Dark Chocolate Pie

I am a certified chocoholic.  And this pie satisfies my greatest chocolate needs.  It is simple to make, rich, and just plain good.  If you are not a fan of dark chocolate, you can substitute milk chocolate. 

2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large egg yolks
1 1/2 cups whole milk
8 oz. chopped dark chocolate
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 frozen or refrigerated pie crust (bake according to package directions)

For Topping:

Stabilized whipped cream (see recipe below)

1 Dark Chocolate Bar, refrigerated then grated; or chocolate sprinkles

Directions:

In a heavy medium saucepan, whisk together sugar, cornstarch, and salt.
In a separate bowl or large measuring cup, whisk milk and egg yolks until combined. Pour milk mixture into pan while whisking. Whisk until smooth.
Place pan on burner set to medium heat and cook, whisking constantly (yes, constantly), making sure to scrape bottom and edges of the pan, until mixture starts to thicken, about 7-9 minutes.
Remove from heat and immediately whisk in chocolate, butter, and vanilla. Transfer hot filling to a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap so that the wrap rests in contact with the filling so a skin does not form. Refrigerate filling until cool, 1-2 hours.

Once filling and crusts are cool, spoon filling into pie crust.  Spread or pipe stabilized whipped cream on top, decorate with shaved chocolate or sprinkles.Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

**I usually double the filling and the whipped cream because I like a really full pie and a lot of whipped cream.  There will be a little leftover, but it makes for some great snacking!

2011-2012 Blue Ribbon Awards

This Crew Year has been so much fun. We have been able to try many, many wonderful products.  As the 2011-2012 Crew year comes to a close, we are once again presenting awards to our vendors. The awards are known as the TOS Homeschool Crew Blue Ribbon Awards. The following vendors are the recipients of the award this year. Congratulations to all of these fine vendors! Click on their name to check out the Crew reviews!

Favorite Reading Instruction Product: Reading Eggs

Favorite Writing Product: Write Shop

Favorite Language Arts Product: Progeny Press

Favorite Social Studies Product: TruthQuest History

Favorite Science Product: Amazing Science

Favorite Math Product: Math Mammoth

Favorite Online Math Product: Math Rider

Favorite Foreign Language Product: Visual Latin

Favorite Fine Arts Product: Artistic Pursuits

Favorite Christian Education Product: Apologia: Who Am I? ~~~

Favorite Preschool Product: Before Five in a Row

Favorite Elementary Product: All About Reading

Favorite Middle School Product: Write with WORLD

Favorite High School Product: Excellence in Literature

Favorite College or College-Prep Product: Excellence in Literature ~~~

Best Online Resource: Reading Eggs

Best e-Product: Heritage History

Best Homeschool Resource: Apologia: Educating the Wholehearted Child

Best Book, Novel, or Magazine: Apologia: How to Have a HEART for Your Kids

Best Children's Book: Amazing Animals by Design

Best Game or Toy: Northstar Games: Wits and Wagers and Say Anything

Best Hands-On Resource: Pitsco Education ~~~

Best Resource I Didn't Know I Needed: eMeals

Best Customer Service: K5 Learning

Most Adaptable Resource: Creek Edge Press

Most Family-Oriented Resource: Northstar Games: Wits and Wagers and Say Anything ~~~

Kids' Choice (favorite of CHILDREN ages 0-12): Reading Eggs

Teens' Choice (favorite per the TEENAGERS): Pitsco Education

All Around Crew Favorite: Visual Latin 

 Each winning vendor has received this wonderful award to display with pride:

  Congratulations to our winning vendors! We hope you will sail with us again! Many Crew Members are blogging about these awards as well. Click below to see what they have to say! Powered by Linky Tools Click here to see the Crew Blog Posts...

