CrossWired Science: Sound, and Fluid Dynamics Review

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CrossWired Science is a new curriculum we were fortunate to review in our homeschool. Before I started using it, I did research to make sure it would be a good fit for us. Recommended for any age, per their website, they do recommend it's primarily designed for ages 4-18 which makes it very versatile to grow with your children or to be utilized across many ages which is nice. One of the sentences that appealed to me on the CrossWired Science site was, "Our prayer is that learning about the beauty and wonder of the world God has lovingly made would be a journey whole families could go on together." I was pleased to read that knowing that this is a curriculum that helps other see the glory of the Lord. For our review, we were able to use Sound, and Fluid Dynamics. This program can currently be either as a full curriculum for three months of science or a supplement so there is versatility. Upcoming additions will expand it to a six-month full curriculum to eventually a six-year curriculum. 

Getting Started:

Getting started was easy and what I like about CrossWired Science is one e-mail can be used for every child as well as yourself which simplifies the entire process. I chose the suggested Standard Calendar feature that utilizes the curriculum for 1 1/2 months and starts out with week one, for example:

• Monday - Core Videos 1 and 2 
• Tuesday - Core Videos 3 and 4
• Wednesday - Gold Digs/Digging Deeper - extra worksheets/resources to expand knowledge and a quiz at the end
• Thursday - General Links
• Friday - Reading

We began with the Global Sound unit which contains a Direction button and an Info button. Clicking on the Direction button provides a quick pop up that explains there are eight core videos along with recommendations on how to implement the timing. There are also suggestions for adding more tasks to make the lesson more robust for different children requiring more. CrossWired Science covers different scenarios thus making it very versatile. The Info button pop-up provides a basic understanding on how the curriculum will be absorbed by a child over time.

The Sound Unit Core Video and Lessons:

The Sound unit Lesson Page First Timers contains four videos featuring Audible Vibes, Sonar and Infrasound, Bats & Moon Explosions and Elephants and Lanternfish. For the purposes of this review, I will focus this part on Audible Sounds which we started with a short video almost seven minutes long. It's very engaging, the sound is good and easy to follow and understand. The graphics really provide a great understanding of what they were teaching. We also liked how they not only covered sounds from our body relative to talking but also how it relates to musical instruments. When they did discuss the sinuses, my youngest exclaimed now she understood why her head hurts with sinus headaches now.

After the video, they completed the worksheets which we found was a great took in helping to ensure that they retained and understood what they just watched. After completing the first video, I decided that for subsequent videos, I would have them review the worksheets first, so they knew what to pay particular attention to while watching the video. This really assisted them in listening better so they could hone in on key facts that they needed to record on the worksheets. The information in the video is provided in order to what they have to write down on the worksheets so it's really helpful to have them complete as they listen or to listen to the video twice. I learned a lot as well! Here is page 1 as an example:

One part of the video had them pushing down on their larynx to feel the vibration as well as to hear how it can sound if you push down or up. The interactive functionality is also a nice feature of the video.

As you can see, she thought it was funny hearing their voices change.

At the conclusion of video 1, there was a Test Your Knowledge section that was an online 10 question quiz. There is an option to see all the questions and answers so the child understands what he or she missed. Once you complete it, you are unable to start it again. The quiz concludes that lesson and you move on to the next one.

The screen shot below shows a progress tracker that allows the user to easily return where they left off:

Sound Experiments:

Once we finished with the first four videos, we were introduced to Sound Experiments. The first one involved bird sounds which was an interesting one for them as I always point out when Cardinals are singing. There is an instructional allowing flexibility on how you want to use this with your students. I placed the page and some research paper in a binder and even though we started watching and listening, we will use this over a period of time as suggested. They even provide a Sound Journal for all the experiments and at the end of the page, is a place for the student to enter information about the experiment(s) they did online which constitutes a quiz.

After the Experiment section, the Research Topic is next. This is also very flexible and CrossWired Science provides complete instructions and guides the student along with what is needed of them. All of the information I have provided for the review thus far is accessible under the student's view. There is a separate area for teachers which I will briefly cover a little further down.

