LeapFrog Paper Based Learning Products {Mosaic Reviews}

If you are like me your knowledge of LeapFrog products probably consists of the expensive electronic equipment and possibly of their educational DVD's. Today I get to share with you some affordable LeapFrog Paper Based Learning Products that are from MEGA Brands America! Monkey and I got the privilege to try out 5 of their 35+ products.

These LeapFrog products by MEGA Brands are available for purchase (MSRP $0.99-$24.99 for children ages 3+) at major retailers including Toys R Us, Michaels, Joann's, Target, OfficeMax and Costo. At Target and Walmart, look for them near the stationery and writing instruments, rather than toys or school supplies.

First, we have Sight Words I Flash Cards for K-1. There are 55 word cards (double sided) and 1 activity card. I don't have any action shots of this one because it is hard to hold the flash cards and a camera at the same time! ;)  Monkey had a great time with these. He loved the challenge of reading the sentence that accompanied each word. The cards are high-quality and have an angled corner for easy sorting.

Next, is a Numbers Dry Erase Activity Book (with dry erase marker/eraser) for K-1. There are 8 coated cardboard pages that are 5x7 inches (perfect for little hands on the go).  Little ones can practice the numbers 1-30 and some addition and subtraction problems.

Then we have a little workbook for K-1 called Ready for 1st Grade Math. This is a 60-page workbook with 60 reward stickers! Monkey LOVES putting the stickers on each page as he finishes! Skills that are practiced include: Patterns, Numbers 0-100, Sequencing, Counting by 2's, 5's & 10's, Addition and Subtraction.

Printing Dry Erase Practice (K-1) is up next. This product is 16 reusable dry erase pages with a dry-erase lap board at the back. Skills practiced include: Proper letter formation, Improving fine motor skills, and Upper- and Lowercase printing.

Last (but not least) is Printing, Numbers, Math & Shapes Dry Erase Workbook K-1 (with Dry Erase Marker). This product has 6 dry-erase coated cardboard pages and is 11x11.5 inches.

Other products include: pencils, pencil grips, success charts, dry-erase/chalk boards, journals, play money, reading & math flash cards, reading & math workbooks/dry-erase books, chalk, dry erase markers and MORE! Again, these LeapFrog products by MEGA Brands are available for purchase (MSRP $0.99-$24.99 for children ages 3+) at major retailers including Toys R Us, Michaels, Joann's, Target, OfficeMax and Costo. At Target and Walmart, look for them near the stationery and writing instruments, rather than toys or school supplies. You can also find them on Amazon.com individually and in kits, just be sure to search for them in Office Products.

Monkey has had a blast with these products. In fact, he ASKS to use them. Even Ladybug has been seen getting in on the action! I love how many of the products are reusable and that the kids LOVE to use them. I also LOVE the prices!

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TOS Review ~ K5Learning.com

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.

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).

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.

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

Pricing

~$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.

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.}

TOS Review ~ Kinderbach (and coupon code)

My kids LOVE music. I would love to be able to give them private music lessons but that just isn't in the budget. As a member of the TOS  Crew I was given a 3 month online subscription to KinderBach. KinderBach is an online (or DVD) based piano curriculum for children ages 3-7 (although my 12 year old doesn't seem to mind watching it with her younger siblings)!KinderBach is set up with 4 weekly lessons. Currently they have 60 weeks worth of lessons. Each week there are a variety of activities as well. There is very little teacher prep...just print any needed activities, login (or pop in the DVD) and you are ready!Online lessons are $7.95 per month per family! DVD packages start at just $40.45! Click here to order! How about a coupon code to sweeten the deal? Just enter TOScrew2012 to receive 30% off your order (homeschool, classroom, online or DVD). The code is good until the end of 2012! 
You don't need an expensive piano or keyboard. Any keyboard (with at least 33 keys) will do. (HINT: Check ebay)!
Monkey and Ladybug really enjoyed the lessons! They ask to see Dodi (the main character) all the time. They are also retaining what they are learning! Unicorn also is learning and retaining the information but she is a little old for the program. Depending on the maturity of the child you could use KinderBach for children as old as 9 or 10 but I wouldn't purchase it just for them, I would only purchase it for them if there were younger siblings around to benefit as well or if they had special needs.
I think KinderBach is a great way to get some beginning piano lessons for my children while I determine if there is a desire among them for private lessons. It will also give me time to determine if we should be saving for a piano!

