Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Brag Time Thursday ~ March 29

Chestnut Grove Academy
Come link up your Homeschool related posts to 'brag' about the great things you and your kids are doing! Browse around and see what others are up to as well!
(Please link up the direct URL of the post you are 'bragging' about!)
Please Follow your hosts and Grab our Brag Time Button
to display in your post or on your blog so others can join in the fun as well!
(Failure to follow these specific guidelines will result in your link up being deleted, so PLEASE be sure to 1) link up the direct URL of your post and 2) post the hop button on your post or blog (where we can find it).  We also kindly ask that you follow us, we WILL follow you back!) Thank you!
Chestnut Grove Academy

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Link-up is live from 11:00 PM Wednesdays  EST to 11:59 PM Saturdays EST each week!

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Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Brag Time Thursday ~ March 22

Chestnut Grove Academy
Come link up your Homeschool related posts to 'brag' about the great things you and your kids are doing! Browse around and see what others are up to as well!
(Please link up the direct URL of the post you are 'bragging' about!)
Please Follow your hosts and Grab our Brag Time Button
to display in your post or on your blog so others can join in the fun as well!
(Failure to follow these specific guidelines will result in your link up being deleted, so PLEASE be sure to 1) link up the direct URL of your post and 2) post the hop button on your post or blog (where we can find it).  We also kindly ask that you follow us, we WILL follow you back!) Thank you!
Chestnut Grove Academy

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Link-up is live from 11:00 PM Wednesdays  EST to 11:59 PM Saturdays EST each week!

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Sunday, March 18, 2012

TOS Review ~ Progeny Press (Interactive Literature Guide)


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Need something a little different for Literature? Want to mix it up a bit? Need a break from your current curriculum or need something between curriculums? These Study Guides are not a Literature curriculum in and of themselves but they are a GREAT resource to add to your current curriculum.
Progeny Press has over 100 Literature Guides available in printed, CD (PDF) and email PDF versions.
We had the opportunity to review the email PDF interactive version of Across Five Aprils.
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PROS
~Student can type right into the PDF and save it OR it can be printed
~Parent/Teacher can also edit and correct/comment within the study guide
~Christian Based
~Reusable
~Price is good if you can use them with multiple children
~Comprehensive (6-10 weeks of activities)
~All you need it the guide, a dictionary, thesaurus and a Bible (they use the NIV but any Bible version will do...the wording will just be different)
~Included with the interactive PDF guide is a how-to-use guide (very helpful)
~Answer Key included
~MAC and PC compatible
~New Interactive version on all guides grades 4-12

CONS
~cost a little more than I would like to spend (especially if you want to do more than 1-2 year)

OTHER INFO
~$16.99 for email PDF or CD (price specific for this title)
~$18.99 for booklet (price specific for this title)
~$23.99 for CD/booklet (price specific for this title)
~Grades 5-9 (specific for this title)
~100+ titles for grades K-12
~prices vary depending on grade level and format ordered $10.99-$27.99

My Thoughts
I LOVE the interactive format, it saves paper, printing and ink costs and doesn't take up any space on my shelves. I love that it can be saved for each child and that I can correct/edit in the same document! While it is a little pricy for me to consider as my sole curriculum I love the idea of using 1-2 of the Literature Guides per year to mix things up a bit!

Click here to read what my Crew Mates think of this and other titles from Progeny Press.

{Disclaimer: I received this product in exchange for my honest opinion. I received no other compensation and all opinions are my own.}
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Thursday, March 15, 2012

TOS Review ~ The Art of Argument (Classical Academic Press)


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We were recently given the opportunity to review The Art of Argument: An Introduction to the Informal Fallacies from Classical Academic Press and we are enjoying it. We are taking it slow because it is a little advanced for a 6th grader. We were given the Student's Edition, Teacher's  Edition and disc 1 of the DVD series. 
Included in the text are 28 Fallacies divided into 6 chapters that are further categorized into 3 units.
Unit 1: Relevance
Chapter 1: Ad Fontem Arguments (Fallacies 1-4)
Chapter 2: Appeals to Emotion (Fallacies 5-10)
Chapter 3: Red Herrings (Fallacies 11-14)
Unit 2: Presumption
Chapter 4: Fallacies of Presupposition (Fallacies 15-20)
Chapter 5: Fallacies of Induction (Fallacies 21-25)
Unit 3: Clarity
Chapter 6: Fallacies of Clarity (Fallacies 26-28)

