Tales of Homeschool Ducks

Blog Tour: Surrendered Sleep: A Biblical Perspective

2011-09-23T12:29:00.001-04:00

Surrendered Sleep

A Biblical Perspective

Dr. Charles W. Page

www.surrenderedsleep.com

Publisher: Camino Real Pub.

ISBN-10: 9-780-983-138105

ISBN-13: 978-0-9831381-0-5

Release Date: 9/15/2011

Paperback: 189 pages

Retail: $14.95

(Nacogdoches, TX) Sleep Clinics. Sleeping Pills. Sleep Systems. With all the focus on sleep, it’s obvious to anyone breathing (or not—in the case of sleep apnea) that sleep disorders are on everyone’s minds. Can’t fall asleep. Can’t stay asleep. So many problems, but so few zzzs.

Dr. Charles W. Page has been plagued with sleep deprivation his entire adult life. Whether from the rigorous unpredictable lifestyle of a general surgeon or dealing with obstructive sleep apnea, Dr. Page sees sleep as a precious commodity. Many of his surgical patients also report sleep problems on their medical histories. It’s certainly a widespread problem.

Although there is extensive medical literature regarding sleep, insomnia and sleep disorders, there is little instruction about these issues from a Christian worldview. Sleep was God’s idea—why shouldn’t we go to the One who created rest in the first place for answers to our sleep problems. One of the reasons Dr. Page wrote Surrendered Sleep was to heighten people’s awareness of the spiritual side of sleep issues, which often goes neglected in health and medical literature.

Sample Chapter:

CHAPTER 17

Balin Jam

Balin jam (“may you pass your night in peace”)—it’s how the Fulani people of western Africa say goodbye. This Fulani expression best captures the message of this book. Passing your night in peace, from a biblical perspective, involves a whole lot more than sleeping well. It encompasses surrendering every aspect of sleep to God. The prerequisite for having peace as we lay down to sleep is a growing, vibrant relationship with God. Everything in our lives, including sleep, flows out of our pursuit of our loving Father in Heaven. The ability to sleep is a multifaceted gift given by God, who likewise pursues a love relationship with every individual on this planet.

From God’s perspective, sleep (or its absence) is a tool designed to help fulfill His agenda in our lives and in His world. Our response should be twofold. First we must transfer our focus off our personal sleep issues and onto the Shepherd of sleep. We must fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Second, we need to relinquish control of sleep and allow God to shape our hearts into His image. In so doing, we may find that we sleep better.

“There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven.” A life of surrendered sleep is characterized by the ability to discern the time and seasons that God has prepared for us, and respond with a heart of thankfulness and obedience.

At times we may experience peaceful sleep because we are pursuing a wise heart. Let it propel us on to greater heights of service. When we encounter storms that threaten to steal our sleep, let us cling to God’s presence and promises with a calm heart. If disobedience presents itself in our sleep patterns, we must return to the One who removes our sin as far as the east is from the west. If God interrupts our sleep to call, instruct or intervene in our lives, our hearts must respond in obedience.

Similarly, there are times when we must offer up to God a sacrifice of our sleep. And last, if we suffer intractable insomnia and unrest, let us move forward with a peace that passes all understanding. For an enduring and expectant heart knows that our reward and perfection is waiting just around the bend.

Surrender your heart to the One whose eyes never close. Allow Him to keep you and help you to “pass your nights in peace.”

Balin jam!

Dr. Charles W. Page is a sleep-deprived surgeon. He completed medical school and residency at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas and serves as surgeon in rural Texas. Dr. Page is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the Christian Medical and Dental Association. In addition to his involvement in the teaching ministry of his local church, he has participated in medical mission trips to Cameroon, Pakistan, Milawe, Niger, Mexico, Honduras and Nicaragua. He and his wife Joanna live in Texas with their five children.

My Review:

This book explores an often neglected aspect of sleep disorders. Since sleep is such an important aspect of our lives (we spend 1/3 of our lives sleeping or at least trying to, in my case.) Things like worry, fear, etc., often interfere with our thought life and carry over disrupting our sleep. This book helped me to take inventory to see where maybe there might be conflicts interfering with my sleep and/or was God using this season of sleeplessness to draw me closer to Him. Beyond the spiritual causes, traditional medical treatment of insomnia are also explored including medical reasons for sleeplessness. Tips for good sleep hygiene and pages to copy for a sleep journal are included. I especially appreciated the wide margins containing pertinent bible verses and places to journal your responses.

I received a "Unedited Review Copy" for free for participating in this blog tour.

Grand Prize Giveaway

Read Below How to Enter

Surrendered Sleep Products

Surrendered Sleep - Book

Surrendered Sleep - 8-Volume DVD Series

Sleep Songs - CD of music from Fletch Wiley

SLEEP - Lavender Vanilla Aromatherapy from Bath & BodyWorks

Pillow Mist (4 oz)

Body Wash & Foam Bath (2 oz)

Lotion (2 oz)

Candle (1.6 oz)

Please leave a comment on this blog or on facebook to enter.

I must have a way to contact you - either by logging into Google, on Facebook, or leave your email address. Alternately you may email me your info: homeschoolducks "at" gmail.com

Sidney Area LEAH Homeschool Group

2011-08-23T09:49:00.002-04:00

If you are a member of Sidney Area LEAH or New York State LEAH and would like to receive email about activities from this local group, you can request to join. Please give me your name and what LEAH chapter you belong to when filling out the membership form. Otherwise I will not approve the membership.

Click to join sidney_area_homeschoolers

Journal Writing Prompts

2011-05-18T09:22:00.000-04:00

We started journal writing as a family. We have a few rules with this "freestyle" type of writing.

I don't read it unless they let me.
I don't correct spelling or grammar, unless they ask.
They can make lists, draw pictures, and decorate anyway they want to.
They can just use copywork instead of their own creative writing.
They don't have to use my prompt and can alter the promt to suite themselves.

My children love doing this. We are just using ordinary notebooks right now. But if they fill a notebook with their own writings, I will buy them fancy journals for their next journal.

So here are some websites that came up with ideas:

Homeschooling-ideas.com/journal-writing-prompts

Superteacherworksheets.com/journal-prompts

Tooter4kids.com/journal writing

http://creativewritingprompts.com/

Journaling prompts

http://www.squidoo.com/journalwritingpromptsforkids

BookSneeze Review: Nick Of Time by Tim Downs

2011-05-05T12:02:00.001-04:00

This book is about forensic entomologist Dr.Nick Polchak and his fiancee Alena Savard. A week before his wedding, Nick leaves town to solve the mystery of the death of his friend Pete. Worried that her fiancee is getting second thoughts Alena tries to go off to find him and gets herself into a tangled mess.

Nick is considered "different" from his peers, having as some would call a strange personality. Nick has a hard time relating to the 'human species" (his quote) and prefers bugs as they have a neat and orderly life based on instinct and rarely out of character. The idea of getting married does scare Nick somewhat and takes some convincing from his friends that he is making the right decision.

Being from a Christian publisher, I thought this book would contain a stronger Christian message. The book is "clean," containing no foul language and no graphic violence. The book is morally acceptable to the Christian offering appropriate marital advice, even if there was little to no mention of God. The beginning of the book did leave me questioning the character of Dr. Nick Polchak, aka Bug Man. But as I got to know him more knew that he really was a good guy.

All that said, it was a very good read. The plot kept me wanting to continue to read until I got to the end of the story. I was very intrigued by the information on bugs and loved following the mystery through the end which totally surprised me. It was suspenseful right to the last sentence of the book. I like the short chapter format of the book and the click able links for each chapter in the table of contents of the Kindle version.

If you are looking for a mystery that is totally "clean" and want a touch of romance - this book is highly recommended to the Christian and non-Christian fiction lover. I give it "4 Stars!"

I received a free Kindle version of this book to give an honest review via the "BookSneeze" program from Thomas Nelson.

Blog Tour: Starting a Micro Business for Teens By Carol Topp

2011-04-14T10:17:00.001-04:00

Micro Business for Teens

KCWC Blog Tour - April 11-15

Blog Giveaway - See Below!

ISBN: 978-0-09829245-0-1

Retail price: $9.95

Starting a Micro Business For Teens is a practical and realistic book written specifically for teens that does not expect you to have a whole lot of capital for start up that others do. It portray realistic examples beyond the lemonade stand for teens, by teens who have been successful in their micro business.

A "micro business" is often run by and easily managed by one person, needs little start up money, often home based, and is low risk while teaching many important skills. What I appreciate about this book is the practical examples given in the book along side biblical principles for starting and financing a business. There are worksheets for developing a marketing plan and financial plan. Pretty much everything you need to know to get started is included in this book. This book is book one of a series of four books called: Micro Business for Teens. You have a chance to enter to win the complete set!! Read on to find out!

From the publisher:

(Cincinnati, OH) With unemployment rates high, the teen population is finding it harder and harder to find work. Adults are competing for the same minimum wage jobs. But there’s an alternative—starting a micro business. What is a micro business? It is a very small, one-person business that you can start easily and quickly with what you already know or own. No money needed, low risk and no debt! Students can spend as much time running a micro business as they wish and can even close it down during busy times. The best advantage for teens to own a micro business is that it not only brings in extra cash (often more than imagined), but students end up learning a great deal about business, money and themselves. It may lead to an entrepreneurial life or at the very least, prepare students for higher learning opportunities.

Starting a Micro Business will help teenagers earn money while learning how to start their own business. A micro business is simple to start, usually home-based, low risk, educational and easy for a busy student to run. This book offers ideas, a business plan, starting with no debt, pitfalls to avoid and resources to get a teenager started making money running their own micro business.

Carol Topp, CPA advises teenage business owners though her Micro Business for Teens book series. Carol’s day job is accountant to business owners, and she enjoys teaching teenagers to succeed beyond their dreams. Students appreciate how she shares what they need to know in clear and helpful lessons. Her website is MicroBusinessForTeens.com

Spring Cleaning: A Time For a Teenager to Make Money

by Carol Topp

Here are some ideas for a micro business a teenager can start this spring:
•House cleaning: Offer to tackle large jobs like washing windows, moving furniture, etc. Many people are grateful for a young, strong teenager to help them with heavy lifting. What is easy for you might be very difficult for them, especially if they are an older person.
•Routine house cleaning: Some customers need regular house cleaning and may hire you on a weekly or monthly basis. Don't wait for them to ask: offer to come weekly or twice a month and see what they say.
•Attic cleaning: Offer to help people do a job that they put off, such as cleaning an attic.
•Garage cleaning: A big job that can earn you big bucks!
•Yard cleanup: Offer to trim bushes, pull weeds, plant flowers and spread mulch to spruce up a yard.
•Car and van cleaning: People spend a lot of time in their automobiles and their cars and vans need frequent cleaning. Melissa gladly paid to get her van cleaned inside and out every week because her four children could really make a mess in it. You can make some cash by offering to clean a van inside and out.
•Organize. Organize a house, playroom or garage. Charge the customer for any bins, tubs and labels that you purchase for them and then add on the value of your time. Take before and after photos to use on your advertising fliers.
•Declutter: Do you love HGTV shows on organization? You might be able to find someone to hire you to declutter their house like you see on TV.
•Garage sales: Advertise, organize and run a garage sale for your neighbors. Get several neighbors to participate together and really earn the bucks!
•eBay sales: Offer to sell your neighbors' stuff on eBay and take a cut for yourself. Combine the decluttering, garage sale and eBay tasks into a full package to help your customers profit from their excess stuff.

(This is an excerpt from Carol's article. Full article available at docstoc.com)

Win the complete set of books in

Micro Business For Teens Series!

(Winner will receive the four books shown below)

Money and Taxes in a Micro Business

ISBN: 978-0-09829245-3-2

Retail price: $9.95

The Micro Business for Teens Workbook

ISBN: 978-0-09829245-2-5

Retail price: $14.95

Starting a Micro Business

ISBN: 978-0-09829245-0-1

Retail price: $9.95

Running a Micro Business

ISBN: 978-0-09829245-1-8

Retail price: $9.95

Everyone who leaves a comment below (however brief) will be entered into contest by the publisher for a complete set of these books. Please sign in to leave a comment so I can see your email address. You will be notified by email by April 22, 2011 if you have won.

Book received from Kathy Carlton Willis Communications for free for my honest opinion of the book and promotion on this blog.

BLOG TOUR: The Me Project by Kathi Lipp

2011-02-24T06:00:00.002-05:00

The Me Project -

21 Days to Living the Life You’ve Always Wanted

Publisher: Harvest House Publishers

ISBN-10: 0736929665, ISBN-13: 978-0736929660

Release Date: February 1, 2011

Paperback: 224 pages, Retail: $12.99

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Wow! This is my first blog tour and what a great book to start with. The Me Project by Kathi Lipp. I was so impressed that this book was able to bring out the uniqueness that God has put into all of us so that we can find His unique plan for our lives. Read through this blog post and you will find out how to enter on my blog to win a Starbucks gift box from the publisher.

Here is a brief description of The Me Project from the publisher:

"As women, we forget the goals and dreams of our younger years. The busyness of everyday life gets in the way. To-do lists replace goals. The Me Project provides women with fun and creative ways to bring back the sense of purpose and vitality that comes with living out the plans and dreams God has planted in our hearts. Kathi Lipp’s warm tone and laugh-out-loud humor motivates women to take daily steps toward intentional goals. The end result? We get back our lives and enjoy living in the confidence of a purposeful life in spite of our chaotic schedules. "

"This handy guide coaches women to do one simple thing toward achieving our goals each day for three weeks. A woman experiencing the exhilaration of a rediscovered life offers more as a wife, mother, friend, volunteer, career woman."

Here is a great article by the author with tips to start living your dreams today...

Three Super-Simple Kick Start Living Your Dreams
– in the next 15 minutes

by Kathi Lipp

Is there a dream that God has given you, but you are waiting until the kids are grown and you have money in the bank before you get started?

You may not be able to enroll in a month long pastry making class or take a week off of work to get started on your novel, but today you can take three little baby steps to making your dream a day-to-day reality.
1. Go Public with It

It’s a little scary to tell the world what you want to do when you grow up—but this is one little step could get you closer to living your dream than almost any other. Plus—it takes very little time and you don’t have to raid your kid’s college fund to make it happen.

When you gather up all your courage and tell your best friend, “I want to learn how to paint,” suddenly she remembers an old art book she has laying around she would love to give you, or her friend from church who teaches art classes. The people you know and love want to be a resource. Give them the privilege of being a part of making your dream happen.
2. Join an Online Group

This is one of the simplest—and cheapest—ways to start exploring your passion. Find out who else is talking about restoring antiques and listen to their conversation. Start by Googling your interest along with the term “online groups.” You will be amazed with the number of people who want to talk about the proper way to care for 1950’s lunchboxes as much as you do.
3. Don’t be Afraid to Pray

I remember the first time I put an offer in on a house—I wanted it more than I had wanted almost anything else in my life. While I knew that I had dozens of other people praying on my behalf, I was too scared to pray.

I didn’t want God to tell me no. I was afraid to pray until my co-worker Kim asked me (in a loving, kind way), why I didn’t believe that God wanted His best for me. Don’t be afraid to pray—as with anything amazing in my life, the path is never what I expected, but it has always been obvious that God’s hand has been on it the whole way.

Kathi Lipp

Kathi Lipp is a busy conference and retreat speaker, currently speaking each year to thousands of women throughout the United States. She is the author of The Husband Project and The Marriage Project, serves as food writer for Nickelodeon, and has had articles published in several magazines, including Today’s Christian Woman and Discipleship Journal. Kathi and her husband, Roger, live in California and are the parents of four teenagers and young adults. For more information visit her website: http://www.kathilipp.com/

Between Feb. 24th and March 1st leave a comment on my blog to this post. I will choose a name randomly from those who comment and leave either a email address or have a google profile with contact info in it so I can send there info on to the publisher. On March 7th the publisher will draw a name from all entries received from the blog tour.

