Z-Guide to the Movies

 

 

• Available from  Zeezok Publishing
• Kit Kittredge An American Girl
• Elementary/Jr. High
• $12.99

 

     Zeezok Publishing has developed learning guides that make it easy to incorporate movies into your history program. They have dozens of guides, each of which cover a specific period in history.  The guides include 10 different learning activities. These begin with an overview of the movie, then questions to answer as the movie is being watched.  The next several activities focus on the historical time frame of the movie. Research and writing skills are emphasized.  A hands on activity, a worldview activity and a Filmmakers Art activity round out the movie guide.

     Zeezok recommends taking a week to use one of the guides. The synopsis and watching of the movie begin on the first day. Then approximately two activities are done each subsequent day for a full week. The final activity is called the Filmmakers Art. This teaches the student how  filmakers uses different tools to influence the viewer. The goal teaching in the Filmakers Art is to teach kids how to discern not only the movies agenda, but how it is influencing them.

ClarkClan Thoughts

     We had the privilege of reviewing a Zeezok Z-Guide to the Movies last spring. We reviewed a high school level guide on the movie Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.  We thoroughly enjoyed using the guide. (If interested, you can find my review here.)

      When we were given the opportunity to review another guide, I was thrilled. This time I picked an elementary level guide based on the movie Kit Kittredge. Once again Zeezok did not disappoint. This guide was just as thorough and just as fun to use.

     We owned the movie Kit Kittredge, so we did not have to find it from another source. Zeezok says on their website that almost all movies are available through NetFlix. The guide comes as a PDF download. I printed the guide out to have a paper copy on hand, and was able to make a copy of each activity, as needed, for my kids. Since we have watched this movie before my kids knew what it was about. When we watched the movie using the movie guide, I paused it and we talked about each overview question as it came up.  Ben and Rebekah kept exclaiming over the details that they had never noticed before.

     Then we took the next few days to complete the rest of the activities.  One day we researched the Great Depression by answering 6 questions using the internet for the answers. A favorite activity was decoding “Hobo sign”. A vocabulary page was included. Activity 5 had us writing a newspaper article using the five “W” questions. I also enjoyed going over the Family Discussion questions with my kids. Another neat feature of the Z-Guide to the Movies is that all answers are included in the PDF download.

About Zeezok Publishing

     Zeezok Publishing originally began as a company known as The Book Peddler in 1993. After 10 years of traveling around the country attending homeschool conventions, they began publishing and selling their own materials.  Since 2003, the company has been slowly growing and adding new things. Their newest product is a high school level government program called “A Noble Experiment”. Another product that I have purchased from Zeezok is their “Presidential Penmanship” program. This supplemental handwriting program exposes students to the quotes of America’s founding fathers and presidents.  Make sure to visit their website to see all the educational products they have to offer.

     Want to learn more about the Z-Guides to the Movies. Visit the Crew Blog and read what my Crew mates had to say about the guides. Many different guides were reviewed so you can see a variety of movies available.

As an Independent contractor for The Old Schoolhouse and member of TOS Homeschool Crew I received the Kit Kittredge Z-Guide to the Movies for free from Zeezok Publishing , in exchange for my honest review of their product.

Duct Tape Tote Bags

     Back in November I was invited to join a group of ladies at church to make a tote bag out of duct tape and a t-shirt. I was told bring a t-shirt and matching duct tape.  I had a great time learning to make this no-sew project that is very useful.

      When I brought it home, my girls were fascinated. They were slightly green with envy that I had made the bag for myself, not them.  I promised that one day I would make each of them a bag, too. That day came on New Years Eve.

     Sarah has a favorite t-shirt we bought almost 3 years ago when we visited Mount Rushmore in South Dakota.  She loves that t-shirt, but after three years of growing from 5’ to 5’8”, she has outgrown it. She would still try to wear it, but I finally told her it was becoming almost obscene it was so short.  This was the shirt she wanted to use for her bag.

