We received a really cool computer program to review from Core Learning, which is an educational publisher of software, books, multi-curricular projects, and on-line learning projects.  Their mission is to provide effective learning solutions for the development of fundamental knowledge and skills.

Now to begin with, art and computers are big hits at our house, and even 2 year old Levi can log onto the computer and direct himself to the draw and paint program. So when this program was loaded onto the computers for review, they were all thrilled and couldn't wait to get started. We went through the "quick start" tour and jumped right in creating and saving to the computers some pretty neat masterpieces!  The coolest thing is the multitude of tools available and how realistic they look when used. The crayons and colored pencils really act like the real thing on paper, and the markers actually bleed into the paper as if you were holding it in your hand! The ability to mix and create unique colors is really cool, and you can even save your mixture for later use (and not run out and have to figure out how to match that color again!) There are so many cool features I can't even begin to do justice to the program, but you can get a free 3 day trial here.    If you follow this link, you will also be able to check out a couple other art programs (Corefx Three level, and Creativity Express) which we viewed on demo cd's that look pretty cool. You can purchase the Crayola Art Studio for $24.95 plus shipping here.

Core Learning also sent a couple other demo cd's for us to check out, since they have lots more to offer than just awesome art programs. We looked at a Language Arts and Math cd, which are like basic textbook applications on computer of these subjects. You can check out demos on their website for math and get a free glossary of grammar terms for language arts. 

Their Health for Kids  program is really AWESOME. We enjoyed the demo cd, which showed an animated adventure through the body, complete with quizzes and games. I plan to order the complete program from them which consists of Volume 1 Explore the Body, and Volume 2 Explore Your Health. You just gotta check it out here. The Family Health Series looks equally as good, and covers a huge amount of topics. Check it out! I think Health is something that might be kind of difficult for homeschoolers to fit in as an actual subject sometimes, and I know many states require it. I LOVE this program and the kids really enjoyed it too.

 Their website has what seems like an endless amount of materials to offer, with many different price ranges. I see that they also have a tab for "Today's specials"specials which appear to be some pretty good deals.

Go enjoy learning with your kids~

Chris