Monday, May 31, 2010

TOS Crew Review: Super Star Speech - Super Star Games

I was given the privilege to review these great games created by Deborah Lott, who is a licensed Speech language pathologist a with Master’s degree in Education/ speech pathology and author of Super Star Speech. She is also a homeschool mom of 16 years. Super Star Speech is a speech therapy program you can do at home.  I have not reviewed the product but if you go to http://homeschoolblogger.com/homeschoolcrew/768114/ you can read reviews of Super Star Speech or visit the Super Star Speech website by Clicking HERE.

I am reviewing several games produced by Super Star Speech.  These games are full color and cover various topics.  They are quickly downloadable in PDF format so that you can print them out and use them with your children.  Topics for the games include: Parts of speech, Science topics (plants, insects, animals, etc.) history topics (colonies, revolution,etc.), geography (continents.)  The grade level depends on the topic.

We reviewed the following games:


All About Animals - which is a animal classification game.  Includes directions for older and younger students. They don't have to be able to read to play this, but someone should be able to read to ask the questions. This is for grades K to 5.



Insects - this is a fun build an insect game.  You ask questions and you get build your own insect. Need someone to read to them, but any age can play.  Geared to grades 2nd to 6th grades.



Covering the Continents is a geography game geared for ages 6 to 10.  I really appreciate this game because I have been having difficulty with this specific topic with one of my children. You do need someone to be able to read these to the student, but overall the game is not difficult to play. The object is to answer the most questions and obtain tokens so you can "settle" a continent. There are seven questions per continent. A very fun game to play while learning the continents.



Colony Quest is a history game based on the 13 original colonies is geared to grades 3 to 5. Similar in play to the Continents game, object is to answer questions correctly to "settle" the colony.



The last game we reviewed was Road to Revolution.  Road to Revolution is geared towards grades 3 to 8. This American History Game contains 48 multiple choice questions and a game board to move around. You must get the question correct to move forward in the game. Answers are on the cards so someone else must read the question aloud other the person whose turn it is.  Included in the cards are some "loose a turn cards" and  "move one space cards."

The games are full color and fun. They all include instructions. You may need to supply a die with some of the games. You can easily print these out and give to your child to cut out and set up.  You can purchase these at CurrClick and have them instantly as a download for $3.50. To goto the CurrClick website to purchase these - CLICK HERE.

To see what other games are available or to purchase click HERE.

TOS Crew Review: Ideal Curriculum - Early Learning

Wow! This is a very complete curriculum for early learning that is extraordinarily complete.  This is an all in one curriculum in that everything you need is included in your purchase.  These are available for purchase in monthly units as digital download and eventually in print.

What is great is that this curriculum can be used either in a relaxed manner or with a more structured routine.

From the Ideal Curriculum Website:

All of our products are based on current research. They are based on music and games, so they are designed to be used for individual children and small groups as well as in classroom situations.


•Letters and sounds- Learn letters very fluently; upper and lower case, quickly and accurately, recognize letters from different fonts and sizes


•Learn basic sight words- There are about 30 level one sight words that provide the foundation for reading and writing. There are about 100 sight words that build reading fluency.


•Exploring the ability to write- Develop motor skills and hand strength, gain a concept of themselves as a writer, learn to write their own name, learn to write the letters and move into writing sentences and stories.


•Be able to hear, recognize and manipulate sounds of language- Develop skills in rhyming, breaking sentences into words, breaking words into syllables, breaking syllables into onset and rime, breaking words into individual sounds or phonemes and blending them back together


•Oral language and vocabulary- expanding their vocabulary, understanding concepts, increasing their ability to express themselves using higher level language structure.


•Science and social studies- Developing concepts of how the world works.


•Math- Build and use a mental number line, master rote counting (counting in order, forwards and backwards), one to one correspondence (be able to touch and count pennies or m&m’s), cardinality (how many), adjacent values (what is next to 7? 6&8), basic Shapes, number recognition.


•Calendar- Learn basics of scheduling and remembering and learn parts of the calendar .

This program, like I said is complete.  It comes with the audios, which we found to be very fun tunes children like to sing along with. Each audio teaches a specific goal set out in the program and enhances it. The author recommends doing an assessment before starting the program to see where they are at.

They include teachers manuals for Science, Literature, and Math. For all three the activities are broken up by week. For Math and Science it is by week only.  Where the literature one is done by day. Several activities are repeated over the week to help with retention and as not to overwhelm the student with too much information for this age level. Activities include dramatic play, experiments, shared writing, and more.

The student pages are full color.  There are printable pages and reading pages all done in full color.  You will probably want to print out the read aloud books.  The one I have includes "Print it is all around us." Which is a neat story which points out print in all forms that we may come across through out the day, helping us to see why learning to read is necessary.

I love that this can be as formal as informal as you would like. This is a little more formal then I like, but easily adaptable to fit all styles.

 Units are purchased by the month and will soon be available to purchase as a hard copy verses downloadable form now available, for an additional cost.

To learn more or to purchase, visit: http://www.idealcurriculum.com/
There is lots of good reading on the website!!!

Friday, May 28, 2010

TOS Crew Review: Cerebellum Corp. / Standard Deviants: History US AP



Preparing for college level exams can be difficulty.  The AP exam is one exam you can take that helps you to test out of college level course work in many different subject areas.  Cerebellum has several videos in this series to help give an overview of the topic and test taking skills.  The video we received was History of the U.S.  This is a quick sweeping history of the United States.  The video tells you what the test is made up of, types of questions they ask, and where to spend your concentrated time studying. Then they give you more specific test taking skills specific to the test being taken.  There is also a cd-rom with worksheets, etc., that you can use as you study for the test.

Having seen Standard Deviants videos in the past, I was more impressed with this video.  The video is hosted by several teens. They are more serious then the Standard Deviant videos.  Sometime the Standard Deviant videos can get foolish, but they are meant to capture an audience of teens. Maybe teems like them more, but I did not care for them.  However I did not see any of that in the video I watched.  This video is more serious and straight forward in its teaching, but I do believe it has the ability to keep the attention of teens as well.  There is lots of great information packed into this video that even if you were not taking the AP exam you might benefit from this overview this video takes.

Here is a sample of the video:



To purchase or to find out more info visit: http://www.sdlearn.com/
As of this blog post there is a spring sale going on with 25% off.

TOS Crew Review: BeeYoutiful - Tummy Tuneup



I was introduced to BeeYoutiful through the crew.  Taking a quick look at their catalog and website I found tons of health building information. I was impressed by the mounting information available that tie in the use of supplements, eating a healthy diet, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.  Often one is used in the absence of the others, which somewhat helpful but is not complete. BeeYoutiful encourages people to take personal responsibility for the health.  Yes, doctors are necessary and we should seek out one that is willing to work with us and complement natural approaches to health.

The product I received was Tummy Tuneup. This a "carefully engineered blend of eight natural intestinal bacteria."  The capsules are specially coated so that protect the bacteria from being destroyed in the stomach by stomach acids. What is great is that this product can be stored at room temperature and travels well.

From the website:
How it works: Our stomachs normally contain both good and bad bacteria. When the two are in balance, the good guys win—even when viruses attack. But the balance can get thrown off if we eat too much processed sugar and white flour or take antibiotics, which indiscriminately kill all bacteria. Tummy Tuneup delivers a blast of 4 billion reinforcements from eight vital strains of friendly bacteria. This shock and awe against the bad knocks stomach bugs—and the accompanying indigestion and nausea—out of the fight with the first few Tummy Tuneup capsules. Tummy Tuneup is a pro-biotic (in favor of good bacteria) as opposed to an anti-biotic (against all bacteria.)

Tummy Tuneup is very simple to use.  Just take one, one to three times a day. You can take it with a meal or just before a meal. That simple.

BeeYoutiful has a large selection of quality vitamins, essential oils, other supplements that are reasonably priced. They are committed to proving a quality products that they use themselves at a reasonable price. This is a family (husband and wife) run company and you get that from just looking at the website and catalog.  There articles in their catalog and on the web pull from a wide variety of impressive "experts." So grab a cup of tea an read through some of the articles. I know that is what I am going to do!

To learn more about BeeYoutiful visit their website at:  http://www.beeyoutiful.com/
To read more about Tummy Tuneup visit:  http://www.beeyoutiful.com/tummy-tuneup.html

FDA Disclaimer: * This statement has not been evaluated by the FDA. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

TOS Crew Review: Sue Gregg Cookbooks - Breakfasts!

I have been a fan of Sue Gregg Cookbooks for more then 10 years. These books really help make a smooth transition to a whole food diet.  She has a complete series with books introducing whole food cooking, Breakfasts, Lunch, Main Dishes, Desserts and more! These are more then cookbooks. Each book includes different topics to help transition to whole food diet. This series would be a great course for any teenager but specifically young women preparing for their future.  There are several different sample recipes with pictures available on the website.

The book I specifically reviewing is "More than Breakfasts...with Blender Batter Baking & Allergy Alternatives." This book contains the "famous" recipe for blender batter pancakes, that our family loves.  What is great about this recipe is that you can use fresh grains and you don't have to have a grain mill.  Specific directions are given for use of different grains. You only need a good blender (Oscar ones works well) and your off.

We prepare the blender batter recipe the night before, so in the morning there is little we have to do. There are also other recipes for coffee cakes, crepes, muffins, and waffles, using the blender batter recipes.  The procedure is so simple and the pancakes are so good! I recently got a box of pancake mix on sale because I was feeling a little lazy about making breakfast.  After years of eating these recipes, the box pancakes had NO TASTE.  Just bland! I was so disappointed with them. Plus they were not healthy for us.

This cookbook also has recipes for fruits, eggs, and homemade breakfast cereals.  They give specific directions for many grains so even the beginner will feel confident. Each recipe has complete instructions that "talk" you through the entire process. 

There are also chapters on Milk and Milk Alternatives, Planning for Breakfasts, Special Occasions, Menus, and my favorite: "A Window on Weight Management." There is also a chapter with Breakfast Menus with calorie counts and food exchanges for both him and her. Also included throughout  are shorter articles on topics such as Apple Cider Vinegar, flaxseeds, and so much more.

This is such a great series for the veteran as well as the beginning chef. I love these cookbooks.  The book I am reviewing I choose because mine was so worn out and stained, I wanted an updated clean version, LOL! There is a plastic cover to help with most spills.

To find out more about Sue Gregg cookbooks, to try some recipes with detailed instructions, and see a lesson or two visit: http://www.suegregg.com/index.htm

Friday, May 21, 2010

TOS Crew Review: Classical Legacy Press - Great Latin Adventure I

Latin revisited! This Latin course was "birthed" by the author Katherine Birkett after teaching at Christian schools and not liking the material already available to teach Latin.  Later many were requesting to use her program, so after a few revisions, I hold in my hand the outcome of her labors.

This curriculum can begun with bright 8 year olds or 9 years old and up. No prior knowledge of Latin is required for the teacher or the student. This is not a video curriculum or self teaching curriculum.  It does require some teacher preparation and participation.  A detailed introduction on how to use the program is included.  Plus the author goes out of her way to give precise directions and descriptions so that it is unlikely you will have any questions. There is also a pronunciation cd that accompanies the set.

There is a Master Chapter Plan that gives detailed info on how to implement the program.  She includes a sample 9 day lesson plan, but states it may take longer then 9 days to complete a chapter / lesson, depending on different factors. There are 12 chapters all together.

Worksheets and quizzes are already copied for you so that you don't have that extra step.  Answer keys are also included with the teacher's manual. One of the first activities you will do is make a set of flash card. The student will also make their own set.


From the website:
In addition to the bi-directional translation, GLA also features

•unusually extensive derivative work

•study sheets for each chapter

•teaching notes for each chapter

•two quizzes for each chapter

•classical pronunciation

•Christian content

•no mythology

To Find Out More or To Purchase - Click HERE!

Monday, May 17, 2010

TOS Crew Review: Kregal Publications


Reading is a past time in our house, so having to read this book was a non-issue for my children.
"Andrea Carter and the Trouble with Treasure" is part of a series "The Circle C Adventures Series"  by Susan K. Marlow.  This is book 5 in the series. We had no problem picking this book up in the series and reading it as a stand alone, without having read the others. There is an introduction in the beginning that gives you a little background of the story.

The story centers around the main character - Andrea AKA "Andi" (around 13 years old.) The story takes place in 1881.  While playing Andrea falls into the horse trough. The new deputy, walking by and seeing her,  arrests her and three friends for no reason. Andrea's brother (Justin) comes and bails them. While Justin is bailing them out the bank is being robbed.  Looking for fun, Andrea, her brother Mitch and two friends venture on a camping trip on horseback to do some treasure hunting. One of her friends, Jennie, got knocked down by her horse when her horse was spooked by a snake while she was saddling the horse. Jennie, sustaining a gash to the head, got stitched up in the next town. On their way they came upon a cabin inhabited by two men. This leads to a gun fight with Andrea's brother, Mitch, caught in it.  I could go on but I don't want to give up the plot of the story and ruin it for you.  But as you suspect, good conquers evil.

This book is a good read for the 10-13 year old crowd (8 to 12 is what the publisher actually recommends).  It is easy to read and does not contain any bad language. They are all just friends in the story (no boyfriend / girlfriend relationships.)  There is a gun fight in the story, so if that bothers you then you might want to preview this book before your children read it.  My teenage daughter says that it did for the most part keep her interested and wanting to read the next page. My 9 year old (almost 10) really enjoyed the book and would not put it down until it was finished.