     When I was shopping at Target on Black Friday, I found a really cute Christmas t-shirt for Rebekah. I bought it and told her to wear it all Christmas season, and then we could make a bag out of it. So her green Christmas shirt with the trees on it became her bag.

     The process of making the bags is fairly simple. I had the basic idea from making one at church, but looked it up on YouTube before I made the girls’ bags. Basically, you cut off the sleeves, turn the t-shirt inside out and cover it in duct tape on both sides. Staple the bottom of the bag and staple across each point on the sides to make a flat bottomed bag. Then turn the bag right side out and finish off the top with more duct tape. The outside of the bag is the t-shirt you used and the inside is duct tape. This makes the bag waterproof on the inside.

     On the internet, I found a way to make the handles using the t-shirt itself. But the way I was shown first, we finished the top of the bag and then added grommets and rope for the handles. I have used this bag for the whole month of December and it is pretty sturdy, so I decided grommets and rope were the way to go for the girls. The only bad part about using the grommets is the hammering it takes to get them attached to the bag. I smashed my thumb on the first one and Matt had to finish putting them in. 

     The bags turned out really great. Sarah wanted a bag to keep her drawing supplies. We also used longer handles so she can wear the bag over one arm and her head, with the bag sitting on her hip. Rebekah decided to put pink and white stripes on the inside of her bag. Each bag turned out  unique and special.

Front of Bags

Inside of bags, all duct tape

Too Much Technology?

     My husband loves technology. He has a laptop computer, that is about 4 years old and a smartphone that he has had about 8 months now. He also has a GPS unit and has had hand held PDA’s that his phone has now replaced.

       I used to leave all things technological to him. That has changed in recent years. Matt has dragged me into his love computers and gadgets. I have become the happy recipient of his love of technology. I have more gadgets than he does now. It started with him buying me a laptop about 4 years ago. He also bought me an I-pod Nano. I was quite happy with these two gadgets. I love my i-Pod, I use it almost on a daily basis. I love my laptop as well.  I have learned to use it well. I have also grown used to having a computer all my own.  The next gadget he gave me was a smart phone. That is way too much fun. I call it my mini-computer, that just happens to make phone calls.  Then, because I love to read, he bought me a NookColor. That little gadget is quite fun. And for Christmas what did I get, a new laptop computer. This came about because I had a computer crash in November and while it was able to be fully restored, the expert we took it to said it was on its way out. Wow is the new computer fun. Fast, easy to use.

     I use my technology daily. I e-mail. I blog. I Facebook.  I download and listen to podcasts on i-Tunes. My kids do a lot of school on the computer. They play games. They watch Latin videos. They type papers and e-mail them to me.

     All this technology has come with a price though. No, not necessarily a monetary price, although that is a consideration. The price that I am thinking of is that I have been dragged into knowing quite a bit about technology now. I used to go to Matt whenever I had a computer problem. Now, he just tells me to figure it out. If I am having trouble with my i-pod, he says he is “i-pod illiterate” and I have to fix it myself. When I have computer problems, he only advises me now, not take it and fix it for me like he used to. And now with my new computer, I have had to get it set up completely on my own. I have had to install all the virus protection, cleaners, and programs all on my own. I had to figure out how to put on a program, and then pull the information off of a separate drive he has set up for back ups, so I don’t lose any data. It has been fun, but challenging. I am stretching my brain and learning new things and even been able to help others along the way. There are times I want to throw up my hands and say to Matt, “Please just do it for me!” But I persevere, soldier on and learn to do it myself.

     But, I still wonder at times. Do I have too much technology?

The World’s Greatest Stories

     We received a wonderful CD to review. The World’s Greatest Stories CD is simply the Bible read word for word. The genius is in the reading. It is not just simply reading, but it is  dramatized by George W. Sarris. The dramatization is what makes this CD  engaging and entertaining.

