Maestro Classics

I was given the fun opportunity to review Peter and the Wolf from Maestro Classics. It is priced at $16.98. It is performed by the London Philharmonic Symphony and conducted by Stephen Simon.

First of all, I want to say this reminds me of my childhood. I remember listening to this story when I was younger and enjoying it very much.

What I love about this CD is that it includes more than just the narrator/symphony version of the music. It includes an introduction to the story, about the composer-Prokofiev, a Russian Peter (Trio Voronezh-three Russians musicians perform the Peter tune), about the music, instrumental version of the story, an invitation to Grandfather’s party, and Kalinka-dance along (a Trio Voronezh performance). There is also a little activity book that comes in the CD case.

Maestro Classics has quite a few more Stories in Music, some of which I am looking forward to purchasing.
My children and I enjoyed listening to the music as well as learning about the composer and how he came about writing the story and music.

I would highly recommend these Stories in Music CD’s to anyone; those who are new to classical music and those who already enjoy the the symphony. It would be a favorite with any age group---baby through adult.

If you want to read more TOS crew reviews on this product, click here.

Disclaimer---I received this product for free in exchange for my honest review.

Easy Classical

I was given an Early Modern History 36-week schedule to review from Easy Classical. It is for studying the Explorers through America 1820. This is just one of the many schedules that Easy Classical has available. It is priced at $35.95 for the notebook version and $29.95 for the digital version. It can be used for K-6th grades. The schedule is 106 pages of learning for your child.

Explorers
Week 1: America Before She Got Her Name
Week 2: Prince Henry the Navigator
Week 3: Christopher Columbus
Week 4: Magellan
Week 5: The Spanish Conquistadors
Week 6: French Explorers
Week 7: Sir Walter Raleigh and the Lost Colony
13 Colonies
Week 8: John Smith and Jamestown
Week 9: William Bradford and the Plymouth Plantation
Week 10: Massachusetts Bay Colony
Week 11: Roger Williams and Rhode Island
Week 12: New England Colonies and King Philipʼs War
Colonial America
Week 13: Middle Colonies
Week 14: Salem Witch Trials
Week 15: Southern Colonies
Week 16: Plantation Living
Week 17: The Great Awakening
Week 18: Benjamin Franklin
Week 19: Colonial Trading with England
Week 20: Washington and the French and Indian Wars
Road to Independence
Week 21: Taxation without Representation is Tyranny
Week 22: Boston Massacre and the First Continental Congress
Week 23: Paul Revere and the Shot that was Heard Around the World
Week 24: Washington Commander in Chief of the Continental Army
Week 25: The Battle of Breedʼs and Bunker Hill
Revolution
Week 26: John Locke and Isaac Newton and the Idea of Democracy
Week 27: Thomas Jefferson and the Declaration of Independence
Week 28: Washington at Valley Forge
Week 29: Benedict Arnold
Week 30: Cornwallis Surrenders at Yorktown/Franklin and the Treaty of Paris
Week 31: The Constitution
Week 32: Washington the First President
Week 33: Napoleon Bonaparte and the Louisiana Purchase
Week 34: Lewis and Clark
Week 35: James Madison and the War of 1812
Week 36: Slavery and The Missouri Compromise

A few thoughts from me…

If the classical approach seems daunting to you, Easy Classical has made it quite simple. As with any classical or charlotte mason approach it uses living books. It also has review questions and quizzes for each week. There are fun little icons that remind you of what is happening that particular day. Visually speaking the schedule is very easy to read and follow. They have also put a “sticky note” on it to note any materials needed for the next week. NOTE: the main reading appears to be all on one day…Monday, but for some families that may be too much, so I suspect that you could easily spread it out over 1-3 days. Easy Classical knows that you may not get all the assignments finished each week, so they say to be flexible and do what you can.

Learning styles and this schedule…if your child is a kinesthetic learner do more of the hands on projects, if they are more of a visual learner use as many pictures and map projects to aid in learning. If he or she is an auditory learner make sure you do most of the reading that is scheduled.

Want to see samples of this product? Click here. The schedule is broken down into sections…history books and veritas card, writing, geography, project, and literature read alouds. It gives you the list of all the resources to either purchase or get from the library. The writing portion is based upon their curriculum…Writing with History, which is used in conjunction with Institute of Excellence in Writing (IEW) style and structure. Some of the geography portion is also based on their curriculum…Geography with History.

Overall, I think that anyone who teaches using the classical method or even the charlotte mason method and need help with “putting it all together” would greatly benefit by using this schedule or any of the other schedules Easy Classical have put together. They even have complete schedules that include science.

You can read other TOS Crew reviews of this product here.

Disclaimer---I received this product for free in exchange for my honest review.

See N Read Reading Tools

I was given the opportunity to review See N Read reading tool products from CadenaSmith Enterprises. I received 4 See N Read reading tools…1 each of the two different See N Read sizes,          
1 MemoryMark, and 1 eSee N Read.



See N Read is reasonably priced at 1/$2.99, 3/$8.99 for the 5 1/2” (book) size and 1/$3.49, 3/$9.99 for the 8 1/2” (document) size…you can also get them in combo packs of one each of the two sizes 1 combo pack for $5.99, 3 combo packs for $17.99.