Fluid Dynamics Unit:

Fluid Dynamics is the next unit we started even though we did not finish the Sound unit as we wanted to provide our initial thoughts on this global topic. Just like the Sound unit, this unit provides great vivid videos that are engaging, thorough, easy to understand and do teach important facts and fundamental information about the topics. It was just right for my 11-year-old while not boring for my 15-year-old. It also has the worksheets and tests to further encourage material retention. This was a favorite for my eight-year-old granddaughter due to the video covering sharks and birds. They also cover historical facts about each topic such as Daniel Bernoulli who was born in 1740. He contributed to the concept of fluid dynamics. Other topics such as how birds can fly and land with reduced air flow are included.

Both units contain other links which some are still being refined while others are accessible. This is an example of one of the experiments with the Fluid Dynamic unit:

Parent/Teacher's Resources:

This area provides many options that include:

• My Account - this area provides the dashboard, orders, subscription, downloads, addresses, payment methods, account details and a log out feature.
• Manage Students: ability to manage students and group leaders.
• Student Progress is broken down by student and provides a download feature to a CSV file.
• Quiz Results
• Teacher Resources is equally comprehensive and includes:
• Super Tips for Using CrossWired Science
• Calendar suggestions that is broken down to Core Videos, Reading, Experiments, Devotions, Research and General and Unit Links and finally, Stretching Each Global Topic to 8 Weeks. There are six printable calendars
• Student Dashboard Information
• Suggested Calendar is the same as what is found under Teacher Resources
• Unit Worksheet Answers
• General Links provides videos for each of the Units 
• Unit Links provides additional videos for each Unit too

Overall Thoughts:

Overall, I think CrossWired Science is an extremely comprehensive and great online program. I am excited to try this with my students and can't wait to see all the other material as they finish the curriculum.  The 29 lessons in all are easy to understand and with the engaging videos presented in such a fun invigorating way, it kept my student's interests with the just right length of video. Each "Global Topic" is "crosswired" to many subject areas which is why I feel it's a robust and comprehensive program. I look forward to incorporating some of the other exercises available, or soon to be available, such as experiments, research, reading a book and much more! Sound, and Fluid Dynamics definitely drew the interests from my students.
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A subscription is for one year but if purchased during the launch year (March, April or May 2019), the subscription will be extended slightly longer and run until July 2020.
Click on this CrossWired Science link to save $5 and use health23 code.
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Children's Book His Mercy Endureth Forever Review

My children and grandchildren love books. As a matter of fact, going to the local library is a quite a fun event for us. We have boxes and boxes of books and I hope once we finally get settled into our forever house, we will be able to display each and every one. Recently, we were invited to review His Mercy Endureth Forever ~ Psalm 136 illustrations by Kathleen DeJong. It's a 36 page hardbound book full of colorful illustrations that match the words from Psalm 136. 

Not only is the beauty within the psalm but Ms. DeJong's illustrations are captured in the beauty in each of the drawings. The book is probably suited for a younger reader or even an age to be read to. It's a divine way to introduce this psalm in a welcoming way for the younger listener or reader. 

I had my 11 year old read it before we gave it to my eight year old grandchild to see what she thought and she said it was a good way to help her remember Psalm 136. She thought the illustrations were nice and she liked how each one correlated to the part in the Psalm.

Overall, it's a very simple book focusing on Psalm 136 with illustrations to draw more interest by children in enjoying it. The illustrations help to tell the story and would be ideal for younger children.

YWAM Publishing Christian Heroes: Then & Now Douglas MacArthur Review

History is an exciting subject that I've been interested in ever since I was a young girl. This is why I was thrilled to be able to review another book selection from YWAM Publishing and their Christian Heroes: Then & Now books. The many different people in the Heroes of History biography collection are vast, but this time, I chose Heroes of History- Douglas MacArthur. World War II is a topic I know well and since I already knew a lot about Douglas MacArthur, I wanted to make sure my daughters learned what a formidable man he was. Not only is the book full of wonderful educational information, but YWAM Publishing also provides study guides that assist in teaching the main points if you decide to utilize this as an educational resource.

