What Am I? A New Reader from All About Spelling

Earlier this year, the Homeschool Crew reviewed a reader from the same folks who do the All About Spelling program.  That reader was the level 1 reader.  Recently, we had the opportunity to review the All About Reading Level 2 reader as well.  This one is called What Am I?  a collection of short stories. 

I will admit that I liked the first reader better than this one, but there were some good things about this reader too.  I'll give you my thoughts, both positive and negative.  On the negative side, several of the stories in this reader were rather silly.  I don't mind fictional stories at all, but I'm not a big fan of silly stories.  I occasionally come across a silly story or poem that I like, but not very often.  Of course some homeschooling moms of reluctant readers may actually prefer a reader like this one because of the silly stories included.  I know that many children, especially younger ones, absolutely love funny, silly stories, so this could be a motivator for them. 

There are several stories in this reader that are not silly and are more true-to-life stories.  There are others included that teach a good moral or lesson.  Almost all of the stories include one or more animals--which almost always appeals to children.

I also like the fact that this reader includes some poems and a "What Am I?" section.  In the "What Am I?" section, there are clues for the child to read.  Then he or she tries to figure out what is being described.  I think most children would really enjoy this part of the reader.  I also completely enjoyed the poems section.

And, like the first reader, the illustrations are just beautiful!  They look like pencil sketches and are not done in color.  I actually prefer these lovely illustrations much more than I prefer many full-color illustrations, though.  I have always enjoyed drawing, but I don't have much time for it any more.  Being an artist at heart, though, I find the illustrations absolutely wonderful.  In fact, although my younger daughter reads well above the level of this book, she completely enjoys looking at the artwork in it.

I think in spite of the silly stories included in this reader, I would recommend it.  I really like the All About Spelling program, (You can read my review of All About Spelling Level 1 here at my "old" blog.) and I think many children would be very encouraged by using this reader along with the spelling program.  Beginning readers love books that they can read by themselves.

If you'd like more information about  All About Spelling, the Level 1 Beehive Reader, or the level 2 What Am I? reader  just click on them here.  This reader sells for   $19.95 and can be purchased  here.              . 


NOTE:  I received this book free in exchange for writing this review.  The opinions expressed in this review are my own. 

A New Little Blessing at My Sister's House!

Since I moved to my new blog, there has been so much going on that I haven't been posting very consistently.  One of the things that happened, though, is definitely worth posting about!  My twin sister had a baby on Monday, April 19.  Of course he is a beautiful little guy!!  His name is Silas, and he was 20" long and weighed 7 lbs 7 oz. 

Since my youngest child is seven years old, it's been a while since I've had a new baby of my own.  It has been absolutely wonderful loving on Silas and snuggling with him.  I love his sweet baby breath and his little baby noises and, well, everything about him.  When each of my three children was born and when each of my two sisters' children was born, it was amazing to find out how much I love those kiddos!  Of course I knew I would love them all, but it's still unbelievable to me how our hearts find the room to add that much more love for each new baby that is born into the family. 

I was blessed to be able to be there at the hospital when Silas was born--which was very exciting for me!  I have two sisters, and when their other children were born, I was keeping the other children so the dads and grandparents could be at the hospital.  This time, I got to be there while someone else kept my kids.  I cannot even describe how I felt when they brought that brand new baby out of the operating room (he had to be delivered by c-section) and showed him to me and his dad.  I thought my heart would burst!  I must have stood at the nursery window and looked at him for hours! 

Below is a picture of Melissa and me with Silas before they went home from the hospital.  I started not to post it because neither Melissa nor I have on any makeup, but it's the only picture I have of the three of us so far, so I decided to post it anyway.  Melissa is on the left, I'm on the right, and the cute little guy in the middle is Silas. 

Here he is (above) with socks over his hands because he kept scratching his face with his long fingernails!  We trimmed them as best we could without making his fingers bleed, but it turned out to be safer and easier to just put the socks over his hands since we didn't think to bring those little "mittens" that are made for that purpose. 

