Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

Spending time studying God’s word is an integral part of the life of a Christian. However, if I am honest, it can also be a challenging part of a mom of young children. Finding consistent quiet time to study the Bible and reflect on what it is teaching can be a real challenge when your day feels dictated by the very real needs of young children. I have tried many different options over the years, sometimes doing quick one page devotionals that often had great thoughts but were light on actual scripture. Other times trying to do in-depth Bible studies but feeling like a failure when I couldn’t consistently get it done. I feel like Faith Journeys Bible Study Series: Romans bundle and Faith Journeys Bible Study Series: Philippians by Julie Naturally did a great job of finding the middle ground.

As their titles imply, these studies are based on the books of Romans and Philippians. I spent most of my time during this review working through Faith Journeys Bible Study Series: Philippians  but also had a chance to start Faith Journeys Bible Study Series: Romans bundle. The Philippians study consisted of daily readings with workbook pages, memory cards, and coloring pages.  In addition, the Romans study had weekly videos to introduce the passage that was being studied. The videos were about 10-12 minutes long.

Each day you are given a short passage to read, for example on Day 1 of Week 3 you read Romans 5:1-11 and then there are about 2 pages of questions for you to answer and contemplate. This often also includes a verse or two from somewhere else in the Bible. There were no answers included with the worksheets but the questions helped guide the reader in thinking about the scripture passage and how it relates to other passages.

I appreciated that these studies covered entire books of the Bible and had you read and study a section each day. I have found that too often devotionals take one verse of scripture and use it without the appropriate context. By going through it systematically you get more of the big picture and I believe that leads to a deeper understanding of scripture.

I loved the coloring pages because I have found that coloring scripture really helps me to focus my mind on the words. Sometimes when I am trying to study or memorize my mind wanders to all of the things on my to-do list, but coloring keeps me focused on the words at hand.

Overall, this goes deeper into the Bible than many of the short devotionals that are commonly available today, but it less intense and shorter than a lot of full Bible study programs. It could be a great fit for someone that is new to Bible study or for a busy mom that wants to get into God’s word each day but does not have the quiet alone time for a more in-depth study. I enjoyed this as a way to get my day started in the Word. It would take me about 10-15 minutes to complete a day of the study. I continued to do a more in-depth study with my children on the days that we could, but like being able to start my day with a few minutes of scriptural focus.

If you are looking for a new Bible study, check out Faith Journeys Bible Study Series: Romans bundle or Faith Journeys Bible Study Series: Philippians by Julie Naturally. You can also click on the graphic below to read about how other Review Crew members used these Bible studies.

“Come, ye thankful people, come,
raise the song of harvest home;
all is safely gathered in,
ere the winter storms begin.
God our Maker doth provide
for our wants to be supplied;
come to God’s own temple, come,
raise the song of harvest home.”

As we in America prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving, I enjoy listening to a variety of hymns of Thanksgiving. I really love this time of year because of the built in reminders to be thankful. This year has had more challenges than most for many people, but we are still called to be grateful. When we shift our focus to our blessings it can change our perspectives and attitudes.

This month I want to focus on the hymn, Come Ye Thankful People Come. It was written in 1844 by Henry Alford. Henry Alford was born in London in 1810 and died in Canterbury, England in 1871. While he wrote a variety of hymns, this was his most well known hymn. It was written for the village harvest festivals in Victorian England. It takes imagery from the parable of the growing seed in Mark 4 and the wheat and the weeds in Matthew 13. In addition to hymns he authored other literary works, including The Greek Testament, a commentary of four volumes which took him 20 years to complete.

The hymn speaks of being thankful during the harvest which can be read both literally and figuratively. As you sing it and learn about it, it is a great opportunity to draw parallels with the first American (or colonial?) Thanksgiving and how God provided. Depending on your location, you may also want to visit a farm or field and see an actual harvest. This can open up discussions both about God’s daily provisions and about the figurative harvest of people for Christ.

This month as we study our hymn, I want to make sure we take the time to be thankful! There are many ways to count your blessings.

