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.*

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.**

TOS Review - Lots and Lots of Fire Safety Songs DVD and Fire Truck Book Combo

I recently had the chance to get my hands on a few products from Marshall Publishing. Apparently the company/products is big in the "As Seen on TV" world, but as we don't watch tv I hadn't ever heard of them before. Much to my surprise I ended up getting a copy of Lots and Lots of Fire Safety Songs DVD and Fire Truck Book Combo, and there was much rejoicing around the Jorgensen home!

While we don't let our children have much screen time with any sort of media, I'm pretty sure they'd watch this one over and over if we let them (don't think they haven't asked!)

The package that I received had a full color, 128 page, large book all about fire fighters.... my children saw this an immediately started flipping through it and did so consistently for the first week or two that we had these products. While they mostly just enjoyed the pictures (they're 20 months through 6), putting on the DVD was HUGE. They don't actually go around singing the songs from the film, which is odd because they normally pick up EVERYTHING and repeat it until we're all sick of hearing it, but after the first (and subsequent) viewing(s) I was instead caught up in conversations with my children over what you should do if a fire happened etc. I was pretty impressed. My 3 year old with no real pervious "fire education" that he can recall, was telling me all about 911, and staying low to the ground, and ALL of the children were telling me about proper procedures and how to stay safe.

I also liked that they filmed in a fire station and showed the different things that one would see on a trip to the fire house. Last year we had the opportunity to go on an outing with the other wives and children of our squadron and I thought it was wonderful! I hadn't before thought about how children would react to a firefighter coming through their home in an emergency.... they can actually look like big suited monsters instead of someone their to rescue you! Anyway, my children all put on the gear, got comfortable hearing the noises that the air tanks make, and saw what a firefighter coming to rescue them would look like. Watching this DVD sent all those thoughts rushing back into my children's heads "Mom, we've worn that stuff!" "Mom, we got to see a firefighter dressed up like that!" and I'm very grateful that they had reminders should anything ever happen. I really don't know what older children would think of this DVD/Book combo, but it certainly made the cut of things that will be moving with us in Jan!

Lots and Lots of Fire Safety Songs DVD and book combo is normally $49.90, but their web sale price is only $29.95..... unless of course you're reading a TOS Review and end up getting a special code that allows you to get an even bigger discount :-). Enter TOSF1 at the checkout to purchase both items for only $19.95!

Additionally, I was sent a DVD on George Washington Carver. I have to admit, this made me more giddy then firetrucks. I know, weird? Anyway! My children walked in and out of the room several times during this one, but my 5 year old daughter mostly stayed
put. I would say it's for an older group, but my children get the pleasure of having parents that like documentaries, so they've seen their fair share. Hey! There's always something that sticks with them, and if they're going to watch a show it might as well add to who they are as a person :-). So, while this one may not be an attention holder for most younger aged kids, I'm excited to use it again in the future as it's well done and includes a lot of information that I didn't even know!

I would definitely go and take a look at the Marshall Publishing website to see if any of their educational DVD's would be the much awaited resource/supplement that you've been looking for to shake things up in your family's studies!

To see what other crew members are saying about Lots and Lots of Fire Trucks, 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 - Wits and Wagers

Wits and Wagers by Northstar Games is a trivia based game that is fun for the whole family. The recommended age for this game is 8 and older and in our opinion…. that’s pretty spot on. We still played with our children (6 and under) and they LOVED playing, but Nathan and I had to sway their answers a few times. We'll definitely be playing this one again though!

The box and all of the pieces are very well constructed, which is HUGE for us. We like a game that can last and this is certainly one…. And thus my love affair began. Inside you’ll find 6 small boards to write your answers on 6 quality black dry-erase pens, 10 meeples (5 large and 5 small people shaped tokens) 150 trivia cards (with 2 questions on each for a total of 300 questions), and a scoreboard. All of the boards are nice and thick and the cards with the trivia information are great quality, not flimsy at all.

The learning process for this game takes just minutes and the actual play time is about 20-30 minutes. For our family we split into teams and let the smaller children place the answer cards, meeples, and hand the trivia cards back and forth between mom and dad.

The actual game play starts when the youngest child gets a card from the box and reads the top question. Then everyone (or each team) writes their answer to the question on their answer board. I find this game a lot of fun and easy because all of the answers require only a number and then everyone lays out their cards in numerical order. From here you can place your meeple(s) on ANYONE'S card... which is awesome! If you think that someone else had a better answer then you can put your piece on their answer instead! Woohoo! (Nathan is often better at guestimating things so I kind of rely on him for that kind of stuff!) Whoever guesses closest to the correct number without going over gets points for that round.... large meeples are worth 2 points and small meeples are worth 1, so if you put all of your meeples on one card and that card was the closest then you'd have 3 point for that round. It is possible to split your meeples if you think two answers may be correct.

Do I have any criticisms of this game? Not really. It'll be a happy addition to our collection.... some of the cards make me laugh because our kids have NO CLUE what they're talking about. For instance? For children that have never had fruit loops or know what they look like it's pretty difficult to guess how many colors come in one box :-D. Yes, that's a parental issue *laugh* We explained to the kids on our team what they are and talked them through guessing, kind of funny! The other question that made me laugh was how many Disney Princesses there are. Yah, not really common knowledge around here, but still fun.

What I do really, really like is that there's a little blurb on the back of each card that gives a little extra trivia in addition to having the numerical answer to the question. I actually learned quite a bit and am excited to play again. Oh! The other thing that I thought was really nice is that when you open the box of trivia cards there's a little place holder card of sorts. You put that card to the back of the box and go through playing the game until all of the top questions of the cards have been read and then once you get to the place holder card you know to go through the deck again but reading the bottom question.... thus no duplicate questions for 300 questions worth of play! Clever, clever.

Wits and Wagers Family can be found online and from national retailers. I can see this being a fun family gift for Christmas.... we like to just hang out and spend the day together, Christmas is pretty low key, so having a new game around is always fun!

If you'd like to read what other crew members are saying about Wits and Wagers Family please feel free to check them out 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: AIMS Primarily Magnets

K, so first the story.... as you can well gather, my brain doesn't come up with creative stuff very easily, and art/science stuff (while I think it's fun and so good for my kids) is just not something that I do all that well. SO! When I saw AIMS (Activities Integrating Math and Science), my heart skipped a beat. Yes, I'm funny like that. However, you have to understand that due to my above handicaps I literally crave some way to have these things make sense to me and thus make it a great experience teaching and showing my children concepts that have alluded me.

The very first of the book includes a Chinese Proverb that means A LOT to our homeschool:

"I Hear and I Forget,
I See and I Remember,
I Do and I Understand."

While I don't necessarily believe that you forget everything you hear, I'm sure you understand the bigger picture of what's being said here. By doing we make connections and learn more than by passively standing back. Involvement makes a big difference!

Anyway, the item that I've had the privilege to review is a manual called "Primarily Magnets." Primarily Magnets is for Grades K-2, is a complete manual for teaching about Magnets/Magnetism, and even comes with a cd that has all of their worksheets in pdf form! (Okay, yes, I'm a little giddy with this last bit. Seriously, it's awesome that I don't have copy individual pages from the book and that I have the option to duplex pages when going straight from my computer, LOVE IT!) The book retails for $18.95, and you can find it to purchase here.

My kids are C R A Z Y for magnets. I picked up a set of magnets at a local book store last year and the kids have huge grins and literally jump every time I get them down. Pulling them out for our lessons on magnets were nonetheless met with much excitement. If you heard screaming and yelling over the last month and couldn't figure out the origins then you were probably hearing them! Needless to say, they enjoyed these lessons and they have learned so much about why magnets work they do (and so have I!) The book starts with an overview of magnets and historical background before even getting to the first concept.

Each of the 19 lessons include many different sections that show a break down of the information being taught beautifully. I wish their preview page was working so that you could see how detailed they are. Yes, even I can teach it! I'll give you an idea of how the first lesson breaks out:

Topic
Magnetism

Key Questions
To what will a magnet stick?

Learning Goals
Students will:
-test everyday objects to determine if they are or are not attracted to a magnet,
-sort and graph objects based on whether or not they are magnetic, and
-draw conclusions about what magnetic materials have in common.

Guiding Documents
Project 2061 Benchmarks
-Without touching them, a magnet pulls on all things made of iron and either pushes or pulls on other magnets.
-Keep records of their investigations and observations.

