Mystery of History Vol 2, Christian Kids Explore Physics

Having heard Maggie Hogan speak a number of times at the MassHOPE Homeschool Convention, and because I hold Maggie in high regard, and respect her opinion, I was delighted that her company, Bright Ideas Press, was going to be a part of the TOS Crew Reviews this year. When it came time for this review, we were given a few choices of material to use and review, and I was so delighted to receive TWO!

First up.... Mystery of History
I received Volume 2~ The Early Church and the Middle Ages~ ($49.95)

This was a "no brainer" for me to choose, since we had started the Middle Ages last spring, and the kids wanted to continue this fall. I decided to go ahead and start at the beginning, even though we had covered some of the material, because, well... a little review isn't a bad idea. :)

I really like the way that the author, Linda Lacour Hobar, writes directly to the kids, and makes history "Readable". She is also pretty good about warning those with younger children about material that may be too sensitive or difficult for them to handle. I appreciate that, particularly when studying things like the Middle Ages... there's a reason that they are also referred to as the "Dark Ages". We were able to learn a little about Masada, for instance, without getting too graphic, although I did still have to moderate what I read...

I also appreciate the Christian worldview that is presented throughout the text. It is good to see world history through that perspective, particularly for the youngest in our households. Without that viewpoint, and the concept that God * is * in control, history could be a rather depressing read at times.

What I see as the benefits of MOH: The following are all included, and you can decide what to use(Or not), depending on what works best for your family and/or learners.

We used regularly:

• Multi-level use~ Basic, readable "Lessons"/ Text, expandable with age-appropriate activities
• Shortish lessons (My kids usually are begging me to read another... )
• Quizzes, worksheets, exercises and activities to expand on the material (We do these, and enjoy them for the most part... it is good to have something quantitative when so much that we do is conversational)
• Reproducible student pages and outline maps
• A GREAT list in the back of the book of optional Supplemental Books and Resources, for enrichment, listed by age category, following the order of the lessons.
  

Things that are considered "CORE" for some folks, but end up being more "optional" in our homeschool:

• Weekly timeline and mapping exercises
• The well thought-out and organized "Memory Card" method~ This is something that I would like to get into more, because I can see that this is a good precursor to writing research papers, and could be a very helpful memory aid.

I do wish that the optional reproducible CD ($19.95) was available for the MAC OS, because I prefer to print from the computer vs copying from the book, but that is minor...

There are some other supplements available that I should mention here, although I have not used them (More information is available on the BIP MoH page):

• Mystery of History II CD Audio set ($48.95) The entire text read by the author
• Mystery of History Folderbooks ~Quarter 1 currently available~ ($15.00) ~ Mini books and directions
• Mystery of History II Craft Pak CD-Rom ($19.95) ~ 8 historical art projects
• History Through the Ages Historical Timeline Figures~ Resurrection Through Revolution($19.95)By Amy Pak of Homeschool in the Woods~ These would be one of my top choices of supplemental supplies if I had the extra cash to spend... I loved her materials that we reviewed last year.

Final analysis... History is Sooooo huge, that there is no way to cover it all in any one curriculum. However, I think that Linda Lacour Hobar does a fine job of presenting the essential, as well as some of the more obscure stories from history from a readable, therefore memorable, Christian perspective. From what I have seen and used, I am very pleased with her treatment of this study, and feel that it helps to engage the student, and interest them in history. This is important for history's sake, but more important that we learn from history. Here's a slightly political post on my other blog that you might find interesting.... it was sparked by our discussion of the Roman Emporer Diocletian in Week 5, Lesson 13. My apologies for being semi-political here, but the point is... history is so interesting and has much to teach us, both about the past and the present if we will only read/listen and actually hear and learn.

The other item that my family received to use and review was
Christian Kids Explore Physics by Robert W Ridlon, Jr., and Elizabeth J. Ridlon

Christian Kids Explore Physics($34.95) is one of four titles in the Christian Kids Explore Science Series and the 2nd book in the series by the Ridlon's(The other is Christian Kids Explore Chemistry). It looked like a great fit for my kids this year, since it is once again, a multi-age (Grades 4-8), easy teacher prep, 2-3 times/week combo of reading and hands on activities.

In general, I like the set up of the curriculum, with vocabulary in the side bars, as well as Bible verses that are relevant to the topic at hand. (I like being able to find the vocabulary quickly and easily... makes it a snap to create those crosswords and wordsearches that I mentioned in my review of abcteach!)

The lessons are a decent length, particularly for the younger age, and are followed by :

• Review pages (Typically "Fill -in-the-blank) ~I like these!~
• A hands-on activity (Anything from an experiment to baking cookies!)~ My kids like these!~
• "Think About It" Questions ~ Your mileage may vary on these... My children didn't particularly enjoy them, although with consistent use, I'm hoping that they may become more "Thoughtful".... ;) After all, school doesn't always have to be "Fun"... although I'm sure that there are some children who would thrive on these sorts of questions. :)

Supplemental books are listed in the back, to give your older student more meat or to reinforce what was learned. There are even books included for the youngest students (PreK-2nd) that might be "tagging along" with their older siblings... this is a nice feature!

My one Con: I feel that the quizzes (and therefore, assessment) are more for the Elementary age(even early elementary) than for the Junior high age. The "Quizzes" at the end of each unit are very simple, multiple choice quizzes. Very easy even for my 9 year old to answer. (A little disappointed in this as it seems to be a little "dumbed down" in my opinion... :( ) I have decided to mostly give the quizzes without using the multiple choice option, and turning them in to "Fill-in-the-blank" questions. For my 4th grader, I might consider an overall "Word bank", or let him match up the correct answer with each question.

An option that I haven't purchased, but would find useful (and this one IS available for MAC OS), is a Student Activity Book($12.95) download. This contains all of the reproducibles in the book, from the coloring sheets for the littles to the review-its and experiment forms.

If you'd like to see a little more, here is the Table of Contents (There appear to be "mark-ups" on the pdf, but I just ignored them...) and sample pages from Lesson 18, and Lesson 19.

Will I keep using this curriculum??? Probably, yes.
Do I feel that it is the most exacting academically for a middle-schooler? Umm.... no, but she'll enjoy tagging along with her little brother, and I can follow the suggestions to "Beef it up" with extra reading from the supplemental list in the back. Right now doing a multi-level curriculum works for my situation, so this fits that bill nicely.

Some TOS Crew members received other products to review from Bright Ideas Press, so you'll especially want to check out the TOS Crew page this time around, and find out "What's New?" at BIP!
Blessings~


PS.... The FAQs page at BIP may be useful to you because includes information on using both Mystery of History and Christian Kids Explore..... (You have to scroll down past the general "business" questions... keep going....)

abcteach.com Membership

The TOS Crew members were given a short trial membership to abcteach for the purposes of review, and there just wasn't enough time to take advantage of all the things available there!

In case you have never heard of abcteach.com, I'll give you a little bit of information, so that you can decide if it would be helpful for you in your homeschool.

abcteach contains a wealth of educational material, aimed mostly towards preK-8th grade needs. There are worksheets galore and units of study as well. Here is a page that will give you more information about abcteach, including an idea of what is offered on the free portion of the abcteach site, but now I want to let you know about how we used the member portion of the site...

WORKSHEETS~
I know LOTS of homeschooling moms shudder when they hear that word, but guess what?

• Sometimes it's exactly what your KIDS are looking for! (This *is* the one reason that I have my kids doing a spelling "workbook curriculum".... they are both fairly natural spellers, but they LIKE having a workbook to complete each year.... OK, I can handle that.... ;) )
• Sometimes it's what YOU need... I know that a lot of our "work" is done orally, so sometimes having something that reviews what they know is helpful for inclusion in a portfolio of work, and quite honestly,
• Sometimes a little "busy work" is good for the siblings of a toddler.... ;) Read on, though... some of this "Busy work" is just plain fun!

But seriously.... there are worksheets for so many different areas, themes, topics that you might be studying.... here is a list of the "sub-categories" in the member directory:

• Art and Music:
• Book Units:
• Border Papers:
• Clip Art:
• Fun Stuff:
• Graphic Organizers:
• Handwriting:
• Holiday/Seasonal:
• Homeschooling and Parent Resources:
• Language Arts:
• Languages/ESL:
• Learning Centers:
• Math:
• Middle School/Junior High:
• Montessori Materials:
• PowerPoint:
• PreK/Early Elementary:
• Puzzles/Games:
• Report Forms:
• Science:
• Shape Books:
• Social Studies:
• Sports/Physical Education/Health:
• Teaching Extras:
• Test Taking Skills:
• Theme Units:
• Think Green, Teach Green:
• Thinking Skills:

Each of these include further break-downs~ there is a LOT of material to make use of....
I'm going to give you an idea with a couple of the larger catergories....

In the "PreK/Early Elementary" section you will find numerous pages on the following....

abcteach Early Reader Word Walls - Alphabet Letter Patterns - Alphabet Posters - Badges - Booklets - Certificates - Charts - Class Surveys - Coloring Pages - Colors - Community/Community Helpers - Cut and Paste - Days and Months - Dots - Early Readers - Easy Puzzles - Easy Rebus Sentences - Elkonin Boxes - Facial Expressions - Family - Flashcards - Folder Game Boards - Handwriting - Matching - Math Concepts - Math Counters - Miscellaneous - Paper Beads - Patterns - Picture Cloze - Picture Sentences - Picture/Photograph Cards - Pre-Reading - Primary Maps - Projects - Punch Pin Cards - Reading/Book Units - Rhyming - Senses - Sewing Cards - Signs - Songs - Sorting - Spelling - Story Sequence - Theme Day - Tracing Patterns - Word Families - Word Shapes Activities - Word Slides - Writing

and in the "Teaching Helps" you will find a staggering number of pages as well:

Alphabet Letter Patterns - Badges - Banners - Bookmarks - Bookplates - Bulletin Boards - Calendars - Candy Bar Wrappers - Certificates - Classroom Discipline - Classroom Helpers - Daily Schedule Cards - Desk Tags - Flags - Flashcards - Folder Board Games - Forms - Gift Tags - Greeting Cards - Homework Extras - Incentive Charts - Labels - Lesson Plan Templates - Maps - Memory Books - Mini Offices - Monthly Assignments - Name Tags - Newsletter Forms - Notecards - Paper Beads - Passes - Patterns - Pocket Chart Cards - Portfolios - Postcards - Posters - Rubrics - Signs - Subject/Theme Assignment Sheets - Templates - Tracing Patterns - Vocabulary Extras - Word Families - Word Slides - Word Strips with Pictures - Word Wall Words - Word Wheels

Now, I realize that a lot of these look like they are generally geared more for the earlier years, but there are graphic organizers, thinking skills, writing prompts, science report/chart/forms, maps and... oh so much more.

However..... my absolute FAVORITE thing about the member site is the ability to create my own worksheets! Below you will see some of the variety that are available, and you can even check them out and print out a ready-made sample, to get an idea of what your worksheets could look like.

custom worksheet generators

ABC Sort

Shapebook & Border Paper

Word Search

Unscramble

Crossword

Math

BINGO

Sudoku

Word Shape

Spelling

Missing Letter

Circle & Spell

I was looking for something to challenge my 4th and 7th grader with the science curriculum that we are using right now (More about that later this week... ;) ), so I pulled up the crossword generator, typed in the vocabulary words and definitions for the first unit, and hit "Create". Now... the really cool thing is that I was able to make this crossword with two difficulty levels. The 4th grader's version had a word bank, but the 7th grader's version did not. How great is that? I think that my younger finished a little before his sister, but not too much before, so I felt that I was able to review the same material at the same time, but have something that was able to challenge them both on different levels with not too much work on my part!! :)

I plan to utilize the word searches as well, and DD is a huge fan of sudoku, so I can just print them out for her here! BTW, if you DON'T utilize a spelling "Workbook" curriculum, (ie.. All About Spelling, Spelling Power, etc....) I think that these worksheet generators would be perfect to add some fun to a child's spelling. (The main thing that my kids REALLY enjoy besides the tests... {grin} are the crosswords and scrambled words in their workbooks.....hmmm... maybe I can do without next year?)

If you are at a loss as to how these "generators" work, abcteach has developed a number of tools and tutorials (including videos) that will help you to make good use of your time and effort, when looking to supplement your curriculum.

There are only two things that I could think of that would improve the "useability" of the abcteach site:

• A "preview" of each document~ I found it takes a little more time than I'd like when I'm looking for a particular worksheet or subject to find exactly what I'm looking for. If the premade pdf pages could be "previewed" on the website before downloading to my computer, that would be a great help, not only in time, but in space on my computer, which is almost bursting at the chips....
• When searching by keyword, I would find it useful to have a list on the side, like Amazon or Ebay, or any number of other types of sites, where the search results are categorized. I realize that the directory is also helpful, but this would be a useful touch that would streamline the search process.

All in all, I am very impressed with abcteach, and find it a good value for the money, so much so that even on a tight budget, I scraped up funds to purchase a year's membership.
The current prices are:

• $40 per user per year, or $70 per user for 2 years (individuals and "Groups" of 2-9... each user pays $40 fee)

Now, I imagine that a homeschool group would "Qualify" as a "Group".... you'll have to contact abcteach.com to verify that... but here is the information

• $35 per user for groups of 10-29 people
• $25 per user for groups of 30 or more,
• and if you catch it when it's offered (I know that the Homeschool Buyers Co-op has a group buy for half price going on until November 30) there is a Super Site license for groups of 100 or more.
  

If you think this could be a good fit for your homeschool.... Check out the free portion of the site, with 5000 worksheets, and then decide if you might like to utilize the 30,000 more that are on the members site, not including the ones that you can generate yourself..... ;)

As always, please check out my fellow TOS Crewmates reviews, to help you make the most sound decisions on where to spend your homeschool budget.

Blessings~

Virginia Soaps & Scents (not curriculum, but homeschool related!) part 1~ Soaps, shampoo bars

Well, this was a fun package to receive in the mail as part of the TOS Crew, and it smelled good too! But, where is the connection with homeschooling, you ask? Well, it's fairly simple, and I'm sure very believable to my local readers.... a homeschooling family began with a history lesson, and ended up making and selling soap! This particular family, the Spargurs, hail from Virginia, and most of their 9 children work in the family business.

OK, so what exactly did I receive to review, and what do I think? Part 1 of my review will cover the Bar Soap, and the Shampoo Bar. Come back later for Part 2 to hear about the Laundry Soap Kit!

Soap.... Handcrafted Olive Oil SOAP (not Detergent..... Click HERE for an education in soaps VS detergents) We were sent "Sample 3 scents~ Orange, Oatmeal, Milk & Honey, and Coconut Lemongrass. They all were quite pleasant to the olfactory organs once they were separated in different parts of the house. The Orange went to the kitchen sink, the Oatmeal and Honey to the Bathroom sink, and the Coconut Lemongrass to the shower.

What do I think? Well, I suppose I have to be completely honest here, and let you all know that I just don't think that I'm a "bar soap" kind of girl*~ Give me my foamy pump soap and bath gels any day. HOWEVER, that being said, I'd LOVE to see them come out with a liquid version that I can "foam" at the faucet... after all... These are all-natural soaps, which my current "Gel" variety is not, and I am a fan of knowing exactly what the ingredients are whether a product goes in or on my body....

I must let you know that I do think that these soaps would make lovely gifts for those that ARE "bar soap sorts".... I can think of a few folks in my circle of friends and family that would appreciate these! They are very reasonably priced for gift-giving:
4.5 oz bars are $4.50 each, 3/$12, buy 4 get one free, and buy 10 for $35




Check out the slide-show above to see how gorgeous these soaps are!

• "Regular" Soaps, that are a far cry from common... These are PRETTY! They belong in your kitchen, guest bath, etc.....
• Holiday/Christmas Soaps... I say Holiday, because I think that the Pumpkin Spice Bar would be nice for a Thanksgiving hostess gift!
• Beautiful "Gourmet" soaps... "Black Tie" and "Cookies and Cream" are the type I long to buy and enjoy.... if only I was a bar soap person.... (sigh)

The other item that I am going to review in Part 1 is the Shampoo Bar
I tried a shampoo bar over 15 years ago, and while it was a "novelty", I wouldn't say that I was overly impressed. I seem to remember almost no lather, and very little else, so I was actually interested in how this would compare.

The idea with this shampoo bar is that you run it over your wet hair and lather up! And lather it does! (I understand that coconut oil is great for that!) So... how did it work? Well, I tried it first without conditioner, and my thin, fine hair got all tangled, but my scalp felt GREAT! Next I tried it followed by conditioner, and that seems to work fairly well, although my hair is still a little more "Fly-away" than I like. What I do appreciate is how my scalp feels, and I'm hoping that this will be a good fit for my daughter, and her semi-dry, flaky scalp, although we'll definitely have to use conditioner on her long fine hair as well.

• If you're interested in trying something new
• If your scalp is giving you trouble
• If you're going to be traveling on an airplane
• If you're going camping (OK, not any time soon here in New England...)

........ this might be something that you'd like to try, and who knows, you may find yourself a new shampoo that doesn't come as a liquid! (BTW, your mileage may vary, based on hair and I'm guessing ph-type... but it could be worth a try... no more icky chemicals and empty shampoo bottles! Who says homeschoolers aren't GREEN!) 5.5 oz bars for $5.50, 2 for $10

Now, due to a few things, like a husband that does the laundry, but doesn't do "kits", and multiple weekends away from home, I have not had a chance to mix up and use the laundry soap, but that is on our agenda for this weekend, so stay tuned for Part 2, the Laundry Soap Kit. (I'm truly pretty excited about this one as well, since I have read a lot about the advantages of making your own laundry soap, from knowing what the ingredients are to savings benefits, I just haven't "Gotten around to it".... but now I have to! Thanks TOS, and Virginia Soaps and Scents!

BTW, while you check out their site, you'll notice that their soap, shampoo, lotion, and body powder are all available unscented.... yes, there is more to be explored beyond soap & scents at Virginia Soap and Scents... (Check out their new Sampler Sets.... These include the size soaps we received for review....perfect for stocking stuffers and bathroom sinks!) Enjoy!

Blessings~


*My objection to bar soaps has to do with that "Squeaky Clean" feeling that others adore, but I seem to abhor... I really, really, really don't like it when my skin squeaks, and that happens with almost EVERY bar soap I've ever used. I also end up feeling like my skin is drier than usual, which has not been the typical reaction of many of my Crew Mates. Please be sure to drop by the TOS CREW. Based on conversations amongst the crew, I'm sure that you will read a majority of rave reviews! (This means I'm in an odd minority, for no reason I can fathom other than that my skin doesn't like solids.... ??? )

Bible Charts and Maps ~ Timeline/Chart

What you see below is a timeline/chart that the TOS Crew received for review from The Amazing Bible Timeline. ($29.97)

It turns a typical timeline on it's ear, and takes it from a traditional linear set-up that is about 1'x12', to a circular set-up that measures 3'x4'. No matter how you slice it, you end up with 12 square feet of history! :)

OK, so here's the nitty-gritty~
The original World History Chart was compiled in 1931. The current owners of the copyright updated it in 1975, and again in 2000, with historical dates as recent as 1982(That's about 6000 years of history). Since I don't actually own a linear timeline, I was looking forward to using something that shows all of World History in a clear an cohesive manner.
After a few weeks of use, with our current history and science programs, here is my list of pros and cons:

Pros:

• The size could be considered a pro, if you have that much wall space, or a table that would fit it with a vinyl cover to protect it. (BTW, it is fairly heavy-duty, varnished paper)
• The circular aspect could be helpful for some, given the continuity of certain historical figures and/or eras
• The huge number of persons and Bible references(over 1000, I believe) listed in a visual manner, to help delineate history across the continents and the ages.

Cons:

• The Size could be considered a con, if you don't have the space to display the chart (especially if you have a rambunctious 2 year old! Watch out!)
• The size of the print.. it is teeny tiny, particularly in the middle. I do understand that the font is something that is going to be adjusted, perhaps both type-set and size.
  
• The validity of some of the cited sources for the Americas... many of them appear to be stating as fact what could be considered mere conjecture, and/or they are sources* that I wouldn't include on a "Biblical" timeline. (One author/book recommended for reading is an argument for a pre-Adamic race... I have a hard time with that one as a Christian...)
• The assumption as fact that the Native North and South Americans are Semitic in heritage, when I have also heard theories that they could as easily be Japhethic.

We will probably continue to utilize the major portions of the chart with which I have no concerns, rolling it out as needed, (Potentially with a magnifying glass....) but I will be sure to discuss with my children the difference between historical fact and theorizing.

Oh, here's a note, if you feel that the Amazing Bible Timeline (ABT) could be beneficial to your family, the Agards are offering with your purchase a free download of the ABT in pdf format. This could be extremely helpful considering the small print on the hard copy. You can enlarge any section of the pdf file to print off for easier use in studies. They are also offering with purchase, a download of a 7 layer pdf "Interactive Map of the Holy Land", which allows the viewer to overlay the boundaries of 6 different time-frames on a base map of the Holy Land... kind of nifty.

*A note that may be of interest to some of my readers.... Bill and Margaret Agard were requested to make an LDS version of the chart with Book of Mormon references and "History", which they did. After that printing in 2000, their original films were accidentally destroyed, so they used the LDS version to recreate the original. There are some references that were missed, and remain on the chart as of the current printing. We have been assured that they are working with the printer to remedy that situation.

As always, reviews from more than one angle can help you make better decisions, so please hop on over the see what the rest of the TOS crew has to say....

Sarah Books: Sarah's Wish

Note: New Special offered to TOS Blog Readers.... scroll down!
This might make gift shopping even easier! :)

Sarah's Wish is the first in a series of books (Sarah Books)written by a most congenial grandfather, Jim Baumgardner, for his grandchildren, all of whom were homeschooled by his daughters and daughter-in-law. Mr. Baumgardner strikes me as a friendly gentleman, who enjoys history and good humor as well.

Sarah's Wish was enjoyed by both my 12 year old and myself. It is a gripping tale of the Underground Railway, and as such, does not always tell a "happy" tale. However, the story is told with warmth and humor. Mr. Baumgardner creates some characters that will stay in your mind, which is amazing for such a short book (just a little over 100 pages, which qualifies as "short" in our household...;)).

An added bonus to the stories is the newsletter that Mr. Baumgardner freely sends to subscribers on a monthly basis. He includes historical tidbits and quotations that will not only entertain, but educate... have to love it! :) (Send an email to sarahbooks@cox.net to order Sarah's Web Newsletter: It comes by email and it's free! Unsubscribe anytime you want. Enter "send newsletter" in the subject line.)

Sarah's Wish($10.99) is followed by Sarah's Promise ($14.99) and Sarah's Escape($21.99), which we look forward to reading at some point in the future! We want to find out what happens! BTW, those prices are "list" prices, but if you purchase directly from the author, you will receive a discount, and you will even get an autographed copy. Shipping is free when you order directly from Sarah Books. And as has been the case with some of our other vendors, Mr. Baumgardner has chosen to donate a portion of his proceeds to a good cause... Carpenter Place...

***** Special Prices being offered to TOS Blog Readers*****

Mr. Baumgardner decided to offer a special deal to TOS Crew Blog Readers after all our reviews were in. Since the discount is better than I've seen elsewhere, I feel that I should certainly offer it to you!

• Sarah’s Wish – 126 pages $8.50 retail: $10.99 save $2.49(20%ish)
• Sarah’s Promise – 245 pages $10.50 retail: $14.99 save $4.49(30%ish)
• Sarah’s Escape – 304 pages $15.50 retail: $21.99 save $6.49(30%ish)

Extra special offer: Purchase all of the items above and add an extra copy of Sarah’s Wish for $4.00. You can give it to a friend. They will think you are great!

Order must be mailed in to access these special prices. Order Form can be accessed HERE.
I do need to make a disclaimer and note that if you take advantage of this special deal, it is possible that I may receive another book for free and/or at a discount myself, but that had no impact on my previously written review. Thank you!

*********************************************************

I would recommend these books as great Christmas or other occasion presents for your young bookworm~ either boy or girl.... :)

Check out other Crew Member's thoughts on Sarah's Wish here~

Blessings~

Guardian Angel Publishing

The TOS Crew received 5 titles from Guardian Angel Publishing's catalog:
The books are all available as:

• ebooks($5)
• ebooks on CD, and DVD Videos($9.95 +S&H)
• Print Books($10.95+ S&H)

For the purposes of review, we were given the ebook version.

From their Academic Wings Section:

And from the Animals and Pets Category:

These books come from a catalog of over 100 books for ages 0-12, from a publishing company whose goal is "to lovingly create fun, affordable and educational eBook computer & print book experiences for preschoolers and primary age children. And to embed positive, loving and worthwhile meaning into these books." (from the Guardian Angel Publications *GAP* mission statement)

You can read a synopsis of most of their titles from the Catalog page of the GAP website, but I'll give you my quick impressions....
Andy and Spirit Go to the Fair is an inspiring little book for your young horse loving child. It follows the story of Andy, a mostly wheelchair-bound young boy. He finds not only freedom and mobility in riding his horse Spirit, but also strength of character, as he performs with Spirit in a 4-H competition. Included in the back of the book are some great links to learn more about wild horse management in the US and 4-H. This books works fine as an ebook.

Hamster Holidays was a little young for my "Schooled" children, but I can see that it could be one of those useful books for the preschool to the 3rd grade crowd or so. It is a "Noun and Adjective" adventure, in which there are delightful illustrations of Hamsters from different "Towns" cavorting through their monthly "holidays". There is a great deal of repetition for the little ones, the NOUNS are printed in BLUE, and the ADJECTIVES are printed in RED throughout the book. There are also monthly calendars included in the illustrations, which will help with beginning calendar skills. After the 13 pages of story, you will find a 6 pages of "study guide" that will help to teach about Nouns and Adjectives, with activities and games. Personally, I feel that the print version of this book would work the best, although it is nice to have the PDF in order to print off some of the activities, which include a crossword puzzle and a word search.
Rainbow Sheep is a little fairytale about a rainbow that was losing it's vibrant color, and how a young shepherdess helped the rainbow "brighten up". What really makes this book for me are the illustrations, which are full color photographs of felted wool pictures. The back of the book contains 4 full pages of felting information and activities, which makes this book ideal for families with a range of ages~ Story for the youngers, and art for the olders. Fine for either ebook or hard copy, I'd say.

Earthquake is a non fiction, factoid-filled book that has enough information in it that your middle-schoolers may actually learn something. Much of the information is in "Bite-size" chunks, so that you can choose what to read to your youngers. The back of this book includes an emergency preparedness list for your kids to help you pull together. I'd prefer to have this book on my bookshelf than in my computer...

Maybe We Are Flamingos is a great little book in the tradition of the Ugly Duckling and perhaps even Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. Two little flamingos are worried about why they just don't seem to "Fit in". One of them finally wisely decides to ask their mother, and what follows is a rollicking romp of silliness and fun. This is a great book to tie in to a zoo visit(if your zoo has flamingos) for your preschool/early elementary crowd. A creative, fun read! Another one that I'd prefer to be able to read in the rocking-chair.

I do have to say that unless your pocketbook can't stand it, the print version of these books would be my pick (Although I haven't seen their quality in person, mind you), because "cuddling up around the computer screen" is just never going to beat a hard copy in the lap on the couch/rocking-chair/bed, in my book. :)

If you'd like to see what all they have to offer, you might want to check out a couple of their free items on this page, and see what the rest of the TOS Crew had to say about these books.

Blessings~

Nature Friend Magazine

Looking for a "Christian" alternative to Ranger Rick? Enjoy beautiful photography, art instruction and essays? Nature Friend Magazine and Study guide has much to offer!

Although my family couldn't afford to subscribe to children's magazines when I was a kid, I have fond memories of checking out my friends' copies of Ranger Rick and Cricket. I liked the cool photos and "kid submissions".

Now that I'm a parent, I'm more discriminating(and, I'm happy to say, so are my kids) about the material that we read. We've been sorely disappointed by gifted subscriptions of Ranger Rick and National Geographic Kids, with their evolutionary biases.

