TOS Crew Review: Marshall Publishing & Publications, Inc

Vendor Name: Marshall Publishing

Vendor Contact: An email link is found at the top of the website.

Name of Product: LOTS and LOTS of FIRE TRUCKS and FIREFIGHTERS BOOK and SAFETY SONGS DVD SET

Price: regularly: $49.95 Sale priced at: $29.95 for my readers you can enter the code: TOSF1 and get both for $19.95!

Age Range: All Ages

Other Products Available: George Washington Carver DVD, Educational Historical Documentary DVDs, Penguin DVDS, and more.

If you’re like me, you have to cover fire safety sometime in your homeschool years, and you may be trying to figure out how to get that in without having to visit a fire house but still keep it fun and keep your children’s attention. Look no further than the Lots and Lots of Fire Trucks and Firefighters book and DVD bundle!

The DVD has two segments, a classroom section which is suitable if you’re short on time or for teachers and other personnel who need a short 12 minute segment on fire safety. The second one is where you can select all or any individual segments to watch at your leisure, this gives 30 minutes of viewing time. You’ll find the following segments:

Lots and Lots of Fire Trucks
Call 911
Fireman Jim’s Safety Tips
Stop, Drop and Roll
Your Home Safety Plan
It’s An Emergency
Heroes Brave and Tall
Great Big Fire Trucks
Fire Trucks in Action

While I found some of the songs to be a bit young for my 9 year old, 4th grader (parents with 4th grades and up were asked to review this) they were right on target for my 7 year old, 2nd grader and my K/1st grade son. My son really thought it was great fun to watch this and he had empathy for the people who would eventually lose their home or business due to fire. I thought it was great to show children that you don’t need money for a pay phone, as most children overlook pay phones in public (it’s becoming harder to find one) but those who don’t have access to cell phones could find this information life saving.

The book that accompanies the DVD is probably my favorite of the bundle, although I do like that the DVD is educational and there is no objectionable content in it. With 124 full color, glossy pages children can read through or be read to about a firefighter’s gear, equipment, different trucks, fire science basics such as what type of extinguisher to use on what type of fire, greatest fires in history, fire house museums and more (including recipes).

The book was published in 2008 and most of the statistical information listed is from 2006 – given this there is probably now more up to date information available but without reprinting the whole book it still gives a great idea of information as it relates to fire safety. If you wanted more up to date reports it could be easily obtained, and I don’t think this detracts from the book or it’s educational value. My husband’s only complaint about the book was regarding the Old Time Fire Fighter’s Alphabet and that is because for the letter X it says “stands for Xmas, and pray do not forget they are happy as children, with the presents they get.” His opinion was it just didn’t fit but then again this is a dated alphabet and is not modern even though it’s re-printed in a modern book.

I really like that this can effectively cover fire safety for our year and I’ll be continuing in the use of this, especially the DVD as we need refreshing on the aspects of fire safety. All the lyrics to the music are located in the back of the book so if you want to sing along or teach the children the lyrics without music it’ll be easy to do so.

I was also sent a copy of the George Washington Carver DVD and that can be purchased during the web sale for $19.95.

**To read more reviews about Marshall Publishing & Publications, Inc visit the TOS Crew Homeschool Blog.

**This is a TOS Crew Review. I was provided a copy of this book and DVD from Marshall Publishing and Publications in exchange for my honest review, no other compensation was given.

TOS Crew Review: Apologia – "Educating the WholeHearted Child" by Clay Clarkson w/Sally Clarkson

 

Vendor Name: Apologia

Vendor Contact: Apologia Contact Page

Name of Product: Educating the WholeHearted Child

Price: $22.00

Age Range: moms and dads, those who need help and inspiration for homeschooling

Other Products Available: How to Have H.E.A.R.T for your Kids, Elementary Science series, Junior High and High School science, Apologia Academy, and more

• Have you started your homeschooling journey but just aren’t sure where to begin?
• Have questions but don’t know where to turn?
• Are you a seasoned homeschooler who needs some inspiration to keep going on those days that you don’t want to keep going?
• Are you a parent who has heard about crazy homeschoolers but then again think we may be on to something?

