The Pencil Grip Inc. Thin Stix (Art supply review!) cool no-mess paints!

A couple of years ago I did a review for The Pencil Grip Inc. , reviewing their Kwik Stix Tempera Paint Sticks around Christmas time. We had a couple of fun projects we did with them, so if you didn't read that review, be sure to go check it out later. This spring the TOS Homeschool Review Crew has been sent their newest product to review, the Thin Stix 6pk of Classic Colors. As I mentioned in my first Kwik Stix review, the original product is reminiscent of a glue stick in shape and form. While a lot of fun to work with, they lacked the ability for adding finer detail, so I was delighted with the opportunity to check out their Thin Stix cousins.

One of the main benefits to the Kwik Stix line is that they truly are paint in an almost mess free form. No spills and drips, and they dry in 90 seconds (the only negative to that is if you are trying to blend two colors, you have to work FAST! :) ).

My college-aged daughter and I enjoyed playing with the new Thin Stix, and experimenting with a few things.

I used the original Kwik Stix to draw the outlines of the flower and the leaves, the thin stix to draw the detailed lines on the petals and the leaves, as well as the black "pointillism" center.

This picture was drawn almost exclusively with the thin stix~ I wonder if you can figure out where I used the thicker original Kwik Stix???

Here I was experimenting with layering~ Using the white Kwik Stix over the tree trunk on the top "vine" to see if it eliminated the transparency of the bottom two lines~ worked pretty well, don't you think?

My daughter drew these flowers mostly with the Thin Stix~ she ended up using the very edge of the original Kwik Stix to make the orange lines~ definitely much easier to use the Thin Stix overall.

My son used the Thin Stix for a project that I've been wanting him to try for a while, a
3-D hand picture. The Thin Stix were ideal for this project as the lines to fill in with color end up being pretty skinny. He enjoyed using the Stix for this instead of a marker or pencil, as the coverage makes it very nice to look at.

One other project that I did just a bit of was using the Thin Stix on large wooden popscicle sticks. We had seen the idea of making a "deck of cards" out of these as an easier way for smaller hands to hold a bunch of "cards" and still be able to see them all, for games like go fish, crazy eights, and more.

 

I think this would be a neat way to create some math "flash cards" as well, to practice basic operations. You could even decorate them and glue magnets on the back to give as gifts to moms and dads, grandparents and more.

Not So Nutty Nitty Gritty 

• Company: The Pencil Grip Inc. 
• Product: Thin Stix 6pk of Classic Colors 
• Ages: Clearly, I think this is a great product for all ages! :) 
• Price: $8.49 

You can visit The Pencil Grip Inc. on their social media pages: Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. 

Please click the banner below to visit the TOS Homeschool Review Crew and see what others had to say. As always, I hope that this review was useful to you as you choose where best to spend your homeschool budget.

Blessings~

#hsreviews   #MessFreeCreativity    #ThinStix

New Year, New Beginnings, New Beginner's Bible! (Review)

I don't know about you, but in our house we have always enjoyed a good storybook Bible for our children. Each of our kids has grown up with nightly Bible stories, and in fact, my youngest refused to go to sleep (no matter what the time) unless we read "Bible." 

He's a little old for our latest review, the 25th Anniversary edition of The Beginner's Bible from Zonderkidz, but he has a young friend with whom he is excited to share this Bible. 

This is a revamped version with updated artwork and a colorful cover. The text is simple and while not entirely an independent "Beginning Reader," it is a good version to read with a beginning reader, assisting with words that are more difficult and harder to decode, while offering confidence boosting success with a majority of easy-to-read text. 

It is never to early to begin reading stories taken from the Bible about God's love, protection, and the Good News of Jesus' Birth, Life, Death and Resurrection. Each story is treated "gently" with the young sensibilities in mind, which I definitely appreciate.

