Melissa & Doug "Terrific Twenty List" and Giveaway

Yes~ it *IS* that time of year~ time to be thinking ahead, and picking up some fun things for the children in your life (Or for Toys For Tots, or some other such good cause). 

If you are not familiar with Melissa & Doug, they have been providers of quality children's gifts and toys since 1988 (and I have been purchasing their products pretty much from the start~ first as a nanny, and then as a mother :).
Many of the toys are "heirloom" wooden toys. My kids have all loved "cutting" the wooden bread and fruit and veggies, and my youngest, more recently has enjoyed "cooking" cupcakes and sugar cookies. They have expanded the line beyond wood to other Terrific Gifts like the tea set and cuddly lion you see pictured to the left. 

To help you with your shopping, Melissa & Doug has just published their list of the "Terrific Twenty"~ some great gifts to consider! To celebrate they are having a “20 Days of Terrific Twenty” Giveaway on their Facebook page! Every day (starting November 6)  they'll be giving away one item from their Terrific Twenty list to at least one of their Facebook fans! So go visit Melissa & Doug on facebook to enter to win a gift every day (Until my birthday! Imagine that! :D)  from the Terrific Twenty list. 
 
In addition to Melissa and Doug's Facebook giveaway, they are offering me the opportunity to give away one item from the Terrific  Twenty list here on my blog! I have chosen to give away the "My Own Mailbox" pretend play set, as it follows the great Melissa & Doug tradition of open-ended, re-useable pretend play. This is also the toy my 15 year old thought I should give away~ seeing that the children in our neighborhood have over the years (Starting with her) been obsessed with playing post-office, and sending each other mail~ she thought it would have been fun to have this, as opposed to a shoe box!

From the website:
Everyone likes getting letters! Sending and receiving "mail" is even more fun with this toy mailbox, complete with a bright red flag. The sturdy wooden box comes with letter and number stickers so kids can decorate it with their name, address or a special message. The hinged door opens to make room for two postcards and a ruled letter and envelope, all reusable with the wipe-clean crayons that come with the set. Need even more inspiration? Drawing activities and play ideas are included to keep this letter box filled with creative correspondence and lots of fun!

My Own Mailbox Classic Toy

Item # : 4089

Price: $19.99

Dimensions: 7.87" x 7" x 4" Assembled
Recommended Ages: 4+ years


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blessings~

Disclaimer: I received an item of my choice for free as a thank you for getting the word out for Melissa & Doug. 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."

Apologia Journeys of Faithfulness

One of my all-time favorite Homeschool "how-to"/"inspiration" books is "Educating the Whole-Hearted Child" by Clay and Sally Clarkson (I reviewed the updated version of this last fall, which you can read by clicking the link). However, I had not read any of the books written by their daughter Sarah, so I was pleased to be given the chance to review her devotional book for young ladies, Journeys of Faithfulness, published by Apologia.

The goal of Journeys of Faithfulness is to use accounts from the lives of Mary and Martha, Mary the mother of Jesus, Esther, and Ruth to encourage our daughters in their walk with Christ. The style and format is a little different from what we are used to.

Each chapter starts with a "Historical Fiction" account from the Bible~ Sarah takes the Scripture, and fleshes out conversations and emotions as they might have been, reading between the lines.

From there Sarah shares a personal account~ painting a word picture of how she came to see a Spiritual Truth, and allow God to work in her life.

Following that is a short Bible Study that directs the reader to 3-4 Scriptures followed by personal application questions.

The last bit of each chapter contains a few blank pages for journaling.

Our take~
While "Biblical Fiction" is something that my daughter has enjoyed in the past, she didn't feel that it worked very well in this devotional book~ She felt that the selections were a little too long for a "Daily reading" that wasn't actually Scripture.

The personal account section is headlined as a "devotional," but I have a hard time using that term for  a 2-3 page story. To me a devotional is short and to the point, while emphasizing scripture. I felt that these would be more reasonably considered slightly chatty (which I like) "Inspirational applications," but not devotionals.

The Bible Study portions are probably my daughter's least favorite aspect~ she is a black and white "What does the Bible Say?" sort of girl, who doesn't like to answer the "What do you think this means for your life?" sort of questions. However, her best friend would probably love that aspect!  Hmmmm~ we need to work a little more on application! ;)

I do have to say that it was a little difficult to figure out how to approach each chapter~ My suggestion was: The Longish Historical Fiction reading on day 1, The "Devotional" on Day 2, and spend Days 3+ on the Scriptures and questions (With journaling, if so desired~ not a regular occurrence in our home). We never got into a good "flow" with it, but that is most likely a personal method issue.

At the moment, I think that we have determined that this sort of study is not Eldest's favorite style, but perhaps we'll give it a try again sometime down the road, because the content is good! I'd also like to see Sarah try her hand at a Biblical Novel, and a stand-alone book of "Inspirational Stories" from her life, as I think those would work well. :)

You can download the Table of Contents, and a Sample Chapter to see if this might be a good fit for your family~


Not So Nutty Nitty Gritty 

• Company: Apologia
• Product: Journeys of Faithfulness (stories of life and faith for young christian women)
• Ages: Girls 12+
• Price:$13.00

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~

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."

K-8 Science labs (In bags?) and a Travel Binder!

A few years ago I participated in a "Preschool Activities in a Bag" swap with about 20 other homeschooling families. Does that sound familiar? Have you heard of Activity Bags ?

Let me tell you a little bit about the swap process. The basic gist is this: A main coordinator sent out instructions for each participant to put together 20 copies of the same activity, each in a gallon zip-loc bag. The bags were then sent to the coordinator who assembled them into boxes with 20 different activities for each person and sent them back out.When the box came back, there were many activities to help keep my preschooler busy while his siblings worked on their school-work with me. Sometimes they became a ready-to-go activity to pull out and use with him on a regular basis, and a few were good options to bring with us in the car when heading out to visit his grandfather.

Well, the ladies of Activity Bags have moved beyond the preschool crowd, and have some new offerings for children aged K-8th grade. The TOS Review Crew received a variety of products to review. I was sent the all 3 Science Experiments in a Bag ebooks (You can click on each image to be brought to their product page) as well as the  Travel Activities in a Binder ebook.

Now there are a couple of ways to approach these activities. One is to organize a swap with local families (saves on shipping) OR with cyber-friends. The other is just to put the activities together on your own.

Benefits to the Swap~ 

• ONE shopping trip, with a short list!  
• You pull together a large quantity of the same items for ONE project (It's kind of the same concept as "Freezer cooking" ~ cheaper to buy "in bulk"... ;)  )
• Simpler to produce one activity "Assembly Line" style.
• Fun to get mail
• Sense of "community"
• A bunch of activities all prepped and ready to go, with minimal labor (Because of the assembly -line nature of the swap)
• Mostly ready for kids to "Grab and Go"

Benefits to putting the activities together on your own~ 

• If space is an issue, it is useful to just use these as "Resource" books, and do each activity as they fit into your studies~ Pick and choose
• No deadline for a swap
• No postage

Cons (In comparison to the Swap)

• No deadline for a swap ;) (deadlines help things get done!)
• No set "All ready" to go bags, unless you choose to spend a day putting everything together yourself (Which is something I would do if I had more space...)
• More items to purchase and pull together~ takes more time
• Might be more costly when not purchasing in larger quantities

You might have guessed how we are approaching the Science Activities in a Bag at this point in time~ more as a resource to use with my Middlest's Science Activities, with Littlest tagging along, as usual (And since these are intended for ages K-8th grade, this is perfect!). The main reason is that I currently don't have a space for a bunch of pre-made science experiments in bags in a box. However, as soon as I can carve out a spot (Because, honestly, they don't take up THAT much space!), I will be assembling a few of these puppies, and letting Middlest take control of which labs he's doing for each lesson, rather than just pulling them up one at a time.

On with my method of the moment~ I printed up the page for each book that categorizes the experiments (Indoor/Outdoor, Biology, General Science, or Chemistry in Book 1,  Indoor/Outdoor, Chemistry, Human Body, General Science in Book 2, and Indoor/Best Outside for Book 3 which is all Chemstry) as well as the "Experiments at a Glance" for each book. I printed these "4 to a page" so that I pretty much have just one sheet/book. This makes it easy for me to find an appropriate experiment for my son's Chemistry lessons this year.

