I received a copy of DragonBox Algebra 5+ for free and was compensated for my time. All opinions are my own.
Algebra. It’s a word that strikes terror into the hearts of math-phobic homeschool moms everywhere. But it doesn’t have to.
I’ll admit that I like algebra. It’s like solving puzzles. Now geometry is another story! But when I heard about DragonBox Algebra 5+, I was intrigued. I wondered how algebra could be turned into a game that my 9-year-old would enjoy. When we memorized geometry formulas for Classical Conversations last year, he looked at me like I was crazy. How could letters mean math? Right. Much of algebra requires abstract thinking which elementary students, as a rule, don’t have. But DragonBox gets around that significant obstacle with gamification.
How DragonBox Turns Algebra into a Fun Game
In order to explain the game, I have to refer to an algebraic principle. I know I’m in danger of losing some of you right now, but bear with me. Solving equations for a missing number often relies on performing the same arithmetic on both sides of an equal sign. To this end, negative numbers (or negative variables in the form of letters) are used to cancel out positive numbers (and vice versa). The end result should be the solution for the missing number (often referred to as x). Are you still with me?
Even if that was gobbledygook, the game introduces kids to this means of balancing equations, which is a critical skill in algebra. Beginning with pictures in “equations,” DragonBox eventually substitutes traditional numbers and symbols. This video will give you an idea of the enticing interface.
How My Homeschooled 3rd Grader Liked This Unique Math App
I’ve got to be honest and tell you my son thought it was a weird game. You know, where are the monsters you shoot at? This one has those pesky letters acting like numbers again. But he was quickly drawn into the game. He was especially taken in by the stars and levels.
He liked it enough to play it on his iPod. I didn’t even know it worked on iPods, but apparently it does!
The most interesting reaction to the game wasn’t from him, but from my 12-year-old. He couldn’t keep his hands off it! He is using Life of Fred Pre-Algebra, so has a much better grasp of the point of the game than my 9-year-old. But that leads me to offer these:
Tips for Making the Most of Your DragonBox Algebra 5+ App
Allow your older children to play the game, too. It will keep it from seeming like a “school app” that your child is required to play.
Play the game with your child–especially if you’re not an algebra pro. You may find that your math anxiety disappears! The added benefit will be motivating your child to play.
Treat playing like a privilege. If you don’t allow your child to play until their other math work is complete, your student will view the game as the fun break it really is.
How to Get Your Own Copy of DragonBox Algebra 5+
If you’re ready to prepare your student for algebra, you can purchase the app on iTunes or for Android for $4.99. It’s also available for both Windows and Mac computers.
Finally, you can enter to win a copy! 100 fortunate winners will receive one of apps from We Want to Know.
Make sure to enter and follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube where there are more videos about their array of fun apps.
I received the Adventurer Package for free and was compensated for my time. All opinions are my own.
I knew my kids would love to get something fun and educational in the mailbox. Look how my nine- and eleven-year-old tore into the package when it arrived! They were especially thrilled to receive a personally addressed letter.
What is Adventurous Mailbox?
The Adventurer Package from Adventurous Mailbox is a set of eight books written like letters from Crameye Junker to your 8-12-year-old child. Crameye and his family (who homeschool) experience adventures in the countries of Finland, Taiwan, Brazil, Thailand, Greece, Tanzania, and Peru. In the process, kids learn about the geography of these countries (its location and climate), but even more importantly, what it’s like to be immersed in the culture. Readers learn about the language, traditions, and schools of each country as they follow the characters.
Painless Geography and Cultural Education, Too
As I am still homeschooling five children, I find adding geography studies to my day challenging, even with the great tips I have shared on the blog before. Adventurous Mailbox makes it easy! Simply reading these engaging books (that are full of mystery and intrigue) will give your kids an excellent cultural education. And in my book, that’s even more important than memorizing facts like capital cities. But kids learn traditional geography along the way, too. If Adventurous Mailbox were only a set of books that counted as a literary and geographical education, I would be very happy. But there’s more…
A Complete Education with the Teacher’s Lounge
I received access to the Teacher’s Lounge with my package (which can too — see details below!). I’m going to be honest and say I wasn’t expecting much. I just reviewed a huge list of grammar websites to determine the best of the best to share with my readers, so my standards are high. When I looked over the material available for each book, my mouth hung open. Here’s a list of lessons available for Taiwan JUST FOR VOCABULARY.