Well then have I got the book for you!  This book will give you practically all the education you’ll need in educating your child or children yourself and doing it whole-heartedly  (yes, I know it’s not technically a word).  This isn’t a book you’ll read once and shelf it – you’ll keep coming back for it as a continual resource probably until you’ve highlighted it all or the pages are falling out.

This is the third edition and it has over 100 pages of all new, never before seen material and a good proportion of the book from the old version has been rewritten to give it a new lease on life.  The book covers the following areas: home, learning, methods, living, postscript and resources.  376 pages of encouragement for moms and dads who are choosing to bring their children up and teach them in the Lord. It isn’t all about education or the 3 R’s but it’s about gaining your children’s hearts and giving them a Christian education that centers on Christ, discipleship, and then planning the education around that.

The books subtitle is: Discipleship, Whole Books, and Real Life!  WholeHearted Christian Home Education for Ages 4-14, it’s quite a mouth full but sums up the book in a few words.  You’ll see the breakdown of schools such as public, private, independent and homeschooling and what each entails.  The one that isn’t mentioned and is gaining ground is the online virtual schools which could fall into the public or the independent genre of school but by definition not parent directed homeschooling.  Different curricula, approaches, child-centered, home-centered methods are all outlined in detail.

I wish I had more space and infinite time to go about this wonderful book, but there is so much to it that it would take me days of writing to tell you the wonderful things about this book.  If you buy only one book for homeschooling, I could not recommend this book alone enough.  My only disagreement with it is the encouragement to get involved in a support group.  I know they serve a purpose and some families thrive in them, however after being in a group or groups for 3+ years I no longer feel they are a necessity to our homeschooling life.  This is my personal opinion though but we have gotten so much work done and have had more fun in these few months than we did in the last three years without a group!  I do understand though what the author is saying though in regards to support groups and there is a time and place for them.

While I love the whole book, I think my most favorite part is the resource section.  The resources are as follows:

• Books for the WholeHearted Family (divided into genres/time periods,etc)
• Books for WholeHearted Learning (divided into subject like Young Men and Women or Devotions and Discipleship)
• Forms for WholeHearted Learning (learning agenda, reading records, book reports, Godly character charts, devotional planner, calendars and more)

I cannot stress enough how much I think this book needs to be on every homeschooling families shelf.  This book is a go-to resource for everything from beginning homeschooling, to figuring out what learning style your child is so you can better train and educate them, to everything in between and then some.  The book is an encouragement and may even be a balm to someone’s heart and soul as they renew their homeschooling endeavors after a rough patch.  The best thing though isn’t the forms or the methodologies but it’s the fact that the authors keep Christ at the center and remind the reader time after time that Christ and our children’s souls are what truly matters in homeschooling.

**If you’d like to read more reviews by homeschoolers about this book please visit The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew blog.

**This is a TOS Crew review.  I was provided a copy of this book from Apologia in exchange for my honest review, no other compensation was given.

 

 

 

TOS Crew Review: "Read for the Heart: Whole Books for Wholehearted Families" by Sarah Clarkson

Vendor Name: Apologia

Vendor Contact Information: Apologia Contact page

Name of Product: Read for the Heart: Whole Books For Wholehearted Families by Sarah Clarkson

Price of Product: $17.00

I love, love books and I love to read so when I got the chance to review Read for the Heart I jumped on it because I want to pass along my love of reading and books to my children.  No where can you step into a secret, locked garden or enter a plantation house better than opening a book and leaping into a new world.  It’s becoming harder and harder to find good books, great books, literature in this world as more and more children want the twaddle that so pervades book store shelves today.

My 9 year old enjoys reading and my 6 year old is beginning to enjoy it and my 4 year old loves me to read to him.  As you can see I’ve got readers and pre-readers who enjoy reading and being read to, even my older children enjoy being read to.  It’s been proven that even children who are teens can benefit from being read to.  I know it’s cliche but books truly do open up new worlds and with the right book with the right characters, plot and outcome you and your child can be transported to places you never knew or may never physically experience.

Read for the Heart covers many different areas in the literary world.  Beware!  If you like twaddle and want your children reading it then this book isn’t for you – this book has true literary value in that the books mentioned are on solid foundations with upright intentions.

• Reading to Live
• Reading Lost: The State of Literacy in America
• Life by Book: How to Begin
• A Roadmap to Using this Book
• Picture Books
• The Golden Age Classics
• Children’s Fiction
• Fairy Tales and Fantasy
• History and Biography
• Spiritual Reading for Children
• Poetry
• Music, Art, and Nature
• Epilogue, Six Appendices, Endnotes, Index of Authors and Illustrators, Index of Titles

Reading of Sarah’s experiences with books and reading is very near and dear to me.  Not because I know her, but because I’m like her (and not just in name) I would read and still do at every chance.  I’d hide books in my school texts, and not books my peers were reading but things like Les Miserables, Gone With the Wind, and War and Peace.  When I read about how less than half the adult’s read literature or that less than one third of 13-year olds are daily readers, my heart aches.  How can one not read and at that, not read true literature – I had to struggle to learn to read and after many tutors I found a love of reading in 3rd grade – this means my children were younger than me when they began or begin reading!

Don’t get me wrong there is a time for twaddle and time for literature.  What will the world be like without The Secret Garden, G.A. Henty, Beatrix Potter and more?  I was excited that as I read Read for the Heart I more often than not had read or heard of the books and authors mentioned and even own these precious gems.  I’m saddened that my local library is getting rid of most of the classic literature because of political correctness.  This book will be going with me to the next used library book sale so that I can find quality literature for my children.

If you enjoy books and want to know what books are great for girls, great for boys or what works for a 9 year reading on a middle school level then grab a copy of Read for the Heart and delve into getting some great picks for your children.  Sarah’s love of reading the classics and of books and stories in general shines through in her book and may just inspire you to turn that extra bedroom, closet or hallway into a library fit for the King!

If you’d like to read more of what other homeschooling parents thought of Read for the Heart visit the TOS Review Crew Blog.

**This is a TOS Crew Review.  I was provided a copy of Read for the Heart from Apologia Press in exchange for my honest opinion, no other compensation was given.

TOS Crew Review: Eagle's Wings "Considering God's Creation"

Vendor Name: Eagle’s Wings Educational

Vendor Contact Information: Eagle’s Wings Contact Page

Name of Product: Considering God’s Creation

Price of Product: Teacher’s Manual, student workbook and audio CD $29,95

Having used Eagle’s Wings Educational materials before I was aware of them and the quality of their products when I requested and was chosen to review Considering God’s Creation as part of the TOS Crew.  Whether you are looking for a supplemental resource to your current science program or want something that will be a core science curriculum for all ages/grades, then look no further than Considering God’s Creation.

Betty Smith, co-author, has two pages in the teacher’s manual about how to use this for multi-level teaching so if you’re unsure of how to teach multiple ages or grades then this will help.  The question and answer page will answer some of the questions you may have such as “May I photocopy the pages?” (more on this one later) or “I already have a science curriculum.  Can I use this program with it?”  The span that this teaches is amazing and I know for fact that this does work well as a supplement and as a stand alone.

In Considering God’s Creation you will study the following aspects of God’s Creation:

• Creation
• The Universe: Stars, Sun and Planets
• The Earth
• Non-Living Things: Rocks and Minerals
• Weather
• The Plant Kingdom
• The Animal Kingdom
• Animal Anatomy and Physiology
• Man: Made in God’s Image
• Miscellaneous (scientists, reviews, additional resource suggestions, answer keys, bibliography)

The teacher’s manual has everything laid out for the parent in order to get the most from the lessons and you can decide how to teach the material.  Do you want to read the lesson aloud, have your reading students read it or simply use it as a discussion?  Each day’s lesson has the preparation needed, vocabulary, introduction, song/poem, Bible reading, notebooking, evolution stumpers, review questions and a digging deeper.  Honestly I can see each lesson being worked on over the course of the week especially if you do everything suggested, have multiple ages or are using this as a supplement.  If you do one lesson a week this will give you a 36 week science curriculum but if you do a lesson a day (which I don’t think you’ll get what you’ll need out of this great curriculum) you’ll only get about 7 1/2 weeks out of it.