Our first review from YWAM Publishing was Heroes of History- Milton Hershey which was a wonderful account of a man that many have no idea what made him special. After reviewing this biography, I knew that I would really enjoy any of the other biographies that YWAM Publishing publishes.

Preparing for the Course:

I've learned when utilizing the past curriculum from YWAM Publishing, it's best to print the study guide and alongside the book, I'll review everything first before getting started. I also printed the Douglas MacArthur Fact Sheet as it's a great way for students to journal key facts as they read the book. I'll start with the 224 page book first that is recommended for ages 10 and up. Written by Janet and Geoff Benge who are a husband and wife team. Janet is a former elementary school teacher and Geoff holds a degree in history. Combined, the book is perfectly suited for children to read and I must admit, I enjoyed it as well.

The Book:  Douglas MacArthur: What Greater Honor

The book opens up with a brief harrowing account of MacArthur having to decide whether to leave the island of Corregidor or resign to stay on to fight. I have to add that the book already caught the attention of my youngest as we also were stationed at any Army base in El Paso, Texas so that brought it a little home to her. Both my girls, ages 11 and almost 16, enjoyed reading about this great man of history and given that I'm a huge history fan, I'm constantly pushing this type of reading material on them. The book has 17 chapters that provided an in-depth look into his life.

1. He Would Return
2. The Life of a Captain's Son
3. A Determined Young Man
4. An Officer in Training
5. Lieutenant Douglas MacArthur
6. A Mexican Adventure
7. On the Western Front
8. Promotion
9. Army Chief of Staff
10. Corregidor
11. Escape from Corregidor
12. Island by Island
13. "I Have Returned"
14. Surrender
15. Supreme Commander
16. Korea
17. What Greater Honor

They learned a great deal about MacArthur to include many things I didn't know such as him being promoted to the Army Chief of Staff thus becoming the youngest Chief of Staff in American history. The book not only details the great life of MacArthur, but it provides key time points in history such as the depression and events such as Bonus March. This was in response to those that served in the Great War not receiving bonuses that were promised. With the depression, the government was low on funds, but the Veterans were suffering more. After some time, some of the protesters left but about 10,000 remained. MacArthur kept a close eye on the situation in fear that Communists infiltrated the protesters and would subsequently cause an overthrow of the government. President Hoover ordered MacArthur to assist after the D.C. police shot and killed some of the protesters. As my daughter read this part of the book, she looked at me in disbelief and said, "MacArthur used tear gas on the protesters!" That was a good opportunity to discuss the passage.

Another key part was when MacArthur received the Medal of Honor by Australian Prime Minister John Curtin. This is the highest award of valor in action against an enemy. Upon being pinned, he recalled when his own father received the Medal of Honor. Both he and his father were the only father and son to receive such honor!

There are so many moments that can be shared about the life of Douglas MacArthur from the beginning to the end. It's hard to just pick some of the best as there were so many. When he received the Sylvanus Thayer Award for distinguished service to a nation in May 1962, he gave an unscripted speech that really summed up his life's work and dedication. The final paragraph was:

"Today marks my final roll call with you. But I want you to know that when I cross the river, my last conscious thoughts will be of the corps, and the corps and the corps. I bid you farewell." 

It's a beautifully written biography that provides so much educational material that captivated me. I loved teaching from this book and the guide was so helpful in ensuring my girls understood what they read.

The Unit Study Curriculum Guide

Once the Heroes of History Unit Study Curriculum Guide was downloaded and unzipped, we were instructed to click on the START-HERE.html link that opens to a screen like this:

From here, there are many menu options: 

• The tab for Douglas MacArthur provides an overview of his life.
• The tab for Unit Study provides the guides broken down for small groups, classroom and homeshool as well as the Unit Study that is broken into Unit Study - Part 1 and Unit Study - Part 2. Part 1 is the full body of the unit study and Part 2 is facts and mapping exercises.
• The tab for meet the authors is under construction.
• The Bonus Material tab includes word puzzles and more!
• There are also tabs for reader's reviews (coming soon) and more.

