Sharing homeschool resources and methods that promote family style learning! We believe God had a perfect design for families and we want to help your family find the joy in family unity!
Welcome to the channel! I'm Abby, a Christian, wife and homeschool mom to 4 boys. Homeschooling has become a very passionate topic for me as I've seen the difference it makes, not only in families but in the formation of our children. It can be scary starting out on the homeschool path, but once you find the groove that fits your family you'll be thankful you did it.
Remember, you can't teach them everything, but you CAN teach them how to learn AND to enjoy learning... if you succeed in that, your student will be able to learn anything else they need for the future.
If you want to say hi feel free to shoot me an email. I would love to say hello. familystylerevival@gmail.com
I was really leaning towards apologia but after your review im not so sire anymore lol. I dont think we would enjoy sticking to only one topic for so long. We have been using masterbooks and i really like it but apologia got my attention with the two day a week and audio 😅
@@doulaolgamke to make things more complicated. I would highly highly recommend checking out Generations. We are currently doing apology astronomy and I really enjoy it but Generations has become my number one pic for Christian Science curriculum
Have you tried the curriculum, Rod and Staff? Their reading program goes through Bible stories as well, and it reminds me of Gsnerations but Rod and Staff is not colorful. What do you use for LA? I have a 7 year old almost 8 year old, and I want a biblical worldview curriculum for this but I’ve heard AAS is great but it’s not Christian. Also, which book of history curriculum do you recommend for Generations for a 7 year old?
@@kita3256 I have not tried Rod and Staff. AAL does not have any kind of claim of faith. They do really well at staying focused just on their subject without bias. While I agree I would prefer a Biblical LA I have not found one that teaches with the same method and I'm such a fan of the rules AAS uses. I really didn't like Masterbooks and my 6-year-old son likes Generations but it's still not what I would prefer. I only teach reading, handwriting and spelling for the young ages. We're just now introducing grammar in 5th grade, my youngest do join in. We're using Grammar Galaxy. It doesn't have anything Biblical in it but is written by a Christian. I'll try to answer your other questions on your other post. Always feel free to email me if you want to keep talking. familystylerevival@gmail.com
As far as history…. Is it possible to use the same curriculum for a 7 year old and 15 year old? From the suggestions you gave which do you recommend for this ages? Another question, for the curriculum Generations, you said they are reformed, what does that mean?
@@kita3256 In your other post you asked about Generations history. I would start with level 2, Taking the Middle East for Jesus and yes I would have your oldest listen. Do it as a read aloud and maybe get a middle east mapping to go with it for your older child. You could also ask the older child to find out the rest of the story which would give extra research practice. Because level 2 is written to children they don't always include how the person died. You can do family style history with this age gap, just study the same topic at different depths. Check out my videos on Biblioplan or Learning US History Through Literature for more ideas. Reformed theology stems from the reformation. I probably can't get into that much here but it is protestant as opposed to Catholic.
This is a super comprehensive review, thank you for sharing it. I hadn't heard of Play 'n Talk and I like some of the things that you pointed out about Spelling You See. However, as far as Spelling You See Level D is concerned, I think the passages that they selected are very reasonable. Their goal is spelling instruction through context and repetition. Since SYS teaches words in context the passages included have to be made up of words used in a context that is easily/immediately understandable to a student. We can't learn from a context that we don't understand--we're too busy trying to make sense of the context. If they'd included the Declaration of Independence in Level D of SYS, they'd have had to actually write a "dumbed down" version of the Declaration. The Declaration of Independence contains pretty sophisticated language that **most** children wouldn't be familiar enough with to actually be able to *contextually* learn anything from. I've had my students memorize the Declaration of Independence as a memory work (after studying the relevant US History) and it takes ***weeks*** to get through the first two paragraphs--just under 350 words. These two paragraphs do NOT include the 27 reasons why the Colonies rebelled, or the last 3 paragraphs of the DoI. When they memorize it we have to go phrase by phrase or sentence by sentence. I have to explicitly teach them what each phrase or sentence means so that they actually understand what they're saying. We have to loop-back through the relevant US History when they're memorizing the 27 complaints/reasons so that the students make the connection between the text of the 27 reasons, and the reasons themselves. The language and especially grammar of the DoI is not at an instructive level for 90-97% of the 3rd-5th grade aged children in the English Speaking world so I don't feel that that's a fair remark. I do believe that children should read and be taught/familiarized with the founding documents, but I think it's an unreasonably Big Ask to think someone should use the Founding Documents to teach one of the fundamental language skills to elementary staged students. As homeschoolers or teachers, we need to have a reasonable expectation of ourselves, our kids and our curriculum.
@@amaam89 Thank you for your comment. I think that is well said and we'll explained. My primary concern with Spelling You See still remains with not teaching the rules of spelling. I do understand that this method would work for some regardless.
Thanks for the Podcast recommendation. I have found it on Apple Podcasts :) will be great for all of our car trips . Great review. My son also loves Minecraft so would definitely be interested in a Unit Study about that
Are you able to use an older curriculum for all of your kids? I have 5 kids 13-4 and am really looking for a way to simplify life a bit. I currently read most of our history, geography, devotions, and science as a group.
@@KerryReekie All of the "text" books can be reused. If you have then filling out the workbooks those would need to be repurchased, but their workbooks are pretty affordable. If you wait for a sale you can get them under $20 I think. Does that answer your question?
I think this book is so underrated! There are a few "what your grader should know" type books but I love that this is written by a homeschool mom who did all the research on free websites, tv shows, movies and books I can get from the library or free online. I have been homeschooling for 14 years and I just found this book last week and now I saw your video 🎉🎉🎉
We will be indoors for most of the next 3 months (and yes, that includes all of September) because the heat here is the equivalent of what winter is like in northern Canada. But the heat version. 😂. So need all the indoor ideas I can get.
@@FamilyStyleLearning it’s brutal. I look forward to hopefully some “cool breezy” temps in the mid 80s in October 🤣 we can only hope the highs are that low by then. We do often have to run the AC at Christmas. We get about 3 weeks total of actual cold weather in a calendar year on average. We just watch Christmas movies and fantasize about what it’s like to live some place with snow ❄️ ⛄️
You can get them on whatever podcast app you have or directly from their websites. Nat Theo: erynlynum.com/nattheo Real Cool History for Kids: angelaodell.com/real-cool-history-for-kids-home-page/
This is great! Thanks so much! I have been hoping someone does a flip through of the kindergarten level too. Please compare apologia and generations! That would be extremely helpful. Those were the two I was looking at.
You know what, I don't remember seeing money. I'm not home but I'll try to remember to check later this week. Personally I don't mind if money isn't in books and we don't use fake money. We use real money as manipulatives and count our piggy banks. It's great reinforcement you can easily do yourself.
Hello! Do you think this level is too advanced for a struggling math kiddo? My daughter is 7, turning 8 in august and she doesn’t know all her math facts for add and subtraction.
This is a spiral approach, not mastery, so she will still be getting practice with this. I would probably say try it and if nothing else you'll set it aside for when she is ready.
@@FamilyStyleLearning Thanks for your reply. I’m just wondering if maybe level 1 would be better for us 🤔 When you say it’s not mastery, do you mean that’s there’s no drilling/memorization of math facts?
I mean it moves on with learning new skills and how numbers are used before perfecting or memorization. It will continue to circle back with practice but it doesn't drill and kill in one specific issue for an extended amount of time. This can be really useful for kids who need numbers explained in different ways. It protects the child that struggles from feeling like they will hate everyday and that they are a failure at math. It wouldn't hurt to do level one. Some parts might be easy but maybe that would just be encouraging and reinforcing. There is no need to push it rush math. I would also recommend having her watch numberblocks and numberrocks on RU-vid these can help introduce numbers in other ways. I Sea Ten is a great game or Outnumbered. ❤ Just playing dice or cards can be good to. I struggled with math and I would just encourage you to not focus on the struggle and find fun ways to use numbers.
@@FamilyStyleLearning thanks so so much!!! I want math to be Bible based and have purpose and I think this is the one. I think I’ll start at level 1. I worry she won’t know her facts but I think I want her to not hate math before anything else. So thanks so much for the encouragement!
I highly recommend their Grace in the Chaos devo. I just finished it and it was amazing! They run a different sale just about every week so keep an eye out and you can always find good prices on something.
I feel like stone fox needs a disclaimer. We listened to it on a road trip… I bawled at the end. That’s how you know it was a good book though! My kids were shocked but not as emotionally attached.
Have you tried any Tuttle Twins books? Not sure if he is ready yet, but my kids love Chuck Black and G.A. Henty books. Also, the prince warrior series by, Pricila Shirer.
Wonderful suggestions. We have done Tuttle Twins, he did the Kingdom series by Chuck Black last year and might start Sir Kendrick next spring when we revisit vikings and middle ages. My husband read the kids the Prince Warrior series and I'm planning to read the Dragon and the Raven within the next year. Keep the recommendations coming because we obviously like the same styles!
This was great! I love your son’s enthusiasm and honest reviews! Thank you for sharing 😊 It is often a challenge to find good clean books for our children and this was a great help!
