Super Star Speech-A Review

Product: Super Star Speech: Speech Therapy Made Simple
Price: 12.95$US e-book, 18.95$US-22.95$US print version

Morgaine started to speak very early and spoke very clearly with a large vocabulary. Over the past couple years, however, we've begun to have a harder and harder time understanding her. Having received many hours of speech therapy myself as a child, I started to feel that perhaps we'd have to look into that option for Morgaine as well. However, I continued to delay looking for a therapist as I was concerned about the cost aspect and my uncertainty over whether my concerns were founded. At just the right moment, I received Deborah Lott's Super Star Speech to review as part of the TOS Homeschool Crew.

Deborah Lott has spent many years working as a licensed speech pathologist while also homeschooling her children. She realized however, that such speech therapy may not be accessible to everyone for various reasons and graciously decided to develop a program that would be easy for parents to use in their own homes to help improve their children's speech. Super Star Speech begins with an articulation test to use with your children to help pinpoint their exact areas of difficulty. This is followed by activities to teach them how to properly articulate the sounds that they are having difficulty with. These activities are very much like I remember doing as a child so you can be guaranteed that you are giving your child the same type of instruction they would receive if they were seen by a speech therapist. In addition to this, there are many fun activities included in order to make this program enjoyable for your child.

After doing the articulation test with Morgaine I've come to realize that when Morgaine takes the time to speak slowly she can speak clearly. This was very much a relief to me and I was quite surprised to learn that her difficulty comes from having too much on her mind to say all at once. As a result, we did not use this program with Morgaine very much. I, however, was quite impressed with the detail of the program and the quality of the materials. I remember receiving programs guaranteed to improve my speech as a child and groaning about them. Both my child have hung out watching over my shoulder as I've looked at this program and are begging for speech therapy because "it looks like fun."

For 12.95$US the e-book is an exceptional deal. I would not hesitate for a moment to buy it, if only for the assurance that my child's speech is right on track. If some problems are identified then this e-book is such a valuable tool, especially for those that would have trouble paying for traditional speech therapy. In addition to Super Star Speech: Speech Therapy Made Simple, Deborah Lott has also created specific programs for various sound difficulties so be sure to check out her website for more details on these if you know which sounds your child has difficulty with. I think that Deborah Lott has blessed many families who couldn't afford speech therapy with this product and if your child is struggling I encourage you to check out her website to find out more.

**Any products reviewed by me as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew have been given to me free of charge in order for me to provide you with an honest review of the product and/or how we used the product within our family. I do not receive any other form of compensation for the reviews posted on this blog.

Ideal Curriculum Review

Product: Month 1: Transportation
Company: Ideal Curriculum
Price: 30$US download, 55$US + 7.50$US/child print version

Many homeschoolers spend months, and sometimes years, looking for the ideal curriculum for their homeschool. They read reviews, they try different programs, they ask their friends what they use. I've only been homeschooling for a couple years now, and I to have searched high and low for the best program for us. I've come to realize that Liam is a workbook type of kid who also enjoys having ample time for free reading so all he needs is to be printed some worksheets from time to time and a library card. Morgaine is still quite young but I have started to search for things that she would enjoy. I'm not big on pushing academics but Liam was way beyond Morgaine at this age and occasionally I wonder if I'm doing too little with her. When I was asked to review month 1 of Ideal Curriculum's Pre-K program, I had high hopes that this would be a curriculum that would work well for her and we'd be set to start her Kindergarten year. Ideal Curriculum provides month long units that strive to teach language, reading, writing, math, and science in a sequential way through games, music and hands on activities. Each month follows a specific theme to help unify things. The theme for Month 1 one was transportation but other themes include weather, animals and the world around me. Sounds good!

Unfortunately, their statement that "95% of all children will not pick up academic skills on their own," was a bit of a put off for me. While I think children do need some guidance, most children learn lots just by exploring and asking questions without a lot of structure and formal learning (remember, we are talking PreK curriculum here). I was immediately filled with dread as I imagined my little 4 year old sitting at a a desk filling out repetitive worksheets. Thankfully, each lesson is kept short and for the most part do feel like play and not so much like work. The teacher manuals provide ideas for continuing each lesson throughout the day so that the learning can happen in a more natural way as you go about your daily activities as well. With music, written/visual work, and hands on activities (including full body movement for those really kinesthetic learners) there is a little of everything so whatever kind of learner you have they should benefit from this program.

While I thought having all three areas (literature, science, and math) provided in one package would be beneficial it was immediately clear that my daughter is at a different level in each area. In fact, I found that she would not benefit from either the literature or the math sections of the program very much at all. She is way beyond what is being taught in math section and the literature sections I found to be a little bit disorganized for my liking. Some parts seeming really simple for her abilities and other parts seeming to move ahead too quickly. While they touch on a number of important areas (letter sounds, sight words, print awareness), I found that the method of teaching these skills was a bit helter skelter and would not work well with my child.

The science unit of this program, though, I found to be really nice addition. Most programs I've seen tend to ignore science in the younger grades (most certainly in PreK-Kindergarten) and it was really nice to see that science was included and that the activities were not babied down and used proper scientific terms. The experiments are well demonstrated and the explanations are clear. This is the area where the theme of transportation comes into play and your student gets to experiment with wheels and axles and learn about different forms of transportation. I, however, still would find it hard to justify buying the program for the science or even the science/social science section independent of the other curriculum.

This curriculum is available for purchase for 30 dollars/unit (month) for a downloaded version of the program or 55 dollar/unit (month) plus an additional 7.50$US/child for a print version of the program. You can also purchase the entire year (9 units) for 440$US the print version or 240$US for the download version. We reviewed the download version and I found that there was a lot of back and forth between the teacher manuals, the children's workbooks and the other print material. I think that I may have enjoyed having all the material printed and ready for me. We were out of town without computer access for the majority of this review period and being unable to print any of the material, I had to flip back and forth between the different files repeatedly. Ideally, I would have been able to print everything before beginning. I would not be able to justify spending this money on a monthly basis for what is included in this curriculum. Even stretching the work over two months (which is possible as the program is quite flexible in that regards) I still would not be able to buy it.

