http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Greensburg/ en-us Homeschool Blogger Sun, 20 Dec 2009 21:53:01 -0600 Sun, 20 Dec 2009 21:53:01 -0600           The Tortoise and the Hare CD was provided to me as a TOS Homeschool Crew review.  My kids watch TV, and my oldest daughter said what she likes most about this CD is being able to listen to it and do something else at the same time.       There is a wealth of musical teaching on this one CD. Parts of it remind me of my college music appreciation course. The beautiful music is performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra.       The only extra you need for this is a CD player. I enjoyed the music and the information shared; all 3 of my children enjoyed listening to it. 6 other versions are available at their website http://www.magicmaestromusic.com/index.html including: Peter and the Wolf The Story of Swan Lake The Sorcerer's Apprentice Casey at the Bat Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel Juanita the Spanish Lobster and in Spanish Juanita la longosta espanola Two have accompanying lesson plans which you can preview at the website. You can also listen to samples.   From the website: "Classical Music CDs for Children The award-winning new classical music CD series for children and families combines classic stories with great symphony orchestra music. Combining literature, classical music, education and entertainment, these CDs for parents and children are perfect for ALL kids and interested parents.”         Their current website special is 3 CDs for $45. One is regularly $16.98. They also have gift sets available.        My product reviews are endorsements for products that have been provided to me for the purpose of reviewing them. I am not being paid for this. I am sharing my honest opinion of how these products work for my family.     http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Greensburg/753362/ Sun, 20 Dec 2009 21:53:01 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Greensburg/753362/        Mathletics is an internet math subscription. As part of the TOS crew, I was given a trial subscription for my 2 oldest children. During the trial they both enjoyed this and frequently asked to get online and go to the site to “play mathletics.” After our trial period ended both of them wanted to continue with the program.        This program is set up by grade level, K-12, but you have the flexibility to change which grade level your child uses. The student earns “gold bars” which unlock access to games on the site as they progress through the program. They can also “Play mathletics live” and race against other students as they work through drill type problems. They earn points to spend on other game type applications such as changing the appearance of their cartoon avatar. All of these were good incentives for my girls.        An extra bonus, rainforestmaths is now at this site, so while the girls were signed up for MATHLETICS, they actually had access to two great math programs!          One difficulty we had was that the program kicks you off at times, the entire window completely shut down. When that happens, the girls just logged in again and started back where they were.   From the www.mathletics.com website: Benefits of Mathletics:  *Children love it! *Mathletics captivates and challenges children in an engaging, interactive environment. *Mathletics responds to your child’s individual strengths and weaknesses. *Your child’s confidence in Math is increased. *Children instantly know if they are on the right track and can improve at their own pace, assisted by step by step animated support. *Children are captivated by Live Mathletics, a safe and exciting on-line learning community. *Hall of Fame and certificates recognize and reward participation and achievement. *Free access to Rainforest Maths and the animated math dictionary.   Pricing information:        Mathletics is a subscription and each annual subscription is for one child, as it's an individualized learning path for each child, keeping track their results and progress as they work their way through their individual grade curriculum. Each child also earns points as they are individually rewarded as they achieve mastery of concepts.        An individual subscription to Mathletics is $59.00 per child per year. If you know the Human Calculator's Favorite number, answer is '9', you can purchase a single child subscription for $49.95 per child per year. To purchase go to www.mathletics.com and put in the answer '9' then click submit to receive this special price.”        With each student subscription you also receive a separate parent password which takes you to their parent centre. There, I clicked on parent toolkit which links you to “walkthroughs” of each component your child is learning. You can view the student’s progress, print related workbooks, and even assign specific activities for your child and make changes to the plan for them.         My product reviews are endorsements for products that have been provided to me for the purpose of reviewing them. I am not being paid for this. I am sharing my honest opinion of how these products work for my family. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Greensburg/752732/ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:02:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Greensburg/752732/   We visited the local war veterans home today. One of the men requested we all say the pledge before starting the music and cookies.   The Pledge of Allegiance I Pledge Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Greensburg/752715/ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:40:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Greensburg/752715/      As a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew I was given a 3-month full access membership to Tektoma: Game Tutorials for Kids. This is a website with resources to make video games.      Those of you who know me well know that I am a bit technologically challenged. For high school graduation, my parents gave me a computer. 20 years later I am able to use a computer for many things, but I still have a lot to learn. I remember trying to play Pac-Man on the Atari when I was little, and I don't recall success. All of that to say, if you are interested in learning more about Tektoma, please refer to some of the other reviews of The TOS Homeschool Crew, because I've seen some glowing reviews from others who really understand this.      Personally, just downloading this the right way was a struggle.  