I told a friend that I thought I would just grab Silas and make a run for it so I could take him home to live with me!  After all, since Melissa had a c-section, she can't run very fast right now.  :)  I suppose I will settle for just vising him and my other nieces and nephews, though.  His mommy and daddy and brothers and sister would probably be rather unhappy with me if I took him for my own.  I can understand that.  I am still very thankful for this new little blessing!

Terrestria Chronicles Review

Each TOS Homeschool Crew member received two books from either The Terrestria Chronicles series or from the Tales from Terrestria series.  The two books I received were from The Terrestria Chronicles.  This series needs to be read in order, while the Tales from Terrestria books are stand-alone books and do not necessarily need to be read in order. 

After reading the first book in The Terrestria Chronicles series, I decided to order the rest of the books so I could read them all!  I've mentioned before that everyone in my family loves to read, and I have been completely enjoying reading these books.  I wanted to finish all 7 of them before posting my review, but it's taking me a bit longer than I thought it would to finish them all, so I'm going ahead and posting it now.  I've read about half of them at this point, and I am looking forward to reading the rest.  (I am going to read the entire set as read-alouds with my children probably over the summer since we are already in the middle of another read-aloud series right now.) 

It may sound funny, but I've always loved reading children's books.  And these books, in my opinion, are great for anyone of any age.  Younger children (under age 10 or so) might need to have the books read to them since they may be a little too difficult for most younger children to read alone.  They could easily be used as read-alouds for that age-group, though.  Older children could read them independently.  I might encourage parents to use them as read-alouds even for older children, though, so that the parents and children can discuss what is being read and what lessons are being learned.  In fact, a study guide is available for purchase in order to help ensure that parents and children don't miss out on some of the lessons that are presented in allegory form in these books.  I prefer to read study guides like this one before reading the books aloud to my children.  Then I use the study guide questions and information in discussing the books with them.  That way, it's all done in the form of a conversation and the kids don't feel like I'm "quizzing" them or "testing" them on what we've read together.  My kids feel like it takes the fun out of reading if they will be tested on it later.  Doing it this way allows me to find out what they learned and what they think about the books without them even realizing it!

If you would like to read a short overview and/or an excerpt from each book, you may do that at the Terrestria Chronicles website.  You can also order the books from that website.  They may be purchased for $7.99 each, or all 7 books are sold together for $39.99.  The study guide is also available at that website for $5.99.  If you order the study guide, you need to be sure to go to the website to download the answer key too, since it is not included in the study guide.  If you prefer hardbound books, the hardbound library edition set is available for $73.99.  The hardbound books are only available as a set, though, and not as individual titles. 

I like that these books do not include magic.  I don't like for my children to read books that include magic, but they enjoy fantasy books and books about castles, knights, and dragons.  It's very difficult (almost impossible!) to find this kind of book that does not include magic.  I also like that the main character, Josiah, is just like us--a "real" person who makes mistakes but keeps on trying. 

When I first began reading the books, I have to admit that I got a little irritated when Josiah continued to make mistakes and didn't seem to be learning from them.  Then I realized that he was doing exactly what the rest of us do!  Often in books, the main character makes a mistake, immediately learns his lesson, and then lives happily ever after.  Josiah, though, is a more true-to-life role model for our kids.  Yes, he makes mistakes.  No, he doesn't always immediately learn his lesson and never make the same mistake again.  Sometimes he does make the same mistake again.  He then learns what it was that he did wrong and tries to do better the next time.  It's the same way with us.  I think that this might be encouraging to our children to see that even if we goof up over and over, we don't need to give up.  All they have to do is ask for forgiveness, learn to rely on God for His help the next time, and God will forive them and will help them do better.

I mentioned that the books are allegories.  For that reason, the lessons to be learned from the books are presented in story form and not written out as "this-is-what-you-need-to-learn" lessons.  For example, every time Josiah deviates from the instructions that the King gave to him, he ends up getting in some kind of trouble.  Sometimes Josiah immediately thinks to ask the King for help and gets out of trouble rather quickly.  Other times he depends on his own strength and knowledge to help him get out of trouble, but of course that never works out very well.  Always, though, as soon as Josiah asks the King for forgiveness and direction, the King provides them to him.  In some instances, Josiah doesn't immediately notice the King's answers to him, but he does eventually. 

I find these books to be very readable and entertaining while teaching lessons that our children need to know in real life every day.  I highly recommend them!  I hope you will take the time to go to the website and read the overviews and excerpts from each book.  I did not try to include summaries of the books since there are so many of them and since they are offered on the website.  I wanted to share with you my impressions about the books in this review in order to hopefully help you make a decision about whether you might like to order them for your own family.  I hope you enjoyed this review and, if you choose to buy the books, I hope you and your children enjoy them as much as I am enjoying them right now!

Great Software Tools/Graphics Toolbox Review

If you are a scrapbooker or blogger, you will love Graphics Toolbox! Graphics Toolbox gives you the ability to take yourself (on a bad hair day!) out of the photo but leave in your cute little child. Or what about that family picture you took when your sister was sick, and she is the only family member missing? No problem! You can simply choose another photo of her (and you get to choose if she looks good or bad in it!!) and add her to the family picture.

If you are in business and ever need to make flyers, posters, or brochures, you will love Graphics Toolbox! You can create all sorts of brochures and flyers to advertise your product. You can even match the colors that are currently in use on your website so that everything matches and works together.

If you are a mom who sometimes wants to make birthday invitations or pretty notepaper or cute cards, you will love Graphics Toolbox. You can make personalized birthday invitations, Christmas cards, or even create a pretty background page to use for a family letter or poem or note.

If you are a student who would like to be able to make diagrams or posters, funny or mixed-up photos of your friends, other visual aids for classes, or even illustrations to go with book reports or term papers, you will love Graphics Toolbox. Since you can use images from the internet with Graphics Toolbox, there are endless possible subjects available to you.

The photograph at the top of this post is the very first "project" that I made using Graphics Toolbox. Look at the two photos below and see if you can find the changes that I made to the one above.

In case you don't like to guess, I'll tell you what I did. First, I took out the date that was stamped on the picture. I accidentally set the date on the camera as 2009 when the picture was actually taken in 2010, so I wanted to remove that from my final picture. Another change was removing the three snowmen from the outdoor picture and putting them inside the house with Mary Grace. I also gave the "daddy" snowman a nice blue hat and matching blue scarf, the "mommy" snowman a pink scarf and hat, and the "baby" snowman a lovely lime green hat and scarf. Altering the picture was so much fun!


Once I finished the picture, I realized it looked a little bit plain at the top since most of that part of the picture is white. For that reason, I went back later and added a colorful border and ribbons around the outside edges of the photograph to make it prettier. Also, if I had wanted to, I could have added text either somewhere on the picture or above, below, or beside it.

If you want to see examples of some of the other kinds of projects that can be done with Graphics Toolbox, you can take a look at the Graphics Toolbox website. You can also see some projects and reviews by other Crew members at this link.

I know that I have only mentioned a few things that this program can help you do so I will also say that, if you are interested in this product, you really should take a look at some free online training sessions. These training sessions will walk you through the process of creating some of your own projects. They will also show you some more kinds of projects you can create. Paid one-on-one training is also available, but I think you can probably learn what you need to know from the free online training. There is a printable instruction manual as well, so if you are the kind of person who prefers to have a hard copy of the instructions in front of you, that's no problem!

A license for this program costs $149.00. You do have the opportunity, though, to try it out free for 30 days before you decide to buy a license. If I had not received a free license for Graphics Toolbox, I probably would have considered it too expensive to buy. After using the free 30 day trial, though, I think I would have tried my best to get the money together to buy a license!

If you decide to try the free 30 day trial, be sure to watch the online training sessions. The training sessions will save you many hours of trial and error! Since this program is so different from what most of us have used before, the training sessions are, in my opinion, a must.

Wendy


NOTE: I received a free license for Graphics Toolbox in order to use the program and write this review. I did not receive any other compensation for writing the review. The opinions contained here are my own.

Critical Thinking Co. Review

My daughter has always loved workbooks.  From the time she was a tiny little girl barely old enough to sit at the table and hold a pencil, she wanted to do workbook pages.  I know some homeschooling moms who don't prefer to do workbooks with their children, but I don't have a problem with it.  Since my daughter loves workbooks, I think it would be silly not to capitalize on that interest.  The Language Smarts Level C workbook that I received from The Critical Thinking Co. has really been a favorite of hers! 

