Reading Eggs

Reading Eggs combines reading lessons and computer playtime to create a fun learning experience for children ages 4-8. There is also a place for older children (ages 7-13) at Reading Eggs to further their reading skills in a fun way as well.  Reading Eggs is the place for younger children and Reading Eggspress is for the older children.

When you set up your child's account he will first take a reading assessment test to help customize their learning experience on Reading Eggs. From here, your child will progress at his own pace.

Your child can read books and take comprehension tests in order to earn eggs (like money) so he can play games and buy things for his apartment (a little virtual place they can create). 

Here is a screenshot of a reading game. Your child is suppose to put the sentence in order. 

What my children have to say:

9-year-old daughter: It is awesome. You read books to earn eggs so you can buy stuff. You can buy pets, clothes and things for your apartment.

10-year-old son: It makes learning seem fun and it is fun. 

6-year-old-daughter: I like the playroom because you can paint there and play games. There's even a toy kitchen so you can make your own food like ice cream and soup. I like the big kid's side (Reading Eggspress) and the little kid's side (Reading Eggs). On the little kid's side, there is a cafe with music. I wish I could keep Reading Eggs forever. 

"I wish I could keep Reading Eggs forever." Ouch, that hurts this Momma's heart. My children have enjoyed our free trial, but it is simply too expensive for it to stick around in our home any longer. For all three of my children it would cost $150.00 for a one year subscription. 

Pricing and Ordering Information:

There is a risk free 14-day free trial you can use before deciding to subscribe to Reading Eggs. Subscriptions are available in the following three options:

1) 12 months for $75.00 (add a 2nd or 3rd child at 50% off)

2) 6 months for $49.95 (add a 2nd or 3rd child at 50% off)

3) Monthly for $9.95

Reading Eggs also sells books and workbooks to go along with the online lessons. These are optional and not necessary, but some families like having hard copy resources rather than using only online services. 

To read more TOS Crew reviews, please click over to the blog. 

*I was given a three month free subscription for review purposes only. All opinions are my own.*

Women in Asia Need Your Help

It is no surprise the suicide rate among women in Asia is incredibly high when young girls are abducted and forced into a life of prostitution, widows are blamed for their husband's deaths and looked at as a curse, and every year more than 7,000 women are burned to death by their husbands simply because their dowry was insufficient.

There is hope for these women though and that hope is in Jesus Christ alone. There are dedicated Gospel for Asia missionaries working hard to reach these hurting and hopeless women to share with them the only One who offers true hope - Jesus. For $30 each month you can support a Gospel for Asia missionary so more hurting women in Asia can be saved.

Please take less than three minutes and watch the video so you can SEE the work that needs to be done in Asia in order to save more women not only from suicide, but from an eternity in Hell if they die without knowing Jesus personally.

Beeyoutiful

BeeYouTiful is all about healthy living for the real world, and their goal is to help people live natural and healthy lives. There are helpful articles to read on their website, as well as a store with a variety of products for sale. I received two products to review from this company and will share my experiences with you.

Miracle skin salve contains all natural ingredients and can be used for a wide variety of reasons. Some include diaper rash, sunburn, and chapped lips. A 2oz. container costs $15.00 and a 4oz. container costs $20.00. I took this with me on a 7 day Caribbean cruise back in January. One day my forearms got sunburned while I was out doing some shopping. The burn was so bad that I had tiny blisters. When I went to bed that night I put the miracle skin salve on and when I woke up the redness and blisters looked 80% better. I put more skin salve on the next morning and by that evening I couldn't see any blisters. I was impressed! My youngest daughter has really suffered from dry, cracked lips this winter and this skin salve has worked wonders and way better than any lip balm or chapstick we've ever used in the past. 

I also received the orange lip B.A.L.M (Beeyoutiful All-Natural Lip Moisturizer). These are $3.00 each or if you order 3 or more you can get them for as little as $2.70 each. I was pleased with this product. It has a nice scent and it feels nice on my lips. If you suffer from really dry, cracked lips I would recommend you start out with the miracle skin salve which I shared about earlier and then use the lip balm to maintain your healthy lips.

To order any of these products or learn about all the products Beeyoutiful offers you can visit their website.