The student’s workbook is over 200 pages and in this you’ll find lots of activities including cutting and pasting what will be like a full page notebooking assignment, crossword puzzle reviews, all the lyrics for the songs/poems and a glossary of all the vocabulary words the children will be learning.  Remember I mentioned the copying question above?  Well here is the nice part if you have more than one child you can copy the student workbook for your family’s use.  However, please keep in mind this is a fellow homeschooling mom and pop business so please if you can support them by purchasing extra workbooks from Eagle’s Wings.  Extra workbooks are $13.95 and if you need another CD those can be purchased by $3.00.

Once your children finish this curriculum (if you’re using it as a stand alone) they will have a wonderfully completed student notebook (each student will need his or her own 3 ring binder or something similar to put their work in.  If you’re using it as a supplement then they’ll have some great pages to add in on their other science curriculum.  Don’t feel you have to do everything listed, pick what meets you and your child’s needs and do it, that’s the great thing about Eagle’s Wings Considering God’s Creation it’s meant to make your job as parent/teacher easy, not overwhelming or complicated.

If you’d like to know what other homeschooling parents thought about Considering God’s Creation visit the TOS Crew Blog.

**This is a TOS Crew Review.  I received the Considering God’s Creation set from Eagle’s Wings in exchange for my honest opinion, no other compensation was given.

TOS Crew Review: Pearson Education enVision Math 1st Grade

Vendor Name: Pearson enVision Math

Vendor Contact Information: Pearson Contact Page

Name of Product: enVision Math Grade 1

Price of Product: $34.47 w/digital access (I received only the book)

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I requested and received the enVision Grade 1 from Pearson since they gear themselves towards public schools – and, well, I’m not a public school.  I also wasn’t sure of how to proceed since some of the pages required digital access which I didn’t receive in conjunction with this review, however, like most homeschoolers I improvised.  If you purchase this book you will get 1 year of digital access so you’ll be able to access the components I wasn’t able too, making this more of a fully operational workbook.

The book reminded me of something I used in school, the teacher would tear out the worksheet and give it to the student to take home and complete with their parents.  Since I didn’t have a teacher’s guide, not that I really need a teacher’s guide for 1st grade math, I used this workbook to give my 6 year old daughter a bit more practice on math areas that she struggles in.  I would give her the worksheet, fold it in half, and she completed most of the work on her own.

After the sheet is torn out and folded it creates 4 worksheets along with some instructions so that the parents can engage and help the student in their understanding of the math concept.  While I think it’s intent is to be completed over a period of a week my daughter easily completed the entire sheet in one day on top of her other math work.  Using what Pearson calls the Visual Learning Bridge students learn and deepen their understanding through sequential verbal and visual connections to the subject at hand.

My daughter begged to do these and I used them as a reward, not in place of, her regular math.  I can see this being a year’s worth of curriculum or even used as I use it as a supplemental and improvising on how to implement the workbook to your curriculum or tastes.  I think too, since it was extremely colorful compared to her black and white math worksheets these provided something fun and visual which helps her in learning her math facts.  Overall, while I wasn’t thrilled at first this workbook and seeing my daughter enjoy it and math while doing it changed my mind.  I think I would have been even more impressed had I been able to access the digital part of the book.

If you’d like to see what other homeschooling parents thought of Pearson products visit the TOS Crew Blog.

**This is a TOS Crew Review.  I was provided a copy of the enVision Math Grade 1 workbook from Pearson in exchange for my honest opinion, no other compensation was given.

TOS Crew Review: Mad Dog Math

Vendor Name: Mad Dog Math

Vendor Contact Information: Mad Dog Math Contact Us Page

Name of Product: Mad Dog Math

Price of Product: two year license $19.99 to $29.99 or a perpetual license $39.99

Do you have a child who is frustrated by math?  Enjoys math but still finds it challenging?  Well then enter Mad Dog Math!  This was originally a paper and pencil worksheet drill has now become a digital updated product suitable for grades K-5.  This is a program to be used as a supplement to your current math curriculum and can make learning addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts easier.

