Review: Apologia Science -Exploring Creation with Chemistry and Physics

We were very excited to be given the chance to review Apologia Educational Ministries homeschool science curriculum for grades K-6, specifically:

• Exploring Creation with Chemistry and Physics (Book) $39
• Exploring Creation with Chemistry and Physics Notebooking Journal $24
• Exploring Creation with Chemistry and Physics Junior Notebooking Journal $24

Part of why this was such an exciting review was because of the age range. All my children together happen to range from grades K through 6th. How often can one curriculum work for ALL 4 of your children? I worried that this would be over the younger ones heads, but figured the junior notebooking journal would really help.

Exploring Creation with Chemistry and Physics (Book) is the main textbook and can be used again and again. It is 253 pages, plus a supply list (for experiments), and an answer key. Written by Jeannie Fulbright, this is part of the Apologia Young Explorer Series (grades K-6), which also includes:

• Astronomy
• Botany
• Human Anatomy and Physiology
• Zoology 1, 2, and 3

This hardbound text is broken into 14 lessons, and can be easily done in one school year at a pace of 1 lesson per two weeks. The lessons cover:

1. Chemistry and Physics Matter
2. Moving Matter
3. Building Blocks of Creation (atoms)
4. Compound Chemistry
5. Multitude of Mixtures
6. Mechanics in Motion
7. Dynamics of Motion
8. Work in the World
9. Sound of Energy
10. Light of the World
11. Thermal Energy
12. Electrifying Our World
13. Mysterious Magnetism
14. Simple Machines

The lessons range from 14-18 pages each and include many pictures and as many as 10 "Try this" experiments each. This means you could do a "Try This" nearly every day if you were following the two weeks per lesson pacing. Most of the experiments were using everyday household materials, so I didn't have to purchase any expensive kits. The lesson ends with a summary page, including questions and follow up activities.

One of the best parts of this text is the Christian worldview, but the conversational style is a close second. Jeannie Fulbright has a gift for writing in a way that kids want to listen to. She often explains complex processes in simple but entertaining narratives. For example: in the second Lesson, speaking of the states of matter and the energy of the molecules, she relates it to children with energy and wiggles, bouncing about a room. My 6-year-old really grabbed onto that concept and talks about it often. 

The Exploring Creation with Chemistry and Physics Notebooking Journal is a supplemental notebook to help with absorbing the text though hands on note taking and project building. Going a step beyond the "Try This" sections in the text, the notebooking journals include activities such as:

• Vocabulary Crosswords
• Fascinating Facts
• Flap Books
• Copywork
• Test It Out
• Fact Wheels
• Tuck-in Envelopes
• Various Projects and Experiments
• Layered Books
• Field Trip Sheets
• Review section of narrative questions titled "What Do You Remember?"
• And a Final Review consisting of 50 review questions.

Of course my favorite feature in the notebooking journal would have to be the lesson plans in the front of the book. This gives reading assignments for the text as well as matches up the Notebooking Journal pages to those same concepts. It breaks each lesson down into two weeks with two days of assignments per week. This homeschool science journal really expands on the text and helps with my more tactile students. This journal is ideal for upper elementary, grades 4-6.

The Exploring Creation with Chemistry and Physics Junior Notebooking Journal is just like the regular notebooking journal, except geared for younger children who have not mastered handwriting. Ideal for grades K through 3rd (lower elementary grades), it has all of the same hands on projects as the regular journal, but exchanges coloring pages for some of the more intensive journaling pages. The writing lines are larger, and the copywork is shorter. It worked really well for my two youngest to be working in this journal, while my two oldest used the regular journal. 

How we used this:

Because we have a 4 day school week, we chose to do science every day. I opened up the lesson plans in the front of the notebooking journals and divided the "Day 1" and "Day 2" assignments into two parts, and made the same week into 4 smaller assignments. We would gather together, and my two oldest took turns using the regular notebooking journal, while my two youngest shared the junior notebooking journal. After reading the assigned pages and filling in the journals, we took the time to try out and discuss some of the "Try This!" experiments. They were easy to do, and often used supplies we already had on hand.