To read more reviews on even more Beeyoutiful products, please click over to the TOS Crew's blog.

*I received these products free of charge for review purposes only. All experiences and opinions are my own.*

Biblical Worldview Resource from Apologia

I am always very excited when I have the opportunity to review any of Apologia's products and I was not disappointed with the 2nd volume of the What We Believe Series, "Who Am I? And What Am I Doing Here?" 

Here are the titles of the eight lessons included in this Biblical Worldview of Self-Image Study:

Lesson 1: What are we doing here?

Lesson 2: What will you make today?

Lesson 3: What's on your mind?

Lesson 4: Can you trust your feelings?

Lesson 5: Will you choose wisely?

Lesson 6: How will you run the race? 

Lesson 7: What kind of fruit are you growing?

Lesson 8: Who do you think you are?

Each lesson follows this structure:

The Big Idea - Simply states the main idea of the lesson and reviews ideas previously learned. 

What You Will Do - States the learning objectives.

Short Story - These stories help children see a worldview in action.

Think About It - Questions to challenge children to think deeply.

Words You Need to Know - Important vocabulary words.

Hide It in Your Heart - Scripture is quoted throughout the entire book, however, each lesson pulls out two key verses for memorization.

Integrated Learning - Articles are shared to help children pursue different ideas and concepts discussed in the lessons such as art, math, science, history, and more. 

What Should I Do? - Simply having knowledge isn't enough. This section challenges children to take action and live their lives differently based upon the lessons they've learned.

Prayer - A prayer is shared acknowledging God and giving thanks. Of course these can be read or adapted as any family sees fit. 

Worldviews in Focus - This section helps children understand why other people believe what they do. 

What's the Difference - These discussion questions allow children to discuss in a non-judgmental way their own worldview with the one shared in Worldviews in Focus.

House of Truth - A hands-on memory aid to use as a visual model.

I have used the MP3 CD with each lesson. Any time I have the chance to use an audio CD - I do! I read aloud a lot to my children, and my voice really appreciates the break! I would set up my laptop and the children and I would listen to it while we ate lunch and then we'd work on any writing projects or assignments given once we were finished. I love all the Scripture given in this study as well as the short stories which allow children to take a glimpse into the lives of children (about their same age) whom have different worldviews. This is an easy curriculum to add into your day and it is FULL of wonderful Truth. The lessons are broken up into very attainable sizes. The recommendation is to work through small sections of each lesson a couple days each week.

This coloring book is a perfect addition to this curriculum if you have younger learners in your home. 

Pricing and Ordering Information:

Textbook: $39.00

Notebook Journal: $24.00

Listening CD: $19.00

Coloring Book: $8.00

The only thing required to do this study is the textbook, all other items are optional. However, the notebook journal, listening CD, and coloring book (if you have younger learners) are all excellent and will help make the teacher's job a lot easier. 

This product is recommended for 6-14 year olds. 

To read more TOS Crew member's reviews click over to the blog to do so. 

*Disclaimer: I received all these products free for review purposes only. All opinions are my own.*

An Online Math Tutor Names ALEKS

What is ALEKS? ALEKS stands for Assessment and LEarning in Knowledge Spaces. ALEKS is an online program that acts like a math tutor for children in grades 3-12. ALEKS uses artificial intelligence to adapt the questions to discover what a student knows and doesn't know. ALEKS then has a starting point in which to use to perfectly adapt math lessons for each individual student. As a student spends time on the ALEKS site, they will be periodically reassessed to make sure they are retaining what they've previously learned. 

Once your child goes through the initial assessment, you can see something ALEKS calls "My Pie." It is divided up into sections and you can see the concepts your child already knows and the concepts they need to learn. From here you can click on the topics and work through the lessons. 

Once you click on a topic from the "My Pie" section this is how the questions look. A paper and pencil must be used in order to work out the problems. My children would have preferred to be able to write using the mouse on the computer (think Microsoft Word's paint program). However, they quickly got used to always having pencils and papers nearby when they worked on the ALEKS website. 