NRC Standards
-Plan and conduct a simple investigation.
-Magnets attract and repel each other and certain kinds of other materials.

Math
Graphing

Science
Physical science
force
magnetism

Integrated Processes
Observing
Comparing and contrasting
Classifying
Predicting
Recording

And then from there we get a list of needed materials, background information on magnets relative to the experiment, a "management" section that gives more information on what is needed and where to find it, a procedure section that tells us each step that we're going to take, and finally a section called Connecting Learning that gives questions to help us to figure out what we saw and how it works. For the first lesson this is all literally on the front and back of one piece of paper. It's amazing!

The way I see it is that, especially for those who have to keep detailed records, that this format makes it VERY simple to pinpoint what you're working on in science (and did you see the math worked in there too?!?). Anyway, from my point of view everything is laid out so it's simple to read a lesson and then go about relating that information to my children... which makes me happy!

I know you'll be shocked, but when I asked my children what they thought of our magnet lessons and what I should write about them great bursts of "we loved it!" "they're so fun!" and the like came through. I know, shocking. A couple even asked if we were going to do more RIGHT NOW. *laugh* I certainly can't beat that! I look forward to adding more AIMS products to our collection. And should you not have a set of magnets laying around, all of the items necessary for the experiments can be picked up from AIMS Labs, Kits, & Components section.

If you'd like to see 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.**

TOS Review - Before Five In A Row

I'm REALLY excited to bring this product to your attention. How I got this review was seriously one of those situations where Heavenly Father knew I needed this and things just fell into place. I hadn't gotten on the computer the weekend that my husband got home from his last assignment, and when I finally did I realized that I'd missed like 3 different opportunities for products, this being one. I had NO idea at the time what Before Five in A Row was, but after reading the form I couldn't help but get caught up in the need for people with children ages 2-4. HELLO??? I have an almost 2 year old, a 3 year old, a 4 year old and a 5 year old who loves to do everything his siblings do! I felt like such a schmuck for not being able to put out there that I was available... I'd say we fit the bill pretty well. Anyway! I contacted the coordinator, apologized for being a space cadet and told her that I could absolutely do this review if I was needed.

Well... then I went and saw the product AFTER putting out the notification that I was available and it was then I knew that I NEEDED this program and was desperately hoping that I hadn't blown the chance to get it. Yah, after being chosen for this review I had to write the coordinator and thank her up and down for the opportunity to have this!

SO! Without further ado, what is Before Five in A Row?? Before Five in A Row is a wonderful program written by Jane Claire Lambert that is targeted at children ages 2-4 to help expose them to literature and learning in a very fluid and fun way. After receiving my book/manual from the company I went to work collecting books from the library... most of which I'd never heard of, and took them home to my children who LOVE them, and we've since checked them out several times. Why this "program" works so well for us and fits perfectly into what I need to do for my younger children is because as a family we lean towards this kind of learning. We feel like literature and hands-on learning/experiencing the world around you is the best way to take in information and have it truly become a part of you.

The Before Five in A Row book is broken into two different parts. The first part helps a child develop "learning-readiness skills" by incorporating simple activities that play off of the books. The second part consists of specific activities to do with your child(ren) to make the most of your time with them. For both of these reason is why I needed this book... I'm not all that great when it comes to thinking up ways to make readings come alive for the little ones. This book gave me the added kick that I needed to pursue activities and additional learning around what we were reading AND add in fun in coordination activities, as well as ideas to make the most of bath time, and time in the kitchen. My main issue is that I'm not terribly inventive when it comes to hands-on learning opportunities. It wouldn't actually occur to me that after reading Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear?, by N.W. Carlstrom that my children would enjoy mix and matching clothes on a cardboard "Jesse Bear' that I would cut out. Nor did I think to collect a couple books from the library on shells and rocks so that my children could enjoy looking at different variations that happen in the world naturally. We also took the opportunity to discuss all the ways that Jesse Bears parents showed love for him throughout the book. How fun and awesome is that? For each book suggested (there's 24 in all) there are A BUNCH of different ideas that you can use to help enrich your experience. Ideas fall under the categories of language arts, science, numbers, patterns, colors, art, music, emotions, nature, food, loving relationships, character, safety, and animals... just to name a few. There's no need to use every book suggestion in Before Five in A Row, nor is there anything that makes you start the book and work through it from beginning to end. I especially like this flexibility because I didn't have ANY of the books used in the program and had to go off of whatever was available at my library. I've also noticed that some of the titles are not in print anymore, so you may have trouble finding those in general. Anyway! That aside there are still a lot of titles that are available and add to that additional book suggestions that are IN the different suggested activities throughout the Before Five In A Row book.