Your child starts out on their level and progresses through a ‘worksheet’ at a time limit (2 minutes) and if they pass they move on, if not they re-do that same sheet.  There are 3 levels and a Challenge level and each level is geared towards finishing it in one school year by spending with it being recommended the child spends 10-15 minutes a day doing the program.  Each level is as follows:

• Level 1 – addition and subtraction begins with the 0-3 facts and ends with the 12-18 facts.
• Level 2 – addition and subtraction providing lots of review from 0-6 up to the 18 facts.
• Level 3 – multiplication and division beginning with the 2 facts and building up to the 12 facts.
• Challenge – has problems from each area of work addition, multiplication, division and subtraction

With so much review built in your child has no choice but to learn and retain the information.  Starting out with a two minute timed sheet the child answers the questions if they do so they’ll earn a ‘sticker’ for the 2-minute club.  After they do that they’ll then try to do the same drill in 1-minute earning themselves a 1-minute club sticker.  After that is the 30 second club – if the child earns this award they’ll move on.  My children seemed to enjoy working toward earning these stickers.

This program is available for Windows users only and will keep records of multiple children in one family.  Since the children can view their progress and see where they are on their levels this is a wonderful way to teach independent working skills as well.  You can try the first fact family of each level for free by visiting Mad Dog Math.

If you’d like to see what other homeschooling parents think about Mad Dog Math visit the TOS Crew Blog.

**This is a TOS Crew Review.  I was provided a limited time full license of Mad Dog Math for the purpose of giving my honest opinion, no other compensation was given.

TOS Crew Review: Bright Ideas Press, WonderMaps

Vendor Name: Bright Ideas Press

Vendor Contact Information: BIP’s contact page

Name of Product: WonderMaps

Price of Product: $49.95

Map work is usually boring and just well…..not fun but with the brand new product from Bright Ideas Press map work becomes fun!  If you’ve been looking for an easy way to do map work and teach geography then check out WonderMaps from Bright Ideas Press.  Would you believe that there are over 350 customizable maps on this program?  It’s true, over 350 maps that you can customize to fit your unit study or curriculum and it’s great for all grades and at one price!

If you are using the Mystery of History Vols. I-III and All American History Vols. I & II then this will be a great addition to your studies with all the needed maps included – this maps copying the book obsolete.  Also you’ll get:

• modern and historical maps
• reference, outline, political, and topographical
• black and white or color
• graticules, names, borders, rivers, cities, physical features

I enjoyed being able to choose which layers we need and didn’t need.  With having a pre-schooler, 1st grader, and 3rd grader I didn’t need as much details as a parent who has older children – but for me the more detail was interesting and very educational.

It is easy to begin using the program simply download or insert your disk in the drive (depending on what you ordered) and go.  The teacher’s guide has some fun activities to go through the 5 themes of geography; location, place, relationships within places, movement, and regions.  For an example the activity for movement is license plate bingo or for location go on a treasure hunt.  There are also 50 Bright Ideas for Using Outline Maps, history and geography projects like taffy pulling and timelines, Joseph’s Journey, Maps Galore 16 projects, salt dough map directions, as well as MP3’s and tutorials.

If you’re wondering what exactly the break down is for the included maps it looks like this:

• 60+ maps of the world
• 60+maps of the USA
• 125 historical maps, including 25 biblical maps
• The complete map sets from The Mystery of History Vols. I-III and All American History Vols. I & II

Even though I am using MOH and think that BIP is an excellent curriculum resource I would still say that this is the best map product I have ever seen.  If I had had this in school geography wouldn’t have been so dry and boring!  Some may balk at the price but if you have several children and will be using this time and again, and I assure you you will, the product will pay for itself in the end.

If you’d like to read to what other homeschooling parents though about WonderMaps head over to the TOS Crew Homeschool Blog.

**This is a TOS Crew review.  I was provided a copy of WonderMaps in exchange for my honest opinion, no other compensation was given.