I love to teach language arts. In fact, I’m writing my own curriculum! Again, my standards are high. I cannot overstate the quality of the materials available with Adventurous Mailbox. I am shaking my head as I write! I’m amazed. In addition to vocabulary, your Teacher’s Lounge membership will allow you to download lessons on reading comprehension (which is vitally important), writing (which actually TEACH numerous forms of writing!), critical thinking, online research, country-specific projects (like learning to write Chinese), and even group projects (making this a great option for co-ops).
But wait! There’s still more. No really, there is! For each country, safe research links are shared along with a list of other lesson and activity links. Are you starting to see how you could use Adventurous Mailbox as a thorough, year-long unit study?
Safe Online Learning and More
Your child will receive a code allowing them to access Crameye’s World. Here they can read the main characters’ blogs, see pictures of each country, learn more about languages, and see foods popular around the world. There is a forum for kids (which isn’t active yet, but could be really fun when it gains momentum) and a section planned for games to go along with the books. My kids accessed Crameye’s World IMMEDIATELY, but thankfully the books have remained the focus. My daughter, in particular, totes them around everywhere!
Ebook versions of the books are coming and Adventurous Mailbox plans for 40 books total. My mind is blown thinking how smart my kids could be, having finished all this material!
Don’t Take My Word for It
When I am considering an online purchase of curriculum, I want to be able to see as much of it as possible. If you’re the same, you will love the Adventurous Mailbox site. You can see significant previews of everything, including the book text. Unless you want to surprise your child (hint: this would make a GREAT gift), you could have her read the samples online and see what she thinks.
The Details
By now, you’re probably wondering how much this cultural and all-around education is going to cost you. Don’t worry! You don’t need to be sitting down. The Adventurer Package, which I reviewed, is just $79. The Teacher’s Lounge is just $20, which is a BARGAIN. But my readers won’t pay that!
Using code HSadventure, you’ll receive 10% off and the Teacher’s Lounge for FREE! But hurry…this offer is valid until 6/30/15 only.
If your students struggle with grammar or find it boring, you’ll love these free grammar websites that can serve as a complete curriculum, a great complement to your studies, or a fun, occasional break. I’ve reviewed dozens of grammar websites (so you don’t have to) and have determined that these are the best of the best! If you’re looking for grammar games be sure to check out this popular post.
Grammar games are included with the Grammar Galaxy lessons your student will love!
Best Free Grammar Websites for Beginner to Upper Level Students
If you’re looking for a complete, free language arts curriculum, look no further. I’m crazy about Easy Peasy All in One Homeschool because it offers pre-planned instruction online. If you want only grammar lessons, students can complete just those sections.
I’m crazy about the Virtual Grammar Lab because it provides a search engine of grammar websites for grammar concept and type of activity. Search results tell you if the activity is easy, medium, or difficult. It could serve as a complete curriculum if you used a scope and sequence like this one from Easy Grammar. You can also sign up for a free account so you can track your students’ progress.
I’m crazy about Daily Grammar because it can easily serve as a complete grammar curriculum. Lessons include practice questions and quizzes follow every five lessons.
While the English Media Lab is designed primarily for English as Second Language students, I’m crazy about the breadth of activities listed at this site for all students of grammar. If you’re working with a scope and sequence of some sort, this site will provide you with everything you need to teach and enrich the study of grammar.
Best Free Grammar Websites for Beginner to Intermediate Students
I’m crazy about these classic videos that I remember from childhood. If I remember them, our kids will, too! You can find the grammar videos among all the School House Rock videos on this Disney curated playlist.
I’m crazy about Grammar Practice Park because it offers games to teach grammar concepts like proper / common nouns and sentence type for grades 3 through 5. Grammar Gold, also through Harcourt School Publishers, offers grammar downloads for grades 1 through 5.
I’m crazy about Arcademic Skil Builders because it has the most game-like interface of the websites I reviewed. While it doesn’t offer a lot of games (Furious Frogs, Word Frog, Verb Viper, and Word Invasion are the true grammar games), your students are likely to enjoy them.
I’m crazy about Grammar Gorillas because it’s a great alternative to sentence diagramming. Beginners can choose nouns and verbs from sentences and intermediate learners can identify all the main parts of speech to earn bananas.
Once your students know the main part of speech, they can do Mad Libs online. I’m crazy about Mad Libs because rather than just identifying nouns and adjectives, kids have to choose them. As with any Mad Libs, the results can be entertaining.
I’m crazy about Grammar Ninja because it’s a great way to entice boys to practice identifying parts of speech. Throwing stars get stuck in the words that are chosen correctly and “ninjas” are encouraged for correct responses.
I’m crazy about Maggie’s Earth Adventures because of the real-life contexts for the games. Nouns and verbs get sorted into recycling bins. If a student makes a mistake, the sand gets littered with that word’s trash. The editing game involves helping a reporter get his grammar correct by retyping. Other games help students with prefixes and suffixes and word matching.
I’m crazy about Grammar Blast because it offers grade-level quizzes (for 2nd through 5th grade) that mimic questions kids will encounter on standardized testing. Kids will like earning points for correct responses on multiple grammar subjects.
I’m crazy about Grammar Man because the site uses comics (in printed and movie form) to teach grammar concepts. There are some excellent printables on vocabulary and reading here as well.
I’m crazy about Quill because of its beautiful interface and the practice students will get typing their answers, rather than just choosing a multiple choice radio button.
I’m crazy about Grammar Bytes because its exercises offer teaching followed by funny responses to your answers and even more importantly, a thorough explanation for incorrect answers. Power Points, online exercises, and accompanying handouts are available.
This is one of the most unique grammar websites and may be super motivating for your students. Movie clips are used to teach grammar concepts. There are exercises and associated worksheets.
I’m crazy about Grammar Arcade because it also has a true gaming interface that middle and high school students will enjoy. There are 10 concepts for students to study. Note that if you are sent to Classzone’s main page, you will need to click on California on the map and then click GO to access the grammar arcade.
I’m crazy about the British Council’s Learn English because it teaches students a grammar concept and follows the lesson with interactive quizzes which can earn points. Fifty grammar concepts are covered.
I’m crazy about the Blue Book site because has a number of excellent free grammar lessons and quizzes and in particular has a great grammar pretest and mastery test.
I’m crazy about this website because it can serve as a complete grammar course for your upper level students. Students must score 80% or better on quizzes before continuing.
I’m crazy about the Guide to Grammar and Writing because it’s an extremely thorough treatment of grammar with associated quizzes that could serve as a complete grammar curriculum for your upper level students.
You know it’s important for your child’s future to have him read as much as possible. But what should you do if your child is a reluctant reader?
As a busy family who has made it top priority to raise six readers, we have discovered a few ways to encourage reading that can work for you.
#1 Create a reading environment
Research on academic achievement suggests that students who experience the biggest declines over summer break have the fewest books at home. Unfortunately, these declines tend to persist even once school has resumed.
What we can learn from this (even if you’re a homeschooler like I am) is that it’s important to have a generous variety of books in your home. Fortunately, that shouldn’t break the budget. Between libraries in your community, church, and home and lots of free digital titles, you should be able to create a rich reading environment.
Once you have the books, make sure you create spaces that invite reading–even if that’s your child’s bedroom. Make sure the lighting is adequate and furnishings are comfortable. Consider creating a reading nook for kids, too. Find some great ideas here:
#2 Find the right books
You are your kids’ most important librarian. When you invest the time to find titles that your child will enjoy, you will reap the rewards of having an avid reader.
Get advice on popular titles, especially those in a series. When you get your child hooked on a book in a series, most of your work is over. He will want to keep reading and then it’s fairly easy to find other series he would enjoy. Start by getting advice from parents whose kids are avid readers, look for top kids’ titles on Amazon, and check out book lists on Pinterest. One thing I’ve learned is that even if I really like a book, my child may not. I have to find something that really gets him excited.
The right books have to be at the right reading level for your child. To get kids reading more, choose books that are below their reading level. If the books seem easy, reading will seem effortless and fun. Save the challenging reading for school time. One tip for determining if it’s the right level is to have your child read one page of the book to you while holding up five fingers. If she comes to a word she doesn’t know, have her put one finger down. If she finishes a page with at least one finger up, it’s an okay book for her. However, if your child says it’s too hard, listen. If your child is really excited to read a book that is pretty challenging, absolutely let her give it a try.
