Intellego Unit Studies - Product Review

Unit studies and downloadable curriculum are all over the place these days, but Intellego Unit Studies are not designed like any other product I have seen around the webisphere! Created by a home educator for home educators these PDF formatted units contain interactive internet links for ease of access. Instead of trying to reinvent the wheel this publisher has used what is readily available on-line to create customizable, easily adaptable, engaging guides that have something for every type of learner. Other unit guides that I have seen simply have text that is read to or by the child with some worksheets here and there, but these guides include a plethora of internet links that lead the learner to text, video, games, projects and worksheets. The links that are kept up to date using Intellego's database to ensure that the links are current and working.


Each unit has a standard layout which includes clearly outlined objectives, KWL charts, material lists, content specific info and extension activities. Before you begin you are presented with a clearly outlined list of what your child will be learning about during this unit. This can be a great tool to take to the library with you if you would like supplement with living books or plan field trips. The KWL charts are great tools to help organize and focus learning, before starting each unit the child lists the things they already KNOW about a topic, then move on to what they WANT to know and at the end of the unit they recap the things that they have LEARNED. The units include materials lists in two areas, a master list at the beginning of the unit and then a specific list for each chapter and lesson, which is a great way to ensure you haven't missed anything - nothing is worse than getting an experiment underway only to find out that you don't have everything you need!!! The content specific information in each area is broken down into bite-size sections to clearly cover all areas of a topic with an array of multi-media resources.  The key to any great unit study program is the ability to create continuity in cross-curricular skills and Intellego has done so by including extension activities that help solidify the information the learner has gained by showing how it can be used in the real world.


Of course no product is going to be a perfect fit for every family and there were a few drawbacks to this one, which included some dialogue being presented to the teacher and the inconsistency in the resources. For me having the units written to the teacher rather than to the student is a bit of an issue as I have a child who is a very independent learner. Of the three that I reviewed both of the ones that were for grades 6-8 were written this way KM found it a bit difficult, but not impossible, to follow along and this was more of an issue when she got to an external website that was directed to a teacher rather a student. The Health Unit was written directly to the student, but some of the resources were still written directly to the teacher and expected to be used by a class of students rather than a single learner The variance in resources was also a problem when some of the links had higher expectations of prior knowledge in both the middle grades and high school levels.

Overall I am very impressed with the format of these units. As someone who NEVER used a curriculum the way that is was meant to be used, Intellego has cut down my search time and gather a myriad of sources for me all in one clearly laid out unit. I look forward to using more in the future.







~~~Disclaimer: I was given these materials to review, but was not compensated in any other way for this review. I clearly stated to the publisher prior to downloading items that complimentary receipt did not guarantee a favorable review. 

Immense Praise for Joy Hakim’s A History of US

I have previously reviewed Joy Hakim's Story of Science series and since I was so enamored by her writing, I bit the bullet and bought the 11 volume set A History of US for KM to use for her U.S. History studies. AM I EVER GLAD I DID!!! I had planned on glossing over the content so that I could figure out when I would need to order additional reading material and movies from our local library to supplement and ended up not being able to put the book down! I am no history buff, but this book captured my attention and I literally couldn't put it down.

I love that she points out what our family calls "duh" moments, things that when you are reading you think why doesn't every textbook take this approach. "When Leaders say something is all right, most people agree, without thinking for themselves." p.113

Hakim has a way of writing that just captivates and inspires you to want to keep reading. The story unfolds as if you are in a time machine looking down on what is going on. Her writing flows in an engaging and thought provoking way, as she constantly asks you to analyze and question what is being said in a conversational manner. She manages to cover even some of the more gruesome facts without getting graphic, which makes this a perfect multi-age resource.

Hakim challenges the reader to question history and emphasizes that "No one knows what happened in the past - at least we don't know the whole story"..."You gather pieces of information and try to discover how they fit." p. 9 

When I was in school I was never taught about anything before the Jamestown Settlement. Sure we were taught about Christopher Columbus sailing across the ocean blue in 1492, but they never mentioned all that went on from one point to the next, it was basically as if they left out the 16th century all together! In Hakim's text she is truly telling the story of US, beyond the United States, in direct relation to how the Americas were formed. Begining back with Beringia she has the audacity to discuss how there are actually no "NATIVE" Americans as we all came from somewhere else. She delves into the formation of settlements in the Central American islands, the Spanish conquests of Mexico and also defends the Indians, repeatedly making note of the "arrogant European" behaviors.

My favorite quote has to be - Looking back, today, it seems as if people and nations were acting just like silly little kids. Each one saying "My religion is better than yours." p. 139

I have only read the first volume, but I have already absorbed more information from this book than I did in my entire college semester of U.S. History. I highly recommend this series as a first rate, informative, intelligent text that will surely make a history lover out of the most resistant person.

I will be getting Volume 2 off the shelf as soon as I finish typing this!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~UPDATE --- We are nearly done with Book 5 at this point. KM and I are still totally engaged in this series. I love how every angle and point of view is touched on, so that you can get a feel for what life was really like for not just the rich, but the poor and the inbetweeners as well!!!

