Samson's Classroom-- TOS Review

 

Samson's Classroom is an online educational tool, offering three products: Sight Words with Samson, Spelling with Samson, and Reading with Samson. I was very excited to work with this review as my second grader found learning in this environment SO fun!

 

We began with using Sight Words with Samson – this area was created for beginning readers by helping them to master 224 of the most commonly used words in our English language. This helps build a strong foundation for new readers to encourage them to be successful in reading. It uses a 5 step process to help each student learn these widely used words.  During the process they will see and hear the word a myriad of times as well as seeing the letters needed to create each word they are learning. Even though I don't consider my second grader a "beginning reader," she still benefited from the practice of sight words in this section!

The games my daughter played asked her to complete a sentence, spell a word, identify the word, or take a short quiz.  There is a scoreboard which helps both the student and parent keep track of where they are and what their result was.  There is also a portion in the resource center that allows the teacher to print out additional worksheets and even flash cards. And you can print a certificate out once your student has completed each level, my daughter is saving these! She's so proud!

My daughter was very unsure of spelling, sometimes she puts all of her energy into reading a word! Reversing the process to spell it was difficult for her at first. Then, we moved on to the Spelling with Samson section. Spelling with Samson is a comprehensive set of games that drills spelling words in a variety of mini games.  More than 7,000 words will all be used in games which are designed to grab the attention of your children to play them over and over again all the while building their spelling skill. You can customize the lists to match what you are learning in your curriculum OR you can choose to use one of the lists already created.  Spelling with Samson is similar to Sight Words with Samson where it also uses a multi-step process to build confidence in your student’s spelling ability through a variety of games. My daughter was encouraged to try spelling and she wanted to play in this section more and more. What a fun way for a 7 year old to get spelling practice!

Reading with Samson is a combination of reading comprehension and logical analysis where the student will learn to draw conclusions from what they have read to figure out the answers to the questions presented to them. The questions asked cover cause and effect, discovering the main idea, context, and sequencing to name a few. This program also uses an instant feedback system. If a student answers a question incorrectly the pertinent information of the passage that they read will be highlighted and the child is allowed a second chance at answering the question correctly. This section was a little more difficult for my second grader but she does try a little each day. I think we'll be able to work our way up to this area more and more as we progress through the school year.

If you decide to take a look at Samson's Classroom for your homeschool, there is a variety of pricing options for home use ($30 per year), as a family (4 users $50 per year), as a classroom (30 users $80 per year) and even more. You can try a demo of the program and make sure you check out this short but very thorough video demo.

To see what my fellow Crew Mates had to say about Samson's Classroom visit the Homeschool Crew Blog to read more.

**Disclosure: My review and opinion written in this post is entirely my own. This product was provided to me for free in exchange for my review as a member of the 2012 The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew.

Crossbow--TOS Review

 

Crossbow is a company that provides many different kinds of learning tools. I was interested to see how I might be able to use their product in our homeschool. I had one child in mind that I thought might benefit the most from this review product.

 

When you visit their website you will find that they carry several tools designed to help you create a learning environment that promotes student achievement, especially for those with Dyslexia and Visual Stress. Because I have a child that I would categorize as having "visual stress," I was curious as to what this tool might do. I honestly wondered if I'd be able to see any difference or results.

Reading Rulers is the product we received to review. They are made of durable, color-tinted plastic; and you are able to underline and highlight about six inches of text at a time. Text is read through the transparent color. Each Ruler is small and convenient to carry, or keep in a book used as a book mark. “Reading Rulers reduce page glare, dancing, blurring text and other symptoms, while also providing valuable tracking support for reading.” They are available with duo reading windows – one is 1/2″ wide and the other is 1 1/4″ wide – to aid in reading a single line of oversize text, two smaller lines of text or a short paragraph.

Studies have shown that students need a spectrum of colors to choose from, to find the one that best meets their individual needs. I had my struggling reader start using the rulers and switch colors until he found one he "liked" reading with. Over time, I could see that he was always making sure he had a reading ruler with him and I saw that he was using it as a bookmark as well.

