As I prepare my lesson plans so that we can begin school next week, I'm going to review several products that I've purchased to help with our studies. Yesterday, just in case you missed it, I reviewed the Professor Noggin Card games that we use to supplement science and history.

"HOLD THAT THOUGHT"

NOTEBOOKING PRODUCT REVIEW

Today, I'm going to review the WONDERFUL notebooking materials that I found at Hold That Thought.  They sell many wonderful materials for help in making notebooks for History, Geography, Science, Bible and the Fine Arts. They also sell timelines and timeline figures.  I purchased the Advanced History cd's and this is a purchase that I definitely do NOT regret! As mentioned on their site, there are reasons that I want my children to create History notebooks:

- Students who create and personalize their own reference materials, dramatically increase their ability to recall what they have learned. The students who personalize and engage with their studies show greater interest, enthusiasm and retention.

- It helps build strong thinking, writing and research skills.

- It provides a means to look back and review the many people and places that have been studied.

- It eliminate hours of busy work (that often is discarded and forgotten) and helps make the most of your studentβs time and yours.

samples from the Beginner's History cd

I had purchased this item several months ago and took a quick look at it then. However, I got the cd's out yesterday to begin deciding which pages I wanted to use with our first unit and I was once again impressed with all that is on these cd's! First off, I have to say that writing is not my strong suit and I will be working very diligently this year following Tapestry of Grace's writing program to help my children learn how to write. I want to start off with fun methods, so we will do things like daily journal entries and writing book reviews and newspaper articles. On the Hold That Thought cd's are "Draft Sheets to guide your child in developing and improving their writing skills." These are very good - they include questions to get the child thinking about what to write. Then they can use the blank "daily news" notebook pages to write up the final draft. Also included are blank notebooking pages so that the child can write and decorate it in whatever method they choose. Using these notebooking pages will also push my children to express themselves artisticly as they draw pictures to illustrate their writings.

On these cd's, you get the following:

samples from the Advanced History cd

ADVANCED WORLD HISTORY Vol. 1 - covers Ancient History starting with the Sumerians in 5000 BC and goes to the 1600s with the European Explorers. Included on this CD are:

- 199 Biography pages

- 104 maps

- 67 key historical events done in a newspaper format

- 63 sheets to aid studies in other subjects

ADVANCED WORLD HISTORY Vol. 2 - starts with the 1600s and the European Explorers and goes to the September 11th bombing of the Twin Towers. Included on this CD are:

- 373 Biography pages

- 74 maps

- 221 key historical events done in a newspaper format

I'm excited that the Biography pages include Scientists, Composers and famous Artists because they will be useful when studying these other subjects. There are lots of sample pages at their website. They have TWO History products, Beginner's History is geared for 1st-2nd grade while the Advanced History is for grades 3 and up. Other products include a cd for studying US Geography, a cd for helping children make their own Devotion book, and several products to help study the Bible and Church History.

Finally, they sell their own timelines and timeline figures sets. Their timeline blank books are a BARGAIN at $12.95 each!

I hope you have found this review helpful .... DISCLAIMER: I am in no way affiliated with this company - I'm just one HAPPY CUSTOMER!

... Kris ...