My (re)Viewpoint

Review of Reading Eggs

2012-03-01T21:55:00.000-06:00

For the purposes of review, my family received, free, a subscription to Reading Eggs, an online reading program that teaches children to read. Geared toward emerging readers 4-7 years old, Reading Eggs offers an online placement test designed to correctly assess where your child should begin the program. He then follows a path through the lessons.

There are actually two different parts of Reading Eggs. The first teaches phonics and decoding with an emphasis on teaching children to be able to read sentences. The second is focused on reading comprehension.

The placement test is designed to assess a child's current level of reading and/or comprehension in order to begin his lessons at the correct point. The need for accurate placement is obvious to parents, as children who start a program at a level too advanced for them will lose heart. Those who start at a level too easy for them will get bored.

I have found in the past that I have a lot of trouble with online placement tests, or, more correctly, my children do. Unfortunately, my experience with Reading Eggs was no different. I have twin seven year-olds. My daughter is an accomplished reader and reads advanced chapter books. My son, though, while he can read, is not what I would call proficient. I was, therefore, excited to begin Reading Eggs to try to catch him up to his twin. Whether because he does not do well in a placement test situation, or because his skills are not consistent in any one area, he scored much lower on the test than I would have expected (or, rather, he was started at a level that seemed too low to me given what I know about his reading ability).

I gamely started him where he was supposed to be, but he quickly became bored. He already knew everything that he was being taught.

Thinking that perhaps he just hadn't tested well, I tried him in the reading comprehension section. Because we haven't done anything like this before, he didn't seem to understand what was required of him. When "reading comprehension" takes the form of narration, my son knocks it out of the park. His memory for details is wonderful. In this format, though, he just didn't seem to understand. He kept choosing the wrong answer and then getting more and more upset. We didn't get much use out of our subscription.

I don't want to imply that this program is not a good one. I think for a child just starting to read, still learning basic phonics and sight reading, this program would be excellent. The format is fine, the characters are likeable, and the pace of the program seems good. If your child can read, though, but can not yet "get" reading comprehension, then you may find that there is no good fit for you here.

Reading Eggs is available as a free 14 day trial, or can be purchased as a subscription starting at $9.95/month. Other plans are available.

Reading Eggs didn't end up working for our family, but that doesn't mean that it won't work for yours! You know my experience with the program. Visit the Crew blog to learn others'.

Review of Apologia's Who Am I?

2012-02-23T14:11:00.000-06:00

Apologia's Who Am I curriculum includes a gorgeous and glossy hardcover textbook, a coil-bound 250 page notebooking journal, a beautiful 64 page coloring book, and an audio CD, all of which I received free in exchange for my review. In essence, the Who Am I curriculum gives students a biblical framework for understanding their purpose in this world. From my Catholic perspective, this curriculum fleshes out the Baltimore Catechism question of "Why did God make me?" "To know, love, and serve him this world and be happy with him in the next." Who Am I tells children how to know, love, and serve God on a very personal level - through a correct understanding of their own self-image in the eyes of God.

Specifically, each chapter asks a question (such as "What are we doing here?", "What will you make today?", How will you run the race?", and "What kind of fruit are you growing?", among others. Each lesson is then further broken down into these categories:

The Big Idea
What You Will Need
Short Story
Think About It
Words You Need to Know
Hide it in Your Heart
Integrated Learning
What Should I Do?
Prayer
Worldviews in Focus
What's the Difference?
House of Truth

A sample lesson plan idea is also included in the text, allowing each lesson to take three days at two days a week of study.

I'll admit that I walked into this curriculum unsure as to whether it would work for my kids, given that we are Catholic and Apologia is, obviously, a noted Protestant publisher. However, just as with Apologia's science curriculum, there is nothing in this program that is hostile to Catholicism. In fact, in one of the stories used to illustrate the points, a Catholic church is visited by a non-religious boy, causing him to question his upbringing. While this curriculum is not appropriate as an all-inclusive Bible or Religion curriculum for a Catholic homeschooler (because of the Catholic Church's inclusion of Tradition with Scripture as a means for understanding theology), it can absolutely be used as a supplement.

The curriculum allows children to understand the difference between Christianity and other major worldviews, including Mormanism, Buddhism, Humanism, Judaism, Hinduism, New Age, and Communism. This is a great way for kids to learn about other beliefs in a context that allows them to see how those beliefs are contrary to their own. Even the youngest children can begin to learn apologetics in this format.

The notebooking journal is the same high quality as Apologia's science notebooking journals, and it includes a 48-day lesson plan for completing the curriculum. Whether parents choose to use it once, twice, or three times a week (or more!), the lessons are planned 100%. Each lesson includes pages that correspond directly with the parts noted in the bulleted list above, along with games and blank pages. There are minibooks in the back for those people who have more of a lapbooking/notebooking approach. As with Apologia's science journals, I have to say that these journals are worth the price. Could you replicate much of this on notebook paper just following the text? Sure, but why would you when the notebooking journal has taken every bit of work out of lesson planning and teaching. It also provides a great archival record of the course.

The Who Am I curriculum is available from Apologia, and they retail for the following prices:

Textbook - $39.00 (See Sample HERE)
Notebooking Journal - $24.00
Coloring Book - $8.00 (See Sample HERE)
MP3 CD - $19.00

I have to admit that I was surprised by how much I loved this curriculum. For other views, see the Crew blog!

Review of Beeyoutiful

2012-02-22T11:08:00.000-06:00

One of the neatest products I have received free for the purposes of review came for a company with a great name: Beeyoutiful. For the past month, I have been happily using the Beeyoutiful All Natural Lip Moisturizer (B.A.L.M.) and the Winter Breeze Vapor Rub. Beeyoutiful is a company that makes all-natural health and beauty products, including products for joint health, circulatory support, digestion, hormone support, and more. While I haven't tried any of Beeyoutiful's other products yet, I can enthusiastically recommend the B.A.L.M. and Vapor Rub - two essentials to have on hand during winter.

One of my (many) OCD quirks is the need to put on chapstick before I go to bed at night. I can't go to sleep unless I do. As soon as I received the B.A.L.M. in the mail, though, it took the place of the chapstick -- and I love it! Lightly scented with peppermint, the B.A.L.M. feels very light and smooth on your lips, but it lasts and lasts. The B.A.L.M. is also available in orange, and they each sell for $3.00. That's about the same price as another popular brand, and I definitely like the B.A.L.M. better!

Ordinarily, I would not have been able to give the Vapor Rub a fair trial, as my children are ridiculously healthy. For the last week, though, we have all been battling what feels like the plague, so the Vapor Rub got a thorough test drive.

The Vapor Rub comes in a 4 oz. jar and has coconut oil, olive oil, and beeswax, along with camphor, eucalyptus, menthol, wintergreen, and tea tree oils. It's like that other rub, but so much nicer! Like the B.A.L.M., the Vapor Rub is light and fragrant and, most importantly, it works! There is no decongestant like a natural decongestant. With a consistency that is far less goopy than the other rub, Winter Breeze is something you don't mind slathering on your chest or under your nose. At $18.00, it is kind of pricey for a rub, but if you're going to spend extra money on anything, then a product that makes you feel better when you are sick is a good way to spend it.

I am not an all-natural mom. I don't use the naturalness of ingredients as a baseline criteria for purchasing them. However, if there are all-natural products that out perform others, I will definitely choose to use them. This is the case with Beeyoutiful. If you insist on all-natural products, you can't miss this line. If, like me, you like all-natural, but you value performance more, you can't miss this line! I'm a fan...to see what others thought, read the Crew blog.

Review of Celestial Almanack

2012-02-07T13:50:00.001-06:00

For the first time since I began reviewing products, we received a product to review which made my husband say wow. That's an endorsement! Through the Crew, I received the February edition of Classical Astronomy's Celestial Almanack free in exchange for my review. I already know that this is a product I will purchase again!

This product is so comprehensive and cool that it is hard to describe but, I'm told, that is my job, so I'll try! The first really neat thing you'll notice about this Almanack is its faithfulness to Benjamin Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanack. The 18th century feel of the typeset and the verbiage made my heart warm to this product immediately! The second really neat thing you'll notice is just how much Jay Ryan has managed to fit into this 21 page study.

The Almanack begins with a discussion of Leap Year and the month of February. It then gives a brief history of how man has reckoned time and the evolution of the calendar. The next page of the Almanack is a day-by-day iteration of February with notable events and the phase of the moon noted. The rest of the Almanack consists of a description of how the night sky appears in February with detailed maps of various constellations and directions on how to identify the various features of the night sky.

Mr. Ryan's love for his subject comes through on every page. His enthusiasm and excitement are contagious. Best of all, he doesn't assume that everyone has a high powered telescope. If you do, consider yourself incredibly lucky! For those who own only a small telescope, though, there are plenty of celestial entities to see. If you don't own a telescope at all, don't feel dismissed. Much of what Mr. Ryan describes is visible to the naked eye and, with his excellent tutelage, you will see more than you ever thought possible!

You don't have to be an astronomical devotee to find the things Mr. Ryan talks about. In fact, he has diagrams of everything he discusses (from the perspective of a February sky) so that anyone can find what he's talking about. I learned more about astronomy from this jam-packed Almanack than I ever have before. I will definitely be buying next month's edition!

If I had one complaint about the Almanack, it is that I couldn't print it because of all the diagrams - I think it would have used a whole cartridge of black ink! Having said that, though, I wouldn't change a thing. Those diagrams are what make the Almanack so special and such a great deal. For those who don't like reading documents on the computer, though, the printing cost is something to consider.

Because I received a free download of the Almanack, I didn't know at first how much it cost. I was, quite literally, shocked to find out that it only cost $3.99. I would place its value at easily three times that amount. I simply can't describe how much information is in this one little product. If you wanted to do astronomy as your science you could, with only this one monthly booklet. (You don't have to rely solely on that, though, since Mr. Ryan also publishes a homeschool astronomy curriculum, available on his website.) The Celestial Almanack is available from CurrClick for $3.99. January is also available, and March is forthcoming.

My family are huge fans of the Celestial Almanack. To find out how other Crew members like the Almanack, visit the Crew blog.

Review of Math Rider...again!

2012-02-06T15:13:00.000-06:00

I had the great good fortune of reviewing Math Rider last year for the Crew. My family loved this math facts game so much that I bought it after the review period ended. I have to confess that, as sometimes happens, my kids eventually stopped using Math Rider. There is always another cool program to play with! I was so happy, then to get the chance to review Math Rider again for the Crew. I received the latest version of the software free in exchange for my review and, once again, my kids fell in love with Math Rider.

The premise of Math Rider is simple: a student (or his parent) can choose between addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division, and then further refine the choice by selecting whether to work on easy, medium, or hard facts. So, for example, a student can practice addition facts from 0-6. When these facts are mastered, he can move on to the medium difficulty facts.

The genius of Math Rider is in its "quest" format. Following a story introduction, a student assumes the character of a horse rider. By riding through the countryside and solving fact problems, students come ever closer to completing their quest. If a student misses a problem, the answer will be given them and that fact will show up again very soon after.

The best way to experience Math Rider is to watch the preceding video and then navigate to their website for a free trial. If you have a child who struggles with math facts, then a program like this is essential. In this digital age, flashcards don't seem to pack the same punch they once did! Math Rider, though, combines a story with fact practice, and students can see the extent of their progress any time. Best of all, with the newest version, parents can now easily view their child's statistics, progress, and overall mastery, making it simple to keep track of where each of your children is in their quests.

You can download Math Rider for $37. For that amount, you can use Math Rider with all of your kids in perpetuity. If you're not sure whether or not Math Rider is the fact practice software for you, fear not! You can enjoy a free trial of the full-featured software before you commit to buying. You truly have nothing to lose. One warning: if you let your children begin a quest during your free trial, you can pretty much guarantee that they will insist you buy the full software. We all like to finish what we start!

To find out about Math Rider and its free trial, surf on over to their website. To read what other Crew members thought about Math Rider, visit the Crew blog. Math Rider is once again a favorite in my house - give it a try in yours!

Review of We Choose Virtues

2012-01-21T12:25:00.000-06:00

I was excited to receive We Choose Virtues' Virtues Clues cards,downloadable coloring book, the teacher's handbook, an assessment, and verse sheet free in exchange for my review. As hard as my husband and I try to raise kids of character, we can always use some outside reinforcement!

While the kids immediately grabbed the cute Clues cards, I was most taken with the handbook, as it provided many ways to reinforce character with your children. The best tip I read was to reinforce virtues with positive statements, rather than with negative. I will readily admit that I tend to speak negatively, so this kind of advice is most helpful to me. In other words, saying "tell the truth" is more effective for children than saying "don't lie."

I have to admit, though, that the real star of this set are the Clues cards. Peopled by "the Virtue kids," these cards are full-colored, glossy, and adorable.

Each card features one of thirteen virtues, and includes a catchphrase (ex: I choose to love when others hurt me) with antonyms (so kids know what a particular virtue is *not*, along with what it is) and a challenge. The cards are adaptable in so many different ways! As a family, you can choose a card from the deck and focus on that virtue for the day. Alternatively, each of your children can draw a card and really focus on practicing that particular virtue for a day, a week, or any period of time.

Although the cards are intended for elementary age children, older children will likely still find them both cute and useful (at least this older child did!). All four of my children loved the cards and were enthusiastic about practicing their virtues using them. The idea of virtue is not new to my kids: we have a new virtue about which we learn and which we practice for a month at a time. They loved the cuteness of these cards, though, and the way they so clearly elucidate an individual virtue in a concise way.

The Virtues Clues cards are available from We Choose Virtues for $7.95 (although as of this writing, they are on sale for $5.99!). The cards come in a plastic pouch with a velcro closure and would make a perfect gift!

We Choose Virtues has many other cute and useful virtues products, such as the above poster. To view all of their products, including the cards I reviewed and loved, see their website. For others' experiences with the Clues cards, see the Crew blog.

Review of Maestro Classics

2012-01-12T07:54:00.000-06:00

When my daughter found out that we were receiving Maestro Classic's Swan Lake free in exchange for our review, she was thrilled. At ten, she is months away from earning her pointe shoes; she loves ballet. She also loves going to the symphony with one grandfather and to the ballet with her other grandparents. Could any product be more suited to her?

The Story of Swan Lake, with music composed by Tchaikovsky and performed by the London Philharmonic, is an all-around delightful listening experience. The story of Swan Lake should be familiar to many. A prince loves a princess whom an evil magician has turned into a swan. The prince's love breaks the spell. This CD is so much more than just the story and the music, though. When you buy the CD for $16.95 or the MP3 download for $9.99, you receive the narrated story of the ballet interwoven with the music. You also receive the following: a 24 page booklet (or PDF download for those who choose the MP3) containing a biography of the composer, sheet music, information on both acoustical and electric guitars, and much more.

Further, we all know that homeschoolers love curriculum guides. It is so much easier to implement a great product when the company gives you maximum information. Maestro Classics has done that here. Find everything you need for the cross-curricular implementation of this great musical curriculum, including historical background, science, language arts, and geography.

This is one product from which every single homeschooling family can benefit. Once you go to the website and see all of the products and additional information available, Maestro Classics will find its way into your home. With so many choices, my only decision about Maestro Classics is which CD to purchase next. Since my daughter is studying the early 20th century, and since my boys love "Casey at the Bat," I think that's likely the one!

Our family loves Maestro Classics. To read other opinions, please visit the Crew blog.

Review of REAL Homeschool Spanish

2012-01-06T08:50:00.000-06:00

Since my husband is a native Spanish speaker, I was very excited to get this program free in exchange for my review. Although my plan is to give my children years of Latin before I introduce a Romance language, I am happy for the chance to teach them little bits along the way. REAL (Relax Enjoy Aspire Learn) Homeschool Spanish is a great way for me to be able to do this.

If you follow the day-by-day schedule provided by REAL Homeschool Spanish, the program covers a 48-week period, even longer than a normal school year for most families. This makes it a great buy. Further, the author of the program, herself a homeschooling mom, provides numerous tips to adapt this program. She offers tips for teaching multiple children, ways to slow the program down if it moves too quickly for your family, and many other ideas for implementing this program successfully in multiple homeschool settings.

For $49.95, you can download the text book, activity book, answer book and audio files. For an additional $10, you will also get the 50 page curriculum guide (for schedule-challenged parents, this might be the best $10 you will spend this school year). If you prefer hard copies mailed to you, the program, including all components, is $99.95. I have to say that if something is available as a download, I always choose that option. First, it saves space. Secondly, it saves money (at least I'm told it does. In my world, it just means that I can buy twice as much curriculum!).

REAL Homeschool Spanish covers ten units:

Greetings
Colors
Fruits and Vegetables
Family
Face
Clothes
Faces
Animals
Sports
Verbs

Within each unit, vocabulary is introduced (along with audio pronunciations in your audio download), short phrases or dialogues are taught, and a multiplicity of activity ideas are suggested. These ideas make this program a good one for even the youngest learners for whom memorization is much easier than it is for older learners.

I really like this program for two reasons: first, it looks just like the way I learned Spanish I in 7th grade. The vocabulary lists and the short dialogues almost could have *come* from my 7th grade textbook. I find this to be an effective way to teach Spanish. Second, whereas my children have not been fans of other Spanish programs we have tried, they really liked this one. They enjoyed it partially because they were learning short phrases to try out on their Spanish speaking grandparents, but they also liked it because the activities (both in the activity book and the suggestions in the text) made learning feel like anything but learning. They have been having fun!

My children and I recommend REAL Homeschool Spanish to any family wanting to begin Spanish I with their children. To read other opinions of the program, visit the Crew blog.

Review of The World's Greatest Stories

2011-12-15T11:19:00.000-06:00

When I received this CD free for my review, I was expecting to love it. My kids really enjoy Bible stories, and I loved the thought of them being able to listen to them in the car or on their MP3 players. Unfortunately, this CD received the support of only one of my four children.

The World's Greatest Stories are stories read word-for-word from the Bible (either KJV or NIV) by George Sarris. What makes them different is the dramatic way in which they are read. There are currently six CDs available; my family listened to The Prophets. For only $7.95 per CD, you likely won't be disappointed if you choose to buy these recordings, but they are not for everyone.

I have always been of the opinion that the Bible (with the exception of some of the "begats" and the Laws) is exciting reading in its own right. It doesn't require dramatization. I have never had to urge my children to listen to Bible stories, and they have never (I don't think!) found them boring. The problem with this CD, though, is that the reading (the actor actually memorizes the stories before recording them) is so over-the-top that my children actually laughed too hard to hear it. Stories that they knew suddenly became almost farcical. I understood why they laughed, but I was sad that that was their reaction. Only my 7 year-old son enjoyed the CD.

The best thing to do if you're interested in the CDs is to listen to samples of them on the website. That way, you can be sure that they are right for your family.

Hey, my opinion is just that: mine. To hear other opinions (and a ton of people really love this product!), read the Crew blog.

Review of I See Cards - Fractazmic

2011-12-15T10:50:00.000-06:00

I was thrilled to receive a copy of I See Cards' Fractazmic free in exchange for my review for several reasons. First, I See Cards' Pyramath was the first Crew review I read last year (I didn't review the product). Based on the Crew reviews, I bought Pyramath. I have since gifted it multiple times. When I saw a new I See Cards game, I knew it would be one my kids would love. I was right.

I don't know what it is about fractions, but they seem to cause problems for so many kids. Children who previously loved math find themselves hitting a wall. Fortunately, the people of I See Cards completely understand this problem, and have come up with a marvelous solution.

Fractazmic cards (the set comes with 60) each display a fraction and an associated graphic. The visual reinforcement really helps the concept of the fraction stay with the student.

The rules for playing this game are very straightforward, but as with other I See Cards games, there are many more ways to use the cards than just playing by the rules.

Children can play with the cards individually, using them to create multiples of one, or using them to create equivalent fractions. These are only a couple of things my kids have done with the cards in the last month. Best of all, the quality of the cards is wonderful! They are of a heavy plastic and can withstand plenty of play!

