Read for the Heart... the last TOS review

Over the years of homeschooling, I have fallen in love with Apologia Science.  I think it is due, in part, through the strong influence of my science teacher friend, Debbie.  Debbie taught science in the public school, had babies and opted to stay home and teach homeschool science, and now is back teaching science in our local Christian school.  Debbie and I have spent many hours discussing homeschooling, curriculum and Apologia Science.  She loves using Apologia and has convinced me to do the same!

However, did you know that Apologia has much more than just science curriculum?  I didn't!  I was blown away when I opened their website and looked at all of the options.  Even more fun than that was receiving a copy of Read for the Heart to review for The Old Schoolhouse Magazine!  


After reading through Read for the Heart, I like Apologia even more!  Read for the Heart by Sarah Clarkson is a compilation of over 1,000 terrific titles to read aloud to your children.  This book reads as a guide and directs you to finding quality literature for at home reading.  It's like having your own personal librarian!


Reading aloud has been foundational in our homeschool.  Years ago, a wise woman told me I could do nothing better for my children than to teach them about Jesus and to read aloud to them every single day.  We have gone on many adventures together from the comfort of our living room.  We've giggling through Mr. Popper's Penguins and Junie B. Jones.  We've journeyed through the prairie with Laura Ingalls Wilder and under the sea with Jules Verne.  All of these and more are fond memories for all of us.


Apologia offers Read for the Heart for $17.00 and in my opinion, regardless of where your children go to school, no Mom should be without this book.  This book is just another example of the excellence of Apologia Curriculum.


Click here to see what my other TOS Crew mates had to say.


... this will be my last review for the TOS Crew.  Thanks to Crew leaders, Heidi and Brenda, and my mini-crew leader, Heather, for a fabulous year!


**disclaimer... I was given a free copy of this book for my honest review.  I received no other compensation.   

Greek 'n' Stuff... a TOS Crew review

Looking back over this school year, I have had the privilege of writing 18 reviews for The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Review Crew.  And, today's review is the one I have been most looking forward to!


In September, I received a copy of Hey Andrew!  Teach Me Some Greek level 3.  I'm very grateful to author Karen Mohs and the rest of the staff at Greek 'n' Stuff for giving me the better part of this school year to use this curriculum and to review it.


We have had fun with Greek!  Last fall, all four of us (because Eric was still at home) would gather around the table and study our Bible lesson and then our do our Greek lesson.


Amazingly, seven year old, Ellen, kept up well.  However, when Eric went to public school in January, I opted to shelve Hey Andrew! Teach Me Some Greek!  until next fall to give Ellen a little more time to improve her reading and comprehension skills.  I am very much looking forward to completing our Greek book next year with the girls.  


Hey Andrew!  Teach Me Some Greek! is a comprehensive curriculum.  Greek 'n' Stuff offers worktexts, answer keys, pronunciation CDs and cassettes, and other helps to assist home school parents and teachers teach students "koine" or common Greek. The cost for the worktext for level 3 is $21.95.  Click  here to see other prices for Hey Andrew! Teach Me Some Greek! level 3.  


I liked Hey Andrew!  Teach Me Some Greek!  so much that I am considering purchasing Latin's Not So Tough for Emily, who wants to pursue a career in medicine.


Click here to read other crew member's thoughts on Greek 'n' Stuff.


**disclaimer... I was sent this curriculum for my honest review because of my affiliation with TOS Review Crew.  I received no other compensation. 

See the Light... TOS Crew Review

   

Very few homeschool parents feel competent or even comfortable when it comes to teaching fine arts in their own home school.  


While we seem to be able to teach math, spelling and literature without too much of a struggle, we seldom know the correct way to teach children how to draw or even the different ways to hold a pencil to achieve different art techniques.


Thankfully, See the Light is here to help!  See the Light, Drawing Children to Him is an excellent resource that teaches children how to create as well as teaching them about their Creator.  

Meet Master Artist, Pat Knepley.  In a gentle and non-threatening way, Pat uses short video lessons to teach children how to draw.  She introduces them to basic tools of the trade and encourages children to gather simple art tools such as a kneaded eraser, a #2 pencil, colored pencils, paper, a white eraser, a soft pencil and crayons.  


