The Homeschool Desk

Toydle Fort ~ TOS Review

noreply@blogger.com (Jodi) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

A few weeks ago I shared with you about a company named Toydle. You can read that post HERE. So, I bet you’re wondering how we like the BIG Toy Fort that we received? Well, it’s fantastic!! When it arrived, the kids were so excited that it was here, and couldn’t wait to begin setting it up. The great thing about it is that it didn’t come with any instructions, so they were free to use their imaginations and set it up however their hearts desired! First they decided to set it up in the den, until we realized just how HUGE this thing was! My husband and son ended up taking it down and rebuilding it in the basement, where there is a lot more room for it. After it was reassembled, The Princess and her dad draped a sheet over the top for a roof, and over the “awning” that they decided to include in their individually-designed fort. You can see her enjoying it in the photos above. Toydle accidentally forgot to include the clips that hold the sheets onto the PVC piping, but when I contacted them about it, they were very courteous and sent them out to me.

I think The Princess had enjoyed the fort the most, as she likes getting in there and playing with her dolls. She likes to spend lots of time in the basement practicing her dancing and doing crafts, so it was perfect to have this fort for her to use down there. It’s like her own little playhouse! And, it will be great to have over the cold winter months when the kids are cooped up inside. The product is very well - American-Made and comes with an excellent, unlimited warrantee, so that your child or children can enjoy the fort for many years to come. And, since the fort is so versatile, the kids can design and redesign to their hearts’ content to build the Fort however they like!

If you’d like to purchase your own Toydle Fort, you can do so here on the website. A regular-sized fort is $149. The BIG toy fort that you see here in this post is available for $229.99. To read what my Crewmates thought of the forts they received, please visit the TOS Crew Page for Toydle.

Jodi

Disclosure: *My honest review and opinion written in this post is entirely my own. This product was provided to me for free in exchange for my review as a member of the 2011-2012 The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew. I was not further compensated in exchange for this review, other than receiving a free product.*

Teacher Geek ~ TOS Review

noreply@blogger.com (Jodi) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 14:00:00 +0000

Teacher Geek was created by a technology teacher that was used to customizing existing products to fit their needs. Eventually they began designing and manufacturing their own custom components to give students the best educational experience possible. Teacher Geek carries all kinds of products for the homeschool, such as electronic “bugs”, wind turbines, vehicles, hydraulics and more. We received the Advanced Hydraulic Arm for our review. This hydraulic arm is available for purchase from the Teacher Geek website for $16.18.

I passed this product on to my son and husband, who find things like this right up their creative alleys. They put the arm together in just an hour. My son is almost 12, but definitely needed his dad’s help in putting together this product. That’s okay though, because my husband had as much fun with it as my son did. The best part was when they were actually able to use the arm after the project was complete. This product teaches students about fluid mechanics, simple machines, and other design and engineering concepts.

One important note about this product is that it comes with a sharp tool, which my husband cut himself deeply with. This product is intended to be used with adult supervision; as a learning tool. It is not intended for your child to use on his own. It is not intended to be used as a toy. So, I suggest that you either supervise your child very closely, and participate with your child building this project, as you enjoy learning building it and learning together.

To learn more about this product, as well as other products Teacher Geek offers, please visit the website.

Jodi
Disclosure: *My honest review and opinion written in this post is entirely my own. This product was provided to me for free in exchange for my review as a member of the 2011-2012 The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew. I was not further compensated in exchange for this review, other than receiving a free product.*

Pitsco ~ TOS Review

noreply@blogger.com (Jodi) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 14:00:00 +0000

Pitsco Education is an online store that carries tons of educational products and curriculum for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Hands-on products such as a the Medieval Machines Pack which I received for my review is one of those such innovative products. This pack includes a Trebuchet Kit, a Catapult Kit, the Siege Machines book, and counterweights for the Trebuchet. Also included was a box of Klean Clay used to make projectiles for the kits, which is normally sold separately from this particular kit. All we needed from home to complete these kits and use them was some glue, scissors, and a ruler. There is a Teacher’s Guide available for both the Trebuchet Kit and the Catapult Kit that includes many hours worth of activities and lessons.

I don’t know about you, but I have two boys, er I mean one boy and one boy-at-heart – my husband - whom I knew together, would enjoy using this product for my review. This product is great for teaching kids basic math, science, and problem-solving skills. Teaching kids in a hands-on way such as this helps them to retain their learning and have a memorable academic experience in the process. This particular kit covers three areas:

Science: Tension versus torsion, elasticity, gravity and levers, and force and motion
Math: Metric conversion, calculating averages, and prediction
Experiments: Mass versus distance, testing rubber bands, targeting, and more

With this kit, kids will learn not only about the history of the medieval siege machines, but the concepts required to build such machines. There are all kinds of learning possibilities and what fun children will have learning by building these machines?!
While these machines would have been difficult for my almost 12 year old to put together on his own, it was a great project for he and his dad to work on together. They enjoyed creating the machines and trying out different activities with these machines. I think to be completed on its own, a child would need to be an advanced 12 year old or older.
This kit is available for $21.95 from the Pitsco website. To learn more, please visit the website and to view the additional educational products that Pitsco offers, such as more machines like these, math games, puzzles, and much more.
To read my Crewmates’ thought on this product, please visit the TOS Crew Page for Pitsco.

Jodi
Disclosure: *My honest review and opinion written in this post is entirely my own. This product was provided to me for free in exchange for my review as a member of the 2011-2012 The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew. I was not further compensated in exchange for this review, other than receiving a free product.*

Just in time for Christmas!! You're Getting a Chance to Win a HUGE Toy Fort for Your Kids!

noreply@blogger.com (Jodi) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 13:05:00 +0000

Toydle is a toy company that creates toy forts for children. Their toy forts are manufactured in the U.S. and have a fully backed guarantee. Toydle was created by Robert Brownfield. Rob is the president of Worry-Free Manufacturing in Boise, Idaho, and has been making quality products for many years. He is also the father of fraternal twins. Frustrated with the quality of toys that his children owned, he decided to build a better quality toy that all children could enjoy.

The Toydle Fort is over 45 square feet of space! It is available for $149 . The BIG Toydle Fort is double the square foot and available for $229.99. One of these would make a fantastic Christmas gift for your kids! Toydle products are available for sale through Amazon.

The Toydle Fort

The BIG Toydle Fort

All Toydle Forts are constructed with hand-made wooden blocks 3” sq. made with high quality, laminated poplar. The high quality PVC tubes are 29” long and 1/2in wide. All Toydle Forts include clips to help secure your sheets and blankets. All Forts are the strongest, longest lasting, and highest quality forts that you will find anywhere with an unlimited warrantee. They are however not intended for climbing. They also use safe plastic, so you do not have to worry about the safety of certain chemicals associated with plastic toys. These chemicals are not used with PVC pipe.

Toydle Forts are American-made in Boise, Idaho. Each tube is cut, each piece of wood is hand-shaped by an American worker. Every Toydle product is guaranteed for product or piece replacement if it fails for any reason, even if your child leaves a block out in the rain, or accidentally break one of the tubes.

I’m received a BIG Toydle Fort for my review which will be posted at a later date. In the meantime, please be sure to check out the Toydle website to check out this amazingly cool toy! And, don’t forget to enter to win your own Fort on the Crew blog! They are giving away not one, but THREE of the BIG Forts!!

If you’d like to enter to win a Toydle Fort for your family, please visit the Crew Blog HERE.

NOTE: This contest is open to residents of the United States ONLY. TOS Staff and TOS Crew Members (and their families) are not eligible to enter this contest.

Jodi – This informational post was written for Toydle in exchange for a free product and review for the 2011-2012 TOS Homeschool Crew.

Wreaths of Maine ~ TOS Review

noreply@blogger.com (Jodi) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 13:05:00 +0000

Mmmm…the scent of Christmas. I love it. And, now that we’ve finally bought our first home, I can’t wait to decorate for Christmas this year. It’s so exciting! We’re planning on purchasing a real tree this year, which we haven’t done in several years. So, I was delighted to find out that I would be receiving a real, fresh Balsam fir wreath from Wreaths of Maine for a TOS Review. I also received a Homeschool Fundraising Packet from them. What a great idea for a fundraiser! Let me tell you a little bit about the fundraiser materials, and then I’ll share with you all about this gorgeous Christmas wreath displayed on my front door.

Wreaths of Maine is a mail-order wreath company that was started by a homeschooling family in the 1990’s. Most of the wreaths sold are done so by homeschool families or groups. Wreaths of Maine has a great plan for earning funds for your homeschool or group. To begin fundraising, you will need a fundraising kit. You can purchase one for $10.00 or you can earn one for FREE by submitting a drawing of a Christmas scene or a minimum 50-word essay about what you plan to do with your earnings from selling your Wreaths of Maine. Your materials packet includes everything you need to begin selling. Sellers are also given a Seller ID number so that customers can place an order on the web and the seller will still receive the commission for that sale. In your packet, you’ll have color brochures to show potential customers. You will earn $6.00 for each wreath sold, except for the Homestead Wreath, which you will earn $4.00, and the Presidential Pine Roping, which you will earn $10.00 for each sold. You have the option of purchasing a demonstration wreath for $27.00 with Free shipping. There will be an invoice for each address, and a gift card to show the customer what their card will look like when they receive their wreath. There are envelopes and shipping labels included for you to send in the orders to Wreaths of Maine. If you need more materials, they will send them to you for free. Wreaths of Maine will send the wreaths directly to the customer the week they have chosen to receive it. The great part about this fundraiser is that you will be earning commissions for your family or group. You will receive your commission check the third week of December. It is normal to start sales of the wreaths in October, and you send the orders in weekly as you receive them. Also included in your sales packet is a sheet with “Quick Overview for Selling Wreaths”, “Ideas to Help You Sell”, “Important Directions for Taking Wreath Orders”, “How to Fill Out an Order Form” with a sample order form filled out, and a “Sales Record”. There are plenty of materials included with clear instructions on how to earn funds for your homeschool or group. We have tried many fundraisers with different groups over the years, and let me tell you, this one looks organized and easy to sell. Who wouldn’t want a beautiful, aromatic, fresh Christmas wreath for their front door? Sellers can go door to door at local businesses which would most likely love to have one of these fine wreaths for their business door.

Now, let me tell you about this gorgeous, amazing scented wreath that I received! I was so excited to see my box arrive on my front porch. I carefully opened it up, and the aroma filled my nostrils. I received the Classic Christmas Wreath. What a lovely scent…Christmas – from a FRESH wreath. And, this aromatic, Balsam fir wreath is absolutely beautiful. Wreaths of Maine wreaths are double faced, using both sides of the wreath because it is plentiful, but more so, because it smells even better that way! And, if you have ever imagined a “Christmas in Maine”, this is what it would smell like. Each wreath has greens on both sides to give it a full appearance. It measures a full two feet across and is just right for the front door. Each wreath is hand made by a skilled wreath-maker, forming bouquets of Balsam fir greens that are wired onto both sides of a ring to form a wreath. The bow is shipped unattached so as not to crush it. The wreaths are delivered in decorative boxes using the fastest and most efficient delivery possible so that they arrive fresh at your door. They also come with a personalized gift card and a hanger attached. They can go straight from the box to the front door. How wonderful is that?! They ship to all 50 states in the U.S.

The wreaths are made from the Balsam Fir trees called Abies balsama, which is a native fir to New England that only grows in the colder sections of the region and into Canadian Maritimes. It is known for its aromatic scent and is used in incense and potpourri. Balsam wreaths are only used in the winter time and have become a Christmas tradition. The prices of the wreaths vary from $31 on up to $47.

There are various types of wreaths available, and they are all so lovely, it’s hard to choose! I know that I am going to enjoy coming home to my front door with this fabulous, gorgeous, aromatic Christmas wreath hanging on the front door of our new home. What a blessing to have received this for review. Thank you to Wreaths of Maine for providing me with this fresh wreath for my review. It’s going to make a lovely addition to the new Christmas decorations on our new home!

You can also find Wreaths of Maine on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

If you’d like to learn more about this fundraising opportunity for your homeschool or group, or to purchase a wreath, please visit the Wreaths of Maine website. To learn what my Crewmates thought about their wreaths, please visit the TOS Crew Page for Wreaths of Maine.

Jodi

friday favorite things–things to be thankful for

noreply@blogger.com (Jodi) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 15:14:00 +0000

This week I am linking up to my friend Rachel @ Finding Joy’s friday favorite things with the things I am thankful for this week…

I’m thankful for my Lord and Savior, who..even when I don’t understand His timing and plan knows all that is in store for my family. He is good, all the time.

I am thankful for my husband. We recently celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary, and I’m happy to say that we’re still in love and looking forward to more years together as husband and wife. I have been blessed by a hard-working, loving man, who is a jack-of-all trades, and a great dad to boot. God knew what He was doing when He put us together. We’re a perfect match, and he’s my very bestest friend. *grin*

I am thankful to finally be in our own home. After being in limbo for almost a year, and staying with family, it’s like a huge weight has been lifted. It’s also nice to finally be homeowners for the first time ever. I still have a lot of unpacking to do, but that’s okay. I’m just so thankful for our family to finally be “home”. It’s been a long time coming.

I’m thankful for homeschooling. Being in our own home has made homeschooling much more manageable, and we are finally getting back into a normal school routine.

I am thankful for my children and their incredible sense of humor. They are such loving, sweet kids. I am so blessed. We were at an eye appointment the other day, talk about boooring…but they turned it into one of the funnies days we’ve had in a while, with their silly jokes when trying on different pairs of glasses. They keep me laughing, that’s for sure! I love that about them!

I’m thankful that I now have my own car. It was an *anniversary present*, since we purchased it on our anniversary a couple of weeks ago! And, I love it! It’s a Kia Sportage, and really fun to drive. You see, we’ve been a one car family for many years, while Big D drove a company truck. He no longer drives a company truck, so we’ve been sharing our only vehicle – our Chevy truck for several months. I’m thankful that I finally found something affordable and good on gas. Now I can take my kids where they need to be without having to drive Big D forty minutes each way to work at 5am just to use the truck for the day.

I am thankful for all of the friends and family I have in my life, those that are near, and those that are far. I love you all. Happy Thanksgiving!

What are you thankful for?

Jodi

College Prep Genius Second Edition ~ TOS Crew

noreply@blogger.com (Jodi) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 13:00:00 +0000

Two years ago, I had the privilege to review the first edition of College Prep Genius. You can find that review HERE. There is a new and revised Second Edition now available, and I was blessed to receive a copy to review for the TOS Crew. First, let me tell you a little bit about College Prep Genius.

College Prep Genius is an at home SAT prep program. Included in this program are two books and a DVD set.

– a textbook that contains over 350 tips, shortcuts, test-taking strategies, etc. The textbook is the foundation of this curriculum and it also includes a checklist for finding college scholarships along with 75 little-known scholarship websites. It also includes a thorough review of all aspects of the SA & PSAT/NMSQT. It teaches students how to find correct answers effectively. It also includes 300 Must-Know Math Terms and Numerous Scholarship websites.

- a workbook that is a companion to the textbook described above. There are practice SAT and PSAT problems along with strategies and tips of the curriculum. It covers all three sections of the SAT: Math, Critical Reading, and Writing.

- a DVD set (“Master the SAT Class”) that covers all three sections of the SAT & PSAT?NMSQT and is a thorough review of the curriculum. This second edition breaks the curriculum down into twelve lessons. This program takes students step by step through each section of the SAT and gives them a plan for success for each type of question.

What’s New in the Second Edition?

This program has been updated and revised from the first edition to include:

New strategies and more detailed explanations
Easy to use format
12 straight-forward lessons
Bonus material including appendixes of must know math terms, Latin roots, and prefixes and suffixes
New motivation test

What do we think about the Second Edition?

I was very excited to learn that I would be able to use and review this new edition. We thought the first edition was excellent. I have a 10th grade student who is considering college, and I would like her to be well prepared for the SAT. This program fits us well, and would work well for any homeschooled or traditional schooled student. The way CPG teaches SAT preparedness is great because it teaches students how to go about answering the questions logically and efficiently. The SAT itself is a test of logic and reasoning, and without the necessary skills to tackle the questions properly, I know that my student would not succeed. CPG provides the tools in its multi-learning format (Textbook, Workbook, DVD Set) for my student to learn how to tackle the PSAT and SAT. As I stated in my first review, this is a very full program, and will take much of the students time to go through and complete. Given its rigorous nature, however…it can be used as little or as much as you’d like depending on the eagerness of your student and your own personal goals for your child as far as SAT scores and college scholarship applications. The bottom line is this: the higher the score, the better the chance of receiving free money for college. Let’s face it, college is out of financial reach for many families, my own included. Why not give your child the edge by trying out this course? It is something that they can complete at home along with the rest of their homeschool curriculum, and compared to an outside class, it’s a steal as far as the price.

You can purchase the complete set described above for $99.00 on the website. CPG also sells the individual titles, and other SAT Prep products as well, such as the Vocab Café series, which some of my crewmates reviewed. Be sure to visit the website to learn more.

And, don’t just take my word for it. Please visit the TOS Crew page for College Prep Genius to read more reviews!

Jodi

Thank You For The Nomination for a Homeschool Blog Award!

noreply@blogger.com (Jodi) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 15:00:00 +0000

Thank you to whomever thought my blog was worthy enough to be nominated for a Homeschool Blog Award in the “Best Homeschool Variety Blog” category! I am humbled and thankful to be included with some really fantastic blogs in this category. I started this blog in October of 2008 (a homeschool spin-off from my family blog Green Acres) as a way to keep track of and share the free and inexpensive homeschool resources I found online. I had no idea that it would grow as much as it has! I continue to share free and inexpensive resources, but I also write homeschool product reviews as part of the TOS Homeschool Crew and share many of our homeschool days – field trips, crafts, activities, and more. It’s a “variety” of our homeschool and family days going on here, and I’m thrilled to be nominated in ~~any~~ this category!

Thank you to whomever thought of me and nominated me to be recognized in the HSBA! I “heart” you very much!

If you’d like to vote for The Homeschool Desk, just click here. Thanks!

P.S. - I also found out that the TOS Homeschool Crew Blog which I am also a part of has been nominated for Best Group Blog! I was so excited after our Crew blog won last year’s HSBA. You can vote for the TOS Crew Blog here.

Jodi

Bower Books–The Person I Marry ~ TOS Review

noreply@blogger.com (Jodi) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 13:00:00 +0000

My children are 9, 11, and 15. I talk to them about “someday” all the time. I have dreams for them. Dreams of success, dreams of prosperity, dreams of a life filled with Christ, and dreams of them to marry the person of their dreams and have families some day. I base my thoughts and advice on what kind of person I hope they will marry on my own experience with the man I married. I tell them of how someday they will meet the person that God has chosen for them, and that person will be one who is like myself or my husband when it comes to caring for and loving one another. Marriage is an important part of who David and I are, as the leaders of this family. I want to share that with my kids as much as possible, and hopefully they will be led by the Lord to marry the right one for them some day.

I was honored to be given the opportunity to review The Person I Marry, Things I’ll Think About Long Before Saying “I Do” written by Gary Bower, and beautifully illustrated by Jan Bower. When I read through this book on my own the first time, I literally had tears streaming down my face. This children’s book touched my 39 year old heart in more ways than I expected. I could not wait to share it with my children. This book is written from a child’s point of view of the character traits and qualities he or she is expecting and looking for in a spouse. Why did I cry, you ask? Because as I read through the book, I realized that this was also my childhood dream…to find someone as genuine, faithful, thoughtful, patient, honest, God-loving, caring, and kind for a husband. My dream came true! Oh how my husband fit all of those qualities that were mentioned in this book! And, oh how I was so glad that it was those same qualities that I have been expressing to my own children to look for one day in a spouse. This book expresses to look for the important qualities on the inside of a person, which couldn’t be more important in today’s superficial society.

I read the book to my children, and we enjoyed it together. It did not matter that this is a children’s book and my children range in age from nine to fifteen. It was so sweet, and the illustrations were beautifully and artistically crafted. Jan Bower is a very talented artist, and that really shined through in the book’s illustrations. It was eloquently written by her husband Gary as well. The words appealed to me as an adult, and were written to be understood by even very young children. Everything that I would love for my children to expect from a future spouse was listed in this book in a sincere storytelling format.

The author and illustrator team, Gary and Jan Bower have been married for 32 years. They truly understand the qualities and characteristics that are truly needed of each person in a marriage. It was obvious to me, married to David 17 years this November, that a lot of prayer, heart, love and experience of many years of marriage went into creating this book.

I received a downloadable copy of the book for my review, but it can be purchased in hardcover, 32-pages from Bower Books for $11.99. I am considering buying a hard copy to have as a keepsake for my children. This would also be a nice gift to give to a young child, or even a teen who may be thinking about the kind of person they would like to marry someday. It would also make a lovely gift for someone about to be married as a shower or wedding gift.

The Person I Marry has been awarded the 2010 Christian Small Publisher Book of the Year. This book is part of the Bower Books Bright Future Series, which includes other touching books such as What Do Heroes Wear?, The Jingle in my Pocket, and There’s a Party in Heaven. Bower Books carries more touching and beautifully illustrated books as well. Be sure to check out the website to see more.

To read what my Crewmates thought of this book, please visit the TOS Crew Page for Bower Books – The Person I Marry.

Jodi
Disclosure: *My honest review and opinion written in this post is entirely my own. This product was provided to me for free in exchange for my review as a member of the 2011-2012 The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew. I was not further compensated in exchange for this review, other than receiving a free product.*

wordless wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Jodi) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 12:28:00 +0000

Jodi

Excellence in Literature from Everyday Education ~ TOS Review

noreply@blogger.com (Jodi) — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 13:00:00 +0000

Excellence in Literature is a classic literature-based reading and writing program for high school students. It is a college preparatory course, with an optional honors track. The course is meant to be self-directed with week-by-week lesson plans. It is created and written by author and speaker Janice Campbell.
Janice has homeschooled her four sons from kindergarten into college, and has been writing and speaking on homeschool topics since the 1980’s. I had the pleasure of attending two of her workshops at the NJ ENOCH Homeschool convention in 2010. I appreciated her insight and knowledge of homeschooling, with the many years of experience she has to support her works.
I received a .PDF copy of Excellence in Literature: Introduction to Literature which is the first book in the series. Additional books are: Literature & Composition, American Literature, British Literature; World Literature and The Complete Curriculum: Literature and Writing for Grades 8-12. You can view a free printable information sheet with a 5-year booklist here.

Introduction to Literature uses classic books such as Around the World in 80 Days, Jane Eyre, and Treasure Island to teach literature and writing. The objectives of this course are as follows:
• Introduce students to great literature from the western literary
tradition.
• Teach students to read with discernment.
• Train independent, self-motivated learners.
• Provide tools that students can use to strengthen their writing skills.
• Introduce students to sources for high-quality online and offline
research.
• Prepare students for college classes by expecting carefully-researched, well-thought-out material to be presented in standard
format, with preliminary proofreading completed.

This program is self-directed which means the student is completing the reading and assignemnts on her own. I find this to be a very valuable way to learn and teach independence to my high school student. The work in this program is meant to be an in-depth study of the great works that the students are reading. There are also additional materials that will need to be read, listened to, or watched. If students would like, they can choose to earn an honors-level grade or take an AP or CLEP exam at the end of the test year by using the additional reading suggestions under the “Honors” heading.
This book includes some additional helpful tools to help the student with writing, including two Evaluation Rubrics, one for students using IEW (Institute for Excellence in Writing), a Student Evaluation Summary, a Glossary, a Resource list with Internet links, and much more.
The work involved in this literature program is geared towards students in grades 8-12. This book is a great way for students to challenge themselves, read great literature, and learn to write well in the process. Although this program is wonderful for anyone wanting to study these great books, this program was just not a good fit for my high school student. Writing and reading comprehension are areas area where she tends to struggle, and this was just a bit over the head of my 10th grader. While she can appreciate good books, the assignments themselves were difficult for her to complete on her own, as the program suggests. I could, however work alongside her and learn too, which is what we usually do when she is challenged. If you have an ambitious high school student that would enjoy reading these great books and being challenged to analyze them and create their own original compositions, than this program is for you.
You can purchase Introduction to Literature in Print Book (132 pages) form for $29 + $4.95 Priority Mail OR in downloadable e-Book form for $27. Just print and put in your student’s binder.
To learn more about this and other educational products, such as Janice Campbell’s Transcripts Made Easy, Spelling Made Easy, SAT Prep and more…please visit the website. To read what my Crewmates thought of this product, please visit the TOS Crew Page for Excellence in Literature.
Jodi
Disclosure: *My honest review and opinion written in this post is entirely my own. This product was provided to me for free in exchange for my review as a member of the 2011-2012 The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew. I was not further compensated in exchange for this review, other than receiving a free product.*

Marshall Publishing–Lots & Lots of Fire Trucks & Firefighters Book and Lots & Lots of Fire Songs and Safety Tips DVD

noreply@blogger.com (Jodi) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 12:00:00 +0000

