Posted in Product Reviews for Homeschooling
Molly’s Digest for November is full of smiles and photography tips. This edition doesn’t just focus on frugal homekeeping but branches out to photo-related hobbies, including scrapbooking and frugal framing ideas, along with digital photography tips.
Molly gives some great advice on saving money while saving family memories when scrapbooking, along with pointers on digital photography. We purchased our first digital camera this year and have yet to print any photos, so I really needed some pointers! This newsletter has invaluable information about online sites that provide photo editing and digital photo storage! Who knew?! I have a friend who lost over a years’ worth of photos that were stored on an external hard drive, and my sister-in-law may have lost their vacation pictures when their computer was hit by lightning (yes, they had a surge protector). I am so glad to have learned of other means to save your photos.
The final article in a 3-part series by Amy Howard on couponing gives many sources of where to find coupons, including links to websites. Coupons aren't only in the Sunday paper - I guess I’d better go get the last two Digests to see what I missed!
I always enjoy the special dates and events section, and I did not know there was a “Clean Out the Refrigerator Day!” I'm gonna' mark that one on my calendar ;-)
Danielle
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Posted in Product Reviews for Homeschooling
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Any time I see an article on saving money I just have to check it out. I know we live frugally, so I need to see if these articles have anything new for me. They often don’t. But Molly’s done it again! These digests always have information that’s new to me and practical! I really can put Molly’s ideas to good use!
This month, Molly talks about giving of our time and money and our attitudes that motivate us. After she’s given us, as adults, some food for thought, she continues on topic in “Parenting that Pays.”
Molly gets to the heart issue of thankfulness in us and our children. I know sometimes we get concerned with how are children act and we miss the point of them making “it” their own. That is, learning the concept in their mind, accepting it in their heart, then to continue the character on their own, into adulthood. Molly shows us practical ways to teach our children graciousness!
I don’t remember there being links in the other digests. Maybe there were links but not this many. I love links. There are several links to contributors blogs, plus links to a pattern company for the sewing article. And now there is a directory of links at the end, especially for those who print out the digests!
There were a couple of great articles about sewing this time around. I must say that sewing is not going to become my next hobby, though the article “A Mama Who Sews” did tug at my heartstrings! Sewing seems more of a chore to me. Is this terrible? I have six children, and I send most of my mending to my mother! When my oldest daughter was 7 or 8, she lost a button from her dress. Her response was that we’d have to get it to Grandma. I told her that it was “just” a button, and I could sew it on, and I could even show her how. Her reply was an awestruck “You can sew?!” LOL!
The great article on Frugal Fashion reminded me to not shop for an outfit, but look at what clothes I have and what I need to fill in. I was motivated to go out and get some great buys like the author did at garage sales and thrift stores! Could I get better deals than she did?! She even welcomes stories at her blog about our great finds.
This was the best digest yet for “Readers Write In” and followed the frugal fashion theme. Readers shared how they save money on their kids clothes, and I learned a few new ideas! Plus, it reminded me that I need to update my list of my kids' sizes in my purse.
I encourage you to check out the July issue of Molly’s Money-Saving Digest. You can even look at the back issues to find a topic you need help with. Without a doubt, I know you’ll get some great ideas on saving money! Molly's blog, Econobusters, has great deals and ideas, too!
Be blessed,
Danielle
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Posted in Product Reviews for Homeschooling
I’m supposed to list my top ten items that I reviewed for TOS Crew. Let’s see if I can give you a brief why and actually limit it to ten! Clicking on the company will take you to my review of the product; there will be a link in my review to the company. What we’re definitely using next year (paying money for) that we never would have given a second glance: 1. Tapestry of Grace-I love this History program! Will be using it as a unit study. 2. Kinderbach-Somehow we’re going to scrounge up the money for this! Our 2 littlest girls love it! They’re both asking for money for their birthdays to use towards it. The curriculum I thought everyone knew about: 3. Apologia Science - & more! Go sign up for their e-newsletter and their catalog! 4. Five in a Row – Unit studies from children’s books for all ages! Simple, yet amazing! 5. Homeschooling ABC’s by Knowledge Quest - What every new, or stressed & struggling, Homeschool mom and dad need. 6. Math Mammoth -Great math content that I can pay for once and use with as many kids as we have! 7. Salem Ridge Press – Wholesome novels reprinted from days gone by. Mom and Dad don’t have to pre-read these! 8. Spears Art - Every Spears Art lesson has a scripture and projects for K-12, so this is a great fit for our schedule, several ages, finances, and in general for this artistically challenged mom. 9. Trigger Memory - Times Tales: Amazing, original, it really works. Buy it – you won’t regret it! We already owned the Clean-n-Flip charts, so you know we think those are a “Top 10” item! 10. Memoria Press – They gave me the Bible curriculum I couldn’t admit I needed.
Honorable Mention (I couldn’t limit it to just 10 – geesh!)
WriteShop Storybuilders and Primary– Helped me realize that I needed more help with teaching my kids to write than I wanted to admit ;-)
HomeSchool Library Builder - Not an actual curriculum but a used book site. Need I say more?!
ALEKS – the kids really enjoyed this, but I can’t justify the price or the computer time for several kids
Artistic Pursuits – art history, plus I’m art-challenged
Critical Thinking – too pricey for us to use as our curriculum, but we love their brain builders Toys. How can receiving toys to review ever be bad? There are my top ten and a few more! Go check out other Crew reviewers' Top 10 if you need some more ideas for next year's curriculum! I'm not sure what my blog holds in the future. I'm considering kids' devotionals and continuing with The Homesteading Carnival. I'll probably take a bit of a break, though that's not a great idea for my blog, but it is for my family! Thanks for visiting,
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Posted in Product Reviews for Homeschooling
 I received an e-mail from Memoria Press saying they would be sending the Famous Men of Rome and Latina Christiana I books. They were kind enough to say that if these books weren’t “for us” we should take a look around their website and let them know if we preferred something else. I already owned Famous Men of Rome, so I checked out the website and responded that I would instead like to receive their Cursive Copy Book. In response to my request, I was offered the Teacher and Student guides for Famous Men of Rome, as I only had the text, and Christian Studies I! Oh, she said yes to the Cursive Copybook, too! Is this the most generous, helpful, and BEST customer service around?! Now for the using and reviewing of this Classical Curriculum where I received materials geared for grades 3-7 and used them with a 5th grader: Famous Men of series - We own several of these; many curricula include these in their historical fiction or living books suggestions. Each chapter is a biography about a person of that time period. The Memoria Press student and teacher guides are a helpful way to check what your child is learning; they could be used as a workbook or a spring board for narrations or as writing prompts, and I especially liked the hands-on maps and drawing pages! This is definitely not a read and regurgitate workbook, but a tool to make sure the student (and parent) really knows the person and when he lived. Latin: Latin Copywork – New American Cursive – I think a good handwriting program is important, for printing and cursive, but it only makes sense to use this Copy Book with Latina Christiana. I like to fit as many subjects together as possible (unit study), so if you’re using Latin Christiana, then Cursive Copy Book of Latin Hymns and Prayers is a perfect match. Obviously?! Christian Studies – I’ve really been “winging it” when it comes to Bible history, especially the Old Testament, and I haven’t been doing a very good job. We received Book I, Genesis through Moses, and it is jam packed with “Salvation History” and spiritual significance. We covered Bible stories, historical facts, vocabulary activities, scripture memorization and those great maps similar to the Famous Men books (oh, that’d be geography). I’d been looking for something to help me understand the history of the Old Testament better, along with the spiritual significance, and I think I’ve found it! I liked the quote in the Christian Studies section, that the students “… embark on a three-year Bible reading course that builds faith by teaching Salvation History as real history.” I’ll have to admit that I was a bit skeptical and overwhelmed by this Classical curriculum, but I’ve learned a lot: I like Latin and I really needed help from Christian Studies. I’m able to take what I feel we need and leave the rest aside. I know that makes tried and true Classical people cringe, but I just can’t insist that we learn Latin at this point and time. I didn’t have the opportunity to review any other Bible curriculum this year, so I was excited to receive the Memoria Press Christian Studies, and I know we’ll be able to use it! I have their Children’s Bible on my wishlist, as well as the Parent and Student guides for Famous Men of the Middle Ages. There are printable samples of most every book available at the website. Please check them out!