Using these fundamental tools, each DVD lesson builds on the previous lesson to give students a well-rounded  elementary drawing education.

The See the Light DVD curriculum is a 9 DVD set that includes 36 individual art lessons such as It All Starts With A Line, Scale, and The Bug Jar.  


For $99, See the Light brings the art teacher into your home, thus taking the away the fear and insecurity of teaching fine arts in your home school.  


See the Light offers a free trial of their art lessons either through a DVD or through an internet video on their website at www.seethelightshine.com.


Years ago, I realized my own inadequacies in trying to teach my children the fundamentals of drawing and art.  At that time, the Lord blessed us with our beloved, Mrs. Baker, who has taught my kids art for six years.  If it were not for Mrs. Baker, I would seriously consider purchasing this DVD set to use with my own kids and with our homeschool cooperative.  I have thoroughly enjoyed watching Pat Knepley patiently teach basic drawing technique. 


Click here to see what other TOS Crew members think of See the Light.


**disclaimer... I was given See the Light for my honest review.  I received no other compensation.

Zeezok... TOS Crew Review

.... these are a few of our favorite things...
     great homeschool products
     curriculum that I can use with both girls (6th grade and 2nd grade)
    brand spankin' new resources
    and American Girls

Life gets even sweeter when you combine all of those favorite things into one!  Zeezok Publishing has put out some incredible z-guides to the movies... movie review guides that can be used as a short unit study.  The girls and I had the opportunity to review the Kit Kittredge z-guide to the movies which sells for $12.99.  


I am impressed that the z-guide to the movies included much more than a synopsis to the Kit Kittredge movie.  The people at Zeezok have complied an entire unit study with critical thinking, creative writing, hands-on activities and some great family discussion with moral and philosophical dilemmas and questions.  


Working through the z guide to the movies also requires much more from the student than just a few hours of movie watching.  In the Kit Kittredge guide, there is much for us to research about the Great Depression, fashion styles of the times and government work programs that were created.  


For a mom that loves great home school products that take us out of the "box" of workbooks, text books and work sheets... and for girls who love their American Girls... this z guide to the movies is win win!  


So, what does a home school mom do when her child asks "can we watch a movie today?"  


"Of course! ... if you watch Kit again...  and, while you are watching, why don't you help me review this new product?"


Thanks Zeezok!

**disclaimer I received this product free of charge for my honest review.  I received no other compensation.

Curiosity Files... TOS Crew Review

What do you do on a snowy January day when the local schools have cancelled classes and your brother is now home on a snow day but Mom expects you to do school nevertheless?

You open Professor Ana Lyze's Curiosity File and learn about MRSA (that is Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus) , of course! 


Professor Ana Lyze is The Old Schoolhouse Magazine resident expert on anything that needs to be discovered, explored or analyzed (hence her name... Ana Lyze).  Through great illustrations, simple experiments and easy-to-understand text, the fictitious Professor has written NINE Curiosity Files that teach elementary through high school students in a digital unit study format...
...Blue Diamond
...Dung Beetle
...MRSA
...Puffer Fish
...Red Tide
...Zombie Fire Ants
...Blue-footed Booby
...Cicada Killing Wasp
...Quicksand


These are available in a 9-pack bundle CD for $49.00 or in a 9-back bundle eBook for $46.00.  The Old Schoolhouse Store also sells them individually as eBooks for varying prices.


As a member of the TOS Review Crew, we had the opportunity to review the Curiosity Files on MRSA.  We got so engrossed in everything we never wanted to know about MRSA that we forgot to take pictures of all four of us (7 year old Ellen, 11 year old Emily, 13 year old Eric and Mom) all oohing and ahhing over the photos of the grape-like clusters of MRSA and reading about how MRSA is spread by contact.  We had a blast learning some new vocab words, doing some age appropriate word puzzles (because the unit study had puzzles for Ellen's age and for Eric's age) and taking a quiz.  Mom especially enjoyed the Bible part of the unit study and was thrilled to see it there!


Do you know what the best part of spending the day with Professor Ana Lyze was? ...


... Mom made Eric do school with us even though he had a snow day!