Do I have anything negative to say about this program? NOPE! Not a word. The description Before Five In A Row says "It isn't a curriculum. Neither is it an aggressive, academic training regimen designed to turn you pre-schooler into a scholastic super-achiever. It is a rich treasury of creative ideas designed to help you gently, consistently prepare your children for the life-long adventure of learning." I couldn't agree more, and it was exactly what I was looking for! We needed this to add some structure to the time that was spent with our younger children without adding in a "curriculum".

Before Five in a Row can be purchased here for $35. There are also MANY other products available through the company that look lovely, including Five in a Row,Beyond Five in a Row and Above and Beyond Five in A Row, that are geared towards older children! I'm going to have to look into those!

If you'd like to see 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.**

TOS Review - Big IQ Kids

Big IQ Kids is a web based program that focuses specifically on Spelling and vocabulary, math, and geography. The first time Nathan saw it he mentioned that he could see how this could be useful for our children. Obviously it's not a whole curriculum seeing as who it doesn't cover every subject, but it does provide a good supplement for the subjects it does cover.

This program can be used with children from Kindergarten and even up through adults. Their website professes being useful for K-99 :-). I can appreciate that! They've added spelling and vocabulary list that cover SAT words, so I'm sure older children will find this program useful and a nice break from rote memory.

I think what I really like about this program is that it has both a free and premium option. The difference is laid out here directly from their website:
"Our older spelling+vocabulary program is ALL FREE. Our math, spelling junior, states programs come with a FREE and PREMIUM version. The primary differences between the BigIQkids FREE and PREMIUM programs are the ability of the PREMIUM program to monitor the progress of the student and advance that student only when mastery of the subject matter has been achieved. Additionally, PREMIUM members have their progress tracked, saved, problem areas identified and these findings are reported via email to parents and/or teachers. The PREMIUM program offers students customized buddies, full game page access and the ability to save game coins and gaming high scores. These functions help double the fun while mastering core academic subject matter. The PREMIUM program has very LIMITED advertisement an no ads are displayed during lesson interaction."

So, even if you aren't able to afford the premium version, you child can still enjoy the lessons that BigIQ Kids has to offer. As long as we're talking money, premium programs start at $7.99 a month and a detailed version of their pricing per program and can be found here. (Yearly memberships make the monthly amount cheaper). You'll notice if you go to the website that the way the pricing is set up you can pick and choose what programs you're interested in and only pay for that. Which is great for me because....

I didn't like the math program :-). I know, I know, there's always something with me! It's really not them, it's me. The math curriculum that we use doesn't really mesh well "math drills". Obviously there is nothing wrong math drills, it's just not something that we do in this house, so we didn't play with this too much and we wouldn't buy a subscription for it.


I did really enjoy the geography program! The children were shown each state and learned major facts about them. They had a chance to click on where they were, practiced spelling the state names and also the capitals. I would use this one in the future for sure! I even learned a bit :-).



I also liked the spelling program. I was able to enter the words from our spelling curriculum into a database that then allowed the children to play games with the words they were already working on.

K.... now for more of my opinion. There are "teachers"/tutor figures that pop up on the screen to talk to your child about whatever it is that they're doing. These people drive me nuts! *laugh* They have these mechanical/robotic voices that seriously play with my brain. The children don't seem to mind, but it sure annoys me! Again, just my humble opinion, you can check it out for yourself and see what you think!

The other problem that I had was that this program allows children to earn coins that they can then use to play games. As I've mentioned before, my oldest child will do whatever he can just to get to the game.... and that doesn't necessarily mean that he'll focus in on the lesson to get there! He'll do the very least possible to get the coin and move on. So, that's more a personality thing, I don't know how your child will handle a program like this, but it's worth giving it a try! I also find it kind of funny that you're constantly bugged to get a "buddy" for your chid and then they can customize it etc., but that requires a coin :-)

Okay, and maybe I'm a little technologically disabled, but I find their website to not be very user friendly. They have great content, but the way it's put on the page and moving between subject etc., makes my brain hurt.... which means I'm less likely to use it.