Enter Nature Friend, a publication that has been around since 1983. Although the magazine ownership has changed hands a few times, the commitment to "encourage children to believe in God as their Creator and to seek out, recognize, and appreciate His handiwork." has remained steadfast. The photography is every bit as stunning as any other you might see. The articles will enlighten and inspire your children as they consider God's creation, and there are fun activities in each issue, from a hidden picture search to the "You Can Draw A....." feature, a particular favorite of my 12 year old. There are actually two parts to this feature. Part 1 is the current month's instruction, and Part 2 is the page of reader submissions from past issue's instruction. Both are fun!

My children have greatly enjoyed reading the articles included in the August and September issues that the TOS Crew received to review. My 8 year-old particularly liked that it had so many puzzles to do. I was especially interested in the August articles on Owls (a personal favorite), and the stunning photographs.

You can also purchase an 8 page study guide that reinforces the articles and general information found in the magazine. These were included with the two monthly magazines that we were given, and my children enjoyed checking out the extra crosswords and acrostics. Mom (teacher!) appreciated the fill-in-the-blanks, "Writing lessons", "The Photo Critique"(which is great for the older children, and accompanying adults!), and more.

You may wish to click on one of the links I provided above, and check out some of the many free samples provided on the Nature Magazine Website, so that you can "Try before you buy".

I would highly recommend this for a Christmas or Birthday gift from grandparents, or friends looking for a "Family gift"! The quality of the paper, the photographs, and the content make this entirely "gift-worthy" in my book.

Now.. one reason that I recommend this as a gift subscription, is that it might be considered a little on the pricey side if you are pinching your pennies like we are. A one year subscription is regularly $36 ($3 an issue), or you can order a 2 year subscription for $68 ($2.83 an issue).
The Study guide is an extra $2/issue ($24/year) which would bring it up to $50 even for one year. Here is a link that explains a little more about the study guide, and adding it to a current subscription, if you have one... :)

BONUS: Until November 30th, the Shank's are offering a coupon for $3 off a new subscription. Use code BLOG93 when you subscribe. (It's like getting one month's issue free!)

It's actually a pretty good deal, when looking at it monthly... for the cost of one or two tall lattes you can educate and inspire your children for a whole month.... that's not bad! :) (However, if your budget has cut out those latte's, you might want to show this post to Grandma or Grandpa!)

Nature Friend Magazine also has available Back Issues for $5 each (Free shipping). You can click on each year, and each month for a list of the Table of Contents. So.. if you are studying, say, fossils and petrified wood, you might want to order the July 2006 Back Issue which has an article on the Petrified Forest National Park.

Another option (starting with the 2007 issues) would be to purchase a complete year's subscription, in a Smyth-sewn bound volumes. These hard-covers have a sewn binding that enables the book to lay open flat at any page, and the 304 pages are bound with beautiful, glossy, laminated covers. These run $66, and I think they would rival any Nature book you could find at Barnes and Noble.

Oh, and a thought for those of you who are blessed with extra monetary resources.... Nature Friend Magazine has a program called Cheer the Children that you may be interested in contributing to. They would like to be able to offer a magazine to every child that has to endure a hospital stay, and you can help by purchasing a "Gift subscription". If this is something that interests you, please click here to read more.

I hope you check them out (and make good use of those free samples... there are a lot of them, and although they can't show you the quality of the paper the magazines are printed on, they DO show the quality of the content!), check out what the other TOS crew members had to say about their free issues, and let me know what YOU think! (Feel free to leave a comment!) :)

Blessings~

*Disclaimer~ This review was made possible by the free gift of two month's of Nature Friend Magazine and Study Guide, for the purpose of review.

EDUDPS "Write With The Best" Volumes 1 & 2

Last, but certainly not least we come to the writing curriculum that Jill Dixon has put out:
I received the pages only versions "Write With the Best: Volume 1" and "Write With the Best: Volume 2 " to use with my 9 and 12 year olds.

I really like the concept and the format of this curriculum, in that there are included excerpts from classic works of literature, in a variety of genres. They are each read, discussed, analyzed, and finally used as models of writing, from which the student creates their own piece of work in the given genre. Imitation is not only one of the greatest forms of flattery, but one of the best modes of learning.... :)

I also appreciate that these aren't lengthy dissertations on grammar, but a more natural approach to writing. Jill teaches attention to detail, and descriptive writing, with an emphasis on descriptive nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. She keeps her "lessons" fairly short (Which I like), although the units are somewhat predictable in form (which I don't mind, but some may find wearying). She recommends writing on topics that will keep the student's interest (well.... what a concept! "What I Did On My Summer Vacation" gets old after awhile, as does any arbitrary choice of topic on the part of the teacher), but she does so keeping within the genre at hand.

One of the handiest portions of this curriculum, and one that will most certainly continue to be used, is the "How To Write" Guide with a list of steps to follow to develop a certain genre of writing. My 12 year old, in particular was impressed with, and enjoyed using this portion of the curriculum.

There were only two things I felt were confusing :

• The "Answer keys" to the cited literary passages. The words are presented in alphabetical order rather than in the order they appear, which makes it more difficult than necessary to verify student work. The point is also made that not EVERY noun, verb, adjective, or adverb is listed in the answer key, only "the most descriptive", but that could be considered a little subjective, which was confusing to my children.... I finally figured out that I should just nod my head whenever they came up with one that was not on the list.... ;)
• The objective to "Find an example of _______ (current genre being studied) by a well known author and use it for further study. I felt this should be an objective detailed for the upper middle-school and/or high school student, rather than being a general objective for all. Of course as students progress through the course they should become more familiar with and recognize specific styles of writing, but to expect it immediately seemed a little presumptuous. There is a list of additional Literary Passages included in the back of the manual for "Reuse" of the curriculum, but I feel that they should be noted as options for the parents to bring up for their younger students to complete these objectives.

I am enjoying hearing my children pick up on and think about and use more descriptive words in their every day conversations as well as in their writing. OK, so my 9 year old is still addicted to words like "Sick" and "Cool", but I think he'll get the hang of it... maybe he'll even rub off on his skateboarding neighborhood buddies! ;) The 12 year old... she's another story! :)

I do think that while "Write with the Best Volume 1" is listed as being for grades 3-12, it is optimal for the middle to high-school years. Jill does give recommendations for expectations for younger students, and I appreciate that. I believe that "Write With The Best" is useful for my "School of Two", and would be a benefit for those who have more and varied ages in their "classes". :)

For those concerned about high-school "Credit hours"... I think that if your student is taking a reasonable amount of time to complete the writing and perfecting objectives, then they should fairly easily hit that average of 40 minutes/day.... Some days will most certainly be lighter than others(ie... reading and "Grammar exercises"), but when they get into writing short stories and fables, and more, some of those days will be much longer than others.... it should all come out in the wash.

Alright, so now I should get down to the nitty gritty and tell you some specifics.

From the Table of Contents:
Volume 1: (3rd-12 grade)

• Describing an Object from Jules Verne - a Place from Charles Dickens - a Character from Daniel Defoe
• Dialogue from Kenneth Grahame
• The Short Story from O. Henry
• Fables from Aesop
• Friendly Letters from Robert Louis Stevenson
• Poetry - Rhyming Verse from William Wordsworth
• The Ballad or Narrative Poem from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Volume 2 (6th -12th grade)

• Poetry - Free Verse from Emily Dickinson
• Business Letters from Helen Keller
• Persuasive Essays from Thomas Paine
• Expository Essays from Francis Bacon
• Literary Critiques from Edgar Allan Poe (That's right! Poe was a superb literary critic at one point.)
• Newspaper Articles from Ernest Hemingway (Yes, indeed! In his early career, Hemingway was a newspaper article writer.)
• Speeches from Marcus Tullius Cicero
• Dramatic Monologues from William Shakespeare

Pricing:
Volume 1

• $19.95 ebook (Currently on sale for $14.95... 25% off)
• $22.45 pages only (no Binder)
• $24.95 3- ring- Binder

Volume 2

• $24.95 ebook (Currently on sale for $18.65... 25% off)
• $27.45 pages only (no Binder)
• $29.95 3- ring- Binder

For more information and insight, don't forget to check out other TOS Crew member reviews!

EDUDPS~ Roots and Fruits: Vocabulary

Next...... Roots and Fruits

We all know (I'm pretty sure this is old news by now... ;) ) that having a handle on the Greek and Latin roots of our English language is a huge help in the ability to comprehend what is being said and written in the world around around us, not to mention useful for scoring well on the aforementioned ACT/PSAT/SAT exams.

Jill Dixon has compiled a list of 1716 vocabulary words in a handy manual that comes complete with a daily lesson plan that address all learning styles, 14 activities to use throughout the program that reinforce the learning of those root words, and a couple of extras~ Words are marked that are appropriate for the youngest learners, including Kindergartners, and the most common words found on the high school/college assessment tests are also highlighted.

Now, the way this is set up could be helpful or confusing, depending on YOUR style of learning/teaching! There is no program of "learn this set of words this week, test of Friday". Rather the teacher (You!) are in charge of what words you address each week. Sometimes this works well for me, because I have a group of words that we are using in a particular section of study, so it makes sense to use them for "Root" Vocabulary. Other times, however, I feel far too "random" in my choices. However.... the proof is in the pudding, and when my kiddos can recall what words we were studying a month later, I am reminded that "it's not about me"..... ;)

There are three ordering options for Roots and Fruits
$14.98 Ebook (Currently on sale for $11.25.... 25% off)
$17.48 Pages only (Three hole punched)
$19.98 Comb Binding (The version I received for review)

Don't forget to check out other TOS Crew member reviews!

