A Sunny Place

Refrigerator Art, crayons, tractors, & dolls… (Molly's Digest)

This would probably appropriately describe the “décor” that currently is the theme of our home.  On my refrigerator are pictures the kids have colored, on another piece of furniture is some sand art they created at VBS, also on an end table is a  coaster our oldest made at a club meeting, on the floor toys scattered about.  On my mantle are model tractors & an oil lamp – per the request of my husband, around other furniture are some baskets that I purchased at garage sales that hold or hide things such as magazines, books or whatever toy the children decided to hide in it instead of placing where it belonged. 

So, I was looking forward to reading the latest Molly’s digest.  I do acknowledge that I am not gifted at decorating and tend to set things around so that it looks nice, but not with any knowledge of themes or color schemes!    Molly’s digest had some helpful information for me the all thumbs decorator!

I appreciated the frugal tips that were interspersed throughout the decorating articles.  All of these were reasonable and very doable on a frugal budget.  There were some step by step descriptions on how to ensemble a decorative grouping for minimal cost and how to do your own French painting – now that might be something I’d try!  The information on keeping a home décor binder is probably what will help me the most since I have trouble picturing and remembering things I’ve seen that I appreciate.

There was also a couponing article, but I will admit – this one wasn’t as valuable as it may be to some.  At our house we mainly purchase ingredients - I haven’t noticed a coupon lately for a bushel of peaches or one good towards 2 quarts of pickling cucumbers – but nevertheless I should look into their link as they promote that they are getting a large value of groceries for free, now that may be of interest!  But it is encouraging to know that it is possible to cut your grocery bill down and there are different options for every lifestyle!

There is one parenting tip on achieving a quieter home that if it works – it is WELL worth the cost of this month’s issue!  I will be trying this one out as sometimes tones seem to escalate around here and I’m at a loss for how to bring the decibel level down to something reasonable without squashing simple childhood fun! 

There are some very helpful blog links – why purchase a decorative magazine when you can get great beautiful advice for free!  This would save you a tremendous amount of time if you were searching them out on your own. 

The step by step explanations on the various decorating recommendations are helpful and interesting!  There are some samples if you want to look through previous to your purchase - see HERE.

I appreciate the list of things that you will find on sale this month;  things that tend to be discounted that you can stock up on now for bargain prices.   I also read that next month’s is lessons learned from the Great Depression – now that is something I am VERY interested in – perhaps I will be purchasing that copy!! 

Happy Frugal Decorating!

If A = B & B=C Then A must = C

This is what I remember from my college logic class.   I didn't have a classical education, and so my classical background isn't very proficient.  I have often looked through classical education catalogs.  I do appreciate some aspects of what classical education promotes.  We have had the opportunity to have a small taste of some of curriculum that is classically based.  We have been using a few products from Memoria Press.  I have appreciated the opportunity to look through them. 

Memoria Press is a classical curriculum provider.    They offer a wide array of curriculum to support your classical education style.  Even if you don’t embrace a complete classical style of education, they have many products that are of interest to all.

They offer studies in Latin for various levels.   They also offer Support for Logic, Rhetoric, Latin, Liberal Arts,  Classical Studies, English, French, Christian Studies/Bible, & Copywork & Cursive. 

Much of what they have available is for grade 3 & up.  They do offer copywork and cursive course for K-2 which is the age bracket that our daughters fall in.  Our daughters have been begging to learn cursive.  It’s nearing the end of the school year so I was just going to wait until next year.  Memoria sent us  2 copies of their New American Cursive to try out and our daughters REALLY like it!  How often do children grab their penmanship/writing curriculum and do it first because they enjoy it so much.  Our daughters gladly do their cursive each day and are very excited to be learning it!  They have almost progressed through the entire alphabet and can now write their names (very legibly) in cursive after only doing this several weeks!   Children used to learn cursive/script at an early age, now we hold off until older grades.  If your child struggles in penmanship, I’ve even read that starting them on cursive can actually improve their handwriting.  The letters have been very easy for them to learn!   They have simplified some of the more difficult cursive letters.  These books cost $22.95 each. This is the teacher & student guide together in one book.  It is consumable. You can see a sample of the letters here.

We also have the opportunity to use the Christian Studies I. Although this is for older students, we have been able to use it easily with our girls.  I appreciate that it gives me something on a simpler level that is actually more than just a Bible story!  It has maps available to show them where geographically the events occurred. Also, the questions and supplemental information are very helpful for background information to be included in the lessons.  I have a Bible College education and the curriculum is an excellant reminder of what extras I can be adding int to our Bible instruction for our children, even at this young of age!  The Christian Studies sets cost $38.90 per set and that is for both the teachers book and the student book.  Additional student books are $20.95.  They do utilize the Golden Children's Bible - and it is based on KJV style, but you can use the scriptures and your own preference on translation and adapt very easily.

Also the copywork books were one other product we had the opportunity to look at. I appreciate that there is a sense of purpose with the copywork that they provide.  I appreciate al lthe products we have received from Memoria Press and we intend to continue using them.  Each copybook costs only $14.95 or you can purchase the entire set for $39.95.

As I said previously, even if you are not a complete classical educationist - I believe Memoria Press is worth your consideration. They do have a wide variety of products.  I appreciate their product, and we will continue using and complete what they have sent to us.  I even appreciate reading their catalog!  They include not only their products, but articles written in support and consideration of classical education.  I have always enjoyed their catalog. You may request one here.

Check out their web site today and see if they have something to offer your little homeschool!

ws

So what's the verdict? (Homeschool Topic)

First place is a 3 way tie here!  The three companies holding first place are:

1.                  a.  Homeschool in the Woods (these products are phenomenal!)

b.      All About Spelling (The best spelling program I have seen!)

c.       Artistic Pursuits (If the cost weren’t a factor – I would buy them all!)

Second Place here holds a 4 way tie.  All of these each had their own merits that placed them in this category.

2.

a.       ABC’s of Homeschooling (this is an excellent program with wonderful information!)

b.      Critical Thinking Company (a wide variety of great activity books and programs to enhance education  & thinking skills!)

c.   Bible Songs (truly beautiful uplifting CD’s!!)

d.   Spell Quizzer (My daughters REALLY like this little program! – they think it’s fun to do and even willingly come in and run through it.  My K level daughter thinks it’s grand that she can do the whole 5^th grade sample spelling test correctly simply from running through it again and again!)

3. Trigger Memory System (My children still pull them out to do their chores)
4. Apologia (We have 3 in the elementary series now!)
5. Aurolog Spanish (Truly a quality Spanish program!)
6. Truthquest (A Great way to learn history!)
7. Memoria Press (Classical ed can be a lot of fun! [Contrary to some myths])
8. One2Believe Toys (A wonderful selection, I hope we can get more!)
9. Core Learning –Crayola Art CD (My children really enjoy this and the sample programs they sent to us!)
10. Salem Ridge Press – (I appreciate what this company is doing for our reading opportunities.  I’m excited to see what additional titles they will be able to add to their selection in the future.)

