TOS Crew Review: Eagles Wings: Considering God's Creation

The Product:
Today I get the wonderful opportunity to share with you my opinions on the science curricula Considering God's Creation. It is an in-depth encounter with natural science from a biblical perspective. It is unique in that it is easily adaptable for grades 2 through 7th and includes a 272 page student notebook and teacher's manual with music CD. At $29.95 it is a complete and very inexpensive investment for science!

Here is a list of what materials are covered:
Creation

Universe Stars Solar System Earth Light Sound Wind Weather Clouds Rocks Plants

Insects Mammals Reptiles Birds Fish Amphibians Food Chains Reproduction and Genetics Human Animal Anatomy Physiology

Included at the back of the Teacher's Manual are suggested resources such as books, videos, games and computer programs that parents can take advantage of to enhance what is being learned in each lesson.

McMama's Experience:
First of all I have to say that I just love a company that truly has their customer's best in mind. I just LOVE that Eagle's Wings allows parents to copy the pages in the student's book so that one book can be used for multiple children! Very cost effective. 


Having said that...and having copied some material from the student book for my children I believe with all my heart that it is easier and more time efficient to purchase another manual. I actually ended up doing that. It has been so nice having the extra sheets all ready to be torn out of the books. The option of copying is always available if needed but I have to say that I have preferred having a book for each child.


Okay, my opinions. I've enjoyed this curriculum and so have my children. You can make it as in depth or as light as you see fit. Gotta love that flexibility!!


For our review we focused on the God Made Me portion since that is what we have been studying.


Here is a picture of what our human bodies are turning out like. They include the circulatory, respiratory and skeletal systems.

The kids had a blast making these and they have been great for review! I do have to say that they are missing their large intestine because Littlest has pulled them off. Ah, life with  a 2.5 year old! :)

I have benefited from the good layout of each lesson we've gone through. Each lesson is laid out as follows:

Preparation - This section lets me know what I need to get ready in order to begin the lesson. 

Vocabulary - we just went over some of the words but I didn't have the kids memorize any of the meanings just yet. You could have your children memorize them, use them as spelling words and learn the Latin and Greek roots. 

Introduction - this is what I used to basically help me give an overview of what we were getting ready to study. I read it ahead of time and then paraphrased for my own kids what the main ideas were. 

Song or Poem - this was a neat addition but honestly some of the songs are a little odd. My kids do enjoy them and did learn the Skeletal System for example thanks to the song but they, to me, were just a little odd. 

Activity - this is always fun. For the skeletal system the kids had fun wrapping each other's arms in a sling as if they had broken a bone. (I have pictures somewhere!!)

Bible Reading - this included in all lessons and for me was the most important as we try to bring everything we teach our kids back to it's Biblical foundation. I took this in bite size pieces and we read some of the verses each time we met for Science. (The authors use MANY verses and that is great!!) 

Notebook - this is a favorite part for sure! This is where the huge student manual comes in and the kids do a great worksheet, such as what is pictured above, to enhance learning and bring it home. Since my kids love worksheets, cutting, pasting and coloring this portion couldn't have been more perfect of a fit for them! I love how interactive this part has been and what a treasure and keepsake these will be! 

Evolution Stumpers - This is awesome and I love how this helps me to teach my kids the evolution is wrong because "this" is how God created it and "this" is what the Bible says to prove it. 

Review - is next and included are questions to go over with your children to make sure that they are learning and not just mindlessly working. There is also a reminder to have the student explain his notebook page to another person.

Digging Deeper - for older or more advanced children in the family. This portion includes reading from a recommended book, summarizing a certain topic, research and more.

All in all this is going to be one item that we will use consistently in our homeschool. It has been a great fit for us and for our learning style.