• You can write them down and put them in a jar to be read later.
• Begin writing them on a pumpkin and see if you can fill up the whole thing. 
• Create a chain of blessings on paper rings.
• Go around the table and discuss your blessings at dinner each night,
• Go through the alphabet and think of something to be thankful for that begins with each letter.

If you want to include some visual arts in your study this month you could do this corn mosaic or this water color pumpkin. For something a little more challenging you could do this cornucopia and then write about your blessings. The Thanksgiving season offers a plethora of craft opportunities and our traditional gatherings are a great time to ‘show off’ your little one’s creations. As a bonus, you can send crafts home as party favors and de-clutter before Christmas!

If you are looking for additional songs of Thanksgiving to study this month, be sure to check out, We Gather Together and Count Your Blessings. What other Thanksgiving hymns do you enjoy?

Resources:

Come Ye Thankful People Come (choir)

Come Ye Thankful People Come (lyrics and sheet music)

Come Ye Thankful People Come (guitar and voice)

Come Ye Thankful People Come (piano instrumental)

Come Ye Thankful People Come (Organ Instrumental Free with Prime Music)

Come Ye Thankful People Come (Congregational Singing Free with Prime)

Come Ye Thankful People Come (Scottish Festival Singers Free with Prime Music)

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Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

When you sign up for the Schoolin’ Swag free resource library you will get a link and password to the library, we are adding to the library each month with new items. You will also get a bi-weekly newsletter email to keep you up to date on what we have going on.

Resource Library 

This post may contain affiliate or referral links, including Amazon affiliate links. As always I will never recommend a product that I don’t believe in and you will never be charged more for purchasing through our links. It does help pay for the costs associated with the blog.

• Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, see disclosure below for more information*

Ludwig Beethoven is perhaps the most well known name in classical music. He was born 250 years ago this December. As part of our normal music appreciation studies, and to celebrate his sestercentennial, we have decided to spend some time this month studying his life and music. I often hear people say that they want to introduce their children to famous musicians but they do not know where to start or how to make it interesting for younger children. While I’m not a classical music expert, we have developed an appreciation and to help you I have complied a variety of resources about Beethoven that are fun and engaging for a variety of ages.

In our home we currently have a two-year-old, six-year-old, twelve-year-old, and fourteen-year-old. While I don’t expect the two-year-old to remember any of the facts about Beethoven, he can begin to learn to appreciate his music by listening along with us.

Several years ago, we had the benefit of being introduced to the Classical Kids series through the children’s programming at the North Carolina Symphony. We enjoyed a series of concerts there each year that were geared towards children. They had all of the talent and musical finesse of their regular symphony concerts, but with the addition of explanations and visual performances. One of the performances we had the opportunity to watch was, Beethoven Lives Upstairs. In addition to live performances, you can listen to it on CD (or streaming) or watch the movie! This performance showcases Beethoven’s music while also teaching about his life.

With my daughter’s love for the violin and music, we took the opportunity to review Zeezok’s music appreciation course last year.  We loved the biographies that went along with the curriculum, and were excited to find that there was one in the same series used by that course on Beethoven. My daughter is going to be reading Ludwig Van Beethoven and the Chiming Tower Bells this month as a part of her literature studies.

I have only a surface knowledge of music appreciation, and so it is one of the subjects where I like to get a little more expert help. We use SQUILT music to help bring more music appreciation into our home. SQUILT offers a few different options. First, they have an inexpensive monthly calendar with a music selection to listen to each day. This is a simple and quick way to introduce more music. However, if you want to take it a little further, they have a monthly membership which gives you access to two live online lessons each month, as well as a library of recorded lessons. For the month of November, the live lessons will be focused on Beethoven (and they will be recorded and in the library if you join after they air live.)  We really feel like this is a great investment for our family that encourages us all to learn more and appreciate music.

Of course, we are also including a variety of books in our study of Beethoven. We have several in our personal collection and I was able to find a few more at our local library. Ludwig Van Beethoven (World’s Greatest Composers Series) is one that is in our personal library. We love the books in this series because they are well written, provide lots of good information, and are still entertaining. The illustrations always have my children laughing. We also have Lives of the Musicians and Beethoven Lives Upstairs. We borrowed 39 Apartments of Ludwig Van Beethoven from our local library as well.