Jeannie Fulbright's writing style was in a conversational upbeat tone, so was easy to read aloud to my children. Often my youngest (age 6) wasn't as interested in the journal, so would sit with me as I read and looked at the colorful pictures in the text. My oldest struggles with writing, but excelled at the crosswords. My second-born LOVES writing, so took her turn with the copywork pages. My third child, the 7 year old, liked the junior notebooking journal the best, so would color or cut and paste while I was reading. Gathered around like that, everyone had something to keep their attention. It was easy to get through the lesson, and to stop and discuss the concepts. 

Throughout the text in the chapter, the vocabulary words were bolded, so when the kids needed to define them for the vocabulary crosswords, they could find them used in context. We also used the vocabulary word lists as spelling lists, as a way to re-enforce them. 

One of the things I noticed about this text, vs. the other Apologia science curriculum we had tried, was that there are quite a few more pictures, engaging graphics, and "Try This!" boxes. As I mentioned before, you could do one of them every day and not run out. The engaging pictures made it easier to keep the kids interested in the text as we read. This was a big improvement over our previous course. 

Also, I had said I couldn't possibly use the Zoology book without the notebooking journal, but this one was different. The text alone had enough engaging and entertaining activities, that I think the notebookig journal could be completely optional, if you don't have a real need for your tactile child to have busy hands while you read.

Bottom Line:

We loved this, probably more than any science we've yet tried. I would probably buy the text alone, although the course schedule in the front of the notebooking journal was super helpful. Doing science as a family was a wonderful experience, and I could tell this program was designed with homeschool families at the forefront of the author's intentions. Everyone from grades K thought 6th at our house learned a lot (and also the teacher!) from this curriculum, and it was not difficult to adapt to all ages. The journals go very well with the text, and worked very well for us to keep everyone involved. We were blessed to try it out.

Be sure you check out all the other reviews of this homeschool science resource, by visiting the crew blog:

*Prices and links are accurate at the time this is published, and are subject to change






©2012-2013 Loving and Learning on the High Plains. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://www.homeschoolhighplains.blogspot.com

Review: IXL Math and Language Arts

All of October we had the opportunity to review the online learning opportunities at IXL.com. We were very blessed to be given a year's access to their Language Arts for grades 2-4 and Math from grades Pre-K through 12th.


Family Memberships, for up to 3 children, for Math or Language Arts are $13.95 each per month or $19.95 a month for both.  The best value is $119 a year for Math or Language Arts separately or $169 for both subjects. (Single Child Memberships for Math or Language Arts are $9.95 each per month or $15.95 a month for both.)




When I signed up for this review, I had seen a few ads for IXL, but didn't really know what it was. I thought maybe it was an online tutoring program for teaching math and language arts to kids. After using it with three of my children for several weeks, I can say I actually understand it now.

When we first began, I set up our online account. This was so simple and easy that I did it in mere minutes. The next day that the kids tried it out, they each had their own sign in name and password. This made it possible for their progress to be tracked, and for me to look at it in a special "mom" reporting area.

After logging in, my children would choose Math or Language Arts to work on, by the tabs on the top of the page. Along the left side of the page were the grade levels available in that subject. After choosing the grade level, they could choose an area of study on a full page of choices, arranged by Common Core Standards coding. I am not pro-common core, nor does my state require it, but this is how they were arranged. Another option for how to reach the right topic would be to go to the Standards tab and they could see the standards for their grade (see photo 1, top half), specifically according to our state. Under each major heading was a sub-topic to be mastered. If the kids weren't sure what kind of problems the sub-topic heading referred to, they could hover over the title and a box would pop up with a sample problem. (see photo 1, bottom half)

Photo 1

The main thing I wish I had known in advance was that there is no instruction given. These are practice problems to complement the instruction you are giving your children. So if their curriculum is not aligned to state standards, you will have to work harder at finding the categories for them to practice in. If you are, however, teaching curriculum that follows the state standard progression, then this program is an endless supply of practice problems and opportunities for practicing towards mastery.

