The Little Man in the Map

We had the pleasure of receiving a book called The Little Man in the Map from School Side Press. It is a harback book and when it arrived I was impressed just looking at the cover and seeing the numerous awards that the book has been given. A book of the year award as well as an Independent Publisher Book award to name a couple.

I admit when we started reading the book, I was a bit skeptical. There was a lot of story and details and I wondered if my children would retain any of the states when finished. However, I was pleasantly surprised. All of my reading children are beginning to know states and when we started each of the older three only knew about three states in our country.

The book uses rhyming as well as engaging illustrations and characters to guide you through all fifty states. I was most impressed with the vivid illustrations, making this is a fun read. The main character is a leprachaun as well as other characters in the drawings that are magic in inspiration so if you don't care for that this may be something to consider. I personally don't care for those kinds of characters but didn't feel they compromised our beliefs in the story. It was more of a fairy tale feel and foster use of the imagination common in the Charlotte Mason style of learning.

This is a great supplemental resource for teaching the fifty states and one that I have been grateful to try out as this is part of our 3rd/4th grade curriculum in our house. You can purchase the book for $19.95 as well as wall map for $21.95 or $35.00 for both products. You can also download free coloring pages from the book on the website. Visit School Side Press or The Old Schoolhouse Store for more details.

Trigger Memory Systems

Are you looking for an aid in teaching multiplication facts to your kids? Maybe some help organizing the never ending list of chores for your kids? We were given a few products to try out from Trigger Memory Systems. I had seen these products offered from the The Old Schoolhouse Store but had not purchased them for ourselves yet.

The first and biggest item was Times Tales. This is a non-consumable flip chart that uses pictures and stories to teach multiplication facts. I am impressed with with the quality of the material used to make the pages. They are sturdy and can be used over and over. The stories are cute and fun and in some cases children can learn their facts in 45 minutes. The program is mneumonic based and teaches the multiplication facts that are the hardest to learn. (3x6,3x7,3x8,3x9,4x6,4x7,4x8,4x9,6x6,6x7,6x8,6x9,7x7,7x8,7x9,8x8,8x9,9x9)

They are easy to use and you could easily have older children work with younger children on these. One issue we did have was with my two oldest twins that were born in Liberia. Symbols are difficult for them and the Times Tales only became more confusing for them instead of helping. For them the straight memorization method has been working, but for my other children Times Tales is an excellent option.

The next two products that we played with are the Zone Cleaning and the Bedroom Cleaning Flip Charts. The Zone Cleaning Chart was my favorite mostly because it was completely laminated. There are places for me to fill in extra jobs that I would like done as well as suggestions for jobs to be done. I appreciated all of jobs listed making it easy for me to hand a child this chart and he/she would know exactly what to do.

The bedroom chart is not laminated but I would suggest covering it in contact paper or having it laminated. The system suggests using laundry baskets in the middle of the room to sort things from the room that belong somewhere else. This is a great way to get the smaller ones involved in the cleaning as well.

The last item that we played with was the laundry chart. It is not laminated either and I would suggest covering this one also. I have slowly been increasing the responsibility that my children have where laundry is concerned. As you can imagine, in a house of seven people we have a good amount of laundry to do. This chart tells the children to sort first. It then gives options for load sizes, water temperature as well as leading the child through the folding and putting away process. In a busy household, this is a great tool after you have shown a child what to do so that they can do the process by themselves using the chart as a guide.

There are different pricing for the charts depending on whether you want only one chart, just two or all three. You can visit the Trigger Memory Systems website for more details on the charts as well as Times Tales and other products.

Time 4 Learning - Final Review

As I mentioned in my first post for Time 4 Learning, it is a website/service meant to be used as a tutor or supplement for schools and homeschools. They primarily have reading and math sections but have also included some science and social studies. I am happy to say that the more we used this program, the more we liked it. The amount of reading and math activities seemed endless and it was very easy to navigate moving from one topic to another.

It was the most valuable for us for our four and six year olds. There were many education things that I could turn them loose on while I schooled the older kids. At $19.95 per month for the first child and $14.95 for each additional child, this program would be cost prohibitive for us. But they do have another option of a one time $169.95 annual payment making this program more affordable for a family.

To me, Time 4 Learning is not a stand alone program but does a great job of supporting core curriculum in a fun way. I particularly like the comprehension section that my third grader worked on. I felt that it really made her think, asking her questions and highlighting sentences in passages helping her to get more out of what she reading.

One caution would be to keep an eye on where your child is at in the program. In the beginning it can be easy for them to get into the wrong section and skip ahead until you are used to the program.

