Thursday, June 21, 2012

TOS Review: IXL

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IXL is an online interactive website created to help your student "excel" in mathematics. With programs from pre-K to Algebra, there is something to help nearly all of your students.

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IXL challenges your student to work on their math skills at their level, and at their pace. You can choose to let them work at their grade level or wherever you think they should start. They can choose what they want to work on, according to subject. When they improve, the levels get more difficult, but not so quickly that they get discouraged. There are awards scattered throughout the program, but they are not very exciting. :( Coco thought they were cute and loved to see her new button each time, but my boys thought they were pretty cheesy. I don't think they were very good incentives to make them want to work harder or do better.

IXL Awards and Games


The monthly fee for IXL is $9.95 (add $2 per additional student) or $79.95 for the entire year (add $20 for additional students). This is cheaper than what I pay for my hard curriculum for each of them, plus I wouldn't have to do the grading! For elementary ages, I believe this could be more than just a supplement. There is enough content on this site for a full curriculum.

IXL Fee Buttons


I like that there is a full report sent to me every week letting me know exactly what the kids worked on, what they excelled in, and where they struggled. It helps me to guide them in what they need to review, and what they can move on from.

IXL Family Reports

For the most part, they all enjoyed IXL. If I were going to use an online math curriculum, IXL would definitely meet all my standards.

**Don't just take my word for it! Check out some of my fellow TOS Crew Members' reviews.


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***Disclaimer: I received this product via TOS Homeschool Crew in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review; all opinions stated are mine or my children's.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

TOS Review: Creation Illustrated

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Creation Illustrated is a magazine that combines beautiful photography and educational articles on science with excellent stories surrounded by biblical truths. Think National Geographic with a Christian mindset. In each issue, you will find articles, short stories, photo contests and puzzles for kids, and healthy recipes that will all bring you to a greater knowledge of Christ in your daily life and surroundings.

The photography is unsurpassed.

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The articles are easy reads, but informative at the same time.

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And the character and quality of the subjects are excellent reading for all ages. It is hard to find a magazine that I wouldn't mind sharing with my children AND my parents. The content is thought provoking and engaging. I am so happy that this review came my way. It's hard to imagine that this magazine has been around for 20 years, but I'm just now discovering it.

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Creation Illustrated is published quarterly for $4.99 an issue. You can also subscribe online for the following lengths/rate: $19.95 for a year, $37.95 for 2 years or $53.95 for 3 years. It's a sound investment to expose your children to a magazine with high quality and appropriate content. They are even offering new subscribers a free issue. Just go HERE and fill out the form.

**Don't just take my word for it! Check out some of my fellow TOS Crew Members' reviews.

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***Disclaimer: I received this product via TOS Homeschool Crew in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review; all opinions stated are mine or my children's.

Monday, June 11, 2012

TOS Review: Pearson Homeschool - 6th Grade Reading Street



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Pearson Education is a leading provider of public school curriculum nationwide. They are now expanding into the homeschool world. Their website is still in the works, but there is a lot of information for you already. I was chosen to review Reading Street - 6th Grade. We received the Student Textbook (2 volumes), Teachers Guide DVD-ROM, Exam View CD and test creator, and the Guide on the Side Instruction Booklet. This bundle is $124.95.

PROS:

* I think Pearson Homeschool is truly selling themselves short by classifying Reading Street as a reading program - it's a complete Language Arts program! It covers spelling, writing, vocabulary, grammar, literature, comprehension and so much more! You are supplied with digital versions of teacher and student materials, honestly more than you will probably use.

* The cost is pretty decent when you look at all that you are receiving. For $124.95, I would be replacing my spelling ($60), English ($50), handwriting ($15), Writing ($75), and who knows how many literature/book report unit study or lapbooks I would purchase. In all, I think Pearson would save you money in the Language Arts department. And don't forget, it's non consumable, so that's a big bonus for larger families like mine.

