A Mosaic in the Making

    Thank you for your grace!

    Nicki Black  March 1 2011 04:07:14 PM
    Dear friends, it's been a while since I've written anything personal here on my blog. I want to say thanks for hanging in there and checking back from time to time. It has been a very stretching season for me in many unexpected areas. Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I came down with a whopper of a bug. It started with a raging food poisoning episode that ate me up for a week. Then that rapidly turned into the worst bout of bronchitis I've ever had. My voice isn't even the same anymore, for I think I did something to my vocal cords coughing so violently for 8+ weeks. The bronchitis lasted through Christmas and into January. I was down for the count - no energy, no appetite, couldn't seem to get rested. To rub salt in my wounds, I then got the flu after it had been traveling through the family. Nothing like waking up in the middle of the night to the wee one next to you hurling all over himself, his toys, his sheets, the floor... ugh. No doubt, all us parents have been through this at some time or another! Then the hubs got another bout of another bug, and we're still in the midst of of lingering buggery around here. The construction projects on the house and studio have been stressful, as well, for we've had some major problems with our general contractor, and various subs and tradesmen, which have eaten months into our work time to try to fix their errors (not to mention our pocketbook - thanks for any prayers of restoration in that area). All the while, life, work, ministry, homeschooling, broken cars, breathing... all had to continue on. They weren't waiting around for me to be 100%. *sigh* God is STILL good, though! It's been few and far between since I've been able to sit down and write, but you all are not far from my mind. I am looking to 2011 as being a year of renewed strength in the Word, renewed faith in climbing the highest of mountains that I face, and a new day in being the best Mom, wife, and friend that I can be. Now that I'm feeling more on the mend, I'll be more in touch and less with my head under my pillow, clutching my gut for dear life, heh. :p ... Thank you so very much for your grace!

      Virtual Nerd

      Nicki Black  January 12 2011 10:19:21 PM
      Image:Virtual NerdImage:Virtual NerdImage:Virtual NerdImage:Virtual Nerd

      Where to find Virtual Nerd? Visit their website, or give them a call:

      http://www.virtualnerd.com - Check them out!
      877-677-NERD (6373)

      Image:Virtual NerdImage:Virtual Nerd

      Or find Virtual Nerd on Facebook & Twitter, at:

      http://www.facebook.com/virtualnerd
      http://twitter.com/virtualnerd


      Cost of service:
      It varies, depending upon the length of time you wish to leverage Virtual Nerd. For example,

      1 Day: $5.00/single fee
      1 Week: $19/single fee
      1 Month: $49/ongoing fee
      3 Month: $129
      /single fee


      © 2010 The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC
      P.O. Box 8426, Gray, TN 37615

      www.thehomeschoolmagazine.com
      1-888-718-HOME


      Want to see what my fellow TOS Crew members thought about Virtual Nerd?

      http://homeschoolblogger.com/homeschoolcrew/783627/

      Image:Virtual Nerd

      Award winning Virtual Nerd is one the most user friendly and professionally laid-out tutoring sites geared toward grades 7-12 that I have come across, to date. The goal of this product is simple
      - to provide "... a unique online resource offering students real help in math and science. Students get the essential benefits of private tutoring and access to over a thousand interactive step-by-step video tutorials presented in our patent-pending Dynamic Whiteboard." Virtual Nerd has over 1000 different Dynamic Whiteboards in pre-algebra, algebra 1, algebra 2, and introductory physics. Indeed, it is an excellent resource for shoring up a student's knowledge and strengths in those topic areas, and to encourage them to explore new concepts, as well.

      The interface of Virtual Nerd is actually quite attractive, with soothing, simple colors for the eyes, large icons and whiteboard area, and a generous right hand gutter, which highlights the points you are learning (see boxes below in each representation), in real time, in the Dynamic Whiteboard. So you see for yourself what the Dynamic Whiteboard looks like, here are a couple examples below. The first example is a tutorial in physics, entitled, "What is Mass?". The second example is a tutorial in algebra 2, entitled, "Degree of a Term or Polynomial".


      (images temporarily removed due to a technical difficulty with their display)



      What you will be watching as you follow along in the tutorials includes your instructor demonstrating via writing, and thoroughly explaining through speaking, the concepts on the Dynamic Whiteboard, their actual diagrams in the Diagram box (top right), and then a running account of what the instructor is saying, at the moment they say it, in the Step By Step box (bottom right). At any time during the tutorial you are free to pause, fast forward, or rewind. With a mouse-over in the Diagram and Step By Step boxes, pop ups appear to further guide you through definitions, in case you need further reinforcement. The tutorials are around 3 minutes - good nuggets of time to gain solid information without being overwhelmed. I also appreciated that the instructors spoke clearly and slowly, to be easily understood.

      Each instructor is extremely well-versed in the topic in which they tutor. They are good with the camera, and make even the most math-weary student (old *cough cough* and young) feel very comfortable. Virtual Nerd has a bio of each instructor available on their website, as well as bios their founders and extended team. Also included on the site were clips of various videos (news reel footage and such) of the founders explaining Virtual Nerd. It was good to have the background on everyone, but as a Mom, I also used this as a platform to illustrate to my DD how knowledge in math can take you to so many different places in the business/entrepreneurial world.

      We used Virtual Nerd in our homeschool classroom as a peripheral, to piggy back with our textbooks. It is not meant to take the place of a curriculum or teacher, rather it is meant to be used hand in hand with your main studies. Generally DD watched 1 or 2 videos at a time to get through to the next lesson. We did re-watch a number of videos, as well. There is no limit to how many videos you can watch, nor is there any restrictions on scope and sequence. You are free to watch in whatever topic order you wish.


      Technical requirements to run Virtual Nerd are as follows:

      High speed Internet access and the ability to access the virtualnerd.com website
      If you don't want to commit to a subscription to Virtual Nerd right off the bat, they offer a complimentary 2-hour trial here.