Strawberry Cake

Just like I promised, I am going to give you the recipe for the absolute best strawberry cake.  It is our family’s favorite, hands down. This started as a recipe from a friend.  I have tweaked it over the years to serve our family preferences. I took this to a party yesterday and it was gone in 5 minutes, so there is no picture of a piece of it, just the whole cake.  Enjoy!!

Oh, yeah!  Disregard the toothpicks – nothing weird, I promise – I was about to wrap this in plastic wrap and didn’t want the icing to stick to it. Kind of looks like an alien cake!

Strawberry Cake Recipe:

1 BOX WHITE CAKE MIX
4 EGGS
1/2 CUP WATER
1 CUP OIL
1 BOX STRAWBERRY JELLO (SMALL)
1 CUP FROZEN STRAWBERRIES (THAWED)**

MIX ALL INGREDIENTS AND POUR INTO  GREASED AND FLOURED 9 INCH CAKE PANS. BAKE FOR @35 MINUTES AT 325.  TEST FOR DONENESS AND ADD EXTRA TIME IF NEEDED. This also makes a great 13x9 cake, if you don’t want to mess with the layers.

Cool cakes in pans for about 10 minutes.  Remove from pans onto parchment paper to cool completely.  Refrigerating the layers is great.  It makes the cake really easy to ice.

Icing:

6 egg whites

2/3 cup sugar

1/8 tsp. cream of tarter

4 sticks salted butter (not margarine!!!! use the real thing)

1 tsp. vanilla extract

12 ounces (about 1 1/2 cups) frozen, sliced, sweetened strawberries that have been thawed

2 cups powdered sugar

Place egg whites and sugar in a large metal mixing bowl over a pan of boiling water (make shift double boiler).  Whisk together until the egg whites feel warm to the touch and all of the sugar is totally dissolved.  Remove the bowl to the counter, add cream of tarter,  and start beating the egg white/sugar mixture with an electric mixer.  Start on low and increase the speed every 20 seconds until you are at high.  Beat until soft peaks form.  Add the butter a chunk at a time, beating well between each chunk.  The mixture will start to look clumpy after a while.  That’s ok! Keep on beating!  Pour in the vanilla extract and strawberries and keep on beating.  Dump in the powdered sugar and beat for a few more seconds.  The consistency will become very creamy and almost wet looking with strawberry chunks scattered throughout.  If you like the icing more red, just add a couple of drops of red food coloring.  Spread between layers and on top and sides of cake. This makes a huge batch.  If you want to pipe on extra to make it ‘fancy’ – go for it!!  This cake needs to be kept refrigerated once it is iced.

**I usually buy a 24 ounce tub of frozen, sweetened, sliced strawberries and use about a cup (I don’t measure – I just dump them in) for the cake and about a cup and a half (whatever is left in the container) for the icing.**

Chicken and Peppers in the Crock-Pot

Yesterday, I posted the recipe for Chicken and Peppers.  Here is the picture I promised!

This is after shredding the chicken and peppers together.  It is on a bun and topped with barbecue sauce.  Delish!!!!!  Off to make a strawberry cake.  If I get really resourceful, I’ll post the recipe and a picture of that for you tomorrow. 

Continuing with Recipes!!!

Wow!  I had such a great response last week to my ‘5-Days of Crock-Pot Cooking’ recipes, that I have decided to keep up a weekly recipe feature.  This week the featured recipe is another Crock-pot recipe,  “Chicken with Peppers.”  It is not a spicy dish at all.  I have it in my Crock-pot right now, so I will post pics tomorrow.  It is simple and very versatile.  You can serve this straight from the Crock-pot, with whatever sides you like with chicken; or, you can shred the chicken and peppers together (after draining the cooking liquid) and serve it on buns with barbecue sauce.  That’s how we like it.  I usually serve potato salad, baked beans, etc… with it when we do the barbecue.  Today, I am cooking a huge batch.  I used 5 pounds of chicken.  I am serving half of the chicken tonight with broccoli and salad as the sides and I am serving the other half tomorrow night as barbecue.  We have company coming in later in the week, so I don’t want to spend all of my time in the kitchen during the early part of the week.  Here is the recipe:

Boneless, skinless chicken breast tenders – app. 5 pounds

2 jars sliced pepperocini (banana) peppers – mild or hot (your preference)

Dump chicken into crock-pot, add peppers (juice and all).  Cook on high for 6-8 hours, or until chicken is super tender.

Be watching for pictures tomorrow!  This is a great recipe to use to feed a crowd.  The barbecue makes great sandwiches.  If you are really short on time, you can use pre-made cole slaw, potato salad, beans, etc… and have your meal ready in a flash once the meat has cooked.  I like to put this on around 10 a.m. if we have a ball game or other activity.  That gives me time to shred the meat and make up sandwiches to eat on the run with chips or to picnic at the ballfield.  P.S. – you can do this same thing with a Boston Butt pork roast or a large pork loin.  The barbecue tastes like authentic “Tennessee” barbecue.  Believe me, for a Texas girl, that is a hard statement to make!

Day 5–Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches

This week has been a blast!  I have had so much fun not only using my crock-pot everyday, but also sharing with you about it.  The recipe I am featuring today started out as a recipe my daughter made on the stovetop.  I have taken her original recipe and adjusted it to fit my crock-pot and to fit my family’s taste.  It is great, at least we think it is.  Here we go:

Dump into crock-pot in the order listed:

3 pounds steak, sliced thin (I purchased packages of stir fry meat already sliced.  Already sliced fajita meat will work, too.)

2 bags (around 12 oz each) frozen pearl onions

2 bags (around 8 oz each) frozen, chopped green pepper (or just chop 4 green bell peppers fresh, that is fine)

1 can beef broth (regular size soup can)

Cook all day (8-10 hours) on low.  30 minutes before dinner time, add 2 loaves velveeta type cheese (2 pound loaves) that you have cubed.  Also, add 2 eight ounce bricks of cream cheese that you have softened in the microwave.  ** To help the cream cheese mix smoothly, I add about 2 cups of the broth from the crock pot and whisk it together with the softened cream cheese until it is smooth.  Then I whisk that mixture into the crock-pot.**  Let continue to cook until cheeses are melted.  This takes about 30 minutes.  Stir well to combine.  Serve over toasted hoagie rolls or buns.  It is great just by itself if you are like me and trying to go low carb.  Take a look, it looks really good!

Go check out all of the blogs on the ‘5 Days of ….’ blog hop!  They are great!

Day 4–Upside Down Cherry Cheesecake

I love dessert!  And dessert combined with crock-pot cooking is absolutely wonderful.  This recipe started as a complete experiment, but it is fabulous.  Unlike traditional cheesecake that is baked in the oven, you don’t have to worry about this drying out.  The slow cooking and the fact that there is a lid on it the entire time it cooks keeps it nice and moist.  This recipe would be best if you put it on right after breakfast and let it cook for the recommended time, then chill it until serving time.  However, if you like a warm and creamy cheesecake, you can serve it as soon as it is done. I call this an Upside Down Cherry Cheesecake because the fruit is on the bottom, the cheesecake is in the middle, and the crust is on the top.  Here we go:

Part 1:

Spray crock-pot with no-stick spray.

Pour in 2 cans of cherry pie filling (if you don’t like cherries, use whatever fruit filling you like)

Part 2:

Mix up the cheesecake layer -

32 ounces of cream cheese, very soft

1 cup sugar

4 eggs

2 T corn starch

1 T vanilla extract

1 cup sour cream

Beat cream cheese and sugar together until smooth.  Beat in eggs, one at a time.  Beat in corn starch and vanilla. Gently stir in sour cream.  Pour over cherries.

Part 3:

The Crust -

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup butter, melted

Sprinkle crumbs over cheesecake layer, drizzle with melted butter

Turn crock pot on low and cook for at least 4 hours.  It should puff slightly and the crust will brown slightly.  Turn crock pot off and let the cheesecake rest a while before serving (or chill it for several hours).

Here is a picture of two pieces together – one with the crust on top, and one that I flipped so the cherries are on top.  YUM!!!!! Tomorrow’s recipe is going to be a surprise.  I guarantee you it is simple and delicious. 

Creative Writing

Write Shop Junior, book D, is a program that guides students through the creative writing process.  Unlike other writing programs that we have tried, this does not focus on simply essay composition.  Write Shop Junior takes students through many genre of writing.  Take a look at the different skills covered (from the Write Shop website):
Skills Introduced in Book D

Identify and use proper grammar and punctuation
Narrow a broad topic to a specific topic
Brainstorm before writing
Structure a sentence
Write a paragraph
Choose strong words instead of weak ones
Use emotion words to develop voice
Use the five senses to add descriptive detail
Self-edit and revise their work

Before Write Shop, we were using a writing curriculum that focused more on basic paragraphing skills.  It really wasn’t going into different genres of writing.  With Write Shop Junior, one of the very first lessons had us working through the process of writing a letter of invitation.  A quick peek at the Table of Contents (below) demonstrates how much variety students are using in their writing:
Table of Contents

Letter of Invitation
Humor
Adventure
Science Fiction
Mystery
Poetry/Haiku
Folktales
Historical Fiction
Personal Narrative
Expository Writing: Factual Article

We have only been able to go through the first couple of lessons, but they have been fun and I can already see a writer emerging in my child.  She is very creative and I think this program is really helping her focus her creativity and get her thoughts into words. 
We have been using the Write Shop Junior, Book D, e-book.  We received the Teacher’s Guide and the Student Activity Pack (actually a 2 book set for the activity pack).  The Teacher’s Guide provides daily lesson plans, writing samples, guided writing scripts, step-by-step teaching instructions, engaging learning games and exercises.  It is thorough and simple to use.  The Student Activity Pack contains:
Worksheets to be used to complete the lessons including:

• Pre-writing activities
• Skill Builders
• Journal prompt pages
• Brainstorming worksheets/graphic organizers
• Reading log forms
• Self-editing checklists
• Evaluation Charts

Level 1 Fold-N-Go™ Grammar Pack (the second book in the activity pack): Fun reference tools with simple exercises that introduce or review grammar rules and essential writing skills. Printed on brightly colored paper, pages are assembled inside a file folder to form 10 large flipbooks, one for each lesson in Book D.

• Punctuation Marks
• Self-editing
• Nouns
• Pronouns
• Verbs
• Adjectives
• Adverbs
• Prepositions
• Capitalization
• References

One thing that I really appreciate from Write Shop is the fact that it teaches students to self-edit.  Grammar is integrated, but not harped upon.  Instead, students are given checklists to guide them through the editing process.  I think editing is a lost skill these days because of spell check and grammar check features on computers. Teaching children at a young age to proofread their own writing and to be able to identify and correct errors is vital.  Along those lines, students learn to edit their work for content.  They work through word choice and varying sentence structure, along with including important and interesting details, to make their writing more interesting.
We give Write Shop Junior a total ‘thumbs up’ at our house.  For students in grades 3-5 (or even the sixth grade student who needs some writing encouragement), it is an ideal writing curriculum. 
Our TOS Homeschool Crew has been using this product as well as other Write Shop products over the past few months. To read their reviews, visit the main crew blog page. 
To purchase Write Shop materials, or to download samples and peruse them before you buy, visit the Write Shop website. Pricing ranges from $11.95 – $39.95 depending on the products you purchase. Write Shop is offering a 15% discount on any Primary or Junior products, good until June 15, with the code CREW15. There are both print products and e-book products available.  You will need the Teacher’s Guide and the Student Activity pack to begin.  Other products are optional.  The total cost for the e-book version of the essentials is $64.90.  The e-book version is ideal to use with multiple children because you can print as many worksheets as you need.  If you have a perfectionist in your family, like I do, you can also reprint worksheets when your child wants to do one over again to make it perfect.
**Disclaimer:  I have received no compensation from TOS or Write Shop in exchange for this honest review. The opinions expressed are my own.**