**Disclaimer... I was sent this eBook for my honest review.  I received no other compensation.

VocabAhead...TOS Crew Review

ABASE ... verb... to embarrass or shame someone else; it also means to lower yourself physically or in rank.


ZOOPHAGOUS... adjective... meat eating or carnivorous.

From A to Z...and 998 other SAT vocabulary words.

VocabAhead offers 1000 SAT Vocabulary Videos & MP3s.  Often in my home school journey, I have looked at a product and thought "If only..."... if only I had a resource like this 28 years ago when I first took the PSAT.  And then again a few years later when I actually took the ACT.


Thinking back to the 15 year old me... I would have loved to go into the PSAT and later the ACT much better equipped with knowledge of the potential vocabulary words that would appear on the examination.  Perhaps it would have quieted the butterflies a bit and settled the mind and allowed me the confidence to concentrate just a bit harder.


1000 SAT Vocabulary Videos & MP3s is exactly what it advertises to be.  There really are 1000 words with definitions.  Each DVD-ROM has both MP3 format and DVD format.  In less than 60 seconds, each word is defined with a fun comic illustration and an easy to understand voice over narration.


VocabAhead offers 1000 SAT Vocabulary Videos & MP3s through Amazon. com for $24.99.  


My opinion... this DVD-ROM is definitely worth it!  I'll be loading it on to my kids' own MP3s as they begin preparing for the SAT.


**disclosure... I received this product free of charge through The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Review Crew for my honest review.  I have received no other compensation.

Virtual Nerd... TOS Crew Review

One of the most common things I hear homeschool moms say is "I don't know how to help my child with their high school math!"  

Enter...Virtual Nerd...  

Virtual Nerd is a subscription-based internet resource for learning and working through math and science concepts.  Virtual Nerd currently offers tutorials for Pre-Algebra, Algebra 1, Algebra 2 and Intro Physics with plans to add tutorials for Geometry, Pre-Calculus, Calculus, more Physics and Chemistry.  Virtual Nerd is set up to be used either by students, by parents or by educators and is available 24/7.


Virtual Nerd provides an extensive library of tutorials that are easy to access.  Rather than having to scroll through pages of lessons, or fast-forward a long CD of algebra tutorials, you can choose the exact type of problem you are wanting to solve from their ample lists and watch the tutorial you need.  


Virtual Nerd utilizes their innovated "Dynamic Whiteboard"... a fun and entertaining whiteboard that enables students to stay focused on the problem at hand.


Virtual Nerd is available by subscription and offers different subscription options.  An individual subscription is $49/month... a one-time subscription for just one day is only $5... and a one-time subscription for 3 months is a great deal at $129.  


Virtual Nerd takes the guess work out of helping students with high school level math classes.


Click here to see what other TOS Crew members have to say about Virtual Nerd.


**I was given a subscription to Virtual Nerd for my honest review of their product.  I received no other compensation.

Easy Classical... TOS Crew Review

Over the years, one of the biggest homeschool struggles for me has been scheduling all that I want to get done in a day, week or even a school year.  Scheduling takes time... and time is something that is a prize commodity for homeschool moms.  

Enter Easy Classical!  The Williams family of Easy Classical has taken all the work out of scheduling for homeschool families... especially those who ascribe to the classical education model.

Sandy Williams sent me a download version of the "Early Modern History Schedule" for review.  The Easy Classical Early Modern History Schedule includes 36 week-long schedules for K-6th grade.  The schedule includes 45+ pages of charts, sheets, and helps that will enhance your child's learning. Each week's lesson has review questions with answers, and quizzes included with each lesson. This schedule also includes a shopping list for the next day, as well as detailed instructions on how to use the schedules and the books you purchase.  All of this comes neatly packaged in a 1" 3 ring binder.

While I am not a classical education homeschooler, I do find the Early Modern History Schedule by Easy Classical to be impressive... especially the price.  The 1' 3 ring binder notebook version is just $34.95 and the digital version is only $29.95.  

After seeing the Easy Classical Early Modern Schedule, I think I've changed my mind on the value of a schedule that is completely ready for my use in our homeschool.  

Click here to see what other TOS Crew members think.