      All told, I was pleased with the product itself, and would recommend it without hesitation of it's effectiveness and ease of use.

      Happy Homeschooling!
      Nicki



      Disclosure/disclaimer statement, as required by the FCC:

      I have been given this free product in order to write this review. I used this product in my home, and the comments and thoughts shared herein are solely my own, based on my personal experience. 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 and genuine review of those products, and how we used the products within our family. I receive no other form of compensation for the reviews posted on this blog.

        KB Teachers

        Nicki Black  November 19 2010 04:23:27 PM
        Image:KB Teachers

        Where to find KB Teachers?
        www.kbteachers.com - Check them out!

        Cost of service:
        $29.00 / year, or
        $49 / 2 years
        Also available: 10 Day Unlimited Free Trial! (Details here)


        © 2010 The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC
        P.O. Box 8426, Gray, TN 37615

        www.thehomeschoolmagazine.com
        1-888-718-HOME


        Want to see what my fellow TOS Crew members thought about KB Teachers?

        http://homeschoolblogger.com/homeschoolcrew/783376


        Image:KB Teachers

        KB Teachers is an online educational resource for teaching materials, particularly worksheets, geared toward both the homeschooling and institutional teaching genres, for the elementary - high school age range. KB Teachers also has a premium monthly newsletter for members delivered via email straight to your inbox, which is full of additional material and parent tips.

        First, what I thoroughly enjoyed about the newsletter is the seasonal features. For example, November's issue has great information about Thanksgiving, pilgrims, Native Americans, Veterans Day, Robert Louis Stevenson, Monet (and more), and it also included coloring pages, and over 19 themed worksheets and printable activities for the kiddos. What fun! KB Teachers makes my job that much easier because all of this comes to *me* in these golden monthly nuggets, versus taking a few hours or more locating it all elsewhere on the web, or at the library. This is a *huge* time-saver, and one I appreciate to the nth degree, as busy as I am both in and out of the classroom. This same seasonal feature is also online, under the "For This Season" heading.

        Here are the worksheet subjects found on the KB Teachers website:

        Alphabet Factory
        Learning Cursive
        Grammar / Writing
        Math with Images
        Counting Money
        Addition
        Subtraction
        Multiplication Makers
        Division Practice
        Telling Time
        Themed Math
        Classic Math
        Astronomy
        Geology
        Weather / Climate
        Human Anatomy
        Nutrition
        Marine Biology
        Plants & Microbiology
        Maps
        Dinosaurs
        The Four Seasons
        Visual Arts / Crafts
        Clipart
        Mixed Basic Skills


        All told, there are literally thousands of worksheets available!

        The worksheets were extremely user-friendly to utilize. I particularly found the math worksheets nice, as it was simple to generate new number sequences and equations in which to print over and over again. Using them hand-in-hand with our math curriculum, the worksheets provided a treasure trove of different scenarios to fill in the blanks in our text. My middle school DD also really liked the different mapping and microbiology worksheets, and downloading them was equally easy for her to complete, as well.

        To access the worksheets, all the user has to do is view them in their web browser, click "print", and viola'! There weren't hoops to jump through or annoying pop-up windows (which on other worksheet websites seem to multiply exponentially and clunk up my desktop). No blinky blinky graphics, either. Speaking of graphics, the site has a large clip art gallery that you can browse and download individual graphics for your own purposes. The library contains over 600 images, spanning seasons, holidays, and more.

        If you're on the fence whether or not you want to commit to a long-term 1 or 2 year membership, KB Teachers also has a 10-day FREE trial. Additionally, if you sign up with a credit card you are given a 30-day money back guarantee.  In a word, I think KB Teachers is a reasonably-priced, excellent teaching resource.


        Happy Homeschooling!
        Nicki



        Disclosure/disclaimer statement, as required by the FCC:

        I have been given this free product in order to write this review. I used this product in my home, and the comments and thoughts shared herein are solely my own, based on my personal experience. 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 and genuine review of those products, and how we used the products within our family. I receive no other form of compensation for the reviews posted on this blog.

          The Collectorz

          Tripp W Black  November 4 2010 11:18:17 PM
          Vendor:

          Image:The Collectorz
          COLLECTORZ.COM

          Collectorz.com BV
          W.G. Plein 384
          1054 SG Amsterdam
          The Netherlands

          Phone: +31-20 772 44 11 (GMT +1)
          Fax: +31-20 772 69 08

          Item details:
          Movie Collector (catalog your movies online)
          Book Collector (catalog your books online)
          Game Collector (catalog your video games online)
          Comic Collector (catalog your comic books online)
          Music Collector (catalog your music online)
          MP3 Collector (catalog your MP3's online)
          Photo Collector (catalog your photos online)


          Where to buy Colletorz products?

          http://connect.collectorz.com - Check them out!

          Also see their corporate site, at http://www.bitzandpixelz.com


          © 2010 The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC
          P.O. Box 8426, Gray, TN 37615

          www.thehomeschoolmagazine.com
          1-888-718-HOME


          Want to see what my fellow TOS Crew members thought about Collectorz products?

          http://homeschoolblogger.com/homeschoolcrew/783319/


          Image:The Collectorz
          Daunting. Cool. Streamlined. Efficient.... uh... Daunting. These are words I would use to describe the Collectorz products, speaking purely and honestly from our homeschooler's vantage. Why daunting, you press? As I gaze around our home, setting eyes to our overflowing-busting-at-the-seams libraries of various media, I tick away the number of days and weeks it would take us to fully scan in our entire collection of books, especially. The same can be said for our music library. Extra time is not something I have a lot of these days, but I absolutely appreciate the Collectorz purpose to put everything in one easy to locate, and visually engaging, digital location. And by one location, I actually mean numerous access points or "locations", as the Collectorz products work with iPhones, iPads, Mac, PC, and other expected devices.

          Image:The Collectorz

          Collectorz is a series of products that allows one the ability to categorize/organize their entire digital media and paper libraries, to include movies, books, comic books, music, and more. The Collectorz is as easy as choosing the type of collecting/collection you wish to organize, choosing and purchasing your ala carte bundle packs to make that job easier (in the form of one of the Collectorz hand-held scanners - varying prices, according to type of collection - subscription (1-year support), and CD of the product.), actually putting in the man hours to scan and/or input data (inputting info if for out of print books, mainly) into your collection(s), and lastly, later fiddling with and enjoying the catalogs you just set up. The interface is easy to use, and requires little more than clicking an "add" button to import each item you scan. The scanners capture all the relevant information of your media (ISBN, coverart, title, author, music artist, genre, etc.) to put into your catalog(s), so the effort expended by you isn't so much the data-entry variety. It's very user-friendly, in fact. And you really can't beat the graphics within the Collectorz products, as they took the modern, easy-on-the-eyes "print style" approach (thank GOODNESS there are no cheesy out-dated clip art images or blinking .jpgs anywhere).

          Image:The Collectorz

          PROS:
          Satisfaction of being uber-organized
          Quick and easy to locate your collections
          Convenience of having all your media collections in one place and/or spread across various devices and platforms
          Visually appealing computer interface
          Several scanner options/bundles
          Collectorz website is easy to navigate, purchase from
          The website offers various free trials (note: for a limited number of titles, or time)

          CONS:
          Incredibly time consuming to input data, scan media if you literally have thousands upon thousands of titles
          The better, more versatile scanners are expensive and may be cost-prohibitive to some ($79.95 & $139.95, plus S & H)
          An out-of-budget "luxury" item for homeschoolers (most homeschoolers are meticulously frugal and thrifty in ways to devise other options in maintaining catalogs)


          Image:The Collectorz   Image:The Collectorz

          Image:The Collectorz

          Image:The Collectorz


          So overall, I fully give the Collectorz products a definite thumbs up in interface and purpose, but it's honestly not a product I would use in our home, or school environment at this time. I would recommend this product series to someone in the market for such, but I don't have that much free time on my hands to put all or even some of our media into collections that precisely. We currently use the libraries within iTunes for our music, iPhoto for our pictures, and I have never needed to know exactly which books we own. I keep a general mental Roladex pretty well-oiled in the noggin, as do the rest of the family members.

          Happy Homeschooling!
          Nicki



          Disclosure/disclaimer statement, as required by the FCC:

          I have been given this free product in order to write this review. I used this product in my home, and the comments and thoughts shared herein are solely my own, based on my personal experience. 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 and genuine review of those products, and how we used the products within our family. I receive no other form of compensation for the reviews posted on this blog.


            FREE TOS Totebag Through Oct 2! Act Quickly!

            Nicki Black  October 2 2010 12:15:29 AM
            Image:FREE TOS Totebag Through Oct 2! Act Quickly!

            Carry your heart for homeschooling everywhere you go with the FREE TOS Magazine Homeschooling with Heart tote bag.

            It's their Cranberries & Cream edition--how cute for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

            It's yours free with a $19.95 two-year subscription to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. The subs in this sale start with the Winter Issue, BUT they are going to give you the Fall Issue free (mailing in October), plus their new E-Book: Cranberry Christmas.

            This two-year deal is only good through midnight on Saturday, October 2. Then, the offer goes to a one-year subscription from Sunday through Wednesday.

            The sooner you get your free Homeschooling with Heart tote bag, the better!

            ORDER HERE!

            Image:FREE TOS Totebag Through Oct 2! Act Quickly!



              Zoe & Sozo Publishing - Foundlings

              Nicki Black  October 1 2010 09:57:35 PM
              Image:Zoe & Sozo Publishing - Foundlings

              Zoe & Sozo Publishing
              3034 Millers Landing Road

              Gloucster, VA 23061

              804-695-9937

              www.MatthewChristianHarding.com
              Matt.Harding@earthlink.com



              Item Details:

              ------------

              Book Title: The Chronicle of Peleg, Book One, Foundlings

              Author: Matthew Christian Harding

              Genre: Historical Fiction (Although I would also put it in the Historical Fantasy genre)

              Publication Date: September 1, 2009

              ISBN: 978-0-9823484-0-6

              Book Length: 256 pages

              Price: $11.95

              Age Appropriate: Late Elementary/Middle School Aged

              Markets: Homeschooling, Young Adult Christian Reading, Creation Movement, Christian Family Reading


              Image:Zoe & Sozo Publishing - Foundlings

              Order Through:

              ------------

              www.MatthewChristianHarding.com
              Local Bookstores

              Amazon.com

              Barnes & Noble

              Ingram

              Baker & Taylor


              © 2010 The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC
              P.O. Box 8426, Gray, TN 37615

              www.thehomeschoolmagazine.com
              1-888-718-HOME


              Want to see what my fellow TOS Crew members thought about Foundlings, by Zoe & Sozo Publishing?

              http://homeschoolblogger.com/homeschoolcrew/783082


              Image:Zoe & Sozo Publishing - Foundlings

              I am not one to read fiction, especially anything of the fantasy or LOTR flavor. I prefer to get those (smallish) doses via the big screen. Between the pages, my cup of tea would be how to make a cup of tea - namely - non-fiction. I voraciously gobble up trivia and fact, and store away such information in my mental Roladex to pounce on my unsuspecting victims as we debate such things as How To Cook The Perfect Roast, to What Is The Most Expensive Hotel Room In The World (the Royal Penthouse Suite at the President Wilson Hotel in Geneva, at $55,000 a night), to How To Change The Tile On Your Kitchen Floor. *insert Gunsmoke theme song* Muahhahaha.... My DD, on the other hand, absolutely LOVES fiction, ESPECIALLY the fantasy genre. I guess that's good, since at the moment I never have to worry about her borrowing any of my books and misplacing them. I suppose that's bad, since she may never learn what goes into a chicken pot pie from scratch or how to upgrade your seat from coach to first class. Anywho, the DH and I are acutely aware of, and do not allow reading of any kind of fantasy that opens the door or has even subtle nuances to things of the occult, or witchcraft, or demons and ghost-like themes. And believe you me, there are more books from this hook (line and sinker) than there are of "clean" fantasy, so we are very tight on what we allow our kids to take in through their eyes and ears, and subsequently, their hearts, and we vet all books before our kids read them. When Zoe & Sozo sent us Foundlings, I admit, I was a wee bit weary of what would lie between the pages. Much to my thankfulness, also included with Foundlings was a packet from it's author, Matthew Christian Harding, explaining the backstory on the book and on himself. I was reassured exactly what the back of the Foundlings book purports - "No Magic. No Evolution. No Humanism.". To our family and our value system, this meant a great deal.


              The story itself is set after Noah's flood, and after the Tower of Babel and it's scattering of mankind. Beasts roamed the earth and outnumbered humans. Fighting for their survival and place of authority over the beasts, mankind's plight unfolds in all it's ripe allure for struggle and warfare, ire and wrenching resolution. Certain kid-loving characteristics in Foundlings holds up against any other type of book in it's class, for starters, the "odd" sounding names of people and places - Grimcrack, Oded, Igi Forkbeard, the Chronicler. The story focuses around (upper class) Lord McDougal and his trusted (lower class) shield-bearer, Fergus Leatherhead. There are bogs and forests, crossbows and castles. Amidst the battles between giants and dragons, there is also a subplot throughout of Lord McDougal's annoyance and unhappiness that Fergus strives to be indentured at his side, and Lord McDougal feels greatly uncomfortable with the whole class system itself.


              Image:Zoe & Sozo Publishing - Foundlings

              Let me give you another glimpse from the back panel of the book, straight from the author: "Foundlings, book one of The Peleg Chronicles is Historical Fiction that takes place in the time period of Peleg, soon after the tower of Babel dispersion. In its pages we meet dragons, giants, false priests, the death hunt, an under-city of the Dwarven Brotherhood, and many memorable characters. The story begins with Lord McDougal and his faithful shield-bearer, Fergus Leatherhead, departing their lands with giants at their backs, while before them lie in wait denizens of the bog-land and forest.  Ever ready to protect and serve others, they gather in tow an assortment of displaced adventurers and find themselves embroiled in a mysterious search for the foundlings: orphaned Thiery with his companion Horatio the white wolf, and Suzie who has been deceitfully retained by the thieves Elvodug and Flemup. Others also seek the foundlings, and their purposes are most sinister - Dragon Priests who practice cozen sacrifices, and their leader Count Rosencross who is torn by his God given conscience and his pursuit of personal glory. Onward toward the city of Hradcanny they travel, meeting with treachery, beast attacks, camaraderie and psalms of praise with an eye toward the gospel. Though their battles are at times fierce and the outcomes uncertain, the author maintains the integrity of these noble characters, who through weakness are made strong by Him in whom they trust. Foundlings weaves together the Biblical principles of chivalry, truth, courage, duty, faith and love within the framework of Genesis, and a bold adherence to its historicity. It's an exciting page turner that leaves you wanting more, but more importantly it leaves the reader with Godly heroes to think on and emulate, and a young earth creationist view of history that conforms to the Word of God."


              What we found is that Matthew Christian Harding clearly defines that evil, no matter how "little" or wrapped up in a pretty bow, is still evil. There is no grey area in that, no rationalization that evil might have made some kind of good decisions along the way or helped a brother out, so therefore, have become suddenly "good". I did like this quite a bit, as in my opinion, there are an awfully lot of kid-friendly, animated movies and television programming out there that delves and dabbles into "good witches" and "nice spells", but at the heart they are still spells and witches. For our family (my opinion, not a judgement against yours), this is not ok with us, nor a value we want to open up to our kids.


              A couple of other observations I'd like to make is that while this book states itself as historical fiction, there are some discrepancies apparent to knowing adults, such as the author using modern day weights and measures, instead of what Biblical times would actually employ. I also found the story a bit too simple in verbiage and structure, lacking the meaty and vocabulary-rich pages of LOTR, or even Narnia. The beginning of the story also was a little choppy, not really finding it's stride until somewhere in the middle. Granted, this book is suited to younger audiences, so I let this slide. And though I am pleased that there was a line in the sand drawn about good and evil, I did not like the human sacrifice references, nor the dark overtones. Again, such things are actual found in the Bible, so it may be a matter of my own taste in genre, and what imagery makes me comfortable. I still have a hard time reading through Revelation without my bed covers pulled up to my nose, LOL.


              In closing, I do want to point out that at the very end of the book, Matthew Christian Harding shares the Gospel flat out, with scripture to back it up. I thought this was a beautiful way to wrap up and solidify God's grace and love, and draw out the heart of this novel. All told, my DD really loved Foundlings, and I would definitely let her read other books in this series.


              Happy Homeschooling!
              Nicki



              Disclosure/disclaimer statement, as required by the FCC:

              I have been given this free product in order to write this review. I used this product in my home, and the comments and thoughts shared herein are solely my own, based on my personal experience. 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 and genuine review of those products, and how we used the products within our family. I receive no other form of compensation for the reviews posted on this blog.

