Jun. 30, 2010 Welcome to the TOS Homeschool Crew's Official Blog!
The TOS Homeschool Crew is ready to set sail on our second voyage - this one will be a full-year long! We have 100 new members, along with 33 Crew Mates who have returned for another year. We're looking forward to a very exciting year, filled with great products, informative reviews, and lots of fun.
We're glad that you are here! This blog will serve as the "hub" for the Homeschool Crew. Here, you will find information about each and every product that we will review, along with links to all the many blogs that contain Crew reviews. Simply click through the links to see what our Crew members have to say about the products you know and love, or the ones you're most curious about. We've got a wonderful line-up of products this year (please refer to the Vendors on Deck list in our sidebar).
As the captain of the Crew, I'll be steering our ship through some uncharted waters this year, but am looking forward to smooth sailing. If you have any questions about the Crew, please feel free to contact me at any time throughout the course of our voyage.
PLEASE NOTE - The Mr. Linkies are for CREW MEMBERS ONLY!
Please DO NOT SIGN unless you are a Crew Member, posting a link to your review.
A special note to VENDORS - If you are interested in using the Crew's services as a means to help spread the word about your products, that's great and we'd be more than happy to help you. Please DO NOT go down through our list of reviewers and solicit reviews on your own. You need to go through our sales team at TOS in order to set up reviews through our Crew. If you know who your sales representative is, please contact her. If not, please e-mail me and I will point you in the right direction. |
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Do you want to learn how to make video games?
Tektoma offers you this:
• Engaging video tutorials for ages 7-17
• Tutorials of varying skill levels and topics
• Learn at your own pace in the comfort of your home
• Natural progression helps develop technical skills
• Customize your learning experience
• Low monthly membership fee gives access to all our resources
• New curriculums available monthly
All materials, projects and forums are moderated for appropriate content, language and graphics that are suitable for even young children. Come explore Tektoma's online video tutorials and inspire your tech imagination!
Price: Just $14.95 per month or $140 per year gets you access to all the tutorials as well as online help via the forums.
Free Membership Opportunities:
• Free 14-day trial
• Earn free membership time by telling your friends
Requirements:
• Windows XP or Vista (Mac versions coming in the future)
• Broadband internet connection
• For GameMaker tutorials, you need a copy of GameMaker software installed.(Lite edition is available for free.)
Homeschool Crew members received access to this website for review. You can read their thoughts on Tektoma here:
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Nov. 16, 2009 Exploramania / GyMathtics
Exploracise Gymathtics is a revolutionary program that teaches math and healthy lifestyle concepts while performing a complete exercise routine. Scientific research shows that movement in combination with learning enhances retention and recognition.
Gymathtics is a fun fitness learning experience that kids will want to do again and again. The exercise program is great for kids of all ages. The math facts target 2nd-5th grade levels.
The Complete Program includes:
• Shape Stretches Warm Up - Stretch your mind and body with line, circle, and polygon stretches.
• Counting Calisthenics - Aerobic movements work your heart as fun counting concepts work your brain.
• Pattern Power - Growing and repeating pattern exercise combinations challenge minds and strengthen muscles.
• Well-Being Wind Down - Relaxing stretches cool down the body and open the mind to think about healthy lifestyle choices.
DVD. 30 minutes. Price: $24.99. (Special promotion: FREE Shipping & Handling.)
Other products available include the Exploracise floor mat, Exploracise Thumballs, and coming soon: Gymathtics 2.0 DVD.
Even if you don't need the extra math practice, this DVD is a great way to add some exercise to your school routine. See what the Crew has to say about it here:
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Nov. 16, 2009 3P Learning / Mathletics
3P Learning, the home of Mathletics, is a web-based math service, providing children a chance to compete with students from around the world, or to rack up points by working through grade-specific content, which includes step-by-step animated support. There is access to additional games at Rainforest Maths, and the students get to go shopping for clothing and backgrounds for their character with the credits they earn from many of the above activities. There are also games that reinforce math concepts. In other words, the students have a variety of ways to interact with math.
Parents can view progress online, print out workbooks for use by the child, and can receive weekly progress emails, so it is fairly easy to keep track of what your child is learning. You can also set it up so the child will have to complete certain activities first, before having access to everything.
3P Learning’s has stated that it’s mission is “to engage every student every day with a personalized, responsive and intelligent learning resource that inspires a delight in math and an innate drive to better results.”