**disclaimer... I was given this product for my honest review.  I received no other compensation.

IEW...TOS Crew Review

Research shows that not only do boys and girls respond differently to similar environments, children in general like to do what they can do, and they hate to do what they think they cannot do. Citing several credible sources, Andrew Pudewa offers insight into specific ways you can create relevancy for children as you teach them academic as well as life skills... 


Teaching Boys and Other Children Who Would Rather Make Forts All Day DVD is an excellent teacher resource... regardless of the school in which they teach.  As a homeschool teacher, I was amazed at Mr. Andrew Pudwa's knowledge of various studies that have been done concerning the different ways that children learn and grow.  Mr. Pudwa shares his knowledge in an honest, humorous manner while addressing some serious concerns regarding standard, one-size-fits-all, education.


I very much enjoyed this DVD.  Honestly, I think every teacher should view this DVD or listen to the MP3 audio download to potentially gain a deeper understanding into the different ways that children learn.  


Teaching Boys and Other Children Who Would Rather Make Forts All Day is available through The Institute for Excellence in Writing in a DVD format or an MP3 audio download for $10.00.


Click here to read other TOS Crew Member reviews.


**I was sent this DVD for my honest review.  I received no other compensation.

North Star Games...TOS Crew Review

When North Star Games sent me their game... Wits and Wagers Family Game... my family really came on board with my "job" reviewing for The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. We LOVE this game!

Wits and Wagers Family Game... known in our home as "Wits and Wag-ers" (as in a dog wagging it's tail...)... is a fun trivia game with a twist.  It doesn't matter if you don't know the correct answer.  Instead, all players give their best guess.  This feature allows Ellen, age 7, to equally compete against her older siblings and her parents.  She's even won a game or two!

from North Star Games website...

Not a trivia buff? It doesn’t matter! Each player writes a guess to a question such as “In what year did the bikini swimsuit makes its first appearance?” or “How many feet wide is an NFL football field?” and places it face-up on the betting mat. Feeling confident? Bet on your guess. Think someone else knows better? Bet on their guess. Strike it big and you’ll be cheering like you just hit the jackpot!

Wits and Wagers Family simplifies the rules and scoring system of the popular Wits and Wagers. Now families and kids can get into the Wits and Wagers action! First, every player writes down a guess to a fun question. Then players try to score points by choosing which guess is closest to the right answer without going over. That is it!

The game features 300 new family-friendly questions. And even better than that, Wits and Wagers Family includes Meeples-- fun, cute, human shaped wooden pieces that the players use to select which answers they think are correct. Meeples have been a hallmark in European style strategy games for years, but this is the first time they have made an appearance in a party game.

Our family has so enjoyed this game!  We've played it enough that we have almost exhausted all of the trivia questions in the game.  We now know how many Madagascar Penguins there are and how many laces are on a standard football.

I could only think of two things that I would change about this game... 1) our family thinks North Star Games should include more trivia questions... and... 2) the game includes small white boards and wipe off markers but we think it would be helpful to have erasers included, rather than the tissues or napkins that litter our table when we play.

Regardless of the lack of erasers, we would definitely recommend this game to all families!

Click here for other TOS Crew members reviews.

**disclaimer...I was sent this free game for my honest review.  I received no other compensation.

Aleks...TOS Crew Review

Assessment and LEarning in Knowledge Spaces is a Web-based, artificially intelligent assessment and learning system that uses adaptive questioning to quickly and accurately determine exactly what a student knows and doesn't know in a course. ALEKS offers truly individualized instruction that meets the student at her learning level and instructs her on the exact topics that she is most ready to learn. As a result, no two students will experience the same learning path while working in ALEKS.

ALEKS can provide you with the instruction and support that you need to homeschool your children in mathematics for grades 3-12. With a comprehensive course library ranging from elementary school math to complex subjects such as PreCalculus, ALEKS acts much like a human tutor to help take the stress off of homeschooling parents.


ALEKS offers highly-targeted, individualized instruction from virtually any computer with Internet access, making it a comprehensive and mobile education solution for your children. A subscription to ALEKS offers access to all courses and your child may take as many courses as needed during their subscription period.