I’m always on the lookout for new materials that I can use each year to help teach my kids about fire safety. I like to use different resources each year to keep it fresh and not bore the stink out of my kids. So, of course I was thrilled to receive Lots & Lots of Fire Trucks & Firefighters Book and Lots & Lots of Fire Songs and Safety Tips from Marshall Publishing to review for the TOS Crew.
While the Songs & Safety Tips DVD is not really age appropriate for the ages of my kids that I am teaching fire safety to (ages 9 & 11), this DVD definitely would be very entertaining for young preschool or kindergarten age children. It is 30 minutes long, and would be a lot of fun for younger children to watch and enjoy. Even though my kids are too old for the DVD, the 124 full color Fire Trucks & Firefighters book could definitely be used by my children. This book has full color photographs and tons of fire fighting facts and history. There are even some additional extras included, like the “Ten Commandments for Firefighters” and the “Fireman’s Prayer”. We have a firefighter unit study I’ve been waiting to use, and this book would sure come in handy as an excellent resource. I think this book would appeal to any child from preschool age to middle school age. I know that sounds like a large range, but any child with an interest in learning more about firefighting would find something valuable in this book to learn. There is a nice listing of the Firehouse Museums around the United States, and a list of websites with links to learn more about firefighting. There is a chapter on Fire Prevention week. Also included in the last chapter are the lyrics to the songs on the DVD. Most of all, the color photographs really make this book a gem.
The Lots and Lots of Fire Trucks and Firefighters book and Safety Song DVD is available from the Marshall Publishing website at the current price of $29.95. The DVD can be purchased separately for $19.95 and the Book can be purchased separately for $14.95. Marshall Publishing also carries other DVD products, such as Comedy DVDs, Educational, Historical Documentary DVDs and more. Please visit the website to see all that they have to offer.
Marshall Publishing was kind enough to send me a complimentary copy of the DVD: George Washington Carver His Life and His Work. This DVD is available on the website for $19.95, and would be a nice addition to any history study. It features an inspirational story about the life of Carver, with music accompaniment and brilliant photography.

To learn more, please visit the website. To read what my Crewmates thought of these products, please visit the TOS Crew Page for Marshall Publishing.

Jodi
Disclosure: *My honest review and opinion written in this post is entirely my own. This product was provided to me for free in exchange for my review as a member of the 2011-2012 The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew. I was not further compensated in exchange for this review, other than receiving a free product.*

North Star Games ~ Say Anything TOS Review and Giveaway!!

noreply@blogger.com (Jodi) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 13:00:00 +0000

Games are so much fun! We were very excited to receive a free copy of Say Anything Family Edition for a TOS Review.

Say Anything Family Edition is fun family game that challenges players to find out what their family and friends really think about certain topics. It is brought to you by North Star Games for whom I reviewed Wits and Wagers for last year. We found this game to be delightful and light-hearted, as well as a TON of fun!

The Basics of How to Play:
This game is for three to six players. Each player in the game receives a dry a erase board and marker, along with tokens. One player in each round of play gets to be the “judge”. The judge pulls a question card from the pile, and asks the group a question. The other players try to answer as quickly as possible by writing down their answer on the mini-dry erase board in their color. The players then lay down their boards face up for all to see. Each player that answered the question then makes a wager on which answer he thinks the judge will pick as the best answer with their tokens. They can put all of their tokens down on their own answer, all on their opponents’ answers or split their decision with tokens on each. The judge then announces which answer she thinks is the best answer to the question. Each player is given a score based on whose answer is chosen by the judge, as well as who won the wager on the answer that the judge would choose. The judge also receives points for how many chose the same answer she did with their token wagers. Here are a few examples of some of the questions the judge in each round gets to ask in Say Anything Family:

In My Opinion…

What section of the grocery store is the most fun to walk through?
What two breakfast corals would taste the best if mixed together?
What would be the coolest thing to have in my backyard?
What do kids hate most?
What country would I most want to visit?

Everyone has tons of fun guessing what the favorite answer will be!

What we Thought:
This game is fun and has a nice pace to it. It moved smoothly through the turns and rounds. Thankfully, the instructions weren’t too complicated for us to understand, and after a quick read-through, we were on our way playing and having a ball with this game. We had fun and laughed a lot at some of the answers we came up with! Some of the questions didn’t apply to any of us a few times, so we just chose another when we ran into an issue like that. The kids all enjoyed using the little dry erase boards and markers and writing their answers down as quick as they could! Also, guessing who the judge thought was the best answer kept us all on our toes, for sure!
All in all, we have enjoyed playing this game, and it would definitely be fun with a larger group, say at a party or just a family fun game night with neighbors. Just be prepared to laugh your socks off and have some lighthearted fun!
Say Anything is available from North Star Games for around $19.99 at Target and other retailers. North Star Games also offers more games including Wits and Wagers, and Wits and Wagers Family.

OOOPS! North Star Games accidentally sent me NOT ONE, but TWO copies of Say Anything Family Edition and has kindly authorized me to give away my extra copy! So, what do you have to do to win? Just leave a comment telling me your favorite family game, and be sure to include your blog name or email so that I will be able to contact you should you be the winner! That’s it. Good luck!

This giveaway ends on November 1, 2011 at 12:01am EST.

Be sure to stop by the TOS Crew Page for North Star Games to read my Crewmates’ thoughts on this game as well as Wits and Wagers.
Jodi
Disclosure: *My honest review and opinion written in this post is entirely my own. This product was provided to me for free in exchange for my review as a member of the 2011-2012 The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew. I was not further compensated in exchange for this review, other than receiving a free product.*

new to us!

noreply@blogger.com (Jodi) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 11:00:00 +0000

I’m joining Rachel over @ Finding Joy today to share my favorite things from this week.

We’ve got a lot of new things going on with our family, and they’re mostly what my favorites are this week!

I loved watching my girl ride and bring home two ribbons in the horse show this past weekend. She is new to shows, this is only her third show, including the county fair this past summer. She’s doing great. I’m so proud of her!

We visited a new corn maze and pumpkin patch close to the new home we’ll be moving into next week. We had such a blast, and it reminded me how much I love this time of year…isn’t the sky gorgeous in this photo?

Miss M had a friend over this week, and it was fun to listen to the girls planning all of fun things they’re going to do with 4-H and their horses this coming Spring. Remember our 4-H fun last summer? Well, now they’ve started a new club at the farm, and they are planning to attend all kinds of fun horse events in the coming year!

I received this fun new kit: The Magic School Bus: A Journey into the Human Body in the mail that I ordered last week for our Health curriculum, and I can’t wait to start using it with the kids. We are going to have so much fun with this one!

But most of all, my favorite thing this week was finding out that we are finally going to settlement on Monday and will be moving into our new (to us!) home next week, photos coming soon!

What are some of your favorite things this week? Anything new? Please share in the comments, I love hearing from you!

Have a fabulous weekend!

Jodi

Wordless Wednesday ~ Pumpkin Patch & Corn Maze Family Field Trip

noreply@blogger.com (Jodi) — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 12:00:00 +0000

Jodi

Apologia Press–Educating the WholeHearted Child by Clay Clarkson with Sally Clarkson

noreply@blogger.com (Jodi) — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 13:00:00 +0000

I received the book Educating the WholeHearted Child (3rd Edition) written by Clay Clarkson with Sally Clarkson in just the perfect time. We are in our 7th year of homeschooling but I still have so much to learn and plenty of room to grown mentally and spiritually in my homeschool journey. So when I began reading Educating the WholeHearted Child I knew it was going to help re-inspire me and remind me why we made the choice to homeschool in the first place. This book uses biblical principles as the basis for homeschooling. Biblical principles that I wholeheartedly agree with and have built our homeschool upon when we began homeschooling in 2005. I learned more in-depth fact about God’s original design for the family, His plan for my family. And, it is just what this homeschool mom needed!

If you are not familiar with Clay and Sally Clarkson, let me share a little bit about them with you. From the WholeHeart Ministries website:

They are the founders of Whole Heat Ministries, first created in 1994. Whole Heart Ministries has been dedicated to helping Christian parents raise wholehearted children who will live for Christ. Clay and Sally Clarkson have both served in full-time ministry since 1975. The mission of Whole Heart Ministries is “to encourage and equip Christian parents to raise wholehearted children for Christ” This ministry helps Christian parents and their children worldwide through ministries of speaking, teaching, training, writing, and publishing.

