TOS Review - Vintage Remedies for Kids

I recently have been able to have a product called Vintage Remedies for Kids by Jessie Hawkins in my home. This is a book that is full of information and ideas that help parents teach their children about healthy lifestyles (food and habits).

I would recommend this book to anyone that has ever asked me about how we have such good eaters in our home. The beginning chapters introduce the concept of real foods... my children could have written this section :-). Not because it isn't in depth or written at an adult level, but because we discuss why we eat what we do often. I'm pretty particular about what foods get eaten around here, and thus our home (and the grocery store) are constantly giving us a chance to talk about these things as my children see the difference between what we choose and what their friends do/what others buy... my children are walking nutritionists as a result! *laugh* I'd never really meant for that to happen, but they were curious and health is important to their dad and me, so there you have it! I don't discuss what goes on their plates however... I make plates, they eat what's on it or leave the table, and that's the end of that. That's the way it's always been and I have really good eaters as a result because my husband and I are obnoxiously persistent about that. Our kids eat what we do, period! So, should you not have been so "obnoxious" this book gives you ideas about how to get your children to eat new foods and how to transition them to real foods from things they've been used to. i.e. if your child eats a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on white bread, going to one on wheat bread is going to provide completely different texture and the jelly doesn't seep into the bread quite the same. I can definitely see how this would be helpful. And if you're just starting out foods with your children, then this book will give you a solid start in getting your children the proper FUEL for their day :-). Food=Fuel, who knew?! Well, seems like a lot of people don't actually understand that connection or how to get the best source of fuel as opposed to inadequate/cheap stuff! This book will help you sift through that....

The set up of this book gives a section for parents that gives information and the purpose of the chapter, a section to read to your children (or to have them read), as well as additional things to think/talk about/or do, and questions. In addition to teach about food and choices in that direction, the book also contains things like information on bugs, herbs, cleanliness, conservation (i.e. reduce, reuse, recycle). I'm actually going to be using one of the ideas from there without my children... the project is "Old Crayons Become New!" which as you can imagine takes your old/broken crayons and melts them down into new ones. The idea in this book has you use muffin tins so they have fun circle crayons... I'll be making these for Christmas and pairing them with a "coloring book" that I'm making for each of the children from another product that we're reviewing.

So, this book is great for lots of different things! You can definitely use it as a curriculum on health and wellbeing for your child(ren). The target age for this book is 2-6, but could be used for older depending on what you've taught your children thus far about themselves and the world around them. I think the biggest thing older children would have a problem with is "wording." The book is definitely written towards a younger audience, even for the younger audience parents could easily add in proper words, i.e. tummy=stomach or intestines, but I think there's a great balance overall.

Vintage Remedies for kids can be purchased for $25 from the Vintage Remedies website.

To see what other crew members are saying about this product you can go here.

*As a member of the 2011 TOS Homeschool Crew I was provided a free copy of this product in exchange for my honest review of its content. I have not received any other compensation for the opinions stated here, and they were not promised a positive review.*

The Way's Been Long... But I'm Blessed!

I've had a hard time taking the time to come and write here... it's not for lack of things on my mind... perhaps it's been because there has been too much on my mind? I don't know. But, I figure I'd better come and write something and hopefully get a little bit better about writing.

My post title comes from a song that plays in my mind on a daily basis. If you're familiar with the Duggar family then you're probably aware of their friends from Tennessee, the Bates, who have 19 children. I found a video of the Bates singing (well, a few actually) and one in particular made a big impression on me. I LOVE watching this family sing together and the song they sing in one particular video has the lyrics "It's been a long journey but I have been blessed, walking with Jesus I have no regrets, He is so good to me I must confess, the way's been long, but I'm blessed."

My personal blogging tapered off most significantly after an unplanned trip to California at the beginning of October. I knew I'd be taking this trip after a phone call came through on my husband's birthday that a cousin of mine had passed away, I just wasn't aware how quickly it'd happen or how. I had just celebrated another year of life of my sweet husband that I am so blessed to have, only to find out that my cousin (who was only a year older than my husband) was no longer with us on Earth. I did find solace in knowing that he was in a better place, and I could literally see him in my mind being embraced by my grandfather who left us many years ago... but there were still a lot of feelings running through me and thoughts in my mind that still haven't quite settled.

In any case, things turned out wonderfully... my husband was amazing and asked for time to take our little family out to California all together (including his 34 week pregnant wife). He even stayed back at the hotel with all of the children so that I could go to the viewing and funeral. As I walked into the room that my cousin lay there were a lot of different emotions that hit me. It's a pretty sobering experience to be looking at someone you love and who you can remember up and smiling and so full of life, to just seeing a shell. Things were made better by being greeted by ALL of my family members.... my parents and sisters had come in from AZ that morning and my brothers were both there. Being the 7 of us (well 9, plus 2 with my brother-in-laws) was strengthening and uplifting not only to each of us, but it made a big impact on our extended family that we were all there with them. To not only grieve and mourn with them, but to rejoice in life.

I think since then I've reviewed my own mortality quite a bit. What legacy will each one of us leave to those around us? As we walked with family into the chapel after the casket had closed, my heart was full to see that every bench in the chapel was full and that every chair in the extended area had been filled.... the people that had come out on a Thursday morning despite work/school or whatever else they had going on had literally amounted to hundreds of people. Hundreds of lives that had been touched by one man, and that doesn't even count those who couldn't come or who hadn't heard yet. Who are we touching with our lives? What stories and memories will be had of us when we no longer inhabit this body?

We really have no idea what each day holds for us. We have no say as to how long we will be on this earth or what conditions we will live in as we do. Life is such precious gift! As I look at my husband and children it always makes me want to be a better person, but I've tried to increase that resolve as of late. What words will be the last that I say to them? What will they remember me by? My greatest desire is to raise sons that are like unto the Stripling Warriors who have strength and faith in the Lord because of the foundation they were given early in life. And my greatest desire is for my daughter to be like Mary... willing to tell the Lord that His will be done and being worthy of the blessings and trials that He sees fit for her.

I am grateful for life! As the lyrics of this song say: "I've had my share of sunshine and rain, days filled with laughter and nights filled with pain, but with every mile as I travel each day the journey gets sweeter each day."

So, as the kids are yelling, things have been spilled, the house isn't as picked up as we'd like, babies have been up all night (meaning you were up all night) and now you have to be up all day, let's choose joy. The spirits we get to come in contact with each day are so choice and so worth every ounce of our goodness and once that's gone they're worth every minute spent asking God to help buoy us up. Life is precious! We just welcomed our 5th child not too long ago... I have to admit, he had me a little scared along the way. I have 3 friends that were due with babies at the same time who lost theirs into the 2nd trimester, and with out little one's track history of having to endure me having surgery and Nathan being gone I had no idea how this would end. With every pain I was seriously questioning whether he would make it until I was able to hold him in my arms. His name is Zane, it means God is gracious, and that's certainly how I feel!

As you watch this video just think of the words and look into the faces of these wonderful people. Are they perfect? No. But they do have a great perspective on life. While I'm sure my husband will never outright go for having 18 children, and who knows how many more we'll have being one ovary down now, but I look at this family and greatly desire the same. Why? Because raising children is easy of course! Oh, wait, no, that's not it :-). It's because despite the challenges that arise I believe that there are spirits waiting in heaven that need body's and if I can bring them into a home that will teach them that they are children of God and help provide them with the tools they need to return to him then I should. My husband feels this way too... he'd just rather take them one at a time while I'm a big picture kind of gal! In any case, whether this one is our last or if we're blessed with 1 or 2 more I'd be just as happy... God is in control of all that kind of stuff. My job is to enjoy and give thanks for what He's given, improve each day, and learn all that I can so that my children and others can benefit from that knowledge!

Don't take for granted what is given each day. Every breath is a gift, use it wisely and in singing praises to He who gives life.

TOS Review - Barchowsky Fluent Handwriting iPad App

I can't believe how IN LOVE I've been with the products that I've been sent to review lately. I promise, my only compensation is being given the product to review and I am only asked to give an honest opinion of said product. So, with that disclaimer reiterated....

I LOVE THIS PRODUCT! Why do I love this product? That'd be because 1) There is no objectionable content and is straight forward and because 2) MY DAUGHTER LOVES THIS APP!

No, seriously, she BEGS to "play the letter game." There's no traditional "game" anything about the app, and yet she calls it one!

When you first download Barchowsky Fluent Handwriting App onto the iPad you'll see a colorful icon that says "Letters into Words." After opening the app you'll have the option to get more information about how the program works or to click on "choose a letter." Either way you'll find yourself with the first option of writing letter "u". As most writing programs start with letters that are not set up alphabetically, this one is no different. The "u" sits perfectly onto a curved pattern that the children learn and practice, so it gets to go first. The child is talked through the motions of the pattern and given audio cues as to what is happening (i.e. "down around and, down around and) which I think are great because it gives the child something to think about and visualize as they're later recreating the letters on paper.


One of my favorite features about this program is that as the child "starts at the hole in the letter" and traces the pattern on the screen, whatever they're writing changes color as they follow the right way and makes a little ping sound and makes a "sparkle" when they finish. Perhaps that's what makes it a game for my daughter? I don't know! But I do know that she loves it and has a gigantic smile on her face at the end! Something about that sound and sparkle makes her all kinds of giddy.

This app can be purchased from the apple store for $2.99 (which is also AWESOME).

To see what other crew members are saying about this product you can go here.

*As a member of the 2011 TOS Homeschool Crew I was provided a free copy of this product in exchange for my honest review of its content. I have not received any other compensation for the opinions stated here, and they were not promised a positive review.*

TOS Review - Artistic Pursuits

It's no secret... my artistic ability, and understanding of it in general, is not that great (yes, I'm the one who looks at things and says "I don't get it"). How does that play in when you have children? Well, I'll tell yah.... it's probably not the best when you look at something your child draws (because they love to draw ALL THE TIME), and cock your head to the side and ask what it is... then hear, try to figure out where they got that from... then say "oh, okay" as enthusiastically as possible (which is lacking), and then wonder where in the world you're going to put yet another drawn on piece of paper or wonder how long until you can throw it away. Yes, it's a hard knock life in the art department here at the Jorgensen household! Mom just doesn't appreciate it, but I'M TRYING!!!!!!

Anyway, my confession (not that you probably hadn't already gathered what it was from reading other posts) is to illustrate how deficient I am in the art department and how crucial getting a copy of Artistic Pursuits: The Way They See It was for me. I knew I needed some help (okay, a lot), in this area, so I was excited to be able to use this product (and I'm sure my children's response could be described as nothing less than ecstatic!)

This version of Artistic Pursuits product is focused on children preschool aged or more specifically for 3, 4, and 5 year olds... and really, that's where EVERYONE is in our home thanks to mom's stellar ability as mentioned above.... To start with, reading through the first few pages gave me a perspective on children's art that I've needed. I learned that for children creating art is a process in which they enjoy, it isn't about a finished product. There's a scenario illustrated in the beginning about a child who made a great project for grandma, he and his mother worked on it for hours, and by the time they reached grandma's the child had completely disassembled the whole thing. His mother thought over the time now wasted and obviously thought the project was now ruined. The child's point of view? Well, once at grandma's he asked for some supplies and had repurposed the project into a new creation that he had been planning out in the car. Surely you and I have never had those moments?!

Anyway, I was able to let go a bit after reading that story. I do try and throw out craft items to the children and just let them create whatever. I don't really care what the end result is, but I do get caught up in the mess and of course storage. It's important to remember how much children learn by creating things, and it really is impressive what the children come up with. What I appreciate about Artistic Pursuits is it's ability to speak to an academic like myself while tying in the creativity of my children and expanding their scope and vision of what is possible.

There are several great color photo's of great paintings in the book and a dialogue across the bottom to engage your children into the art. Admittedly, there is one of a mermaid that I don't like (while you can't "see anything" she's not modest :-D), you can always rip that page out if it's offensive to you... the pages are thick and printed on only one side into a spiral bound book. Other than the one photo the rest are great and factor well into what you're trying to get the child to consider (the difference between real and fake, use of color, different mediums etc), I happen to be a sucker for Monet's and there's quite a few in the book (yes, I don't get most art, but Monet is pretty straight forward for me... what can I say?)

I think we'll be buying additional materials from Artistic Pursuits, I live with a lot of artists! I love that they can explore different things (crayons, markers, paint, dough), and I get an explanation of what they're thinking/how they perceive things in a non-consumable book (also a bonus for me). It's almost like I have a page in front of me that says "it's good that they're doing this, it means that they are learning "x"". It's a lot more fun too that I get to have a part in the learning/growth and can appreciate the innate exploration/creativity of my children. So, definitely a win for me! I wish I would have bought this book earlier... I had heard it touted as a great resource for art but wasn't really up for paying the price for it... well, I missed out! I'm excited to share more time with my children on these endeavors and I'm glad that I've gotten the chance to let you know that it really is worth it! I like that this book changes things up around here too... it's a great way to enjoy our "Christmas break" as we get ready for the school year to start again in January and a nice way to shake things up in general. I think Artistic Pursuits will be making my bag of "school items" getting on the plane with us shortly.

You can buy Aritistic Pursuits (and their books for older children) for $42.95 by going here.

You're more than welcome to see what other crew members are saying by going here. I know many were able to get pictures of their children creating the art as well as samples of what they created.

*As a member of the 2011 TOS Homeschool Crew I was provided a free copy of this product in exchange for my honest review of its content. I have not received any other compensation for the opinions stated here, and they were not promised a positive review.*

TOS Review - The Reading Game

Who jumped up and down and said "pick me! pick me!" when it came to a product known as The Reading Game? That would be this mom! The name in and of itself had me because it describes my philosophy of learning perfectly, it should be fun! So, if we're going to learn reading AND make it a game.... I'm sold.

I received a package from the company containing my copy of The Reading Game and was pretty impressed to find a sturdy blue box that held 6 different colored illustrated story books (that are a pretty good size), and matching decks of cards that accompany each book placed in wells within the box (so no cards sliding around, they all sit organized where they should!). Everything is very glossy and I love the bright colors, it really helps when you're working with children, especially ones that get distracted easily :-).

I didn't really know what to expect as far as game play. In my mind I had envisioned more of like a Candy Land sort of board game, but, like I mentioned, there were just cards and the books in the box. After reading the parent/teacher instructions I realized that it's more of a (hopefully) high speed game of memory to be repeated 10 cards (or 5 matching pairs of words) at a time.

The first set of cards/book are red and tell a story about a Skunk (all of the books are about animals... I'm fairly certain every child will enjoy that aspect of things). My daughter and I laid out the first set of cards for the color (there are 4 sets for each color and all are labeled on the back of which set they belong to... which is great because I thought I'd have to have the word list from the book and find the cards for each grouping), and we began to play. Every time a card got flipped over we would say what was on the card and eventually she did start catching on and not having to sound out each word every time. We did a review on that set, so after she showed me that she knew the words we got to move on to the second set of cards (that she was really chewing at the bit to get to). After completing all 4 sets of cards for the book the child then knows 30 words by sight and can read the book that the cards correlate with....

... We haven't gotten that far yet, however. While my daughter enjoys playing the game, having to master a set of cards before moving on is hard for her. She really wants to see those new cards! I don't know, repeated games of memory for me can get a bit monotonous, so I wish there was some variation with the games... don't ask me what that would be, I haven't a clue, but we can only handle memory so long, especially when she's having trouble with words. On the flip side, my son can play these quickly and easily, master the words and read through the books no problems. So, perhaps the word is if you have a younger child or one with learning disabilities to not expect to fly through this one?? It doesn't bother me any. My daughter still loves to pull out The Reading Game and enjoys the time she spends playing with it. I know she'll get it all mastered and be able to retain these words, it's just a slow (but fun) go in the meantime. I've recently had her start playing with her older brother (who knows all the words) and the two of them have had a lot of fun playing together. I think it's really good that she can see him as a mentor and not have the "we're having a reading lesson now" feeling that often comes with sitting down with a parent.

To learn more about how the game works you can go here. After completing all of the games/books in the box your child will know 180 words (30 new words in each book), 23 coming from the 25 most commonly used English words and 42 from the 50 most commonly used words. There are also assessments that can be used with The Reading Game and the program meets criteria of the Common Core State Standards (which I don't really care about personally, but would appreciate if I had a picky state or needed an extra something for a portfolio, ammo for family/friends, or as a rubric for how my child was learning.)

I would recommend The Reading Game as a supplement to whatever program you are currently using. I like that the words that are being used are being learned for a specific purpose i.e. so that your child can read an entire book, as opposed to just rote memory/flash cards of words just because.

You can buy The Reading Game for $24.95 from The Reading Game Website.

To read what other crew members have said about The Reading Game feel free to go here.

*As a member of the 2011 TOS Homeschool Crew I was provided a free copy of this product in exchange for my honest review of its content. I have not received any other compensation for the opinions stated here, and they were not promised a positive review.*

TOS Review: Time Timer for iPad

I have had the chance to work with the Time Timer on my iPad over the last little bit... and it leaves me kind of torn. I was excited to get this product as I've been hoping to get a little more time management in (all I really want to do these days is sleep, so I was trying to get something to motivate me a bit more to give proper time to different activities beyond "mommy needs to lay down a minute."). Anyway! I ended up on the list for the iPad Time Timer so instead of a physical device that I could carry around and put places I ended up having a neat product on my iPad that unfortunately didn't get patronized a whole lot because it's not as practical to set up around the house when you have a plethora of small children.

I LOVE the concept of this product, especially for special needs or young children. The program allows you to set up to 4 timers at a time and you can make them different colors, have different display faces, and have them make different sounds to signal that time is up (my favorite is the applause sound... who needs a startling beep to tell you time is up when you can have people clapping for a job well done?) The timers are super simple to set, and they continue running even when you're trying to leave an application... however, that doesn't really help the whole concept that you're using this tool to give your child a visual on how much time is left. I think that was a problem for us as well. We use the iPad for other functions throughout the day, and so having it just sit with a child(ren) during their activity wasn't terribly practical for us. The other problem is that if you are not in the application as the timer is running that it will not notify you when the time is over. However, again, one of the perks to this product is being able to see the time that is being used, so if you're not in the app then it kind of defeats the purpose anyway.

I can see this product being of better us if you are not using other applications on you iPad device during the day, if your homeschool day consists mostly of being in one location or in locations that allow you to prop up the device so your child(ren) can see the timer (the little cover stand on mine wasn't doing it for us), and/or if your children are older.

The Time Timer for iPad can be purchased through the App store for $1.99.

To see what other crew members are saying about the Time Timer (both for the iPad and for a stand alone device), feel free to go here.

*As a member of the 2011 TOS Homeschool Crew I was provided a free copy of this product in exchange for my honest review of its content. I have not received any other compensation for the opinions stated here, and they were not promised a positive review.*

TOS Review - Keyboard Town Pals

I've been using Keyboard Town Pals with my oldest son in hopes of him learning to type, and he has.... he'd probably do infinitely better if his mother let him on the computer more, but what can you do? Maybe this week I'll loosen up enough to give him more time. It's ironic that we want him to learn to type, and yet the computer is often off limits to him! Ha!

Well, minus our quirks, Keyboard Town Pals really is a great product. I've kind of dragged my feet with it a bit for some reasons, but overall I enjoy the concept of their learning philosophy and that's what I have to gush about today! To get a complete overview of the program via their words you can look at the instruction page found here.


As for my break down, Keyboard Town Pals ranks as a great product because it allows children to learn naturally and in a fun environment. After signing into the website children are greeted by a sunshine puppet who introduces them to different friends around the keyboard. We have our friends in "home row" (where children will rest their fingers) and those friends go "uptown"
and "downtown." On the screen children see a large qwerty keyboard, just like they're typing on below, and then each door opens with a new puppet that talks to the child about who they are, the things they like, and then that puppet tells them about the friends above and below them.

What makes this program unique is that it isn't based on errors. They've deactivated the delete and backspace buttons so that your children aren't paranoid of making mistakes and so that they don't have to take their hands off of the home row keys to "fix" something. I have to admit, that concept at first was a little odd to me, but I've since seen not only the utility in it, but how AWESOME that is for children who have a hard time making mistakes (like my daughter). If you have a special needs child chances are you've played with enough programs that have a clear cut pass/fail, more points if you do well, docking points if you make mistakes, that you give a big sigh of relief when something comes along that lets your child just learn without pressure. Anyway! That's what finally clicked with me. While my son enjoys this program and has certainly learned from it, I think my daughter would absolutely excel at typing because of this presentation.

I know, I'm kind of funny, but the other thing that I thought was nice is that the typing box the children make their entries into allow you to change the background color and text color. That's certainly a lot more fun then a blank white box and black text! Not to mention that it's sometimes easier for children with dyslexia because the colors are more soothing (this information comes from the website, but it's something I've observed over the last few years as well).

The lessons are broken down into a 30 minute lesson for each hand, meant to be completed on consecutive days, or for those with short attention spans each finger lessons run about 7 minutes. So, not a huge time commitment, and the things that they say about the letters and their positions, complete with the puppets, helps the information stick for all types of learners. Allowing your child to learn in a situation that eases anxiety is a winner on all sides. One of the things that I've noticed in my years of homeschooling is that children often do not care to engage in activities that cause them to feel inadequate. This program doesn't require timed tests, correction of mistakes (children figure out that they pushed the wrong button and self-correct without reprimand), and they don't spend a bunch of time just drilling (you know me, rote memorization isn't high on my list to begin with because I don't find it very effective in the long run.... which makes me laugh all the more when I think of my initial hesitation to their product.)

Anyway, the CD Rom can be purchased for $35 and can be bought here. It works on both Mac and PC (we have a Mac, so I felt that extra important to share :-D), and is a single license program. I'm still trying to figure out if that means that legally I can register it under my family and use it for all of my children as they go through this stage of learning how to type, or if that's no okay. I don't know, seems to me like could, but I'll have to get back to you on that!

To see what other crew members are saying about this product feel free to follow this link here.

*As a member of the 2011 TOS Homeschool Crew I was provided a free copy of this product in exchange for my honest review of its content. I have not received any other compensation for the opinions stated here, and they were not promised a positive review.**

TOS Review - Bower Books

So.... what I'm supposed to be reviewing is a book called The Person I Marry that I got via e-book form from Bower Books, but what I'm REALLY reviewing is the hardcover that I bought IMMEDIATELY after reading the e-book because I just had to have it! Yes, praise does follow here and in great supply!

The Person I Marry was written by Gary Bower in a rhyming type fashion, and then it was illustrated with the most amazing pictures by his wife Jan Bower. The sub-title to this story is "Things I'll Think About Before (and After) Saying 'I Do.'" How awesome is that? Anyway, this book also was votes the 2010 Christian Small Publisher Book of the Year.... and I'll tell you why!! Or better yet, I'll show you :-D.

The Person I Marry from Bower Books on Vimeo.

I love that this is a book that focuses on what really matters in a marriage. My husband and I are kind of funny people. We met over an internet site for those of our faith and we became really good friends (I was dating someone and he was dating on and off... we were in two different countries too). Anyway, we had a while to cultivate a friendship and when it came right down to it we realized that we really clicked with one another! Because we didn't have physical contact/looks etc. to deal with as we got to know each other, I feel really blessed because we realized what was really real. (Not to say that those who meet in a traditional way can't). What I'm trying to say is that we just enjoyed talking to each other, we felt like we really knew each other, and we didn't care about all the hubbub of a wedding, we just knew we wanted to spend the rest of our lives with one another. No fancy rings, and we did very little otherwise... just some small get togethers to appease family, but we got married in a Latter-day Saint temple, so we knew the "venue" and most important part of our marriage was free and that we had a whole life to plan for and so we didn't really care about "wedding" things, we cared about the "marriage" and wanted to focus on that.

Anyway, I felt like the Bower's book took 31 pages of beautiful illustrations and lovely verse and created a story in which children can get wrapped up and enjoy while being reminded of what matters most. There is so much negative attention in this world given to marriage, and we really think that a bulk of that has to do with the far that people don't know what real marriage is! It isn't just a thing you do, meet someone who's good looking and hope it works... it's something far grander, part of our Heavenly Father's plan, and requires people that are willing to work for strong virtues/values and share that with each other. My children love reading this book and especially enjoy flipping through the pages. I just love that there's another source that they enjoy spending time with that reinforces our values and what their dad and I find to be the most important aspects when finding the person you want to marry.

The only blurb in this book that I disagree with is that marriage only last from death to you part. In my religion we believe that families are forever and that the marriage bond is one that lasts into the eternities if made in the temple. So, that's my only disclaimer, but it obviously didn't deter me one bit from picking this book up! I couldn't handle not having a physical copy of it in my hands. I was so enamored by the illustrations that I literally bought one that day. I also wanted another one in the series after watching various videos of the Bower's that you can find on their website, but it wasn't available yet. Gary personally emailed me in regards to the book I wanted and was very personable and definitely someone that I'd love to buy from again.

Not only would you be getting a fabulous book from this company for a steal of a price at $11.99 that would be encouraging to your children, but you'd also be supporting a great family! My children LOVED watching video's about the Bower Family

To see what other crew members are saying about this product you can visit the homeschool crew blog here.

*As a member of the 2011 TOS Homeschool Crew I was provided a free copy of this product in exchange for my honest review of its content. I have not received any other compensation for the opinions stated here, and they were not promised a positive review.**

TOS Review - Ooka Island

K... HOLD YOUR BREATH... you're going to be absolutely shocked with this one!

I have been told to look for computer based programs that would help my daughter with her learning... and I've been okay with that... Whatever helps things make sense to her is worth a gander in my opinion! However, as you've no doubt read in the past, the programs that I have come in contact with have come up pretty short for me. Because of this I have had ZERO interest in messing around with anymore and when Ooka Island came up I was crossing my fingers and toes that I wouldn't have to do anything with it! Lucky for me Heavenly Father knows me better than myself and made sure I made the review list for it... even though I made it very known that I didn't want it AT ALL!!

Well, guess what? OOKA ISLAND IS AMAZING!!!!!!!!!! Not only have I been incredibly impressed with the program, my husband has too, my daughter has learned A TON, and my little boys sit next to her and have been picking up reading and phonics skills just by being there. We WILL be buying this program once our current subscription is over and we will absolutely have accounts for all the little guys.

Back to the beginning.... I was picked for this review, so once I got the link to get the program I went ahead and downloaded it to my desktop (it was a pretty big file, probably took 45 mins to and hour to download completely). After it was installed I had Nathan open it up and try out the first thing that came up, which was following 'Zobot' through a mountain cave and listening for the right sound... which when you hear it you click and a bar blocking your way gets lifted. We were both pretty impressed and could see how this would be nice for our daughter to play with... and we could see it as a good way to increase her skills with a mouse as well.

The following day I had my daughter sit at the computer and she just took off! The instructions are easy for her to understand as she's guided through a 20 minute lesson and then about a 10 minute playtime where they earn books. While there is a place that you can go and "buy" things during free time, I like that it isn't really pushed in this game. Instead, my daughter just follows the lesson, reads books and answers questions about them, and chooses additional "games" she wants to play. All the while she's seeing letters and connecting them with their sounds, building her ability to see and put the alphabet in order, and putting together simple words. I LOVE THIS PRODUCT. The difference in my daughters abilities as far as written language is concerned has increased significantly! Not only does she love to sit and work on this program but she's actually GETTING IT. And like I mentioned, her little brothers are sitting and making sounds/reading letters right next to her. It's amazing! Nathan thinks that they'll start reading even before our oldest because of all the exposure that they're getting.

The graphics on this program are also really well done and in 3D! Ooka Island is done up in beautiful bold colors (which probably also add to my daughters ability to focus on what's happening), and the people/robots/etc. are fun to look at. I also really like the voices and sounds that are used in this program.

Pricing can be found here. Or you can look at this table here:

For us to have access for all our other children learning to read it's only $30 more for an entire year, love that! We put another copy of the program onto our laptop so that during our upcoming move the children (minus the oldest) can "work" on their reading/phonics during the time that we don't have access to our other curriculums. And that's fine by me! If this is all they do as well as have time to sit and listen to a chapter book, I'd say the next few months will be an absolute success!

Right now you can also get an additional 30% off of a monthly subscription if you'd like to give Ooka Island a try:



To find out what other crew members are saying about Ooka Island you can go here.

*As a member of the 2011 TOS Homeschool Crew I was provided a free copy of this product in exchange for my honest review of its content. I have not received any other compensation for the opinions stated here, and they were not promised a positive review.**

TOS Review - Memoria Press

I'm a pretty open minded person when it comes to the curriculums that we use in our home. While there are some that I absolutely LOVE and recommend to everyone and their dog who asks me about what we use... some of those products have not been as effective for my 5 year old daughter. I've mentioned before that my son can pick up anything and in any method, and while I've always tried to go for fun and/or hands-on methods anyway, I've noticed that some of the products I have aren't as effective for my dyslexic "ADD" daughter.

Anyway! In regards to that I'm constantly on the look out for what will make the most sense to her and what she'll enjoy the most... so I BEGGED for the Memoria Press First Start Reading and Classical Phonics program by Cheryl Lowe. The result? I'm so glad that I've been able to have it in my home!

The box that I received wasn't like anything I'd expected. Expertly packed was a good sized/heavy box that contained 3 First Start Reading- Phonics, Reading, & Printing books (Book A, B and C), Classical Phonics- A Child's Guide to Word Mastery, and a HUGE Teacher Guide for the First Start Reading program. I was pretty blown away by it all and then started flipping through the pages. I was already running numbers with my husband about using these books for all of the children before I had a chance to get home and actually use them!

What makes this program appealing to me is that the Teacher's Guide is very thorough... I mean, the book actually includes a little inlay of each page in the Student's books and prompts all of the discussion for teaching the pages. I don't know about you, but teaching my children reading and phonics has been quite the new experience. I've learned more about how different letters and words work over the last couple years then I ever knew before! I'm just good at memorizing things, they stick easy, never really had to think about anything past that. However, the way that this system teaches allows the child to learn blending without having to learn a lot of phonics rules! It helps my son decode whatever he comes in contact with, and it's a beautiful thing! Anyway, my ramblings are just to say that I appreciate having phonics and reading helps all in one book.

So, speaking of using one book, each student book covers Phonics, Reading, and Printing. Not only does it cover printing, but it offers more room to practice writing then I've had access to in previous writing programs. Additionally, the letters that they are printing follow a pattern that helps the child blend together words easily (which is great for a child that needs a purpose i.e. my daughter always says "I want to read" but just throwing out random letters for her to practice writing can be frustrating. Here she focuses in on a letter and then is able to blend it with others she recently practiced to make words. The illustrations are also nice and big... she loves that! You can see what I'm talking about here. Being able to color in several pictures that start with the letter she's on is fulfilling for her also. I've seen quite the change in her as we've used this product and another (to be posted on later). The First Start Reading Books also provide sentences to write and give the child access to making connections with the alphabet letters and words. Here is a sample for Book B also.

The other product that came in my box was for Classical Phonics. The book itself is not intended to be used alone as a complete language program, but works well with the addition of the First Start Reading program.
Here is a link to a sample of the Phonics book. You can see from these that the child has several words lists that are encountered throughout the book, as well as more great pictures which act as a means of helping your child see the connection between consonant sounds and how they fit with short vowel sounds. There's a few pages in the back dedicated to helping you understand the method being used so that you can fluidly teach your child everything that they need to understand about how words come together.

Due to the consumable nature of the books it's important for me that it's cost effective because that means I'm going to have to re-buy it at least 4 more times (possibly more). After thinking about other items that I've bought in the past and how I've used different things in conjunction that is taken care of all in one in these books, this really is a cost effective method. The first time you buy (if you'd like the Teacher's Manual... which believe me, you do), the total is $29.95. Subsequently, just getting a Student set (Books A, B, and C) are $21.00 and the Classical Phonics book available is for $14.95. All can be bought through the Memoria Press website.

I highly recommend this program. If you've tried everything else, or use a combination of product, I think you'll enjoy the completeness of this program. My daughter actually looks forward to these "lessons" and being able to work on things like her big brother. I love it!

If you'd like to read what other crew members are saying about this product feel free to go here.

*As a member of the 2011 TOS Homeschool Crew I was provided a free copy of this product in exchange for my honest review of its content. I have not received any other compensation for the opinions stated here, and they were not promised a positive review.**