Honorable Mention:

            Spears Art Studio (this is a great product for art, I appreciate that so many grades are included, and that it is seasonly themed.  It is very flexible for the homeschool setting!

            Schoolside Press - The Little Man in the Map (a very cute pneumonic product that we intend to pull out and read again and again!)

All of the above mentioned companies are companies worthy of your consideration in my opinion.  All of them offer a quality product for you to consider!

If you click on product reviews on the side you can read more detailed reviews about each of the companies listed here.

wendy

The Adventures of High Fligh the Flying Zorse...

WriteShop is a company that strives to assist you in teaching your children to write well.  They offer a variety of products to assist you in this venue for ages K-12.  You can see a listing of their products here. 

Our first experience with WriteShop was the Story Builder cards.  This time around we had the opportunity to go through the WriteShop Primary – Book A.  This book is to begin teaching writing skills at the K-1^st grade level. 

 The books are set up in mini-units of sort with a variety of activities that focus on learning to properly build and write a story.  Each lesson carries a different theme.  There are activity pages that support thte theme and each lesson walks children through stages of writing.  WriteShop begins with brainstorming, then building some thoughts on the subject, then structuring the paragraphs.  All this is done with keeping a good eye on punctuation and capitalization.  WriteShop does give you recommendations on how to apply these activities to both your older and younger learning writers.  The books are very flexible and are easily tailored to each need. If your child writes well you can do a variety of sections each day and work quickly through the text. If your child is just beginning or encountering some struggles they can move more slowly through the text.  As a teacher you can use it however much or little you are able to.  I have a friend who needs everything laid out for her, even what to say in her teacher texts.   I think she would enjoy that portion of the WriteShop Teacher’s Guide! If you don’t need that – you can take the ideas and run using your own creativity and style in your writing course. 

The book we reviewed retails for $26.95 for the print copy, the e-copy retails for $24.95 and the worksheet packets can be purchased for $4.95 printed & $4.50 e-copy.

There is a lot of time that could be spent on all the activities that are included in this book. If you are a mom/teacher who enjoys hands on, learning center, creative fun, then you will have a hay day with this wonderful resource!  You will be cutting, pasting, writing, and playing to your heart's content as you learn and progress through directed writing activities and your children learn the art of writing.

The activities are repetitive, so once you get the routine down, the children will understand the process and you can progress much more quickly through the lessons.

My daughters enjoyed the worksheets,  However, after our normal schoolwork load which includes phonics workbooks (sentence writing, and other writing activities), spelling workbook (sentence writing, story writing, and other writing activities), beginner cursive workbooks, and our general penmanship workbook they were written out!  So for us, this book at this current time added too much to the workload. This is not the fault of the program, but rather how we choose to do our homeschool.  I see this as a valuable resource for our family to use during summer vacation as an enrichment program.  Because it is set up to be fun, I would have more time to build the fun centers. Our children wouldn’t already be taxed in the area of writing during summer break and would enjoy the activities much more!  Our children tend to get bored occasionally during the summer and my daughter already has asked if we could continue school during the summer.  I think this will be a fun program for us to throw in as an educational boredom buster!

If you would like to see a sample lesson layout – click here. You can try this lesson out on your children before you buy.  You can get a feel for the routine of the program and the way the lessons are structured and laid out.  This will help you sort out if this product is a fit for your homeschool environment.   The price of the program is reasonable and I would recommend buying the preprinted workbook as your savings for the e-copy isn’t enough to compensate for your cost to print it. But if you are limited on space – perhaps the e-copy is a better match for you!

Overall this is a very well structured writing program geared for the younger elementary age bracket.  It does require extra time on the part of the mother or teacher.  You certainly can pick and choose based on the amount of time you have available to you.  The time factor would be the main draw back that I see from this program. But this drawback is also a benefit of the program as it is very well structured to teach your little one writing, and WriteShop isn’t skimping on content!

You can check out Writeshop’s Primary books that they have availablehere and see if this might be something you can add to your little homeschool!!

Happy Writing!

wendy

Mom… did you see the markings on the bird?

Also, as we walked out of a store earlier this week we heard a bird singing and our children stopped to listen and identify it as a song rather than a bird call (do you know the difference?).

This came from my 7 yr old. Now when a bird flies into our backyard and one of the girls sees it, they excitedly tell their siblings, and they all run to the window for a look.  They have identified blue birds, cardinals, robins, turtle doves, and sparrows so far this year.  We built a bird feeder and next week plan to paint an additional birdhouse to add to our small back yard.   Also the girls have mapped birds and continuing to learn more details about them. 

This excitement has come as a result of Apologia Science Elementary studies.  Our children have always enjoyed animals and birds, but never paid as close attention to them as they do now.  This is our study in Zoology as we are studying Flying Creatures of the Fifth day.  The science curriculum I used previously was a Charlotte Mason style – although it utilized secular books.  The books were informative – but did make reference to evolution and millions of years ago, etc.  They also skimmed over a large number of topics giving just some basic information before moving on to the next subject.   I really appreciate having a text that makes reference to God and how He created His animals.  As the text studies animals more in depth, these concepts are sprinkled throughout the text and I really appreciate them. 

The Apologia texts are much more in depth than your normal elementary age science class. Most touch on topics briefly as they move on to study something else.  Apologia focuses on one area for your school year and your children will learn it thoroughly!!!  You can educate a wider range of ages with Apologia.  The elementary texts run at $35, considering this is for several ages and one year of science study, I think this is a bargain!

I actually have three books from this series of texts for our children for the next several years!  They are wonderful references, full of beautiful pictures in addition to being great texts!  Apologia texts are not set up in a “traditional” textbook fashion and keep the information fun and educational at the same time.  There are also additional resources and links on their web site that correspond with your text you are studying.  A couple companies have also published companion lapbooks that you can do along with your Apologia Study.  Apologia is also in the process of adding to the study helps for their texts. They currently offer a note booking module for purchase to go along with Astronomy series for elementary. This offers notebooking support and mini books that can be used in a lapbook. They intend to increase these study helps as they are able.

Apologia Ministries states that they exist to give the home-schooled student a scientific education that will help him or her make a reasoned defense of the Christian Faith. I find this very exciting and very encouraging! I want my children to grow up with a strong scientific foundation that will enable them to defend their faith as they grow older.  I once watched a seminar put on by Ken Ham that said the basic foundation of your children’s faith should be based on creation.  If you give them a rock solid start on creation then the arrows of the evil one will be less effective as they grow older.   When their faith is challenged either by another’s words or by events in their life, the strong Biblical and scientifically supported faith will give them the tools with which to combat the assault.  The also intend to expand their study offerings and begin including apologetic studies as well!

I found the Apologia text to be a phenomenal study.  The only downside I see is if you are a person who finds constant change invigorating, then perhaps this study might prove to be to in depth or too focused on one topic. 

I appreciate Apologia's focus and well laid out texts.  I also enjoyed the layout of the chapters. It is set up in a form that requires you to read certain pages each day.  It is laid out so that you can pick it up and read however much or however little you have time for.   Apologia has a recommended amount of reading, but it is very flexible.  Because you remain focused on the same topic of study it is easier to pick up and drop off and the children still remember what we have been studying. 

Apologia offers a whole line of studies in science for all ages.  In addition to the elementary science they also offer Chemistry, Biology,  General Science, Physics, and a variety of supportive products for these topics.  This is a science resource for K through high school!

You can see more about each of these topics on their web site. If you are looking for a strong creation based, in-depth, scientific study that allows you to study with multiple ages and gives you some flexibility for your busy homeschool days –I recommend looking into Apologia!  We are enjoying it and plan to continue in our Apologia studies!!

Curl up on the couch, read fun books and call it history class!!

Now that’s my idea of a great class!!  One of our favorite things to do together is read, especially when we can find great books that interest us all!  Truthquest   history curriculum sets up this exact format for teaching your children in history! 

Truthquest History covers from the beginning of time until now and is setup for use with a variety of ages. There is the the American history for young Students which covers Grades 1-6 (I even use with with my K age daughter) and then world history which is for grades 5-12. 

You may have heard that Truthquest is just a book list.  It is a very rich literature based history curriculum.  In a sense it is a book list for you to reference, but it is much more than just a book list!  Each list of recommended reading falls into a category you are studying and coordinates with period of time or event.   Truthquest also includes commentary within each section.  The text of the Teacher’s guide is Christian oriented and the author's comments reflect that.  Truthquest believes that the exploration of history should reveal God and His truth, not glorify the achievements of mankind.  I appreciate this slant on the study of history.  Truthquest also seeks to teach your children that the only source of freedom is God's laws, and the only source of human worth is God's love for us.

As you explore each section of history Truthquest gives you a list of books you can read on that particular era.  The work is done!  Some are historical fiction, some are based on true stories, some are biographies.  Beside each title Truthquest teachers guide will tell you what grade level that book is appropriate for and even some personal opinions on the book (such as don’t miss this one).   

All the books we wanted were available at our local library. I know that not all have the larger library options, but Truthquests definitely gives an extensive enough list that you will be able to find at least a few if not many more that will support your time period of study.

All the books we obtained that were recommended in ourTruthquest guide were delightful!   Of the books we referenced all were very appropriate for the age I am teaching (level K & 1^st grade), were interesting, and informative.  There were a few that were simply fun, and the kids really enjoyed those.  I really appreciated the approach that Michelle Miller takes in her Truthquest history guides.

The price is amazing!  The guides vary in cost from $25 to $35 per teacher’s guide.  Then you use your library to supplement the rest.  For an entire year's worth of history curriculum that can be used with various grade levels I find this a steal!   I think all budgets should be able to fit this curriculum in!!  If you want to see a sample of this curriculum you can find it here. 

If you are a Charlotte Mason style educator, or simply interested in a break from standard textbooks and looking to add some fun and interesting changes in your history curriculum, I’d encourage you to take a look at Truthquest today!  Our family is enjoying this history study!

Reinstill the Wonder of Childhood

What is childhood?  It is a time for play, a time for imitation and imagination!! 

My 5 yr old daughter has fallen in love with horses.  At our local farm/country store they have a large display of beautiful animal figurines that are very realistic looking!  She has always looked and pleaded for one of the horses on the display! For her birthday last year we let her pick one out!  She adores this little figurine!  We recently added to our figurines from this same line.  When the box arrived and I opened it – the figurines disappeared immediately from the box!  I didn’t even have time to remove the little S tag off their legs before little hands grabbed them away.  The children huddled on the floor and began playing with them, among them was another horse and my 5 yr old was thrilled!!  They are Schleich figurines!  And there is simply no comparison to their quality!!

Schleich as a company believes strongly in the importance of childhood play- they  set forth to create beautiful, realistic, and to scale figurines of a wide variety of animals!   Schleich produces approx 500 figurines that fall into a wide variety of categories including: farm life, pets, sea animals, animals from around the world, prehistoric animals, mammals, frontier life, knights, American Indians, and fantasy.    They uphold to all childhood safety standards in the products they produce.  The figurines are designed by a master toy designer to resemble the animal they depict as closely as possible. Each figurine is hand painted especially for your child (or your own personal collection!:0)

Schleich is sold in over 70 countries!  They are carried by a variety of mainstream retailers such as Toys R Us and even in little farm country stores near us!  We recently were visiting the farm store for some antiseptic meds for the chickens when my children spied the Schleich display with the chickens among the animals! Even my husband was tempted to purchase the small chicks to place on his tool box at work for fun!!  They offer a wide variety of mother and cub/chick/calf combos and the baby animals are to scale to their mothers so that they combine in beautiful play and action!

Look up a Schleich display at a store near you and see if you can walk away without purchasing at least one of the little figurines!  Make sure you check out the little hedge hog, or the chicks,  Their cuteness and quality will capture your child’s heart, if not yours as well!!

Looking for a way to school all your children at the same time in some subjects?

There is generally more information offered than you could cover in a week. This is so that you as the teacher can pick and choose and use this as your tool to educate your children. There is flexibility in the program to use as little or as much as fits your family’s educational needs. 

There is definitely a learning curve with TOG.  When I read the information and descriptions online I immediately liked what I saw!  As I received the product and begin looking through it I became confused and overwhelmed.  At this point it would have been VERY helpful to have had a friend who was a TOG user to cut down on some of the confusion. I am a visual learner and benefit greatly from someone showing me and explaining it to me rather than trying to figure it out myself!  As I headed into the curriculum I met with some frustrations and difficulties partly fueled by my own unfamiliarity with the product and trying to figure it out as I went.  By the 4^th week I felt much more comfortable with it and much more at ease with tailoring it to our families needs and using some of our own books and not feeling as married to the teacher’s guide as before.  I found our study at this time much more enjoyable.  My children overall have enjoyed the studies.  There was no frustration for them, we were sitting and reading together and doing activities – they thought it was grand!  Even my son really appreciated some of the books that I brought home.  He still grabs the war book on the Romans and will say “Romans! Romans” and head off to the couch to look at it (he is 3!). 

TOG is a quality product that gives you a great deal of information on your particular unit of study.  You will thoroughly know this period of history when you complete the TOG unit you have studied! 

Tapestry of Grace can be a costly program.  But there is a great deal of content in the program and it is well organized.  It is also useful for K-12 and can be used again every 4 years in your classical rotation, and you only buy one program for ALL your children!  So you can spread the cost out over that time to come up with a proper cost.  Also if you choose to purchase the additional resources and books it can add up to a greater cost.  This is an area where each person must decide what their goals are in homeschooling and what their budget is available for this. Depending on where you live you may simply be able to use your local library.  Our library through inter-library (which is unrestricted on quantity) had all the titles I needed.  Other users did not find this to be the case.  If this is your type of schooling choice and the route you wish to take and funds are available you may want to consider this. The digital edition is $170 for the full year, and the printed edition is $240.  This is your teacher’s guide only and all additional material are listed with varying prices.  You only purchase this 4 times and you have all you need K-12. 

They do offer a free 3 week trial if you are interested in looking into this product more thoroughly! 

I personally enjoyed some aspects of Tapestry of Grace and other aspects I found difficult for us.  TOG recommend a large volume of books that are not all necessarily available at your local library.  Almost all titles were available to us, but not all reviewers found this to be the case.  Also, the books recommendations are secular in nature.  They even include a note in their information that says not all information presented within the books may be acceptable to your family, so handle with care. And handle with care – they do mean.  All of us have different levels of comfort and lines that we draw.  Some books recommended contain nudity (art), others swearing, or perhaps stories that are more violent or descriptive than you family finds acceptable.  We found this to be true with one of the books I brought home. I found that when I bring the Tapestry of Grace books home from the library I must set them aside. They are off limits to the children until I had time to read and go through them.  Most of them were fine, but I do caution you to look through them before you simply hand them to your child.  Also, if you decide to purchase any of the resource books you may want to check them out of the library first to make sure it is a resource you want your children to have access to in your home.  Again, the majority of the books were helpful, and good, and some very enjoyable, but there are a few that some families may choose not to utilize.

Overall, if you are a classical style education family, and you need something you can use with ages K-12 this may be something for you to consider. It will take some planning time as the teacher, but again – this planning time is spread with all ages and you all sit together and work. When you get to older level activities the younger can do theirs.  They do plan to release a tot-style version for young students such as mine –I think that would be helpful.

I personally will probably choose not to continue with TOG, but there are some families that REALLY like TOG – so do look into it, especially if you have a large family with a wide age range of children.  This may very well ease some of your schooling planning and time to find something that can be used with all ages.  Again the literature recommended is something to consider.  I personally enjoy a more conservative and possibly protective approach –especially for younger children.  But you have the option of tailoring the program to your needs.  TOG offers a large volume of information and I guarantee that you will learn much along with your children!!

Check out Tapestry of Grace if this sounds  of interest to you and if you look here you may see what others have to say about TOG!

Happy reading!

Wendy

What is the best way to learn a foreign language?

Growing up in another country is probably the best way to learn a foreign language.  But realistically this probably is not an option for most of you [or for my children now either]! 

Another option is to travel to a country and live in an area where no one speaks your own native tongue.  When we had interns visit my dad would require them to live with a family who spoke no English.  When you are forced to communicate and figure out the language due to necessity –you will pick it up rather quickly, and remember!!  But the logistics of planning such a trip for your family or you children isn't realistic for most of us!

Another option may be to go to an institute such as CinciLingua where my sister taught. You can pay for a personal tutor to spend a certain number of hours a day with you.  Basically she walked around Cincinnati with the student and spoke only English to them.  In fact, she was not supposed to let on to the Spanish students that she knew Spanish or it would become a hindrance to their learning.  I won’t even mention the cost of this to you –because again – this isn’t an option for most of us. 

So how do we best learn a foreign language if we can’t travel there, or can’t afford an expensive institute?

Aurolog Tell Me More has a computer program that will teach you immersion style using your own PC from the comfort of your own home! This is a much more economical option to the above mentioned methods!!

How does immersion style work?  True immersion is to live there but since that's not an option - the program recreates that for you as best a program can.  Basically you are placed in a setting where you aren’t really spoon fed.  There are no lectures.   You work your way through, learning at your own pace.  Let’s say you are learning Spanish.  With Aurolog Tell Me More you are presented with a Spanish phrase.  Then Aurolog Tell Me More will walk you through a variety of exercises that will help you apply, and solidify the phrase in your mind.  It isn’t a teacher simply lecturing you on the use of your language phrase.  You will have to learn it and apply it through a wide variety of activities. 

A wonderful option that Aurolog Tell Me More offers is a spoken error tracking system!  They call it: Advanced speech recognition technology  and it  recognizes and analyzes your pronunciation.  From my experience, I can assure you their pronunciation in the Spanish portion is perfect, so you will be taught well! The comparisons they are using are accurate. 

Your program will come with a headset and microphone.  There is a section of each portion where you are asked to repeat the phrases being taught to you. In most Spanish programs you repeat after an audio and hope that your pronunciation is correct.  There is no one to help you out.  In my own experience, it is common for the untrained ear to think you are saying what is being spoken to you, but in reality you may be saying something different!  This can have some pretty embarrassing consequences if you are not corrected!  One intern I knew once asked a girl if she was pregnant, when he meant to ask her if she was embarrassed.  One missionary wanted to tell everyone it was time to come in because the benches were set up and ready for church.  What he said was, “Come in bulls the cows are now ready.”  So correct pronunciation is very important!  Aurolog has realized this and you can visually see you own pronunciation graphed on the screen and a comparison to what is being said. You can literally see your own mistakes.  They also will give you a feedback score, so you can see how close you are to where you need to be.

Aurolog Tell Me More is easily set up to fit into your learning style, pace, and preference.  You can choose from 3 fashions for you to progress through the program. The options are: 

• The Free-to-Roam Mode allows you to select the activities of your choice.
• The Guided Mode proposes Learning Paths according to your learning objectives and availability.
• The Dynamic Mode evaluates your progress as you work and adjusts your activities based on the results of previous exercises.

Aurolog also offers many other options in their program, I could fill paragraphs!  I really appreciate the tracking system.  You can set up each student with  a sign in.  As they progress through the program it will tell you the percent completed and their score as to how well they did!  If you are tracking your child , you can see how well they do and what they need to work on. 

There are also fun extras such as maps, cultural tips, and even news you can access to enhance your learning experience!

You can even record the audio portions and take it with you on your mp3 or CD for your car.  If you want to review as you exercise or drive to work or vacation, you won’t have to leave your learning behind!

If you decide not to learn with your student – you can access links that help you follow the progress of your student and give you the answers if you need them.

