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MathRider for Math Fact Games

February 3, 2012 in Homeschooling, TOS Crew Review with 0 Comments

Do you find yourself looking for ways to drill in math that your kids will enjoy? I am constantly looking for ways to make this necessary reinforcement seem like fun for my youngest student! I was glad to try MathRider. Check out this math facts game that offers students races and quests and tracks their progress, using computer intelligence to adjust to their needed level as they practice.

Em really enjoys racing “her” horse and does very well doing timed addition and subtraction with this game. We do have several math fact type games and what she likes most about this one is having her horse and being able to do the quests, where she takes her horse on a journey and completes math questions to move on and complete her quest. The game has several quests and I would like to see even more , as she likes that portion of the game so much.

The game does track her progress and adjusts the questions to fit what she needs. There is quite a bit of background “code” so that the game can track her progress and intuitively advance her. It is easy for a parent and student to see how they are doing, through incentives like point bonuses, time bonuses, quest progress, progressively animated rewards and a comprehensive statistics screen.

I think the graphics are adorable and the sounds are very pleasant. Visit MathRider to learn more and get a FREE trial! Right now, the software is on sale for $37.

See what my crewmates have to say about Math Rider

I received a Trial download of Math Rider through the TOS Crew for review purposes. I have given my honest opinion.

Kinderbach Piano Lessons for Children

January 29, 2012 in Homeschooling, TOS Crew Review with 0 Comments

Want to find piano lessons for children? Try Kinderbach.

Kinderbach is more than piano lessons. It is Piano, with Music Appreciation.

Each lesson has playing and coloring and singing along so that your child has a gentle introduction to many music concepts.

Kinderbach lessons basically include a video session, with singing and stories, worksheets to color and cut and some type of music practice—whether that is tapping to a beat or playing on the piano. In just the beginning, my daughter learned about reading notes, about rhythm and levels of sounds…and little by little she learned where and what all the keys were on the piano. Additional music pages help kids feel successful in playing simple songs pretty quickly.

See a video about how Kinderbach works on their site.

The video sessions are led by Kari Gregor, creator of the program, who uses a cast of characters to help deliver many of her lessons–small children will love Dodie and Frisco—my child certainly did. The fun videos do all the teaching.

You can use the online or DVD versions and move at your own pace. We have used Kinderbach before, but this time around I LOVE being able to use my iPad for the lessons. Using the iPad makes it so portable and easy for our family! I hear that Kinderbach even has an APP coming out (not positive, though, check that infoJ)

Anyway, when we first tried Kinderbach, we were able to look at two weeks’ worth of lessons totally free. You can too—click to see their two week trial. To really enjoy each lesson, for us I found it helped for me to preview the lessons and print out any sheets we would use in that lesson, so it was streamlined, although an older child could easily work alone.

We do have access to a piano, but you can easily use a little keyboard as well to get going (we did for awhile).

Kinderbach’s online lessons start at $7.99 a month. DVDs can also be purchased starting at $40.45. You can also preview Kinderbach with their free trial. And there is a sale going on right now, hurry! Details: “Sale ends TUESDAY, January 31, 2012. Can you believe it’s the end of January already?! Anyway, 40% off coupon code is: KBclear2012″.

So much nicer than going to piano lessons!

See the Kinderbach website to find out more, and find them on facebook.

See what my crewmates have to say about Kinderbach.

I received three month access to Kinderbach through the TOS Crew for review purposes. I have given my honest opinion.

We Choose Virtues

January 19, 2012 in family, Homeschooling, TOS Crew Review with 0 Comments

Emma has been choosing one card per week to put up on her wall and work on

“We Choose Virtues…simply inspiring character that lasts”

We Choose Virtues is a curriculum for character development that was created by pre-school teacher and children’s pastor, Heather McMillan. You can purchase the various components in sets or teachers and parents can just mix and match some pieces to choose and use the system for ongoing learning.

I received several items, including “Virtue Clue Cards,” from the creator. I think the artwork is fantastic and really got my child’s attention.