Overall the actual information on this site is pretty useful and there is a lot that can be done with just a free account.... which I respect a lot. Go give Big IQ Kids a look and if you'd like to see what other bloggers are saying about the program 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 - Time4Learning

I've had mixed feelings about this product.... and have thus literally waited until the last minute to actually post about it. So, let's just jump in shall we??

Time4Learning is a web based program that can be used as a whole curriculum in and of itself, but can also be used to supplement and reinforce learning. In other words, this would work great for homeschooler's looking for a complete online curriculum or for homeschooler's and public schooler's just looking for some added learning after school or over the summer.

In their own words the program includes the following:

"Online curriculum for grades Pre-K through 8th
More than 1,000 interactive animated lessons
Self paced lessons that kids will enjoy working on
Math & algebra tutorials & printable worksheets
Language arts, phonics & grammar lessons
Interactive, project-based reading activities
Science (grades 1st - 6th) & social studies (grades 2nd - 7th)
Detailed reporting for easy record keeping
Extensive lesson plans & teaching tools for parents
and much more...
Time4Learning is web based, so there is no software to download, no CDs and nothing additional to purchase. Members can access the program 24/7 from anywhere with a computer and an internet connection."

All of this comes for a monthly payment of $19.95 for the first child and $14.95 for each additional child.


So... what did I think as we used this? Well, let's stare at the elephant that causes me the biggest problem... that'd be the price. As a family with 5 children in order to use this program we'd spend $95 a month, and I'm going to go ahead and not multiply that by 12 because I may have a heart attack :-). In all fairness, it's just my daughter that I really wanted to try this program on and it worked out fine for her... but again, even a $19.95 commitment times 12 is on the pricey side.

Moving on, how did it function for us pricing aside? I had 3 accounts for a 1 month trial. Those accounts consisted of a first grade account, kindergarten, and preschool. I like that you can set the age range for your child in different subjects and that the program will adjust itself to make sure that your child is getting challenged etc., and that they provide reports of how the lessons are going so you can see how your child is functioning and at what level. For homeschooling parents this is also helpful because if your state requires reports and you need proof of something the website allows you to print off what you need from the site.

My oldest was on the first grade plan and I thought that the lessons were appropriate for where he is academically. However, for some reason the idea that there was a game to be played at the end kind of shut down his brain and instead of listening to the lessons and answering the questions he basically just clicked away on the pages and got through the bare minimum in order to play a game. My husband related it to a battery of tests that the military has... if you click enough eventually you can get through and pass with just enough. So, after a few sessions with our oldest in the program he ended up getting banned from using the program.

Our daughter was on the kindergarten plan. She was really the one that I had in mind when I took on this review. Lots of people that I have talked to (family and close friends) that have problems with dyslexia have told me that computers can be helpful in the learning process. So, even despite the cost, I was willing to use this for her if it made sense and was a format that made learning come alive for her. It was good for her in some ways, but I didn't think it was worth it. It wasn't worth it because she wasn't doing THAT much better at things and she would still get frustrated. And I had to be there to read to her the questions for the "test" portion at the end anyway. So, that being said, I like a more hands-on approach to teaching my children anyway so I didn't see the point of trying to get her to go through these lessons and then having to go over all of it again. It is definitely a lot easier to just stick to our regular programs geared towards kinesthetic learning that are not web/computer based.

Lastly, the preschool page was for our next child. I like the pictures and the setup of it, and honestly, for the amount of money that I hear people spend on sending their children to preschool I would totally recommend this instead! That $20 is all the sudden child's play after some of the programs in my area that are 15-20 a day... multiplied by 2-3 times a week. Yep, the heart attack just came back. So, I would ABSOLUTELY use Time4learning for preschool if you're thinking about sending your child to one and then just add in some "play dates" if you feel so inclined.

There is an option to try a free demo here so you can get an idea of how the program works. And of course you can always sign up for a month and see how it works for you and cancel without penalty if you don't feel like it's something you want to do.

I think by doing this review I've found that this sort of program is really not for me, and that has a lot to do with our style of learning. We learn as a family and I prefer things done as a group and not so much an individual or two at the computer alone. Granted I could be there holding their hand through everything, but that feels like it defeats the purpose since you're essentially buying a teacher/tutor.... so, maybe it made me feel obsolete and I'm just jealous? Who knows!

That being said, I can see this being beneficial for someone transitioning with their child from public school to homeschool or having no idea what or how they want to teach/what would work best for their child. I know people often have moments where something happens in the family and maybe a month or more with a web based program that does all the work would also be a great help, and this would certainly fit the bill! So, I say go try it out and see what you think... and if you realize that you're weird like me and it's not going to work then at least keep it in the back of your mind as something that could bail you out of a stressful situation while still providing a good education for your child (well, assuming that s/he isn't like my oldest or eventually snaps out of it! :-D).

If you'd like to see what other Crew Members are saying about this product please 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 - Nature Nuts!

Thanks to Griddly Game's I again got to expand my game collection recently! We were lucky enough to get the game Nature Nuts to review over the last month, and we've all enjoyed it.

I'll admit it though, this game is a trivia game... and while it does have 3 and 7 point questions on each card (the 7's are supposed to be more advance, sometimes I don't think that's true though!), I found myself good and stumped on more than one occasion! (I KNOW my questions were tougher than the others!) ;-)

Upon opening the game my first thoughts were that I really liked the box that houses the game pieces... it doesn't take up a lot of room and has a good strong magnet to keep it closed AND THE DIRECTIONS ARE WRITTEN ON THE INSIDE OF THE LID! (what you read there is that you can take it with you places, could make for a good car trip game! Love that!). My one turn off? ...and Nathan agrees, so it isn't just me being weird... is that the cards could use an upgrade. They're pretty flimsy from our point of view (then again we spend our days with a gaggle of little people, so perhaps our thoughts of what holds up is a bit different from others :-D). In any case! That's not going to keep up from buying other offerings from this company... Nathan already has his sights on buying a game that works similarly to this one but that is based on civilizations (a forte of his... can't imagine why he'd want that!)

So, how does it play?

First you decide on a point or time limit that you want to play to. We've played more for fun and to teach our children why the answers to the questions make sense, if they didn't already guess the answer, so we've never set up a point/time limit. We play until we're finished :-). There is a dice in the box that has a colored dot on each side: red, yellow, green, blue, orange and purple. The colored dot then determines what card stack you get to answer a question from: Earth, Animals, Planets, or a Wise Alec card (also known as the stack that has random questions, tongue twisters, exercises to do etc., these ones can be a lot of fun!) So, you get the question right you get the points, you get it wrong and it's the next persons turn. And that's the extent of the "rules." Are you in love yet? I love simplicity!!

My children are a bit young for this game (the recommendations is for kids 8+), however, they REALLY enjoy it! They know a lot about plants and animals etc., but a lot of these questions have set us off looking up answers and studying in a way that I didn't realize it would. So, perhaps we use this a bit like a curriculum of sorts? Who knows if that's what you would call it, but it's increased our knowledge and that gets a gold star from me!! Oh, and while it says that this is for 2-4 players, you could easily pull this out as a single person or play with the whole family and do teams etc. The more the merrier I say!

If you would like to check out Nature Nuts by Griddly Games I would definitely recommend it. The link above will send you to a page that has the product listed as well as a short video that will show you how to play (for all my visual learners out there :-D).

You can find Nature Nuts and other Griddly Games at various retailers both online and in-store. For a list of those retailer's please go here. I've seen this game for as little as $14.99 through Griddly's affiliates.

If you'd like to see what other Crew Members are saying about this product please go here. Enjoy!

*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 - Flea Circus

So... remember how I told you that Nathan and I were busy having fun testing out products?? In light of that, here's another review for you! (You'll get another one in 2 days too :-D)!

I was REALLY excited to get this product.... cause it's a game! I should seriously take a picture of our game closet for you, we definitely like a good game and add to that collection every year for our anniversary :-). Anyway! A game creator that I really enjoy is Reiner Knizia, and guess what?? This game is officially known as "Reiner Knizia's Amazing Flea Circus"! The box is even fun to look at!