Fractazmic is available for only $6.95, and can be purchased through I See Cards. If you only make one math purchase this year (and if you have a child who either needs to learn fractions, or has had trouble learning them), Fractazmic should be it.

That's my opinion...to read others, check out the Crew blog.

Review of Pitsco

2011-12-08T10:01:00.000-06:00

When my family received Pitsco's catapult and trebuchet kit free in exchange for my review, all five of my kids were really excited. Five?! Did I have another baby? No, in this case the 5th kid is my husband. Here was a review he could really sink his teeth into!

Pitsco has an amazing array of products in the area of STEM Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) technology. Through the building of everything from rockets to planes to race cars, teachers can expose their children to engineering in a dynamic and fun way. For homeschoolers, the opportunities are irresistible: build a rocket with your kid and have it count as science *and* math? Yes, please!

For this review, we received the materials and instructions necessary to build a catapult and a trebuchet. Although my children were thrilled with the project, my husband ended up doing most of the actual work. *He* was extremely impressed with the thoroughness of the instructions and the way that complex principles of physics were explained so that children could understand them. The kids just loved building a catapult! They were, however, able to explain to me how it worked, so some of the lesson stayed with them past the excitement of hurling small pieces of paper.

The component pieces of Pitsco's trebuchet and catapult kit are very well-made. Everything you need to complete the project is included, with the exception of Krazy Glue. My husband actually found that Gorilla Glue worked better for this particular project. The instructions are very complete, and everything you need to make a lesson out of the project is included. I cannot speak highly enough about this company. In fact, the following pictures are from their website. I would hate for the product to be judged on my pictures!

The only thing I would note is that the kit, while actually quite small, came packaged in a huge box. There was a ton of extra cardboard and paper. I don't know if, in fact, it is necessary to package these kits in so much material in order to protect them. It did not seem so to me.

After building one project from Pitsco, I would have no hesitation in ordering more. While the projects seem expensive on the face of them, it is very important to realize how much material they actually cover. The instruction books are more like small textbooks, and you can easily stretch even the smallest project over several days. The kit that we received retails for $21.95. I'm definitely coming back to Pitsco!

If you're interested in finding out more about Pitsco, be sure to visit both their website and the Crew blog.

Review of Artistic Pursuits

2011-12-06T12:59:00.000-06:00

When we were selected to receive one of Artistic Pursuits art instruction books free in exchange for our review, I was so excited. For combining art instruction and art history, there is no one who does what Artistic Pursuits does. Offering art curriculum for all grades Pre-K through 12, Artistic Pursuits' books follow almost the same format, regardless of level. Book 1 of each set (we used 4-6 grade) is an overview of drawing, including art and composition. Book 2 is an overview of color theory and composition. Art history is incorporated in both volumes.

Why is Artistic Pursuits superior to other art curricula? Several reasons immediately come to mind. First, the program is written to the student. Through a series of 64 lessons at each level, your children can learn both how to draw and how to create art. Art instruction appeals to some parents, but is terrifying for others who still have nightmares of paper, scissors, and Elmer's Glue from time to time (too personal?). We all want our children to have some art instruction, often for different reasons. For fans of classical education, art is very much a part of a well-rounded humanities course. For parents who want their children to have a school experience similar to the public schools, art is not even an option: you have to have it. Some parents think it is necessary just to have art as a part of their child's permanent record or transcript, while some states require art instruction. Artistic Pursuits is the answer to every one of these parents' prayers.

Artistic Pursuits is different from other curricula for the following reasons, too (taken straight from the horse's mouth - or their website):

Students do not do art activities in a vacuum. That is, there is no drawing of cubes, cylinders, etc. Students draw real things.
Students don't learn just one type of technique. They learn to create art the same way that artists do: by *doing* it.
Students use larger sketch books that mimic the way artists actually sketch - using the whole arm.
Students do not sit in front of the computer or TV. They are fully engaged with the world around them, which helps them learn how to see what they want to create.

Best of all, and this is not taken from the website, but from my own experience, Artistic Pursuits actually does teach your child to draw! My own daughter is too shy to let me post her work here, but she loved seeing the improvement in her technique without even being aware that it was happening. She got to create art using a variety of media, and she had a blast doing it.

Artistic Pursuits has a curriculum for you, regardless of your child's age. Their instruction books retail for $42.95 and can be purchased through the website. You can also purchase all of the art supplies that you need for any level. Prices vary based on the needed supplies.

At first glance, Artistic Pursuits may seem expensive, but when you factor in that you can reuse the curriculum with each of your children, the price goes down dramatically. Best of all, though, is the fact that art-phobic moms don't have to teach it themselves! For more information, visit Artistic Pursuits online, and check out the Crew blog.

Review of El Espanol Facil - The Easy Spanish

2011-11-28T09:10:00.000-06:00

Because my husband is a native Spanish speaker (his parents were born in Cuba), I was very excited when I got the opportunity to review The Easy Spanish from Great Commission Languages free in exchange for my review. Although my husband is fluent, I have only high school Spanish (plus almost two decades of listening to him talk to his parents!), and my children have, as yet, no Spanish.

The Easy Spanish is tailor made for homeschool families. No prior Spanish knowledge is required and, depending on your child's age, the curriculum can be completed entirely independently. There are scheduling suggestions, checklists for phonograms learned, a lesson planner template, and more. If you are the kind of homeschool mom who really appreciates all scheduling done for you, this is your Spanish curriculum.

Level I is comprised of 36 lessons with two CDs. Through dialog, formal vocabulary, activities, memory verses, and narrations, your child will learn basic Spanish grammar and phonics. Easy Spanish can be used by children as young as 5 with parental involvement, or can be completed independently by jr. high and high school students. Included coloring pages also allow for preschooler participation.

To get the best idea of what The Easy Spanish actually looks like, view the sample pages and explanatory video here. Perhaps the most distinctive thing about The Easy Spanish is its organizing principal. The writers of this curriculum believe that missionary work is a mandate, and that in order to be effective missionaries, one must not only know the language of the people one is visiting, but one should also know their culture. Also, because the basis of this curriculum is Christian mission work, the memory verses come from the Bible. In fact, the entire curriculum is, in essence, centered around the Bible.

The Easy Spanish was not a great fit for my family for several reasons. First, while its non-intimidating approach likely appeals to many families, the non-rigorous nature of the program is a negative for me. Second, and this reason closely ties in with the first, too much of the Spanish instruction takes place as what I would call "Spanglish." Spanish and English are intermingled freely, even in the same sentence. For example, "I would be happy to pass you the onion, que esta en frente de mi." Again, I need to emphasize that it is just this approach which will likely appeal to many homeschoolers. My personal rejection of this kind of approach stems primarily from one place: I have spent more than half my life hearing my husband's family reject Spanglish as a conversational tool. When my husband was learning English as a child, he was never allowed to mix the two languages, the premise being that one truly masters a language when he doesn't rely on another language to convey his point.

It is important for me to note, though, that what The Easy Spanish does, it does very well.

Spanish grammar can be confusing for native English speakers, particularly those who have not yet studied English grammar in depth. The Easy Spanish takes this confusing grammar and simplifies it so that both teaching parents and independent learners can understand it. In fact, Appendix D of The Easy Spanish I is the best explanation of Spanish sentence structure I have ever seen. Even though my kids will not continue to use this particular curriculum, I will absolutely reference this appendix frequently.

The Easy Spanish Level I will be a welcome addition to many homeschoolers' lesson plans. For $139.95, though, it is likely out of reach for many families (it would be for mine). If Easy Spanish I is something that would benefit your family, read more about it on their website and at the Crew blog.

Review of The Reading Game

2011-11-22T15:29:00.000-06:00

The Reading Game, which I received free in exchange for my review, is a fun memory-style card game created by the author of Wordly Wise. Through an iterative learning process, children learn progressively more challenging sets of words in game sessions that result in winners almost continuously. The fact that there is always a new winner means that kids don't get discouraged! The fact that the game is played in a familiar format, but with the addition of beautiful storybooks, means that kids have a great time.

The first thing you will notice about The Reading Game is its quality. If you're anything like me, you get discouraged by how quickly the boxes on your kids' games seem to disintegrate, first splitting at the corners, and then ripping up the sides. That is not going to happen with The Reading Game. Everything from the box to the softcover storybooks to the laminated and damage-resistant cards is of the highest quality. This is a game that will stand the test of time. If you happen to be fortunate enough to have younger readers in your home, you will be using this game quite frequently!

The Reading Game works by telling six stories, each only using 30 words. By breaking these down into six sets of five, students learn the new words quickly through the frequent exposure gained by seeing them in the memory matching game. To see a quick, one minute demonstration of how this game works, watch this video: How The Reading Game Works

While all of my children are proficient readers, they still liked playing this game. A couple of them said that they would have loved learning to read this way. I'll admit that, while I found the pace a little slow (which is good! I would be worried otherwise!), I definitely think that this game would help teach a child to read. Of course, it is not the only reading instruction needed; a solid phonics-based approach is still, I think, a necessity for reading excellence. However, in terms of giving kids confidence in recognizing sight words and making them feel that they can actually sit down and read a book, this game can't be beat.

The Reading Game is recommended for kids 4+ and is for two players. The most important factor in using it, though, is not age, but reading readiness. Also, there are many ways you could use the cards and books outside the context of the game, so don't hesitate to buy it just because you only choose games the whole family (or more than two members of the family) can play. The game retails for $24.95. For more information, visit their website and, as always, check out the Crew blog.

Review of Time Timer

2011-11-21T14:53:00.000-06:00

My latest product to review for the Crew is the niftiest little timer I've ever seen. Its premise is so simple, but its effect on my son (all of my children, really) is so profound. Time Timer (which I received free in exchange for my review) is a countdown timer, but it is unlike all other timers I've seen. Designed by a mom to visually teach her child what "how much time is left" looks like, the Time Timer is wonderful for kids too young to tell time, special needs kids, and just about any other kids!

The Time Timer, like other timers, can be set for a certain amount of time, from which point it counts down to zero. Unlike many other timers, though, the Time Timer is not digital and has quite a strong visual impact. One can tell at a glance exactly both how much time has elapsed and how much time is left.

While this timer certainly has many potential uses, the obvious one for me is homeschooling. One problem we seem to have is my kids spending too much time on one subject to the exclusion of others. Some classes (like math) take as long as they take. Others, though, like handwriting, really should have a set amount of time devoted to them and no more. Enter the Time Timer! My kids actually fight over who gets to use it on a given day. In fact, they quickly figured out that its use did not have to be confined to schooling only. By the second day, my son was racing himself on various tasks (like cleaning his room), setting the Timer for what he thought was a reasonable time, and then trying to finish before time elapsed. A timer that turns a chore into a game is a huge winner with me.

The beauty of the Time Timer is its simplicity. You manually turn the timer to the amount of time desired, and then watch the red disk disappear back into the white part of the timer, marking the movement of time. The audio signal that time has ended is quiet and unobtrusive, and it can be turned off altogether.

Time Timer is one of those products that really has to be tried to be understood, but once tried, you won't want to give it up! To see how Time Timer works, watch this neat video. To read more about Time Timer, visit their website. Finally, to purchase Time Timer, navigate to this page. There are three sizes of Time Timer available, in addition to an iPad app. The 3" timer, the one I received, is perfect for homeschool use, and retails for $30.00. We loved the Time Timer! To read other opinions, check out the Crew blog.

Review of College Prep Genius

2011-11-14T16:49:00.000-06:00

As of late, my daughter has been trying to dodge her regular school work in order to work on College Prep Genius! She keeps telling me, "I can't wait to take the SAT!" The funny thing? She's only ten! I was thrilled to receive this product free in exchange for my review, because I knew that my daughter would just love it. I wasn't wrong. Although she is only ten, she is in 8th grade, meaning that she has already learned much of the math covered on the SAT. Because she is a verbal genius, she also already has a great command of that section of the SAT. In fact, I have to fight to get her to stop doing analogies. How can she benefit from an SAT prep course when she is so many years away from taking the SAT? The answer to that is the reason that this program is so successful at what it does.

The SAT should not be a test that most kids start thinking of in 9th grade. Why? For one thing, high school students can take the PSAT starting in 10th grade. Taking the PSAT in 11th grade qualifies National Merit Scholars, a distinction that can result in major scholarship money. Finally, and this is the real reason that I was so eager to get this program, students can take the PSAT in 7th grade through the Duke Talent Identification Program. Being identified as a high scorer in this program opens up a world of great summer camps and other privileges. Although my daughter does 8th grade coursework, she is still only 5th grade age. That means she still has two years before taking her first PSAT, at which point she will be doing 10th grade coursework. The upshot? She has every chance of scoring very high on the PSAT when both her native intelligence and advanced coursework are taken into consideration.

Hopefully the foregoing explanation isn't read as either boring or boastful. Instead, I hope that sharing our individual circumstances helps more people realize that their students can benefit from an SAT prep course, even if the SAT is not in their immediate future.

What do you get when you purchase College Prep Genius?

Included in your purchase price of $99 is a DVD containing 12 lessons that walk your student through each section of the SAT. The lessons introduce students to each question type and provide them with a concrete plan for working through those questions. Although the lessons are conversational and fun to watch, they are hardcore and informative. This is *not* a fluff course. It is the same material you would see if you took this class in person. You also receive the College Prep Genius textbook and workbook. The textbook is amazing, covering over 350 test-taking strategies and tips. Even better, it contains tips for finding college scholarship money! Finally, the workbook is chock full of sample questions and problems, providing your student with ample opportunity to practice what she has learned. Although you get a better deal when you buy these items as a package, each of them is available individually.

The fact that my daughter comes out of her College Prep Genius lessons excited, rather than intimidated, is a tribute to how well done this program is. The focus is on the positives: the fact that the test is doable, that there are set strategies to help you through it, and that practice will make you better.

The SAT shouldn't be something a child dreads. Instead, like my daughter, they should eagerly anticipate the day they can walk into the test and then walk out with an assurance of college acceptance and scholarship money. The more exposure a child has to the test, and, in my opinion, the earlier a ready child is exposed to it, the greater her chance of success. This program is, of course, most appropriate for the early high-school student, but, given the circumstances, it can be a huge asset to younger children as well.

We love College Prep Genius in this house. To find out how others reacted to it, visit the Crew blog.

Review of Keyboard Town PALS

2011-11-13T18:32:00.000-06:00

For the past six weeks, my children have been using Keyboard Town PALS' Learn to Type program. Keyboard Town PALS (Purposive Associative Learning System) is a QWERTY based typing program that teaches students touch typing by using associations and memory techniques to teach even young children how to type. To read more about how this process works, navigate over to the PALS website.

Using an emcee of sorts, Sunny, and puppet-like characters, Keyboard Town PALS names each character on the home row of a keyboard, for example, Amy for the "a" key, Dora for the "d" key, Sam for the "s" key, etc.

Lessons are short, and the area in which students are to type is quite large, both of which lead to a program that is very child-friendly. The repetition required of students is much like you would expect in any typing program. The program is recommended for ages 6-12, so it was my twins (almost 7) I chose to review the program.

Let me begin by saying that I know there are plenty of kids who love this program. I read the testimonials on the website, and I had high hopes for the program. After all, there are dozens of typing programs for kids; how is one to choose? After only a few minutes, though, I could tell that this program was not the best one for my children. First of all, the lessons actually move a little too slowly for them (I will readily admit that they are extremely bright). That would not have been a deal-breaker, but "Sunny" was. My kids couldn't stop laughing long enough to learn. My older kids (8 and 10), whom I consulted, found Sunny very weird and kind of frightening. Further, while I had decided, based on my advance reading, that the convention of naming the keys (Amy, Dora, etc.) would be helpful to the kids, it turned out that it was more of a distraction. As it happened, my kids ended up preferring the old fashioned way that I learned to type: aaa afa aaa afa aaa afa, etc. They were able to assimilate a lot more information without the very characters meant to help them.

This review has been one of my harder ones, simply because I know that there are plenty of kids who would really like this typing program. My kids just didn't. Please don't take my word for it; check out other opinions at the Crew blog. Keyboard Town PALS costs $39.95 for either a web-based or CD program.

Playground Philosophy

2011-11-09T18:14:00.000-06:00

Today I was at the playground with some members of my homeschool group. There is something about playgrounds that crystallizes certain truths about children. Allow me to share what I learned at the playground today.

1. Children really do grow up lightning fast. One of the milestones I most remember about my kids' maturing was when I no longer needed to follow them around on the playground. Everyone is now able to swing himself, keep himself reasonably safe on slides and such, and, in general, amuse himself. I remember thinking this day would never come. Just yesterday, it seems, I had to swing two twins at the same time, while simultaneously trying to keep a four year-old boy from injuring himself or someone else!

2. The ease with which you raise your very young children has everything to do with your firstborn. I had four children in 40 months. If I had not had Therese first, I likely would have done myself a grave injury. It blows my mind that she was only 3 1/2 when I expected her to help me with three younger kids! Okay, I didn't actually *expect* her to help, but it only seemed natural when she did. I trusted her implicitly to make sure the twins were okay if I fell asleep for an hour on the couch! In fact, so much of where I am in life today is due to Therese's birth order. If I had had any other child, or combination of children, first, I probably would not have been able to finish my Ph.D. To this day, if I find myself wishing Therese would just act her age, I realize she *is* acting her age! She is just preternaturally mature; most of the time she is acting five years older.

3. Some kids know how to treat littler kids, and some don't. Nicky once told me that when he sees a little kid, he sees a flashing yellow "caution" sign. He treats kids just like that. He slows down, veers carefully around, and keeps going. Michael, on the other hand, will help the kid onto a piece of equipment, go find their moms if they want something he can't do, and follow them around if he thinks they are too small to be on the playground by themselves. Both of my boys know how to treat little kids, but Michael has such a rapport with them that I have no trouble visualizing him as a parish priest. Kids just trust him. Both of my sons know how to treat little kids, but one of them feels very called to them.

4. I *still* sometimes feel like I don't belong on the playground! Much like I felt when I was a child, it sometimes seems like everyone already has friends, and I...don't. I know now (only took me 30 years to figure it out!) that I have to make an effort to fit in. I embody "fake it 'til you make it," and many people who don't know me all that well would be shocked to find out how shy I am. If I can give my kids anything, it will be the confidence to join a group and jump into the conversation. Life is too short to feel left out.

Front Loading Your Day - Guest Post on Econobusters

2011-11-04T07:03:00.000-06:00

I was so thrilled to be asked to write a guest post on Econobusters. I love Molly's digests! See the article here!

Review of Excellence in Literature

2011-11-01T14:25:00.000-06:00

For the last month, I have been using Everyday Education's Excellence in Literature with my daughter. Although I received this product free in exchange for my review, it is the program that I had already decided was tailor-made for Therese. It is comprehensive and thorough, covering all levels of high school literature, including World, British and American Lit.

Excellence in Literature is a self-directed course, meaning that it is written to the student. Level 1 is An Introduction to Literature, and it promises the following:

These goals are perfect for the English I student! Janice Campbell, the very well known author of this series, has designed this course to be completely user-friendly. She assumes that a student knows how to read going in to the course, but not that the student *knows* how to read. Like Mortimer Adler, her goal is for students to be able to join the Great Conversation. In fact, she writes a 25 page introduction telling students exactly what they will get out of the course, answering common questions, and generally familiarizing them with her style. Although my daughter was a little disappointed when I told her that her first assignment was to read the introduction, she flew through it and got really excited about the course.

An Introduction to Literature covers many literary forms, which is great for giving students a taste of all that is out there. For example, Unit 1 covers the short story:

The author does a wonderful job choosing stories that I remember fondly from my own school days - stories that can't help but draw a child in. Writing assignments train students to recognize literary elements in the stories. The writing assignments are all very clearly explained, and ample time is given for completion. Of course, parents can always extend the time given for units if they choose, but this is one program that seems perfectly paced.

Later units cover very well-known novels by Bronte, Verne, Stevenson, Orwell, and others, along with plays by Shakespeare and Shaw. It is a wonderful introduction to the world of high school literature. One of the best features of the program is the "Honors Track" option. For students to earn an honors credit, the author provides an additional focus text for each unit, thereby allowing for a deeper exploration of the topic and skills under study.