I feel that this program is best suited to a classroom environment and would be ideal for an educational daycare or other such program. For a homeschool, at least mine, the cost is not justifiable. Many of the activities remind me of things that I did in Kindergarten or that I used when volunteering at a preschool a number of years ago. The activities are fun but really geared more towards a group of children in my opinion. The fact that the curriculum takes a multi-sensory approach is appealing and the whole body learning experience is great if you have a child that likes to be on the move so if that sounds ideal to you, I encourage you to visit the Ideal Curriculum website and check out their free week trial.

Everyone Loves a Good Lobster-Lobster Network Review

Product: Lobster Network Free Membership
Company: Optimized Consulting Inc.
Price: FREE!!

Lobster is great! Lobster is wonderful! Lobster is one of those things that you enjoy (maybe) once a year. What if I told you, you could enjoy lobster EVERY day? Well, now you can! Just not the the food kind. Through the TOS Homeschool Crew I've happily been introduced to a new networking site (and if you know me, you know I LOVE networking!) called Lobster Network. Lobster Network is the perfect place for people that like a good deal, or even FREE stuff. The idea behind lobster network is that people have stuff. Stuff that they would be happy to share, give away, or sell for cheap and Lobster Network allows you to do so for free all in one place. Lobster Network allows you to list your inventory (books, movies, tool, toys, etc...) and whether you are willing to sell, lend, or give the items away. While lobsters in general are great, it also stands for all the potential that this network can bring to you.

Just take a peak.....


By joining/creating local groups (communities) you are able to find items that are in your area. For example, my husband is a bit of a do it yourself type of guy. We are flipping a 135 year old home. Occasionally we run into problems when we realize that we need a tool that we do not own. Imagine being able to browse through your local lobster network and finding out that Billy from down the road has the exact tool you need to loan out, saving you money that you would use to buy a tool that you might only need to loose once. What's more, if Billy down the road doesn't have the tool that you need then you can but in a request for that tool and perhaps there is another local fellow that might have that tool.

As a homeschooling parent, I'm always looking for deals on curriculum. Sometimes I'm not sure if a certain program would work well with my family and don't want to spend a lot of money on a program that we might not end up using. With Lobster Network I'm able to borrow homeschooling material from other homeschooling families and try it out before committing to the product. Sometimes I can even find deals on homeschooling materials that other families are finished using,

That's not all! As a doula and aspiring midwife, I've collected a wealth of material pertaining to pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding and babies that I am more than happy to share with my clients. With Lobster Network my clients can easily see which material I have available to lend out and I can keep track of where my books are without worrying (I am not typically organized and have lost several books since beginning my practice). The more I can educate families (and really, anyone would would like to read any of my books) the happier I am. I cannot wait to use Lobster Network for the purpose.

Now that you know a few of the things that Lobster Network can do, I want to let you know that not only does it serve multiple purposes but it is very user friendly so even a child could help you add items to your inventory list (hey, it could be a learning experience for them!). It is also easy to search for items, add friends and create communities. I really do feel that Lobster Network has the potential to be the next big thing in cyberspace and I am happy to be able to introduce my friends to this free resource. I am hoping to that you will all sign up by going to the Lobster Network website so that you will be able to savour some Lobster (Network) for yourself!

**Any products reviewed by me as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew have been given to me free of charge in order for me to provide you with an honest review of the product and/or how we used the product within our family. I do not receive any other form of compensation for the reviews posted on this blog.

Lesson Planet: A Search Engine for Teachers

Product: Lesson Planet
Price: 39.95$US/year
Additional Information: 10 day free trial available

I'm a little addicted to the Internet. I LOVE search engines. I appreciate being able to find just about anything online. I was happy to be able to review Lesson Planet as part of the TOS Homeschool Crew. Lesson Planet is a search engine designed specifically for teachers which allows you to search for lesson plans by topic and then narrow down the selections by rating, age/grade and method of teaching. With 225 000+ worksheets and lesson plans there is an abundance of material available.

I found that this search engine was quite easy to use. The material that I did find seemed to be mostly geared towards the age range that I was looking for and most everything came from reputable sites so I was not concerned about the information that I'd be sharing with my children. However, I did find that most of the lesson plans were geared towards a classroom setting and while they could be modified for the most part they were not lessons I would use in a home school environment. As things often change on the internet I also encountered quite a few dead links in my search and while they are easy to report (and hopefully have fixed) if I'd been particularly in a hurry I might have found them frustrating. As a Canadian, I found Canadian content to be severely lacking and for that reason in addition to finding the lesson plans much more geared towards a school setting, I would no really be will to pay the 39.95$US/per year.

Lesson Planet offers a free 10 day trial so I would encourage you to check that out if this search engine interests you. Please be sure to check out other Crew Members' reviews here as I know that there were several members who really liked this program and perhaps reading their reviews will give you a more balanced review of the product.

***Any products reviewed by me as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew have been given to me free of charge in order for me to provide you with an honest review of the product and/or how we used the product within our family. I do not receive any other form of compensation for the reviews posted on this blog.

Cooking With Sue Gregg

Product: Meals in Minutes
Company: Sue Gregg Cookbooks
Price: 9.00$US

As many of you who read my blog regularly might know, we are currently away from home because we needed to travel to have the opportunity to birth our baby with a midwife. We've been living away from home for the past month, but sweet baby has been born and I will be returning home to a freezer filled with healthy meals. Nope, the neighbours haven't been bringing casseroles (or I hope not 'cause they'd be getting rather gross sitting on our steps by now) but I managed, with Sue Gregg's help and Meals in Minutes to prepare several dishes to freeze before leaving.

After realizing that her family's chronic health concerns might be a result of a nutritional deficient diet, Sue Gregg started experimenting with nutritionally dense foods and whole grains. She start eliminating questionable foods from her pantry and has since begun teaching others how to eat the way we were meant to. Though several cookbooks Sue Gregg has made it her mission to teach us how too cook with whole grains, introducing such techniques as soaking and blending.