Day 3–Asian Beef and Rice

I hope you are enjoying these crock-pot recipes as much as my family is.  They love being the ‘guinea pigs’ for my cooking ventures.  Today we are looking at a recipe with an Asian flair.  This recipe started out as an idea I saw on Pinterest and it has been tweaked and adjusted multiple times to suit our family’s taste.  One of our kids said the meat mixture should be called ‘Asian Sloppy Joe.’ I mix it up with rice, but it would be good on a bun like a sloppy joe, so I guess that name could be appropriate.  You have probably figured out by now that I like simple recipes that taste good.  With six kids, I don’t always have time to do all of the preparation required for a complicated recipe.  That’s why my crock-pot is well used and worn. 

    Today’s recipe begins with browned ground beef.  Just a quick side note – if you prefer to use ground turkey, or ground chicken, or any other ground meat, that will work just fine.  You may have to adjust the seasoning a bit depending on the meat you use. Also, if you are one of the super organized bargain hunter cooks (like I would love to be), you can speed up the preparation of this dish by having your ground meat cooked and frozen in advance. Your crock-pot cooking time would increase accordingly if you used frozen cooked meat.  Ok, enough rambling, on with the recipe:

For a 6-quart crock-pot:

Brown 4 lbs ground meat of your choice.  When just about done, add 6 minced cloves of garlic.  Once the meat is browned, drain all of the grease (I put my meat through a strainer and rinse it with hot water because I hate grease).

Dump meat into crock-pot and add the following:

2 – one pound packages of frozen chopped broccoli

1 chopped onion

1 chopped bell pepper

1 cup low sodium soy sauce

1 cup rice wine vinegar (yes, white vinegar will work, too)

1/2 – 1 cup honey (adjust to your taste)

Crushed red pepper – amount you use depends on your family – I use a lot.

Ground ginger – 1 Tablespoon

Cook on low until the broccoli is tender – about 4 hours.  This is a great dish to put on at lunch time so it will be ready for dinner.  Just before serving time, mix together 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce, 1/2 cup water, and 4 T cornstarch.  Stir into meat mixture and continue stirring until sauce thickens.  You can serve this over rice or chinese noodles – or – you can take the easy way out like me and go ahead and mix cooked rice into the meat.  I realized that my family just mixed it all together anyway, so I saved them the trouble. If you like onion, a great finishing touch is to sprinkle each serving with chopped green onion.

     You may have noticed that I used low sodium soy sauce and did not add salt to the mixture.  If it isn’t salty enough for your taste, just add salt to it.  We found it was just right for us without additional sauce because there were so many flavors going on.  Also, if you would rather use frozen mixed chinese vegetables instead of just broccoli, that works well.  As usual, thanks to my daughters who know how to take pictures and get them on my computer, here is a picture of the finished product.

Come back tomorrow!  I have a special treat for you!  Dessert in a crock-pot!!!!! YUM!!!!!

Five Days of Crock-Pot Cooking, Day 2

The recipe I am highlighting today is another family favorite – “Jalapeno Cheese Soup.” Don’t let the name scare you off.  The jalapeno part is completely optional, and the soup is delicious with or without it.  Our family loves spicy food, so I actually add extra jalapeno.  Just like yesterday’s recipe, this is a super simple ‘dump it in the crock-pot’ recipe.  I usually start it cooking right after breakfast so the veggies can cook all day and get nice and soft.  This makes a large batch.  If you have a crock-pot smaller than 6 quarts, you will want to cut the recipe in half.  Here you go:

4, 12 ounce (approximately) bags of frozen ‘seasoning blend’ (this is a mixture of chopped onion, celery, and bell pepper.  I keep a lot of this on hand in my freezer.  It is such a time saver!  If you can’t find it at your grocery store, you can chop onion, celery, and bell pepper.  You will need 2-3 cups of each.)

