Book Review: Home Learning Year by Year

Product Name: Home Learning Year by Year: How to Design a Home School Curriculum from Preschool through High School

Reviewed by: Jen Thomas; Denver, CO
Rating: 10
Where to buy: Amazon.com

Description: The best guide I have found to help with a curriculum for home schooling your children. Rebecca Rupp who is an expert in the art of home schooling wrote this book.

Review: Most of us who decide to home school panic in the beginning. If you’re like I was you started looking for any resource material that would lead us in the right direction. This book was just what I needed.

My biggest worry was if I would be able to come up with the right lessons to teach my children what they needed to learn for each year of school. This guide showed me what curriculum I should follow from preschool through high school.

It lays out how important each subject is and why. For most of us Mom’s this is really important. We worry if we are teaching our children the same things that children in public schools are learning. Even though we home school, our children still interact with other children. I was scared my child would be behind. This guide did wonders to ease those worries.

It is a very organized book, simple and easy for me to follow. I wasn’t going from front to back to the middle to find the help I needed. This was also important to me. I didn’t want to waste precious time I could be spending teaching my children or even spending quality time with them.

There are numerous references in this book. The other books and websites listed are a great help in planning out your next lesson.

There is a section on how to approach subjects that are very sensitive to a mother and child. I look foreword to using this part of the book when my children are old enough to learn about sex education, a very touchy subject in most families.

I would recommend this wonderful guide to anyone who is thinking about or has already started home schooling his or her children. It’s a guide I can’t live without.

Nancy Drew: The Clue of the Broken Locket

Book Name: The Clue of the Broken Locket
Submitted by: Kendall (12 yrs old)
Rating: 8
Where to buy: Amazon.com

Description: This is the 11th book in the original Nancy Drew series. Nancy Drew is an 18-yr-old detective. Her father is a lawyer. She has two best friends, Bess and George, who are cousins that often help Nancy solve her mysteries.

Review: Nancy Drew is challenged to find out what is going on at the lodge across the lake from where she is staying. She is also challenged to find a hidden family treasure - with her only clue a broken locket.

I enjoyed this book as much as I enjoyed all the other books in the Nancy Drew series.

Special thanks to my daughter for writing this review for me :)

Book Review - New Clothes for New Year's Day

Check out the latest book review by our contributing humorist and reviewer, Lisa Barker of JellyMom.com:

Book Review Key

*** Outstanding Titles

** Highly Recommended Titles

* Recommended Titles

New Clothes for New Year's Day (Ages 4-8) ***

Author: Hyun-Joo Bae

Reading level: Ages 4-8

Hardcover: 32 pages

Publisher: Kane/Miller Book Publishers (March 2007)

ISBN: 1933605294

Reviewed by: Lisa Barker of JellyMom.com

Review: I loved this book! From the exquisite illustrations to the captivating story of a young Korean girl as she prepares for the celebration of the Lunar New Year, this book is excellent all the way around. It reminds me a lot of The Snowy Day and other books by Ezra Jack Keats because Hyun-Joo Bae does such a fine job of writing from and illustrating a young child's point of view. Every page is colorfully detailed, sharing traditional Korean dress for a young girl on such a special day. It's so easy to forget yourself and get lost in the story. I heartily recommend it and I will be looking for more books by this author to add to my collection of favorite children's stories.

Book Review - Who Likes the Snow?

With the days growing shorter and the temperatures getting colder, our thoughts normally turn to SNOW! Here's a book review from my friend Lisa Barker:

Who Likes The Snow? (Ages 4-8)
* * Who Likes The Snow?

Book Review Key

*** Outstanding Titles

** Highly Recommended Titles

* Recommended Titles

Author: Etta Kaner

Illustrator: Marie Lafrance

Reading level: Ages 4-8

Hardcover: 32 pages

Publisher: Kids Can Press (September 1, 2006)

ISBN: 1553378423

Where Can I Buy? Amazon.com

Both a story and a lesson in natural science, Who Likes the Snow is a great addition to the home library and a perfect companion book when your child is investigating the weather at home or studying it in school.

What I really liked about this book is that it answers the dozens of questions kids naturally have about the snow supplying simple facts to support their wonder. Books like these encourage kids to ask questions, get answers and seek more.

Who Likes The Snow is part of a series called Exploring the Elements by Kids Can Press. If you like this one, you'll want to check out the other books in the series that cover wind, sun and rain.

©2004-2006, Lisa Barker with JellyMom.com

Do you have a book review? Send me one at tracy@momsniche.com and I'll post it here or on the website.

Stuff To Hold Your Stuff - a Review

Lisa Barker of jellymom.com, a friend and contributing writer to Mom's Niche News - our biweekly newsletter - has graciously sent me a book review for the 9-12 "tween" age group. Read on...


Rating: ** (Highly Recommended)
Title: Stuff To Hold Your Stuff by Ellen Warwick
Illustrated by Bernice Lum.
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Spiral-bound: 80 pages
Publisher: Kids Can Press
ISBN: 1553377451
Review by: Lisa Barker of jellymom.com

Make your own tote bags, wallets, purses, handy bags and more. A "you-can-do-it" book with detailed, but easy to follow instructions with great illustrations and plenty of creative room for each girl to craft and show off her own unique style. A great book for girls aged 9 -12...and hapless homemakers. Girls will love making "stuff to hold your stuff" for themselves and friends as gifts or just for fun. You don't need to be a super-seamstress; you'll be sure to find something in this book that you can make...and with a little help from mom (for those who need it), there's no limit! The book itself makes a GREAT gift.

Something to think about for the upcoming gift-giving holidays?