Correction Illustrations Grades K and 5, Photo 3

That said, there is a minimal amount of instruction given as explanation when a question is answered incorrectly. (Please, click the image at the right to see two examples, enlarged.) This helped my kids to some degree, but not as much as I had hoped. For example, Wyatt, being a kindergartner and a non-fluent-reader, would utilize the audio feature on the Pre-K and K level math practices. It would read him the problem, and he would answer. But if it was wrong, it has no audio selection for the explanation (see photo 3, top half), so he had no idea what it was. I couldn't just set him up to practice and walk away. I would have to stay close to help him understand his problems and mistakes. So, even with the audio feature, I ended up doing this with Wyatt every day. Mayda and Emma were able to work with it a little more independently of me, but not completely.

How we used it:
Wyatt used it quite a bit for math practice. After working with him in his math instruction, I would sit with him and we would practice until he reached mastery. He was completely thrilled by the "prizes" earned by mastering a skill or by passing a time goal. He would hover over the next possibility on the prize board and plot how to earn it.

Photo 2

Mayda used the math parts, but I actually signed up for this one with the intention of really utilizing the Language Arts for her. Since the Language Arts area ranges from 2-4th grade, I thought it would be perfect. Unfortunately we ran into two issues. First, since they don't currently have 1st grade skills on there, she couldn't adjust to anything easier if the 2nd grade material wasn't working. Second, the Language Arts part of IXL doesn't offer progress prizes (see photo 2 above) like the math part. Mayda quickly figured this out and didn't want to work on anything but Math after that. The quality of the Language Arts program was excellent though, and really showed us what we needed to study on more to come up to state standards. Here's a great video demo of the Language Arts portion of the site:

Emma is in 5th grade, so while she used some of the 4th grade Language Arts, she mostly focused on the 5th grade Math. This worked well for her, since her current math curriculum doesn't use a mastery approach, this gave her much more opportunity to master a skill set. She did really well with it, and was able to understand the "wrong answer" explanations better than Mayda and of course, Wyatt. For her it really re-enforced what she was studying and gave her a traceable place to see progress.

For myself, as the Mom/administrator account, I was able to see all kinds of reports (see right) on the kids' work. It seemed neat, but really the reports gave me very little usable information. I imagine the data there will become more interesting and relevant when we've been using it for more than 4 weeks. But of course right now most of their numbers have no history, and they have all improved 100% over where they were last month. The most relevant part of the reports page was the list of skills mastered or attempted, where I could quickly track their work.

Bottom Line:
If you are looking to assure yourself of where you are hitting the mark on teaching state standards in Math and in 2-4th grade Language Arts, this is a great tool. If you are teaching Math or Language Arts and really need self-grading practice problems, this is a great tool. If you are looking for inexpensive online tutoring in Math or Language Arts, this is probably not the tool you need. Overall, I liked it. The kids liked it on an off, but not as much as some of the other programs we've used before. I had to assign it, or they'd skip it. They never asked to use it on their own. Although most real school-work is that way. This is an amazingly huge supply of practice material, more than you will need by far, but only in these two subjects. That is the main reason I felt the subscription rates were a bit out of my range.

Be sure to read all of the reviews of this online product by visiting the Crew Blog:

©2012-2013 Loving and Learning on the High Plains. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://www.homeschoolhighplains.blogspot.com

*Prices and links are accurate at the time this is published, and are subject to change

Review: Away We Go Media: If You Were Me (children's books)

This fall our school has been inadvertently themed towards missionaries and international studies. It's been a theme we have thoroughly enjoyed, so this review fit in quite perfectly. This series of children's books from Carole P. Roman focus on the experience of growing up in other countries around the world. We had the opportunity to receive and review these four books, geared to anyone under age 10 (but really my 11 and 12 year old enjoyed them too).