Click here to see what my Crew Mates think of KinderBach.
{Disclaimer: I received a 3 month subscription to KinderBach in exchange for my honest opinion. I received no other compensation and all opinions are my own.}

Brag Time Thursday ~ Progress

You may be wondering what a picture of an almost 4 year old child eating spaghetti like a barbarian has to do with progress but, trust me...this is progress! You see, Monkey doesn't eat. Ok...he eats but not much. He pretty much lives on milk, hot dogs and toast. So, when we were at Pizza Hut last week and he agreed to eat spaghetti we were thrilled (but skeptical). At first, he took a noodle and ate it somewhat civilly (he used his fingers but ate only one noodle). Apparently that was taking too long because he ended up eating about 1/3 of the bowl of noodles by shoving them into his mouth (as you see in the photo)! Now that is process! We'll worry about manners some other time...for now we are just happy that he actually ate something!

TOS Review ~ Maestro Classics

Do you struggle teaching music history and composers? I know I do. Maestro Classics may be an answer! Today I am reviewing The Story of Swan Lake CD from Maestro Classics. This has been a fun product to review. My children love music. They love singing, dancing and just listening to music. In a Nutshell~7 track CD or MP3~24 page activity booklet~website full of homeschool lesson plans~ages 6-12 (my 3 year-old LOVED the music...I would say the music is for families with lessons geared for ages 6-12)~$16.98/CD and $9.98/MP3~Maestro Classics Website/Contact Info.~Maestro Classics on Facebook (currently running a sweepstakes on FB ends Jan. 22, 2012)~Kids Club~Many other TitlesOur ThoughtsWe really enjoyed the music and the activities. Monkey and Ladybug would dance around the house and Ladybug and Unicorn would "act" out the story! It was a lot of fun. I really like that so many subjects are covered in the lesson guides. 
Click here to read what my Crew Mates thought about The Story of Swan Lake.
{Disclaimer: I received The Story of Swan Lake in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own and no other compensation was received.}

Workbox Wednesday ~ January 11 Linky

Today I am sharing what Monkey has had in his workboxes this week!He has been working through a Curious George Preschool Pack from Living Life Intentionally. Please excuse his lack of clothing he REFUSES to wear anything but under ware when we are home (please tell me this is just a phase! LOL!)

Workbox Wednesday ~ Linky

We are spending the rest of this month writing our NaNoWriMo stories. Unicorn will also keep working on Math (Teaching Textbooks) and Ladybug will keep working on Reading (Reading Eggs). We will also be reading books with Monkey.
I am going to keep posting the Linky for those of you who are not taking a huge break through the holidays (also, I have some fun stuff we will be doing in December) so keeping coming back and see what everyone is up to!

Workbox Wednesday

This week I am SUPPOSED to share Monkey's PK workboxes, however, Monkey is taking a break. He will start back with {BFIAR} after Thanksgiving when the girls take a bit of a break.
Ladybug is also on a LIGHT schedule as her main focus is NaNoWriMo. She already has 400+ words in her story. She is also continuing with Ooka Island, First Start Reading (Book B) and Math Mammoth (1st Grade).
Yep, Unicorn's schedule is LIGHT as well. She is writing a Novel for NaNoWriMo and already has almost 3,000 words. She is also continuing Life of Fred: Cats, Teaching Textbooks 4 and RosettaStone Latin.
As a family we are working on decluttering for our upcoming move, memorizing the Articles of Faith and virtues from We Choose Virtues and skip counting by 2's and 3's, reading the Friend and working through The Mystery of History (this week is the Phoenicians, Israel Divides and Elijah). We are also using a few products that we will be reviewing soon (some really fun stuff)!
Hopefully next week I will have some pictures for you!