                Schleich Animal Figures

                Nicki Black  September 24 2010 08:20:29 PM
                Vendor:
                Image:Schleich Animal Figures

                © Schleich
                Schleich North America, Inc. (In addition to locations in the UK, France, and Germany)

                3258 Hawthorne Road

                Ottawa, Canada K1G 3W9

                eMail: sales@schleich-s.com



                Item Details:

                Price - The price of each animal varies
                Age Range - Ages 4 and up


                Where To Buy Schleich products?

                www.schleich-s.com - Check them out!


                © 2010 The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC
                P.O. Box 8426, Gray, TN 37615

                www.thehomeschoolmagazine.com
                1-888-718-HOME


                Want to see what my fellow TOS Crew members thought about Schleich's animal figures?

                http://homeschoolblogger.com/homeschoolcrew/783079


                Image:Schleich Animal Figures


                A few days after my mother flew back home after a visit a number of years ago, she phoned us, snickering, "Did you see IT yet?". Tapping into my best Pooh, I had to really think think think. Normally I have a keen eye for things amiss around the house. Um. And by "things amiss around the house", that's kinda saying that I'd totally sniff out and call it amiss if things were put away where they should be, where the kids are concerned. I mean, that's just a figment of a fantasy in some world that doesn't accept my passport.

                Anywho, this story has a point.

                I finally spotted the sinister stuffed monkey tied to the ficus in the den, banana in hand. I'm sure Mom was stewing in her bunny slippers for days, wringing her hands with delight as she waited for us to discover our squatter. Well, some say the apple doesn't fall far from the ficus. I tend to agree. Our DD has picked up the slack, and likes to tie things to our indoor foliage for fun, to surprise unsuspecting visitors (and me, apparently), or to play out role playing games with all her animals and horses. I love that she's still a kid at heart when it comes to having fun and being goofy, despite the fact that she's sneaking up on age 13. While all the other girls around her are caught up in trying to look and act beyond their years amidst battling peer pressure and all sorts of distractions on the way to self assurance, my laid back kid is busy building epic plastic animal police chases and treks through the jungle for her and her little brother to enjoy.

                Image:Schleich Animal Figures   Image:Schleich Animal Figures

                DD already had a fair number of Schleich horses and figures from their World of Knights product line. When I opened up the box of new animals from Schleich for us to try out, she literally did a happy dance almost on top of her brother, and squarely on top of my foot. One by one she birthed the animals from their mysterious box, each invoking "Oh's" and "I want that one!" from the DS. This was probably the revelation moment where my DD truly got excited about her ol' Ma being on the TOS Crew.

                Image:Schleich Animal Figures

                Having been in business since 1935, and launching their animal figures in the 1950's, Schleich has had over a half of a century to truly master making a good, quality product. In our package, we received a
                :
                • Przewalskis horse
                • Dartmore pony
                • Asian elephant calf
                • donkey
                • okapi
                • Swabian Hall piglet
                • gnu
                • and a gnu calf

                Image:Schleich Animal Figures   Image:Schleich Animal Figures

                Every animal had unique, wonderful detailing. I love their little silver horse shoes, expressioned eyes, the true-to-life coloring on the okapi, and the deep leathery folds on the Asian elephant calf, especially. Each figure is meticulously hand-painted. They are very sturdy and substantial animal figures, and in doing a comparison to the others on the market, Schleich's quality is head over tails #1 in our book. Our DD has had her other Schleich figures for up to a good 10 years now, and though they've been played with, battled with, plunged under water, and yes, tied to the plants for Lord knows how long, they all still look like they just rolled right out of the hands of the Schleich artists, with absolutely no flaking paint or broken parts.

                But get this, Schleich makes many different themed product lines, to include: Farm Life, Wild Life, Prehistoric Animals, The World of Knights, The World of American Indians, Bayala, and The Smurfs. They even have a page on their website, called Playground, where they have coloring pages available for printing, that correspond to every one of their "worlds". How cool is that?

                Image:Schleich Animal Figures  

                I would highly recommend any animal figure from Schleich to anyone looking to invest in a long-lasting toy for their children. I imagine they have been passed down from generation to generation in a lot of families, and I will put our family on that list, too. Thank you Schleich for making such fun and lovely learning tools for my children. We look forward to many more years ahead of new and exciting figures and themes.

                Happy Homeschooling!
                Nicki



                Disclosure/disclaimer statement, as required by the FCC:

                I have been given this free product in order to write this review. I used this product in my home, and the comments and thoughts shared herein are solely my own, based on my personal experience. 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 and genuine review of those products, and how we used the products within our family. I receive no other form of compensation for the reviews posted on this blog.

                  Math Tutor DVD Series

                  Nicki Black  September 8 2010 07:03:34 PM
                  Vendor:
                  © 2010 Math Tutor DVD

                  PO Box 1165

                  Seabrook, TX, 77586
                  1-877-MATH-DVD


                  Image:Math Tutor DVD Series

                  Founder and Instructor: Jason Gibson

                  Item: The Pre-Algebra Tutor, Volume 1 (A 5-Hour Video Tutorial)
                  Cost: $26.99 USD


                  Image:Math Tutor DVD Series

                  Item: The Texas Instruments TI-83 / TI-84 Calculator Tutor (A 8-Hour Tutorial)
                  Cost: $26.99 USD


                  Image:Math Tutor DVD Series

                  Age Range of DVDs - Aimed at skill level

                  Where To Buy Math Tutor DVDs:

                  www.MathTutorDVD.com

                  Want to see what my fellow TOS Crew members thought about Math Tutor DVDs?

                  http://homeschoolblogger.com/homeschoolcrew/782960/


                  Image:Math Tutor DVD Series

                  *hands up*
                  Uncle.
                  I give.
                  *grimmace*

                  Ok, I'll come clean. I can't teach all my daughter's subjects even though I wish I was Super Teacher Mom. I enjoy delving into all of them except math, which I dislike immensely. I'm sad to say that the bitter taste remained in my mouth from having to endure elementary, middle, and even high school teachers that made learning math really hard, inflexible, very tightly inside the box, and unapproachable. The older I became in the school ranks, the more I felt like a failure in this subject. I didn't have the luxury of tutors or after school help. Finally somewhere in my sophomore year I remember giving up pretty much entirely, and resigned myself to "just getting by" versus really understanding what I was doing to make the concepts take root. So here in our own homeschool environment I've leveraged my husband's willingness and outsourced all of our math instruction past about the 4th grade to him. I'd been practically math-free since. Yahoo!

                  And then suddenly ... *cue Jaws Theme* music* ... these 2 DVD's came in the mail all bright and shiny and ready to make my acquaintance. I was seriously dubious I would (1) be able to convince my daughter that this would be a good *feeble smile* time, and (2), be able to sit through them without beads of sweat lurching from my own brow. But holy cow, could it be? I was IMPRESSED! Within the first 5 minutes of watching The Pre-Algebra Tutor DVD, I actually learned a common math concept I had not truly learned back when I was kid. I totally got it. It clicked! And it was easy, straightforward, and without tears. Without tears from my daughter, either, heh heh. ;-0

                  Math Tutor founder and instructor Jason Gibson really gets my kudos for making his DVDs very easy to follow and actually great to watch. They are extremely relatable and professional, and his teaching style is more like he were tutoring you over a cup of coffee and a white board versus a cold and formal environment. He is not intimidating as a teacher despite his advanced qualifications, nor does he make math intimidating as a subject. He speaks in normal everyday language, and most important of all, he made my daughter (who also hates math) and me relax especially when he made this statement within his Pre-Algebra DVD: "It's a very simple concept, if explained in the right way". Seriously - I had never heard a teacher make that statement before and I left like a load was lifted off of my back that it wasn't me who was incapable of learning math all those years, but that I never heard most math concepts explained to me in a way that I understood. I had a revelation that I could quite possibly learn math now like I was supposed to learn math back then. I think I was more excited for me at that moment, than for my daughter! LOL! And, might I add, Math Tutor DVDs are MUCH cheaper than hiring a tutor in person.

                  The DVDs are extremely easy to use, and if you have a child who likes to self-direct like we do, then it's just a matter of popping the DVD into the computer and letting it play from there. We had our daughter jot notes and examples down as she went along with it. Later my husband quizzed her about what she had learned. And I kid you not, her scores improved an entire letter grade just in these few short weeks. I can attribute this to the Math Tutor DVDs, and the fantastic job Jason Gibson does in making math accessible to all skill and motivation levels.

                  The Pre-Algebra Tutor DVD, Volume I, contained the following:

                  Disk 1

                  Sect 1 - Real Numbers

                  Sect 2 - The Number Line

                  Sect 3 - Greater Than, Less Than, Equal To

                  Sect 4 - Absolute Value and Adding Integers

                  Sect 5 - Subtracting Integers


                  Disk 2

                  Sect 6 - Multiplying Integers

                  Sect 7 - Dividing Integers

                  Sect 8 - Powers and Exponents

                  Sect 9 - Order of Operations



                  The Texas Instruments TI-83 / TI-84 Calculator Tutor DVD contained the following:

                  Disk 1

                  Section 1: Overview of the Calculator

                  Section 2: The Mode Menu

                  Section 3: Basic Arithmetic and Exponents

                  Section 4: Logarithms and Square Roots

                  Section 5: Sin, Cos, Tan

                  Section 6: Scientific Notation and Storing Variables

                  Section 7: The Math Menu and Catalog Menu

                  Section 8: Convert between Fractions and Decimals

                  Section 9: Finding the Min and Max of a Function

                  Section 10: Calculating Derivatives and Integrals

                  Section 11: Absolute Value, Rounding, and Integers

                  Section 12: Converting between Degrees and Radians

                  Section 13: Working with Complex Numbers


                  Disk 2

                  Section 14: Using the Equation Solver

                  Section 15: Graphing and Tracing Functions

                  Section 16: Using Tables and Split Screen Modes

                  Section 17: Find the Exact Value of a Function Using Graphing

                  Section 18: Finding the Zeros of a Function using Graphing

                  Section 19: Finding the Max and Min of a Function using Graphing

                  Section 20: Finding Intersections of Functions using Graphing

                  Section 21: Finding the Derivative of a Function by Graphing

                  Section 22: Calculating the Definite Integral by Graphing

                  Section 23: Drawing on a Graph

                  Section 24: Graphing and Tracing Sequences


                  Disk 3

                  Section 25: Graphing and Tracing Parametric Equations

                  Section 26: Converting between Rectangular and Polar Coordinates

                  Section 27: Graphing and Tracing Polar Equations

                  Section 28: Permutations, Combinations, and Factorial

                  Section 29: Working with Histograms and Box Plots

                  Section 30: Graphing Statistical Scatter Plots

                  Section 31: Calculating Mean, Median, Standard Deviation, and more

                  Section 32: Performing Statistical Regression

                  Section 33: Calculating with Matrices

                  Section 34: Solving Systems of Equations with Matrices

                  Section 35: Calculating Interest Rates

                  Section 36: Calculating Mortgages and Loans

                  Section 37: Calculating Savings and Investments



                  The DVDs do not have to be done all in one sitting, as they can be broken down into smaller bites and applied as an added resource on top of the textbook curriculum you may already be using. The collection of titles at Math Tutor run the gamut from early algebra up through the more complex, and include subjects such as mental math, calculus, differential equations, physics, probability/statistics, geometry, and more. Also found at the Math Tutor website are numerous FREE tutorials, references, math-related articles, a host of online calculators, and even a discussion forum. Even if you opt not to purchase any of the DVDs (but I seriously recommend that you do), you will find the resources equally valuable in your classroom.