The books we received included:

• If You Were Me and Lived in Mexico $8.99
• If You Were Me and Lived in South Korea $8.99
• If You Were Me and Lived in France $8.99
• If You Were Me and Lived in Norway $8.63

All of the books are under 30 pages and the word counts (per two-page spread) ranged from 10 to 60 words.  The reading level is about 3rd to 4th grade, but it might not be meaty enough to hold their attention. We found it was a best fit as a read-aloud to my 6 and 7 year old children. Each book describes:

• The country capital and global location
  
• Major sight-seeing destinations near or in the capital region of that country
• Common children's names in that country
• Common family member names, and illustrations of the interiors of traditional homes
• Names of currency
• Major historical sites
• Local ethnic foods
• Recreational past-times
• Major holidays unique to that country
• The word for "school" is always the final detail
• Each book ends with the phrase "So now you see, if you were me, how life in _______ could really be."
• The last page is a list of words or phrases with their correct pronunciation

If You Were Me and Lived in Mexico is 24 pages long and has been awarded the Pinnacle Book Achievement Award. We read this book immediately after receiving it, since we were headed to a International Food night planned by our homeschool group, featuring Mexico! It was hosted by a family who had just returned from a missions trip to Mexico, so this really brought home for us what life in Mexico might really be like. We were so impressed to hear how our young friend had given a pair of his own shoes away while serving other children in an orphanage there. We all brought yummy Mexican dishes to share that helped bring alive the pages of the book where the author describes tamales. Our family brought Spanish rice and  empanadas to share.

Words defined and pronounced in the book include:

• Peso
• Fútbol
• Tamale
• Muñeca
• Descubrimiento
• Escuela
• and more...

If You Were Me and Lived in South Korea is 26 pages long and describes life in this eastern country. My kids found this one the most interesting, since the words seemed so different to them. We have friends who enjoy eating and making kimchee, so that was a familiar word. Other words defined and pronounced included:

• Min Sok Chon
• Youngin-si
• Taekwando
• Agi Inhyeaong
• Seol-nal
• Hanbok
• Haggya

If You Were Me and Lived in France is 22 pages long and gives a glimpse of central Europe. After reading it we talked about how many European countries touched the Mediterranean Sea and made a Mediterranean styled fennel and onion savory tart for supper. Some of the words defined and pronounced included:

• Boulangerie
• Eiffel
• Gustave
• Poupée
• Bastille Day
• école

If You Were Me and Lived in Norway is 28 pages long and explores this colder arctic country. The stories of the snow hotel experience and the strange and hard to pronounce words really captured my children's attention. This book was the one where I really relied on the pronunciation key in the back. As is true with all of the books, the words are used in a English context, so you easily know what they are talking about.

Some of the words that were defined and pronounced in this book included:

• Oslo
• Din velkommen
• Kirkenes
• Vafler
• Krem
• Skiis
• Sytten Mai
• Skole

Bottom Line:
These books were fun and just right for my younger kids. They would be a perfect addition to any unit study, and are quite affordable in their Kindle editions. I look forward to seeing what other countries Carole P. Roman publishes next.

To read all of the reviews of these four books, and for purchasing information, be sure to visit the Crew Blog:



©2012-2013 Loving and Learning on the High Plains. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://www.homeschoolhighplains.blogspot.com

*Prices and links are accurate at the time this is published, and are subject to change

Review: EEME Project Genius Light Kit

Last summer we planned to do an electrical project for the county fair, but it never quite worked out. I looked over the projects available, and I really doubted I could teach this to my children. Then the opportunity to review a project from EEME, called the Project Genius Light Kit. . . who wouldn't want to complete a project that entitles you to be a Genius!?!?

Designed for ages 7-12, this electronic project kit pairs with a video curriculum, to "spark" your child's curiosity and critical thinking. This monthly subscription program sends you the parts you need and the information essential to using them to teach electronics. At $18.95 a month, it is cheaper than many educational kits out there, and comes with the video instructions to boot!

EEME's monthly hands-on project kits teach kids about electronics. Each project kit is paired with online curricula to not only teach kids how to assemble projects like lights, buzzers, and more, but to also teach them how the electronics works. -from the website.

When we received our kit in the mail, the kids could hardly wait. It was such a small box, but it had everything we needed: a breadboard, resistors, circuits, LEDs, battery. We borrowed my sister's lap-top so we could all gather around the dining table to do this project together. After a simple log in the the website, we began watching the 45 minutes of short videos (about 15 of them, averaging 3 minutes each) and questions. All of my kids, ages 6 to 12, participated!