3P Learning is the creator and host of two free web-events annually, which include World Math Day in March and the American Math Challenge in November. Students from around the world or around the US, depending on the event, get to play in the Mathletics environment for the duration of the event. In 2009, World Math Day had more than 2 million students from 204 countries taking part.
While Mathletics is used in schools in over 200 countries, they also support homeschooling. You can view a six page brochure about Mathletics and homeschooling here.
Mathletics is an internet subscription based product, with a price of $59 per student per year. If you know the Human Calculator’s favorite number (hint: it’s ‘9’!) and you enter that when asked, you can purchase a single child subscription for $49.95 for a year at their website.
Everyone on the crew received a 45 day subscription to the Mathletics website, so watch this space as their opinions start rolling in.
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Oct. 29, 2009 We R Fun Life on the Farm
We all know that homeschooling isn't just about curriculum. Homeschoolers are a group of people who can adapt most anything to make it an educational experience for their families. When I was told that a board game manufacturer had decided to take part in the Crew this year, I was excited! Games are not only fun, by they are often educational and are a great way to introduce new concepts to your children in a non-threatening way.
 We R Fun Inc. is the producer of two games that I think you'll find to be BOTH FUN & EDUCATIONAL. Keith Gohl and his sister Ev Johnson created Life on the Farm as a way of introducing the interesting and sometimes challenging world of farming to their city relatives. Here is what they have to say about this game:
This Legen-'dairy' board game combines fast 'moo'-ving action with real family farm mishaps for 'udder'-ly unpredictable fun! Imagine - you own a nostalgic American family farm (and the gamble involved in running one)! As you race against your neighbors to buy more cows, your income and your expenses grow as fast as your herd does! Collect your 'Milk-Check' when you pass the barn - market values can change with each roll of the dice! This game is filled with authentic family farm life experiences, yet it is easy to understand and play. A real family game - it was designed so ages 8 to 108 can easily play together, comfortably! First to "Retire" wins!
This game has won various awards and honorable mentions, so it's definitely worth checking into for your family. My 9-year-old loves it!
 Often at our house my 3-year-old is left out of game playing. He was just thrilled to see that there was a Life on the Farm game just for him - the PRESCHOOL VERSION! I have to admit that, though this game is geared toward the little ones, our whole family enjoys it! I love that the playing pieces are soft and foamy and filling your "puzzle barn" with animal pieces is so much fun. My Ian is great with colors and is currently learning counting skills, so this game ties right in with what he's learning. The creators say:
No reading required. Soft feel of this non-toxic foam Playmat / Board Game and Farm puzzle set. Draw a card and match colors to move along the Gamemat - it's fun to take turns! Land on an animal square and match it with a puzzle piece to put in your barn - Fill the barn with farm animals and you win! This is a lot of FUN to play with Preschoolers!
At $25 and $20 respectfully, these games are affordable and of high quality. The boxes are very solid and the playing pieces are sturdy and should prove to be long-lasting. Both games would make wonderful Christmas gifts. They can be purchased directly from the company, at specialty retailers, and at Kmart.com.
Our First Mates each received either Life of the Farm or Life on the Farm Preschool Version to play and review. See what they have to say:
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Oct. 28, 2009 Professor in a Box
When I was in high school, one of the electives available was financial accounting. As my students approach high school age, I figured I’d be developing my own course, probably using a college textbook. Well, thanks to Michael P. Licata, Ph.D. of Professor in a Box, homeschoolers no longer have to do that.
Professor Licata has been teaching college accounting courses for the past 24 years. The last eight years, he has been teaching 100% distance learning courses at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. As a homeschool father, offering that learning experience to homeschooled high schoolers must have seemed like a logical next step. You can learn more about Professor Licata and the course by watching a short video.
Why accounting? Obviously, for students interested in a business degree, this could be a very useful course. But accounting is more than just number crunching. Accounting is about problem solving and logic, and is the basic language of business. So students who plan to operate their own business or who want to purchase stock would be in a better position to do so with at least a basic knowledge of accounting.
The course format is a bit unusual – they say non-traditional – as there is no textbook with page after page of confusing examples. Instead, the student watches and listens to Flash lecture slides. There are homework problems to complete using Excel spreadsheets. The students check their work, and take exams. Chapter 3, on recording transactions, is available here. The work is broken up into 28 lessons, which can be completed at a college pace (2 lessons per week for 14 weeks), over an academic year (of 28 weeks), or even as summer school (3 lessons per week for roughly 9 weeks). You can see the syllabus online.
After completing the course, the student can choose to take the new Financial Accounting CLEP. Even though this is a college level course, high school students with basic algebra skills can certainly complete the work.
Professor in a Box comes with everything you need except a PC: a booklet with the syllabus and learning objectives by chapter; an instructor CD; three discs with the lectures; a pencil; and a calculator. Currently, they are running a summer special for $134.99, which includes free Priority Mail shipping. They do have a money back guarantee: you can complete the first three chapters, and if you are not satisfied, they will issue a full refund.
Check out Professor in a Box, and see what the Crew has to say about it here:
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Oct. 26, 2009 American Heritage Education Foundation
The American Heritage Education Foundation believes that “Freedom, Unity, Progress, and Responsibility are ideals that are rapidly declining or disappearing in their [our children’s] teaching and learning not only in our K-12 public and private schools but also in our colleges and universities of higher education. A nation built on these ideas and theories cannot possibly survive if those same philosophical and historical principles are not studied, taught, learned, practiced, and reinforced in our schools and institutions attended by the next generation of young people.”
To counteract the lack of knowledge regarding the foundation our country is built upon, American Heritage Education Foundation developed a supplemental curriculum that is designed to address these very issues. The purpose for the lessons are not simply to offer the students basic information; but to provide activities and projects which emphasize the significance of the events that led to the formation of our country’s early beginning, and the major documents that set the United States apart from any other nation.
The AHEF resources are divided into three levels; which touch upon all, or some of the four themes (Freedom, Unity, Progress and Responsibility) vital to this curriculum:
Originally designed for the public school classroom, homeschooling families can easily adapt the material to fit their needs. Each level provides an ample selection of lessons to choose from. For those families with a wide range in ages, the units can be used in conjunction with each other. They have enough similar content, but with slightly more difficult material for older children; so that the whole family can easily study it at the same time.
The AHEF had made this material free for all to use. You can download right from their site as needed, if you have good internet access. You may also request their free CD (good for those with dial-up) which contains all 3 levels, or their printed version for a fee of $19.50 [per level]. There is a wealth of information provided in these lessons, which are presented in an orderly, and easy to follow fashion. It is recommended that one spends some time going through the site to further learn about the American Heritage Education Foundation.
The TOS Crew received the CD to explore. Each reviewer chose lessons based on their children’s ages and skills, so they could provide you with more insight regarding this product.
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AVKO is a non-profit organization, founded by Don McCabe, that specializes in teaching dyslexics how to read, write, spell and type. AVKO develops books and materials utilizing the multi-sensory approach (Audio, Visual, Kinesthetic, Oral) that can be used with anyone and by anyone. "AVKO materials and methods are all common-sense and effective with those we have worked with: young and old, dyslexic and non-dyslexic."
I stumbled across AVKO several years ago, when I was feeling helpless and confused on how to help my son, who was struggling with reading. The first purchase I made from AVKO was To Teach a Dyslexic, by Don McCabe. After reading Mr. McCabe’s book, I felt a sense a relief. I felt as though we now had a direction in which to move, when it came to teaching my son to read. From there, I purchased a one year membership, and shortly after, all 7 levels of Sequential Spelling. I cannot even begin to tell you how much AVKO has blessed our family.
Whether you have a struggling reader or not, the techniques and ideas that you can glean from Don McCabe will help you teach spelling and reading.
Every member of the crew will be receiving a one year membership to AVKO. I would like to point out that among all the wonderful resources that are included in an AVKO membership is To Teach a Dyslexic, by Don McCabe, the book that started our journey!
What else is included in an AVKO membership?
• Discounts on AVKO printed materials
• Hundreds of dollars worth of FREE e-books (PDF)
o The Patterns of English Spelling (All 10 Volumes) with Word Families in Sentence Context
o To Teach a Dyslexic
o Starting at Square One
o The Teaching of Reading & Spelling: a Continuum from Kindergarten through College
o The Reading Teacher's List of Over 5,500 Basic Spelling Words
• Access to the Member Only section
• AVKO Newsletter with freebies, discounts, resources, and promotions
• Access to Don McCabe's most popular workshop recordings in MP3 format.
• Supplemental Curriculum Materials including word games, worksheets, activities, and more!
• Access to Pretests and Placement Tests
• Access to the Answer Keys for the Unscramblers and Family Reunion exercises of the Engaging Language Kits
Please visit www.avko.org for more information, and don’t forget to check out the reviews from the crew!