Crossbow Education has a Pack of 10 Eye Level Reading Rulers for $16.95. It is their most popular package, because it allows a student to examine each color, choose the one that offers the most benefit; and then order just that color. We received the pack of 10 to use and my son, as of now, has chosen 3 favorite colors to use when reading. I can't help but think this tool is helping him stay on track when reading pages with lots of texts and longer paragraphs.

I highly recommend this product for anyone with a beginning or struggling reader. I intend to continue using these reading rulers for as long as needed. Thank you, Crossbow, for making a product that helps us so much!

To see what my fellow Crew Mates had to say about Crossbow visit the Homeschool Crew Blog to read more.

**Disclosure: My review and opinion written in this post is entirely my own. This product was provided to me for free in exchange for my review as a member of the 2012 The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew.

ZooWhiz--TOS Review

 

ZooWhiz is the FREE Online Learning System that gives children comprehensive coverage of Math, Reading and English in a fun, motivational and interactive learning environment. ZooWhiz is a free site for parents and teachers and kids. It works a bit like Skype where much if its functionality is free but if you want the best then the PREMIUM subscription is for you. Premium access is usually $30 per child.

This online learning website for children allows them to practice reading, math, grammar, vocabulary, and word skills while “collecting” animals and playing games with the points they earn. It is designed for kids ages 5-15, and allows the parent to customize levels of learning to suit their child. Children can also customize their account by choosing their own “zoologist” character to play as.

Zoo Whiz was created for users across the world, with options that include American or British spelling, and different units of measure and currency. Parents are able to access progress reports that allow them to see how their kids are doing in each area. Kids are able to play learning games in different disciplines, and earn coins they can spend on animals and games.

As children play, they also learn about the animals in their collection. They get information about their habitats, whether or not they are endangered, what they eat and other information. They can even collect “rare” animals like dinosaurs and a phoenix!Many different skills are covered in the Zoo Whiz program, including basic math facts, phonemics and phonics, and more advanced skills as well. The learning levels are adjustable, so you can customize them to fit your child's ability level.

As I mentioned above there is a free account available on Zoo Whiz, I was able to try out the Premium account, which currently costs $14.95 for a year. You can't beat that! Zoo Whiz is still being developed and new content is being added all the time.

To see what my fellow Crew Mates had to say about ZooWhiz visit the Homeschool Crew Blog to read more.

**Disclosure: My review and opinion written in this post is entirely my own. This product was provided to me for free in exchange for my review as a member of the 2012 The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew.

Box of Ideas, Pearl Harbor--TOS Review

Box of Ideas is a company dedicated to creating interactive, learning modules centered around various subject areas. When using this product you can't help but find yourself irresistibly drawn into critical thinking & knowledge building! The variety of fun topics makes learning intriguing and fun.

A Box of I.D.E.As. (Ideally Dynamic Enrichment Activities) contains ten or more modules that supplement learning on a given subject or provide an interesting journey into usual topics.  Each module contains quick, fun activities that allow your student to dive deeper into the subject being explored.  At the end of the Box, a student will have created a small portfolio of projects representing what he/she has learned.  Additional links are provided with each module for further exploration.  For older students you can take advantage of the SAT style test (included in each box) to determine if your child has mastered the information.

 

Box of Ideas modules can be taken and used anywhere: in the car, at the doctor’s office, waiting for a sibling to finish an activity, etc. My family was able to review World War Two: Pearl Harbor in PDF form. I used this comprehensive module with my 3 oldest children (ages 13, 12 and 10). We haven't studied WWII yet in their schooling but this was a fun and easy way to begin! I couldn't believe the amount of information available in this kit. Not only was it extremely thorough but the instructions were very user friendly and the kids' loved all of the graphics. 

This Box of Ideas was broken down into these categories regarding Pearl Harbor:

• Before becoming a naval base
• Beginning of a naval presence
• Weeks before the attack
• Day of infamy
• Day after the attack
• Weeks after the attack
• Six months after the attack
• A year after the attack
• Four years after the attack 
• Decades after the attack

Each category began by explaining the contents of that particular module, what we'd be working on and what I needed to prepare (copies of certain sheets or cutting that needed to be done beforehand). After the directions on the prep work, the module began with instruction and references. There were colorful pictures that corresponded with the information given. Each module was, on average, 7-10 pages long. I was very pleased at how comprehensive this was and what my older children learned (and remembered!).

No program would be complete without grading sheets! The answer keys were broken down by each module and then for the final test at the end.

There are other Box of Idea versions available, check out the website to see which one you'd like to try first! PDF versions cost $49.00 while a physical box costs $79.00.  Extra modules can be ordered for $4.00.

Box of I.D.E.As. can be used for students of multiple ages allowing a homeschooling parent the opportunity to engage all students at once.  The age range recommended is 9-16.

To see what my fellow Crew Mates had to say about Box of Ideas visit the Homeschool Crew Blog to read more.

**Disclosure: My review and opinion written in this post is entirely my own. This product was provided to me for free in exchange for my review as a member of the 2012 The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew.

Music Together--TOS Review

 

Anything music related usually gets our attention in a QUICK HURRY! This has been such a fun review for us. The very first thing I did was pop the CD in the player in the car on the way to an appointment. My older children weren't so sure about what I was about to present them but by the time we were on song #2, they were captivated. :)


We really enjoyed the entire CD but our favorite songs were:

• Playin in the Kitchen
• Mississippi Cats
• Obwisana
• Goin' for Coffee (Mama's favorite!)
• I've Been Working on the Railroad (a super awesome version of an older song!)

The book has semi-glossy pages and begins immediately with a breakdown of describing every aspect you would need to know such as:

• The Music Together teaching principles
• The types of songs and activities in the book
• How to work with instruments and props
• How to work with children with special needs

The songs are then broken down by title and specific examples are given on how to create movement in conjunction with the song playing. For example, one of our favorites was Playin' in the Kitchen. I was able to find the sheet music for the song (although I'll never be able to play it myself!), directions on collecting ordinary kitchen items to use as instruments and then specific examples on working with preschoolers, older children and children with special needs.

The Music Together CD is award winning!  Look at all the awards it has gotten:

• A Parents’ Choice Silver Honor Award
• Earlychildhood News Directors’ Choice
• Earlychildhood News Judges’ Selection
• National Parenting Center Seal of Approval
• NAPPA Gold Award
• iParenting Media Award
• Learning®Magazine 2008 Teacher’s Choice
       for the Family
• Creative Child Magazine Preferred Choice
• Children's Music Web Award
• Mom's Choice Gold Award
• Parent-Tested Parent-Approved Award

Music Together is an internationally recognized early childhood music and movement program for children from birth through age 7. They offer classes in locations across the United States and in more than 40 overseas countries. They also have an online store that sells instruments for preschoolers (shakers, drums,  etc), CDs and teaching materials.

 This vender has offered you some cool opportunities! If you would like to listen to the songs on the "Family Favorites" CD, you can preview them HERE. You will also have the option to buy the songs individually (for $0.99 each), the entire CD (for $14.95) or the MP3 version (for $9.99).

Another awesome option you can take advantage of is that if you order the Songbook and CD combo (instead of buying separately) you can save $5. If you enter the coupon code "Schoolhouse" at check-out when you're in the store, you can save $2 more! Here's a quick way to go directly to the songbook and CD.

To see what my fellow Crew Mates had to say about Music Together, visit the Homeschool Crew Blog to read more.

**Disclosure: My review and opinion written in this post is entirely my own. This product was provided to me for free in exchange for my review as a member of the 2012 The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew.

A Cry from Egypt-- TOS Review

My eyes lit up when I first saw this review! Being a mom to boys always has me on the search for Godly resources to help guide me in raising them. Great Waters Press, which published the practical guide to Raising Real Men by Hal and Melanie Young, has two new books coming out. We were able to review the "physical" copy of A Cry from Egypt (it was also available to review in PDF form).

 A Cry from Egypt was written by Hope Auer and illustrated by Mike Slaton, both recent homeschool graduates.  Hope Auer has been writing stories and plays since she was very young.  She began writing A Cry From Egypt, the first book in The Promised Land Series, as a school assignment when she was only thirteen and her family was studying ancient Egypt!  This historical fiction book deals with the period before the Exodus, when the Israelites were still in slavery.

The book is for children age 8 and above. My 10 year old son read it and LOVED it! The book itself wasn't so big that my son was intimidated by it. It was easy for him to read (and understand) and really did a great job in giving a clear picture of life in the day of the Israelites during that time.

One of my favorite parts of the book was the Research section at the end. The research section had notes and websites further explaining things discussed in the book. For example, the author addresses points such as the possibility of two Pharaohs: Rameses the VII and Rameses the VIII. She gives websites that give examples of what Egyptian clothing would look like as well as Hebrew clothing (a picture truly is worth a thousand words!). There were many sites to peruse regarding architecture. She points out that the grand pyramids that everyone thinks of when one thinks about Egypt are in a completely different city. The Israelites depicted in this story were not the ones working on building those pyramids.

This book is being published by Hal and Melanie Young of www.RaisingRealMen.com. You can find A Cry from Egypt for purchase at the cost of $12.50 here.

To see what my fellow Crew Mates had to say about Great Water Press resources, visit the Homeschool Crew Blog to read more.

**Disclosure: My review and opinion written in this post is entirely my own. This product was provided to me for free in exchange for my review as a member of the 2012 The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew.

Speekee TV~TOS Review

I was SO EXCITED to have bee chosen for this review! My younger kiddos love to watch Dora the Explorer and try to learn the Spanish so I was all about reviewing this course to its fullest! Speekee uses children filmed on location in Spain with puppets to teach Spanish (in an immersion approach).   Each video has a theme (e.g. El Cafe, El Zoo, etc.) with consistency in format.  This repetition within each program helps the kids to learn key words and phrases in a fun way.

 

 We found this course to be fun and engaging, my girls giggled through the videos as they worked hard to pronounce and repeat the words and phrases. It amazed me at how they focused on something that I thought they might not understand. That was not the case. They were able to get clues from the themes and how the "lessons" were taught. They came away with WAY more knowledge than I ever thought they would!

The target ages for this course is toddler through elementary grades, I reviewed it with my 6 year old and my 4 year old daughters.  Speekee TV provides you with access to the videos, and something called Speekee FastTrack which lays out an easy to follow plan over the course of 40 weeks.  Each week has suggested activities with corresponding video clips, worksheets and other resources.  They also supply vocabulary flashcards by episode for review with your child.

I used the worksheets and vocabulary flashcards with only my 6 year old. She was able to follow the content this way and it really helped reinforce what she had previously learned.

Subscribing to Speekee TV is easy.  They give you 2 weeks free to try it out and then charge just $7.50 per month for your subscription through PayPal.  Or if you prefer, you can pre-pay for one year at $60. Take a risk-free look and see what you think! We'll be continuing with this throughout our school year, I love using fun resources that engage my children during the learning process! :)

To see what my fellow Crew Mates had to say about Speekee TV, visit the Homeschool Crew Blog to read more.

**Disclosure: My review and opinion written in this post is entirely my own. This product was provided to me for free in exchange for my review as a member of the 2012 The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew.

Math 911--TOS Review

 

Professor Martin Weissman has been teaching Math for 50 years. He created the Math 911 software because he is passionate about the subject and wants to help students overcome their fear of Mathematics (and to master it).  Throughout his years of teaching, he felt that students needed fewer explanatory textbooks and more illustrative examples to help them understand how to do higher math problems.  Because of this need, he decided to develop the Math911 tutorial software.

 

 Math911 is set up in the form of a tutorial and generates problems for students to solve in the following courses: Introductory Algebra, Intermediate Algebra, College Algebra, Statistics, Trigonometry, and Pre-Calculus.  We're barely at the introduction to algebra level with my oldest child but we gave this software a shot (and to keep in mind for the future). After registering the software we were able to get access to the program. There are no frills, it is a very simple program but very straight forward to use. We chose the Intro to Algebra level to begin, below are the topics we started with for Pre-Algebra review:

• Introduction to integers
• Addition and subtraction of integers
• Multiplication and division of integers
• Exponents and order of operations
• Factoring number and prime factorization
• Addition and subtraction of rational numbers
• Multiplication and division of rational numbers.

 

There are 8 levels to complete under each category as well as 2 midterms and 2 finals spaced throughout the tutorial. No questions are ever marked wrong however there are a certain number of problems that need to be “correct” to prove mastery and move to the next level.  If the student does not understand how to do the problem, he may click on a button for step-by-step instructions to see the problem being solved.  He may follow these step-by-step instructions for as many problems as necessary to understand the process.  Professor Weissman wanted to give students practice, practice, practice in all types and variations of problems.

It was easy (and quick) to download this software off the site and because we were working in Pre-Algebra, there were also free PDF downloads with some explanations of how to do the problems.

To see what my fellow Crew Mates had to say about Math 911 visit the Homeschool Crew Blog to read more.

**Disclosure: My review and opinion written in this post is entirely my own. This product was provided to me for free in exchange for my review as a member of the 2012 The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew.

Reading Kingdom--TOS Review

Reading Kingdom is an online program designed to teach children ages 4-10 years old how to read and write (to a third grade level).  This is an interactive reading program and you can customize it based on each child's needs. I found it very easy to use and because it is so fun, children feel as if they are playing a game and are eager to practice. My daughter loved this as a way to get more computer time; I didn't mind because I know this program was helping her have fun and get better at reading!

 

This program isn't your every-day-run-of-the-mill reading program! I found it uniquely different in the way it brings in elements of phonics (and whole language) and added in other skills needed to achieve reading and writing success. There weren't a bunch of complicated rules to work through; we noticed the use of something called the "six skills method." This method focuses on sequencing, motor skills, phonemic awareness, meaning, grammar, and reading comprehension. This reading enhancement program works with any curriculum and can used in any homeschool, preschool – 3rd grade classrooms, ESL programs, and special education classes.

Below is an example of  the 6 skills method and the areas covered in this reading method:

 

I found this program to be comprehensive in what it had to offer, definitely worth its weight in gold! In the Reading Kingdom program, you can expect:

• Easy to use… after a few lessons, children can often use entirely on their own.
• Customized to match each child’s skill level
• Major emphasis is placed on accurate spelling, punctuation, and writing
• No boring, difficult rule memorization! The system teaches rules implicitly.
• Designed to minimize error
• When error occurs, specific techniques are offered to overcome the problem
• Regularly checks child’s progress
• Children progress quickly with sessions only 15-30 minutes in length
• A parent/teacher report is always available when you log into the program

 

My daughter especially liked the graphics used throughout the program, she was always engaged and never lost interest! I smiled because I new she was learning and having fun at the same time. One of the things she does is try to look at pictures and determine what is said in the sentence based on what the picture looks like. You can see in the screenshot below that the sentence doesn't say a thing about bowling. My daughter learned very quickly to go right to the sentence instead of trying to evaluate the picture instead. :)

 

I consider this program to be risk-free because you have the ability to create an account and use the program (at no charge) for 30 days.  You can see if you like it and if it would work for your family. If so, you can buy a subscription for $19.99/mo or $199.99/yr for your first reader/child.  Additional readers are $9.99/mo or $99.99/yr.  Also, if you are interested, additional books, kits, and resources are available in the Reading Kingdom Store.

Overall, we found this program to be a win-win for our family! 

To see what my fellow Crew Mates had to say about Reading Kingdom visit the Homeschool Crew Blog to read more.

**Disclosure: My review and opinion written in this post is entirely my own. This product was provided to me for free in exchange for my review as a member of the 2012 The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew.

Golden Prairie Press--TOS Review

Golden Prairie Press is an online business started by Amy Puetz. Her first book was a historical costume book and then later she wrote other historical books with a Christian worldview. Amy Puez, the author, enjoys telling stories of people who impacted their generation.

Amy Puetz is a homeschool graduate who loves history. Here's a little background written by Amy herself: "When I was a teenager if anyone had told me that one day I would write books I would have laughed in their face. Me a writer? You’ve got to be kidding! But sometime God opens up a door that we would never have imagined going through on our own. That’s what happened to me in writing. My ambition was to be an archeologist but during my high school years I began experiencing unbearable fatigue and pain. As I approached graduation I realized that I needed to rethink my plans for the future. The Lord led me to take a correspondence course to become a computer graphic designer. After completing the course I was hit with a most sensational idea--write a historical costume book! This book combined several of my passions--history, sewing, designing, and photography. Since then I’ve built up a business selling historical items and writing historical books."

We were able to review Ten girls From History e-book and I have to say that my 12 year old, history loving, love-to-read daughter absolutely adored this book! This book was written in a way that is very engaging for the reader and captivates the audience while going through the accounts of ten, brave girls throughout history. When previewing this book for my daughter, I immediately noticed that I'd only heard of a few of these girls or remembered their stories. That fact alone made me very aware that I didn't love history when I was in school. My own curiosity was peaked so I read this e-book as well as my daughter. We were both captivated by the stories, the way it was written kept us coming back for more.

See if you recognize any of these girls from history:

1. Cofachiqui
2. Madeleine De Vercheres
3. Dorothy Quincy
4. Molly Pitcher
5. Elizabeth Van Lew
6. Ida Lewis
7. Clara Barton
8. Virginia Reed
9. Louisa May Alcott
10. Clara Morris

For any girl who loves history, I highly recommend this book. I also recommend it for people like me...I didn't enjoy history in school, therefore I'm curious about the things I missed out on. This was an intriguing (and informative) read!

 

If any (or ALL!) of these books look interesting to you, you can still get in on the back-to-school sale. Be sure to go over to Golden Prairie Press by tomorrow (9/1/12) and take advantage of the sale prices.

To see what my fellow Crew Mates had to say about Golden Prairie Press visit the Homeschool Crew Blog to read more.

**Disclosure: My review and opinion written in this post is entirely my own. This product was provided to me for free in exchange for my review as a member of the 2012 The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew.

Apologia, I Don't Have Enough Faith To Be An Athiest--TOS Review

Apologia is a familiar name to most homeschooling families. I personally enjoy their curriculum because their science and worldview curriculum are written from a Christian perspective. I was able to review their newest product, I Don't Have Enough Faith To Be An Atheist. This book can be used as a curriculum for high school but I reviewed it personally as an "adult student." You can read a sample of the book here to determine the voice in which it's written.

 

Here's a little background on the authors (taken from the website):

"Norman Geisler and Frank Turek (the authors) argue that Christianity is not only more reasonable than all other belief systems, but is indeed more rational than unbelief itself. With conviction and clear thinking, Geisler and Turek guide readers through some of the traditional, tested arguments for the existence of a creator God. They move into an examination of the source of morality and the reliability of the New Testament accounts concerning Jesus. The final section of the book deals with a detailed investigation of the claims of Christ. This volume will be an interesting read for those skeptical about Christianity, as well as a helpful resource for Christians seeking to articulate a more sophisticated defense of their faith." 

I found this to be a fascinating read. I was a bit skeptical and unsure at first on what to expect, mostly because of the title. But, I learned long ago not to judge a book by its cover. The topics in this book discussed questions or uncertainties I've had for many years. Even though I grew up going to church, the older I got the more questions I seemed to have about my own personal faith and why I believed the things I said I believed. 

If your curious about this book and if it's right for you and your family, check out the Table of Contents.  I really did enjoy the book in it's entirety but the chapters "Why Should Anyone Believe Anything At All" and "The Top 10 Reasons We Know The New Testament Writers Told The Truth" were my favorites. I feel these topics (among others discussed) have helped me to to become more confident in how I approach and talk to non-Christians.

 

Along with the book to review, I also received a workbook companion. This is where things became a curriculum and not just a good book to add to one's collection. The workbook is extremely comprehensive in nature and made each chapter "sink in" at a deeper level. 

 

The sections involved in working through each chapter include examples such as: key topics, key terms used, questions that grab your mind, famous people in Christian history, and much more.  When using this as a course, you or your student will "tackle the question of absolute truth, demolish the follies of postmodernism, debunk moral relativism, and march logically and surely toward the inescapable truths of the Christian faith."

The book costs $16.00, and the workbook costs $33.00. This set seems to be a popular item (I can see why!) so be sure to check back if you find it unavailable. 

To see what my fellow Crew Mates had to say about Apologia, I Don't Have Enough Faith To Be An Athiest visit the Homeschool Crew Blog to read more.

**Disclosure: My review and opinion written in this post is entirely my own. This product was provided to me for free in exchange for my review as a member of the 2012 The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew.

Vocabulary Spelling City--TOS Review

 

Vocabulary SpellingCITY.com is an interactive game-based website that will help your Elementary, Middle, and High School Student with their Vocabulary, Spelling, Writing, Parts of Speech, Handwriting, Alphabetical Order. I was all about this review, the kids on the other hand weren't so sure. Even though they were skeptical, they actually enjoyed using this program. Anything to help in this area and make it fun is a huge bonus for this family!

The creators of Vocabulary SpellingCITY.com offered us a one year premium membership to use in our homeschool for the review. I'm super grateful for this because now we can continue on and use this throughout our school year. I have 2 kiddos who have had a hard time with alphabetical order so I'm excited to continually use this resource. Another child has a hard time with the parts of speech and yet another child despises handwriting. I think Vocabulary SpellingCITY was made for us!

Another thing I enjoyed in this program were the training videos. These videos help to explain things in a video format, this is customer service at its finest. Talk about user friendly!

Visit the Vocabulary SpellingCITY website for information on Classroom or School pricing. Premium Memberships for homeschooling families is available for $29.99 a year and can be used for up to 5 children.

To see what my fellow Crew Mates had to say about Vocabulary Spelling City, visit the Homeschool Crew Blog to read more.

**Disclosure: My review and opinion written in this post is entirely my own. This product was provided to me for free in exchange for my review as a member of the 2012 The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew.

Vocab Videos--TOS Review

 

Vocab Videos uses short videos to illustrate the meanings of 500 high value, frequently tested (SAT, ACT and junior high/high school) vocabulary words. In addition to vocabulary videos featuring entertaining characters and outrageous plot lines, the website also has extensive review material found in the form of digital quizzes (as well as other forms explained below).

We were set up with the Small Educators Subscription to review, this subscription offered us the ability to monitor student progress, access all videos and study material, and the ability to create individual student accounts. Our teacher's account allowed me to register my kiddos for their own individual Vocab Videos accounts, I was able to monitor their progress by viewing the student quiz scores and completed worksheets. Below is an example of the teacher's dashboard:

Vocab Videos also uses a flashcard maker and digital worksheets to enhance sentence writing and practice the use of synonyms and mnemonics. Crossword puzzles, an extensive glossary and teacher tracking tools all combine to further student success. Below is an example of a flashcard you might see when using this program:

Student Subscriptions are available in 6-month and 12-month subscriptions. If you were to purchase a yearly subscription it is available for $74.99.  A single student subscription is available for $39.99 a year. Please visit the VocabVideos.com for more information and details. Vocab Videos offers a one month free trial so be sure to check that out.

One thing that didn't work well for our family was the content of the videos. While the information and form was good (and made sense), we had a hard time with phrases used such as "Oh my God" and "Oh God" when the actors were playing out the scene. Also in the videos that showcased co-workers and their interaction with a female co-worker, we found to be inappropriate according to our family's belief system. The men were "eyeing up" the female co-worker and calling her "fine." We are trying to raise our children with Godly character traits and we found these videos to not portray such traits. After watching a few and allowing my older children to see some "tamed down" videos to get the point across of how this program was designed, we stopped watching the videos and focused on the other things within the program.

To see what my fellow Crew Mates had to say about Vocab Videos, visit the Homeschool Crew Blog to read more.

**Disclosure: My review and opinion written in this post is entirely my own. This product was provided to me for free in exchange for my review as a member of the 2012 The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew.

Thomas Jefferson Education--TOS Review

We were able to review A Thomas Jefferson Education, an amazing and comprehensive resource! A Thomas Jefferson Education wants you, the parent, to experience the joy of helping each student discover, develop and polish his/her genius. This is the essence and very definition of great education.
A Thomas Jefferson Education encourages parents to apply the 7 keys of Teaching:

1. Classics, Not Textbooks
2. Mentors, Not Professors
3. Inspire, Not Require
4. Structure Time, Not Content
5. Simplicity, Not Complexity
6. Quality, Not Conformity
7. You, Not Them

to help you educate your children to their fullest potential. To read more about the 7 Keys to Great Teaching, click here. Getting to know the ins and out of this resource honestly blew me away. I was amazed at what was offered. The website not only gave me tons of background on the founders but also what I needed to do to get started and work my way around the site.

 

This Week In History, the Thomas Jefferson Education’s subscription program (one of my favorite features!), delivers new lessons to your email inbox each week. Each week full of pictures, links and videos to help you educate your child to their full potential. The program costs $9.99 a month and delivers the following benefits to you the homeschooling parent:

• relieves fear, stress and burnout
• energizes your kid-school
• fills in the gaps
• cultivates cultural literacy
• facilitates state or provincial compliance
• correlates resources for co-ops, classrooms and family learning
• harnesses the power of technology in a classical leadership education
• harmonizes with Unschooling, Charlotte Mason, Montessori, Trivium/Quadrivium, IEW, eclectic, etc.
• delivers new ideas and areas of learning to you and your child
• instigates discussions and projects that expand wisdom and understanding
• connects the subject areas–from music to math, from geography to world religions, from hobbies to science projects, etc.
• motivates you and your students to greater excellence

This Week In History was one of my favorite features, by far! The two words that come to mind are comprehensive and FUN! As an example of this week in history (August 9-15, 2012), the construction of the Leaning Tower of Pisa began in the year 1173.  The site gave me pictures, background information, resource links to learn more about the Tower, activity ideas and suggestions for writing and discussion. All of the work was done for me and left my family with FUN and time to explore! More dates/facts were given for this week, each one complete with pictures, background information and lists of resources.

The cost of the program may seem a bit steep but from what we've used during this review period, it is WORTH EVERY PENNY! I am pleased to say we will be incorporating this resource into our school year this year. Thank you Thomas Jefferson Education for helping me to make learning fun in our homeschool!

 

To view a sample week click here. To see what my fellow Crew Mates had to say about Thomas Jefferson Education, visit the Homeschool Crew Blog to read more.

**Disclosure: My review and opinion written in this post is entirely my own. This product was provided to me for free in exchange for my review as a member of the 2011-2012 The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew.

Math Made Easy--TOS Review

 

Math Made Easy is a simple workbook set designed to help your kids master the basics of addition, without using their fingers, in just six short weeks. We reviewed the addition package and it's primarily for children in the 1st-2nd grade range (but has been used with successfully with some kindergartners and special needs kids of various ages).

 

Each set sells for $24.95 and the addition book includes the following:

• Philosophy
• Lesson Plans
• Pre and Post Tests
• Zeroes and Ones
• Addition Table
• Weekly Guide Sheet
• Six Weeks of Daily Activity Sheets
• Addition Reviews
• Games
• Flash Cards

The activities in this book are fun and like a "project" My 1st grader is all about projects so she didn't mind doing these math worksheets at all! Each week included addition drills, matching up the question with the correct answer, coloring sheets (after finding the answer, the correct color was indicated). There were cut and paste puzzle type activities and "break the code" type activities. This book was the perfect level for my first grader and she enjoyed every day's activity.

The back of the book provided the games (printed on cardstock) as well as the flash cards. We had fun "laminating" these with contact paper so they would stay in good shape for the next child. Everything was presented in a simple yet effective way, we REALLY enjoyed using Math Made Easy!
 

To see what my fellow Crew Mates had to say about Math Made Easy, visit the Homeschool Crew Blog to read more.

**Disclosure: My review and opinion written in this post is entirely my own. This product was provided to me for free in exchange for my review as a member of the 2011-2012 The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew.