We had the pleasure of reviewing “A
Path Among Ancient Rocks: Everyday Easels Book 1” sold by The Old
Schoolhouse Magazine. We had the
opportunity to create a lapbook or notebook with the given materials. I have enjoyed reading the material together
and learning along with the children, as I have very limited art
instruction. We read the information,
and I found it easy to navigate the book with the interactive Table of
Contents. I observed that a user should
right click each link to open links in a new window in order not to lose your
spot, such as artists’ paintings shown on a 3rd party web page.
We were entertained by all of the photos of the art work and
history behind the paintings, images of Tiffany jewelry and stained glass. We learned about many different artists and
types of Greek architecture.
One of my favorite aspect of this book is how I could teach
Math, Science, Art, History and English/Writing all in one location. It is geared for almost any age as there are
sections for K-2, 3-6 and older. They have slight variation for those
activities within the e-curriculum.
My kids said they liked working school this way as a change.
We were in a unique situation, as my son recently had surgery on his knee and
was unable to sit at the table. This allowed us to review the items and have
him do a lapbook while on the couch. The
printouts were clear and helpful to use with the links. The e-book benefited our homeschool while we
were more restrained and were able to use it while on the computer. I enjoyed how it tied in Bible studies within
the curriculum. Furthermore, I loved how
it asked the questions along the way, giving the children adequate time utilize
thinking skills, while encouraging them to express their feelings and thoughts
about the subjects.
I enjoyed the links connected within the e-book, especially
the Acropolis section. We have been
studying Greece in our homeschool for the last few weeks; and we enjoyed seeing
the buildings and ruins. I relished the
idea of tying geography in the lessons, so we had a good time looking at the
map link that indicated Paul’s second journey that included Ephesus and
Corinth.
My kids are both very different and enjoy different things. I
have a sports and science lover and a girl who enjoys writing and art. Therefore, my daughter gave this curriculum an
8 rating and my son a 6 out of 10. They
both enjoyed different parts about the curriculum; therefore, I found it easy
to please both personality types. My
daughter loved painting and writing about what sensory perceptions she was
experiencing from the huge living room window. She wrote down what she was
seeing and smelling as we strolled into the “forest.” We usually go for walks in the nearby woods,
but we decided since Jacob just had surgery, we would “YouTube” the sights and
sounds of the forest. Finally, we closed our eyes and used our imagination to
“see” landscapes.
My son loved the science and architecture aspect of the “Path
Among Ancient Rocks.” He thought the virtual
tour of the Acropolis was the most fascinating.
Although, he said he would have enjoyed this curriculum more if were
able to go into the woods. In addition, we had the opportunity to visit the
landscape of the east coast. This coincided with a book that Hannah had read
last year. The Assateague National Park and Chincoteague Island, came to life, as we visited the Island, full of natural
beauty and HORSES. My daughter cherishes her horse and the book Misty. “Visiting” the Virginia coastal area then lead
us to another YouTube video of a gentleman who had a video camera on the roof
of his truck and gave us a tour of the island town and onto the dunes
themselves into the National Park. What
a fun and exciting way to visit the east coast!
In conclusion, I would reiterate the completeness of this
e-book. It is full of ideas and links that will cover at least 10 days study of
class material. History, Math, Science,
Art, Bible and Language Arts are covered here in this e-book which you can save on
your computer to start and finish as you feel fit.
