What Am I?.....More from All About Spelling

As a member of the TOS Crew, I have had the opportunity to review the set-to-be-released-today....... What Am I? A Collection of Short Stories, from the folks at All About Spelling. This is the followup to The Beehive Reader Vol. 1 and will probably sell for the same, $19.95, through the All About Spelling website. As of the time I'm writing this review, it's not on the site, yet, though.

What Am I? was written to correlate with All About Spelling, Level 2, steps 1-14. For anyone using this program, that's very helpful in streamlining your curriculum across the language arts spectrum. It's a collection of ten short stories, ranging from 10-18 pages each. It's a hardbound book, with black and white illustrations on practically every page. The stories deal with surprises and friendship and nature and animals, and there are poetry selections included.

If you plan to use the All About Spelling program, you may want to check this book out. It's always nice to be able to integrate concepts through multiple subject areas, but I am concerned about the price. $20 is not very economical for just one reader with ten stories in it. My daughter/assistant in reviewing these books is very visual, and the lack of color in this book is a drawback. Overall, I am not convinced concerning the literary quality of the stories or the significance and quality of the illustrations. Some of the stories, such as "Champ", which relates the relationship of a young girl and her horse, are fairly rich in detail and story elements, while others, like "An Elf in the Alps" just seem like nonsensical fluff. Some of the illustrations are beautiful and enhance the stories, but others seem rather like the work of a hurried teenager.

Like I said, check it out for yourself. Everyone has different reading preferences. To learn more, you can check out what other TOS Crew members have to say here.

Super Star Speech games to build interest and reinforce learning!

As a member of the TOS Crew, I have had the opportunity to review three games from Deborah M. Lott, creator of the Super Star Speech home speech therapy program. I chose "All About Animals", "The Insect Game", and "Covering the Continents". Each of these is marketed through CurrClick and priced on sale at $2.80 just now. Okay, I think these are all three a tremendously good deal!

The goal of "All About Animals" is to aid young students, K-5, according to the product description, in learning the defining characteristics of different animal groups. While younger students can use picture cards, there are fact cards for older students to read. And there are a good number of these fact cards.

As you would guess, "The Insect Game" is all about the characteristics of insect life. Students answer questions and collect game pieces. The first to get all the pieces needed wins. This game is suggested for grades 2-6.

The goal of "Covering the Continents" is more than just identifying the continents' locations--it's about getting to know the basics about each one. This one gets a little more exciting with chances to own continents. This is suggested for ages 6-10, but I think older students could get into it, too.

I was impressed with the number of game cards in each game, reflecting the amount of information presented and reviewed. The games are printable, and I would recommend laminating them for longevity. Also, the directions are very simple to understand, and I think that once they've played a time or two, these are games the kids can play independently. You can actually look at sample pages for each game by clicking on the links for each game on the CurrClick site or by clicking on the names of the games that are highlighted above.

Educational games are not cheap online or in local stores, but Mrs. Lott offers a large variety of games, most of which sell for less than $3.00! That's hard to beat, especially when they contain clear directions, colorful boards, and can be modified to fit the age of the students playing. Check out the games I've described above, as well as all the other products Mrs. Lott offers on the CurrClick site by clicking here. You can also see what other Crew members have to say here.

Seasons of Faith audio books from CBH Ministries

As a member of the TOS Crew, I received four titles from the Seasons of Faith series from CBH Ministries: Race With Midnight, Seventy Times Seven, You Can't Come In, and Braving the Storm. The intent of each title is to instill in kids the reality of God's care and His desire for us to know Him follow His Way and share His Word. While I am very impressed with the quality and price and overall message of these books, that everyone needs Jesus and His teachings are best, I cannot recommend them because I do not agree with the way the plan of salvation is presented. I know that judgment is left to God alone and we are totally saved by his grace and no merit of our own, but it troubles me that baptism is totally omitted in these books. This isn't meant to be a sermon at all, but I need to share my reason for concern. This is honestly the most frustrating review I've written because these books do teach kids that they can follow Christ's teachings in their lives and that they are not too young to share the Gospel. These are soft-cover illustrated books, each with a read-along cd. For further information, please go their website at http://www.cbhministries.org/seasons_of_faith.php.

Nurture their artistic skills with Artistic Pursuits....

As a member of the TOS Crew, I have had the opportunity to review An Introduction to the Visual Arts, the Grades K-3 Book One from Artistic Pursuits. This, in my opinion, is a quality art curriculum for the lower elementary grades. It's made up of 32 lessons, which we are pacing at one a week. So, we basically have a year-long art curriculum when taken at that pace. An Introduction to the Visual Arts is broken into three sections, What Artists Do, What Artists See, and Where We Find Art. Each section provides insight into the mindset and habits of an artist without squelching the child's natural skills or interest. There are numerous examples of the masters' works throughout the book, as well as those of other kids. I like that because I want the kids to have high goals and be exposed to those works which were the result of years of hard work, but I also want to stress that what they do now is art and worthy of being proud of, too.