The guide also contains a table of contents that first provides an introduction and a black and white sketch of MacArthur. The guide is for either a school teacher or the homeschooling parent. As I noted above in the review of the book, it does touch on more topics than just a biographical account. It covers:

• History
• Geography
• Essay writing
• Creative writing
• Reading comprehension
• Public speaking
• Drama
• Art

The guide recommends that the teacher or parent decide what works best for your child(ren) based on reviewing the various ideas provided. They also state that the guide is for a variety of learning styles, group or individual study and it can be utilized across grades with examples such as: one activity has the student making a Japanese doll. An older student might make a more complicated doll whereas a younger student might make a simpler version out of paper. All in all, the guide is comprehensive and versatile.

One of sections I utilized were Chapter Questions (photo above). They provide six questions for each chapter:

1. A vocabulary question from the text
2. A factual question arising from the text
3. Two questions to gauge the level of the student's comprehension
4. Two open-ended questions seeking their opinion or interpretation

This was a great example of how they incorporate geography into the curriculum:

We utilized one of the Creative Writing exercises to write a letter to MacArthur:

Overall, it was an exceptional introduction to General Douglas MacArthur. The girls and I enjoyed learning all that we did about such a great man in American history as well as world history given the breadth of his touch across the globe. I probably enjoyed it more than them, but I really hope their interest in history will continue to increase. YWAM Publishing does yet another great job with their Christian Heroes: Then & Now series about Douglas MacArthur.







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Fix It! Grammar by Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW) Review

Grammar is an essential subject to master based on my experiences at college and my professional past life working at a pharmaceutical company. My father always taught me it's important to read and write properly to look professional and intelligent. Both my younger girls love to write, and they are constantly churning out story after story. My youngest is a bit finicky about learning and thinks she already knows all she needs to know about grammar and is usually a little resistant to anything new. This time, when I showed her the Fix It! Grammar book by Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW), she was excited so that made me eager to write my review of The Nose Tree (Book 1). There are six stories (books) to choose from and IEW provides a comparison chart:

For those starting out using IEW, there is a placement test which is available online to help aid in choosing where to start, or one can simply start with Book 1: The Nose Tree which is what we chose. Even though I chose Book 1: The Nose Tree without taking the placement test, I had my youngest take it test after the fact and here is a sample of what it looks like:

Starting Out:

We received physical copies of the spiral bound Teacher's Manual and Student Books. Within the Teacher's Manual, there are download links to include the ability to download the Student Book. IEW also provides a couple of different webinars including an introduction by Andrew Pudewa and an Introduction to Fix It! Grammar Webinar that are helpful if new to IEW. I have to note how annoying non-spiral bound books are since you have to constantly battle keeping your place. Spiral bound books make it so easy to keep the page open and to easily find where you were working from by just flipping the pages over. I cannot stress enough how wonderful that simple feature is that IEW provides spiral bounded books! 

Note:  If you purchase the Teacher's Manual, you can print a copy of the Student Book via a link provided with the Manual. This method will require a student to have a two-pocket notebook with three-hole fasteners to store the student pages and the Glossary pages.

The Fix It! Grammar program only requires four days a week for around 15 minutes making it very manageable even for the easily bored student like I have. It is intended to take 33 weeks to complete the instruction and practice. For our review, we were able to complete four weeks of lessons. The idea behind this is the student(s) hunt and correct errors in the daily passages that will cumulatively tell a complete story.

The concepts presented in Book 1: The Nose Tree include:

• Identifying parts of speech: nouns, articles, pronouns, verbs, helping verbs, adjectives, -ly adverbs, prepositions, coordinating conjunctions, clause starters.
• Using punctuation marks correctly.
• Choosing the correct homophone or usage.
• Understanding basic rules for capitalization and indentation.

We glued an envelope to the inside cover to hold the grammar cards to avoid losing them.

Both the Teacher's Manual and the Student's Book have a glossary that is designed to provide a refresher or a reference for specific rules.

Week 1:

Beginning was WAY easier than I had expected. Since IEW allows for reproductions of the pages, I was able to teach both of my girls even though it was review material somewhat for my older one. I love that it's so easy to use and since it's short in duration relative to the amount of time required, I get no resistance. The concepts taught are ones they will utilize throughout life and are really essential. 

Each week's assignment is broken up into Learn It and Fix It sections as well as by day. We proceeded by breaking up the lessons as suggested by IEW:

• Week 1 - Day 1: This lesson took a little longer since it was the introduction and organization of the material. We read through the Learn It section, cut out and reviewed the grammar cards that were in the back of the Student Book, and read the sentence. I also had them look up the words in bold in a dictionary. We then marked and fixed the first passage and errors resulted in an explanation as to why it was wrong followed by a rewrite. 
• Week 1 - Days 2 - 4 - my girls had to use the abbreviations at the top of the page to mark the passages. The grammar cards are helpful if they forget as well. I had them go through the grammar cards daily if they needed the practice.
• Every day, they had to also rewrite the passages in the correct way after we reviewed each one. The rewrite ensures they utilize proper indentation, punctuation and grammar.

Week 2:

Each week is a repeat of the first week relative to how to teach each week's passage assignment. The abbreviations (terms such as adverb, adjective, etc increase) and the vocabulary words change the basics of teaching the lesson stays the same. Below is our Week 2 Learn It and Fix It work:

Week 4:

Here is how we progressed to Week 4 and notice that the lessons start to get more robust with the marking of the passage and how each lesson also repeats the markings, so the students become more aware with how each word is used whether a noun, pronoun, verb, etc.

This is my oldest one also likes it because the lessons are short:

Week 33:

We have not made it to week 33 but I wanted to provide a glimpse into what it looks like. The markings increase and by this time, the student will really have a firm understanding what a preposition, adjective, noun, and so forth are.

I really liked the concept of having students edit their own work to learn. About 15 years ago when I was helping my daughter with her public-school writing assignments, I would review what she wrote and provided feedback to help her rewrite her papers. I found that having her eventually move into the practice of editing her own work, it created a more profound ability to remember mistakes while creating a very talented writer. Being able to teach them how to incorporate usage, punctuation mark placement and grammar is very critical to starting a firm foundation for future careers. This is a very good program in teaching what is normally boring or tedious. I recommend Fix It! Grammar by Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW) and will look forward to moving on to Book 2 when we complete Book 1.









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Keto Food Find Hurrah: Green Giant™ Cauliflower Pizza Crust is Pretty Good

I've been on and off various diets and more recently, the Ketogenic Diet. My daughter, son-in-law and I have all had great success on it but our problem is, we've treated it like a diet. The secret to any success with a diet to either lose weight or to feel better should be considered a life style change. Changing habits is really hard and if you have tried the Ketogenic way of eating, you know it can take some time to prepare since it involves fresh ingredients. My daughter and I have found some great recipes using that old stand by protein in the way of meat but also with items such as heavy cream, cream cheese, cauliflower, brocolli, cabbage, lettuce, tomatoes and much more. That's the beauty of this change in eating habits, you get vegetables and although you skip the fruit at first to see how many carbs your body can handle, it's not as unhealthy as many will make you believe.

Another component of the Ketogenic Diet is how it works for some with epilepsy. One of my other daughters and my grandchild have/had epilepsy so I've done a lot of research on it. From my experiences with various groups as well as our non-profit, I have read personal success stories on how well some manage to control seizures with the diet. There has even been stories about helping with cancer but I am unable to say one way or another. To me, anytime we can eliminate sugar and other processed foods, it has to be good. I know some people are vegetarians, which is fine as you can still find a lot of soy products and meat substitutes to make this diet work.

I've been wanting to try pizza crust made with cauliflower for some time as I love using it as a substitute for mashed potatoes. When I read how cumbersome it is to make, I really didn't want to go to the effort unless I knew I liked it which is where I finally broke down and bought Green Giant™ Cauliflower Pizza Crust. It's a serving that can feed two or you can save it for later. Basically, all you have to do is bake it around 16 minutes and you cannot let it thaw first as it will crumble. After I baked it, I completed it with my toppings, baked it another six minutes and after it cooled, it stayed together in one piece and it tasted pretty good. It does have a cauliflower aroma and if you were on the diet for a few days or more, you wouldn't even noticed it because at that point, anything with a bread type texture and taste is pretty darn good. 

I have a cousin who has lost quite a bit of weight changing his eating habits and switching to keto friendly foods. He also has seen tremendous results with his labs and is feeling so much better with less aches and more energy. I do know that when I'm on it for a longer time period, I have a great deal of energy and I feel great.  As he does, I'm sharing my foody find in hopes of helping someone else find new food products to try.

Keto Bars – Original Flavor & Peanut Butter Keto Bar Review

Disclaimer: I have received two complimentary boxes of Keto Watt Bars to which I voluntarily wrote this review.

Ketogenic Diets are diets that I've written about in the past and follow here and there as I am horrible with finding an excuse to fall off what I know should be a lifelong way of eating. It seems there is always a holiday, a birthday, or an illness that hits so I put off what I know is something I should do. One of the problems I have with staying on the diet is my immense sweet tooth coupled with finding a product that will satisfy that need with few carbs. I have found a couple of bars that I really like from Keto Watt. There are two flavors and my husband and I were able to sample both the Original Keto Watt and the Peanut Butter Keto Watt bars. 

From doing the Keto Diet in the past, I know I have more energy and I feel better. Gone are the spikes of sugar rushes with hard crashes. My oldest daughter even attests to this but alas, we have low will power. I am back on the wagon attempting to change my life and feel better. There are misconceptions, in my opinion, that the Keto Diet is bad and I do not follow that train of thought. Mostly due to the fact that this is not the Atkin's Diet nor some other derivative of that way of eating. The Keto Diet incorporates many vegetables into the diet and if one is in maintenance mode, a fruit on occasion is permissible once it's learned how many carbs are allowed for one's body before regaining weight. With that said, I'm always on the hunt for a keto friendly food item and now I have found two that I do like. I confess that the Original Keto Watt is not my first choice and I preferred the Peanut Butter Keto Watt. My husband likes both and agreed with the taste being better with the Peanut Butter Keto Watt bar. 

The Peanut Butter Bar Information:

• It is keto-friendly made with healthy fats from peanuts, coconut oil and cacao butter. These healthy fats are what helps to maintain the healthy level of ketosis.
• It has 14 grams of fat, 10 grams of protein and 4 grams net carbs.
• It is not only keto-friendly but is also  Paleo and Vegan friendly as well as GMO free and Gluten Free.

The Original Bar Information:

• It is keto-friendly made with healthy fats from almonds, coconut oil and cacao butter. These healthy fats are what helps to maintain the healthy level of ketosis.
• It has 17 grams of fat, 8 grams of protein and 4 grams net carbs.
• It is not only keto-friendly but is also  Paleo friendly as well as GMO free and Gluten Free.

The Review:

My husband and I prefer this bar over the Original due to taste. Both bars provided an energy spike that didn't involve a crashing down period. It was a nice boost to keep going especially for my husband who is a nurse on the go. They are very good in taste and don't have that fake sugar taste like some other keto-friendly bars have. The texture of the Original Bar is a little oily which didn't prevent me from eating them but that is why I preferred the Peanut Butter Bar. My husband is now hooked and wants them daily for his work and non-work days. He was really impressed with the energy boost he had without any downfalls. They are also comparable in costs to other keto-friendly products. They have samples available to order in case you want to try them out first yourself. Overall, we would recommend them.

The Keto Watt website provides a wealth of information as well if starting or are already on the Keto Diet.

Check them out on Twitter also!