Moving Beyond the Page - Unit Study Full Packages (Schoolhouse Review)

Moving Beyond the Page has the best unit studies, in my opinion. Period.

We reviewed two of their products last summer and I was waiting (not so) patiently for this summer's chance to review more of their products. I knew exactly what I wanted to review, made the request, and was chosen. Yes! The kids and I reviewed the Language Arts Package - Sarah, Plain and Tall and the Science Package - The Land.

One of the cool features of Moving Beyond the Page is that you can purchase an entire curriculum or can choose individual unit studies. This allows you to do a little delight-directed learning. They have unit studies for literature, social studies, and science, and many of their unit studies have a recommended (but not required) corresponding social studies or science study. Last year we reviewed the book Poppy by Avi and the Life Cycles science study. The two studies could have been done separately, but together they complimented each other perfectly. Thus was the case this year between Sarah, Plain and Tall and The Land.

What We Received

We received online access to the study guide on Sarah, Plain and Tall, as well as the physical book by Patricia MacLachlan. Everything we needed to complete the language arts study was included in the online materials, with the exception of a few odds and ends for projects. All pdfs were accessible for printing. This included writing assignments, discussion questions, vocabulary, and more.

The Land was a full physical product. The unit study was paperback and spiral bound. We also received the book Maps and Mapping by Deborah Chancellor.

Both unit studies were recommended for ages 7-9.

How We Used the Product

As we did last summer, Moving Beyond the Page was our regular unit study for our summer schooling. All we added to it was Bible, math, and personal reading. We devoted about one hour a day to Moving Beyond the Page, which was plenty of time. We usually spent about two days per lesson. This had us reading about a chapter from Sarah, Plain and Tall every couple of days and reading a few pages out of our Maps and Mapping book. We did anywhere from two to four worksheets a day and/or a project, depending on time. With some breaks for sports camps that we had, it took us about 6 weeks to complete the studies with this schedule.

I took pictures throughout our use of the materials and then had a computer crash last week and lost all of my pictures. Unfortunately, all I have are some product photos, stock photos and screen shot examples to provide. This was a real bummer because we did so much with these units.

Our Opinion

Moving Beyond the Page is my favorite unit study product. We have used and reviewed several different types of products, but Moving Beyond the Page just fits with our teaching and learning philosophies. Not to mention that the lessons are just fun!

The product is so easy to use! The lessons are laid out specifically for you telling you what to read, what to say, what to ask, and which worksheets or projects to do. It really takes minimal time to prep for each day's lessons. And I absolutely love the cross-curricular learning that takes place!

The literature choices are excellent with both classics and newer titles. From what I can tell, the selections are all well-written and highly acclaimed. It is cool to me that a literature unit study can be chosen, based on interest or a topic of study that you know is upcoming in your schooling, and then a science or social studies unit is recommended to expand the study. We have had some trouble with our science studies, with finding a good fit. But the Moving Beyond the Page studies are so great that it eliminates my guilt over not sticking with one textbook styled science curriculum.

Moving Beyond the Page has recommended uses for their products. However, you could easily stretch out one unit over the entire summer or fit in the studies during the busier fall and winter schooling season by just doing what your time allows. It is easily modifiable to any homeschool environment.

Typically I do not care for online products. I like to be able to hold a book in my hand and flip pages back and forth. The physical products are only copyrighted for one child. But you can make as many copies of the online version as you want. For this reason, and the ease of using Moving Beyond the Page makes the online versions very attractive to me.

Even if we are not ever chosen again for another Moving Beyond the Page review, I will continue to purchase a language arts study and corresponding social studies or science unit study for all of our upcoming summer school lessons. It's the perfect fit, and the price is right, too.

If you want to get excited about all Moving Beyond the Page has to over, you just need to browse their website. It is beautifully laid out and informative. I have a list of studies I want us to do just by looking at them on the website.

Product Details

I cannot even begin to list all of the titles available by Moving Beyond the Page. Please go to the links for you child's age range to see what is available. They have products available for ages 4-14.

The Language Arts Package - Sarah, Plain and Tall is available as a physical product for $22.98 and as an online product (with physical product of the book Sarah, Plain and Tall) for $18.92.

The Science Package - The Land is available as a physical product for $24.98 and as an online product (with physical product of the book Maps and Mapping) for $20.92.


To read about many of the other products provided by Moving Beyond the Page that were reviewed by the Crew, go to the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog.