Wordless Wednesday: Potential

Action Alert

You can't be too careful about internet safety!  My teens do a good bit of their homeschool work on the computer on a daily basis.  I use my computer to work from home.  My younger daughter loves to play games on the computer.  I worry that my children (or even my husband and I) will come across information and photos that are not appropriate.  And once that kind of website has been viewed (even accidentally), that "picture" stays in the viewer's mind.  There's nothing that can be done to reverse what was already seen.

I was given a Maximum Protection Action Alert account to try out and review.  The "regular" Action Alert account is available to anyone at no charge.  The Maximum Protection account normally costs $29.99.  There are 8 main functions of the Maximum Protection account.  You can see those functions listed below.

I didn't have any trouble downloading the product.  I also didn't notice any problems with my computer after downloading the product.  I installed it on both my laptop (which I use for work and which my younger daughter uses--along with me--for some of her homeschool work) and my son's laptop (which he uses mainly for his homeschool work and occasionally just for fun).  

One of my very favorite features is the ability to see the videos of everything that was shown on the screen of a particular computer.  This has come in quite handy!  One great advantage of this is that it allows me to see what my teens are doing on the computer at any time.  I'm not concerned about my teens going to inappropriate sites on purpose.  I am concerned, though, that they are staying on-task even when I'm not right there to watch over them as they do their work.

For example, one of my teens was supposed to be doing homeschool work, but instead that teen (who shall not be named) was playing games and occasionally checking emails.  Were those harmful activities?  No.  Was my teen supposed to be playing games and checking emails during school time?  No.  Watching the video gave me the ability to let my teen know that, during school time, games and emails are not to be done.  I think it's good for children of all ages to know that they are being supervised by parents who love them.  It helps them decide to make good choices and to resist temptation.

I also love the ability to be able to block specific websites.  Some sites may seem harmless to some folks, but they may be sites that, for one reason or another, I don't want my children to have access to.

  

Another thing I really like is the ability to monitor both sides of chat sessions and emails.  Sometimes it's not that I'm worried that my children will type inappropriate information, but I may be worried that the people they are chatting with or emailing might do so!  I try to closely monitor and make sure my children only email and chat with folks that I know of and approve of, but I still like to be able to double check that the conversations that are going on are innocent. 

 

To be totally honest about this product, I have to mention that I "tested" some sites to find out if Action Alert would let me go to websites that should have been blocked.  Unfortunately, I was able to get to a few sites that definitely should have been blocked.  There were other sites that were blocked by Action Alert.  I think if I had set up the account to block specific words that the sites I typed in would have been blocked.  I think, though, that there are some words that, if typed into the browser, should automatically be blocked whether or not I added them to be specifically blocked. 

The good news is that I have the ability to see the video of the screen, so I would have known if anyone had gone to sites that should have been blocked.  The bad news, though, is that the damage would already have been done because the website would have already been viewed. 

So I suppose I'd say that this product definitely has some good points and some advantages.  It also has some weaknesses that parents need to be aware of if they use it. 

If you'd like to see more reviews of this product, visit www.homeschoolcrew.com.  or go directly to the reviews of Action Alert by clicking here.  

 

Progeny Press Literature Guides

 

 

  

My children and I love to read! We have always loved to read. We enjoy reading books as a family, and I enjoy reading with each of my children one-on-one as well.  My children, of course, enjoy reading books on their own as well.  Sometimes we read books just for fun.  Other times we want to get a little more in-depth.  I've found that Progeny Press study guides are great for those books that we want to dig into a little deeper.  
I received two literature guides from Progeny Press in exchange for using and reviewing the guides.  I chose the guides to go along with The Bronze Bow and The Screwtape Letters.  


I remember reading The Bronze Bow years ago, and I loved it!  For that reason, I thought my son (now age 15) might enjoy reading it and using the study guide as well.  We enjoyed both the book and using the study guide!  I'll give you a little information about the guide, and you can also see a few sample pages here. 


The guide is geared toward students in 6th-8th grades, but most guides like this can be adapted for students a little higher or lower than the "target" age/grade.  The guide begins with a synopsis of the story.  It includes some information about the author too.  I like for my children to know a bit about the authors of the books they read.  I think it helps them to understand that the authors were ordinary people just like we are.  It can also give some insight into the book.  


There are fun activities to do, such as crossword puzzles.  There are optional activities such as research projects, writing poetry, and much more.  And there are plenty of good discussion questions which help the student understand not only what happened but also the deeper meanings behind the events and actions in the story.  One of my favorite things about these study guides is how they include Scripture and allow the student to understand the events from a Biblical perspective. 


The other guide I chose was for The Screwtape Letters.   This book (and therefore this study guide) was totally different from The Bronze Bow, but we enjoyed it just as much.  It too includes questions, activities, optional projects, and in-depth study. This guide is geared toward student from 9th through 12th grades. To take a look at some sample pages, click here.


Each guide is available as a printed and bound booklet, on a CD in .pdf format, or as a .pdf file in an email attachment.  The prices vary from one guide to another and from one format to another.  For example, the bound printed booklet for The Bronze Bow costs $18.99.  The CD is $16.99; the email attachment is $16.99; and the combination CD & booklet are $23.99.


For The Screwtape Letters, the printed and bound booklet costs $21.99; the CD is $18.99; the email attachment is $18.99; and the combination CD & booklet are $27.99.  


I can honestly say that I do recommend these guides to homeschoolers and even Christian schools.  I definitely think there should be time for reading just for fun, but I also think it's very important to go more in-depth at times, and these guides will make it much easier to do that.  They will also make it more fun without causing the parent/teacher to have to come up with activities or to study ahead of time.  As a busy homeschooling mom myself, I realize it's not always possible for me to pre-read and prepare questions and activities ahead of time, and I'm thankful to know that these Progeny Press literature guides are available!  


If you want to read some reviews done by other homeschooling moms for these books and/or other titles as well, you can do that here.  

Traditions for Families

A few years ago when my 9-year-old daughter was probably 3 or 4, I read Lewis Carroll's poem Jabberwocky to her.  For some reason, she loved the lines that say, "Oh frabjous day!  Callooh!  Callay!  He chortled in his joy."  Since then, we've used those lines to express joy when something good happens.  :)  It's kind of a silly thing to do, but it's also our own little "tradition."  


We have other things we do that are just between the two of us too.  I don't even really know how this next one got started or exactly when it got started, but it's been going on for a long time.  Sometimes, for no particular reason, I look at Mary Grace and say, "I like you, Kid!"  Then she says, "I like you too, Mommy!"  


My son is 15, so my traditions with him are a little different.  Several years ago when we built the house that we live in now, we found a sort of dart, but it doesn't have a sharp point on it.  It has a flat end with a magnet attached to it.  Now and then, I find the "dart" and put it someplace in the house (attached to something metal and stuck in a strange place) for Noah to find.  When he finds it, he doesn't say anything.  He just moves it to a different place for me to find.  We like to make the places hard enough to provide a little fun looking for it but not so hard that it's impossible to find it!


Another tradition with my son is to tape a small sign on the wall during the night before his birthday the next day.  I write a little "happy birthday" sign and tape it somewhere in the house.  Then I tape money to the wall all around the sign.  For several years he's wanted mostly money for his birthday, so this is a way to make his birthday a little more fun even though he knows what he's getting.  He never knows where the sign will be or how much money will be taped all around it, but he enjoys waking up and looking for the sign and the money.  (I try to use small bills so he'll have lots of them to pull off the wall!  I also use blue painter's tape so it won't pull the paint off along with the money!  Just FYI.)


With Hannah, my 16-year-old, traditions are sometimes a little different.  Because she is autistic, she doesn't always enjoy "typical" things like her brother and sister do.  So our traditions with her may sound a little strange, but they work for us!  One thing Hannah loves to do is eat chocolate cake!  One year when she was only 5 or 6, she found her birthday cake when nobody else was in the room.  The little sneaky thing knew she had a chance to dig into that cake, so she did!  She got a fork and started eating!  By the time we noticed what she was doing, she had eaten as much cake as she could.  Needless to say the cake looked awful!  (Did I mention that she did this before her birthday party?)  So I guess you can guess what our tradition is with her?  Yep!  She's allowed to dig into her birthday cake with a fork on her birthday.  She loves it.  There are few things that really cause her to be joyful and excited, and this is definitely one tradition that she loves.  It's totally worth it, too!


We have some family traditions too.  One is that we always put up our Christmas tree on the day after Thanksgiving and take it down either on New Year's Day or the day after that.  


Another is Bible reading and story reading in the mornings.  When the kids and I get up to get ready to begin school, we sit together in the living room first.  I read from the Bible to them, then we pray, then I read aloud a book that we all enjoy.  (Right now we're reading the Freddy the Pig books.  They're great!)  


Another tradition that I'm trying to convince my hubby to keep is having him cook dinner on Sunday evenings!  So far that one is kind of sporadic.  :P  


Another tradition is planting sunflowers every summer.  My younger daughter is the one who likes to help me "garden" each summer.  We mainly just plant flowers, herbs, and tomatoes.  Every year she plants some sunflower seeds in tiny little cups.  Once they sprout, she moves them to pots or into the ground.  Some years they grow to be huge!  Other years they don't get very big at all.  (We realized that, for the sunflowers to grow really tall, they have to be in the ground or either in really big pots!)  But planting those sunflower seeds is her own little tradition.


One of my favorite summer traditions is growing mint.  There's nothing better on a hot day here in the South than drinking a big glass of mint tea!  Mint is really easy to grow, and it lives all summer long as long as I keep trimming it and keep it watered.  (But be sure to grow it in a container or it will spread all over your yard or garden!)  Fresh tea made with fresh mint is absolutely gloriously wonderful and refreshing!  


I suppose there are probably other things we say or do that we don't even think of as traditions but that we do on a regular basis.  I think traditions are so important!  And not just during the holidays.  We automatically think of holiday traditions, but I encourage you to keep (or begin) some traditions in your family right now!  


Do you have any special traditions that your or your family observe every year?  Please share them!  

Good Grammar or Good Grief?!

I have a pet peeve.  I can't stand it when homeschoolers (and especially homeschooling moms) use bad grammar.  Why?  I'll tell you.  It's because folks outside of the homeschool "realm" are looking at us (those of us who homeschool) to see if we "measure up."

Because homeschooling is so widespread now, there are lots of people who don't homeschool yet still understand that homeschooling is a great way to educate our children.  They realize that the vast majority of homeschooled students are very well educated, well taken care of in their families, have wonderful social skills, and will grow up to be responsible workers, caring parents, and productive members of society.

On the contrary, though, there are still many non-homeschooling folks who don't "get" homeschooling at all.  They don't realize the many benefits that homeschooling gives our children.  They don't understand that our children are receiving a high-quality, tailor-made education.  They don't understand that most parents who keep their children at home to homeschool are loving, caring parents.  They don't understand that homeschooling develops wonderful social skills in our students as well as the opportunity to socialize with people of all ages and backgrounds.

Are you wondering what all of this has to do with good grammar?  Well, it's my honest opinion that, when we use good grammar, people take us more seriously.  They realize that our children really are learning something.  Our children come across to others as being well-educated.  We come across to others as being educated, responsible, knowledgeable, and capable of teaching our children.

I don't believe that we homeschooling families should have to prove to others that we are doing the right thing for our families, but I still think it's important to well-represent homeschooling families.  It certainly can't hurt anything, and it might help improve others' understanding of homeschooling.

For these reasons, you won't hear my children or me saying things like, "I seen Billy at the grocery store yesterday," or, "I ain't never gonna get this house cleaned up."  We're not perfect, and we do use the occasional colloquialism.  In general, though, we try to use good grammar.

Do you think good grammar is important?  Do you agree that homeschoolers in particular should try to use good grammar?  Or do you think there are other more important ways to well-represent homeschoolers?

The Art of Argument

My son loves to argue.  A lot.  I never really knew what to do with this "skill" or how to turn it into something positive.  I also never really thought about the difference between quarreling and arguing.  I found this quote (which I got from the Classical Academic Press website) that gives a hint about the difference:  "My chief objection to a quarrel," Chesterton wrote, "is that it ends a good argument."

I want my son to use his ability to argue in a positive way.  I want him to use it to defend his faith and to stand up for himself when others try to get him to go along with the crowd to do something he shouldn't do.  I know that God can use his personality and his strengths in a positive way.  Knowing all of this, I was really glad to receive The Art of Argument bundle from Classical Academic Press. 

The Basic Bundle sells for $88.95 and includes The Art of Argument:  An Introduction to the Informal Fallacies, a Teacher's Edition, and an introductory DVD. 

Before I continue, I should tell you that my son and I love logic!  I find studying logic to be lots of fun and very interesting.  And besides that, there is so much wonderful information to be learned--lots of which my son and I might never have even thought to learn if we hadn't done this logic class.  I was never given the opportunity to study logic when I was in school, and I'm so glad that I can provide this opportunity to my children.

I do have a word of warning for you parents, though.  If your children are going to be learning logic and you haven't studied it yourself, you might want to learn along with them like I did!  If you are teaching the class yourself, it won't be a problem.  If your child is older and does his work on his own, though, you'll want to get familiar with what he's learning.  You don't want your child to be "armed" with logical information that you don't have!

This logic bundle from Classical Academic Press has been such a wonderful blessing to my son and to me!  One of our favorite things about it is that it's so entertaining!  There are lots of cartoons, illustrations, and examples throughout the book.  Not only do they help teach the concepts, but they also make learning so much more fun!  We tried a different logic program a couple of years ago, and it was a little bit dry and boring.  My son wasn't so happy about trying out this program because of his past experience with the other logic class.  He quickly realized that this program was so much better than the other one!  He actually enjoyed this one!  And I honestly believe that we retain much more of what we learn when we enjoy learning it.

You may want to visit the Classical Academic Press Facebook page at www.facebook.com/classicalacademicpress.  They also have a Student Support Site at www.headventureland.com. 

If you'd like to hear reviews from other folks who tried out this curriculum, you can do that at The Old Schoolhouse Magazine's Homeschool Crew site. 


NOTE:  I received this logic program for free in exchange for my honest review.  And after using this material, I can tell you that I would definitely be glad to buy it!

Friday Favorite Things

My friend Rachel who is on the Hip Homeschool Moms team with me has a Friday Favorite Things meme. She'll soon be celebrating the one year anniversary of this meme, and she would love for some new folks to stop by!

You can link up with one of your favorite posts or with a list of favorite things. Have fun!

And don't forget to visit Rachel and all of the other team members (including me) over at www.hiphomeschoolmoms.com. We'd love for you to stop by!

Humiliation in a Diaper

Aren't babies adorable?  They look so sweet and innocent and soft and cuddly.  And isn't it amazing how quickly they turn in toddlers?  And we all know that toddlers are adorable and sweet and innocent and cuddly too, right?  You laugh?  You don't believe me?  Why is that?  Because, of course, toddlers are dangerous little creatures who secretly know much more than we give them credit for knowing.  They keep their vast knowledge inside their little heads until they decide they're ready to do something fun like totally humiliate Mommy! 

I say this jokingly, but at the same time I can remember several instances when my children were toddlers and they seemed to be doing their best to embarrass me to the point where I felt like running and hiding!  Here's one example:

When my older daughter was 3 and my son was 2, my daughter attended a preschool language program at a local college.  (She has autism, and a college near us offered language programs to help autistic children learn to communicate.) One day, a day that still clearly stands out in my mind, Noah and I were on the sidewalk of the college walking to the building where we would retrieve Hannah.  A rather chubby college student came walking out of the door.  Beside that door sat a trash can with a bull on it (for the Chicago bulls).  Noah pointed at the trash can (but of course the college student thought he was pointing to her) and shouted, "Mom!  Look at that big fat cow!"  I was so shocked and  humiliated that I didn't even know what to say.  That poor college student was probably traumatized by that incident!  I'm guessing that just because she turned red in the face and quickly stalked off.  We never saw her again......

Another time when my younger daughter, Mary Grace, was about 3, we were in the grocery store.  Mary Grace has always loved to greet everyone we passed by while she rode in the grocery cart.  And for the most part, people would nicely smile at her and say hello and maybe even stop to chat for a moment.  (Grocery shopping took forever when that child was with me!) One day she waved happily and spoke to an older lady who looked like she would be really nice.  The lady glanced at Mary Grace and didn't smile or speak or anything.  Right there on the spot Mary Grace said loudly, "Well!  What's her problem?!"  Once again I was totally and completely humiliated!