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Anyone who has ever attended a public or private high school in the United States understands what the letters ACT represent. In fact, sometime about the Junior year of high school those three little letters can strike fear into the hearts of the bravest college applicants. ACT, Inc. has provided standardized testing services to students, parents and colleges for 50 years. Although their 4 part marathon college entrance exam test is used by nearly all colleges and universities throughout the United States as a standardized representation of academic excellence of the students who take it, ACT, Inc., offers a number of other career planning and college preparatory services to assist people of all ages in meeting their professional and personal goals. Their offerings fall under their ACT Advantage program.
The ACT Advantage DISCOVER program is an on-line based career planning program developed to serve the interests of students aged middle school through adult hood. Through a series of interesting inventory tests taken on-line, Discover guides students through the thoughtful process of considering the next step after high school. Inventory tests explore personal likes and dislikes in regards to various activities, rating of abilities, and an evaluation of work related values. Data results are shared instantly through graphs and explanations. Students may also access current information on potential college majors, colleges and careers that line up with their interests. Discover is appropriate to help students prepare for:
• four-year college
• two-year college
• professional/graduate school
• career/technical training
• military service
• immediate employment
 The ACT Advantage EXPLORE test is a special evaluation tool designed for 8th and 9th graders. True to its name the test is designed to aid students in exploring career possibilities. Explore test results demonstrate a student’s strengths and weaknesses in four core subject areas: English, Mathematics, Reading and Science. According to ACT, the Explore test can help parents identify if their student is on the right path for future college entrance. This test can be ordered from ACT’s website and arrives in paper format to your home along with helpful scoring information.
 ACT Advantage’s next step in the college bound process is the PLAN test. This pre-ACT test is specifically designed for 10th grade students to measure their preparedness for the official ACT college entrance exam. PLAN is typically administered the fall of the sophomore year allowing students to identify strengths and weaknesses in their academic assessment by providing an estimated ACT composite score. PLAN provides evaluation in the areas of Math, Reading, English and Science and is administered through standard practices of paper test and bubble sheet answers. Parents can order the PLAN test from the ACT website.
Additionally, ACT advantage offers an educational video library service appropriate for students aged pre-K to high school. Videos are produced by well known companies such as PBS, Schlessinger, Disney, NEST Family Classics and Scholastic and cover topics in the areas of Business, Careers and Vocational Training, History, Language Arts and Communication, Math, Science, Social Studies, the Arts, Wellness and Life Skills. The ACT Advantage library videos are rented straight from the website for $7.00 for the first video and $4.00 for each additional one. Payments are made at the ACT Advantage secure website. Shipping charges are always free.
For more information regarding all ACT now offers parents and students with their ACT Advantage program visit their website at www.actadvantage.org and read the reviews from the Crew.
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Oct. 12, 2009 Virginia Soaps & Scents
It almost seems unfair for me to write the informative post about Virginia Soaps & Scents because I already know that I am biased! I am the lucky person who got to review the products from Virginia Soaps & Scents for The Old Schoolhouse Magazine last fall. I admit, in that review, that I started out skeptical; but I came out a die-hard fan of handmade soaps and other products - especially those made by Virginia Soaps & Scents. Needless to say, I was thrilled to find out that they would be teaming up with the Crew this year to help introduce the world to their products.
So, what will the Crew be reviewing? A nice assortment of "pamper yourself" goodies:
Handcrafted Olive Oil Soaps - these soaps are "real" soap, not detergent (like many of the soap products that you buy in the store). They are avaiable in 20+ fragrances (as well as in fragrance-free). The soaps are a 4.75 oz. bar (except for the adorable Bed & Breakfast Samplers that the Crew received, which are also available to purchase); they can be purchased individually or in bulk. They are long-lasting and produce a nice lather.
Shampoo Bar - these bars are available in 5.5 oz. size, in 2 varieties - original and the new formula for fine or oily hair. One bar will easily get you the same amount of washings as a 32 oz. bottle of your regular shampoo. It's a different feeling and takes some getting used to, but these bars are pretty neat! They are available in 4 fragrances.
Laundry Soap Kit - have you ever thought about making your own laundry soap? If you've been thinking about, but haven't taken the plunge yet because maybe you're scared or unsure, then this kit is just what you need. Everything is included to make a batch of laundry soap that will last awhile and save you lots of money. Trust me, you'll be hooked (I've been making my own since writing my review last year).
Virginia Soaps & Scents has lots of other great products that you'll want to check out - gourmet soaps, shaving soaps, total body bars, lotions, scrubs, and powder, lip balm, and lavender linen spray. And, just in time for your Christmas shopping,their holiday fragrances are back (warning: the pumpkin spice scent tastes good enough to eat!)
Here's what the Crew thinks:
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