I discovered Schleich Toys about a month before learning I was to have the opportunity to review them. Wandering around Target with a couple of friends, we spent a lot of time in the toy section, drooling over the beautiful Schleich collectibles. Imagine my happiness when I found out I would be receiving a sample of their products for review! 
Our assortment of animals arrived and the kids immediately began playing. We were all impressed with the detail and realism of each piece. These are high quality toys and deserve to be called collectibles. Yet they are not fragile and seem to be able to stand up to hands on play.
There have been many studies done on the importance of play in a child's education. I am a firm believer in play, re-enacting, games, etc. These toys would be a great addition to homeschooling in many ways. Adding some of the pieces from The World of Knights during a study on the Middle Ages, or The World of the American Frontier during Early American History, would enhance your history studies and allow your children to act out what they've learned. 
Using the Dinosaurs sets or the Wild Life or the Sea Animal would be a fun way to reinforce science. There are many, many way these could be used in an educational manner.
I just plain like them myself. I love The World of Elves set and would like to pick up a few of these. They're beautiful! Look at the detail in that baby dragon, it's lovely. Hm...these could even be used in art as examples to draw. Or creative writing, as inspirations for a short story. I'm sure with a little imagination, these could be used to enhance just about any subject.
Be sure to check out their web site. You can get an idea of the wide variety of styles they carry and game worlds available. The company states that they will be "significantly expanding the educational aspects of our site", so keep an eye out for even more to come from Schleich Toys. And next time you're in Target, Toys R us, or your local speciality toy store, keep an eye out for the Schleich display and let me know what you think!
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Generations of Virtue is a Christian company dedicated to helping parents train their children in purity of heart, mind, and body. They usually have a beautiful booth each year at my local home school convention and I’ve purchased many resources when designing my own Life Relationships course for my high school students. Being familiar with this company, I was happy to have the opportunity to review their Beautifully Made books for girls and their Teknon novel for boys (Beautifully Made review is HERE).
Teknon and the Champion Warriors by Brent Sapp is a novel for young men, designed to teach character qualities in a fictional story. This is a science fiction story, described as a “son’s quest for courageous manhood”. It covers temptation, s*xual purity, friendships, honor, fear, respect, apathy, etc. Teknon is a young man on a journey with his father and a group of mentors. They are headed out to defeat Magos and retrieve the Logos, so that they may defend their city of Basileia and revive an ancient fighting unit known as the Champion Warriors.
The writing is a little clunky and I found it somewhat difficult to get into, but ended up enjoying the story. Each chapter covers a different trait, and the writing is at times heavy handed in making that point, but all in all it seems an enjoyable starting point for great discussions with your sons. There are father’s and son’s study guides available and I wish I had been able to take a look at those as well. I can only assume that the workbook goes along with the novel and digs deeper into the topic of the chapter. I would think this would be best read a chapter at a time, either aloud together or separately before coming together for discussion. It could be read as a stand alone story, my boys are reading it as such, but I can see it being even more enjoyable as a dad and son time.
Many boys enjoy science fiction (Girls too! I just have to pipe in here and add that girls may also enjoy this story, even though it is written specifically for boys.), so this should be much more appealing than a simple character study. The adventure story of a young man sets the stage for learning many lessons along the way. The illustrations are done by Sergio Cariello, who has drawn Batman and Superman for DC Comics, and are well done. My thought as I read was that I may have preferred this as a graphic novel, but then some of the story may have been lost so I understand the decision to go with a novel. Perhaps a graphic novel as an option for reluctant readers? Just a thought.
This is recommended for ages 11-16, with a caution that it covers mature topics. I would think it best suited to ages 11-14. I didn’t find anything I wouldn’t be comfortable with my eleven year old reading, but you may want to pre-read to determine your comfort level.
You can order the novel for $13.99, the guides for $14.99 and $15.99, or the whole set for $42.99. This may not be a book I would recommend as great literature but it's a fun story that teaches your sons values along the way. If read together with dad, this could be a memory making training tool whose benefits far outweigh a simple science fiction story.
