Women of God can never be like women of the world. The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender. There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind. There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined. We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith. We have enough greed; we need more goodness. We have enough vanity; we need more virtue. We have enough popularity; we need more purity. ~ Margaret D. Nadald

Our Father also gifted us with the nature to nurture, keen sensitivity to the Spirit, selflessness, discernment, and heroic faith. No wonder our Father placed us at the heart of the family and thus at the center of the plan of salvation. We are the Lord's secret weapon. ~ Sheri Dew


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Showing posts with label 2012 TOS Review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2012 TOS Review. Show all posts

09 May 2012

TOS REVIEW: Homeschool Library Builder

I crave books and LOVE having them in my hands... I'm sure you know the feeling! I especially enjoy sharing this experience with my children because, I'm sorry, there's no e-reader out there that warms a moment in the same way that cuddling with a good book does (I've tried, we own a whole family of such products and there really is no replacement for flipping through pages for me!) Anyway! I came across a TOS opportunity to review Homeschool Library Builder and went to take a look at what was offered because I had never heard of them..... and let's just say things got a little crazy! I wasn't sure what the concept behind the company was at first (I'm pretty sure I still have jet-lag or something like that ;-)), but they weren't kidding! The Homeschool Library Builder website is tailor made for us homeschoolers (with, dare I say, book addictions? :-D), who are looking to add to our libraries and do so on a budget. After poking around the different tabs on the website I found myself staring at a whole list of books broken down by curriculum. While we're kind of an all over the place family when it comes to homeschooling (like most of you), I was really curious when I saw a hyperlink for Five in a Row, and then a sub-link to Before Five in a Row (a "curriculum" that I wanted to start with my little boys again soon). Yep, I was hooked! There were books that I have desperately wanted... if you saw my Amazon.com wish list you would know that I'm in no way kidding about that.... but have yet to purchase because the pricing was too much. I was able to get ALL of the books that I wanted for a FRACTION of the price through Homeschool Library Builder, and oh so much more! My package shipped immediately and got here to Japan incredibly fast. While the library here is a good one, taking 5 little kids into it with a specific list of books to find isn't one of my favorite things to do :-). Needless to say, having these in my home "to keep forever!" (as my children noted when I told them that I bought these), have brought much joy! This picture was in no way staged... I sat down to finish this post, the books were stacked up by the piano, and the children just grabbed them up and went their own ways... my house is still really quiet as they gobble up their new treasures. The Homeschool Library Builder history and mission statement can be found here: "Homeschool Library Builder is co-owned by two veteran homeschool families dedicated to Christ-centered education. Our desire is to help homeschool families affordably collect books for their literary-based educational needs. We stock both new and used books found in popular literature-based homeschool curricula, as well as select titles to supplement your unit studies. Whether you're looking for educational or leisure, inspirational or reference, self-help, activity, or classic reading, we are committed to providing wholesome materials that will enrich the entire family." We've certainly found this to be true and hope that by writing about these fantastic women will guide you to getting affordable books for your family! I had personal interaction with the lovely Gayla of Homeschool Library Builder... she had been out of town when I initially placed my order, then I sent an email asking if I could add to my order (because I went scouring in their other sections that are broken down by age etc... yah, I'm surprised I didn't buy them out!). Anyway, I hadn't heard back from them, but I did get a call one morning at 3am after having just hopped back in bed from being up with our 5 month old. On the other end of the line was the sweetest voice you can imagine! She was telling me that I could add to my order, but I was trying not to say too much because Nathan was still asleep... poor Gayla was horrified when I told her the time and apologized over and over. I had a good laugh about it, and we talked again the following week and laughed about it together (this time at about 9:30 am :-D). For some reason her emails weren't coming through to me, so she took the time to personally call (and adjust her work hours so she could call at a good time for me), and we had a great chat! She also let me know of additional books that she had gotten in for the genre that I was looking for. I'm ABSOLUTELY happy with the order that I received from Homeschool Library Builder and will definitely be ordering from them again (actually, I should probably just add it to the monthly budget at this point!). Signing up to be a member (for FREE) on the website will allow you to get updates on upcoming specials going on with the company. They also provide a military discount! The books all vary by price and condition... there's a description on the page to tell you if the book is new, used, or if there's a crease somewhere etc. Many of the books that I received were used and in exactly the condition that I was told they would be in. Being a member also allows you to accumulate "book points" that will add up to free books! ALL ITEMS for the month of May are 25% off! I'd check back in with them often, when I found the site they had $1, $2, $3 and $5 bins... we found A LOT of treasures there! Happy Reading! To see what other members of the Crew are saying about Homeschool Library Builder you can go here. **This review was of my own honest opinion. I did not receive any compensation or items in return for this post.

10 April 2012

TOS Review - AIMS It's About Time


Last year I wrote up a review on AIMS (Activities Integrating Math and Science) Primarily Magnets, and now I've had the chance to work with their "It's About Time" program.

I was sent a fantastic 176 page book full of information, with 22 activities, and an accompanying cd to reproduce print outs and am looking forward to using it more! (Our move has gotten in the way of using this book the way that I would have wanted to, but we've still enjoyed it anyway!) The format of It's About Time is one that we were familiar with coming from the Primarily Magnets Book, you can see a preview here.


It's created for use with children who are grades k-2, but we involve everyone around here... the little guys love to color pictures, and I think that because of the way the lessons are written that they also understand a lot of what we're working on. Through this curriculum we've been able to introduce a lot of new vocabulary as well as concepts that I had no clue how to address before (if you read my Primarily Magnets review you'll understand where I'm coming from!)

The first few Concepts and Skills covered in "It's About Time" include:
-Developing a Sense of Time: The Long and Short of It *identifying long time and short time* (HELLO! This one is HUGE!!! My children used to think that everything takes F O R E V E R... I'm sure you've never heard that right? :-D. Thank you AIMS!)

-Ordering Events: Before and After *indentifying before and after* Line Up the Time *ordering events in the school day*

-Quantifying Time: Time Counts *timing by counting swings of a pendulum* Time in a Bottle! *timing with a sand timer*

-Developing an Awareness of Clocks: Clocks, Clocks, and More Clocks *comparing and contrasting a variety of clocks and watches*

We're excited to continue on in our learning which will include Reading an Analog Clock, Reading a Digital Clock, Elapsed Time, and more "Playful and Intelligent Practice" (where we can use fun activities to put our new knowledge to work!)

I really enjoy AIMS products and have found them to be very affordable. I would highly recommend It's About Time! We have a section on time learning in our regular math curriculum, but I love that AIMS specifically focuses on in and supplements in such a way that it could be a full curriculum for us in and of itself. These are so fun, straight forward, and leave my children inspired and excited about science and math! Plus the hands-on teaching method means a lot to me... I want my children to REALLY learn these concepts and not just fill their minds with information quickly and move on.

The "It's About Time" book+ CD can be purchased for $21.95 from the AIMS store, or you can also purchase a downloadable e-book for the same price.

To see what other crew members are saying about "It's About Time" as well as other AIMS products, you can go here.

*As part of the 2012 TOS Homeschool Crew I was given a free copy of this product in exchange for my honest review."

01 April 2012

TOS Review - Amazing Animals by Design


My children and I have had the chance to review a new book put out by Debra Haagen, (who is also a fellow homeschool mom and military wife!), called Amazing Animals by Design.

Amazing Animals by Design is a children picture book that provides a Christian view to explain why certain animals have such different unique features..... for example, the back cover reads: "Why is a giraffe’s neck so tall? Why do zebras have stripes? Did all of these things happen by accident? When John and Sarah visit the zoo, they ask these questions and many more. Their parents and the zookeepers keep using the word design, but what does that mean? With its relevant message and exciting presentation, this is the perfect book to help introduce children to intelligent design."

I definitely have to agree with this synopsis. My children were engaged throughout the book and we all learned a lot (I'm really jealous of Debra's kids, and a bit embarrassed that I hadn't taken the time to consider all of the fascinating things that this book brings up to teach to my kids). I appreciate the way that Amazing Animals by Design introduces the concept of intelligent design... I also appreciate that it is a good mix of information. While I believe in creation, and that is what I teach my children, there are times when Christian based texts lack factually.... I was very pleased that this book was presented in a straight forward way that made sense.