To learn more about Beethoven’s life and works, there are several websites that have great information. Classics for Kids has a lot of great information and the opportunity to listen to several selections of his music. Classical Kids Music and Kids Music Corner also offer some good resources. If you have a SchoolhouseTeachers.com membership, they have two great courses with lessons on Beethoven. For younger children, first-third grade, they have their Great Musicians course. Beethoven is the first of twelve musicians covered in the course. This could also be a great introduction for older elementary students. For middle and high school students, Composing with the Masters covers Beethoven in lesson 10. As always, you can choose to take the whole course, or just do the lessons of interest to your family.

If you want to tie art into your music studies, Nana from ChalkPastel.com has a great lesson for Beethoven. in her Composers course that is included with the clubhouse membership. I know that my son will enjoy this part of our studies. You can also have your children draw what they hear as they are listening to the music.

Finally, for familiarity with his music we enjoy listening in two main ways. First, just play some of his music in the background as you are going through the day. You can purchase a CD, listen on Amazon Prime Music, or find some on YouTube. Second, we like to use the SQUILT method when we want to be more intentional. This is just a few minutes at a time of, “Super Quiet Uninterrupted Listening Time”. Mrs. Mary teaches this method in her SQUILT live classes if you want more information.

Whether you have children that love music and want to learn more or you are just beginning your studies, I hope that you can find resources here that you can use and enjoy with your children. I want to leave you with a final piece of advice, do not feel like you have to use all of the resources or spend lots of time on the study. Start with what seems most interesting or easiest for you and then see where it takes you. Even a few minutes a week or a lesson a couple times a month can make a big difference. I would love to hear about your favorite Beethoven resources or what other composers you would like to learn about in the comments.

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Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

When you sign up for the Schoolin’ Swag free resource library you will get a link and password to the library, we are adding to the library each month with new items. You will also get a bi-weekly newsletter email to keep you up to date on what we have going on.

Resource Library 

This post may contain affiliate or referral links, including Amazon affiliate links. As always I will never recommend a product that I don’t believe in and you will never be charged more for purchasing through our links. It does help pay for the costs associated with the blog.

Deals and Freebies

Today is the last day of the Evan-Moor BOGO sale on their Skill Sharpener Books.

Amazon is doing lots of daily deals for great educational toys, craft supplies, and even books!

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

At this point, I do not even need to ask my children if they want to review a Drive Thru History® Adventures product. They are an automatic yes, because they enjoy them so much. So, when we had a chance to check out their newest program, Bible Unearthed, everyone was on board. They could not wait to see what new adventures awaited them with Dave Stotts.

When we started watching this newest series, Bible Unearthed, we quickly realized that there were some similarities to other Drive Thru History programs, but this one was different from all the rest. While most of the other shows involve Dave traveling to various locations, this program is mostly done with Dave and two other gentleman, Titus Kennedy, PhD and Drive Thru History writer Randall Niles, sitting around a table looking at artifacts instead of locations.

Each lesson of this course includes a video, scriptural reading, further information and pictures, a worksheet to complete, and articles you can read to dig deeper into the subject matter. Most also include an option activity. For example, they suggest finding an ancient Biblical text on the internet and trying to copy it. Then have someone else check for the mistakes. This would help the students understand the care and concentration needed by ancient scribes.  The worksheets each contain five discussion questions. They also include an answer key to the worksheet (and all the busy moms rejoice).

The videos in this course could stand alone for middle grades students or if you just wanted a basic understanding of archeology. However, the additional reading and materials help to make it a more complete high school level course. The course begins with a discussion of what archaeology means and then goes on through the impacts of archaeology, life of an archaeologist, current happenings in archeology, and more.

Since we did not need the program as an actual high school credit, we decided to watch the videos together as a family and use the worksheets as discussion guides. As we continue working through the course we may also incorporate a few of the option activities. I really appreciate the flexibility of the program.

Overall, I think that Bible Unearthed like all of the Drive Thru History® Adventures is a quality production with a lot of educational value. If your children are interested in archeology or you want to give them a good basic foundation in archeology to go along with your history, this is a great program. We found that the videos were not as entertaining as the other Drive Thru History® Adventures but they are certainly not boring lectures. My children were happy to watch them as a part of school, but unlike Drive Thru History® “Acts to Revelation” ( Review) or Drive Thru History Review did not ask to watch them for pleasure. I would recommend these for students in middle or high school.

Take a look at all of the wonderful courses offered by  Drive Thru History® Adventures and make sure to click on the graphic below to see how other Review Crew families used Bible Unearthed in their homes.

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

Personal Finance Illustrated® Homeschool Edition from PEM LIFE is a very comprehensive personal economics program. It goes into considerable detail and has many tools that allow students to work through and examine a variety of different financial scenarios and how different choices effect their long term financial goals. My son, who has taken an interest in finance, had been taking another personal finance course and was excited to review this program and see what else he could learn.

 The program is divided into units. Each unit contains one or two primary instructional videos, several additional ancillary videos, instructions and practice on one or two digital tools. Then for assessing understanding each unit contains a concept quiz, vocabulary quiz, writing assignment, discussion question, and a reflection question. There is also a digital textbook with reading assignments for most of the units. The quizzes were self-grading, but I had to look over his writing assignments.

The course included 18 units. The units included an overview of the Personal Economic Model, taxes, lifestyle regulators, insurance information, debt information, investing, cash vs. financing, lifetime potential and more. While we have slightly different views on debt than this program expressed, we felt like the content was well thought out, meaningful, and helpful. Being able to look at the long term ramifications of each financial decision by using the various interactive tools really helps students understand the consequences of their decisions.

One really nice feature is the discussion boards. Each unit has a discussion board with questions for the student to answer. Then, they can reply to other students’ responses and have students respond to their answers. It is a great way to foster discussion in the online format and good preparation for online college courses which often use similar formats.

The layout of this program allows for students to move through it without a great deal of assistance from the parents, but also has an instructor’s guide that would allow the parent to adapt the program and be more involved. It could also be used in a co-op setting. When we started, I was having my son complete one unit per week. He was getting it done, but I did not feel like we had enough time to get the most out of the program. Moving forward, we are going to work to find a good system of either taking two weeks per unit or prioritizing the components of each unit that I feel are most important for that unit. I believe this will allow him to spend more time on the interactive tools and get the most from the program.

My fourteen-year-old son felt like the lecture style videos were very informative but a bit academic in style and not quite as engaging as he would have preferred. He really enjoyed working with the interactive tools and being able to plug in different numbers to see what would happen in different scenarios. He does not enjoy writing and therefore, did not really enjoy the writing components, but I do think those are helpful for students preparing for collegiate level courses. They could also be done in a discussion format.

Overall, if you are looking for a thorough personal finance course for your high school student, this may be a good option. While it is intense, it has quality material and tools that allow students to get a better understanding of the life time impact of their financial decisions. I would not recommend it for students younger than high school because of the level of difficulty. One of our big goals for each of our children is that they will graduate from our homeschool with a solid understanding of personal finance and the tools and information needed to make good financial decisions. I believe this program can be a big part of that process. Make sure to click on the graphic below to check out how other Review Crew Members used Personal Finance Illustrated® Homeschool Edition.

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2020 has been a different and stressful year in so many ways. Many events canceled or switched to Zoom and other digital platforms. However, there are still many blessings and good times. I am sure that 2020 will stand out in my children’s minds. However, I hope that above, or at least beside, the memories of a pandemic and political tension they remember the fun family memories. Some of our family traditions we have kept and others we had to modify. We went through some challenging times, but the slow down also gave us more time to relax and enjoy time at home as a family.

This fall some things have begun going back to normal, while others remain different or closed. However, we have tried to stay engaged with making memories as a family. Our state fair was canceled which was a big disappointment to the whole family. We normally go for at least one and often several days each year to show animals, do living history, and check out all of the fun exhibits and food. However, we were very thankful the children were able to go up to the fairgrounds and show their turkeys. Afterwards, we were blessed to be able to enjoy some take out fair food! I had my favorite roasted corn, a chicken kabob, and funnel cake. My son even got to try a gator kabob.