Workbox Wednesday ~ Link-up

Each Wednesday I post what we have in our Workboxes. So I don't overwhelm myself I alternate each week with Preschool, K/1st and 6th grade workboxes.

This week I am featuring Monkey's Preschool Workboxes:


After joining the family for Religion (reading the Friend) and doing Chores, Monkey will start his workboxes.
1. {BFIAR}: Caps for Sale. We will practice balancing things on our heads as we walk around the room.
2. Phonics: The letter "J" (from Teach Me Joy's Animal Play Curriculum).
3. Math: The number "5" (from Confessions of a Homeschooler's Math Printables).
4. Science/Writing: J for Jellyfish (from Homeschool Creations Ocean Preschool Pack).

Now it is your turn! Grab a Button (or link back here) and Share your Workboxes! As this is my ONLY Guideline, I will be deleting links that do not have a button or a link back to this post. Thank you!

TOS Review ~ Before Five In A Row (BFIAR)

I am so excited to share this review with you! I have been wondering about Five In A Row {FIAR} since I first started hearing about it about a year ago. As a former public school teacher, I wondered if I "really needed" a manual to read a book five days in a row and do some educational activities based on the books. I am a teacher and I was "trained" to teach children. Well, read on to discover the answer to my question.


From the {FIAR} website: Five in a Row is more than just a set of lesson plans. It’s an approach to learning that will forever change how both you, and your children view education, books and teaching.
Before Five In A Row {BFIAR} is an adaptation of the original {FIAR} curriculum. It is 23 mini-units (plus a bonus unit) based on excellent children's literature. The book selections and activities are geared for 2-4 year-olds (although my 5 and 11 year-olds love the books and activities too).
The Details:by Jane Claire Lambert$35 at Rainbow Resource Center149 pagespaperback book23 mini-units (+1 bonus unit)ages 2-4reusableChristian basedReligious and non-religious activities to choose from for each book selection2 Parts: Part One is the mini-units & Part Two is a "Treasury of Creative Ideas for Learning Readiness"
How it works:You choose a book (either borrow them from your Public Library or purchase them) and go to that section in the {BFIAR} manual and read through all the activity ideas. After you look through all the AMAZING ideas, choose the ones that your little one will enjoy and learn from. Generally, you read the book everyday for a week (hence, five in a row) and do one activity a day. However, if you have a child who is begging for more, for many of the stories there are enough activities for two a day or even two weeks of rowing the same book. The amount of preparation needed varies based on the activities you choose (and to some extend the amount of effort you put into it). You can choose to make the activities as elaborate or as simple as you wish. 
Books we "Rowed":We're Going on a Bear Hunt, by Michael RosenCorduroy, by Don FreemanI Am an Artist, by Pat L. CollinsYellow Ball, by Molly BangThe ABC Bunny, by Wanda GagJesse, Bear, What Will You Wear?, by N. W. CarlstromAsk Mr. Bear, by Marjorie Flack
Some Activities We Did:We went on a Bear Hunt.Talked about Homes and Habitats.Talked about our 5 senses and used them to discover nature.Painted a scene of a Yellow Ball (see picture below).Discussed weather (lightning, clouds, wind, hail, etc.)."Can You Find" Search.Made puppets and put on a Puppet Show.


Our Thoughts:
I absolutely love it. I am not super creative and would never think of even half of the ideas in this manual (nor do I have the time to do so)! At first I thought the $35 price tag was kind of high, I do believe that it is worth the investment. Especially if you have more than 1 child that would benefit from it. While Monkey (age 3) was the main child to benefit from this product, my other children loved it too. We all sat to read the books as a family (sometimes Unicorn age 11 would read out loud for me). Then we would do the activity together or the girls would go off and do their own thing while Monkey did the activity on his own. Most of the stories were read multiple times a day! Since we are tight on funds we chose activities that were simple and didn't require a lot of materials.

Many of the books are difficult to find and some are downright expensive (because they are out of print). To save money be sure to ask your local librarian about Inter-Library Loans. I have had to do this to find a couple books (Yellow Ball and My Blue Boat for example). Other places to look for the books are at Thrift Stores, Yard/Garage sales, paperbackswap.com and ebay. Also, you can purchase the books from Rainbow Resource Center.

Remember my question from above? Do I really need a manual to help me come up with educational activities for great literature? The answer is Yes! I don't have the time or creativity to come up with all these amazing ideas! Also, I had never heard of most of these books and probably wouldn't have ever picked them on my own.

Additional Products:
Five In A Row volumes 1, 2, 3 and 4 (ages 4-8)
Five In A Row Bible Supplement
Beyond Five In A Row volumes 1, 2 and 3 (ages 8-12)
Beyond Five In A Row Bible Study Supplement
Above & Beyond Five In A Row (ages 12+)
Digital Resources (Nature Studies, Holiday Studies, Cookbook, Timeline, Planner, etc.)


Additional Resources:
{FIAR} has a Forum on their website where you can go to "meet" others who use {FIAR}, get support and get ideas. If you choose to use {FIAR} a couple other useful sites are Homeschool Share and for {BFIAR} be sure to visit 1+1+1=1.

Click here to read what my Crew Mates thought of {BFIAR}!

{Disclaimer: I received a copy of Before Five In A Row {BFIAR} in exchange for my honest opinion. I received no other compensation and all opinions are my own.}

TOS Review ~ Time4Learning

My kids were so excited when they found out we were reviewing Time4Learning again! They absolutely love it and beg to do "computer" school everyday! Last time I removed our regular curriculum and replaced it with Time4Learning, this time I let them decide how and when to use it. So, without further ado, here is our review!
What is Time4Learning?
T4L is a secular online curriculum encompassing Reading (phonics, grammar, etc.), Math, Social Studies and Science. It may be used as a core or supplemental curriculum. Parents choose the grade level for each child and can even assign specific lessons as needed. 
What ages does Time4Learning accommodate?
T4L has curriculums for Preschool (ages 2 to 3) up through 8th grade. We used Preschool Level 1, 1st grade Math and Reading and the 6th grade curriculum.
What if my child is at one grade level for most subjects but is either ahead or behind for one (or more) subject(s)?
This is something that T4L has improved since we used it last time. Just log in using your parent log-in and click on "Update Education Level". A new screen will pop up and you just choose the child you with to change levels for from the drop-down menu and then choose their level for each subject! Then T4L will make the adjustments (usually within 24 hours).

How much does Time4Learning cost?
$19.95 per month for your first child$14.95 per month for each additional child{14-day money-back guarantee}
Our opinions:
My kids absolutely LOVE it! This time we used T4L as a supplemental curriculum (almost as a reward system). After finishing everything I had assigned to them they were given the chance to "play" T4L. 
I really like the Student Score Report (see photo below).  It is easy to read and interactive. You can view it by week, month or your chosen date range. You can also choose to view all subjects at once or just one subject at a time. This report helps you determine if your child needs to redo a concept.
I also like that my kids like it. However, I did notice something. My 5 year-old had completed the Kindergarten math and reading curriculums so I set her up for the first grade this time. The reading flowed really well but the math seemed to make a HUGE jump in concepts.   Who would benefit from Time4Learning?


~New Homeschoolers who are unsure what curriculum to use.
~Parents who don't have time to lesson plan.
~Children who like the computer.
~Those who need extra support for summer, breaks or tutoring.

To read what my Crew Mates thought about T4L click here!

{Disclaimer: I received a free 1-month subscription to Time4Learning in exchange for my review. I received no other compensation. All opinions are my own.}

Workbox Wednesday ~ Link-up

Each Wednesday I post what we have in our Workboxes. So I don't overwhelm myself I alternate each week with Preschool, K/1st and 6th grade workboxes.

This week I am featuring Monkey's Preschool Workboxes:



Monkey hangs with us in the mornings, doing Chores and learning about Joseph in Egypt for Religion. Then he starts his workboxes (or folders in our case).

1. Coloring things that start with the letter "G"for fine-motor skills and Phonics. Most of the time he tries to cut out the objects too.
2. Putting Green leaves on the tree for Math.
3. Reading about a Goose for Science.
4. BFIAR: I Am an Artist with focus on finding things God created in the book.

Reminder: I only have one GUIDELINE ~ Please link back or grab a button. This is so others will be able to find the link-up and contribute as well. THANK YOU!

Workbox Wednesday ~ Link-up

Each Wednesday I post what we have in our Workboxes. So I don't overwhelm myself I alternate each week with Preschool, K/1st grade, 6th grade and our family workboxes.

This week I am featuring Monkey's Preschool Workboxes:


*Everything is from the "How to Train Your Dragon" Preschool Pack from 1+1+1=1.
1. "V" is for Viking coloring and letter recognition page.2. Hiccup and Astrid patterning.3. Help the Viking get to the dragon prewriting page.4. He will also participate when we do Religion and Chores!
Remember to Grab a Button and

Workbox Wednesday ~ Link-up

Each Wednesday I post what we have in our Workboxes. So I don't overwhelm myself I alternate each week with Preschool, K/1st grade, 6th grade and our family workboxes.

This week I am featuring Monkey's Preschool Workboxes:

1. Coloring letter "D" pictures
2. Cut out a Diamond
3. Read about a Donkey
4. Education Cubes Color Activity (come back Thursday to read about it)!

2011 Curriculum ~ Preschool

Monkey is 3 years old and is just starting to do some “school” at the table with his sisters. Until now he has pretty much learned everything he knows from his sisters, Leap Frog movies, Rock ‘N Learn movies, Dora, Diego and through books we have read to him. He learns best through song and repetition. He can count to 14 and recognizes many of his numbers by sight. He can identify most letters and even knows many of their sounds. He knows some shapes and colors. Having said that my goal for him this year is to know all his letter names and sounds, count to 20 and recognize each number, learn 1-to-1 correspondence, learn the rest of his shapes and colors and to explore God’s creatures.

Phonics ~ Teach Me Joy’s Animal Play, Homeschool Creations Preschool Packs, 1+1+1=1’s Preschool Packs and Confessions of a Homeschooler’s Printables

Math ~ Teach Me Joy’s Animal Play and other resources I find on the Internet

Science ~ Teach Me Joy’s Animal Play, Gardening and other resources I find on the Internet

Art ~ Teach Me Joy’s Animal Play and other resources I find on the Internet as well as projects the girls are doing that he is interested in

Religion ~ We do religion as a family. Monkey hangs out with us and participates when he can. We will be studying the Old Testament. We will use The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Primary Workbook, Heart of Wisdom and other resources I find on the internet.

Foreign Language ~ Signing Time Series One

He will also do P.E. with us when it is age appropriate. 

Workbox Wednesday ~ Preschool

Each Wednesday I am going to post what we have in our Workboxes. So I don't overwhelm myself I will alternate each week with Preschool, K/1st grade, 6th grade and our family workboxes.

This week I am featuring Monkey's Preschool (36 months):



1. "Aa" page from Homeschool Creations Astronaut Preschool Pack

2. "1" coloring page from Teach Me Joy's Animal Play Preschool Curriculum and 1 marker, 1 circle, 1 block, 1 dragonfly and 1 foam 1

3. "Ant Colony" pages 8-9 in I Love Animal Homes

4. Pre-Writing page from Confessions of a Homeschooler: Letter A for Apple

5. Colors from Education Cubes

Monkey will also join us (hopefully) for our family workboxes: jobs, religion and PE.