25 years ago if you purchased The Beginner's Bible you had a great Bible Storybook with colorful (if somewhat silly to the adult eye, but very popular through a child's visual filter) illustrations. In and of itself a very good thing. A quarter of a century later, however, things have changed, and multi-media is the norm. In keeping with that, The Beginner's Bible now offers both a website and an iPad app.

The webpage has a boatload of resources to enhance your child's Bible Reading experience, and includes the following: 

40 Coloring Pages 

3 Search and Find Activity Pages

6 Drawing Activity Pages (Some as simple as adding an item to the drawing, others asking the child to draw something on their own)

8 Maze Activity Pages

4 Let's Read Together Activities (Rebus Style)

1 Connect the Dots

1 Crossword Puzzle

5 Matching Activity Sheets

8 Writing Sheets (Copywork) 

The iPad app is intended mostly for children under the age of 5. The first story pack of 6 stories is free, and includes the narrated stories, coloring pages, puzzles and a game. Additional story packs are available for $1.99 each, or the complete Bible is available for $19.99. 

On looking over the Bible, some of the things my Youngest thinks his friend will particularly enjoy: 

It will be a good Bible for my friend, and I think he will like it. The pictures are colorful and the stories are a good length for reading right before bed.

Additional information: There is also a Curriculum Kit which is intended for Sunday School use, and covers 30 of the 90+ stories in the Bible. You can check out sample lessons and see if this would be a good value for your family or church.

Not So Nutty Nitty Gritty 

• Company: Zonderkidz
• Product: The Beginner's Bible
• Ages: 4-8
• Price: $16.99 (With bulk pricing available for orders of 10 Bibles or more, in case you are part of a ministry that would be interested in that)

You can visit Zonderkidz/Zondervan on Social Media: 

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, and Instagram

Please click the banner below to visit the Homeschool Review Crew and see what others had to say. As always, I hope that this review was useful to you as you choose where best to spend your homeschool budget.

Blessings~

#HSReview, #TheBeginnersBible, #FaithBuilding, #Zondervan, #childrensbible, #nonfiction

CHSH-Teach.com (Christian HomeSchool Hub) CHSH Download Club Annual Subscription (Review)

As a homeschool parent, Support Group Leader, Awana Leader, Church Musician, and general chauffeur to dance, baseball, youth-group, and any other activity, I don't have the time OR the energy to reinvent the wheel. I'm sure that many of you feel the same, and that's why sites like CHSH-Teach.com are such a boon to the busy homeschooling family. With over 50,000 pages of educational material, many homeschoolers are sure to find useful a number of ready-made worksheets, as well as forms and other pages to use for notebooking, lapbooks, journaling, and general portfolio-building.

While there are quite a few free resources available, in order to access the entire site, members of the TOS Review Crew were given an annual subscription the CHSH Download Club. In order to get a feel for the quantity of downloads available you may wish to peruse their catalog. You'll find the downloads organized in a few different ways:

By Subject:

• Arts, Music and Crafts
• Bible Related Resources
• Electives
• Health
• Language Arts
• Languages
• Math
• Science
• Social Studies

By Grade Level
Pre-K/Kindergarten
1st-3rd Grade
4th-8th Grade
9th-12th Grade (High School)

By Month (2 months at a time, with seasonal highlights)
General Organization and Classroom Helps
Miscellaneous including Curriculum Treasures from the Past, Fun Pages, and Lapbooking and Notebooking Units.

Sampling of some of the variety of pages/units available to download.

Because it was summertime during our review period, we weren't doing a lot of work that was required "extras," plus we spent two weeks on a cross-country road trip, so I actually mostly checked out some of the e-books available, rather than using worksheets.

I was intrigued by the "HomeEc" section of of the "Curriculum Treasures From the Past" and downloaded A Little Cookbook for a Little Girl. As many books printed around that time, the instruction comes in the form of a story about a young girl who wanted to learn to cook *now* not when she was older. Her mother, grandmother and aunts all work together to create a cookbook for her birthday with some of the "simple" recipes from their cookbooks.

How interesting (And what a history lesson) to read through this cookbook! While some recipes could be attempted today, some of them might be harder to alter, as the instructions are based on cooking over a fire, or possibly on a wood stove. I was also amazed at the recipes that were considered "simple" as some of them are nothing my graduate would like to attempt.

At any rate, it was a learning experience that gave a little glimpse into the practicalities of one of the basics of life (cooking) a little over a hundred years ago.
An excerpt discussing how to cook bacon. I especially love the way it ends... ;)
This is much nicer than bacon cooked in the fryingpan or over coals, for it is neither greasy nor smoky, but pink and light brown, and crisp and delicious, and good for sick people and little children and everybody.

I did take a peek at some of the other areas, and am sure that as we get our fall school schedule up and running there will be a number of useful items. These really only touch the very tiny tip of the iceberg as far as the pages available...

The Graphic Organizers file includes 80 different organizers as well as a number of examples, which is very helpful. There are generic organizers as well as author study sheets, graph paper, storyboards, language/grammar/writing organizers, science, reporting, and more. Pretty useful bunch of printables!

I was pleased to find a unit on Johnny Appleseed geared for upper elementary ages rather
than the usual first and second grade offerings. Johnny is a favorite of ours, as he shares a birthday with one of my sons, and got his start in Massachusetts. The unit found at CHSH-Teach.com has some information included that I had never read before, so will be new and interesting to my Youngest.


I am also looking over the High School World History course (Student textbook and Teacher manuals all available for download). School starts for us on Monday coming, so I haven't gotten that far with him just yet, but it looks very thorough. Part 1 covers 3100BC-1800's with 21 units and over 600 pages in the student text. The 242 page teacher manual includes Unit Focus, Suggestions for Enrichment, Unit Assessment, and Answer Keys for each unit.

I am very impressed with the quantity of resources presented on CHSH-Teach.com, and expect that I may find myself checking here first if looking for a resource for a specific topic.

Not So Nutty Nitty Gritty 

• Company: CHSH-Teach.com
• Product: CHSH Download Club  
• Ages: Resources to use for K-12
• Price: $25 Annually OR $99.99 Lifetime

Visit Christian HomeSchool Hub on the web at any of the following Social Media sites:
Facebook Group
Facebook Page
Twitter
Pinterest
Google+ Group
Google Business Page
Linked-In
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Please click the banner below to visit the TOS Review Crew and see what others had to say. As always, I hope that this review was useful to you as you choose where best to spend your homeschool budget.

Blessings~

"S is for Smiling Sunrise" Alphabet picture book (TOS Review Crew)

If you have a Pre-K - second or third grader, you might be interested in this latest item I received for review, S is for Smiling Sunrise, which is an ABC Picture book. In addition to the book, if you visit the WordsBright website, you can download a free Teacher's Guide (*Note: the Teacher's Guide comes in two levels Pre-K/K and K-3), and a free mp3 alphabet song.

This is a nice addition to any Alphabet Book collection (yes... I have one of those :)), and can be used with a variety of ages. Each letter of the alphabet is accompanied by an illustration and a rhyme. The rhymes are positive interpretations of things in the world around us, and celebrate goodness, beauty, and wonder. The first time we read this book, I had my 7 year old read it to me. Another time I read each letter/rhyme and asked youngest if he thought it was talking about goodness, beauty or wonder. Beauty and Wonder were often both his answer. It was a nice comprehension exercise which helped him think a little more critically about what we were reading.

Some of the letter rhymes offer a little art, others a little science, and a few emphasize character-training, or are more relational in nature. Almost all of them are good jumping off points for discussion.

If you have children on the younger range, there is a one page Parent's Guide with Pre-K recommendations to extend the learning. While a little young for my second grader, I personally felt that the Teacher's Guide could be most useful for the 4-6 year old range. It includes Concepts, Questions, Vocabulary and Activity suggestions for each letter/rhyme of the alphabet. If you do a "letter of the day" in your homeschool, this might be right up your alley!

No offense to the person singing the "S is for Smiling Sunrise" ABC song, but I didn't find it to be something that my children young or old would be interested in listening to. However, it was nice to hear the way the rhymes fit together in the traditional ABC tune, so that they can be sung at home.

When reading this book to my 2nd grader I have to admit that he wasn't overly excited about the concept. In his opinion, ABC books are for "little kids." However, once I explained to him that ABC books can be used to explore different topics, and show what you know about something he was much more willing to be a participant in listening and discussing.

Not So Nutty Nitty Gritty 

• Company: WordsBright
• Product: S is for Smiling Sunrise and Teacher's Guide (Free)
• Ages: Pre-K to 3rd(?) grade
• Price: Hardcover List price $16.95, ebook also available. Check your favorite online book seller for the current ebook price. 

Visit WordsBright on Facebook.

Please click the banner below to visit the TOS Review Crew and see what others had to say. As always, I hope that this review was useful to you as you choose where best to spend your homeschool budget.

Blessings~

BrainFood Learning Fascinating World of Mammals (DVD Review)

My children (as most children in my experience) are intrigued with animals, their behavior, and characteristics. This made the DVD Fascinating World of Mammals produced by BrainFood Learning an enjoyable and re-requested review item (at least for my 6 yo).

The DVD includes segments on the following Mammals: beaver, kangaroo, moose, dolphin, lion, giraffe, elephant, bat, chimpanzee, and bear. 

Each mammal receives a very nice overview, with photographs, illustrations and live action videos. The entire video has a background music track*, and the narrator speaks clearly, and pleasantly. 

Watching this DVD is kind of like watching an Encyclopedia entry come to life. The facts, interesting information and descriptions that you might read in an encyclopedia are all heard as you watch the videos and see the photos. This makes BrainFood Learning a very good option for those who have auditory and visual learners. 

After the informational segment is over, a vocabulary word is given, with a child giving the definition (Biped, vertebrate, etc...). These are things to pay attention to, because the final features of the video are review sections~ The review sections start on a very elementary level and increase incrementally in difficulty.

• Review #1 Mammal Flash Cards (1 minute, 22 seconds)
  Brief review of each of the mammals
• Review #2 Review the Mammals (2 minutes, 59 seconds)
  Multiple choice review
• Review #3 Features of a Mammal (1 minute, 36 seconds)
  Goes over the features that set mammals apart from other animals.
• Review #4 Review Mammal Facts (3 minutes, 15 seconds)
  Another multiple choice review question.
• Review #5 Review the Big Words (4 minutes, 18 seconds)
  The definition of one of the "Big Words" is given, with multiple choice answers provided.

BrainFood Learning has created a 5 day lesson plan pdf with printable lessons and quizzes. This is appropriate for elementary aged students, and includes reading,writing, and science. The worksheets are a nice addition for those who have children who thrive on that sort of assessment. 


*I discovered that *I* prefer to watch only one or two segments at a time rather than a straight run-through, because the constant music background eventually bothered me ~ I tend to like a little "space" for my ears to "breathe" if that makes any sense (Didn't seem to affect my kids tho', so this is just an "adult-listening-along-FYI").  

We enjoyed watching these videos, mostly from an educational standpoint, rather than from an entertainment standpoint. The video backed up individual facts learned at other points in my 6 year old's education, in a systematic fashion, which is also a good thing. 

Not So Nutty Nitty Gritty 

• Company: BrainFood Learning 
• Product: Fascinating World of Mammals
• Ages: appropriate for all ages
• Price: $14.99

Please click the banner below to visit the TOS Review Crew and see what others had to say. As always, I hope that this review was useful to you as you choose where best to spend your homeschool budget.

Blessings~

Wet-Dry-Try... What?

Home Screen

When the opportunity to review a new handwriting app rolled around I thought it might be a case of perfect timing, as youngest has been writing tags (Started with Christmas), and was *just* asking how to make a "3" and a "5" as he was making price tags for yard-sales and craft items (Enterprising little fellow :D).

Pick and Practice Screen

Handwriting Without Tears is a company name that I have heard mentioned frequently in my years as a homeschooling mom, but I have never gotten a close look at any of their products before. The app that we used for this review, the Wet-Dry-Try app, is based on the HWT Slate Chalkboard activity. Pretty nifty to have the activity without all the accompanying pieces (chalk, sponge, paper towel).

Winning Order Screen

The app covers numbers and uppercase letters. Once a user is set up, there are options to follow the HWT "Winning Order" or "Pick and Practice" depending on what one is trying to accomplish. What we did varied depending on the day. For "General use" we followed the "Winning Order," but if youngest was itching to know how to write a specific letter or numeral we went straight to Pick and Practice.

Getting ready to do the final "Try"
after the "Wet and the Dry"

The basic concept is that the specific letter or numeral is first drawn by the app, with a narrator who talks through the first writing of letter while it is drawn for the child. Next the child follows the chalk drawing with a "wet" sponge, and then a "dry" towel. There are settings to allow for easier or more challenging "Stroke Tolerance," which relates to how closely the child can follow the initial strokes. If they slip too far from the path there is a "Whoa! Let's try that again." prompt from the narrator.

Each letter must be "Traced" correctly 3 times at a minimum (wet, dry, try) before the child earns a star, and 3 stars must be earned before the child earns a colored in "letter card" for their chart. The third "Star" is earned with no prompts on how the letters or numerals are formed.

Yes! Here comes the twirling star!

The initial reaction the first day:
"I want to do this every day! "
"Listen to the lady, Mamma. She's like you! She's nice!" (Awwww.....)
He loved the number and letter cards.
(It drives me just a little nutty with the "You are smart!" comment. I'd prefer something like "That was great!" but hey~ different strokes for different folks... except when you're forming your letters... ;) )


Now, I do have to mention that we did have some technical difficulties to begin with when we first set up the app, which was rather unfortunate. With all the excitement of trying the new app (and his reactions quoted above) Youngest spent a fair amount of time going through the winning order, unlocking letters and earning stars. However, the app "glitched" and when we picked it up the next day, all of his progress was lost. :( After a few days, emails, and troubleshooting ideas from the good folk at HWT, the app finally started to behave.

*Troubleshooting tip: We had to delete and reinstall a couple of times before we got a "clean" install that wasn't corrupted... something to remember when having issues with apps in general~ when they aren't responding as expected they might have loaded incorrectly. I have also learned that I might want to "Try" certain "Reward-based" apps myself before handing them over to Youngest, to avoid disappearing disappointment.

See, Mom!
I have ALL the number cards! 

By and large, I am appreciating the ability to have Youngest work on letters and numerals that he is asking to write, or that I see need some work as I watch his writing, as well as the ability to go through sets of letters that are in a particular order, based on their formation. Youngest loves earning the stars and the Letter/Number cards~

Best of all, now when he starts to form a letter or number incorrectly, sometimes all it takes is a reminder of what how the wet-dry-try app  drew it to correct his strokes. Sounds like success to me! :)

Note, while I would like to see lowercase letters included, as that would seem to be a natural progression, I suspect that HWT does not use the slate for the lowercase practice, as it seems uniquely suited for uppercase and numeral work.

Not So Nutty Nitty Gritty 

• Company: Handwriting Without Tears 
• Product: Wet-Dry-Try app
• Ages: 4-8
• Price: $4.99

Please click the banner below to visit the TOS Review Crew and see what others had to say about this app, as well as reviews of the new editions of HWT Student books and Teacher guides for grades K-3. As always, I hope that this review was useful to you as you choose where best to spend your homeschool budget.

Blessings~

Disclaimer: I received this/these item(s)/service for free as part of the TOS Review Crew Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."