The Breakdown:

• Considering God's Creation w/audio CD - $29.95
• Additional workbook - $13.95
• Great for keeping the family learning together!
• Easily adaptable for youngers and olders; although the littlest ones will need help with the cutting.
• Biblically sound.
• See samples 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.** 

Lovin' Learnin'

TOS Crew Review-Wordy Qwerty

The Product:
Wordy Qwerty is another product created by the folks over at Talking Fingers. You may remember my review from last fall on their beginner product, Read, Write and Type. (Check it out! It's so effective at teaching my girls-especially Biggest how to type using 10 finger touch and it's reinforced phonics at the same time!!) Well Wordy Qwerty picks up where R,W&T leaves off.


WQ is aimed at 7-9 year olds in grades 2-4 and focuses on spelling the many words that they are now reading. WQ consists of 20 consecutive lessons that implement games and upbeat songs to make the learning stick.


Here's a quote from the website:


"The overall purpose of Wordy Qwerty: Foundations for Reading and Writing Fluency, is to improve phonological and morphological sensitivity, to develop a deeper understanding of how words are constructed in English, and to provide reading and writing activities with helpful feedback, in order to increase fluency and comprehension in reading and writing. "


As I stated above there are 20 consecutive lessons with 6 activities each (take a detailed tour of each activity here). The program covers the following spelling rules:

1. Silent E
2. Sounds of C
3. Sounds of G
4. J or DGE
5. W or WH
6. C or K
7. CK or K
8. CKS or X
9. CH or TCH
10. LL, SS, FF, ZZ
11. OI or OY
12. VE Words

13. Open Syllables
14. Double Consonants
15. Doubling rule
16. ER, IR, OR, UR, EAR
17. I Before E
18. Plurals: Add ES
19. Plurals: Y to IES
20. Plurals: F to VES

A sentence given through dictation. The child hears what is said and then needs to type the sentence. If delayed the program prompts the child and tells them which letters to type.

Pop a Word:  Race the clock to pop as many balloons as you can that are in the 4 word sentence given.

Karaoke: One of Wordy Qwerty's musical rules.

McMama's Experience:
So, will you not judge me if I say admit that spelling is a weakness in our home? Our children simply struggle with it. It could be that we've just this year began a regular spelling program with them...or it could be development...or worse yet, genes!!!


But whatever the case our girls have really needed a program such as Wordy Qwerty. No, they are not doing so well. They haven't gone through many levels and haven't made the best scores. But ya wanna know the absolute truth....it doesn't bother me! I know that they are getting exposure to the spelling rules, having fun and in time (hopefully) all of this stuff will stick! I wouldn't let this be our only curriculum of course but as a supplement I think it works pretty well! The girls enjoy it and are disappointed any time we miss our alloted WQ time.


In order to organize our time on the computer I have scheduled them to work on WQ 15 minutes each day. Honestly we don't always get to it because life happens and our schedule changes but we do our best.


I haven't seen any major breakthroughs with their spelling yet but admitedly we haven't been using this for very long. I believe however that with extended use WQ can be an extremely effective tool in aiding my girls to conquer our spelling woes.


The Breakdown:


The parent account allows you to reassign the online licenses to younger children as an older child outgrows the program.  It also allows you to see which lessons your child has passed and what their score is on the lesson they’re currently covering.  They must achieve 80% to pass to a new lesson, and you can see if they’re only at 70%.


The current pricing for the online edition of Wordy Qwerty is as follows:

• 1 user  - $25.00
• 2 users - $40.00
• 3 users - $52.50
• 4 users - $60.00
• 5 users - $71.25

 Wordy Qwerty Home Edition is available on a CD-rom for $35,  or online with a 5 year membership.  

System Requirements:

Macintosh Hardware Requirements:

• Mac: OS9 with CarbonLib or OSX

Windows Hardware Requirements:

• Windows: 98, SE, 2000, XP

Also requires QuickTime 6 (included) or greater

We were provided two free 1-year licenses in exchange  for our review as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew.  We received no other compensation, and this review is our honest opinion.   Visit the TOS Homeschool Crew blog toread more reviews on this product by other Homeschool Crew members.

Lovin' Learnin'

TOS Review: Institute for Excellence in Writing

You've heard of them right? Institute for Excellence in Writing is one of the most popular and sought after curriculum providers around. Their reputation for excellency in their products and effectiveness for academic learning is widely known. Mr. Pudewa's great teaching style and sense of humor is well known also!


Well, I have had the wonderful opportunity to review their Student Writing Intensive Level A this year. I have felt so blessed to have been able to review such a great product!

In my package I received the following materials:

• four DVDs
• a binder with dividers
• a packet with the Teacher's Notes, handouts and checklists (lots of pages here!)
• portable wall
• Structure and Style DVD

The Structure and Style Overview is a 2 hour 20 minute overview of the IEW method and briefly covers the 9 units of structure of the program. While the full teacher/parent Structure and Style  (TWSS) course is recommended for an in-depth view of the method, the Overview DVD in combination with joining your student in watching the DVD lessons will give you the tools you need to successfully teach the materials.


I have to say that the materials packet is laid out well and very organized. With one read over the Teacher's Instruction page I was ready to put my daughter's notebook together and begin.


McMama's Experience:

We gathered Biggest's materials: notebook, writing paper and pencil, popped in the DVD and sat back to learn. Although I was excited about this program I was a little apprehensive about using it with Biggest simply because writing has never been something that she has enjoyed. She has struggles anytime she has to put her pencil to paper for any length of time. For this reason I asked my hubby to sit in with us and watch so that I could get his opinion. We watched together and honestly I was immediately taken with Mr. Pudewa's fun teaching style and amazed at how easy he makes writing. Biggest truly enjoyed her first session and although she struggled in some areas she was doing great, completed her first writing assignment with relative ease and was happily looking forward to the next session.

Once we were wrapped up I privately asked hubby what he thought and although he thought the program was great he wondered if it were too advanced for our reluctant 8 year old writer. I kept his thoughts in my mind as we moved forward.

We made it a couple of more lessons with Biggest then, after tears and frustration put it aside. It was just too much for her at her age and development. She loved Mr. Pudewa and enjoyed watching the DVDs and even put forth great effort at trying to write out her papers but for her it was just too much.


I plan on pulling this program back out for her maybe in the 2nd semester of her 4th grade year and trying again. (I LOVE that each level can be used with multiple grade levels! So awesome!)

The Breakdown:

That being said, I think that this is a great program! Writing is made so easy! I really wish that I had been taught this way! As I continued to watch the lessons and go through the notes on my own I was amazed that more educators of writing do not teach this way. 

SWI has pre-written paragraphs for the children to use. Then, they are lead through a variety of exercises, beginning with finding key words from each sentence to make their own outline. Then they are taught to add in different dress-ups, sentence openers, decorations and sentence styles to make the sentences more complex. With the pre-written paragraphs the dread of coming up with original ideas is taken away and the children are able to concentrate on finding the most important words in the paragraphs and learn how to build a great paper from there.


I guess I should say that for struggling writers the pre-written paragraphs are great. If you have a child that doesn't struggle at all then they would only box her in. However the methods Mr. Pudewa focuses on would make it easy for advanced children to apply in their own ideas.


All in all this is a program worth looking in to if you have a child that freezes when blank paper is put in front of her. If your child doesn't struggle I wouldn't say not to try it but I would suggest maybe trying to take a good look at it from someone who already owns it that you know or really browse it at a conference.


 The SWI Level A sells for $99, the Portable Wall for $7 and the Structure and Style Overview DVD for $10. All of the products come with a complete satisfaction guarantee. The website also has a ton of Help and Support for learning more about the products and what ones will suit your needs. And by the way, forts make a great space for some tear-free writing! IEW also hosts webinars on different writing topics and their 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.** And thank you IEW for this wonderful opportunity!!!! 


Lovin' Learnin'

TOS Crew Review: Monki See Monki Do

The Product:
Monki See is a 30 minute dvd aimed at the littlest group; ages 3 months to 2 years. Here are some quick facts:

MonkiSee Baby DVDs     Quick Facts

• These 30 minute interactive baby DVDs keep babies entertained and engaged.

• MSMD baby dvds show lovable puppets that babies love to watch.

• Upbeat children's music has babies moving and grooving to the beat.

• MonkiSee theme song will have your baby singing along.

• Original poetry builds child's language and vocabulary skills.

• These baby dvds are Entertaining and Educational so your child easily learns new things while watching these favorite videos.

• MSMD Baby DVDs teach important preschool skills in a fun and interactive way.

• MSMD Baby DVDs include a Slide Show that provides fast and easy review.

McMama's Opinion:

I received the Baby's First Words DVD and Know Your Monkey softbound book for this review.

My first impressions were good. The characters on the DVD case and book looked cute. All of my kids wanted to watch the DVD and sat around as we put it on.


I was pleasently surprised with the music selection on the MSMD DVD. We are very conservative in our music choices and the country style music fit nicely within our standards which is very important to us.


The video consists of three parts:

• A parent's Guide - This is where Krista Guererro talks to parents about the philosophy behind MSMD and the best methods to use the program.
• Slide Show - This is just what it says. A slide show of all the words on the show with a live shot of something that word represents. The kids loved some of the comical pictures! The font is clear and large however the words move rather fast in my opinion.
• The Show - the final part is the show. I'll get into that now.

The video is nicely done. I love how MSMD consists of very little animation! Most of the video consists of children acting out or showing what the words represent and there are also animals (from the Belize Zoo!!) that were exotic and beautiful that "helped out" with the word representation. I also loved the poems sprinkled throughout the program.  


The MSMD DVD Baby's First Words covers more than 30 words. Words from hand, nose and ear to shoulder, rattle and pacifier. Yes, this DVD covers a lot! Although Littlest at 2 and a half know most, if not all of the words (what each means) she obviously doesn't recognize the words by their spelling. It is recommended by the creators to watch the DVD every day for 4 weeks and go through the slideshow and book in order to help the child recognize the words.


This review period obviously wasn't long enough for true "reading" to be attained but I can see how it could be a possibility if done in the ways outlined on the website and in the Parent Guide section of the DVD. 

The Breakdown:


The DVD is cute and entertaining without being flashy and fast speed. It's definitely easy on the eyes and brain I think! At 30 minutes for me it is kind of long. My kids never complained of course but I as the parent would prefer to cut the viewing in half and work on just a portion of the video at a time. There is a lot of words in those 30 minutes!

• Each DVD retails for $19.95
• 30 minutes in length
• Other titles include: All About Colors and All About Shapes.
• There is also a huge package deal offered here.

If you'd like to read what my other Crew Members have to say about this DVD program 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.**

Lovin' Learnin'

TOS Crew Review: Kregel Publications

The Product:
Kregel Publications is a company that I had never heard of before this review came along.


My review is on the book you see above, Andi's Scary School Days from the Circle C Beginnings series by Susan K. Marlow. This book is a soft-back Christian Fiction chapter book aimed at children ages 6-8.
Mrs. Marlow also wrote the Circle C Adventure books, when Andrea (Andi) Carter, then 12 enters the lives your older readers.


From the website; "Written for reading levels 2.0–2.8, the Circle C Beginnings series combines fun illustrations and six-year-old Andi’s signature curiosity.

In book four, Andi didn’t think she was afraid of anything—until now. School means being away from the ranch, away from her family, and away from Taffy. And tting next to a boy who throws things at her. Having to stand in the corner for something that wasn’t even her fault is the last straw."

Watch the trailer for the book:

McMama's Opinion:

We LOVE this little book!!

We read it the first week we received it and the girls completed the beautiful activity sheets that you can download from the website. This was a super product and if you have young girls ages 5 - 10 maybe this would be a great series to invest in! Read an excerpt if you'd like.

I do have to say however that some of the attitude that Andi shows surprised me somewhat. Andi has to go to school and really doesn't want to, doesn't like all of the rules, her teacher or just plain doing what she is suppose to do. However I went ahead and continued reading and took advantage of the opportunity for teaching my girls about what was wrong with the way Andi responds at times and what would be the response that Christ desires from us. Really, who naturally likes rules? Andi's responses were, in my opinion, similar to some of the way we react at times too. I spoke very candidly about God's instilling rules and authority to be a blessing and we honestly had some great conversations! This little book was a benefit for sure!

The Breakdown:

• Currently retails for $4.99; available online at www.kregel.com or at local bookstores nationwide.
• Other titles in the series are : Andi's Fair Surprise, Andi's Indian Summer and Andi's Pony Trouble and more.
• Extra printable activities are available online-these are great!
• From April 1 through August 31, 2011 you can save 30% off of your order using the code HOME11 during checkout. That brings the cost of these books down to $3.49 each! Mmmm, I like the sound of that!

**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.**

Lovin' Learnin'

TOS Crew Review: Yesterday's Classics

Do you love books as I do? Do you lack space as I do? Do you wonder what to do about those dilemmas a I did? Enter Yesterday's Classics, your one-stop destination for tons of great classics that take up no floor space at all. (Can you hear the angels singing already?!) Sound too good to be true? Well read on!


Yesterday's Classics is a company dedicated to making the beautiful, rich stories of yesteryear available to the families of today. They have been busily reprinting hundreds of classics so that we can benefit from the same literary beauty that educated many years ago.


Yesterday's Classics has put together an awesome 225 title ebook package to make storing and accessing these treasures much easier! These are many of the same titles that you will find on the reading lists of curriculum developers such as Ambleside Online, Heart of Dakota, Living Books Curriculum and Tapestry of Grace.


When you purchase this 225 title ebook package you get immediate access to the books either in EPUB or Kindle format. Don't have an ereader? Don't fret! I didn't either, but both formats are supported by PC computers! That's right, you can download the free Adobe Digital Editions, Nook for PC, Kindle for PC, Calibre and others.


I used Nook for PC and Adobe. I prefer the Nook for PC personally. However if you are new to all of this YC has information and comparison charts on the most popular ereaders available for you once you order!! It's very informative by the way!!


So what makes Yesterday's Classics so much different than the other versions out there? Well, the ebooks from YC are just beautiful! They have pictures (if the original had pictures), they have a table of contents that makes it easier to navigate to the exact chapter or page that you want. With the Nook for PC I was able to book mark, change font size and easily store the books in an organized fashion.


There are 22 different genres that are covered in this package such as World History, Poetry, Children of the World, Britain, Shakespeare, Kindergarten, Literature, Christmas Stories, American History and more!

I do have to say however that there are some genres that we, being very conservative in nature, won't be persuing. It would be nice if there were some package deals available. I know that there are a few books that I am not going to be using with my children and would personally love something like a pick and choose option. Maybe 'x' amount of books for 'x' dollars for package A and 'x' amount of books for 'x' dollars for package B etc. I'm not sure how complicating that would get for Yesterday's Classics though. The deal that they have now is a great one, this is just my little suggestion based on the dynamics of our family.

Here are some of the titles we have enjoyed:

And there are more to get to!! Oh so much more!!! I'm so glad I don't have to find shelf space for all of these!!!
I can tell you that these books look great. They are well formatted and the picture quality is very nice. These Yesterday Classics versions are much easier on the eyes...and much more appealing...than most of the free versions that I have seen and downloaded but NEVER made myself use because they were just too hard to read!

So, if you are wanting some great literature, I'd urge you to check this package deal out! Honestly, I know it's pricey but when you think about the amount of books you are getting and the amount of money you are saving on storage space I think that you would find yourself saving in the long run! 

To do the math for you: 

225ebooks @ $99 =  44 cents per book!! 

Can you believe it?!!

Here's the deal:

Buy anytime between now and May 31st and you get all 225 ebooks in Kindle or Epub versions for $99.95!!!

Read all the details here!

Find out how my other Crew Mates loved this deal by clicking on the banner below.