Clay Clarkson is the Executive Director of WholeHearted Ministries. He is a former worship leader, single adults pastor, and adult ministries pastor. He is also a writer and teacher.

Sally Clarkson is a full-time, stay-at-home homeschooling mother of four homeschool graduates. She has always been active in discipling women, and is a writer, speaker, discipler, and blogger (itakejoy.com).

They have been married since 1981, and began homeschooling their first child of at the age of four in 1988.

My thoughts:

Even though I’ve only begun reading this book recently, I cannot wait to dive into it more. So far, I’ve really enjoyed the inspiration and encouragement I’ve found while reading this book. One of the things I really appreciated reading was “Ten Good Biblical Reasons for Homeschooling”. It was right in the beginning of the book in the first chapter, and what better way to start our school year by reviewing these reasons, along with supportive scripture references. There are plenty of scriptural references throughout the book to support the statements that are written. There are scripture verses in the margins of the pages too, which I adored.

This book is based on three biblical priorities:

Home Nurture: Shepherding Your Child’s Spirit to Long for God
Home Discipleship: Shaping Your Child’s Heart to Live for God
Home Education: Strengthening Your Child’s Mind to Learn for God

Each of the chapters of the book focuses on these three biblical priorities. There are 18 chapters covering: Home, Learning, Methods, and Living. There is much in this book that would appeal to one considering the choice to homeschool, or beginning their homeschool journey; but yet even a more experienced homeschooler, like myself, can be encouraged and supported throughout this book. I am realizing as I read this, as we are in the beginning of our 7th year of homeschooling, that I need some inspiration and encouragement to continue my homeschool journey. Homeschooling at the time of when it is actually taking place can often feel like a thankless job, but knowing that it is God’s calling for me and for my family is a reminder that I need often reiterated to myself. In this book, I can find that inspiration. I can also learn how to be on the right track with my children, raising them for Christ. But, wait…this book isn’t just about homeschooling. It’s about the family, too; about teaching our children to be disciples and true followers of Christ. Because after all, isn’t that my main goal of homeschooling my children in the first place? I do this for God, and with God. First and foremost. There are just so many methods in this book for how to homeschool and raise my children, that I would be here all day trying to share just a few of them with you. Don’t just take my word for it, you can preview a sample chapter HERE. You can also view the Table of Contents HERE.

Educating the WholeHearted Child is 354 pages full of comprehensive guides and enrichment for the homeschool parent. Also included are forms to use to help apply the principles taught in the book. The only downfall of this book is that I didn’t find out about it sooner when the Lord first put it upon my heart to homeschool. The copy I received is a newly revised and significantly expanded 3rd edition. The first edition was published in 1994, and the second edition was published in 1996. It provides many of the tools one would need for a strong biblical foundation for their homeschool. In my opinion, it is the “handbook of all handbooks” for the Christian Homeschool. I highly recommend it for every new and veteran Christian homeschooling parent.

To learn more, please visit the Apologia Website page for Educating the WholeHearted Child 3rd Edition where this book is available for purchase for $22.00.

To read what my Crewmates thought of this book, please visit the TOS Crew Page for Apologia Press – Educating the WholeHearted Child.

Jodi

e-mealz ~ TOS Review

noreply@blogger.com (Jodi) — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 13:00:00 +0000

Busy, busy, busy – that’s how most moms, would probably describe our day! I know there have been a few times when the kids or the hubs have asked the dreaded question, “What’s for dinner, mom?” That’s where e-mealz comes in. Are you too busy for menu and meal planning? Do you want to feed your family some affordable and delicious foods for dinner? Are you willing to try new recipes out with your family? Well, then e-mealz may be what you are looking for. E-mealz is a menu-plan program based on weekly grocery store sales, seasonal discounts, or diet preferences.

For $1.25 a week, you will receive a family friendly, concise 7-day dinner meal plan for 4 to 6 people, or a 5-day dinner plan for 2 people – with concise and easy to follow recipes and instructions. Also included is a complete corresponding grocery list for you to print and take to the store on your shopping trip.

e-mealz meal plans:

are written and created by REAL moms with REAL families
are balanced and family friendly
are as easy as possible, but delicious and kid tested!
consist of favorite recipes collected from hundred of moms
come with an organized, aisle by aisle grocery list
are for 4 to 6 people
are based on the current week sales at your grocery
are priced at approximately $75 per week
Two person plans average $35 total per week

Each of the meal plans is based on the current sales at the grocery stores that e-mealz has available, which include Kroger, Aldi, Publix, Ralphs, and Wal-Mart. There is the option of choosing a meal plan for two, for a family of 4-6, those on a low-fat diet, a low-carb diet, a gluten-free, vegetarian, or for those following a portion control system, such as Weight Watchers®.

e-mealz was created by mom of four Jane DeLaney. She created e-mealz to not only help families enjoy delicious meals at home, but to do it on a budget. The goals set forth by e-mealz are as follows:

Goal #1
Spending time with your family

Goal #2
Save time and money

Goal #3
Serve delicious food

Goal #4
Save yourself from multiple and last minute trips to the grocery store

Goal #5
Stare at your children across from the dinner table rather than into the pantry looking for a dinner idea

Goal #6
Lose weight without preparing separate meals for the family

E-mealz is meant to save you time, and money while enjoying family dinners together.

This program is very simple. You choose a plan, based on over 20 available menu plans, family size, and dietary restrictions. Each week, you log in, and are able to save and print a plan of dinners for 7 days or 5 days depending on your family size. You take your list to the grocery store, shop for the week, then cook and enjoy meals with your family all week long. Click HERE to see a sample menu plan. More sample plans are available on the website.

My Thoughts:

Although I absolutely LOVE the concept of e-mealz, it just was not for me, and I’ll explain why. I AM already a menu-planning mama. I plan meals for my family in advance each week before heading out to the grocery store. I create my list in a similar way to e-mealz, based on the sales in my store for that week. Unfortunately, I am in the northeast, and the only stores that e-mealz offers besides Wal-Mart are not in my area. So, even though I was able to choose the “Any Store” option family meal plan, it had no idea which store I was shopping in, and did not match up with my store circular that week. Yes, the Wal-Mart menu plans did include prices when I looked at the samples, but again, I am in the northeast, and prices differ greatly here from the rest of the country. I tend to do most of my grocery shopping at Shop-Rite, a large grocery chain here in the northeast. I shop based on their sales each week. So the “budget” part of the plan just didn’t work for me. Another problem I have is picky eaters! Yes, I know I should encourage my picky eaters to try new meals, but when my husband is one of those picky eaters, it makes it difficult to do some convincing. There were a couple of meals included that I though my family would accept so I gave those a try. One of those was Italian Subs with pickles and chips from the “Any Store Meal Plan”. We enjoy subs, and this one was no exception. Many of the meals included sounded delicious to me, the only non-picky eater in the family! I plan to try more of these soon, on my own. Maybe I can convince my family to at least give them a try too, because many of them sound so good! Another thing that made it difficult for me to use this program was that I was only allowed to change my meal plan one time during the 3-month period. So, if I didn’t like the plan I chose, I would have to wait until my next 3-month period to change it. (I received a 3-month trial of e-mealz for my review.) I did change it recently to the “Portion Control Family Plan” because I am a Weight Watchers® Member and we are trying to eat healthier as a family. The Portion Control plan includes the points for each part of the meal which is beneficial to anyone who is on Weight Watchers®.

This is a fantastic program for someone who does not have the time to meal-plan, and has a family that is not picky about trying out new recipes. And, even though it didn’t work for my family, that in no way means it won’t work for yours. If you are interested, go and check out some sample menus from the website to get a better idea of how this product will work for you.

But, don’t just take my word for it. Please be sure to read my Crewmates thoughts on this product by visiting The TOS Crew Page for e-mealz.

Jodi Disclosure: *My honest review and opinion written in this post is entirely my own. This product was provided to me for free in exchange for my review as a member of the 2011-2012 The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew. I was not further compensated in exchange for this review, other than receiving a free product.*

Always IceCream ~ TOS Review

noreply@blogger.com (Jodi) — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 13:00:00 +0000

Always IceCream is a “fun, educational site for 7-12 year old girls” created by Swenja and Johannes Ziegler, parents of five children.
Always IceCream is a pastel-colored, very girly online website that provides educational opportunities of learning through play. Girls practice a wide variety of academic and practical skills while “playing” games and earning “$coops” along the way. $coops is the name of Always IceCream’s online currency that can be used to take care of online pets in “PetWorld” and decorate homes in “MiniWorld”. Special achievements are recognized and awarded through medals and special awards. Weekly email progress reports are also available to parents.

Always IceCream motivates girls to practice skills such as:

Math
Typing
English
Geography
Science
The Arts

There is a “real world friends”/chat function that is available with parental consent. Before any girls can chat with each other, they still need to exchange their secret “friendship codes” outside of the platform in order to provide that they are real-life friends. That helps to keep the girls from chatting with strangers. Parents have many options within the site, including the ability to enable or disable the community features and also customize the educational content that is presented. Parents can also award their girls with $coops for real-life tasks, such as doing chores, or practicing an instrument.
If a parent allows the community features, girls are given more opportunities to interact with each other, such as buying each other’s artwork or babysit a pet for a friend. Content on Always IceCream is subject to moderation, and contains no advertising, and is blocked to search engines. The site is certified by Privo to protect your child’s privacy.
Some screenshots of the program to share:
Learning about the United States:

Learning to type:

And a screenshot of a pet purchased with $coops:

My nine year old daughter was the one to try out Always IceCream. She enjoyed the educational games, and the idea of earning $coops to make virtual purchases. I think this would be a great workbox filler activity for her to use. I like how it is exclusive to girls, and girly in nature. It truly is appealing, both visually and content-wise to my little girl.
Always IceCream is available for $4.99 per month or $29.99 per year. A lifetime membership is available for $99.99. There is also a free trial HERE.
To learn more about this product, please visit the website. To read what my Crewmates and their girls thought of this product, please visit The TOS Crew Page for Always IceCream.
Jodi
Disclosure: *My honest review and opinion written in this post is entirely my own. This product was provided to me for free in exchange for my review as a member of the 2011-2012 The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew. I was not further compensated in exchange for this review, other than receiving a free product.*

Professor in a Box–Principles of Marketing ~ TOS Review

noreply@blogger.com (Jodi) — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 13:00:00 +0000

High School at home can be….well…. kind of scary. There are so many requirements to fill, and I’m not afraid to admit that some are way beyond my teaching level. One of them is Marketing. In my home state of New Jersey, public school graduates are required to have at least one semester of a “financial/economic” type course. And, since we follow those guidelines for our homeschool, I’ve been wondering how in the world I’m going to teach a marketing course to my high school student. Thanks to the TOS Crew, along came Principles of Marketing from Professor in a Box.

Principles of Marketing is a marketing course for anyone interested in learning about marketing. And, it’s not just for homeschoolers either. Anyone with basic reading skills can learn something from this course, including small business owners, aspiring entrepreneurs, college business students, in addition to homeschool high school students preparing for the CLEP exam. The course itself is challenging, and similar to the first marketing course you would take in a university or college school of business.

This CD-ROM course is taught by Dr. Julie Pirsch, Ph.D., an Associate Professor in the Marketing Department in the Villanova School of Business at nearby Villanova University in Pennsylvania.

You can read more about Dr. Pirsch HERE.

The Objectives of the course are as follows:

Familiarize students with basic marketing concepts and terms
Review global economic, social, and other environmental forces affecting marketing a product or service
Describe and evaluate the way products and services (both business-to-consumer and consumer-to-business) move into consumption channels, domestically and internationally
Explore the social and ethical aspects of marketing

This course teaches all of this using relevant, real-world examples.

One of the great things about this course is that there are no prerequisites – any high school level student or above with basic reading skills should be able to handle this course.

There are 19 chapters that include:

Flash lectures using lecture slides
Lecture slides in a printer-friendly format
Key terms and concepts
Online resources
Chapter quiz and solutions

This is a CD-ROM, computer-based course. No textbook required. All of the content needed to complete this course is included in the Flash lecture slides and in the brief Key Concepts and Terms file for each chapter. There are 28 lessons and 3 exams. The average lesson time takes 30 minutes to view the lecture, plus 15-20 minutes to take the chapter quiz.

There is a lesson plan .PDF file that can be printed to help plan a lesson schedule. I really liked how pleasant Dr. Pirsch’s voice was to listen to while viewing the slides. That is very important to me, because if I am going to use a program on the computer, the voice has to be pleasant, and the presentation must be organized and precise. I found that to be the case with this product, and I was pleased.

Since my high school student is not ready to use this course, and I wanted to preview it before giving it to her, I viewed this program myself for my review. I do believe that this course will easy for my high school student to use. I did not find that it was too easy or too difficult, but just right for anyone high school age or above who desires to learn about marketing. Dr. Pirsch doesn’t just read the statements in the slides, but she teaches and elaborates on the topics, giving examples, and explaining the subject topic so clearly. At the end of the lesson is a summary of what was taught in the chapter that was just completed, and what you should have learned. The great thing about using a CD-ROM course is that you can watch and listen to a topic again for a better understanding, if you need to. No need to worry about missing anything when you can pause and rewind. The quiz was a good test of what was taught in the chapter, offering true or false and multiple choice questions. Once the test is completed, there is an option to review the answers, both correct and incorrect. A passing or failing grade as well as the number of total questions and correct answers is also given at the end of the quiz, plus a percentage score.

I feel that this product will work well to fit my high school student’s financial/economic requirement for graduation. I think it is a great option for not only homeschoolers, but anyone who wants to start a small-business and take an at-home marketing course.

If you’d like to see a sample chapter, please click HERE.

Professor in a Box also offers other courses on CD-ROM, including Financial Accounting, Financial Accounting Study Guide, and Accounting and Money Skills. You can learn more about those HERE.

Professor in a Box, Principles of Marketing can be purchased from the website for $119.99. There is a Full Money Back Guarantee with this product. Please visit the website to learn more about this and other products from Professor in a Box.

Don’t just take my word for it, be sure to visit the TOS Crew Page for Professor in a Box Principles of Marketing to see what my Crewmates thought of this product.

Jodi

Scruble Cube ~ TOS Review

noreply@blogger.com (Jodi) — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 12:06:00 +0000

“Scrabble in a Cube, Mom”! That’s how my nine year old described Scruble Cube to me when I asked her what she thought of the new toy we were reviewing for the TOS Crew. She was so excited to receive a new toy/game for us to play. Games and toys are a big hit for our family, and Scruble Cube is no exception.

Scruble Cube is a 3-D Word Game created into a 7cm cube that has letters on tiles with number scores on them, as well as cubes with letter score and word score values similar to a Scrabble game. You move and twist the faces of the cube just the way you would a Rubik’s Cube. If you can spell, you can play! There are so many different combinations of letters that can be combined to form words. It comes with an instruction sheet, a quick getting started guide, an hourglass sand timer and a score sheet pad to keep track of your score.

This toy/game whichever you’d like to call it could keep one busy for quite some time. It’s just the right size for kids (and adults!) to manipulate in their hands and create all kinds of words. There are 96 letters and each of those letters has a point value. You can also up your points value with the 2x and 3x score cubes.

This toy is fun, and educational to boot. What better way to work on spelling and vocabulary than playing Scruble Cube?! This way is much more fun – just ask my kids! We’ve used Scrabble in the same way in the past to help teach spelling and vocabulary. The great thing about Scruble Cube is that anyone ages 8 and up can play this on their own, and it’s one piece! I can put it in the workboxes for the kids, or we can take it in the car. It can be played anytime and anywhere. If my kids are “bored” – here you go! Just hand over the Scruble Cube, and it should keep them busy for quite a while. There are so many different letter and word combinations to try for many skill levels. There are over 7,401 septillion possible configurations! We can take turns, trying to get a high score together as a team, or we can have a little competition and see who can get the highest score. Or one can even can also have her own personal challenge and play on her own, keeping up with her score. There are so many variations of play that we can create that work for our family. If you run out of score pad sheets, you can download and print more from the Scruble Cube website. Lose your instructions? They are available there too.

The academic skills that Scruble Cube help to develop are:

Mathematics Trial & Error
Spelling
Vowel Awareness
Word Building with Rhymes
Math Facts
Research Skills
Vocabulary Development

The life skills that Scruble Cube help to develop are:

Team Work
Sportsmanship/Competition
Problem Solving Skills
Oral Communications
Strategic Thinking
Higher Level Thinking

Scruble Cube also offers FREE Downloads to educational plans to go along with this product for Math, Spelling, Word Logic, the Periodic Table, and more.

This product has so many educational features, but the best part about it is that when my kids are playing, they are having so much fun, they don’t even realize how much they are learning! It’s game, it’s a toy – wait! It’s both, because it is so much fun!

Scruble Cube has received the following awards:

Scruble Cube is available for purchase from the Scruble Cube website for $24.95. The set includes one cube, with 96 individually rotating letters, a sand timer, score pad, and instructions.

To learn more, please visit the website. To read what my Crewmates thought of Scruble Cube, please visit the TOS Crew page for Scruble Cube.

Jodi

Back in the swing of it….

noreply@blogger.com (Jodi) — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 15:03:00 +0000

Wow! It’s great to be back to school, and to be starting up the TOS Blog Cruise again. As a third year member, and assistant to our lovely Crew Captain Heidi, I’m once again running the TOS Blog Cruise – a bi-weekly blog carnival just for Crew members, where we share our homeschool experience, and sometimes even our own questions about homeschooling on our blogs. I hope you’ll sit back, grab some tea or coffee, or whatever you like, and “cruise” with us to learn, inspire, and share your own homeschooling experience and advice by leaving comments for each of the blog writers.
If this is your first time here at The Homeschool Desk, please let me introduce myself. My name is Jodi, and I’m married to the man of my dreams – David - for almost 17 years. We have three bright children, whom I refer to on my blog as Miss M, Baseball Boy, and The Princess. We are currently in our 7th year of homeschooling, although sometimes it feels like our first! We learn and change as we go, that’s for sure! We’ve lived in both New Jersey and in Arkansas and have traveled a lot with David for his job. We have changed our homeschool style often over the years, from a literature approach, to unit studies, to workbooks, and more. We go with the flow and adjust as needed. I work part-time from home for The Old Schoolhouse magazine on several projects, including the TOS Homeschool Crew, where I also participate as a reviewer, and The Curiosity Files – unit studies on odd topics, and The Schoolhouse Planners – the biggest, best School and Home Planners out there, in my opinion, at least!

Now that you know a little bit about me, I’d love to share my thoughts on this week’s topic:

This week’s Blog Cruise topic is Homeschooling Goals that we have for the year. Boy, where to start with that one. In the beginning of every year, I always have grand plans for how I would like to see our school year play out. Some of them we follow through on, some of them get carried over into the next year’s list of goals. This year, though…I’m keeping it simple. There’s one large goal, with many sub-goals to go with that. The main goal may surprise you, because it’s so simple, yet so important to our survival and success in our homeschool. The main goal I have for our school year is….

Routine

Routine. That’s it. Simple enough, right? I mean, who doesn’t already have that anyway? Well, we don’t. At least we haven’t for over a year now. You see, at the beginning of the 2010-2011 school year, we were traveling with my husband’s job, and every day was different. Some days we were home, some days we were on the road, some days we were in a suite overnight. Sometimes this was all in the same week! Then, we took a break and we were in Arkansas for a couple of months this winter. After that, we returned to New Jersey, and we have been staying with family since then. Living in two rooms together, trying to get as much schoolwork as physically possible while sharing a home with my dad and stepmom. Trying to complete all of our schoolwork in a routinely, timely fashion was very difficult last year. Nothing stayed the same long enough for us to have a routine like we did when we lived in one place for the entire school year, in our own home with all of our homeschool supplies and resources in one place, easy to find. Not like this past year, where we had storage containers to “contain” the endless amount of school books, supplies, and more. Unfortunately, we’ve had to start another school year, still living with my parents. Not what I had planned, but God knows what He is doing, so we just go with it. Yet, we still don’t quite have the routine down. Thankfully, we will be moving into our own home in just three more weeks, if all goes well from here on out. Then, my big plans for routine can take place. My plans? Well, here they are, in a nutshell – just what I feel we need to have routine in our homeschool again

Workboxes – we did not use workboxes last year, as traveling did not quite make it ideal for the use of this wonderful tool that has worked so well for us us years past

My Planner and the Kids’ Planners – yep, The Schoolhouse Planners that I helped to create. I have always used these in years past, but my knowledge of the usefulness of them now has helped me to use more of the forms provided, and much more efficiently. Already, my schedules and record-keeping are helping to make our school year more productive and efficient. You can read more about the Planners and covers I created for me and my kids here.

Setting up an area for school, and a plan for places my kids can work – I’m already figuring out where the kids can efficiently work without irritating each other in our new house. We haven’t been home for so long, that once we are again in our own home, I know that will help so much to fall back into our school routine.

Travel plans – occasionally, my husband will still be working away from home, and we will most likely stay with him now and then when he cannot be home. However, this time I’m planning on being more prepared, using both my Planner mentioned above, and workboxes with handles that travel well like this.

Organization of books and supplies – I am planning to set up an easy way for me and my kids to find the resources we need, without being overwhelmed by the amount of homeschool stuff that we have. I’ll be storing away what we don’t use, and only leaving out what we are using as well as review items for the TOS Crew.

But, most important of all, I’m going to get us back into our routine with God’s help through prayer. Because…. “For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13 and because without Him…I don’t really accomplish very much.

Until we are in our own home again, we’re making do with the situation we’re in, but we are really looking forward to being in our own home soon, and getting back to normal. It’s been too long. And, we’re ready. Bring it on School Year 2011-2012!

What about you? Do you have any specific goals for this school year? Please share them in the comments, I’d love to hear from you!

Jodi

Disclosure: This post includes affiliate links.

Aletheia Writing Magazine ~ TOS Review

noreply@blogger.com (Jodi) — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 13:45:00 +0000

I have loved to write since I was a young girl. Stories, poems, school paper articles, and more. Any chance to write is a chance to express myself. These days, I blog or write articles for homeschool publications. It is so wonderful to write and be published. I think it’s important, especially for avid writers to have an outlet for their craft where they can share their work with others. And, I think it’s especially important for teens who are called to creativity to have an outlet to share their works with others.

Aletheia Writing Magazine is a Christian magazine that does just that. It is for teens ages thirteen to nineteen. It is a quarterly publication where teens can submit their works, such as written stories, poems, articles, book reviews, or artistic expressions such as drawings, photography and more.

I received the Fall 2011 issue of Aletheia Writing Magazine, as well as access to the Summer 2011 digital issue online. This is a Christian publication that gives students a place to creatively express themselves through their faith and gives them the opportunity to be published. Many of the contributors to the magazine are homeschoolers. The publishers are homeschool parents, who understand how important it is for homeschooled children to be given the opportunity to not only be creative, but to have a place to share their creativity with others. This gives homeschoolers a great opportunity to share their faith and artistic expressions with other spiritually minded Christian teens.

Each issue of Aletheia Writing Magazine includes not only the literary and artistic expressions of Christian teens, but also includes additional features:

Writer’s Challenge
Featured Contributor
Book Review
Glory to God for the Beauty of Nature
Ancient Ink
Interview or other feature for edification and enjoyment

I hate to admit that much to my disappointment, my teen daughter is not a writer, nor is she fond of the writing process, so it was difficult for me to share this magazine with her, as it did not interest her in any way. I encouraged her to read and look through it, and tell me her thoughts. She stated that she enjoyed the nature photos, but that the articles and stories held little interest for her. Unfortunately, it was not eh style of writing that interested her. I read some of the magazine myself for my review, and I found the articles to be well written by the teens that contributed. I enjoyed the artist sections too, especially “Into the Artist’s Studio with Joe Goode”. I enjoyed the Glory to God section of nature photographs, and I liked how this magazine had a little bit of everything, including stories, a book review, artwork, photography and poetry. It was diverse, and interesting to me, the writer in the family.

I know that when I was a teen, I would have loved to have had something like this to submit my work to be published. And, to read what other teens had to write and share as well. Aletheia offers Christian teens a great outlet here for their literary and artistic works. And, even though this wasn’t good for my teen, that is no indication of the quality of the publication itself, and I’m sure that there are plenty of other teens out there who would disagree with my daughter after viewing the magazine for themselves. My youngest child, who is now only nine years of age, will appreciate this magazine when she is a bit older. She is my writer, and my artist. She loves to express herself through stories and artwork. I am hoping that Aletheia will continue to be around for years to come, as I know this will be something that she will enjoy reading and submitting her own works to someday. Although this magazine is geared toward teens ages 13-19, as well all know, age and maturity level factor in together when homeschooling, and this product may be able to be used successfully with other ages close to that range. Maybe someday in the future, my youngest daughter will be interested in reading and contributing to Aletheia.

You can view a sample of the magazine HERE.

Aletheia is published quarterly. A one year, 40 page color subscription can be purchased for $26. You can learn more about this product by visiting the website. Be sure to read my Crewmates’ thoughts on this product by visiting The TOS Crew Page for Aletheia.

Jodi

Tri-Cross Games ~ TOS Review

noreply@blogger.com (Jodi) — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 18:42:00 +0000

Yes! A game that is so much fun, we have been playing it over, and over, and over…….need I say more? Seriously though, once we got the hang of Tri-Cross by Games for Competitors, we really enjoy playing it with one another. It’s kind of like a cross between checkers and chess – which I could never quite comprehend, much to the dismay of my 11 year old. But, this game is so much fun and great for all ages. And, in my opinion…way better than chess, because I can play it with all of my kids and we understand what we’re doing. We’ve been playing it, sometimes two of us, sometimes more of us, but our family ranges from 9 to 40-something, and we all have as much fun as the other trying to beat our opponents at Tri-Cross. And, now my 11 year old is pleased that I can play a game with him that is more exciting than checkers!

First, let me say thank goodness that this game came with an instructional CD-ROM. For whatever reason, I could not comprehend the written directions, but being the visual person I am, I was able to view the CD_ROM with my son, and see how to play. What a great idea – to include a visual instruction CD.

For my review, I received the Standard Edition, as well as the Eco-Edition, both shown above.

The Standard Edition is very nice, and comes in a sturdy box with all of the game pieces and a place for the game board. The Eco-Edition is just like the standard edition board game but is more environmentally friendly by replacing the cardboard box with an organic cotton drawstring bag, the game board is an organic cotton cloth board, and it is printed with non-toxic soy-based inks. It’s also great for games on the go, since there isn’t a box to tote around.S

Our family really liked this game because it’s easy and quick to set up, as well as clean-up. It’s fun, and can be pretty fast-paced, as much as you and your components like it to be. There’s plenty of strategy and logic involved. This game helps to develop skills like logical thinking, cause and effect, prediction, interpreting outcomes, abstract thinking, memory, and visualization. The more we played it, the more I noticed that my children were learning and using their minds to strategize and plan their way to a win! My youngest 9 year old daughter won several games in a row once she caught on to the hang of it all! My children have a competitive nature, and these games move pretty quickly, so we didn’t mind playing several times in a row, which gave us all plenty of chances at winning! I feel this is very important when you have kids that are as competitive as mine are! If you have competitive kids, than you know what I mean. But, even if you don’t, this game is still a lot of fun to play together.

The only negative I found with this game was that the written instructions were very confusing to me. But, then I remembered that I had the CD! Thank goodness for the CD. It was short and sweet, and explained very well how the game is played. When you play with two players, the game is played differently than when you play with four. You can also play in teams! I also found that there are videos on the website that demonstrate how the game is played for beginners and advanced. You can view one of the videos below:

Tri-Cross Tutorial Beginner

Tri-Cross has proved itself to be a fun, family game for us all. We will continue to enjoy playing it for years to come, I’m sure. And, I know the kid will have fun playing this with friends too.

This game is available for $24.95 for the standard edition, $35.95 for the wood edition, and and $19.95 for the Eco-Edition. It is recommended for ages 10 to adult with five variations of play for two to four players. This product has won several awards, including the Dr. Toy 2009 Best Green Product, as well as Creative Child Magazine’s Creative Toy Awards 2008 game of the year. If you’d like to learn more about this game and the different versions for sale, please visit the Games for Competitors website. If you’d like to read my crewmates’ reviews of this product, please visit the TOS Crew page for Tri-Cross Games.

Jodi

Thankful

noreply@blogger.com (Jodi) — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 18:21:00 +0000

Today is the first day of school for many kids here in Jersey. As the shelves are cleared right down to the last pack of pencils at Wal-Mart, and the kids in the neighborhood are out at the bus stop at o’dark thirty…I am thankful.

Thankful that I don’t have to wake my kids up at the crack of dawn and nag them all morning to get ready so they don’t miss the bus. (Been there, done that years ago, never going back!)

Thankful that I can have that early morning time for my devotions and time for myself to check email, work a little bit, and just enjoy the quiet time before the kids wake up.

Thankful that I get to see their precious faces each and every day, all day long. See their photos over there in my sidebar? Who wouldn’t want to spend the day with those sweet, smiling faces, huh?

Thankful that when they learn something new, I’m learning too, and I get to be there for those moments. Like the other day, when my son was explaining something about the human body to me and Big D. I asked him how he knew what he had just told us, and he replied, “I learned it in school”. Oh, wait a minute! That means I taught you! Now, I do remember that discussion! So, he was listening! Seriously, though, there are days when that bus looks pretty good to me…homeschooling isn’t for everyone, nor is it for the faint of heart or weak-minded. It can wear you down and burn you out, and take every ounce of energy you may possibly have left and drain it from your being. It takes a lot of stamina, persistence, and perseverance to teach your own children. And, I don’t always possess those qualities every day, or even at the same time. After all, I am only human. And, that human part understands why it is not for everyone. I have more non-homeschooling friends than I do homeschooling friends these days and I respect their choice to send their kids to school, while they respect our family’s decision to teach our children at home. After all, many years ago, I was in their shoes, and never saw myself in the future as a homeschool mom.

One thing I do know is this: I wouldn’t change a thing. I wouldn’t change the way that we came into being a homeschool family, after a few years in public school; after all, that was God’s plan. Who’s to argue with that? I wouldn’t change the past six years of being home with my children teaching them and being with them every day. I have a relationship with my15 year old teenage daughter that most moms would envy; an 11 year old son, who even though he resists school often, like most boys, is really listening and remembering what I am teaching him years later; and a 9 year old little girl who has never set foot in a classroom, and still thinks that learning and school are fun and are to be enjoyed to the fullest.

Homeschooling has enriched our lives, and I’m not just talking about my kids, but mine too. I have grown closer in my relationship with Christ as a result of needing guidance from the One who led me to homeschooling in the first place. Thank you Lord! We have a close family relationship, and Big D and I are very involved with our kids. Even though they do have outside interests and friends, our family bond is strong, which I credit to the years that we’ve spent at home teaching them. Time that would have been much shorter had I just “put them on the bus”. I am thankful for this time that God has given me with my children, and I intend to enjoy every single minute of it.

Let the school year begin!

Jodi

Photo Credit: Wikipedia Commons

Griddly Games–Nature Nuts ~ TOS Review

noreply@blogger.com (Jodi) — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 14:00:00 +0000

Games are so much fun! My kids and I really enjoyed receiving Wise Alec Nature Nuts Travel Game & Expansion Set from Griddly Games. We have played this many times since it arrived. I love trivia games, and the great thing about this one, is that the topics are informative, and educational. The more you play, the more my kids are learning and remembering. Nature Nuts includes cards with 300 questions to test your knowledge of plants, animals, and the earth. There are also some fun “Wise Alec” cards with tongue twisters, brainteasers, and different exercises to perform, like “make a fish face” or “walk like a penguin”. We had a lot of fun with those cards! This game comes in a nice, sturdy box and 4 sets of cards, plus a die to roll to see which card your opponent picks up to read to you. And, simple instructions are included on the inside cover of the box, so you don’t have to worry about losing them!

This game is for ages 8 and up and can be played with 2-6 players. Each of the plant, animal, and earth cards have two levels to choose from, with different points values. For example, there is a 3 point question and a 7 point question. The player being asked the question gets to choose which point value they would like, and if she answers correctly, then she will receive that amount of points. Adjustments can be made for different age ranges. Sometimes I found even the 3-point questions a little hard to answer. This game does include some easy, and some challenging questions, that may be difficult for younger children to answer. When that happened, I just offered hints to help out my younger kids.

The object of the game is to get the most points based on a limit you select. There are several variations of the game that you can play also when playing with older and younger siblings, and parents too. These suggestions are listed on the inside cover below the game instructions. Or feel free to come up with your own! There are many ways to play this game, and because it’s a travel game, it travels really well, and would work well in the car on a long trip with the kids, or to take to a friend’s house or on vacation with you! This is the travel expansion set which can be used on its own or added to the Wise Alec Family Trivia Game which can be found here.

Here is a YouTube video of how the game is played:

Nature Nuts Travel Game and Expansion Set by Griddly Games

Wise Alec Nature Nuts Travel Game & Expansion Set can be purchased on from retailers listed here. Current pricing on Amazon.com is $14.99.

There are also many other games available from Griddly Games, such as Civilize This which some TOS Crew members reviewed. Be sure to check out their website to see all of the games they have to offer. To read what my Crewmates thought of the products they received, please visit the TOS Crew Page for Griddly Games.

Jodi