 

TOS Crew Review: GoTrybe

Vendor Name:  GoTrybe 

Vendor Contact Information: GoTrybe Contact Page

Name of Product:  GoTrybe

Price of Product:  $19.95 for a full year membership; free trial available by typing in GETFIT

If you have children then you’re probably aware of the epidemic of obesity among children today in America.  Even if your children aren’t overweight all children need to exercise (at least 30 minutes a day) and to eat right because the effects of obesity can be detrimental.  Heart disease, sleep apenea, diabetes and other conditions are affecting children younger and younger that before only affected the adults and elderly!  If you’re looking for something to get your children moving and have fun then look no further than GoTrybe!

There are many options available when you sign up for GoTrybe such as different levels based on grades/ages:

• ZooDoos, elementary ages; K-5th grade
• Trybe180, middle school ages; 6th-8th grade
• NexTrybe, high school ages; 9th-12th grade

With these different levels your children will get a workout, nutrition information, and tips for healthy living that is based on their level, since you wouldn’t want a 6 year old doing the same workout as a 12th grader or even a parent who may be using NexTrybe.  For every workout your child does they’ll earn points which can then be used to purchase items for their avatar’s on GoTrybe.  This provides some motivation for staying with the program and continuing on even when the workouts may get tiring or boring.

My oldest was the one who used this – however we didn’t get to use it as much as I would have liked with some medical issues creeping up and with the nice weather they wanted to be outside.  My 9 year old did like it and my 6 year old also thought it was neat to make her own avatar!  The avatar’s for older girls seem to be rather sensual so I requested that my girls use the younger girl that appears to be age appropriate and the women in the videos like most workout videos, are dressed in tight clothing that is seen as being the only option for work out clothing.  Overall though with adult supervision and guidance, GoTrybe is definitely a benefit to a child who is lacking in their motivation to get moving.

If you’d like to read what other homeschooling parents had to say visit the TOS Crew Homeschool Blog.

**This is a TOS Crew Review.  I was given a membership to GoTrybe in exchange for my honest review, no other compensation was given.

TOS Crew Review: Kregel Publications; Circle C Beginnings by Susan K. Marlow

 

Vendor Name:  Kregel Publications

Vendor Contact Information:  Kregel Contact Information Page

Name of Product:  Circle C Beginnings: Andi’s Fair Surprise

Price of Product:  $4.99 and they can purchased directly from the publisher, Amazon, Christianbook.com or the author’s website where you can then have the book personalized.

Is your child ages 6-8 or beginning to read chapter books?  Do they love horses?  From the author, Susan K. Marlow of the Circle C Adventure books, comes the Circle C Beginnings for the young girl (or boy) who is just staring on the road to reading and needs good Christian literature.  In Andi’s Fair Surprise it’s the year 1874 and the time has come for the California State Fair but if Andi can’t take Taffy (her horse) then she doesn’t want to go. 

These books are character building books based on Christian morals and Biblical principles that Christian parents want to instill in their children and what better way than to relate to a child their age?  With beautifully drawn illustrations by Leslie Gammelgaard the story comes alive both on the pages and in the imaginations of the child.  When reading the book I find even myself caught up in the story and wonder how it will turn out, so if it’s used as a read aloud be prepared to be carried along with your child(ren).  All three of mine, including my son and oldest daughter, enjoyed listening to the story and didn’t want me to stop.

The added benefit of these books is the fun supplemental activities that go along with each book and they are free!  There are coloring pages that have images to go along with each book, so if you’re child needs a little something to do (kinesthic) so they can remember what was read these are perfect!  There are activity packs which contain 20 pages of various fun and educational activity pages to print off to add a little bit more to story time fun – or make a unit study out of it.  You’ll find dot to dots, vocabulary, crafts, history and more in these pages.  There are also puzzles which can be done online or printed off and then colored and completed by hand for some extra hands-on fun and learning (spatial skills and coordination).

Don’t just take my word for it though, check out what other Crew members are saying by visiting the TOS Crew Blog.