The workbook is big (which she loves--that means more pages of fun!) and the pages are very colorful and pretty.  I almost hated to let her write on them because they are so pretty!  There are 314 pages in the workbook, and that doesn't include answer pages, either.  The answers are found online, not in the back of the workbook. 

I have been pleasantly surprised with the material in the workbook.  We are using Level C, which is meant for children in second grade.  Because it is a language arts workbook and my second grade daughter is a very advanced reader, I was afraid the workbook would be too easy for her.  Some of the material in the front of the workbook is pretty easy for her like the parts on following directions, the alphabet, and vowels and consonants for example.  As the workbook continues, though, more advanced skills are introduced and taught.

I am really excited to see topics like writing friendly letters; using context clues; identifying the theme, topic, main idea, and conflict in a story; parts of a book; and glossary and dictionary skills (plus many others) included.  These are skills that might not be as much fun to study, but because the workbook pages are so colorful and look so appealing, my daughter thinks they are fun anyway!  I love that!

You can click on this link to see Language Smarts Level C.  Or if you want to take a look at their website and see the other products they offer, click this link: Critical Thinking Co..  Language Smarts Level C sells for $39.99.  They will also soon have available Language Smarts Level D for third grade students which will also sell for $39.99.  My daughter actually wants to keep working on the level C book even if she has to finish it over the summer (since we just received our book in March) so she can do level D next school year.

There were just a couple of things that I would change or improve if I had the chance to do so.  One is that I would make it clear to buyers that the answer guide is found online.  I looked and didn't see anywhere in the book where it is explained that the answer guide is online.  I'm sure there are probably some people who have bought the book and didn't know the answers could be found online or where to find them.  I think it would be a great idea to print somewhere in the book (perhaps in the "Teaching Suggestions" secion) the link to the answer guide or to at least mention that the answer guide can be found online at the Critical Thinking Co. website.

The other thing I would change is a few of the questions/actvities that were a little bit confusing to my daughter.  For example, on one of the activities she was supposed to practice long vowels.  The long u sound was represented by a man wearing a uniform.  There was an arrow pointing to the man, but my daughter thought it was pointing to the man's arm.  It might have made more sense to her to just see a picture of a uniform instead of a man wearing a uniform with the arrow pointing to his uniform jacket.  This was a very minor problem though, and since I was there to help her, I pointed out what she needed to understand and it wasn't a big problem. 

I can definitely recommend this to other moms who want a fun and interesting way to introduce their young elementary students to language arts skills!  I had been considering doing a more formal English grammar program with my daughter for 3rd grade, but since she is enjoying the level C book so much this year, I think we will continue with the level D book next year instead.  I don't see any reason why we should resort to something less colorful and and fun if we can do colorful and fun instead and can learn just as much!

NOTE:  I received this workbook for the purpose of using it and writing this review.  I did not receive any other compensation.  The opinions expressed in this review are my own. 

Family Mint Review

                                               

Do your children know how to manage their money?  I know my kids have a terrible time trying to save money and trying to spend it wisely when they are allowed to spend some.  Growing up, I never thought much about learning to manage my money.  My parents must not have thought much about teaching me to manage it either because I don't remember ever having a conversation with them about the importance of learning to save and spend wisely.  I'm sure they didn't purposely choose not to teach me to wisely handle my money.  I just don't think they ever thought about the need to teach me to handle money at all. 

A couple of years ago, I started giving my children a certain amount of money each day upon completion of their chores for that day.  I know some parents don't like to "pay" their children for doing regular chores around the house, and that's not what I meant to do either.  My aim was (and is) to allow my children to practice "going to work" and collecting their pay for it.  Once they got used to collecting their money and had saved up even a few dollars, they wanted to immediately go to the store and spend it.  All of it! 

I had been attempting to teach my children to save up their money in order to buy larger, more expensive items that they might want, but I had never come up with a really good system.  When I was introduced to Family Mint, I figured it was definitely worth trying out!

One of the best things about the Family Mint website is that it is FREE!  That made me even more certain that I wanted to try it out!  Basically, Family Mint is sort of like an online bank.  A parent (or an older child) can go to the website and set up an account for each child in the family.  Each child's account can be personalized with that child's name and a picture.  There are several icons to choose from, or you can upload your own picture.  We chose the easy route and used icons that were already provided.

After setting up each account, you can decide to have deposits automatically made to each account on a regular basis or to make deposits manually whenever you choose to do so.  If you give your children a weekly allowance, for example, you can set up the account so that the amount of the allowance is deposited each week without your having to remember to go to each child's account to add it.    If you want to put money in each child's account only when certain jobs are done or based on some other criteria, you can go in and add the money whenever your criteria have been met. 

You can also help your children set goals for their money.  My daughter, for example, wants to save her money to buy a Disney Princess Wii game.  The game is about $20.  We were able to create a graph showing how much money she needs to save to buy the game.  Then we made the line on the graph turn pink as she saves toward her goal.  (You can see the blue line on the graph in the photo below.)  I want my kids to have a "savings" category that they aren't allowed to spend.  I can make a "savings" category for each of them and made it a different color than the Wii game category. 

                                                 

Another thing I like about the website is that, if my kids want to request to transfer money from one goal to another, I can either choose to approve it or not before the transfer is allowed to be made.  For example, if my son wants to transfer money from the savings category to the XBox game category, I can approve or deny his request.  There are also options such as matching deposits and paying the child interest (and I get to choose the amount) based on how much money is in the account. 

You can choose to use Family Mint as a teaching/learning tool and not actually use real money to back up the money in the "account," or you can keep the cash somewhere at home or even keep the money in a real bank to withdraw and give to the child once his goal is reached and you are ready to actually give him the money to spend.  That part is up to you.  Whichever way you choose to use the website, though, it could really be a great tool for teaching your children to wisely manage their money.

My children and I have really been enjoying using Family Mint.  I thought my older children would enjoy it, but I didn't realize my 7-year-old is old enough to understand and benefit from its use too.  All of my children are more motivated than ever to save money--especially when they can see their goal line stretching toward the goal they've set.  I like that I don't have to have cash to give them in hand each week when it is payment time.  I don't like to keep a lot of cash because I, like my children, am too tempted to spend it. 

Don't forget that you can go to the Family Mint website to see all of the features that are available and to read the frequently asked questions, etc.  If you would like to read what other Crew members have to say about Family Mint, you can do that   here.

NOTE:  I was asked to use and review Family Mint for the purpose of writing this review for the TOS Homeschool Crew.  I received no compensation for writing this review. 

Math Galaxy Review

Galaxy of Education is a company that produces math computer games for students who are in 1st grade through students who are doing algebra.  Although the TOS Homeschool Crew received downloadable products, the products that are sold on the website are CD-ROMs that sell for $24.95 each (and you get free shipping).  The CDs that are available are:

• Whole Numbers Fun (grades 1-4)
• Fractions Fun (grade 5)
• Decimals, Proportions, & Percents Fun (grade 6)
• Word Problems Fun (elementary & middle school)
• Pre-Algebra Fun
• Algebra Fundamentals
• Whole Numbers Worksheet Generator
• Fractions Worksheet Generator

If you want to see more specific information telling exactly what each CD covers, you can go to http://www.mathgalaxy.com/. 

One thing that I really like about Math Galaxy is that there is no subscription fee!  I like that the CD is purchased one time for one price, and I don't ever have to worry about paying for it again.  I also appreciate that my kids can learn math while playing these games instead of just practicing what they already know.  I think practice programs are just fine, but if the kids can be learning even more while they are playing, that's even better.  I also really like that the graphics are simple, colorful, and not too overwhelming.  My kids tend to get overly excited at times when they play games that are too "hyped-up."  At the same time, they don't want to be bored.  To me, the "retro-style" graphics were just right.  I actually enjoyed them because they remind me of the simple video games that were available when I was younger and video games were first coming out.  (My kids can't believe that I ever actually lived during a time when video games and computers and VCRs and those sorts of things weren't available to "regular" folks in their homes!  But I suppose that's a story for another day.) 

My children, especially my son, love video games of any kind.  While they don't want to be "forced" to play and therefore feel like they are "doing school," they enjoy playing when it is their own idea.   Of  course my children don't play because they are so excited about learning new math skills, but that's ok with me!  If they are willing to play and "accidentally" pick up some skills and information they hadn't previously had, then I call that a success! 

If you are interested in seeing what some other Crew members have to say about Math Galaxy, click here.  If you want to take a look at the website or place an order, you can do that here. 

NOTE:  I received free download of Math Galaxy products for the purpose of using them and writing this review.  I did not receive any other compensation.  The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Slowing Down

Are the rest of you as bad as I am at slowing down and resting or relaxing?  I find it so hard to allow myself some time to just sit and read a book or to go outside and enjoy the weather.  I'm not sure how I came up with my  "anti-relaxation policy," but I sure wish I could get rid of it!  

I think one reason I don't let myself slow down is that there is always so much to be done!  All moms know that there is always cooking, cleaning, laundry, dusting, and so much more to be done at any given time.  Since we homeschool, there is also always school work to be done as well.  I think it is impossible to do enough housework to feel like everything that needs to be done has been done, don't you?  I don't think I've ever gotten to the point where I just looked around and thought, "My goodness!  I can't find one single thing that needs to be done in this house!"  The thought of it makes me laugh! 

Another thing that makes me pass up opportunities to relax is that I feel guilty if I do it!  Because there is always more to be done, I feel like it's wrong of me to relax or take a break instead of keeping on working.  I also think of my husband who is at work all day without the opportunity to stop and take a break if he wants or needs one.  I tell myself that, if I had a work-outside-the-house job I wouldn't be able to take a break whenever I wanted to.  So I just keep on working.

One more reason that I have lately noticed is that, if I do take a break (or attempt to take one), my children all think, "Hey, Mom isn't busy right now!  Maybe she can do _____ for me!"  They are not used to seeing me just stop and sit down for a rest.  If I do so, they are just sure that I can do some project or activity or something else that they want me to do. 

I'm actually not sure that I am doing the right thing by setting such an example for my children.  Even Jesus rested, and here I am teaching my children by example that resting is "wrong."  I don't want to teach my children to be lazy or that working is a bad thing.  I do want them to see that it is sometimes ok to slow down and just enjoy being quiet and still for a little while, though. 

Do you teach your children to take a break too?  Are your children allowed to "interrupt" your resting time, or not?  I would love to hear your ideas for getting a little bit of rest or relaxation when you need it!

Little Women

Have you ever ready the book Little Women?  I hadn't read it until a week or so ago when Mary Grace asked if we could read it together.  Well, I suppose I should say that she and I are reading it right now.  We have read about 11 or 12 chapter so far.  (I think it has about 47 chapters.  It's a pretty long book!) 

Mary Grace became absolutely fascinated with Little Women a couple of years ago when I bought her a set of audio CDs for girls from Focus on the Family Radio Theater.  It was a set that also came with the audios of The Secret Garden and Anne of Green Gables.  

Because she so loved (and still loves) to listen to the CDs, I bought the book when I found it for a great price last year.  I put it in a cabinet to keep for "later" when she would be old enough to understand and enjoy it.  You see, the audio version is dramatized; it's not an actual reading of the book.  I figured that the book would be too difficult for her to understand even though she could understand and enjoy the dramatized version. 

Last week one day she was looking for a book to read (she had finished reading all the books she could get her hands on, and she knew I keep books in that cabinet) so she started searching my "book cabinet."  Of course when she came across Little Women she grabbed it and ran straight to me.  We looked at it together and realized that it would be a bit difficult for her to read to herself, so I agreed to read it to her for now. 

I have been so pleased with how much we are both enjoying the book!  Even at her age, she understands most of what I am reading to her.  (The language in the book is different than what we use now, and some of the meanings of the words have changed or are words we no longer use reguarly.)  In fact, at times, she will "correct" my reading.  "Oh, no Mommy!  Jo didn't say it like that.  She said it like this,"  or "Oh, Mommy!  Remember that Beth is the sweet one.  She wouldn't have said it that way because it would have hurt Meg's feelings." 

I hope I never again make the mistake of assuming she won't be able to understand a book just because of her young age.  And I hope she continues to enjoy all kinds of books that she reads by herself and with me!