• One of our favorite features is that
you can stop anywhere within the
lesson and resume later because the
program remembers where you left
off.
Getting started using this complete
program is as simple as opening the
book and jumping right into the lesson plans. Over the course of our review period, we used this program five
days a week. Typically, on Mondays, we
would do a little review session, and on
Fridays, we would play lots of games
and make it fun for her. She loved the
computer time and watching the stories. They always drew a crowd while
they were on, and I even caught my
older girls sneaking a peak and singing
the tunes here and there. My rising 2nd
grader is excited to learn her multiplication facts and to use the program in a
few years too.
With so many goodies at our disposal, Montana has had a blast learning
her multiplication facts. It no longer
feels like a chore to her or me! That in
and of itself is priceless!
—Product review by Jacquelin Caffey
The Book of Insects
Memoria Press
1.877.862.1097
www.memoriapress.com
Memoria Press is one of our family’s
favorite resources for quality books
and curriculum, but we had only
used their history, geography, and
Latin. My outdoorsy children are not
your typical textbook kids, and we
thought that the hands-on approach
offered by Memoria in their elementary level science courses would be a
good fit for them.
The Book of Insects basic set consists of a textbook, student guide, and
teacher guide. The textbook consists
of selections from Arabella Buckley
& Julia McNair Wright, written in the
1800s. Though written in storybook
form, it includes scientific names
and detailed information, as well as a
couple of black-and-white drawings
and photos. It is written at a fourth-grade level and would be appropriate
for independent readers at the upper
elementary level, or to be read aloud
at the lower elementary level.
The accompanying student book
contains eighty-one pages of activities, including observations, sketching, memorization, labeling, review
activities, and “go and find” activities.
The teacher guide includes quizzes and
tests for assessing material retention. It
also includes lesson plans laid out by
week for a full year’s worth of science.
This book also contains the answers to
the student book pages. It is a valuable
piece of the set.
We used The Book of Insects twice
weekly, completing one full lesson each
week, with a fourth and sixth grader. We
began our studies in the spring, allowing
for plenty of outside time to catch and
explore insects for hands-on learning.
My children really enjoyed the stories
in the reader, the drawing and labeling
activities, and getting to explore and
dissect insects. They were not as excited
about taking quizzes or doing workbook
work, yet it is an important part of the
overall retention of information.
On the first day of each week, we
read the selection from the textbook
aloud together. All three of us took
turns reading aloud, which provided
extra reading practice for the boys.
One of the things we loved about this
set is that it is very Charlotte Mason
oriented—where learning comes from
these living stories. After reading, we
would complete the workbook portion together at the table. On the second day of each week, we reviewed the
workbook information, went outside
for hands-on activities, and took the
review quizzes/tests. Typically, they
spent time looking for particular insects on other “non-science” days of
the week as well.
I appreciate the format that Memoria
Press uses for their elementary science
curricula. It takes a living, Charlotte
Mason approach to learning, which I
find more engaging for children. They
tend to retain that in which they are
fully engaged, and this is no exception.
All three books in The Book of Insects
basic set are valuable assets to the curriculum, and they are affordably priced.
Overall, I think that The Book of Insects
is a great elementary science curriculum. I look forward to using other science books from Memoria Press with
my children in the future!
—Product review by Holly Johnson
So many good things! Did you find
something you can’t live without? Be
sure to check out the TOS website
where we have thousands of reviews
available to search through! Happy
New School Year!
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