The night before our first encounter with this book we had watched a documentary on penguins, and while reading this book my children started bringing up what features God had given them. It was great to see that they were making correlations with the information in the book without any prompting from me. As far as I was concerned I was just reading them a nice book about a brother and sister who go to the zoo together... what they got out of it was so much more than I had even hoped for. My children (to include my 6, 5, and 3 year old) were all able to tell me about the things they had learned... like why an elephant has a trunk and what would happen if it didn't, and about cheetah's and caracals (yah, I've seen caracals but I had know idea that they weren't like your typical "cats"! Who knew not all cats had great balance?)

I don't know that there's anything that I would change about Amazing Animals by Design, except to say that it should be made into a series. We would enjoy being able to read more about different animals through a story book and in a way that highlights the fact that God created all things for His purpose.

I think Amazing Animals by Design would be a great addition to any family's library... I reviewed an e-book version, so that was more difficult to just have the kids sit down with while I read, but you're really lucky because now the book is in print and can be purchased here for $8.99. (The e-book is also available for $7.99).

To see what other crew members think about this product please feel free to go here.

**As a member of The Old Schoolhouse homeschool crew team I was given this product free of charge in exchange for my honest review.**

25 March 2012

TOS Review - I See Sam

**WARNING: LOTS OF GUSHING, AND WELL DESERVED PRAISE AND ADORATION TO FOLLOW**

Where does one start with "I See Sam"??? How about the part where I read the instructions the first night I got my "I See Sam" box, tried it with my son the next morning, then immediately shot an email off to the vendor because I NEEDED this for my daughter ASAP, and am getting ready to buy the next set for my son?

Yes, I'm THAT impressed. After trying so many curriculums, book sets, methods, apps, online programs, you name it!, I have finally found a "go to" product. I have had lots of things that I like being offered in various programs for different reasons, but I feel like "I See Sam," a part of theReading for All Learners "Little Books" program, combines them all into one cost effective curriculum that's easy to use.

In preparing for this vendor, crew members were asked to have their child take a placement test to see what set of books would be appropriate for their child. After some thought, I decided that I should try the product with my oldest son because his reading had become stagnant over time, and I wasn't sure what to do to get him moving forward again. So, I followed the assessment instructions found here, and remembered really quickly why I chose him for this product! He was making silly mistakes throughout the assessment, and I knew he knew better! After some time as the assessment progressed, I realized that these mistakes were why I needed to use this product with him and I requested Box Sets 3 & 4. While he tested fine for Set 3, the assessment for Set 4 was giving him a lot of trouble. I'm so glad that he got placed where he was! Initially I didn't understand why I would need him to read through a set that he had already "mastered," but it was clear that the Academic Success for All Learners people know what they're talking about :-D.

The books challenged my oldest while not being overwhelming, he looked forward to them everyday, loved the story, studied the pictures, enjoyed talking about them, and was THRILLED to see his reading advance!

Here is Set 3 "our yellow books":


And Set 4 "our green books" (Original names for us to use, I know, but I do enjoy the colors on the outside, and that the pictures inside are fun, but are black and white so they're not distracting):


How do they books work? Why am I so sold on this for reading??? EASY:

Once you've had your child take the assessment and get the set that fits them best (be honest, when it says they can only make "x" amount of mistakes just go with it, even if you think/know your kid knows that or can do better), you'll get a box with up to 27 books and a teachers/parent guide telling you HOW to use the books, along with a cute chart for your child to track the books they've completed.... my son got to a point where he was planning how he was going to color in the shape with the number book he read in it... I didn't realize how big that would be for him to visually see where he was at.

In the guide there is a copy of a full book that is diagramed to show you what you'll encounter as you go through the series. What stuck out to me as I was reading through the instructions was that each book starts with a section that reviews sounds specific to the book that you're reading that your child should already know (and that they must know before they move on), then it adds new sounds for them to master before moving on, then it provides words and new words that the child must know. I hope that's not confusing! (Look at it here!) The process is simple, and what happens is that your child has all the skills in hand, once they've finished with these pages, to successfully read the book! It's B E A U T I F U L!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There are no surprise words hidden here. I've enjoyed other series of beginning readers that build on basic phonics and are not throwing out words like "said" etc that the child has no basis for knowing what it is! (*cough* I learned that lesson early on thanks to another homeschooling mom :-D). So, your child starts reading, and then at the bottom of the page there are prompts for questions to ask your child to help their comprehension, as well as a little smiley face to remind you to praise your child... and, in the guide, it lets you know that specific praise is vital. This was a BIG help for me.... it's easy to say "good job" it's hard to remember to do it frequently or point out "you're doing a great job figuring out the word "x".