Search for books from Capstone Publishing. Their titles are specifically designed to be high interest and lower reading level. Most libraries carry them.
#3 Buy an eReader
I’m a big believer in having all the reading formats available to a child. Printed books still form the majority of books kids read.
However, kids appreciate the novelty of digital books and some of their unique features, including: being able to get books instantly, being able to look up words at a touch, having an estimate of how long it will take them to read a book, and the ability to listen to a title while looking at the words.
These advantages have made our one Kindle Fire very popular around here.
#4 Sign up for a reading incentive program or create your own
I agree with the critics of reading incentive programs that reading is a reward in itself. But when it comes to unmotivated readers, I have no problem rewarding reading if that’s what it takes. There are many reading incentive programs to try. Check with your school or homeschool support group for information about enrolling.
It’s also easy to create your own reading incentives. My husband likes to promise the kids a shake for reading a certain number of books. Whenever he starts this program, the reading gets intense around here! Reading Rewards is a website you can use to create your own program.
#5 Allow reading in lieu of other activities
My kids have to read as well as complete math, science, and other language arts assignments. Reading is always what they choose to do first.
Give your kids alternatives that encourage reading. Ask them to complete a dull worksheet or read; require either reading or an extra chore. With time, reading will be viewed as the pleasurable activity it is.
#6 Read yourself
Make sure your kids see you reading or hear you talk about it. I do most of my reading when the kids are in bed, so I frequently talk with them about what I read. They know I am not asking them to value something that I don’t.
Encourage your spouse to model reading, too. My husband reads the Bible and the news at breakfast, reads for pleasure in the evenings, and recommends titles to the kids that he has read or heard about from the librarians he calls on. If your spouse doesn’t have the time to model reading, ask him to talk about what he’s been reading with the kids.
#7 Listen to audio books
Audio books count as reading! For auditory learners, those who have reading challenges like dyslexia, and those who can’t stand to sit still for long periods, this is a blessing.
It’s easy to get more reading time in by listening to books in the car and at bedtime. If you have a bluetooth-enabled device, the kids can even listen to books in the tub or shower using this speaker.
You can also have audio book family time when you’re not traveling, where you listen to engaging titles like these.
#8 Make time for online reading
Young kids shouldn’t be reading online unsupervised. The problem with that is that it requires your time. That means the best way to make it happen is to schedule it.
Make fun, online reading part of your school schedule. I reserve Friday mornings for more of an unschooling approach where we can study things we’re interested in. It’s a perfect time to not only watch YouTube videos, but to find safe websites on the subjects of interest. If you don’t homeschool, schedule some time for this after school or on weekends. Try these research sites recommended to school librarians.
#9 Find purposeful nonfiction
Kids will read when they really want or need the information. What is your child into? Find a book, magazine, or website that provides information on that topic. For example, this website on Minecraft tips may be just the ticket for your game lovers. Sometimes, even an instruction manual can end up fascinating a reluctant learner. Game manuals, Lego instructions, and cookbooks encourage reading, too.
#10 Read out loud
Just like audio books, books that you read to your child count as reading. Many kids who aren’t yet fluent readers appreciate the speed and accuracy of a parent’s reading. Have your child sit next to you as you read for even more skill building.
Have fun with the reading. Kids love it when you use different voices and dramatize fiction books and you are making positive associations with reading in the process.
#11 Have kids read to you
Even excellent readers need plenty of practice reading out loud. Practice helps prevent anxiety over reading in public, improves fluency, and teaches correct pronunciation. My kids have often been silently mispronouncing words as they read. Reading out loud gives me a chance to correct mistakes. One tip: let your kids choose the book they read to you. Yes, it will probably be No, David! one more time, but your child will be saying yes to reading.
#12 Have kids read to younger children
Having kids read to younger siblings or other kids offers the same benefits as reading to you, with the added benefits of building a child’s confidence and encouraging story telling. Even if kids are reading books for kids much younger, the time counts as reading. And that makes all the difference.
Try these tips and your kids will be spending more time reading and maybe you will be, too!
