2016 Blue Ribbon Awards - Reviews from Homeschool Coffee Break

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Another Homeschool Review Crew year has come to an end, which means Crew members recently voted on some best of the best and favorites from all the products we reviewed in 2016. Today the Homeschool Review Crew blog unveiled the winners after all the votes were tabulated. Here are all the winners of various categories. Each vendor is linked to the main Crew post where you'll find links to all the Crew reviews; and if it was a product we reviewed on Homeschool Coffee Break, I've inserted a link to our review as well.

Language Arts
Favorite Reading Curriculum - Logic of English
Favorite Writing Curriculum - Here to Help Learning
Favorite Vocabulary Program - The Critical Thinking Co.
Favorite Spelling Program - Talking Fingers: Read, Write and Type
Favorite Grammar Program - The Critical Thinking Co.
Favorite Penmanship Program - Homeschool Copywork
Favorite Literature Program - Institute for Excellence in Writing: Poetry
Favorite Literature Resource - Heirloom Audio



We really enjoyed reviewing Linguistic Development through Poetry Memorization from Institute for Excellence in Writing so it was no surprise to see that it was voted a favorite. Do have a look at all the Crew reviews, and I think you'll see that the majority of the reviewers found it to be great fun as we did. Read our full review here: Poetry Memorization with Institute for Excellence in Writing.

 

We've become ardent fans of the wonderful audio dramas from Heirloom Audio Productions so seeing this name on the Blue Ribbon Awards list was no surprise either. We and other Crew members reviewed three stories in The Extraordinary Adventures of G.A. Henty series this year: The Cat of Bubastes, Beric the Briton, and The Dragon and the Raven. After considerable deliberation, Kennady decided Beric the Briton was her favorite of the three, but we love and recommend them all. Read our reviews here: An Extraordinary Adventure in Ancient Egypt; Beric the Briton - Another Extraordinary Adventure from Heirloom Audio Productions; and An Extraordinary Adventure with Alfred the Great.

Our choice for Favorite Writing Curriculum is The Power In Your Hands: Writing Nonfiction in High School, 2nd Edition from Writing with Sharon Watson. It was a pleasure to review, and we are using it as Kennady's full composition course this school year. Read our full review here: The Power In Your Hands

I also want to give an honorable mention for Literature Resource to the Study Guides from Progeny Press. We reviewed The Scarlet Pimpernel E-Guide, and recommend these in-depth literature studies. Read our full review here: Progeny Press - The Scarlet Pimpernel Study Guide

History, Science, and Math

Favorite History Curriculum - Home School in the Woods

Favorite History Supplement - Carole P. Roman

Favorite Science Curriculum - Apologia: Astronomy

Favorite Science Supplement - NotebookingPages.com

Favorite Math Curriculum - CTCMath

Favorite Math Supplement - Trigger Memory System

We have continued using CTCMath as a supplement for algebra since reviewing it. (For upper grades, it's recommended as a supplement) Read our full review here: CTCMath - A Schoolhouse Crew Review.

Honorable mention from us also goes to the Math Mini-Courses from A+ Interactive Math, which we reviewed a little earlier in the year. This is another excellent math supplement program you may want to check out! Read our full review here: Math Mini-Courses to Close Learning Gaps

 

Honorable mention goes to YWAM Publishing, publishers of the Heroes of History and Christian Heroes: Then & Now series. Kennady chose Heroes of History - Orville Wright: The Flyer and it's another great history resource. Another honorable mention to HelpTeaching.com as we've been using the science worksheets in the high school section of their website as supplements to our Biology. Read our full reviews here: Orville Wright: The Flyer - Heroes of History; and Worksheets and Tests from HelpTeaching.com

Fine Arts and Electives

Favorite Foreign Language Curriculum - Middlebury Interactive Languages

Favorite Fine Arts Product/Curriculum - ArtAchieve

Favorite Elective Curriculum - Stop Motion Explosion

Favorite Christian Education Curriculum - Veritas Press

Favorite Christian Education Product - Chara Games

We weren't on any of the above reviews for Fine Arts or Electives, but we were privileged to review another product from ARTistic Pursuits Inc. this year, so our Blue Ribbon goes to them. We got an introduction to the art of needle felting using Sculpture Technique Model. Read our full review here: Needle Felting with ARTistic Pursuits

Age Group Categories
Favorite Preschool Product - The Pencil Grip
Favorite Elementary Product - Veritas Press
Favorite Middle School Product - Apologia: Writers in Residence
Favorite High School Product - 101 Series
Favorite College or College-Prep Product - Everyday Education



Okay, I know I don't have a preschooler, but the Kwik Stix we reviewed from The Pencil Grip, Inc. have lots of appeal for all age groups, and my high schooler had a grand time using them. Read our full review here: Kwik Stix Solid Tempera Paints

And I was the one who used Working It Out: Poetry Analysis with George Herbert for our review. This versatile study of poetry is one of the resources from Everyday Education, LLC. Read our full review here: Poetry Study from Everyday Education

This isn't really a college prep item, but having a beautiful diploma from HomeschoolDiploma.com is a great way to honor the achievements of your grad as they head to college! Read our full review here: Diplomas for Homeschool Grads

Other Categories and Parents/Kids/Teens Choice

Favorite Parent Product - MyFreezEasy

Best Resource I Didn't Know I Needed - ForBrain

Best Online Resource - Veritas Press

Best E-Product - Grapevine Studies

Favorite Book, Novel, Audio Book, or Audio Drama - Heirloom Audio

Just For Fun! - FlipStir

Kids Choice (Ages 0-12) - KidsEmail.org

Teens Choice - 101 Series

MyFreezEasy got my vote for a great parent product! It's a versatile and easy to use meal plan and recipe resource that I've enjoyed using. Truth is, I think it would also win my personal award for Best Resource I Didn't Know I Needed! Read our full review here: Meal Plans in Minutes with MyFreezEasy

  

Another couple of novels that we reviewed are The Pray-ers / Book 1 Troubles by Mark S. Mirza and The Glass Castle by Trisha White Priebe and Jerry B. Jenkins. The first one is geared towards older teens and adults and focuses on the power of prayer; and the second one is a fantasy type novel aimed at the 10-14 age group. Read our full reviews here: Book Review: The Pray-ers; and A Homeschool Coffee Break Book Review: The Glass Castle

We also enjoyed reviewing DVDs from FishFlix.com. Last year we reviewed an educational film from them, and this year we chose the drama War Room. Read our full review here: War Room DVD

All Around Crew Favorite

All Around Crew Favorite - CrossTimber

I think all of us that reviewed products from CrossTimber were so blessed by the company's mission and by our interactions with them. They make beautiful name meaning gifts and are just lovely people. Go do some Christmas shopping on their website! While you're there, remember to enter their Christmas Giftaway by December 4th. You could win one of those beautiful personalized gifts. Read our full review here: Name Meaning Gifts from CrossTimber

Stop by the Homeschool Review Crew blog today where all the 2016 Blue Ribbon Award winners are being honored, and say congratulations! Starting on Friday, November 25th, Homeschool Review Crew members will be linking up their own posts about their favorite products on the post  Homeschool Crew Review Favorites for 2016 as well, and I'll add this post to the list.

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