Introduction to Literature is available for $27 as an ebook, or $29 + $4.95 shipping as a print book. I can't recommend this product highly enough. For my family, it was the answer to a prayer. Having a gifted child is hard, but this program has turned out to be perfect for my ten year-old daughter. If you would like to read further opinions, be sure to check the Crew blog.

Review of Memoria Press' First Form Latin

2011-10-28T11:25:00.001-05:00

Thanks to Memoria Press, my son is getting to experience the best in formal Latin instruction with First Form Latin. There are many Latin programs out there. Even before I was fortunate enough to join the Homeschool Crew and review some of them, I was familiar with almost all of them. Latin is one of those subjects that I consider indispensible. Not only is it the foundation of our own language, but for Roman Catholics, it is also their lingua mater (mother tongue). It was my favorite subject in high school, and I have always known that my children would take Latin, even before I knew that they would be homeschooled!

Why is Memoria Press an excellent Latin choice for your child? It is thorough, thorough, thorough, but, especially in the case of First Form Latin, gentle as well. Many people know of my difficulties with my 2e (twice exceptional) son. He is 8, but he is also frighteningly gifted and has many symptoms of ADHD. That adds up to the need for a very specific kind of curriculum. In his case, it usually means something several grade years ahead, but still suited to the maturity of an 8 year-old. In this way, First Form Latin is wonderful. The lessons are not long, but they pack a ton of information into each one. Thus, a child can get his Latin fix without getting bored.

The instructor of First Form Latin delivers each lesson in a straightforward way. While some Latin instructors focus on the humor aspect of the lesson (and I love those!), Memoria Press takes a more serious approach, letting the beauty of the Latin be the star of the show.

There are several components of First Form Latin, and while not all of them are necessary, there really is an advantage to having the complete program.

At a minimum, you will want the entire base package. The Teacher Manual relieves you of so much work that it is worth the price. Further, if you use First Form Latin with another child in the future, you will only need a new Student Workbook and Quizzes and Tests book. The textbook itself is very special. It is small and easily managed so the individual lessons don't overwhelm a student. My favorite aspect of the text is just how clearly it explains things in such a small amount of space.

Just look at how much you get out of this one snippet. You review the perfect stem of a first conjugation verb. You see the conjugation (with the stem remaining in black and the ending in blue, a great visual cue). Further, you see exactly where the stem comes from (the third principal part of the verb). Finally, you are told what the perfect tense means in Latin (essentially, the equivalent of the past tense in English). For a longer look at this lesson, see the Memoria Press site.

Although I received First Form Latin free in exchange for my review, I would have purchased the program, as my son has been using Memoria Press since he started doing Latin. I will continue to buy the First Form series as we get to it. Third Form Latin was just released. As Memoria Press envisions it, a student will finish the "Form" series and then transition into Henle 2. I am confident that my son will be well-prepared to make that transition when the time comes.

We are a Memoria Press household. To see other opinions, visit the Crew blog!

Review of Say Anything

2011-10-24T15:33:00.000-05:00

Northstar Games is the king of family game night! Last year, my family had the great privilege of reviewing Wits and Wagers Family, an awesome Northstar Games product. This year, in exchange for my review, we were so thrilled to receive Say Anything from Northstar Games.

To anyone familiar with Wits and Wagers, Say Anything's basic appearance will not be a surprise. If your kids are anything like mine, they'll go bananas seeing another game with wipe-off boards and their own dry erase markers! The premise of the game is simple, but the way it plays out is great fun.

Recommended for 3-6 players ages 8 and up, Say Anything is easy even for younger children to learn. A player draws a card and asks one of the three questions on the card. All of the other players write an answer on their individual dry-erase boards and turns them face up. The question-asking player silently chooses his favorite answer, and then everyone else tries to guess which one he picked! If you're thinking Apples 2 Apples, the premise is similar, but the way the game plays out is different. The format of Say Anything is perfect for families (just make sure you get the family edition shown above! The regular edition is for ages 13+!).

Example questions from Say Anything Family include the following:

What's the best way to spend a Saturday night?
What food should never be eaten on the couch?
What's the most important quality in a parent?
What's the best animated movie?

Obviously, these questions can be answered by any family member. Thus, the only real qualification for playing the game is the ability to write an answer. My six year-old twins played Say Anything quite happily, as did our whole family!

Say Anything family is a great game. It comes in a very solid box (so important to families used to box corners breaking almost immediately) with sturdy, laminated-like cards and durable white boards. Having owned and played Wits and Wagers Family for a solid year, I can promise that this game will stand the test of time. Say Anything is available from various retailers, and sells for around $19.99. To see what other Crew members thought of Say Anything, visit the Crew blog!

Review of EMealz

2011-10-20T15:00:00.000-05:00

Happily, there are many aids available to help busy moms plan and execute their shopping trips and weekly menus. I have personally tried several of them! I have to say, though, that e-mealz is one of my absolute favorites. I received a free subscription to e-mealz in exchange for my review, but I would have paid for this service anyway (and will continue to do so when my free subscription expires!). e-mealz truly is a complete no-brainer. Every bit of preparation and meal planning is done for you.

You choose the plan you want from the following options (there are so many!):

The available meal-type choices include Low Carb, Low Fat, Portion Control, Vegetarian, Gluten-Free, and Regular. If you choose the Regular plan, you have the further choice of preferred grocery store. Why is the store important? Because e-mealz matches the current store sales to its recipes, meaning that you will be preparing meals whose ingredients are on sale! If you happen to be one of those couponing geniuses, this can only be a great thing for you!

I am blessed not to have finicky eaters, so I can't comment on whether the e-mealz choices are finicky-friendly. I can say that the regular family plan includes very family-friendly meals like cracker-coated chicken, gumbo, and pastas. The meals are all extremely easy to make (much easier than the meals I am accustomed to making, but that's the perfectionist in me), include easy to find ingredients, and include side dish suggestions. While you can see examples of each menu on the website, this review would not be complete without a little sneak peek of my own meal plan.

The meals are all listed first (and for my OCD friends, they are listed as "Meal 1, Meal 2, etc." rather than by days of the week!), followed by the store-specific shopping list -- including prices! Speaking of money, seeing this guy on the site

just cements what a good deal e-mealz is! For $1.25 per week (billed in $15 installments every three months), you can have the plan of your choice. Actually, you can have as many plans as you want, provided you pay for each subscription!

My family loves e-mealz. It makes me life much easier, it adds variety to my family's dinner hour, and it might even be saving me money! If you still have questions about e-mealz, make sure to visit their FAQ. If you want to read other moms' views of e-mealz, check out the Crew blog!

Fibromyalgia

2011-10-19T18:52:00.001-05:00

Although I try very hard not to complain, people who know me well (the few! the chosen!) know that I almost always hurt. If it's not a migraine, it's my ankles. If I can sleep at all, I wake up feeling like I got hit by a truck. Anyway, you get the picture. I went to the doctor today, and after running down my list of symptoms (which was positively embarrassing!), she immediately said, "fibromyalgia." I have mixed feelings about this diagnosis. It doesn't really do anything for me. I still feel rotten. On the other hand, though, it validates my eternal exhaustion and pain issues. I need to digest.

So what does a girl diagnosed with a vague illness do? Craft! I don't scrapbook - I'm scared of hurting pictures. I do, however, have an unnatural obsession with paper, stickers, pens, etc. Hence, I journal with them. I spent a lovely afternoon with my girls and my "stuff" while my boys and dog played outside. It was a wonderful afternoon. Of course, I will be hating life tomorrow when I face down all of my work deadlines, but for today...perfection.

The Homeschool Mother's Journal

2011-10-14T08:20:00.002-05:00

Posted from The Homeschool Chick...come over and link up!

In my life this week…
Henry was out of town for a couple of days and, while we were very busy, I missed him. The kids had book club, which Therese loved. For a shy child of mine, she sure does love social events. I spent all of Thursday in bed with a hellacious migraine until I had to drag myself out in order to take the kids to dance and TKD. I loved watching Therese do lyrical last night. She is a beautiful dancer.

In our homeschool this week…
Not enough happened. The three youngest don't spend a ton of hours doing school, but they do get everything done. I am beginning to see the disconnect between Therese's age and her ability, though. Ability-wise, she is completely capable of doing 8th grade work. In fact, with the exception of Algebra 1/2, she loves it. She is, however, just barely 10. It's a lot to ask her to do that much school work. I am torn.

What’s working / not working for us…
The whole Therese thing above. I'm thinking about doing some sort of schedule where she only does two subjects per day. Even if it slows down her progress, it still allows her to do the right level of work.

Questions/thoughts I have…
How can I resolve my health issues to make exercise a priority? I know it's a circular argument, but how can you exercise to feel better when you are too exhausted/head-pained/joint-pained to exercise? At least I broke down and made a doctor appointment with my parents' doctor. I have seen the same one exclusively for 10 years, and while I love him, I think he's developed tunnel vision regarding my health.

My favorite thing this week was…
Making Molly's Home Team for reviews! I love Molly (Econobusters), and I feel so privileged to have made that review team.

I am inspired by…Anyone who is consistently positive in her life. I am not she.

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…
On the feast day of St. Teresa of Avila, "Pain is never permanent."

Review of Visual Latin

2011-10-12T14:15:00.000-05:00

Anyone who knows me knows that I love Latin. My love of Latin didn't start in the homeschool years. I was one of the lucky ones who took Latin in high school. It was, in fact, Tish Dilworth (AKA Magistra Optima) who taught me to love Latin. Naturally, then, when I started homeschooling, teaching my kids Latin became my top priority. Another thing most people know about me is that I am a curriculum junkie. To that end, I own most Latin programs out there. Imagine my delight, then, in finding a Latin program with which I was previously unfamiliar! Through my participation in the Homeschool Crew, I received a download of Visual Latin, a computer based Latin program, free in exchange for my review. My review in one word: Awesome.

Since those consulting reviews generally wish for a little more information, I'll provide some (but "awesome" really is the best descriptor I have). Visual Latin lessons are conducted by instructor Dwane Thomas and are comprised of three parts: grammar, sentences, and reading. Although a ton of information is packed into each lesson, the lessons are only ten minutes each, making them ideal for even the youngest of elementary school children.

The best thing about this program is definitely the instructor.

Not only does he look like the boy next door, he teaches like the boy next door. What do I mean by that? Male teachers sometimes risk coming across as too serious or too severe. Mr. Thomas is the antithesis of that stereotype. Instead, his manner is lighthearted and fun, and you really get the sense that he loves both what he's doing and Latin itself. Mr. Thomas' method of instruction proves that Latin is neither a dead language nor a stuffy one. Lovers of Latin already know both of these things, but sometimes it takes some effort to convince the uninitiated.

Visual Latin is different from other Latin programs in that it combines the two most common approaches: learning through grammar and learning through reading. By focusing first on a couple of grammar concepts, and then incorporating them into sentences, Mr. Thomas gives you the best of both worlds. Combing the lectures with corresponding downloadable PDFs gives your child (and you!) and well-rounded Latin lesson in less than 30 minutes.

Visual Latin lets you try a lesson, so you really get an idea of the flavor of the program. I think that one lesson will be enough to sell you! The program offers both downloadable and DVD options so you can choose what works best for your family. They also offer different purchase options. You can buy all of Latin I on DVD for $80.00 (a very competitive price if you've looked at other Latin programs). Alternatively, you can download the lessons ten at a time for $25.00 per set. Choosing the DVD option will add $5 to the cost.

If you think Visual Latin may be just what your family has been looking for, be sure to visit the website and sample the lessons! Also, check out the Crew blog for other opinions!

Review of Scruble Cube

2011-10-08T15:18:00.000-05:00

With a name like Scruble Cube, it has to be good...right? For the past month, my children have had the opportunity to play with a Scruble Cube, which we received free in exchange for my honest review. The premise of Scruble Cube is simple: imagine the game of Scrabble and a Rubik's Cube having a baby. You would get...

Just as in Scrabble, each letter has a value. Just as with a Rubik's Cube, you turn the cube to create a pattern (in this case, words!).

Scruble Cube looked fun from the outset. It arrives packaged in a way that shows its dynamic possibilities, complete with rules and a score pad.

I thought my kids would love Scruble Cube. They love all kinds of games and puzzles, especially word games and word puzzles. For some reason, though, they haven't really taken to the Scruble Cube. I have several ideas as to why this is so. It is entirely possible that my kids dislike the idea of mixing their games; that is, they would prefer either a word game or puzzle game, but not both together. Alternatively, the cube itself feels kind of delicate. It does not turn as easily as a Rubik's Cube by any means. Also, because the letters themselves rotate (a really cool feature), it almost feels like the game will fall apart. I am forever cautioning my kids to be careful and not to break things (I'm beginning to feel more and more that this is actually more detrimental than helpful), so it is entirely likely that they eschewed playing with the cube more simply for fear of injuring it.

The idea of Scruble Cube is wonderful, and I'm sure that there are kids (and adults!) who would really enjoy it. The fact that my kids didn't should not deter you from learning more about it. Scruble Cube is recommended for ages 8+ and can be played alone or with up to three friends. It retails for $24.95. To read some very different opinions of Scruble Cube, see the Crew blog!

Blog Frustration!

2011-10-07T08:03:00.000-05:00

There are some times when it positively pangs me that I am not very techie. This is one of them! I want to design my own cute blog! I want to control how it looks! Am I savvy enough to do that? No. Thus, I have always relied on Blogger templates for my blogging needs. However, I have received several emails telling me that people are unable to comment on my blog. I thought I had solved this problem, but obviously not. I am, hence, switching (temporarily, I hope!) to a straight, no-frills Blogger template to see if that *somehow* enables comments properly. Sadly, I don't know if I can make it retroactive, but this post, at least, should be commentable.

Would you be so kind as to try to comment? Oh, and if you're so inclined, could you point me toward a "dumb-as-dirt" tutorial on creating a blog?! Thank you, and have a wonderful Friday!

Recipes Your Kids Will Love!

2011-10-03T20:54:00.000-05:00

Some of you know that I am also the editor of the "sons" site over at Bellaonline.com. Much of what I write over there is not as relevant to homeschoolers as my reviews are, but if you ever have trouble getting your kids to eat, try some of these ideas! Recipes Your Kids Will Eat is over at Bellaonline!

Review of AIMS' Earth Book

2011-09-22T10:50:00.000-05:00

Science is not my strongest subject and, I'm sorry to admit, that I don't enjoy it any more as an adult than I did as a kid -- with one exception. I love Earth Science! Anything that has to do with geology, natural disasters, plate tectonics, etc. is fascinating to me. I think it is probably because of my love of history that I love Earth Science so much: it is largely a study of the history of the Earth.

Imagine my delight, then, when we were provided a copy of AIMS Education Foundation's Earth Book: Hydropshere, Geosphere, Atmosphere, and Their Interactions. This hefty book consists of 446 pages of hands-on, activity-heavy Earth Science. The book is organized into the sections indicated in the subtitle, meaning that first students study water, then the layers of the Earth, then the atmosphere, and finally the way in which all of these elements work together. In addition to the brief readings, there are 48 activities to reinforce what students are learning. One of the nicest features of this book is the inclusion of a CD containing all of these activities - think of it as student pages. Thus, when students need to do an experiment or activity, your book is safe from being cut, mutilated, written in, or having its spine bent (a huge plus for someone as OCD as I!). You simply print out the relevant pages.

AIMS Education Foundation really does the best job summarizing the course when it writes:

This is the ultimate in middle-school supplements for hands-on Earth Science material! Content-rich investigations dig into the hydrosphere, geosphere, atmosphere, and their interactions with one another. Everything from fault lines to weather fronts is explored.

As indicated, Earth Book is recommended for grades 6-9. At this level, students can pretty much treat this as a self-directed course. I did use Earth Book with my younger children, though, and at 6 and 8, they got a lot out of the activities and lessons. In fact, my 8th grader ended up basically teaching the lessons to my younger kids -- another huge point in this book's favor! Also, for parents who have reason to worry about state standards, rest assured that this book is correlated to those standards!

The best thing about Earth Book (apart from its fascinating subject matter and great activities) is its accessibility to its targeted age bracket. While the book is in black and white, it is filled with drawings and has a nice big typeface. Nothing about it says "science book," which is a huge bonus for parents whose children fear the subject.

Earth Book is available from AIMS Education Foundation, and retails for $49.95. You have the option of receiving a hard copy of the book or a downloadable pdf. The price is the same, so it comes down to personal preference. If you're not sure if Earth Book is for you, be sure to check out the generous 30 page sample here. The sample is enough to let you know whether or not Earth Book is right for your child. If not, AIMS has many, many other math and science activity books from which to choose. You're sure to find something right for your children.

My family loved Earth Book; in fact, we are definitely going to keep using it this year. To find out what others thought, visit the Crew blog!

Review of A Young Scholar's Guide to Composers

2011-09-19T16:02:00.000-05:00

For the past month, my children have been learning all about composers with A Young Scholar's Guide to Composers, co-written by the amazing Maggie Hogan from Bright Ideas Press. Although this is definitely a curriculum I would pay for, I received my copy free in exchange for my review, thanks to my participation in Timberdoodle's Blogger Review Team.

Like many homeschool moms, I feel strongly that composer study should be part of our curriculum. Sadly, also like many homeschool moms, I have been stymied as to how best to implement it. I need a structured curriculum (otherwise I'll be spending a semester on each composer...must. learn. everything!), but I don't want to have to pay for resources I don't need or won't use. In one of those "God-things", I had just found this exact curriculum when I got the opportunity to review it! Thankfully, it is everything I had hoped it would be.

While Timberdoodle has many wonderful resources for homeschooling music, this program has to be its finest offering. Not only is the program divided into 32 weeks for easy scheduling, each lesson is also planned and scheduled for three days. You have no planning or scheduling work to do with this curriculum! Broken into six musical periods (Ancient to Middle Ages, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Contemporary), students study composers representative of each period. The authors of this program explain their criteria for the inclusion and exclusion of various composers, but the way the curriculum is structured, your family can study any composer you wish. The written lesson (directed toward the student) is about 1,200 words long and is completed on the first day of the week. Student notebooking pages are included in your purchase, as are a timeline and components needed to make a folderbook (which, as with everything in this program, is not required to derive the full benefit; it is a nice option, though!), along with selection suggestions for relevant music. In fact, while there are no actual musical selections provided with the program, there are plenty of suggestions to make sure that your student will learn all about the composers studied.

In sum, when you purchase this curriculum for $31.50 at Timberdoodle, you receive a 298 page download which contains lesson plans for a full year's worth of composer study. Each composer is placed in his own time and musical era, as well as shown in relation to other composers and musical eras. The lesson is written directly to your student, and tons of extras are included: timeline information, maps, games, coloring pages, and composer cards. While the age recommendation is 9-13, all homeschooling moms know that programs can be "tweaked" for older or younger kids. If your child is older, this program is probably more of an outline than a complete curriculum. For younger children, much of the writing elements could be eliminated. There are great musical selections by time period, meaning you can simply supplement your history studies with relevant music.

I no longer have to look for a great composer study program. While there are some products that I only use during the review period, this one is definitely not one of them. I can't wait to keep using this with my kids all year!

This is not Timberdoodle's only awesome curriculum, as most homeschooling moms already know. To keep up with all of Timberdoodle's products, join them on Facebook!

Review of Time 4 Learning

2011-09-12T16:32:00.000-05:00

For the past three weeks, my children have been using Time 4 Learning, to which I received a free month's subscription in exchange for my review. Time 4 Learning is a complete, PreK-8 online curriculum. Complete with lesson plans, completion certificates, time tracking (for attendance), and reward games, Time 4 Learning is a delight to explore. When your child logs in every day and selects a subject (parents have a separate log in), he is presented with a list of activities like this:

While you, the parent, have the option to set lesson plans for your children, you can elect to let your child choose his own path, based on interest. In this regard, Time 4 Learning is completely personalizable. If you want to set your child's schedule for him, Time 4 Learning provides a worksheet that allows you easily to determine how many lessons your child needs to complete each day in each subject.