EDUDPS "The Complete Career, College, and High School Guide for Homeschoolers"

Next up.... No anacronym this time.....:)
"The Complete Career, College, and High School Guide for Homeschoolers"~
This is similar in part to the POC4U, in that it surveys learning styles, but it goes much more in depth, with surveys that cover:

• Work/Service preferences
• Personality profiles
• Preferred Work environment profiles

For each preference there are numerous possible jobs and/or careers listed, with a general listing of pages of occupations, listed alphabetically. There follows a lengthly section that details " Popular careers/College Majors for Homeschoolers", and suggested courses of study for Middle and High School, as well as activities to consider pursuing, and suggestions for people that the student might like to "interview" to further narrow down their choices. (Jill also handily includes a list of interview questions for career possibilities, which I thought was most useful!)

Beyond this, Jill has included a plothora of information on

• How to go about actually running a homeshool "high school"
• How to create a course of study and translate that into a transcript
• How to figure out and count "Credit hours" and "GPA"
• There are recommendations on how to "test out" of college courses for a relatively minimal fee, when compared to course fees, as well as information on taking the ACT/PSAT/SAT tests
• Scholarship information and more....

Now, my daughter is only in 7th grade, so this wasn't quite as easy for her to fill out a bunch of the questions, but I think that it is going to be a great tool.

• For the present, in that it is getting her to start thinking about her interests, and where they may someday lead her
• For the future, as she becomes more aware of who she is as a person, and where she would like to go as an adult

"The Complete Career, College, and High School Guide for Homeschoolers" is the sort of thing that many people never even think about until they've changed their major 3 or 4 times, or even beyond. What a jump start you can give your kids, if you start helping them to assess in the middle and/or early high school years!

I appreciated the emphasis on discipling and raising Godly children, regardless of whether they will be following a college/career path, or a technical/career path, or a home/career path. :) I did find that the manual as a whole didn't "Flow" exactly, with high school information following College/Clep information, etc..., but since this is more reference than novel, "Flow" isn't really all that important to me, content is. :)

Oh, and just for the sake of it, I checked around a little and "Career Counseling" goes for anywhere from $125 for an hour (Not including the time that it takes you to fill out assessments/personality tests, etc...) to $220 for 6 hours, and there were some offerings that didn't list a price, so I can just imagine..... considering that, I think that
"The Complete Career, College, and High School Guide for Homeschoolers" is a very reasonably priced for the resources and information offered!
$39.95 for the softbound version that I received to review and
$34.95 for the ebook(Currently on special for $26.20... 25% off)

Don't forget to check out other TOS Crew member reviews!

EDUDPS(POC4U) Learning assessment/Curriculum Guide

The TOS Crew members were blessed with the opportunity to review any of a number of Jill Dixon's Curriculums and Guides. Because I have a MAC, however, I was not able to review the ebook versions, and was given hard copies of the books to review. (Note: EDUDPS is currently offering their ebooks for 25% off their list price) The next 4 reviews will be from products that I received from EDUDPS.

First up, POC4U is a title that is not available in ebook format, but since I had a package of print titles coming, I was asked to review this title as well. :)

So... what does POC4U stand for?
"Person Optimized Curricula For You" ~ That title is still somewhat difficult to figure out, but the basic concept is that each child's education should be optimized for their own person. This is a tool for homeschoolers to figure out their own IEP, if you will... ;)
POC4U includes

• Surveys for the child to take which will help to pinpoint your child's predominate learning style.
• Diagnostic surveys that are helpful in determining what grade level your child may be working at in reading/decoding, math computation, and written expression from K through grade 8.
• Eight points or "hints" in effectively utilizing curricula based on a student's inclinations

The rest of the book is broken down into the 3 learning styles (Auditory, Visual, and Tactile/Kinesthetic), and specifics for each one. This includes:

• Cues to help recognize a particular learning style
• General Teaching Techniques for the particular style
• Specific Teaching Techniques and Curriculum suggestions in each of the following:

1. Reading
2. Spelling
3. Grammar/English
4. Writing/Composition
5. Math
6. History, Science, and Geography

I think that POC4U would be most helpful for those who are just starting their homeschooling journey, whether homeschooling from the beginning, or bringing their children home from public/private schools. I feel that it would also be a helpful tool for those who are feeling frustrated in their homeschooling efforts, as it could illuminate a "Disconnect" between a student's learning style and the current teaching style~ A possibly simple solution may be found between the front and back pages of POC4U, that could ease a seemingly complex and stressful learning environment.

I found it interesting, when my son took the learning style assessment in POC4U, and when my daughter took the assessments in the next item I'll be mentioning "The Complete Career, College, and High School Guide for Homeschoolers", that they both tested almost identically. While neither one has a strong leaning in any direction, they both rated visual the lowest in their assessments, but even that was in the zone of being a preference.

My final analysis is that POC4U helps me to feel confident that at least my two olders can benefit from any style of curriculum that we choose to use, and that's a good thing. Likewise, if either of them had shown a strong preference and/or dislike for a particular style of learning, I would feel comfortable in taking Jill Dixon's guidance in tailoring my curriculum choices to my children's needs (we have yet to figure out my 2 year old... he may end up with a strong preference, and then I'll be doubly happy to have this guide handy!).
-----> Not bad for the nominal investment of $12.98.

Don't forget to check out other TOS Crew member reviews!

A Journey Through Learning Lapbooks

TOS Crew members were given the option to review one of 5 lapbooks from A Journey Through Learning:

• Amphibians
• Autumn
• Desert
• Parables of a King
• or Reptiles.

Being that we live in New England, and having fall right around the corner, we decided to complete the Autumn Lapbook/Unit Study. (These units are able to be spread out over a week or a month... your choice!)

I won't bore you with the details of malfunctioning printers, and icky weather(making some of the activities in a fall lapbook difficult).... but the photos of my lapbook will show that even * if * your printer decides that it is no longer using red ink, you can still "make do", and come up with a fun product! (I did have to adjust and print a lot in grayscale, on colorful paper to make the lapbook more colorful.... I mean, come on... it's autumn... red and orange leaves, pumpkins......{sigh})

OK.... so on with the nuts and bolts of a Journey Through Learning Lapbook!

Just a quick informational note... the lapbooks are available as:

• Instantly downloadable pdfs ($13)
• CD-Rom ($14)
• and Printed ($21) formats (hmmmm the printed version would have come in handy for me this time... who knew??)

This lapbook/unit study is perfect for a novice to lapbooking! Everything is included and well laid-out, so that you are almost guaranteed to end up with a pleasing product. There are:

• Study Guide pages with enough information for your children to be able to complete theMini-books(no scouring for extra books, unless you WANT to!)
  
• Full color mini-books, ready to be cut out and assembled (each mini book follows the study guide page that goes with it in the pdf~ all nice and easy and in order!)
• Directions on assembling each mini book~ Very helpful
• Instructions and visuals (in two places!) for placing the mini-books in each folder~ Excellent! (Your older kids should be able to do this mostly on their own, and if you're helping younger child, having it laid out for you is a huge time saver!)

There are also helpful hints and tricks, suggestions on how to go about the study, options for how to schedule your time, a table of contents, a Bibliography, an "Additional Reading" list, and Enrichment Pages:

• Book Log- A fun place to keep up with extra reading!
• Biography Book Report (if included)- Learn more about the people you are studying!
• NICK Notes-An easier way to organize information
• Outline Form-A little bit harder way to organize information. (This may not work for all study guides. Some study guides may not be detailed enough to use the Outline Forms. Use only as it works for your child.)
• What I Have Learned-Pages for narration: There are two versions to choose from: Younger-includes a place to draw a picture. Older-for children who are capable of more writing and narration.

A Journey Through Learning currently offers 48 lapbooks/lapbook templates, and they are mostly intended for the 2nd-7th grade age range. They are available in the following categories:

• Mini Lapbooks
• Science Lapbooks
• History/Social Studies/Government Lapbooks
• Holiday/Seasonal Lapbooks
• Bible/Family Lapbooks
• Preschool Lapbooks
• Literature Lapbooks
• Templates and Organizers
• Unit Studies

I found this to be an extremely easy way to add a little seasonal information to our school time. While the Autumn lapbook wasn't as "academic" as a couple of the other choices, it was fun and interesting, and my kids learned a few things. I also appreciated that it was a group effort to put it together, with one child reading while the other cut out the mini-books. Mom helped assemble, and they took turns filling out information. Chalk one up for cooperation!

I am looking forward to checking out one of the more academic titles(science-ish) next... the studies look good, the lapbooking is relatively painless, and the final product makes for a great study/review item.

On another side note.... don't let the two year old get into the lapbook, unless you've chosen to print on card-stock, or another slightly sturdier paper... ;) Brads and flaps are just waaayyyyy too interesting! ;)
Here are some photos of our finished product:


The Cover~

First folder opening... I printed the
"Study Guides" 1/2 size, 2 to a sheet,
and made a little pocket to hold them
(Big red sqare), which I glued to the
back of the 3rd folder.


First and 3rd Folders open

All three folders open

If you are thinking of doing a unit study on a particular topic, and would like to try lapbooking (Or if you want to make your lapbooking easier), I suggest you check out A Journey to Learning, to see if they have something that strikes your fancy!

Visit the TOS Crew Blog to check out some of the JTL lapbook experiences of other Crew members.....

Blessings~

Nutrition 101: Choose Life!

Nutrition 101: Choose Life! from Growing Healthy Homes LLC is a very thorough nutrition course (or tome~ it's HUGE! 448 pages) that doubles as an anatomy course! The basic text is divided into 6 units, with each unit covering two specific areas of the body and the nutrients required to help those parts of the body function as the healthy, efficient machine that God designed it to be.