So? How does it play? Very simply... which is BEAUTIFUL! The suggested ages of play on Flea Circus are 6 and up and it is meant for 2-6 players. This game is a card game, but it has a little bit of a twist that makes it even more enjoyable for the little people (okay, maybe the adults get a kick out of it too)... we'll get to that! :-)

Upon opening the box you have the following contents:
*55 cards (An assortment of "attractions", "free tickets", "flea acrobats", and "animal catchers")
*20 rubber cats
*20 rubber dogs
*And of course, the rules... which consist of one piece of paper folded in half... like I said, the simplicity is nice!

Did you catch the rubber animals stuck in there?? Ha! That's what makes scoring (and playing) this game interesting. Dogs are worth 2 points and cats are worth 1.... don't know how I feel about the how assessment on the worth of each animal there, but that'll have to be for another post!

Flea circus literally takes about 10 minutes to play and even my 6 year old caught on really fast. Once you know what each card does you're set! There's no other required reading as the cards are just pictures.

How do you play?
-Each person gets 5 cards in their hand and one at a time puts on a "show." A show is the pile that you start right in front of you to have dog and cat "spectators" come and watch. I like that there's a "math" concept hidden here where children have to figure out how many of each animal they are going to get in order to have the right number of spectators around. I.e. if my card let's me get 3 spectators and all I want is dogs in my pile, then I'm going to have to give a cat back etc. Or, I get 2 spectators this round... that means 1 dog or 2 cats right? And then towards the end of the game you find that you're having to do a lot more exchanging with the pile in the center to even get the proper amount because there aren't any of one animal any more, or not enough.

The game ends when all of the cats and dogs (that you got to dump into piles in the center of the table at the beginning.... my favorite part!) are gone. Then it's to counting up how many cats and dogs each person has to determine a winner.

My oldest son gave this game 2 thumbs up and his younger siblings are chewing at the bit to play. Personally I haven't started playing with my next youngest children because I can see how it could be a little confusing for them to think through, but honestly when it comes down to it all they'd have to do is put down a card and I'd just ask them if they want a cat/dog or combination. It wouldn't be a big deal. Who cares if they don't really understand what the cards mean? *laugh* After putting that into words I think we're going to have to play as a family today, I'm feeling a little guilty for not involving them sooner. In my defense though, I wanted to get my oldest's opinion free of "background noise." So his favorite things are:

**The pictures on the cards (which I agree with, they're fun and bright colored).
**The cats and dogs (They do add enjoyment to the game).

Do I have any dislikes? Not necessarily. I think I would prefer a little bit sturdier of a card, but they work the way that they are. There's also a few cards in this game that could cause, umm... a little friction. My husband and I played this a few times before my son ever got his hands on it and we quickly realized that a few cards/ways of play that allow a player to TAKE spectators from OPPONENTS could turn tables quickly and cause hard feelings etc. I don't think that's any reason not to buy it (I mean, what we normally play and are gearing our kids for are 30 min+ strategy games as well as games like chess.... pieces will be taken! Plans will need to be revised!), I'm just letting you know that this isn't just a kids game where there is no strategy or adversity :-D. It's really quite clever.

Would I recommend this game to you? Absolutely! It's great to feel like you can sit down and play a game with your child that they enjoy and that doesn't take up the whole table and/or afternoon. This is definitely a first pick for me when it comes to getting the question "Mom, will you play a game with me?" We can usually even get in 2-3 rounds.

The makers of this product, R&R Games, sells Flea Circus on their website for $15.95.....

BUT, as a special offer to you they are offering a 20% discount on all of their products through the end of the year!!!! The discount code to use on their website is CREW20.

If you like a good game and have younger kids at your house, you'll enjoy this one!

**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 - How to Have a H.E.A.R.T. For Your Kids

I was recently asked to review a new book put out by Apologia (which I had only known of as a company that produced Christian base science curriculums previous to receiving this material). Written by Rachael Carman, the book is called How to Have a H.E.A.R.T for Your Kids, it retails for $13 and is found under Apologia Press's Resources for Parents.... which I definitely think is appropriate placement! I am not one to shy away from any resource that will help me, and in most cases at least remind me, of the things that I need to be doing to ensure a strong relationship with my spouse and children. This book is no exception and I'm grateful for the opportunity that I had to read it and add to my "resources"!

