A TOS Review: Spelling You See

Spelling You See is the newest curriculum from Demme Learning. Mr. Demme has taught all 4 of my children math with his curriculum Math U See for 9 years, and we are big, big fans of his methodology. I was excited to see his perspective on teaching spelling, especially since Connor has always struggled in this area. We reviewed Spelling You See: Level F, Ancient Achievements.


The Instructor's Handbook ($14) gives you a breakdown of how the program works. It has all the skills they will learn laid out for you, answers to the skills pages, and all the dictation passages. The Student Package ($30) comes with two workbooks and a 10 pack of erasable colored pencils that they will use in their daily lessons.
Now this is not your typical spelling program, people. It is an excellent progression on language development versus typical grade level spelling lists. There is not a list of random words to be drilled over then tested on. The student is given a passage to work on for the week. They learn  to look at the passage and search for different things such as vowel chunks and bossy r, tricky y and silent letters. The creators of this program have broken down learning to spell into five developmental stages:

1. Preliterate
2. Phonetic
3. Skill Development
4. Word Extension
5. Derivational Constancy

Ancient Achievements is the last book in the Skill Development stage. The student still works on vowel chunking and other word pieces, but the passages and words are getting much more challenging. The passages they are copying from are about interesting discoveries and historical finds from all over the world. You can look at these as great jumping off points for new history topics to research - a virtual rabbit hole, if you will. Connor had never heard of the the Cave of Lascaux and was interested in the history of the rubber ball - little pieces of history he may never have known about if it weren't for these passages.

Spelling has always come easy to me. Because of that, before I began homeschooling I always thought if you were a good reader you would automatically be a good speller. It wasn't long before I learned otherwise. This program has given Connor confidence in something he has struggled with from the beginning of his educational journey. There are no tests, no lists, no pressure. While he did think copying the same passage for four days was tedious, he was amazed with how many words he got correct on the first day of dictation. It was enough to keep him motivated and continue on to the next lessons with some assurance that it was reaping results that he could actually see.

                           

Connor says: "It was fun. It helped me learning about vowel chunks. Once you remember where to place the vowel chunks, spelling the bigger words made a lot more sense!" This is coming from a child who has fought me since first grade on every spelling program we have ever used! He has grown in leaps and bounds in just a few short weeks. I can't wait to see how much better he gets in the coming summer months.

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See what other review crew members had to say about Spelling You See here:

Mentors

In the last year, Connor has been blessed by being a part of the Lighthouse Christian Chargers Football team. The new season begins in June, and he is getting very excited. He loves the sport, the challenge, the camaraderie, and the older boys he considers mentors.

This past month, Canon has benefited from the same kind of brotherhood - the senior Charger put on a 5 week flag football session, coaching and mentoring our 4th-6th grade boys. It's been quite a time for him!

When the first practice convened, one of the boys came and talked to me. He said when they began, he asked Canon what he liked to do: catch, throw, run, defend? He laughed when he told me Canon's response: "Canon told me, 'Don't give me the ball - I will disappoint you every time.' So I told him we would put him on defense. He's a card, Mrs. Quinn!"

Yes. Yes, he certainly is. I am so glad these young men are taking time out of their lives to be coaching these boys. The boys love getting to "hang" with the big guys, and they are really learning a lot. Canon hasn't ever cared much for team sports. He is much more comfortable doing his own thing. But this session of flag football has been so good for him. He told his Aunt Ariel last night that he still didn't like watching football, but he LOVES playing it now. It made me so happy to hear, and I know it's because of his coaches.

These young men are doing so much more than coaching. They are mentors that I am proud for my boys to have. They are hard working, fun loving, god fearing young men, and they are truly making a difference in the lives of my boy - a difference that he won't soon forget, and someday may pass on when the opportunity arises. Because he will be able to look back and remember that a few very cool football players saw a goofy boy making grass whistles on the sideline and made sure to include him and teach him how to play a game he learned to love. And I'll be just as proud of him then as I am now.