Generations of Virtue is a Christian company dedicated to helping parents train their children in purity of heart, mind, and body. They usually have a beautiful booth each year at my local home school convention and I’ve purchased many resources when designing my own Life Relationships course for my high school students. Being familiar with this company, I was happy to have the opportunity to review their Beautifully Made books for girls and their Teknon novel for boys (Teknon review is HERE).
The Beautifully Made books come in a set of three soft covers, tied together with a pretty pink ribbon. These are books designed to help mothers discuss the menstrual cycle with their preteen daughters. Book One is for sharing what is to come, to prepare your daughter before she begins. Book Two is to be read once she has started. The third book is for mom to read, to encourage you in approaching puberty as a celebration rather than a curse.
I tend to discuss these things naturally with my children, without needing the aid of books, so I tried to read these from the point of view of someone who may be less comfortable with talking about this topic. Sometimes it is easier to bring up a discussion like this if you can use a book for reference. I wouldn’t suggest just handing these books to your daughter, but rather using them as a jumping off point. They are very detailed, sometimes a tad more than I found necessary, so use your own discernment on sections you’d like your daughter to read.
Book Two contained a section comparing Christ’s sacrifice on the cross and shedding of His blood to the shedding of the uterine lining each month. I found this analogy to be a stretch, at the very least. It’s an unnecessary parallel anyway. We can be content with knowing that God created our bodies in such a way that we are prepared each month for child bearing, from the time we hit puberty. There’s no need to find a spiritual application to what is already a spiritual process in and of itself. A messy, sometimes difficult process, but a natural God-given one nonetheless. This section could always be removed if you find it problematic.
This is a topic every mother of a daughter must be prepared to discuss at some point. If you’d like help in sharing this information with your children, these books may be useful. I would suggest reading through them yourself first, to determine if you are comfortable handing these to your daughter to read on her own or if you’d prefer referring to them yourself to help begin a discussion.
These are available on their web site for $18.99. If you are heading to a convention in the near future, be sure to see if they have a booth. It’s usually the prettiest one there.
Yes, I'm cross-posting again. I shared the TOS Crew opportunity with my personal blog readers as well and someone asked a couple of good questions in the comment section. I decided to answer as a post, in case someone else is interested. If you're interested in checking it out, take a minute to read TOS Crew Q & A.
Feel free to leave any questions you may have about the experience as well, either here or on my personal blog. I'll try not to make a whole post out of it next time, but no promises! GRIN.
Last fall, I was chosen to participate in a homeschool review/viral marketing program through The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. TOS Crew, as it's called, has been a great experience and I've had the opportunity to receive products that were brand new to me, along with a few favorites. I hope that I've been able to communicate enough information in my reviews to help others decide if the product or program was one that would work well for their family. I've been homeschooling for thirteen years and found that I liked pretty much everything (with a couple of exceptions), as I've come across at least one family over the years who could benefit from each product.
We are winding up this session (I believe the last deadlines are in May) and I'm happy to say that I've been asked to continue on for another year. Twenty-five current reviewers were chosen to be "First Mates" for the next session. There will be even more products to review and we'll also be responsible to help mentor the new "Crew". It's a big responsibility but also a great opportunity!
The Old Schoolhouse Magazine is currently recruiting their next 100 reviewers. It is a Christian homeschool magazine, so I do believe you must be comfortable signing their statement of faith. They will give you a handful of e-books to download and review. You will send your review links to them and they will sort through all the applicants and narrow it down to 100 and the new TOS Crew will be formed. If anyone's interested in applying, drop me an email and I'll forward you the information.
In thirteen years of homeschooling, we have tried our fair share of foreign language programs. While there were a couple of exceptions, I was often left disappointed. Many programs are just plain dull, while others teach you nothing beyond numbers and colors and "My name is...". I found that the ones I like best (especially for the older grades) use the immersion technique. Auralog's Tell Me More foreign language software is one of these.