Alas, I am at the end of my review year with TOS Crew. It is bittersweet. |
Posted in Product Reviews for Homeschooling
 If you’ve read any of my schooling or history review posts you know I love history. Maybe I’m not even a great reviewer for history curriculum any longer because I love them all! Yet, perhaps that makes me a better reviewer because I’ve used a few and can compare for you. I want to remind you that as homeschoolers we are meant to bend the rules (or guidelines), change curriculum to fit our kids, and add flair to make it ours. I’m warming you up for this review because I don’t want to scare you away if you’re a Charlotte Mason, eclectic or unit study homeschooler: Tapestry of Grace is a Classical curriculum, but I want you to know it is full of historical fiction, a.k.a. “living books,” and for the Grammar levels, it was just another unit study to me.
I can't answer that better than they do at their website: "Tapestry of Grace is a homeschool curriculum: a plan of study that helps parents provide a Christian, classical education using a guided unit study approach, with the history of the world as the core organizational theme. From Grades K–12, all students cycle through world history every four years, with all ages studying the same slice of history each week, each at their own learning level. Detailed lesson plans and discussion outlines enable parents to be their children’s primary teachers and mentors and shape their students’ biblical worldviews."  Tapestry provides your entire curriculum, except for math and science. I love TOG. It is laid out so well; much of the planning work and helpful scheduling is done for me. I’ve used a history-based unit study in the past, but I really struggled to get it all organized and include each subject in our study. The similarities between that unit study and TOG was how they both used historical fiction, which I love, and I did have to spend time retrieving these books. This was not difficult for me, as I love to look for old books online, and my local library is great at getting books through interlibrary loan.
I want to give a quick overview of the program. The schedule is color-coded by level (Lower and Upper Grammar, Dialectic, and Rhetoric). Then there are the “Threads” (of the Tapestry) which include: History, Writing, Literature, Geography, Fine Arts and Activities, and Church History. There is a Reading Assignment page, which is divided by the threads, further dividing History into Core and In-Depth, also including Worldview. There’s an Overview section that helps “at a glance,” listing the people, vocabulary, and geography you’ll be studying and any activities you’ll be doing. Then the most impressive part to me is the Writing Assignments! I think a lot of unit studies expect creative writing but leave the technicalities of writing (grammar and punctuation) to the wayside. Perhaps it’s because TOG is a Classical Curriculum, but I like how they handled the language arts aspect, and I don’t feel as if I need an additional program to complete this unit study. But apparently others do, so TOG has provided an additional Writing Aids program that is integrated with the study of history.
Tapestry addresses all learners, including “hands-on” activities, like our salt dough map, and the Lapbooks offered for each unit for the younger kids; these make great show-&-tells for the grandparents and portfolios and review for the kids. There are Pop Quizzes on CD and “flash cards” to include dad and offer various means of review. Blank outline maps made by Terri Johnson of Knowledge Quest for the kids, with filled in maps for the parents ;-) And Evaluations for optional tests, quizzes and more for each level of learner for each Year Plan.
 TOG has been around since 1998, and they asked TOS Crew to not just review the curriculum itself but to review the new Digital Edition. They wanted us to help work out any bugs with downloads and such. I personally messed up my download and customer/tech service was quite helpful. Even when my 6-year-old answered the phone and hung up on them; they just e-mailed me with their phone number ;-) I think The Crew has worked out the kinks for them, and I feel they addressed our complaints including: quicker, easier installation for PC (no downloading separate programs, then installing each), answers to questions all in one place, immediate access to purchases (no waiting for an e-mail to retrieve), and accessibility to and safety of your purchases. If your computer crashes, you just go to “My account” and you’ll be able to retrieve any of your previous purchases!
As much as I love hardcover books on my bookshelf, that shelf is getting pretty full! I actually enjoyed the Digital Edition of TOG. It’s easier to print out what I need and skip what I don’t and more convenient to print out 2-3 copies of a worksheet or quiz from the computer then having to print from text or purchase more than one activity workbook. Tapestry of Grace will be a part of our Homeschool next year and in the years to come; I really think the price is worth it. It is so well-organized for me, I can use it with several ages at once, and my sanity is worth more than money ;-) You can purchase an entire year or each unit (one quarter of the year) separately. You can purchase the Digital Edition, printed or both! They are really trying to please everyone! An entire year of Digital is $170, while print is $225. You can buy a Digital unit for $45, while the individual print units are $60. If you’d like to see a free sample of a unit
Helpful and generous And how about a free sample of the new "Map of the Humanities?" People are paying $24.95 for the poster version, but TOG is giving the digital version away for free! Here's the tinyurl link: http://tinyurl.com/MOTH1
Thanks for stopping by, Danielle
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Posted in Product Reviews for Homeschooling
I’ve discovered that as I have more kids to teach (you know, differing ages at the same time) I have less time available to plan lessons and complete various projects; I sometimes lack the creativity and the time! So, I was happy to receive another product to review from WriteShop, their Primary Book A (B and C to follow soon), a creative writing program for K-3. This is a great help in guiding your child so each story is really their story, even from a young age! I like the versatility of WriteShop Primary. The themes of the lessons (animals, friends, rhyming) were fun for the kids and easy for me to tie in with other lessons (science, devotions). I’m always looking for ways to double up around here! Also, even though there are actual handwriting pages, Mom can write what the child dictates for the stories, then have the younger child use that for copywork. I just love that about homeschooling: We can meet our kids where they’re at, and we wouldn’t want handwriting struggles interfering with their creativity. I used this with my 6- and 8-year-olds, and they both enjoyed it and impressed me! WriteShop Primary is available in both print and E-book format. You need the Teacher’s Guide ($26.95, or $24.25 E-book), but I highly recommend the Activity Set Workbook Pack ($4.95, or $4.50 E-book) which has an activity page and a writing practice page that corresponds to that lesson’s theme. I particulary like the e-book version for this instead of buying a workbook for each of my kids. I can include the almost-4-year-old, yet not feel a book is wasted because she doesn’t do every lesson that the two older kids do. There are 10 lessons which would provide 30 weeks of lessons for a K or first grader, whereas an older child could do the program more quickly. This program is laid out with all of the details for the parent (read: saves time). A scheduling plan, where to shop for needed materials and tips on creating a writing center are all so helpful; they didn’t leave anything out! The children are guided in their story telling but also have a hands-on activity or project for each lesson. For example, one lesson is on Story structure, with the focus being constructing a beginning, middle, and end; the theme is trains and the kids actually assemble a paper train with a beginning, middle and end that their story is written on. I’ve really enjoyed the WriteShop products we’ve reviewed this year. Their website is full of helpful information including determining placement level, scope and sequence, and sample lessons. WriteShop actually began with creative writing curriculum for high school, and they’re obviously expanding these days! You should check out their Family Tree book, too. Your kids could write historical fiction about your own family! I’ve never seen anything like it! |
Posted in Product Reviews for Homeschooling
I was surprised, though blessed, to receive an Apologia book to review! I thought “everyone” knew about Creation-based science curriculum company Apologia, but I guess you need to know more, right?! We used Apologia for three years with our oldest son and were more than excited to receive one of the Exploring Creation with Zoology books for the elementary level kids.