There were even times when my non-verbal child managed to cause me to cringe.  Hannah is autistic and was (and still is) non-verbal.  This happened when she was about 4 or 5 and had an appointment with the doctor.  She normally didn't like "strangers" and wouldn't pay much attention to them.  (Which can be typical of autistic people.) This day, though, the minute we walked into the waiting room, she saw a sweet little old man and ran and jumped up into his lap!  Thankfully the little old man was as sweet as he could be.  He asked her, "Do you think I'm your granddaddy?"  and smiled at her.  I was so grateful for his kind response!

Now that two of my children are teenagers, I figure it's time for me to pay them back!  Now I do things like make them kiss me goodbye in front of their friends.  I poke my head into their Sunday School classes and ask them if they need a jacket.  I call them sweet little "pet" names in public.  I'm still working on improving my things-to-do-to-totally-humiliate-my-teenagers list.  If you have any suggestions for me, please be sure to share them!! 

I know I must be doing a pretty good job of it because not long ago my son (now age 15) looked at me and said with genuine feeling, "Mom.  You drive me nuts!"  What a feeling of satisfaction that one little statement gave me!  And in the spirit of being a kind, loving, supportive mom, I replied, "If I didn't, you might want to live with me forever."  ;) 

Reading Eggs

Have you ever heard of Reading Eggs?  It's a website that helps children ages 7 to 13 learn to read and improve their reading and comprehension skills.  The site has two different areas.  "Reading Eggs" is especially for students who don't yet know how to read or who are just beginning to read.  It is also good for younger students who know how to read but are not strong readers.  This part of the site is targeted toward students age 4 to 8. 

The other part of the site, called Reading Eggspress, is directed toward students who are 9 to 13 years old.  It is more appropriate for students who already know how to read.  Reading Eggspress helps these students build reading skills and boost reading comprehension.



As your child works through each lesson on the map (shown above), she opens more and more destinations.  As she completes each lesson, she takes a quiz that helps determine her comprehension.  Then you, the parent, receive an email giving information about your child's progress and the skills she has learned so far. 

There are lots of fun activities to do, lots of ebooks to read, golden eggs to earn, trading cards to collect, and trophies and certificates to receive.  There are even games that students can play with other students (in a safe environment) from around the world!

There are additional optional items to go along with the online program.  Book Packs are available so that the students can read the "real" books after reading them online.  There are also Activity Books to go along with each reading lesson.

There are several different payment options for a Reading Eggs subscription.  One option is to pay $9.95 per month.  Another is to pay $49.95 for 6 months.  The least expensive (per month) option is $75 for a one-year subscription.  You might want to start with their free trial, though, to see if you think this might be right for your child.  Visit their site at www.readingeggs.com to see how to get a free trial. 

So who should use Reading Eggs?  I think Reading Eggs is probably best for students who are just learning to read or for "older" students who need to improve reading skills.  However, my daughter is 9 years old, is an excellent reader, and she still enjoyed playing on the site.  I figure it's better for her to be practicing reading skills and playing on an educational, safe website than so many other things she could be doing on the internet! 

There are several things that I really like about Reading Eggs.  I like that students are free to return to any completed lesson at any time!  Beginning readers in particular may need to do some lessons repeatedly in order to really learn a new skill.  Also, younger kids usually enjoy watching programs, reading books, and playing games over and over and over.....so it's great that they can repeat lessons as often as they like. 

I also like that the parent is sent an email with information about the child's progress after taking a quiz.  Because we sometimes have to use our children's time on the computer as time for us to get housework done or as time for us to work with our other children on school, it's great that there is still a way to keep up with how a particular child is doing on Reading Eggs. 

I like that the site is colorful and interesting without being too "hyped up."  So many websites for kids are so loud and splashy that the children playing on them get hyped up and antsy.  Reading Eggs is fun and entertaining, but it's not one of those splashy loud sites that I don't want my kids to go to.

The main drawback that I found about Reading Eggs is that the stories are a little bit "scripted."  I know that, when teaching children to read or teaching children with limited reading skills, the stories must be written in a way that they can be successful even with limited skills.  For that reason, I understand why the stories sometimes don't sound very fluid.  It's not a huge flaw, but it's something I thought might need to be considered.

Other Homeschool Crew members also tried Reading Eggs with their children.  If you'd like to read some of their opinions, go to http://homeschoolcrew.com and scroll down until you see the Reading Eggs review section.  You might also want to check out some of the other items we've reviewed while you're there!
 
NOTE:  I received a free subscription to Reading Eggs in exchange for using and reviewing the product.