Curriculum Reviews

If I had only one word to describe this planner, it would be, unbelievable. I have purchased several planners over the past 11 years and until now, I have never found one so comprehensive. The Schoolhouse Planner will help you organize every area of your daily life.

When you purchase this planner, you will find the 2008-2009 calendar pages that you may print out and place in a binder. In the beginning, they have arranged the sections per month. Inside of each of these sections you will be blessed by an article, recipes, and The Schoolhouse Store Resource List. The articles range from teaching unit studies, various school subjects, and how to incorporate life skills into our children's lives. Over 20 new recipes for your family to try. This will excite any mom who is looking for new meals to add to spice up meal time in her home. The Schoolhouse Store Resource List is full of links on a wide range of products that you may purchase that will aid you in your school studies.

The second section is full of forms that any traditional homeschool or unschooler could use. Don't make your own or look anywhere else, what you need is already here. Your school can use daily forms for planning and recording grades, curriculum, goals, test scores, high school hours, and more. Forms for recording Bible reading, discipleship, memorization, a prayer journal, and individual reading schedules will cover the spiritual aspect of your families life. In regards to your finances, it is covered. Have you struggled with keeping track of your monthly expenses or making a budget? You won't now, as all you need to do is fill in the blanks.

Do you need to plan a vacation, a garden, keep track of addresses, your pet's health, new directions, books borrowed or loaned out, this planner has a form for all of them and much, much more. This planner will benefit the entire family and help you look and feel organized. I am in awe of the amount of forms that are included with this purchase. I love that I can print these forms over and over again, plus I will never need to buy another address book again.

If you are looking for a product that will include every form you will need during your homeschooling years, for $39.00, The Schoolhouse Planner is your answer.

Summer 2008

The Old Schoolhouse^® Magazine is now offering an exciting new product, a digital version of their already popular and informative magazine. The reader will get all of the same great articles, advertisements, and encouragement that you will find in the paper version of this magazine, but there are so many interactive features in the digital that you will not want to miss.

I must admit that when I heard about having a magazine on my computer, I had some doubts. Who doesn't love the excitement of ripping open the packaging when you receive it in the mail? I am the type that I want to hold in my hands what I am reading, smell the freshly printed paper, and be able to sit in the car during piano lessons reading every word on those colorful pages. In my opinion this was a major concern as I began my review. After spending several hours perusing the edition, I am convinced that I really should subscribe to both.

Once you subscribe, you will have a tutorial available at the click of a button that explains how you will walk through your new edition. A voice explains each option available to you as you visually watch your computer navigate the magazine. This alleviates any fear you may feel in regards to understanding our latest technology.

On your toolbar click pages, and you will see a thumbnail view of all your pages in one glance. This is a great addition as it allows you to quickly find your favorite column. Moving your mouse over that page, you can click, and in an instant you are ready to read. Although you still have the table of contents available, this visual image is much easier to use.

How many times have you received an issue hoping they would cover a topic that was burning a hole in your mind? I have many times. When I received my digital issue, I was elated to find they had a search feature. It allows you to type in a keyword or phrase that you want to read about. I typed in struggling and it found 14 different places where that word was used in one issue alone. It shows you the page, highlights the word in yellow and the sentence is placed to the side. Click on the page or highlighted word and you are inside that article. I can't remember how many times that I have skimmed titles and articles looking for information to help in my situation or to use to encourage a dear friend. The best part of this search page is that it will not only search your current issue but all of your past digital issues if you so choose. Many parents will love this feature alone!

It gets better! Web links are included (where available) on every page, even advertisements. You don't have to type in the web address anymore, just click on the link, go to the website or blog that interests you and bookmark it. To find the entire list of links in the magazine just click on links located on your toolbar.

Another wonderful option is sharing. You get the privilege of emailing an article to a friend along with a personal note or adding it to your website or social network. Many times I receive emails from friends or new homeschoolers with questions on a variety of issues. I can now email them an article that is sure to be uplifting when they are doubting their decision to homeschool. Sharing is a feature that will bless many parents for years to come as email has become a major communication tool.

You can choose to download your version to your PC/Mac or bookmark it in your favorites to read at your own pace. If you are like me and want to hold it in your hands, then you have two options; select print and choose how much of your magazine you will read paper style or buy both subscriptions.

A one year subscription will cost you $16.95.

The ability to have at your fingertips easy to use features such as searching, web links, and sharing, priceless!

Enjoy!

Crystal Wetherholt
www.homeschoolblogger.com/cwetherholt