Each lesson encourages the students to really open their eyes and other senses to elements of art around them. For example, in lesson 1, they are encouraged to take a walk, just observing the detail all around. When I did this with my kids, I was amazed how much more they then included in their art. And the lessons really do teach good art practices, as well, such as how to properly use the supplies called for in the lessons.

Probably my favorite thing about this course is the variety of art supplies the students get to use. I comparison shopped and was able to get everything we needed for just over $30 online. As we go through this course, my kids will get to work with sketch pencils, oil pastels, soft pastels, watercolor crayons, and clay, as well as a variety of papers and surfaces.

Each lesson takes about 10 minutes to present, and you would want to allow up to an hour for the students to create. I like that I can use this same book for all 3 of my kids, ranging in age from pre-k to second grade. What we do is focus on the same lesson for a week, but each day I add a little twist to it to keep it fresh for them.

I really encourage you to head over to the Artistic Pursuits website to check out the sample pages for this book here. The cost for this book is $42.95, and I think this one is worth it. This is way more than what I have seen in elementary art books in terms of really teaching techniques and how to use elements of arts. It really provides a framework in which they can practice correct methods of using media, discover the elements of art all around, and practice expressing their own imaginations and emotions through art. I know I am learning right along with the kids in our house!

Artistic Pursuits offers several other products you may want to check out, as well. Their home page is http://www.artisticpursuits.com/index.html. From there, you can see what else they offer.

The Family Mint....encouraging financial responsibility from youth!

Okay, this is free, people! I love that! Yes, I am reviewing the Family Mint as part of the TOS Crew, but it's free for everyone!

What is The Family Mint (and don't we all wish we had the real thing?)?

It's a website that allows registered users to set up virtual family banks. No actual funds are transmitted at any time. It simply allows "bankers" to record financial transactions that take place. The banker can set up accounts for each family member and can record deposits, transfers, and withdrawals. Interest levels can even be adjusted! Financial goals can be set and tracked by individual account holders. Money can be distributed into multiple accounts based on customizeable percentages. You can read more about these and more features on their site by clicking here.

Okay, growing up, we could set a financial goal, fill up the glass Snoopy (in my case) or piggy bank, and then break it open and count the contents, hoping we had enough to reach our goal and buy a new bank. This is so beyond that! Kids can learn how the banking system really works. They can track their deposits and withdrawals and learn to keep a budget. They can see on the screen when a goal has been reached or when deposits they've made have been verified.

Y'all, this is more than likely the closest I'll ever be to being a banker, setting up these virtual accounts, but I still took that seriously. One concern I had was privacy. No, we're not dealing in big bucks here, but do I want my kids' financial business online, on a site that isn't a real bank? I figure I'm not alone in being extra careful about my kids and online privacy issues (we were victims of id theft a few years ago, so I'm a little paranoid about it), so I wanted to share what I thought of to counter this concern. I didn't use the kids' real names. Wow, you're thinking--I know. No, seriously, the closest you come to giving your address is your zip code, but it does ask for birthdays, so using the screen names added an extra level of security, in my opinion. Having said that, I encourage you to check the Family Mint security information on their site here. I'm still being careful, but I am impressed.

What age is this for? Well, I would suggest at least school age, up. Reading and basic number skills are needed to navigate the site, log in, and enter and understand transaction information.

In this age, financial responsibility is such an undertaught skill, for the most part. This is one tool to help those of us trying to buck that trend. I can see how The Family Mint can help parents instill the attributes of financial discipline and analysis from an early age through experience and practice. In order to check it out, click here. There are videos and forums to help you get started, as well.

You can read what other TOS Crew members think here, too.

The Critical Thinking Co. Language Smarts C....unlocking some brain power!

As part of the TOS Crew, I received the Language Smarts C student book from The Critical Thinking Co. My girls and I love this workbook! It is 314 pages of quality critical thinking skills material for the second grade level. Skills that are covered include:

• following and writing directions


• mnemonics


• palindromes


• rhymes and riddles


• correct word usage, such as good/well


• subject/verb agreement


• synonyms and antonyms


• homonyms


• homographs


• root words, suffixes, and prefixes


• categorizing


• literary elements


• letter writing

..... and much more!

While the introduction states that this book can be used as the core of a language arts curriculum, I found it more to our needs to use it as a supplement. Actually, my girls complete the activities as a team, allowing them to learn from one another and practice verbalization and listening as they cooperate to complete each activity page.

So far, what I have observed from the activities in this book is that they are geared toward the higher level thinking skills, rather that simply recalling facts and information. Allow me to quote from the Teaching Suggestions section (p. v)....

"The activities require students to analyze a variety of diagrams and apply problem solving skills. Targeted thinking skills include convergent and divergent thinking as well as inductive and deductive reasoning. Students will learn to recognize, analyze, and sythesize information."

While most language arts curriculums I have had the opportunity to use do include critical thinking sections, they are normally small, scattered sections. Language Smarts C provides enough activities to do at least one and more often more each day of the school year.

My girls are first and second graders, and I have honestly been surprised how they remind me when it's time to do "critical thinking" as we refer to these activity pages. They enjoy the challenge of each activity, and I am very impressed by the variety of activities and the quality presented in this book. The pages are glossy and colorful, yet they still copy well in black and white, too. We normally open up our Language Smarts C at the conclusion of our regular reading and language arts class time. The activities are challenging, but not frustratingly so. They are normally able to complete each one with minimal assistance from me. However, I will say this--I firmly believe that it is imperative that we model and verbalize critical thinking skills, so I don't simply check their answers. I want to make sure they understand the logic behind what they're doing. I can see the brain exercises this book is guiding them through, but they just consider this a treat before recess!

Something else that I really, really appreciate is that it's okay for me to make copies to use with them! Not many companies allow that these days.
What's the cost? This 320-page, reproducible workbook is $39.99. Seems like a lot, I know, but consider this. In my case, I have 3 kids, which means that figures out to about $13.34 a child since I can make copies. You can actually see sample pages when you click here for the sample pages, or here, which is a link from the Language Smarts C page to the answer key pages. This product is one of a series, and you can check out the others here, as well.

The Critical Thinking Co. offers other products you might be interested in as well. You can check out a number of freebies on their site, too.

Enhance your projects with Graphics Toolbox....

As a member of the TOS Crew, I have had the past month to experiment with Graphics Toolbox, a graphics editting software that allows ordinary individuals to create some pretty neat projects. Over the last seven or eight years, I've used a couple of different graphics softwares, one a free download and one that was part of our old computer's suite of programs. And I have made some pretty neat stuff, so I came at this with high expectations. So, as I approached Graphics Toolbox, I was most interested in just how much I would actually be able to do, how easy it would be, and what I could do with it. The creator of this product was kind enough to provide some instructional sessions and videos for those of us learning to use Graphics Toolbox, and it was after I watched one of those videos that I finally got the hang of it.

Okay, if you're like me, before you buy anything, you want to know just what it will do for you and if it's worth the price. You see, I have been very pleased with the capabilities of the free software I've been using for several years now, but I know it has limitations. So, I kept the GT (Graphics Toolbox) manual pulled up while I learned just what GT had to offer me. Would it be as easy to learn? No, it was not nearly as easy to learn. I have become conditioned to Windows and its drop-down menus, and I had to get used to the format and functionality of GT. Now, once I played around with it a while, I got used to the icons and how they are the key to using this program, so that's not a big deal to me.

Something else was ease of use compared to what I had been using.....once I got used to the format of GT, then it was almost as easy to use as the software I'm accustomed to. Honestly, for those of us used to the world of right-clicking and dragging and dropping, it felt very stilted to use initially, like everything took two or three steps longer than it should. But, as I became more familiar with it, I realized it has more capabilities than what I was using. I can control elements of my projects with, I think, a greater deal of precision. Now, if what you want doesn't require a lot of pixel-by-pixel precision, there are other programs out there that will get the job done for less money. But this one will let you get really precise with color and position and size. I will say, though, that I found the text menu on my older program has more flexibility about rotation and sizing.

Graphics Toolbox also comes with many graphics you can use in your projects, from a small amount of layout templates to a fairly large collection of computer generated illustrations of objects. Below you can see two of my projects. One is a birthday invitation, minus the words, of course, and the other is a sample scrapbook page. I used one of the built in templates for the invitation, and used the frame subcommand to wrap a ribbon effect around my scrapbook page. Here's how precise GT will let you get. I was even able to play around with the individual colors in the ribbon frame. Which reminds me to tell you that you can set up your own color cards within the color card icons, so you can have all your colors organized by your own system.

Okay, here is my bottom line on Graphics Toolbox. It's $149, but they offer a free 30-day trial period. Try it out and see if it fits your needs. If it doesn't, you're not out anything. If you're seriously looking for graphics software, you need to check out several products, anyway, to know what they offer so you can make a wise decision before you buy. So, no, I can't say, go get your wallet and buy it right now, but I can say it is a software that does offer a lot of graphics capability to non-professionals, IF you are willing to read the instructions and the videos and practice. And I am excited about using it to create projects here at home and for our homeschool resource group. I also think this is a product that will work well for me in conjunction with my old one that I'm used to, and I am fairly sure I should be able to use it with additional templates I can find free online.

You need to check other reviews online, too, from other TOS Crew members and other creditable sources online.