While the exact number of activities varies from grade to grade, Time 4 Learning has numerous activities in each subject in each grade level. The Scope & Sequence below demonstrates that your child is not likely to run out of things to study before finishing the school year!

While the content of each lesson varies from grade to grade, there is some consistency in how the lessons are presented. Characters remain cartoony through 8th grade, which I thought would bother my older daughter, but it didn't. She appreciated the thoroughness of the content she was presented, even though it was given in a very gentle manner. My younger kids didn't even seem to realize that they were doing school at all!

One of the top features of Time 4 Learning is its parent resources. When you log in to your parent account, you can immediately access each of your children's accounts:

You can also see at a glance your child's progress in any subject area:

My kids loved doing Time 4 Learning. I'll admit that I didn't let them work on it as much as they might have liked because I was afraid that it would kill them when the review period came to an end! At $19.95 per month for the first child, and $14.95 per month for each additional child, Time 4 Learning is simply outside of our budget. If a child's interest is any indication of a program's worth, though, Time 4 Learning is a winner!

While Time 4 Learning has many different applications, such as as a supplement to a public school education, T4L maintains that it can also be used as a complete homeschool curriculum. Personally, I prefer a Charlotte Mason education, so my family would not use Time 4 Learning in this way. For parents who want all of the work done for them, though, and want to be able to measure their child's progress in very concrete ways, then Time 4 Learning may well be a viable curriculum.

Time 4 Learning offers many demos on its site, as well as a comprehensive FAQ. For more information, or to enroll, navigate on over to their website. If you have questions that remain unanswered, don't hesitate to call them at 954-771-0914. I can attest to their excellent, and prompt, customer service.

While we won't be subscribing to Time 4 Learning for financial reasons, my kids absolutely loved it. To find out what others thought, visit the Crew blog.

Review of Civilize This!

2011-09-02T03:39:00.002-05:00

For the past month, my children have avidly been playing Wise Alec's Civilize This! travel game and expansion pack, thanks to a free copy in exchange for my review. Composed of four decks of cards, comprised of 300 questions, and one color die, Civilize This! tests your child's knowledge of ancient, medieval, and modern cultures. Although Civilize This! is an expansion pack for the Wise Alec Trivia Game, I can truly say that we have thoroughly enjoyed the cards in spite of not owning the original game.

Chosen as one of Dr. Toy's 100 best children's products, Civilize This! is recommended for ages 8 and up. As all homeschoolers know, though, that age is somewhat changeable, depending on your child. While my ten year-old seems to know most of the answers to the questions on the cards, there are some questions that my six year-olds can answer, too. The questions are perfect either for review purposes or for trivia. Because of the cute graphics, and the fun-competitive spirit of the game, my kids don't actually seem to realize that they are learning as they play. Or, more correctly, they do realize it; they just don't care! The most important thing to them is playing the game.

Without the original Wise Alec game, for which Civilize This! can act as an expansion pack, the decks of cards themselves are a great travel game. Envisioned for 2-4 players, Civilize This! can be adapted for more players if you are willing to use your imagination a bit. Also, because there are two levels of questions on the cards, parents can reasonably play with younger children.

The best thing about Civilize This! is that it can be used in multiple ways. While it is a fun game in its own right, with set rules, it can also be used as a quiz game for school review, as a means for older children to work with younger children, or as simply something to read (my daughter's favorite use of the game!). Civilize This! is created by Griddley Games, and it can be purchased from many stores (found on the website) for $14.99.

If your family is looking for a way either to enliven your history studies or to add a fun, new, educational game to family game night, you won't go wrong with Civilize This! For more opinions on this great game, check out the Crew blog!

Review of FFYB's Politically Incorrect Notebooking Pages

2011-08-25T15:34:00.000-05:00

Recently I was given a copy of Fortunately For You Books’ “The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Founding Fathers” notebooking pages free in exchange for my review, and I have been using them delightedly in my homeschool. My daughter is one of those typical homeschooled kids whose abilities in one area have outpaced her abilities in other areas. While she can read and comprehend almost anything I put in front of her, I have not yet taught her the finer points of note taking or outlining. Unfortunately, the higher the level of books she reads, the more desirable these skills would be.

Fortuitously, Fortunately For You Books has solved my dilemma for me. With their unique new line of notebooking pages, they have taken on the task of teaching the skills of note taking and outlining. The notebooking pages, available by the chapter for $1.50 each, are set up in a loose outline form (in that they follow the chapter) with prompts as to what a student should write down. Sometimes a specific question is asked, while other times there is a blank to be filled in or a series of points to be written down. Regardless of how the prompt is formatted, though, a student is never in doubt of what they are supposed to write down. When they have finished filling out the notebooking pages for the chapter (around ten or so pages for each chapter), your student will have a set of complete notes for that chapter. They will be able to study for a test, summarize the chapter in a paragraph or two, or merely add the pages to their existing history or civics notebooks.

Although each page of the notebooking is keyed to a specific page or pages in the text making finding the answers easy, Fortunately For You Books does not require you to take on the task of looking things up. A full set of answers is included with your purchase. One aspect of the answers I especially appreciate is that they are incorporated into the actual notebooking pages (meaning a second set of pages with the answers filled in), rather than just included as a random-looking list of words.

If you want your child to engage in pure outlining (I, II, A, B, a, b, i, ii, etc), these pages are probably not for you. If, like me, though, you look at these pages and see a representation of the exact way that you take notes yourself (writing down key phrases and ideas, listing salient points), then you will be thoroughly taken with these notebooking pages. They are the homeschool resource you would create yourself if you had the time – and that’s the highest compliment I can pay any homeschool resource. My only complaint is that they are not available for all of my daughter’s assigned books!

If you are interested in seeing an actual sample of these notebooking pages, visit the product page at http://fortunatelyforyoubooks.com/poingutofofa.html. In order to use the pages appropriately, you will need a copy of the book “The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Founding Fathers.” I would recommend these pages wholeheartedly to anyone whose child is reading, or considering reading, this book, and I can’t wait to see further offerings in this series!

Product Review by Laura Delgado, Ph.D., Fortunately For You Books, LLC, July, 2011

The Lights of My Life

2011-08-23T08:15:00.000-05:00

As I lay in bed last night suffering from insomnia again, I was struck by how many pinpoints of light I could see from my bed. The tower fan emits a faint green glow. The TV has a bright red light. The DVR was silently engaging in its job, indicated by a faint orange light. The refrigerator, visible when I sat up trying to get comfortable, positively radiated blue LED light. The light which gives me the most security, the red light indicating that the house alarm was armed, reassures me every night, even though without my contacts on all I can see is a red haze.

I couldn't help but focus on the fact that the most important light in my life is not visible in the dark at all. Jesus said, "I am the Light of the world. He who follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the Light of life." (John 8:12). While I believe this with all of my heart, I sometimes wish that the light was a little more visible, especially in the dark - both metaphorical and real. The rest of the lights that rule my nights are intrusive, serving to remind me of all of the things that distract all of us from our true purpose here on Earth. After all, the Baltimore Catechism teaches even the youngest Catholics the reason for their existence: "Why did God make me? To know, love, and serve Him in this world and be happy with him in the next."

I've always been struck by the fact that nowhere in that answer does it say that we are here to be happy in this life. People who chase happiness in this life are sure to be thwarted. That's not to say, of course, that we can't find happiness in this life: Jesus wants us to be happy! It is not the goal, however. A life lived happily, if not in service to God, can't have a happily ever after, after all. That's one of the major problems of modernity: the inability to delay gratification. It's hard to look to the hereafter when we are all so used to being able to satisfy any desire NOW. Why should attempting to satisfy the goal of happiness be any different, then?

I don't think it's any accident that church attendance and belief in God have declined steadily in the past century. I have little doubt that I could graph the rise of technology alongside the decline in belief and find a nearly perfect inverse relationship. Of course, I, of all people, know that congruence does not equal causation, but there is certainly food for thought in the project.

I have many more ideas on this subject, but my attention is distracted by other things. One of my clients wants his press release NOW. I have to research the concept using the Internet, which I can do immediately. I am helping with our homeschool group's spelling bee, so I need to print off the word list momentarily. My children need breakfast which I will serve them from a box - a meal which will take me no longer to prepare than the time I need to take clean bowls out of my brand-new dishwasher, which so obligingly did my chores for me last night while I was asleep.

How do we balance our love of life's conveniences and instant gratification with living the life Jesus meant us to live? I'm still trying to figure it out.

The Simple Woman's Daybook

2011-08-16T07:48:00.005-05:00

Participate in this fun meme at The Simple Woman's Daybook!

FOR TODAY
Outside my window...It is bleakly, unrelievedly hot. 100 degree day after 100 degree day...

I am thinking...In 16 days we will leave for Estes Park, CO. I am trepidatious about preparing for the trip, but looking forward desperately to getting to "our" house!

I am thankful...for my Catholic faith. It defines me. It keeps me going. It is the core of who I am.

From the learning rooms...I'm trying to deal with T's giving me grief about school. She is crazy, crazy smart. She is three grade levels ahead. She does not want to do her work. Sometimes I wonder if she wouldn't be just fine if I completely unschooled her. She seems to do know more than I about everything already anyway.

In the kitchen...There is no breakfast other than cereal. I really want to change that. I need breakfast casserole recipes!

I am wearing...my "uniform." Capri pants and a t-shirt.

I am creating...a beautiful lace shawl and boxes for our pens, pencils, and markers (shoe boxes covered with contact-paper covered scrapbook paper).

I am going...absolutely nowhere today. My favorite kind of day and one that I can only enjoy for a few more weeks.

I am wondering...too many things to narrow it down.

I am reading...Middlesex by Jeffery Eugenides, Arcadia Falls by Carol Goodman, and a library book about the Johnstown Flood whose name I can't recall. Sad...

I am hoping...that N will have a good day.

I am looking forward to...COLORADO!

I am hearing...M-C jumping rope while M watches and offers advice (my 6 year-old twins).

Around the house...T and N are still asleep. I have a lot to clean.

I am pondering...(how is this different from wondering? Is it more deliberate wondering...more hardcore thinking?)the new GIRM and how much it occupies my thoughts. I am apprehensive about my meeting with Fr. Troy.

One of my favorite things...the color purple ;-)

A few plans for the rest of the week: H out of town. Mom coming over. Knitting and listening to The Witching Hour for hours and hours which means major work hours put in today!
A quote for the week:

"There are not one hundred people in the United States who hate The Catholic Church, but there are millions who hate what they wrongly perceive the Catholic Church to be."
— Fulton J. Sheen

Video Games

2011-08-10T17:34:00.000-05:00

In one of those "God-timing" things, The Homeschool Minute today was about video games and some ideas for handling them in families. Everything that was posted is something that we do in my family, from finishing all school and chores before playing, to doing something for the house or the family before playing. Still, in my experience, video games still have an adverse effect on my family. My kids tend to get grumpy after playing. They *definitely* get grumpy when they don't get to play. While taking them away does make a convenient consequence, I still really dislike the vibe they give the house. To that end, I instituted a video game moratorium for a week in my house. No one can ask me to play and I won't be offering. I'll be curious to see how it goes. I'd like to think that they won't want to start again, but, somehow I doubt that will come around!

Hurricane!

2011-07-27T15:16:00.000-05:00

Or maybe just tropical storm. The point is, many of the spaghetti models have it coming straight to Houston. We desperately need the rain, and I love a great rain day, but we are supposed to go to Ft. Worth this weekend to visit my sister. For a variety of mostly justified reasons, she will be very upset if we don't come. I don't feel comfortable leaving our house unattended during a weather event, though. I really need to pray for some discernment as to what to do here!

Free Summer Fun

2011-07-20T08:07:00.000-05:00

If you're anything like me, you are really looking for something different to do this summer -- preferably something inside! There are a ton of free things out there for kids of all ages, so head on over to my site at BellaOnline.com to read about some great ideas for free summer fun!

TruthSonBeautiful Curriculum

2011-07-12T15:33:00.000-05:00

I have given in to curriculum insanity. For Ancient History (focusing on Greece), I have bought Truthquest (a proven winner, but no lesson plans, which, it shames me to admit, I find myself needing more and more to keep me focused) and Beautiful Feet both.

Of course, I already own Tapestry of Grace! I justify this insanity by arguing that the programs offer different things. The reading lists in Truthquest are just wonderful (but can't you do the same thing, Laura, by using Reading Through the Ages? Be quiet, Laura. I don't want to hear that right now...), but I love the lessons in Beautiful Feet. Interestingly, I have found nothing anti-Catholic yet, even though it is supposed to be an anti-Catholic publisher. I really think this kind of bias only becomes a problem in the Reformation years. I also don't think it is the problem that many others do. People are coming at a subject from their own frames of reference. After all, we teach that Luther was in error. The difference, I think, is that non-Catholics don't often understand the details of Catholic theology. Further, I'll be the first one to teach my children that the sale of indulgences was wrong. I digress...

Today I completed my history through literature trifecta when I purchased the Sonlight instructor's guide for Core D - Introduction to American History. I couldn't resist the chance to get it used for $33.00. I really think my kids are going to like doing history this way. I have spent more money on history curriculum than anything. Why? I honestly think it is because history is my love and I have a degree in it. I so badly want to teach my kids EVERYTHING!

If only I felt that way about science!

Our Curriculum Plans

2011-06-18T20:03:00.000-05:00

I am the most schizophrenic curriculum buyer/planner/user I know, but I finally feel that after three years, I am hitting my stride. We school year round (and with 100+ degree temps every day, why wouldn't we?), so our summer session is officially upon us. For most of the kids, nothing will really change, but I am changing a lot for Therese.

Therese is my problem child, by which I mean that I can't seem to find the best way to teach her. She is ridiculously smart, ridiculously well-read, and wants to spend all of her school time researching and writing. Happily, there is a curriculum for that! I was previously in love with Tapestry of Grace, but the amount of teacher prep was just too much with four kids, plus I didn't feel that I was getting the best value for my money. Also, although T was technically grammar stage, she was reading more at logic/rhetoric stage, so there was always a disconnect in the curriculum. I am so happy to have found just the right curriculum for the way she loves to learn. The huge benefit is that it is almost no teacher prep.

TRISMS has intrigued me for a couple of years, but I never investigated it enough to truly appreciate it before now. Cathy Duffy has written an extensive review of the program, so I'm not going to duplicate her efforts. Best of all, there is a Catholic supplement to the program. Now, Therese will literally spend most of her school day researching and writing. I'm sticking with Ten Marks for math, even though she says she doesn't like it. She is starting 8th grade math. I'm not going to pre-algebra (choosing 8th grade instead) b/c of her age (almost 10). I'd rather make sure her skills are rock solid first. For science, she is doing Apologia's Physical Science. Happily, there are daily lesson plans available. The more Therese has a daily breakdown of what she needs to do, the happier we both are. For grammar, I am trying something new, The Stewart English Program. She knows most of what is in the first book, but it is such a great, concise review for her. She is hating the idea of actually having to write her work (rather than use Grammarlogues), but that is just one more benefit, as far as I'm concerned. For Latin, we're using Latin for Children A. For Greek, Greek for Children A. Vocabulary/roots is our beloved MCT: Word within the Word 1. We'll also be using Imitation in Writing's Fairy Tales. My challenge now is to create a workable schedule :-/

The younger kids will be doing mostly the same as they have been. I was reading through what I was doing one year ago, and it is amazing how much has changed. Nicky couldn't handle Saxon 5/4. All of those problems on a page was freaking him out. I switched him to Horizons Math 6 and he has been a much happier camper. Mary-Catherine was breaking down at math every single day with Saxon 1, and she was slowing Michael down considerably. They have both found great success with Singapore, Michael in 2A and M-C in 1B. Now M-C is in 2A and Michael is almost ready for 2B. It is amazing how much changing the approach can help sometimes. M-C does mental math that I would have never believed her capable of, and Michael is thriving.

We really liked Language Lessons for Little Ones, and we'll be sticking with Queen Homeschool this year for the twins. We don't stick to one lesson per day, though...more like 4 or 5. That's the classical in me overtaking the Charlotte Mason.

The three youngest are doing Apologia's Discovering Creation with Swimming Creatures, and they love it. They are learning tons! I supplement that with Simple Schooling's small unit studies and video lessons. Therese is actually doing Simple Schooling's Forensic Science course right now, and she loves it.

I have a couple of changes/updates for Nicky, but they'll have to wait for another day...

Review of Pearson Education's Reading Street

2011-05-23T07:47:00.000-05:00

Through our participation in the Homeschool Crew, my family received Pearson Education's 2nd grade Reading Street program to use the twins. Although Pearson has published its Reading Street program for years, the 2011 incarnation is brand new for the 2011-2012 school year, and it boasts several improvements over previous iterations. Reading Pearson's own press release about Reading Street is the best place to begin to get a sense of the program.

Reading Street comes as two glossy, hardcover books and will immediately call to mind the reading textbooks of your public school youth. I was actually flooded with nostalgia and love for my old textbooks when I opened this package. Unlike my own reading textbooks, though, Reading Street's selections are unbelievably well thought out and diverse. The excerpts come from both fiction and non-fiction books, and many are taken from longer books that you can actually find right at the library. Thus, if a particular selection sparks your child's interest, you can seek out its source and read more.

The Reading Street program encompasses six units, each covering a different type of literature, from fiction and non-fiction to folk tales. Each genre is first introduced, and is then exemplified through reading selections. The selections begin with a list of high frequency words, and they end with comprehension questions that you can do orally with your child. Because this is considered to be a Language Arts program, the books also include grammar and writing assignments. While it is not a generally used format for homeschoolers, Reading Street could definitely be used as a self-contained reading and writing program. For homeschoolers who like much more to supplement their reading program, an independent website has a plethora of additional resources.

Each Reading Street textbook costs $43.47. The student package of both books can be purchased for $86.97. Additional supplementary materials from Pearson Education can also be purchased.

Although I enjoy Reading Street as a reading book, it is not "homeschooly" enough for me. It strikes me as public school at home. For parents who want to mimic the public school experience at home, though, it is a very viable and exciting option. As with all homeschool curriculum choices, the choice to use or not use Reading Street depends entirely on a parent's goal for her homeschool.

To find out what other Crew members thought of Reading Street, check out the Crew blog.

Review of Wordy Qwerty

2011-05-20T06:50:00.000-05:00

For the past couple of months, my three youngest children (ages 6, 6, and 7) have been using Wordy Qwerty, the sequel to Talking Fingers' wildly successful program Read, Write, and Type. Wordy Qwerty is reading and spelling software for 2nd and 3rd graders. Through the use of 20 consecutive lessons, employing both songs and exercises, Wordy Qwerty teaches your child common spelling rules. The fun character and narration should make Wordy Qwerty an engaging way to learn for most children.

If you're unsure as to where your children should start Wordy Qwerty, or even if it is the right software for you at all, you can take an assessment

here. Through spelling 22 words, the program will place your child accordingly.

Wordy Qwerty is fun for kids, there is no doubt. My children enjoyed using it. My problem with the program, though, is that it relies so much on typing. Perhaps if one used it after first using Read, Write, and Type, then the typing would not be such an issue. For me, though, the program comes across much more as a typing program than as a reading and spelling one. It is possible that my kids knew their phonics rules well enough that they really weren't learning as Wordy Qwerty intended. They ended up getting hung up on the typing, frustrated because they knew what they wanted to "write" and they knew how to spell it, but unable to get the right answer because they typed very slowly and, sometimes, incorrectly.

Wordy Qwerty passes through a succession of different exercises:

Beginning with the basic sorting of words into the proper categories based on spelling rules, the program culminates with the reading of paragraphs.

Wordy Qwerty is available from Talking Fingers, and costs $25 for a single user, five year license. The cost for adding additional users is quite reasonable, and can be found here. If you prefer the program on CD, you can order it for $35. Along with the software you will also receive a program guide in a three-ring binder and a copy of the song/jingle CD.

Although Wordy Qwerty wasn't exactly right for our family, it has won enough praise and awards to convince me that it is a great product. I would definitely recommend starting with Read, Write, and Type, though. I think doing so would have eliminated many of our frustrations. To find out more about Wordy Qwerty, visit the Talking Fingers website. To read other opinions of this software, visit the Crew blog.

Review of Mad Dog Math

2011-05-18T06:10:00.002-05:00

Two of my children seemed to learn their math facts quite easily, but the other two have had some trouble mastering their facts. Thus, I was excited to receive free for review Mad Dog Math, a math facts mastery program. Mad Dog Math is designed to teach your child the math facts in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division in as little as ten minutes per day in a fun format that kids will love.

Mad Dog Math has several purchase option, including one that includes a "Mastery Binder" with drill worksheets, etc. I reviewed only the downloadable software found here. The software doesn't come with any worksheet drills, but the interactive drills your child does online mimic them exactly except, in my opinion, they are more fun!

Mad Dog Math excels in working with the child who is intimidated by timed math drills. As I stated, I had one child who would do her timed paper drills every day and would not balk at all. My second child (an ADHD boy) would have a full-on tantrum at the sight of a math drill, but, because he excels at math, he didn't need them to learn his facts. Enter my twins. They were a little slower at picking up their facts, but, because I have relaxed a little as a homeschooler, they really couldn't write fast enough to make a paper drill meaningful. For kids like my last three, Mad Dog Math is a dream come true.

Mad Dog Math works in the following manner: your child is presented with a series of 20 problems, some of which may have a missing number (depending on your level). You have the option of choosing "time me," which will start the drill (you can choose to work with 30 seconds, one minute, two minutes, or "untimed"), "fetch," which will give you new facts, and "stop." When you play signed in, your progress is tracked and reward "stickers" are accrued. I have to confess that one of my favorite features of Mad Dog Math is the dog bark sound effect :-)

Mad Dog Math is designed to work in a cumulative manner. When you allow the software to increment the way it is designed, your child will systematically work through the facts in a particular area (+, -, X, /), all at the very reasonable pace of ten minutes per day. The question, of course, is does Mad Dog Math work? For my kids, the answer is yes. They beg to "play" Mad Dog Math, and their mastery of facts has increased. The format is such that retention is nearly inevitable. The only possible drawback of Mad Dog Math is that it can be hard for young kids to find the correct numbers on the computer keyboard. If this is a real issue, though, there is no reason that younger children can't call out the answers to an older sibling or parent who can then type them in.

Mad Dog Math has several purchase and pricing options. For a complete list, including options not home-tested here, see this page. For information on the home downloadable version that my kids have been using, see this page. Mad Dog Math has a variable pricing structure based on your needs. A one year license (which allows you to create different profiles for each of your children) costs $29.95. A two year license is $29.95. If you think that Mad Dog Math would benefit your family for more than two years, purchase the perpetual license for $39.95.

If you have a child who is resistant to paper drills for learning facts, then Mad Dog Math is a good choice. It is comparable in price to similar programs, and is very visually appealing to children. My family enjoyed its time with Mad Dog Math. To see what others thought, read the Crew blog.

Review of Wondermaps from Bright Ideas Press

2011-05-16T04:30:00.001-05:00

WonderMaps from Bright Ideas Press is perhaps my favorite new homeschooling product this year. I am a self-proclaimed map junkie. If there is a popular homeschooling map product, be assured that I have it. (I'm not going to name drop, but surely everyone knows about whom I am speaking!) Every time I find out about a new homeschool map product, I want it. Fortunately, when Bright Ideas Press released its new WonderMaps software, I received a copy free in exchange for my review! Well, don't tell Tyler Hogan this, but the truth is that I would buy this software in a second -- and I would pay more than $49.95 for it. If you're a map junkie like I am, then the first question you will undoubtedly ask is, "What makes these maps different from all the others out there?"

Unlike the other major map offerings available to homeschoolers, WonderMaps is interactive. Historical maps are wonderful; I love them. Modern day maps are equally exciting. The conundrum for many homeschoolers, though, is finding a way meaningfully to show the evolution from the past to the present. How exactly did the Holy Roman Empire go from being a dominating presence in Europe to becoming just so many European countries? Well, you as the homeschooling mom will have to go through the historical ins and outs with your children, but Bright Ideas Press has made sure that you will be able to show your kids exactly what that transition looks like. In other words, how did the Europe of yesterday look, in direct comparison to the Europe of today? How does Bright Ideas accomplish this? Historical map overlays! Perhaps you've tried using overheads to create such an overlay in your homeschool; I have. Now, not only will I never again have to do that, but I can map such overlays with easy, clear, and precise maps!

Your options when using WonderMaps are endless. You can choose to create physical overlays, showing rivers, mountain ranges, regions, and anything else you can think of. You can choose to show merely a physical map. You can choose from a variety of ways to display your maps as well. Every time I think that I have plumbed the depths of this cool software, I think of something else to try! With over 350 different maps, including 125 historical maps, it may be awhile before I really do find everything this software does.

Rather than try to explain what WonderMaps can add to your homeschool, I heartily recommend watching the introductory YouTube video. I have the feeling that you'll be hooked, just as I was!

If you use maps in your homeschool at all, or if you've been thinking maybe you should start, look no further than WonderMaps. If you know Bright Ideas Press at all (think Mystery of History), then you may have had some experience with their wonderful customer service. For $49.95, the purchase price of WonderMaps, you can buy the assurance that you will never need to purchase any more maps. Further,you will never again spend your time searching for just the right historical map on the Internet.

If you're interested in WonderMaps, visit the Bright Ideas website, watch the YouTube video, and if you still have questions, contact 877-492-8081. You can also check out the Bright Ideas FAQ.

My homeschool has been immeasurably blessed by WonderMaps. To see what others thought, check out the Crew blog.

Review of GoTrybe

2011-05-11T00:23:00.008-05:00

As part of The Old Schoolhouse's Homeschool Crew, I was given a subscription to GoTrybe.com, a kids' fitness and nutrition website, in exchange for my review. GoTrybe is a comprehensive website, including nutrition tips, motivational clips, and, the core of the site, a personalized workout regiment for kids. Kids are given the chance to create an avatar (the base of which resembles this one),

and the more credits they earn from working out, the more outfits they have to choose from (available for "purchase" in the trybe store.

The ability to customize the avatar is a great incentive to earn points on GoTrybe; the outfit choices are very cute!

The core of GoTrybe is its customized workout. Kids have the ability to create a workout for themselves, composed of warm up, cardio, strength, and flexibility segments. Most workouts are about 25 minutes long. Kids begin by looking at a blank series of boxes, into which they can put the workout segments they like best. The choices for each segment run across the bottom of the screen. To aid in the decision, the segments indicate the level of intensity, and the grade level for which it is appropriate.

A child simply drags and drops the video segment she chooses into the appropriate box (indicated, when empty, by a question mark). If having a workout created for you is more to your taste, you can select a "GoTrybe workout", as seen inside the blue rectangle. Once fully filled out, your workout is shown to you as a series of short video clips.

Once you click "start workout", the clips will play in the appropriate order, providing you with a customized workout, which you can change any time!

The actual workout is led by a fitness instructor and three children of varying ages. The instructors are all wonderful and have a great manner of kids. If it turns out that you have a favorite, each segment description tells you who the instructor is!

GoTrybe is a really neat website. For homeschoolers who tend to worry perpetually about whether their children are getting any kind of P.E., this site should address your concerns perfectly. Further, although it is tailored to children, it is great for moms, too! For moms who are already fit, there will likely not be much of a challenge in these workouts, but for moms who have spent too many years out of the fitness scene, the workouts are fun and (thanks to the kid-friendly instructors and backup kids in the video) completely non-threatening.

The only real drawback to GoTrybe is that it can be a little confusing at the outset. Some background reading on the site is necessary, but everything you need to know is spelled out clearly in the FAQ. Further, some families may not like the avatars, as they are shown in poses some may consider questionable. I think the value derived from using GoTrybe far outweighs any concerns you may have. You really don't have to interact with your avatar at all, should you choose not to.

GoTrybe offers a trial membership, and full membership is only $19.95 a year (the regular price is listed at $39.95). For the price, I would definitely say that GoTrybe is worth the money. The option to create and customize workouts is really neat for kids, and it gives them a feeling of ownership over their own workouts. They are not just doing what mom has told them to.

GoTrybe is likely the wave of the future, as more and more "school" activities hit the web. If you have any questions about GoTrybe that are not answered on their website, email them at feedback@gotrybe.com. To find out what others with children thought of GoTrybe, visit the Crew blog.

Review of Kregel Publications' "Andi's Scary School Days" Book

2011-05-06T09:57:00.000-05:00

Most moms I know are constantly on the lookout for new, wholesome, fun books for their kids to read. Tween and kid series starring vampires, "mean girls", and adult-type relationships abound, but books showing kids acting like kids are in short supply. For this reason, I was delighted to receive the Kregel Publications' book Andi's Scary School Days free in exchange for my review.

Andi's Scary School Days is part of a larger series of books starring Andi called Circle C Beginnings. The series is comprised of six books total (two are not yet published), and they are intended for children 6-8. Each book is around 80 pages. The books take place in the Wild West of the late 1800s, and they feature a lively little girl who loves horses.

The Circle C Beginnings books should appeal to any child who has not been jaded by modern culture (in other words - homeschoolers!). The book that I read to my children (9, 7, 6, and 6) was entertaining, charming, and quite reminiscent of the Little House on the Prairie books. The story was perfect for both boys and girls, as Andi is obviously a girl, but she could never be accused of being girly! My whole family thoroughly enjoyed this book as a readaloud, and I'm sure that my girls would have enjoyed reading it silently (my boys, typical 7 and 6 year-olds don't sit still long enough to read for any length of time yet).

There is nothing not to like about these enchanting books. They reflect a simpler time, but they don't present unrealistic views of children. As indicated previously, the books would likely not appeal to children who have already been heavily exposed to what passes for kids' books these days, but this is not the target audience of the Circle C Beginnings books. As an aside, although the books are published by a Christian publisher, they should appeal to a wider audience. I would encourage even non-Christian parents who want wholesome books for their beginning readers to try this series.

The Andi books are available through Kregel's website, Amazon.com, and Christianbook.com, and they cost $4.99 each. Considering that there are supplementary coloring pages and activities to download from the website, the books really are a great deal. My kids enjoyed these books. To find out what other Crew members' kids thought, visit the Crew blog.

Review of Greek 'n' Stuff Bible Study - Esther

2011-04-29T08:29:00.000-05:00

In September, I was given a copy of Green 'n' Stuff's bible study "I Can Study Esther Alone with God" in exchange for my review. While most people are familiar with this company because of their super popular Greek program, "Hey Andrew, Teach me Some Greek!", the bible studies are part of their product line, and are worth consideration.

Over the course of the last school year, my daughter (9) has worked through this bible study. While she is the kind of student who prefers to complete assignments, units, chapters, and courses as quickly as she can (her attitude is always, "Why do one lesson when I have time to finish ten!?"), I encouraged her to follow the schedule for this bible study, since the Word of God is best digested in small bites rather than in huge meals. She complied, and read a couple of verses of the Book of Esther every day, along with answering the provided questions. Weekly memory verses are also provided. The study lasts for 13 weeks with very short lessons daily Monday-Saturday. An example day's lesson looks like this:

The most interesting part of this bible study, certainly from my perspective, are the questions and answers that are included along with each lesson. For example, in week two, there is a reference in Esther to the Jews still being in Persia. Karen Mohs, the author of the study, clarifies this in a sidebar, indicating that only about 50,000 Jews had returned to the homeland at this time. I have a minor in Theology, but I have never studied the Book of Esther, and I learned much from this study. My daughter has a huge advantage over me at this point, as she now has a wonderful comprehension and recall of this piece of the Old Testament.

I should mention that I am a Roman Catholic, and while this study is quite obviously written by Protestants, I wouldn't limit its usage to Protestants at all. I found nothing in this study that counters Catholic teaching, and the fact is that there just aren't as many Catholic bible study products out there. If you want to introduce your children in-depth to the Book of Esther, I would wholeheartedly recommend this product. Because it is based primarily on simply a reading and recall of Scripture, rather than on promoting or educating about a particular denomination of Christianity, it is ideally suited to anyone who has a desire for her child independently to complete a bible study.

"I Can Study Esther Alone with God" is available from Greek 'n' Stuff's website, and is priced at a very reasonable $8.95. It is recommended for middle to upper elementary students, and I found this target age to be exactly right. I thoroughly enjoyed watching my daughter progress through this bible study. To see what other Crew members thought, visit the Crew Blog.

Review of Writing Tales

2011-04-27T06:36:00.001-05:00

I was recently quite blessed to receive Writing Tales 1 and 2, along with teacher guides, free in exchange for my review. Given that I was already familiar with Writing Tales, and the Greek writing program on which it is based, I was thrilled! Writing Tales is the "little brother", if you will, of Classical Writing, a writing program based on the Greek progymnasmata appropriate for middle and high school students. Classical Writing called to me from the moment I began homeschooling, but my children were far too young at the time. When I discovered a program based on the progymnasmata for younger children, I was anxious to try it.

Although Writing Tales is based on an ancient program with an intimidating sounding name, the program itself is unbelievably user friendly. Given that teaching writing is something that many homeschooling parents fear, having a program with thousands of years of proven results that holds your hand every step of the way is nothing short of a Godsend.

The format of Writing Tales, whether volume 1 or 2, is the same very lesson. The creator of Writing Tales explains on the website:

The curriculum for both levels is built on a 30 lesson structure. One story is studied for two lessons; each lesson is about one week long. In the first lesson, the story is introduced. The structure of the story is studied - who wrote it? Who are the main characters? What is their problem and how do they resolve it? The student practices copywork using a passage of the story, and defines vocabulary words from the story. A specific grammar concept is learned using examples from the story. In Level Two, the student practices outlining the story, and finding synonyms for certain words. Finally, the student re-writes the story in his own words.

In the second lesson, the student practices spelling with words that were mis-spelled in her first written story. More grammar practice is included. Finally, instructions are given for re-writing the story a second time.

The consistency of the program from week to week and from year to year is one of its many strengths. Most children seem to thrive when they know what to expect on a given school day. Getting into the groove of writing is much easier when the progression of each lesson never varies. Further, knowing how to "do" the program increases a student's sense of accomplishment. Finally, if you happen to fall in love with the methodology of Writing Tales, you are assured of a continued writing curriculum with Classical Writing.

Given that Writing Tales is based on classical methodology, some parents might have the preconceived notion that it will be too hard for their children. Nothing could be further from the truth! In our experience, each lesson takes about 20 minutes. My son, who has ADHD and is highly gifted - a very difficult combination, loves this program and often does a whole week's lesson in one day. The stories used are often familiar, and are such that younger children will enjoy listening to the story reading part of the program.

One of the first questions I ask when considering a program is, "Do I need the teacher's guide?" In this case, I need to point out that the creator of the program maintains that without the teacher's guide, you are really only doing about half of the program. Since I was provided with the teacher's guide, I have used it and found it to be incredibly thorough and complete. Lesson plans for both individual students and co-ops are included, as is a large amount of supplemental material. In all honesty, though, when I used Writing Tales with my older daughter, I didn't purchase the teacher's guide, and I never noticed that I was missing anything. The upshot: if you can afford the teacher's guide, it is worth the money. If you are comfortable with this method of teaching, though, and don't need help with lesson planning, you can use the program effectively without it.

Finally, Book 1 is not a prerequisite for Book 2. The scope and sequence of each book is as follows:

Our family loves Writing Tales. I have now used it with two children, both completely different in learning style (and gender!), with great success. I plan to use it also with my now six year-old twins next year. For more information on Writing Tales, please visit their website, which is replete with great information. You can also use their contact form if you have specific questions.

To see other Crew opinions of Writing Tales, visit the Crew Blog!

Review of Science Weekly

2011-04-08T01:08:00.000-05:00

As part of the Homeschool Crew, I recently received all six levels of one of Science Weekly's science newsletters for children free in exchange for my review. Science Weekly, an activity based newsletter, publishes 15 issues per year, and (according to the website) "develops and reinforces students' reading, writing, mathematics, and critical thinking skills, all through interactive science content." Each issue of Science Weekly addresses a variety of topical science concepts, and is targeted at one of six different age groups ranging from K to 6th grade. While each issue addresses the same topics, the age differentiation allows for the activities and the language to be age-appropriate.

Science Weekly is a full-color publication, and engages kids to interest them in science. It provides experiments, along with math and reading activities which are topically related. To families who utilize unit studies in their homeschools, Science Weekly's format should seem familiar, as it approaches the same topic from several different disciplinary angles.

Each issue even includes detailed teacher's notes, so Science Weekly really can be used in your homeschool, even if you are unfamiliar with the topics presented.

Whether or not Science Weekly is right for your family depends heavily on your approach to science. Families who follow a curriculum or use a textbook may not be able to capitalize on Science Weekly's format, but families who teach science via unit studies or delight-directed learning may find in Science Weekly an extraordinarily inexpensive curriculum. Of course, there are some kids who are just science junkies and would love to see Science Weekly show up in their mailboxes every three weeks regardless of whether or not it complements their schooling! For these children, too, Science Weekly is quite a good value.

For $19.95 per student, per year, Science Weekly will deliver 15 issues of its award winning newsletter to your home. You choose whether you want Level Pre-A (K), A (1st), B (2nd), C (3rd), D (4th), or E (5th-6th). If you're not sure what you'll get, you can view samples on Science Weekly's website here. Examples of recent topics include the following:

To find out more about Science Weekly, visit its website, or use the contact information below:

My kids thought Science Weekly was really interesting, even though it doesn't quite fit in with how we "do" science. To find out how other Crew members used Science Weekly in their homes, visit the Crew Blog!

Review of Kinderbach

2011-04-06T02:46:00.004-05:00

For the past several weeks, my six year-old twins have been learning how to play the piano with Kinderbach. I have heard of Kinderbach for years, ever since I started homeschooling, so I was delighted to have the opportunity to use their online piano lessons free in exchange for my review.

My two oldest children (9 and 7) take piano lessons, and my twins have been anxious to start. As they are still a little too young, it was especially gratifying to be able to let them learn piano online! Kinderbach offers DVD packages, song CDs, and, the option I am reviewing, online classes. Each of these elements can be used in isolation from the others, which allows for a great deal of flexibility and financial choice.

Kinderbach is designed for children as young as two, depending on an individual child's maturity and interest. Because the classes are self-paced, your child really can determine how fast she advances. Further, the Kinderbach curriculum is so visually and aurally interesting that young children are naturally drawn into it.

Characters who remain with the program throughout become like friends as they teach children the basic elements of music reading and playing. Lessons can be replayed, paused, and skipped (not recommended!) as many times as necessary for optimal learning. Further, worksheet and coloring pages serve as reinforcement when the lesson ends.

Best of all, a child need not be able to read in order to derive the full benefits of Kinderbach.

The lessons themselves are presented as short videos that include animations, songs, and piano instruction. You can work with either a piano or a keyboard; my twins used both. I found the most effective way to present Kinderbach was to place my laptop on top of the piano and then just let my twins do their lesson. As each week is broken up into four lessons, there is no need to create lesson plans for Kinderbach -- it's already done for you!

While my twins are not yet done with Kinderbach (the program, if followed as presented takes about a year to complete, with about 22 total hours of video instruction included), but they have learned so much in the time they have been using it! They can identify notes on the piano, can read quarter notes on a staff, and know how to play quite a few notes in the correct time (i.e., a quarter note is worth a count of one).

Although I had shied away from Kinderbach in the past because of its cost, it is only after using it that I realize just how economical the program is. For just $95.88/year, every child in your family can access Kinderbach - the video lessons and all of the printed resources - for an entire year. Whether you have one child or ten, the cost is the same. Kinderbach is an excellent way to teach your children basic music theory, as well as teaching them the basics of playing the piano. No piano teacher can match that price for *one* child, let alone more. If you prefer, you can subscribe to Kinderbach on a monthly basis, paying $19.99 month, billed monthly. Best of all, you can access the first two weeks of Kinderbach absolutely free in order to determine if it is right for your family.