I received curriculum to review and was compensated for my time. All opinions are my own.
I jumped at the chance to review Paradigm Accelerated Curriculum‘s Character & Skills for Home & Careers because I want my teen sons to have training in basic automotive and home maintenance. My father was gifted in this area, but my father-in-law was not. And my husband? Let’s just say that when I asked him to do the projects with the boys for the course, he emailed me back, “Are you joking?”
What is Character & Skills for Home & Careers?
This 75-lesson course is a high school, homeschool, elective course that is especially suitable for boys. That’s perfect, because I have a slew of ’em! (Check ’em out on my About page). But if you have a handy girl or a daughter who would like to be, there’s no reason she couldn’t complete the course, too. Your teen will learn automotive, electrical, plumbing, carpentry, time management, and finance skills. What’s not to love about that?
The material is covered in digital format or in five softcover texts and five softcover workbooks. We used the printed materials. If you liked, you could easily three-punch the softcover texts and store them in a binder. We found the material seemed less overwhelming when broken out into five separate units. What’s very unusual about this curriculum is that you can buy the units separately. Maybe your son knows carpentry, but not plumbing or electrical. You could purchase only these units. If you’re like me, though, you’re going to want the whole course.
What I Love About PAC’s Character & Skills for Home & Careers Homeschool Material
It’s easy reading. My sons have strong reading skills, but this curriculum is designed for all reading levels. The text-to-speech version makes it perfect for students with dyslexia or other reading challenges.
It’s in story form. Half the battle in education is convincing young people of the value of the skill. Story is used to provide that context and is more memorable than a standard text.
It teaches character. It would be enough for this curriculum to impart information about practical skills, but it goes further in providing examples of men with values. How refreshing!
It provides practical application that is doable. I love curriculum that tells me exactly what to do when it comes to application and PAC does just that. If you need to utilize people with strengths in these areas to go over the projects, they’ll appreciate having this structure as well.
It would make for a great co-op course. In fact, I was so excited about this aspect of it that my friends and I are going to use it with our boys next year. We will ask the people we know with skills in the various areas to do the projects. (My husband will be so disappointed that we won’t ask him. 🙂 )
To Make Best Use of PAC’s Character & Skills for Home & Careers High School Course
Motivate your teen. I spent time explaining why I think this is essential training. Otherwise, this is a course that can get put on the back burner. You can tell your teens that they will be able to save a lot of money by being able to do their own simple repairs. You can also motivate them with responsibility. My 15-year-old will be getting his driver’s permit soon, so I motivated him to study the automotive material.
Plan for projects. If you are going to bring in other teachers for the practical applications, you will want to arrange dates with them ahead of time. If dad is going to be in charge, it may be even more important to get projects scheduled so they are completed. When you have dates planned, make sure your son knows when he has to have his written work finished.
Give your son responsibility. Once he has completed a unit, allow him to put his new knowledge to good use whenever possible. If nothing comes up, help him get involved in a project in his area of interest. If he’s really interested, arrange an apprenticeship. He may even have discovered a potential career.
Paradigm Accelerated Curriculum plans to incorporate QR codes into the curriculum in the near future which will enable students to access more material via their smart phones. That’s just cool!
When you’re ready to buy, the teacher’s kit is $18.95. Individual units are just over $15.00 each. Or purchase everything for $95.95–a great price for a course that’s so well put together AND could end up saving you and your son a lot of money long-term. But Paradigm offers these discounts:
40% off for
● homeschool groups (minimum purchase $1000)
● single parents
20% off for
● ministry families
● military families
● farmers and ranchers
● first responders
● foster parents
Call Paradigm at 325-649-0976 for a discount code to use during the checkout process if you fit into one of these categories.
Early in my homeschooling, I was blessed to hear Joyce Herzog say:
Our children are unlikely to be employed in their areas of weakness. Most likely they will be employed in their area of strength.
Yet we tend to focus an inordinate amount of teaching time on fixing weaknesses–not maximizing strengths.
But exactly how can we make a connection between our child’s strengths and future employment?
I had no idea until I met Jonathan Harris and read his book How to Discover and Develop Your Child’s First 100 Hours of Talent. I loved the idea of putting all the pieces of my child’s life together (his strengths, his interests, our family’s interests, and the resources available) and seeing what picture appeared. I did work through the exercises in the book and had some vague ideas of what skills my two oldest boys still at home should be focusing on. I even wrote about it here. But frankly, I put it on the back burner. More pressing matters took precedence until Jonathan contacted me and offered to do a consultation. I’m so glad he did.
I suspect that most homeschoolers are like I am–not overly concerned about our children’s future until it’s time to think about college or employment after graduation. And that’s a shame. We have so much more time to devote to developing our children’s talents than parents whose children are in traditional schools. I wasn’t taking advantage of the time and Jonathan motivated me.
Our Consultation
Jonathan and I spoke about both my sons–their strengths and their interests. Then I shared with him that our family has a passion for selling books. One of my sons had already helped my husband at a librarians’ conference and the next oldest would be doing so at the upcoming conference. I explained that my current passion was to write a language arts curriculum and start a homeschool publishing company that my kids could be a part of. Even as I spoke, I was starting to make some connections. And can I say what a joy it was to talk about my sons? What a rare opportunity it was to share with someone else the gifts I see in them and the hopes and dreams my husband and I have for their future. Jonathan gave me the assignment of completing the questions in his book again and determining what talent we might work on developing in the coming months.
Family Discussion
After finishing my homework, I talked with my husband and the boys. I originally thought that my younger son would love to help my husband in his business, but my husband didn’t feel he would have enough meaningful work to keep him busy. We decided that we wanted him to have a business education so we planned to have him work through Micro Business for Teens. I felt my older son, with a gift for grammar, would be well suited to helping me complete the curriculum I’m writing. We agreed to pay him a training wage while I was teaching him and then more as he was working independently.
I reported our plans to Jonathan, who thought we were on the right track. I thanked him profusely, because I hadn’t really thought how my son’s talent could be developed in a way that fit with our family goals, too.
Update
Jonathan asked me how things were going and I told him, but things have changed since my report.
I trained my older son to format the text I had written. Everything went well and he was meticulous, so I was pleased. But a problem came up. He began studying in earnest for the ACT and taking outside classes and doing more at church. I couldn’t get him to devote time to it, pay or no.
My younger son had a similar issue with new curriculum coming to my attention that I wanted him to use. The Micro Business books kept getting put on the back burner.
I still needed help formatting my books, so I started looking into hiring a foreign editor. The experience I’ve had hiring non-English speaking people for other work had me cringing at the thought of explaining what I wanted done. Then I realized that my younger son was completely capable of formatting text. I just hadn’t thought of him, because I was so focused on my older son’s English gift.
I sat down to train my younger son how to format the workbook material and he took to it immediately. Not only that, but he is much more motivated by money than his older brother (thus, we wanted him to learn about business). What I found is that my younger son’s enthusiasm motivated my older son. He is having to spend less ACT prep time, so will return to formatting the text for me. Meanwhile I am beyond thrilled with all the help. I will be able to publish the first volume sooner than I had expected. Meanwhile, I will be able to include my younger son in the business side of what I’m doing–invaluable hands-on learning. Our original plan is still intact (my younger son will work through Micro Business for Teens), but his experience helping me is the primary focus.
Second, contact Jonathan for a consultation. Yes, it’s a paid service, but it’s so worth it to get direction in helping to shape your child’s future. I appreciate so much that Jonathan shares my Christian values and recognizes the power of prayer in the process.
Third, engage your child and spouse in prayerful discussion. It’s exciting to grow beyond math and science and literature to life application. In this ever-changing economy, we have to do all we can to help our kids develop their talents in a way that makes them valuable employees or producers.
Fourth, begin training. You may not be the one who will teach your child the skills he needs to develop his talent, but you can arrange the teaching–whether that means purchasing materials or getting a tutor. If you are the primary teacher as I am, be sure to schedule time for training so it doesn’t get put on the back burner. (I’m speaking to myself here, too!)
Finally, keep evaluating how it’s going. My experience shows you that your first plan may not be the best one, but you will succeed with perseverance and prayer.
I’m a Christian psychologist turned homeschooling mother of six. My life can be a little crazy, so I look for sanity-saving ideas to use and share. I hope you’ll read my About page to learn more.