The other thing that I think is unique to this system of learning is how they advise you to go over words. They have you go about teaching your child "the slow way" and "the fast way" of sounding out a word. By doing this, you aren't teaching your child any irregular words.... for instance, "the" is sounded out the slow way letter by letter "t" "h" "e" and the fast way it says "the." While I appreciate sight words, there's something liberating about your child still being able to use their original phonics knowledge... it helped my children gain more confidence by not discounting what they already know. There is even specific guidelines for how to say these sentences as you go through these steps (my kids are sleeping, maybe I can type those up for you later!) The books run in sequence, each one building on the next, and you have a progressing happy reader on your hands!

Everything is laid out before you, you can't fail with this program! After passing through the "slow way/fast way" a couple of times with my oldest who was making silly mistakes, he QUICKLY learned that if he wanted to continue on without stopping to do this on words he already knew that he was going to have to put forth a better effort.... and he did! He completely despises having to stop to review words (which you're instructed to do each time they get a word wrong i.e. "this word is 'Sam' we sound out this word the slow way "s" "a" "m" and the fast way it's "Sam"). It's SO clever!! This system does not have any down side in my eyes. My son finished out set 3, started set 4 (which is pushing him in a great way and building AMAZINGLY well on the skills that he already solidified in the previous set). He loves all the stories and it was a happy surprise that set 4 has multiple stories in each book! Additionally, there are assessments along the way, and it's great to see how far he's coming. He notices his progress and enjoyed that bump in the right direction! Have I mentioned how much I love these books?? Here's a video for you too:



Now, while I wasn't technically given sets 1 and 2 to review, I can't not say something about them!!! My daughter is my super dyslexic, we didn't even know if she could learn how to read because it's so frustrating for her even though she really wants to, kid. SHE'S READING!!! I could cry! Not only is she reading, but since she has learned how to read she spends more time figuring other things out because this has opened such a big, heavy, door for her that she's felt has been locked for so long! It's been amazing, and I am a life long I See Sam user. I'll be purchasing sets 5 and 6 in April, and I look forward to walking all of my children through these books. I've yet to see my husband really truly be impressed with a program.... her progress left him SPEECHLESS. The Sam hand puppet is even a member of our home... he's cute and fun for even my little guys. The name "Academic Success for All Learners" is definitely one that describes this company! I am so grateful and feeling so blessed to have been able to review this program. The results that I saw with this program have been priceless and almost instantaneous! I can recommend this program to ANYONE and feel great about it. These books are a welcomed addition to any home with readers who are at or trying to be reading at a K to almost 4th grade level.

If your curious to see the scope and sequence of the books you can find it here. As for price? Each set (of up to 27 books) is $30 and can be purchased through www.iseesam.com. Would I pay a bunch more for these books... you bet!... am I glad I don't have to, absolutely! The low cost, especially when factored into how many times these will be used over and over with all of my children, makes this homeschool mom very happy!

If you'd like to see what other crew members are saying about I See Sam please go here.

*As a member of the 2012 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.*

05 March 2012

TOS Review - K5 Learning

This is a sight/site that makes my oldest jump for joy:



K5 Learning is an online reading and math learning program for kids pre-kindergarten through 5th grade. I was able to try this program out for the last few weeks, and it's one that my son asks for regularly. I'll have to get more of his personal responses for this review (he wanted to give me input for this review as his sister got to give hers previously, but bedtime came before I sat to write this. I'll have to catch him in the morning!) Anyway, from what I can tell it was quite the hit with him!

I like that this program is very thorough and clear in teaching each lesson and takes time to test the child on that information. My son had been playing around with it for some time before I figured out/realized that I was able to get a free assessment done for him in reading and/or math. I requested both and set him to work. Shortly afterwards I was able to go into my reports and get a pretty good idea of where his strengths and weaknesses were. If I'd have to say what the most valuable part of this program is I'd definitely highlight the reports... I find that the information that I was able to gather there has helped me focus how I teach to him. Along those lines, an additional highlight of this program is that based on the child's scores it adapts lessons better fitted for their abilities to help them gain the knowledge needed to further excel in that area.