1 quart chicken broth, 1 quart water

2, two pound loafs of processed American Cheese (i.e. Velveeta – I use generic)

1 cup jalapeno peppers – the pickled kind in a jar, not the raw ones – chopped fine

Directions:  Dump veggies and chicken broth into crock-pot.  Add 1 quart water.  Cook on high for 6-8 hours. Reduce heat to low, add cheese (cut into cubes first).  Continue cooking for 30 minutes.  Stir to combine the melted cheese and veggie mixture.  Stir in chopped jalapenos.  To serve, ladle into bowls, top with shredded cheese and croutons (we like crumbled chips on top). 

Now, drum roll please ……. the finished product!

Hope you enjoy it!  Tomorrow we are going to do a recipe with an Asian flair!

P.S. – yesterday I mentioned mixing rice or noodles with the sauce and serving it like a casserole.  The rice or noodles would need to be cooked first.  Don’t try to cook it in the sauce.  Leftover rice, egg noodles, or spaghetti work great.

Day 1–Creamy Italian Chicken

I absolutely love using my crock-pot!  Yes, I am a crock-pot addict.  Sometimes I wish that I had 3 or 4 crock-pots.  It is so simple to dump in my ingredients first thing in the morning and not have to worry about dinner for the rest of the day.  Next to my crock-pot, my favorite invention of all time is crock-pot liners.  Whoever came up with this idea was a genius!  I never have to scrub my crock-pot – not even after cooking chili!  For the next five days I am going to highlight some of my favorite crock-pot recipes.  I have a large family, so my recipes are for a  six quart crock-pot.  If your family is smaller, either adjust the recipe down or enjoy a lot of leftovers. 

Our first recipe is for ‘Creamy Italian Chicken.’ This is so simple that my kids can make it.  There are only four main ingredients.  I serve it over rice, or over noodles, or even over steamed veggies.  I have even mixed rice or noodles into the sauce and shredded the chicken into it and served it like a casserole.  It really doesn’t matter which way I serve it, my family devours it.  So, are you ready for the recipe?  Here it is:

Dump into your crock-pot:  3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts; 2 cans cream of chicken soup, 2 eight ounce packages of cream cheese, and 2 envelopes “Good Seasons” Italian Dressing Mix.  Cook on high power for 8 hours. 

When this is done, I like to take the chicken out of the sauce and then whisk the sauce until smooth – the cream cheese doesn’t always like to melt smoothly.

Want to see what it looks like?  Here is a picture of my Creamy Italian Chicken served over steamed veggies. Doesn’t it look yummy?!!! Tomorrow – a great soup recipe!

To visit other ‘5 Days of . . . ‘ blogs, check them out here.

CapJaxMathFax

     Drill, drill, practice, practice!  With lots of kids in the house, there has been a lot of math fact practice over the years.  What do I hear when we practice math facts?  “Mom, this is boring.  I don’t want to practice.  Can’t I just use a calculator?” Well, Jack Fretwell, of Starboard Training Systems, has created a computer program to take the boring out of fact practice.   CapJaxMathFacts is an innovative computer program designed which allows students to practice and to drill math facts.  Addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division are included in the facts practice.  This program could be used by children in grades k-6 (or even older) who need to keep up or increase their math facts skills.  My daughter is sixth grade and it has been wonderful for her. 
     Once purchased, installation of CapJaxMathFacts is simple, by either download or c.d..  The program is customizable by the type of facts included in each practice session and the difficulty of the facts.  Teachers / parents can even opt to set a ‘super seconds’ target (usually 3 seconds) to challenge students to recall facts quickly.  With CapJaxMathFacts, the student becomes the calculator.  As they succeed at each different level, students gain confidence and speedy recall of math facts. 
     I love not having to make / copy ‘timed tests’ for math fact practice.  CapJaxMathFacts automatically generates and scores math facts practice. My kids love the immediate feedback.  As they go through the different levels, they are able to earn merit badges. We began at the lowest level and are progressing steadily through the program.  They, of course, thought that the first few levels were easy, which allowed them to get used to the program and start getting their speed up to where it should be.  Now the levels are getting a little more difficult, but they are used to the program so they are still enjoying it.  They are able to login and use the program for extra practice whenever they want.  This is an ideal program for keeping math skills up over the summer.  I know it will get a lot of use in our home!
  

