Review - Home Economics Curriculum

Home Economics Course Books

 

- The following is a Homeschool Review - 

All through my years of homeschooling my 5 children, I always wanted them to take a course in Home Economics. I tried a few different books that were available, but nothing that I wanted to stick with.  I recently came across a one-year program of study that is perfect for homeschooled students. 

I do have to say that while I did teach my children a great deal about Home Economics, from my own experience, as well as a three-year course of study I took as a teenager in school, I would have liked an overview program for them to complete as well.

This program was published by Landmark Freedom Baptist Curriculum. It is a 2-semester (one year) course of study. 

The course includes 4 paperback books:

1. Student Workbook, 226 pages.

2. Study Guide Answers, 34 pages.

3. Test and Quizzes.

4. Test and Quizzes Answer book.

A look inside the student workbook.

Details

- There are 5 lessons for each week. There is a brief daily assignment to complete (directly from the student workbook).  

- Quizzes are given at the end of each week. There is a total of 34 quizzes, to cover the term of an entire school year. 

- There are 4 quarterly tests, given at approximately every 2 months.  All instructions are clearly laid out in the student workbook so you will always know when it is the right time to assign a quiz or test.

A page from inside the quiz book. 

Lessons include some of the following:

Food and Nutrition, Grocery Shopping, Meal Planning, Cooking and Baking, Canning, First Aid, Child Care, Relationships, Basic Sewing, Cleaning, Budgeting, and more. 

Charming comic illustrations are inside the student workbook.

Specifics

The text is interesting and enjoyable to read.  There are adorable comic illustrations throughout the workbook. 

The entire course provides a practical study of Home Economics. It will help build a strong foundation of overall skill and experience in managing one's own home.

The lessons are designed for teenagers. As I was reading through the workbook, I thought that any middle to upper school student, at any skill level, could learn from this course. In other words, no prerequisite is necessary for either teacher or student. 

Throughout the entire year, the student is assigned the ongoing task of creating her own family cookbook. There are ideas, help, suggestions, and instructions for working on this project.

By the time the student has completed the course, she will have gained a great deal of knowledge. She will also have her very own cookbook!

For more information, please see the publisher's offering of this course:

"Home Economics – Landmark's Freedom Baptist Curriculum"

https://shop.landmarklfbc.com/products/home-economics

*Disclosure - I received this for review purposes.

Blessings

Mrs. White

From the Archives - 

It doesn't have to be Difficult - "Simplicity of Old Fashioned Homemaking."

It is how we make it -  The Cultured Society of Home.


- To find out more about this blog, or Mrs. White, please visit our About page. -

Mrs. White's special book for homemakers:

 "Introduction to Home Economics:  Gentle Instruction to Find Joy in Christian Homemaking."

 Paperback, 200 pages. 

Review - Adventures in Phonics Level A

The following is a homeschool review of "Adventures in Phonics - Level A ," published by Christian Liberty Press:

This is the beginning of the very foundation of learning Phonics.  The suggested grade level for this is Kindergarten, so the student would be around 5 or 6 years old.

There are 216 pages in this softcover student workbook.

The pages are generally black and white, with a bit of blue as well. I love that it is plain and simple.  From my experience homeschooling all of my 5 children, and now helping to homeschool grandchildren, workbooks in full color are far too distracting for a student to really focus and learn from. So this workbook is excellent in presentation.  

The student will study all of the consonants.  They will learn plurals, compound words, long and short vowels, and all the necessary phonics rules needed to be a good reader. 

Throughout the book, there are simple drawings (or illustrations) to go along with words in the lesson.  The student then has one or two activities to accomplish, such as writing the missing letters, printing practice, tracing, writing out words, and circling.  The instructions are brief and clear.  

There is a separate, softcover teacher's manual consisting of 107 pages.

This includes a completed picture of each lesson from the student book. There are also brief instructions for each lesson, including a description of when and how to use flashcards (available separately.)

This set is the 3rd edition, with a copyright of 2013.  I used an earlier edition with my homeschool students in the early 1990's.  I am not sure if there is any difference from the edition I used, but it looks very similar. I used this with all of my five children and loved it! 

Other Resources:

"Adventures in Phonics" Flashcards and Charts

This includes a set of white flashcards.  The front of each card contains a letter or sound, such as "A" as part of the alphabet, or "wh" as a sound.  A brief prompt and word example is on the back of each card to help the teacher.  