The first time that I logged into the site I remember that there was a character that was wearing a tank top, and I didn't like that. However, subsequently I haven't seen her again, and I was informed by the creator of the program that I can preview the lessons and use my discretion on if I would allow my children to do a certain lesson.... however, the characters are meant to be role models for children and he didn't expect that I'd have any issues (and I haven't since). I feel comfortable allowing my son free reign on K5. There are no chat capabilities, outside ads, or outside links. I know when the program is on that all he can access is the learning and quiz screens (there's reading lessons, math lessons, spelling facts and math facts... the last two we really didn't use. In any case, I also know that if I have any questions/concerns about the program that I can feel free to shoot an email to the creators and that they will respond quickly. I think that impresses me most of all! I also like that one of K5's self proclaimed advantages is that they aren't focused on "edutainment." That word definitely fits with a lot of products that I've seen out there and I'm glad to see one that uses their time more effectively. My son loves this program and learned a lot, but even though the characters are interactive he wasn't being entertained.



K5 offers a 14 day free trial offer that allows you to get a feel for their program with unlimited assess to 4 complete programs with "no obligation, no credit card, and free math and reading assessments." K5 also offers a monthly subscription to their program for $25 for the first child and $15 for each additional child, or an annual subscription for $199 for the first child and $129 for additional children.

To see what other crew members are saying about K5, please feel free to go here.

*As a member of the 2012 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.*

02 March 2012

TOS Review - Reading Eggs


When asking my daughter what she thought of Reading Eggs her first response was "cool!" I have to agree :-)

Reading Eggs is a really fantastic program that helps children build all of the skills necessary to be confident readers... all while having lots of fun!

I tried this program out on my ever so dyslexic 5 1/2 year, and we both have loved it. This is one program that she asks to use everyday (she just asked about it right now in fact! *laugh*). I had her start at the very beginning of the program with phonics etc, although there are options if your starting with kids that already read some. Meeting her was a cute duck that tracks her progress along a path. When going into the first lesson we meet another character, an ant, who introduces the letter that the child is working on, tells the child the sound the letter makes, has the child click on the letter coordinating with that sound, sings songs, acts silly, and is my daughters FAVORITE. The child is then guided through more activities with the same letter, ending with making "sound books" (which is also a highlight for my daughter). The sound books allow the child to find the written words to put with pictures.

I think the progression from learning the phonics of a letter clear through putting it to use in words is seamless. The creators of this program should be VERY happy with themselves.

We have a slow internet connection here, so my daughter has also had the opportunity to try out Reading Eggs clever egg catching game that plays while her next page is loading. So smart! It keeps the child interacting and engaged during loading so they don't lose interest.

I think the only think that I don't care for is the actual game section.... which kids of course love! What can I say, I'm a prude :-D. I think the program by itself is fun and very well put together and doesn't need a supplement of activities. That being said, the games are educational from what I've seen, and the option to dress your progress duck in different clothes using the coins one's earned is fun for the kids. Maybe my issue is more that I can't tell if there's a time limit for the games. It seemed like my daughter spent more time away from the lesson then I cared for.

Anyway! Back to my pros, Reading Eggs also tracks the child's progress and is really user friendly. I highly recommend it!

Reading eggs can be used for children ages 3-13.... and there's a FREE TRIAL! . Reading eggs can be purchased by creating a login and then selecting "Purchase Reading Eggs" on your dashboard. Then the options for a monthly $9.95, 6 moth $49.95, or 12 month $75 subscription come up. A nice break for parents with multiple children is that they offer 50% of for additional children getting the same package. Definitely a bonus!

We've really enjoyed this program and has improved my daughters understanding and confidence with letter sounds and relating them to words. To see what other crew members are saying about this product you can go here.

*As a member of the 2012 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.*

03 February 2012

TOS Review - KinderBach



We've been blessed to try out another great product that I had no idea existed! KinderBach is a web based program that helps your child(ren) learn about music theory/piano and that you can log into from any computer. I thought this program was going to be more about learning composers etc., but was pleasantly surprised that it was basically a piano teacher in my own home! I teach my children piano (it's a mandatory skill in our home), but this was a great reinforcement and Miss Karri taught them concepts in a very fun and clear way.

