This Fine Life

by Eva Marie Everson

Revell Publishing

Mariette Putnam has just returned home after graduating from boarding school.  She is unsure of what she wants to do with her life now.  Her mother wants her to marry money and her dad wants her to go to college.  

This is a story of young love and a women trying to find God and herself.

I found this book a bit slow, but interesting.  I think it is realistic, which is nice in a book.  I really could not relate with any character in the book though. 

Price: $14.99

*I was sent a free copy of this book to read and review.  I am not compensated for my opinion.

Peterson Directed Handwriting

My final product to review for the TOS crew  this year is Peterson Directed Handwriting

I had the chance to meet online with Rand Nelson to receive some individualized coaching on their method of instruction, and to determine the best placement for my children. I was really impressed that Mr. Nelson would take the time to meet with me online and discuss what would be best for my children.

"Peterson Directed Handwriting is based on movement-based instruction, with a goal of developing fluency in handwriting. The idea is to “develop a recording in muscle memory” through the following steps:

*illustrate and describe

*write in the air and say

*finger trace and say

*write and say"

Price: Varies depending on item purchased.  Between $10.50 & $20.00

 

Check out the Peterson Directed Handwriting website, where you can also consult with Rand Nelson.

*Read what other TOS crew members had to say about this product!

*I was sent a down loadable product to try and review. I am not compensated in any way.

Ideal Curriculum

"Are you looking for a preschool curriculum?  One place you might want to check out is Ideal Curriculum.  They have created a program that covers Literacy, Math/Calendar, and Science/Social Studies.

The program is made up of nine monthly kits, including such themes as Weather (unit 3), A Healthy Life (unit 5) and People in My Community (unit 7).  Each month has three sections:

• Literacy: The program teaches letters and sounds, introduces approximately 100 sight words, works on developing motor skills and other writing skills, explores phonemic and phonological awareness, and develops oral language and vocabulary.  Included in this program is music and games along with the print-based materials.
• Math: Ideal Curriculum works on basic math concepts such as the number line, rote counting, one-to-one correspondence, cardinality, adjacent values, an basic shapes and number recognition.  The Calendar portion works on various concepts of time.  The plans include a weekly math lesson and a weekly calendar lesson.
• Science/Social Studies: Each unit has a different theme involving science or social studies.  Within the theme are included picture books, sequencing stories, vocabulary lists, suggestions for library books to supplement the study, and lots of oral language and vocabulary activities.  There are lots of hands-on suggestions in the daily lesson plans."

 We received the kit for the first unit — Transportation — as a download.  I think this would be good for a group setting~ a co-op or preschool.  I would also be good for first time home schooling moms.  I is a bit more formal then we do in our school.  There are some cute songs and fun activities.

Price:  Units are available for $30 (download) or $55 (print version), it is also possible to purchase portions of the curriculum. 

In May, Ideal Curriculum is offering TOS Homeschool Crew followers a 10% discount on a first purchase by using the code: welovekids

*To read other TOS crew member reviews check it out here.

*I was sent a free unit to use and review because of my involvement with the TOS crew.  I am not reimbursed in any way.

Lobster Network

"Lobster Network is a new web application that helps you share your stuff safely and securely. The hope of the creators is that it will help to create community amongst friends and strangers. Besides making it easy to lend and borrow things to/from other people, you can also use it to log and track your own stuff for purely personal use. The creators of LobsterNetwork just love sharing their stuff with others, but they found that it was really difficult to track it all and it was also difficult to encourage their friends to come and borrow stuff. Now by using LobsterNetwork their friends can browse their stuff from the comfort of their home and request to borrow whatever they have made available. Then the next time they see each other, they exchange their stuff! Finally, after the allocated time, LobsterNetwork reminds both of them that it’s time to bring the stuff back."

In all honesty we would never use this.  I swap things very rarely with others.  I encourage others to borrow things from us and we borrow from others, but not on a grand enough scale to need a website to keep  track of our stuff.  But since it is free you really have nothing to lose to try it out.

Price:  FREE

*Want to know what other TOS crew members had to say?  Click here.

*I was given a free membership to try and review.  I am not compensated in any way.

Beeyoutiful Products

BeeYouTiful's motto is "Healthy Living for the Real World."  They carry various natural products help people maintain good health.  

We were sent Tension Tamer to try.  

 

We LOVE it!!  My husband, 14year old son, and I all swear by it.  About the time we received this product, I had been suffering from horrible headaches for several weeks.  I had  been popping ibuprofen all day to get control of the pain.  The day I got Tension Tamer in the mail my son, Sonny, and I both had a headache.  We rubbed it on to the back of our necks and temples.  Within 30 minutes the headaches were gone!!  I am NOT kidding.  I was shocked.  My husband also suffers from headaches.  I told him about this product and he stole it from me!!!  He took it to work with him.  Now when I need it, I have to go ask him for it!  I think I need to buy my own now!!  The smell is actually soothing.  It smells like eucalyptus & peppermint.

  It is gentle enough for children as well.  Our other children do not get headaches, but it does work for Sonny (14).  He has suffered from headaches for several years.  I probably need to buy him his own too! 

I am excited to find a product that is not only natural but actually works!  My mom also suffers from headaches (guess it runs in the family), I am going to buy her one too!

I believe this is a wonderful product well worth the price.  I asked my husband how much he thought it costs.  He said $30 for the vial.  Nope~ only $11. 

If you suffer from headaches, try this out.  I was a skeptic and now am a believer!!

*Other TOS crew members tried various products from BeeYouTiful.  Check them out!

*I received this product for free to use and review because of my participation in the TOS crew.  I am not compensated in any other way.

Cerebellum/Standard Deviation

Cerebellum Corporation  "is the leading producer and distributor of high-quality programming for the family, educational, and fitness markets. Recommended by more than 500 teachers and college professors, Cerebellum’s programming covers the most difficult high school and college courses. Standard Deviants titles have won 19 Telly Awards for “Best Non-Broadcast Educational Video” and has also been named to the “Best Films and Videos” list by the American Association for the Advancement of Science."

 We were sent the AP Chemistry DVD to review.  My oldest is only 14 and is just finishing the 8th grade, so we were unable to really evaluate it for a high school student that is going to be taking the AP Chemistry test.  We really have not covered much chemistry either.  This was hard to review because of that.  

It is well put together.  The DVD delivers all the necessary review for students to master the chemistry facts needed for the Chemistry AP test.

The other DVDs in the AP series are:

*AP English Language and Comp. Exam Prep

*History of the U.S. AP Exam Prep

*U.S. Gov & Politics AP Exam Prep

I have a felling that our oldest, Sonny, will be taking the US History AP test~ since that is his passion, so I think we will revisit these DVDs when the time comes.

These are available at a very fair cost of:
Price: $14.98  

 *See here for other TOS crew member's reviews.

* I was sent this DVD for free to watch and review because of me being a part of the TOS crew.  I am not compensated in any way.

Lesson Planet

Lesson Planet is a membership website to help teachers and parents find the information they need to teach classes or explore subjects with children.  This search engine site began in 1999.  It is advertisement free and membership is available for teachers, homeschoolers and school districts.

There are several ways to search for what you are looking for by:

• Searching by keyword, grade level and overall rating
• Clicking the Narrow, Related or My Recent Searches keyword options
• Browsing for reviewed resources by Subject, Calendar or Theme
• Exploring relevant State Standards, matched to each member’s state
• Utilizing Advanced Search to narrow by duration, method, technology, and more

Basically you type in what you are looking for and they will have links to other websites to look at and possibly use.  These websites are not looked in to for content so I would no let my children have free rein.  Also, some of the links they give are no longer available.

Personally I would never use it.  I found it difficult to find what I wanted.  Because of free search engine sites I believe this is really expensive.  However if you are not someone comfortable searching on the internet, then this could be of use to you. 

Price: $39.95 per year 

Want to check it out before you buy?  Sign up here for a free 10 day trial!

This is what other TOS crew members thought.

*I was given a free membership in order to write this review.  I am not compensated and am not required to give a positive review.

Super Star Speech

Are you concerned about your child's speech?  Do you want to do speech therapy at home?  Then Super Star Speech may be your answer!  

"Deborah Lott is a licensed Speech language pathologist a with Master’s degree in Education/ speech pathology. She has home schooled her 4 children for the past 16 years while doing speech therapy part-time, primarily with children with articulation disorders. Through her interaction with other parents, she has come to realize that many parents cannot afford speech therapy for their children, prefer not to utilize speech therapy through the public schools, or may simply prefer to work with their children prior to beginning therapy or as a supplement to professional speech therapy."

I had the opportunity to review Super Star R & L

Speech therapy can be expensive if you do not have insurance coverage.  I think this is a great alternative.  

Lesson plans and instructions are included with the book.  There are games, activites, and worksheets to go along with the various lessons.

