs a few years back, but we've always wanted to live off the land and have a large farm.  Visiting the Wilder Homestead would be such an honor!

I really enjoyed this DVD.  It was very informative and interesting; a truly awesome and education DVD!  

Highly recommend for all, not only homeschoolers, but any child learning about the 1800's era.