Homeschool eStore has partnered with (at the time of this writing) 53 different publishers to offer you some of their best work in downloadable format. I choose to take a look at Knowledge Quest’s, Blackline Maps of American History. The 16.4 megs downloaded rather fast for me, but I have high-speed cable internet. I can see this being a potential negative for those with dial-up connections alone. I was impressed that I was able to have several downloads of the same item for one price. The reason this is so, I imagine, is that sometimes computers crash and you lose what you have on your system. That would not be the case if you were able to go back and download it again. I appreciate that since I have had my system crash and it was quite horrible.

After the download I was able to open it right up and start reading and printing what I needed for our lesson the next day. I wanted the maps that would coincide with our study of the Revolutionary War. There were several and they were very clear and useful—exactly what I would have received in hardback format. I only printed what I needed and then closed the file. I really like this format for this type of product! I have a lot of books here and there is only so much room for more curriculum in hardback format. We also do not have a copy machine and in order for me to obtain the copies I need I would have to go to a local copier. This way, I print what I need, when I need it, and go from there. I really like this format-especially for this type of product!

I also downloaded Art Basics for Children: The ABCs of Art, by Rich and Sharon Jeffus. There are some really great lessons in this program, and while all pages are completely printable, there are some I would choose not to print and some of them are lessons. These are the ones that are almost full-page painting reproductions of art in black and white format, and they are lovely. The lesson tells you to “use sponges or daubers to complete the picture in color.” We would skip this lesson if we were doing the book, or I would have them do something else as I don’t (personally) feel that that lesson would teach my children very much. If ink does not matter to you then it is not an issue. It would matter to me so we would be content to put it on screen and perhaps ask them questions about what colors they might use and then find its true colors on the internet.

I then downloaded a unit study called, Extreme Weather, from In the Hands of A Child. This little gem was very much download-friendly. At only 1.4 megs this will easily work for dial-up and will download in a blink for cable or high-speed internet. This is also not heavy on large pictures and easily printable. Complete with straightforward directions, your children from grades 2-6, will end up with a lap-book (and then some) all about extreme weather. A perfect unit study—especially during the hurricane season!

Homeschool eStore makes obtaining materials easy, inexpensive (as some of their downloads are less expensive than their hardback counterparts) and, for almost all of my choices, very user friendly. I am now on their e-mailing list where almost every week I receive the opportunity to download a complete title or one time, a Henty book, for absolutely free. What a company! I encourage you to think outside of the box and check them out.
-Product Review by Kate Kessler, Product Reviews Manager, The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, LLC, June, 2006