We were also able to take some fun family hikes, drink plenty of hot apple cider, and try out lots of apple recipes after we purchased 2 bushels of fresh apples from a North Carolina farm. We even had the chance to make some new memories by going to a local pumpkin patch with some good friends.

Even if it is as simple as roasting marshmallows in the back yard (or making oven s’mores) or drinking hot apple cider while listening to music or reading books, take the time this fall to make some fun memories. These memories can help our children learn that we can have fun even in the midst of challenging times. While they may prayerfully never deal with another pandemic, there will always be hard times and challenges. I hope we can help them learn how to handle challenges with grace and perseverance.

What fun activities are your doing with your family this fall? How does it look different than normal?

Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

When you sign up for the Schoolin’ Swag free resource library you will get a link and password to the library, we are adding to the library each month with new items. You will also get a bi-weekly newsletter email to keep you up to date on what we have going on.

Resource Library 

This post may contain affiliate or referral links, including Amazon affiliate links. As always I will never recommend a product that I don’t believe in and you will never be charged more for purchasing through our links. It does help pay for the costs associated with the blog.

Deals and Freebies

Evan-Moor is doing a BOGO sale on their Skill Sharpner Books next week from November 2nd through November 6th!

If you have not tried SchoolhouseTeachers.com, you don’t want to miss this sale!

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

Somewhere over the last two years, our family seems to have become a music family. I have never been a musician but always enjoyed listening to music. However, over the last couple of years my children have started playing instruments and become very interested in listening to a wide variety of music. They listen while we ride, while they do schoolwork, my son even bought headphones to listen while he cuts the grass.  We have a variety of CDs and there are several local Christian stations they can listen to, however, my older children really wanted a bit more variety. I wanted to encourage that variety while also making sure that the music they listened to was appropriate and also did not have inappropriate advertising.  I was excited to review Smart Kidz Radio and see how it would work for our family.

When we received our subscription to the Smart Kidz Radio: Member’s On-Demand Radio Program Library, I was not sure if it would have good content for my fourteen-year-old son since it is geared towards students in elementary and middle school. However, we decided that everyone would give it a try and see what they thought. Turns out that all three of my children that tried it, enjoyed it.

Each of them logged in from their computers or devices. From there they could pick which programs they wanted to listen to. There were stories, classical music, music from various cultures, music from specific decades, sing and learn programs, living skills, learning Spanish, and even some Bible and Inspirational songs.

For my six-year-old audio book lover, his favorite part was the stories. He was able to listen to a variety of stories including Fairy Tales, Nursery Tales, and another program titled Grandpa Tyler’s Storytime. His favorite was Peter Pan but he enjoyed listening to many of them.

For my twelve-year-old daughter, America’s Heritage in Song-Smart Kidz Boyz Choir and Golden Oldies 50s were her favorites. She enjoyed the diversity and said, “I liked the big selection of songs and audio books as well as the fact that it is clean for young listeners.” If she could have changed anything, she would have liked to have the lyrics shown on the screen.

My fourteen-year-old son is the one with the most eclectic music tastes and also the one who spends them most time listening to music. He appreciated that there was a lot of different types of music and his favorite was the Country Classics Show. He says, “I would recommend it for nearly anyone who likes different types of music or stories.” While I don’t think this will ever be his only source of music, we both appreciated the chance for him to try a variety of music in a safe format.

In addition, to providing families with a good variety of music and stories, Smart Kidz Radio has a foundation that “will financially support programs that give opportunities to young people to make a difference by following their career dreams and use their talents to make the world a better place.” They donate 20 % of membership fees to the Smart Kidz Foundation. 

Overall, I think Smart Kidz Radio is a great program for a family that wants to encourage musical interests, enjoy a variety of music, and want to have a safe place to explore different styles of music. I love that there is so much variety and educational content, but also a variety of fun songs. Make sure to click on the graphic below to see what programs the other Review Crew members enjoyed and how they used it with their families.

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**Some of the links in the post are affiliate links, please see the disclosure below for more information. **

I grew up protestant but honestly, never really learned about Reformation Day until I was an adult and teaching my children.  While we still do not make a big celebration of it in our family, I think it is important for our children to understand the importance of what happened on that day and how it affects us today.

What is Reformation Day?