• The Brain and Nervous System
• Digestion and Elimination
• Respiration and Olfactory
• Muscular and Skeletal Systems
• Cardiovascular and Immune Systems
• Endocrine System and Emotions

Teaching style: UNIT Study!
The material in Nutrition 101 is intended to be used for K-12, which means that there is a vast amount of information included. If your teaching style adapts material easily, you will probably love Nutrition 101. If you prefer a more "scripted" approach to teaching and have younger children, this text may be more difficult for you to use. The "Text" portion of the course is NOT leveled by age. I found it helpful to highlight the portions that I felt were appropriate for my children when reading through the text. I did find it useful that the activities/discussions following each section were divided into age-appropriate sets.

Pros:

• LOTS of information
• Helpful charts, HUGE Appendices
• Lists of "Good Foods/Bad Foods" for each system's nutritional needs
• Colorful text
• Biblical base
• Recipes that apply to the nutrition/anatomy topic being covered. ie: when learning about the brain and good fats/bad fats, you can emphasize that section with the included recipe for guacamole. (Avocado is a GOOD fat... YUM!)

Cons:

• I have to say that I struggled with certain aspects of this course, and the sporadic"tone" that I read in it. I am fairly health conscious, but I tend to be more in the camp of "eat these things because they will help a, b, or c be healthy and function correctly" vs. "if you don't eat these things then you might end up with x, y, or z..." This was what I felt through many of the portions of the study that we went through. I may be more than normally sensitive to this, because I have a child that is going through the "Worry about everything" stage and I was reading through the lens of his current perspective.
• I also struggle with courses or books that are somewhat dogmatic in their stance. I felt that sometimes the authors were in some measure forcefully stating their opinions on nutrition, which others may or may not totally agree with. *This was not a constant, just something that "nudged" me upon occasion~ Worth mentioning, but not a "deal-breaker" when considering whether or not to use this for a curriculum.
  
• In general, I felt it was a little difficult to distill the information for the younger student.
  

Cost:

• $79.95 for an e-book on a CD-ROM (Similar to the e-version I received for review purposes)
• $99.95 for a hardcopy printed book
• $129.95 for the book and CD-ROM together

Overall opinion:
I do feel that Nutrition 101: Choose Life! is a profitable and educational book, particularly when being used with an appropriate age. I would consider this a great course for 9-12th grade specifically (Teenagers tend to be past that "worry-wort" stage and are able to discuss their opinions when faced with certain statements). I wouldn't purchase it exclusively for K-4th grade students, but I can see that it's inclusion of activities for the younger children can be a boon to mothers with a wider age-spread than that of my own.

For many other opinions please hop on over to see what other members of the TOS Crew had to
say about this prodigious tome on the physiology of the Nutrition of the human body.

Blessings~

StudyPod Book Holder

Well, here's a fun item we were given to review~ It isn't a curriculum but it *is* an aid.

The StudyPod is a nifty little gadget with a variety of uses. This neat, compact "book" unfolds into a versatile tool that can hold a book, notebook (like right now, while I am transcribing my notes on this review to the computer), or paper in a vertical "Display Position" . This is ideal for transcription work at the computer, displaying art work, holding cookbooks open (Have you see "The Best Recipe" book? It's HUGE, and the StudyPod worked like a charm, holding it open for me!), and I imagine it would work well for holding a music book open as well, although I didn't have an opportunity to try that yet. Oh, and the "page support arms" that hold the pages open look quite "delicate", and treat your books well, but are sturdy enough to hold the book securely with the pages wide open.

There is a little net pocket which one could use to stash a pen, a small notebook, a usb flashdrive, etc... I will say that this wasn't as useful for OUR use at home, but I could see it coming in handy for those who are schooling "out and about" alot.

In addition to being able to hold my notebook, balanced on a stack of cd's and DVD's by my computer while I am typing this out, this nifty little book-holder has been used to keep my daughter's Saxon math text book up off the table, giving her more elbow room and helping to alleviate "hunched shoulders".

I've used it to hold our Mystery of History Volume II text open on a side table so that I could sit in the nearby rocking chair with my toddler on my lap while reading to the the olders. The StudyPod handled that large text admirably, and kept my toddlers fingers from crumpling pages. Thumbs up all around! (Even entire hands, since they are "Book-free"! :) )

I would say that my favorite benefits of the StudyPod are:

• The relief of neck/shoulder stress when bending over a text. It is so much better to be able to sit up straight and have easy visual access to the page. On the StudyPod website they mention that fact that when your posture is correct, the oxygen flow to your brain and muscles is improved, which can in turn improve your focus and attention span!
  
• There is also the relief of hand/finger stress, particularly when compared with simultaneously trying to hold a large text open with a wiggly child in one's lap.
• I appreciate the compact folding and storage feature. I have other "Decorative" book-holders, but they don't fold up neatly to sit on a shelf, or throw in a bag. I can see this coming in handy for those who teach in co-ops, and want to have their text open to display a certain page or chart for their students.

The StudyPod is 6.75" x 8.875" x 1.25" ~ The size of a medium paperback book. As I mentioned above, it can handle a rather large book with no problem. It comes in a variety of colors(black, blue and pink), as you can see in the picture above. There is an identical product on the StudyPod website called the BookPod, that offers the additional "neutral" color choices of gray and beige, so if you think you would like more than one, you can keep who owns which one straight by purchasing different colors.

Speaking of purchasing, I should let you know that the list price on the StudyPod/BookPod is $19.95. If you purchase 2 or more, they offer a discounted price of $16.95, and for readers of the TOS Crew Blogs, there is a special offer of $5 off your order when you provide the code TOSBLOG5 . That makes a purchase of 2 studypods run about $28.90 + shipping ($7 for 2, $11 for 4 were a couple of scenarios that I ran).

Do I think this is a MUST HAVE item for every homeschool? Well.... no, but I think that if your budget allows, it may make a difference in the amount of fatigue that is seen at the end of the day. Check it out! (And for more reviews and viewpoints, check out my TOS Crew Mates thoughts.)

Oh, one more note~ There is a fun little circular batch of quotes and tidbits of information inscribed on the StudyPod, from Thomas Edison to Woody Allen.... very eclectic, and a nice little touch that my daughter noticed long before I did!

Enjoy!

ALEKS Math.... 2nd go-round

Hey~ Remember back in December I reviewed the ALEKS math program? Well, the main portion of my review stands, but there have been some updates that I would like to mention to you~

• You can more easily personalize your student accounts from the "Master account" by selecting your state standards, changing your student's password, and setting your desired email progress report frequency and student idle time.
• View the attendance report for a selected time period to review a complete list of the topics your student attempted and mastered.
• Create a new quiz for your student, and customize the settings to reflect your desired start date/time, duration, grading scale, and more. (This is pretty cool! Great for that portfolio work!)
• Move your student into a new course - an ALEKS subscription allows access to all course products! (This one I have a little trouble with... if you try to move them into another course, they warn you that all of the work in the current course will be lost... so I didn't try it... didn't want to lose what we were still working on. I suppose it makes sense... if you have "finished" the majority of a course and want to move on, it's just like using a new text book....you don't use the old one for the new course. At any rate, it *is* nice to be able to change the course, if necessary.)

Here are some screen shots to refresh your memory, and/or introduce you to what ALEKS looks like....

Screenshots:

Student Account

Assessment: Students begin in ALEKS by taking an individualized, adaptive assessment to determine what they already know and what they are ready to learn next.

MyPie: The ALEKS Pie summarizes a student's current knowledge and offers topics that the student is ready to learn next. The darkened portion of each pie slice represents the topics that the student has mastered and the lighter portion represents what the student has yet to learn.

Input Tools: ALEKS provides a free response environment and sophisticated input tools that avoid multiple choice and require students to demonstrate content mastery.

Learning Mode: The Learning Mode provides students with practice problems, and offers explanations of topics and procedures as needed. Once a student has demonstrated mastery in the Learning Mode, the item is added to the ALEKS Pie, and new material that the student is now ready to learn becomes available.

Feedback: Students receive immediate feedback and, in some cases, suggestions for correcting mistakes.

Worksheets: Students have the ability to print out 16-question worksheets for additional practice or review. These worksheets are uniquely generated based on the student's current knowledge.

ALEKS QuickTables: QuickTables is a research-based math fact mastery program for multiplication, division, addition, and subtraction.

Interactive Games: Provide additional review and built-in rewards.

Master Account


Master Account Homepage: Easily manage all student accounts, monitor student progress, view customized resources, and more.

Attendance Report: Track student time spent in ALEKS per day, the topics attempted, and the topics mastered and added to the ALEKS Pie.

Student Progress Report: Track student progress made throughout the course. The blue bar represents the percent of course material that the student has mastered during an ALEKS assessment; the green bar represents the percent of new topics the student has mastered in Learning Mode since the last assessment; and the yellow bar represents the percent of topics the student has yet to learn in order to complete the course.

Quiz Results: Quizzes are automatically graded and the results are available to both the parent and student immediately. View a detailed quiz results sample report (PDF).

While I REALLY like this program, and what it offers, I still find it to be one of the more expensive options for *our* family. However, everyone's circumstances are different, and this may be just what you are looking for, and can afford... GREAT!
Here's the nitty-gritty~

• Basic cost is $19.95/ month/ student

You can purchase family rate discounts packages also...

• 6 month subscriptions for a discounted rate of $99 for 1 student-$449.76 for 6 students
• 12 month subscriptions (Continuous months.. you can't put it on "hold" for vacations) for a discounted rate of $179.95 for 1 student-$809.76 for 6 students.

Try it out and see how you like it!

Blessings~

Maverick Books and "Hank the Cowdog"

This summer, one of the first review products received by the TOS Crew was a package from Maverick Books. Some of you may be familiar with Hank the Cowdog, and his adventures on the ranch, with his perceived side-kick Drover. If not, you may be in for a few leg-slappin' belly laughs. Hank considers himself the head of ranch security, and takes his job fairly seriously. If your children are insightful, they will soon catch on that Hank is more of a Barney Fife than an Andy Griffith, which is the source of much of the humor.

The Crew received:
Tales and Tunes from Hank the Cowdog CD $3.00
Hank's 8th Adventure: The Case of The One-Eyed Killer Stud Horse $4.24
Hank's Tornado Game $12.99

Here is a link where you can listen to John Erickson's performance at the PA Homeschool Convention. This will give you a good idea of who John Erickson is, and what Hank the Cowdog is like.

The Tales and Tunes CD has little excerpts from some of the stories, along with some fun music(mostly bluegrass). Some portions made us groan, some had a little language that I didn't care for (like the occasional "Heck", "Gosh" and "Dern" which is language that isn't used in our home). A lot of the humor is on a jr. high level, so keep that in mind... there are families that find it a "hoot", and others that find it mildly offensive... not passing judgement, just giving you information... :) I will admit that I am not terribly likely to play it too much until my 2-year old is beyond his "repeat-everything-he-hears" stage.... like say when he is about 4 or 5... Just in time for his brother to be at that jr. high level. ;)

The Case of the One-Eyed Killer Stud Horse is likely to have your kids howling with laughter with its "Stream-of-dog-consciousness" conversation and humor. Similar to the Tales and Tunes CD, there is some language that some will find suspect, but it is never glorified or overly condoned.... it mostly just holds true to what one might expect to hear on a ranch. Likewise, there could be some valuable teaching points in the messes that Hank gets himself into with his frequent poor choices. All in all, my kids seem to enjoy these books, and when I occasionally pick one up to read myself, I tend to find myself chuckling here and there as well.

Hank's Tornado Game is a fun little fold-up travel game (With space for the included bonus cassette tape, if you happen to still have a tape player around.. ;) ) reminiscent of Trouble, Sorry, Ludo, and Parcheesi. If you are familiar with these games, then you will have a good idea of how the play will go. Rather than the typical 4 pieces, there are only 3 pieces (Hank, Drover, and Junior, a buzzard). Play is directed with a clever spinner (I like the way that it attaches, and is so compact... very nice!). This is fun enough and compact enough that it has been traveling with us in our car almost all summer.

If you would like to see what others on the TOS Crew have to say about Hank, don't forget to pop on over and visit a blog or two... ;)

There are many more stories (Both hardcopy and audio) to be discovered..... Happy Reading~
Blessings~

Web Design for Kids (And Curious Adults)

Do you have kids that are interested in the computer... video games...?
They just might be interested in learning HTML, even if they don't know that they are interested!

When we received the Web Design for Kids DVD, my kids sort of glanced it (the case) over, and weren't terribly excited. However that all changed when I sat them in front of the computer, and popped the DVD into the computer.

First, Brian Richardson, the creator of Web Design for Kids, is one of the more engaging DVD instructors that we've been introduced to. He simplifies basic HTML enough that my 8 year old was easily able to follow along, and he is relatively pleasant to listen to, which matters to my 12 year old. You can see a 1-minute sample from the 2nd lesson on the DVD. This gives a pretty good feel for the rest of the DVD.

The course is about 1.5 hours long, with 7 lessons covering:

• 10 Basic Lines of Code
• Sandwiches and Colors
• Make Subject Stand Out
• Stand Alone Tags
• Designing Backgrounds
• Fonts and Paragraphs
• Pictures
• Bonus Section on File Folder Management

There is no software to download, everything you need is standard to your computer. While the lessons are geared towards the Windows Computer user, utilizing Notepad and Internet Explorer, we had very little difficulty translating that into Text Edit and Firefox on our MAC... HURRAH!

The way the lessons are set up, you watch a portion of the DVD, pause it, and do the work on your computer screen, then return to the DVD. It would be optimal to be able to watch it on a TV with laptops for the children, but again, it was very little trouble to watch it on our MAC with the DVD player screen taking up only about 1/4 of the computer screen, which left plenty of space for the Text Edit and Browser windows.

I really like things that don't require a lot of set-up time and/or extra programs~ Keep It Simple Sweetie (KISS) is one of my favorite phrases, and I think that Web Design For Kids does an admirable job.

DD and DS both have been having a lot of fun switching things up with text and color. DD has exclaimed that learning HTML is a lot of fun, and both of them are asking when they can work on their web pages again.... :)

Brian Richardson is not only a good teacher, he is determined to be a blessing to others. You can check out the charities that he is committed to donating to with a portion of all proceeds from Web Design for Kids

The Original DVD price is $40, but for a limited time, a "Summer Special Price" of $19.99 + $3.99 S&H is being offered.

Once your kids finish with this DVD, they are very likely going to be clamoring for more, if they are anything like mine.... so it's nice to know that there is a 2nd DVD in the works. Here is a hint of a few of the topics that will be covered...

-Javascripts
-Embedding Games
-Embedding YouTube Videos
-Sounds
and more.......

So you have time to get going with the first one,

and stay tuned for more fun!

Oh, and if you want to be sure that it isn't just my kids (quirky? Not too much, I don't think....at least not too much more than mom... ;^} ) that enjoy this... check out some of the other TOS Crew reviews.... Web Design for Kids appears to get a thumbs up from a bunch of folks!

Blessings~

GrapeVine Studies Old/New Testament Overviews Level 3

This one one of my favorite "Summer Reviews", for more than one reason.....

We were given our choice of a number of GrapeVine Studies Bible Studies. I chose the Old Testament Overview Level 3, which looks like it will be a great option for my DD, now that she has "aged out" of AWANA (Except for helping as a leader....). We are both excited to have a gentle, chronological study of the major points of the Old Testament, and to have memory verses to go along with (OK, so maybe Mom is more excited about that than DD... ;) .. we shall see...)

Student Guide Teacher's Guide for Levels 3 &4

The Bible study starts with an "Overview" Timeline of the entire Old Testament. The timeline is printed on 9 pages with on average 5 or so events/characters being stick-figured. I did discover that there is a slight difference between levels 3 and 4 in the student book, and that is that the Books of the OT are placed chronologically underneath the timeline in level 4. I think it would be great to include that in level 3 as well.... (You may hear why a little later...)

Once you get through the "Overview" of the timeline, it's time to dig right in to the Bible study, starting with Genesis 1:1. Each lesson starts with a review page of the previous 3 lessons' timeline events and their memory verses. The next two pages contain the current Scripture reading, broken down into about 3 stick-figure illustrations per page, with a set of review questions at the end. The last page contains instructions to make a "memory card" or potential "Flash card" of the lesson, and the memory verse(s) for that lesson.

Definitely a curriculum that touches on all three learning styles...
1. Hear the Scripture
2. See the stick figures that Mom or Dad draws on a white board/chalkboard or paper for the student to....
3. Copy onto their own papers.

The lesson is further "Reviewed" through the questions, which I like to do orally, and then going slightly tactile again, creating the "memory card", and writing down the memory verse. This could be a lot of writing/drawing if you tackle it all in one day, but broken down into 4 or 5 days, it is really quite simple. Oh, and you don't have to be a fine artist... the teacher's manual contains simple stick figures for you to draw, and your student(s) to copy. If you can draw a circle and some lines, you're good to go!

I have to take a minute here to tell you a little bit of a story, that is the basis for my excitement about THIS study, THIS summer, in particular.

For the second year in a row, we have hosted a young Japanese exchange student in our home for almost a month. My brother is a coordinator for this program, and has arranged for the hosts that are Christians to have Japanese Bibles to give to their visiting students. Nice idea, yes?

Last year our student came with us to church, and we managed to help her find her way around the Bible for some Children's Church-type lessons (her English wasn't very fluent, so we decided that it would be better to have object lessons and Scripture than to have her sit through the adult sermon... one of the benefits of a tiny church... personalize what's happening to the congregation and/or visitors), but I don't think she was very interested. We thought it was a good sign that she took the Bible with her, but really felt like we were just sprinkling a few seeds, and who knows the condition of the soil.

This year, with the GrapeVine Bible study needing to be used and reviewed, I decided to wait to start until our visitor (K) was with us. We picked her up on a Saturday, we gave her the Japanese Bible on that Sunday, and started in on the Old Testament Timeline Overview (level 3) on Monday morning. It's recommended that you take 2 weeks to go through a quick overview of the whole timeline, hitting all of the major events and people in the OT, so that is exactly what we did.

Being a homeschooling mom, and being by nature a "Tweaker", this is what we did... I printed up the timeline 2 to a page, cut them down to uniform size, and taped the whole thing together, then rolled it up like a scroll. Every day we unrolled one page and stick-figured the stories/events. I also went through and added the verses that coordinated with the stories from the actual future lessons, because I wanted (K) to have the ability to find them in her Bible when she went back to Japan.

Right before we ended the Old Testament Timeline Overview I asked (K) if she was enjoying it, and finding it interesting. She said yes, and by the smile on her face, I could tell it was true. (BTW, it was fun watching her write the names of the books in the references in Japanese... :D but this is where I would have liked to have them already printed, like I mentioned at the beginning of this review... might have made it a little easier...) I had a bit of a "light-bulb" moment, and thought "Wouldn't it be GREAT if we could give her an overview of the New Testament as well.. after all, that is the GOOD NEWS that we want to share.
I emailed Dianna at Grapevine to see if she would be so kind as to send me the timeline overview for the New Testament as well. It would have been perfectly fine and understandable if she had declined, but she was very gracious and promptly sent me the New Testament Overview Teacher's Manual and the Level 4 student manual. Thank you Dianna! I pray that (K) will be ETERNALLY grateful for your gracious generosity!

The last week and 1/2 that (K) was with us, I would go in to say "Good Morning" to the girls, and I would find her reading her Japanese Bible! When I mentioned it quietly to DD, she told me that (K) would read it at night before she went to sleep, unless she was totally exhausted by the day. All I can say is "What a great way to "go on a missions trip" in your own home!"

We didn't quite finish the New Testament Timeline quick Overview before she left, but I printed up a copy of the completed stick figuring from the teacher's manual, with the corresponding verses written in, so that she could finish when she returned home.

I understand that this wasn't entirely the intent behind this Bible study, but in this case, it certainly what God intended. I have no idea what the future holds for (K), but I know that she has appeared to be very fertile soil, and that GrapeVine Bible Studies were an excellent tool for planting the seeds of the Good News. I would recommend this for use with your own children, but I would also highly recommend its use as a way to introduce the Bible to anyone that is YOUR mission field, whether a foreign exchange student, or kids from the Fresh Air program, or your local Sunday School.

So a little more "General information"~
The OT and NT Overviews are offered in many levels, appropriate from age 5 through adult. There are also a number of other, individual, more in-depth studies available(Like Biblical Feasts and the Book of Esther), some of which were reviewed by members of the TOS Crew, so be sure to drop by the blog and check them out!

So, how much does it cost? The prices regularly range from $22.95 for the student ebook to $45.95 for a color Teacher's edition of the OT Overview. The smaller studies are regularly priced as low as $6.95, for the student ebook, depending on which study you choose. You will also notice that I said "range" because there are a number of formats from which to choose. There are ebooks, soft-bound books, and 3-hole punched for both the student and the teacher. There are benefits to each format, and you can decide what suits your situation. There are also sales and "Dent and Ding" discounts to be had, if you are needing to watch your penny's very carefully. AND... just for reading through this review, and bearing with my "Story" that I just had to share, GrapeVine Studies is offering TOS Crew readers a 30% discount on all their books through September 30 with the code: crew9

If all of this has whet your appetite, I encourage you to head over to GrapeVine Studies, check out some of their samples, sign up for their e-newsletter, and see what is in store for you and your family.

Blessings~

The Quarter Mile Math/Barnum Software

Looking for math drills/practice options that are fun?
Do you have a student that enjoys a challenge, or competition?
Interested in a reasonably priced computer option?

If you answer yes to any of these questions, you may want to check out Barnum Software's The Quarter Mile Math. You may already be familiar with this software, but if you haven't checked them out lately, I should let you know there is something NEW!

Previously, your ONLY option was to purchase the one or more of the CD programs and install on your computer(s). Since the CD is required to run the program, you were only able to have one student using it at a time.

Now, Barnum Software is offering a new DELUXE version that utilizes a reasonably priced subscription service with an online connection. With the Deluxe version, the software can be installed on any/all of your computers (including Grandma's so that when the kids visit, they can still practice math/show off their math skills, etc...), AND if you have more than one computer, you can have more than one child using the software at the same time. They can even enter tournaments and "Compete" with one another(or even compete with Grandma... :D ) The Deluxe version also includes all 70,000+ problems in the entire product line, covering grades K-9, so they can practice at exactly the level they need. OH, and it doesn't require your child to go on the web, it just utilizes the connection... NICE!



If you haven't heard of The Quarter Mile Software, I should back up a minute and give you a quick overview....
The Quarter Mile Software is a math practice program that kids tend to love. The visual concept is a quarter mile "drag race" (cars) or "run" (horses*). There are 5 competitors in each race, with your child's current race being the farthest left. When they start each race in a given topic (of which there are 323 total, from K-9th grade), the child's car or horse is racing against "Fast Eddie". Each correct answer accelerates the car or horse in the race against the others. With each race, Fast Eddie is replaced with your child's times, until finally they are racing entirely against their 5 top scores. Got that? Here's a link with more information on how the program works, along with an instructive video that showcases the program.

Just to give you an idea of the topics included, here is a range:
Numbers and letters

• Keyboarding (1- digit and 2-digit numbers, the alphabet and double consonants)
• Learning the alphabet, counting, greater than, less than, place value

Whole Numbers

• Grouping, doubling, Halving, Twins and Neighbors
• Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division
• Missing Numbers/ Operators
• Rounding, Squares, Mean, Mode, Median

Fractions
Decimals
Percents
Estimation Preparation, Estimation
Math Strategies
Intergers Equations

There is a lot to be covered and drilled in here! Excellent! (Want to see the whole list? Here is a PDF file to download)
They also have a list of state standards and correlations that can be downloaded.

If you would like to try before you buy, there is a demo version available with 12 topics to test.

There is only one caveat that I need to mention~ If you are running a newer MAC (ie... MAC OS10.5 or higher, or a MAC running with an Intel Processor)that doesn't include the "Classic" environment then this software isn't an option for you. Thankfully, I have purposefully not upgraded my MAC because I knew that I wouldn't be able to run any number of my educational programs that require "Classic". If you are on a Windows machine, then you are good to go.

So... what is the cost of this program?
The "Deluxe version" is a subscription that covers your entire family. There are three options available:

• $2.95 per family per month
• $19.95 per family for one year (save $15.45 over one year) and
• $34.95 per family for two years (save $35.85 over two years).

The Standard CD-Rom Versions are available in the following options

• Levels 1 (k-3rd), 2 (4th-6th), and 3(6th-9th) are $ $39.95 each
• Bundles of Levels 1&2 OR 2&3 are $64.95 each
• Bundle of all 3 levels is $89.95

One more thing... the folks at Barnum Software listen to suggestions! They have added a section just for homeschoolers.

• Personally, I like the "Approachable-ness" of this vendor (Willingness to listen to suggestions, good communication, reasonable/affordable pricing).
• My children enjoy the race aspect, trying to beat their own best times.
• We all like the option to compete against each other in "tournaments". (Or rather, at this point, they like the challenge or trying to reach the goals I've set with my races.. ;) )
  

Check out that demo, and see if this will work for your family! If you want to try it out further, a one month subscription for $2.95(no strings attached!) should give you an even better feel for whether this would be a good fit for your homeschool.

OH, and here's a SPECIAL OFFER, just for readers of the TOS Crew Blogs....
Use the Referral Code 7Z7A7 to get $5 off any product--Standard or Deluxe.
There is a place to input this code on the order forms.
This Referral Code will be good until September 30.

Blessings~


*horses note~ These are not jockey-ridden race horses, but rather horses running free in a meadow, for those that might be concerned about horse-racing connotations. :)

Sense and Sensibility: Girls Edwardian Apron E-pattern

Being a "Sometimes" sewer, with very little formal instruction beyond one year of 4-H when I was about 12 or 13.... I jumped at the opportunity to review Sense and Sensibility's e-pattern/e-class bundle for a Girls' Edwardian Apron.



I figured that it would be mostly simple lines, and not too many pieces to put together, so worth a shot.

Here's how it went:

• We watched the instructional slide-show (PDF "Slides" that follow an MP3 audio)I didn't get to watch it all, because "dinner" called, but DD watched while I was cooking.... she found it helpful to have everything described, and commented "We can watch it again, if we need to, right?" Yup!
  
• Printed up the pattern (25 sheets of regular 8.5X11 paper... I recommend printing on the "Economy setting" if your printer has one. Here's a tip.... we used "Scrap" paper to print the pattern on... that is, paper on which we've already used one side. Rather than throwing it out, I have a drawer for "Recycling" the paper, and using the back-side as well.. so "Scrap" paper)
• Read the e-pattern instructions.

Time to put the e-pattern together: 40 minutes

• We laid it out on the floor

• Taped it together using our storm door as a "light-box" to match up the lines on each page. DH came home to the "Apron sides" on the door, and was wondering what "THAT" was.... hoping it wasn't a broken window... ;)

• Cut out the individual pieces(15 minutes), and on to cutting the material(45 minutes to iron and cut)!

All told, it took about 4 hours to sew and 6 hours total to put it together, but keep in mind that some of that time was "instructional", since DD hasn't used a machine much... so between using pins, 1/4" bias tape, and hopping up to iron pieces, the amount of time wasn't unreasonable(Although a bit longer than I had planned).

Keep in mind, if you are planning to use the pattern more than once, the 4o minutes or so of piecing the paper together only need to be done once.

Here are some pics of how it turned out... We chose to make the size 14, so that DD can wear it for a number of years... and hey, Mom can even grab it quick if she needs to... ;)

Here are my thoughts regarding an e-pattern:
Pros:

• You can keep it on your computer, or a zip drive, storage is a snap!
• You can scale it to size for doll patterns
• You can transfer it easily to interfacing for a more durable pattern if you plan to make more than one or two aprons

Cons:

• It takes awhile to piece the paper pattern together, but considering that it really only took about 40 minutes, it wasn't that bad
• There were a few places where one has to use common sense to make the pieces line up, possibly due to printer vagaries....

Finally, the cost:
$24.95 for the bundle of the e-class and e-pattern, they are available seperately:
e-pattern $7.95
e-class $19.95
and for those who don't want to think about the pros and cons of an e-pattern, there is a hard copy version available for $12.95

One of *my* favorite things about doing this review: Because I had a deadline, my daughter now has a new apron... I have to work on "Getting around to" more things like this... what a lovely sense of accomplishment!

To see what other TOS reviewers had to say about their experiences with Sense and Sensibility's Girls' Edwardian Apron, please visit the TOS Crew Blog

Blessings~