**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.**

Lovin' Learnin'

TOS Crew Review: Growing Healthy Homes

The Product:
Today I am reviewing something very different from my other reviews. Today's review is a nutrition and health curriculum for the entire family. The company, Growing Healthy Homes, is a family-owned company started in 2007 by a mom, her oldest daughter and daughter-in-law. Isn't that great?! The birth of this book came about from a desire to do better for their families and offer a way to teach their children in a way not offered before.


Nutrition 101-Choose Life 448 page book is available as a hard copy book, a CD-ROM or as a combination of  CD-ROM (to print out certain pages) and hard copy book. (I would prefer the hard copy but that's just me.)

Why would you need both? The CD-ROM and book contain the same information, so the value of having both is the flexibility to use the CD-ROM to reprint individual copies of the recipes, shopping lists, charts and any other relevant pages and still have a bound book to enjoy. 


Thinking about using this in a co-op setting? Great idea! Check out their FAQ for co-ops here.


This book is written for elementary ages as well as secondary students. Check out a 27 page sample!!


McMama's Opinion:
This review opportunity came up at a great time! We have been studying the human body in science so the lessons in Nutrition 101 have meshed wonderfully. I am thoroughly impressed with the amount of material and quality of information available here. I tell ya, these ladies know their stuff!! Each lesson is jam packed with information, facts, pictures, activity ideas and great recipes. They all tie together to make for a memorable experience.

Checking her pulse during our study on the heart.

For example, when working through the lesson about the digestive system not only was the material that we had learned from our regular science program reinforced but it was enhanced and we all (yes, myself included) learned how to better care for your digestive system and even tried a recipe that promotes a healthy and smooth operating system. Just think, fruit salad, green apple bean salad, quinoa vegetable risotto and spice cookies. Not only is this a health course but its cooking class as well!! The digestive system unit talks about acid/alkaline balance, water, enzyme supplementation and the importance of fiber, cleansing and probiotic supplementation. And after you complete the recipe there are more activities that relate directly to it. For the Fruit Salad recipe Elementary students have the option of choosing a fruit used and find out how it grows, looking up the word antioxidant, finding out what organic means and preparing an oral or written report about one of the fruits used. There is more than enough here to keep everyone busy for years to come!

Her play dough model of a heart.

Each chapter ends with discussion questions such as, "What Scriptures support the information we have learned about digestion?" "How many times do you chew each bite?" "How can you help your family to remember to chew slowly?" Activities follow with options such as tracing your child's body and butcher paper and drawing and labeling the parts of the digestive system, testing taste buds with different types of flavors, and finding out how much food your stomach can hold. (It's 1 liter by the way, just over a quarter of a US gallon.) There are also more options for secondary age students. Yes, this is a "hey, let's get the family together and learn at the same time" kind of a program. It fits across the board.


Honestly, I had to paraphrase quite a bit simply because some of the information was a bit heavy for my young children but it did not change the effectiveness or fun of this program. And because the authors have reading, comprehension questions, activities and recipes I think that Nutrition 101 would suit any type of learner!


Here's a sample suggested weekly schedule:

• Monday-Read over chapter and discussion questions, choose activity.
• Tuesday-Review the chapter highlights and pick up items for power recipes.
• Wednesday-Prepare the recipe for a snack or meal.
• Thursday-Choose activities related to the power recipes.
• Friday-Discuss what has been learned throughout the week during a family meal time.

A sample of the first page of chapter 1.

The Breakdown:

• Available as a CD-ROM, a hard copy book or in combination with the CD-ROM.
• Current price as of the time of this review is: CD-ROM: $79.95, Printed book: $99.95 or the combo: $129.95
• Great to use as a family health/science/cooking course. But be prepared to do some paraphrasing for the younger set. Mom will have to look at the material ahead of time.
• Plenty of extra activities and questions. Great pictures.
• Fun!!
• Here is a 15% off code: TOScrew11. This is the same discount you would receive at a Homeschool Convention.

If ya want to read what my Crew Mates thought of Nutrition 101 click on the banner and read away!!

**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.**

Lovin' Learnin'