TOS Review: The Little Man in the Map

The Little Man in the Map with Clues To Remember All 50 States is a rhyming book that tells the story of a class trying to piece together a map of the United States. The children begin by putting together the man in the middle of the map (states) when he (magically) comes to life and teaches them how to find/name the rest of the states as it relates to the man in middle.

The man in the map is made up of the 5 center states: Minnesota (giant hat,) Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, and Louisiana (boots.) The united states is then divided into 5 different sections (Northeastern, etc.) to help learn one section at a time using rhymes, acronyms, and picture clues.

One thing I found missing in the book, which I would have found helpful, would have been a completed map of the US with states labeled. Sometimes it was not clear by reading the book what states were what. This was particularly true when it came to the western states. My children were a little confused with that. We do have a map in the living room where we read, so we used that.

My children (6,7, & 8 years) were better able to distinguish many of the states after reading this book. I do believe with repeated readings, naming the states locations will be a cinch. They are always pointing out the man in the map whenever we see a US map and all the states they know.

If my recommendation is not enough, this book comes with several awards: Moonbean Children's book awards, Independent Publisher Book Awards, Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist, and ForeWord Magazines Book of the Year Finalist.

The book is published by Schoolside Press. An activity book to accompany this book and a new book to help learn the state capitals is also in the making. A preview of the activity book includes writing activities, math problems, a sing along song, games, art, and of coarse geography. Just for your info: there are some pictures of elves for a few of the states, if you don't like that sort of thing.

TOS Review: Salem Ridge Press

Salem Ridge Press is a publishing company that republishes children's books from the 1800's and early 1900's. That take seriously there job and want to only publish those books that are appropriate for children to read. They have a very high standard of purity and will take the liberty to carefully edit out any kiss or embrace. They will also edit any derogatory comments that are "unnecessary" or "offensive." Pictures are always "modest" and "appropriate." Any changes made are minor and don't effect the story. They want to be known as a trusted source for books, that parents can confidently give their children to read or read to their families. (Words in quotes come from Salem Ridge Press newsletter)

The books we reviewed were all excellent and received rave reviews from my children. The books were easy to read and one of the books contained definitions of unfamiliar words at the bottom the pages.

The first book we read was Mary Jane Her Book. This is first in a series for children 6 years to 10 (but can be read aloud and enjoyed by younger, I am sure.) We loved this because it told of the adventures of a 5 year old. From watching ants, birds in a nest or story about her broken doll, my 6,7,8 year old BOYS, loved these stories.

The book my daughter read was Glaucia the Greek Slave she said it was very easy to read and she could not put it down. The story is about a tale in Athens in the first century. The book begins with historical notes which help you get focused on the historical setting. My daughter (15) said the story always points to Christ. She is looking forward to reading more books in this series.






In the last book, The White Seneca, the author, William Ganfield, tries to accurately portray Indians and to rid the reader of myths. The story is about a 15 year old, captured by the Seneca, who becomes one of them. Later he is captured by another tribe and must use the skills he learned from the Seneca to escape. What I liked is the story is told from the standpoint of Henry the main character telling back the story as he recalls it. I thought it was easy to read. My son (17) loved this book, and can't wait until he can read the second book.





Salem Ridge Press wants to be known as a family friendly publishing company, and from the books we read we feel comfortable recommending the company. We would trust that other books they publish would have the same high standards that these books have.

TOS Review: Spears Art Studio K-8 Christian Art Curriculum

I am reviewing Spears Art Studio, Inc. K-8 Christian Art Curriculum. This is a God-honoring complete art curriculum for K-8. What I like most of the curriculum is that it is divided by months and each month is centered on a topic. You will not find jack-o-lanterns here or Santa Claus, thankfully.


The version I have is in PDF form. There is a printed form available too, as an option. The PDF form is great because you are able to print out enough copies that you need for your family.
The curriculum gives a great introduction, scope and sequence and appendix, which is very important to read through before beginning the program. The introduction gives in depth directions on how to do many of the projects (such as how to set up a still like or how to watercolor paint.) The scope and sequence is very detailed for each grade level. There is a visual art glossary and supply list in the appendix. I really appreciated the student evaluation criteria supplied as I never really new how to grade art projects. It also helps you to see if you are meeting your intended goals for the project.



Each month is grouped into one PDF file. There is a table of contents for each file with a months worth of activities. Each week/month is based on a theme. There are ten more or less activities for each week grouped by grade. Some activities were grouped together. For example in September week 1 there are a few activities for ALL levels to do together, then grades k, 1, 2, 1-2, 3, 4, 5, 3-5, 6, 7, 8, 7-8, etc.



This is one of the few Christian art curriculums where I have found that you begin the lesson with a bible lesson. We did the month of October for this review. An example of how our lessons went: for week 1 the bible verse was Mark 4:3-20. This lead us to a discussion on the sower. There is a lot of support and encouragement in bible lesson for the teacher. We then looked up the art paintings suggested online and discussed those. We all (including me!) worked on the same grade level for the project we did. We are really art challenged here, so we did a lower level project.



For December there is a Advent Calendar Project for all grade levels we are working on. There are many craft and gift ideas included for the month of December as well. Topics for March include Spring, Wind (making a weathervane, a Spiral Wind Hanger etc.,) and Easter (making Easter cards, banners, etc.) Other months include activities with sculpting, weaving, graphic design, mixed media painting, color blending, sewing, origami, and more.



Overall I felt confident to teach art using this program. The author does recommend some outside books if you want to supplement some drawing lessons. We have utilized some books to help with simple drawing techniques which have been helpful.



Spears Art Studio K-8 Christian Art Curriculum would make a great addition to any homeschool. The lesson plans are simple and easy to follow, telling you exactly what you need and what to do. Also, this would probably be all you would need for grades K-8 as each year you would do the next level activity, which is different from the year before.

Spears Art Studio

K-8 Christian Art Curriculum

A Teachers Manual

• 35 Weekly Themes
• 269 Art Activities
• 137 Patterns and Display Posters
• 497 Pages
• Scriptual Connections
• Art History Connections & More

(((Spear High School Review I will add on here ASAP.)))

TOS Review: "Rime to Read"

Rime to Read calls it self a beginning reading program. These are a set of 20 beginning readers that progress in difficulty. “Rime” based on word families that sound and look alike vs. "Rhyme" which are words that sound alike but do NOT look alike. The books do use short vowels, some blends, and introduce 35 common sight words when needed. There are suggestions with each book on how to use them.

With the lifetime access after purchasing the books, you have the opportunity to read these online or print them out from a PDF version. The online version includes clickable words that the child can click on to hear read to him if they are stuck on a word. Both versions are color coded to help with telling the words apart and develop phonological awareness. The drawings are simple drawings and do help give a hint as to what to read.

The author of the books is professor at Hunter College in NY with a PhD in special education. The co-author was a first grade teacher, taught in several schools, and has a masters degree in reading.

My youngest who is just beginning to read was easily and confidently able to read the first few books with just knowing the letter sounds, some blending techniques, and with help with the sight words. My struggling to-learn-to-read-child enjoyed the stories and helped him gain more confidence in his reading. Many of the early readers we have, have big words which the boys struggle to read. There are very few early readers that take into consideration the beginning reader and their challenges.

Overall I did like these books. The progression is done very well. I do like the option of printing them out, because I like to have something to actually hold in my hands. I did have an occasional problem with slow loading, but that could be me. Also, I could not always click on the word to have it read to me. Sometimes it worked sometimes it didn’t, however, I believe the owners are working on improving this.

You can buy a vowel set of 4 books for $9.99, or the entire 20 book set for $44.99. You can also request a free sample book to look at on the website.