Happily Homeschooling

Noah's Ark playset by one2believe Review

one2believe – Noah’s Ark Playset 

Just before Christmas, I wrote a review on the Nativity Set (see my review here) by one2believe. We received another great product from one2Believe that I would like to tell you about.

The Noah’s Ark set is part of one2believe’s Tales of Glory figure set. Each of the sets comes with a mini story book and 3” PVC figurines. There are 14 animals in this set, 7 pairs (1 male and 1 female), and Noah. This set also comes with a “BIG ark” that all of the animals and Noah fit inside. The ark floats, too! We discovered this about 15 minutes after receiving the box. “It’s an ark, it has to float,” said my son, and it did. The ark itself has 3 pieces: the base (main part of boat), the deck, and a ramp.

As we discovered with the Nativity Set, the one2believe products are fun to play with and durable. The parts are big enough to enjoy and not easily lost. Also, because of the size, there is less risk of a choking hazard. Although, there is a warning for this product on the website that it is not for children under 3.

I am going to add part of my review for the Nativity Set because I believe this is an important point:

Also included with this set is a guide called “Spiritual Stepping Stones”. This guide helps parents to understand the importance of developing a child’s spiritual life. It explains, by age level, the “stepping stones” to take to guide your child to The Lord Jesus Christ. I believe this is the most important aspect about this company and their products. A portion of their vision states: “one2believe's passion is to help children learn important Bible lessons and to have them come to faith in Jesus. Our goal is to provide fun ways of teaching children about the greatest people who ever lived. Through the toys that we design children will learn and play out exciting stories about real people. Our toys teach children that there are real superheroes they can believe in!”

The Noah’s Ark set can be purchased through one2believe’s website for $29.95. I think you’ll find this worth the price and your kids will enjoy it, too.

You can read other crew members reviews here.

Schleich Review

When we heard that we were going to be reviewing Schleich products, the kids were so excited. They have been collecting a various assortment of Schleich toys for some time now. Let me tell you about the company first. 

Schleich GmbH was founded in Germany in 1935 and is a “leading manufacturer of animal figurines and imaginative playworlds”. Schleich sends their products to over 50 countries around the world and can be purchased in specialty toy shops, Target, and Toys R’ Us. You can also buy online through Schleich’s website. We have purchased most of our collection at the TSC (Tractor Supply Store).

Now on to the toys! We received several animal figurines for our review. We have several others from previous purchases. All of our figurines have been constructed very well. They are durable and lifelike. The colors are natural and realistic. This is a nice feature. I don’t like to purchase toys that look “fake”. The kids will even point out flaws on some products they see in stores because they’re so blatant. Even though they’re kids, they still like quality, and we definitely see this with Schleich. You will, too.

When we were at Disney recently, we were able to view many Schleich figurines and playworlds at Epcot in Germany. We could have stayed in there forever. I was fascinated, too. Our local Target does have a large selection, as does TSC (TSC sells mostly animal figurines).

According to Schleich’s website, all of the figurines have these characteristics: true-to-life modeling, meticulously handpainted, in compliance with all relevant safety regulations, and are equipped with the Schleich tag bearing the red S symbol for highest quality. As I said above, we had several of the figurines already prior to this review, and all of these characteristics are present (see pic). It is evident to me that Schleich takes pride in their products and maintains a standard of quality not often seen in today’s mass produced, high priced, low value world. Whether you call them toys or figurines, they will survive play and will become collectibles that can be passed down to the next generation.

There are several product lines that Schleich has created. The picture here shows just a few of the animals that are available. From farm life animals to dinosaurs, from Knights to elves, there is a theme for everyone. They even have Smurfs, which we were able to see at Disney. They also have playworld accessories for farm life and wild life. You can view them here. Another fascinating area to the website is the playground. This is a semi-interactive “game world” where you can explore the Schleich figurines within the playworld setting. It’s not a real game, but it’s interesting.

I know that you will love these products. Check them out at your local Target, TSC, Country Max, or Toys R Us. There may be other places, too. You can locate retailers here. The prices vary but start as low as $2.49. Most individual animals are less than $10.00 each and accessories are priced a higher. To me, with the excellent quality, the price is great.

You can read other members reviews here.

SpellQuizzer Review

  a product of TedCo Software

Do have students that hesitate when you ask them to study for their spelling test? Or maybe you have children that need a more hands on approach to spelling. SpellQuizzer might be your answer.

This computer application was designed by Dan Hite, the father of 2 elementary school children that wanted to help them with their weekly spelling lists. The application is a simple download from spellquizzer.com right to your desktop (or wherever you choose to put it). There are preexisting spelling lists for grades 1-8, plus extra spelling lists like Greek Mythology, States, and commonly misspelled words. But you are not tied to just those lists. You can add your own lists, and add your own audio! Even if you don’t have a microphone, you can just type in a reminder phrase for the student to read. I found that you can even add Spanish words or phrases as the spelling word and then type or say the English translation. This is really neat. I was prompted that the word was “not in dictionary”, but it still let me keep the word. You can also import and export new lists as needed. Purchasing SpellQuizzer also gives you the opportunity to update the program when one is available. Another fun thing that can be done with the application is adding sounds after each word is spelled correctly or incorrectly, and also at the end of the quiz. There are several sounds to choose from, too. Once you have your spelling list, the student can then take a quiz. The word is spoken, or the phrase shown and the student then spells the word into the box. There is a tally of the words right on the screen, too: “Word 1 of 15”. This can help encourage the student by letting him know there are only 5 words left. If any words are misspelled, he will be asked if he wants to retake the quiz at the end with only those that were missed. This is nice because the student can try again until all the words are correct. Of course, there is the option not to retry.

The only drawback that I could see so far is that there is no tally of misspelled words or scores for the quizzes. There are also no reports that can be viewed; at least not that I could find. But this wasn’t a big deal for us since I am generally within hearing distance of the computer while the kids are on.

We really liked this program. It is designed to be individualized, and can be used for more than one student. The spelling lists are given names so when the students get on, they can look for their own list. Like I stated above, it could also be used for a foreign language (minus symbols). It’s interactive, changeable, and fun. I think you’ll like it, too. SpellQuizzer can be used with any curriculum, too, since you can add the words yourself.

You can try it for free for 30 days here. You can purchase it for $29.95 and there is a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

Check out the other crew members reviews here.

Artistic Pursuits Review

ARTistic Pursuits

Looking for an art curriculum that requires no parent prep time, is organized, easy to use, is designed for homeschoolers by homeschoolers, is non-consumable, features actual Master art pieces, and teaches art history from ancient times to today? I’m going to tell you about a program that includes all of these plus more.

The curriculum is Artistic Pursuits. Brenda & Dan Ellis created this curriculum to help homeschooling parents teach their children about art without prior formal training. This curriculum allows parents to participate with their children while learning the fundamentals of art. It is family oriented and individualized. Children are allowed to create art from their own interests, rather than be told what they are to draw/create. Artistic Pursuits offers curriculum books for Kindergarten through 12th grade. There are 3 levels for K-3, and 2 levels each for 4-6 grades, Junior High, and Senior High.

We received Artistic Pursuits, Grades K-3 Book One, An Introduction to the Visual Arts for review. This level teaches students art history “using the idea that art is more than just a picture on a wall.” The projects encourage students to use their observations of the world when creating art. This technique is used right from the first lesson. Pieter Dr Hooch’s painting of The Courtyard of a House in Delft is used as an example for the lesson. There are questions for the student to answer about the painting that encourage him to look deeper into the picture. It’s pretty neat. It makes you think, which is the point.

We like this program. I like especially the Masterpieces that are used during the lessons and the historical information given. There is not an in depth history lesson given, but this is art not a history class. What we did is research more information on the artist and/or time period. Both my son (8) and my daughter (13) like the projects and the Masterpieces. They both do have an interest in the history component, but hands on always tops reading with them.

I recommend Artistic Pursuits if you’re looking for an easy to use and still thorough program. I know that you’ll like what you see. You can view sample pages here. You can purchase each book for $42.95 through the website or you can purchase by phone here. Once you have the book, you will only need to purchase the art supplies necessary for the specific book you have. Artistic Pursuits has put together supply kits for each level that can be purchased here.

I invite you to read other reviews from Crew members here.