Here is some of the info:
Environmental Chemistry Lab ($99)
This course consists of 16 hours (over 8 weeks) of high school level Chemistry laboratory exercises and related discussions while stressing the Chemistry of Earth’s environment. Lab work will include lessons in lab safety, metric measurements, density, acids and bases, titration, precipitates, endo and exothermic reactions, chromatography, and more. Students should be currently studying Chemistry or be prepared to do some reading in between classes. These labs follow every major curriculum’s scope and sequence.  Oct 1-Nov 19

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Biology: Microscopic Survey ($99)
This course consists of 16 hours (over 8 weeks) of high school level Biology microscope exercises and related discussions. Lab work will include lessons in lab safety, microscope work (including making and staining slides, cytology, mitosis and meiosis), DNA, and microscopic life. Each student will make their own lab notebook of algae, protists, and microscopic life forms and learn how to use a biologic key. Students should be currently studying Biology or be prepared to do some reading in between classes. These labs follow every major curriculum’s scope and sequence.  Fri. Oct. 3-Nov. 21

As mentioned previously, this year I will be bringing various reviews to this website. Through The Old Schoolhouse’s Crew a group of homeschoolers have the opportunity to receive items to use and then share their thoughts with others. This year the Crew consists of over 250 homeschoolers from around the world, but mostly based in North America.

Each month we will receive a handful of products from different vendors to use and enjoy in our home and then we will post about them on our blogs and websites to hopefully expose you to some useful new products or some needed help for your homeschool experience.

As my second year on the Crew I have been assigned a small mini-crew of amazing ladies as we try out products designed especially for homeschoolers with younger children, defined as sixth grade and under.

Our mini-crew will help give you a view from the Crow’s Nest, looking ahead to sites you may not have seen, and sharing our honest opinions about how these products worked, or didn’t, for us.

Without further ado, I want to introduce you to the rest of my team.

Terri blogs over at Days of our {School} Lives where she shares about life and learning and all the other incidentals that find their way into a typical homeschool mom’s life.

Brandi hosts a number of reviews and giveaways, as well as other great posts, that you will want to check out at Living Sola Gratia. You can definitely count on getting an honest and complete perspective from Brandi.

At Adventures in McQuill-land, Jennifer gives you a peak into their home. I especially enjoy her inspirational meme that comes up each Monday, Making Memories Monday.

And, a brand new blogger, L and Co is getting her feet wet at Proverb 22:6, which is a private blog at this point, so I can’t show you her blog right now.

You can also always check in with the main Homeschool Crew blog for the re-viewpoints of about 100 other homeschoolers as well for each of the products we highlight.

The next review you will find here is Peterson Directed Handwriting coming up at the end of August.

Bon voyage!

The writers at The Old Schoolhouse completely understand the need for variety in the homeschool situation. And, they also know that you have little extra time to plan and prepare those “extras” since your time is consumed with all that is required of you in a given day.

They created monthly modules to meet this need. These handy modules were created to go along with their homeschool planner. But if you don’t have the current planner (I don’t either — although it does look amazing), these modules are also made to stand alone in bringing a little kick to your school day in the form of a unit study.

The June Module, entitled Travel the World brings a fresh look at Geography to your students. Inside you will find links, activities (both online and print), copywork, lapbook printables, recipes, basic geographic information, and extra activities to challenge your older students.

Product: Travel the World — June Module
Details: Travel the World is a 52 page ebook with ideas for teaching any age child a bit more about the world they live in. It offers you a prepacked, preresearched unit study that you can pick up and run with no matter how old your children are or how many you have.
Price: $7.95 or bundle it with two other modules for $17.88 or the whole set of 12 for $83.95

What we loved . . .

• Information packed. This module has lots of information along with over 100 links to even more online information. It definitely covers the topic of geography — continents, oceans, maps vs. globes, countries, mountains, etc.
• Enough activities to savor some later. Of course, you might not get to everything in the time you originally allotted. And, we look forward to revisiting the recipe section of the book. Even the sections full of links will need some more time because they hold too much to digest at once.
• Flexible. This book does not split up the material in a prescribed format. You decide what you want to cover when and how slowly or quickly to move through it.
• Time Saver. Usually when I want to spend time on a unit study, I must first scour the internet for resources and information. Inside the module all of that work is already done. You have virtually limitless information at your disposal and you don’t need to waste your own valuable time searching for information, activities, and other web-based resources.
• Multi-age. Most homeschoolers have a variety of ages in their one-home schoolhouse, and this module will work with all of them. Extension activities just for those high schoolers, and lots of fun activities for other students to complete on their own or with your help depending on their age.
• Bible based. While the material is mostly based on current geographical facts, the book is peppered with Scripture verses and offers some faith-based reasons for spending time studying geography.