* There is such a variety of learning tools. If your kids are hard pressed to find activities that keep their attention, they will likely find something they enjoy with this program. About every other page in the textbooks seems to have online links (which we didn't have access to yet, but know would thrill my son), and there are a ton of games and puzzles/activities to help the material really stay with them.

CONS:

* It is all textbook format. I have pretty much used the Charlotte Mason approach from the beginning, and I have to admit that I was terrified to try this out. I was afraid it would be dry and difficult. I was wrong about the dry part - the graphics and writing style were very engaging. But I still prefer living books.

* We were introduced to some great pieces of literature...let me emphasize PIECES. If this were the only reading curriculum we were to use, my sixth grader would not finish a single book in the entire school year. Now, I know many of you probably think that's silly, he can read whatever he wants in his spare time. Well, you wouldn't know my son then! If it's not assigned, he probably won't be reading it! ;) Plus, there is SO MUCH for him to do with this curriculum (I'm guessing an hour and a half of work a day), he would be very unlikely to read in his free time...

* There are no lesson plans. I have NEVER used a curriculum where I have had to completely create a lesson plan on my own. There have been many times when I have tweaked or revised or eliminated from pre-made plans, but I have always used materials that had them available for me. I have four children and one on the way. I do not have any desire to spend hours, days or weeks creating lesson plans. I would gladly pay a little more to have this already part of the curriculum.

* While there are many tools and activities for both student and teacher, they are all in cd/dvd format. Which means my time and money (paper and ink) is yet again spent making my own worksheets. This was incredibly frustrating to me because our printer has been giving me fits for weeks now, so I was unable to print out a lot of this great stuff in a timely manner for Connor to use.

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Overall, I think we would give Pearson a shot. I must admit, it would have never come into my house had it not been for TOS Reviews. I'm glad to have had an opportunity to try something so far out of my and my son's scope of familiarity, and I think we will use it some in the coming school year.

**Don't just take my word for it! Check out some of my fellow TOS Crew Members' reviews.

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***Disclaimer: I received this product via TOS Homeschool Crew in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review; all opinions stated are mine or my children's.

Friday, June 1, 2012

TOS Review: Dive Into Your Imagination - What Makes a Fish a Fish?

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Annie Crawley is an amazing photographer, diver and sailor that wants to bring her fascination and knowledge of the ocean and all its amazing creatures to you and your student. Dive Into Your Imagination is her company that has made that dream a reality. Her first three videos are What Makes a Fish a Fish?, Who Lives in the Sea? and Dive into Diversity. In the video we reviewed, What Makes a Fish a Fish? ($19.95), "Ocean Annie" takes you on an underwater tour and explains to you the reasons ocean life are classified the way they are.


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Annie has also compiled a very thorough set of lesson plans for you to use with the video. The guides are available as a printed version for $299 (for the whole set of them) or as individual PDFs for $69.95. They consist of crossword puzzles, vocabulary lists, coloring sheets, and much, much more.

The boys really enjoyed the 30-minute video. The music, the narration and the information provided was fun and inviting for all my boys (ages 4 to 10); it kept all of their attention. We love ocean and nature documentaries, and we watch a tone of them. So I was careful to ask them if they had learned anything new. They each came up with at least one new animal or fact about an anmimal that they learned in the video.

While I looked through the pdf for our video, I chose not to use it...the sheets were very nicely put together, but I thought there was just way too much to use with a 30-minute video for a homeschool family. I looked at this as a supplement to our science curriculum, not a complete year's assignment. And I just wouldn't pay $90 for a supplemental unit study - especially for a pdf where I still have to print off everything on my own time, with my own paper and ink.. The material really is great, but the price is just way out of our budget range. So while I liked the video very much, I wouldn't recommend the pdf. Possibly for a classroom setting, but not for a homeschool family.

**Don't just take my word for it! Check out some of my fellow TOS Crew Members' reviews HERE.

***Disclaimer: I received this product via TOS Homeschool Crew in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review; all opinions stated are mine or my children's.