The Grand Prize Giveaway is:

Deluxe Starbucks Coffee Gift Basket

Three 2.5-oz. bags of Starbucks coffee

(Sumatra, House Blend, and French Roast)

Tazo black tea

Starbucks marshmallow cocoa

Almond roca

Almond roca buttercrunch toffee cookies

White chocolate and raspberry cookies

2 Starbucks mugs

Keepsake black bamboo basket

$62 value

(Book received free of charge for my participation in this blog tour)

Schoolhouse Expo Online - October 4-8 2010

2010-08-18T15:52:00.001-04:00

It's back to homeschool time and registration is open for the online Schoolhouse Expo, October 4-8. It's five days of top homeschool speakers, fellowship, and fun door prizes.

Save $5 per ticket! Register between August 16 and midnight August 22, and you'll pay only $19.99. Plus you'll receive over $200 in free E-Books.

You'll be inspired by speakers including: Zan Tyler, Dr. Jay Wile, Jeannie Fulbright,Carol Barnier, Diana Waring, Todd Wilson, Davis Carman, Kim Kautzer, Lee Binz, and many more!

A special teen track is planned--the entire family will definitely want to listen to these special sessions. We've also planned a special focus on a topic that touches every homeschool--writing. Plus, an array of other topics that will inform and inspire you throughout your homeschooling years.

Don't forget, MP3 copies of each session comes with your LIVE event ticket.

Two special preconference shows on August 24 and September 21 with Dr. Jay Wile, Jeannie Fulbright, and Kim Kautzer!

Register starting 12:01 a.m. on Monday, August 16.

The theme this fall is "Celebrate Homeschooling!" We're going to celebrate the unique blessings of homeschooling, the beginning of another school year, our families, and the freedom to tailor our children's education to best meet their needs.

If you cannot make the Live event, then the October Expo To Go is just your ticket! You'll reserve MP3s from all of the workshops. This week only, pay just $14.95!

You can visit either of these links to get more information.

http://www.schoolhouseexpo.com/

or

http://bit.ly/aWHFiL

TOS Crew Review: Lobster Network

2010-06-02T19:57:00.001-04:00

LobsterNetwork.com

If you want it, chances are someone else already has it, and they may be willing to lend it, sell it, trade it or even give it to you. Give LobsterNetwork a try!

Wow! What a concept! Invented by a Canadian Homeschool Family... Here is a FREE site where you can keep a home inventory online (including pictures!) for either your own personal use or have available for others to be able to borrow. You can post things to sell and you can buy things with the option of searching for items by locality. Did I mention all of this is free?

All you need to do is set up your FREE account and you are good to go! One thing we need to do is to get the word out. If we can get people locally to try this out - we can share amongst ourselves.

This is a great place for homeschool resource centers and libraries to post their items that are available. You can then share items among your own group locally. Also great if you lend out a lot of your homeschool material - you can keep a record of it to recall at anytime.

I think the ideas on how you can use this are endless. But we need to get the word out about this so we can have things to borrow and someone to buy our stuff, LOL!

To Visit Lobster Network - Click Here!

TOS Crew Review: Keyboarding For Christian Schools

2010-06-02T19:32:00.000-04:00

One of the greatest and most useful skills I ever learned was touch typing. It was mandated at the high school I went to, that everyone must take it. It should be mandatory for all students, in my humble opinion! I have used this skill nearly daily the past 10 years. My children are amazed at my "talent." I have purchased several typing programs for them, but the problem is the content. While I haven't found anything specifically offensive in them, they just don't have a purpose. Imagine being able to type and copy passages that contain biblical truths! That is where this program comes into play.

There are two version of this typing curriculum, one for elementary and one for grades 6 and up. The elementary version contains just the basics for getting started in 31 lessons. This covers all the letter keys plus the number and top row keys (@%&) you use with the shift key and the number pad. For practice Psalms are used to copy as well as using "how to have a personal relationship with Christ."

The upper level curriculum has 43 lessons. This curriculum covers the same topics above more quickly and then goes into business letters, bibliographies, works cited, envelopes, etc. that you would normally be covered in a high school level keyboarding class. There is also emphasis on timed typing. What I really appreciate is the Christian topics that are used for typing exercises. For example for report writing a report is presented on "The test of true discipleship."

This course presents typing the way I learned with the same introduction I used. This is an effective traditional way to learn to type. Along with discipline and practice, this method works.

TOS Crew Review: Super Star Speech - Super Star Games

2010-05-31T16:00:00.000-04:00

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

2010-05-31T15:08:00.002-04:00

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!!!

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

2010-05-28T10:59:00.000-04:00

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

2010-05-28T10:26:00.001-04:00

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.

TOS Crew Review: Sue Gregg Cookbooks - Breakfasts!

2010-05-27T11:05:00.000-04:00

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

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

2010-05-21T16:05:00.000-04:00

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!

TOS Crew Review: Kregal Publications

2010-05-17T20:47:00.000-04:00

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.

TOS Crew Review: Lesson Planet

2010-04-17T15:07:00.001-04:00

Lesson Planet is a paid search engine for teachers. It puts 150,000 lesson plans and 75,000 worksheets at the click of a mouse. Here is a video description of this website.

Using the search engine, I was able to find lesson plans and worksheets for our current topic of study. There were many different websites suggest from textbook companies to school districts. Lesson plans also came from State council of art, among many other resources. I had 66 choices for my topic: Great Depression. There were also 15 pages of worksheets. I had already narrowed my choice to ratings of 3+ stars and for grades 3 to 5.

Because I teach nutrition classes to adults, I decided to try to find out what I could find for that. There was 3 pages of links for grades 9 to adult. I found several worksheets that I thought would be helpful such as worksheets on proteins, carbohydrates, and liquid sugar (soda). I also found over 70 worksheets on the food guide pyramid and over 1000 lesson plans.

I really appreciate the ease of use of the website. You can narrow your search as well as see previous searches right on the page you are on. My only complaint, and it is really minor, is I wish the pages I went to from this website would open in another window or tab. Sometimes you surf around a site of lesson plans and then decide it does not have what you want and then you have to find your way back to your search result. I know this is easily remedied by right clicking and telling it to "open in another tab." The other thing is that the content of the lesson plans are from secular sources. You would expect this, but I thought I would mention it anyway.

Overall I think this site is very useful. I was able to find lots of resources for the topics I am studying. Cost per year is $39.95 a year, which is cheaper then another I looked at in the past. You can also try it out for your self with their free trial. Just check out their website below:

http://www.lessonplanet.com/

lesson plans

worksheets

TOS Crew Review: Family Mint

2010-04-15T14:58:00.000-04:00

Many children are not being taught how to save and manage their money. They don't have motivation to save and quickly spend what they get. This program seeks to instill proper use of money and to manage it so they can learn how not to go into debt when they want something. They can use an envelope type system so they can put their money into different categories to save.

This program currently is free in its "Alpha" form. This online program sets mom (or whoever is the designee - like dad :-) up as the bank - the keeper of the money. This is a virtual bank, so no money actually is stored anywhere, except in mom's possession. So no one can hack your "computer" and take your money.

You can set your bank up to accumulate interest and match deposits to certain funds, such as college. I like that you can categorize the money to go to different areas. For example if the child is saving for a new MP3 Player, they can put money directly towards that in the bank. If they want to tithe money, they can have a separate section for that.

Children can access the program to make changes to their accounts which the parents must approve. There are videos demonstrating this once you sign up for the free program. The program is quick and easy to learn and set up. It should take less then 10 minutes to do so.

To learn more visit THE FAMILY MINT by Clicking HERE.

TOS Crew Review: Graphics Toolbox Software

2010-04-15T13:28:00.000-04:00

Graphics Toolbox Software is software used to make computer assisted graphic design. This program is easier to learn then other programs, but it does take some experience and playing with it to get used to it. They have an excellent 80+ page manual that you can read and follow along with. It has excellent pictures that explain the program in detail.

This program can be used for many things including enhancing educational projects as well as learning some graphic design using the computer. Mom may want to use it to make scrapbook pages or enhance web pages. Dad will like that business presentations can also be made with ease. There is a comparison on the website on how this program compares to MS Word and Power Point. To see features of this program CLICK HERE.

There are video tutorials on how to do the program using several different project ideas. You can see the variety of sample projects available by CLICKING HERE. Also, if need be, they do provide personal tutoring for a fee.

What is great about this program is that you can try it out for 30 days and decide for yourself if this is for you or not. You can download the program by CLICKING HERE.

I think that this program will be a great tool to use for years to come. I look forward to the projects I can make with it.

TOS Crew Review: Seasons of Faith Illustrated Book Series (CBH Ministries)

2010-04-10T20:34:00.000-04:00

"The Seasons of Faith illustrated books encourage children to learn about their faith in God. Based on CBH Ministries’ treasure trove of radio scripts, these stories teach core truths of the Bible so that kids can easily apply them to their lives. Each book focuses on a season of faith-developing topics." (Quote from the website.)

My children have just loved this series. I am so glad that there are books available that are wholesome and point them to Christ. This series is from the Season of Faith Illustrated book series from Children's Bible Hour Ministries. This is the ministry that has produced Keys for Kids and Down Gilead Lane. The books include a CD with Uncle Charlie narrating the story. Descriptions of each book in the series can be read by clicking HERE. Each book clearly teaches the gospel at level that children can understand.

The story "Seventy Times Seven" teaches about forgiving others and how if we don't forgive others, God won't forgive us.

In "You Can't Come In," Adam shares his faith with his new friend Zack and invites him to church. Clear gospel message and excellent description of how sin separates us from God.

"Race With Midnight" Becky shares her faith with her cousin Sarah. Using a horse as an object lesson, Becky shares how we can put our faith and trust in God.

"Braving the Storm" Thomas needs to learn how to trust and rely on God during difficult times. Shows a loving relationship between a Grandfather and Grandson. Great analogy of putting our "roots" into Christ.

You can order these directly for CBH Ministries by Clicking Here.
If you order these before Apr. 15th you can get free shipping if you use code: FREESHIPAPR15

TOS Crew: Math Galaxy

2010-04-10T19:36:00.000-04:00

I have been really impressed with this product. It seems so simple, but my children enjoy it and are learning from it. We downloaded a few of their products for this review. My children's favorite has been the Whole Number Fun. They are grades 1, 2, 4, and 9. They say it is challenging but fun! They like to do lots of problems so that they can earn robots (and I believe some other things, but I am not sure what) to give them "lives" to play some of the simple (think Atari) like games. My children love them. This supplies motivation (complete and get the answers correct) to do the math problems so they get to have fun.

You can see samples on their website of how this all works: http://www.mathgalaxy.com/

These games lack sound, but that has not been an issue for us. They do look simple, but my children really enjoy the games and doing the math problems. They will play this for hours at a time, if I let them.

These programs are available from early math through algebra. They seem to have similar formats. These are available for $24.95 including shipping. Also available are PDF format e-books for each series that you can print out.

Lots to preview on the website - go take a look by clicking HERE.

TOS Crew Review: Homeschooling in the Woods - US/World Maps

2010-04-09T20:20:00.000-04:00

I just love the thought of "homeschooling in the woods." Well that is almost what we do here!!! I downloaded the Old World US and World Maps from Homeschooling in the Woods. They were in WinZip format. They maps then come in PDF format. Each map is then available labeled or not labeled . I love the variety of maps available.

The US maps come as individual state maps. They show all the major waterways in the state and the bordering states. You can label yourself, or you can print off the blank version of the maps. There are also maps available throughout American history, such as colonial maps, civil war maps, and current political maps. Homeschooling in the Woods encourages us to use maps as we teach history.

Also included are notebooking pages for each US state. You are given a page where you can include info on state flower, flag, bird, history, etc. An answer key for these are included. Each page includes pictures of the state flag, bird, and state flower are printed on each page. The flag is in color.

The world maps are many as well. They are broken up into ancient history and modern history. They also come labeled and not labeled, so you can decide what way you want to use the maps. There are 18 ancient history maps and 28 world maps. Then there are three version of each map. The also include notebooking pages for the world maps.

These maps are great quality and beautiful. They print out very nice and easy to label by the children. Homeschooling in the Woods always has high quality items that we love!

To find out more or to purchase, CLICK HERE.

TOS Crew Review: Critical Thinking Press - Language Smarts C

2010-04-03T20:31:00.000-04:00

Critical Thinking Press is the publisher of a Language Smarts, Level C. This consumable workbook is a huge book of over 300 pages arranged by its many topics. This book can be used either as a core curriculum or used as a supplement. The company states it covers all of grade 2 standards for language arts and some 3rd grade topics. What is great is that this also teaching critical thinking and helps prepare students for standardized tests (if you use those.)

After the introductory chapter covering various topics found in the book, there are sections covering vowels/phonics, rhymes, contractions, compound words, high frequency words, nouns and verbs, nouns or pronouns, word usage, subject/verb agreement, suffixes, prefixes, sequencing, compare and contrast, ordering, subject and predicates, sentences, capitalization and punctuation, friendly letters, inferences and facts, setting, and more. For a complete list of what is covered CLICK HERE.

The activities include puzzles, creative writing, filling in the blanks, solving secret codes to get the answer, filling in charts, and lots more. What is nice is that the pages are not overloaded with endless problems to solve. The pages are very doable in bite size pieces.The pages are also in great bright colors and the pictures are inviting to children. They look so much like fun! The website states also, that the licence on this is reproducible. There is also a downloadable answer guide available online.

My children were just a little too young for this workbook (or too old) but I do plan on using it as a supplement next year for two of my children. It is probably best if the child can read before you attempt this workbook.

To learn more, look at sample pages, or to purchase, CLICK HERE.

TOS Crew Review: All About Reading...What Am I?

2010-04-02T14:09:00.000-04:00

All About Reading just came out with a Level 2, Volume 1 reader for their All About Spelling (AAS) program. Just like their past reader, the beautiful black and white photos are throughout the book. The stories correspond with level 2 of the All About Spelling program.

Stories are fun, mostly animal stories. They also include a robot and elf story and some poems. The stories are interesting, keep the child enjoying reading, and give much needed practice us moms like. When we are done with our reading lesson, we like to curl up in bed or on the couch and have the children practice their reading to me. The stories are just at their level so it helps them to feel more confident with their reading.

This book is part of their new All About Reading Program to be released later this year. This reader can be used stand alone or be used after level 1 of All About Spelling. There will be two readers for each level and each cover decoding, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, etc.

This book is to be released April 1st, 2010. To find out more visit the All About Spelling website (Click Here.)

TOS Crew Review: Dollar Homeschool

2010-03-27T19:44:00.001-04:00

A Complete K-12 math curriculum, from counting to calculus.

"The Ray's math series begins at a preliterate level with counting; then takes the child through addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and so upward until calculus, teaching concepts with thorough explanations followed by ample problem sets. The Ray's series provides a very full-bodied course of mathematics" quoted from website: http://www.dollarhomeschool.com/raysarithmetic/index.html

Ray's arithmetic CD contains 12 core textbooks, teacher guides, answer keys, and several other books that are math realted, for a total of 38 books. The books come in PDF (ADOBE - which is available online for free if you don't have it.) format so you can print what pages you need at what level you need. This is textbook format, so once you print them out, you can keep them in a 3-ring binder or something similiar for your next child to use.

These textbooks date back to 1865 and were used exclusively until 1915. This texts were written by the best of the best in their fields at this time. There is a Welcome file which should be read first which gives tips on where to start and how to progress through the books. It also has some frequently asked questions.

I looked over the Ray's Primary Arithmetic to start. The lessons begin with counting and reading numbers one to one hundred. They then progress to oral exercise, including oral word problems. "How many are one and one?" "How many are three take away one?" As you move through the lessons word problems include: "How many birds are two birds and five birds?" "Francis had two cents and his mother gave him one cent, how many had he then?" "Jane had ten cents: if she gave 8 cents for a book, how many cents does she have left?"

The core of the program are word problems. The focus early on is addition and subtraction then moves onto multiplication: "If one dozen apples cost nine cents, how many cents will 8 dozen cost?" So if you don't have a strong reader at this level, most will be oral. But it is very doable for a first/second grader to get these concepts.