We're already studying Spanish, so I jumped at the chance to add French (my high school language class) into the mix and we received Tell Me More French for review. Everything you need to begin is included in the box, even the headset with microphone. I popped the Introductory Disc in and was fully immersed in French within a few minutes. This can be a bit disconcerting at first, but once you relax and realize it's okay to guess and identify clues and even click the glossary button to determine meaning, it becomes enjoyable. This is the way we learn our native language naturally as children, we hear someone speak and we begin to identify certain words with certain objects. We understand, we speak, we write. Immersion.
After playing around with the Introductory Disc for awhile, I loaded the complete software and registered my copy. There are five levels available to you through this package. You can choose to access levels 1-5, as I did, or you can take a test to determine your level. If you have a student already familiar with the language, they would take this test and then receive the level at which they are currently working, plus four more. I did not take the test, so I can't comment on that, but the set-up for the first five levels was simple and painless.
Once you've registered and chosen your levels, you can set up accounts for your students. You can create multiple accounts with passwords, so this is a great option for your entire family. I created one for myself and then it took me to a screen where I could choose between three lesson modes. The first option is Free to Roam, where you are able to select activities at will. Then you have Guided Mode, which is a personalized lesson plan based on objectives and time constraints that you input. Your third choice is Dynamic Mode, where the computer determines your lesson plans based upon your progress. This was all fast and simple.
The lessons themselves rotate between reading, writing, and speaking. For example, you may have picture clues that help you determine the right sentence among two or three choices, you may hear a word spoken and then type it with correct spelling. or you may listen to a sentence and speak the correct response into the microphone. A glossary is always available in the top left corner to help you translate.
I love how easy this program was to set up and begin using. I love that it keeps track for you and that you can choose if you want to follow a lesson plan or just pick and choose your activities. I love that it immerses you in the language and takes advantage of our natural learning inclinations. I'm happy to say that I am impressed with this product!
This particular version is being released in mid April and will retail for $319.99. Keep an eye on the web site for launch date. I'll try to add an update here but if you catch it first, please let me know in the comment section!
I have long been a fan of Amy Pak and Homeschool in the Woods products. We already own her timeline figures on CD, as well as the timeline book itself. I love the artwork she uses, the detail in the drawings, and the neatness of the writing describing the art. Everything I've received from this company has always been well done and produced professional looking results.
It was a pleasant surprise when I discovered that Homeschool in the Woods now produces unit studies and lap books. As of this writing, they carry five history Activity Studies covering New World Explorers through The Civil War. These include your text, Project Pages, lesson plans, etc. They also now carry Hands On Activity Paks, which are wonderful to supplement your studies. At this point there are three available, The Old Testament, The New Testament, and Artists. I was thrilled to have the chance to receive and review The New Testament Activity-Pak. 
This Activity-Pak contains masters to create a lapbook of the New Testament, plus a New Testament News scroll and an Armor of God poster. As usual, the artwork is great and the text is neat and easy on the eye. A beautiful finished product is almost guaranteed.
I discovered lapbooking several years ago and love it. It's a wonderful learning tool and produces treasured mementos of my children's homeschooling. We have a couple file boxes full of the lapbooks they've created over the years and, unlike the math workbooks or book reports, these are keepers!
There are many different ways to lapbook. You can always create an original, or you can purchase a pre-cut and pre-colored research style fill-in the blank option, or you can choose one that has the information pre-printed so that you just have to color it and put it together. The Lap Book portion of this Activity-Pak is in the last category. My children love coloring and cutting and putting the pieces together and so are enjoying this one. As this is a topic we have studied, and continue to study, I am using this as a review time. 
The folds and booklets included are fun and interesting. The Birth of Christ booklet flips open to a 3-D stable. The letters of Paul are postcards in a mailbox (love this!). The miracles of Christ are listed under cut-outs of loaves and fish in a basket. The whole thing is incredibly clever.