You have to see the character illustrations and the content of these! My daughter loves the cards and easily associates a behavior with the character “card” so I can say things like, “Em, remember Cake Jake? Lets get our wanter under control.” And she does! The set of cards represents the 12 virtues for the younger set:

They are…I am Diligent, I am Kind, I am Helpful, I am Obedient, I am Forgiving, I am Perseverant, I am Gentle, I am Patient, I am Self-Controlled, I am Content, I am Honest, and I am Attentive.

I also received ebooks of the Teacher’s Handbook, Memory Verses, Family Character Assessment and the Virtueville coloring book.

These products, from the Our Kids Set are for Early Education-Elementary kids (ages 3-11). The parts of We Choose Virtues are designed to use in a classroom or home setting, and can be used one-on-one.

I really have enjoyed looking at these with my six year old. She is very receptive to the colorful, fun characters and easy to remember concepts. I could see using this long term. Prices range, but for example, the clue cards are very inexpensive at $5.99. (on sale right now).

Go check out all the stuff!

During January, February, they are having some sales:

The 100 Days of Virtue Poster and Stickers will be included FREE with any Homeschool Kit purchase during these months.
Code VIRTUE15 for 15 % off the shopping cart is still available
Code FAMILY for $3.00 off the Kids Virtue Poster
Code SHIPFREE for free worldwide shipping

* only one code can be used at a time

Visit the We Choose Virtues Facebook page for tips on parenting, leadership and inspiring lasting Virtue.

See what my crewmates have to say about We Choose Virtues

I received the Virtue Clue cards, and several download files through the TOS Crew for review purposes. I have given my honest opinion.

Zeezok’s “Z-Guides to the Movies”

January 10, 2012 in Homeschooling, TOS Crew Review with 2 Comments

Zeezok offers a number of educational products, with a common denominator being their appreciation of history, art and literature. I have reviewed several products for Zeezok, and I am always pleased with the content of their products. (Here is a previous review for Flyboys Z-Guide) They are so creative. With all the ones I have tried out, my students learned while having a great time. The content was solid educationally, they learned…they retained…and they had fun.

The “Z-Guides to the Movies” are no different. These movie viewing guides with activities are great fun and can help introduce or reinforce many educational subjects. For us, we were working through the historical period of the Early Church and the Middle Ages. For a fun, snow day and a transition from Attila the Hun onto the future, I got the “Z-Guide to the Movies” for Knights of the Round Table (High School). I got this in an ebook, immediate download format for $12.99. The movie must be purchased separately. I was able to find this 1953 movie to accompany the Z-Guide to the Movies available for instant download for $2.99 through Amazon. (Of course, if you want to, you can buy this movie, also).

So, I was just waiting for a snowy day in January to work on this! Here is a brief summary of what exactly is in this Z-Guide to the Movies from their site:

Join Merlin, Arthur, Queen Guinevere, and Lancelot as they battle the evil Modred and Morgan Le Fay for control of the British Isles. This guide contains a topic overview, movie synopsis, and ten learning activities based on this classic tale. Learn more about medieval England and how to become a knight. Write your own code of chivalry or design a castle. Evaluate your personal beliefs with the “Worldview Activity.” Probe the director’s mind with “The Filmmaker’s Art” activity, and get the entire family involved with the “For Family Discussion” section at the end of the guide. Choose those activities which best fit your student’s course objectives, areas of interest, or time schedule.

So, we settled down to make this an all day thing, rather than do a little bit each day—which you also could. I ended up including my six year old as well as my highschooler, because with me sitting with them and the movie being pretty tame, I felt comfortable with this.

My highschooler ended up doing all the activity guide questions and especially like designing a castle. The little one was excited to hear about Camelot. Like I mentioned earlier, we have several of these now and I really like using these for a special treat with the kids. Take a look at these movie study guides for yourself, many titles are available and you can search by time period or by child’s ages.

Visit Zeezok at https://www.zeezok.com/ and see everything they have to offer.

Just another great Product from: