Feb. 8, 2010 - Hear Ye! Hear Ye!!! TOS Crew Year 3 is gearing up...

If you are interested in learning more about yourself, your children, and homeschooling products, guess what?! TOS Homeschool Crew 2010 - 2011 is about to take applications! I have served on the Crew for 2 years and I'm looking forward to the next! If you've read my reviews and you think you'd like to give it a try, click here to learn more. Please don't hesitate. Demographics forms are due March 12th.

The TOS Crew Leaders are AWESOME and look forward to hearing from you!! Let me know you've applied! I'm excited!!!!

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Feb. 4, 2010 - The One-Day Way Review & Give-A-Way!!

 

The One-Day Way produces lasting results by taking you back to basics. No more complicated weight-loss strategies. No more expensive diet plans that achieve only temporary results. Instead, you will lose weight and get fit with Chantel Hobbs’s simple, high-energy meal plans and her at-home program for cardio exercise and strength training. She will teach you how to change the way you think, which leads to new actions. Before you know it you will be strong, fit, and healthy. All it takes is doing things differently for twenty-four hours—and then repeating it.

The One-Day Way gives you everything you need to lose weight and get fit in body, mind, and spirit:

• Break free from past dieting defeats
• Learn a realistic, life-changing way to measure success
• Change the way you think so you can change your life
• Translate your dreams into goals, and your goals into lasting achievements
• Get strong with thirty-one simple exercises, no fancy equipment required
• Take advantage of ten ways to eat better while you lose weight

 By focusing on food, faith, and fitness, Chantel shows you not only how to lose weight, but how to build the new life you were designed to live. You don’t have to wait any longer. The One-Day Way gives you all the tools for success, starting right now.

From what I have read of this book, its main focus is to encourage you to work on your food intake and exercise TODAY. You can't change yesterday and tomorrow isn't here yet. Please visit this website to learn more.

I have received two copies of this book for free from RandomHouse in exchange for my honest review. I have one copy to give away. If you would like to have this in your hands, please enter a comment below with a way to contact you if you're the winner. I will choose a winner on Feb. 19th. Please only enter once per day and only those in the U.S. Thanks!

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Jan. 31, 2010 - Apologia - The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling Book Review

 

I was honored to review some products from Apologia last year and I have to admit, I am a huge fan. I have not found anything from Apologia that I have not thoroughly enjoyed. This year, I've been given an opportunity to review a book that ApologiaPress has published. Debra Bell wrote The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling and it is just that - ULTIMATE! This book has over 500 pages of resources. It is awesome!

There are ten topics. They are:

• Homeschooling: Is It for You? (Learn if homeschooling is right for you, what the advantages are and the challenges as well, and what to do if you don't want to homeschool)
• Choosing a Curriculum (Learning styles and budget friendly resources are included in this chapter)
• Organizing and Planning (How to best learn and keep control of your day)
• Preventing Burnout (Co-ops are options)
• What to Teach - When and How (Subject-by-subject guidelines)
• Homeschooling Teens (Should you? Making plans on what to teach plus info about college-at-home)
• Computers in the Homeschool (What you should buy?)
• Creative Solutions (What to do with little ones and other challenges)
• Measuring Your Success (Are you on track?)
• Resource Guide (Homeschool organizations, publications, suppliers, products, etc.)

This book is very easy to read and I enjoyed the humor and learning about Debra and her husband's experiences. If you are considering homeschooling or have been doing it for as long as me (since 1994) or longer, I recommend you get your hands on this book. It retails for $20 and you can get your copy by clicking here. To read what my crewmates had to say, click here.

I received this book for free in exchange for my honest opinion.

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Jan. 31, 2010 - Dear Zachary

If you have not watched this documentary, I recommend you do so. I will say that it has several curse words in it but you can relate to the frustration of the family. It is a sad, heartwrenching story. It draws you in at the very beginning.You will laugh and you will cry. You will be angry. This is a story about real people, about the love of family and one evil woman. Please visit this website ~ Dear Zachary ~ for more information. The judicial system may have failed this family, but the coming judgment will not.

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Jan. 29, 2010 - MathScore.com Review

 

Background Info

MathScore.com is an online program that provides math practice and assessment. It was developed by MIT graduates and supports 1st grade through Algebra I. Although there is a School Version, I reviewed the Home Version with my sons, Nate & Wes, and my daughter, Marcee. I originally signed all 6 of the kids up for it, but my two older daughters didn't want to participate and it ended up being too time consuming for my youngest.

MathScore states: "It is fun for most students, and has been proven to raise test scores and boost student confidence in a variety of schools." This program is mainly about math practice. You need to already know what you are doing in math and then this program helps reinforce what you have learned.

Cost

$14.95 for one student per month.

$5.00 for the second student per month.

$3.95 for any additional students per month.

Our Results

I received daily summaries for each of the children. This included, but was not limited to: what topic(s) was worked on, what their overall accuracy was, how many worksheets were completed and how much time was spent on this program. I liked having this report sent to me so I could see how the kids were doing.

After completing a section correctly, students are, at times, rewarded with skipping ahead, fireworks, and even rank. This encourages a student to do their best and achieve the next goal.

My kids did not like to be timed and one even had a few melt-downs because of it. I think that this is a good program to reinforce the math the kids already know; however, it was a struggle to get them to want to practice. I do not think our family is the "norm" so please check out my friends over at the TOS Crew website and see what they thought of this program. I do intend to sit with my kids to encourage them to continue this program as I see it does have its benefits and they all need help in math.

 More Info

There's really not enough room for me to tell you all about the program. It is worth checking into, in my opinion. If you'd like to see a free demo, click here. To visit MathScore, click here. To see what my crewmates had to say, click here.

I received a trial membership in exchange for my honest review.

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Jan. 24, 2010 - Christian Keyboarding Review

Leanne Beitel sent me Christian Keyboarding's Keyboarding for the Christian School, Revised Edition and Elementary Edition in .pdf format. The Elementary Edition (87 pages) is for grades K-5 and the Revised Edition (107 pages) is for grades 6 and up.

From their website: "Christian Keyboarding was formed combining the elements needed to satisfy state education requirements and Biblical references for the private school requirements." I am glad to have my children learn typing using Biblical phrases. Just so you know, the Scriptures are taken from the NIV.

In the Elementary Edition, "Miss Mabel Ladybug" is at the beginning of each lesson. That helps you know where the next lesson begins. You will learn to type the alphabet, numbers, symbols and even the numbers on the numeric keypad. Horizontal and vertical centering, numbering lists, and timed writings are also included. Once you know how to type, you will be typing Scripture verses.

The Revised Edition covers everything in the Elementary Edition plus reports, cover pages, bibliography, letters, envelopes, tables and more. I really like these typing courses. They look very easy to accomplish and I'm sure my two older daughters (15 & 17) will enjoy taking this course this semester. I will probably put my younger ones in the Elementary Edition this summer when they have more time.

The Elementary Edition sells for $12.95. The Revised Edition sells for $15.95. If you order before Feb. 28th, you can get both Editions for $22.00. Click here to learn more. Click here to read my crewmates reviews. 

I received these items for free in exchange for my honest opinion.

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Jan. 24, 2010 - Kinderbach - Revisited

I had an opportunity to review Kinderbach last school year and you can read my review by clicking here.
To give you a summary, please contine reading.

Kinderbach has an online subscription for teaching preschoolers piano. If you have a child 2-7, you might want to check this program out. You can also have the lessons on DVD, however I only reviewed the lessons online. For an online subscription, it costs $95.88 for a year, which breaks down to $7.99 per month. If you want just the monthly plan, it's $19.99 per month. Economically speaking, the yearly plan is a much better deal.

To learn more, visit their website by clicking here or click here to read more TOS Crew Reviews.

I received a limited time membership for free in exchange for my honest opinion.

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Jan. 15, 2010 - Young Minds Numbers & Counting DVD Review

 MathTutorDVD.com sent me Young Minds Numbers and Counting DVD to review. This DVD is all about counting 1-10 while listening to music by Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Vivaldi, Brahms, Pachelbel, & Chopin.

A little child narrates and counts for you as you watch the beautiful pictures on the screen. There are many pictures for each number, some are duplicated, but not many. At times it was difficult to hear the child's voice over the music, but it was only a couple of times.

The pictures are very colorful and include animals, fruits, and everyday objects. I will say that some of the photographs need to be edited to crop out some "extras" so as to not confuse the children watching the DVD. For instance, in the section on 4 elephants, you can see 5 and part of 6 elephants, although you are only counting 4 of them. Those extra elephants should be cropped out of the picture, in my opinion. There were about 4 other photographs in addition to the elephants that I believe need some attention.