The charts (8 x 10 on cardstock) share all the rules with a list of words to go with each lesson.  The charts are 12 pages long and are an excellent resource for teaching solid reading skills.

"Adventures in Phonics: Phonics Sounds and Teaching Tips"

This is a CD with a running time of about 25 minutes.

It is designed to help the teacher, or parent, teach a student the phonics sounds.  You will hear all of the letter sounds, as well as teaching tips.  This would be great for those who are teaching reading for the first time.   It is narrated by Mrs. Lindstrom who has a very clear and pleasant voice.  It is a very good resource and will help you feel as if you are not teaching reading alone! 

* Disclosure - I received these items for review purposes.*

 - To find out more about this blog, or Mrs. White, please visit our About page. -

Every home can be a homeschool!

Find confidence and courage in teaching your own children at home with Mrs. White's book,

Seeking a Thrifty and Simple Life.

112 pages, paperback.

Review - Kindergarten Phonics Readers

The following is a homeschool review of "Kindergarten Phonics Readers," published by Christian Liberty Press:

This is a set of four books. I have used these with all of my children and love them.

These are paperback, small booklets. 

They are designed for Kindergarten students who have already learned the sounds and sights of all the alphabet.  They work very well along with the "Adventures in Phonics Level A" program by Christian Liberty Press (my review for this is coming soon.)   

I have worn out sets of these books and have replaced them twice. I am now on my third set.  This was for my five homeschooled children, who are now all grown up. I am currently using a set of these books with one of my grandchildren.


How I used them:


I would work on the first lesson from the first book, a few words at a time. This helped the child understand the concept of sounding out words.  The pictures go perfectly with the lesson.  To begin with, it took us several days to complete the first page.   

The first lesson had words such as:

"can"
"ran"
"Jan"

Then there would be a very short sentence.  The student gained confidence in the very first day and was always eager to continue the lessons.

We would not go on to the next lesson until the child knew every word in the first one. It would take me months to complete book one.  This laid a firm and strong foundation for reading.  The next three books went much more quickly, but we always re-did each lesson over and over again until the child could read very well.

At the end of each school day, I always had the child read for Daddy when he came home from work. My student was so excited to share how well she was progressing in her work.  Dad would also be impressed.  We often showed him, at least once a week, what we were learning in our homeschool. 

The last book in the set contained full paragraphs and short stories. By the time my children completed all four books, they were excellent readers.

My 3 different copies of Book Four in the set of Readers

In the photograph above, on the left, you will see the original copy of book 4. This was published in 1992.   Since I still have it, that will just help show you how valuable I think the book is!

The other two copies of the book, from the picture above, are the updated versions.  One is copyright in the year of 1998, with a "printing" date of 2000.  The newest one has the same copyright of 1998, but with a "printing" date of 2017.

The back cover of the original Book 4 in the set of Readers

The back cover of the updated version of Book 4 in the set of Readers

What is the difference between the original and updated versions?


The stories are mostly the same, with perhaps a few different words.  The new ones have full color pictures to go with each lesson. Both sets of books still work wonderfully. But I personally prefer the plain, original set with the simple drawings. 



Overall, these are Bible - based and a joy to read.  One of the chapters in book four is "The Best Book" about "Sam" who gets the Bible and reads it with his sister.

These books are excellent. All you have to do is sit with your student as if it is story time.  It takes a few minutes each day to teach them to read with these books.  It will help tremendously if you know the phonics rules from the curriculum "Adventures in Phonics Level A" so you can reinforce these rules of reading while you go through the lessons.


Note: I received these for review purposes. - You can find this set of books at the Christian Liberty Press site. 

Mrs. White's Encouraging book for homeschoolers:

Every home can be a homeschool!

Find confidence and courage in teaching your own children at home with Mrs. White's book,

Seeking a Thrifty and Simple Life.

112 pages, paperback.

 - To find out more about this blog, or Mrs. White, please visit our About page. -

Review - The World God Made

The following is a homeschool review of "The World God Made," published by Christian Liberty Press:

Book: Softcover, 92 pages.

Grade Level:  Kindergarten


I have had such a wonderful time going through this book with my grandchild.  The pictures are bright and the text is large.  There are Bible verses throughout (NKJV).