The program has online lesson plans so the parent can schedule what they would like their child to work on. Add to that printable worksheets, progress reports on quizzes taken and fun educational games and you have a great supplemental program. Hop on over to Time 4 Learning and see what they have to offer you.

Spears Art Studio

We received the Spears Art Studio art curriculum on CD a couple of months ago. Not being an art fanatic myself I was glad to have the opportunity to review this one. I have a 10 year old daughter that is very much an artist in the making and the rest of the kids love projects. I am not very good at coming up with things to do on our own and I was not disappointed with what I found.

The CD has a table of contents on it with a schedule including appropriate activities depending on the time of year. We started out making the Noah's Ark wall, which my children have enjoyed very much. The art projects are rich with biblical scripture and stories making it feel at times that we were doing a Bible curriculum with art projects instead of the other way around. This was a big positive for me.

Most of the projects require simple craft supplies that a homeschool would have on hand. This was important to me as I don't have oodles of time to search for supplies each week. I am sure many homeschoolers can relate to that.

I love that I can choose a topic or season and have art projects at my finger tips. We will be enjoying more of these as we take our holiday break but are looking for things to occupy our time together.

At $40, I believe that this resource is a valuable one and worth the investment.

Salem Ridge Press

Salem Ridge Press is a publishing com,pany that was started in 2005 with a dedication to bringing back wholesome books from the 1800's and 1900's. We were given three books to read and review and I am so impressed!

We decided to use American Twins of the Revolution as a family read aloud. The kids would fold laundry while I would read and were always disappointed when our time was over. Many days we spend time reading an extra chapter. It is a historical fiction book and has characters that were slaves. This provided a launchpad for many conversations as two of my five children are adopted are from African descent. Slavery is a hard topic for them but in this story the family takes great care of their slaves and does not mistreat them. I believe that is important for my children to understand our history and the culture in times past even if we don't agree with it today.

Mary Jane - Her Book is a cute story that is meant for younger readers. My eight year old read to my six year old during quiet times and they had such a great time. They would giggle and talk about the adventures found in the book as they read.

Glaucia the Greek Slave is intended for readers that are older than ten years of age. I gave this one to my ten year old to read and she has enjoyed it. After the death of their father, two children are sold into slavery to settle debts. As the story progresses she begins to find that there is more than the Gods have to offer her. She finds that there is one God who loves even a slave and has to make a choice between what she has known and the one she is now drawn to called the Lord Jesus Christ.

Salem Ridge Press is a wonderful company making available to the public wholesome books that are becoming more and more rare. I highly recomment that you take a look at their website and see what they have to offer.

Rime to Read

You may think I may have mispelled rhyme but actually I meant to write rime. Rime to Read is a program that helps children learn to read using rimes. Traditional rhymes are great but they use words that sounds alike but that can be spelled differently. Rimes are words that sounds alike as well as look alike such rat, cat and bat.

Rime to Read is a website/service. It was founded by three women who have a lot of experience. A learning specialist, a reading teacher and an illustrator. You can purchase 20 books for $44.99 to be either printed or read online. Vowel sets are also available at $9.99 for a set of 4. When you use the books online, the key rime words that are being used are in a different color and can be clicked on if the child has trouble pronouncing it. The child clicks and the word is said audibly for them. This means that a child can be set up with a book online and left to click the arrows to turn the page and if they get stuck then click to have the word said for him/her. We have loved this feature in our house of five children.

I mentioned above that the books can also be printed. I have enjoyed this feature also. We have printed the books, punched holes in the pages and placed them in a three ring binder. The books can now be read over and over when computer time is over.

This program is a solid one that aides children in learning how to read. It uses rimes and word families to give your child a good foundation for word recognition. Already a reader, my daughter has been enjoying the books and illustrations found on the pages. The drawings are simple and cute adding to the humorous stories.

If you have a beginning reader or a soon to be reader, these books are worth checking out.

Time 4 Learning - Part One

We have been playing around a website that we were given the opportunity to try out. It is called Time 4 Learning. It is a website service that supplements core curriculum for language arts and math but they have also included some science and social studies much to the delight of my ten year old son. It is meant to supplement or act as a tutor for homeschooling or public school learning. We have been pleased with what we have seen so far.

The signup process was easy as pie. I was able to choose the grade level that I wanted for my children according to their skills. They loved choosing their own passwords. During the sign-up process there was a message that said access would be granted within 24 hours. We received confirmation emails indicating that they had access within an hour for all of the children. That was impressive to me.

Right away the kids began in looking at all they had in their queue so to speak. They could choose langauage arts, science, social studies etc. The screens have been easy for them to navigate even down to our 4 year old. I have appreciated this program so far. When I am working with one or two children, I can have one or two kids working on our computers learning about various topics without my direction.

So far my only concern has been the science portion. There is some evolutionistic teaching and at times millions of years has been mentioned when talking of dinosaurs. We come from a creationist point of view and this matters to us. So far it has been minimal and we are keeping our eyes out for it. Our kids know that evolution is a theory and so they recognize it when they see it and we talk about it as it comes up.

Overall we like what we see so far. Check back as we spend more time using the service and have more to say about it.

Alphabet Alley

I have memories of playing games like Go Fish and Memory that go back a long way. Many rounds of the same games have been played in this house as our family has grown. They are classic games that never go out of style. As my kids have entered the preschool age they have loved playing these games. The basic concept is easy for them to learn and the game doesn't last so long that they lose interest.

I had the opportunity to try out these two games from a company called Alphabet Alley. This company was started in 2204 and their goal was to create faith based games for families. In addition to games they also offer blocks and puzzles. But in my mind, Go Fish is Go Fish and Memory is Memory. How could the game really be improved on? What would make this brand stand out from any other company or large store's version of the game?

I was pleasantly surprised to say the least. The quality of the parts to these games is excellent. The tiles in the Two By Two Matching Game were quite thick. They were the were the not the thin cardboard pieces that we have had before. The characters on the back inspired a few questions from our preschooler that started a meaningful conversation about the Noah story in the Bible. The Noah's Ark Go Fish Game provided the same kind of conversation as well. The cards in the game were very thick and made of a plastic type substance instead of thick paper. This difference means they will last much longer than usual. That's a very important factor to me in any preschool game. We have thrown away our share of games due to pieces being torn. Add in the fact that my little guy has asked over and over to play gives these games an A+ in my book.

You can find Alphabet Alley products at The Old Schoolhouse Store and I highly recommend that you check them out. They would make an excellent Christmas or birthday gift for a preschooler or a fabulous shower gift for someone adopting a toddler.

The Missing Link and a Giveaway!

Are your kids up for a good read? They might find it in a book we just got our hands on. It is a youth fiction book written by a twelve year old homeschooler and her mom, Christina and Felice Gerwitz. The name of the book is The Missing Link:Found. It is the first in The Truth Seekers Mystery Series and is made available by their company, Media Angels. A homeschool mom herself, Felice has also made literature guides to go with the books. What a smart mom!

I gave the book to my 10 year old son to see what he thought. After one chapter he said that he would read this one again and that is saying a lot. He isn't a big reader and it's a challenge finding books that he can stick with. While this isn't a work of literature, it is an entertaining read that I am comfortable with my kids reading on their own. There are exciting scenes throughout and for the family, the Murphy's, their love of the Lord in the book is evident. Not to mention the focus on their relationship as a family. I loved in the epilogue that during a family moment the authors describe the delight that the parents have in watching all of their children together. That is something that I as a parent can relate to.

The book is written in a way that combines suspense, faith and scientific information making it something a parent wouldn't be worried about their kids picking up. At the end of the book there is a nice letter from the editor citing that while this is a ficticious book, many of the scientific facts are true and come from resources such as Creation Science Centers.

Interested? Visit Media Angels and see this book and other Creation products they have available.

Now for the giveaway! Leave me a comment about your favorite series for kids and you will be entered into a random drawing for your very own copy of The Missing Link: Found. I will take comments until midnight November 21st.

Merry Christmas...almost.

Are you counting the days to Christmas? There are only 45 days away until the day arrives. Can you believe that? It sneaks up on me every year but this year I don't feel as blind sided.

I was given the opportunity to review a very cute nativity set by One 2 Believe. We already have a nativity set that we love. We set it out with care every year and it is only to be enjoyed from afar. Something that is very hard for little hands to leave alone. This set is different in that it is the perfect nativity set for your children. It is made for children and meant to be played with. From the moment I opened the box, my children couldn't wait to play with it.

It has 17 different pieces including the characters you would expect plus the creche. It also came with a small story booklet about Baby Jesus. After several playing sessions with my children, it has held up well. They are able to tell the story and play with the characters, making the story come alive.

There are some small parts such as the star that could come off and so I agree with the manufacturers recommendation that it is for children over 3 years of age. Also, while my 8, 6 year old and 4 year olds enjoyed the set, my 10 year old twins felt that it was a bit young for them.

This is very nice, complete set that is a great way for children to become more familiar with the Christmas story in a tangible way. Visit One 2 Believe to see other play products they offer.