It's recommended for grades 3-8 and I would agree, unless you want to be there to help with the cutting and putting it all together. I am using this with 1st-8th grade and I put together my 1st grader's pieces as a demonstration to the others, so that's an option that works well. If you are unfamiliar with lapbooking, you may want to look up some of the common folds and mini-books, as there is not a lot of information included in the instructions. 
The New Testament News project provides your creative writing. You create this scroll by taping the papers end to end and then using wooden dowels on either end. The student is given the headlines and they read the Scripture passage and then write the articles. There are also advertisements included for illustration. This is a great way to make report writing a little more exciting.
The Armor of God poster is an over sized poster of your child (you can either print and paste an actual picture of your child or have them draw their likeness). The student colors the poster and the armor pieces and then creates a pocket to store them. Each morning, they can take the pieces out and put on their armor, both literally and Spiritually! This is an excellent tool for teaching the importance of this Scripture passage and, in my mind, is worth the price of the Activity-Pak all by itself.
The Activity-Pak is available in CD and digital format, and includes all the masters for you to print yourself (I use cardstock as it makes for a sturdier lapbook). The CD version sells for $19.95 and the digital for $18.95, so choose whichever appeals to you most. Be sure to check out the other items available from Homeschool in the Woods too. As I said, this is one of my favorite companies!
I'm always fond of creative ways of adding Bible reading into your life. In our Sr. High Sunday School class, one girl was describing her daily routine and she has very little free time. I suggested downloading an audio Bible to her iPod and listening that way. Great idea, only she was the only girl there who doesn't own an iPod!
Soon thereafter, I had the opportunity to receive the Word of Promise Next Generation New Testament MP3 Set, published by Thomas Nelson ($34.99). This is a dramatized audio version utilizing the voices of mostly teenage stars, many of them familiar to my children via the Disney Channel and various television shows and movies aimed at children and tweens. Actors include Cody Linley, Annasophia Robb, Jordan Sparks, Corbin Bleu, and Sean Astin.
With that kind of cast, my children and I were excited to check it out. I downloaded the MP3's to my laptop, transferred them to iTunes, and added them to my iPod. The first time I had a chance to listen, I was in the car. I started with Matthew, expectations high. As I listened, I was surprised to find it less a dramatized version and more a reader's theater style. The acting was less than exciting and unfortunately came across as rather dull. I admit to being disappointed.
I have since played several books for my children and have found some sections to be more enjoyable than others. There are parts of this that are excellent, but it is uneven. I know the skill of many of the actors involved and wish they had brought more to the table when recording. Most sections read like an adult reading down to a child. My younger children did enjoy it, and the actors are an added draw, so I would recommend this for those with younger children.
Bonnie Terry is a Learning Disabilities Specialist and a Board Certified Educational Therapist who has over 35 years of teaching experience. After years of being asked where one could purchase the learning tools she had created, she began marketing them through Bonnie Terry Learning, and now they are available for everyone. There are helps for those struggling with learning disabilities, as well as tools for everyone who desires to make learning easier or more enjoyable. 
The Sentence Zone game is one of those tools and I'm excited to have received it for review. I absolutely love games that teach. This one takes the exercise most of us hated in school, diagramming sentences, and makes it much more enjoyable. As a relaxed homeschooler, I am more likely to play a game that teaches the parts of speech than to use a workbook or textbook. This is more effective, in my opinion, as my kids tend to learn things they enjoy more quickly than things they dislike. 
The game contains a laminated strip, listing the parts of speech. These are color coded to match the parts of speech cards. You place the stacks of card along the strip and the students take turns creating sentences. They also must add a Capital Letter card where needed, as well as proper punctuation. Points are awarded at the end and the student with the highest score, wins. This sounds simple, and it is, but it works. In order to get a higher score, the child must use more words. As they are looking for these words, they are learning the parts of speech. If they decide they want a particular word, they must identify which stack of cards is needed.
