Illuminations

Have you ever felt like you were stumbling in the dark in your homeschool? Perhaps you stumble in the dark of worry that your kids might miss something important...or the dark of anxiety that your personal and/or educational shortcomings might hinder your children's education. Or perhaps like me you have been in the dark of exhaustion trying to keep the roles of wife, mother and teacher balanced. Sometimes you might be just plain in the dark about what curriculum to buy and how to complete it by the end of the year.

This school year had gotten off to a rather rocky start. Last year's school had dragged into summer and I was feeling rather burned out by the time fall arrived. I had a high school student feeling overwhelmed, a middle school student who didn't like any subject (in spite of trying a variety of curriculum), and three elementary students to keep up with. And instead of feeling like we were all sharing a homeschool journey, I felt as though I was cheering on 5 different runners in their own independent race and I was worn out with the effort. It was at this somewhat "dark" stage in our school year, that I was given the opportunity to try the Illuminations program created by Bright Ideas Press.

So what exactly is Illuminations?

You can watch a great video that introduces Illuminations HERE. Basically, Illuminations is considered a "wrap-around" program in which various subjects are connected to a primary history spine called Mystery of History. Three volumes of MOH are currently available and you can purchase Illuminations for 2 different age levels for the particular volume you are studying:

• Grades 3-8 for $165
• High School $95

Families with children in both levels receive a discount on the combined price. The same history spine is used for both levels, but the activities are geared for the targeted age. We reviewed Level 3: Grade 3-8. My students were 7th grade, 5th grade and 2nd grade. I adjusted some of the assignments for my 2nd grader but he participated in nearly all of our History and Literature studies.

Illuminations can be used in a variety of ways. At the bare minimum, you can use it for history and literature in which weekly assignments are all prepared for you. Specific pages to be read and assignments to be completed are all spelled out in a ready-to-print schedule. The schedule is a fun, rainbow color schedule that is customizable. If you want to tweak, rearrange, or substitute, you can type that into the grid, save, and print it off. If you change your mind, you can easily revert back to the default information.

As you progress through the history course, there are a number of literature selections recommended to complement your studies. Literature guides are provided for both Family Study books (for read aloud) as well as Read- Alone books. The guides are extremely detailed and everything is laid out for you; you can print off copies for students or you can just use the guides from your computer and discuss topics orally. Answers for guide questions are also provided. Vocabulary, discussion questions, extra activities, online links and quizzes are included in the guides. For the level we reviewed, there were 8 Family Study guides as well as guides for 5 different books (some books were used multiple times over the course of the year). There are also book suggestions for Early Learners in case you have younger students included in your studies. These picture books help include your preschoolers through 2nd graders in your studies.

But there is so much more to Illuminations than just History and Literature. Included are suggested schedules for:

• History (using Mystery of History)
• Literature (books can be borrowed from library or purchased separately)
• Bible (reading schedule included)
• Spelling (includes lesson plans for The Natural Speller)
• Vocabulary (using English From the Roots Up, volume 1)
• Copywork (selected from literature being read)
• Geography (using Ultimate Geography and Timeline Guide or Galloping the Globe)
• Writing (schedules for WriteShop or The Write Stuff Adventure)
• Grammar (schedules for Winston Grammar or Easy Grammar)
• Science (Christian Kids Explore Chemistry)
• Composers (A Young Scholar's Guide to Composers)

If you choose to use the programs recommended, you would have complete lesson plans for your entire school year for all subjects except Math. In addition to schedules and literature guides, Illuminations offers an arsenal of "Graphic Organizers" which includes forms for writing helps and brainstorming, book report forms, vocabulary forms, note-taking forms for Bible reading, and many others. Over 30 different forms for your convenience to print off as many as you need for your family.

According to their website, Illuminations is meant to be Practical, Fun, Affordable and Encouraging. I can attest to the fact that they hit a home run on each one of those areas--or should I say they "glow" in those areas?!

Practical

• completely laid out: forms, charts and worksheets right at my fingertips
• ties history to other subjects to provide continuity in your studies
• suggestions for links, crafts and other activities saving user loads of prep time
• schedules are customizable so users can plot in their own choices for subjects
• attractive, useful forms for nearly everything under the sun

Fun

• brings the family together for enriching literature selections
• hands-on learning and learning extensions to bring the lessons alive
• visually pleasing charts, forms and helps
• great audio suggestions to enhance learning
• Netflix suggestions for movies to enhance the lessons
• suggestions for books to include younger learners in your home

Affordable

• for less than $20/month, I have an overarching plan for my history and literature studies (the literature guides themselves are worth the price)
• material can be used with any number of family members
• re-use the material with subsequent children (I'll have 2 more to be able to reuse this with)
• the larger the family, the lower the per-student cost

Using this with three of my students, brought the cost to $55/student which covered their reading/literature, spelling, and copywork as well as lesson plans for history. Having everything prepared for me at that price per student, I find an incredible value. When I use this product again with 2 younger students, the cost per student will end up being only $35/student.