The Author and Editor of this book did an outstanding job in choosing their text.  The words are clear, simple, easy to understand, and make it so easy to teach a small child.

Inside you will find seven sections of lessons.  These sections include the seven days of creation:

1. The Heavens and the Earth.

2. The Sky.

3. The Dry Land, Seas, and Plants.

4. The Sun, Moon, and Stars.

5.  The Fish and Birds.

6.  The Land Animals and Man.

7.  God Rested.

There are bright photographs throughout, along with illustrations for the student to color.  There are short questions and activities at the end of each section.

The lessons can be done at a pace of a page a day, (which is what I have been doing), or a couple of pages, depending on your student. 

In addition to this workbook, there is a Teacher's Manual.   It is 21 pages, stapled together and is a simple guide.  It contains answers to all the activities, a brief lesson plan, and very short instructions for each page in the workbook.  



* Disclosure - I received this item for review purposes.*

 - To find out more about this blog, or Mrs. White, please visit our About page. -

Every home can be a homeschool!

Find confidence and courage in teaching your own children at home with Mrs. White's book,

Seeking a Thrifty and Simple Life.

112 pages, paperback.

Review - Hearts and Hands

The following is a homeschool review of "Hearts and Hands," published by Christian Liberty Press:

 

 

 

 

This is a really fun book for Kindergarten age children.  It is called, "Hearts and Hands:  Beginner's Drill in Letters, Numbers, Phonics, and Math."  There are a total of 124 pages. It is a softcover workbook.

The pages contain the perfect combination of colored illustrations and basic text.  It does not overwhelm or overstimulate the child.  I have noticed that when there is too much excitement in a school book, the student is overly entertained and finds it harder to study or learn. They get more interested in the pictures or a story and have trouble focusing on the actual lesson.  That is not a concern with this book.

Each page is called "drill sheets." You can do these alone or combined with the rest of the Christian Liberty Kindergarten curriculum.  There is a suggestion at the top of each page for doing the drill page after a Math or phonics page.  For example:

On page 25, there is a note in small print at the top of the page of "Hearts and Hands" which says, "Complete after page 62 in Math and Phonics."  I looked up "Liberty Mathematics Level K" and "Adventures in Phonics Level A - third edition" and found on page 62 of each one that they work perfectly with the drill page on 25 of "Hearts and Hands."  I have to say, I am impressed with the seamlessness of the entire curriculum when used all together.

This workbook contains a variety of lessons, including manuscript writing, filling in a missing letter for phonics and reading purposes, numbers, simple addition and subtraction, learning phonics rules, and more.  It is a complete book that works very well for drills. It is an excellent resource which will help students attain a good solid education in this grade level.

I have been using this with my grandson and he enjoys it very much.



I also want to mention that when I first starting homeschooling my children in the early 1990's, I used the original Hearts and Hands workbook, which is a little different than the one mentioned above.  All my children used the original and loved it very much. It is no longer in print.


* Disclosure - I received this item for review purposes.*

 - To find out more about this blog, or Mrs. White, please visit our About page. -

Every home can be a homeschool!

Find confidence and courage in teaching your own children at home with Mrs. White's book,

Seeking a Thrifty and Simple Life.

112 pages, paperback.

Review - Celebrating Art

The following is a homeschool review of "Celebrating Art," published by Christian Liberty Press:

Book:  Softcover, 103 pages

Grade Level: Kindergarten

I have used this book with my children when they were very young.  The book was originally published in 1994. 

Inside you will find:

1. Table of Contents, listing all 36 lessons.

2.  Introduction.  This is inspiring and also shares some helpful information.

3.  There are 22 patterns at the end of the book which are used along with many of the lessons.

4.  There are 5 very short stories in the midst of all the lessons.  Personally, I do not like three of them.  I would just skip over them.  The two I do like are: "The Little Engine that Could," and "The Hare and the Tortoise," (which includes an adorable drawing that is inspiring and charming).

Some of my favorites:

1. Drawing Faces.  (Page 20)
These are very cartoonish and would be fun.  The faces include "happy," "goofy," "angry," and more. 

2. Lunch Bag Puppets. (Page 35)

3.  Tic - Tac - Toe Felt Game. (Page 42)

4. Drawing Bunnies.  (Page 53)

5. Paper Birdhouse. (Page56)

Each lesson includes a purpose, list of materials, instructions, final thoughts, and a star rating for level of intensity.


This book provides enough fun lessons for craft time, perhaps on a once a week basis.  A parent's help is necessary. 



* Disclosure - I received this item for review purposes.*

 - To find out more about this blog, or Mrs. White, please visit our About page. -

Every home can be a homeschool!

Find confidence and courage in teaching your own children at home with Mrs. White's book,

Seeking a Thrifty and Simple Life.

112 pages, paperback.

Review - In the Beginning Handwriting Level K

The following is a homeschool review of "In the Beginning Handwriting- Level K," published by Christian Liberty Press:

I have used this same book for all five of my children, who are now graduated, and are adults.  It is a classic that works wonderfully.

The first few pages include a complete Alphabet chart, showing both upper and lower case letters with small arrows to show how to draw each one.  The student can look back to this page often as he works through the book.

There are a total of 60 pages.

The student begins by doing a few pages of following instructions.  This is important.  If the child can follow directions, he will be a good student.

Next, the student has to recognize items that are the same and those that are different.  He will also find missing items in simple black and white illustrations.  These skills will help him find specific letters inside words, and also differentiate between similar letters such as "b" and "d." 

The student does some tracing of lines and then of letters.  There is a page for each letter of the alphabet. 

The student might want to take a few days on each page. There is no rush in learning.  Taking the time to do each page slowly and carefully should produce excellent results.

By the end of the book, the student will write numbers, and then simple sentences.

Overall, it is an excellent workbook for students from a trusted Christian publisher.

This book can be found at the Christian Liberty Press site.



* Disclosure - I received this item for review purposes.*

 - To find out more about this blog, or Mrs. White, please visit our About page. -

Every home can be a homeschool!

Find confidence and courage in teaching your own children at home with Mrs. White's book,

Seeking a Thrifty and Simple Life.

112 pages, paperback.

 

 

Review - Liberty Mathematics Level K

The following is a homeschool review of "Liberty Mathematics Level K," published by Christian Liberty Press:

I started working with my grandson this semester.  He loves this math book.  There are 233 pages.  The index shows exactly what is covered here.  Students will learn their numbers, how to add, subtract, and how to write their letters. They will learn how to measure, how to tell time, and much more.

My student used a pencil for the very first time while using this book. I taught him how to hold it, how to write with it, and how to use the eraser. He was amazed and feels that "school time" is very important, especially because we only use the pencil at this time!

How much time does it take?

The first few days we worked on page one.  I wanted him to get familiar with holding a pencil and how to write the number presented.   After he started to understand the process of using workbooks for school (not just doing what one likes with coloring books, etc.) he was able to do an entire page in one sitting.

It can take anywhere from a few minutes (depending on how the student is doing. to avoid frustrating him), to 15 minutes.  Again, this depends on the student and how much he is willing to do.

 I would suggest doing only one page per day. The purpose is not to rush through the entire book, but to learn  (day-by-day) and develop the skills of following directions, practicing the lessons and remembering what one learns.

What age should the student be?

This depends on the student. It may work well for a 4 year old, but most students start at the age of 5.

What I like best about this Math book?

There are no color pictures!  I find that full color workbooks distract the student from their lesson.  Liberty Mathematics has small illustrations in black, gray, white, and a simple green color that works very well.   I find the book has just the right amount of illustrations, and written work, so the student can focus on learning.

What about the Teacher's Edition?

The teacher's manual is 17 pages. It includes a section on setting goals so you can visualize what to expect from the lessons.   There are 15 units presented with ideas on how to best use the student book.

 Each unit has a list of objectives, suggested drills and suggested games. I love that the manual is very brief and to the point.  It is also very affordable!

Are there other resources?

Liberty Mathematics level K Flashcards work very well with the student book.  I love flashcards because they are a great tool for doing drills. Students are quickly able to memorize math sums which makes doing their lessons much easier. 

Once the student learns all his numbers (after the first unit) I would suggest doing the flashcards each day before starting the day's math lesson. It is a great warm up to help sharpen his mind. He does not need to do all the flashcards at a time, but a sampling of them to start would work well.



* Disclosure - I received these items for review purposes.*

 - To find out more about this blog, or Mrs. White, please visit our About page. -

Every home can be a homeschool!

Find confidence and courage in teaching your own children at home with Mrs. White's book,

Seeking a Thrifty and Simple Life.

112 pages, paperback.