Meals in Minutes is a cookbook of make ahead meals that can be conveniently frozen and then pulled out as needed. Sue Gregg describes in detail how to cook with whole grains, the best canned/frozen goods/spices to purchase, and the best ways to thaw and reheat her meals. She then shares 25 recipes/meal plans with us broken down into the following categories:

• 5 Timesaver Meals


• 5 Convenience Meals


• 5 Quick Meals 5


• Make-Ahead Meals


• 5 Ready-to-Serve Meals

Each section comes with a grocery list for the week as well as suggested side dishes that could be served along with the recipe. While I was not initially fond of the format of the recipes (with the ingredients listed throughout the recipes as opposed to at the beginning of each recipe) I soon got used to the idea of reading through the whole recipe before beginning. I have not tried any of her meals from frozen as of yet but we have been happy with what we've tried freshly prepared.





The only real issue that I have with the recipes in the cookbook is that I do find that they rely a little heavily on canned/frozen foods and as a little bit of a "foodie" if I am going to cook from scratch I really want to cook from scratch and not have to pull out my can opener. All in all, though, these recipes were easy, healthy and turned out good. For 9.00$US you cannot go wrong if you are on the path to healthier eating (or want to be).

There are numerous free recipes on Sue Gregg's website so be sure to check them out and while you are there read more about her journey to healthier eating.

***Any products reviewed by me as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew have been given to me free of charge in order for me to provide you with an honest review of the product and/or how we used the product within our family. I do not receive any other form of compensation for the reviews posted on this blog.

Alphabet Beats

Product: Alphabet Beats Lower Case Letters
Company: The TV Teacher
Price: 35$US

As part of the TOS Homeschool Crew, I am happy to bring you another review of a product suitable for the youngest students. With Alphabet Beats your 2 1/2 year old-8 year old learns the proper way of printing letters with Miss Marnie, the TV Teacher. The DVD offers 5 minute lessons on each letter on the alphabet. At the start of each lesson, your child is taught a chant that teaches the correct way of writing the letter. This chant is combined with vocabulary starting with the letter being learned and other visuals while Miss Marnie repeatedly shows your child how to write the letter.

Morgaine quite enjoyed Miss. Marnie (she's quite engaging and personable, I must say) who was able to hold her attention for several lessons at a time. In terms of printing, I found that Miss Marnie did not leave enough time for Morgaine to follow along with her in the lessons and that was a little frustrating for my daughter. However, the chant will be quite handy for when we are practicing printing on our own. Morgaine, as a non reader/writer told me she didn't know why she had to write letters over and over again if she couldn't read and for the most part I agreed with her. However, the nice thing about this program is that it is bringing my daughter closer to reading. She's seen some of the letters we've worked on in books we are reading and has said, "Look Mom, it's an 'a'. It goes 'up and around. Back up and down.' " This coming from a child who had no idea that letters had anything to do with what I was reading a month ago is HUGE!

Overall, I am quite happy with this program though I would likely buy it more for a letter recognition program as opposed to a printing program. My daughter seems to be getting more benefit out of it that way but I think it would work well as a printing program for those children that can already recognize the letters of the alphabet and need some extra practice with printing. In terms of the ages specified on the DVD, I think that it could be used with a 2 1/2 year old as a letter recognition program and perhaps a printing program if it was kept fun (for example, writing the letters in shaving cream or with finger paints). I'd never expect a 2 1/2 year old to sit with a pencil and paper! I think that the upper age range on this DVD might be a little high. My six year old would not enjoy these lessons very much and would likely find them "babyish" so it wouldn't work well with him. I think this might be the case with many older children so my age recommendation for this program would likely be mostly for 4 and 5 year olds. However, I don't know your child so you'd have to check it out for yourself to see if it might work well. The TV Teacher offers a demo on their website which would help give you an idea of what the lessons are like.

***Any products reviewed by me as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew have been given to me free of charge in order for me to provide you with an honest review of the product and/or how we used the product within our family. I do not receive any other form of compensation for the reviews posted on this blog.

Time 4 Learning

Product: Time 4 Learning PreK
Company: Time 4 Learning
Price: 19.95US$ for first child/month, 14.95US$ for each additional child/month
Additional Information: Prices vary on this product from time to time so please refer to the company's website for current price.

Morgaine was thrilled when she found out that she would be getting her very own product for Mommy to review as part of the TOS Homeschool Crew. She'd been able to follow along with some of the products that I received for Liam's age range but there was never anything specific to hers until we received a one month subscription to Time 4 Learning to try out their online PreK curriculum. Time 4 Learning offers online educational activities and games geared towards your PreK-8th grade student (you choose your child's level when you register). The focus is primarily on English and math with "bonus" material in history and science included in most grade levels.

Morgaine was eager to try out Time 4 Learning and I was happy to see that the PreK curriculum was easy enough for my her to follow being a non-reader. All activities were explained aloud or used easy to understand symbols like smiley and sad faces. There were a variety of topics to choose from and for the most part I was pleased with how in depth some of the material was for PreK (however, there was other material that I found much too easy for her...but I suppose some children might still need work on those skills and Morgaine is at the older age range for PreK).

When your child logs in they are greeted with a menu of topics to choose from....



Other topics include:

• the alphabet,


• colours,


• shapes,


• numbers


• weather,


• the human body,


• and much more.

Each topic contains a variety of activities including stories, videos, puzzles and more. At the end of each activity your child can rate whether they enjoyed it or not which is not only valuable to the company but also to the homeschooling parent. For example, I learned that Morgaine enjoyed the story books much more than videos so as a result we will likely look for more written material for her kindergarten year as opposed to visual/auditory material.

While we did enjoy Time 4 Learning, the cost of 19.95$US per month would prohibit me from purchasing it, especially because my son would likely want his own membership as well and I could never justify 35$US dollars a month for this curriculum. The company occasionally offers rebates and other specials so it is important to check their website for their most current offers. In my opinion, this program is not complete enough to be more than a supplement to other material. The activities are fun and educational, however, I can find similar activities out there for free with just a little extra searching. If you do not want to spend time searching around the internet and want all your student's activities in one location then this online curriculum may work well for you.

There are free lesson demos on the Time 4 Learning website so be sure to check them out if you think this program might work well for your family. To hear what other Crew members have to say about this product please click here.

***Any products reviewed by me as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew have been given to me free of charge in order for me to provide you with an honest review of the product and/or how we used the product within our family. I do not receive any other form of compensation for the reviews posted on this blog.

Family Mint-A Financial Planner's Perspective

Product: FamilyMint
Price: Free

My husband, Mike, is a financial planner and for years he has been telling me that there should be a program out there to teach young children how to save money. I was very excited when I found out that I would be reviewing FamilyMint.com as part of the TOS Homeschool Crew. Perhaps this would be the program that we were waiting for!

FamilyMint is an online money management program designed to teach valuable financial skills and saving habits to families and their children. With FamilyMint you are able to set up a profile/account for each of your children, help them set financial goals (whether it be for a special purchase or for a larger goal like university), track their deposits and as an extra incentive, if you wish, set an interest rate that you are willing to pay them for their deposits or even match there deposits.



While we did not use FamilyMint with our children (neither receive any money as an allowance at the current time), both Mike and I think that this is a valuable tool. The interface is very easy to use, for both the child and the parent and the extra features, such as the goal setting tools and being able to set an interest rate for the different goals, are an added benefit. Mike thinks that this tool teaches valuable saving skills that many adults are lacking but feels that a child needs to be a little older than ours in order to appreciate the value of money and get the full benefit of this program. Ideally he feels that parents would start using this tool when the child is about 8 years old and has more of a grasp of how much things costs and might be making/receiving money of their own. This tool would be especially useful to older children that are getting ready to go out into the world on their own in a few years. There are so many adults out there that find themselves in trouble because they never learned to budget so teaching your children this valuable tool is a must! Mike even said that this program would be good for just those adults to help get them back on the right path!

Currently, FamilyMint is a free program with all the features that I have mentioned but in the future there may be a charge for certain features (though, we have been assured that there will always be a free membership, with less features, as well). I invite you to go to FamilyMint.com to check out this program for yourselves. The quick set-up and easy to use interface make it definitely worth taking a look at.

***Any products reviewed by me as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew have been given to me free of charge in order for me to provide you with an honest review of the product and/or how we used the product within our family. I do not receive any other form of compensation for the reviews posted on this blog.

All About Reading-"What Am I?" Review

Product: What Am I?
Company: All About Learning
Price: 19.95$US

This year I was given the opportunity to review All About Spelling Levels 1 and 2 as well as Beehive Reader 1 (soon to be renamed "Cobweb the Cat.") The Beehive Reader was especially a big success in our house so we were happy to receive the second in the Beehive Reader series entitled "What Am I?". This delightful reader introduces your child to a whole cast of characters through 10 new short stories. Rob the Robot wrecks havoc on the household that orders him in the mail and Deb the Dog learns that maybe a smelly musk ox isn't so bad. As with the first reader, the stories are delightful and captivating and the pencil drawn pictures are just beautiful.


This reader correlates with the second level of the All About Spelling spelling program and helps further your child's reading skills by increasing the story length and enriching the vocabulary included in the text. There are plans in the works to include two readers for each level of All About Spelling (after the first level) and I know that my family will anxiously be awaiting each new addition to the series. These high quality books are a welcomed addition to my homeschool as I know that they will be enjoyed for years to come. There is no doubt in my mind that because of their high durability and timelessness they will be enjoyed by my own grandchildren years down the line.


"What am I?" will be available for purchase for 19.95$US starting on April 1st, 2010. To find out what other Crew Members thought of this reader be sure to visit the TOS Homeschool Crew Website here.

***Any products reviewed by me as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew have been given to me free of charge in order for me to provide you with an honest review of the product and/or how we used the product within our family. I do not receive any other form of compensation for the reviews posted on this blog.

The Critical Thinking Company-Language Smarts Level C

Product: Language Smarts Level C
Company: The Critical Thinking Company
Price: 39.99$US

I am feeling incredible blessed (yes, AGAIN) to have been selected as part of the TOS Homeschool Crew to review material from The Critical Thinking Company. As a relatively new homeschooler, I had not heard of this company that uses both high quality printed workbooks and software to teach children how to look at problems logically and work them out. Along with my order confirmation, I received a link to their product sampler and I was taking a look at it when my son announced "I LOVE it! It is the BEST day of my life!" Shocked, I looked at him and he said, "You just HAVE to print it for me, Mom!"

So I print off the samples and my 4 year old daughter sees the activities at the beginning of the the book and says, "Mom, it's the best day of my life, EVER!" An argument ensued over who was having the best day and needless to say I knew that this product was going to be a hit in my household!

A (long) couple weeks later we received Language Smarts Level C to review. This grade 2 level workbook teaches a wide variety of language arts topics that help improved your child's grammar, vocabulary, comprehension and writing skills. Logic activities, rhymes and riddles, and other FUN activities are used throughout the book to encourage critical thinking skills as opposed to just recalling facts. The kids must use what they have learned to demonstrate further problem solving skills and this is what, in my opinion, makes this program a step above other language arts programs out there. At 320 pages long, there are a variety of topics to keep your child busy all year long either as their core language curriculum or as a supplement to the curriculum you are currently using. Most activities were challenging enough to keep my son engaged but, if read aloud, many of riddles could be answered by my younger daughter keeping them both interested in the program (a rarity in this house!)

While the 39.99$US price tag may seem expensive, my husband and I both really liked the thinking skills emphasized in this workbook. Both children continue to be interested after over a month of daily use and look forward to critical thinking time. The only issue we have found with the book, especially in the earlier sections, was the phrasing of some of the questions. There were times that we had to read through the directions a couple times to fully comprehend what was being asked but that is something that we can live with. We've enjoyed Language Smarts Level C so much that we are planning on using several of their other workbooks as part of our homeschool for next year!

I encourage you to take a look at The Critical Thinking Company's website and try out any/all of their numerous printable samples or software demos. There is a lot to choose from but the company really gives you a good idea through their samples what you can expect from their award wining products.

***Any products reviewed by me as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew have been given to me free of charge in order for me to provide you with an honest review of the product and/or how we used the product within our family. I do not receive any other form of compensation for the reviews posted on this blog.

Math Galaxy

Product: Word Problem Fun, Whole Number Fun, Math Galaxy Riddles-Whole Numbers (worksheet generator)
Company: Math Galaxy
Price: Worksheet generator 29.95$US, software games 29.95$US, riddle e-book 14.95$US

As part of the TOS Homeschool Crew I had the opportunity to try out several different products from Math Galaxy. This company provides both software (Mac friendly as well as for PC) and computer generated worksheets on a variety of topics from basic addition/subtraction to algebra. We chose to review both the software and worksheet generator on whole numbers and word problems.

The worksheets include problems that your child needs to solve in order to find out the answer to riddles (each answer ends up representing a certain letter in the answer). My son did enjoy this activity to a certain extent because he has just been introduced to the world of jokes and riddles. He didn't mind solving the problems in order to answer the questions but wasn't terribly enthusiastic about this activity, either. This product sells for 29.95$US and can generate 500 worksheets that can be printed and completed by your student. This may be a good option if you have a child that is very much into riddles and jokes and who would be motivated to complete the worksheets to learn the "punch line."

The other program that we reviewed was the Word Problems fun software which also sells for 29.95$US. In this game for 1-4 players, the students solve math problems, complete mazes (in order to "own" that maze, much like monopoly) and race around a virtual game board trying own as many caves as possible in order to collect money from the other players in the game. This game would be especially fun as a multi-player game but can be played alone as well. Students gain robots to complete mazes as they answer the questions correctly. While the math questions were appropriate for my child's comprehension level then mazes were very difficult (even my husband found them hard and he is an avid gamer). Therefore, my son was not motivated to answer the questions in order to play do the mazes. If you have a child that has really good hand-eye coordination then this game might be more appropriate but it just did not work well in my family.

At the 29.95$US price tag, I would not be willing to buy either the worksheet generator or the software CD-Roms. They may be more appropriate in a larger family where they would get used by various students at different levels but that is my the case in my family and my son is just as motivated to complete complete worksheets that I can find for free online to practice his math facts. Math Galaxy offers many free samples on their website so I encourage you to check them out and try some of their programs to see what your child things of them. You can also read more reviews of these programs (along with other math galaxy products) on the TOS Homeschool Crew Blog.


***Any products reviewed by me as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew have been given to me free of charge in order for me to provide you with an honest review of the product and/or how we used the product within our family. I do not receive any other form of compensation for the reviews posted on this blog.

Graphics Toolbox-Informational Post

Product: Graphics-Toolbox
Company: Great Software Tools
Price: $149 US

Over the past month or so, I've been delighted to see some of the graphics my friends over on the TOS Homeschool Crew have made using Graphics-Toolbox by Great Software Tools. When I received an e-mail from Lynda Hollar telling me that I would be reviewing her graphic software program I was thrilled. I have always been interested in graphic design but could never afford to purchase one of the photo-editing/graphic design programs on the market. We were out the door for a weekend away when I received the e-mail and I chattered happily to my husband about being able to review this product for a good part of the car ride (that's how impressed I was with just the initial e-mail). Unfortunately, 3 days later when we arrived home, I realized that I would not be able to use this program with my Mac (you need a Windows operating system). SO DISAPPOINTING!!

I have, however, been able to look at video tutorials and see the progress of other crew members' work and think that this looks like a fun and handy product. I cannot talk about ease of use or compare it to other software because obviously, I haven't been able to try it out myself. I know that many other crew members had a lot of fun with this program so I invite you to visit the TOS Homeschool Crew blog to find out more about what they thought and sometimes even see some of their creative projects!

Graphic Toolbox provides you with a power tool to create your own:

• banners and signatures


• cartoon characters (or add crazy characters to your own photos!)


• personalized cards and letters


• scrapbook pages


• much more

You can edit all your own photographs and add borders and text, change colours, add textures and shading and more (however, this program is known for it's graphic design functions more than it's photo editing capacities as there are other programs available out there for photo editing and not much in terms of offering graphic design tools to the general public.

If you are overwhelmed with this program, Great Software Tools offer video tutorials and a user manual on their website. It is also possible to register for an hour long one on one training session that you might find useful (it is not cheap, BUT most people get a good overview of the program and are able to complete the project they are thinking of with this training). You can get a good idea of what this program is like by checking out their website so I strongly encourage you to take a look for yourselves! I know that this is a product that I would have loved to get my hands on, even for a limited time!

Homeschool Library Builder

Company: Homeschool Library Builder
Price: Membership Free

I love books! I love using my library! However, there are times when I find books that I just want to hold in my hands and keep forever and that is where Homeschool Library Builder comes in. This company is opperated by a couple of homeschool families that love books (and great deals) as much as I do! Homeschool Library Builder offers a huge array of books (much in Christian content) at a fraction of the cost (I've seen several at 95% off the cover cost) you'd find elsewhere. There is a wide variety of living books available on this website. You can find fiction and non-fiction books, anthologies, reference books, picture books and much more. There no shortage of titles with new books being added frequently. These new and gently used books are a great deal for family that love to read and love having a variety of books on hand. In addition to already great low prices, Homeschool Library Builder often runs other promotions so you get deals on top of great deals! Who could ask for more!

It is definitely worth checking out and getting your own free membership. There is nothing to loose. I know that I will be checking back when I have a little money that would love to be spent on books!

Beehive Reader 1

Product: Beehive Reader 1
Company: All About Spelling
Price: $19.95US

Earlier this school year, I had the opportunity to review All About Spelling (see my review). In January, I was delighted to come home from a family vacation to find a beautiful hard-covered book waiting in my mail box from All About Spelling. Their new Beehive Reader 1 was created to compliment the first level of the company's spelling program but is a lovely addition to any reading/phonics/spelling program. This isn't your typical reader with babyish and disjointed stories (Cat has a hat. Cat on a mat. Hat on a mat........zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.........boring). The dedication of this book reads:

To the reader-may you find yourself among friends.

That is exactly what happened when my children opened this book. My son, Liam, is reading MUCH above the reading level of this book but he really enjoyed the 10 stories included in the book and delighted in reading them over and over again to his little sister. Little sister, Morgaine, fell asleep night after night with the book in her bed because she loved looking at the beautiful artwork that makes this reader extra special. I am convinced that this will be a book that will be treasured in our house for years to come!

I think that the exceptional pencil drawn images and the fact that the book just seems so much more special being in durable hardcover makes this book worth the $19.95US price tag. The stories are captivating and the characters easy to relate to. It's just a really fun book to read. Yes, it is more expensive than some early readers out there but when you factor in quality and the fact that the book contains 10 stories then it really is a reasonable price if other readers you have tried are causing you to doze off!! Either with or without the complete All About Spelling program this book is delightful. Be sure to check out the sample pages of this book. I think you will be impressed!

Even More Math-A Math Mammoth Review

Product: Math Mammoth Light Blue Series Grade 2 Complete Curriculum (249 lesson pages)
Company: Math Mammoth
Price: $29.70US (various other programs available)

Last year, my two brave little cavemen captured a woolly mammoth not knowing that mammoths had anything to do with math. Well, I just have to say that we've been introduced to Mammoth Math and while the mammoth's involvement is still a mystery we could not be happier with the program. As part of the TOS Homeschool Crew we were able to choose pretty much anything from the Math Mammoth website to review and with Liam's help we decided on the complete grade two curriculum (we could have received worksheets with, or without, explainations, on a specific topic instead). This workbook is broken down into chapters and covers a variety of topics:

• Addition and subtraction with carrying and borrowing


• Time


• Money


• Fractions


• Geometry


• Place Value


• Multiplication and more

Each unit/section starts with a clear explanation and examples and then is followed by questions for your student to answer. Each section ends with a review so that you can gauge what your child has learned and be certain that he has retained the information that was taught earlier in the unit. I was surprised to see how much Liam enjoyed this method of instruction and how little involvement I had to have. Besides the occasional time I had to pull out a manipulative from our current math program or rephrase a question, Liam was able to work through the questions on his own. It was fun to just sit nearby and listen to him make the connections with a little help from the explanations. The only drawback I found was that there wasn't always a lot of room for Liam to write his answers on the worksheets so a few pages looked a little sloppy and crowded. It did force Liam to start writing a little smaller and that has also translated into him writing smaller in other subjects as well. For $29.70US for enough worksheets to keep Liam busy for a whole grade level (though unlikely a full year) we will be purchasing the next grade level for Liam when he has completed the one that he is working on.

In addition to selling complete curriculum by grade level (the light blue series) Math Mammoth also sells the:

• Blue Series (worksheets focused on one topic WITH explanations) for grades 1-5


• Gold Series (worksheets by grade level WITHOUT explanations) for grades 3-8


• Green (worksheets by topic WITHOUT explanations) for grades 3-7

Prices vary between series, topics and grade level but all seem (to me) to be well worth the price (you can find some subjects for as little as $3.35US). You can order the PDF files and receive the worksheets immediately to print at home or for an additional price order the printed copy through Lulu (linked on the Math Mammoth website). In addition, you can sign up for Math Mammoth virtual e-mail course Math Teaching E-mails and receive:

• 280 free worksheets and sample page;


• 7 math teaching articles ;


• 2 emails discussing the books;


• Homeschool Math newsletter

I suggest that you take a peak at the Math Mammoth website and sign up for the teaching e-mails and also read what other Crew Members have to say about the product (a wide variety of products were reviewed this year).

***Any products reviewed by me as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew have been given to me free of charge in order for me to provide you with an honest review of the product and/or how we used the product within our family. I do not receive any other form of compensation for the reviews posted on this blog.

The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling

Product: The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling by Debra Bell
Company: Apologia Press
Price: $20.00US

Anyone who has been a Christian homeschooler for any amount of time has likely heard of Apologia Educational Ministries Inc. because they are well known for their creation based science curriculum. Not knowing what we were going to do for science this year, I decided to hold out on science altogether when I noticed that Apologia was on our review list for the TOS Homeschool Crew. Imagine my shock when I received The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling by Debra Bell instead of a science textbook! I'll admit that not only was I shocked but I was a little bit distressed! What was I going to do for science now?

After scrambling around to come up with an alternate resource for science, I settled down with The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling. This 500+ page book has a wealth of information to share with new and even veteran homeschoolers. There are parts covering everything from deciding whether homeschooling is right for you and selecting a curriculum to working with reluctant students and dealing with/avoiding burn out. There are new sections dealing with older students and how to use computers in your homeschool. What to teach, when to teach it and how to measure progress is another topic covered in depth in this book. Written from a Christian perspective in an easy conversational tone this book is actually a much quicker read than it appears to be. In the fashion on the "...For Dummies" books, the Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling has icons that alert you to important information and resources such as:

• Suggested Reading


• Websites


• From the Bell Files (personal stories from the author)


• Voices of Experience (stories from other homeschoolers)


• Buying and Resource Information

The parts, chapters and sections are organized in a logical manner and the icons make it especially easy to find what you are looking for. There is a wealth of information in this book and the many numerous resources pointed out in this book make the $20US almost worth it.

I did, however, find that this book was lacking. If you homeschool using the same method as she does, and share the same values and beliefs then this is the perfect book, however, if not then you may be better looking elsewhere. Written from a Christian perspective, I believe that many secular homeschoolers would benefit from choosing a different guide book. There was a lot of mention of putting fate in God in helping you make decisions and well, if that isn't your cup of tea then this book and actually be off putting. I was hoping to see more information on different homeschooling styles (Waldorf, Montessori, Classical/Charlotte Mason/Unschooling) but was disappointed to see that the author stuck to her type of homeschooling and didn't go through the trouble of speaking about other styles. I was also put off a little but the amount of emphasis that was put on homeschooling co-ops and being involved with other homeschoolers through lessons outside of the home and other events. At one point, I even got to the point of questioning my ability to successfully homeschool my children in an area of Canada where there are literally 5 homeschooling families all spread in different directions from each other. Not too many opportunities for a homeschooling community here! Reading about the accomplishments of the author's children (they've done incredibly well for themselves and for the world) was also somewhat depressing because while I strive to have children that are as successful as hers sometimes the resources just aren't available to me or I question my abilities when I hear such incredible success stories (ah, yes, I struggle sometimes to see the light at the end of the tunnel when we are going through a particularly trying period in our homeschool!).

While there was a wealth of information in this book and I would recommend buying it, if only for the lists of resources peppered throughout the book (and the 61 pages of various resources listed at the end of the book), I think that you have to take what you can from the information and be able to leave the rest behind. As mentioned, there were certain aspects that did bother me but for the most part, after talking to my online homeschooling community (thank you TOS!), I was able to see that I was doing to best I can for my family and there are many, MANY families out there that are unable, or do not feel the need to, take advantage of some of the things that this author credits her homeschooling success to. Overall, a good resource book with some really interesting sections that make it well worth the $20US price tag.

To see what other Crew members think of this book be sure to check out the Crew Blog.

***Any products reviewed by me as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew have been given to me free of charge in order for me to provide you with an honest review of the product and/or how we used the product within our family. I do not receive any other form of compensation for the reviews posted on this blog.

Presidential Penmanship-HWOT Style

Product: Presidential Penmanship-HWOT style complete program
Company: Zeezok Publishing
Price: $39.99US for complete program (primary to highschool) or $9.99US/grade

As a Canadian, I was surprised to receive Presidential Penmanship (Handwritting Without Tears style) from Zeezok publications to review as part of the TOS Homeschool Crew. I groaned at the thought of my son having to copy quotes from speeches that are not relevant to him as a Canadian. Thankfully, the earlier grade levels of this program contain mostly uplifting or thought provoking quotes from various American presidents which focus mainly on character traits and leadership. As you progress through the levels there gets to be more and more quotations from speeches and the Declaration of Independence but that is not until several years into the program. It is important to note that this is not a penmanship program in that it does not teach penmanship but rather gives children material to copy in a specific style (there are 6 different styles available).

While I had been planning to start Liam on cursive writing this year, I decided to keep him working on his printing with this program. I am not a fan of the Handwriting Without Tears cursive style (it just looks so different to me) and without the proper instruction on how to use Handwriting Without Tears I felt it in Liam's best interest to stick to printing. I choose to print out the quotes that I felt most appropriate for Liam (from the grades 1 and 2 level) and he worked on those and then we discussed the quotes a little when he was finished. It led to some thought provoking discussions and for that I am grateful. One improvement in the actual copy work that I think could be made would be for the company to use a more traditional trace over the dots to practice the letters as opposed to writing inside an outline of the letters. Despite repeated instruction, Liam still felt inclined to colour in the outline instead of making one smooth line in the outline. After several lessons he finally did get it but I am sure that many students do the same thing that he did and that could be avoided with the more typical method of instruction.

As a Canadian, I would not be interesting in purchasing this product. I am not a huge fan of copy work and if my son is going to have to copy material I would rather it be something of my choosing that is also relevant to what we are studying. I'd rather purchase a complete penmanship program with instruction if I were to find my children struggling to print/write. I can see that this would be a nice addition to a study on the presidents or American history so I would be more inclined to purchase this product if that was an area that we would be studying. It is nice that you can purchase the complete product as either an e-book or on CD for $39.99US allowing you to print whatever pages you'd like as many times as you would like to (especially a plus for a large family with children at various levels). You can also choose to purchase one level at at time as an e-book for $9.99US which would be great if you wanted to test this product out before committing to it. You can also choose from 6 different styles of writing which you can view on their site here.

While this program would not work well for my family I encourage you to read some reviews from other members of the TOS Homeschool Crew here if this product interests you.

***Any products reviewed by me as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew have been given to me free of charge in order for me to provide you with an honest review of the product and/or how we used the product within our family. I do not receive any other form of compensation for the reviews posted on this blog.

Ray's Arithmetic

Product: Ray's Arithmetic Complete K-12 curriculum
Company: Dollar Homeschool
Price: $59US

If you've ever wanted to go back in time and see what was taught over 100 years ago in a one room school room then Ray's Arithmetic may be the program for you. I received this complete curriculum from Dollar Homeschool to review as part of the TOS Homeschool Crew and I have to say that I was impressed. Despite being written well over 100 years ago these textbooks felt warm and familiar to me (though I would have LOVED to have them in print, Dollar Homeschool offers the program on CD so I couldn't quite snuggle up with the computer).



Ray's Arithmetic was used for over 50 years in pioneer schoolhouses all over America and millions and millions of students have been taught using this method. Does this make it a good program? Well, for the most part it aligned with my view of math in that the youngest of students are taught to recognize numbers by sight and not to count on their fingers to solve problems. The abacus and other manipulatives are used heavily in the first year (with absolutely NO written work for the first year). As the child progresses through the program, it changes so that the teacher can assign pages of the text for the students to work on individually while she works along with the younger students making it ideal for a school setting with numerous children of different ages. Math doesn't change much over the years so it is just a valid today as it was over a century ago. As you progress into algebra/calculus some solutions get long winded and better methods for solving these equations have come to light since the text was written but for the most part this text is just as good today as it was when it was first being used. At a price of $59US even if you just use the product for elementary school then you have well spent your money.

While we did not, and likely will not, be using this program in our homeschool I do think it is a valuable resource if you want to teach your children from classic texts. I cannot think of a better price for a complete math curriculum out there anywhere. I very much enjoyed reading the Manual of Methods and A Manual of Arithmetic as it emphasized to me that the way that I naturally teach my children math is actually a proven method of arithmetic instruction. I will likely use some of the worksheets for my children as they continue along in their study of math. For $59US you get 38 .pdf files including complete textbooks covering a wide variety of topics, answer keys and two manuals on how to teach the program to your students. The manuals are invaluable and the texts are clear so that once your children are on the road to independent studies then they should be able to complete most of their math work on their own. For the price, all this is really an exceptional deal that I encourage you to look into on the Dollar Homeschool website.