Kinderbach has fit in well with our homeschooling life. To see what other members of the Crew thought, you can, as always, check out the Crew blog! If you have further questions about Kinderbach, feel free to contact them.

Review of Go Go Kabongo

2011-04-04T00:20:00.000-05:00

For the past couple of months, my children have been playing Go Go Kabongo, to which I received a free subscription in exchange for my review. For the first time, my kids and I disagree on a product we have reviewed for TOS' Homeschool Crew.

Go Go Kabongo is an online gaming site for children. It is billed as "an online world of brain-boosting gaming for reading." Children can play in different habitats, populated by different fun and weird cartoon characters in fantastical and imaginative settings.

The games on Go Go Kabongo are designed to "guide children toward better thinking" through their interesting and fun games. Kids can design their own skate ramps, sort things according to large and small characteristics, and play other great games. It is important to note that Go Go Kabongo does not actually teach children to read. Rather, it teaches skills that are important in reading, such as attentiveness, planning, visualization, and simultaneous processing.

My kids love playing Go Go Kabongo. They don't think of it as educational playing. Although I have read Go Go Kabongo's explanation of how it aids in cognitive development, I must confess that I don't understand the rationale. It doesn't seem like educational play to me either. Perhaps because my children are already readers (although my six year-old twins who played are very nascent readers), Go Go Kabongo was not able to enhance their reading readiness. I watched my seven and two six year-olds play Go Go Kabongo quite a bit, and I was not able to discern which reading skills were being effected in the games.

Still, the fact that they enjoy playing speaks well for Go Go Kabongo's design. It really is a very cute gaming environment.

If you're unsure as to whether Go Go Kabongo is right for your family, I would really encourage you to give their free habitat option a try. Your child can investigate many areas of Go Go Kabongo before you commit to a paid subscription.

If you like Go Go Kabongo and want to have access to the entire site, as well as having email updates of your child's activities sent directly to you, you can buy additional habitats for $4.95 each.

Although Go Go Kabongo and I did not get along as well as I might have hoped, I encourage you to read the FAQ and give it a try. For pre-readers, this might be just the thing. As always, don't take my word for it. Find out what other Crew members had to say on the Crew Blog.

Review of Zeezok Movie Guide - Les Miserables

2011-04-01T01:42:00.000-06:00

I've always associated Zeezok with its Presidential Penmanship series, a handwriting program I have always coveted. When I had the opportunity to review a Zeezok product, then, I was very excited! In exchange for my review, I was provided with one of Zeezok's new movie guides - Les Miserables.

Les Miserables has long been one of my favorite books, and my children know the songs from the Broadway play from hearing me sing them! Zeezok's Z-guides to the Movies turn a movie into a lesson, complete with lesson plans! My 35 page movie guide breaks down as follows:

A thorough synopsis of the movie (*very* thorough)
Movie Review Questions (25)
Activity which places the student in a psychologist's place analyzing Javert
Tracing the chain of a random act of kindness from the movie in order to see its ripple effect
Thought-provoking questions about the relationship of parents and children through the story of Cosette and Valjean
Questions requiring a student to examine the political climate of France at this time
A pro/con chart to fill out to decide if the student would spare Javert's life in Valjean's place
A crossword puzzle
Designing a wanted poster for Valjean
A worldview activity asking students to consider whether people can change by using the example of Valjean
An examination of literary devices like foreshadowing and irony in the film
Family discussion questions that truly are thought provoking
Further resources - a reference to the book by Victor Hugo
An in-depth answer key

I really liked this movie guide. From the outset, it asks parents and students to consider the themes of the movie, in this case love, forgiveness, mercy, the consequences of a vengeful spirit, random acts of kindness and parenting. Knowing from the beginning that these topics will be ones the movie addresses helps in watching the movie with a certain awareness that might otherwise be absent. Les Miserables is one of those films that covers so much emotional and moral ground that having a movie guide is almost essential if one wants to make sure that her child gets the most possible out of the movie. Further, the movie follows the book closely enough that this guide would be very useful as a very broad literature guide for the book.

Zeezok's movie guides will fill a much-needed niche in the homeschool world (and should be very useful to school teachers as well). While in a perfect world, everyone would read the book, the fact is that not all parents feel up to teaching a book as weighty and meaty as Les Mis to their kids. In cases like this, then, watching the movie thoughtfully and with a genuine awareness can provide a substitution. In any case, it will allow both parents and children to be able to join "the great conversation" of western civilization. The fact is that the story of Les Mis is embedded in our culture. Knowing that story is a part of a true liberal arts education. Also, having watched the movie and completed this movie guide, both parents and children may feel up to the challenge of the book. My daughter can't wait to read it!

Zeezok's movie guides cost $12.99 and are worth the price. I have read Les Mis and had seen the movie, and I was very glad to have the guide as a teaching aid for my daughter. For parents not familiar with a story, the teaching guide will prove invaluable. Zeezok's guides are assigned a typical age level (high school for this one), but, as always, a parent is the best judge of what is appropriate for her child.

I love Zeezok's new movie guides; they are a worthy addition to its preeminent educational materials. To find out what other Crew members thought, visit the Crew blog.

Review of Classical Academic Press' Latin for Children

2011-03-30T00:13:00.001-06:00

For the past two months, I have been using Classical Academic Press' Latin for Children Primer A with my nine year-old daughter. I received the program, including instructional DVDs, free in exchange for my review. I was thrilled to be able to sample this program as I have a deep love for Latin and have tried many Latin programs. We've been with our current program for a few years, and I just haven't felt that my daughter was progressing as quickly as she should. Her lack of progress was not due to lack of enthusiasm or effort; rather, it was the fault of the program's glacial pace. Since I've always been curious about Classical Academic Press' curriculum, I was delighted to try out Latin for Children.

I knew from the first page that I was going to love this program. Latin for Children uses my preferred approach to learning Latin - grammar, grammar, grammar. Other programs often use a vocabulary approach that has a student reading Latin passages very quickly, but with little to no understanding of the grammar on which the language is based. There are so many reasons why it is preferable to have a strong grammar foundation in Latin before attempting to read it. For one thing, a student can learn to write and accurately translate Latin more effectively by learning the grammar first. For another, a clear understanding of Latin grammar can greatly facilitate an understanding of English grammar.

Ordinarily, I would not buy the accompanying DVDs for a program, but in this case I am so gratified that they were included in the package. Now I know to purchase them for every level! The creator and instructor for this program knows how to teach Latin. My own Latin teacher made Latin fun, interesting, and exciting, and Dr. Perrin does the same in this Latin program. His teaching style is fairly informal, but 100% rigorous. Also included on the DVDs are chants done by students to aid in the memorization of grammar and vocabulary. These chants are not my daughter's cup of tea (she chants in a less sing-songy way, as I taught her), but for a parent with no Latin experience and no way of aiding a student with the heavy memorization required by a study of Latin, the chants can be a marvelous aid.

Latin for Children can certainly be used without the DVDs, but if your budget will allow, I strongly suggest them.

In addition to a rigorous, yet nonthreatening, approach to Latin, Classical Academic Press provides more support materials than any other program I know (and I know quite a few!). Its accompanying website Headventureland is replete with games, videos, and other practice opportunities for all of its subjects.

I can't think of a single reason not to buy Latin for Children. Although the entire course (A) can be rather expensive at $99.95, it does include the primer, answer key, workbook, DVDs, and reader. Classical Academic Press doesn't require you to purchase the entire package, though. For as little as $22.95, you can purchase just the primer, which is all you absolutely need to complete the course. Visit the website to see all of your options!

I love Classical Academic Press' approach so much that I have already ordered its Greek curriculum. I further plan to use their Spanish curriculum as well. To find out what other Crew members thought, check out the Crew Blog.

Review of BigIQkids.com

2011-03-25T02:37:00.006-06:00

For the past couple of months, my family has had the pleasure of using the premium version of the BigIQkids website in exchange for my unbiased review. Suffice it to say, my unbiased review is -- Wow. This website has so much to offer kids of all ages. Using a very entertaining set of cartoonish kids as announcers of sorts, the website offers kids of many different ages practice in spelling, vocabulary, geography, and math. Additionally, kids can study time and view age-appropriate ebooks.

My nine year-old daughter has been the most avid user of this program and, with its assistance, she has mastered the map of the United States, at least as far as the states and capitals are concerned! The math facts review section is very helpful, and fun enough that I enjoy seeing how adept I am with my math facts. There is a spelling practice program which any parent should welcome. The program allows you to input your own spelling list or to choose from set, grade-specific lists. After setting your list, you can choose either to learn, practice, or be tested on the words. The animated and realistic cartoon speaker even guides you through your own personal spelling bee! Given that it is my daughter who has made the greatest use of the site, I thought her opinion would be particularly relevant:

After using BigIQkids for a couple of months, I can now recognize all of the states on a map, spell magnificently and do simple division at the speed of lightning. My favorite part is vocabulary. I am learning what all sorts of words mean. If you miss a question on BigIQkids you get the answer instantly instead of after you have finished all of the other questions. BigIQkids is the best learning website that I have ever encountered.

My favorite component of the site, though, is the SAT Vocabulary review section. I am thoroughly in favor of children learning SAT-type words at a younger age. It will improve their overall vocabulary, their writing, and their reading comprehension. If you also happen to study Latin and/or Greek, your children will be able vividly to see the impact of these languages on our own. BigIQkids allows you to set your grade level as low as 2nd-3rd, thereby easing you into more sophisticated words. If, as you practice, you get a word wrong, the program stops and reviews the word with you. The instant feedback is so much more effective than taking a test and then checking your answers.

There is so much to love on BigIQkids that it is impossible to relate all of it here. Suffice it to say that if you have a child from K-12, you will find something to love on this site. Fortunately, BigIQkids gives you a great opportunity to sample its site for free, given that the programs all have incredibly comprehensive free versions. With the paid site, your child will have his/her progress monitored and tracked, and you will receive progress emails. Further, your child will gain access to a full gaming page, will have his/her progress and high scores saved, and will be able to customize a "buddy", a BigIQkids persona. There are also more functions available with the premium version. A complete summary of the differences between free and premium can be found here.

A premium subscription to BigIQkids can be paid either monthly or yearly. The full premium site is $99.99 a year. Alternatively, if you are only interested in the premium version of one or two of the site's programs, you can purchase them a la carte. As a final option (and this deal is really an amazing one), you can upgrade your free version of BigIQkids, enabling you to access the full features of the premium games, along with the customizable buddy. What you won't get are premium features like the score tracking and notifications. Upgrading your free account will only cost you $9.99/year.

I love BigIQkids, and I plan to keep my subscription when my free-for-unbiased-review period ends. To find out what other Crew members thought about this cool website, see the Crew blog.

Review of Reading Kingdom

2011-03-07T04:11:00.001-06:00

For the past several weeks, my two youngest children have been using Reading Kingdom, a program to which I received a year's subscription in exchange for my review. Reading Kingdom is an online program which teaches children 4-10 to read and write to a 3rd grade level. Unlike other reading programs, Reading Kingdom not only teaches phonics, but it also teaches a plethora of other skills lacking in similar programs.

Reading Kingdom begins by administering a skills test to your child, and this part of the program is where I have the most trouble. Both of my twins took the skills test and, at six, Reading Kingdom determined that they were at the level of recognizing patterns of letters in words. The problem is, both of my twins can read at about a first grade level. The disconnect, I think, comes from the fact that typing skills, or lack thereof, are a factor in the skills test. If you mistype something, the program assumes that you don't know it. My kids can read, but they can't type because I have deliberately required my children to master handwriting before they learn typing.

When I saw that my twins didn't want to do Reading Kingdom since it did not challenge them in any way, and merely had them identifying patterns, I emailed Reading Kingdom to ask if they could redo the skills test, as I was afraid that their lack of touchpad skills may have inadvertently landed them at the wrong level. After cautioning me that the success of the program depends on students following each level sequentially, the helpful Reading Kingdom staff reset my twins to the start. However, after taking the skills test again (which was easier since they had been doing Reading Kingdom anyway), they still ended up just practicing typing, essentially, with no reading yet in sight. As they have no yet progressed beyond this point, I can't evaluate the reading portion of the program.

Who do I think Reading Kingdom would ideally suit? Pre-readers. Pre-readers are a target of Reading Kingdom, and the graphics and execution of the program will definitely appeal to them. The complete independence of the program (parents are repeatedly cautioned not to help in any way) will appeal to parents who are unsure how to teach their children and would rather leave that process to an expert. Dr. Marion Blank, the creator of the program, is an undisputed expert in the field. For children who can read, but not type, the program may not be as appealing, since one has to demonstrate that she can type before she can progress in the program. For a child (or parent) who wants to focus solely on reading, this might be a deal breaker.

Further, Dr. Blank's program is predicated on the notion that one cannot teach reading by phonics, since most of the English language is simply not phonetical. Unfortunately, this premise is simply false. There are phonics rules to explain the vast, vast majority of the English language.

In the example cited by Reading Kingdom, it is posited that only 8 of the 23 words in this example can be sounded out phonetically. However, if one has a complete grounding in phonics and phonograms, one knows that every single word in the example can be sounded out using phonics rules. True, you have to know that the second sound of "s" is "z" and that s often makes this sound at the end of words which are not plural, and you have to know that "so" is pronounced the way it is because it is an open syllable, and not a closed one. Whereas RK touts that your child can read without learning all kinds of complicated rules, I come at reading from the position of learning all of those complicated rules, which will not only create a great reader, but also a great speller.

This program is the first I have ever reviewed with which I have ideological differences. Reading Kingdom advocates one method of teaching children to read, and I believe that another method is superior. As I said, though, for some parents, this program could well be the answer to a prayer. It is user friendly, cute (a plus for young children), and boasts a helpful and responsive staff.

Reading Kingdom costs $19.99/month (after a free 30-day trial), or you can pay for the whole year for $199.99). Subscriptions can be canceled at any time. To find out more about the program, visit their website, or contact them on their contact page.

I (wearing my Dr. Delgado hat, which I usually don't put on in my homeschool life!) have one opinion about Reading Kingdom. For others, visit the crew blog!

Review of Math Rider

2011-02-25T07:27:00.000-06:00

For the past couple of months, my children have had the opportunity to use the program Math Rider, which I received free in exchange for our review. Given that teaching math facts is not my strong suit (and for one of my four children, learning them was proving nearly impossible), I can say with all the earnestness of a mother who desperately needed a new approach that Math Rider works!

Math Rider uses a fairy-tale scenario to walk children systematically through the memorization of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts. Children are presented with a short story which necessitates the completion of a quest for resolution. The quest is advanced, and then completed, as students ride their horses through the Mathlands jumping fences comprised of math facts. If they answer the fact correctly, the horse clears the fence. If not, the horse stops and students both see and hear the math fact. That math fact will then show up within the next two facts to provide reinforcement. Kids can check their progress on a quest map at any time in order to see their degree of mastery.

One of the best features of Math Rider is the ability to choose between easy, medium, and hard facts. In this way, children can learn at a relaxed pace, ensuring successful assimilation of the facts. Because learning the facts is presented in the context of a story, and because kids get instant feedback on their answers (unlike, for existence, a worksheet of math facts), Math Rider really works.

The question any parent on the verge of paying for yet another school aid wants answered is, of course, "Will my kids like it"? All I can say is that all four of mine (9,7,6, and 6) love it. It is my twins, those who needed the program the most, who actually fight over who gets to be first with Math Rider every day. That is the ultimate sign of success!

Math Rider is available as an instant download for $49.95, but it is on sale as of this writing for $37. Considering that you can register multiple children (I can vouch for at least four), the cost is negligible. It works.

If you have any questions about Math Rider, send it along on their contact page. You know that I loved Math Rider; find out what other Crew members thought on the Crew Blog.

Review of Critical Thinking Co. Books

2011-02-18T16:10:00.000-06:00

I have long been a fan of The Critical Thinking Co.'s Logic series (Building Thinking Skills), so I was very excited to receive free from Timberdoodle, in exchange for my review, copies of Mathematical Reasoning Levels C and D and Building Thinking Skills Level 2.

The Critical Thinking Co.'s Mathematical Reasoning books cover a year's worth of math skills in a brightly colored, beautifully illustrated large soft cover book. This is definitely not Saxon Math! According to The Critical Thinking Co.'s website, the program is aligned to national standards and contains a full year's curriculum. Levels C and D, which I am reviewing here, cover 2nd and 3rd grades.

While my other math curricula cover things like the temperature example above, none covers it so...gently as does The Critical Thinking Co. By using such vivid and fun pictures, the lesson is driven home in a concrete way without ever cluing a child into the fact that he has learned a key math concept. Like other popular math programs, Mathematical Reasoning takes a spiral approach, which both reinforces the concepts taught, and keeps children from getting bogged down in one particular concept area.

My children have really enjoyed working with these books, largely because it doesn't feel to them like they are doing school!

The downside of these books for me is that, because my kids are used to a much more rigorous approach to math, there is no way that these books actually constitute a full year's math program. For a child who might be reluctant to do math, however, I believe that these books would be a Godsend. As hard as it will be for them to believe, they will be doing school! What a break for moms who experience meltdowns at the mention of math.

Building Thinking Skills is actually the true strength of The Critical Thinking Co.'s line of products, in my opinion. These books have a little bit of everything, but all of the activities are geared toward developing a student's logic skills. There are analogies, spatial reasoning puzzles, and math puzzles, to name a few. My oldest daughter is thrilled to work in this book. If she ever has a few minutes between assignments, this is what she pulls out. It is self-teaching, and with the available Teacher's Guide, self-correcting. My daughter definitely does not think of this book as work. In fact, she doesn't even have to be in school to reach for it!

I love that analogies are introduced to younger students. The ability to understand them will not only lead to a higher SAT score in the future, but it truly does develop critical thinking skills.

I would strongly encourage parents to check out The Critical Thinking Co.'s line of products, available from Timberdoodle. Buying through Timberdoodle not only gives you the best customer service in the homeschooling world, but it earns you 5% back on all your purchases, redeemable as Timberdoodle purchases! There are many wonderful Critical Thinking Co. products from which to choose, and the purchase could end up being just the energy injection you've been searching for to liven up your homeschool.

Review of Kid Scoop

2011-02-18T08:56:00.000-06:00

For the past month, I have had the opportunity to review Kid Scoop's Reluctant Reader Solution with my seven year-old son. The program was provided free to me in exchange for my review. Sometimes I have trouble wrapping my mind around the concept of a reluctant reader, but since my son is perfectly capable of reading just about anything he chooses...but chooses not to most of the time, I decided that he could qualify for this title.

The program consists of a combination of the online Kid Scoop newsletter,

which is filled with activities and short reading selections geared around educational topics which don't feel educational at all. Because the newsletter is interactive and on the computer, it feels very much like a game, and not nearly as much like homework or learning.

The second component of the Reluctant Reader solution, and the primary means of addressing reluctant readers, is the downloadable set of activities.

Each set of sheets revolves around a particular topic and consists of 5-7 pages of readings, activities, experiments, and other fun and topical subjects. The best thing about the 60 or so topics included is that there is no particular order in which they should be done. Thus, if you start the program in May, the Mother's Day packet is right there for you to access. If your child is a baseball fan, introduce him to this new program with the baseball worksheets. More "academic" subjects like Constitution Day are also included, but every one of the topics is presented in a fun and non-threatening way.

My son, Nicholas, enjoys this program. He doesn't object to working with the worksheets, and he really enjoys the online Kid Scoop newsletter. The graphics and colors are reminiscent of a restaurant menu for kids, with all of its games and activities and riddles, etc., and what kid doesn't love to be presented with one of those? I know Nicholas is savvy enough to realize that this is "school", but it sure is more palatable to him than being handed, for example, a dry history book.

The Kid Scoop Reluctant Reader Solution includes a subscription to the online edition of the Kid Scoop newsletter, along with the 60 topic downloadable set of worksheets. The program costs $97 and comes with a 365 day unconditional satisfaction guarantee. In other words, you have absolutely nothing to lose by giving this program a try if your child is hesitant about stretching his reading wings.

To find out more about Kid Scoop's Reluctant Reader Solution, visit their very informative website. Any potential question you might have will be addressed there. To find out what other Crew members thought of the Reluctant Reader Solution, visit the Crew blog.

Review of Curiosity Files MRSA

2011-02-11T07:06:00.000-06:00

Last year I had the chance to review The Curiosity Files before they were made available for purchase. For this reason, I was thrilled when I was given the opportunity to review another title in the series for The Old Schoolhouse. TOS provided me with a free copy, in exchange for my review.

I'll be honest; I had no idea what MRSA was before working through this unit study. I selected the topic with confidence, though, because I knew that Professor Ana Lyze, the narrator of the unit study, would walk me through MRSA step-by-step. True, these studies are designed for children, but I find them both informative and delightful.

The MRSA study begins with a six-page description of MRSA. It is replete with scientific fact, but is presented in such a manner that my seven year-old son had no problem getting a handle on the material. The presentation of facts is followed by a short recall activity, in which students can demonstrate their understanding of what they read.

The Curiosity Files study then really begins to shine. People who know unit studies are familiar with the format. A unit study typically takes one topic and explores it from the perspective of various disciplines. In this case, specifically, MRSA (and bacteria in general) is explored from a biblical, mathematical, geographical, historical, musical (!), and language arts perspective. For example, you and your child will perform science experiments, study timelines, do spelling activities, engage in creative writing, do copywork, and so many more things. While a study of MRSA is the take-off point for every activity, you don't have to love science to find this unit study completely engaging. In fact, you just might find yourself more interested in science than you ever have been.

If you're interested in checking out this title, or any other Curiosity Files studies, head over to The Old Schoolhouse's store, where you can usually purchase them for $6.95 each. However, as of this writing, these unit studies are on sale for $1.00!

There will definitely be a place in my schoolroom for The Curiosity Files series. If you're interested in seeing what other crew members had to say about these unit studies, visit the Crew blog.

Review of VocabAhead SAT Vocabulary Book

2011-02-07T05:04:00.000-06:00

Recently I had the honor of reviewing VocabAhead's book, SAT Vocabulary: Cartoons, Videos, & MP3s, in exchange for my honest review. It is safe to say that this has become one of my favorite books. Granted, I'm a huge word nerd so I'm completely biased, but I found this book completely delightful!

The premise of the book is simple: 300 SAT words are presented, one to a page, with an accompanying cartoon.

The word is defined, a very humorous cartoon is presented, the word is used in hilarious sentences, and synonyms and antonyms are presented. The words are presented so vividly that they are immediately impressed on the brain. However, further reinforcement is available! The purchase of this book entitles you to access the videos which accompany the words, available as a download on the website. The videos are under a minute long each, and need to be seen fully to be appreciated. Fortunately, you can sample them here.

Finally, VocabAhead offers MP3 downloads of these words, completing your internalization of the words. There is no way that this program cannot enhance your vocabulary, and I would be shocked if it did not up your SAT Verbal (or GRE!) score.

In terms of kid appeal, in the interests of full disclosure, my 9 year-old daughter is as big a word nerd as I. Hence, I was not exactly surprised to see her settle down and read this book as if it were a novel. She loves it. I have to say, though, that I think the approach of the book is ideal for more reluctant learners. The words are presented in a very non-threatening way; it doesn't feel like learning at all. In my brief stint as a "real" teacher, I would have embraced this book as a means of teaching vocabulary.

The VocabAhead website is a treasure trove of resources. A full, 1000 word, word list is available on the website, along with a study room in which you can quiz yourself on the words you've learned. The website alone will make you want to buy the book, which you can at Amazon.com. VocabAhead SAT Vocabulary: Cartoons, Videos & MP3s.

While I think that learning Latin is the very best thing you can do for your vocabulary, using this book definitely ranks second!

I loved this book (clearly), but if you want to find out what other Crew members thought, head to the Crew blog!

Review of Dig It! Roman Town

2011-02-04T01:46:00.001-06:00

For the past month, my children have had the pleasure of playing Roman Town from Dig-It! Games, a game I was provided free in exchange for my review. From the outset, I was excited about the prospect of a game that allowed my children to take on the role of an archaeologist in order to excavate an ancient Roman town. Within the context of the game, children can choose a tool in order to dig for artifacts, learn about the artifacts they have uncovered, explore Roman buildings, and learn about Roman daily life. Since the game was designed by a professional archaeologist, you can be assured of the authenticity of the excavation experience.

The game begins with a small back story establishing what is known about the town under excavation. Armed with all of the available knowledge, kids "from 8 to 88" can then begin their own excavation. Flags mark off the portion of the field that needs to be excavated, and the tools available for use are shown on the right side of the screen. Children are taught which tool will accomplish which task, and then they dig within the given parameters.

Depending on the tool chosen, the artifacts will be revealed in due time. Once the artifacts are shown, children can then opt to learn about them in the Roman Town lab.

They can put pots back together in order to see what they once looked like.

In addition, children can play minigames and tour Roman buildings.

Although Roman Town suggests 8 as a lower limit for this game, my six year-old twins and my seven year-old loved it, while my 9 year-old found it a bit simplistic. I would say, then, that the game will appeal to a wide variety of children of all ages. Children who have studied Rome extensively, or who prefer to learn through reading and research than through games my not get as much out of Roman Town. If you have a child that loves to play games, though, or who resists learning unless it is disguised as a game, then Roman Town will be right up your alley. I loved the excavation aspect of the game!

Roman Town is available from the Dig-It! Games website, and retails for $39.95. For non-homeschoolers, there is Teacher's Edition of the game approved for classroom use. Finally, a Teacher's Guide to Roman Town is available as a $19.95 download.

Due to the way that I typically teach history, this game is not one I would probably purchase. For the right kind of learner, though, this game may be just the right introduction to Ancient Rome.

Review of TenMarks

2011-01-28T08:00:00.000-06:00

For the past couple of months, I've had the privilege of reviewing the math program, TenMarks, in my home. I was given a six-month subscription to this online math program in exchange for my honest review. Well, honestly, the best word I can come up with to summarize TenMarks is AWESOME!

My nine year-old daughter has loved math for most of her life. The exception seemed to be when she was doing 4th grade accelerated math. Something about that year changed her attitude about math. Even though she still excels at it, it is not the subject she will run to when given a choice. Because of her sometimes unwilling attitude, I was thrilled to have the chance to try an all online program.

I registered my daughter, Therese, for 7th grade math, and a quick browsing of the program assured me that it was the right place for her. Each week of TenMarks lessons comes with five worksheets, each on a related topic. When the student begins the day's lesson, the screenshot shows how many videos are associated with that particular topic. The student has the choice either to "learn" or to "practice." There are some topics for which my daughter has chosen to skip the videos and go straight to the worksheets. If she finds that she is having trouble with a particular problem, she has the option to access up to three hints on it. The hints work her logically through the problem-solving process.

Every time Therese begins a new week's worth of worksheets, I receive an email. If she completes the week's worth early (and she usually does the work in one day), she has the option of fast-tracking herself and beginning the next week's worth of work. She can track her own progress through the grade's concepts by looking at her completion graphic:

I can track her progress by viewing her report card. It allows me to see how many questions on each worksheet she answered correctly and how many hints she used.

One feature I especially appreciate about TenMarks is that it allows Therese to go back and redo the problems she answered incorrectly. In this way, she has the opportunity truly to understand that which she was apparently unclear on at the outset. Another great feature is the snapshot view of which concepts Therese has mastered. In this screenshot, she has earned certificates of mastery in Patterns, Functions, and Graphs and in Geometry. As a reward for mastering these concepts, she has unlocked three games to play.

I tried to get a screenshot of a video lesson in action, but for some reason I can't get my software to recognize the white board writing. Essentially, you are watching an arrow move across a white board as numbers appear on the board. The teacher is a man with a very pleasant voice, although you never see his face.

I can't think of a reason not to love TenMarks. For a homeschooling subscription, TenMarks costs only $10/month, which makes it less expensive per year than many more traditional programs. I love the fact that you can subscribe on a monthly basis, and I love the freedom of having so many courses from which to choose (3rd grade through high school Geometry). Being able both to track Therese's progress and to have her complete more than one week's work per week is wonderful. I have no doubt that when my complimentary subscription to TenMarks is over, I will be paying for this wonderful program.

To find out more about TenMarks, visit their website, or email them at info@tenmarks.com. To see what other Crew members had to say about TenMarks, visit the Crew blog.

My Depression Confession

2011-01-23T14:49:00.000-06:00

Depression runs in my family. I don’t want to out specific family members and their particular struggles, but suffice it to say that more than half of my immediate family has experienced a profound struggle with depression. I grew up with a very melancholic personality. I felt things deeply, took things personally, and sometimes spent hours in an empty bathtub, fully clothed, crying. I remember my mother sitting on the edge of that tub trying to talk me down off the ledge (or out of the tub, as it were).

My teenage depression peaked my senior year of high school, which was one of the lowest points in my life. My three years younger brother was heavily into drugs and alcohol, and his mental problems absorbed the majority of my parents’ time and emotional resources. My older sister, my best friend and worst enemy, had just left for college, and my boyfriend of three years had just left for the Navy. My tiny support system had crumbled. I still resisted telling anyone how much I was hurting. Even to this day, there are only a couple of people who know how very hard that year was for me, and how dark my thoughts were. The worst part was that I was starting to head down a path, morally, in which I did not believe, and which could have seriously derailed my future goals.

It was right as I started college that God revealed Himself to me in the most direct way He had up to that point, or since.

Read the rest of this post at Heart of the Matter Online, where I am blessed enough to be a contributor and an editor:

Review of Speekee Spanish Language Program

2011-01-21T07:09:00.000-06:00

Since I am married to a native Spanish speaker, I was extra excited to receive a temporary subscription to Speekee in exchange for my review. Although I took Spanish in college, Latin was and is my first love. Hence, I have never been as diligent about learning Spanish as I should have been. After almost two decades with my husband and his family, I can follow conversations, but I lack the basic grammar to fully engage in them. I've already made one mistake in not immersing my children in Spanish from the start (which would result in adults like my husband - equally fluent in Spanish and English, with perfect native accents in both languages). Speekee is a great way to begin immersion training with very young children.

There is much debate on the best way to teach children a language. Some people are partisans of immersion training, in which one experiences repeated exposure to Spanish-only speaking, with an emphasis on learning vocabulary trumping the need for formal grammar. Speekee fits this mold perfectly.

Speekee comes from the UK, but thanks to their online videos, the program is equally accessible in the U.S. After a free trial two-week period, subscribers can continue to use Speekee for the price of $7.50 per month.

So what does your subscription to Speekee buy? Essentially, the course consists of ten videos, each approximately 15-20 minutes long, featuring native Spanish speaking children engaging in daily activities with Speekee, the title character puppet. Speekee and the children (along with the adult, Jim) sing and dance while teaching children basic Spanish vocabulary thematically. One video focuses on modes of transportation, so there are several different vignettes in which the children use the words "barco" (boat), "coche" (car), etc. The emphasis on the theme words is punctuated by repetition of small phrases in Spanish, like those meaning, "is it yours?" and "it is mine." Finally, along with each video, there are downloadable worksheets to complement the lesson.

My first impression of Speekee was that my children would not like it. It seemed too simplistic and young for them. I was hugely surprised to find out exactly how much they loved it! My nine year-old was definitely too old, plus with several years of Latin under her belt, she is used to learning language in a far more systematic way than Speekee presents it. My seven year-old and my six year-old twins, however, can't get enough of Speekee! The definitely think the program is funny, but they also love the songs and they love feeling like they have started to learn Spanish!

An advantage of not being a seasoned reader is the fact that you don't have time to assimilate the subtitles in Speekee, so you truly are learning by immersion and exposure. For young children who don't really have the tools to study language more formally, Speekee is the perfect introduction to Spanish. It is gentle and friendly, much like an episode of Sesame Street.

Although the Speekee website indicates that the program is intended for ages 2-10, I think much depends on the individual child. As I said, my nine year-old is too old for the program, but I know several ten year-olds I think would love it. As for my own children, I can definitely attest to the fact that 6-7 is a perfect age.

Because Speekee is intended to be immersion and, hence, each video should be watched several times, you should certainly plan on subscribing, rather than assuming you can watch all of the videos in the free two week trial period. The advantage of the monthly subscription is that you can decide how long to use Speekee with your children. If they learn very quickly, you are not out a large sum for an annual subscripton.

I learned a valuable lesson with this review: I don't always know what will appeal to my children. Thus, if you think that Speekee may not work with your kids, I really encourage you to take advantage of the free trial before making a decision. If you are interested in subscribing, or in learning more about Speekee, visit their webiste at Speekee. You can find other ways to contact Speekee on their contact form, but email will probably work best, as the company is based in the UK.

To find out what other Crew members thought about Speekee, visit the Crew Blog.

Review of Virtual Nerd

2011-01-12T13:18:00.001-06:00

If you're anything like me, teaching history and english to your homeschoolers comes fairly easily to you, but once past the elementary school years, math and science become a bit scary and mysterious. If you're nothing like me, then congratulations, and how I envy you! For the math and science-wary, however, may I introduce you to Virtual Nerd, online math and science tutorials sure to ease the way when teaching upper-level math and science courses. I was given a temporary subscription to Virtual Nerd in exchange for my review.

Virtual Nerd is a website comprised of short tutorial videos in the subjects of Pre-Algebra, Algebra I, Algebra II, and Intro to Physics. Using a dynamic version of Whiteboard, an engaging tutor will walk your student through various concepts in each of these subjects. The videos range in length, but many of them are only a couple of minutes long. The videos' brevity means that when your child has a specific question about a concept, she can seek out just that answer, rather than sitting through an entire chapter's worth of material to learn. You have the option of keyword searching within your course, or of successively narrowing down by topic until you can literally have your precise question answered with a clear example, and within a couple of minutes.

For example, my daughter was doing her Pre-Algebra homework when she came across a problem involving polynomials. She knew the term, but forgot how to perform the requested operation (addition). Going to Virtual Nerd, she looked at the Pre-Algebra topics and chose polynomials and non-linear functions. From there she selected adding and subtracting polynomials. Her final choice, adding polynomials, pulled up three short tutorials. The ability to find exactly what you want (or need!) to learn is a huge advantage of Virtual Nerd. With other math video tutorial websites, you frequently have to watch a chapter's worth of material, even if you only need clarification on the meaning of one term.

For students in Algebra I who use one of four standard public school textbooks, searching is even easier, since Virtual Nerd is aligned by chapter and lesson to these four texts! Were I the parent of a student who used one of these texts, I would be very excited about this website, and more than happy to pay the associated costs (see below), given that they cost far less than a live tutor (and you can replay the videos as often as you need to to understand a concept!).

Virtual Nerd's pricing is straightforward. When you purchase a subscription, you are buying access to the whole site, and not just to one course, so the prices below include all of the courses presently offered by Virtual Nerd. (Chemistry, Pre-Calculus, and Calculus are currently planned for 2011-2012). As you can see, a free two-hour trial is offered, and that would be a great way to decide if Virtual Nerd is right for your student.

If you'd like to find out more about Virtual Nerd, visit their website where you can find FAQs, more detailed information for students, parents, and educators, and the most comprehensive contact form I have ever seen!

If you'd like to find out what other members of the Crew had to say, find out here.

Review of IEW - Phonetic Zoo

2010-12-29T19:29:00.000-06:00

For the past couple of months, I have been using the most wonderful spelling program! I received the Institute for Excellence in Writing's Phonetic Zoo in exchange for my review. Auditioning spelling programs is almost a sickness with me, so I was delighted to get one from a company with such an amazing reputation as IEW. I chose to use the program with my seven year-old son and, after giving him the suggested placement test, found that he fit comfortably into Level B. This level is typically recommended for grades 6-8, but my seven year-old is highly gifted, and is a natural speller. The program has turned out to be a perfect fit for him.

The starter set for Phonetic Zoo includes the following:

• 5 audio CDs (Level C has 6 CDs)
• Spelling and the Brain and Introduction to The Phonetic Zoo DVD with the following:
- Spelling and the Brain video seminar
- Introduction to The Phonetic Zoo video
- The Phonetic Zoo teacher’s notes PDF file
• Lesson Cards with all three levels of spelling words and jingles
• Personal Spelling Cards to keep track of your student’s typical misspellings
• Zoo Cards, which serve as a way to practice jingles or as rewards

The program is almost entirely self-teaching, which is another reason I love it. Given that my son is seven, he still needs my guidance with many subjects, even though he works at an upper elementary/lower jr. high level. Any program that teaches him for me is a huge plus in my book. Further, my son's attitude toward school is hit or miss at best. He has never really taken to a spelling program before, and he loathes wasting his time. That lets out any program with practice worksheets or sentences, or anything of the kind. Phonetic Zoo will not waste either yours or your child's time. Your child will learn a phonics rule, and then view words that exemplify the rule. He will then simply take the spelling test testing that rule until he can spell the words correctly (with one iteration per day). The best part is that the included audio CDs do all of the talking for you, freeing you to work on other things.

Phonetic Zoo will cost you $99 the first time you use it, but the words for all three levels are included. Thus, every other time you use it, you will only need to purchase the audio CD portion of the program. If you prefer, though, and I have to recommend this option for anyone interested, as I really believe that this is a superior spelling product (and I've tried all of them! None of them would hold my child's interest!), IEW does offer a budget option, available here. For $29, you can have the entire Phonetic Zoo program, minus the audio CDs. While I do love the narrator's voice (I hear it in my sleep it's so soothing), the cost savings to do without the CDs make this program affordable for everyone.

To find out more about Phonetic Zoo, visit their website, or call them at 800-856-5815. If you know your child should be studying spelling (or phonics!), but just can't seem to find the right program, and if your child is in upper elementary or older, this option is definitely one you will want to explore!

Find out what other crew members had to say about IEW's amazing products here!

Review of Wits and Wagers Family

2010-12-15T15:47:00.000-06:00

Given how much my family loves to play games, I was delighted to receive Wits and Wagers Family free in exchange for my review. When I read some reviews prior to receiving the game, I got even more excited! The hype surrounding this game is completely well-deserved. My four children (9,7,6, and 6), my husband, and I have all had a wonderful time playing Wits and Wagers Family, so much so that I have sought out other games by North Star Games to give as Christmas Gifts.

Wits and Wagers Family has a very simple premise. From the North Star Games' website,

"...every player writes down a guess to a fun question. Then players try to score points by choosing which guess is closest to the right answer without going over. That is it!

The game features 300 new family-friendly questions. And even better than that, Wits & Wagers Family includes Meeples-- fun, cute, human shaped wooden pieces that the players use to select which answers they think are correct."

Although the game suggests that players be at least 8, I found that, with minimal help, my 6 year-old twins could compete just fine. The game truly is a full family experience.

Wits and Wagers Family is for 3-10 players, and team play is definitely a viable option. Each game takes around 20 minutes (the estimate given by the manufacturer is right on - we've played enough games to get a good average!), and every game is different from the last -- and just as fun!

You can read more about Wits and Wagers Family on the North Star Games website, and you can purchase it wherever games are sold (The North Star Games site will direct you to Target online to purchase, but as of this writing, it is out of stock there). It retails for around $20.

This game would be a hit with any family, and would make an excellent Christmas present, particularly if you are buying one present for a whole family. It truly is fun for all players, from the youngest to the oldest. You don't actually have to know much about anything; you just have to be able to guess well! My twins have proven surprisingly apt guessers, and their actual answers to questions such as, "what is the most tennis balls a dog has ever held in his mouth at one time?" have been hysterical.

For more information about anything sold by North Star Games, including Wits and Wagers Family, visit their website. To read about other Crew members' experiences with the game, click here.

Review of ALEKS

2010-12-13T07:25:00.000-06:00

Recently, my family was given free for our review a one-month trial subscription to ALEKS (Assessment and LEarning in Knowledge Spaces), a web-based, artificially intelligent assessment and learning system for grades K-12. The beauty of ALEKS is that, because it quickly assesses what your child has learned, there is no needless repetition of skill sets which have already been mastered. For my children, this kind of program is a gift!

Initially, I had my qualms about ALEKS, only because my daughter gave me much resistance when it came to doing the placement assessment at the beginning of the course. There is a very small learning curve for people who have never done a math program on the computer before, and I think that was what was causing her trouble. When she finally sat down to work, though, she never gave me a problem again. Simply put, she loved ALEKS.

My daughter is nine, but is quite advanced in math, so placing her in any program is a challenge for me. After a few days, we finally settled on ALEKS grade 7 for her, and it seems to be the right fit. ALEKS lets me know that it is the right fit by providing me with the most comprehensive updates of her progress that I could imagine. My daughter also loves seeing her progress on her "pie."

The above chart is T's actual progress pie in 7th grade math. It shows how many of the skills she has mastered and how many she has left to conquer. Presented graphically in this way, as it is to her throughout her lesson, it provides such a wonderful, but completely non-pressuring motivation. She wants to complete her pie! In fact, she asks for extra math time with ALEKS so that she can improve on her pie's ratios. You can't get a better recommendation for a math program than that!

If I log on to my parent account, I can get additional reports about T's progress, such as the one below:

Further, I can see exactly what T has done thus far, as well as which skills are about to be introduced for mastery:

I truly appreciate how easy ALEKS makes it to master her progress on an ongoing basis. Both she and I feel that we know exactly where she stands mathwise. Also, as a homeschooling mom, there aren't enough words to describe how much I love the fact that ALEKS is coordinated to state standards. At any time, I can pull up the Texas state skills test standards and see *exactly* how T measures up against them. Because she is three grade levels ahead in math, it is very important to me to be able to determine that she is, in fact, at the level that I think she is.

In addition to K-12 math classes, ALEKS also offers higher education business and science classes. Based on our experience with 7th grade math, I would not hesitate to enroll my children in any of them. I am especially excited by their offering of statistics for the behavioral sciences. I have a Ph.D. in a behavioral science, and can attest to the fact that computer based learning for this type of statistics is really the only way to go. It's wonderful to see a class being offered at the high school level that allows for this fact.

I used to think that ALEKS was expensive, but after actually using the program, my opinion has changed dramatically. ALEKS costs $19.95 per student, per month. A six-month subscription costs $99.95, and a full year is $179.95. Given the cost of some other math programs out there, and given that they represent only one math course, whereas you can complete as many math courses per year as you are able to master with ALEKS, I have come to think of ALEKS as a tremendous bargain. Further, ALEKS wants homeschoolers to use their program, and offer a multi-child discount to prove it. Read about those rates here.

Although I have not had the occasion to use ALEKS customer support, the avenues to reach them are readily apparent on the website.

The best endorsement that I can give to ALEKS is the fact that when, a week ago, I received an email from them telling me that our one-month subscription had been increased to three months, T yelled, "YES! Now I can finish my pie!" She was genuinely excited. As for me, I am seriously considering paying for ALEKS when my free subscription is up. I love that my daughter is loving math. I love that both she and I can keep track of her progress daily. I love that this is one less subject that I have to hold her hand through (given that she has three younger siblings!).

If you are interested in finding out more about ALEKS, please visit their website: ALEKS or use this form to contact them.

If you are interested in seeing what other Crew members thought about ALEKS, please visit the Crew Blog.

Review of The Write Foundation

2010-11-10T09:51:00.000-06:00

I was recently provided free, in exchange for my honest review, a copy the first 15 lessons of The Write Foundation's Essay level course. The Write Foundation offers three levels of writing courses: sentence, paragraph, and essay. Sentence is recommended for ages 11-13, paragraph for ages 12-15, and essay for ages 14-17. Obviously, there is some overlap in the recommended ages since children vary in their writing ability.

My daughter is only nine, but after speaking extensively with the creator of The Write Foundation, she agreed with me that the essay level was right for her. Therese has had a lengthy writing background, probably because I write for a living. She is also a naturally gifted writer. One thing that The Write Foundation offers that Therese's other writing programs have thus far eschewed is a creative writing component. I appreciate the fact that, while they include this component, The Write Foundation still places its emphasis on formal writing. To help you decide where to place your own child in its program The Write Foundation provides this very helpful metric.

The Write Foundation's approach is not particularly intuitive. Although the methodology becomes clear if you just put your head down and proceed through the program, teachers (homeschool moms!) who really like to understand the ins and outs of a program before they dive in might have a little trouble with this one. Still, it is worth it to give yourself time on the learning curve to become adept with The Write Foundation. It borrows a very little from the classical Progymnasmata, but really creates its own methodology. If you are intrigued by Classical Writing, but don't want to invest the time in the program, The Write Foundation would be a very good alternative for you!

In order to determine if The Write Foundation Essay Level is a good fit for your family, take a look at the sample lesson provided on the website. For my daughter, I must confess that I have fallen in love with our current writing/language arts/grammar program, and I don't think that I would switch to any other program for anything. Having said that, though, if I ever considered a switch, The Write Foundation would be a serious contender. It is heads and shoulders above many other programs I have seen, primarily because it recognizes the primacy of the formal essay. Our children won't be using creative writing to get into college, to get out of college, or to find a great job: they'll be using their formal writing schools. All too many kids lack the fundamentals, and I can say with confidence that The Write Foundation will provide those fundamentals.

To find out more about The Write Foundation, visit their website here, or email the author of the program at bcelsor (at) sbcglobal (dot) net. You can also call her at 281-356-3556. She is extremely helpful at figuring out where to place your child! The Write Foundation has different pricing structures which can be seen on this page, but for the full Essay program, you can expect to pay $100, which, for what your receive, I think is very reasonable.

To see what other members of the Crew thought about The Write Foundation, visit the Crew blog here.

Review of Collectorz

2010-11-05T06:22:00.000-06:00

Book Collector from Collectorz.com satisfies a need that every homeschooler has in abundance: the need to know what books she has! We've all faced the problem of knowing that we once had that particular book, but not being sure if it is still in our possession. Maybe we sold it? Loaned it out? Buried it in the back of the book closet? There are many programs available today which promise to help you track your books, but Book Collector is the first one I've seen which really lives up to its name: more than any other book collection and organizing software, Book Collector is for book collectors. Unlike other sites, its primary purpose is to help you get a handle on your book collection, not to socially share your books with your friends. That makes it a huge improvement over other programs, in my opinion!

Thanks to Book Collector and The Homeschool Crew, I was provided a free copy of this program to review...but I would have bought it in a heartbeat! This program is so easy to install and so easy to use that if you have books you want to organize virtually, you really can't say no to it.

After downloading the program from the site (options: a 100 book trial version, a $29.95 standard version, and $49.95 pro version), you are ready to go. All you need to do enter your book into your database is to enter the ISBN number. Doing so will automatically fill in all of the book's data for you. No more laboriously entering in the author, title, publisher, copyright, etc. like you have to do for other (albeit free) online cataloging sites. The only thing that you enter manually is your star rating of the book. Book Collector actually even allows complete automation of the process by selling scanners on its site which will grab the ISBN number of the book for you, thereby freeing you even from that entry process. While the scanner is nice to have, though, it is not necessary for the operation of the program. I have thus far not used one in the entering of my book collection into Book Collector, but I do intend to purchase one in the near future.

Book Collector is a straightforward program, and is a great asset to any homeschool. The standard version is probably sufficient for most users, and is very reasonably priced at $29.95.

Of course, if you do lots of things with your book lists, the pro version is set up to handle those extra tasks!

To find out more about Book Collector, visit their website. To find out what other Crew members thought about Book Collector, look here!

Review of PG Key

2010-10-27T07:56:00.000-05:00

I was recently given one PG Key to review in exchange for my opinion of it, and I was thrilled with the opportunity! While the computer that my children (9, 7, 5, and 5) use is in the schoolroom right next to my own laptop, they have been getting very savvy about Internet searches. They find something outside, and immediately come in and try to search the Internet to find out what they have discovered. In theory, of course, they are supposed to ask before using the computer, but in practice, I really have no desire to stifle the investigative techniques of my budding scientists. Thus, the arrival at my door of a device that promised to protect my children from all of this:

seemed like an answer to a prayer!

PG Key is a little bit more complicated than plug-n-play, but not much, and it needs to be somewhat customizable so that each family can decide for itself which Internet territory is off-limits to its offspring. When you open your software box, you will find this:

All that is required is for you to plug the PG Key into a USB port on the computer you wish to protect.

Once installed, you can customize your PG Key in a variety of ways. You can enter a list of "banned" search words that the Internet is forbidden to search (please note: this feature does not work in Google, however, PG Key will alert you when your banned words have been searched in Google, allowing you to monitor your children's activity, virtually in real time). You can set a time limit on your children's Internet usage. When the time limit expires, they must enter your password to access additional time. You are able to monitor both sides of all chats in which they engage, and block any websites you don't want them to go to at all.

I found PG Key quite easy to use. Everything about it was either explained or intuitive. Most impressively, the $49.99 price tag is all you will ever pay. There are no monthly monitoring or update fees. You can change the configuration of your PG Key anytime, so as your kids get older, you can change the banned words from "Harry Potter", for instance, to, sadly, "nudity." If you're looking for an aid to your computer observation efforts, though, you're not going to find one much cheaper than this one. If you're not sure you want to commit to the full price of PG Key, though, a free trial is available through their website.

PG Key works with Windows XP, Vista, and 7, but based on my trying it on two separate computers, it seems fair to say that the newer the computer and the operating system, and the more memory your computer has available, the less impacted your speed and performance will be by the installation of PG Key. Of course, if you have a computer dedicated solely to your children's use, as I am fortunate enough to have, it is likely that slightly slower performance will not be an issue.

My family has really benefited from PG Key, but to see what other members of The Crew had to say, be sure to check out all of the reviews here!

Review of The Digital Frog Field Trip Series

2010-10-08T08:30:00.000-05:00

The Digital Frog is perhaps best known for its digital dissection software, and when I found out that I would be receiving one of the Digital Frog's products free in return for my review, I was half-afraid, half-hopeful. All of my emotions turned to excitement, though, when I opened my mail and saw a product with which I was completely unfamiliar: the digital field trip series. The Digital Frog puts its amazing technological resources to use to create virtual field trips to three exciting locations: a rainforest, wetlands, and a desert. Through the interactive experience created by these DVDs (available separately or bundled together), the user truly experiences each habitat in a variety of ways.

Each of the habitats is explored in the same way. By navigating a series of interlocking puzzle pieces, the user can roam every part of the habitat she is in. For example, the rainforest field trip begins with Central America, before narrowing to Belize and the Blue Creek Rainforest Reserve. Right from the start, your child is learning, as you are not exploring just any rainforest: you are field-tripping through an actual rainforest in a real place. This field trip is not likely one that any of our homeschools will ever take in our lifetimes, outside of our own homes!

Once you've arrived at the rainforest, you are in the driver's seat!You can "learn about the tropical rainforest", "experience the tropical rainforest", and "learn about tropical rainforest types." The choices seem endless, especially when inside of each choice there is so much information. You can learn all about each of the many types of animals inside the rainforest, complete with descriptions and vivid pictures. In fact, just about anything you see in the rainforest is "explorable", some areas complete with narration, and many complemented by worksheets and teacher support materials. To be honest, my children (ages 5, 5, 7, and 9) and I have only gone through each field trip once. I know that we have barely begun to discover all of the wonders available on this disc! I am excited to load it up again, as are my children. Although the readable material was over the heads of my twins, once I read it to them, it was easily accessible. Hence, I would judge that these digital field trips are suitable for all ages. The degree to which one can work with them independently varies with the degree to which one can read comfortably. Younger children may not be able to take full advantage of the 35 botany screens available, but they will thrill to the images of the jaguar and the sloth, and they will come away with a true appreciation of the amazing and diverse rainforest (and desert and wetlands)!

It is hard to convey the beauty of these field trips via a written post. I would strongly encourage you to download the demo versions on the Digital Frog's website. Judge for yourself whether or not these digital field trips will enhance your studies of habitats, botany, biology, adaptation, and so much more. It is true that you could just watch a National Geographic Special, but you can't interact with a National Geographic special! Kids love being able to interact with their studies!

The system requirements for this digital experience are minimal: the same disc runs on both Mac and Windows. You will need Windows 2000, XP, 7, or Vista (32-bit, preferably), 32 MB of RAM (with 64 recommended), 75 MB of hard drive space for QuickTime. Mac specifications, and all technical support, can be found on the website here. Homeschool pricing for the Digital Frog's field trip series can be found here. Each field trip can be purchased separately for $60, or you can essentially buy two and get the third free by bundling them together on one DVD, and purchasing all three for $125.

I think it's clear that I loved the Digital Frog's virtual field trips. To see what other members of the Homeschool Crew had to say, click here!

Review of Lanschool

2010-10-06T02:46:00.001-05:00

As a member of TOS' Homeschool Crew, I was recently given the exciting privilege of reviewing LanSchool, classroom management software, free, in exchange for my opinion of it. In one word, my opinion of LanSchool, and please forgive the technical term, is cool! This software is very, very cool. In order to avoid gushing, I'll try to describe and review LanSchool systematically. Wish me luck; I'm going to need it. What I really feel like doing is yelling COOL!

LanSchool is certainly most applicable in a brick-and-mortar school setting, as it allows a teacher computer access to all of the student computers in her class. From her computer screen, she can see the screens of her student's computers. Even better than that, she can control those screens. She can send her students messages, control their web access, see their keystroke and browsing history, and even blank their screens. This obviously gives the teacher a huge advantage in a day and age in which technology threatens to overtake even the most vigilant teacher. All of a sudden, she can be everywhere at once! She does have eyes in the back of her head (or, at least, all over her computer!).

Since most of the people reading this review do not teach at brick-and-mortar schools, though, I'm going to address the majority of my remarks to homeschoolers because, believe it or not, LanSchool has plenty to offer you, too. First, in terms of classroom management, LanSchool is a terrific tool if you have more than two computers (you have to have at least two in order to use the software: one teacher and one student computer). Thanks to a recent purchase, I now have three classroom computers (sadly, my husband's desktop is off limits to the homeschoolers!). My laptop is the teacher computer. The schoolroom desktop and my old laptop are student computers. Thanks to technology (and my need to teach four children very close in age to each other who, nevertheless, require different teaching styles and different curricula), two of my children can now work on some of their schooling on the computer, while I work with two other children on non-techie subjects. My problem previously had been trying to keep an eye on the computer-users while staying focused on the kids I was teaching. Problem solved with LanSchool! With one glance, I can see what my computer-using kids are doing.

If I find that they are doing something which displeases me (surfing the 'net, playing Solitaire, etc.), I can either send them an instant message or blank their computer screens.

However, I have pretty obedient kids, so apart from sending them messages asking how they're doing, I haven't really had to resort to the blank screen option!

What has been wonderfully useful, though, is the print limiting feature of LanSchool. My kids don't always seem to appreciate the cost of printer ink. They also haven't grasped the concept of printing in draft mode (and I don't know any other mode at my house!). Sometimes they get a little carried away with the printing. Not anymore! With one adjustment on my computer, I can limit the printing done from any of the student computers. It is so easy and so painless (for me, anyway!).

Another feature of LanSchool that is marvelously useful in our homeschool and, I would imagine, in many homeschools, is the ability to display on student computers that which is on the teacher computer. In the case most relevant to my family, it is usually YouTube videos. We use many wonderful unit studies that utilize YouTube, and other, videos to teach. Until the arrival of LanSchool, we all crowded around my laptop, with much pushing, shoving, and uncharitable behavior, in order to watch the videos. This procedure kind of worked for most videos, but when it came time for the hour long production from the U.S. Geological Survey...well, let's just say that I shelved that unit study until LanSchool! Now, through LanSchool, I can display that which is on my computer screen on any of the student computer screens. With almost a 1:1 ratio, my kids absorb what they see so much better these days! No more jockeying for position in front of the computer!

If you think you might like LanSchool, but you're not ready to jump in with both feet, you have two great options. If you have an iAnything, you're in luck. LanSchool effortlessly allows for all of the following with its free app for iPhones, iPads and iPods:

In order to find out more about how to accomplish any of these tasks, see LanSchool's iPad/iPhone/iPod Teacher's Assistant page!

For those who are iLess, consider LanSchool Lite. LanSchool Lite allows you to monitor student computers on your own computer. It even allows you to monitor the battery life of student laptops (another great feature of LanSchool). If you like what you see, and think you are ready for the full version of LanSchool, with all of the neat bells and whistles, keep reading!

As you would guess, LanSchool pricing varies dramatically based on whether you are a home or a school, and on how many computers you plan to install it on. A summary of the pricing most relevant is:

The license is perpetual, but three years of technical support and upgrades are included in the price.

I have only been using LanSchool for a short time, and I am confident that I haven't even scratched the surface of its capabilities. The fact that I will one day, in the not-so-distant future have four children with computers (as mine and my husband's continue to be handed down) just means that LanSchool will continue to become more valuable an asset to our homeschool and to our home. Will I monitor my children's chats and emails? I doubt it. Do I like knowing that I can, and *them* knowing that I can? Absolutely. In terms of our school, I already can't imagine life without LanSchool. I've had fun sending messages to my kids and blanking their screens, but, fun aside, the features that allow me to communicate directly with their computers, even to the point of assuming their controls, and to share the video on my screen with their screens have become invaluable to me. Had I not received LanSchool free for review, I would purchase it without hesitation. For a family with young children, or for a family with only two computers, both of which reside next to each other, LanSchool may not be the most prudent purchase. For most homeschooling families, though, especially for those families with teens who do some of their school on the computer, LanSchool is a must-have. If you can't afford it this year, you might want to budget for it next year. I wouldn't have guessed that classroom management software could do so much in my small classroom.

Learn so much more about LanSchool than I can tell you here by visiting their website: LanSchool or by contacting them at 877-370-5546. For more opinions on LanSchool, see what other members of The Crew had to say about this unique product!

Review of Foundlings, Book One of the Peleg Chronicles

2010-10-01T07:37:00.000-05:00

There are many Christian children who long to join their peers in reading the very popular Fantasy genre of books, but are prevented from doing so by their religious beliefs. One publisher, Zoe and Sozo (the very unique name has meaning: Zoe=Life, Sozo=Save, Deliver, Protect), has recognized that Fantasy books have much to offer children in the way of plot and characters, and that using this genre to attract children and to tell a story can actually also assist in delivering a powerful message. The Peleg Chronicles, of which I received Book One, Foundlings, free for review in exchange for my opinion of it, is a projected trilogy (the first two have been published thus far) which all parents can feel good about their children reading.

Peleg Chronicles author Matthew Christian Harding is very clear about his position on some issues that are very important to many Christian parents: his books contain no magic, no evolution, and no humanism. He considers them to be historical fiction, as well as fantasy, and the summary page for Foundlings cites numerous scripture passages demonstrating his faithful adherence to the Bible in his writing of this book.

Rather than reiterate the story here (a solid, non-spoiler summary is available here), I will instead say that this book will probably be enjoyed by children from about 8 and up. It would make an excellent read-aloud, as younger children can certainly listen to and understand the story. If your child has read more mainstream fantasy, this book may seem rather quaint, but that is undoubtedly the point! Encourage them to continue, as the story has many opportunities for wonderful talks on virtues like love, friendship, and faith. There are many possible tie-ins to school lessons here, and not just to Religion classes. If your child has not read any other Fantasy books, then you will want to run to buy this book immediately! Your child will be treated to dragons, giants, and shield-bearers, and you won't have to give a moment's worry as to whether she is being corrupted by teachings contrary to yours.

Foundlings, and its sequel Paladins, are available for purchase from Matthew Christian Harding's website for a suggested retail price of $11.95. The website is also an excellent place to visit for more information about this exciting and new author - a welcome addition to the Christian authors scene. You might want to request an autographed copy (like mine!); this author will be one to be reckoned with!

Curious what other members of The Crew had to say about Foundlings? Find out here!