Our time spent on ALEKS looks like this. First my child logs on and we go through anything they need to review, then they work on some new lessons from their pie, and then they do 10 minutes of Quick Tables (pictured below). Once they complete their 10 minutes of Quick Tables, they earn a few minutes of game time. As they make progress with their Quick Tables, they unlock more and more games. The parent can go in and adjust the amount of Quick Table time. 10 minutes is what is recommended and that is what I stuck with and it worked out well for my children. During their review and "My Pie" lessons I sit right next to them and still act as their instructor as needed. The only time I can walk away from them is when they are doing Quick Tables and of course playing their games. So, if you are wanting a program that does the teaching for you, ALEKS is not it for younger elementary-aged children. When my children didn't understand a new lesson, they could click on an "explain" button. However, we found the long written-out explanations to sometimes be overwhelming to follow and that is why I sat by them during their entire lesson time. I do like the printable worksheets that ALEKS generates based upon the lessons your children have been working on. I live in a state that requires me to compile a portfolio of my children's progress each school year, so the worksheets, and the visual progress charts available to print off are nice features.

In the 4 weeks we've been using ALEKS my children have definitely progressed and learned some new math concepts. I have also clearly seen some gaps in our current math curriculum and have learned a lot as an instructor while using this program. 

Screenshot of the Quick Tables. Your child can work on addition, subtraction, or multiplication. Once their predetermined time is complete, they earn a few minutes of game time. 

The horse race game is one of several games the children can unlock as they make progress during their quick tables time. 

Pricing and Ordering Information:

$19.95/month

$99.95/6 months

$179.95/12 months

ALEKS does offer a family discount program. Click here to read more about that. 

ALEKS is an excellent and well organized product and the company is very professional. However, I find the pricing for this product for one child to be incredibly expensive, so imagine my fright when I discovered what it would cost to subscribe all three of my children for only one year ($431.88).  For this price, I feel like someone should physically come into my home and teach my children math so I can have a break for one hour each day! 

To read more TOS Crew member reviews, click over to the blog and find the Mr. Linky we all signed. 

*I received a 2-month free subscription for review purposes only. All opinions are my own.*

See-N-Spell Can Help a Struggling Speller

When I received this See-N-Spell Quick Reference Guide to review I was really looking forward to giving it a try. The company included a letter in their packet to me and in it they stated:

All people have larger verbal social language vocabulary than they do written academic language vocabulary. When writing, writers often misspell or, to avoid misspelling, choose simpler words that do not clearly express their thoughts or develop their language skills. A common trait of these struggling spellers/writers is that they "trade down" to simpler words to avoid mistakes, thus limiting the growth of their academic vocabulary. 

I sat the letter down and wondered if Dr. Sylvia Smith (the person who wrote the letter I quoted above) knew my son! My son can read just about anything you put in front of him and he has an extensive vocabulary. However, when it comes to spelling, he is struggling. My son is a perfectionist, so instead of using a stronger and more difficult word to spell when writing he will "trade down" his words for a word he knows how to spell. I will be honest with you - it has taken persistence on my part to get this child of mine to actually use this guide. But once he has seen the help it is to him - I have caught him looking through it on his own. 

See-N-Spell is arranged alphabetically and  helps writers to...

• Find correct spelling for more than 300 commonly used words.
• Find the correct spelling for homophones (words that sound alike but are spelled differently).
• Identify the part of speech these words are so they can be used correctly.
• Quickly verify the correct spelling of common misspelled words.

See-N-Spell is divided into three alphabetized sections:

1) Most Commonly Used Vocabulary Words

2) Most Commonly Misspelled Words

3) My Special Interest Words

When I first received this I did wonder why this product would be better than simply having my child use a dictionary to look up spelling words? I believe dictionary skills are skills we should still teach our children, but when your child is struggling with spelling, the last thing he wants to do is get a HUGE intimidating book from the shelf and try to find the one word he needs. This guide is not intimidating and it does teach alphabetizing skills. Is every possible word included in this 40-page guide? Of course not, but there is additional space in the back to add your own "special interest words." One word we have already added is turtle. For some reason, my son keeps forgetting the letter e at the end of that word. 

Pricing and Ordering Information:

See-N-Spell Quick Reference Guide is designed for 4th graders and up. This resource costs $9.99 and includes a FREE See-N-Read Reading Tool (see the photo below).  Click here for more ordering information. 

Visit the TOS Crew's blog to read more reviews on this product.

Disclaimer: I received this product free for review purposes only. All opinions are my own.

Fun Music Lessons for Young Children

KinderBach is a fun, creative, and interactive way for young children to enjoy introductory piano lessons in the comfort of their own home. An expensive grand piano isn't a requirement because a toy keyboard works well with this program. 

KinderBach is recommended for children ages 2-7. Each short lesson includes watching playful characters as they introduce music concepts such as rhythm, note reading, singing, and composition. Some lessons include enjoyable printable worksheets like this one:

Within the first month of lessons, your child can be playing real songs like “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” and “Happy Birthday!” You can choose the best way to view these lessons either online or by watching DVDs. There is no musical background required in order to effectively use this program with your children. If you own a television or computer, printer, and a toy keyboard then your child can enjoy 22 hours of pure musical enjoyment.

KinderBach is a great and affordable way to get music lessons in at home and all of us busy home educating families know how great it is to be home and not have one more lesson, activity, or errand to run out and do.

Please visit the TOS Crew's blog to read more reviews on KinderBach and you may discover this product would make a great addition to your young child's life.

Pricing and Ordering Information:
Online monthly subscriptions start out as low as $7.99/month or you can purchase a DVD/CD curriculum for as low as $40.45.

Coupon Code!!!!
This coupon code gives 30% of ANY order and it is good for one year. Use the coupon code: TOScrew2012! Enjoy!

My six-year-old daughter has enjoyed her lessons so far and we plan on continuing one with the lessons until our subscription runs out in March.

*I received a short-term subscription to KinderBach free of charge for review purposes only. All opinions are my own.*

The Gift of Travel

My mother-in-law has given me a gift in honor of her 50th birthday. She invited me and her daughter to sail away to the Caribbean with her for 7 whole days.

I am used to leaving my family for mission trips, home education conferences, and conferences for pastor's wives, but I have never been away from home for so long just for pure fun and enjoyment. I feel a little guilty (I think some call this "mom guilt.") I have the fridge and freezer packed full of options and also some  homemade chocolate chip cookies. I haven't done these things because I believe my husband is incapable of cooking for our children, but I just want to bless my family while I'm away.

I have some daily lesson plans and copies made to make things easier on my husband while I'm away, but he's already informed me he has some lesson plans of his own and I just love that! I am so thankful I am not in this home education gig alone. He is a wonderful partner in all areas of my life.

I have three little surprises for the children to open on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday while I'm gone. They are not large gifts, but simple things just to let them know how much I love and miss them.

So, if you've stumbled upon this little blog post of mine would you please pray for good health, safe travels, and on time flights so we can be reunited again on Saturday, January 28th around 7:10p.m.? Thank you.

Persecution is Real for Many GFA Missionaries

Life threatening persecution is real for many Gospel for Asia Missionaries and their families. Please watch the short video below to hear from K.P. Yohanan, the president of Gospel for Asia as well as from pastors and missionaries on the field. 

What can you do to help your persecuted brothers and sisters? You can pray for them and also for the persecutors. You can also sponsor a native missionary so the gospel can be spread and hearts can be changed by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake"

The children and I really enjoy Maestro Classics and I think The Story of Swan Lake is our favorite (so far). I had planned on studying Tchaikovsky around Christmas so we could watch The Nutcracker, so I was thrilled when given the opportunity to receive this CD to review for The Old Schoolhouse Crew. 

This CD's total playing time is 54:02 and it begins of course with The Story of Swan Lake, and it tells a little about Tchaikovsky's life, and my son's favorite was Speed Metal Swan which is a heavy metal version of one of Tchaikovsky's pieces. Any of Maestro Classic's CDs would make a great addition to anyone's listening library and supplement a composer study nicely as well. 

This is my third year reviewing a product for Maestro Classics and each year I have seen improvements in this company. Their website is better and I especially love these homeschool curriculum guides I found on their website this year. The quality this company offers is excellent and I believe these classics should never be forgotten and I am grateful for the work Maestro Classics has done and continues to do. 

Pricing and Ordering Information:

You have two ordering options with Maestro Classics now. You can purchase a CD for $16.98 or you can download an MP3 file for $9.98. 

To read more reviews from other TOS Crew members, please click over to the blog now.

Connect with Maestro Classics on Facebook and Twitter for coupons and giveaways! 

*I received this product free for review purposes only. All opinions are my own.*

My Children's Favorite Christmas Gift

On Christmas morning, our children woke up to find a Toydle Fort! I talked my husband into setting some of it up so the children could SEE what they were getting on Christmas morning instead of unwrapping a package and seeing a bag full of pieces. We set it up in our basement which is what we often call our family room. This is where we wrestle, play Wii, PS3, and exercise. The children immediately "got" what this cool thing was and wanted to try and start building their own creation, but we had to hurry and eat breakfast, get dressed, and make it to a 10:00 a.m. worship service. I heard my son tell his friend at church, "We got this cool thing called a Toydle fort and it is AWESOME! I can't wait for you to come to my house and see it!" That made me smile because if he's telling his friends about it - he really does think it's awesome. 

When we got home from church we opened the other gifts under the tree and ate lunch. Immediately the children started taking down the fort my husband and I had built so they could build their own. I thought it was interesting that each of my children wanted to build their own creations.

My 9-year-old daughter, built a small fort for herself and attached a blanket to make it a cradle for her baby doll. I caught her a lot this week just hanging out in her fort reading or coloring.

My 6-year-old daughter also had fun building her own little space. She liked hanging out in her's as well. Sometimes she'd push it over close to the television to sit in while she watched.

My son used some of the Toydle fort pieces to make machine guns and his own army fort. So you see, the possibilities are endless here. Your children can each build their own things or you can have them work together to build one huge masterpiece (which is something I plan on having them do soon).

On Christmas night, my 6-year-old daughter came upstairs to have a talk with me. She said, "Mom, I know this may sound foolish and I know you will probably say no, but I was wondering if we could sleep downstairs in our forts tonight?" I said, "That sounds like fun!" I wish I had a picture of her face at that moment to share with you. She was so excited and couldn't wait to run back downstairs to tell her brother and sister they could sleep in their forts! It is so much fun saying "yes" to your children, especially when they think you're going to say no.

We have had a lot of fun with our Toydle Fort this week, and I look forward to all the new creations my children will make. When we are done playing or if we ever need more space downstairs, all the fort pieces store nicely in a bag which is included with your purchase.

I received our Toydle Fort free for review purposes and I cannot express to the Homeschool Crew and the folks at Toydle Fort what a blessing this has been. This has truly been my children's favorite and most played with Christmas gift this year. This is a quality product that comes with a lifetime guarantee and is worth every penny. These forts are a made in the U.S.A. product and come from a family-owned business, and I love that! A Toydle fort is the type of gift that can grow with your children for years to come and I'm already thinking about how cool it will be to pass along to grandchildren one day (that's how good this product is).


Pricing and Ordering Information:
There are two forts available to choose from.
The Toydle Fort is $149.00 and comes with over 50 pieces and provides over 45 cubic feet of space. There are also six wonderful clips included to use to clip on your own sheets and blankets to your fort.
The Big Toydle Fort (which is what our family received) is $229.00 and includes over 90 cubic feet of space and it includes 8 clips.

Please click over to the Crew's blog for more Toydle Fort reviews. I can't wait to click through them all myself. I am sure there will be a lot of great and creative fort designs shared!

2011 Blog Highlights

Here are a few of the most "popular" posts from 2011. If you visit my blog regularly, you know I show signs of ADD and tend to blog about lots of different things like homemaking, home education, product reviews, ministry life, and just fun and random things I want to share. I look forward to having more stories to share with you in 2012. Happy reading and feel free to leave a comment.


Christian Life Posts

Mini Prayer Retreat

Messy Ministry

Home Education Posts

Our Study on Lewis and Clark

What Charlotte Mason Has Taught Me About Habits

A New Year Begins

From the Kitchen Posts

Fun Fall Trail Mix

Review Posts

Love and Respect - A Thomas Nelson Book Review

Educating the WholeHearted Child - TOS Crew Review