The Sojourner Reviews

Beeyoutiful Lip B.A.L.M. and Tension Tamer- A TOS Crew Review

2012-02-24T20:03:00.001-08:00

This review was a nice change from homeschool products and curriculum since it was for health and beauty products! It is not often I get the chance to review this type of product and it was certainly a pleasure. I have heard alot about the company Beeyoutiful, but had never tried any of their products, so when the opportunity came up, I was really hoping to be chosen.

The first product I received was Tension Tamer:

This incredible combination of essential oils act to reduce pain, relieve tension and combat headaches. A great nerve relaxer and pocket decongestant. Roll Tension Tamer on temples, wrists, nose, or neck and relax as your headache and tension disappear. Great for children too! Use as often as desired. Ingredients: Expeller pressed jojoba oil, expeller pressed sweet almond oil, grape seed oil, eucalyptus essential oil, peppermint essential oil, wintergreen essential oil.

I have to admit I was a little skeptical about a product that could make headaches and tension disappear! Well, I was in for a big surprise the first time I got a headache after receiving this product. I tend to get headaches right at my temple, although I don't get them very often. So when I rolled the Tension Tamer onto my temple, I was first surprised by how much it tingled! And the scent is pretty strong, but I think it is that scent that actually took my headache away. Anyway, I was really amazed and happy to have such an amazing product that could help rid me of a tension headache. It is certainly worth a try if you get tension headaches!

The other product I had the opportunity to try is Orange Lip B.A.L.M. (Beeyoutiful All-Natural Lip Moisturizer):

Who hasn’t struggled at some point with dry, chapped lips?
Either during the dry winter months, after being outside gardening or during sporting events, or even during a cold. Conventional lip moisturizers can be harsh and even damaging to fragile lip membranes with chemicals and fuel derived bases. Beeyoutiful’s all natural Lip Balms offer you a choice of a soothing, healing lip balm that you can be confident in the ingredients, knowing you are using the very best on your lips! The convenient size fits in your purse, pocket, diaper bag or gym bag for easy access wherever you may be.
Beeyoutiful’s Lip Balm comes in two soothing flavors: Peppermint and Orange. Each has common ingredients that nourish and heal the lips as they moisturize.
GrapeSeed Oil- high in antioxidants (procyanidolic oligomers and polyphenols) and linoleic acid which nourish, moisturize, naturally provide anti-inflammatory support, and help smooth fine lines and wrinkles! So instead of merely relieving your chapped lips, it is nourishing them and helping them look their best as well!
Shea Butter- also high in antioxidants, Shea Butter helps bring elasticity back to the skin, moisturizes, has natural sun protection, and helps bring healing to scars and wounds.
Beeswax- recommended by Mayo Clinic as an excellent choice for a lip balm, beeswax is high in germicidal antioxidants, possesses natural anti-inflammatory abilities, and has been shown to have antibacterial qualities. It gives body to the lip balm while providing moisture and cell restoration for your lips!
Essential Oils- (Either Orange or Peppermint Essential Oil)- Both provide refreshing flavors while providing their naturally inherent benefits to your lips! Orange is a refreshing, citrusy blast that helps to brighten your lips. Peppermint’s cool, tingly flavor will bring soothing refreshment to your lips on the driest of days!

I have to tell you that I absolutely LOVE the Lip B.A.L.M.!! It is SO smooth and creamy - not waxy feeling at all (which is one of my pet peeves with lip balms:-). The orange scent is light and fresh - very enjoyable. I had to threaten my daughter in order to be able to use this product enough to give it a review, cuz she is always "borrowing" things like this and I never see them again. The price is very reasonable at $3.00 each, or $2.70 each if you order 3 or more.

Come to think of it, where did my Tension Tamer disappear to???

If you would like to read more reviews of these and other Beeyoutiful products, visit the TOS Review Crew website here for more reviews.

I received this product for free in return for an honest review. I have not received financial reimbursement for my review of Beeyoutiful Lip B.A.L.M. and Tension Tamer.

2012 AZ Sectionals Division 1

2012-02-06T11:12:00.000-08:00

Thought I'd share a few photos from this past weekend's AIA Div. 1 Sectional where Cody took 5th place and qualified for State Championships this coming weekend!!!

Cody vs. Red Mountain for a win

Cody vs. Mt. Pointe for a win!

The VERY proud parents after he took 5th place and qualified for State!

Final Match of Regular Season

2012-01-27T08:59:00.000-08:00

This is Cody's final wrestling match of the season - and he WON!! He has progressed and grown so much during this wrestling season. He wrestled in 4 weekend tournaments in addition to the regular season matches. He had a winning season and will go to Sectionals next weekend, and then hopefully to State.

I am so very proud of him and how hard he has worked! He has had to work through injuries incurred during football season that have hindered and haunted him throughout the wrestling season, but he has pushed through and been an overcomer. He has shown that he has the potential to be great. He has worked hard and improved immensely. And through it all, he has shown that he is a man of great character.

He's my son and I'm a very proud momma!

Rising Prices...Gas, Groceries and More!

2012-01-15T18:25:00.001-08:00

I am sure you have noticed, if you have bought anything in the last couple months, that prices are on the rise. It has been predicted, but I was sure hoping it wouldn't happen. We live in the most competitive grocery market in the country, so our prices are probably still good compared to other areas, but we live on a very tight budget and I am having to increase the amount we spend on groceries and basic supplies. I am feeling the pinch in our budget. There just aren't as good of sales, not as many good coupons, and even on sale prices are higher than in the past. I am very thankful for the past several years where we have been able to eat really well on a small budget and I know that God will provide all that we have need of, but I am sad that I am having to increase my "buy" price on so many items. That just means that there will be less "extras" all around. Plus, our costs have increased because we have more people living in our home for now. I am hoping that our extra family member will soon be able to contribute some to the household budget by way of a job - that will certainly help!

And gas prices have just jumped from $2.99/gal that I paid a week and a half ago, to $3.23/gal being the lowest that I can find around here! That is a 24 cent jump in just a few days! How come the media is not all over that? Why are people protesting and raising a ruckus about the huge jump in gas prices? I guess we have been lulled into believing that it is inevitable. Well, we are going to have to begin getting creative in ways to decrease our use of gasoline, too. Perhaps bicycling will become necessary -couldn't hurt my personal "bottom line"! LOL My husband already bicycles to work most days, so he is definitely doing his part.

So have you begun to feel the crunch of rising prices? Share your ideas for saving money on groceries and gas. We can all learn from each other and help each other out during this belt-tightening time!

Z-Guide To The Movies: Driving Miss Daisy - a TOS Crew Review

2012-01-05T18:38:00.000-08:00

I love this company and the Z-Guides to the movies that they publish! Watching movies as part of our homeschooling is something I really love to add into our curriculum and these Z-Guides hit the spot! Last year, we watched To Kill A Mockingbird and used the Z-Guide to help in our studies. So this year, when I was once again given the opportunity to review a Z-Guide to the movies, I was excited and chose Driving Miss Daisy. I thought that it would be an interesting movie for my teens to watch and would also go along with the time period we have been studying in history.

Zeezok Publishing has Z-Guides to the movies for many different movies, both old and newer ones. All of these movies are very educational, yet fun and interesting! The Z-Guide begins with a Topic Overview and Movie Synopsis. I have found that my kids DO NOT want me to read the Movie Synopsis prior to watching - spoils the movie for them! Then there are Movie Review Questions, as well as questions that delve into the topic behind the movie. There are 10 different Activities in all, encompassing things such as art, word search, and other topics relevant to the particular movie. For instance, for Driving Miss Daisy, there are a lot of questions and activities relating to Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement, as well as discrimination and in-laws relationships.

The Z-Guides sell for $12.99 and you can see the whole list of titles available on their website at www.zeezok.com They also have all the movies for sale as well, just in case you have difficulty finding any of them either at your local library or on Netflix, Redbox, etc.

If you would like to read more reviews about Z-Guides for different movies, check out the other TOS Crew Reviews.

I received this product for free in return for an honest review. I have not received financial reimbursement for my review of Z-Guide to the movies: Driving Miss Daisy from Zeezok Publishing.

Resolutions or Goals?

2012-01-02T20:10:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! Hope you have an awesome year full of blessings from our incredible God!

A lot of people like to make New Year's Resolutions this time of year and most of them are broken before the month is out. I like to make goals - goals of things I want to do, goals of new habits I would like to acquire, goals of things I would like to accomplish during the year.

Here are a few goals I have set for myself this year:
1. I would like to attend my 30th high school reunion.
2. I would like to have lost 15-20 lbs. by the reunion.
3. I would like to get all of our homeschooling done by the end of May.
4. I would like to blog more regularly and begin to build an income base through blogging.

I think that is all for now. What about you? Do you make resolutions or goals? And did you make any this year that you would like to share?

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2011-12-26T10:58:00.000-08:00

We had a very nice couple of days over the Christmas weekend and I am looking forward to a nice, quiet week between the holidays. For the first time in weeks, I woke up today with no to-do list - just whatever I want to do. And I really want to see Dolphin Tale, so I think I will go to the $2 theater all by myself:-)

Alissa always likes to sing "I Wanna Hippopotamus for Christmas", so we got her one:-)

Cody wanted an ASU hat.

Heather and Hailee are living with us for a time. It was very different celebrating Christmas with a little one around again - it has been a LONG time!

I am so very blessed by my wonderful family! I LOVE cooking great holiday feasts for them and making special treats. We were able to surprise both our kids this year with unexpected gifts that they are thrilled about - it has been a while since they didn't know everything they were getting for Christmas! I also set their surprise gifts up in a scavenger-type hunt with clues that led from one clue to another until finally to their gift - it was SO fun!

Hope you all have a very happy holiday week!!

Cody's Match at McClintock Tournament

2011-12-17T14:13:00.000-08:00

This is Cody's first wrestling match at the McClintock Tournament Friday afternoon. He had a bye on the first round, then won this match!!! He also won this morning and is now in the semi-finals!! I am hoping to be there for that match and will post it tomorrow if I get it on video. I am SO proud of him and how he has progressed in his wrestling!!! I need a "Wrestling Mom" t-shirt, I think:-)

2011-12-17T11:54:00.000-08:00

Wednesday was Alissa's dance performance for her weekly classes. She performed in hip hop, ballet, modern and Synergy, which is the dance company she is in. She is so beautiful and has such God-given talent in dance! I am so thankful she has found this outlet for her talents and has these opportunities to share her giftings.

Cody's First Wrestling Match of the Season

2011-11-27T13:46:00.000-08:00

I just thought I would share the video of Cody's first Varsity Wrestling Match of the season. This match was an intersquad scrimmage so he wrestled a teammate who weighed at least 10 lbs. more than him. He has improved SO much since a year ago! It should be a great wrestling season and the next match is in a few days.

Stuffing in a Pumpkin Review

2011-11-27T13:03:00.000-08:00

Thanks to a tip I heard from Alton Brown on their special Thanksgiving show, I decided to try baking my stuffing inside a pumpkin this year. All I did was clean out the pumpkin (you know, seeds and strings), mixed up my stuffing and scooped it into the pumpkin. I put the lid back on and baked it in the oven with the other side dishes. The bottom of the pumpkin got really soft, so I would recommend putting the pumpkin on a pan of some type before baking so you can get it out of the oven easily. Then just cook until the stuffing is cooked to your preference. You can scoop out some of the pumpkin to eat with the stuffing or just eat the stuffing and puree the pumpkin for another pie like I did. Plus, it saves on one baking/serving dish, too!! And what a pretty way to serve the stuffing!!

So I give it 2 THUMBS UP!!! Thanks, Alton!

College Prep Genius: TOS Review

2011-11-14T19:57:00.000-08:00

When I found out about the opportunity to review this product, I was very excited because my son was preparing to take the PSAT in October and then the SAT or ACT in February or March of 2012. So College Prep Genius "Master the SAT Class" was ideal to help him prepare for these big tests. However, I did not receive it in time to help us for the PSAT. However, I know that it will be of great value if he decides to take the SAT next year.

College Prep Genius "Master the SAT Class" DVDs with the accompanying Workbook and Textbook is a very complete and comprehensive way to study for the SAT. The motto is "the no brainer way to SAT success" and although I still think you need a brain to do well on the SAT, this course certainly makes it alot easier. The curriculum is divided into 6 parts: Introduction to the SAT, The Critical Reading Section, The Math Section, The Writing Section, Scholarship Search, and Journal for Test Success. In my opinion, the most valuable help that this curriculum gives is in understanding how the SAT questions are written. There are techniques and strategies for each section of the SAT that will make the test-taking procedure MUCH easier for the student!! And College Prep Genius has thoroughly studied each section of the SAT and has many tips and helps to enable your student to get a great score on the SAT. It uses acronyms to help you REMEMBER all those tips and tricks, too.

To be honest, the tips and tricks that College Prep Genius teaches can be found in many different SAT prep books available from many different sources, but what really set College Prep Genius apart is the completeness of the program. With the DVDs, your student can listen to the instructions about each section before going over it in the textbook and then working the practice problems in the workbook. The only thing lacking, in my opinion, are the complete SAT practice tests that you can take before and after studying this curriculum. However, those ARE available online at www.collegeboard.com, so no worries! The other aspect of this curriculum that I feel is incredible is the Scholarship Search section which helps you and your student to find as many scholarships as possible to help with the financial burden of a college education. And the higher the SAT score, the more scholarships your student will qualify for and receive. So it is well worth the $99 (25% discount) that College Prep Genius is currently charging for this full curriculum to increase your student's score!

After all that I and my son learned about the SAT test via this curriculum and how the SAT test is created and set up, though, I think that my son will be taking the ACT test instead. If your student is going to take the SAT, College Prep Genius would be a VERY valuable tool to help your student understand the test and what the questions are really asking. The SAT is not a very straightforward test and they purposely include traps and tricks to fool the test-taker. So, in my opinion, it is ESSENTIAL to give your student the benefit of going through this curriculum to help them learn these test-taking techniques and strategies to cut time in half, as well as recurring patterns and advice on a "perfect essay", which is the newest portion of the SAT test.

Go to the College Prep Genius website at collegeprepgenius.com for more information and to order this curriculum which is the newly updated and revised program featuring an easy-to-use format, bonus material including appendixes of must know math terms, Latin roots, and prefixes and suffixes, new strategies, more detailed explanations, and a new motivation test. All this comes with a 30-day, money-back guarantee. They also have some other college prep products including VocabCafe. You can read more reviews of this product and VocabCafe by other members of the TOS Review Crew here and see what they thought.

I received this product for free in return for an honest review. I have not received financial reimbursement for my review of College Prep Genius SAT Prep Curriculum.

The Person I Marry: TOS Review

2011-11-08T09:43:00.000-08:00

The Person I Marry by Bower Family Books is a book I wish I had known about when my teens were younger. This gorgeous book by Gary Bower which is illustrated by his wife, Jan, is surely a lifelong keepsake! I received this book as an ebook, but I assure you that I truly wish I had the hardcover book to keep and pass on to my children. In fact, I think I might just have to buy one for each of my teens!

The Person I Marry is a 32-page picture book that is appropriate for all ages from young children to adults. It would even make a really nice wedding or anniversary gift, "reminding us of what our partners really mean to us." Throughout this beautifully illustrated book, in wonderful rhyming verse, the character traits that are most important in a spouse are portrayed and demonstrated in such an awesome way.

"The person I marry won't have to pretend
just to impress me. I want a friend,
one who can share, but can also receive.
That is the marrying type, I believe."

This and similar verses portray without question the "true gems of character" to look for in a mate in a way that you can begin to share with your young children, your adolescents, and even your young adults. The illustrations are incredible oil paintings of children by Jan Bower, wife of the author, Gary Bower. She is incredibly talented as an artist and there is so much fun and feeling portrayed through her paintings used to illustrate this book.

My teen son and daughter read the book with me and were very impressed with the quality of the paintings and the way it shares those wonderful traits that they should be looking for in a mate.

The Person I Marry, part of the Bright Future book series, is available through Bower Family Books for only $11.49 and you can order it, as well as see all the other beautiful books available, at www.bowerfamilybooks.com.

Here is a video where you can see excerpts from the book, as well as hear from the author and illustrator, Gary and Jan Bower, about the book:
The Person I Marry from Bower Books on Vimeo.

If you would like to read more reviews of The Person I Marry, you can hop on over to the TOS Review Crew linky page to check them out.

I received this product for free in return for an honest review. I have not received financial reimbursement for my review of The Person I Marry by Gary Bower.

Excellence in Literature: TOS Review

2011-11-01T22:55:00.000-07:00

Even though I am in my third year of homeschooling high school, Literature has been a challenge as far as being sure that I am using the best curriculum for us. So when I was given the opportunity to receive Introduction to Literature from Everyday Education, I was very interested to see what the course entailed. I received the curriculum via download, so it was immediate and I can print out the pages to put into a 3-ring binder at my leisure.

At first glance, I was impressed with the selection of literature that is included as the focus works. They are top quality classics that every child should read before graduating. Then as I spent time reading and reviewing the 132 pages included in this curriculum, I became more and more impressed with the quality and content of the program. Here is an excerpt from their website which gives a synopsis of the curriculum:

"Introduction to Literature is a college-preparatory literature and composition course. Focus works, including novels, short stories, poems, and drama, have been selected for literary quality, and for their place in the historical development of literature. Context readings provide background information about the author, the historical period, and the literary and artistic context of the focus work.

Students will gain an understanding of the development of literature and will practice the skills of close literary analysis through essays, approach papers, and other evaluative writing. You may learn more about how I chose the literature for Excellence in Literature in this blog post."

Introduction to Literature is a complete course that includes composition in many different forms such as compare/contrast essays, literary analysis papers, approach papers, poetry analysis and more. This curriculum encourages the student to work independently and to learn how to delve into literature and analyze it.

We didn't get very far along in this curriculum yet, but I will give you an idea of what it is like and the schedule. In Unit One, the student will begin by reading “A White Heron” by Sarah Orne Jewett as the focus text, which is a short story and is available via a link in the curriculum. As context reading, there is a biography of Sarah Orne Jewett for the student to read. The student will then learn to write an approach paper, and discover or review the five elements of fiction: Plot, Theme, Characterization, Setting, and Style, in five great short stories. The unit is set to be covered in 4 weeks, so there is plenty of time for the students to spend reading and writing as required, if they spend about one hour per school day on this subject. The following units are all based on longer novels which are to be read over a 4 week time period, as well as the accompanying papers written.

Objectives

By the end of the course, students will:

Understand the process of writing, including the use of tools such as a writer’s handbook, dictionary, and thesaurus.
Have specific understanding of selected representative texts by major authors of the periods studied.
Have a general understanding of the historical and cultural contexts of the works.
Be able to analyze literary texts and present thoughtfully developed ideas in writing.
Demonstrate competence in essay organization, style, and mechanics.
Unit 1: Short Stories by-
• Sarah Orne Jewett: A White Heron
• Edgar Allen Poe: The Purloined Letter (This one is not scary, if you're concerned about that.)
• Guy de Maupassant: The Diamond Necklace
• O. Henry: The Ransom of Red Chief
• Eudora Welty: A Worn Path
• James Thurber: The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
Unit 2: Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne
Honors: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
Unit 3: A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain
Honors: The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain
Unit 4: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
Honors: Shirley or Villette by Charlotte Brontë
Unit 5: Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw
Honors: Murder in the Cathedral by T.S. Eliot
Unit 6: Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
Honors: Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson
Unit 7: Animal Farm by George Orwell
Honors: 1984 by George Orwell
Unit 8: The Tempest by William Shakespeare
Honors: A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare
Unit 9: Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift
Honors: The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan

There are five levels available in Excellence in Literature which together make for a complete college-prep high school study of Literature for 8th through 12th grades. For a very reasonable price, Introduction to Literature: English 1 Print Book $29 + $4.95 shipping, you can receive an incredible Literature curriculum for your high school student. Or you can choose the ebook version for $27 and receive it immediately via download. If you are just beginning your high school journey, you may choose the complete comprehensive 5-year curriculum package which includes Introduction to Literature: English 1, Literature and Composition, American Literature, British Literature and World Literature all in a professionally printed binder with tabs for only $139 plus shipping.

If you would like to read more reviews by TOS Review Crew members, click here and you can read many more opinions of this product.

You can visit the website at www.everyday-education.com and can even get a sample unit so you can see if this curriculum is a good fit for your family.

I received this product for free in return for an honest review. I have not received financial reimbursement for my review of Introduction to Literature from Everyday Education.

George Washington Carver DVD: TOS Review

2011-10-31T09:08:00.000-07:00

I am always happy to receive quality biographical DVDs to supplement our education, so when given the opportunity to review George Washington Carver: His Live and His Work for Marshall Publishing, I jumped at the chance. And I was not disappointed!

This DVD about George Washington Carver, although only about 30 minutes in length, was so inspirational and informative about his life and his work! The DVD is full of wonderful photography and great music. They share about his relationship with God and what inspired him to research the many uses for peanuts (for which he is most well known.) It clearly shares the importance of hard work and a positive attitude, and how he was involved in changing how people thought about black people at that time.

If you want to inspire your children to good works and great character, this DVD will surely provide a great platform to do so. My teens watched this DVD with me and were very touched by George Washington Carver's life and faith.

Marshall Publishing is a company that believes in great family DVDs, books and CDs. They have a whole selection of educational historical DVDs, as well as DVDs for younger kids about fire trucks, jets and monster trucks! If my son was younger, I am sure he would LOVE to watch these great DVDs!

The George Washington Carver DVD is on sale right now for only $19.95 and there is a study guide available right on line, too. It will be a great addition to your study of American history, as well.

You can go to their website at www.marshallpublishinginc.com to check out all of their products. And if you would like to read more reviews from the TOS Review Crew, click here.

I received this product for free in return for an honest review. I have not received financial reimbursement for my review of George Washington Carver: His Life and His Work by Marshall Publishing.

Say Anything Family Edition: TOS Review

2011-10-27T22:11:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, I did another review of a game by the same company, Northstar Games. Apparently, they major in great family games! Say Anything Family Edition is a fun family game that reminded us a little of Apples to Apples, and a little of Wits & Wagers, which I reviewed here.

The great thing about Say Anything Family Edition is that you can go from opening the box the first time to playing a game in just a couple minutes. It is very easy to learn how to play this game for ages 8+ and 3-6 players. They provide everything that you need, including dry erase markers for each player, a dry erase board to write your answers on, dry erase scoreboard to use over and over, as well as the tokens and Select-o-matic 6000 which is used by the "judge" to select their favorite answer. The Family Edition of Say Anything is brand new this year and provides a wonderful opportunity for your family to have a blast being silly or serious by guessing what the "judge" would say.

Here is how play goes:

Each player has a dry erase board, marker and 2 tokens.

The judge chooses a card and then selects one of 3 questions from the card to ask to everyone.

Players write their answer on their board secretly, then all show their answers.

The judge secretly selects the most correct answer on the Select-o-matic 6000.

Players then place their tokens on the answer(s) they think the judge will select.

The judge reveals his/her selection and points are awarded for those who selected the correct answer, wrote the correct answer, and even the judge can earn points.

Then the next person gets a turn as judge and play continues.

If your family likes to be silly, the answers can be quite a hoot to read! You never know what someone will come up with. The game is played very quickly, so you can fit several games in even if you don't have a lot of time. We had a lot of fun playing this game, although I have to admit that Wits & Wagers was favored in our house.

It is such a pleasure to learn about games for the family that are fun, wholesome and bring the whole family together for a time away from "technology-drive" things like computers, TV, video games, etc. Northstar Games has created some great games and I am so very pleased to have the privilege of reviewing their products!

I found Say Anything Family Edition over at Amazon.com, so go check it out! Regularly priced at $19.99, it is apparently on sale right now for $13.85!! It would be a great family game for the holidays, which are coming up very quickly now!

You can read more reviews of Say Anything Family Edition by other TOS Crew reviewers here.

I received this product for free in return for an honest review. I have not received financial reimbursement for my review of Say Anything Family Edition by Northstar Games.

Wits & Wagers Family: TOS Review

2011-10-25T21:17:00.000-07:00

Since the kids and I love to play games, I always jump at the chance to review games that are age appropriate for my teens. So I was excited to be chosen to review Wits & Wagers Family by Northstar Games.

At first my kids were a little hesitant because they thought the game was probably for little kids. However, once we started playing, we played quite a few rounds because neither teen would concede defeat. So, I must share that, even for teens, it is a really fun game!! It is designed for three or more players ages 8 and up.

It is very simple to get started with the game and they provide EVERYTHING that you need to play. There is a deck of questions that you "guess" the answers to by writing down your answer on a write-on/wipe-off card with markers that are included. Then everyone places their "wager" by using Meeples (small and large wooden people-shaped tokens) to indicate which answer they believe is correct (or closest without going over). You can score points by selecting the correct answer as well as giving the correct answer. Scores are kept on a write-on/wipe-off card which can be used over and over.

This fun game is available from a variety of national retailers including Target, Barnes & Noble and Borders, so don't miss out on adding this game to your family's game cabinet for the holiday season! Prices may vary depending on where you purchase.

Be warned - Wits & Wagers Family can be addicting!!! And you will actually learn a lot in the process of playing the game - a side benefit! My 17 year old son said, "You should give this game a good review. It was fun!" Yes, that is my varsity football lineman/wrestler son - it was that fun!

Northstar Games also offers the original Wits & Wagers version as well as Say Anything that I will review in a few days. Check out their website at www.northstargames.com.

I received this product for free in return for an honest review. I have not received financial reimbursement for my review of Wits & Wagers Family by Northstar Games.

Educating the Wholehearted Child Review

2011-10-23T12:55:00.000-07:00

Early in our homeschooling journey, I read the book "Educating the Wholehearted Child" by Clay and Sally Clarkson. It had a great impact on how I approached homeschooling and really touched my heart about reaching my kids' hearts. So when I was offered the opportunity to review the newly revised version of this book, I jumped at the chance.

I have been blessed to spend many hours reading through this book over the last several weeks and have been inspired and encouraged once again through the writings of Clay and Sally Clarkson. Although the book is geared towards homeschooling ages 4-14, there is much that applies to all ages. Now that my kids are 15 and 17 years old, I can look back and see the impact that the original book had on our homeschooling journey. I can also look back and wish I had done some things differently, but I am not one to spend much time with regrets. I would rather make changes and move on towards the future.

Educating the Wholehearted Child is a huge book filled with so much that it is a hard one to describe. First and foremost, it is a handbook on providing "a solid biblical foundation for educating and nurturing your children's hearts, minds, and souls." It is about your journey of faith as a homeschooling family. Discipling your children is your greatest calling and mission in life, and this book lays out that calling in a very relevant and systematic way, giving tons of foundation, insight and examples.

The over-sized book is comprised of 376 pages divided into four sections: Home, Learning, Methods and Living. There is also a great Resources section with forms and lists that are hugely beneficial. You can see a list of all the chapters here, and they have even made a whole chapter available to read so that you can get a good feel for the book before buying.

I really appreciate the addition in this revision of updated technology and comments about the young adult years. Educating the Wholehearted Child is available from Apologia Press for only $22 and I believe it to be an incredibly valuable guidebook for any homeschooling family. You can go to https://apologia.securesites.net/ to view the many resources available from Apologia Educational Ministries.

You can read what other members of the TOS Review Crew think of this book here.

I received this product for free in return for an honest review. I have not received financial reimbursement for my review of Educating the Wholehearted Child.

A Little Halloween Nostalgia

2011-10-14T16:21:00.000-07:00

We don't really celebrate Halloween, except to pass out candy IF anyone comes to our house:-) However, I was just looking through some old photos and came across this darling photo of our kiddos when they were really little. They went to a daycare center for about a year before I quit working in order to homeschool when Cody turned 5. So on Halloween, they had to dress up for the daycare center party. Aren't they just the cutest?

Zaycon Chicken Event - Don't Miss Out!

2011-10-01T12:59:00.000-07:00

Zaycon Foods is a family owned company that brings products direct from the farm / processor (or as nearly as direct as possible). The products are as fresh as if you had your own farm, but without all the chores. They sell foods only by the case and bring them straight from the farm to you. They set up a pick-up location where you can just drive thru and pick up your case(s) and be on your way in about 2 minutes.

I have bought the skinless, boneless chicken breasts from them several times now and LOVE them! They are the best, most flavorful chicken I have ever bought. The case is 40 lbs. and when I bring it home, I package it in ziploc bags and put in the freezer. This keeps us in chicken for several months usually and I am usually on the last or next to last bag when the next even comes around - perfect!!

The best part is the price - just $1.49/lb!!! That equals the absolute best sale price I have ever seen here locally and the chicken is SO much better and NEVER frozen!!!

So by now you may be wanting to know if Zaycon Foods comes to your area and how you can get in on this great deal. Simply click on this link to go to Zaycon Foods and register for their email list. Then you will be sure to know if and when they are coming to your area and what they are bringing. They also sell ground beef, bacon and more. I think they even had peaches this summer! And, they are expanding like crazy all over the country, especially with their chicken events. They are now selling in all 48 contiguous states!! So go and register today and order your 40lbs. (or more) of chicken when they come to your area. When you see an event get listed, don't wait too long to buy your chicken - they go pretty fast and DO sell out!

The Ups and Downs of Being a Sports Mom and a GIVEAWAY!!

2011-09-30T23:59:00.000-07:00

Visit the Official site

Cody at practice

As those of you with children in sports know, these sports can become all-consuming, especially as they advance into high school sports. My son began playing football while we still lived in Mexico, but it was very tedious to make the long journey across the border several days a week for him to play Pop Warner football in Yuma, AZ. After we moved to Arizona, we were very excited to find that the local public schools open their doors to homeschoolers to play sports. So my son then began with football in his Freshman year. Practices and workouts began as early as January of his 8th grade year and continued for most of the summer as well.

Freshman football was disappointing for my son - he fractured his hip before halftime in the first game of the season!! He was heartbroken, but he faithfully attended every practice and game - on crutches - and remained a part of the team. He was finally able to play some in the last two games of the season. And I learned way more about avulsion fractures of the hip than anyone, other than a doctor, should need to!!

Working hard

Workouts for JV Football began in April with Spring Football, followed by Weight Camp in the summer and then regular football season which runs August through October. Since my son needed to take a weight-lifting class for football, he ended up taking a wrestling/weight-lifting class which got him interested in Wrestling. As soon as football ended, wrestling began and ran through February, at which time individual free-style wrestling began. Also, in January, Varsity Football workouts began early in the mornings. As homeschoolers, we had to "fit" school in between the morning workouts and the afternoon wrestling workouts and, later, football practices.

Ready, set....

Again, Spring Football began in April and ran right into Summer Weight Camp (mornings) and Wrestling Camp (afternoons). This summer also included a 5-day football camp up in the mountains. With this many hours per day of working out, my son's nutrition needs are pretty intense. He needs to consume, on average, about 5,000 to 6,500 calories per day and drink TONS of fluids (we live in the desert!!)

Watch out, here he comes (on the left)

As a mom, I can help my son perform his best by understanding the significant role sports nutrition plays before, during and after a game/practice to fuel his sports performance. Several things are key to fulfilling his nutritional needs. First, he must consume a lot of protein and carbohydrates. I supplement his diet with whey protein shakes at least once a day. I cook all of our food from scratch so he is getting the best, freshest food possible. His diet includes a lot of brown rice, whole wheat pasta and potatoes (white and sweet with skins on). I also cook chicken, beef and, occasionally, pork, as well as lots of beans and grains. I grind wheat and bake fresh bread on a regular basis. And I am able to buy lots of fresh fruits and vegetables for a very reasonable price thanks to living in AZ.

In order to replenish a lot of the fluid and electrolytes he loses every day, I keep a big stock of Gatorade in the house and buy whenever there are sales. Plus he drinks A LOT of filtered water every day, all day long.

He's a big guy now

Unfortunately, this past Wednesday, my son injured his knee during practice. After several hours in the Emergency Room (where his primary care physician sent us), we don't know much more. He is scheduled to see his orthopedic specialist on Monday where we will hopefully learn more specifically what his injury entails. We are hoping and praying that it is only a strain/sprain of his MCL and not a tear. He is really hoping to get back to playing football before the season is too far along. And again, I am learning way more about MCL injuries than your average person!!

For now, he is still attending practices and scrimmages, on crutches with a knee immobilizer. He is supporting the team and remaining part of the team, in hopes that he will soon be back on the field with them. Injuries are part of the sport, and as hard as it is on him, it seems to be just as hard on me as the mom. I am, behind the scenes, supporting him and helping him in any way I can. My role runs more towards making sure he ices his knee, takes ibuprofen, eats sufficiently and has plenty of Gatorade and water since he is still out in the heat for several hours each day.

but I remember him like this!

Sports injuries really are hard, but as long as his passion runs towards sports, I will do everything I can to assist him in pursuing his passion for football and wrestling. We are hoping he will be able to earn a college scholarship through his sports endeavors and are praying for safety and healing along the way.

If you are a sports mom, you understand how it is. If not, you never will. The vital role you play in your young athlete's achievement and success is immeasurable. Through nutrition, family scheduling or just being someone to lean on during challenging times, every mother wants to support her aspiring athlete as they BECOME the best athlete they can be.

For more information and to encourage moms to support their athletes as they BECOME Gatorade will donate one dollar up to $10,000 to the Women's Sports Foundation for every pledge they receive at Gatorade Moms. Visit the Official site for Gatorade here.

Would you like to win $100 Dick's Sporting Goods gift card? Just leave me a comment sharing how you help your child athlete become the best they can be and see the rules below for another chance to enter. This sweepstakes runs from 8/29 until 9/30.

There are also additional chances to win $100 Dick's Sporting Goods gift card over on the BlogHer Promotions & Prizes section, so go check it out.

Rules:

No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry
methods:

a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment
on this post

c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on
this post

d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about
an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older

Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail.

You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be
selected.
Visit the Official Rules here.

TOS Review: Aletheia Writing Magazine

2011-09-29T18:10:00.000-07:00

I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I was chosen for this review. It is called Aletheia Writing Magazine and I knew it was for Christian teens, but that is all I knew to start with. Then I received this beautiful full color magazine in the mail and couldn't wait to dive in and read it. But first, I learned that Aletheia is Greek for TRUTH!! So that makes it a very cool name for the magazine.

This publication is "committed to offering readers a quality literary and artistic publication that nurtures spiritually-minded creativity from Christian teens across the country." Aletheia Writing Magazine provides a top-quality opportunity for Christian teens who love to express their creativity through poetry, short stories, and art to be published in a fantastic publication.

I read through every single page of this magazine (it was hard to put down once I started) and was so very impressed with the talent and creativity of these teens who had submitted work to Aletheia Writing Magazine. The magazine is chock full of poems, stories, artwork, book reviews and photography by teens from all over the world. There is a monthly Writer's Challenge, as well as articles that give a glimpse into the lives of professional writers and/or illustrators.

My daughter, who is 15 and the writer in our family, really liked the magazine. She thought it was very professionally done and that teens would feel very proud to have their work published in such a magazine.

There is a link on their home page where you can read the Spring 2011 Issue for FREE! You can subscribe to Aletheia Writing Magazine for only $26 per year and that includes 4 issues per year of a beautiful and inspiring 40-page full-color magazine (including shipping and handling).

I received this product for free in return for an honest review. I have not received financial reimbursement for my review of Aletheia Writing Magazine.

Tri-Cross Board Game Review

2011-09-25T12:18:00.000-07:00

In our family, we love to play games! So I was thrilled to find out that I was chosen to review Tri-Cross, a new strategy board game for families with short attention spans.

This is a very beautifully and professionally made board game that was designed to utilize the strategy of games like chess, checkers and dominoes, but in a much-less-than-marathon time frame. In fact, this game plays in just about 5-10 minutes, which means you can play multiple times, employing different strategies and still be done in time to make dinner! Then you can employ the more difficult version of play (face down) and go again. Although it says for ages 8 and up, there are some younger kids who could learn and play this game with their families as well. Kids who like chess and checkers will probably like Tri-Cross as well, if not more.

Tri-Cross was first created 25 years ago by a father who wanted to design a game that could be learned and played out within a short period of time and also become increasingly challenging. He made and sold a few hundred of the games, but then let it sit on a shelf until 2007, when his sons encouraged him to put the game back out on the market. In 2008, his son took over the reigns and the game started to gain traction. The company is called Games for Competitors and they have several different versions of the game available, including an Eco-Edition/Travel Edition in which the board and bag are made of organic cotton and canvas. They fold up nicely into a travel size version. All inks are non-toxic and the sizes of the board and bags were decreased to save on material waste.

Tri-Cross won the Mom's Choice Award in 2010 and the Eco-Edition won the Dr. Toy's Best Green Product Award in 2010, as well as Creative Child Magazine's Game of the Year Award in 2008 and Dr. Toy's 100 Best Products winner. Truly an award-winning game!

Because the game can be a little tricky to get the hang of at first, they provide some very nice video tutorials on their website to get you started, both with the beginner version and the advanced version.

I have to say that Tri-Cross has the potential to become a classic like chess, checkers and even Monopoly! It has all the elements of a great game, is fun to play and is made to a very high quality standard. Once you get the hang of it, it is quite easy to teach to new players, yet also tests memory and logic to a very high degree. I look forward to many more years of playing this game with my 17-year-old son! And I am very thankful to the Burns family for giving us this great way to connect and spend quality time together!!

You can purchase the Standard Edition at your local game store or online for $24.95. There is also a Wood Edition available for $35.95 and the Eco-Edition which is $19.95. They also donate 10% of every purchase of their Eco-Edition to the Captain Planet Foundation. There is a list on their website of all the local retailers that carry Tri-Cross, too. You can also connect with Tri-Cross via their Facebook page.

I received this product for free in return for an honest review. I have not received financial reimbursement for my review of Tri-Cross from Games for Competitors.

Rooted and Grounded: TOS Crew Review

2011-09-17T13:16:00.000-07:00

Several years ago, I had the privilege of reviewing another product for Deeper Roots Publications, Discovering Our Amazing God, which was for Middle School. This year, I have the awesome blessing of reviewing Rooted and Grounded: A Guide for Spiritual Growth, which is for High School.

I was so very excited to be chosen for this review because I was really struggling with what to use for our Bible curriculum for this year. Last year, I received another great Bible curriculum to review and we used it all year and I loved it! However, the funds were just not there to purchase another from that same company. When Rooted and Grounded came up as a review product, I prayed that God would allow me to receive it if that was what He wanted us to use this year. And I did!

The first four weeks of our school year, I used the curriculum with my two teenagers. Then, to my utter joy, my husband has taken over the Bible teaching with my kids! This is SO wonderful - he should be the one leading our family spiritually and this is a big step in that. Plus, he has SO much more knowledge of the Bible (he is an ordained minister and pastored for 7 years), so he is making the study so much more involved and my kids seem to respond so much better to him. I am SO blessed!

I received the Teacher's Guide, Student Workbook, Test and Answer Key, and Scope and Sequence. These are beautiful books with great drawings that make them a pleasure to look through. The Teacher's Guide includes everything from the Student Workbook, as well as "Prayer Reminders" for Unreached Peoples for each lesson. It gives some background about the people group, as well as how to pray for them.

There are also included Memory Challenges, Review Pages, Writing Opportunities, and opportunities for Journaling. I also love that the complete text for all the scriptures used in the study are included in the green pages in the back of the book (for easy reference) in both King James Version and New International Version.

We have enjoyed using this curriculum for a while now, and I am very pleased to be able to continue it throughout the entire year. I believe it is appropriately written to target the 10th, 11th and 12th grader, challenging them as they grow spiritually. Some of the things that I like best about it is that it "moves the students from Biblical knowledge to spiritual application and encourages personal ownership of spiritual truth." Yes, I am quoting Deeper Roots, but I totally agree with it and couldn't have said it better!

I also love that it encourages a lot of discussion about the lessons between the teacher/parent and the students. Sometimes it is hard to get our teens to engage in a discussion about Biblical things, but this curriculum opens the door to some good discussions. If you look through the lesson titles, you can see a good overview of what is covered and where this curriculum is headed:
Lesson 1—Be to the Praise of His Glory.
Lesson 2—Walk as Jesus Walked.
Lesson 3—A Pure and Holy Life
Lesson 4—The Love of God for Others
Lesson 5—Servanthood
Lesson 6—Unrealistic Expectations
Lesson 7— God Is Faithful
Lesson 8—The Forgiveness of God
Lesson 9—The Forgiveness of God
Lesson 10—God Knows Youl
Lesson 11—Christ Accepts You
Lesson 12—God’s Awesome Power
Lesson 13—Don’t Worry or Be Anxious
Lesson 14—Submission and Obedience to Authority
Lesson 15—God Is Worthy of Praise
Lesson 16—The Mystery of Prayer
Lesson 17—The Privilege of Prayer
Lesson 18—The Pattern of Prayer
Lesson 19—The Test of Faith
Lesson 20—The Attitude of Christ
Lesson 21—Christ Must Increase–I Must Decrease
Lesson 22—The Way of Greatness
Lesson 23—Seeking Kingdom Treasure
Lesson 24—A Good Soldier
Lesson 25—Honor All Men
Lesson 26 - Work With All Your Heart

And if you are now wanting this curriculum for your students, here is the basic info on how to order. You can easily go to Deeper Roots Publications website www.deeperroots.com and check out all of their homeschool curriculum. They also have many FREE downloadable samples of their different curriculum so that you can see for yourself whether it would be a good fit. Rooted and Grounded Teacher's Guide, which has 332 pages and is spiral bound, is just $39.50. The Student Workbook, which has 256 pages and perfect bound, is $23.95, and you can get the Test and Answer Key for just $3.95. The Scope and Sequence is FREE online, so you can just check it out for yourself.

I received this product for free in return for an honest review. I have not received financial reimbursement for my review of Rooted and Grounded: A Guide for Spiritual Growth from Deeper Roots Publications
.

A Review of Buffalo Meat

2011-09-07T18:09:00.000-07:00

Thanks to a friend, I tasted buffalo meat for the first time last week. In exchange for a little work I am doing for them, my friends have given me some buffalo roasts and a few other cuts of buffalo. Getting "paid" in buffalo meat works just fine for me!!! They also have some elk I may get to try soon.

The reason I have never tried buffalo meat before is the cost - it is $9.99/lb when it is on SALE at Sprouts! WAY out of my budget normally.

So last week, I cooked one of the roasts in my crock pot just like I do a beef roast, with some potatoes and carrots. It was VERY good! To me, it was hard to tell any taste difference from beef, but the meat was SO lean, I had to make sure it had water so that it wouldn't dry out. It was tender and delicious!

Last night, I cooked up some picadillo which is whatever you have on hand (meats, veggies, potatoes) chopped up and cooked together with some salsa and spices. You can serve this in many different ways, but we made tacos with it. The buffalo was tender and very yummy!

Well, I decided I needed to find out about the health benefits of eating buffalo meat, and here is what I found:

Buffalo meat has 70-90% less fat than beef.
Buffalo meat has 30% more protein than beef.
Buffalo is rich in CLA (conjugated linoleic acid), an omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid (good fat), which stabilizes blood pressure, enhances metabolism and reduces body fat while preserving muscle mass.
Buffalo meat contains less calories and is lower in cholesterol than beef.

Buffalo meat has more iron and B-12 content than beef, and has 4 times higher vitamin E than grain-fed beef.

WOW! That's alot of health benefits! I think I REALLY like buffalo meat now!!

Have you ever tried buffalo meat? What did you think?

Our First Varsity Football Game

2011-09-03T11:46:00.001-07:00

Last night, Cody played in his first official Varsity Football game!! Wow, how much different the varsity games are from the Freshmen and JV! It is SO much more exciting with the bands and cheerleaders, as well as the huge difference in attendance, even at an away game! We didn't get the win, but the game was still fun!

This was actually the second game of the season, but the first game Cody was able to play because of his knee injury a few weeks ago. He didn't play much in the first half, but he played most of the second half and did a good job on both defense and offense. He even recovered a fumble by the other team for his team!

He came away from the game with a swollen and bruised elbow, as well as an extremely sore knee - so we did lots of icing last night and this morning. Still sore today, but better. He had practice this morning to review the film from the game and to do some running. Now he can rest and relax the rest of today and tomorrow. However, he still has practice on Monday - even though it is a holiday!!!! Just doesn't seem fair, but I know the coaches are serious about getting their team to a place where they can win a game.

Such is life for the serious athlete!

2011-08-22T17:18:00.000-07:00

Click on the button above to join the Blog Hop and visit blogs from many of the different TOS Review Crew members!! So much fun, so little time!!

A Great Use for Pillsbury Refrigerator Biscuits

2011-08-18T17:57:00.000-07:00

As you should know by now, I try to make everything from scratch as much as possible. There are some things I just can't keep up with to make from scratch. One of those things is biscuits. I am not a great baker (except for bread and I never mess with the recipe:-), so things like biscuits take me too much time and hassle to make from scratch. I have done it several times, but the results just aren't worth the effort. Perhaps if I had someone who could come and show me how to do it, I might have better success than just reading a recipe.

So I watch for sales on Pillsbury Grands Biscuits and use coupons to get them for $1 or less each. However, I just found out that you can make donuts, like the ones at the Chinese buffets, with these biscuits. All you do is heat up about 1 to 1 1/2 inches of oil in a saucepan to 350 degrees and then drop the biscuits whole or cut into 4 pieces (cook more quickly this way) into the oil. Turn them over when you see them begin to brown and wait a few more moments. Remove from oil, drain on paper towel and then toss in a paper bag with some sugar in it. Oh my, these are SOOOOOO good!

We decided they were WAY too easy to make - might become a problem for our waistlines!! And there are none left to take pictures of since they were eaten so rapidly. I like to use the Grands Jr. biscuits for this and just cut them in half.

Have you come across any novel uses for Pillsbury Grands Biscuits? I would love to hear your ideas!

Football Season in Full Swing

2011-08-04T11:09:00.001-07:00

This week marks the "official" beginning of football season. I put that in quotes because they have been practicing almost daily since about the first of April!!! I have been very impressed with some of the changes the coaches have made this year and am excited for the games to begin! Yes, I am a FOOTBALL MOM!!! I get out there and scream with the best of them:-)

This week, as they have begun wearing helmets and then full pads, the temperatures have once again risen to over 110 degrees, even reaching 116!! It is amazing to me that these boys are so used to the temps that they are able to practice full out for 2 1/2 to 3 hours in this blazing heat! THAT is good conditioning! However, hydration is ALWAYS a concern and now more than ever. And the amount of calories that need to be consumed is very high as well - somewhere around 6,000-7,500 per day. Ok, that is ALOT of cooking that I need to do:-)

I believe they have their first scrimmage either tomorrow or next Friday and the games begin on August 26th. Yes, it will still be scorching hot for the first 6 or so games and sitting in the bleachers is a test of our heat endurance, too:-)

Cody is #56 this year and is starting as Defensive End and also playing backup Center on offense. He is in the best shape of his life and can run like never before in his life. So this should be an exciting season! Plus, we get the extra entertainment of Marching Band and Cheerleaders - woohoo! GO WARRIORS!!!

Our Homeschool High School Plan for This Year

2011-07-29T12:13:00.000-07:00

It seems folks are really interested in what curriculum you are using, especially when you get to the high school years. So I thought I would take a moment and share what we are using this year at the Hip Homeschool Hop!!

Bible - Rooted and Grounded by Deeper Roots (I have been praying about this one and just found out I am receiving this to review!!!)
Algebra 2 - Math-U-See
Chemistry - Apologia and doing labs as a co-op class
Spanish 2 - Spanish Grammar in Review by Kenneth Chastain
American History (part 2) - Hakim's The Story of US as a review
British Literature - an old English Literature book by Houghton Mifflin
Fine Arts - Guitar and Band
PE - Football and Wrestling at local public school
PSAT Prep - PSAT Prep books from library

So that is our school year. Both of my kids are taking the same courses except for math. My daughter is finish up Pre-Algebra (MUS) and will begin Algebra 1 this year. She is technically only going to be a freshman, but is way ahead in most of her studies since she and my son have been doing the same thing all along. That will give her a couple years to do "fun" stuff like photography classes and equestrian studies, while she finishes up her math.

I would love to hear what you are using, especially high schoolers!

New Friend Friday Link Up

2011-07-22T23:20:00.000-07:00

I just joined a New Friend Friday Link Up over at Molding Minds Homeschool to meet some new blogging friends. Feel free to join us if you are looking for some new friends, too!

A New Year with TOS Crew Reviews!!

2011-07-22T11:06:00.000-07:00

A new year is about to get started with The Old Schoolhouse Magazine's Review Crew! The lineup of products looks great already and they are starting off with some fantastic homeschool products!

Since we are homeschooling high school now, there aren't quite as many products specifically for high school, but the ones that we do get to review are always top notch and a great addition to our curriculum.

So keep an eye out here for the reviews to get underway soon and consider becoming a follower of this blog so that you don't miss a single great item!!

Continuing Education for Marriage

2011-05-19T21:12:00.000-07:00

If you want to excel in any area of your life, especially your career, you are often required to take Continuing Education classes. For those of us who homeschool, we attend workshops and conferences to get our continuing education. When I was in sales, I took many workshops and training classes to continually increase my abilities and make me more valuable to my employer.

Why should our personal lives be any different? If we want to excel at our marriages, we should take the time and make the effort to continue to educate ourselves about how to be the best wife we can be to our husbands. However, there are very few "Continuing Education" opportunities for marriage. There are a few weekend retreats for marriages around the country and individual churches sometimes have classes for married couples. For those of us whose husbands work odd hours and can't even attend church regularly, these opportunities just don't work.

So I was very interested when I received "To Have and To Hold" Marriage Bundle from Eternal Encouragement. This "bundle" includes 2 mp3 audio sessions, 5 ebooks, 7 ebooklets, and 2 full back issues of TEACH Magazine. If you bought these items separately, it would cost $100, but you can get this entire bundle for $39.97 for the instant downloads or $49.97 if you prefer to receive the hard copies of the materials.

There are so many wonderful articles, tips, ideas, encouragements, and lessons in this bundle that I have never seen such a collection put together in one place before. Here is a list of what is included:

5R's Session 2 - Rekindle
One Life to Live, One Man to Love
Loving Your Knight in Shining Armor Even When He Doesn't Shine
Roadmap to a Marvelous Marriage
Marriage Tidbits to Treasure
Quotes Not Quibbles
Marriage Report
31 Daily Biblical Prayers for Wives to Pray for Their Husbands
Encouragement Report
Don't Settle
SHIMLY
What God Says about Marriage
75 Inexpensive Romantic Rut Cures
It Happened One Afternoon
2001 Summer Issue TEACH Magazine "Loving Your Husband"
2009 Spring Issue TEACH Magazine "Marriages Made Marvelous"

Once I began reading through the "bundle", it was very hard to stop! There are longer, more in-depth articles as well as short articles with tips and other tidbits of information. I really enjoyed browsing through "75 Inexpensive Romantic Rut Cures". After almost 29 years of marriage and with 2 teenagers in the house, I needed some fresh ideas to spark romance again in our marriage.

I also LOVED "SHIMLY"!! It is such an endearing story of love through the years - made me want to begin leaving little notes around the house (I guess I would have to explain it to my husband, though:-)

The two issues of TEACH Magazine are packed full of great articles about marriage. And the article "Loving Your Knight in Shining Armor Even When He Doesn't Shine" was challenging and a great reminder about what is really important. And the "31 Daily Biblical Prayers for Wives to Pray for Their Husbands" is a great one-page sheet that you can print out and keep handy to help you every day in praying for your husband.

"To Have and To Hold" Marriage Bundle is definitely great Continuing Education for marriages. You can get yours by visiting The Shop at www.eternalencouragement.com.

You can check out what other Gabby Moms had to say about
"To Have and To Hold" Marriage Bundle over at The Gabby Moms Blog. One of my fellow Gabby Moms also suggested this would make a great wedding present and I agree!

I received this product for honest review from Eternal Encouragement Magazine as a part of The Gabby Moms blogging program. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

TOS Review: WonderMaps from Bright Ideas Press

2011-05-17T00:04:00.000-07:00

No matter what you are studying, whether history, literature, science or Bible, maps can be an incredible asset to your homeschool studies. Maps can make the material more comprehensive and put things in perspective. But, too often, the exact map that you need is hard to find. You either have to scour the internet or pour over books to find just what you are looking for. Well, WonderMaps is going to change that for you!

WonderMaps is a new product from Bright Ideas Press that is a customizable collection of over 350 different maps. WonderMaps includes:

60+ maps of the world
60+ maps of the USA
125 historical maps, including 25 biblical maps
The complete map sets from The Mystery of History vols. I–III and All American History vols. I & II

WonderMaps is designed with easy-to-use layers that allow you to enjoy great customizable features with just a click. Select:

historical or modern-day maps
outline, reference, political, or topographical maps
black-and-white or color maps
features including: names, borders, rivers, cities, physical features

WonderMaps software requires Adobe Reader v. 9.1 or higher, which can be downloaded for free from Adobe.com.

All of this is available as a download for the price of $49.95. You can also get the download plus a CD. That includes just about every map and type of map you could possibly need to aid in your homeschooling. You can choose simple outline maps or add layers with cities, topography, physical features and more. It is a lot of fun to create maps and print them out in just minutes that exactly meet your needs.

There is a video tutorial available on the WonderMaps website so you can get an idea of exactly what you can get from this incredible product.

If you would like to read more review of this product, just click here to read other reviews by the TOS Review Crew.

I received this product for free in return for an honest review. I have not received financial reimbursement for my review of WonderMaps by Bright Ideas Press.

TOS Review: Yesterday's Classics

2011-05-04T22:36:00.000-07:00

You may have tangible wealth untold;
Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.
Richer than I you can never be—
I had a mother who read to me. —Strickland Gillilan

I believe that homeschoolers can never have too many books and there will always be a list of books you wish you had had the time to read with your children. Just looking through the list of the 225 ebooks from Yesterday's Classics has given me a long list of books that I wish I had known about when my children were young. And it has also provided some wonderful books for us to still read in the coming years.

The books that were written during the golden age of children's literature 1880-1920 are some of the best classic literature ever available for children. And until now, many of these were out of print and very hard to find. Thanks to Yesterday's Classics, you can now own all 225 of these wonderful books for one reasonable price of $99.95! This is a special discount off of their regular price of $149.95 and is only available until May 31, 2011 by clicking here.

Of the 225 books available, you will find history books from several civilizations, including Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, the Middle Ages, and Great Britain. Works of classic literature include poetry and hero tales. A number of nature books round out the offerings.

I was very excited to see some books that are familiar, such as The Burgess Bird Book for Children which we read when my children were young. I looked at this one in particular to see if they included the beautiful drawings that were in the original and was very pleased to find them in color!! And they also have The Burgess Animal Book for Children which I didn't even know about until now. They also have The Iliad for Boys and Girls and The Odyssey for Boys and Girls which bring these wonderful classics down to a level that is more understandable for children.

You can purchase these books either individually or in a package that includes all 225 titles. You have the option of choosing paperback books or ebooks, in either Kindle or EPUB format. If there were illustrations in the original texts, then there will be illustrations in the ebook versions. And if the illustrations were in color, they will also be in color in the ebook versions. In the paperback versions, they are in black and white.

Another great advantage of Yesterdays Classics, is that once you purchase the ebooks, you may download them onto as many different devices as you like (there are no restrictions). So you can download a book to your child's iPod so they can read the book on their own without needing to be on the computer. You can also print out any books that you would like to have on paper.

Each ebook has a Table of Contents to help make searching for a specific chapter much easier. And ebooks are available in 22 different genres, as follows:

World History (9)

Children of the World (6)

Nature (27)

Early Civilization (5)

Ancient Greece (29)

Fables (5)

Ancient Rome (18)

Kindergarten (14)

Fairy Tales (12)

Britain (9)

Shakespeare (2)

Poetry (5)

Middle Ages (17)

Legends (14)

Renaissance and Exploration (9)

Science (7)

Readers (4)

American History (18)

Faith (10)

Christmas Stories (6)

Literature (5)

Biography (10)

At www.yesterdaysclassics.com, you can search through the books by author, title or subject.

Yesterday's Classics is truly a treasure trove of incredible literature for kids and you will be so blessed to have these books for your children to read. They have a 100% satisfaction guarantee, as well as a sample book that you can download to see what the books are like. And you don't have to have a Kindle, you can get Kindle for Mac or PC for free and then download the books to that.

Also, if you use Ambleside Online, Heart of Dakota, Living Books Curriculum or Tapestry of Grace, they have dozens of books used in these curricula. They provide all the information you will need to decide which format is best for you and how to go about downloading the files here.

I encourage you to go and read what other TOS Crew Members have to say about Yesterday's Classics here.

I received this product for free in return for an honest review. I have not received financial reimbursement for my review of Yesterday's Classics.

The Gabby Moms Review: Eternal Encouragement Magazine

2011-04-22T22:14:00.000-07:00

I love to read! I read books all the time - mostly Christian fiction. However, there are times when I don't want to get in the middle of a long book and am just looking for something short, uplifting and encouraging. But I have found very few magazines that fill that need for me. So I was very pleasantly surprised to receive the Spring 2011 Eternal Encouragment Magazine to read and review as part of The Gabby Moms review program. Formally TEACH Magazine, Eternal Encouragement just changed the name this year in order to more acurately portray their mission and vision for the magazine - "Inspiring Women to Become More Like Jesus Every Day."

Eternal Encouragement is a lovely magazine written to be an encouragement to women in their roles as wives, mothers, homemakers, friends and daughters of God. Although it is a smaller magazine - a convenient take-along 6"x9" size - it is chock full of wonderful articles by some amazing ladies! This Spring 2011 magazine has a theme of "Time Flies" and contains many articles that discuss this topic from Time: Use It Or Lose It to a poem called "A Mother Who Takes Time".

One article that particularly caught my attention was In Be 'teen Times: Be A Grace Dispenser. This article really touched an area that I have recently been dealing with in how to strengthen love and respect between me and my teens. This article encouraged me to surprise my teens by dispensing grace, even when they have disobeyed or disappointed me. I was challenged to be more like my heavenly Father and show grace to others as He has shown so much grace to me.

There is such a gentle and loving feel to this magazine. All of the articles, while some are challenging, are presented in such a gentle way that makes you feel loved and cared for - just like siting and discussing something with a dear friend.

To me, one of the biggest assets to this magazine is that its size is so convenient to carry it with you, either in your purse or at least your car and then you can just grab it when you have a few minutes to kill (like waiting for an appointment or when you are on hold) and read a short article that will lift you up and encourage you. It might even make your day, change your outlook on the day, and help you keep your eyes on Jesus.

Now you are probably wondering how you, too, can receive this magazine full of encouragement and insight. All you need to do to subscribe is go to www.eternalencouragement.com and for $25.97 per year you will receive this gem of a magazine delivered right to your mailbox.

You can read more reviews of Eternal Encouragement Magazine from other Gabby Moms here.

I received this product for honest review from Eternal Encouragement Magazine as a part of The Gabby Moms blogging program. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

TOS Review: Nutrition 101

2011-04-20T22:03:00.000-07:00

If you know me or have read my blog for very long, you know that I am very into healthy eating and living. Over the past 10 years, I have tried to move my family towards eating whole foods, eliminating refined sugar and cooking from scratch. I also make all of my own cleaning products and many of my health and beauty products, including soap and shampoo bars.

Along the way, I have tried to teach my children about nutrition and healthy eating/living as things came up. Sometimes they say I have brainwashed them because there are some things they just can't eat anymore:-) However, I have never actually taught them a "Health" course on nutrition and this is a good thing to do in a more organized manner once they reach high school. And then along came Nutrition 101: Choose Life! by Growing Healthy Homes!

Nutrition 101: Choose Life! is a 448 page book or CD ROM that is designed to be used as a unit study on nutrition. It is "a discovery of how the body systems are affected by the foods - good or bad - we eat. Research, recipes and projects will make Nutrition 101: Choose Life! fun for the whole family and establish lifelong habits and desires to eat wholesome foods that support great health."

I received the ebook version of Nutrition 101: Choose Life! and once I began looking at it and reading it, I just couldn't stop! First of all, it is very beautifully laid out and presented. Secondly, the material included is very interesting, informative and educational. The book is broken into 6 Units:

The Brain and Nervous System
Digestion and Elimination
Respiration and Olfactory
Muscular and Skeletal Systems
Cardiovascular and Immune Systems
Endocrine System and Emotions

There are four chapters in each unit and they even include a recipe for each chapter that is a power recipe for the body system that you are studying. There are also Discussion Questions and Activities for each unit, as well as additional resources to help you in your study.

Nutrition 101: Choose Life! can be used with all different ages and grade levels, as well as in many different settings such as homeschool, co-op, private school, church group or extracurricular clubs. Since both my kids are teens and taking high school level courses, I am tailoring this course as a Health credit for them and we will be using it in its entirety next year. It covers many different subjects, including science, anatomy, biology, nutrition and health. There are lots of pictures, diagrams and photos to draw your attention and make the pages so interesting and beautiful! The Appendix has SO many resources - 120 pages - the book would be worth the purchase just for those resources!!

Now here are the purchasing details. You can buy Nutrition 101: Choose Life! CD ROM for $79.95 or the book for $99.95 at www.growinghealthyhomes.com . You can also buy a combination of both the CD ROM and the book for $129.95. And you know how I LOVE discounts and coupons, so you can get 15% discount by using the code TOSCrew11 at checkout!!!

Also, The Homeschool Blogger is hosting a free webinar featuring the author's of Nutrition 101: Choose Life! Thursday, April 21, 2011 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM EDT Click below to register:
https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/287516654%3E

If you would like to read more reviews of Nutrition 101: Choose Life!, click here.

I received this product for free in return for an honest review. I have not received financial reimbursement for my review of Nutrition 101: Choose Life! from Growing Healthy Homes.

TOS Review: Zeezok ZGuide to the Movies

2011-04-01T09:19:00.000-07:00

This year for 20th Century U.S. History, we are using movies to give us a glimpse into the life and times of people who lived during the 20th Century here in the United States. I did not have any curriculum to guide us through this study, but had made a list of acceptable movies that would take us through the 20th Century. However, when I received the request to review the ZGuide to the movies by Zeezok Publishing, I was very excited to see what they had to offer that might help us with this endeavor since they have ZGuides for MANY different movies.

I requested and received the ebook version of To Kill a Mockingbird ZGuide. And when it came time to watch the movie To Kill a Mockingbird, I was very eager to see exactly how the ZGuide would help us to view, comprehend and learn more from the movie.

Each ZGuide contains a topic overview, movie synopsis, and ten learning activities for an in-depth study of the film. For example, the ZGuide for To Kill A Mockingbird covers the topics of U.S. History Great Depression, Race Relations, Courtroom Procedures and Consequences of Lying. There is a page that explains how to use the ZGuide and a Table of Contents. Then you will find a brief Topic Overview, as well as a Movie Synopsis which gives you an overview of what you will be watching (my kids did NOT want to hear the Movie Synopsis prior to watching - they like the element of surprise:-). Activity 1 is Movie Review Questions that you will answer directly after watching the movie and will help the student to be a more active viewer. Then, for this ZGuide, Activity 2 is about Alabama in the 1930s. Some of this we had to look up on the internet to find the answers, but it was really good to get a general feel for what was happening in the the South during the Great Depression.

Activity 3 for this ZGuide was about Race Relations in To Kill A Mockingbird and helped the students to more clearly understand the prejudices that existed at that time. Secondary Story Line in To Kill a Mockingbird was the 4th Activity and brought out some of the more subtle events in the story. For the 5th Activity, there was an Art Project which asked the students to create Courtroom Sketches of several characters in the scene. Activity 6 was a News Media Interview where the student pretends that they are a news reporter interviewing Atticus Finch after the trial and Activity 7 was to create an Alternative Ending for To Kill A Mockingbird. There was a Crossword Puzzle for Activity 8 and some Worldview questions for Activity 9. The final Activity is "The Filmmaker's Art" which focuses on movie-making techniques and their affect on the viewer. At the end, there are questions For Family Discussion which relate to moral or philosophical dilemmas present in the movie, as well as Additional Resources for Further Study.

I found the ZGuide to be very thorough and a great way to let movies provide a grand basis for learning. The questions were well thought out and deep. They required the student to delve into not only the movie plot and story, but also to discovering more information about the time period and cultural climate that was the South in the 1930s.

There are many different ZGuides currently available, some for classic movies like Red Badge of Courage and Ben Hur, as well as others for more current movies like One Night With The King and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. And I would imagine that the number of ZGuides available will continue to grow as more are written. Each ZGuide sells for $12.99 and you can get it in CD format or, for some, the ebook is available. I imagine they will make the ebook available for all of them eventually.

Zeezok Publishing also sells the movies that they have ZGuides for at a very reasonable price. I also noticed that Zeezok Publishing has some other very interesting resources and curriculum available on their website including the Great Musicians Series that has lapbooks for each of the great composers. I am writing a one-year unit study on Music and thought these might be great additions to that study!

If you would like to read more reviews of this product from other members of the TOS Review Crew, go here to check it out.

I received this product for free in return for an honest review. I have not received financial reimbursement for my review of To Kill A Mockingbird ZGuide from Zeezok Publishing.

Encouraging Moments Newsletter - A Gabby Moms Review

2011-02-25T15:41:00.000-08:00

Our life as homemakers and moms can get a little hectic sometimes! For relaxation and refreshing, I go sit in my jacuzzi/hot tub. That is where I go to escape and to recharge, whether it be physically or mentally. And if I go in during the day, I like to take a book or something to read while I soak and relax. That, for me, is my bliss!

While you may not have the luxury of soaking in a jacuzzi, you might like to take a long, hot bath. Or, you may have some other means of escaping and recharging. I would like to suggest an idea to you - Encouraging Moments Newsletter. This is a weekly newsletter sent out on Thursdays via email that will, in just a few paragraphs, lift you up and encourage you as a wife and mother. That is their whole agenda, by the way!

Just to give you a little peek into what you have been missing, I want to share a few things that have been touched upon in the last few weeks. Lorrie Flem shared the difference between a successful marriage and an unhappy one, while Kimberly Lacey shared on praying for your husband. And there is a really cool feature called Chick Flicks for Mom where Lorrie sits down and shares her heart via video clip. It really is like sitting face to face with a friend and having them share something on their heart!

Another week, Lorrie shared about taking a "Bible bath" and Annie Herrick shared some tips about Staying Within a Budget and how that honors her husband.

Encouraging Moments Newsletter is like little gold nuggets that you can tuck away in your heart and remember as you go through your day. Each newsletter is brief, includes links to a lot of different things at Eternal Encouragement Magazine, as well as information on special offers on books and products.

So what are you waiting for? Don't you, too, need a little escape to relax and recharge? Go sign up for Encouraging Moments and you will be encouraged and refreshed! When you go to www.eternalencouragement.com, there will be a pop-up window where you can sign up for Encouraging Moments Newsletter.

I am reviewing Encouraging Moments as an official member of The Gabby Moms blogging program for Eternal Encouragement magazine. I did not receive compensation for this post and all opinions are solely my own.

VocabAhead Review

2011-02-07T14:29:00.000-08:00

Since we are getting very near to those dreaded SAT/ACT testing times, I was pleased to receive VocabAhead's SAT Vocabulary: Cartoons, Videos & MP3s to review. First of all, I received a book that has 300 words that are commonly found on the SAT or ACT tests. The book is divided into 30 chapters of 10 words each with a Review quiz after each chapter. There is one word presented on each page, followed by the part of speech (noun, verb, etc.) and the definition. Then there is a black and white cartoon that depicts the meaning of the word in a memorable way. Below the cartoon, the word is used in several different sentences, including the one that is depicted in the cartoon. Following that, there is a list of synonyms and then antonyms for the word.

The authors of this book say, "The key to successful learning and recall of words and their meanings is full-brain learning." By providing a visual connection via the cartoon, they are increasing your ability to understand and recall the word. And the fact that they use humor, makes learning a lot more fun!

However, the learning and fun do not stop there! Along with the book, you are provided free access to videos and MP3s of these words that you can access on your computer, or you can download onto your iPod touch, iPhone or even iPad through iTunes software. This adds an audio connection to your brain that will reinforce your mental picture and connection with the word.

Both my husband and I have quite extensive vocabulary just due to the fact that we both love words. Our children have dubbed my husband "Dictionary Dad" because if they ever run across words they are unfamiliar with, they know that Dad will know it! I believe the fact that we have always used "big" words around our children has given them a better than average vocabulary. Plus, I have always read aloud books to them that stretch their level of understanding for whatever age they are at. So they have always been continually exposed to a more advanced vocabulary than average. I am also a big believer in learning the meaning of words through their context, rather than memorizing definitions. So, I feel that VocabAhead is a great tool to enhance their vocabulary understanding and repertoire in preparation for taking the SAT/ACT tests.

My son is an auditory learner, so the MP3s work best for him. On the other hand, my daughter is a visual learner and retained best from the cartoon videos. However, having the ability to use all the different methods of input does create the best retention of all. And, of course, I liked the book best of all. This book is available at Amazon.com for $12.95.

Also available to you online at the VocabAhead website is the Study Room where there are 1,000 difficult vocabulary word videos. You can use flash cards, create your own study list based on the words you have the most trouble with, you can take quizzes to test yourself and much more!

If increasing your vocabulary is something you desire, I believe that VocabAhead's SAT Vocabulary will be a great asset to you. Especially for your students, when they are preparing to take their SAT/ACT tests, this is a great way to aid them in a manner that will keep it from being drudgery. And you can all have a chuckle together at some of the silly cartoons! You can bet that you won't forget those ones any time soon!

VocabAhead also has a DVD-ROM that includes the videos and MP3s of 1,000 SAT Vocabulary words. To read reviews of this product, as well as others of the book, hop on over to the TOS Crew Reviews.

I received this product for free in return for an honest review. I have not received financial reimbursement for my review of VocabAhead SAT Vocabulary: Cartoons, Videos & MP3s.

True Treasures: A Gabby Moms Review

2011-01-24T16:48:00.000-08:00

I have had the pleasure over the last few weeks of reading True Treasures: 10 Years of TEACH Magazine. And trust me when I tell you that I read it from COVER TO COVER!!! I did not just browse the articles or scan the titles. I read every word in this treasure trove of articles!! I had a hard time putting it down each night when I really needed to turn off the light and go to sleep. When they say that they endeavored to put together articles on everything from marriage to parenting to homemaking that would truly "speak to your heart," they succeeded in a big way!

Mrs. Lorrie Flem

Ok, now you are wondering, "Who are they?" Mrs. Lorrie Flem is the publisher of TEACH Magazine, and, I believe, the dynamic force behind the whole thing. Tena Cinnamon and Donna Venning assisted Mrs. Flem in compiling this wonderful project.

TEACH Magazine (which is changing to Eternal Encouragement Magazine) states their purpose so beautifully:

We are a magazine that will help you with your God-assigned tasks as a wife & mother by:

Encouraging you with wisely spoken words.
Convicting your heart as He refines you into His image.
Challenging you to continue to strive for improvement.
Touching your spirit with heart-warming stories.
Entertaining you through life-learning lessons.
Inspiring you to immerse yourself in the holy promises that are yours.

True Treasures is divided into 6 chapters with such wonderful titles as

Jewels that make the Heart Sparkle
Marriages of Solid Gold
Parenting Pearls: Practical and Priceless
Homemaking that Dazzles Like Diamond
Homeschooling Nuggets of Wisdom

Just the chapter titles are enough to make you want to dive into the pages full of richness and insight. These are articles written by homeschooling and homemaking moms just like you and me, and cover so very many facets of life!

I have been homeschooling my two children for almost 12 years now and have read so many articles about homeschooling. But still, from time to time, I need the refreshment and encouragement that comes from hearing what others who have walked or are walking this journey have to share. And that is exactly what happened when I started reading True Treasures. It was like sitting down with another beautiful woman who knew just what I was going through and having them share their heart with me. I don't have many friends around here that I could actually do that with, so it was really nice to feel that way while reading these articles. Some were challenging, some were humorous and all were encouraging and uplifting.

I recently joined The Gabby Moms to review products for Eternal Encouragement Magazine. We are a group of moms, wives, homemakers and followers of Jesus who want to share our thoughts and opinions about products which may help you in your role as wife, mother, homemaker and follower of Jesus!

And if you have been following my blog for any time at all, you will know that I love a great deal and coupons!! Well, I have a coupon code for you that is good for $4.00 off the price of True Treasures - just type GABBYMOM during checkout at www.homemakingwithteach.com. This offer is good until May 31, 2011 (one copy per customer, please).

I received this product for my honest review from TEACH Magazine as a part of The Gabby Moms blogging program. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

Positive Action for Christ: The Life of Christ Review

2011-01-15T09:38:00.000-08:00

Finding a good Bible curriculum for us to use as a family with our teenagers has been a challenge. Devotionals are just too little Bible and often seem trite for the high school level. Other Bible curriculum seem to just be worksheets to keep the kids busy, which is the last thing that we need right now. When I received The Life of Christ Bible curriculum from Positive Action for Christ to review, I was impressed immediately by the quality of the product. The Teacher's Manual came in a beautiful 3-ring binder, while the Student Manual is full color with many pictures and is laid out in a very nice manner.

Positive Action for Christ is a publishing house specializing in youth curriculum for fundamental churches. The Life of Christ curriculum is written for the high school level and uses the Book of John "to make Jesus Christ real to your students." This curriculum is originally designed to be used in the school classroom setting, but I found it quite nice for using in our homeschool setting.

We have been able to use the curriculum for a number of weeks and I am impressed with the amount of background and cultural information that they provided in both the Student and Teacher Manuals. At first, my teens bulked at trying another Bible curriculum, but after getting used to looking up the scriptures and learning about Jesus Christ and the background/setting of the Book of John, they began to really like this curriculum. That is HUGE to me! Since I only have one Student Manual and two students, I have done the study all orally with them - asking questions from the book out loud, reading it aloud, etc. This has worked quite well for us and we spend several days on each chapter, reading all the passages from the Bible that pertain and all the information given in the Student and Teacher Manuals. There is even a section for "Digging Deeper" section at the end of each chapter to help you and your student explore more about things that pertained to that chapter.

Positive Action for Christ also provides a CD-Rom which has a PowerPoint presentation with slides for each lesson which is more for being used in the classroom setting. They also provide a Scope & Sequence which is very detailed with all the items covered in each chapter. In addition, they provided ideas on how to use this curriculum in different settings like devotions, parent-led study, independent study and with co-ops.

Now that we have been able to use this curriculum for several weeks (we got to Lesson 6), I am happy to say that, not only will be using this particular Life of Christ curriculum through to the end, I will be looking at other studies that they have for sale for next year! I am very happy with the depth of study provided through this study for teens. I have looked at many different products, but had failed to find something that I feel will really bring my teen closer to God. I love that they say in their product description, "Our hope as you journey through this material is that your students will not only know Jesus more, but also love Him more."

That is my goal for my teens and knowing that their heart is also the same for my teens is wonderful.

You can download samples of the Student and Teacher Manuals on their website, too. That might help you with making a decision about this particular product. Here are the prices for this particular product The Life of Christ:

Student's Manual Deluxe Edition $17.95
Teacher's Manual $41.95
Teacher's Manual on DVD $29.95

They offer discounts when you order in bulk, too.

Positive Action for Christ has many Bible curricula for Elementary, Junior High and High School students. They even have a study based on the Pilgrim's Progress called The Christian Adventure. I would encourage you to take some time and check out what they have available, because I believe their curricula has a lot to offer for many homeschool families.

If you would like to read more reviews of this product from other members of the TOS Review Crew, go here to check it out.

I received this product for free in return for an honest review. I have not received financial reimbursement for my review of The Life of Christ from Positive Action for Christ.

Virtual Nerd: A Review

2011-01-12T20:19:00.000-08:00

When I first received info about reviewing this product, I thought the name was rather funny! I was surprised to find that Virtual Nerd is a video tutorial website for the upper maths and sciences. It is very easy to navigate and find what you are looking for when visiting Virtual Nerd. They have hundreds of short video tutorials in Pre-Algebra, Algebra 1 and 2, and Intro to Physics. They are also working on adding Geometry, Pre-Calculus, Calculus, Physics with Trigonometry and Chemistry in the coming year.

If you, like I, are working through Algebra with your kids, this site would be a tremendous aid to you and your kids. Any time they are having difficulty wrapping their brain around a new concept, they can find just the video tutorial they need for exactly the topic that they are struggling with. Then they can watch the tutorial as many times as it takes to sink in and they come to comprehend the subject. They have the topics broken down to the smallest bit of learning, so that each student can take the time to watch exactly the videos that will help them with where they are at.

And, to me, the coolest part of this whole website is that they offer MANY different memberships to provide you with exactly what you need when you need it. You can join for a month at a time for $49 per month. However, you can also choose to just join for a day ($5), a week ($19), or even start out with a free 2-hour trial (one time use). They also have a 3-month plan for $129. When considering the cost, you need to realize that this is much less expensive than paying a personal tutor, but will help your student just as much with a very flexible schedule, too. Virtual Nerd IS a virtual tutor!

We currently use a math program that has the lesson on DVD, so my kids are already accustomed to watching a teacher to learn the new materials. With Virtual Nerd, it was very similar, but the advantage is that if they are struggling with a concept or just don't get it, this provides them with another lesson and explanation that may be more understandable to them. The instructors on Virtual Nerd are pleasant to watch and very clearly explain each concept. Again, the videos are broken down into individual concepts that build on each other, so you can find exactly where your student needs to begin in order to get a handle on the subject.

Overall, I was very impressed with Virtual Nerd and am very glad to know it exists as we continue along in our "upper math journey". It makes me feel very secure knowing that I can go to Virtual Nerd for help when even I am having a difficult time understanding a concept that I am trying to teach my children.

If you would like to read more reviews of Virtual Nerd, go check out the other TOS Crew members reviews.

I received access to this website for free in return for an honest review. I have not received financial reimbursement for my review of Virtual Nerd.

Tiny Planets Review

2010-12-18T12:21:00.000-08:00

Tiny Planets is a website that features the adventures of two cute aliens named Bing and Bong. They travel the universe on a sofa which acts as their spaceship. The purpose of the website is to be a place where "children are encouraged to think for themselves, assume social responsibility, take care of our planet and learn about the mysteries of space."

Being geared towards children ages 4 - 12 years old, my children are a bit older than that so it wasn't really appropriate for them to enjoy. However, I was able to spend some time on the website to see what it is all about.

There are six different facets to the website as follows:

Tiny Planets TV is where you can watch episodes of the TV show of the same name.

This series was co-created with Sesame Workshop and emphasizes science education and early learning goals, such as social and emotional development, language and literacy, problem-solving and reasoning, knowledge and understanding of our world, and creative development. Tiny Planets is the only television program to be endorsed by Montessori Centre International, and it's been a favorite in nearly 100 TV territories around the world.

My Tiny Planets is a virtual world and online community where kids can interact and play games while learning about space.

Children create an avatar (affectionately called their “Space Cadet”), solve galactic missions with Bing and Bong, sharpen their wits with fast-paced mini-games, navigate their spaceships and avoid wormholes, adopt and care for their own planet, and nurture exotic plants in a biodome, all the while racking up achievements and special badges for their accomplishments.

Tiny Planets Fun is a place where your child can enjoy brainy puzzle games, as well as coloring pages and comics.

Tiny Planets Books is where you will find interactive story books featuring Bing and Bong. These are geared toward younger children.

Tiny Planets Learning is designed for parents and educators and has lesson plans that included science experiments and activities to help you know how to incorporate the different parts of Tiny Planets into your learning and teaching experience.

Tiny Planets Lab is the place where new games and ideas are tried and tested.

Keeping our children safe while online is a constant concern for many parents (me included!), so I was pleased to know that this website is ad-free which means your kiddos cannot accidentally access something unsavory. Also, even though there is a social community where your kids can interact with other kids online, there is no free form chat. Your child communicates with other players by using emoticons and speech bubbles that contain fun phrases that have been programmed into the game. And your child chooses his/her cadet name and planet name from an auto name generator. Tiny Planets is also certified by ICRA, a rating system provided by Family Online Safety Institute http://www.fosi.org/ an international, non-profit organization of Internet leaders working to develop a safer Internet.

Some of the content on Tiny Planets is totally free. So, you can try it out without any cost to see if it is something you and/or your child is interested in. They also offer some of the content for a fee, like various episodes on Tiny Planets TV or premium avatar accessories in My Tiny Planets. "In fact, in My Tiny Planets you can really amp up the fun by “going pro” on mini-games (which puts your top score up on the leaderboard), converting your asteroid to a planet with its own location in space, acquiring spiffy spaceships, and totally decking out your planet with outrageous buildings or amazing skies."

You can unlock these special features with KEYs. To buy KEYs, you'll need to set up a parent account, and then link that parent account to your children's player accounts. With your parent account you can purchase KEYs and then allocate them to any of your children.

KEYs are sold in packages through Social Gold. Purchase KEYs when you need them, or opt for a monthly allotment. The prices are as follows:

10 keys $1.95
25 keys $3.95
85 keys $9.95
250 keys $25.95
600 keys $49.95

I feel sure that younger children than mine would really enjoy Tiny Planets and parents can feel secure in knowing that it is a safe website where their children can play games, be creative and have fun!

If you would like to see what other TOS Crew member thought of this product, click here and read their reviews.

I received access to this website for free in return for an honest review. I have not received financial reimbursement for my review of Tiny Planets.

The Write Foundation Review

2010-11-10T21:17:00.000-08:00

I have taught essay writing co-op classes several different times and I have used a number of different writing curriculum. So when I received The Write Foundation's Essay Writing course, I was very interested to see what it had to offer.

At first glance, this curriculum is well laid out and detailed. There are three different levels available: Level 1 Sentence to Paragraph Writing for suggested ages 11-13, Level 2 Paragraph Writing for suggested ages 12-15, and Level 3 Essay Writing for suggested ages 14-17. Each level has step by step lesson plans and can be used for one or two years, depending on the speed at which you go through the material. There are also worksheets included with the instruction book that will help with learning the different facets of essay writing.

This curriculum is ideally suited for use in a co-op setting, however, it is also suited for use with just one student as well. Rebecca Celsor, the author of The Write Foundation, created this material while using it to teach a writing co-op class. She includes examples, checklists and grading system, as well as many more helps. Essay Writing incorporates creative writing, along with the more formal essay writing, too.

The Essay Writing Complete Curriculum is available for $100 and includes Spiral-bound Teacher Instruction Manuals with Lesson Plans, 1 set notebook-ready Worksheets, 1 CD with additional resources (Grading System, Grading Record Sheets, Word Games, Checklists, Teacher Presentation Sheets, Weekly Assignments, Extensive Reading list).

Something to note, you will need to be prepared to spend an initial amount of time (1-2 hours) acquainting yourself with the curriculum before beginning to teach it. However, after that you should be able to move along with each lesson as it comes without much prep time at all. I have found The Write Foundation's Essay Writing course to be very comprehensive, easy to use and a great curriculum to teach your high school students the basics of essay writing even if you are not a great writer yourself. You can check it out for yourself by getting the sample pages that are available online.

You can find more reviews for this product and the other levels at the TOS Review Crew.

I received this product for free in return for an honest review. I have not received financial reimbursement for my review of The Write Foundation's Essay Writing.

Collectorz Review

2010-11-06T19:44:00.000-07:00

If you are like most homeschool families, you probably have ALOT of books! Have you ever bought a book and come home to find out you already had it? Sure you can resell it or swap it, but it is frustrating when you can't remember if you already have something. Well, I had the privilege of reviewing a really cool product called Book Collector Pro from Collectorz.com. It is a downloadable software program that is very easy to use to catalog your personal collection of books. Their programs are available for PC or MAC and they also have programs to catalog your movies, games, comics, music, mp3s and photos.

This program is very easy to get started entering your books. You can just enter the ISBN and it will automatically bring up the cover and details. If you have alot of books, you might want to purchase a handheld scanner which can make your job even a little easier. There are many features where you can organize/sort your books by different categories like genre.

Some of the benefits of using Collectorz.com is to have a list of all your books for insurance purposes, to keep track of books you loan out (so you can get them back) and to help you have a handy list which you can access on your iPhone or iTouch (with an additional app) when you are out buying more books.

Collectorz.com has a free trial version so that you can see how it works and load up to 100 books. Then they have a standard version for $29.95 or the Book Collector Pro for $49.95. The Pro version has many additional features.

Some of the things you can do with Book Collector is to browse your home library, group your books into different folders, add data and covers automatically, sort and search your database, view your data in various skins, view statistics of your database, export to your iPhone, iPad or Android, use the loan manager, and print your book data.

Available Fields

Main book information
- Author
- Title
- Publisher
- Publication Date
- ISBN
- Format
- Genre
- Subject
- LoC Classification
- Dewey
- etc...

More book details
- Series
- Volume
- Edition
- Printer
- Paper Type
- Dimensions
- Orginal Title
- Original Language
- etc...

If you have a lot of books and would like to have them organized and cataloged, I think you will be thrilled with Book Collector Pro from Collectorz.com. I know that my husband will enjoy entering his books and keeping track of them, too. It will take some time to get them entered and all set up, but the benefits will make the time and effort worth it.

You can read more review of this product by the TOS Review Crew here.

I received this product for free in return for an honest review. I have not received financial reimbursement for my review of Book Collector Pro from Collectorz.com.

Professor In A Box Financial Accounting Course Review

2010-11-03T20:50:00.000-07:00

I was pleased when I was chosen to review this Financial Accounting course from Professor In A Box because I have a daughter who most likely won't attend college and doesn't want to take advanced math courses. I took Accounting in high school and felt that it really helped me with many jobs after high school. So I was considering an accounting course for my daughter and didn't know exactly where to look. Now I have had the privilege of receiving and reviewing Financial Accounting which will serve wonderfully for my daughter in a few years.

Financial Accounting is a CD course by Michael P. Licata, Ph. D. It is comprised of 12 chapters and includes everything you will need for the entire course on 4 CDs. Students can take the course over an entire academic year by working one lesson per week for 28 weeks or take the course in a traditional college semester format working two lessons per week for 14 weeks.

Financial Accounting is a first accounting course for homeschool high school students, and can be taken by any high school level student with basic math skills. Each chapter has flash lectures in 2 or 3 parts plus lecture slides that can be printed by the student for later reference. There are also Key Terms and Concepts for each chapter, as well as Chapter Problems and the solutions to them. Every 4 chapters there is an Exam. On the Instructors Disc, there is a very comprehensive syllabus, as well as overviews of each chapter and much more.

This Financial Accounting course is taught in a non-traditional format, having no textbook with long, boring chapters to read. Personally, this is a big plus because I have a hard time understanding something written in a textbook. However, when each concept is shown to me as in these slide presentations, it is much easier for me to comprehend new material.

With this course, students learn financial accounting in four simple steps:
1. Watch the Flash lectures for a chapter which include important concepts and demonstration problems.
2. Work the assigned homework problems.
3. Compare the homework problems worked to the solutions file.
4. Take the exams.

Michael P. Licata, Ph.D. is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Accountancy in the Villanova School of Business2 at Villanova University in Villanova, Pennsylvania. Professor Licata has taught the financial accounting course dozens of times in his 24 plus years as a Professor at Villanova University.

You can purchase this entire Financial Accounting course from Professor In A Box for only $99.95, which also includes content coverage for the new CLEP Financial Accounting Exam, so your student can get college credit if they take the CLEP test. They also offer a Principles in Marketing course for $89.95 and will launch an Entrepreneurship course in 2011. In my opinion, this is a great price for a complete college-level high school math course.

You can read more review of this product by the TOS Review Crew here.

I received this product for free in return for an honest review. I have not received financial reimbursement for my review of Professor In A Box Financial Accounting.

TOS Review: Lanschool

2010-10-06T17:59:00.000-07:00

Lanschool is a classroom management and monitoring software that can be used in the classroom setting, or in the homeschool setting. When I found out that I would be receiving this software to review, I wasn't sure how I felt about it. However, when I received it, I was very anxious to find out how it works. My husband downloaded it and set it up on my computer as Teacher and on the computer on our flat screen TV as Student for our kids to use. He said it was VERY easy to download and set up! In times past, he said that programs like this were very difficult to get up and running and had alot of glitches. However, he was very impressed with the ease with which Lanschool was up and ready to go.

We use the computers very seldom for our homeschooling, but with my kids being teenagers, they like to go on Facebook, iTunes and check their email. I have a laptop and often sit in the living room, while my kids are in the family room. With Lanschool, I can monitor their time online very simply and easily from my laptop. When they are supposed to be writing essays, I can make sure they are not on Facebook.

I was actually able to uncover some activity of which I did not approve by one of my children and able to address an issue I was unaware of because of having Lanschool installed on our computers. It saves me alot of time and energy having to constantly go into the family room to check on what my children are doing, and even that was insufficient because one of them got quite good at "flipping" the screen so it would look like they were doing what they were supposed to be doing when I came in. However, with Lanschool, I was able to discover that there was definitely an issue that we needed to deal with and can block that child from accessing things that are not approved.

I received Lanschool Home v7.5 and here is what they say about it:

"Parents today are faced with the challenge and opportunity of using technology in the home. Computers are amazing education and entertainment tools, but they can also be a huge distraction and danger to kids."

"Lanschool Home v7.5 allows parents to easily keep track and restrict what happens on the family computers."

"Lanschool Home v7.5 helps parents:

Monitor real-time thumbnails of monitors of their home computers

Limit distractions such as the Internet, games and instant messaging

Track Internet history

Log every keystroke typed on a computer

Limit computers access by locking out the computer

Provide help through remote control

Chat with family members"

There are so many different ways in which you could utilize this incredible software in your home, especially if your kids do alot of their homeschool work on the computer. You can even view a YouTube video together on several computers at the same time. As the Teacher, you can show websites to your students from your computer onto their computer to help them with research online or other homeschooling applications. Lanschool will make teaching your children HOW to use the computer and Internet for online research and more SO much easier!

For more information, you can take a guided tour and view their brochures at the Lanschool website. Lanschool Home is only $99, and three years of technical support and three years of major upgrade protection are included. This will support 3 Student computers, plus the Teacher. They also have licenses for classroom use - see their website for more details and prices.

Here are the SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS for Lanschool:

LanSchool Home v7.5 supports any combination of computers running Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows XP-32, Windows Vista-32/64, Windows 7-32/64, Mac OS 10.4 and higher.
The only exception is the LanSchool parent console for the Mac, which will only run on Intel-based Mac hardware running OS 10.5 and higher.
Listed below are the minimum requirements necessary to run LanSchool v7.5 on both the parent and family computers:
PROCESSOR
166 MHz Intel® Pentium® processor or faster
RAM

48 MB for Windows 98

96 MB for Windows 2000

128 MB for Windows XP

256 MB for Windows Vista

512 MB for Mac OS X
PROTOCOL STACK

All computers must be configured with TCP/IP

802.11 wireless is supported

For more reviews, check out the TOS Review Crew blog.

I received this product for free in return for an honest review. I have not received financial reimbursement for my review of Lanschool.

TOS Review: Foundlings, Book One of The Peleg Chronicles

2010-10-01T19:49:00.000-07:00

Foundlings is Book One of The Peleg Chronicles by Matthew Christian Harding. It is set in the time just after the Tower of Babel dispersion and brings to life those characters and creatures that may have existed in that time period. The paperback book has 239 pages and is geared towards 10 to 12 years old and up.

When I first received this book to review, I was a little skeptical because I have read my share of Christian fiction which falls short of excellence. However, I have been pleasantly surprised by the quality of the writing and the depth of the character development in this book. Here is a summary of the book provided by Mr. Harding:

The story begins with Lord McDougal and his faithful shield-bearer, Fergus Leatherhead, departing their lands with giants at their backs, while before them lie in wait denizens of the bog-and and forest.

Ever ready to protect and serve others, they gather in tow an assortment of displaced adventurers and find themselves embroiled in a mysterious search for the Foundlings: Orphaned Thiery with his companion Horatio the white wolf, and Suzie who has been deceitfully retained by the thieves Elvodug and Flemup.

Others also seek the Foundlings, and their purposes are most sinister - Dragon Priests who practice cozen sacrifices, and their leader Count Rosencross who is town by his God given conscience and his pursuit of personal glory.

Onward toward the city of Hradcanny they travel, meeting with treachery, beast attacks, camaraderie and psalms of praise with an eye toward the gospel. Though their battles are at times fierce and the outcomes uncertain, the author maintains the integrity of these noble characters, who through weakness are made strong by Him in whom they trust.

Foundlings weaves together the Biblical principles of chivalry, truth, courage, duty, faith and love within the framework of Genesis, and a gold 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 the history that conforms to the Word of God.

What I found most fascinating in this book is the way that Mr. Harding weaves into his story the characters and creatures that are mentioned in the book of Genesis, but most fiction has hesitated to try and describe or include. The long lives of mankind before and even after the flood, as well as dinosaurs, mastodons, mega-fauna, giants, dragons and how the ice age fits into history are all incorporated into the story line to help us gain insight into that time period of history.

I have learned a wealth of information through historical fiction over the years, but very few books attempt to cover this time period. So I was genuinely interested and intrigued with Mr. Harding's book. No Evolution - No Humanism - No Magic! That's their motto for their Creation Fiction - Young Earth Dragon Fiction.

I had intended to read this aloud to my two teenagers, however, we were in the middle of another book, so I just read it myself. There is one reason I am glad that I did not read it aloud - it leaves you hanging at the end and you HAVE to read the next book, Paladins!! My kids would not be happy if I read this one to them without having the next book to read right after. So I will put this in the lineup after I can get the second book.

So, I am sure by now you are wondering how to get the book for yourself. Well, you can order the book directly from Zoe & Sozo Publishing for $11.95. The second book, Paladins, is also available for the same price.

To read more reviews about this book, go to the TOS Review Crew.

New Monic Vocabulary Cartoons SAT Word Power

2010-09-17T19:22:00.000-07:00

When I received this product in the mail, I had no idea what to expect. However, the minute I opened the book, I knew this was an incredible tool! New Monic Vocabulary Cartoons are books full of mnemonic rhymes and cartoon pictures to aid the student in remembering the meaning of vocabulary words. The SAT Word Power Book 1 that I received, contains 290 of the most common SAT vocabulary words to help increase your student's SAT score. For a nominal price of $12.95, you can provide your student in 7th to 12th grade with an awesome tool to help them with their preparation for the PSAT and/or SAT.

"In independent school tests, students with Vocabulary Cartoons learned 72% more words than students with traditional rote memory study materials and had 90% retention."

Here is a sample of how this book works:

The main word is followed by the phonetic pronunciation, part of speech, and a definition. Then it lists a link word which is a simple word or phrase which rhymes or sounds like the main word. A caption connects the main word and the link word in a sentence and is illustrated in a bizarre or humorous cartoon which incorporates the main word and the link word into a visual mnemonic. They then include two or three sample sentences to help with usage of the word.

I absolutely love this book! I have always tried to come up with little sayings or rhymes to help my kids remember things, so this is right up my alley. And with the silly cartoons and rhymes, it is very hard to forget the words. There are also 29 quizzes to help you be able to assess your students knowledge and retention.

My husband and I both have very good vocabulary and my kids have always made comments like, "How do you know so many words?" So now they have access to a great tool with the SAT Word Power Vocabulary Cartoons to increase their own vocabulary. My son is going to be taking the PSAT in a month and he is very grateful to have this tool to enable him to feel more prepared.

New Monic also has a Vocabulary Cartoon book for younger children for the same price of $12.95, as well as a second SAT Word Power Vocabulary Cartoon Book 2, with even more common SAT words.

You can read more reviews of this product over at The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew review site, too.

I received this product for free in return for an honest review. I have not received financial reimbursement for my review of New Monic Vocabulary Cartoons.

Math Tutor DVD Review

2010-09-08T09:57:00.000-07:00

Math Tutor is a company that has produced DVDs to assist with the learning of higher math concepts, like Algebra, Trigonometry, Physics, Probability & Statistics, Calculus, and more. The instructor is Jason Gibson, who has worked at Texas Instruments and NASA. He says,

"I personally get a thrill out of making seemingly complex topics suddenly easy to students. I have found over the years that the easy way to do this is to learn by working example problems, beginning with the easier ones and gradually progressing to the harder ones."

So he has put together a number of Math DVDs to do just that - tutor students in math. I received The Pre-Algebra Tutor Volume 1, which is a 5-hour video tutorial covering the following topics:

Disk 1
Sect 1 – Real Numbers
Sect 2 – The Number Line
Sect 3 – Greater Than, Less Than, Equal To
Sect 4 – Absolute Value and Adding Integers
Sect 5 – Subtracting Integers
Disk 2
Sect 6 – Multiplying Integers
Sect 7 – Dividing Integers
Sect 8 – Powers and Exponents
Sect 9 – Order of Operations

The price for this set of DVDs is $26.99 and can be ordered here.

My daughter is currently studying Pre-Algebra Math, so I sat down with her to view these lessons. After watching, I believe this DVD set would be the perfect review before launching into Algebra 1. Mr. Gibson goes over every basic concept of Pre-Algebra math in a very thorough and easy to understand manner. He works a number of problems demonstrating ability in each area. He breaks down the concepts in easy-to-understand language and obviously enjoys math tremendously!

Although I feel there is still a need for a curriculum that provides written instruction and problems to work out on paper on your own, I think this DVD set would be SO great to use as a review of all the basic concepts before embarking on Algebra 1. That way, you could be certain that your student was really ready for the more complicated concepts of Algebra.

I also received The Texas Instruments TI-83/TI-84 Calculator Tutor 3 DVD set which includes 8 hours of video tutorial. Now, I have never used one of these calculators and neither of my students is there yet, so this video was a little over our heads. However, I believe that Mr Gibson's method of explaining these complex topics in a very easy-to-understand manner would be very helpful for someone needing to learn how to use this calculator. This DVD set also sells for $26.99.

Here is the list of topics included:
Disk 1
Section 1: Overview of the Calculator
Section 2: The Mode Menu
Section 3: Basic Arithmetic and Exponents
Section 4: Logarithms and Square Roots
Section 5: Sin, Cos, Tan
Section 6: Scientific Notation and Storing Variables
Section 7: The Math Menu and Catalog Menu
Section 8: Convert between Fractions and Decimals
Section 9: Finding the Min and Max of a Function
Section 10: Calculating Derivatives and Integrals
Section 11: Absolute Value, Rounding, and Integers
Section 12: Converting between Degrees and Radians
Section 13: Working with Complex Numbers
Disk 2
Section 14: Using the Equation Solver
Section 15: Graphing and Tracing Functions
Section 16: Using Tables and Split Screen Modes
Section 17: Find the Exact Value of a Function Using Graphing
Section 18: Finding the Zeros of a Function using Graphing
Section 19: Finding the Max and Min of a Function using Graphing
Section 20: Finding Intersections of Functions using Graphing
Section 21: Finding the Derivative of a Function by Graphing
Section 22: Calculating the Definite Integral by Graphing
Section 23: Drawing on a Graph
Section 24: Graphing and Tracing Sequences
Disk 3
Section 25: Graphing and Tracing Parametric Equations
Section 26: Converting between Rectangular and Polar Coordinates
Section 27: Graphing and Tracing Polar Equations
Section 28: Permutations, Combinations, and Factorial
Section 29: Working with Histograms and Box Plots
Section 30: Graphing Statistical Scatter Plots
Section 31: Calculating Mean, Median, Standard Deviation, and more
Section 32: Performing Statistical Regression
Section 33: Calculating with Matrices
Section 34: Solving Systems of Equations with Matrices
Section 35: Calculating Interest Rates
Section 36: Calculating Mortgages and Loans
Section 37: Calculating Savings and Investments

"This 8 Hour comprehensive 3-DVD course teaches you how to use all of the major functions of the TI-84 / TI-83 graphing calculator by working example problems. In this way, the student "learns-by-doing" rather than a long dry lecture or with the "aid" of a dry printed manual."

I received this product for free in return for an honest review. I have not received financial reimbursement for my review of Math Tutor DVDs.

My Access! by Vantage Learning Review

2010-09-01T20:04:00.000-07:00

My Access! Home Edition is an online writing program by Vantage Learning. I have to admit I was very skeptical at first, especially not wanting to add more writing to my teen's already full academic schedule. However, I cannot adequately express how impressed I have been with this program. But more than that, my daughter is LOVING it! I have to tell her to "stop writing" and do something else. Let me try to explain what this program does and why it is so wonderful.

First of all, when you purchase My Access!, you can go online and set up your accounts - one for you, the parent, and one for each of your children. Then you can select writing assignments in different age groups for each of your children. And they have very interesting topics like "Adopting a Zoo Animal" as a Persuasive Essay in the 8-10 year old group or "What If You Never Slept?" as an Informative Essay in the 22-14 year old group. There's also the thought-provoking "The Value of Sacrifice" as a Narrative Essay in the 15-18 year old group. But not only do they give you a large number of essay ideas to start with, you can create any other topics/assignments that you wish to go along with whatever you are studying in other subjects.

Now, not only can you assign different topics to each student, but you can set goals and rewards for when they reach those goals. Just to start out, I decided to reward my kids with a ticket to a movie when they reached a certain number of points. But the possibilities for rewards are as many as you can possibly imagine!

When your child logs on to My Access! website to being the writing process, they can take a Guided Tour which shows them all the aspects of the program. They will have a Writing Dashboard which gives them a quick view of their overall writing progress, or they can view a Progress page which shows them each writing assignment and it's progress. On the Writing Topics page, they can start a new assignment, resume an assignment in progress, or start a revision of an essay previously submitted.

When they begin a new assignment, they will get a few paragraphs that describe exactly what the assignment entails. Then they can take a interactive Writing Course which walks them step-by-step through the process of writing this particular type of essay. It is set up like a job at a newspaper, where they are training to become a reporter. It is very detailed and takes the student through all the steps to effective writing, including planning, organizing, writing first draft, revising, editing and publishing. It helps them learn how this program works, how to effectively write, edit and revise their writing and how to evaluate the work they have done.

My Access! will take their work when they submit it and evaluate it, grading it according to the rubrics that apply. They then have the opportunity to improve their work and increase their points, by resubmitting the assignment after more revision and editing.

I am sure, like me, you are wondering just how a computer can effectively evaluate writing, which is such a subjective thing. Well, here is how they explain it at Vantage Learning:

At the center of MY Access!® is IntelliMetric™, an artificial intelligence scoring tool. This tool instantly evaluates student writing against a standard rubric and provides students with suggestions to improve their writing. All of its feedback is aligned to the core traits of writing: Focus, Organization, Content Development, Language Use, and Grammar.

Around this intelligent core, MY Access!® incorporates instructional courses for each genre at each age range, an in-depth writing manual, organizational resources, and a host of word-processing tools.

Although I thought the price rather steep at first, after using the program and seeing how much my daughter enjoys writing using My Access!, I have changed my mind! $99.95 for this program that can support up to 6 different students is a bargain! And it does almost all the work for YOU, the teacher! Think how much easier your job would be if someone else would evaluate and grade your child's writing! And the stress that comes from having to go over your child's work with them and point out things that need worked on or changed is now not a burden for you. The program objectively evaluates their work and gives them feedback on how to improve it.

Vantage Learning has some other products that might interest you, too. They have a College Edition of My Access! that will help your college students with their writing assignments for $89.95, as well as some Add-On Packs to go with your My Access! Home Edition. These include an SAT Prep Pack for $49.95, a Picture Prompt Pack for $29.95, a Faith and Values Writing Prompt Pack for $29.95 and a Business Writing Prep Pack for $49.95.

If you would like to read more reviews about this product, check out the TOS Review Crew's reviews HERE.

I received this product for free in return for an honest review. I have not received financial reimbursement for my review of My Access! Home Edition.

TOS Homeschool Planner

2010-08-15T09:30:00.000-07:00

This is NOT your average homeschool planner!

This is a

LIFE PLANNER

for

HOMESCHOOLERS!!

You will be amazed!

You will be encouraged and inspired!

And, yes, you may even be overwhelmed at first!

Over 600 pages

of resources and tools to help make this your best year ever!

For each month of the year, there are articles and charts, information and resources. And there are even recipes!! Yes, recipes to help you with ideas for your meals and snacks!

Here is a sample of what just ONE month includes:

July 2010

Bible Must-Know List
Timeline of Events in the Life of Jesus Christ
Top Five Tips for Managing Your Homeschool While Managing Your Home
Sites to Help You Organize Your Home
Geography Family Fun
2 Resource Lists (Bible and Organization)
7 scrumptious-sounding Recipes!!

There are also over 25 lists and charts of educational information

"must-haves" from previous years included!!

And then there are calendars and planners galore! Over 120 pages of blank, reproducible and interactive forms to help you organize your homeschool!

"From scheduling and planning forms to nature journal pages and forms that help you keep track of library books and homeschooling supplies, we have a form for everyone!"

2010 Schoolhouse Planner

And Household Planning? Well, there are over 80 pages of organizational tools for your home, too! Have a need for a planner, chart or list to help you be organized? It's in there!!

You can use the forms right on your computer by filling in the information on the interactive forms, or you can print out just the pages that you want in your personalized planner notebook. You can also print the entire book out if you prefer to have a paper copy in your hands to write in.

This planner is SO flexible, it will meet your needs no matter what your preference!!

And now the most amazing feature of all....drumroll please....the cost is.....

Yes, that's right, you get the monthly resources, the additional educational resources, the calendars, over 120 pages of homeschool planners AND over 80 pages of household planners for the low, low price of $39!! All this, plus encouragement and inspiration to last a whole year and then some, for one low price!

Don't wait another day, order yours now!!

And you, too, will be inspired and organized in ways you never even imagined!

BUY NOW

I am a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew and received this product for my use in writing this advertisement.