I'll admit that I was a bit thrown off by the title of this book once I started reading the core of it, but I appreciate how the material is presented. It's no mistake that the word H.E.A.R.T is printed as such... it's an acronym that stands for Have a heart for the things of God, Enrich your marriage, Accept your kids, Release them to God, and Teach them the truth.

The introduction to this book is wonderful because you really get a feel for Rachael and her journey towards homeschooling. She's very relatable and candid as she describes how she went from dreaming of the time she would have to herself while her children were at school, to a knowledge that she was the teacher that their family had been praying for their children. From here she hops right into breaking apart the word H.E.A.R.T.

It's absolutely fitting that a book on having a heart for your children starts with addressing OUR personal relationship with God. However, I have to admit, I feel like the writing style and feel that I had when reading the introduction dropped off a bit here. Don't get me wrong, things did pick back up for me afterwards, I just didn't care for how this chapter was presented, despite the conviction that I feel that we absolutely DO need to assess and access our relationship with God before we can really be the parents that we need to be. Rachael states several times in this work how these children are God's and placed here for His purposes... so they're really more on loan to us and we need to be in touch with Him so we know how to help our children. I couldn't agree more! ... I'm just funny about how messages are put to me and for some reason this chapter was hard for me to get through.

Moving on! I could have ran up and hugged Rachael when I saw a chapter on Enriching the relationship with your spouse! I think this point often gets missed by people. However, children need to see a loving relationship between their parents and to feel safety and love. I love the attention that is given to the lessons that children learn from how parents treat each other, and how parents can show love for one another. I'm a pretty big proponent of treating your husband like a real man and Rachael reminds women of this need with way more tack then I'm sure I've ever come across with! You really need to read this chapter, it made me smile :-).

The last three chapters really rolled into one for me and were delightful to read. I'm a human and while I have 500 things on my mind, I can in no way keep the millions of things I've learned constantly on my mind... (I'm pretty sure that's why the scriptures remind us so often to remember things and that they're so repetitive... this stuff is that important!)... so it was really wonderful for me to be reminded that "Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Caleb, Gideon, Elijah, Samuel, David, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Daniel", and other Old Testament prophets were all sent at just the right time to help lead God's people. (Yep, enter a huge DUH moment for me right here!) Rachael really makes you think about the things that you're praying for or what others are praying for i.e. righteous fathers, mothers and leaders, cures for illnesses, etc.... and then to remember that the answers to those prayers could very well be living under your roof. How's that for perspective?! Again, these children are not ours but are placed here for His purposes. I love the depth that she reaches into this subject through A.R.T and would highly recommend this book even if you only read these chapters.

On a personal level, my husband who hadn't read this book and didn't have any idea of what I was specifically reading in this book, made a comment to me one day a couple of weeks ago that really caused me to stop. He was taking note about how we try to raise our children with a strong base in the gospel and relate all things back to our Heavenly Father, and how we strive to have our children grow up different from "the norm." While that is the mission of many of you reading this I'm sure, he reminded me that when we were trying to have children that we made a promise in our prayers that we would raise them up to Him and how wonderful it was that we have received so much help from Him in doing so. Hello??? How could I have forgotten so easily!! I do remember the prayers we prayed and the sadness we felt when we weren't blessed with children in our time. We did pray earnestly that we would raise them up to Him and we meant it with everything that we had! How blessed and grateful I was to be reminded of this and to see His hand in these things, and then to turn around in How to Have a H.E.A.R.T for Your Kids and read the words that our children are God's and that we need to accept them, teach them truth and release them to God? We promise to raise these children up and release them to Him! Oh my, I was hit with full force on this topic!

Minus my little hiccup at the beginning of this book, I wouldn't have wanted to miss this read! The "ah ha" and "oh yah" moments that I had in response to reading this material have really helped me through a time where I was so tired I was starting to forget why I was doing the things I was doing. It's cliche, but I really am looking forward to tomorrow and the days ahead with increase vigor thanks to the reminders I got from this book (surely I'm not the only one who has moments that require this kind of kick in the right direction?) The world needs people to stand up for truth and right and we're absolutely responsible for raising children fit for the tasks at hand! We need them and God needs them! So, while we are learning to have a heart for our kids, we also learn that it isn't about us! Weird huh? :-D.

I promote truth and this book speaks truth. I hope you'll go to the Apologia website and read a sample chapter from How to Have a H.E.A.R.T. for Your Kids.

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