A month ago we still had dial-up internet. I tried this repeatedly then and could not get the downloads to work. (Now I see broadband internet listed as a requirement for their program.) Then when we got DSL, I gave it another shot, and learned that downloaded programs don't work from my flash drive, but need to be on the computer! So after innumerable attempts, Gamemaker is now on my laptop. That is the first step, a free program that the Tektoma tutorial works with.  I did e-mail them with my difficulties and they provided an idea to make the download successful. As this is a 3-month membership, you may see a better success story from me about this in a later post, when I can grasp it better. What it is:      "Tektoma  http://Tektoma.com is dedicated to providing children with high quality tutorials to teach game programming within a secure, monitored website. It is a perfect avenue for homeschooled children to learn advanced computer skills." (from their introductory e-mail)      About Game Making: Computer competency is essential for the employees of tomorrow. Our children will be creators of technology, and not just consumers. Learning game programming teaches children many valuable skills, including: • Logic • Creative problem solving • Project management • Trial and error • Learning from mistakes • Algebra and geometry      Students are learning all of this while having the fun experience of making their very own games. Things Tektoma Offers: • Video Tutorials for ages 7-17 • Step-by-step easy to follow game creation instructions • Your child will finish with a working game • Kids get to share their creations • A monitored members-only forum for your child to ask questions of experts Getting answers from programmers and fellow students (in a secure, safe and productive area) offers a comfortable place to learn and share ideas.  For a child who enjoys videos games and has a computer inspired imagination, this may be an ideal program for them to try. Check out their free 14-day trial: http://www.tektoma.com A subscription is available for $14.95 per month or an entire year for $140.   My product reviews are endorsements for products that have been provided to me for the purpose of reviewing them. I am not being paid for this. I am sharing my honest opinion of how these products work for my family. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Greensburg/751204/ Thu, 10 Dec 2009 23:31:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Greensburg/751204/               Snow is a novelty here. I can remember snow once in my childhood, my Granny and I watching a few flakes fall. It was magical, and it still is.             As newlyweds, I remember one rare snow when my husband made what I lovingly called a snow-dirt man at our house on the gulf coast. Yes, it was more dirt than snow.             We spent our oldest daughter’s first Christmas with my in-laws in Kansas, and I remember it snowed that Christmas morning; just enough to enjoy watching as it fell- quickly melting.             When the girls were really little, we vacationed in the Smokies, and it changed from picnic/hiking weather one day to snow the next. I remember after we drove to a spot higher in the mountains, enjoying the beauty around us, we stopped to get out and let the girls feel it. Emily, about two, just cried because she didn’t have her mittens and her hands were cold. Later we enjoyed swimming in the heated pool where we were staying, while watching the snow fall outside the big picture windows.             A few years ago Mitch saw something online about how to make snow. He had the air compressor and pressure washer; I’m not quite sure how he did it, but he just waited for the temperature outside to be cold enough. He made snow- at least it looked like it in pictures, not too close up. It was pretty cool. The kids described it perfectly- it looked like frozen French fries.             Last year, we were amazed by snow at our house. We all woke up before dawn and played in it, not knowing it would last all morning. Joseph, not knowing any better and following the rules of no shoes on the trampoline, took off his shoes and jumped in the accumulated snow, then came in crying with cold feet. That snow lasted for a few hours and built up to 7-8 inches in the yard. We all 5 got to stay home all day. The kids changed into dry clothes over and over, built snowmen, and thoroughly enjoyed it. We put a big snowball (think of the middle part of a snowman) in the deep freezer, and then took it out on a hot summer day.             Today the snow was expected. The weather channel has been predicting it, so the kids have been making plans: “We are going to build a fort. I’m going to make a window in my snow house.” We drove home from the coast tonight in the snow. We felt it out our windows and watched the flakes falling toward us, the big snowflakes especially visible in the lights. The kids continued their plans despite the fact that it was already past bedtime. They knew they would get to enjoy it while it lasted. It was barely snowing, mostly just wet when we got home, but the kids got bundled up and went outside. Not enough for making forts, but they did make a few little snowmen.  I had hot cocoa waiting when they came inside.             I’m glad it doesn’t’ snow here that often- I like the novelty of it.   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Greensburg/749671/ Sat, 5 Dec 2009 02:52:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Greensburg/749671/            All About Spelling by Marie Rippel is a comprehensive spelling program. It teaches initially by sounding out and progresses with letter tiles, flashcards, and then writing. The children learn sounds for each letter based on a phonogram chart by Dr. Samuel Orton and Anna Gillingham. Letter tiles, which can be used with magnets (also available at their website http://www.all-about-spelling.com/) are moved around, making the interactive learning fun. Anyone who has enjoyed playing with letters on the refrigerator with their kids could have fun with this program.         The kit given to me included their Level 1 and Level 2 guidebooks, letter tiles and magnets, a CD The Basic Phonograms, and material packets, including tokens for the games, phonogram cards, sound cards, key cards, word cards, index card dividers, progress charts, and even certificates for your students when they complete the program. A magnetic dry-erase board is suggested, but cookie sheets worked fine for us at this stage, and were a good size for my 5 years old to work with. Stickers or colored pencils may be used with the progress chart. The flashcards come as perforated sheets and the letter tiles as thick laminated pages which you cut then adhere the magnets to. My  girls had fun helping me organize the materials as suggested.         