The videos are well arranged so that as you go through the instructional videos, you also have learning videos explaining WHY this works. Between these are questions with multiple choice answers. These help you discuss with your kids and make sure they understand each part before proceeding. We used the "slideshow" type set up video breaks as a natural way for the kids to take turns doing the activities. When it was done, they had all tried some step of the process and were discussing it together. OK, maybe the bigger kids were directing the younger, but that's how we learn, right?

Each step explained a different component of the kit and how and why it works. The best part of EEME is that you can sign up for a free tour, and you can even watch the Project Genius Light Kit videos for free. You can see how it goes together and how well it is taught, before you buy. Obviously, to try it out, hands on, you will need the kit. I personally felt the hands on experience was completely worth the subscription fee. Be sure you sign up for the free preview, details at the end of this review.

I compared this to the project requirements for the kids to turn in an electrical project for our local 4-H fair, and I felt that this kit was a perfect way to help them understand the basic principles required for them to put together their own electrical project for the fair next year, and the know-how to explain it to the fair judge. I really can't wait for them to put this information into practice!

Bottom Line:
We really enjoyed the kit we received and felt that the 45 minute course and supplies were well worth the investment if you're looking to interest your kids in electricity. The videos were easy to follow and understand, and the information was well presented and re-enforced with questions.


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Sign up for FREE at http://eeme.co to preview EEME's video curricula. If you think EEME is the right fit for your family, email dad@eeme.co for the latest promotional offer towards their monthly subscription. Just let them know you came from my blog.

Here's a preview of the introduction:

Be sure to read all of the reviews of this program, over on the Crew blog, by clicking the link below:



©2012-2013 Loving and Learning on the High Plains. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://www.homeschoolhighplains.blogspot.com

*Prices and links are accurate at the time this is published, and are subject to change

Review: Bridgeway Academy, English 1 and 2 and Teacher Answer Key

Over the past 8 weeks we have been thoroughly reviewing Bridgeway Academy's English curriculum. We received:

• Book 1: Focus on Grammar $23.33
• Book 2: Focus on Writing $23.33
• and the accompanying Teacher Answer Key: $23.33

While these books are geared to grades 7th through 12th as a remedial course, we used them with our 5th and 6th grade students as a general English program and were very pleased. I made this decision based on the list of skills covered, knowing these were exactly where we were in our studies.

The books are divided up into units called PAKs. Each PAK covers specific objectives, over 3 Sections, and then finishes with an extensive self test. Each section is about 7-9 pages long including a 2-3 page review of that topic. The PAKs (units) are about 35 to 45 pages each, and there are 6 PAKs in each book. For our own school schedule, we found that 2 pages a day was a good pace to go through the book.

Book one, Focus on Grammar, covers:
Subject and Predicate
Four Types of Sentences
Sentence Fragments
Run-on Sentences
Compound Sentences
Noun Functions
Pronouns
Adjectives
Adverbs
Prepositions and Prepositional Phrases
Conjunctions
Interjections

Books two, Focus on Writing, covers:
Sentence Variety
Subject/Verb Agreement
Grammar and Mechanics
Writing Skills
Rules of Capitalization
Rules of Punctuation
Proofreading
Editing
Letter Writing
Business Writing
Study Skills
Critical Thinking and Reasoning
Fact vs. Fiction

How we used this:

After looking at samples of the pages (sorry, not available to link!) I knew that this was very similar to what Tyler and Emma had been studying in English/Language Arts up until now. I gave Tyler, 6th grade, the Focus on Writing, and I gave Emma, 5th grade, the Focus on Grammar.

Tyler and Emma jumped right in and had no trouble completing 2 pages a day. The first few pages in each section include a story or interesting narrative. After that, the book introduces the goal concepts for that unit, with examples, in a gray box generally covering half a page. They immediately have questions about what was just read, which can easily be answered by looking at the top of the page. I worried this would be too easy, but it really re-enforced the information. After this there is another gray box with more information, and more fill-in-the-blank-type questions following. The next two or more pages consist of practical application, for example, correcting run-on sentences.

At the end of the section was a self test / review where they would look back only when needed. They would then grade it with the answer key provided (while I watched) and then we would discuss the errors and fix them, giving a half score for the correction.