If you notice in the above picture this cool tool allows you to read a book or document and underline or highlight that section of text. MemoryMark is sized and priced the same as the above See N Read.



eSee N Read is priced at 1 download for $29.99, 3 for $69.99.   
You can also get a 7-day free trial of this…go here.


{ See-N-Read® is a practical reading intervention tool....designed to help readers seamlessly see, focus, and remember what they read. It reduces word- and line-skipping and pattern glare.
See: See-N-Read® helps readers to concentrate on and track the text being read while smoothly transitioning between the words that come before or after, thus helping readers to increase their fluency (the capacity to read text accurately and quickly) and comprehension.
Focus: See-N-Read’s clear reading window is surrounded by a non-glare tinted transparent finish that helps readers to focus on manageable “chunks” of information in each line of text.
Remember: See-N-Read® provides readers with a clear reference point that helps control smooth eye movements across the text on a page. Smooth eye movement from left to right and smooth transitions from line to line ("sweeping") enhance retention of information.
See-N-Read’s flexible material makes it easy for readers, young and old, to hold and use it as they read. }

Two of my kids, whom have a harder time reading, are using the See N Read tools. They both like using it and seem to have an easier time reading and tracking the words. It makes for a great bookmark, too! Just make sure that you or your child have remembered to take it out of any of your library book(s).

The eSee N Read is a nice tool to use when reading a document or book, it helps with the glare of the computer screen. There are some cool features with the eSee N Read like changing the size to suit what you are reading, the “window” as the cursor, create multiple ones for use while reading multiple documents at the same time, changing it for vertical reading and the ability to move the readbar within the See N Read "window”.

I would definitely recommend these tools and they are well worth the little money spent on them, also I think they would be great tools for anyone whether they had difficulty reading and tracking or not.

If you want to read other TOS crew reviews on this product click here.

Disclaimer---I received these products for free in exchange for my honest review.

Math Facts Now!

I was given the opportunity to review the Math Facts Now! software download version. System Requirements: Runs on Windows 2000, ME, XP, Vista and Windows 7. 4.5 Mb of free hard drive space required. It cost $15.95 for the download version or $15.95 + $3.95 for shipping and handling for the CD-rom version. It is not available for Mac or Linux systems. The website says…Guaranteed effective or your money back.



{ Do you want your child to have instant recall of the math facts?

Look at how Math Facts NOW! helps you to reach that goal!

• You choose which function and which specific numbers to drill (ie: multiplication tables, 8's).
• You choose how many problems to be given in a specific session.
• You choose how much time your child is to be given to complete a problem.
• You choose how many times the child is to repeat problems that he/she made mistakes on or took too long on.
• Math Facts NOW! remembers which problems your child is having difficulty with, and automatically presents them back to the child with greater frequency!
• You choose to enter a reward for the completion of a lesson with no errors.
• You choose to print a list of your child's weak areas. }

Try a it for free! 

I really like all the features it offers and it is really easy to get started making lessons. I named mine funny names like…easy peasy, skipping ahead, or easily take it away. My kids don’t get to use the computer often, so my kids have fun doing it, which makes it easier for me to have them work on those tricky math facts. Originally it had a 50 correct answers to finish minimum for each session, but we all found that to be a little too much, so they updated the software for us, lowered all the way down to 5 correct answers to finish…all of mine are at 25. One thing I wish was different is choosing whether to go up to just 10, because it goes up to 12 (ex. 4+10 or 4+12). I would say it of course works well for both visual kids and kinesthetic kids…it could work well for auditory kids if they were told to repeat the problem out loud before solving it. The perfect age range would be probably grades 1-6…a child needs to at least have a basic understanding of addition to start using this program and it will be used for a number of years since it goes through division. Multiple children at different levels can use this software…that is the great thing about it. I think $15.95 is an inexpensive way for a multiple child family (or only child) to get their math facts down. Remember that you can try it for free, before you buy it. Other than creating the lessons, which is very easy, that is all that is required of you…except if you choose to do a reward. We have only been using it for a relatively short (inconsistent) time so I can’t say how long it will take your kids to learn their facts, but I think consistency is key. One of my children has a much harder time learning so patience, consistency and repetition is key for him.

If you want to read more TOS crew reviews on this product click here.

Disclaimer---I received this software for free in exchange for my honest review.

Teaching Boys and Other Children Who Would Rather Make Forts All Day

I was given the opportunity to watch the “Teaching Boys and Other Children Who Would Rather Make Forts All Day” DVD created by the Institute for Excellence in Writing company. The DVD is essentially Andrew Pudewa presenting this topic at a conference of some sort, so it is visually nothing fancy, but it is jammed packed of very interesting information on generalized differences in boys and girls.




The DVD is priced at $10.00 and runs about 80 minutes. It is divided up into 3 parts…The 4 Forms of Relevancy, The 3 Laws of Motivation and The 2 Secret Weapons.

