Maestro Classics

I remember the story of Peter and the Wolf from when I was a child. If memory serves, we learned about the instruments of an orchestra through that musical story. I loved this and so was happy to discover Maestro Classics publishes CD's along the same line. These award winning "Stories in Music" are performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra. They currently offer Casey at the Bat, Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, Jaunita the Spanish Lobster, The Tortoise and the Hare, The Story of Swan Lake, Peter and the Wolf, and The Sorcerer's Apprentice.

We received The Tortoise and the Hare for review. The simple childhood fable is extended and put to music. This is followed by an "About the Story", a pretzel vendor song, an "About the Music", a sing along, and more. A booklet is included, containing bright colored illustrations and information about the orchestra, music notes and time signatures, turtles and rabbits, puzzles, and biographies of the composer/conductor, producer and narrator.

While the story itself is geared to a younger crowd, my children and I appreciated the quality of the CD. The music is beautiful, the narrating well done, and it was a joy to listen to and learn from. We would love to listen to something geared a bit older, such as The Story of Swan Lake or The Sorcerer's Apprentice. I would highly recommend these, as I can only imagine the other stories are just as well done. Two thumbs up!

Maestro Classics is available for $16.98 per CD. Currently there is a coupon code on the home page of their web site where you can order 3 CD's for $45.

Big Truths for Young Hearts by Bruce Ware

Summary: "Equips parents to guide their young children through all major doctrines in an understandable, chapter-a-day format.

Sure, it’s easy to teach your children the essentials of Christian theology when you’re a theology professor. But what about the rest of us?

With Big Truths for Young Hearts, Bruce Ware, (you guessed it!) a theology professor, encourages and enables parents of children 6–14 years of age to teach through the whole of systematic theology at a level their children can understand. Parents can teach their children the great truths of the faith and shape their worldviews early, based on these truths.

The book covers ten topics of systematic theology, devoting several brief chapters to each subject, making it possible for parents to read one chapter per day with their children. With this non-intimidating format, parents will be emboldened to be their children’s primary faith trainers—and perhaps learn a few things themselves along the way."

My Thoughts: The idea of systematic theology for children may seem dry to some, but this book does a good job of keeping deep subjects as simple as possible without talking down to the audience. This would be a wonderful study for homeschoolers to work through with their children. Simply read aloud a section at a time, usually three to four pages, and then use the discussion questions to dig deeper with your children. Memory verses are also included, making this a complete option for your Bible study time.

Bruce Ware covers the major doctrines, including God's Word and God's Own Life as God, God as Three in One, Creator and Ruler of All, Our Human Nature and Our Own Sin, Who Jesus Is, The Work That Jesus Has Done, The Holy Spirit, Our Great Salvation, and The Church. He is a professor of theology at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and so comes from a Baptist perspective doctrinally.

Too many times our Bible time with our children can become simple stories of Biblical characters. While there is much to be learned in these beloved stories, it is very important that we not forget to teach doctrine so that our children will be able to grasp their faith for themselves and understand what they believe and, most importantly, why they believe it. Scripture references are included throughout and I would suggest looking them up with your older children and enabling them to begin studying and learning from an early age.

Big Truths for Young Hearts is available at Crossway or your favorite online or local bookstore. Be sure to check out the Crossway blog for other great books.

*Disclosure: This book was provided at no cost for review purposes.*

Mathletics

Mathletics is an online, subscription based math supplement for grades K-8. Utilizing most students love for the computer and healthy competition, Mathletics provides both challenges and rewards. When the account is created, the student is able to design a character that becomes their icon or avatar. My children designed these to look like themselves and there were enough options available that they were able to create a pretty close match. As the student progresses through their grade curriculum, they earn points that are used for rewards. These points are used to customize their character. The student may buy various clothing, accessories, and backgrounds for your character. They are also used to create the "Hall of Fame" on the home page, where the top students and classes in the world and the USA are listed. These students can earn virtual trophies as well as the honor of seeing their names listed in the Top 100.

My kids favorite part of Mathletics would have to be the 1 minute math challenges against kids all over the world (levels 1-5). They find a game and race to see who can solve the problems the quickest. They are LOVING this and really enjoy racing against the clock, each other, and students from all over the world. There is no chat option, so parents can feel safe allowing their children to play.

Printable certificates are also available, as well as "instant workbooks". These supplementary worksheets are found in the parent account. This seems to be a newer addition and not all levels are accessible as of this review.

With the exception of my youngest son, the math whiz, we are not a math family. I have spent many years trying different math programs and supplements and most are not successful in our family. Anything that focuses on math practice and drills has been extremely unpopular. So I was shocked when my four youngest children (the ones who have been "test driving" this for me) asked if we could please subscribe to Mathletics after the review program! I am in the process of trying to make that happen and have to say that I am very pleased with this program and, with our math history, did not expect to be saying that.

Mathletics is available as an individual yearly subscription for $59 per child. If you enter the Human Calculators favorite number when ordering (9), the price will drop to $49.95.

Healing Sands A Sullivan Crisp Novel By Nancy Rue and Stephen Arterburn

Returning to the States after a year in Africa photographing boy soldiers, Ryan takes a position at a local newspaper in order to be near her estranged sons. She is sent to cover a racially motivated hate crime and is shocked to discover her own teenage son is the prime suspect. Can a boy change that much in a year or is there more to this story? As she digs for the truth, she struggles more and more with her own anger issues until she decides to seek help at the Healing Choices clinic. There she meets Sully Crisp, an effective but nontraditional counselor. He tries to help Ryan find the answers she needs, even as he struggles with his own quest for justice.

Part of a series, Healing Sands is co- written by an author and a Christian counselor. The premise intrigued me. Combining counseling principles within a great story could work, if it was done well. Honestly, I was very surprised at how well it is done here. The story is intriguing, the characters are real. It is not preachy and could be enjoyed by Christians and non- Christians alike, while still being God honoring and honest in the portrayal of these characters faith. The story itself was interesting, the twists and turns believable. I would like to read more of the books in the Sullivan Crisp series and will definitely recommend this to friends.

Healing Sands is available directly from Thomas Nelson, as well as your favorite local or online bookstore.

*This book was provided to me at no cost by Thomas Nelson for review purposes.*

Tektoma: Game Tutorials for Kids

Tektoma: Game Tutorials for Kids is exactly what the title suggests- tutorials that teach students ages 7-17 how to create their own video games. These skills are taught via video, using the free version of Gamemaker software. This is a subscription program, you are paying for the videos that teach you how to use the free software. New videos are added each month, taking the student further into learning.

I gave the log in information to my 14 year old and let him go at it on his own. I wanted to see if this was easy to use for the student, or if he would need parental help. He managed to download the software and start the lessons without any trouble. Sitting in the same room, I tried to stay out of his way but pay enough attention to write the review. The voice of the man teaching was putting me to sleep. I was thinking I may have another "dull but effective" response from my son, but right at that moment he said, "Wow, this is pretty cool." Hence the reason I thought it best to just let him have at it. This is right up his alley and I wanted his uninhibited response.

He has spent the last week creating games in his free time. He has created two games so far, one with dragons and knights and one with stick figures. He has even emailed them to his brother so that he could play it on our laptop. Apparently that is possible, who knew? I guess that would be Tektoma Tutorials. ;-) His enthusiasm is contagious and his 12 year old brother is now inspired to learn all he can as well, before our subscription runs out. When my kids are using the review products on their own, in their spare time, with no prompting from me-I'd consider that a successful program for our family.

Tektoma: Game Tutorials for Students is available for $14.95 per month or $140 for a year's subscription. There is a free 14 day trial, so try that first and see if this would be worthwhile for your family. Also, be sure to check out the About Us section. The idea for this program came from computer and technology summer camps for kids!

Professor in a Box- Financial Accounting

Bob was fond of history and the arts and loved to correct everyone's grammar. Math was difficult for him, not in practice but in concept. There was no love for higher math and engineer types left him restless and bored. As a homeschooler, he made the decision to forgo geometry and calculus for more practical maths.

Charlie couldn't get enough math. He ate up the calculus and the geometry. Equations were like candy to him. When he had the opportunity to choose electives for his high school credits, he preferred them to be math based. He wanted it all.

Joe was just your "Average Joe" student went it came to math. He could take it or leave it. It wasn't a favorite, but neither did he dread it. He did well, worked hard, and received good grades. It seemed important to him to learn skills he could use in the "real world", skills that would stay useful long after he had received his diploma and moved on from high school- and even college.

What do these three fictional students have in common? They all could benefit from Professor in a Box- Financial Accounting. Whenever I review a product, I try to decide who would benefit most from the program. Sometimes that's difficult, sometimes it's easy. Sometimes it's very specific and sometimes it's broad. The above three scenarios are the ones I played around with in my head and came to the conclusion that this program could be a good fit for most.

Financial accounting is a skill that will be useful in many ways, for many years. I have always wondered why there is not more of a focus on the practical maths in high school. These are necessary for everyone. Professor in a Box Financial Accounting is a high school course designed for homeschoolers. It covers similar content as a college level first accounting course.

The course is computer based and is found on three Cd's. It's very easy to set up, you just pop the disc in and go. The screen contains the lecture notes and the student listens to the lecture while following along with the slides. Then they will do the work and self check to see if it is correct (the answers are not entered on the computer, but on your own paper). Exams are included which are administered by the parent.

My 14 year old son had just completed his algebra program when this arrived for review. I wasn't sure if he was too young for this product but decided to start him on it anyway. He has had no trouble following along and has actually done very well with this course. When asked for his opinion, he stated that he felt it was somewhat dull but that it is effective and he has learned quite a bit. Of the three types of students listed above, I would say he is an "Average Joe" when it comes to math. He does very well at it but it isn't something he enjoys.

I have reviewed another accounting program which I also liked. I am strongly leaning towards Professor in a Box as the one we continue with in our home. It is computer based and my children tend to do well with computer based programs. The format works well for us and the content is strong. Dull but effective is good for us in this area. It works and that's enough for me in this subject area!

Professor in a Box is available for $134.99 and includes the course syllabus & learning objectives by chapter booklet, the instructor Cd, the course lecture discs, a pencil, and a calculator.

*Disclosure: This program was provided to me at no cost for review purposes.*