When they reached the end of the first PAK, we slowed it down to one page a day so they could do their best on the Unit Test, which is done closed book. I graded these myself and I was thrilled when Emma scored a 66 out of a possible 72, or 92%! About 80% is considered acceptable for mastery.

Tyler has had a real struggle with writing, as I've mentioned before. I knew he was worried about the title of the second book "Focus on Writing." It begins with basic mechanics of writing, like parts of speech, and identifying independent and dependent clauses. He was thrilled that a lot of the questions at that point were fill-in-the blank and underline the answer type questions.

As a side note, I've been researching the troubles with boys of his age and writing and had heard that with kids with dysgraphia do better if they do all of their writing in cursive. We hadn't pushed the cursive with him (aside from his actual handwriting curriculum) because of how much trouble he was already having. But we switched him to writing all of his work in this book using cursive, and have seen considerable improvement.

Back to the English. Both of my students are VERY different learners, but the mastery style appealed to both of them. This is amazing, as they can rarely use the same style of books. Tyler is a very auditory learner, so we did take a moment to discuss the gray box material before moving on. This helped him a lot. But aside from that, they really could do this work quite independent of me.

The self-instructed style worked very well for them, and the two page a day pace took us about 30-40 minutes a day to complete. We took our time, checked the work, and made sure we understood it before moving on. I could see their confidence build each day as they moved through it. The gray "teaching" sections were very well explained and gave good illustrations of the concepts. The questions, self tests, and unit reviews all brought the lesson home to them.


The non-consumable Teacher's Answer Key has a single page of usage instructions, explaining the philosophy and use of the curriculum. The rest of the key contains all of the pages of the workbooks, with the answers filled in. There aren't any further instructions in it, but the information is well covered in the workbook. For this reason, I only needed to refer to it when grading the self tests and unit reviews.

Bottom Line:
This is a very straightforward and well presented English Grammar curriculum. It methodically covers the concepts, and tests well before moving on. It isn't a replacement for the other Language Arts, such as spelling and literature. Even though it is marketed as remedial, I'd call it a lower level. It would be best suited for an advanced 5th-6th grader, or for a 7th or 8th grader who needs "caught up" on basic grammar. We really enjoyed using it, and found it well paced. At only $23.33 each, these consumable workbooks are a good value.

Be sure you read all the other reviews of this, and other Bridgeway products and classes over on the crew blog:



©2012-2013 Loving and Learning on the High Plains. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://www.homeschoolhighplains.blogspot.com

*Prices and links are accurate at the time this is published, and are subject to change

Review: God's World News, World and News Current (magazines)

We were more than excited to have the opportunity to review News Current (for grades 5-6), from God's World News. We had no idea we would be surprised with a copy of World news magazine(for adults) Magazine as well. You can subscribe to News Current for $28 a year, and that includes:

• 10 issues (monthly, but for Dec. and May) You can also get a "school year" subscription, $21 for 7 issues!
• 32 pages each
• Access to the kids' website: www.kids.wng.org
• Biographies, extras, quizzes, and lessons to print, as well as answer keys... all on the website!
• 20x30" map, sent out with the Sept. issue, so you can find each news story on it. There are a handy co-ordinates provided to do just that!
• Lessons on Civics, Geography, Politics, and even a little History!
• Vocabulary exercises in every issue, I'll share more about that in our "How We Used This"!
• Editorials and Graphics
• Postage included

How we used this:

When we received our magazines we immediately put the map on our school wall. It was a handy tool for understanding where these news stories took place. The kids got right into reading them, and I had to go looking for them when I wanted to read too. I found the articles to be right at the 5th-6th grade reading level. With some running a quarter page, and some spanning 4 pages, there was something for every attention span. The articles covered current events from a wonderfully Christian perspective. There were also human interest stories about individuals from the past and present.

My kids love to read the newspaper, so I knew if I set these out they would jump right it. They did look them over some, but didn't really get excited right away. I noticed the magazine had a secondary cover of advertisements, and I suspect it looked a bit more like advertising mail at first glance. So I removed the cover and let the magazines shine with their inviting cover photos, and then they were all the rage around here. There weren't any advertisements within the kids magazines themselves.

We used them a few different ways:

1. Excellent reading material: We receive lots of kids stuff in the mail, but most of it requires a bit of proofing from mom before it is kid material. This was a refreshing change, to know it was from a Christian viewpoint and geared for their ages. They really enjoyed reading these casually.

2. Geography: Because of the global nature of the magazines, we coupled it with our geography studies. After studying a country, I handed the kids the three issues we received and asked  them to find an article about that country. It really brought the 3rd dimension to an otherwise very 2 dimensional school subject. The map they sent also helped a LOT with this.

3. Vocabulary: One of the kids' first projects were to do the vocabulary quiz, Weeding Words, in the back of the magazine. Throughout the articles there were vocabulary words printed in blue type, so they would stand out. Twelve of those words are featured with multiple choice answers for their meanings. Finding them in the articles gave them context and helped the kids define them.

5. The kids also answered the quiz questions on the articles to see how much they learned or retained. We didn't get to do them all, but the answer keys are located on the website.

4. Online content: using our customer number we were able to log into the God's World News website and access more features such as: biographies or topical articles to read or print, often expanding on the topics in the issues. Answer keys to the quizzes and Weeding Words pages. We also enjoyed digital versions of the other age levels of the magazine. This was particularly helpful since the content is similar, but the reading level was different. I was able to pull up a younger "version" of an article that my 7 year old had seen in her sister's magazine.

5. Access to a Kids' website where kids can browse articles from the magazine and more, all well illustrated with graphics and photos, arranged under 6 tabs:

• MySci: all of the science articles
• Creation: all of the animal and earth articles
• Time Machine: all of the history or artifact articles
• People/Places: human interest pieces
• Know Me? : biography articles
• Fun Stuff: comics!

There are also Teen, Radio, and Video parts of that website, but each is a separate subscription. Since we were only subscribed to News Current, the kids page was our main area of exploration. You can see a sample of News Current here. 

It was an extra special blessing to receive World magazine as a bonus, which sells for $47.88 annually, or $23.88 for the digital edition subscription only. I have often read other (secular) bi-weekly news magazines, so this was a refreshing change. The articles were well done, relevant to the day, and from a Christian worldview. I loved it! I have received two issues now, since it is a bi-weekly magazine. Like other bi-weekly news magazines, it covers all the headlines of the day, and issues that are the top of everyone's list. It's not a flimsy magazine (or 26 issues a year) either! The one I received today weighed in at 72 pages. These issues covered topics like:

• Benghazi
• Terrorism
• Online Addictions
• Death Penalty
• Gov’t Shutdown
• Common Core
• Abortion
• Marriage Longevity
• Christian Persecution
• News, Quick Takes, and Quotables
• Reviews of Movies, Books, and Music
• Lifestyle, Sports, Technology, and Science
• Houses of Worship and Religion
• Editorials from: Joel Belz, Janie B. Cheaney, Mindy Belz, Andree Seu Peterson, and Marvin Olasky

The articles were well done, and the photos were the cream on top, not a distraction. While there were several full page advertisements in the World magazine, they weren't too many or too distracting. World also came with an online log-in for reading the web versions of the articles and more. There were also podcasts, videos, and extra features there. 

What I liked:

• Of course, the Christian perspective is the main reason I love these magazines
• Great photos and great journalism
• Relevant online content
• Maps and content from all over the world

What I didn't like:

• In the News Current magazines, the page numbers are quite low, considering this isn't even a fully monthly magazine (10 issues a year), I wished the issues were larger. 
• Also, the paper quality on the News Current Magazine was quite low, more like newsprint. I worried about the pages tearing easily. Neither of these issues were a problem with the World magazine, which was printed on standard glossy magazine paper.

Bottom Line:

I would wholeheartedly recommend the World magazine to any Christian family. I would also recommend the News Current magazine to homeschool families for a Christian global perspective. If I had to choose one OR the other, hands down the World magazine gives you more for your money. The online content is nice, but nothing quite replaces the benefit of real God-honoring news, right in your hands, and on your coffee table.

To read all the reviews of this magazine, as well as the other age level magazines offered, be sure to visit the crew blog by clicking the link below.

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