Some considerations . . .

• Not spelled out. While I love the flexibility of the format, it might confuse  you if you are used to a more scripted or scheduled format. This is just loads of information that you decide how to work into your day. It doesn’t have lesson plans, objectives, or assignments. We could go through as much of the material I wanted to each day, and pick up where we left off the next day. This isn’t a bad thing, but if you like a schedule, you would need to divide up the material on your own.
• Light on projects and active activities. Especially with my little ones, I love to get moving and get hands on. While the ebook does include quite a few activities, many of them are web based or pencil-paper activities. You might want to supplement for those more kinesthetic learners. It does suggest geocaching or letterboxing which would be a great start. You could also consider making a salt dough map or some other geography related art project.

As usual, TOS offers a high quality product at a reasonable price in this ebook. It comes ready and easy to use with lots of information and learning fun for your kids. If your kids need something productive to add to their day or you are looking for some help in working geography into your school day, don’t hesitate to Travel the World together.

Find more TOS Crew reviews on this product at the TOS Crew blog

Disclaimer: This ebook was provided to me free of charge through The Old Schoolhouse as part of my participation in The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew. I received no additional compensation and the opinions expressed here come from my personal experiences and sincere thoughts.

This Monday check out an opportunity to learn about Archery through the Dupage County Forest Preserve:

Archery for Beginners

St. James Farm (click on link for location)

Jul. 19, 2010 | 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Discover the history of this classic sport, and learn about equipment and shooting techniques. Equipment provided. Ages 7 and up; under 18 with an adult. Free. Registration begins two weeks prior. Call (630) 933-7248.

Rob is husband to Amy and they have been blessed with six children. He is a speaker, author, and Family Pastor at Wheaton Bible Church in Wheaton, IL. He will encourage us as women of God growing our children in the light of the Lord. As a homeschool dad himself, Rob will share the priority of passing faith and character to our children, uplift us as homeschooling moms and cheer us on in our homeschool year ahead. He will instill in us the godly confidence that homeschooling is worth the difficulty and sacrifice of our time and energy! Come and join us for a lovely brunch while getting charged up for an incredible year of hero building!
Who: Awesome Moms
What: A lovely morning brunch with Rob Rienow
Where: Dunham Woods Riding Club Wayne, Illinois
When: September 11, 2010 at 10:00 a.m.
Cost: $20 per person
R.S.V.P. by August 27, 2010
Please mail R.S.V.P.  along with payment to: Michelle Larsen.

Please contact Michelle with questions: marlarsen@foxvalley.net or (847) 697-8813

Join No Place Like Home and Rob Reinow for a morning of fellowship, brunch and fun!

Print and mail the following:

Name: _______________________________________________________________________

Number in Party: ____

Please mail along with payment to: Michelle Larsen 1032 Spinnaker Street Elgin, Illinois 60123
(847) 697-8813 or email:marlarsen@foxvalley.net

In the Hands of a Child

July 15 – 31, 2010

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From their website:

This 90 second video will give you an up close look at the Faire:

There are coupons available for this coming weekend and a smaller coupon for the other weekends. So, if you do plan on attending be sure to take advantage of those savings.

ONLY THROUGH WEDNESDAY~

Be sure to swing by Staples for their penny deals. See all the details in their add or view it online.

While it is a good deal, it is not as incredible as past years because this time around they require an additional purchase.  Be sure to read the stipulations carefully.

So, with an additional $5 purchase you can get pencils and folders for a penny each! They have lots of other great deals for $1, so be sure to look and see what you can use or stock up for the year ahead with these great prices.

I’m sure there are more to come in the weeks ahead. They usually have different items on sale for a penny or a nickle each week for a few weeks. Snatch them up while you can!