Keyboarding for the Christian School

My goodness, when I was in school, and in 7th grade, "Keyboarding" (or rather "Typing" back then) wasn't offered until High School. However, with today's "electric culture", and the rampant use of what I will call "Text slang" (ie... gr8, when will i c u, l8r? ) it could be highly beneficial to start your children on "keyboarding" skills earlier rather than later. ;)

To this end, the TOS Crew was provided with with free copies and asked to review either "Keyboarding for the Christian School, Revised Edition" (grades 6 and up $15.95) and/or "Keyboarding for the Christian School, Elementary Edition" (grades k-5 $12.95), by Leanne Beitel.
(*Note: There is a sale currently with a bundle of both titles for $22, and there is a coupon code for $5 off a $12.95 purchase through February 28, 2010 ... I'm not sure how long the Bundle sale is going on, but this would give you both titles for $17.... click on either picture below to go to the website)


My 7th-grader has been using the older version and now that my 4th grader is mostly recovered from his tonsillectomy, and getting back into the swing of things, I think that I will have him work on the "Elementary Version" of this course as well.

So~ What are my thoughts on this program? I generally don't list my "Cons" first, but in this case, since there really is only one, I'll get it out of the way.
Generally speaking, there are more fun ways to learn to use the actual letters on the keyboard, (I'm thinking online/computer programs) but if you prefer to use a "print" program versus a computer program, and would like to have strictly Christian text, etc..., then this is a very good choice

However, what I am finding very useful are the lessons on various formatting skills. Here is a list of those covered (from the table of contents) in the Regular version: (The Elementary Version only covers a portion of these, as can be expected)

• Enumerated Lists
• Tab Key
• MLA Reports
• APA Reports
• Cover Page
• Works Cited
• Bibliography
• Personal-Business Letters
• Business Letters
• Envelopes
• Proofreader’s Marks
• Timed Writings
• Timing Scale

Each lesson contains directions for formatting and computer screenshots to illustrate and or clarify the desired result and/or process. The samples for typing are all reasonable, wholesome, texts, with an overtly Christian tone. (I think the APA Academic Report Lesson would be a little "heavy" for my Middle-schooler, but your mileage may vary.) I remember typing class in high school, and the samples we had to type often bordered on either the ridiculous, or the irritating, so this is a nice change.

I am very thankful to have been allowed to review this program, because although it doesn't contain "bells and whistles", it seems to me to be a good, solid practical program for learning the keyboarding/typing skills (particularly "formatting skills") that will last a lifetime( and as a bonus, it should presumably be worth at least .5 credits for a high school transcript! GREAT!)

If you would like to check out some samples, they are available at the "Freebie" tab on the main page, and if you would like to see what other TOS Crew members had to say about their cruise with this typing program, please hop on over to the TOS Crew Blog, and check out some other reviews.

As always, I hope that this review was helpful to you as you make choices about what purchases will best suit your family. Blessings~