I love that the Apologia books talk directly to the student, though we did use our “Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day” as a read-aloud. It brought up great discussion, research and learning! There is much hands-on learning available with experiments included in the books, including kits available for the older students’ subjects such as Biology and Chemistry. If you’ve read any of my reviews, you know I like to talk about the company behind the product whenever I’m familiar with them, and Apologia is no exception. Our oldest son studied the Apologia texts written by Dr. Jay Wile, the founder and then-owner of the company. It was neat that Dr. Wile was teaching in our home state of With 7 years between our first and second children, I was hearing the buzz about Apologia books for the younger kids by author Jeannie Fulbright. Then with the surge of hands-on learning lap books and notebooking I was seeing many activities available. I couldn’t wait for my littles to “do” science! The website has a lot of great information, including sample lessons and free notebooking pages! Here's a link to the elementary sciences page where you can get your sample, table of contents or an overview of each: botany, astronomy or one of the three zoology books. Anatomy and Physics & Chemistry are coming soon! I heard that Apologia had a new owner and was blessed again the other day to receive a catalog from them in the mail! Actually, it was more like a magazine because it has great articles, not just their products for sale. I was able to “meet” the Carman family and learn how Apologia is going to be supporting homeschoolers by offering more than just science curriculum. Please visit their website to learn all the details, but they have a great team of authors and speakers on board in order to offer online classes and LIVE conferences. Sign up for their monthly e-newsletter, too! We’ve had fun studying Flying Creatures thus far. Grandpa built us two bird houses from the plans in our text, plus we have two more ready to be built by the kids. We hope to post pictures of those soon! Thanks for stopping by! Danielle |
Posted in Product Reviews for Homeschooling
   From the Schleich website: "When deciding on licensing products such as comic figurines we pay careful attention to their character and the message they carry. Educational aspects play a more important part than possible sales potential." I'm impressed! Now we're off to study the Middle Ages!
Schleich makes high-quality, realistic, full-color creatures that withstand being left outside! They have a Playground at their website where the kids can play games in four of the Worlds! So, go check out the Schleich website to see which creatures or people your family can study, or play with, today! |
Posted in Product Reviews for Homeschooling
   Have you ever received a catalog from The Critical Thinking Company? Have you visited their website? My hubby and I have often drooled over their catalog, but we could never decide which child to get something for or pick just one item for us! TOS Crew to the rescue, and we get to review Mathematical Reasoning, Level A!  This full-color text is bound, not perforated, and there are no name and date lines at the top. I like that! The book offers suggestions at the beginning, including that it's okay to skip ahead on a topic if the child is showing particular interest. And to enjoy learning with your child, keeping in mind his or her attention span. Simple, yet practical, advice!  I think that an investment in curriculum from The Critical Thinking Company would pay off with children who can understand concepts and think through problems better in the future. You can download software demos and print sample pages at their website for both critical thinking products and the core curriculum. Check it out! |
Posted in Product Reviews for Homeschooling
 If you’d like to find out the motivation behind creating these great products then “Meet the Pak Family” and make sure you scroll all the way down, past Amy’s solo picture to get the full story. From Amy’s view of history growing up to their home page explanation of helping kids (and parents) get “the big picture” with history, I can relate! I am not artistically gifted or planning on publishing my own history curriculum, but I’m so glad that Amy is and did! Are you interested in the New Testament Activity-Pak? Go to Homeschooling Hearts & Minds to enter to win your own!
Be blessed, Danielle
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Posted in Product Reviews for Homeschooling
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Oh, these toys are so hard to review and write about – LOL! We were again blessed to receive a fabulous toy set from One2Believe; this time it was their Noah’s My kids all play with this, but the 6- and 3-year-old have kept it up with the most interest. I like the variety of the animals, and we especially loved the monkeys, as we’ve adopted monkeys as our baby boy’s favorite animal. This is made for ages 3 and up, due to the small parts, so it’s not kept with the baby toys. My kids have always liked to play with various people and creatures from any sets they receive. They mix and match Little People, Veggie Tales, and now this set to act out stories - which is great when they're Bible stories! The ark is very large and the top comes off, so it stores these animals with room for a few more toys to be added. Gotta’ love when a toy is easy to have picked up! I was checking out the One2Believe website, and I want one of their more unique items! They have a Tales of Glory Galilee Boat Set! I have never seen another company offer something like this! It has 14 characters, obviously one being Jesus, so our kids can play out the story from Luke, Chapter 5! With the popularity of pirate-themed ships these days, I would really like to have this one as an alternative! The one2believe website offers parent resources and a kids' corner, and I appreciate being able to support a Christian company. Both the Ark and Boat Set sell for $24.99, which I think is worth it since they aren't "baby toys" that will be outgrown soon. I'm glad the kids have their own Noah’s
Thanks for stopping by, Danielle
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Posted in Product Reviews for Homeschooling
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We’ve tried a new spelling program that is unique and quite versatile called SpellQuizzer. I must say that it is unique for me, as I’ve never seen or used a software spelling program. This program is versatile because you can input the words your child needs to learn from a spelling book, unit study or foreign language. And this isn’t just for spelling; it works for vocabulary, too! You enter your child’s words by simply typing them in and also by saying them into a microphone, included in many computers today or purchased inexpensively from a department store. You can also type in a description or definition, which makes a great vocabulary test!
I like that the child gets immediate feedback: if the word is correct, they pass on to the next word; if incorrect, both the correct and incorrect spelling are shown to the child. At the end of that list, the child is asked if they’d like to try the missed words again. I had no problems with downloading this program. I like that you do not have to be online for the student to practice. You purchase the program for $29.95, 100% satisfaction guaranteed, and you own it for life, also receiving free upgrades when available. The website is full of information. There are downloadable spelling lists available with more to come in the future; there are holiday themed lists, sample lists for each grade, and frequently misspelled words by grade. They also offer links to other educational sites. I did feel that this program is aimed at public school kids more than homeschoolers and would like to see more positive examples on their homepage instead of “end the nightly spelling practice battles” and that typing your spellings words is less of a chore than writing them out by hand. This really goes against how I’m teaching my children to respond to work. I like the versatility of SpellQuizzer, and I know we’ll come back to it for vocabulary practice if not for regular spelling quizzes. Download the free 30-day trial to see if this spelling program works for your family. Check out what other reviewers think about SpellQuizzer at TOS Homeschool Crew. Thanks for stopping by, Danielle |
Posted in Product Reviews for Homeschooling
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For those of you who’ve never taken an art class I may have the curriculum to equip you to teach your kids.Posted in Product Reviews for Homeschooling
 Has everyone out there heard of Five in a Row by Jane Claire Lambert? Had everyone but me used Five in a Row in their homeschool? I have good friends who have used Five in a Row, and I had even borrowed their books, but I had never implemented this unit study into our homeschool. After receiving Five in a Row, Volume 3 to review and checking out their website, I am now seeing how Five in a Row is a great fit for our family! In case you don’t know what Five in a Row “is” I’ll explain briefly. First, I’ll let you know that whenever you see FIAR in homeschool circles, they’re talking about Five in a Row. I’ve been confused many times trying to figure out which curriculum people are talking about! So, FIAR suggests a “storybook” that you read to your child for five days in a row, thus the name. I know this sounded strange to me when I first heard of it; must be because I get bored easily – LOL! Then they turn that book inside out, taking the information and categorizing it for you to learn about with your child. The categories include: Social Studies (i.e., relationships, Geography, culture), Language Arts (i.e., vocabulary, literary devices), Art, Math, and Science. Of course, they cover these topics at the age-appropriate levels, and there are so many topics available for each story that you get to choose five for the week. FIAR now has their literature-based studies for preK through Junior High. As I mentioned above, we received Five in a Row, Volume 3, which is for ages 4-8. I am also currently reviewing Tapestry of Grace with my 8 and 10 year-olds, studying the Middle Ages, so I looked to see if Volume 3 had a book that would fit in with that time frame, and it did! We chose The Duchess Bakes a Cake by Virginia Kahl for our FIAR unit study to include our 3 and 6 year-olds in our study of the Middle Ages. We had so much fun! We talked about problem solving and consequences, poetry and alliteration, synonyms, plot, foreshadowing and covered the vocabulary! The kids went around saying “I’m going to bake a lovely, light, luscious, delectable cake!” And we discussed why the duchess’ cake wouldn’t have been any of those! Since I’ve been reviewing for TOS Crew I have been learning about the convenience and money savings of digital formats, e-books and audios, and FIAR is providing their resources in this manner. Actually, they are bringing back previously discontinued items (Cookbook!) and they offer new resources, including a planner, timeline, fold-n-learns (similar to lapbooks), nature studies and audio downloads to help you in your parenting and teaching. FIAR offers digital “units” where you can purchase one book study at a time including the cookbook pages and the Bible study supplement pages. This is such a great idea for me, as it will help me include the littles in the older kids’ studies, and I don’t have to buy an entire volume for one or two lessons! I am privileged to have this opportunity to examine Five in a Row more closely. I appreciate the online forum where users can receive help and offer advice, plus I just love the new digital site. I feel the Lamberts are trying to provide us with information and products to help us succeed. Another great homeschooling vendor on our side! |
Posted in Product Reviews for Homeschooling
 We’ve tried a few math curriculum around here (A Beka, Miquon, Saxon), but I was unsure of how to review a math curriculum. I thought about what homeschoolers look for in a math program. The main concern I’ve heard parents express is if a program has enough drill, or practice. And cost also seems to be a consideration for most of us, especially if you have several children. So, I think I’ve found a great program that addresses both of these concerns! Math mammoth caught my attention awhile back because of its catchy name! Math mammoth is authored by Maria Miller who wants our children to really understand math. Maria explains why she has organized the curriculum the way she has, and she has comparisons of Math Mammoth to other popular homeschool math curriculum. Math Mammoth offers online placement tests for your student to take and free curriculum samples. At first I thought the category choices of curriculum by color were confusing, but once I examined it more closely, it’s actually logical! Who knew! There is the Light Blue series which is a complete curriculum for grades 1-5; the Blue Series for grades 1-5, organized by topic which contains both explanations and problems, needing little parent assistance; the Golden Series for grades 3-8, organized by grade, containing problems only; and the Green Series for grades 3-8, organized by topic, containg problems only. We received the Light Blue Series, full grade-level curriculum, for first, second, and third grade to review. For the first grade level, my 7 y.o. was struggling with problems like 4+_=5; she would write in “9” instead of “1.” Math Mammoth uses pictures of dice to teach basic addition. This made sense to her since we’ve played board games and she’s familiar with dice. Using blocks and rods with other math programs was just an additional thing for her to learn; they did not help her. And for the first grade study of currency, We did discover a few errors where there was supposed to be an addition sign and there was a subtraction sign instead. Also, there was a story problem with borrowing over zero tens that wasn’t taught until a lesson or two later in the third grade level. After the reviews from TOS Crew are in, I’m sure Maria will be addressing such issues. Depending on how many children are in your home to use Math Mammoth with, it may be the cheapest curriculum out there. You have several purchasing options: Download, CD, CD & printed, or Printed copies alone. I think the Download or CD option is the best value because it is yours “forever” for as many children as you have. If you purchase all of the available grade levels from the LightBlue Series, 1st – 5A, you pay $89 for the download or $94 for the CD. That’s pretty inexpensive for five and half years of math! Each level is divided into Part A and Part B, so if you can’t afford that much at once, you can purchase everything separately. I really feel Math Mammoth is obtainable in price and accessible in the format that works best for your family! Math Mammoth curriculum includes additional practice worksheets. We already took advantage of it with my 7 year-old because she just wasn’t “getting it,” and we needed some more examples since I’d already done so many for her trying to explain the concept! We are seriously considering switching everyone to Math Mammoth. I am so glad, again, to have an opportunity to review this product. I know a lesson I have learned is to take the time and use the free samples so many companies offer us. It would have been worth it this time, and I’ll be checking out more companies this way in the future. Thanks for stopping by, Danielle |
Posted in Product Reviews for Homeschooling
My first thought when I received these reading/visual aids from Heads Up! was “I don’t have a special needs child.” But once I read a little more about the company and these aids/frames/filters I realized they just might help my 8 y.o. son stay a bit more focused. And they did!