     George W. Sarris is an accomplished actor, narrator and spokesman. He began telling Bible stories in 1985. He has performed many one-man shows since then. There are currently six volumes of Mr. Sarris’s The World’s Greatest Stories CDs.  We reviewed Volume 1 – The Prophets.

     We found the CD to be easy to listen to and understand. I loved that the stories were word for word re-telling's, nothing added nor taken away. What a great, easy to implement way of increasing Bible literacy.  We reviewed the NIV version, but a KJV version is also available. The CD’s sell for $7.95 each and are available at The World’s Greatest Stories website. 

 

     The available volumes include these chapters

• Volume 1 – The Prophets with readings from Daniel chapters 3, 5, 6, 1 Kings 17-18, and The complete book of Jonah
• Volume 2- The Life of Christ with The Real Story of Christmas, taken from the gospels of Matthew and Luke. The Baptism and Temptation of Jesus, from Matthew 3-4. The Healing of the Blind Man from John 9-10, Things Jesus said and did from Luke 18-19, and The Real Story of Easter from John 18-20.
• Volume 3 – Beginnings with In the Beginning from Genesis 1-4.  A Lame man in Lystra from Acts 14. A Jailer in Philippi from Acts 16. The complete book of Ruth. The Raising of Lazarus from John 11-12.
• Voume 4 – Joshua and Esther  This includes the Battle of Jericho from Joshua 1-6 and The complete book of Esther.
• Volume 5 –Joseph and his Brothers. This volume comes from the book of Genesis chapters 37-50
• Volume 6 – Defeating Giants. This is David and Goliath from 1 Samuel 17. Naaman the Leper from II Kings 5. Micaiah the Prophet and Jehoshaphat the King from II Chronicles 18-20. The Sacrifice of Isaac from Genesis 21-22 and finally Gideon and His 300 men from Judges 6-8.

     I think the best way to sum up what we thought of The World’s Greatest Stories CDs is to write a quote from Ben the first time he popped the CD in and listened. When it was over, I asked him how he liked it. He replied, “ It was very good, I listened to it all and wished there was more.”

     I was not the only one to review The World’s Greatest Stories.  Visit the Crew Blog to read what my Crew Mates thought of this CD.

As an Independent contractor for The Old Schoolhouse and member of TOS Homeschool Crew I received The World’s Greatest Stories, volume 1 CD for free , in exchange for my honest review of their product.

I See Cards --Fractazmic

The Most Fun You’ll Ever Have Learning Fractions!

 

     Fractazmic makes learning fractions and equivalent fractions fun.It is designed for 1st through 8th grades, but is fun for all ages.  I was skeptical the first time we played it, but thanks to the cute little pictures on the cards, found that the game was easy to learn to play. While it may have been easy to learn , it was challenging enough to be fun to play. Sarah (14) and Ben (10) and I (mom) were the ones who played the game the most. The more we played, the better we got at looking at the fraction numbers and not having to rely on the pictures quite so much.  My kids found that this made a great game to play during lunch or snack time.

     Each “suit” on the cards is based on a different fraction. There are the Sixteenth’s suit (red in color) a Twelfth’s suit (blue in color) and a Tenth’s suit (green) in color.  Within each colored suit, the cards can be combined multiple ways to make a “hand” equaling 1.  Our family had a great time playing this game, and you can be sure that when someone announced they had made a “whole”, their cards were thoroughly checked out to make sure they didn’t miss count.

     The ClarkClan evaluation is that this is a cute, simple to learn, fun educational game. The same company that produces the Fractazmic Cards also produces other card games. Pyramath is an award winning math game using all the basic concepts: add, subtract, multiply and divide, in a comprehensive, interactive game. Prime Bomb is another math related game reinforcing, prime, multiplication and factoring.

     Visit Fractazmic.com to read more about the game and be able to order it. The game is $6.95 for the 60 card deck. To get a feel for the game you can play a speed version of the game at Fractazmic speed version. Playing online also gives you a chance to win a free deck.

     Visit the Crew Blog to be able to read what my Crew Mates thought of this game. Check out to see if they enjoyed playing as much as we did.