**This is a TOS Crew Review.  I was given a copy of the book, Andi’s Fair Surprise, from Kregel Publications in exchange for my honest opinion, no other compensation was given.

TOS Crew Review: Yesterday's Classics

Vendor Name:  Yesterday’s Classics

Vendor Contact Information:  Yesterday’s Classics Contact Page

Name of Product:  Yesterday’s Classics Classic Books for Children

Price of Product:  $99.95 for 225 EPUB or Kindle books (Kindle won’t work with Kindle apps it will only work with the Kindle device)

Books, I have always loved books and it doesn’t matter what format they come in – paperback, hard cover, e-book – if it’s a book I’ll read it (within reason of course).  If you’ve been a reader of my blog you’ll know I own a Kindle and well I like it a lot!  When I had the chance to review the 225 books through the TOS Crew I quickly volunteered and the Lord saw fit to allow me this awesome review.

Quality literature that you’ll feel safe having your child read alone or that you won’t be embarrassed by reading aloud is hard to find in today’s world that is often filled with twaddle.  With Yesterday’s Classics there is no worry in what you’ll be reading and you can be assured that it is high quality literature that your children will both enjoy and learn from.  The e-book versions of these classical children’s books are just as wonderful as holding the physical book in your hand (you can order the print version of any of the books that I received in Kindle and EPUB form). 

The original books were published during the Golden Age of literature covering the years 1880-1920.  The illustrations are kept when the quality of the original allows for that and this makes it feel as if you are holding a book that may have once been cherished by your Great Grandparents or Grandparents.  The books are geared for those teaching in the Charlotte Mason style, but are wonderful for anyone who wants to expose their children to high quality literature not just those doing C.M.  There are all levels of reading available from those just beginning to those who have been reading proficiently for years and of course, they can also all be enjoyed as read aloud stories.

There are variety of time periods and civilizations to choose from, which makes this a wonderful resource for anyone wanting to use living books to teach history, literature, world history, Greece, Rome, England, faith, legends, and nature.  Here is a sampling of what you’ll find in each subject area:

• World History:  Fifty Famous People by James Baldwin; A Book of Discovery by M.B. Synge; The Growth of the British Empire by M.B. Synge
• Greece: A Wonder Book for Boys and Girlsby Nanthaniel Hawthorne; Famous Men of Greece by John H. Haaren; Favorite Greek Myths by Lillian Stoughton Hyde
• Rome: The Story of Rome by Mary MacGregor; Hannibal by Jacob Abbott; Stories from Livy by Alfred J. Church
• England: Our Island Story by H. E. Marshall; In the Days of Queen Victoria by Eva March Tappan; Our Island Saints by Amy Steedman
• Faith: The Nursery Book of Bible Stories by Amy Steedman; The Early Church, From Ignatius to Augustine by George Hodges; The Birds’ Christmas Carol  by Kate DouglasWiggin
• History: In My Youth by James Baldwin; Heroes of the Middle Ages by Eva March Tappan; Men of Iron by Howard Pyle
• Literature: Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling; Kindergarten Gems by Agnes Taylor Ketchum; Robinson Crusoe Written Anew for Children by James Baldwin; The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang
• Legends: In the Days of Giants by Abbie Farwell Brown; The Book of Nature Myths by Florence Holbrook; Heroes Every Child Should Know by Hamilton Wright Mabie
• Nature: Tommy Smith’s Animals by Edmond Selous; The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton Burgess; The Secret of Everyday Things by Jean Henri Fabre

These books are and will continue to be a blessing to my family and I as we will continue to read and re-read these classics that were written when people cared what went into their reader’s minds and knew parents wouldn’t read their children trash.  A beautiful blend of historical literature books and electronics today that mesh into a wonderful world so we can continue to enjoy them.  When it’s not an option to bring 225 more books in your home then Yesterday’s Classics is the answer!

If you’d like to see what other homeschooling parents thought of Yesterday’s Classics visit the TOS Crew Blog.

**This is a TOS Crew Review.  I was given EPUB and Kindle format of the Yesterday’s Classics in exchange for my honest review, no other compensation was given.