There are three sections of bonus material included on the DVD. They are: Puzzles (you learn to count 2, 4, 6, 8, & 10 puzzle pieces), Connect the Dots (you watch a line that connects the dots from 1-10 of easily recognizable objects), and Guess the Animal (a photo is shown close up, verbal clues are given as the animal becomes more easily seen in its entirety, followed by what the name of the animal is).

I am not sure if I have a problem with color correctness on my computer, but on one section of the DVD, 5 rings are being counted. Those five rings are all different colors and they chose to tell what those colors are. The last one is stated as being "red" but on my screen it is very orange. I would recommend the company not include colors when they are trying to teach counting so as to avoid the possibility of teaching incorrectly. Just my opinion.

A couple of things caught my attention. On a few screens, the photos are counted from right to left. I try very hard to teach left to right, so that was not a positive for me. Also, the child says "a" instead of "an" on some of the objects beginning with a vowel. I didn't write down a specific object but it was like saying "a orange" instead of "an orange."

This DVD would be good for a small child to watch and listen to. The photographs and videos are absolutely stunning.

 You can get your copy for $19.99 by clicking here. To see what my crewmates had to say, click here.

I received this for free in exchange for my honest opinion.

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Jan. 15, 2010 - Zeezok Publishing - Brahms / Schubert Review

I received The Young Brahms / Franz Schubert and His Merry Friends Special Offer in softcover from Zeezok Publishing as a part of the TOS Crew. This set comes with two books. One is Franz Schubert and his Merry Friends, written by Opal Wheeler & Sybil Deucher, and the other is The Young Brahms, written by Sybil Deucher. These books are four chapters long and were such a pleasure to read aloud to my children. Although not an exhaustive resource, we did learn quite a bit about each musician. Some of the sheet music that was created by each musician is included in each book so that you can see the notes. Also included in this set is a CD of the songs that correlate to the books. The book will tell you which tract to play as you read the sheet music.

Of great help were the study guides for each book, also included in the set. The guides have questions and answers broken down by book chapter along with "Tidbits of Interest", "Character Qualities" and brief timelines. On both the CD and the study guides, you will have access to puzzle worksheets. The set we were given retails for $35.80.

The only thing I really wished these books had was a pronunciation guide for the names and places written about. That would have been a huge asset for this Texan.  Overall, we LOVED these books.

To see what my crewmates had to say, click here. To visit Zeezok Publishing, click here.

I received these products for free in exchange for my honest opinion.

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Jan. 11, 2010 - Raising Real Men by Hal & Melanie Young

I was given this book, Raising Real Men, by the authors Hal & Melanie Young in exchange for my honest review. As I have been reading this book, I have been so very encouraged to allow my boys to take risks and adventures and not be over "motherly" in protecting them. As I was reading chapter 3, I was asking myself, "Do my boys even try to be adventurous or have I sqashed that tendency in them?" Well, I got to thinking. Yes. They do! Wes immediately came to mind. He is 11 and he likes to ride his skateboard outside, even without me being there. HA! He loves going to the checkout lanes and paying for his own items while I am in another lane and not necessarily in the lane next to him. He loves to climb trees, too. As for Nathanael, my 13 year old, he has a beautiful voice but refuses to sing out loud at church. I now understand that I need to encourage him to use his gift for God and even if he doesn't want to sing in public, that his singing around the house encourages me in the Lord. Nate shows that he wants to be a conquerer by  taking most of the grocery bags (which are usually overfilled) from my vehicle to the kitchen cabinet in as little trips as possible. He will load up those bags on his arms until it has taken either most of his strength or all of his space (fingers, hands, arms). What a great book to help me see these qualities in my sons. Now, back to reading. . . .

Today is one week later and I have completed reading the book. I highly recommend you get this book if you have sons. One phrase really struck me. It was "Our job is to shape and prepare the arrows so when they are released, they fly straight and true on their own." How true this is. Our children are the arrows and it is our job, not our parent's, the government's, or anyone else's, to shape and prepare our children for when they leave home.

I have learned quite a bit on raising boys and how to encourage them to be "chivalrous." I wish I had this book when my boys were younger, but since I didn't, I will work extra hard to encourage my boys (now 11 & 13) to be more attentive to the needs of those around them.

Please click here to learn more.

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