ALEKS is offered through a monthly subscription.  ALEKS generously offers a discount for multiple months... 1 month subscription costs $19.95... 6 month subscription costs $99.95... and a 12 month subscription costs $179.95.  ALEKS also offers a family discount for the 6 month and 12 month subscription plan.  

I was offered a one-month free trial of ALEKS for each of my kids to review.  Honestly, I'm not crazy about it but then again, I'm not crazy about internet courses.  We have limited internet data each month and so it's hard for us to use internet courses in our daily school work.  I also prefer real books and hands-on learning as opposed to computer learning.

I would recommend ALEKS to the home school that is able to enjoy internet courses and in fact, ALEKS is offering the same one month trial subscription that I received to anyone who would like to try their internet course.  Click here for more information to try it for yourself!

Click here to see what other Crew members thought of ALEKS.

***disclaimer... I was sent this trial subscription for my honest review.  I received no other compensation.

Master Ruler... TOS Crew Review

Master Innovations sent me 2 Master Rulers (1 standard measure and the other metric measure), "Marvels of Measure" poster and Mastering the World of Measuring with the Master Ruler workbook to try in our home school for my evaluation and review.  

From The Master Ruler webpage...


The Master Ruler is SEVERAL rulers in one!  The only ruler of its kind that makes learning to measure easy and fun!  Available in standard, metric and a special teacher's model that is designed for use with overhead projectors.


~Instantly understand the lines on a ruler - no more confusion or guessing!
                                   

~Separate layers for each fraction of measurement.

~Each fraction has its own color and index tab for easy identification and separation. 

~Ideal for learning equivalent fractions, scale drawings, area, perimeter, and various map skills.

~Learn to measure each fraction of measurement by using its own layer.

Bottom line: 

The Master Ruler is the most revolutionary, unique, creative, and effective product teaching measurement to come on the market today.  The Master Ruler is actually SEVERAL rulers in one.  It is the only ruler of its kind that makes learning to measure easy and fun!  Ideal for learning equivalent fractions, scale drawings, area, & perimeter easily too!  It's colorful design appearls to students instantly while teachers love the way it simplifies and compliments their teaching methods.  The high quality packaging with "easy to use" instructions is visually stimulating and adds excitement to the classroom.

Emily was willing to be my "tester" and she completed the Mastering the World of Measuring with the Master Rule book.  Here is what she says...

I am in 6th grade and I did this book.  It is very short.  I think there should be more problems and exercises to do in it.  I also think there should be more explanation.  For example, had I not already known how to measure, I would not have known how to complete the problems in this book.  With more explanation, I would recommend it.

I agree with Emily.  The rulers are terrific and I'm sure we will use them for a long time.  The poster I will use again to help 7 year old, Ellen master measuring.  However, the workbook seemed lacking in explanation and in depth.

Click here to see what other Crew members thought of products from Master Innovations.

**disclaimer... I was sent these products free of charge for my honest review.  I received no other compensation.

Bright Ideas Press... TOS Crew Review

Bright Ideas Press sent me a copy of A Young Scholar's Guide to Composers to use with Eric, Emily and Ellen and to review for the TOS Crew.  


I have to just say... I LOVE this book!  For $34.95, Bright Ideas Press sells a book of 32 weekly lessons that span 6 eras of music and composers such as Bach, Handel, Mozart, Strauss and 22 others.  All the information needed to teach a new lesson each week is included within the pages of this book, including reproducibles to make a lapbook for each era and coloring pages for younger students as well as timelines, quizzes, and note-taking pages for older children.

Ellen working on her first music lapbook

Seven year old, Ellen says, "I liked it! I don't know what else to say...."

While we are not keeping up with a weekly lesson, we are enjoying working through A Young Scholar's Guide to the Composers.  I would definitely recommend this book for anyone looking for a great way to teach their children classical music.


Click here to read what other Crew members had to say about Bright Idea Press.


**disclaimer... I was sent this book free of charge for my honest review.  I received no other compensation.

Yuck!... TOS Crew Review

What's in your bucket?

                                                                           YUCK!

Thanks to Buckets-o-Fun, I had 4 samples of Yuck in my bucket to review for The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew.