From the website: "All About Spelling is multisensory. All About Spelling is logical. No gaps. The program is mastery-based, not grade-level based, so when students master a specific concept, they move on. All About Spelling has continual review. Finally, the program is clear. This means that children are taught what they need to know in a direct manner. They don’t have to guess or come to their own conclusions about the English language. And best of all, the scripted lesson plans are very clear and easy for you to follow." If you still aren’t sure- they have a 100% satisfaction guarantee for a full year! Check out their website: http://www.all-about-spelling.com/     The Level 1 Teacher’s manual and student materials packet is $29.95 Levels 2-5 are each $39.95 and level 6 is being developed. With any of those, the Starter Kit (Letter tiles, magnets, and phonogram CD) is $26.95.           The lesson plans are clear, and lessons are not too long to keep my children’s attention. We will be continuing to use this program. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Greensburg/749669/ Sat, 5 Dec 2009 02:15:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Greensburg/749669/                 There’s nothing like seeing a picture of yourself to bring into focus what you ignore in the mirror. A dear friend just posted a picture of us together with the Queen of England- my first ever photo with a cardboard cutout. I thought this is going to be funny and asked her to share it with me. Funny, well, she posted it on Facebook, more like "Oh my!" Well, there is my before picture. Another reviewer from the TOS Homeschool Crew just started a new blog for personal weight loss which is encouraging me. I read through it and said I’d join, but not on my blog- too personal. Then I saw another post about accountability. Sharing with everyone may help me- if I’m with you, encourage me. If I’m not around you, please pray for me. My goal is weight loss and better health. Here is her blog if you want more encouragement: Eclipsed  Look for the Star Wars reference- I liked that.                   I’m using the computer a lot now. I set it aside and used the Wii fit again tonight. First I had to change the batteries in the balance board. Then I had to watch as the little mii grew- I’m ready to watch it shrink along with me. I actually had lost weight since the last time I used it, two pounds since 60 days ago. The machine told me throughout one yoga pose “you’ve got great posture.”  I can when I try- I know how to stand up straight. I know how to eat right, too. But knowing and doing something is not the same thing. When we packed for our first camping trip this fall, my daughter looked at the table of things to be taken and told me “nothing here is healthy.” I’m ready to be healthy. One of our review books is actually a cookbook (and more) about whole foods. I’ve made some little changes since reading it- like using brown rice instead of white. I’m ready to commit to doing more. My whole family will benefit from this. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Greensburg/748837/ Tue, 1 Dec 2009 22:56:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Greensburg/748837/     Very last minute, but my oldest daughter just won with her completed novel- 6,000 words for her first ever attempt at NaNoWriMo! (Her little sister also accomplished this with her 4,000 word goal a little earlier tonight!) I tried, but the lofty goal of 50,000 words for the regular version of this contest was not attained. Maybe next year. Congratulations to all of you NaNoWriMo winners!   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Greensburg/748595/ Tue, 1 Dec 2009 00:46:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Greensburg/748595/   A lady in my Bible study group brought this verse to my attention tonight: Psalm 25:7 "Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions; according to Your mercy remember me, for Your goodness' sake, O LORD." It reminds me of the mercy of God- who tells us in His Word that He casts our sins as far as the East is from the West. What a blessing! I am so thankful for God’s forgiveness. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Greensburg/748329/ Sun, 29 Nov 2009 23:05:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Greensburg/748329/                Bethany House publishers provided me with a copy of Levi's Will by author W. Dale Cramer. In return for this book, I get to blog about it and share my opinion.             From the publisher: "Will flees his Old Order community at the age of 19, leaving behind a pregnant girlfriend and all things Amish. He begins a new life, joining the army and later marrying and having two sons of his own. But his new life and his new family are tainted by the hidden sins of his past. Hoping to patch things up with his father, Will takes his new family to meet the old one. Levi's Will is the haunting story of a fallen man seeking to build a bridge across three generations."           Mr. Cramer has impressed me again. Our family first read his Summer of Light, and I say our family because after repeated laughing out loud I started reading it to my husband. My Grandma, with whom I always share books I enjoy, later told me she read it out loud to my Powpow. Then my Mom- read it to my Dad, without any of us sharing that until we were done.           This was an interesting picture of Amish shunning. Completely different from his other book I read, but again interesting and at times side splitting funny. In the afterword the author shared how it was loosely based on truths from his own family history.           This is a story of generations, men who repeat the same mistakes they experienced through their own fathers. The relationships shared in these pages are realistic, and easy to relate to. This is a story of forgiveness with eye-opening truths.           This one was enjoyed by the whole family, too. My Mom opened the package while I was on vacation and read my review book before I did.             If you know anyone who would be interested in signing up to receive review copies of Bethany House books, direct them to www.bethanyhouse.com/bookreviewers!   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Greensburg/748297/ Sun, 29 Nov 2009 20:37:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Greensburg/748297/