As an Independent contractor for The Old Schoolhouse and member of TOS Homeschool Crew I received Fractazmic game for free  from I See Cards, in exchange for my honest review of their product.

Beautiful Desert Morning

Today was a beautiful, cold, morning across the desert. The snow from yesterday was mostly melted, but the temperature was about 22 degrees.  During my walk this morning, I reached the point where you look out across the Tularosa Basin to the Organ Mountains. The sun just touching the mountains and turning them beautiful shades of purple was gorgeous. The picture, which was taken by my phone, does not quite do the scene justice.

 

Pitsco Education

 

Medieval Machines Pack

• Trebuchet Kit
• Catapult Kit
• Mass Plates
• Siege Machines book
• $21.95
• Age Range: Intermediate-Middle School
• Available from Pitsco Education

Product Description (from Pitsco Website)

From The Lord of the Rings to Night at the Museum, we are fascinated by these medieval devices. Now, use that interest to teach basic math, science, and problem-solving skills. With this pack, your child learns about catapults and trebuchets through hands-on activities that cover three areas:

• Science: Tension versus torsion, elasticity, gravity and levers, and force and motion
• Math: Metric conversion, calculating averages, and prediction
• Experiments: Mass versus distance, testing rubber bands, targeting, and more

They will discover the history of medieval siege machines as well as the concepts required to build and use them.

 

ClarkClan Product Thoughts

      Each of these siege machines are made of basswood sheets with laser cut parts. You punch the pieces out and then glue them together according to the instructions. The instructions written step by step with pictures for clarity. These were not difficult to put together, but they were not easy either. Matthew (18) and Sarah  (14) put together the catapult. Dad, Sarah, and Ben (10) put together the trebuchet. With the catapult the only real difficulty came when Matthew snapped the top of the trigger. This was fixed with a little super glue and has not seemed to affect the performance.  Dad and Sarah had a little trouble with one part of the trebuchet, but a step back and re-reading of the instructions made things clear.

      The real fun came when we used the siege machines! Sarah, Ben and Rebekah (8) all had fun when we tested the machines. First, we read the history in the Siege Machines  book. Then we launched into the experiments. One day we tested the catapult and the next we tested the trebuchet. The Siege Machines book has well laid out experiments.

      Our first experiment with the catapult was Mass vs. Distance. We weighed out three balls of clay, each with a different mass. Then we launched each ball three times and recorded the distances. Then we had to convert our English measurements into Metric measurements. The next experiment had us calculating and graphing averages. We also tested different rubber band sizes, as well as the temperature of the rubber bands.

     With the trebuchet we practiced prediction skills. We tested our ability to predict outcomes by trying to hit a target. We were able to talk about Newton’s third law of motion and transfer of energy.

     Each experiment was easy to accomplish and I appreciated the charts and graphs included in the book to fill out as a record of what they did. My kids discovered that the catapult was more accurate than the trebuchet. The trebuchet was finicky and had to be set up just so to be able to fire properly.

     Along with the experiments provided, my kids had a lot of fun experimenting on their own. Even though the safety instructions say to only use clay, my kids ended up trying Lego men. Then they got out our blocks and built castles to see what they could knock over with a ball of clay. I have seen them spend hours on the floor with these little machines, trying first one way then another.

     This was a winner with our family. I liked the well thought out, easy to accomplish experiments. Then I liked that the machines have been sturdy enough to have the kids play with them and try their own ideas. 

     Pitsco Education offers a wide variety of  learning activities.  Visit their website to find experiments in aerospace, dragsters and race cars, engineering, robotics, structures and many topics.

There were many other Crew Members who tested out the Siege Machines along with us. Visit the Crew Blog and read what they thought about these little medieval weapons.

As an Independent contractor for The Old Schoolhouse and member of TOS Homeschool Crew I received the Medieval Machines pack for free  from Pitsco Education, in exchange for my honest review of their product.