My five youngest played this together and we played a more free for all style. Everyone could create their sentence at the same time. This created a bit more competition, as they saw their sibling's sentence grow longer, they added more to their own. My ten year old won the round with the sentence, "I am a purple alligator, so I never eat pie." The thirteen year old was the runner up. His sentence read, "The sinister dragon ran swiftly to retrieve a map." My favorite was from my eight year old. Here is her silly sentence, "The toe ate a pizza and a dinosaur." When told by her siblings that toes cannot eat, she replied that it was a sentence from a Science Fiction story and in her world, toes could eat. She is such her mother's child, I love it!
As we were cleaning up, my children began brainstorming ideas for fun variations of the game. They want to try it again with the silliest sentence receiving bonus points. They'd like to do a round where you must only use the cards on top of the deck. Another idea was to try and create the saddest sentence. There are so many ways you be creative with this game and learn while having fun. It's a simple game but I'm impressed with how well it worked with my family.
The Sentence Zone is available for $67. This does seem a bit pricey to me, although I have to consider that I can use it with all of my children indefinitely. The cards are made out of card stock and will probably be bent quickly. At that price, I would have preferred to see the cards laminated or in some way made a little sturdier.
All in all, I really like this product. I will use it for my family and it will make a wonderful addition to our informal grammar program. When I consider the cost of more formal grammar programs, The Sentence Zone, Mad Libs, and Grammar Songs is an inexpensive way to create a relaxed grammar program for my kids. If you are a relaxed homeschooler, you will enjoy this product. If you are a more formal homeschooler, you will probably enjoy adding this to your studies and helping your children discover the parts of speech in a fun manner.
Update: Right now The Sentence Zone Game is at a special price of $59. I'm not sure if this is a continuing special or not, but wanted to make you aware.
One2Believe is a company dedicated to providing toys that reflect Biblical characters and ideals. They carry Biblical figure sets, dolls, and more. 
Last fall we received One2Believe's Nativity Set, which my family really enjoyed. We were excited to hear that they'd be sending us the Noah's Ark set as well. I may be excited about reviewing all the great curriculum this year, but the toys are what make my younger kids happy!
The box arrived and they immediately pulled everything out and began playing. The figures were similar to those from the Nativity Set and they were pleased, although somewhat disappointed that Mr. Noah had no Mrs. The girls tend to want to play girls, so that would have been a nice addition. They worked it out and played happily for awhile before noticing that the top of the ark is removable. All the animals and Noah fit nicely inside and I was very happy with this feature. Clean up and storage made easy!
Our family has enjoyed the products from One2Believe. I do wish that the toys would be a little more accurate. The Nativity is ethnically incorrect and the Noah's Ark is Scripturally incorrect (It is made in the common Nursery story style rather than as described in the Bible) but even so, these toys are a great way to encourage your children to play and reinforce Scriptural truths. Plus, they're just a lot of fun and my kids loved them. How can I argue with that?
One2Believe's Noah's Ark Set is available for $29.99. Be sure to check out the other items they offer. I think the Galilee Boat Set looks pretty cool myself and I know my boys would love the Spirit Warriors. Fun!
ARTistic Pursuits publishes homeschool art curriculum written specifically with the homeschooler in mind. They carry books for grades K-12, which are non-consumable and meant to be used independently in the older grades. I received Senior High Book I: The Elements of Art and Composition for review. This contains art instruction, art appreciation, and art history. The materials needed are not extensive, adding to the user friendly appeal. Book One contains sixty-four lessons in sixteen units. Elements of art taught include space, line, texture, depth, proportion, and more.
This comes in a spiral bound format. The pages are inviting and well laid out, with sample art and information boxes. One thing that strikes me about this product is how full it is and yet how unintimidating.
I handed this book to my eighteen year old, with the hope that he would be able to complete the book before he graduates. He found it easy to use and enjoyable (although he was laughing at his attempt to draw the swing set in the backyard!). ARTistic Pursuits even gives me help with how to list this on his transcript. They give me a course name, credit earned, course text, and course description. Wonderful!
I have attended our state homeschooling convention every year for the past twelve years. Each of those twelve years I have noticed ARTistic Pursuits books displayed in the art supply booth and have never taken the time to do more than flip through one casually, check out the price on the back, and put it back on the shelf. Now that I have had the opportunity to try one out for myself, I am seriously regretting that action! If I'd taken the time to realize these books could be used for all my children, I wouldn't have blinked twice at the price ($42.95). I love being able to use the same books with several children and I love that these can be used without a lot of mom prep time or instruction. Having seven grades at once this year, this kind of thing excites me!
I have been excited about art curriculums in the past, as we are an artsy family, but this one has to be added to the top of the list (Seriously, I'm not all that fickle, I just like stuff. And this is good stuff!). You can check out more samples on their web site. I think you'll be impressed.
"Loquacious. My friend Lebby is quite loquacious. Loquacious."
Do you spend time testing your children with spelling lists? Do you find yourself repeating the same lists several times a week? SpellQuizzer is a spelling software program designed to make it easier for you.
With SpellQuizzer, you simply download the program onto your computer, input your spelling lists, record yourself (or your child or the neighbor with the Rod Sterling voice, or that teenager who loves to impersonate the Chipmunks) reading something like my loquacious example above, and let the computer quiz your student whenever you'd like. It's very easy to use, the student types in the word after it is read to him and if he makes a mistake, will be shown how he spelled it and how it should be spelled. At the end of the quiz, he'll be asked if he'd like to redo the missed words. 
While I typically do not use spelling lists myself, I can see how this would be helpful to others. Using the computer automatically makes it more appealing in my children's eyes, and I am assuming that would be true for most. Being able to add in your own lists and create your own crazy (or serious) recordings makes it usable with any curriculum. There are also spelling lists available on their site that you can import, if you'd prefer to use the program that way.
SpellQuizzer spelling program software is available for $29.95. If this is something that would be helpful to your family, check it out and let me know what you think!
I usually enjoy Ted Dekker books, the Circle Trilogy is a favorite, and Sinner was no exception. Another in the Books of Histories series, Sinner takes place in the year 2033. The political climate of our country today is taken to the extreme and Tolerance is more than just a catch-phrase. The Constitution is amended to limit free speech and stating that any religion is the "only way" is considered to be a hate crime.
This storyline would be enough to create a compelling novel, however this is Ted Dekker so the supernatural is expected and he does not disappoint. Marsuvees Black, evil in the flesh, returns to wreck his havoc. We also see Johnny, Billy, and Darcy from Dekker's novel Showdown, all grown up and given the choice to use their supernatural gifts for good or evil.
I could analyze the writing, grouse about returning to old plot devices, or get nit picky about character development, but for me the challenge this story placed in my soul outweighed any of these. I was moved as I read and I had to wonder, if this is where our society takes us, am I willing to stand? And who will stand with me?
Overwhelmed by the response of those who had experienced the Light, this novel reminded me of everything we fail to notice while living our daily lives. The purpose and plan of our lives. The purpose and plan of the universe as a whole. The Bigger Picture.
I would recommend this book to Christians who want to be challenged, as long as you enjoy a little of the supernatural in your stories. I am curious as to how someone who would consider themselves to be a Non-Christian would view this book. Much of my enjoyment came from being spiritually challenged. I'm wondering how standing for the faith would be viewed by someone without that faith. If this describes you, and you've read Sinner, leave a comment and let me know.
Standing for the right of all faiths to state their beliefs is important to me. Free speech is a cornerstone of our country and I do worry that our desire for a feeling of security (however false that may be) will convince us to give up our freedoms, sometimes without even noticing they're gone until it's just too late. This story was a good reminder of these things.
Terri Johnson is giving away three free memberships to her Homeschooling ABC's course! I reviewed this HERE. If you are just getting started with homeschooling, this would be a great help and encouragement. The drawing will be held on March 10th, so be sure to enter soon.
Click HERE to go to her blog and enter the giveaway!
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