Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Brag Time Thursday ~ May 31

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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TOS Review ~ Dive Into Your Imagination


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Our last (but not least) TOS Review is from Dive Into Your Imagination
What Makes a Fish a Fish? is a really fun video for children preschool and up!
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In a Nutshell
~$19.95
~Ages 4 and up
~Running Time 37 min.
~English & Spanish
~Features: The Ocean Song; Frogfish are Funny; Hide & Seek on the Reef; Bath Time for Fishes; Don't be Afraid of Sharks; Dinner Time for Fish; and more!
~Annie Crawley (Ocean Annie) is an underwater photographer, dive instructor and boat captain.
~Other Products

Educator Guides
~Print Version: $299 for each DVD title (PK-3)
~PDF Version: $69.95 for each DVD title (PK-K OR 1-3)
~TONS of information and activities for each section of each DVD
~approx. 300-400 pages EACH

We REALLY enjoyed this video and the activities from the educator guides. There is a ton of information and lots of really fun and educational activities. My ONLY problem is the price. I don't know too many homeschoolers who can afford $299 + $19.95 for each DVD Title to get the printed educator guides as well. Even $69.95 (or $139.90 for both grade levels) + 19.95 for the PDF version with the DVD. We will definitely be using this resource when we study Oceans later this year!

Good News...if you are a homeschooler, you don't have to decide if you can afford it or not! I don't know how long this deal will last but if you buy What Makes a Fish a Fish?, Who Lives in the Sea? and/or Dive into Diversity and mention that you are a homeschooler you will get the PDF versions of the Educator Guides for FREE!!!!!!

Click here to see what my Crew Mates thought of these DVD's!

{Disclaimer: I received this DVD and the educator guides for no cost in exchange for my honest review. No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.}
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Sunday, May 27, 2012

Change...The Good Kind

When I first started blogging, about 2 years ago, my plan was to document our family's journey through homeschooling and to be able to share it with family and friends. Somewhere along the way it changed into a review and blog hop blog. Not that these are bad things, they are just not what my original vision was. I LOVE writing reviews, but I don't want my blog to be only reviews (which it pretty much has been for the last few months). I also got carried away with blog hops. I was looking to grow my readership and that is a great way to do so. I have even "met" a few good blog friends that way. However, I have discovered that hosting and participating in so many blog hops isn't really what I want for my blog. So, what am I going to do about it you ask? Well, let me tell you! ;)

~I have resigned from the TOS Review Crew (at the time of this writing I have one review left to write). If I do reviews it will be because I want to review a product not because it was assigned to me because my children are the right age for the product.

~I will no longer be hosting Brag Time Thursday (BTT). BTT will continue over at Chestnut Grove Academy. Jennifer and I have been co-hosting BTT for quite a while and it is really starting to take off. I do plan to link up with it once in a while though. {Thanks Jen!}

~I will no longer feel pressured to post. I will post what I want, when I want to post it. My blog is ultimately to document our homeschool journey and to share our journey with family and friends. I also hope that my blog will help other homeschoolers.

~I will no longer "worry" about my followers count. Now, don't get me wrong, I love my readers. I just won't be actively trying to increase my readership and I won't be heart-broken if I lose readers.

~I will not "follow" other blogs just because they "follow" me. I will follow blogs that are important to me, have ideas that I want to use or are just fun to read.

~I will not put off time with my family to blog!!!!! Family comes first!

So, in a nutshell, if you liked my blog back when I first started blogging and have been wondering if I am ever coming back then you will be please with the direction I am going. If not, then I will understand if you don't stick around.

I hope you decide to stick around. If you plan on sticking around I would love to hear what you think about this post!

Here are a few photos from last week just to give you a taste of what we have been up to:
Unicorn working on History
Monkey working on the Leap Pad
Ladybug working on History 
Ladybug writing a Friendly Letter
Ladybug learning about Artifacts
Unicorn doing a Science Experiment
Monkey in the Pool
Ladybug teaching herself to swim
Unicorn getting objects from the bottom of the Pool
Ladybug and Monkey trying to warm up after playing in the pool



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Saturday, May 26, 2012

TOS Review Crew Blue Ribbon Awards


As the 2011-2012 Crew year comes to a close, we are once again presenting awards to our vendors.
The awards are known as the TOS Homeschool Crew Blue Ribbon Awards.

The following vendors are the recipients of the award this year. 
 Click on their name to check out my reviews! 
If I didn't review a product it is linked to the crew review page.
Also, I am highlighting products that we are still using (or plan to use in the near future).