PROS
~information presented in a clear yet entertaining manner
~very through
~set up for student to work on independently 
~Student's Edition set up as a workbook (words to define and questions to answer - can be answered orally or on separate paper to make the book reusable)
~Teacher's Edition contains the complete student's edition as well as answers to exercises and chapter and unit tests (reusable)
~visual examples
~DVD contains video of instructors and students discussing examples of each Fallacy (the DVD's would be beneficial for students who need material presented in multiple ways)
~products available individually or bundled

CONS
~Cost (but to save on cost you can just purchase the Student's Edition)

OTHER INFO
~Junior High (7th & 8th grade)
~paperback, black and white
~DVD set $54.95
~Other Products include Languages, Poetry, Bible, and more Logic courses

Final Thoughts
We are really enjoying learning about the different fallacies of arguments. The curriculum is well written and the "conversations" with Socrates make it fun to read. 


{Disclaimer: I received this product in exchange for my honest opinion. No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.}
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Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Brag Time Thursday ~ March 15

Chestnut Grove Academy
Come link up your Homeschool related posts to 'brag' about the great things you and your kids are doing! Browse around and see what others are up to as well!
(Please link up the direct URL of the post you are 'bragging' about!)
Please Follow your hosts and Grab our Brag Time Button
to display in your post or on your blog so others can join in the fun as well!
(Failure to follow these specific guidelines will result in your link up being deleted, so PLEASE be sure to 1) link up the direct URL of your post and 2) post the hop button on your post or blog (where we can find it).  We also kindly ask that you follow us, we WILL follow you back!) Thank you!
Chestnut Grove Academy

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Link-up is live from 11:00 PM Wednesdays  EST to 11:59 PM Saturdays EST each week!

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Where we have been...

As some of you know we started looking for a house to purchase back in July 2011. In October we put an offer in on a short sale. In January the offer was accepted and we closed on February 22, 2012! Since then we have been doing repairs, painting and moving. We have about 80% of our stuff in the new place and are planning on getting the rest of our stuff over this week. Then we will have a yard sale and clean the other place!

Here are some pictures of our new home and some of the changes we have made thus far:
Albums to Remember Designs Page Builder 9 and All in a Day-P52 Kit

Albums to Remember Designs Page Builder 36 and All in a Day Kit

Albums to Remember Designs Page Builder 23 and Aqua Bliss Kit

Albums to Remember Designs Page Builder 4 and Aqua Bliss Kit
***All the scrapbook pages were made using My Memories Software and Albums to Remember Designs page builders and kits. If you don't have My Memories Software I have a great deal for you! Use my code and email me your receipt by March 31st, 2012 and get the following:


-$10.00 Using my promo code STMMMS80543
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$29.99 Payment
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+$10 in free merchandise (coupon code included in your receipt)
+$19.95 RAKStar Membership (when you email me your receipt)
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=$29.95 Free Bonus
However you add it up - it is an incredible deal for the Best Digital Software on the Planet!
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Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Brag Time Thursday ~ March 8

Chestnut Grove Academy
Come link up your Homeschool related posts to 'brag' about the great things you and your kids are doing! Browse around and see what others are up to as well!
(Please link up the direct URL of the post you are 'bragging' about!)
Please Follow your hosts and Grab our Brag Time Button
to display in your post or on your blog so others can join in the fun as well!
(Failure to follow these specific guidelines will result in your link up being deleted, so PLEASE be sure to 1) link up the direct URL of your post and 2) post the hop button on your post or blog (where we can find it).  We also kindly ask that you follow us, we WILL follow you back!) Thank you!
Chestnut Grove Academy

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Link-up is live from 11:00 PM Wednesdays  EST to 11:59 PM Saturdays EST each week!

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Sunday, March 4, 2012

TOS Review ~ K5Learning.com

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We have recently had the opportunity to review K5Learning.com in our home. As the name implies it is geared for grades Kindergarten through 5th. However, all 3 of my children were able to use and benefit from it. I had both Unicorn and Ladybug take the placement tests. Unicorn tested out of most of the reading lessons (everything except the comprehension which she tested into late 5th grade) and tested all over the board for math (I was not surprised as this is her weakness). Ladybug tested into the mid- to high first grade level in both math and reading. Monkey just started at the beginning as he is only 3 years 10 months old.