We're coordinating these with the Creek Edge Press science cards that the Crew reviewed last fall (I purchased Chemistry for this year, so that Middlest and Eldest would be studying the same branch of science in 2013... :) ), which works out well. The cards generally include instructions to "do a lab" that relates to the topic, but the labs aren't prepared or even really suggested~ it's up to the student (or teacher) to find the labs. These experiments are... labs! :) They are fun, and they are easily done with household items.

Some of the experiments are tried and true, you'll be familiar with them (volcano, anyone?), and others are less common (I had never thought of making a garbage viewer so that the composting process is visible, but that one is right up my 5 year old's alley~ however, I'm waiting for spring to try that one!). 

Which reminds me~ The beauty of a swap (or having a dedicated science box with the bags prepared) with the Science Experiments in a Bag is that the majority of the materials required will already be pulled together for you~ so there is no excuse for not getting that science done! :D

I have an idea for the experiments that we don't use in our Chemistry study this year~ I think they would make a great "Idea box" for summer activities~ pull the bags together, and have a ready-to-go activity for the summer (That indoor/outdoor chart is very helpful here as well). Might make a pretty awesome present as well, presented in a nice sturdy plastic box for the science-loving child in your life!

Now for the other ebook that I was sent, Travel Activities in a Binder ebook.
This book is a little different in that the activities are all printed pages to be put in sheet protectors, and then in a 1 inch binder with a pencil pouch and dry-erase markers.  Activities are included that all ages can play together: From Tic-Tac-Toe to Connect-the-Dots and Hangman (We're changing ours to a "Ladybug" game, as my children object to Hangman....), Scavenger Hunts and "Mad-Libs" style pages, Geography-type games, "Travel Bingo" games, a variety of mazes (For a variety of abililities) and more.

I love doing this one on my own because each child can have a personalized binder of their own, with pages that are appropriate for their ages and interests. When we take long car trips my kids have always enjoyed participating in  creative travel games, but we're always rummaging for paper for whatever activity they choose to do, not to mention pencils and pens. I love the fact that with Travel Activities In A Binder, everything is reusable (For instance, I can't tell you how many "Dot game boards" or Tic-Tac-Toe boards I've drawn by hand....and then thrown away when the game was finished... How nice to have ONE in each book... pre-made and REUSABLE!!!)

We haven't actually USED them in the car as of yet, because we haven't been on any trips in the past few weeks (or even reasonably long car rides...), but I anticipate that this will help to keep those back-of-seat car pockets a little more organized (With pencil pouches in the notebooks.... pens and pencils shouldn't drift to the bottom of the seat pocket, and random sheets of paper won't be getting crunched), as well as providing some non-electronic, good old-fashioned fun and entertainment for our next road trip! If that road trip happens to be to visit family without younger kids, the binders may go into the house to help occupy the littlest, at any rate, and/or help him to engage with his older relatives!

I love that Travel Activities in a Binder is a more convenient and less wasteful version of what we were already doing a little bit, with more variety added in.

Not So Nutty Nitty Gritty 

• Company: Activity Bags 
• Product: Travel Activities in a Binder ebook, Science Experiments in a Bag ebook 1 ,  Science Experiments in a Bag ebook 2 ,   Science Experiments in a Bag ebook 3, 
• Ages: Travel Activities~widely varied (Come on, adults, you know you like playing the dot-game, right? ;D) Science Experiments K-8
• Price: $15 individually (Science Experiments books 1 & 2 can be purchased as a bundle for $27)

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~

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."

Thanksgiving~ Day 2

Well..... I'm going to share more than just one thing I'm thankful for today~

The fact that although we still haven't turned on the furnace (And it's getting chilly up here in the North East!), we can bundle up with cozy slippers and sweaters and fingerless gloves, and unlike some of my friends just to the south, we have electricity that can run a space heater in the living room if we want, an oven that can help heat the house if I'm baking something, and a refrigerator that isn't in danger of thawing and spoiling. Not to mention the fact that I can sit here with my computer plugged in, and still reach out to the rest of the world online (We don't have smart phones, so no electricity means no outside communication).  I'm thankful for electricity (and the linemen who restore it as quickly as humanly possible), so I can easily enjoy a cup of hot coffee, among so many other things.

Of course, because it is still so new and amazing to us that the missing-for-4-months-dress has appeared, it is still towards the front of our minds as well. I wrote a quick note on various Irish Dance Forums (ones that I had posted to about the dress in early October), and was blessed by the response of one person (who has no clue who we are.... they live somewhere in "Mid-America" I think): I was having a really rough day, but reading this happy ending was quite uplifting. I'm so happy things have worked out for you! (NT) -- the little things, for today.

So often we only post or speak up when things are wrong~ made me really glad that I took the time to let people (Even those who I don't know, and likely will never meet) know the good news~ it made a difference in someone's day, and their response made a difference in mine! I'm thankful for people who take time to show appreciation, and make a quick, positive comment.
Taking time to share the good news today leads me really, to what I am always the most thankful for, day in and day out~
The Gospel~ translated literally, The Good News


Although "Life is tough" , "God *is* Good." The One who created us and loves us wants to be in a right relationship with us. As we look towards the Joy and Excitement of Advent and Christmas, may we never forget that the reason the Child was born, was to become the Man who would make a way to reconcile us to His Father forever~ Everlasting Joy!

Embedding has been disabled, but here's the song by Randy Stonehill that I was thinking of as I started this last bit ~ Life is Tough, God is Good ~ you have to listen to the whole thing, tho', to get to the Good News. ;)

Blessings~

Thankfulness, Day 1

 Sometimes.... just sometimes.... the very things that cause us stress are things for which to be thankful! Now I could go in a million different directions with this, but for today I will be thankful for a dress....

 That finally arrived........

 And arrived safely......

 And brings joy that lifts her off the ground! :)

Blessings~

The Sugar Creek Gang (Adventurous Audio Books)

Back when my father was a youngster, family entertainment included gathering around the radio to hear dramatized versions of all kinds of stories (With mysteries tending to be the favored genre, from what I've heard). Today the radio tends to be all music or all news/talk (with only the occasional children's/ family programming). Don't these children look sweet? Love their rapt attention!

Today we can approximate the general atmosphere by taking advantage of "Radio Dramatizations" like in "the good old days" by gathering around the cd player or computer (Or listening in the car, but I don't advise that unless you're on a long trip~ stopping mid-track or mid-story might cause a  ruckus) ! :) I recently received a series of these dramatized stories on CD.

Beloved Books has been involved with the manufacture and distribution of Moody Press' Sugar Creek Gang series in audio format since 1998. The TOS Review Crew received Volume 1 of the Sugar Creek Gang Audio books on CD.

Each disc contains 2 stories, and they are each about 2 hours long. The entire collection comprises 6 volumes, 36 stories, and over 70 hours of old-time Christian radio "Adventure Time" listening.

The stories on Volume 1:
The Swamp Robber (Click on the link to be taken to a download of this 1st, complete story for free)
The Killer Bear
The Winter Rescue
The Lost Campers
Chicago Adventure
The Secret Hideout

Our thoughts~
We listened to the first story together (mom, 5 yr old boy, 12 yr old boy, 15 yr old girl), and there were a variety of opinions and reactions.

Eldest~ (Con/Pro?) Felt that the story was a little too intense and perhaps not appropriate for her littlest brother to be listening to. She was concerned about the presentation of the reality of late 30's early 40's drunkenness (very straightforward "This is the way it is" with very little softening. No sheltering in these stories).  This could be considered a positive or a negative, depending on your viewpoint, so worth mentioning.

Middlest~ (Pro!) LOVED the stories~ wanted to listen to them constantly, and was prompted to ask for some good literature that would be similar in scope to read (with themes of fishing, and  adventure, and general boy clubbishness. I'll take suggestions in the comments!) He was highly engaged in the story! He said it put him in mind of stories that would go well with "The American Boy's Handy Book" :)

Youngest~ (Mostly Pro) well... he liked listening, but was a little nervous at times (he's less sensitive than my other two at that age, so that's helpful.... as the youngest). 