With the program you will receive the following:

• 950 hours of dynamic Spanish learning, the most extensive package on the market for Spanish language learning software. Including a bonus 100 hours of Latin-American Spanish.
• 5,000 exercises and 37 types of activities keep students engaged and having fun. Activities are broken down into six workshops (Lesson, Cultural, Grammar, Vocabulary, Oral, and Written). Exclusive to TELL ME MORE®: cultural activities. Essential grammar rules are also explained.
• 4 levels in one package: Complete Beginner, Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced, to help you reach fluency in Spanish.

So what does all this cost, you may want to know.  The homeschool version is only $319.  This may seem low or high, depending on what you are comparing it to! Remember this will teach all your children, up to advanced levels  in Spanish.  It is not consumable – worksheets available through their site links are reprintable and  the program can be used again and again as your children come up through the educational ranks!  For this price, it is a bargain!

I think Aurolog Tell Me More has put together a quality Spanish program!  If you want to learn a foreign language I would encourage you to seriously consider Aurolog Tell Me More.  They have a special homeschool version, but it is not just for homeschoolers. Whether you need this program for business, work, school, or even personal goals they have an option for you.  They offer a wide variety of languages:  English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Chinese, Japanese, and Arabic.  They also have some products available for younger children who need or want to learn English.

Check outAurolog Tell Me More today!

The Cadillac of all lapbooks!! These are beautiful!!

I have created some of my own lapbooks using templates found online.  I have used free ones and also have purchased some for our use.  These are truly the best lapbooks I have ever done!  They are from Homeschool in the Woods!  They are also called activity paks.  See below:

Homeschool In the Woods offers more than just lapbooks.  You probably know them best for their beautiful timeline figures.Homeschool In The Woods also offers a timeline notebook both in printed form and on CD.  They offer activity studies, and then the activity paks [my personal favorite at this point]!

The Pak family is a homeschooling family that has had a dream to provide these type of resources for some time, but the children were younger and it didn’t quite fit into Amy’s life at that time. Now Amy Pak continues to homeschool and continues to add to the wonderful resources she offers for homeschool use!

We personally have been working on the New Testament activity pak.  I had been looking at her web site and was very excited to receive this one as I had planned on purchasing it anyway!  It is truly phenomenal!!  The lapbook activies are very Biblical, and they are beautiful!  It is a very easy to use activity pak! Some lapbooks basically give you templates and foldouts and you must provide the inside material.  Either your child must draw well or you have to pull out the images from online.  This is not the case with these lapbooks – you print and go!  It's easy for you to use, and a  joy for them!!  They enjoy sharing it with others as they review what they have learned.  The activity paks are advertised for 3^rd grade and older, but my Kindergartner and First Grader have both enjoyed the activities!  I actually have thought printing a set of activities from the project pak for myself to do because they are so well done!!  I could use it as a teaching tool for church in our Sunday School classes!!  We definitely will continue using our activity pak.  The girls are enjoying it and so am I!  I also plan to purchase another activity pak for our history studies for the coming year. 

The cost of the paks run from $18.95 for the lapbook style to $30 for the more in depth history paks that include a teacher’s study guide with them.

You may view photos and layouts of the various products that are offered, and they also offer a free sampler download if you’d like to see some of the products they offer.

If you have any interest in lapbooking, please check out Homeschool In The Woods and I highly recommend purchasing at least one of their activity paks for your homeschool!!  You will be amazed at their beauty and the enjoyment you will receive from completing them!!

Do you ever wish kids had REAL toys to play with?

The toy that came to our home was their Noah’s Ark set.  I sat it on my desk for a period of time before I allowed them to pull it out for our review time.  They were begging to open the box – my daughter mentioned it again and again throughout that time! She could see the picture and want to play with it. They were still very much enjoying the Nativity that we received just before Christmas!  I let them finally pull it out and they were VERY excited (an understatement actually!).  The pulled it out- and immediately went and retrieved their Nativity set and placed them all together to play! All 3 of our children (ages 3 – 7) enjoy playing with this set, together and even sharing and each having their own pretend play going.  I also want to mention that I appreciate the fact that the set isn’t overly large!  I feel that it is appropriate with only 14 well sized animals and Mr. Noah and his ark!  I have seen a set at one point that had so many animals with it I had decided that there were too many small animals to be scattered and picked up across the house.  This set is just the right size, they place it back in the storage box when they are done and have decided on their own to store it with the Nativity so they can play with them together.  The sizes are the same and all coordinate well together!  Their options for toys vary in price and the Noah's Ark retails for $29.99.

One2Believe also includes a small story book and a Focus on the Family stepping stones flier for you family to enjoy or use with the use of your Noah’s Ark set.  I appreciate what Tales of Glory is doing and all that they are including and offering for Christian families today!

Today we find that our children are inundated with toy, game, and entertainment opportunities.  We have difficulty even figuring out what to get them for birthdays or Christmas because they seemingly have more than everything available!  I appreciate that One2Believe is offering a wonderful healthy option for toys for our toy box!!  These toys do not create play for them as many games do.  It offers them an option to recreate a scene from the Bible and allow their imagination to carry them where the details that may have been left off may have gone!  Children learn through imitation and play.  It is a very healthy and important part of their childhood.  I encourage you to look over the product selection that One2Believe has to offer and see if there might be something your children could enjoy this year! I’m sure you’ll be glad you did!

wendy

A wonderful resource for great literature to read to your children!

Five in A Row is a literature unit based approach to learning.  It was written by a homeschooling mother and she has books available that range for preschool age through high school.  The books are divided into mini chapters of sort with each one representing a week of your schooling time.  Each mini unit surrounds one book (such as The Bee Tree) and studies different aspects surrounding that book.  You will read the book to your children each day (which my children loved) and then touch on one or more aspects recommended in the book.  These topics include Social Studies (Relationships, traditions, geography, culture, etc), Language Arts (vocabulary, literary terms [i.e. analogy], etc), Art (Music, enjoyment of art, creating), Math (adding, shapes, subtraction, etc), & Science.  All of the info found in these sections relates directly to the story you are reading.  The Five In A Row (also referred to as FIAR) book  we used was Volume 3 and contained 18 books/units to look over.  As a teacher/mother you can choose to do the units in whatever order you prefer, or whatever order you can obtain the books from the library in. 

The unit study approach is helpful in areas such as a constant change of scenery occurs every week and you won’t get bored with a particular topic that’s covered.   The books that are chosen are excellent books.  FIAR is set up so that you can use the product to cover as much or as little information according to time you have available to you.  FIAR gives recommendations on activities to do to reinforce the learning your child may grasp during each weeks unit study.  You  only need this book on hand for your study, the library readers and resources, the internet possibly and things found around your house.  This is an economical program to use.  The books range in cost from $25 to $35 each. You can purchase a package from the company that includes the readers.  If you want to add these readers to your personal library or perhaps your local library doesn’t have many of the readers and resources this may be a good option to consider.

This is perhaps my first experience with unit studies.  I have friends who have used them with great success.  I have also read wonderful things about the FIAR program but never had exposure to it.  I found the books they recommend to be wonderful read alouds for our children!  I did find the unit study approach difficult for me to follow.  It requires extra planning time ahead of schedule to make sure you have library sources available when you start that weeks unit.  Also, FIAR only gives recommendations, all activities, worksheets, etc are generally created or found by you somewhere to pull together for the unit.  There are a few available in the back of the book for you to copy – but you will have to find or create the majority of them on your own.   You must layout the details of each week and build on what you are teaching.  For some who enjoy the flexibility and creativity to do so – this is a wonderful benefit.  I happen to enjoy and appreciate having most of my work laid out for me.  I found this approach somewhat of a struggle.  Also, the fact that the units jump around and do not build on each other was difficult for me to follow.  My brain appreciates a linear or sequential approach to studying things such as science and history.  I find jumping around in these topics difficult to follow and difficult to learn very much in depth matter about a particular topic! 

We are currently studying about birds, and have been for a couple weeks in another curriculum we have.  I appreciate the small increments of information that build on each other each week and the activities that reinforce that learning.  Studying Bees one week, dog breeds another week, and weather the following  is somewhat frustrating to me.  So this part of FIAR did not fit our personal schooling style.

I believe that FIAR has a quality product, they don’t advertise heavily –it’s a word of mouth sharing.  Many parents have benefited from and appreciated the use of this curriculum.  If you are interested in literary based unit study approach to learning I recommend spending some time looking into FIAR’s products. 

If you appreciate a linear or sequential form of learning such as I do – I would recommend FIAR as a resource for good books that you can present to your children.  The content of the books can create some quality conversation starter and give you some ideas for discussion and interest to develop using those stories.  I find it to be a helpful supplement, but would find it difficult to use as my sole curriculum.

We intend to keep reading through the books that FIAR has recommended in the remainder of the book. I will probably continue to reference the book to give me some extra info to cover when we read the book, and ideas for conversation and things to point out as we read the book (such as art, etc). 

I appreciated the opportunity to review this product.  I’ve heard about it for so long and wondered what exactly it was all set up to be. They truly do encourage quality literature, which our family appreciates!  I think we’ll go curl up with another book!

Happy Reading!!

Wendy

Need some extra help in math for your kids? This might help...

Your own personal math tutor for less than $30! I think it's worth it!! Read on....

Our family had the opportunity to review two titles from the selection of DVD’s offered by MathTutorDVD.com.  I was very pleasantly surprised!  I will have to admit – I was truly wondering about what this product might be like – but I’m thankful we had this opportunity!  Math isn't my strong point so I see great value in this product! 

MathTutorDVD.com offers a wide selection of DVD's that are intended for the use of tutoring your children/students.  These may be used in a homeschool setting or with any public or private educated child who needs some extra assistance.  Most DVD's are from 7-10 hours in length and offer many different topics that are covered in sequential order.  None of them are curriculum specific - but rather Math concept specific.

In the DVD's the instructor takes the principles and breaks them down into very simple steps with very specific and easy to understand instructions!! There are no long abstract explanations that leave you more confused that when you started.   He uses many examples as he explains the process.  The instruction is very down to earth!  I plan to set the basic word problem one for my daughters to view and I hope to purchase the Basic Math skills DVD as well. 

One great and affordable benefit is that for the grades 1-7 – you probably only need 2 DVD’s and that’s 7 years worth of tutoring!! These DVD’s are excellent choices for assistance in the sense that they can be combined with ANY curriculum because the information is not specific to one curriculum but rather to concepts that students often find difficult to understand! 

MathTutorDVD.com has a wide range of  DVD’s available in the more complex areas of math that pertain to specific areas.  The majority of the DVD’s are less than $30.  This is a bargain considering especially the number of  years that the early ones can be used for.  The DVD’s can be viewed again and again until comprehension is reached, or even if some confusion follows when a concept has been forgotten. They advertise that their average price per hour of tutoring assistance is $3.  This does not take into consideration the fact that they could be viewed again and again by sucessive students in your family and greater reduce your per hour direct cost!

These DVD’s are no frills and very straightforward. There are no distractions that pull attention away from the topic but each topic is calmly and very well presented in an understandable manner!   On the early DVD’s he spoke at a level that an elementary student could understand, and in the upper DVD’s he pulls out the information necessary and yet sometimes referencing previous information to ensure understanding!

I would recommend these DVD’s if you would like to offer your children some extra help in math – or even a different face to watch concepts explained to offer better understanding. I hadn't planned to obtain a math DVD in next years curriculum layout, but I plan to seriously consider the purchase of the other DVD in the early age series  I most likely will be purchasing it if I can fit it in the budget!  I think that MathTutorDVD.com has a quality product that can be useful to many families!! 

There are sample clips of each of the DVD's available on MathTutorDVD.com and they do offer a money back guarantee, so you can't go wrong!

End the daily spelling drill wars!!

No more daily spelling drills and yet you still will accomplish what you need!  Well… there still will be drills – but you won’t need to do them!  Here is a tool that will help do that for you!! Spell Quizzer is exactly that! 

Children need practice to learn their spelling words.  You sit down with them and perhaps you get frustrated by their seeming lack of memory on how words are to be spelled, or you sit and think of the other things that need done as you slowly work through your word list with each child.  Spell Quizzer has you in mind!  You enter the words for the week, you can add an audio word with sentence or simply a prompt.  They are given the words and a spot to type them in.   My daughters will go in and do their Spell Quizzer again and again – they think it’s a “game” since it’s on the computer!  They find this little seemingly simple program exciting, and it’s accomplishing something as they do it!  I no longer drill them – I do one drill a week as I record it, then they come in each day (or a couple times a day) and do it.  They get very excited –if they get all the words correct there is a cheering sound for them at the end!  It doesn’t offer a lot of fancy or obnoxious games that some others perhaps do.  But it is simply that a quizzing program.

I appreciate it because I can select my own spelling words (some that are Biblical that aren’t on normal spelling lists in other programs.)  In my verbal prompts I can use scripture or other positive sentences to go along with the words they are being quizzed on and continue to incorporate subtle teaching in with our spelling!  There are also spelling lists you can download from the web site to save you time.  Also, you only need to record each word and prompt once.  Then it adds it to a master list to create your own list. When you set up a review list (such as I did today) I just have to select the words that have already been recorded and add them to the list.  You can name each list so the child knows which one is his and which lesson is his particular list for the week.

This program can be used by homeschoolers and non-homeschoolers alike – if you wish your child to receive extra spelling help. 

If you find this program of interest to you please take advantage of their 30 day free trial so that you can try before you buy!  The one time purchase cost is $29.95  - but it can be used endlessly and by all grades!

