Curiosity Files - Red Tide / The Old Schoolhouse Review

"My research team and I specialize in the obscure, the abnormal and bizarre. We search land and seas for these oddities, and make each one a star." ~ Professor Ana Lyze

These are the opening words in the Red Tides Curiosity Files, which I have had the pleasure of reviewing for The Old Schoolhouse. The Curiosity Files (9 in all - published by The Old Schoolhouse) are science unit studies designed for ages 8-13, which can stand alone or be used to enhance a current unit study in your homeschool. (We just finished a seashell unit, and this dovetailed PERFECTLY!) Each unit study is 80-100 pages.

This current unit study is on sale for ONLY $1 in The Old Schoolhouse Store. The 9 unit studies in the Curiosity Files can be downloaded for just $46, or they are also available on CD for $49.

The Red Tides Curiosity File has many different activities, each of which are presented in formats for elementary and middle/high grades. Included activities are:

• Math - the Metric System
• Scientific Research Paper
• Persuasive & Descriptive Essays
• Spelling Word Lists
• Copywork (Print and Cursive)
  
• Coloring
• Wordsearches
• Science Experiments ("In the Lab")
• Opportunities for Creativity
• Mapping/Geography
• History
• Music
• Lapbooking/Notebooking
  
• .... and much more!

I love the unit study format, because it takes essential subjects we study each day (math, history, science, spelling, geography) and integrates them - making my children's learning that much more meaningful. My children - a kindergarten and fourth grader - enjoy this format very much. I could pick and choose the pages I wanted to print, and then put those in a three pronged folder for each child. I would follow along with them on the computer or iPad, so we were literally "on the same page". Each day we went through a few of the activities together. Even my youngest gained a lot from this study!

My oldest enjoys "fact finding" and hoarding information, but my youngest enjoys coloring and experimentation. This unit study provided each of them with an activity - so while they were learning, it made it easier on me because there was something each of them enjoyed every day! We did NOT cover every single thing in the study, but I like the flexibility of picking and choosing what works for us ~ and what works for each of my children. At first glance the amount of information can seem overwhelming, so know you probably will not accomplish everything, and that's OK!

I also appreciated having a book list, so I could reserve books from the library to enhance our study, as well as a list of additional online resources. So far, we have spent a week on this study, but with additional library books, online resources, and science experiments, you could easily expand it to two or even three weeks. (There is a very interesting timeline activity that is well worth pursuing, I might add!)

It's unique to find all of this quality information, organized so nicely, for just $1! If you average the price out for all the studies it's just a little more than $5 per study, so I think we'll be taking advantage of more of the Curiosity Files in our homeschool.

Take a look for yourself; it might just be a great fit for your children as well!

*Disclaimer: As a potential TOS Crew member, I received this product free of charge to review. This review is my honest opinion with, hopefully, enough detail as to why I liked or did not like a product so that my readers can make an informed decision. I received no compensation.

Read-Aloud Thursday/How We Choose Our Read-Alouds

I'm happy to join in Read-Aloud Thursday @ Hope Is the Word. Each Friday all of the Read-Aloud Thursdays posts are compiled, and then you can see what everyone else is reading. So, be sure to check Amy's site on Friday for some wonderful ideas.

We try to read aloud AT LEAST two hours each day in our home - many days it is more. I consider reading aloud to be me reading to the children, the children listening to books on CD, or dad reading to us after dinner - increasingly, my nine year old daughter will read out loud to her six year old brother. That does my heart such good.

How do I choose read-alouds? Read-Alouds consist of books recommended in The Story of The World Activity Guide, library books my children have chosen, as well as books recommended in The New Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease. I also love to pull booklists from Sonlight, Five in a Row, and Ambleside Online. Per Charlotte Mason, we try not read "twaddle", and I'm finding my children are gravitating towards quality literature for children.

Our read-alouds this week:

Amon's Adventure:

Dad reads this story each night while we all listen. It is a beautiful family story for Lent. Last night granddaddy was visiting with us and listened as well.

Greek Myths for Young Children:

This book coincides with the chapters about Greece in The Story of The World, Volume 1. The myths are the perfect length for my six year old son - but still keep the interest of my older daughter. We highly recommend this book!

Mara, Daughter of the Nile:

This is a read-aloud with my daughter. We have been reading it for several weeks. It is a complex plot, but OH SO GOOD! It coincides with the Egyptian section in The Story of the World, Volume 1. We should be finishing this book soon.

The Amazing Magic Show:

I couldn't find an image for this book. My son picked it out at the library, and it's been a wonderful book for him - definitely a great book for boys!

The Legend of the Persian Carpet:

This book coincides with the chapter about Persia in The Story of the World, Volume 1. It is fairly short, but the illustrations are stunning and as we read I could see lightbulbs going off in my children's heads - since we had just read this history chapter the day before.

What have you been reading to your children this week?