                        

A TOS Review: Orphs of the Woodlands

I love reading. It is one of my biggest joys to be drawn into a story that completely captures my imagination and leaves me wanting to revisit again and again and again. This is why I was extremely excited to review Star Toaster's new online program, Orphs of the Woodlands. Usually, if there is something to try on the computer, the kids are all for it. I love it when you can disguise quality learning into fun and games. It's what I like to call Ninja Homeschooling! LOL! 

Orphs of the Woodlands is a reading/critical thinking, interactive experience targeting students in grades 4-7. The website describes it as "an educational journey that combines a reading adventure, an academic treasure and a rewarding game" all woven into one program. Your student will not only be immersed into an engaging and exciting story, but also learn many valuable lessons in  math, science, grammar, vocabulary, thinking skills, character, life skills, the arts, and much more.

I had Connor, Chloe and Canon all try the program out. I sat with each of them for his/her first lesson and read along silently. I was pulled in myself! The story is about a little squirrel who lives alone in the woods. He is recruited to become a spy against the night creatures, has to rescue orphans and return them to their homeland, Ivythwaite. 

There are many interactive components to the reading section. As your student reads, he will likely come across many unfamiliar words. Several of the vocabulary words are highlighted in RED. As they pass the cursor over these words, a pop-up box will appear and give your child the definition. How neat is that? 

Occasionally, there will be a button or graphic to push while you are reading that will play sound effects or a piece of a song. I found it appealing to those whose attention may wander, and it added a bit of fun to the reading experience. The graphics are beautiful, the maps are detailed, the characters are so engaging...I really love this program!

A screenshot of your land. You are required to tend your land, keep house, and care for your orphans.

When I sat with Canon, I could see him getting anxious. He is not an avid reader, and I could tell he was not going to be easily engaged. There were about 30 pages for the first read, which I felt to be a little long for a 10-year-old boy. The books that he typically reads have chapters that usually range from about 12-20 pages. I saw him getting exasperated when he would finish a page only to find he wasn't done with the lesson yet. I think for his age group, there should have been shorter chapters in order to keep him excited about coming back. By the time he finished the reading portion, he wasn't very excited to play the games or go on any missions. 

Connor actually enjoyed the first chapter. He felt the first few games should have been more rewarding, though. It took him quite a bit of time to earn enough to get anything accomplished, and he was losing interest by chapter six because he couldn't do what he was wanting to do quickly enough. And there was no way to retry a game or mission that he hadn't done well on, therefore no way to earn more stars. He hasn't played it in over a week, but said today that he was going to check on his orphans in the morning. So I guess he just needed a break and is ready to jump back in.

Chloe, on the other hand, ate it up! She loves the story, characters, games, missions, all of it! She has stayed very dedicated to this story, and it has kept her attention thoroughly. We just finished our Language Arts curriculum for the year today, and the first thing she said was, "Yay! Now I can play Orphs quicker every day!!!" 


For me, seeing my kids excited about something that is teaching them valuable lessons is very rewarding. I have heard Chloe sharing interesting quotes from famous people over the weeks, and then telling them that she learned them from Orphs. There is character building qualities about this program that truly blesses my heart! Also, another thing I love is that Star Toaster keeps me updated with weekly progress reports emailed to me on every child. This is such a great tool! I can't tell you how often I get behind on grading, so to have one less thing I have to remember to check is wonderful. It emails me, and I can see exactly where they are in the story, how many stars they've earned, what skills have been covered, and so much more. I am loving what I am seeing!

A 60-day subscription for up to 3 kids is $19.99, with a 30-day extension for $6.99. They are offering a free trial on the first 100 pages of Orphs right now! Click the link below to learn more.




I am excited to see this company grow and offer more great stories in the future. It is so much more than a storybook - it is truly a learning adventure! 
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If you would like to see what other reviewers on the Crew thought about StarToaster, click on the link below!