Repost - Science Projects That Really Work!

Janice VanCleave’s Presents Science Projects that Really WORK!!! – Official UM Review

Science was always my worry area. I didn't enjoy it in school and feared havingto take the responsibility of ensuring that my VERY science minded daughter was going to get all that she wanted out of our science education at home. I bought all sorts of kits and checked out every project book I could find at the library until I came across Janice VanCleave. If you have never heard of her, then you have never read some of the most concisely written science experiment books I have ever encountered and you and your kids are truly missing out!

Although I have enjoyed each of her books that I have read The Science For Every Kid series is a favorite in our household. In this series she covers everything fromChemistry to Food and Nutrition to Geometry, cohesively covering topics so that the kids can clearly grasp the material. This series could easily be used as a spine to jump off from, as a full science curriculum or a supplement for labs and projects. For example in Food and Nutrition for Every Kid VanCleave has each chapter set up as follows:

• What You Need to Know - here terms are explained and background information is given
  
• Exercises - the learner is presented with questions to be answered or situations that need to be resolved utilizing the information they read in the previous section.
• Activity - a project to allow the application of the skills in a real world situation.
• Solutions to Exercises - she not only gives the answers but lays out step-by-step instructions for solving each exercise.

With over 50 best-selling science experiment books that span an audience from toddler to mature adolescents, this is one author you will want to remember. Not only have I never had a single failed experiment from her books, she gives explanations that make sense. Though we have come across a few materials that we had to do a bit of digging around for the majority of materials you will need can be found in your home or in a quick trip to the local grocery or hardware store, making it convenient on a rainy day or spur of the moment. I can't say enough about these fabulous resources.

To see some more of our successful science experiments from Biology for Every Kid check out my blogposts - HERE and HERE.

You can learn more about Janice VanCleave as well as take a look through the plethora of tips, ideas and projects at her site - JVC's Science Fair Projects.

Frog Hatchery Project COMPLETE!!!

Here is the complete outline of our 3 month journey hatching frogs! 




As part of our continued biology study work we are now HATCHING Frog Embryos. We ordered a kit from Home Science Tools and we have been very happy with it so far. The kit arrived in about 10 days and then the frog embryos arrived about 2 weeks after we sent the order in for them. Now we are just waiting and keeping our fingers crossed that some of the will hatch. Our embryos are going to be leopard frogs and we are looking forward to this new adventure!!!

Here are some resources and websites we are using - 

• The Frogs and Toads of North America: A Comprehensive Guide to Their Identification,Behavior, and Calls
• Uncover a Frog (Uncover Books)
• The Amphibian Class (Family Trees)
• Frogs 
• Exploraturium - Frogs
• KidZone - Frogs
• Alternative to Frog Dissection
• Frogs are Green - listing of more alternatives to dissection

Observations and photos - 

3/21/12 - THEY ARRIVED!!!

3/23/12 - Four of the six embryos started to hatch and wiggle there ways out of their sac. The fifth is looking like it is starting to unfurl, but the sixth has showed no sign of change.

3/25/12 - The four tadpoles started swimming around a bit today. They remain at the bottom and near the sacks, but they are definitely swimming. We will have to feed them in a day or two. The fifth and sixth have had no change so it does not look as though they are going to make it.

3/26/12 - As most of them are swimming around it was time to feed the tadpoles the powder mixture today and discovered that the 5th is squirming around a bit. The 6th embryo's outer sac is separating, but the black speck still has no change.

3/28/12 - Tadpoles are doing well. The five that hatched are swimming and we have decided to remove the unhatched tadpole when the first water change today.
Here is a picture of our malformed little guy and one of the correctly formed for comparison, as well as our unhatched embryo -

4/1/12 - The froglets are still doing well. The five are all looking really healthy and the one we were concerned about has caught up with the others and its tail has straightened out.  

4/4/12 - Three of the froglets are bigger almost twice as big as the other two.

4/10/12 - They are zipping along. 

4/11/12 - Today we poured the froglets and 1/2 of the water into a bowl in order to empty the rest of the water out of the tank to clean out the rest of the debris and waste. 

4/14/12 - watching for limbs but nothing yet - 

5/11/12 - haven't updated in a while as they really haven't had much of a change other than there size lately. The largest is now about 3 inches and little one is only 1.5 inches, so there is quite a size difference. Since we will have to eventually create a terrarium for the critters we decided to upgrade to a 10 gallon tank today, but only put about 3.5 gallons of water in it. This gives them plenty of space to swim around and grow but will not become overwhelming to change the water. It should also be ample space so that the littlest will not get eaten or taken over by the larger.

5/13/12 - So we have determined that the problem with our littlest froglet - Ozzi - is that it's organs are not centered within the body. In the picture below you can see the red mass of organs is shifted to the left side of it's body.

I am not really sure what the outcome will be, but we are keeping a close eye on this little one.

5/16/12 - Legs have sprouted

5/31/12 - I awoke this morning to discover two things - one sad, one happy. Little Ozzy did not make it, this morning he was found on the bottom of the tank, barely moving and I felt it was time to end his suffering. He will be missed. Charlie, on the other hand has sprouted his front legs, so we have added the floating piece of wood to the tank. I think he will need to be moved to another tank soon. The second largest - still unnamed at this point - definitely has his hind legs sprouting and the twins are holding stable.

The second largest - still unnamed at this point - definitely has his hind legs sprouting and the twins are holding stable. This continues to be one of the most educational and interesting projects yet. I must do in all home ed households!

6/3/12 -Charlie was found upon the piece of wood this morning.

 So KM went out and gathered some greens and dirt from the yard to create a terrarium for our little friend.

We used the smaller tank for now and once the next froggy finishes morphing we will have to swap things around again, but for now we hope Charlie will be happy. 

6/19/12 - 

Charlie in his terrarium.

 Not too much has changed over the last few weeks. Charlie is doing great in his new habitat and seems to really like the pinhead crickets from our local pet store, but is not so crazy about the meal worms. Bertie seems to be on the cusp of metamorphism and should have his front legs at anytime now. Number 3 is doing well, he is substantially smaller than Bertie which is difficult to tell because of the angle of the shot below. 3 does have rear legs coming in, so it appears he is just morphing at an even slower rate. Number 4 is still tiny and although he has stopped floating upside down - possibly caused from a bacterial infection - he doesn't seem to be growing very much.   
Once Bertie has his front legs and perches on the piece of wood we will be turning the 10 gallon tank into a terrarium for the two frogs and will move 3 & 4 into the two smaller tanks. The one drawback to the kit that we got was that didn't realize at the time that we would need to upgrade the facilities to be able to keep the frog's long term. If I had known that at the time, I may have just gotten the eggs and food and not the whole kit, as the tank is not even big enough to keep one frog for more than a month or two.

Number 3 above & Bertie below

Number 4

6/20 - Number 4 took a turn for the worse. He suddenly was not moving very much and then I noticed Number 3 was poking at him a lot and he wasn't swimming away, so I felt that it was time to take him out of the tank. When CJ got home, later that day, I mentioned we should probably think about switch the tanks because Bert looked like his middle was getting a bit more defined and I needed CJ to help me so we should really probably do it over the next few days while he was home. So we went that night to get the glass and aquarium sealant to make the tank into a terrarium. 


6/21 -  CJ was looking at Bert and noticing the changes in his mouth. He went to the store to pick up a few things and when he came back Bert's front legs had sprouted out. I moved Bert and Frank - previously known as Number 3 - into the smaller tanks to get the 10 gallon prepped. I put the piece of wood into the container that Bert was in so that he could get up and rest when he was ready.

Bert relaxing!!!

6/22 - TO MY SHOCK Bert was on the wood!!! Charlie had swam around for 3 or 4 days before he got up on the wood, but Bert was ready to go. However our tank was not ready yet as the sealant takes 48 hours to fully dry.

6/23 - I noticed that Bert's tail was swiftly resorbing and he would need to eat soon, so I decided to make a temporary home for him and Charlie in the tote that we use when KM catches snakes in the backyard ----

6/24 - I tested the seal and there is a slight leak on one side so I am going to have to pick up some more sealant, but luckily Bert and Charlie seem to be liking their temporary home ---

6/26/12 - The terrarium is holding water with no problem and Charlie and Bertie are LOVING IT!!! Charlie likes to perch on the rock and grab any crickets that happen to pass by - there is quite a belly on that one! Bertie can often be found burrowed in a corner or under the fern. Unfortunately Frank didn't make the transition, I am not sure if the water ratio was not accurate or if we should have waited until his front legs emerged to make  the switch, but sadly he was found floating the next morning.

Well our frog hatchery project is complete. We started out with six eggs and ended up with two healthy frogs. This has been one of the most incredible projects we have ever done. There really is no better way to understand natural selection, evolution, life cycle and responsibility than to just DO IT!!! You can read it in a book over and over, but until you see it and experience it first hand you don't really get it!

Frog Update - Terrarium Complete!

The terrarium is holding water with no problem and Charlie and Bertie are LOVING IT!!! Charlie likes to perch on the rock and grab any crickets that happen to pass by - there is quite a belly on that one! Bertie can often be found burrowed in a corner or under the fern. Unfortunately Frank didn't make the transition, I am not sure if the water ratio was not accurate or if we should have waited until his front legs emerged to make  the switch, but sadly he was found floating the next morning.

Well our frog hatchery project is complete. We started out with six eggs and ended up with two healthy frogs. This has been one of the most incredible projects we have ever done. There really is no better way to understand natural selection, evolution, life cycle and responsibility than to just DO IT!!! You can read it in a book over and over, but until you see it and experience it first hand you don't really get it!