The need for more math education

   CapJaxMathFacts is available on the website beginning at $29.95 for the downloadable product.  A cd version is also available, with a small additional charge.  My friends on the TOS Homeschool Crew have also been using CapJaxMathFacts.  To read what they have to say about it, visit the main crew blog.

**Disclaimer:  I have not been compensated in any way by CapJaxMathFax or TOS in exchange for this review.  The honest opinions expressed are my own.**

5-Days of Blogging

Be watching for 5-Days of Crock Pot Cooking, part of the '5-Days of. . . ' Blog Cruise May 14-18. Hope to see you on the hop!!!

It’s Time for Some Fun Science!!!!!

Library and Educational Services is a fabulous website offering deep discounts on educational materials.  In order to use LES you do need to sign up for a membership, but that membership is free.  Ordering products from LES is very simple once you get the membership and login. 

     I am a total science geek.  When I found out we were going to be able to use and review a couple of the Go Science DVD’s, from Library and Educational Services, I couldn’t wait to select and receive them.    I chose volume 2, “Simple Machines, Sound, Weather,” and volume 5, “Air Flight.”  The DVD’s in and of themselves are not a science curriculum, but a fun supplement to a science curriculum.  Have you ever come across a science concept or an experiment that just completely confused you? Ben Roy, in the Go Science DVD’s, ends the confusion.  He uses enthusiastic explanation and fun demonstrations to clarify many scientific facts and phenomena.

     These are not your ‘run of the mill’ science videos.  Mr. Roy is not boring at all.  He is completely engaging.  Best of all, he uses kids as assistants in his demonstrations.  This is such a great idea because it shows kids that they can participate in science and science can be fun.  Each demonstration is 2-3 minutes long – fabulous for those of us with short attention spans! 

     The two volumes I have been using would be a perfect supplement to a physical science study or physics study.  There are demonstrations about different types of simple machines, sound waves, weather phenomena, air pressure, gas laws, and winds, just to name a few.  Be ready to do some science projects at home after viewing these DVD’s!  Kids get so intrigued that they want to try out the demonstrations themselves.  Fortunately, most of the demonstrations are simple enough to be done at home – and most involve common household items.  I love to see kids realizing that science can be fun!  Go Science teaches science, but in such a way that kids don’t even realize they are learning.  Students become so engaged in the videos, and have so much fun watching the different demonstrations, that they want to watch more and more. To me, that is a great testimonial for an instructional video.

     Age-wise, I know Mr. Roy has taught elementary and middle school science classes, but the videos are so fun and interesting that children (and adults) of all ages will enjoy them.  My TOS Homeschool Crew friends have been reviewing other Go Science DVD’s.  To read their reviews, visit the main crew blog page.  To purchase Go Science, visit the Library and Educational Services website, sign up for a membership, and shop away! This 6-volume set of creation-based science DVD’s normally retails for $79.95 for the entire set or $14.95 for each DVD. Through Library and Educational Services, the set is available for $47.95 and individual DVD’s are available for $8.97. I hope you enjoy these as much as we do.