Price: $18.95 for spiral bound or 30% off if you purchase an ebook. 

 We also reviewed some of the homeschool games that Debbie Lott designed.  The games are fun, educational and some are even challenging (well, for me anyway).  These games were written for homeschoolers in mind, bu would work well for any child.  One great thing about them is that they are pretty inexpensive.  I used them as a fun activity for my kiddos when they were done with regular school work or as time to spend together.  They are available through CurrClick for $3.50 each!

You might like to read what other TOS crew members had to say in their reviews.

*I received these products for free to use and review.  I am not compensated for my review.  This review reflects my honest opinion.

It Had to Be You

book #3 Weddings by Bella series
by Janice Thompson

Revell Publishing

The third and final book in the series  Can I just tell you how excited and sad I was to read this book?  I have fallen in love with Bella's family.  They are zany, delightful, and family oriented.  Not only did I want to read this book quickly to see what happens, but I also wanted to savor it at the same time.  Of course I read it in no time and I was surely not disappointed.  This book was even better then the 2nd one!  I personally like the first the best, probably because that is when I met Bella and her crazy family.

In It Had to Be You Janice Thompson, finally writes about Bella's wedding, but not before she gives us all the details of her Aunt Rosa and Uncle Laz's wedding.  What fun they all had.  I was thrilled to learn what each of these themed weddings would entail.  Of course there are many surprises lurking in the book as well. 

Are you ready to have a great laugh and your soul filled?  Read this book.  Haven't read the other two?  Check out my review for book 1, Fools Rush In  and book 2, Swinging on a Star.  They really will be worth your time to read them.

Price: $14.99

“Available May 2010 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”

*I was sent a free copy of this book to read and review.  This review reflects my honest opinion and I am not compensated in any way.

The Money Answer Book

by Dave Ramsey

Thomas Nelson Publishing

I am a BIG Dave Ramsey fan.  Brian and I have read several of his other books and wholeheartedly agree with his financial advice.  

We have used the debt snowball technique to pay off our debt and we have no credit cards!!  Dave has literally changed the way we think about money.

This particular book gives answers to a lot of questions people have about finances.  Even though I have read all of his other books, I sill learned a TON of information I did not know before.  I was amazed at hw quickly I read it.  I could not wait to read the whole thing.  

I like the fact that it is small, so you could put it in your purse or car and read it while you wait somewhere.  

I would definitely give this book as a gift for a wedding, high school graduate, Christmas, birthday, etc...

If you have never read any of Dave Ramsey's books you HAVE to get this book and read it` it will change your life!!

Price: $12.99

*I was sent a copy of this amazing book to read and review.  This review reflects my honest opinion and I am not compensated in any way.

Homeschooling For the Rest of Us

by Sonya Haskins

Bethany House Publishing

 I finished reading this book the other day and I found it to be a pretty good book for the beginning Christian home school family.  There is no certain method you "must" follow, which I like because we are more eclectic in our homeschooling style.  I feel this book would be a handy book to use while considering home schooling or when you are starting out.  

We have been home schooling for over 9 years and I did find a little that I gleaned.  However I find that it would best be used for a newbie.

I recommend buying this book if you are considering homeschooling, are starting out, or are in the middle and need some new ideas!

Price: $13.99  You can by it directly form the publisher here.

*I was sent a free copy to read and review. I am not compensated and this is my opinion.

How Do You Tuck in a Super Hero?

by Rachel Balducci

Baker Publishing Group

Rachel Balducci is the mother of 5 boys.  Her book is an insight to her world of all things boy.  Her delightful stories will make you smile.

She shares stories of crazy stunts her boys have done and also the sweet things they have done.

I can relate a bit.  I do have two boys, but unlike Rachel I have one little girl.  My boys are not as crazy as hers are, but it was a fun book to read.  She makes you feel like you are not alone.

If you have boys or know someone that has boys I recommend reading this delightful book.

Price: $12.99 purchase at Revell

*I received a free copy of this book from the publisher to read and review.  I am not compensated in any other way.

Terrestria Chronicles

Terrestria Chronicles, from Ed Dunlop Ministries is about a kingdom of ladies, knights, & dragons.  But what makes this series different is the underlying vein of Christianity throughout these books.  


The first books starts off with Josiah as a slave to the master, Argamor.  Argamor plans on taking over the kingdom and Josiah plans to stop him.  He later becomes free and is taken in by the royal family.


The second book continues with Josiah as he is sent on a journey by the king to castles around the kingdom.  He will learn to trust the king and depend on him.

We were not really thrilled with the story too much.  My boys love dragons and knights etc...  but I really think he authors tried too hard in the allegory with Christianity.

Are you wondering what the other TOS crew members thought about these books (plus the Tales from Terrestria series?)  Go here to find out!

Price: Terrestria Chronicles are available for purchase for $39.99.  If you prefer, you can also purchase each book individually for $7.99. The spiral bound study guide is available for $5.99.

Free coloring pages are found here.  Helpful for read aloud time.

*I was sent these books for free to read and review.  I am not compensated for my review.

The Rose Legacy

Volume 1 in the Diamond of the Rockies Series

by Kristen Heitzmann

Bethany House Publishing

 Carina Maria Degratia is running away from the only life has has ever known to get away from her fiance, who had a fling with her sister.  She buys a home in Crystal, Colorado the "Diamond of the Rockies" the brochure says.  Only everything is not as it seems.  She looses most of her possessions among losing her house.

Two men come into her life but are they all they seem?  Will she be able to stay in Crystal where it is full of dirt, miners, and saloons?  Or will see flee back to the home of her childhood?  Well, you will just have to read it and find out.

I liked this book so much that I went out and got books 2 & 3 so I could finish her story.  That is one thing I did not like~ I really like the main story to end before going on to another volume in a series, but I am hooked with Carina's story and I need to find out how it ends!

 Price: $13.99 to purchase go here.

*I was sent a free copy of the book to read and review from the publisher.  I am no compensated in any other way then the free book is mine to keep.

In Harm's Way

Heroes of Quantico #3
by Irene Hannon
Baker Publishing Group

Although this is the third in the Quantico Series, it could really be a stand alone.  Each of the three books tells the story of a different FBI agent.  I really like this type of series, where the main story ends at the end of the book.

I read the second book in this series a few months ago.  To read that review click here.

Rachel Sutton is at a fast food restaurant where she spies a doll hidden beneath the icy snow.  As soon as she touches it she gets this horrible "vibe" from it. Every time she touches the dolls she gets shaky, sweaty, and her heart races.  After discussing it with her friend, Marta, Marta decides to talk to her husband, a police officer, about it.  As they chat about it at a local restaurant, little do they know that a reporter is eavesdropping on the conversation.  After much thought, she decides to take the doll to the FBI.  

Rachel gives the bag with he doll in it and tells him what happens when she touches it. 

Soon Rachel's life gets crazy.  She is starting to fall for Nick!  Between them will they find out what the significance of the doll is?  Will Rachel survive?
This is definitely a page turner.  I finished it in two days!

Now I need to go back and read the first one.  If you like a little suspense mixed with light romance read this series.

 Price: $14.99

* I received a free copy of this book from the publisher to read and review.  I am not compensated for my review.

All About Reading~What Am I?

 All About Spelling is launching their new reader, What Am I? in April.  Soon, they will have more readers that will correlate with the levels in All About Spelling.  

Earlier this year I reviewed some of their other products.  Here are the links to those reviews:

All About Spelling and Beehive Reader.

We were sent What Am I? to read and review.  This one follows the Beehive Reader (it is getting a new title Cobweb the Cat) I reviewed earlier in the year.  This book has longer stories but the same beautiful illustrations as the previous book.




These readers coordinates with level 2 of All About Spelling, but you can use this fabulous book even if you do not use the All About Spelling curriculum.

 

The are working on a new program, All About Reading, which will be launched later this year.  This program is a stand alone or will work wonderfully with All About Spelling. 

We think this style of book is so cute, and we love the illustrations.  I do think it is really pricey.  I doubt I would spend this amount for each book in the series.

Price: $19.95

Other TOS crew members also reviewed this book.  Go and see what they thought!

*I was sent a FREE copy of this book to review.  I am not compensated in any way and this review reflects my honest opinion.

The Travels of Wiglington & Wenks Virtual World

"Wiglington & Wenks  is a children's story book series by John Bittleston that has been turned into a Virtual World intended to help 7-14 year olds interact with history, geography, landmarks, inventions, nature, wildlife, the environment, and more."

Your child becomes a traveler in this virtual world.  They create a character and travel from place to place running into famous historical figures along the way.

Travelers have the chance to esign an island, dress up in native garb, and learn geography.

My nine year old son, Ben, really enjoyed the concept of this, but we were both a bit disheartened when we played at how difficult it was to know your way around. But, we finally figured it out as we continued to play it.

**I have a few major concerns about this virtual world.  There is no way to tell if the kiddos are interacting with other kids or whether they are adults pretending to be kiddos.  The other is the chat feature.  I am against children "chatting" with others.  I see no need for this in this type of game.  It is a red flag to me.

Another thing I do not like is it is not very educational.  It is more fun with a bit of education "thrown" in.  Your kiddos will also run into evolution topics as well.

Kind of spendy too!  You can always use the free version, but just can not have access to all of the locations.  I find that kind of wrong in a way as the children would never be able to finish the game.

 Price:  You can get access and play the game for free, but to enjoy the entire game (go to more places etc..) there is a cost.  $5.99 per month, with discounts available for longer subscriptions.

Check out what other TOS crew members thought.

*I was given a free membership to this website to review for the TOS crew.  I am not compensated in any way.

Time 4 Learning

Julianna was so excited when she realized that I needed to review a product that was all for her!  She just tuned 5 a few months ago and sometimes wants to do school like her older brothers.  So I was excited to have something for her to use for 15-20 minutes per day.

Time 4 Learning is an online educational program that teaches learning by being fun.  

There are over 40 topics divided over two levels for your child to choose from. Here are some ofthe subjects your child can choose:
 

• Numbers
• Feelings
• Sports
• Human Body
• On the Farm
• Space
• Weather
• Insects
• Color Mixing
• Out to Sea
• Manners

  It was easy for my daughter to navigate, but was very slow at times.  Not sure if it was the website or our internet (although we rarely have issues).

I think this program is kind of expensive, especially for those of us who have several children.  I was quite disappointed that we did not get to try some of the upper levels, as I wondered if those would be good for those who need more practice or to expand their current curriculum.  I also wanted to know if it was a full curriculum and if it would take the palce of other programs or if it was just a helper kind of thing.

What I found on the preschool level is that it was mediocre at best.  In my opinion, there are several other websites and computer CD's which I feel do a better job of helping preschoolers then this program.

However if this is the kind of program you are looking for then I suggest you check them out.

Price:  Time 4 Learning offers access to their pre-K to 8th grade programs on a month-to-month basis. Their prices periodically change, but right now the first child is $19.95 per month and each additional child is $14.95 per month. 

*I received a free month's membership to use and review.  I am not compensated for my review.

Galaxy Education

We have received yet another math program to review.  This time it is Math Galaxy.  As part of the TOS crew we were sent downloadble links to all of their products to use and review.  I had trouble with downloading most of them~not sure if it was my computer or the products~ but we were able to use one.  I worked with the technical people at Math Galaxy and we tried for a few weeks to figure out the issue.
Galaxy Education says,
"Our goal is to provide students a foundation for analytical thinking in the modern world and for higher-level math and science."

They have several different product types to choose from. 

They have:

~a worksheet generator program.

~ riddle ebooks

~computer math programs

Topics include:

•    Whole Numbers Fun, meant for grades 1-4
•    Fractions Fun, meant for grade 5
•    Decimals, Proportions, % Fun, meant for grade 6
•    Word Problems Fun, which covers elementary and middle school math
•    Pre-Algebra Fun, for middle school
•    Algebra Fundamentals, obviously, is for algebra students

 

Price: $29.95 for each math program and worksheet generators.  $14.95 for each of the riddle ebooks.

To read other TOS crew members reviews click here.

*I was sent free downloads to use and review.  I am not compensated for my review. 

Pandia Press

Kathleen Desmarais is not only the owner of Pandia Press but also a homeschooling mom of 4.  Pandia Press publishes science and history curriculum in the Classical Education form.

 We were sent one of the History Odyssey books~Level 1 Modern Times. 

When we received it in the mail I was so excited as I was leafing through the pages of the study guide.  It was an entire year's worth of history!


However as I was reading through it I noticed I needed to have several books to use with the curriculum.  I do not own those and was a bit disappointed that I needed to purchase something in order to use the curriculum. I was not familiar with History Odyssey or I might have known I needed some books to go with it.


But I really feel that it is a great guide.  There are activities, reading, writing, and map work.  Level one guides also contain hands on activities with cooking, arts and craft projects, and coloring.  Most of the level 1 guides are written for 1st through 4th grades, but the one we reviewed, Modern Times, is written for 3rd through 6th grades.

 Do you want to see what other TOS crew members thought about Pandia Press?  Click here.

*I was sen a free copy of the book to use and review because of my participation in the TOS crew.  I am not compensated in any way.