Mom~ (Pro)  pleased to find something that sparks Middlest's interest that is wholesome (With the exception of the characters who are in obvious need of redemption), adventurous, and not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. The need for the Gospel, and a respect for the Word of God, redemption and obedience are themes that run throughout the stories more than once. Appreciated the nature themes and poetry woven throughout. LOVE the exercise in using imaginations to picture the kids and the setting. *I* definitely had pictures in my head because of the descriptive language used throughout the stories!

Mom~ (Con) I have also tended NOT to address certain issues (like swearing, and others' drunkeness etc...) unless necessary, so I do tend to agree with Eldest, and might raise my recommendation for suggested age range to  8-12 (Although this could vary greatly, depending on the child), as the way some things are presented may not be quite as "Gentle" as I might want for a younger listener.

Some generic observations(neither pro nor con)~
The descriptions of church and services will be foreign to many children who live in today's urban areas and/or attend more modern "Seeker" churches~ But children growing up in the "heartland" and/or attending more conservative and/or dare I say it old-fashioned churches will be more likely to relate. Some of the phraseology is definitely more old-fashioned.

These will be used in our house mostly for Middlest's listening pleasure, with occasional "Family gathered around the Computer/CD Player" evening. They will also be a "Make sure they're packed" item for any cross-country trips we take in the next 7 or 8 years! :)

Not So Nutty Nitty Gritty 

• Company: Beloved Books
• Product: Sugar Creek Gang Vol 1 (CD's) (six stories, 12 CD's)
• Ages: Recommended ages 6-12
• Price: $54.95 

Readers of my blog can use the coupon ACORNS-20 to receive 20% off their entire order! Enjoy! 

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 and/or gift budget.:) (Think Christmas?)

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."

Samson's Classroom

Youngest is getting into the swing of this learning-to-read proposition, especially with all of the tools that we have been blessed with as part of the TOS Crew. The most recent offering is a membership to Samson's Classroom, an online reading comprehension and spelling program for grades K-5. Samson is a friendly dog who accompanies and cheers on your child as he/she progresses through the levels and games.

There are three different "packages" included with Samson's Classroom. I'm going to focus mostly on the first package (Sight Words) and a little on Spelling, but will have to send you to read other TOS Reviews for "Hands on" information on the Reading Package, as that one was a little too difficult for my 5 year old at this point (Click on the banner at the end of this post for those reviews).

Sight Words~helps new readers to learn and drill the 224 most commonly used words in the English language. There are 4 levels with 7 lists, 8 words in each list. Each list has 5 "Steps" to help your child learn the words. (Note~ I did not notice any phonics involved in teaching these words, some of which could be sounded out and not taught as strictly sight words, but we fairly naturally include phonics in most of our reading activities, so I didn't miss it that much here.)

Step One introduces each word by saying the word (ie: "can,") spelling the word "c-a-n," and then using the word in a sentence "I can do that." 
This is the main"learning" step, and we went back to this step numerous times within each list to review the words that were giving youngest a little trouble. Even when he was playing Spelling Games he would go back to review the words from the list.

Step Two "Build Words" requires the student to click on the correct letters, in the correct order, that are scrambled within the letters across the top of the screen (the letters aren't necessarily listed"in order, and there are sometimes duplicates). A bit of help is included for this step, as the requested word is again spoken and spelled out loud, and spoken one more time for your child. If they have the word down pat, they can click on the letters at any time, but if they need to hear it again, there is a "megaphone" in the lower left that can be clicked to repeat the word.

Step 3 "Identify Words" has all of the words listed. When a word is spoken, the child must click on the correct box, which then is taken away from the grouping on the screen. This step is a nice, slightly more "relaxing" drill, which certainly promoted a feeling of "success"  and a desire to continue.

Step 4 "Spell Words" includes the entire alphabet, as you can see. The word is spoken and used in a sentence, but there are no longer any "hints"~ the child must spell the word themselves. This step was one Youngest was often stuck on, as he wouldn't accept anything less than a perfect score, so the moment he got a letter wrong, he would return to the main menu and start over (and if he had too much trouble, I would guide him back to step 1, to review the words).