Reformation Day, is October 31st and it celebrates the day that Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses on the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany in 1517. This event turned out to be the beginning of the Protestant Reformation.  The changes that were made in the church starting with that day, still effect us today.

From experience, I know that it can feel like a huge and complicated topic. The idea of teaching it can feel overwhelming if it was not something you grew up celebrating. However, I have found some great resources that will allow you to learn about Reformation Day in a relaxed family atmosphere.

Reformation Day Resources on SchoolhouseTeachers.com

First, I went looking to see what resources were already included in my SchoolhouseTeachers.com membership. I love being able to use something that it already included in what we have purchased. They have a variety of resources including several videos, more in-depth history lessons, and even a link to a fun student workbook with coloring books and fun activity pages. The video that I plan to watch this year is the Torchlighter video on Martin Luther. There are also some great videos about William Tyndale included. 

If you have older students, there is a three hour documentary titled This Changed Everything, which covers the Reformation much more in-depth and delves into some challenging questions about the division and the ramifications of that day.

Other Reformation Day Resources

In addition to the resources at SchoolhouseTeachers.com, I had an opportunity to read and review the book, Letters From Katie Luther. This book tells the life of Martin Luther’s wife and through that his story. It is a fictionalized account told through letters with her friend but includes a great deal of history and factual information. It is a great way to get a child more interested in the story of his life. You can read my full review here or check out the book on Amazon.

The Who, What, Why Book series has several books that are great for a Reformation Day study including Who Was Martin Luther and Why Did the Reformation Happen?

Documentaries and Parties

I also found several documentaries on Martin Luther that are included with Prime Video. These documentaries mostly appear to be for older students and adults.  As For Me and My Homestead and This Pilgrim Life both have ideas for a Reformation Day party.

Does your family learn about or celebrate Reformation Day? What ideas do you have for celebrating and what are your favorite resources?

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Resource Library and Affiliate Disclosure

When you sign up for the Schoolin’ Swag free resource library you will get a link and password to the library, we are adding to the library each month with new items. You will also get a bi-weekly newsletter email to keep you up to date on what we have going on.

Resource Library 

This post may contain affiliate or referral links, including Amazon affiliate links. As always I will never recommend a product that I don’t believe in and you will never be charged more for purchasing through our links. It does help pay for the costs associated with the blog.

Deals and Freebies

If you have not tried SchoolhouseTeachers.com, you don’t want to miss this sale!

Journey Homeschool Academy has opened up enrollment in their science courses this week only!

Evan-Moor is doing a BOGO sale on their Skill Sharpner Books next week from November 2nd through November 6th!

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

Memorizing math facts has never been a favorite of my children. However, I know that being familiar with those basic facts can make upper level math much easier. So, I am always looking for ways to help them get more familiar with math facts without using flashcards. One thing my children all enjoy is board games. We have a cabinet full and they are happy to play anytime I offer. I was excited when we were offered the opportunity to review Math Sprint  – The Mental Math Game from Byron’s Games.

This spring we were able to review their geography game Continent Race and knew that they had quality materials. My children were a bit on the younger and older side for Math Sprint  – The Mental Math Game but they all agreed they wanted to give it a try.

When Math Sprint  – The Mental Math Game arrived, one of the first things I noticed was the bright colorful box. It was very inviting and made the children excited to give it a try. The game included a brightly colored game board, playing pieces, and 258 playing cards. They also included 10 blank cards and a dry erase marker so that you can add your own questions.

As I looked over the instruction sheet, I was pleasantly surprised at how many different ways they had included to modify game play to the students which were playing. Of the 258 playing cards, 92 were addition and subtraction and 106 were multiplication and division. There were also 30 wild cards and 30 challenge cards. If you were playing with younger children you could simply remove the multiplication and division cards for simpler play. If you had students that needed to focus on multiplication and division, you could play with just those cards.  In addition, there were three different lengths of play. They had the 100m, 200m, and 400m dash. You could shorten or lengthen the play for everyone or have older children play a longer race and younger children a shorter race to level the playing field. You can also play as individuals or teams.

The game is designed to improve mental math. Play is fairly simple in that the coach reads one of the two math questions on the card they draw and then the first person or team to answer correctly gets to move forward two spaces on the ‘track’ which is printed on the game board. Whomever finishes their race first is the winner. There are also spaces on the track which have the children get up and do some movement exercises.

When we played we typically let my 12 and 14 year-old children each play as individuals and an adult would team up with my 6 year-old. This allowed him the chance to answer the ones that he knew but also get some help since his brother and sister were naturally faster with the math. They were also often kind enough to slow down a bit on the easier questions to give him a chance at success.  Depending on the length of race you chose a game would typically take about 15-30 minutes to play.

Overall, my children still don’t love math facts but they enjoyed Math Sprint  – The Mental Math Game. I loved that it was flexible enough for us to play together and that they could work on an important skill while they played. If you want to make learning those math facts more fun, I highly recommend this game. You can play it with as few as two players or up to eight teams of players so it is very flexible and could even be used in a co-op or classroom setting. I look forward to seeing what game the folks at Byron’s Games come up with next.  Make sure to check out what the other Review Crew families thought by clicking on the graphic below.

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Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

*Links are referral links, see disclosure below*

6/17/22 Update:

We are continuing to use Thinkwell and love the program! We have started using their regular student courses that we work through at our own pace and adding in live office hours during the months he needs extra help! You can use the links in this post to get 15% off your purchase of a Thinkwell course!

Math has been a bit of a challenge in our homeschool for the last several years. As my son has reached high school level math, he needed more and more help. The increasingly complex maths, which I hadn’t really used in quite a while, were a big challenge to jump back into. So, I couldn’t always remember how to help him. My husband is a huge help in this area, but couldn’t always stop work to help during our normal school time, and more and more often he was having to do extensive review to be able to help out. It was also causing some friction in our relationship because while my son does well in math, he does not enjoy it. Based on those struggles, I was very happy to try out THINKWELL’S INSTRUCTOR-LED GEOMETRY from Thinkwell Homeschool.

My son was not planning to start geometry until the spring semester, so I allowed him to decide if he wanted to take the review. However, he recognized the math struggles we had been having and was excited to try out this instructor-led course. The basic set-up for this course is that each week he receives an e-mail with links and instructions. The lessons are done via a pre-recorded video and he completes work using Thinkwell’s website, which is then automatically graded. When a question in the practice is answered incorrectly, the student is shown detailed instructions for getting the correct answer. I appreciated this rapid and specific feedback. My son also specifically liked that the videos were broken down into shorter chunks and not one long video.

There are also some additional worksheets and practice work that he can complete if he is struggling. Where this program is different than many online programs, is the instructor office hours feature. Each week he has two opportunities to log in via zoom and get help directly from his instructor.

The course has set weeks for work with scheduled holidays and breaks, however, as long as you have finished within one week after the scheduled end date there is no penalty for working at a different pace. This was a benefit to us because we had already scheduled a different fall break.

Geometry seems to be easier for my son than algebra, so he has not needed help from his instructor. However, he has logged into the office hours just to make sure he understood the process. It was very simple to log in and the instructor was happy to explain the process and talk about what to expect. He is completing his week’s work in about 3 hours, spread over several days. This may get a bit longer as the difficulty of the work increases.

As a parent, I appreciate that other than checking in to make sure my son was completing his work, I could be very hands-off. It’s a complete course bundle, necessitating very little parent involvement. Each week I received a copy of the e-mail that shared what the assignments were and I could go in to check on his quiz and test grades, which does allow for nearly immediate feedback. We are working on week six of the course and are scheduled to get his first progress report e-mailed to us next week.

Overall, due to the direct availability of the instructor, these courses are more expensive than most of the courses that our family uses. However, we felt that it was a great program and my son is doing math without any fighting or struggle! For a student that needs some extra help or support, a busy working parent, or a parent that doesn’t feel comfortable helping with upper-level math courses this can be a great program. In addition to the THINKWELL’S INSTRUCTOR-LED GEOMETRY course, other Review Crew members reviewed THINKWELL’S INSTRUCTOR-LED ALGEBRA 1 and THINKWELL’S INSTRUCTOR-LED ALGEBRA 2. Be sure to click on the graphic below to check out the other Review Crew reviews.

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