Hi! Love your channel! My question is regarding family subjects. I have two littles, two years apart that I would like to do family learning for history, science, Bible, etc (basically everything outside of the 3Rs). How does this work when starting out when the first one start officially “schooling”? Only do the 3Rs until the younger is ready to school in those subjects? Or do those subjects with the oldest and the little one tags along, slowly adding tasks that fit skill level? Also, how does this look as you go along? Say if you cover American history while the oldest is in Year 3 (youngest-1), do you cycle through it again at some point for the youngest to have a deeper understanding since they probably didn’t grasp as much? Do you see your children eventually doing all self studies as they “age out” of the family style? Thanks so much! I know I’m overthinking but I have a hard time wrapping my mind around it so that they each get exposure and comprehension with all of the topics.
This is an excellent question. Thanks for asking. I'll add it to my list of video ideas for the future. Until then, you have the right idea. You'll find that many curriculums are on a 4-year loop as far as revisiting a subject. History especially tends to be done this way. Story of the World or Biblioplan are a good example of that. Gather Round unit studies is also a good example specifically designed for families. They have created 4 years worth of units that you continue to cycle through, but as the student gets older they use a more age-appropriate workbook each time. I tend to teach to my oldest child level and then adjust as needed for the youngers, but I'm always amazed at how much they do retain. Even with the "3Rs" we try to do similar ideas. Draw, Write, Now has been fun for handwriting and keeping a journal, and they all have gone through the same math and spelling curriculums so we have developed a culture within our house of understanding, working together and helping one another. Family Style is totally worth it!
No, History by Mail is not from a Christian resource so we add Real Cool History for Kids with it. Angela O'Dell is the Masterbooks history author but you can find the podcast free on her website or another casting service.
Oh, ok, I must’ve heard you wrong when I watched. I thought you said the history by mail was by Angela O’Dell, which is why I asked if you get it from Masterbooks since I knew she was an author for them. Sorry!! Thanks!
Tell Heather Haupt and her mom Colene I said hello 🤗 I would also want to hear from Rachel Carmen and Durenda Wilson. But you honestly have so many great options I don't know if you could go wrong! Shoot me a message after. I would love to hear your review!
Your retreats look so fun!! I wish I lived closer :) It seems like they're the perfect size to really connect with other moms and know that you are not alone.
Both are great options. Thanks for commenting! Go Global has a part 2 called Explorer's and Settlers also. Make sure to watch this video to learn more ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-dbNFOI21fnU.htmlsi=LZ8xaBbcARon4M0O
I was actually given play n talk and I think it would be great to use, do you think it would be adaptable and you could say the correct sounds? Or is all the audio incorrectly pronounced?
The owner of the curriculum is convinced that these are the correct pronunciation because they are used in speech therapy, however they are not best for reading and spelling. You could try to teach the correct pronunciation but I think it will be difficult.
Nice! I have just got the old edition but excited to start for my.soon to be 1st grader . It will technically be his reading curriculum also. I dont really care about the extra activities personally lol
Are you referring to the all about spelling workbooks? Those are new and I have the first edition of the spelling books. I am contemplating getting them during this 10% off sale. www.allaboutlearningpress.net/go.php?id=2243
It’s my first year homeschooling and I’ll be honest, I was gonna jump in to the good and beautiful for my kindergartner only because they offer free pdfs online & because K5 is still a young age and I truly think they generalize everything about God, which I was ok with because we’d be having actual Bible lessons with a different curriculum. I didn’t realize they have ppl of many faiths involved, and also didn’t realize there’s other free curricula out there. Thanks for sharing this, my 2nd grader is for sure doing Landmark freedom but I will have to find something more engaging for my K5 daughter.
Wow, thanks for sharing making that choice! There are other free options and I mention some in my "How much does Homeschooling Cost" video. Another option that gives kids a firm Biblical education is Generations. I have a few videos already with them and will have a kindergarten level video as soon as I get those in the mail.
I’ve never used gather round can you just get the teacher guide and go through it? Ex: Ponds (and use it as a reference guide over the summer) we have a little pond think it would be perfect but we know how to read (1st & 3rd grader) Thank you
Ponds is actually just for teaching reading to k-1 age kids. They have a couple units for that early group. Instead you might like North American Forest Animals. It's a great first unit to try out! You can purchase just one level, try Early Elementary, both your kids should fit that level well or you can adjust it as needed for them. It will cost you $20 for the digital. You get the teachers guide and that one level. Let me know if you have more questions!
I agree with you to a point, right now that's what we can afford and I do Bible with answers in genesis and it's amazing. I don't think I'm confident in my teaching to create my own lesson plans at this time so for now that's where I am.