Step 5 "Missing Words" has the sentence that has been used all the way through for each word, with that word missing. The correct word must be selected from the four treasure chests. Sometimes there are miss-spellings, so this can be a little bit tricky, but success is a good clue that your child is really getting it! :) 

I should mention here that we engaged Samson's Classrooms on my laptop as well as on my iPad, using the Rover app, which allows flash content from educational sites only. This was "convenient", although I think that the program worked best on the computer. 

Spelling with Samson is the next Package. There are lists loaded that correspond to the sight word lists, and many, many more (5000!) that are included in the pre-loaded "Knowledge Wand" lists for everyone to use. But that's not all~ you are able to create your own lists to use. If your words are already in the Samson's Classroom database, you're good to go, if not then you can request that they be added (however, this may take awhile). So~ on to the spelling games~ 
The first activity shows your list. If a word is clicked, this page opens up with the word (which is spoken), and a sentence to use the word in (which can be read to your child). There is also the option to have the word spelled out loud. 

In the next activity "Missing Letters", Samson is doing a little (?) Kung Fu(?) (at any rate, he is chopping or breaking up blocks. For the screen, the narrator says "big. We have a big back yard" and the child must then click on the missing letters at the bottom. If the answer is correct Samson breaks (or chops with a sword) the block. This game is my favorite. :) 

The third activity "Spelling Scramble" was rather frustrating for us, and neither Youngest nor I were able to get the hang of it, so we tended to just skip it. Samson is supposed to avoid a spider and run around collecting letters, but I just couldn't figure out how to maneuver him on the board. Something that I'm sure will be getting tweaked. 

The fourth activity "Crunch Time" has Samson hopping from iceberg to iceberg. Each word on the list must be spelled correctly before Wally the Walrus crunches the iceberg to bits (if you have a child who thrives on a challenge, this should be good, if they hate being timed... not so much).  We did find this one to be too difficult to play on the iPad, and only recommend using a computer to play this game.


Reading with Samson~ 

Like I said, this package was far beyond my Youngest's needs, so we didn't really utilize it. The first story in Level 1 was 4 paragraphs long, with fairly complex words, so far beyond my 5 year old's scope at this point in time. You can get a feel for this package from this screen shot~ definitely something to aspire to, and I do recommend checking out some other reviews, if you are interested in how the Reading package works out in a real-life situation. 

I have to be honest and say that the first while that we used Samson's Classroom, Youngest was NOT happy with it (I think I've discovered that he shares a perfectionist streak with my Eldest!) because he wasn't able to have a perfect score for every word right away. He was also a little freaked out about the timer, because he's not fond of being timed. However, interestingly enough, once I was able to access it on my iPad, he lost most of his negativity, and was willing to try. I did mention that he would go back some steps over again until it was perfect, didn't I? Now that we've been engaged with the program for awhile, I have noticed that it no longer matters which medium he uses (Laptop or iPad). He's willing and content to go through a Step without requiring extra encouragement from me! :) Hurrah!

"Reports" are available to chart progress. I found them to be a little incomplete, because they only seemed to account for the days that each step was completed. However, since I'm not overly caught up in "Assessment" for Kindergarten, and not using this to track "Attendance," this didn't affect me at all. 

Finally, some extra resources can be found from the parent/administrator page that include downloads for a variety of games (Under "lesson plans"... I kind of expected something different there, but games are good! :D), as well as a number of coordinating worksheets that can be printed and used for extra reinforcement. 

I expect that youngest will attain his "black belt" in sight words at some point this school year, thanks to the dolch lists, learning, and practice on Samson's Classroom.


Not So Nutty Nitty Gritty 

• Company: Samson's Classroom
• Product: Sight Words, Spelling with Samson, and Reading with Samson learning games (PC and MAC compatible, as the programs are web-based, and not loaded to your computer software).
• Ages: K-5th grade
• Price: $30/year for 1 student, $50/year for up to 4 students.

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~

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."