                  Jason Gibson makes this bold promise, "Our DVDs will immediately improve your understanding of Math or we refund your money. That is our Guarantee to you!" I do believe that I can honestly say that our understanding of math was in fact, immediately improved after watching. We will definitely be returning to Math Tutor to enhance our existing curriculum now, and as our curriculum grows with our children.


                  Happy Homeschooling!
                  Nicki



                  Disclosure/disclaimer statement, as required by the FCC:

                  I have been given this free product in order to write this review. I used this product in my home, and the comments and thoughts shared herein are solely my own, based on my personal experience. 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 and genuine review of those products, and how we used the products within our family. I receive no other form of compensation for the reviews posted on this blog.













                    Time4Writing

                    Nicki Black  September 3 2010 11:27:18 PM
                    Image:Time4Writing


                    Vendor: Time 4 Learning

                    Website: www.time4writing.com
                    Subject: Online Writing Course To Help Students Sharpen Their Writing Skills
                    Contact Information: Time4Writing, 6300 NE 1st Ave Suite 203, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33334, 954-771-0914
                    Suitable Age Range: Elementary – High School
                    Cost: $99.00
                    Duration of Course: 4-8 Weeks


                    Image:Time4Writing

                    My middle school daughter loves to write. She loves to write so much, in fact, that we often need to remind her that the rest of reality still exists and she should think about taking part. When I saw that we were on the selection list to review a Time4Writing online writing course, I immediately started looking forward to putting her penchant to task beyond what she was getting here on the homefront.

                    Time4Writing is an online compliment to the writing and/or grammar curriculum that you are already using in your own classroom. It is not exclusive to homeschooling students, as it could also function as additional practice for any student within the elementary school through high school grade levels. Lessons are menu/online driven, but the instructor for each course is available via email to answer any questions you might have along the way, so you still have actual human contact, if necessary. The site, and therefore your assignments, are available 24 hours a day, which is quite convenient for homeschoolers like us, as we don't operate on a 8 AM – 3 PM kind of schedule. Most of our school "day" is in actuality later in the afternoon, early evenings, and even weekends when we're not fixing something on the house, the yard, or catching up on missed sleep from a sci-fi or board game late night bender.

                    Image:Time4Writing

                    After an easy account setup, course selection, and teacher introduction by reading their profile information, we were able to start working straightaway. The course I chose for our DD was Advanced Essay Writing for Middle/Secondary School. The complete course list is as follows:

                    Elementary/Grade School

                        * Grammar
                        * Sentence Structure
                        * Paragraph Writing
                        * Essay Writing

                    Middle/Secondary School

                        * Basic Mechanics
                        * Writing Enhancement
                        * Paragraph Writing
                        * Essay Writing
                        * Advanced Essay

                    High School/College Prep

                        * Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics
                        * Paragraph Writing
                        * Essay Writing

                    Advanced Essay Writing was methodically spread across an 8-week period, laid out with between 1-4 assignments per week. Although you could freely read about each assignment at any point during the 8 weeks, it was strongly discouraged that you skip the scope and sequence, as each assignment builds upon the previous to it. You were asked not to go on to the next assignment before the current assignment was graded, and if necessary, corrected and re-submitted. From this bit of information, I opted not to read ahead. Upon hindsight, I should have read ahead anyway, as it would have come in handy sometime around week 4, which consisted of the assignment to do research for 1 of 5 or 6 given topics, and write an expository essay on the subject. We logged on late in the day and after reading the instructions, we were discouraged to know that our library had already closed and we did not have the book resources at home for DD to write on the topic of her first choice (transportation as one of the greatest inventions). That was very disappointing to her, and it afforded us with the lesson that we should perhaps look through every lesson no matter the week, for a head's up in preparation. So being the resilient DD she is, the next topic in line was enough to her liking that she completed the essay without any trouble and scored a solid "A".

                    We are currently half way through Advanced Essay, as we have chose to take the 8 week route versus the 4 week route. This far into the program, I can say that DD has been challenged not so much in her writing, but in strengthening her writing mechanics. Her Time4Writing teacher has been very thorough in correcting grammatical mistakes, and also offering encouragement for DD to keep writing, for she has a true love for it, and a heart's desire to become an author.


                    Image:Time4Writing

                    Pros:
                    ----------
                    • Reinforcement for an existing writing curriculum
                    • Easy to navigate through each lesson's scope and sequence
                    • Built in spell-checker
                    • Interesting assignment topics
                    • Quick turnaround in grading
                    • Quick feedback from teacher
                    • Enough meat within the assignment without being too overwhelming for the student
                    • You could view the profiles of the other students in your child's class, spread out across the globe
                    • Virtually no other materials needed, as most everything is done online.


                    Cons:
                    ----------
                    • Quiz component is not readily apparent, nor mentioned within lessons, but expected to be completed. Neither are quizzes easy to find within the website to play catch up, and although there is a quiz column on the home page, it is not a clickable link. We found this frustrating, and used up a lot of time trying to find them.
                    • If you have a very laid back schedule, this program might not work for your child, as you have to do assignments every day to keep on track.
                    • There is not a lot of room for thinking outside the box, or getting creative on assignments (you have to do exactly as you're instructed, no add ons or deviations).
                    • Grading was very formal, and similar as to being in a non-homeschool environment
                    • Modeled after a non-homeschool environment, whereas the assignments left little room for more exploration.
                    • $99 for 8 weeks can be pricey to some families


                    Overall, I think Time4Writing has been a great experience for our DD, who is used to working within our parameters and/or a somewhat student-driven atmosphere. In the 4 weeks she has been working through the program, she has gotten a small taste of what it will be like to re-enter the non-homeschooled educational pool when she goes off to college and has to work with professors who will, in fact, be more formal with their expectations. Despite this shock to her system, she is really enjoying the challenge, and I would recommend Time4Writing to other families for sure.