Favorite Reading Instruction Product: Reading Eggs
Favorite Writing Product: Write Shop (we didn't review this one but we LOVE it)
Favorite Language Arts Product: Progeny Press
Favorite Social Studies Product: TruthQuest History
Favorite Science Product: Amazing Science
Favorite Math Product: Math Mammoth (another one we didn't review but LOVE)
Favorite Online Math Product: Math Rider
Favorite Foreign Language Product: Visual Latin
Favorite Fine Arts Product: Artistic Pursuits
Favorite Christian Education Product: Apologia: Who Am I?
~~~
Favorite Preschool Product: Before Five in a Row
Favorite Elementary Product: All About Reading
Favorite Middle School Product: Write with WORLD
Favorite High School Product: Excellence in Literature
Favorite College or College-Prep Product: Excellence in Literature
~~~
Best Online Resource: Reading Eggs
Best e-Product: Heritage History
Best Book, Novel, or Magazine: Apologia: How to Have a HEART for Your Kids
Best Children's Book: Amazing Animals by Design
Best Game or Toy: Northstar Games: Wits and Wagers and Say Anything
Best Hands-On Resource: Pitsco Education
~~~
Best Resource I Didn't Know I Needed: eMeals
Best Customer Service: K5 Learning
Most Adaptable Resource: Creek Edge Press
Most Family-Oriented Resource: Northstar Games: Wits and Wagers and Say Anything

~~~
Kids' Choice (favorite of CHILDREN ages 0-12): Reading Eggs
Teens' Choice (favorite per the TEENAGERS): Pitsco Education
All Around Crew Favorite: Visual Latin



Each winning vendor has received this wonderful award to display with pride:


Congratulations to our winning vendors! We hope you will sail with us again!

Many Crew Members are blogging about these awards as well. Click below to see what they have to say!

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Click here to see the Crew Blog Posts...
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Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Brag Time Thursday ~ May 24

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, May 20, 2012

TOS Review ~ CapJaxMathFax

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Today we are reviewing CapJaxMathFax
CapJaxMathFax is a quick and easy way to learn (and track) Math Facts without the use of flashcards.
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The hardest part of using CapJaxMathFax was the download/install/run process! However, Captain Jack has EXCELLENT customer service and helped us get up and running very quickly!
Below you see a screenshot of CapJaxMathFax. This screenshot shows you what the "Play for Rating" screen looks like. Basically you enter your name, select add, subtract, multiply or divide and check play for rating. When you follow these steps you will see the summary chart on the side with the mastery rating. Along the top you will see how many facts were answered and how many were at the Super (less than 3 seconds) level and the average time (in seconds) it took to answer the fact. When played in this mode the scores are tracked and able to be viewed in the Desktop Folder by the parent. 
A student can also play in practice mode. In practice mode the scores are not tracked but the student has more flexibility in the selection of the level, number of facts in a set and how many seconds they want to be in Super Seconds.
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In a Nutshell
~Age: 6+
~$29.95/year
~Available as a download or CD-Rom (additional $5.95)
~Merit Badges available for extra reinforcement $4

Our Thoughts
While Ladybug could have used this product (and probably will soon), Unicorn is the one who REALLY needs work on her basic math facts. She has enjoyed using this program and it is helping her to learn her facts. One thing I would like to see is an option for the parent (or teacher) to be able to adjust the Super Seconds. Unicorn has some difficulties with seeing the question, figuring out the answer, and then typing the answer all in 3 seconds. I would love to be able to give her 5 seconds for this. This feature would also make the product easier to use with younger children. With Ladybug she will tell me the answer and I will type it for her so she doesn't have to locate the numbers on the keyboard as well.

Click here to see what my Crew Mates are saying about this product.

{Disclaimer: I received a subscription for this product in exchange for an honest review. I received no other compensation and all opinions are my own.}

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Thursday, May 17, 2012

TOS Review ~ Go Science DVD's

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Our next review is another Science product. 
We were able to choose two DVD's from Library & Educational Services Go Science Series.
We chose Volume 2: Simple Machines, Sound & Weather
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and Volume 6: Water, Space & Solar System
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Volume 2
~List Price $14.95 Library & Educational Services Price $8.97
~Ages 6-14
~Christian Based (segments originally developed for a religious show)
~Demonstrations (3-6 min. each) include: levers, incline plane, pulleys, trebuchet, singing glasses, singing rods, sound waves, singing pipes, making a cloud, weather balloon, tornado tube, air pressure
~Running Time approx. 59 min
~Demonstrations by Ben Roy (university Science teacher)

Volume 6
~List Price $14.95 Library & Educational Services Price $8.97
~Ages 6-14
~Christian Based (segments originally developed for a religious show)
~Demonstrations (3-6 min. each) include: water disappear, boil water in a paper cup, properties of water, floating balls, as cold as outer space, make a rocket, living in space, solar system, centripetal force
~Running Time approx. 37 min
~Demonstrations by Ben Roy (university Science teacher)

Our Thoughts
The kids really like the videos. The demonstrations are fun and engaging. A couple things would make this series better: a materials list, links to a webpage with more explanations on why/how the experiments work the way they do and maybe even some extension ideas. In a nutshell, the videos are great as an introduction to topics or to get kids excited about Science. However, if you are looking for more than just an introduction into Science you are going to want more than just these videos.

*Note: Library & Educational Services is a wholesale company, serving “resellers, educators, librarians, home educators, as well as church leaders such as pastors or directors of children’s ministries.”


{Disclaimer: I received these products in exchange for my honest review. I received no other compensation and all opinions are my own.}
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Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Brag Time Thursday ~ May 17

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, May 9, 2012

Brag Time Thursday ~ May 10

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, May 2, 2012

Brag Time Thursday ~ May 3

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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