I found the information presented informative and highly helpful.
To peak your interest…who hears better, boys or girls? What types of words do boys use more often in writing and vice versa what words do girls use more often? How do boys and girls handle pain or stress differently? How do boys and girls see differently? Knowing these differences…we can then teach more effectively. The DVD also gives tips to motivate your child(ren) to do something they may not want to do. I would recommend this DVD or MP3 download (which is only $3.00) to anyone who is interested in gaining some additional wisdom about your children, especially those with boys.

I am always in awe of God and how he has created us not only as individuals, but also as male or female genders.

To read other TOS reviews on this product or the Phonetic Zoo click here.

Disclaimer---I received this product for free in exchange for my honest review.

Tiny Planets

I was given the opportunity to review the website, Tiny Planets.

{ Tiny Planets provides award-winning educational entertainment set in space exploration and discovery, inspiring creativity and critical thinking in youth ages 4 to 12.
Tiny Planets features the cosmic adventures of Bing and Bong, two whimsical aliens who travel the Universe of Tiny Planets together on their gadget-loaded plush sofa. With Bing and Bong, children are encouraged to think for themselves, assume social responsibility, take care of our planet and learn about the mysteries of space. }


Tiny Planets Home is your central location to access all our Tiny Planets web sites. The Tiny Planets online content has won two BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) awards – Interactive Best Entertainment Website and Best Children's Interactive. We're quite proud of that!


On Tiny Planets TV you can watch any of the Tiny Planets television episodes. This series was co-created with Sesame Workshop and emphasizes science education and early learning goals, such as social and emotional development, language and literacy, problem-solving and reasoning, knowledge and understanding of our world, and creative development. Tiny Planets is the only television program to be endorsed by Montessori Centre International, and it's been a favorite in nearly 100 TV territories around the world. Thank you Montessori!


My Tiny Planets is a new online community and virtual world based on science and space exploration that combines social elements and gaming to create an engaging space exploration experience. Children create an avatar (affectionately called their “Space Cadet”), solve galactic missions with Bing and Bong, sharpen their wits with fast-paced mini-games, navigate their spaceships and avoid wormholes, adopt and care for their own planet, and nurture exotic plants in a biodome, all the while racking up achievements and special badges for their accomplishments.


On Tiny Planets Fun your child can take a few moments to enjoy brainy puzzle games (like fractions, sound and seek, and symmetry), as well as coloring books and comics.


On Tiny Planets Books you'll find interactive story books for younger children featuring Bing and Bong, their friends the locals and the flockers, and all the endearing planets in the Universe of Tiny Planets. Read these books with your child, or teach your child to read on their own!


Tiny Planets Learning is our site for parents, homeschoolers, and educators. Here you'll find lesson plans that include educational activities and science experiments to do at home. Also, you'll see how every episode in the Tiny Planets television series maps to early learning goals. Some Tiny Planets parents have even created curriculum for their children using these creative resources!


Tiny Planets Labs is our playground for things to come! We participate in several EU University research projects, keeping us technologically sharp. When we create new games, we put them on our labs site to test them out. Let us know what you think!

So far, my older boys, ages 9 and 10, have played on the website. They have mainly played with the My Tiny Planets and Tiny Planets Fun…my 9 year old responded with “It’s Awesome”, when I asked whether he liked it or not. He especially likes making his journal and playing the games.

It is free to sign up and create accounts for yourself and your children…though I will preface to say that the website is not totally free. There are many aspects that are free, but there are some that you will need to purchase “keys” in order for you child to use all areas. The “keys” are relatively cheap…10 for $1.95, 25 for $3.95, 85 for $9.95, 250 for $25.95 and 600 for $49.95. Most of the games or activities cost anywhere from 5-10 keys, but as I said before there are free ones too. I will also mention that creating accounts for your children was a little difficult at first as I saw no explanation of how…but I did figure it out. You need to click on the small “create a cadet” link first, that will give you names to use for the cadet account and then ask you to give a password. I like the idea that my children’s names are not on the website. FYI---write down this information so it is easier to “add cadet” on the parent’s account, especially if you have multiple children, as you may forget what they are by the time you need them. After you have gotten cadet names and passwords for each of your children that will be playing, go back to the parent’s account to sign up. Once you’ve done that it will ask you if you want to “add cadet”, click on it and put the cadet name and password that you wrote down, at that point you should be able to purchase “keys” if you want. I personally have not purchased “keys” yet as they still have many things they can do before we need to do that.

I like that there is a lot to do at the website…that it has multiple arenas to play at or do and for a wide difference in age. I would recommend this site, especially for those with boys.

To read other TOS reviews on this product click here.

Disclaimer---I was asked to review this website and (I still need to contact them) I  will receive some “keys” in exchange for my honest review.

The resilensce of kids...

An update on my youngest who had the spica cast (basically a full body cast) from a broken femur...he got it off last Wednesday the 8th. Hip Hip Hooray! He cried the whole time and wanted to keep it on, but later that night he was all kicks and movement of his legs. I was all sentimental after he had had his bath and was in his jammies...I had almost forgotten what he looked like with footed pajamas on, so incredibly cute.

Yesterday, only 5 days after he got the cast off, he is walking, granted he looks a little limpy gimpy and doesn't go too far, but never the less he is doing great!