The next book in the series is Ray's Intellectual Arithmetic (and the last one I am reviewing). It begins with a review for those who may not have covered the topics in the first book or need more practice. I found the concept from this level challenging for myself. Yes, I could do it, but wow, made me think. For example in lesson 5 (V) you are instructed to start at 8 and goto one hundred four by adding 4 (to 8) successively. (8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, 32, 36, 40, 44, 48, 52, 56, 60, 64, 68, 72, 76, 80, 84, 88, 92, 96, 100, 104- phew - done!) Fractions, measurement, interest problems, and percents are also thoroughly covered at this level, and yes, using word problems!!

This program is advanced, so you will have to look carefully over where your children are at, and possibly back it up a little to make sure they understand all the topics covered.

This is a great program. One downside I see in it is that the pages require a lot of ink. I did run the pages on "fast draft" and they were very readable, so that is an option. This is an economical option in that pages printed can be saved for the next child. The other downside is that work most likely will have to be done on another piece of paper, such as a notebook. My children balk at this.

To Find out pricing or for more information about this product and other products offered by Dollar Homeschool Click Here.

TOS Crew Review: KinderBach (2010)

2010-03-09T19:05:00.001-05:00

Kinderbach is an early learning (about ages 2 to 7) piano course, founded by Karri Gregor. She was looking for an age appropriate music program for her young children, unable to find one, she started teaching her own lessons. 150 students later, she had to give up her lessons after her husband lost his job and they had to relocate. Later, after digging up some old tapes of the lessons she decided to start up again. Using her husband's wise advice, she stared the DVD program so more could be reached. The rest is history. You can read her bio here.

We previewed the online web video edition, also available at the website, as a less expensive option then the DVDs. My children, boys, ages 6,7, and 8, watched intently each lesson and completed the associated worksheet. With the use of a basic keyboard, we followed along with the lessons learning about Dodi's house, the train station, simple music theory, sing along songs, and some percussion instruments.
The lessons are short (around 5 minutes) and complete one objective at a time. There are 4 short lessons a week. The intro lesson lets you know what you need each week. The pages with the various activities - color, cut, and paste mostly, are right on the lesson page. Karri's sweet voice sings the songs in the program. The program slowly builds concepts as it is meant for younger children. My older boys were able to complete a week at one sitting.
Not being musically minded, we all enjoyed the lessons and did learn quite a bit, completing only level one. The activity sheet are easy to use and have age appropriate activities. The curriculum is 2 years long or 60 lessons. You can preview the first two lessons for free online.

NEW THIS YEAR! Is a craft book to accompany Level 1. Included are great items to reinforce the lessons. The crafts are meant to be done by the parent as object lessons for the children. These were created with the home teacher in mind and use simple to obtain material: card stock, Velcro, pictures for a collage, etc.

A copy of the syllabus is available at: http://www.kinderbach.com/Classroom/curriculum.html

To learn more about Kinderbach and to try out the first two lessons online for free, CLICK HERE.

TOS Crew Review: Homeschool Library Builder

2010-03-09T18:33:00.000-05:00

"... Homeschool Library Builder, your resource for literature-based homeschooling. We offer quality new and used living books at bargain prices -- selections recommended by your favorite curricula such as Five in a Row, Sonlight, Beautiful Feet, Veritas Press, Tapestry of Grace, Ambleside Online, and others."

I am always looking for a place to get great prices on books for our homeschool. One place that has a great selection of books is Homeschool Library Builder. This online store was started by homeschool moms who obviously love books. They carry new and gently used books to go with many of the common homeschool companies mentioned above. Books are sorted by, age, subject, and by curriculum.

Another great thing is when you purchase books you earn points toward more books. You can also earn points other ways - by getting your friends to sign up (free!) and make a purchase, linking your blog to their website, etc.

So if you have not checked them out yet - go for it! There selection changes often as they buy and sell new books - so come back often! You can sign up at their website to be notified of sales and promotions!

To Visit Homeschool Library Builders CLICK HERE.

The Schoolhouse Expo!!

2010-03-09T17:15:00.002-05:00

If you're looking for homeschool encouragement, resources, and fun, check out all that is going on at The Old Schoolhouse!

Right now March Madness and Win Big are going on in the Schoolhouse Store. During March Madness, over 240 items are 10 to 40 percent off!

Click here to read the details.

Then, if you're customer 139,000, 139,500, or 140,000, you will win over $348 in prizes. Prizes include a 5 year subscription to TOS (U.S.

only), Scripture Sleuth literature series, guitar lessons on CD, and more! Hurry, they are just past customer #137,818.
The BIGGEST news of all--The Schoolhouse Expo is coming in May!

Pre-register now and save $5!

As homeschool teachers?what do you need to learn? More about teaching multiple grades? All about different homeschool methods? Transcripts?

Could you use some help with reading, language arts, math, and more?

Are you intimidated by the idea of teaching middle school and high school?those dreaded, advanced courses? Would some encouraging words and motivational Scripture help you on your way? Get answers when you attend The Schoolhouse Expo, an 3-day, online conference, presented by The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine and The Old Schoolhouse® Speaker?s Bureau.

Pre-register today for only $19.99 through March 31.You do not want to miss this unbelievable, virtual homeschool convention! PLUS, you'll receive over $300 in free gifts when you register.

Get the details and preregister here http://www.schoolhouseexpo.com/

TOS Crew Review: Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling - Debra Bell

2010-03-09T10:39:00.000-05:00

The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling by Debra Bell, is just what the title says - it is the ULTIMATE Guide! Where ever you are on your homeschool journey, from just thinking about it, to a many year veteran, The Ultimate Guide will give you a vision for homeschooling. It will encourage you to press on, help you out a rut, and give you many ideas on how to homeschool. This book gives you practical examples to help you actually take action - it gives you the hands and feet to homeschool, with out being preachy or "you must do it my way" attitude.

Sections Include:
Homeschooling - Is it for you? (Includes a family quiz to see if homeschooling for you.)
Choosing a Curriculum (Includes learning styles, homeschooling on a shoestring, tons of recommendations)
Organization and Planning
Preventing Burnout
What to Teach: When and How (Includes quotes from experts in the field.)
Homeschooling Teens (Planning, college options, college admissions, college at home)
Computers in Homeschool (Do I need to include computers in our homeschool?)
Creative Solutions (Toddlers, transitioning from school to home, motivating the reluctant learner)
Measuring Success
Resource Lists

Favorite quote:
"If you've potty trained, your qualified (to homeschool.)"

This book includes an excellent foundation for getting started homeschooling. While written from a Christian perspective, this book contains plenty of useful info for any homeschooler. Recommendation are for both Christian and non-Christian materials. The author also has an excellent sense of humor through out, which makes this really an enjoyable read.

This is a big read, 509 pages plus an index. You can pick and choose what you need first and go from there, reading the chapters as needed, or you can do it the old fashioned way - reading from beginning to end. This book has recently (2009) been updated, so it contains all the current contact and website info throughout.

If I was rating this book - I would easily give it five stars for books in this category. This book should be in every library! I really enjoyed this book. It is helping to remind me why I started doing this in the first place, and giving me many fresh ideas.

To purchase or to find out more, CLICK HERE.

TOS Crew Review: Math Mammoth Light Blue - Grade 3

2010-03-02T13:34:00.000-05:00

Last year I reviewed some products from Math Mammoth. You can see that review by clicking HERE.

This year I decided to review a complete years math curriculum. After reviewing the placement test with my fourth grader, we decided to go with grade three. He did not yet have a good foundation in multiplication and division, which was required for the fourth grade level. You can see the placement tests by clicking HERE. Having completed several weeks of lessons, I have no regrets with that decision.

Grade 3 description from the website:
"Third grade is a time for learning and mastering two (mostly new) operations: multiplication and division with single-digit numbers. The student also deepens his understanding of addition and subtraction, and uses those in many different contexts, such as with money, time, and measuring."
For detailed description of each grade Click HERE.

This program requires little teacher preparation. The most burdensome thing I find with it is printing out the pages. I remedied that by printing off several lessons at a time, so I only have to do that twice a month. I was able to use the "fast draft" feature on the printer and still obtained quality copies. The pages are in color mixed with black and white. Sometimes I will use only the black ink cartridge for printing projects, but for this math program, I kept the colored pages as is.

Lessons ran about 3 pages in length with frequent repetition and just enough problems to get the lesson point (not to much, not to little). A few different topics are covered in each lesson. I appreciated that the program stresses mental math. Most of the time descriptions are easy enough that my son can work independently. Other-times, a simple explanation is all that is needed. Fun puzzles are sprinkled throughout the lessons. Mastery is definitely encouraged. There are some basic manipulatives used with this curriculum, but are basic things we have at home (measuring cups, rulers, etc.)

My son is really enjoying this program, so he is going to continue to use it. This program is currently available for grades 1 through 5 with grade 6 coming out this year. You can purchase this as a download or printed by lulu.com.

To learn more about Math Mammoth CLICK HERE.

TOS Crew Review: Zeezok: Presidential Penmanship

2010-03-02T12:22:00.000-05:00

The product I have received is Presidential Penmanship Italic Style Complete Program on CD-Rom. This is a supplemental handwriting skills program for first through senior high. This is copywork type program - where the students copy quotes from presidents. The quotes come from speeches and from books such as George Washington's Rules of Civility and Decent. It comes in six different handwriting styles (see below.)

The quotes are shorter for younger grades and progressively get more difficult as the student progresses through the program. By the end of sixth grade the student is expected to quote the Gettysburg Address. In high school the passages are smaller in the beginning and progress to longer passages. Quotes are also taken from Declaration of Independence, Lincoln and Reagan's Inaugural Addresses. All the quotes are excellent for memorization and civics studies.

This is a supplemental program since it does not actually provide instruction for the individual letters. It is assumed you have a basic understanding of writing the letters in the version you choose. You can choose the grade level that best matches your child's ability or you can do it based on subject matter. For example, the 5th grade level discusses manners and that might be a topic of interest for you.

For the earlier years you are expected to trace the letters and stay in the lines provided, then you copy and trace the quote on top of light grey scale letters. Then you are on your own to write out the quote on the lines provided. The child would have enough to do one lesson a week for 36 weeks. As you get in higher grades less practice is given and more lessons per week are expected. In third grade 108 lessons are provided. Extra lined pages are included for you to print out as needed.

The quotes are great discussion starters and my children enjoyed copying the verses. The only difficulty we had was with a child with a visual impairment being able to stay in the lines while copying and seeing the light grey print.

What is great about this is that you only have to print out as much as you need and you can use this with multiple age households, inexpensively. You do need to provide paper and a printer to print off of the CD-Rom. Using "fast draft" to use less ink, as a printer option, did not effect the quality of the print compared with using the "normal" option.

To learn more visit:

http://www.zeezok.com/

Presidential Penmanship

Sample PDF - Click Here!

TOS Crew Review: AAS Beehive Reader 1

2010-02-26T13:41:00.002-05:00

I originally did a review for the "parent" program, All About Spelling (AAS), that goes with this reader. It can be read HERE. This reader can be used with this program or a supplement for any other phonics reading program.

The Beehive reader follows the schedule for All About Spelling and you introduce the story after reaching certain points in the program. What I really like about this hardcover reader is that the stories go beyond most readers and actually tell a story the child can relate to. Also, there are excellent pencil drawing to accompany most pages in the book, that add to the child's delight in reading the stories. There are also some questions that are available separately in PDF File format that you get with purchase, if you choose to use them. I like to have my children tell me the story back in their own words for reading comprehension.

My early reader loves to read from this book. We always get this one out to practice with on a regular basis. This book has a "home-y" feel about it that may become a children's classic.

To look inside, CLICK HERE.

From the website:

"Your beginning reader will delight in finding out what happens when…

…a busy cat lives in a windmill

…a sleepy bear cub takes a nap

…a grumpy duck demands a snack

…a singing bat befriends a lonely king

… a curious boy shrinks from tall to small

… and much more! "

"Beehive Reader 1 correlates 100% with All About Spelling Level One."

For more info: Click Here.

TOS Crew Review: Math Tutor Young Minds DVD

2010-02-26T13:20:00.000-05:00

This numbers and counting video from MathTutorDVD.com is an excellent introduction or review for children just starting their math adventure. This is a great video for the under "6-ish" crowd.

What makes this special? The excellent music and beautiful, colorful photos. There are approximately 12 photos for each number from 1 to 10. So you would see a picture, count the objects in the picture, and then make the sound for the picture, if it makes a sound. Pictures include (farm and wild) animals, trucks, airplanes, birds, and more. This is then set to beautiful classical music by Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, and others.

There are also bonus features: Guessing the picture, dot to dot, and puzzles. My boys especially enjoyed the guessing the picture feature (I can't tell you what those are ;-)

My boys, although older, did enjoy the video. Because they are 7,8, and 9, I doubt they will watch this over and over again. However it was engaging enough for them to sit and watch it once through. It is an absolutely beautiful video that I am sure younger children would love. It does have 3 awards (Dr. Troy 10 best Audio Video Products, Creative Child Magazine 2009 TOP CHOICE Award, and WINNER ptpamedia.com.)

I do think this is a great video for the age intended.

To find out more visit: MathTutorDVD

Come Together Now - For Haiti

2010-02-20T10:19:00.004-05:00

Come Together Now (Music City Unites For Haiti) from Music City Unites For Haiti on Vimeo.

http://www.cometogethernowhaiti.com/welcome.html

100% of funds go to Samaritan's Purse and The American Red Cross

Gospel Music Association (MA) chairman of the board Ed Leonard took time to highlight a few of the ways the gospel music industry has reached out to Haiti in its hour of need, introducing the powerful music video for “Come Together Now” (Music City Unites for Haiti) which was led by Michael W. Smith (written by Smith, David Mullen and Cindy Morgan).

Teary-eyed from viewing the powerful video, Michael W. Smith spoke briefly of his trip to Haiti last week and how long it would take for the people to recover.

We may be here to announce Dove nominations today, but the true awards go to the people in Haiti and the meaning of something like this comes only through what we do in times like this,” said Smith, who visited Haiti after the earthquake. Any recognition we give to those making an impact in this industry, goes all just to God’s glory and His fame, to be able to reach out further, to communicate His message to the world.
He made special mention of U.S. troops in Haiti…

To watch our military not only keep the peace but love on the Haitian people was an image I’ll never forget the rest of my life…

The making of the video:

Haiti benefit concert:

TOS Crew Review: MathScore

2010-02-16T19:31:00.000-05:00

"Developed by MIT graduates, MathScore is research-based and proven to raise test scores with students of all demographics."

MathScore is an online assessment tool for schools, parents, and homeschoolers. This assessment and math practice covers grades 1 through Algebra. Problems range from simple to complex through all the grade levels. What makes this program special is that it has the ability to generate problems and base difficulty on ability of the student.

MathScore can be used to supplement for most math curriculums. While it does not specifically teach, it does give mini-lessons on the topic area. Some homeschool parents have successfully used this as the foundation of their math curriculum for their children.

After a simple registration process, I started my free 2 week trial which is available to anyone on their website. I went on as my 8th grade child and choose from a list of topics. It then generated a worksheet for me do with several problems. The object is to quickly do the problems. You then generate a score and are encouraged to move on to the next worksheet which for my topic, had more problems to do then the previous worksheet. You are awarded "trophies" for certain levels of accomplishment. If you are unsure of a topic you can click on "mini-lesson" and read a sample of how to do the activity. It was no means in depth just a sample overview.

This program is not fancy, but does it's job without bells and whistles. You can view a two week trial of the program at their website without giving any credit card /payment info.

For more info - visit their website at:
http://www.mathscore.com/

TOS Crew Review: FactsFirst (Saxon)

2010-02-13T17:59:00.000-05:00

I have to admit that this program has been the most enthusiastically accepted math program my children have done. Well, not initially. But after I "made" one my children try it, the rest watched in amazement and couldn't wait for their turn.

This program is meant to teach and review math facts. The most impressive thing about it was that my 7 year old who is in first grade taught himself multiplication and division using this program. He also was giving me the hardest time doing basic math facts in his everyday math and now they are a breeze for him, so, no more fighting!

They started by making a character to portray them selves. This was a fun assignment. They are always changing their man. They then proceed to do math facts which does supply some instruction with the lesson. They are then rewarded with a fun game, which was probably the motivation to do more math facts. Some games are just fun, and some are educational.

So, if I gave stars this one would get 5 out 5 stars. I have seen such an improvement in a fun way, they voluntary do their math drill.

From the website:
"factsfirst™ is a personalized and fully adaptive online math product that builds a child’s confidence and helps develop instant recall of basic facts in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Children are engaged in performance-based learning through interactive, real-world scenarios that make math facts meaningful and fun. "

To learn more visit: http://www.factsfirst.com/

I was given a free 90 day preview to review this product.

TOS Crew Review: Jean Welles Worship Guitar Class Volume One

2010-01-18T17:22:00.001-05:00

We received for review Volume One of Jean Welles Worship Guitar Class. Volume one includes a DVD with booklet and book to accompany it that reinforces the DVD lessons. It also contains all the music with the copyright information for the songs used in the program.

The DVD starts with an introduction which in includes Jean Welles experience, which she does have a lot of. Next she goes over the parts of a guitar and teaches you how to tune a guitar. What I like best about the program is its Christian focus. She encourages beginning lessons with prayer and ask the Lord to help teach you to play the guitar. She also recognizes that people tend to be tense when beginning to learn a new instrument. She again recommends prayer to overcome this and to relax.

Part of the first lesson includes where to put your fingers and how to strum to the tune of He's Got the Whole World in His Hands. Cords are introduced one at a time. You do not need to know how to read music to do the lessons in this first volume. You will learn them as you go. Other songs you learn include: My All In All, More Precious than Silver, Take My Life, Lord I lift Your Name on High and a few others. An extra lesson is included in the back of the book that is not on the DVD that is useful for hand exercise of the left hand. There is apparently a video to accompany it online on her website.

Over all this program seems excellent and takes away the hesitation of learning this way. My son thoroughly enjoyed this program and decided to purchase his own new guitar after doing a few lessons. We will probably add more lessons to our collection as soon as we can. I would recommend that if possible to supplement with an occasional lesson to help confirm technique (but then if you are not overly serious and you like your progress, then maybe this is isn't necessary.)

To learn more about this program and watch the first lesson FREE online CLICK HERE!

TOS Crew Review: Maestro Classics

2009-12-30T20:37:00.000-05:00

We had the opportunity to receive and review The Tortoise and the Hare. This is a wonderful story from Aesop's fables set to classical music performed by The London Philharmonic Orchestra.

This approximately 54 minute CD was able to easily draw the attention of my children. The narrator clearly tells the story of "The Hare" and how he likes to brag about how fast he is. A marathon is set up so that the Hare can compete against the other animals in the forest. The problem is, is that none of the animals want to compete against him, as he is not very well liked. Finally the Tortoise steps up and offers to race the Hare. In the background and at appropriate times throughout the story you hear the orchestra and its various instruments.

In addition to the orchestra version of the story, the actual short story from Aesop's fables is shared on the CD. Then there is the song "Pretzel Vendor of Paris" with information about the song. There is also information behind the story and how they chose the music for the Tortoise and the Hare. You can here a sample of the this CD by clicking HERE.

Included with the CD is a booklet which has information on the importance of listening to music together with your child. Also includes info on the orchestra and colored pictures of the instruments used in the orchestra. There there are some puzzles and information on hares and tortoises.

Overall an excellent CD, enjoyable by all ages, but especially children under 10 years. There are several other CD's available from this company which sound wonderful as well. You can here samples at the website.

For more information about this CD or others from Maestro Classics..Click HERE.

TOS Crew: Act Advantage

2009-12-30T20:06:00.001-05:00

ACT Advantage is an educational tool and assessment for ACT test preparation. It is a parent administered test available at two levels: Explore - for 8/9th graders and Plan - for 10/11th graders. The subjects tested are Math, Reading, English, and Science.

At each level the student can be tested to see how they compare to other students at the same grade level as well as their strengths and weaknesses in preparation for college and future testing.

Each test booklet has student complete work directly in the booklet. There is space for them to work the problems out directly with the problem. This is great as you don't have to search for the problem on scratch paper should they get a problem wrong. There is a removable test sheet and the answers are included in the test booklet.

The test are easy to administer with clear direction to the student and parent. There are booklets to help you assess your child's results as well as an excellent 36 page booklet, College Readiness Standards, with suggestions on how to meet the standard. Suggestions depend on the skill needed. An example would be to "experiment with different writing styles" or "solve multi-step arithmetic problems."

This is excellent preparation for college bound students to assess where they are and what skills they need to score well on college entrance exams. The "Ideas for Progress" included in the College Readiness Standard booklet are useful for any high school student.

TOS Crew Review: Tektoma

2009-12-19T19:01:00.000-05:00

Tektoma is an online tutorials with videos to help children learn programing and make their own games. After downloading free software available elsewhere on the Internet, Tektoma provides step by step detailed videos on how to make your own video games. Children as young as 7 are said to be able to benefit from Tektoma. We had our nine year old work with his 18 year old brother. Both with no experience in programming. They worked on a simple racing game, following the directions. I don't believe my 9 year old would have been able to do without my older son there to help him along the way. The guide says it takes approx. 2 hours to make the race car. After several hours working on it, my son did give up. He had a hard time following along even with help. Maybe someone with more motivation would do better with it. They do offer a free trial so you can figure out for yourself if this is something that will work for you.

Tektoma currently only works with Windows XP and Vista. Mac version coming soon. You also need broadband Internet connection. Discussion boards are also available to ask questions if need be. These forums are monitored by Tektoma and questions are often answered by them.

To find out more info about Tektoma please Click Here.

TOS Crew: Professor in a Box - Financial Accounting

2009-12-16T13:10:00.002-05:00

Professor in a Box - Financial Accounting, taught and produced by Michael Licata, is an accounting curriculum specifically produced for homeschooled students. Licata, who holds a PhD and is a college professor, wanted to make available to homeschoolers a vigorous college level accounting course, that students with average high school (basic algebra) math ability would be able to take and understand. Completion of this course would adequately prepare a student to take the accounting Clep test for college credit.

Everything you need is provided in the box. The program needs to be viewed on a PC with CD-ROM and you need Adobe to open the PDF files on the Cd's. There is one instructor CD and three student CDs. There are three suggested paths this course can take, depending on how quickly you need to do it. Suggestions are given for completing this course in 9 (3 lessons a week), 14, and 28 weeks.

The lesson structure is fairly simple: watch the lecture, do the homework problems (takes a approx. 2 hours to complete spread out over a few days,) check work, and work on exams if necessary.

The lessons are in flash player which is most PCs carry. You listen to Professor Licata while the screen's flash automatically. You have the ability to also print screens as desired.

The lessons we listened to were very informative. My son and I learned a lot from the lessons we completed. There is more to accounting then just math problems. Accounting is necessary for anyone entering any business field or thinking of the starting their own business.

There is no additional textbook, so all the info is in the flash video. There is a printable list of key terms and you can print out the problems and and solutions if you want to for each lesson. Spread sheets are also available for free in Excel, on the Professor in a Box website, that accompany the lessons.

These course is vigorous as the author states, however, even with a basic math background, I was easily able to understand the program and found it very helpful.

You can view a sample lesson by clicking here:
You can learn more about Professor in a Box by Clicking Here.

TOS Crew Review: America's Heritage: An Adventure in Liberty

2009-11-24T13:03:00.001-05:00

This product comes from The American Heritage Education Foundation, Inc. Here is a summary from their website:

"AHEF is a non-profit, non-partisan educational foundation dedicated to the understanding and teaching of America's factual and philosophical heritage to promote constructive citizenship and Freedom, Unity, Progress, and Responsibility among our students and citizens.
"AHEF accomplishes this patriotic mission by writing, producing, and distributing FREE K-12 lesson plans to teachers, students, and families in all 50 states and through additional initiatives, programs, and partnerships."

AHEF produces a curriculum for grades K-12 and is geared toward public schools. This curriculum is available for each level of school: Elementary, Middle School, and High School students. It is available free of charge on the website, either as a download or a cd. You can purchase a print edition for a nominal fee.

Even though geared toward public schools and meeting Texas and national standards, it does not deny the faith of the founding fathers in teaching the basis of our government's founding. It is patriotic in overall theme.

I really appreciated the elementary version which is a general over view of symbols of our country, U.S. documents, presidents, national holidays, and events of our country. Information includes activities (games, puzzles, etc.), fact sheets, and teacher helps. Some activities require more of a group structure, but many can be adapted for homeschool or co-op settings. Some topics covered include: The Presidential Seal, The Declaration of Independence, History of Thanksgiving, The United States Flag to name a few.Middle school and High School level seems to cover the same topics just in more depth.

While the lessons are divided up chronologically, but suggest which months to complete each activity/lesson (IE: Thanksgiving in November.) These lessons are thorough and complete and make a great supplement to any curriculum. I see this as a great way to cover some civics government lessons through out the year.

To learn more or download your own copy for free: CLICK HERE.

TOS Crew Review: AVKO Membership

2009-11-23T19:25:00.000-05:00

For this review I received a one year membership to AVKO's membership website ($25). AVKO Education and Research Foundation was started by Don McCabe in the 1970's. AVKO stands for Audio, Visual, Kinesthetic, and Oral, based on the method he uses to teach reading and spelling. The foundation is a 501 (c) 3 company that exists to provide low cost or no cost material for teachers to help promote literacy for all including dyslexia and other learning disabilities.

The website appears overwhelming at first glance. There is a ton of information on the site. There are several useful ebooks on the website which are also available in print form. One book - To Teach A Dyslexic - is the autobiography of the founder Don McCabe. This obviously tells his story and how he came to start the foundation. Other books available are useful tools to use along side the curriculum Sequential Spelling which is produced by AVKO.

One of the books - The Patterns of English Spelling - is cornerstone. The author put together over 1600 pages containing most English words and there word patterns. They are grouped together on one page. You can develop your own spelling program for this, or use it as a reference, to find words your child misspells in his regular writing and teach the rimes or word families that go with it.

What makes Sequential Spelling (and AVKO) different is rather then teach isolated words on a spelling test. McCabe recommends teaching all the word families together. For instance:

iff
tiff
cliff
whiff
skiff
riff
sheriff
diff
different
etc.

These spelling lessons can also be a time to learn vocabulary.

There are also several audios available that further explain the foundation's philosophy of teaching reading and spelling. They even include an Mp3 audio on how to make your own spelling program, which I found helpful. Mr. McCabe has a great sense of humor and is easy to listen to.

Membership also comes with a 25% discount on printed products that you order directly from them. There is also a ton of fun stuff on the website like puns, inspirational stories, and funnies.

This membership would be a great investment for those using Sequential Spelling. It also would be helpful for anyone who wants to learn more of AVKO's philosophy or want to try and make up their own spelling program, using AVKO's methods.

To find out more about Sequential Spelling, AVKO membership, and the ton more information they have on their website (some for free.) Visit: http://www.avko.org/index.htm

Membership was provided free of charge to give my honest opinion. See Disclosure.

TOS Crew Review: Exploramania - Gymathtics

2009-11-22T10:49:00.000-05:00

Gymathics is a fun exercise video that runs about 30 minutes. Produced with kids in mind, this video is described as a "Fun Educational Workout" by its producers. Starting with stretches, moving on to Calisthenics, followed by some coordinated movement, named "Pattern Power," finishing up with some "Well-Being Wind down."

"Shape Stretches" is all over stretching while standing. Incorporating different geometry terms, children are encouraged to make lines, triangles, and polygons. This was the most liked part of the video for us.

Next "Counting Calisthenics" has us counting with odd, even, prime numbers, and more as we add calisthenics to our exercise routine.

"Pattern Power" teaches repeating patterns while doing mini exercise combinations. This includes some floor exercises and stomach crunches. There are some yoga poses here, but they are not called such.

"Well-Being Wind down" includes some positive sayings about health and some exercises, while cooling down and relaxing.

This is over all a basic children's exercise video. I would not encourage people to buy it if they are just looking for a math supplement. It does incorporate some basic math, but to get the most out of it you have to read the screen. Those who can read it, probably already know it. Most items on the screen are mentioned during the exercise, but not all of it.

My children do enjoy the video. It is fun, and it did help that one of the characters in the video has the same name as one my boys. They follow along the best they can. I think a little more could have been taught as to form. It is probably more copy and do and I had trouble with one child not doing the exercises properly. It might be wise to supervise children the first time doing the video to make sure they don't injure themselves.

This video is great to get children moving and off the couch. There are not that many exercise videos geared at children. I commend the effort to get children moving. There is also a second video in this series available that was not previewed.

To find out more visit: http://www.exploramania.com/

Watch a sample video below:

This product was given to me, free of charge, for my honest opinion of the video.

See disclosure on right.

TOS Crew: Virginia Soaps and Scents

2009-11-14T17:28:00.000-05:00

What a fun privilege to review something that you can literally put your feet up and enjoy!! I received a sampler of soaps from Virginia Soaps and Scents. I received three olive oil based soaps, a shampoo bar, and a sample laundry kit.

The soaps were just dreamy. They smelled so good and lathered up real well. I really enjoyed using these. I used the "Oatmeal and Honey" bar in the shower and it was wonderful. I used the "Coconut Lemongrass" in my hand soap dish and well, the "Fresh Orange" one, I am holding on to because it just smells so good. It was great to know that I am only using all natural ingredients when I am using these. They seemed to wash well and lather well. I would definitely buy these again!!

I was a little curious about the "Shampoo" Bar. I didn't know how that would work. I tried it!! It lathered up very well with only a little water, but I felt that it was a little too harsh on my hair. After just one shampoo I could feel my hair was pretty rough. I added just a little conditioner to my hair because I was worried how it would turn out. I tried it one more time just see if it would have the same effect - sure enough my hair was like Brillo. I just cut off most of my hair so if it had been real long, it would not have surprised me. But with it being short (shoulder length) I was disappointed it did not work for me. It would probably work well as a clarifying type shampoo for occasional or weekly use.

The last item I was able to sample was the laundry soap kit. I have been making my own laundry soap since earlier this year so I was curious to how this one worked. The kit comes with the soap already grated, and pre-measured washing soda and borax. I had my son make this up and all went well. The sample we had lasted us a month, but imagine the full size kit would easily last two months if you did one load of laundry a day. It really can save you a lot of money in the long run - and you don't have to worry about what chemicals you are putting on your clothes that you wear.

The company offers bulk purchases, so the more you buy the more you save. They don't discount the laundry cleaning bar however. The only draw back I see is shipping the bars can get expensive, so you will want to stock up when you buy or order with someone to combine the shipping. I was told, however, that shipping was fast.

To visit Virgina Soaps and Scents CLICK HERE.

The products in this review were sample sizes given for free in exchange for my honest review of the products. See my disclaimer/disclosure on right.

TOS Crew Review: ACT, inc. DISCOVER

2009-11-14T13:25:00.000-05:00

DISCOVER by ACT, inc, is a online assessment tool to help with career planning. DISCOVER provides high school students and adults with in depth information on different career options and provides an assessment tool to help determine likes and dislikes.

Provided are alphabetical lists of occupations which go into detail about the responsibilities, education needed, salary, and growth outlook for every conceivable career. They even give detailed information specific to each state. You can save career areas you are interested in, into your favorites for future reference.

If you don't know what areas you are interested in there is an assessment available. Three areas are assessed: Interests, Abilities, and Values. To help narrow down what areas you are best suited for. My son did this and he said it was mostly accurate. He did have an interest in civil engineering but he said the only science questions he was asked was biology, which he does not have interest in, so it showed up lower on his list of possible areas of careers. Interest and abilities are pretty straightforward questions. For values the questions asked are if you like working with customers, prefer office work or not, and other questions like this.

After we completed the assessment the company sent us a link to a free curriculum to accompany the DISCOVER program. You can take a look at that here: http://www.act.org/discover/support/resource.html This provides a more in depth look at career exploration and gives some guidance to work through the website with more structure. This seemed to be more classroom oriented, but could be adapted easily for the home.

Also available which is helpful is a resume builder. My son is going to use this feature and I will comment more after he is done...

This is a great program to help people determine possible career options based on likes and dislikes. It also helps the student plan out the eduction needed. There are also links to info about financial aid and other financial helps. This is a great career planning website.

To get more info about ACT, inc. DISCOVER career planning website: CLICK HERE.

TOS Crew Review: abcteach

2009-11-14T12:05:00.000-05:00

"At abcteach, we make your teaching preparation faster and easier by providing access to over 35,000 pages of printable worksheets and activities, to abctools, our exclusive custom document generators, and more!"

http://www.abcteach.com/

For this review, I was given a free month membership abcteach's member site. abcteach has a non-member site with thousands of free worksheets. They also offer a membership site, which is quoted above, which has over 35,000 worksheets and growing. What makes abcteach membership superior, in my opinion, to the non-member site, is the ability to custom make worksheets. I had fun making my own sudoku puzzles, addition fact worksheets, telling time worksheets, word scrambles and more.

All grade levels are represented by abcteach, but I did see more worksheets for the lower grades. The subject areas span all regular school subjects, including art and music. You can find topics with the search engine or from the subject index. Other topics of interest include clip art, languages, including sign language, Montessori materials, puzzles, games, physical eduction, holidays/seasons, thematic units, homeschool resources, and more.

The worksheets are in pdf format that you can print off or save on your computer. They are very clear and easy to read. They also come with an answer key that you can use if necessary. I did find an error once on a worksheet, but overall they seem very accurate.

One area that have used the most so far is the spelling section. They have upper elementary / junior high level most common misspelled word lists. They encompass word searches and other activities to help learn the most common misspelled words. We have had fun with these.

This is not a Christian website, but I did see some Christian themed items such as crosses, manger scenes, and angels. They did have some Chronicles of Narnia worksheets and study guides, but I am not familiar with that book to be able to review the pages. One study guide for Prince Caspian had 19 pages with comprehension questions for each chapter. You will find evolutionary content in some worksheets, but those are easily skipped.

While this is a fun site, don't get carried away with worksheets. These are a great tool to supplement your homeschool, but can easily become a snare. Just don't get carried away with them.

In the past, Homeschool Buyer's Co-op has offered a group buy with a 50% discount. You might want to check it out.

To learn more about abcteach or to access their free pages - CLICK HERE.
http://www.abcteach.com/

Disclosure Policy

2009-11-10T21:22:00.000-05:00

This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. For questions about this blog, please contact homeschoolducks at gmail dot com
This blog does not accept any form of cash advertising, sponsorship, or paid topic insertions. However, we will and do accept and keep free products, services, travel, event tickets, and other forms of compensation from companies and organizations.
The owner of this blog will never receive compensation in any way from this blog. If I do, it will be clearly stated.
The owner of this blog is not compensated (other then the free product) to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the blog owners. If we claim or appear to be experts on a certain topic or product or service area, we will only endorse products or services that we believe, based on our expertise, are worthy of such endorsement. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider.
This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest. If a conflict arises that I am aware of, it will be clearly stated.

Reviews from The Old Schoolhouse Crew (TOS Crew) are clearly labeled. The Old Schoolhouse Magazine does receive some compensation from the owners of the products, websites, etc., we review, but I have nothing to do with that, and receive NO compensation for a review from them.
To get your own policy, go to http://www.disclosurepolicy.org

TOS Crew Review: Amazing Bible Timeline

2009-11-03T09:57:00.002-05:00

The Amazing Bible Timeline is a large (37 inches high X 45 inches wide) over sized poster telling the chronology of history from a biblical perspective using Usher's Tables. Here is a quote from the website:
"The Timeline of World History is based on the most widely accepted dates in each field of study we researched. The Bible dates are based on Usher's Table. Usher is a well known seventeenth century Bishop of Ireland whose work in determining Biblical dates has been widely accepted. His Bible dates were included in both the King James Bible and the Catholic Bibles. The World history dates are similarly widely accepted by the experts in each field of study ie Egypt, China, and the rest. "

The timeline was first created in 1931 and revised in both 1975 and again 2000 to bring it up to the year 2000. To read more about Bishop Usher you can read the Wikipedia article HERE.

We kept this timeline on our dinner (aka school) table since we received it. We put a clear tablecloth over it so we could all look at whenever we ate or did school. We would frequently discuss different things going on at the same time in history, which is my favorite feature of this product. Also included is an index right on the poster that you can use to look up common names to help you find them on the timeline. This is a great resource for bible and history studies. The one thing you need to be aware of is the references to Mormon history taken from the Mormon bible. (For more info visit HERE.)

My family did not have any trouble reading the chart while on the table. If it is placed on a wall, it should be put at eye level for best visualization. We really have enjoyed using it as a reference and just reading it!

This product come with some free online bonuses you get after purchasing. One of them includes a PDF file with the timeline that you can print out for yourself.

To find out more info visit: http://bibletimeline.net/

Here is a online You Tube review of the product:

This product was received free of charge for an honest review.

TOS Crew Review: Sue Patrick's Workbox System

2009-11-03T08:24:00.001-05:00

Specialized and Structured Teaching

Sue Patrick's Workbox System

An effective teaching system to reduce your organizational time and increase your child's self-control, independence and learning.

Specialized for: Autism, ADD ADHD, and

Large Home School Families

This system will compliment your existing curriculum!

(Quoted from: http://www.workboxsystem.com/)

I was pleasantly surprised when I received this book, that I really like it. I had been hearing about workboxes for sometime on email lists I had been on and purposely ignoring them because I doubted it was me. WOW, was I surprised!

Sue calls the book a users guide. Sue developed this system for a special needs child, but has gone on to use and teach it successfully for all ages from preschool through high school. She gives detailed info on how to set up the workbox system in your home. She does recommend a wire rack with shoe box sized containers. You would need several for each student to use and work through. I did wind up adapting this somewhat for my family as I assume many families will (homeschoolers by nature do this.) However, Sue recommends you follow her method as closely as possible. Her system is not hard to do at all. I just had some space issues and a couple of the things I didn't feel would work in my home. But over all it is very easy to implement and follow.

The book is more then about how to setup workboxes, it goes into some philosophy of homeschool and how to structure your homeschool day. This is great for the new homeschooling family as well as the seasoned one needing a breath of fresh air to their homeschool. She also gives several ideas that she uses in her homeschool besides the workbox system that I really thought were excellent. She really convicted me in some areas and I implemented several changes in our homeschool immediately.

If you are thinking of implementing workboxes, I can not recommend her book enough. She gives so much detail and other helpful info that can really help the struggling homeschool plan their day and help it run smoother. If you are looking for help to teach your children how to work more independently, provide structure for a special needs child, or just need to learn how to set up your homeschool - I highly recommend this system. Don't worry, this really is an easy read, even though it has 12 chapters and over 113 pages.

Visit Sue Patrick's Website by clicking HERE.

This product was received free of charge in exchange for a honest review.

TOS Crew Review: Sarah's Wish

2009-10-27T13:54:00.002-04:00

Sarah's Wish tells the story of a girl, Sarah (12,) who is orphaned early on in the book after a stage coach accident. Sarah's mom left her with a huge secret she felt compelled to keep to herself until circumstances forced her to reveal it. Sarah and her mother were part of the underground railroad. They provided refuge to escaped slaves on their journey to Canada where they could be fully free. Sarah's ultimate wish is a Christian family but you will have to read the book to find out what happens.

The author of the book did a lot of research on the subject before writing it to make it factual. Children reading the story can see Sarah's Christian faith as well as learn about how the underground railroad operated. This book hooked my children early and they were eager to read it through quickly. This of course left them asking for more books in the series. Also, with the book comes a free download of the audio version of the book. The audio's are also done well and make great listening in the car.

We do tend to be careful with what our children read and found no objections (in our opinion) in this book to our Christian faith.

The author also currently has two more books in the series that are available. For friends of TOS CREW, the author has made up this special:

Sarah’s Wish – 126 pages $8.50 retail: $10.99 save $2.49
Sarah’s Promise – 245 pages $10.50 retail: $14.99 save $4.49
Sarah’s Escape – 304 pages $15.50 retail: $21.99 save $6.49

Extra special offer: Purchase all of the items above and add an extra copy of Sarah’s Wish for $4.00. You can give it to a friend. They will think you are great!

This special includes free shipping. You must order by mail and mention the name of this blog and "TOS Crew Friend Special" in your note.

You can send your order with payment and name and address to:
Send order to: Sarahbooks, P.O.Box 753, Derby, Ks. 67037

For more info or to sign up for a really neat newsletter (under homeschool section on website) which is educational, informational, and entertaining all in one, please visit the website at:
http://www.sarahbooks.net/

This book was received free of charge for a review.

Bethany House Review: "True For You But Not For Me"

2009-10-27T12:46:00.003-04:00

"True For You But Not For Me" Overcoming Objections to Christian Faith is a revised edition of a previously published book in 1998. This book has 33 "mostly" short, "mostly" easy to read chapters that cover different topics that often come up when sharing your faith with others. The reason I say mostly is that some topics are more difficult and require a little more time to "digest" and require more information to explain. From "Christians are intolerant of other viewpoints" to "It doesn't matter what you believe - as long as your sincere," the author gives many references and biblical answers to counter religious pluralism and moral relativism rampant in our society.

At the end of each chapter the author provides a summary of each chapter and where to find more information for further reading. The book is highly foot noted so no statement or quote is unsupported.

Each chapter is pretty much stand alone, so this book can be used as a handbook to read the chapters in any order. This makes it an excellent tool for a church or pastor's library. This book should be read by every Christian working in ministry or in schools of evangelism. We always need to be ready to give an account of our faith and I believe that this book is a useful tool to accomplish this.

For a free study guide to accompany this book or for more info visit Paul Copan's website at: http://www.paulcopan.com/

This book was given to me free of charge from Bethany House for a review.

Thomas Nelson Review: Voices of the Faithful Book 2

2009-10-27T10:25:00.002-04:00

Voices of the Faithful is the second in a series originally started by Beth Moore. This edition is edited by Kim P. Davis, with a introduction by Beth Moore. Voices of the Faithful is a one year devotional collection from people and families on the mission field all over the world. Through out you will read of steps of courage through faith in Jesus Christ.

With each devotion I was blessed by seeing God orchestrate through missionaries lives for His good. What I particularly liked about this book is that these devotionals are not fluff you find in some modern devotionals. These are true stories, direct from the mission field, that truly impacted my life and my pointed me to Christ.

The book is divided into 12 themes, one for each month. Themes include: prayer; diving appointments; Jesus, the Lamb; lessons from the young (my personal favorite section!); from adversity to triumph; be encouraged; and hope for the world.

This book is excellent gift to those on the mission field and those considering life as a missionary. It is also a blessing to share these devotions with children to help them see outside their usual environment and give them a vision to spread the gospel in and beyond their local community.

This book was received free of charge from Thomas Nelson for review. See disclaimer on right.

Reformation Day: October 31st

2009-10-24T19:45:00.000-04:00

From CBN:
"What will your church be doing this Reformation Day, October 31st? For so many Halloween presents a dilemma, what do you do with a holiday with roots in the occult?"
-snip-
"October 31 celebrates the day that the Reformation in Europe began with Martin Luther posting his 95 theses on the Wittenburg church door, leading to a firestorm response in Germany. Why not use this occasion for a celebration of our Reformed heritage. And yes, this can be fun for the kids too! "
To read more click below:
http://www.cbn.com/spirituallife/onlinediscipleship/halloween/reformation_day.aspx

What is Reformation Day?
http://www.stpaulskingsville.org/reformation.htm

Martin Luther's 95 Thesis:
http://www.lovetolearnplace.com/SpecialDays/Reformation/Luther95.html

Reformation Day activities - scroll down:
http://www.teacherhelp.org/holidays.htm

History and activities for Reformation Day:
http://www.theholidayzone.com/reformation/art.html

Purchase a study guide from Doorposts:
http://www.doorposts.com/details.aspx?id=46

How to plan a Reformation Day party:
http://www.ehow.com/how_5346687_plan-reformation-day-party-church.html

TOS Review: Guardian Angel Publishing

2009-10-15T15:05:00.002-04:00

Guardian Angel Publishing is a publishing company the sells ebooks and print books depending on your preference. There mission statement is:

"...our publishing goals are to lovingly create fun, affordable and educational eBook computer & print book experiences for preschoolers and primary age children. And to embed positive, loving and worthwhile meaning into these books."

For this review I was given the ebook version of the following books:

Stubby's Destiny - A story about a donkey who is convinced he is of no use to society becomes the donkey to the King of Kings and proudly takes his part.

No Bones About It - The Sum of our Parts Series - Using full color cartoon pictures and some funny scenes, follow this rhyme as you learn all about your skeletal system

Hamster Holidays - Noun and Adjective Adventures - Go through the year with a bunch of happy hamsters and learn adjectives and nouns as they tell you what events they do each month. Includes activities, puzzles, and a study guide to go with it. The hamsters dress up in costumes in October.

Andy and Spirit Go to the Fair - See how Andy, a boy in a wheelchair, prepares for the fair and they goes on to participate in the fair - on horseback.

Earthquake - A mini unit study on earthquakes. Tells what earthquakes are, includes some experiments, and has what to do during an earthquake. It also gives info on what emergency supplies on hand.

All books are in full color and besides Stubby's Destiny there is no mention of faith. There are some other titles listed that have a Christian theme. The stories are innocent and were enjoyable by my children. The earthquake and the bone book were our favorite as they contained lots of facts and information, and probably more closely fit our age group.

This publisher also publishes the book: AND THEN MAMA SAID... IT TAKES TIME TO LEARN TO READ previously reviewed on this blog.

There are some free ebooks and coloring pages on their website. The books can be purchased on their website and can also be purchased at several online booksellers such as Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com.

To learn more about Guardian Angel Publishing: CLICK HERE

Watch the trailer to Stubby's Destiny...

The 5 ebooks mentioned above were provided free of charge for this review. No other compensation is received from any sales generated by this review. The views in this review reflect my opinion only and you may or may not come to the same conclusion as I do about the product. Please see the side bar.

TOS Crew Review: Nature Friend Magazine

2009-10-15T14:06:00.001-04:00

Nature Friend is a full color Christian nature magazine for children. We have subscribed to Nature Friend magazine off and on over the years. We have always enjoyed the articles and full color nature pictures. We have seen the magazine change as the magazine has passed through different owners.

Currently the magazine tends to more focus on nature photography and submissions from readers of the magazine. The articles are about animals, birds, insects, and original nature stories. Most submissions from readers seem to come from an experience they had in nature and often include pictures. There is a drawing lesson in each issue and a page with readers submissions of their drawings and comments. Also, a picture with hidden items in it to find called "Invisible." Lastly, in each issue you will find a puzzle page. One issue had a crossword while another had a word find.

This is a great magazine, free of ads. It is the publishers conviction to produce a God honoring magazine free of any outside influences. The view is from a creationist view, but does not hit you over the head with it. God is clearly the creator and is given all the credit. But you will find no evolution / creation debates in these magazines. The magazine is geared toward 8 to 16 year olds, but I believe all ages will enjoy it

I have to admit I was disappointed with the study guide. It contained additional puzzles, a writing activity, suggestions for more research, and a photo critique section, where subscribers can submit photos for critiquing and learning new photo techniques. While I really like the magazine, I probably would not pay extra for the study guide section. It did not contain anything that I would likely use.
We do enjoy the articles and beautiful pictures in each issue. We love that it honors God and does not worship the creation. I can be very comfortable handing this to my child and not have to worry about conflict in teaching or an inappropriate ad. I highly recommend the magazine for families looking for an educational nature magazine written for children that honors the Lord.

For information on rates and subscribing CLICK HERE.

Two issues of this magazine were provided free of charge for this review. No other compensation is received from any sales generated by this review. The views in this review reflect my opinion only and you may or may not come to the same conclusion about the product. Please see the side bar for more info.

TOS Crew Review: Nutrition 101

2009-10-08T10:28:00.000-04:00

Growing Healthy Families has produced a one of a kind health / nutrition curriculum for multiple ages and grades. What makes this unique is the strong Christian perspective on nutrition as it relates to each of the body systems. This full color, 448 page, book includes, discussion questions, activities, healthy recipes, and tons of information. Some might call it a unit study on nutrition. There are activities divided between elementary and secondary.

This curriculum is not a vegetarian curriculum and it actually does not seem to take a position on it, but just presents the facts as they are. Not everyone will agree with some of their teachings - such as limiting dairy and not using a microwave ovens. I don't believe anyone will walk away offended by anything they say. They generally present the facts and what they do in most cases. Also, there is enough information that I believe non-Christians alike would find this program useful. This is kind of like eating a bowl of cherries: eat the fruit (take what you can get out of it) and spit out the pits (disregard what you feel does not apply to your family.) You will still be full on the fruit.

There is also a huge appendix that contains information on making your own cleaning products and personal care products. There is information on how to nutritionally deal with certain disorders, such as asthma.
They have their own food pyramid, colorful several page produce selection and storage chart, and a Nutrition 101 shopping list. There is also an answer key for the activities in the back of the book.

The activities all seem enjoyable and fun to do. Some are just discussion questions. Because of the topics covered in this book, I would recommend that it be done with a parent so you can discuss and research for yourself some topics as they come up. Each lesson supplies a list of places to look for additional information.

The price of the book may discourage some from purchasing it, but a lot research went into this book and it is one of a kind. I have not seen anything like this before. It is also a beautiful full color book.

To find out more about this product watch the video below and visit their website:
http://www.healthyhomesllc.com/

Quote from the website:
"Nutrition 101: Choose Life! is a three-in-one family nutrition and health program for all ages that presents the major body systems, how they function, their common health issues, the benefits of good food and the consequences of bad food. Its 448 pages include into six units: 1) The Brain and Nervous System; 2) Digestion and Elimination; 3) Respiration and Olfactory; 4) Muscular and Skeletal Systems; 5) Cardiovascular and Immune Systems; and 6) Endocrine System and Emotions.

Biblically based and packed with hands-on activities, science and art projects and nearly 80 family-friendly recipes, this program teaches and reinforces the why’s of what we should eat, not just “because I said so.”

Disclaimer: This product was received free of charge from the publisher for purpose of writing a review for it. I receive no other compensation for this product. Please see disclaimer on right side bar for more information.

TOS Crew Review: ALEKS (2)

2009-09-28T20:43:00.000-04:00

Last year I did a review of ALEKS Math. You can see a review of it here: Not much has changed on the student end. I set up two different students this time and I think it was a better fit for them. They both enjoyed using the program, enough so that if I could afford it I would use it. Most of the time they were able to use the program unassisted. When they weren't able to understand something my oldest son could help them get the answer by reading the helps that are available with each question.

ALEKS math asked me to revisit the program because they made some changes on the parents end. The major updates / improvements that they made was:
1- Teacher generated quizzes.
2- Progress reports where the teacher is able to see how long they spent on a lesson, what they covered, and what they mastered in a lesson.

The parent interface is very easy to use. There are also tutorials available if needed. I was able to see how long my child spent on a subject and if they mastered it, possibly mastered it, or probably not mastered. You can compare what they have mastered since beginning the program and compare it to the original assessment. Also there is an estimate of how long it takes your child to learn a concept and how long it may take to complete the level he is at.

This is a great program that uses artificial intelligence to make sure the student learns each concept before progressing to the next. Most children should be able to use this unassisted most of the time. This would be great for remedial, summer lessons, or test practice. They have many scenarios for their use online.

A free trial is available.

You can find out more about ALEKS by CLICKING HERE.
You can find out about cost by CLICKING HERE.

TOS Crew Review: College Prep Genius

2009-09-22T15:07:00.000-04:00

College is becoming more of a reality in these tough economic times. Although I did hear of one study that says we maybe lacking in the more technical fields, that is for another discussion.

I remember taking my SAT and being totally unprepared for them. I had already made up my mind to go to a community college and was already accepted by the time I took them, so I put little effort into taking it. I won't share my score, mainly because I can't remember it any more, but I am sure it was not good. (However, I can add that I did wind up with a scholarship - so wonder's never cease.)

Reading through the College Prep Genius softcover textbook, shed a new picture to me about the SAT / PSAT test. Being a standardized test, it means that pretty much each test is about the same. Going through the College Prep Genius course will teach you how to take the test to maximize your time and get the best score possible. After giving you information on what the test is and how to prepare through your school years for "THE" test, they lead you through the different sections of the test, giving strategies on how to take each section. They give you rules, definitions, and acronyms to study to help with your test taking strategies.

Accompanying the text is a workbook that provides some review and takes you through a few sample questions on the test.

The first part of the textbook recommends that 1- you take a sample SAT available either online or from a book you borrow from your library. Then 2 - you read through the text book 2 to 3 times, which is where we are at right now. The book lays out step by step how to work through the course. Also included in the package are 4 dvd's which cover intro to the SAT, then three videos on each major subject area: Math, Critical Reading, and Writing. I will have to write another post later to let you know how those are.

So there is a basic overview. I am impressed with what I see so far, but will have to write more info when we get further into it.

Right now they are offering 30% off as an introductory price. You can find out more by Clicking HERE.

TOS Crew Review: Journey Through Learning Lapbooks and Unit Studies

2009-09-22T14:35:00.000-04:00

Lapbooks are becoming very popular among homeschoolers. Lapbooking is a way of getting away from workbooks while ensuring learning and making a memorable keepsake. With lapbooking you make mini-books that you combine into a file folder specially folded so it can sit on your lap and you can open it and read it. Most lapbook project cover one topic, such as the one we did on deserts. You can see a slide show of lapbooks on the publishers website at: http://www.ajourneythroughlearning.com/ You may have to scroll down a little to see it. Further down on the page are simple directions on how to make a lapbook folder.

The lapbook we completed on deserts was very mom friendly. I liked the fact that all the information that was needed was there in one unit. You can decide for yourself if you want to supplement with more books or not. We did watch a couple of videos on Discovery streaming about deserts and desert animals and read a few books that we had on hand. But that was all optional as there is a lot of information already contained in the unit.

The units were very well laid out in that the project immediately followed the reading, so there is no flipping back and forth. Also the directions for the mini-book were contained directly on the page with the mini-book. The lapbook contains full colored drawing of the various topics and an occasional black and white photo.

In the desert unit, we covered the different deserts and their locations, what a desert is, animals, plants, and peoples found in the desert. The unit contains a review mini-book where the child lists what they learned in the desert and a mini book containing desert vocabulary. At the end of the unit is a suggested list for more information on the subject.

My boys really enjoyed the cutting, pasting, coloring, and even the answering of the questions. They looked forward to completing several books at one sitting. I imagine it takes about a month to complete the lapbook, give or take depending on if you supplement or not.

Other lapbooks that I previewed were set up similarly. The authors are professing Christians, but the units, unless they are on a bible topic, seem to be fairly neutral and non-Christians as well should feel comfortable using them. Also available are copy-work books that go along with some of the lapbooks.

To see what other lapbooks that are available from this publisher or samples: CLICK HERE.

TOS CREW Review: Grapevine Studies

2009-09-18T20:39:00.000-04:00

I recently read an article on "Why teach bible as a school subject?" We go to church, attend Sunday school, read bible stories at home, etc. Surely that is enough!!???!! Well, maybe not. School is a good time to teach bible research and study skills. It is a time to teach things a little more in depth then we would go into with our regular exposure to the bible. Plus children need to learn to use bible study tools. Grapevine Studies can be a tool to help fill that need.

Grapevine Studies (Stick Figuring Through the Bible) is a Christian company dedicated to teaching the bible to children through adults. With the bible as the main text, you are guided through lessons with the use of stick figures and time-lines to aide in teaching. The addition of drawing by both student and teacher, however simple, helps the student no matter what age to remember what they learned. All content is non-denominational.

We had the printed version of the teacher book with the student version in ebook format. This helps so I can print out as many pages I need for my own family, which the publisher allows.

We are working through Old Testament Overview Level 3/4. Old Testament Overview is a chronological study of the major characters and events of the Old Testament. The first lesson we did over several days. It was a sweeping overview of the Old Testament. Eagerly the children drew on their time-lines Adam and Eve, the tree at the fall, Noah and his tools, the 12 sons of Jacob, and so on through the major themes of the Old Testament. The younger (1st, 2nd, and 4th graders) drew as well as my older high school student as I showed them what to draw. The younger ones tended to draw larger and took up the whole space given and sometimes I drew in somethings that were more detailed.

Next we got into the regular lessons, that we did over a few days. We began our lesson reading from the Bible as our main text. We then drew a picture symbolizing each day of creation in their student books. Then we made index cards with each day of creation with the simple drawings to have to use like flash cards. The lesson includes review questions and memory verses for the children to learn, related to the lesson. The student book is where the student does their drawings on the timeline and writes out their memory verses. With my older children we did a lesson on using a topical bible to look up topics on Genesis chapter 1. In later lessons maps are also introduced.

After every section there is a review with questions, memory review, and timeline review. There is also a mid-year and final review. The program includes a schedule so you can complete the lessons in one day or over 5 days. The book can be completed in 170 school days or 52 weeks (as in a Sunday school.) There are many teacher helps which make this a very well laid out program that is very easy to follow. Basic supplies needed are a Bible, dry erase board/markers, colored pencils, topical bible, concordance, and a bible dictionary.

Until the end of September you can place an order at Grapevine's website for 30% off. You need to use coupon code: crew9 which expires Sept 30.

To go to Grapevine's Website - CLICK HERE!

TOS CREW Review: Web Design for Kids (...and Curious Grown Ups!)

2009-09-09T21:27:00.001-04:00

Web Design for Kids has been a fun step by step DVD to help build a website. I have been a little phobic about HTML, but am feeling more comfortable after working through this DVD. This DVD takes you step by step in very simple language to building a website. In fact you build a very simple webpage after the first lesson. After each lesson he adds to the original. You don't have to have an Internet connection to make a webpage and all the software you need is standard on all PC's running Microsoft Windows (NOTEPAD AND INTERNET EXPLORER.)

You follow two children as they move through the program and ask (rehearsed) questions and the instructor gives easy, gentle answers. If you are beginner, like some of my children, there is an absolute beginner lesson available that you can skip if you already know how to cut and paste, save folders, etc.

This was a lot of fun to do and it was very easy. I highly recommend it! I look forward to seeing more products from this company.
There are 7 chapters that are 1 hour 22 minutes long.

Topics covered include:

The 10 Basic Lines of Code

Coloring the Background and Letters

Making Letters Move Across the Screen

Designer Backgrounds

Changing Fonts

Adding Pictures

To purchase or to find out more information CLICK HERE.

You can watch a sample video:

TOS CREW Review: STUDYPOD

2009-09-09T19:17:00.012-04:00

See Coupon Code below for discount!

Having a student at home doing college online has made the STUDYPOD come in very handy. My husband uses it for several hours a day and loves it. It holds most of his school books without difficulty and gets rid of that hunched over feel you get after looking down at school text books all day.

The STUDYPOD holds books or study sheets up at eye-level at a similar angle as your computer screen. It also has clips that hold the book open so your hands are freed up for whatever else. According to the information contained with the STUDYPOD, while using the STUDYPOD you reduce neck and eye strain, improve posture and breathing, and makes reading, writing and typing easier. My husband has found this all to be true. This would come in handy for a variety of areas. I know I will use it to hold my cookbooks open when I am cooking - as soon as I can get it away from my husband. Maybe I will need to get my own!!!

The STUDYPOD (AKA BOOKPOD) comes in 5 colors and is made of sturdy plastic. It folds compactly to fight nicely on his desk shelf. It has pockets on the inside that hold pens, calculator, etc. So it can double as "pencil bag."

TO Order your STUDYPOD or to visit their website CLICK HERE.

STUDYPOD is offering $5 off coupon code for readers of TOS CREW blogs. Just use TOSBLOG5 and you will receive $5 off your order.

Subscribe to The Old Schoolhouse™ Magazine for only $7.95!

2009-09-07T21:59:00.002-04:00

Homeschooling is a Labor of Love, and the Old Schoolhouse™ Magazine is celebrating your hard work as a parent by putting their one-year print subscriptions on sale! For a very limited time, you can subscribe or renew for $7.95! (US only). International customers can subscribe to the digital edition for only 7.95!

You can buy a gift sub for friends, too! To gift a subscription:
1. Go to the one-year subscription page (US only)
2. Scroll to the bottom of the page.
3. Enter the name, address, email, and phone information for each recipient
4. Click "Add this to my cart".
5. The information will display in your cart and simply proceeed to check out.

There are only 2000 of these available, and they are going quickly! Your subscription begins with their Fall Issue.

If you live in an international location, you can subscribe to their digital edition for only $7.95!

It's the same great content as their print magazine, except it is instant and interactive!

Here are the two links:
Print Edition
http://www.theoldschoolhousestore.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=175_176_181&products_id=12261

Digital Edition
http://www.theoldschoolhousestore.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=175_178_185&products_id=2330

Thomas Nelson Review: Rick & Bubba's Guide to the Almost Nearly Perfect Marriage

2009-08-23T15:13:00.004-04:00

I couldn't resist a look at this book. I really didn't plan on taking it that seriously. This definitely shed some humor on marriage, but with a realistic touch. I believe the over all theme of this book is to cut some slack! Marriage requires give and take, and almost always not 50/50. Sometimes you have to give 99.99999% to remain happy. This book gives great suggestions on how to do that, of course with humor.

You'll learn about their first dates, their first kiss, their first trip to the OB/GYN and what to expect (from a mans perspective and with humor of course!) You'll learn the real meaning behind your marriage vows and some great (and not so great) date suggestions. They also touch on some great parenting tips and the importance of dad's taking on their role. This book is written mostly to the man, but both sexes will get a lot out of it. It would be funny for both partners to read and laugh at together.

I didn't care for the CD that accompanied it, which I guess was from their radio shows. It is nothing like the book. I was very disappointed, maybe because I am a women. But my husband doesn't act like they do on the CD and I am glad!! I am not sure I could stand it. Makes me realize what a blessing my husband truly is!!!

NavPress Review: Invitation To The Jesus Life

2009-08-23T12:38:00.004-04:00

What an incredible book this is! It has taken me such a long time to go through this because it is so full of meat that I have to read, stop, and digest after sections of this book. I was challenged over and over as I read how to really listen to people, how to be real, how to show compassion and more. The book is great because it not only describes Christ-like-ness, it gives you exercises on what you can do to practice each character of Christ. It is kind of looking in the mirror, like James (of the bible) says, and actually practicing what you have learned. Many books leave you dry in this area. You, too, will not doubt be challenged and grow closer in your walk with the Lord, when you read this book. Makes a great devotional or small group study!

To Purchase at CBD Click HERE.

To Purchase at Amazon Click Here.

TOS Crew Review: The Quarter Mile Math

2009-08-23T10:02:00.007-04:00

(*Read Update below for referral code discount for readers of TOS Crew Blogs! Good through September 30th 2009)

My family has been fans of Quarter Mile Math for many years. We purchased an older version at least 10 years ago on CD-Rom. Our family has been playing for years, however the version we had was not completely compatible with Windows XP. We could play it, but if we got something wrong more then a couple of time it would lock up the game (they did find the cause of this!) HOWEVER, this new "Deluxe" version solves this problem because once you purchase it, you can always upgrade it for free (as long as you keep your subscription.)

What is great now is that if you purchase the deluxe version, you get to choose how long you would like to keep your subscription for. You can purchase by the month for $2.95, by the year for $19.99, or for two years for $34.99. (SEE REFERRAL CODE BELOW FOR DISCOUNT!) You can request the CD for $5 dollars more or just download it off the Internet. The deluxe version requires Internet access, at least dial up.

What I like most about this game is that students can compete against themselves or optionally against other friends and family members, like grandparents across the country. It says you can make copies for grandparents and use the same activation code so you can compete against them. Sounds motivating - doesn't it??

You get to chose between a horse or a car. I personally like the horse races, so that is what I choose! If you are competing against yourself, you race against your best time, trying to improve your score. You get to choose the activity you want such as keyboard skills, addition, multiplication, fractions, etc. Then it is broken down further depending on what subject. For example in multiplication you can pick the one time tables, two times tables, and so on or math facts up to a certain amount, for instance "facts up to 10 X10." So you can really break down where the child is at and place them where ever they need.

My children thoroughly enjoy this and will play for hours, competing against their own scores. My only complaint was on my wireless Internet it seem to be slow loading and waiting to start the next game. Also, I have to shut off my Internet filter when using this.

This software has won many awards and has been chosen for use in Sylvan Learning Centers across the country. This is all for good reason - it is an excellent FUN program that gets children motivated to learn their math facts!

If you have a struggling learner, they do have some information on how Quarter Mile Math might help on their website. You can read more by clicking HERE.

There is a "Standard Version" also available which I did not review. It is the same game, but it is not online and is not based on a subscription. You pay it all up front and it stores your scores on your own computer. It only comes on CD-Rom and you have to pay $5 for updates. You can not participate in tournaments in this version, while in the deluxe you can. To see a complete comparison CLICK HERE.

To find out more or to purchase visit The Quarter Mile Math Website HERE.

UPDATE!

I want to share some more info about Quarter Mile Math and a special discount...

1- This is mult-grade level, so several students can use it at one time. My younger children work on basic math facts, while my older child worked on "order of operations." This covers preschool to high school level math topics and are correlated to state and NCTM standards.

2-Some people may not like the idea of horse racing. Quarter Mile Math makes a point that these are riderless horses. The green background give the feel of horses running through a meadow.

3-Quarter Mile Math is offering a discount on Quarter Mile Math for readers of TOS Crew blogs through September 30th 2009. If you use this referral code: 7R7D7 Quarter Mile will take $5 off the purchase of the Deluxe or Standard version.

Back to School 2009!!!!???!!!!

2009-08-22T08:31:00.003-04:00

Well, it is just about to time to get back to school. We have had the busiest summer on record and I need a vacation from that, so back to school we must go!!! I really appreciated the article: Notice of Intent to homeschool from Little Blue School. We are just to busy to go to school. This article explains it all too well!

There are some great articles from The Old Schoolhouse Magazine available online and a free ebook, too. Follow the following links to find great articles:

Are Public Schools For Christian kids??Learn about how the public school system began, and by whom. What was the original intent of this system? As a Christian parent, can you confidently make the decision to place your child in the public school environment day after day, year after year? What is being taught there?What is the national drop-out rate?Is God being honored. . . respected. . . lifted up?

What About Public Schools is The Old Schoolhouse's newest brochure that examines public schooling vs. homeschooling.

Escaping the Homeschool Matrix Brochure

Homeschooling with confidence article

Ebook about Ebooks....Discover all you ever wanted to know about E-Books, their use in homeschooling, and even how to publish your own! Gain a better understanding of the many ways E-Books can improve your homeschooling by quickly and resourcefully linking you with the latest information on a seemingly endless supply of lessons, encouragement, support materials, and more! E-Homeschooling is hyperlinked to additional reference material, purchasing sources, and free E-Book websites to sample and enjoy.

Also available is the freebie directory from The Old Schoolhouse. Try before you buy!!!! Here is the link to that: http://www.thehomeschoolmagazine.com/freebiedirectory/2009/

TOS CREW Review: Hank the Cow Dog

2009-08-19T21:09:00.002-04:00

Hank the Cowdog has been an award winning line of books, audios, and games (among other products) that has been around since the 1980's. I had not heard of them before I received my review package from them. In it contained Hank the Cowdog: The Case of the One-Eyed Killer Stud horse, Tales and Tunes from Hank CD, and Tornado game.

The stories are told from the perspective of Hank the Cowdog. He is from northern Texas and is a little ruff and gruff around the edges. The tone of the stories are reminiscent to me of what I would have listened to growing up in the 70's and 80's. The stories lean on the silly to nonsensical. Although children tend to love these kind of stories, because we tend not to read these type of stories, my husband and I screened them together.

Hank is the "Head of Security" on the ranch. He tells different stories of his encounters and stories involving several of the main characters: Sally Mae (the human,) Drover, Wallace the Buzzard, and Pete the Barncat. Other characters are also briefly mentioned. All the books are also available in audio format.

The CD contains a sampling of the stories and songs from the books. My husband enjoyed them somewhat, for every time I tried to skip ahead to the next story on the CD, he would make me wait until the end of the story. Like I said, Hank is a little rough with his speech and likes to use words and phrases such as darn, ninny, "little snot", "what the heck," and calls people moron, dumb, and stupid. So I was not comfortable reading this to my children or letting them listen to the CD.

The Tornado game is similar to "Sorry" or "Trouble" games. Your goal is to get your men around the board first while sending other players back to start. My children did have fun playing the game. The game is simple enough that non-readers as well as readers can enjoy the game together. It is compact and folds nicely so you can take it with you when you travel. The pieces are the characters from the books and stories.

You can hear samples of the story: The Case of the One-Eyed Killer Stud Horse HERE.
You can hear samples of the CD: Tales and Tunes from Hank The Cowdog HERE.

You can find out more about the Tornado game HERE.

Online Euducational Share

2009-08-08T10:22:00.003-04:00

There is a great list of education links available at:

http://homespunlife.blogspot.com/2009/08/online-education-share.html

Always "surf" at your own risk! There will probably be sites you don't agree with, so beware! Children should never "surf" alone!

The American Patriot's Bible

2009-07-03T11:52:00.007-04:00

The American Patriot's Bible:

The Word of God and the Shaping of America.

General Editor: Dr. Richard G. Lee

The American Patriot's Bible is a hardcover study bible containing the complete Old and New Testaments in The New King James translation. Interspersed throughout the bible are 48 beautiful color and black and white photos on glossy paper of heroes past and present of the United States, including our current president, Barrack Obama, and United States landmarks, such as the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial. Chapter openings of each book of the bible give a brief description of the book with author, date written, key verse, key chapter, and theme of the book. There is also a subject index, a concordance, and colorful maps in the back of the bible.

Contained in the book are 254 articles that discuss our Judeo-Christian heritage. You will read about the "Great Awakening" and prayers for our nation, about the Emancipation Proclamation, Martin Luther King, and various other times and events in US history. You will find little snip-its of quotes by presidents and others reminding us of our Christian heritage and what verses various presidents laid their hands on while taking their oaths of office.

The themes of the writings included in the bible are sanctity for human life, respect for our country, and turning hearts of our country back to God. The print throughout the bible is larger then most bibles, making reading the bible more comfortable and enjoyable.

Overall, this bible is beautiful. I did feel the supplemental readings were disjointed and did not flow as nicely as I would have liked. I do wish there was more details about the history and not just snip-its here and there. Otherwise, the extra material does not interfere with the reading and flow of the bible itself, which is most important.

I highly recommend this bible as gifts to you our nations leaders and future leaders (no matter how little or big a role they play in our society) and for our US military personnel.

A You Tube video featuring The American Patriot's Bible

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjHaNCre6do

Purchase this bible at:

Amazon.com

The Old Schoolhouse Fun Summer Promotion - 19 FREE GIFTS!

2009-07-01T11:34:00.003-04:00

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine is offering a great summer promotion that includes 19 gifts with your new or renewed subscription to their magazine. This is only for the first 5000 people who subscribe (USA only). Gifts include a free 10X13 portrait at SEARS. 50 Subscribers will enter a chance to win a free week at Curves! Other gifts are a $10 gift card to Apologia materials, A free Visual Manna art book on CD, a free In the Hands of a Child lapbook on CD, and 15 more gifts FREE! To see the complete list CLICK HERE!

One last thing... if you subscribe by the 4th of July you will get 4 additional Old Schoolhouse magazines from last year free. These are physical magazines, not ebooks. So hurry to take advantage of this special. Click Here NOW!

TOS CREW: TOS 2009 Schoolhouse Planner

2009-07-01T10:10:00.006-04:00

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine has done it again by producing another great planner. New topics, 24 new recipes, and 40 additional new forms are included in this 2009-2010 edition of the planner. What is great about this planner is the you can type on them and then print them out as you need them. There are 375 pages in this down-loadable file, so it is a big download!

Calender / monthly planner for 2009-2010

What I like about this part of the planner is the monthly themes. I always want to have a monthly topic that my entire family can work on together. This gives articles and suggestions for completing the topic of the month. Additional modules are released each month to enhance these topics, but they are an optional purchase.

Themes this year include:
13 colonies
Weather
Math
Fire Safety
American Government
Planets
Letter writing
Jesus' first miracle
Latin and Greek Roots
Getting into College
Lapbooks
Homeschooling around the world

Miscellaneous Homeschool Information

Composers, inventors, seven wonders of the world, presidents, periodic table of elements, and more.

School Forms

There are all sorts of useful forms in this section. So many, that I doubt I would use many of them. But if you are looking for it, it is probably here. Report Cards, tracking high school hours, weekly planners, course of study, curriculum planner, bible memorization record, books read, multiple journal and nature pages, book report forms, a preschool planner with checklist and activities, and new this year is the multiple children planner for up to 5 children. There are way too many forms to list here!

Household Forms

Here you will find traditional forms for the home. Emergency numbers, information for the babysitter, medical information, home-keeping schedule, home improvement forms, schedules, chore charts, meal planning, grocery lists, budgeting forms, prayer journal, pet forms, car maintenance forms, vacation planning, and garden planning forms. TOO MANY TO LIST!

What I like about the planner:

- that you can type on the pages before printing them out to personalize them

- the variety of forms available

- monthly themes to bring the family together on one topic

- availability of monthly modules to supplement planner

What I don't like about the planner:

- large size of file to download

- most forms (except the chore charts which are multi-colored) are just two colors - black and maroon/red colored. I would rather they just be black and white. This is easily fixed by "telling" my printer to print in only black and white.

- I wish they had the option of buying it on a CD.

- more forms then I would use (but this goes on both lists depending on how you look at it.)

- wish they included a blank monthly calender

- wish you could buy modules on a subscription basis at a reduced cost

- cost: $39.95 makes it difficult to purchase on a yearly basis. Would like to be able to purchase updates only at a reduced cost.

You can purchase this at The Old Schoolhouse Website by Clicking HERE!

The King James Controversy

2009-06-30T10:06:00.005-04:00

The King James Only Controversy: Can You Trust Modern Translations? By: James R. White

I have been following the King James Controversy for sometime. I have not been convinced that a certain version is superior to another. While I do prefer reading one version, like others, I often read several version of a verse or chapter to see it from a different perspective. It is better for the bible to be read and understood then for a translation to sit on a shelf unread because the person finds the language archaic.

Mr. White does an excellent job of presenting the position of the KJV only group and refuting their objections to other translations without being derogatory to anyone. He gives suggestions on how to choose what version is best for you. If you enjoy the KJV he does recommend you stay with it. He does, however, explain that he is a conservative and does not recommend every bible version out there. I find him sincere in his quest to present his information truthfully. Information is state clearly and lay people will be able to understand this book. Part two of the book includes an advanced chapter for those familiar with Koine Greek and want a deeper discussion of this topic.

Mr. White uses charts and many scriptural comparisons to state his arguments clearly. He also includes a chapter on problems with King James Version translation as no bible scholar know matter how hard they try, is infallible. The history of the bible translations also makes this a very interesting read. This would also be an excellent book for those doing bible translating.

ISBN Number: 978-0764206054

Can be purchased at:

Amazon

ChristianBook.com

Miserly Moms: Living Well on Less in a Tough Economy

2009-05-16T18:46:00.002-04:00

Miserly Moms: Living Well on Less in a Tough Economy (4th edition) is a great resource for those struggling with the current conditions of the economy. Written by a mom who wanted to stay home with her children and had to learn how to economize, while living in expensive area of California. This book is the outcome of her research and "continuing education."

Being a fan of Jonni McCoy for more then 10 years and having frequently visiting her website, I was wondering if purchasing an updated version of her book would be all that helpful. I was pleasantly surprised by the thoroughly updated and new information that was contained in the book. There is a new opening chapter with testimonies from moms who came home. Then there are a few new chapters more relevant for today’s world such as a chapter dealing with special diets, Five Things I wish I Knew About Money When I was Young, How To Save $10,000, and 5 Questions I Get Asked Most Often, information that has come with experience. The titles of many of the chapters are the same, but there is enough new information in them, you can hardly recognize the old. I did also appreciate the new information on debt reduction and budgeting. However, I did find that most of the recipes, gift ideas, cleaning supplies, and children’s crafts are the same as the second (1996) edition of the book that I own.

There are items that are just common sense like shopping for items on sale, making your own food from scratch, washing laundry in cold water, and lowering your thermostat and hot water heater temperatures. Other suggestions I find great, like how to make homemade products for every day use and inexpensive gift ideas. The recipes are simple to make and taste great. There are also tips for teaching children and getting your husband on board to this lifestyle. The book would make a good reading material for your older children, especially girls who are potential stay at home moms in the future. Great gift also for the new mom!

http://www.miserlymoms.com/

To purchase at Christian Book Distributers (CBD) CLICK HERE.

To purchase at Amazon, CLICK HERE

The Principle Of The Path: How to get from where you are to where you want to be

2009-05-16T16:16:00.005-04:00

Opening the book: The Principle of the Path by Andy Stanley: How To Get From Where You Are To Where You Want To Be, I was face with reviews by both Franklin Graham and Dave Ramsey, both of which I highly respect. What more could I possibly say to encourage someone to read this book?

The Principle of the Path is based on a basic biblical law known by Christians and non-Christians alike. What you reap is what you will sow. The path we choose ultimately will effect our destiny. Well, that is a simple concept. But how do we choose the correct path? Why do we continue to make the same mistakes? Andy Stanley answers these questions through out the book with examples from his life as well as examples of people he has counseled. The principle may seem simple, but too many of us don’t always choose the narrow path.

The principles taught in this book are excellent, they always point us to Christ. Nothing complicated and was easy to read. I appreciated the real life examples throughout that I could relate to my own life. I highly recommend this book as a graduation or even wedding gift. The sooner a young adult can read this the better. This would be helpful to avoid many of the mistakes we adults have made not following the natural laws laid out in God’s word. There is also redemption for those who have already made mistakes. But he is quite frank that it may take some time, and you may not be able to get exactly where you want to be. Then there are also curve balls that may ultimately lead you to a different, unexpected path that we just have to trust God through.

Also included is an excellent study guide at the end of the book covering the Key Idea, Key Truths, and Key Questions for each chapter of the book. The study guide also helps guide your thinking, points you to God, and helps to "Get from where you are to where you want to be."

To purchase this book CLICK HERE.

TOS Crew Review: Memoria Press

2009-04-30T09:04:00.017-04:00

This school year I have had a crash course in Classical Education. There are some ideas I freely embrace, some I don't, and still some I just don't understand. However, I always feel as a homeschool mom to always be learning, always "perfecting," and changing to meet the needs of the individual student - which I call more eclectic.

I was introduced to Memoria Press a little over a month ago. On their website they have many great articles on the classical method of education. To visit this list click here. There are many articles there to get a taste or a full course meal, depending on what you are looking for.

Memoria Press puts out some great history products. They have reprinted the Famous Men series by John Haaren and A.B. Poland. They have occasionally clarified pronunciations and added beautiful color pictures. Otherwise they are the same as the originals. I was very impressed with the colored pictures. Many are full page and double spread pages. My only disappointment was that they don't have a hard cover. This might be because this would significantly increase the cost.

The Famous Men series is biographical stories of different people during the time period covered. These give young children a foundation in world history before going on to a more thorough study in high school. You could complete one or two guides a year depending on how fast you want to study, and how in depth you want to go, maybe supplementing with other real books. From my perspective, I felt that the books were better understood by second or third grade levels and up.

Also available to accompany the Famous Men series are student workbooks and teacher guides. The student workbooks contain lessons for each reading in the Famous Men series. They include: Facts to know, vocabulary, comprehension questions, timeline work, who said what worksheets, activities to accompany the lessons, drawing pages, tests, and map work. The teacher books are basically answer keys with some additional information and explanations, which I found helpful. The student books are more suited to middle school grades.

The Famous Men of Greece books combines myths (Greek allegory) with truth to tell the history and stories of ancient Greeks:"Apparently ancients did not think like we do, that things are natural facts and some things are untrue. The classical myths are allegories. The ancients saw these stories as true - not in the natural fact, but true in a different way." "An allegory is a story about real things told in terms of mythical persons and events. The meaning of an allegory is true, or intended to be true although the persons or events may not be factual." (From the Teacher guide book that accompanies Famous Men of Greece; page 11.) This explanation really helped me to better understand where the Greeks are coming from and how to explain it to my children. There is also an excellent article on: Why Study the Pagans? Click Here.

Some topics/ biographies covered in Famous Men of Greece:

The first half covers the myths:

The God's of Greece

Deucalion and the Flood

Perseus

Theseus

Achilles

The adventures of Odysseus

Then the book goes onto a more biographical history of Greece:

Draco and Solon

Themistocles

Socrates

Alexander the Great

Aristotle

The Fall of Greece

(and many more)

You can see a copy of the table of contents by Clicking HERE.

Famous Men of Modern Times is similar in lay out as the Famous Men of Greece except that the teacher guide contains copy work passages and writing prompts for the activity section, which I thought was a great addition to the program.

The Famous Men of Modern Times covers famous and not so famous people such as Columbus, Chevalier Bayard, Cardinal Wolsey, Sir Francis Drake, Galileo, Peter the Great, George Washington, Napoleon, and many more. My children did enjoy sitting and listening to these great stories. I do wish the stories had more "meat" in them, but overall were very good. The student guide helps the child to remember important dates and map the paths of the explorers to help cement this all in their memory and give a great foundation.

One of the great things about this series is the price. You can save 25% buy purchasing the complete set (teacher and student guides and Famous Men book) for only $39.95. To see all the Famous Men books available visit: Memoria Press by clicking here.

Memoria Press also offers Latin curriculum at several levels. We looked at the first level available: Prima Latina. This is for grades K-3, however they have to be reading before they can begin. Some say this level is optional and you can skip to the Latina Christiana program if you would like. All of their Latin books can be used and taught by the non-Latin teacher/parent.

Absolute essentials to the programs are:

The student book

The teacher manual

and the Pronunciation Guide, songs, and prayer CD

Optional, but highly recommended by me, the DVD's to accompany the program.

This program uses Christian Pronunciation.

You can do the program without the DVDs, however, they were such a blessing to me, I don't think I would want to do it without it. The DVDs contain the entire lesson taught by the author of the book. She makes it so much fun and is very encouraging to the student. She gives explanations that I just don't know.

Having done a few lessons, the lessons are appropriate for the young reading child. They are not overwhelming, learning just 5 new words each lesson. Grammar is gently integrated into the lessons, helping to understand grammar better. There is pronunciation practice, memory work, and writing practice to help build the Latin foundation. There is review built in and the program bridges the way into the next level: Latina Christiana.

If you are wondering why we should teach Latin. You can visit the article page listed above and read different reasons. One of the reasons is that most of our words are derived from the Latin language and helps build vocabulary. The one reason I appreciated the most was the fact that it helps the child learn critical thinking skills. You can read an article about how it helps build critical thinking skills in the PDF file: An Apologia For Latin Centered Classical Curriculum (Click Here.)

Memoria Press has other great products to supplement a great classical curriculum. You can visit their website to explore and learn more about their other great products.

Memoria Press Website - Click Here.

TOS Crew Review: WriteShop StoryBuilders

2009-04-25T10:01:00.005-04:00

Here is a fun way to get your children to write! StoryBuilders is great for the reluctant writer. Get the ideas flowing either orally or on paper and see an improvement in your children's writing. These downloadable games act as a spring board for writing practice.

First, you need to print out the deck of StoryBuilder cards. There are four types of cards: Character Cards, Character Trait Cards, Setting Cards, and Plot Cards. You have the option of printing out either colored cards on white card stock, or black and white cards on colored card stock paper. There are approximately 27 pages to print out to use this game. When this is done, you are really ready to go!

There are several variation of games you can play with these cards. You can decide for the child what they will write, roll a die, or even do a blind pick. You can vary the activity from day to day to keep interest. Then you have several game options. You can do it orally or have your child write their story on paper. You can even do a group game/project. You can then pick new cards throughout the exercise to help change the plot, setting, or whatever, to boost creativity.

Examples of Cards:
Character: astronaut; mad scientist
Character Trait: eccentric; flustered
Setting: desert; fishing boat
Plot: cannot move; finds a time machine

StoryBuilders is such a fun way for your children write, they won't realize they are learning. There are currently 4 of these available: World of People (where the examples come from above,) World of Sports, World of Animals, and StoryBuilders Christmas Mini Builder. You are almost guaranteed to laugh and have fun with this resource!

WriteShop also has other writing products and curriculum available from early grades on up. You can see more if you visit their website by clicking here.

World Of People StoryBuilder - Click Here

World Of Sports StoryBuilder - Click Here.

Refractions: A Journey of Faith, Art and Culture - Review

2009-04-22T20:28:00.001-04:00

Refractions: A Journey of Faith, Art and Culture by Makoto Fujimura, a contemporary Christian artist shares his art, thoughts, and faith in this journal of poignant essays. Influenced by 9/11, since he lives 3 blocks from ground zero, has largely shaped him and it comes out in his writings.

This work is written in journal form going from one topic to the next, without any clear connection to other chapters. The only underlying theme mentioned throughout are his thoughts and experiences with 9/11. In one chapter he shares about meeting the architect of the Freedom Towers. Included are a couple drawings / pictures of the proposed "Freedom Towers."

He does share some influences in his life, including his faith in Christ; new experiences, such as visiting colleges with his son; his experiences teaching troubled students and how art made a difference; he talks of his travels, his awards, and other life experiences that have shaped him.

According to Webster’s dictionary, "Refractions" are looking at something through a (art) medium. I guess you can say we get to see into the heart of Mr. Fujimura through his art, faith, and his writings.

This book has mostly colored pictures of his art and other photos, that embellish each chapter. This would make a great gift book, for your contemporary art loving friends.

Modern Day "Faith Movement" Exposed!

2009-04-20T09:46:00.004-04:00

In Christianity in Crisis – 21st Century, Hank Hanegraaff (AKA: The Bible Answer Man,) writes an exposé of the modern day “faith movement.” Clearly citing his work in over 75 pages of footnotes, he makes an excellent case of how faith doctrine attacks the deity of God. His research is outstanding and very carefully footnoted. Hanegraaff has even attended crusades to get the information for himself. He also uses interviews, recordings, and books the faith teachers produce to get his information. He clearly is making some strong statements in this book that have often brought opposition to him.

In the first section of the book, Hanegraaff clearly states the history behind and the names of those “evangelist and “televangelist” in the faith doctrine movement and their heretical teachings. Many of these teachings have roots in “metaphysics.” The teachings date back to mid to late 1800’s. Like he says, some teachings are clearly silly, while others are out right wrong and attack the central teaching of Christ, often taking verses out of context or embellishing them. However he has been careful to state he is not attacking the sincerely held beliefs of the faith teachers’ followers, but the actual false teachings.

He continues through the parts 2 to 6 taking each heretical teaching, exposing the author and history, and then counters the teaching with biblical truth. Some examples of false teachings include: that we are made in the image of God, so we are little gods; having faith in faith and that God has faith; that Jesus went to hell to take our punishment in hell for us; that Christ was the first person born again; and the common prosperity teachings of “the health and wealth gospel.”

The last section of the book he takes us back to basics. Hanegraaff reminds us that when things are going wrong, we must return to our foundations. He brings us back around to the basic fundamental teachings of the bible to remind us of the truth. He reminds us to go back to the bible, read, study, memorize, and search the scriptures like the Bereans did. He gives us the foundational teachings of the diety of Christ, original sin, the resurrection, the Trinity and many more foundational teachings that all Christian should have unity in.

I had a difficult time reading this book because I know so many who are following those in the “faith movement.” I knew when watching these faith preachers on TV, I did not have peace in my spirit and could not watch them. Hanegraaff makes some strong statements in this book which will offend some. I am so glad that Hanegraaff has taken the time to expose these false teachings and teach the truth.

This book is somewhat long, and sometimes repetitious. I do feel it could have been done in a more organize manner, in less words. I would love to have seen a chart of some kind that lists the false teachings and who teaches what. However, I will give it 5 stars for the boldness to teach the truth that is so lacking.

I feel bad for all the people who are being deceived by the faith movement/doctrine teachings. Where are the others sounding the horn, exposing the truth? I highly recommend buying this book and sharing it with your friends. We, as Christians, must get back to the basics and expose the truth, in love.

Thomas Nelson Product Page - Click Here.

To purchase the book at Amazon - Click Here.

TOS Crew Review: Tapestry of Grace DE

2009-04-10T11:30:00.018-04:00

"Tapestry of Grace is a homeschool curriculum: a plan of study that helps parents provide a Christian, classical education using a guided unit study approach, with the history of the world as the core organizational theme. From Grades K–12, all students cycle through world history every four years, with all ages studying the same slice of history each week, each at their own learning level. "

"Tapestry covers the humanities: history, church history, literature, geography, fine arts, government, philosophy, and writing & composition. Tapestry does not include a phonics program, science, math, grammar, spelling, or foreign language. Lampstand Press does, however, recommend and sell complementary logic, spelling, and grammar programs." Click here to read more about "What is Tapestry of Grace?"

We were given the opportunity to try the new download digital edition of Tapestry of Grace (TOG). I had heard of TOG from a friend who knew someone who used it. When I looked at it years ago, I thought it looked overwhelming so my explorations ended there. Given the opportunity to review it now, has changed my opinion of it. Here is part of my journey and some info I found helpful. I apologize from the start for all the links to other places. TOG takes some research to appreciate, and it would be too much to put all that info here. If you want to begin exploring on the TOG for yourself, start by clicking here.

The download process was a little complicated, requiring a few steps to complete. Even so, I did not have any difficulty downloading. However, TOG assures me that this process has been shortened into a one step process with instant access.

Some of benefits of the digital version:

It is available for Macs and Microsoft operating systems.

You can't lose it, because you can always go to your account and re-download if something happens to your hard drive.

You can just print out the pages you need or want, or make multiple copies of student pages as needed for your family.

Can buy as you go. When you finish up one unit, you can download the next, making it more affordable.

To see the TOG DE interface: http://tapestryofgrace.com/de/sample/config/index.htm

To read more specifics about TOG DE version visit: http://www.tapestryofgrace.com/de/

Tapestry of Grace uses a 4 year cycle. This covers all human history over a 4 year period. The idea is that your child would cycle through the curriculum 3 times at a different level throughout his homeschool career. This helps keep the cost down and keeps your family all studying the same topic on their own level. You can also place your child by ability rather then grade level.

Lower Grammar: Non-fluent reader, Approximately grades K-3, Enjoys learning basic facts
Upper Grammar: Independent reader, Approximately grades 3-6, Enjoys memorizing concrete, sequential facts
Dialectic: Reads to learn, Approximately grades 6-9, Enjoys making connections and learning to debate
Rhetoric: Reads the Great Books, Approximately grades 9-12, Enjoys analyzing and synthesizing ideas and arguments

Tapestry Year 1 covers the history of the world from the Creation to the Fall of Rome in 450 AD.

Tapestry Year 2 covers the history of the world from the Fall of Rome in A.D. 450 to the signing of the US Constitution.

Tapestry Year 3 covers the history of the world during the 1800's.

Tapestry Year 4 covers the history of the world during the Twentieth Century and into the present.

Looking over the DE is amazing how much information is provided on it. In fact, to this day every time I open it I find something new. You get access to the LOOM which contains updates, articles, helps, student worksheets and more to go along with the program. To read more about the LOOM and get additional updates visit http://www.tapestryofgrace.com/loom/index.php or What is the Loom? The unit I have - Year 1 Unit 3 - has 470 pages in 9 units plus the Loom. That is a lot of information.

TOG has an excellent support system with online forums, yahoo groups, and virtual co-ops. My questions have always been answered quickly and completely. To find out more about support available go to: http://www.lampstandpress.com/together/

TOG is considered a classical curriculum. I asked what that meant to TOG and got a 10 page response. You can read about what they define classical curriculum as by clicking here. This article gives an excellent overview as well, as to what to teach at each level of development. For more about the "Philosophy of TOG" Click Here.

I started with a little research and decided to dive in for my review. We did a few weeks at the Upper grammar / lower grammar levels. I wish I had seen this article (CLICK HERE) on getting started with TOG before I started, because it would have been a big help. Also available is the Simple Start Guide PDF which is similar to the website information.

Because my husband is unemployed, I decided to use what we had on hand to complete the readings. I did get several books from the library as well. TOG does not publish a list of books used in the curriculum. You must find them by reading each weeks lesson. You can also visit Bookshelf Central and see what books are used at different levels and for how long. Most books you can substitute what you have at home. However, for the literature selections you generally have to use the book recommended or you will have trouble with the discussion questions. This really only becomes a problem in the Dialectic and Rhetoric levels. They also include an alternate list, with suggestions as well.

With TOG you are given a weekly plan which you are to use as a "buffet" of items to choose from. You would not do all of them, you couldn't in a week. In the "LOOM" you will find assignment sheets to help with your weekly planning for each level. We picked read alouds, independent readings, and activities to do for the week. There is an excellent article on setting up your week here: http://www.tapestryofgrace.com/explore/planweek.php

TOG also offers some optional supplemental materials that go along with the curriculum (click on names to read more or see samples):

Writing Aids: is a rich writing guide for your homeschool family. This one-time purchase may be used as a standalone, or as a guide through teaching and evaluating all writing assignments in Tapestry on all levels for your student's entire K-12 education! A great review of this product is available from Cathy Duffy's website.

MapAids: all of your outline maps are in one place. Print as many custom-drawn, learning-level specific outline maps as you need each week, and check your answers with the included teacher's maps.

Evaluations: A CD containing additional or alternate student evaluations. It can be used as a tool to cement what your student has learned, or as a study resource to prompt more focused learning.

Pop Quiz: is Tapestry's way of bringing working dads into the fun of multi-level learning: each week, the Pop Quiz audio CD provides a brief summary of your students' weekly topics, and provides age-appropriate questions so that Dad can be a part of your family's educational conversation!
Lapbooks :are great for your hands-on learner! Flaps, tabs, mini-books and so much more make a regular set of folders and paper burst with historical life. Geared toward lower levels.

There is a learning curve with this curriculum. You must spend time learning how to implement it. However the excellent teaching notes included in the curriculum make you an "expert" even if you can't keep up with your child's readings. After doing 3 to 4 weeks with this curriculum, I was sold on it. I knew I wanted my children to learn this way. I want them to have a strong grounded in their faith and why they believe. One of the goals of this curriculum is to discuss the events - good and bad - and what the biblical response is. I want my children to be able to learn why the believe what they do and not because their parents believe a certain way. We have always enjoyed learning through real books, but did not feel equipped to teach them unguided. I feel Tapestry of Grace will fill that need with our family.

My children were equally blessed by this curriculum and agreed they wanted to use it too. After family discussion we decided not finish the current unit we were on (Year 1 Unit 3) and go back to beginning and start from there. We are setting up now and slowing working our way into the program. We are going to spend the rest of the school year an some of the summer working on the first unit and getting into a routine with it. So that we can go full stream ahead next fall with unit 2, Lord willing.

There are samples available on the website that you can download for 3 weeks of Year 1 Unit 1 and 3 weeks of Year 2 Unit 3.

You can also order a free kit (plus postage) by clicking here.

This Humanities map can be downloaded for free from the website. It is an overview of the program following "HIS" highway. Very nicely done. This is only a section of year one. All years can be found on the website.

Click map to see bigger picture...

Visit Tapestry of Grace at: http://www.tapestryofgrace.com/index.php