Encouraging

Before you purchase, you may want to join the Illuminations 1 group and just observe, ask questions and find out what others think of the program. You can also become a Fan of Illuminations on Facebook and participate in conversations there. The encouragement and help from other users is invaluable.

I have to say that the company support was encouraging as well. When I initially received the product (via download), there was a problem with a particular link. The company sent out a solution in very short order. When I contacted the company by phone or e-mail with other questions, they were extremely helpful and friendly and answered queries in a very timely manner.

Our verdict

I am utterly thrilled with this product. The family read alouds that helped illuminate our history studies have been out of this world. The literature books do need to be purchased separately or borrowed from a library (check on interlibrary loan services if your branch doesn't own a particular title). I found the selections so wonderful, that I went ahead and purchased most of them for our home library. Book selections can be purchased through The Book Peddler or you can also find many new or used titles through Amazon.

I really liked learning about composers right along with our history studies. Although I did not purchase the suggested composer book, I was able to find information online about their life as well as being able to listen to examples of their music.

We will definitely continue on the Illuminations path and look forward to the historical and literary adventures that await us on the path ahead!

Contact Information

Bright Ideas Press can be reached by

Internet: www.BrightIdeasPress.com

E-mail: Contact (at) BrightIdeasPress.com

Post: Bright Ideas Press PO Box 333 Cheswold, DE 19936

Phone: toll-free at 877.492.8081. [Office hours are Monday—Friday. 8:30—5:00 EST]

If you are curious what other reviewers thought of this product, you can visit the TOS Crew Blog. Don't stumble around in the dark any longer--let Illuminations light your path, "lighten" your load, and help restore the joy in your journey toward excellence!

Disclaimer: I was provided Illuminations for the purpose of reviewing and sharing my experience. No other compensation was received. The opinions expressed are my own.

Treat Yourself to a Subscription to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine

This week The Old Schoolhouse Magazine is featuring savings on their subscription prices. Starting today a one year subscription is $12. If you wait until tomorrow, it'll be $14 and so on through the week. After the weekend, the price goes back to normal.

Aside from the great price of a $12 subscription, they are also offering extra bonuses to every so many customers who purchase items from the Schoolhouse Store. Are there some items that you've had your eye on? With free shipping all the time and Christmas right around the corner, this could be a great time to do some shopping. The person who spends the most in the store on any given day this week will also get a bonus.

If you have never seen a copy of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, you can download a free digital copy of their Holiday Supplement. The great quality you see in the supplement is exactly the quality magazine you can enjoy quarterly. Always full of encouragement, curriculum ideas and book recommendations plus insights from homeschooling speakers and authors in each and every issue.

You can read more about this week's fabulous promotion here. Remember, a magazine subscription also makes a great gift for a homeschooling friend or pastor on your Christmas list!

Blessings,

Jill

Grab your FREE Digital Holiday Supplement from The Old Schoolhouse Magazine

If you are a past or current subscriber to the Old Schoolhouse Magazine, you know how incredible their publications are. The 2010 Digital Holiday Supplement is no exception and the best news is that it's being offered FREE to all. Whether you homeschool or not, you will find a feast of ideas for crafts, cooking, and making the upcoming holidays your most meaningful ever.

So hop on over and download your copy at:

http://thehomeschoolmagazine.com/DigitalMag/2010-Thanksgiving&Christmas.html

Enjoy and spread the word to all your friends!

Blessings,

Jill

The Write Foundation

When building a house, the importance of a solid foundation is paramount. No less important is a good foundation in academic areas. We had an opportunity to review The Write Foundation writing curriculum and it is all about creating the "right" foundation for the discipline of writing.

From the The Write Foundation website:

Many writing curricula focus on the different types of writing, such as creative writing, story writing, poetry writing, persuasive writing, argumentative writing, informative writing, descriptive writing, book writing, fiction writing, novel writing, but the basic foundation of writing is assumed. The Write Foundation begins with the writing process, how a student formulates a topic, then a thesis, then supporting points, and by incremental teaching drills in the basics. In most grammatical subjects, we have found that failure is almost totally because the basics have not been learned.

The Write Foundation writing curriculum is a result of 8 years of successfully teaching homeschooled students in a one-day-per-week co-op setting. It has been adapted for a homeschool and used by numerous homeschooling parents to give their own children the tools of how to quickly organize and write an essay with excellence.

A reading of the Introduction to the Write Foundation will explain the format of the material, the philosophy of the course, student expectations as well as needed supplies to implement the course. The introduction also explains how to complete the course in either 1 or 2 years.

The Write Foundation offers writing curriculum in three stages:

• Level 1: Sentence to Paragraph Writing (ages 11-13)
• Level 2: Paragraph Writing (ages 12-15)
• Level 3: Essay Writing (ages 14-17)

The age ranges are guidelines. If you start with a younger student, it is recommended that you extend the course over 2 years. If you have a reluctant writer, select a level in which your student is on the upper end. For those who love writing, select a level in which they are on the lower end. For any level, teachers are encouraged to slow down and/or redo any lessons to reinforce a challenging concept. The courses include 30 lessons which allow instructors some flexibility to take a break as needed or spend extra time on a particular lesson. Skipping ahead is not recommended lest key concepts be missed or learned. Viewing the samples from their website will help you determine which level will be right for your family.

Our Experience

For this review, I chose to try Level 2 to use with my three oldest children (15, 12 and almost 11). In looking at the samples for the various levels, Level 2 seemed the most appropriate for their skill level. Once we began the course, however, my 15 year old felt it was too basic for him so I continued on with the next 2 younger ones(we may include him in later lessons). Although the recommended age for the material is 12 to 15 year olds, it worked fine for my 10 and 12 year olds who both have a good foundation in English.

This was the first writing course I have ever used that enabled me to work with more than one child at a time. Completing some exercises as a group and then allowing my kids to complete some assignments jointly was a nice break and proved to be a helpful introduction to the material before they were "let loose" on their own individual assignments.

Needed Preparation

The website suggests spending a couple hours reviewing the material before beginning to teach the course. It took me considerably longer than that to acclimate to the material; I have to admit that the first few weeks I was frustrated but the author gives warning that the process may be uncomfortable (like any new endeavor) until the basics become a habit.

I wish there had been more specific "scripting" in the manual. I felt as though some things were assumed and not as thoroughly laid out as they could have been. For example, in a given lesson, there might be 12 sections but it isn't very obvious how those sections are to be tackled--all at once in a teaching session (that's a lot to cover in one session) or spread over the week? The student assignment sheet lists Day 1, Day 2, etc. but the teacher book is not organized by days so how they correlate was a bit confusing.

It was recommended that students prepare a binder with tab dividers. It wasn't always clear where a particular worksheet should be filed in the notebook. Having a key word in a corner of the worksheet would be extremely helpful.

Finally, having a link to the author teaching a lesson would be a valuable way to see how the lesson is supposed to flow.

What We Liked

• Writing curriculum that incorporates logic exercises* and poetry along with writing instruction (*NOTE: Mind Bender worksheets were scheduled but not included in curriculum; purchase separately or substitute similar cognitive puzzles)
• Recommended list of books for outside reading (with suggested "point" totals assigned)
• Easily reproduced materials (student worksheets came 3-hole punched)
• Worksheets and assignment pages provided in PDF format (helpful for households with "disappearing books")
• Teacher pages that can be used for overheads
• Incremental steps that guide students
• Ability to use at home or in a co-op setting

All in all, I liked the product even though you definitely need to factor in a learning curve (for both student and teacher). I really enjoyed having a writing course to use with multiple ages. A single family is given permission to reproduce materials. So the investment extends to younger family members with whom you'll later reuse the material.

I also really enjoyed the inclusion of studying poetry. My kids have studied some rules of poetry but have not really had the opportunity to write their own. I was surprised how much my kids enjoyed this aspect of the program. It provided a very non-threatening way to express themselves (and provided a welcome reprieve from more traditional writing exercises.

One interesting aspect of this writing curriculum is the opportunity to pay for someone to read your student's writing assignments (multiple lesson discounts are available). Price is $15 per lesson for grading/tutorial assistance.

For additional reviews, visit the TOS Homeschool Crew Blog.

Pricing

Each level can be purchased in the following ways:

• Full Year bundle (includes teacher manual, 1 set student worksheets, resource CD) $100
• Half Year bundle (teacher, student, CD) $65
• Student Worksheets full year (for co-op participants) $25
• Student Worksheets half year (Lessons 1-15 or Lessons 16-30 for co-ops) $15
• Additional Resource CD $15
• Grading Service $15 per lesson (more information on this option is available here).

Contact Information

Website: www.thewritefoundation.org

To reach the author, Rebecca Celsor:

• Email: bcelsor@sbcglobal.net

• Phone: 281-356-3556

Yahoo Group:

thewritefoundation

Disclaimer: I was provided with Lessons 1-15 of The Write Foundation course for the purpose of reviewing and blogging about our experience. The views expressed are my own. No other compensation was received.