{{Note:  I am seemingly continuing to experience technical difficulties - if the links do not work the web site is www.spellquizzer.com - I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause!)

Happy Spelling!!

A wonderful art curriculum option to consider!

Truly an absolutely wonderful art program!  

We have been spending some time in ARTistic Pursuits, Grades K-3 Book One, An Introduction to the Visual Arts.  This has been a phenomenal program!  Not only does it require little preparation and knowledge on my part, but yet it is giving them wonderful genuine lessons in art!  I appreciate the replica’s of original art that are shown within each lesson and the discussion of the picture. I’ve never quite grasp the picture study aspect of Charlotte Mason ed which I enjoy overall.  I think this has given me the feel for what picture study is about.  My daughters have enjoyed doing these projects!!  We plan to continue using this book and referencing it throughout!  If I wasn’t experiencing technical difficulties I would load several pics I have of my daughters enjoying their ARTistic Pursuits Art projects for you to see!

ARTistic Pursuits has art curriculum available for ages preschool through high school.  The cost of each book is a simple straight per book cost of $42.95.  There is a preschool book, 3 books in the K-3 level, 2 in the 4-6^th grade level and 2 each in both junior high and high school categories.    Each book is written and geared towards the artistic developmental stages that children go through at their particular ages!  The workbooks are not consumable – so they can be used again and again!!

This curriculum is geared specifically for homeschoolers and the homeschool setting –but can be adapted for classroom use! How’s that for a switch?!  We often take curriculum that is intended for classroom use and adapt it to our little homeschool!  

You can preview some sample lessons if you want to get a feel for the setup and appearance of each lesson!

The cost may seem high for something that might be considered optional in our core unit of studies.  I think art is important.  I was homeschooled for a portion of my growing up years and art was not included in those years and I missed it and wish I would have had some more artistic opportunities!  I would like to give my children those opportunities and perhaps I can continue to learn along with them and even develop a hidden talent!  (I’d be content to draw a little more realistically than what I do!)  But if you factor in that it is non-consumable and can be used again and again, if I divide the cost for all soon to be four children - that is the same price as I'd pay for one workbook per child per year for one of the other subjects we study.  This is truly a quality program and worthy of your consideration (did I mention that already?!)  :)

I would recommend your consideration of this curriculum if you want to enhance your art knowledge.  This is a well organized, and quality program.  The price may be difficult for some to justify –but if the funds are available in your budget – I would encourage you to spend some time on their site, and preview the lessons that are available for you.  I would probably give this program a 5 star rating!

In the meantime we will continue working  through our current book of ARTistic Pursuits and continuing to enhance our core unit of studies in our little homeschool!

Happy drawing/painting/modeling or whatever you might choose!

Wendy

Rocket Your Child Towards Reading

My son calls this special time we have together Rocket School.  What is rocket school you may ask?  It is a phonics reading program. Actually it’s proper name is Rocket Phonics.  True to it’s name it is a program designed to rocket your child to greater reading fluency in a reduced amount of time.    Rocket Phonics is advertised for children ages 4-10, but can be used with children as young as 3 years old.  My son just turned 3.

Your receive 2 good size books, letter cards, and game packets with this program.  They will  e-mail you some bonus products later. 

It is the first program I have seen that actually works well with wiggly children and incorporates their wiggles into the learning process.  Much of traditional education (which is the type of phonics curriculum I used with my older daughters) is geared towards studious sit still type children.    This is not true of Rocket Phonics!  You can use with a studious type or wiggly – it can be tailored to either!

There is no great time commitment with this program as it focuses on brief lessons that work well with young minds.  Rocket Phonics also incorporates games which make learning fun and can involve other siblings in the process.

Children begin reading fairly quickly on in the program to increase their confidence and sense of accomplishment!  It focuses on the fun of learning and helps them enjoy learning to read which otherwise can at times be an arduous task for both mother and child!

Phonics has changed since the English language was first developed.  Now there are many confusing rules and  a few exclusions that make phonics difficult and frustrating for the early learner.  This is especially frustrating to children such as my older daughter who see things in a more logical type sequence and illogical things are difficult her them to grasp.    Rocket Phonics has come up with a technique that breaks through this barrier.  Rocket Phonics has 36 alphabet cards that they’ve developed to assist in learning.

Also, there are some basic You Tube videos to help with the Rocket Phonics system and help you learn how to introduce sounds and letters.   Simply pull up You Tube and run a search on Rocket Phonics.

Rocket Phonics progresses surprisingly quickly.  My son is on the very younger side of the spectrum, having just turned three.  He can identify several letters and knows their sounds. If I point to the B  in Bible he says B & can say the sound it makes.  On 2 different occasions he has surprised his dad by “reading” a sign that they passed or saw.  He recognized enough of the letters and remembered his sounds enough to point it  out!  He will probably continue to move slowly through this program since he is only 3 – but it is possible in using this program to have your 5 yr old child reading at a 4^th grade level within one year’s time. 

I appreciated the extra help even in simple things.   My older daughter was mixing up b & d’s and the manual gave a recommendation on how to clear up the confusion. My daughter uses this with great success to remember how to write the appropriate one.  Also it addressed why my oldest daughter, who can read well, often skips words or guesses and adds in words that are not written.  The author explained the reason behind this and how to address this. 

If you are interested in using a slightly different approach to traditional phonics, or if you have a very wiggly active child you want to approach with a different teaching style. Or if you would like to use a method that will yield quicker results than most general traditional methods  I would encourage you to spend some time reviewing and considering this program.    The cost may seem somewhat high (Only  $160  or get started for $53.34!) – but consider the reading level your child may easily obtain through the end.    If I factored out what I spent on our phonics and reading programs for grades K-4 through 2^nd – I have spent much more than $160, and I often purchased many of my materials used.  So it is a great value!  Try Rocket Phonics today!

Do you ever wish you had a normal math program? (homeschool)

  Do you have some frustrations with your current math program?  Some of mine are - trying to teach concepts that are just a little too advanced (such as counting by 7's in the first semester of 1st grade - eeks!).

Math Mammoth has put together a great basic math text! It has all the features that I like about our current program, yet it leaves out the aspects that I don't like!  It is a basic, well laid out math text with no distractible visuals or art along it’s pages.  The lessons are well written and progressive in nature and offer explanation and also reviews to make sure the material is understood.  Math Mammoth also offers extra practice pages.  The nice part of the digital copy is that you can reprint the pages your child has difficulty with and go over them as needed until full comprehension occurs.

 There is no separate teacher book – the teacher’s notes are located within the text of the workbook.  Along with notes that offer reassuring information to the teacher, the author lists internet resources where applicable that can assist in the learning process! 

Your entire curriculum per year costs less than $30!  And this material is usable with each of your successive children! You purchase each grade once and then use it with your successive children!

For children who are self motivated these texts could save you a great deal of teaching time.  As they work through the lessons and read the directions they can progress as they are able only needing clarification or some difficult concept explanation from you!  I appreciate this aspect!

I would say that there were areas where Math Mammoth’s text was more thorough than the math program we were currently using.  The portions of the program we use that I didn’t like – Math Mammoth didn’t include – so it was just right!

I wish I’d known about Math Mammoth previously!  Most of what we were doing Math Mammoth went right along with it.  My daughter enjoyed the worksheets and they were not overly taxing as some math texts can be – even at early ages.  We recently had a page of a large number of long sums that my daughter (1^st grade) was to do in her regular text.  I did not see this in Math Mammoth.    

Math Mammoth  is entirely digital.  You can reuse the same text again and again with each of your successive children with only the cost of printing.  Printing costs can add up – so can purchasing successive workbooks and also teacher books to go along with the workbooks.  My math program this year ran approx $60 for teacher & student text plus I spent an addition $20 some for additional texts for daughter number 2.  I will have to purchase additional texts for my son when he reaches this age if I continue –but with Math Mammoth – I simply print them off again!  Math Mammoth’s complete year programs run just under $30 for 1 year!  That is a bargain if you divide out the cost by the number of times you will use it!  If I would use this for all four children that’s only $7.50 per year plus my printing costs.  Math Mammoth does not use excessive color or graphics – so it won’t be eating up your expensive color cartridges!

I thought this math text was well written and presented.   I will be using this text with DD #2 for her math next year when she reaches this level!   I will back this copy up and save it for when our son and child number 4 reach this grade and age!

Math Mammoth offers reproducible math workbooks for grades 1-8 and also supplemental workbooks or work booklets you can purchase.  She offers  a wide variety of options that are math related.  Math Mammoth also offers products in Spanish!

If you are interested in looking into a different homeschool math program or even just need some supplemental work for your children in the area of math – check out Math Mammoth!

 Happy long division!

Want to learn a second language but don't have much time?

Are you traveling on a mission trip and want to learn some of the language fast to help you out?  Do you have a friend or co-worker that you'd like to communicate with in a different language?  Have you always had a desire to learn a different language but just haven't been able to find the time?

  Bilingual Books is a foreign language learning program focuses on those who are  planning to travel and need to learn a foreign language is a brief amount of time.  Bilingual Books  teaches you the main portions of the language  you will need to know if you are traveling.  It could also be used for someone who'd like to have a basic working knowledge of a language and needs a quick program.  Bilingual Books  give you a very basic set of fundamentals to help you through your venture to wherever you might be traveling.  They offer 16 different languages.

 Bilingual Books' instructional book  is very well laid out.  The CD that comes with the program offers excellent pronunciation and very professional instruction.  The CD has practice phrases for you to repeat to learn proper pronunciation and also verbal audio that coordinates with the lessons found in the book.  This is an interesting and well laid out program.  As I listened to the CD my daughters would even come over and sit in my lap and repeat the phrases with the CD.   The CD can be taken along in your car for extra practice – or to listen to lessons on the run.

Bilingual Books promotes that you can learn what they have to teach in only 10 minutes a day.  Who doesn't have 10 minutes that they can set aside to work through this program?  It comes with flashcards to review the words that are taught and an audio CD to instruct in proper pronunciation.  The book also contains little sticky labels so that you can label items with their proper Spanish name.  This will enable you to practice throughout your day when you see the item or pick it up.

I happen to  speak fluent Spanish having grown up in South America. So I found this book quite interesting from the perspective of offering aid in how to instruct others.  It also offers me a resource to recommend to people who might want to learn a language.   It is a fairly economical program with prices ranging from $14.99 to $29.99 for the various products. 

 I WOULD recommend this program to any of my friends that were going on mission trips or traveling overseas.  Also, if you want an easy program to pick up some simple Spanish to assist you in interacting with some Hispanics you know – this would also be a phenomenal program for that.  You will learn most of the basics of communication through Bilingual Books course.   It is concise, well laid out, geared to fit into your busy lifestyle and an all around wonderful program!   The author has laid out the instruction well, and has included all that is necessary for basic communication in a travel situation or even interacting locally with someone Hispanic you might know!  Check out Bilingual Books today!

A Wonderful Source for Delightful Children's Music!!

 

Are you looking for a children's CD that excites your children and yet at the same time is enjoyable for you to listen to as well?  Here is a great source:  Bible Story Songs offers a variety of song CD’s that are based on various Biblical aspects. Some are based on the whole Bible, some are about characters such as David, and some on books of the Bible such as the CD we have.  We have the CD about Matthew Chapters 1 through Chapter 8.  I will have to say this CD is absolutely wonderful and delightful! We have a few CD’s around here that the children enjoy that are not the most pleasant to a parent’s ears and they do get a little long, shall we say! :0)  

This CD is a delight to it’s listeners young and old! Not only is the music pleasant and delightful it is wholesome and helpful! The songs on the CD we received are about the texts of the chapters of Matthew.  Some of the songs specifically  text based others are  principle based.   Some of the music you will recognize the tune as one that is quite well known. Some of the tunes are catchy and you can’t  help but trying to sing along!  

If you’d like to try before you buy you can go to their web site and sample listening to some of the songs on the CD.  This is worth the purchase!!  I will probably look into a few more for the children in the future!   These CD's are phenominal!   The CD's cost $9.99 each and discounts can be applied as volume increases.  The girls really enjoy listening to this CD.  This music is encouraging and uplifting!  The music is well harmonized and just beautiful!  Bible Story Songs has done a wonderful job with their product!

Do you need some extra help for your special child?

  Do you have a special child?  "Well, of course!" you say, aren’t they all special?  Well, special in the sense that they need a little extra help in education – or life skills.  Heads Up is a company that offers aids and tools for special needs children.  Special needs range from those who have trouble with fidgeting and need a fidget tool to help them pay attention, to Asberger, to Speech training, or even just focus aids.  Heads Up has a broad range of  amazing tools, CD’s, games, and other items to help you and help your child.   I was surprised at the wide range of tools that they offer!

We had the opportunity to use the frames.  We used them especially when my daughter was trying to do a crossword puzzle.  She is in first grade and just learning how to do them and she cannot see the words when staring at the maze of letters before her. I pulled out the Heads Up frame and ran it along each line and she instantly recognized the word within each row and column as we passed the frame along that row.  They do help with visual focusing!  

I have a friend whose son is borderline autistic and they are using training to avoid having him take medication for his situation.  I know that my friend has used the timer and other tools with great success in helping him overcome some of his hesitancies. 

 I would encourage you to check out Heads Up company today – whether you are a homeschooler, mom with a special needs child for some help when home from public, or and educator who works with special needs.