Yuck products are fun projects that are essentially various types of slime.  They are made from acrylic polymer and Buckets-o-Fun sells 4 different types... 

chunky yuck which when mixed with water resembles machine ice cubes

saucy yuck which we think resembles applesauce

snowy yuck which looks just like it's name

and

sticky yuck which we agree with Buckets-o-Fun, this one looks like snot!

When I received my samples in the mail to review, the first person I thought of was my 12 year old nephew, Jake.  Jake loves to watch the reactions of things and I thought he would be a blast to create Yuck with, so I emailed Jake and asked for his help.  Because he's such a great kid, he was more than willing to help and I took my Yuck along on our camping trip to create it with Jake and the rest of the cousins. 

After creating all four samples, here are Jake's thoughts...

         The snowy yuck looks like snow but it is kind of slimy.  The sticky yuck is very sticky.  It does feel like snot and it doesn't wipe off my hands easily (in fact, it took a while to wash it off).  I might purchase the snowy yuck.  If you want to buy the sticky yuck, you might want to do it outside because it is hard to clean up.

After trying all four samples we had some other thoughts as well...
~we would like to see a little more science explanation included with Yuck.  Since we were camping, we didn't have internet access and I did not investigate polymers ahead of time to be completely prepared.  I think most teachers and homeschool moms would appreciate having the research done for them and included with the product.
~the Chunky Yuck takes 24 hours to complete... anything that takes longer than 5 minutes is really too long.  We lost interest watching it.
~all four samples were the same color.  We think it would be helpful if the different dry Yuck products could be different colors so that we could tell them apart as they were developing.  However, once each type was fully developed we had no difficulty distinguishing between the sticky yuck and the saucy yuck.
~creating Yuck in a small group worked well.  I can't imagine how it would work in a traditional school classroom, though.  It would be difficult to keep the mess down with more children involved.


A bucket of Yuck costs anywhere from $16 to $20 for one pound.  While I think it was fun to try Yuck, I can't imagine, as a homeschool mom, why I would ever buy an entire pound of it.  


However, Buckets-o-Fun offers free samples and I would definitely recommend anyone requesting a sample to try for themselves.  Who knows?  Maybe you'll find Yuck in your bucket!


Click here to see what other TOS Crew members thought of Yuck.


**disclaimer... I was sent a free sample of this product for my honest review.  I received no other compensation.

thanks Jake!

Foundlings... TOS Crew Review

Foundlings weaves together the Biblical 
principles of chivalry, truth, courage, duty,
faith and love within the framework of Genesis,
and a bold adherence to its historicity. It's an
exciting page turner that leaves you wanting
more, but more importantly it leaves the
reader with Godly heroes to think on and
emulate, and a young earth creationist view of
history that conforms to the Word of God.
~taken from Foundlings summary
by Matthew Christian Harding

When I received this book (signed by the author, no less!) for a review for The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, I was skeptical.  I hate reading "fantasy" and equally hate assigning it as school work for my kids.  When I saw our copy of Foundlings, I thought reading it would be drudgery... I was mistaken!

Foundlings by Matthew Christian Harding is the first book in the Peleg Chronicles.  This historically fiction work is set in the time period of Peleg (the great-grandson of Noah), soon after the Tower of Babel.  Mr. Harding weaves a tale of intrigue, treachery, camaraderie, and adventure with dragons, giants, false priests and the Dwarven Brotherhood. 

Here's what my 13 year old son thought of Foundlings...

Foundlings by Matthew Christian Harding is a Christian fantasy book with lots of action.  I really liked this book and can't wait to read the second book in the series.  I also liked the Bible references mixed in the story.  It seemed to take me a little while to get into the book, but when I did it was hard to put down.  I'm not much of a fantasy guy (besides Fantasy Football) but I would recommend this book to kids of all ages.

Foundlings is sold by Zoe and Sozo Publishing for $11.95 (autographed copy) with FREE SHIPPING. This book can also be found through Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

I definitely would recommend Foundlings.  Since we enjoyed it so much, I think I will look into getting the second book, Paladins.

If you are interested in reading what other TOS Crew members had to say about Foundlings, click here.

**disclaimer...I received this product free of charge for my honest review of this product.