**Disclaimer:  I received 2 Go Science DVD’s for purpose of review.  I have not been compensated by TOS or Library and Educational Services in any way in exchange for this review.  The honest opinions expressed are my own.**

 

Using the Bible to Study the Bible

     Judah Bible Curriculum is more than a curriculum, it is a total method for studying the Bible.  I was really excited to be able to experience this program first hand.  We were given the downloadable version to use for purposes of review.  Unlike some other curricula, Judah Bible Curriculum downloadable version is 100% like the print version. I like being able to download a product and just print what I need; so, this download version was just right for me. 
     When I received the download, I opened and loaded all of the documents and the eight lecture teacher training mp3’s.  I actually was able to put all of the files on both my laptop and my IPad, which was convenient for reading and listening on the go.  Judah Bible Curriculum is based on the Principle Approach.  Being as I was not familiar with this educational approach, I did some research on the Principle Approach before I even tried to delve into the curriculum. 
   The Principle Approach is a method of biblical reasoning whereby we identify the biblical foundations or “principles” of every subject and are enabled to correctly Identify and Interpret the facts.
“The Judah Bible Curriculum is a "Principle Approach" Bible curriculum whose distinctives are the following:

• The BIBLE is the textbook. The student studies and learns the Bible.
• The student learns God's purpose in history, studying the hand of God in the lives of men and nations through the Bible.
• The student develops his reasoning ability, helping him to apply Biblical principles personally.
• The curriculum helps you shift from rote learning to Biblical reasoning.
• The student learns the relationship between the sovereignty of God and the personal responsibility of the individual.
• The student learns the relationship between individual character and national liberty.”

     I really love the underlying principles of this curriculum.  Implementing it has been a bit of a learning curve; but, it seems like that is the beauty of the curriculum as a whole.  It is not step-by-step, do this, do that type curriculum.  The K-12 manual directs the teacher basically by giving an outline of the basic themes to be studied and the portions of scripture to use to begin study.  Beyond that, study seems to be completely related to following the themes and learning how the overall themes and principles of the Bible apply to real life.  We have likened this type of approach to inductive Bible study.  We are using the Bible as our textbook.  It is extremely helpful to have an atlas of Bible maps, a concordance, and a dictionary on hand.  We have learned it is very easy, especially in the Old Testament, to get ‘in’ to the history and geography behind the events.  It has been so interesting!
     What about accountability?  Judah Bible Curriculum is designed for notebooking.  There are some printable pages for older and younger students to use for identifying key themes, etc…  Also, teachers are provided with notebooking suggestions for the younger students.  I have found a lot of coloring pages for free online that could work as part of the notebooking with younger students.  I really wish that we had been able to use this curriculum from day 1 of our homeschooling journey.  Each year students complete an entire notebook containing each of the major themes of the Bible.  I would love to see how their learning progressed from kindergarten to grade 12.  I guess I’ll just have to settle on seeing the progression from grades 6-12.  The teacher / parent makes a notebook also.  Since our kids are in the older student age group, we are able to allow the kids to be much more independent in their study.  They are encouraged to pray and read and study their Bible and allow God to speak to them directly through the passages for the day.  Judah Bible Curriculum is ideal for this type of personal study. 

     If you decide to try Judah Bible Curriculum, understand that if you are not accustomed to the Principle Approach, there will be a learning curve for you.  It is not a curriculum for everyone. By visiting the Judah Bible Curriculum website, you can read lots of information about the curriculum and the philosophy behind it.  I really think this is an ideal Bible curriculum for families using the Principle Approach with children of multiple ages.  It totally lends itself to use across an entire family.  It is currently being sold on the website for $69 for the print version and $44 for the download version. 
     Many of my other TOS Homeschool Crew friends have also used this curriculum for the past couple of months and have reviewed it on the main crew blog. Go check out their reviews for more information.
**Disclaimer:  I received a copy of Judah Bible Curriculum at no cost to me in exchange for this honest review.  I have not been compensated by Judah Bible Curriculum or TOS in any way.  The opinions expressed are my own.**