                    Happy Homeschooling!
                    Nicki



                    Disclosure/disclaimer statement, as required by the FCC:

                    I have been given this free product in order to write this review. I used this product in my home, and the comments and thoughts shared herein are solely my own, based on my personal experience. 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 and genuine review of those products, and how we used the products within our family. I receive no other form of compensation for the reviews posted on this blog.




                      TOS Travel Kits - A Simple Way to Bless Others

                      Nicki Black  July 22 2010 03:37:54 PM
                      Product: The Old Schoolhouse Travel Kits - A Simple Way to Bless Others - An E-Book

                      Image:TOS Travel Kits - A Simple Way to Bless Others

                      Vendor:

                      © 2010 The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC
                      P.O. Box 8426, Gray, TN 37615

                      www.thehomeschoolmagazine.com
                      1-888-718-HOME

                      Author: Donna Rees


                      Item Details:

                      Price - $12.45 USD

                      Number of Pages - 93
                      Age Range - All ages, but with a focus on elementary age recipients

                      Where To Buy TOS Travel Kits - A Simple Way to Bless Others:

                      www.theoldschoolhousestore.com - Check them out!

                      Want to see what my fellow TOS Crew members thought about TOS Travel Kits - A Simple Way to Bless Others?

                      www.homeschoolblogger.com/homeschoolcrew


                      Image:TOS Travel Kits - A Simple Way to Bless Others

                      When I embarked on reviewing TOS Travel Kits - A Simple Way to Bless Others, I already knew about, and utilized to some degree, family travel kits. I didn't know they actually had a name for the little bag of goodies I made, though. I just thought it was another piece of "luggage" in our caravan of bags. We used to be a family of only three, my husband and me, and our DD. Traveling was pretty much uneventful in those days of yore, as the DD is fiercely independent and armed with only 3 dozen books, her DVD player, and a handful of her favorite movies, we were good to go no matter how long, wide, and far our trips required.

                      Enter stage right, the DS, some 9 years later. How could someone sooo demure and pinchy-cheek cute be so L.O.U.D. and mostly un-independent? Hmm. Cut from the same cloth. Check. Always sees DD reading quietly and contently. Check. Has his own window seat, with a full-on view of the world. Check. Has enough 4-wheeled vehicles at his side at all times to outfit any legit dealership. Check. Then.what.... ma...ke.....s... this..chil.d... so..qu.ick.. to..inter.rup.t... yo.u.r... every.. sen..t..en..ce..and..th..o.u.gh.t.. becau..se.. he.. alw..ay..s ... need.s....... you.r...atte..nti.o.n.. NOW... right NOW? ...


                      *plucks out another grey hair*

                      Because God made him that way, that's why! Whether it's for his benefit, the world's benefit, or my benefit, it's all good. So while I'm learning how to adjust from my own personal background of being a last-born-only-child, where it was always quiet and everyone did their own thing - quietly - I found a very good resource in this e-book in going the many steps forward in not only showing you how to pull together little packs of endless travel delights for you and your family, but also how to make those packs special and tailored and memorable for your brood for a lifetime. You may even be setting a family tradition, to be passed along for generations to come. That should make any parent smile. Just think - your kids actually thinking you're doing something awesome so they want to do the same for their kids. (Am I right, or am I right, oh other parents of tweens?) ;-0

                      Loaded up with colorful, very descriptive photos, Travel Kits can be consumed in small bits for specific purposes, or devoured in whole, if you are the type that thrives on planning ahead with all your traveling kits throughout the year. I learned that travel kits are so much more than just a bag thrown together with this and that for the family on the road. Travel kits, when created well, can be your link to sanity and fun times wherever you go. Donna Rees writes in a very relatable dialogue, as though you are listening to a friend talk over coffee, and not just reading a point-by-point instructional outline of how to put something together. She takes the time to explain even the smallest details, from the cost of the items from a budget perspective, to personal stories of kits she made for other families. Her writing style is very easy on the eyes, and was enjoyable to read.

                      Some of the highlights from this e-book include:
                      + Learning how to create kits for both boys and girls, Moms and Dads, and even grandparents
                      + Making your kit fit your vehicle
                      + How to suit any budget, even no budget
                      + How to make great components from unexpected places, like items around the house or "found" elsewhere
                      + How to create fun themed kits for all ages, and I mean, ALL ages!
                      + Book lists for ages 3 through adult
                      + Knowing what kind of games and gadgets work best in a travel situation
                      + Directions on how to play many new games while traveling

                      + Learning many ways how to distribute kits to make the fun last throughout your journey
                      + Learning how to avoid the potential pitfalls of jealousy between the kids with their treats
                      + How to put together edible gifts (who doesn't like that?!)
                      + Catalogs and other numerous online resources that offer imaginative kit possibilities
                      + Putting together kits for specific regions of the country, or world
                      + Prices of components for kits the author already put together, to make your own cost estimates very easy to gauge
                      + And guess what? So much more!

                      Image:TOS Travel Kits - A Simple Way to Bless Others

                      So whether you are a family of local travelers only from house to track meet and back, or a family that has to regularly review their passports, Travel Kits - A Simple Way to Bless Others is exactly that - a one-stop resource for learning how to put together kits for blessing others with personally tailored, filled with love, goodies for all senses, appetites, and ages. I would even go farther in saying these kits are not only great for traveling, but also for any gift giving throughout the seasons.

                      Happy Homeschooling!
                      Nicki



                      Disclosure/disclaimer statement, as required by the FCC:

                      I have been given this free product in order to write this review. I used this product in my home, and the comments and thoughts shared herein are solely my own, based on my personal experience. 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 and genuine review of those products, and how we used the products within our family. I receive no other form of compensation for the reviews posted on this blog.