From their website: Heads Up! is a company designed to provide expert information and products for special needs children. Our items have been selected to accommodate various learning styles and strengths, regardless of curriculum used. These special needs products have been found to be especially helpful for children who are distractible or hyperactive. My 10 y.o. daughter just had to try them, too, because they looked fun and made a good bookmark – LOL! My son tends to lose track of where he’s at with reading and to look ahead in math instead of finishing the page he’s on, and these aids helped us. I contacted two speech pathologists I know to share with them and get their feedback, but neither of them accepted my offer :-( I received a catalog from Heads Up! full of wonderful quotes and information on their products. I’ve checked out their website, and they offer a lot of information in the form of books, articles and resources. They offer unique materials and gadgets that would help children who are mildly fidgety, like mine, onto children with Asperger’s and other diagnoses. Products are listed in categories including time management, fine motor, and speech & oral sensory. There is truly something for everyone from this Christian company. Check them out! |
Posted in Product Reviews for Homeschooling
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Do you ever have trouble explaining a math concept to your child? Do you struggle with showing them how to work a problem without doing all their problems for them? Well, Math Tutor DVD is the answer to many math woes. This is not a math curriculum but an actual math tutor explaining concepts and working example problems for you. The DVD’s have the instructor talking to you, explaining and working example problems at a white board; he explains and uses math terminology, and with Word Problems he gives the key words to look for in order to know what the problem was asking you to do and what unit of measure to use. My kids really enjoyed it, sometimes getting carried away with wanting to guess the answer and not really listening to the problems. It was repetitive at points, but I think that is helpful if the child is just beginning with that concept. From the website: - #1 Best Selling tutorial DVDs in their respective subjects! - All DVD courses Guaranteed to raise grades or your money back! These DVD’s are simply done, which after reviewing some online game-type programs is fine by me. There is no objectionable material this way ;-) Technically, the DVD’s are set up that you can skip to and from each problem with your remote, which I found helpful. Each lesson you order contains 2 DVD’s running from Please visit Math Tutor DVD to view sample videos and hear testimonials. If you make a purchase you receive one hour of live online tutoring free, a $35 value. And the instructor has included his academic and career information, which was quite interesting! Thanks for stopping by, |
Posted in Product Reviews for Homeschooling
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We’ve enjoyed reviewing curriculum we’ve received, but it is always a special treat to review a fun item. Getting the word out about new and unique Christian products and companies has been a privilege for me as a member of TOS Crew. Be blessed, Danielle |
Posted in Product Reviews for Homeschooling
WriteShop began when two homeschool moms needed the perfect writing program for struggling Junior high students. Little did they know they would eventually publish a curriculum which now includes the primary level along with supplemental programs. We received World of People and World of Sports StoryBuilders e-books, which sell for $7.95, to review for WriteShop. I know I have struggled with teaching writing in the past. I expected too much at one time, which caused my oldest to dislike writing, then I would say “Write whatever you want,” and that wasn’t enough direction. I haven’t been consistent since then and haven’t integrated a writing curriculum. There are a lot of writing programs out there, and I like how WriteShop builds on each skill previously taught. Some people aren’t natural writers or natural teachers of writing, and I think WriteShop offers a great program. Please check out their website for yourself, whether you need a full writing curriculum, creative writing springboard or other supplemental materials.
Be blessed, Danielle |
Posted in Product Reviews for Homeschooling
 I can still remember learning about homophones with Mrs. Widman in the second grade. We had a paper tree on the wall with leaves that we wrote the homophone pairs on. Since then I have always liked spelling and grammar, then linguistics and phonetics, so this review was right up my alley, and I was excited to receive All About Homophones.
I received All About Homophones in E-book format ($27.95), but it is also available as a 250 page print book for $29.95, plus $4.95 for priority shipping (see deal below). Parents are free to make copies for in-home use. In this “tool kit” for Grades 1-8 you will find: Games to teach homonyms, crossword puzzles, worksheets, great lesson ideas, activity cards, and puns, jokes, and riddles. The book is organized by grade level, beginning with the simpler words, and I found it easy to use with different age/grade levels, plus the littles can even join in with the card games, which makes my life a little easier. The only negative I see is the ink intensive design of the worksheet pages. Ms. Rippel is very generous with the sample pages we can view, so please go to All About Homophones to see this jam-packed “tool kit.” The website is informative and interactive. There’s a Homophone machine I played with; My sentence was “I think it is almost time for dinner, but everything isn't ready yet,” and was converted to “Eye think it is almost thyme four dinner, butt everything isn't ready yet.” That’s an aspect the book offers, too: “Fun games and activity challenges to easily motivate students.” I recommend All About Homophones as fun extension to your spelling and language program. Thanks for stopping by, Danielle |