From the first lesson I was really excited about this program. I downloaded a good sized piano/theory book (free from the website), so my children not only watched a well done video explaining the black keys on the keyboard and learning what letter is associated with white keys based on their placement around the black keys, but they were able to follow along and find things in their "workbook." I found myself enjoying listening and watching the videos as well and I loved watching my littlest guys be able to have fun and learn as well (since they are not currently "being taught" piano). I would recommend this program to anyone with children ages 3-7 (and maybe a little younger and older depending on your child.

I am highly considering buying the program myself... there is a discount for buying a year at a time for 95.88 which makes the monthly more than half off the regular. Or, you can go month to month and pay 19.99. You can also access the lessons on an iPad, Android Tablet, Kindle Fire or Nook, so that makes using this program pretty easy no matter what your device or location. And, of course my favorite thing about KinderBach, is that you can try it for FREE! Yah, I'm a sucker for that. I think if you go to the website and give it a try that you'll be pleasantly surprised. Being able to learn and receive information in a lot of different forms is big in our house with such a wide variety of learners, so from video, to audio, to hands on and coloring pages etc., this stimulates all my children's learning styles and has taught and helped me teach a lot of concepts.

A few of there perks of KinderBach is that the lessons can also be purchased in DVD form and in either medium you can skip around lessons if your child needs to go ahead or redo any concept. You really can't go wrong with this program, especially if you're considering getting a piano teacher for your little one(s). This will save you a lot of money in the formative time of learning piano and give them a great head start for when they will start working with a teacher.

In addition to the normal great pricing, KinderBack is offering an extra 30% off any order by using the promotion code: TOScrew2012 ! So yes, go check this one out! You have nothing to lose and a great resource to gain if you do :-)

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

*As a member of the 2012 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.*

25 January 2012

TOS Review - We Choose Virtue Cards


I'll be honest. I was really excited when I found out that we were going to review for We Choose Virtues.... and then I was a little disappointed when I got the product initially. I pulled out this tiny packet of cards and wasn't at all sure what to do with them! Over time they've become something that we actually look forward to spending time with. The package that comes is a set of cards (the size of business cards) in a plastic envelope that snaps shut. The cards themselves are high quality thick card stock, printed with bright colors, and the illustrations/design is really fun. My initial disappointment was over the fact that the cards were so small.... however, we still found great usage.

For example, there is a card that comes in that pack that suggests picking a virtue to work on for the day. I thought this was a good idea and then realized that not only was there a virtue and definition of what it is and what it isn't on the front, but that the backside extended a specific challenge for the child for that virtue. So, starting with day one I had one of my children pick a card and we would discuss it and try to work on the challenge for the day and I'd use the virtue topic throughout our day in both praise and correction. i.e. "Wow, you're being really diligent, thank you so much!" or "When we do '_______' is that showing self control?" I've really looked forward to each day and so have my children. They all get to take a turn picking a card throughout the week and eagerly await the next time they get a turn. Eventually I got smart and I grabbed a magnet that has a clip on it and my oldest now switches out the card of the day on the whiteboard that has our memorization things on it so we can actually see the virtue that we're working on so we can memorize the definition of the virtue too.

After having these cards, and not having any other connection to this company besides things other bloggers have said, I went off in search of more products from them along the lines of teaching virtues because of my experience. I think what has ended up really appealing to me is the fact that the definitions given of each of the virtues are what I want to teach my child. I enjoy that the children learn what being honest, diligent, obedient etc., is and are given examples of what it isn't in a straight forward and clear/kind way. I often find that companies or people teaching moral principles use scripture to condemn a child or focus too much on the idea that not acting in accordance with these virtues is sin. Yes, I understand that we're not perfect and that not following these guidelines is a sin, but I don't think we needs to be so negative with children and "talk them into" being good by striking fear within them. Anyway! Long story short, this product stays upbeat and is encouraging children along this path of learning moral character. I love that! I've since looked into getting larger poster of the virtues for my children as well as a chart that might help them get even more excited about this aspect of life that the are considering more closely.

I'm very happy that I got to review this product! Don't let the size fool you, this is a great addition to any home and it's portability may be even more helpful to families on the go! A quick reminder on the way to school or a lesson of some sort could make a big difference in how your children handles themselves on any given day! Every opportunity to teach our children should be seized and this is a great tool that will easily find a spot into your family's schedule!

You can purchase We Choose Virtue Cards for $19.99 from their website that can be found here.

To find out what other crew members are saying about We Choose Virtue Cards you can go here.

*As a member of the 2012 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.*