***Any products reviewed by me as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew have been given to me free of charge in order for me to provide you with an honest review of the product and/or how we used the product within our family. I do not receive any other form of compensation for the reviews posted on this blog.

Math Tutor DVD

I have heard wonderful things about Math Tutor DVD over the years so I was happy to hear that we would be reviewing some of their material this year on the TOS Homeschool Crew. I was sent their Basic Math Word Problems DVD and their new Young Minds Numbers and Counting DVD. The children were excited that they each got a DVD that was geared towards their abilities so there was a bit of a fight over who would get to use the DVD player first!

Young Minds: Numbers and Counting

In the end, both children agreed to watch the Young Minds: Numbers and Counting DVD first. While both children have progressed beyond counting to 10 and recognizing numbers they enjoyed this DVD. Set to classical music (Bach, Beethoven, Mozart and more) this DVD teaches counting and number recognition from 1 to 10 as well as animals, machines, fruits and vegetable names, colours and more. Geared towards the youngest of students I can see this DVD being used in households with 2, 3, and 4 year olds mostly. The video quality and bright pictures captured my children's attention and the music held it despite the fact that they were already familiar with the material. My son even asked to watch certain sections again because he loved the music that was playing in the background. If you are not opposed to using DVD material with the youngest children in the family then I would recommend this DVD which sells for $19.99US. This will likely be a DVD that I will pop into my player when the the wee one in my belly reaches the age when I feel a little half hour of TV from time to time is alright (it's better material then I'd find on TV for him!).

Basic Math Word Problem DVD

The next day, Liam was able to take a peak at the Basic Math Word Problem DVD. This 8 hour CD is guaranteed to increase your students grades in math by teaching them how to understand and break down math word problems. Liam watched the first two sections of this DVD and was a little bit appalled to see that the teacher was using drawings and counting on his fingers to add simple math facts. He was yelling out the answers to the questions long before the teacher explained and solved them. The math program that we use (and his Mama) discourage counting on fingers (or counting in general) so he was surprised by this teacher. As a parent, I did like how the teacher pointed out certain keywords in math word problems that help the student understand what is being asked in the question. The teacher broke the questions down in easily digestible sections and made the material easy to understand. The DVD covers word problems involving whole numbers, decimals, fractions, percent and ratios/proportion and each section gets progressively harder. This DVD can be purchased for $26.99US on their website and I would recommend it for those students that have a hard time grasping what is being asked in word problems.

It is worth mentioning that Math Tutor DVD sells products that will help your children from elementary school right up into college with such topics as basic math, algebra, advanced calculus, physics and more. I have heard wonderful success stories from families that have used these DVDs with older children and because of that (and their relatively affordable price) I would not hesitate to purchase these DVDs for my children in areas where either they (or I, as the teacher) feel like they could use extra help beyond what I can teach. No matter the age of your child, be sure to check out the Math Tutor website and see what they might have to offer your math student. Whether homeschooled or schooled in a more traditional setting, I believe these DVDs would be beneficial to many students that are struggling).

To find out what other Crew members think be sure the visit the TOS Homeschool Crew website here.

***Any products reviewed by me as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew have been given to me free of charge in order for me to provide you with an honest review of the product and/or how we used the product within our family. I do not receive any other form of compensation for the reviews posted on this blog.

Kinderbach-An Online Introduction to Music for Your Little Ones

Program: Kinderbach-Online Lessons
Price: $19.99US/month or $95.88US/year

For the past year Liam has been asking me if he could take piano lessons but for financial reasons I have always been forced to tell him no, despite believing that music is an important part of a child's education. I was very happy to be chosen this year to review Kinderbach-an online introduction to the keyboard for 3-7 year olds as part of the TOS Homeschool Crew. Using creative characters, engaging videos and a passionate teacher this online program actually teaches your young ones to read notes, learn intervals and rhythm and actually play simple songs.

My children, 4 and 6, really enjoyed using this program. The teacher is very enthusiastic and the kids were captivated by her energy (I wish I has some of her enthusiasm for some of the other subjects that I am teaching the children!). They enjoyed trying to sing along to the little songs and banging on their rhythm instruments. There was a fair amount of "busy work" in this program and while I did not like having to print out copies of worksheets for the kids (when they could easily call out the answers without wasting paper) the kids enjoyed these extra colouring activities as well.



While I think that this program is worth it for the youngest of students as a basic introduction to music, I would hesitate to buy this for a student that is very eager to play piano. My son is very interested in classical piano and this program, while fun, does not prepare a student for continuing further along in their musical career. There is no real emphasis on proper fingering or sitting at the piano correctly. It takes quite a while before the children are introduced to the simplest of songs and after a while my son, while enjoying the program, started asking when he would actually learn how to play the piano. I also found that while the sing-a-long songs were fun, they were often quite fast or the characters had a voice that was not easy to understand so the children often ended up stumbling over words or asking me what the character was saying.

For the price, I would happily pay for this program if I was looking for a program to see if my children have a real interest in piano or if it is just a passing phase. I think, however, that it is best suited for the preschool age group, even though my son did enjoy using the program because it was "fun" school. You can test out the first two lessons for free on their website or for $5.95 you can purchase a day pass to view the entire site to decide if this program might would for you and your family. DVDs and workbooks are also available on their website for those people that wish to use that format instead of the online membership. This is especially beneficial for families using dial-up internet or those that have many children that will use the program over and over through the years.

I encourage you to check out the Kinderbach webiste and see what their program is all about. There are many different options available and you might find one that works well for your family that will bring a whole new world beyond music appreciation to your little ones. Be sure to check out what other Crew members have said about Kinderbach here.

***Any products reviewed by me as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew have been given to me free of charge in order for me to provide you with an honest review of the product and/or how we used the product within our family. I do not receive any other form of compensation for the reviews posted on this blog.