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Sample Math Lesson Level 5
K5 Learning has a set curriculum however, you are able to assign lessons to your child. They also have math fact and spelling practice (you can use your own spelling words too).
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Sample Math Facts Mastery
The Assessment reports are fairly easy to read and display the information in a couple ways (see below). I was not too surprised by my girls' results. Although I did expect Unicorn to do better in the comprehension portion. The assessments are used to determine your child's placement and to develop a customized program.


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Sample Assessment Results
PROS
~Student's assessed and program created based on results
~No ads, chats, etc. to distract children
~Easy for children to navigate and use independently
~Parent reports
~100% online (no downloads) :)
~14-day FREE Trial
~discount for multiple children
~lessons are 5-10 minutes long

CONS
~It did take a while for content to get challenging after the initial assessment
~Even with the discount program can get pricy if used as a supplemental curriculum

~$25/mo. 1st child ($15/mo. ea. additional child)
~$199/yr. 1st child ($129/yr. ea. additional child)

MY THOUGHTS
I like that K5 Learning is focused on the content not on how "fancy" they can make their site. I like that the graphics are simple and that the questions are read aloud for young readers. All my children enjoyed K5. Monkey gets mad when we don't "do math" every day.

Want to know more? Click HERE for the Reading Curriculum and HERE for the Math Curriculum. You can also click the image below to start your free trial.

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Click here to read what my Crew Mates are saying about K5 Learning.

{Disclaimer: I received a 2 month subscription to K5 Learning in exchange for my honest review. I received no other compensation and all opinions are my own.}
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Thursday, March 1, 2012

TOS Review ~ Reading Eggs


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We have been using Reading Eggs in our home since August and we love it! I have three children and all three of them use it to some degree. 

Monkey (age 3 years 10 months) and Ladybug (5 years 9 months) both use Reading Eggs (the original site) and Unicorn (age 12) uses Reading Eggspress. 

Monkey tried Reading Eggs in August and he wasn't ready but boy is he now! He will literally throw a fit if I don't let him "play" Reading Eggs! He is on level 17 and doing great!

Ladybug has been using Reading Eggs on and off for the past year (because of the reading products she has been blessed to review). Because she was already blending words and reading some sight words I had her take the placement test (sample question shown below) and she tested into level 45. She is now on lesson 64 (like I said due to other review she uses this program sporadically). Ladybug also enjoys Reading Eggs and is excited to be using it again!

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Sample Placement Question
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Sample of one part of a lesson.
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Screenshot of the Map there are 12 Maps and 100 big lessons so far.
Unicorn recently began using Reading Eggspress. Reading Eggspress is for students' in the 2-7 grade range (or ages 7-13). As Unicorn is an avid reader she uses Reading Eggspress for fun. There are over 700 e-books at her disposal and 200 comprehension lessons!
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Reading Eggspress Ages 7-13 (grades 2-7)
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Sample Placement Question from Reading Eggspress
Nuts and Bolts
~Ages 4-13
~Various price points $75/year, $49.95/6 months (there is a 50% discount for additional children IF you sign them up at the same time), and a monthly subscription for $9.95. 
~**Subscription is for both Reading Eggs and Reading Eggspress (this is nice if you have a child who is in the 6-8 age range)!
~Book Packs also available for purchase
~Reading Eggs (Ages 4-7) 100 lessons so far as well as printable worksheets to reinforce learning
~Reading Eggspress (Ages 7-13) 700+ e-books and 200 comprehension lessons
~Still expanding

My Thoughts
I like how Reading Eggs/Reading Eggspress progresses. It is not too fast or too slow and there is just the right amount of repetition. I like how each lesson is broken down into smaller mini-lessons and students can stop at any point and it will pick up right where they left off. Lessons can also be repeated if necessary or desired. My only concern is that when Unicorn tried the Reading Eggs Placement she didn't get any questions wrong and it put her on lesson 70.


{Disclaimer: My subscription to Reading Eggs (for one child) was extended for 2 months in exchange for my honest opinion. No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.}
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