Homeschool Library Builder Review

As a member of the TOS Homeschool Review Crew, I went sent information about a homeschool website that is FREE to join (happy Dance!!). Not only is the website free to use, but it is a website created by Gayla Weatherford and Julie Huffman, homeschool moms who love great books. They wanted to help homeschoolers and others who use excellent literature to educate.

I enjoyed using the website and have joined as a member, for free, and will be notified of discounts and sales at the site. The site sells new and gently used books at affordable prices to build your home library. This is neat because I really love books and while I enjoy the local library, I have 4 young children and I can't take the pressure of keeping a library book in pristine condition while it's in my house! I also love to have rows and rows of books, but it can get expensive, that is when you turn to Homeschool Library Builder: www.hslibrarybuilder.com

Homeschool Library Builder also offers a book searching service for an out-of stock book. They have an online forum called "The HSLB Market Place" where members can get the word out about their own new business or service. Members can do this through the website and it will also be posted in the monthly newsletter. HSLB also offers a "spotlight on the season" where they preview and select sites based on the seasons/ time of year. They will provide links to some of their favorite homeschool resources.

HSLB also has heart and raises money for those in need, it is called "Helping Hand". Another advantage to becoming a HSLB member is the "frequent buyer program" where you can earn points from books bought. Every 15 book points = $1.00 for use toward future purchases and the points never expire.

I am happy to have learned about this sight. I use a literature based curriculum and am always watching my budget, so right now I am making a list of all the books that I will need for next year and see what I can purchase through HSLB.

TOS Schoolhouse Expo May 12- 13, 2010

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Beehive Reader Review from All About Spelling

The Beehive Readers are a new reading series brought to you by the innovative spelling program All About Spelling. TOS Homeschool Crew members received a copy of Beehive Reader 1 for review.

I LOVE books, so this product was delightful to review. My six year old daughter Jessica is learning how to read and she felt like such a big girl when I handed her such a beautiful hard covered "big kid" book. The best part about the book was, she was able to read it, it was created for the early reader. We use another reading program, but the readers that go with it are a bit on the "cheap" looking side. The Beehive Reader is a beautiful hardcover book, and only costs $19.95 to purchase. The readers are part of a new series developed by All About Spelling called All About Reading. A new website for All About Reading is in development and will be available this summer.

Jessica enjoyed the Beehive Reader 1 so much, that I am considering purchasing future books. The reader is 156 pages and filled with 10 short, quality stories and beautiful illustrations.

According to the website www.BeehiveReaders.com
this is what they have to say about their product:

Phonics based, Beehive Reader 1 contains charming, beautifully illustrated stories.
Your beginning reader will delight in finding out what happens when…
…a busy cat lives in a windmill
…a sleepy bear cub takes a nap
…a grumpy duck demands a snack
…a singing bat befriends a lonely king
… a curious boy shrinks from tall to small
… and much more!
Beehive Reader 1 correlates 100% with All About Spelling Level One.
If you order the reader, they will send you information regarding when to use the reader to correlate to the spelling lesson.
The reader can also be used independently of the All About Spelling program.

If you visit the website, you can check out the book and look through select pages. Funny story, tonight I took the Beehive Reader 1 off the shelf in order to write this review and Jessica saw it as she was going to bed and she wanted to take it with her! I had to practically wrestle it from her and promise that she can have it back in the morning.

Math Mammoth Grade 1 Complete Curriculum Review

As a member of the TOS Homeschool Review Crew, I was sent a complete Grade 1 Math Curriculum from a company called Math Mammoth. Maria Miller is the author of the Math Mammoth series. Her philosophy is this: "My aim is to help parents and teachers teach math so our children and students can really understand what is going on. I've strived to explain the concepts so that both the teacher and the student can "get it" by reading the explanations in the books. In essence, the books become practically self-teaching."

Math Mammoth has a wide range of choices for parents who are trying to watch every dollar and yet get a quality math program. I chose to review the Full Curriculum, Light Blue Series for first grade, to use with my daughter, Jessica, who is 6 years old. She is always asking to "do pluses and minuses", so after reading how the curriculum works, I thought she would be a good fit to use to review the curriculum. I was right. The Curriculum came in a pdf format, so I was able to print out the pages that I wanted her to work on and we had math manipulatives at home to use if she needed them. typically while I was working and reading with my preschooler, I would give Jessica a few printed pages to work on. I would read the directions to her, go over the first problem, and let her finish the page on her own. She enjoyed the independence very much and felt very satisfied in her work. I was impressed at how easily she picked up on the concepts.

I think the curriculum is a good fit for children who are very independent learners and who may not require much review, and for parents who are budget minded and don't need a lot of bells and whistles, just a quality math program with excellent supplemental materials.

Math Mammoth is mastery oriented and emphasizes conceptual development in a logical sequence. The complete curriculum covers all topics by grade level. Each grade level includes two parts of a work text (a & b); tests, cumulative reviews, answer keys, and a worksheet maker. Topics for first grade include addition & subtraction within 0- 10, place value with 2 digit numbers, geometry and measuring, reading clocks to the half hour and counting and using coins. You can check out the Math Mammoth website at http://www.mathmammoth.com/
The full Grade 1 Curriculum costs $29.70 and supportive materials cost $14.

Zeezok Publishing Review

As a member of the TOS Homeschool Review, I was sent a nice big package from Zeezok Publishing. Yet again, I learned about a fantastic company I didn't know existed.

As I journey down the road of Homeschooling, one of my concerns is "will my children be exposed to the fine arts, specifically music?" I have no idea how to read music or even have any music history classes under my belt to speak of. Zeezok Publishing is a company that publishes musical composer books. They sell complete composer biographies, related study guides and a companion CD. The CD is a nice touch because it plays the music that each composer creates, we all enjoyed listening to this.

Zeezok Publishing sent me a complete set of two composers: Stephen Foster and Edward MacDowell. This complete set sells for $35.80 and includes the companion CD, you can order other composer sets such as Bach/ Mozart; Beethoven/ Haydn; Brahms/ Schubert; Handel/ Schumann; Foster/ MacDowell; Chopin (2 books) from the website: www.Zeezok.com

The books are very informative and interesting. They give you an idea of the culture as well as the current events happening during the life of the composer and how their music was influenced by their life experiences. The study guides do a wonderful job of giving the student a time line and a map of the places in the world where the composer lived. Music sheets are also included in each book and as I said earlier, you can listen to the music played on the CD.

These book series are an excellent teaching tool for any homeschool to round out their fine arts and history/ geography programs. The cost is reasonable considering the amount of activities and information contained in each set.

The Ultimate Guide To Homeschooling Review

As part of the TOS Review Crew I was sent a book titled "The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling" by Debra Bell. I read the entire book cover to cover and enjoyed it very much. I am new to the homeschool scene and I wish I had this book about two years ago when I began to research homeschooling. The book contains a treasure trove of knowledge, written by an author who is personal and very knowledgeable on all things Homeschool.
I would say that this book is a must have for new homeschoolers as well as veteran homeschool families. Debra Bell walks you through her own homeschooling journey while helping you decide if homeschooling is right for you, how to choose a curriculum, how to prevent burnout, what to teach- when and how, homeschooling teens, using computers in your homeschool, it even includes how to handle toddlers among other challenges in your daily routine and how to measure your success.

My favorite part of the book, and why I think everyone can benefit from owning a copy, is the Resource Guide located at the end of the book. The Resource Guide contains a wealth of information all in one location. I have researched homeschooling every day for two years and I have found many organizations, companies, websites, publications, products, academic contests and competitions contained in the Resource Guide that I had no idea even existed. My husband even thumbed through the book one day after I had put it down. He can't wait for me to finish my review so he can bring it with him to work! The book sells for $20 and is published by Apologia. You can use this link https://apologia.securesites.net/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=12&products_id=142 to go to the website and check out sample pages of the book and see the table of contents as well as order the book. I declare it a MUST HAVE for any homeschooling family.

Kinderbach Review

As a member of the TOS Homeschool Review Crew, I was given a three month trial to Kinderbach, Piano for Children. The website can be found here: http://www.kinderbach.com/index.html

Kinderbach is an online piano teaching curriculum for young children. I have a piano and I have no clue how to play it. I do desire for my children to learn how to play, but to be honest, the cost of piano lessons was a bit too high for us right now, so the piano has sat dormant for the past two years. Enter kinderback, and our piano has a new lease on life!

I enjoyed the instructional videos (I learned along with my children) and was impressed with the thoroughness of the lessons. My preschooler up to my eight year old can use it. I think it is a fantastic way to begin piano lessons. One of the big pluses for me was, regardless of how many students I have using the material in my homeschool, the price stayed the same. Also, the program can go at each child's pace, so my oldest may only need to watch each video once to learn the concept where as my four year old may need to view the lesson several times in order to learn it well. Another plus for me was the fact that I don't need to schedule piano lessons and lug my children to lessons or have to have a teacher here. If my children are sick (which is weekly during the winter) I don't have to worry about paying for missed lessons.

The kinderbach curriculum has 6 levels: each level package includes:
1- Activity DVD which provides entertaining keyboard and music instruction.
2- Music Audio CD- has all the same songs included in the activity DVD and children can listen to the proper way the music should be played and then use it to practice along with.
3-Activity Book CD (this contains two books) The first book is the activity book which reinforces the lessons with games etc and the second book is a parent guide.

According to the website, prices range depending on which package you choose to purchase. For example a super starter package is $55.95 and a Bonus Level Package for levels 1-6 is $222.88.
I find the price very reasonable. Plus Kinderbach offers a free online trial (which I would do, so you can get a feel for the program without shelling out any money), as well as a 30 day guarantee. Worth a look!!!

Facts First Review

As a member of the TOS Homeschool Review Crew I was given a 90 day trial to review the website http://www.factsfirst.com/ . The site was created by the by publishers of Saxon-Harcourt (our family happens to use the math program published by them). I was interested to see what the site was like, for several reasons, primarily because we use the saxon math curriculum and I wondered if the site would provide a nice supplement that compliments our daily math lessons.

The website http://www.factsfirst.com/ states that it's purpose is to help children develop fluency in basic math facts using an approach that incorporates placement testing, lessons, reviews and practice on addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Once a student completes a unit, the student is rewarded by 5 minutes of arcade games that reinforce the math facts. To begin each child (up to 4 in each household) can create a unique student profile as well as a self portrait. The character the child creates is featured in each lesson. This was a nice touch, it let the children "own" the game and made it more fun because they immediately became invested in it. Another plus for me was the audio help from the game. This was great for my young readers, who were trying to concentrate on the math facts and were able to hear the instructions repeated so they could concentrate on their math skills.

The math lessons are broken down into 5 segments:
1. New Facts
2. Commutative property
3.Practice
4.Quiz
5.Scoring

New facts are introduced gradually as they work toward mastery (same philosophy as the math curriculum). There are more than 360 activities that allow children to practice the math concepts.
The last section is the "math fact matrix" which provides an overview of your child's performance on individual math facts. The "matrix" uses algorithms to present your child's performance on individual math facts. It is weighted based on speed, frequency, and other indicators of proficiency.

Overall, I enjoyed this product. We have had to review several math games this year for the TOS Review Crew and this is one of my favorites. The game is targeted for children and will hold their attention while reinforcing math skills. The price for a year subscription is $49.99, which may seem high at first glance however, consider that each household license contains four unique student profiles, the price then becomes much more reasonable, especially if you have 4 children who can use the program.

The site does offer free demonstrations, so it is worth a look. You can get a feel for the program before committing money to it.

Keyboarding for the christian School Review

Good evening everyone, ready for a pop quiz? No cheating, ready? What is another word for typing? If you said keyboarding, and I was with you, I would give you a gold star! As a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew I was sent an e-book titled "Keyboarding for the Christian School Elementary Version" by Leann Beitel. Leann is a teacher at a private Christian School and had a hard time finding keyboarding curriculum that incorporated touch typing technique and Bible verses. Ms. Beitel came up with her own book, how does that saying go "necessity is the mother of invention?"
The E-book is 87 pages and covers many topics such as the touch typing technique, Alphabetic Keys, Numbers and symbol keys, Number pad, centering, enumerated lists (IE: numbered lists), timed writings, a timing scale (this can help you grade your child's progress). You can check it out for yourself by clicking on the following link: https://www.christiankeyboarding.com/

A sweet ladybug named Miss Mabel takes students through keyboarding lessons, which are a must in this day and age. I give this book an A+++! The graphics are great and the lessons are simple yet put together well. Author Leann Beitel does a fantastic job of teaching keyboarding. The book takes you through practices to familiarize yourself with the keyboard. I like this because as the student is reading the book (or is being directed) they are able to practice along with the text. That seems to make the information so much more relevant to my children. Even my four year old (who LOVES to pound on the keys can begin this) and it is a great way to practice letter and number recognition for my kindergartner.
The e-book is put together in such a way that you are able to go at your own pace and each lesson builds upon the previous one. As time goes on the student will gain confidence in their skills. Eventually being able to type faster than writing. The book is timely for our homeschool as well. As third grade looms, I desire more independent learning to happen, this is one example of how I can do that. I can purchase a word processing program for my 9 year old and she can continue to build on her typing skills while writing Lab reports or book reports.
I LOVED the fact that Leann Beitel incorporated Bible passages into typing practice skills. What a wonderful way to keep God's word in front of us always. If you would like to see a few sample pages just click on the link here: https://www.christiankeyboarding.com/Page_2.php
The Elementary Keyboarding book I was sent is selling for $12.95. The Author also has another e-book for Secondary Grades. I highly recommend this product and was privileged to review it.

Gymathtics DVD from Exploramania

I was sent a DVD from the company Exploramania, to review as part of the TOS Homeschool Crew. This 30 minute DVD incorporates "multi-sensory learning techniques to meet the different learning needs of children." This particular DVD titled "Exploracise Gymathtics" combines exercise and education using auditory, visual, and kinesthetic senses. This company will be coming out with several new products over the next few months.

Exploracise Gymathics has also won several awards from Dr. Toy, AEGIS, Telly Awards, and many others. As a Health Educator myself, I was looking forward to this review. The day the DVD arrived I popped it into the DVD player and within minutes, my three girls loved it! I was not moved to participate, but my children did watch it three times in a row and had fun with it.
The DVD combines math facts while exercising. For example, they move their arms to form congruent circles etc... The math facts target 2ND- 5Th grade levels, so just a bit above my children's level, but they did enjoy the movement. The topics on the DVD begin as "Shape stretches" for the warm up; then onto "Counting Calisthenics" which include counting multiple aerobic movements; next is "Pattern Power" repeating pattern exercise and then finally the "Well-Being Wind Down" which are relaxing stretches and a cool down all while discussing healthy lifestyle choices. I did enjoy the scenery in the final segment, it looks like they are at a beach resort.
If this is something you think your family may enjoy, you can visit the website at Exploramania.com and order the DVD for $24.99. The website also has other DVDs and learning materials available. It's worth a look!



This has been a TOS Homeschool Crew Review. As a member of the Homeschool Crew, we are given homeschool-related items and asked to write honest reviews. The items are provided to us by the companies, but we are not paid for our reviews.

AVKO Membership Review

As part of the TOS Homeschool Crew, I was sent a one year membership to AVKO, the site can be found at www.avko.org. If you live under a rock, as I do, you may not have heard about this organization, but apparently seasoned home school parents are well aware of AVKO.

For those sad rock dwellers, I will enlighten you as to what AVKO is and why you may want to look into becoming a member. On the surface, actually on the website, AVKO is "a non-profit 501 (c) 3 membership organization that focuses on the development and production of materials and especially techniques to teach reading, spelling, handwriting and keyboarding. AVKO is dedicated to teaching everyone how to read and spell regardless of their mild to moderate learning disabilities, dyslexia, poverty or opportunity."

Sounds nice, right? Avko's philosophies and methodologies are "Orton-Gillingham" based ( I really have no idea what that means, but I figured I would include it so you can google it), using a systematic and multi sensory approach to teaching the language arts. AVKO firmly believes that studying and lessons should take place in short frequent sessions; daily reading and writing are important for engaging in the language and becoming fluent.

The AVKO website has a vast amount of information for teachers/ parents who may need guidance/ educational materials for children who are struggling or floundering in the Language Arts subjects. The site has many great resources concerning Dyslexia, and many great books for those of us who need to teach a child that doesn't quite learn within the same parameters as other children. AVKO's spelling lessons are based on a cirruculum called "sequential spelling" (fyi)- Sonlight uses this as their spelling curriculum.

The AVKO site does offer freebies, so if you were not sure you wanted to become a member, you can go check out the site and get a feel for the teaching method used/ materials available. Once you become a member you will have access to over $400 worth of e-books. A basic membership costs $25 per year and includes e-books such as all 10 volumes of the "Patterns of English Spelling" as well as the book "To Teach a Dyslexic". You also receive a 25% discount on all printed AVKO Materials.
The Deluxe Membership is $100 for the year, it includes access to all materials/ benefits of a basic membership as well as read- only access to all AVKO curriculum materials (except for sequential spelling and engaging Language Kits) as well as access to AVKO's newest e-books.

I think becoming a member of AVKO would best suit the needs of a parent who has a child that is struggling to learn Language Arts. This site is a great resource for those who are seeking help teaching in this area. I don't have a child who is struggling in this area at this time, however, I see the value in a site like www.avko.org . As an educator, you want to fill your teaching tool box with as many tools as you can, AVKO provides you those tools. As I said earlier, the site is loaded with information, go check it out, if you think this may be exactly what you need, the membership is worth the price. I don't think there is such a thing as too many good resources.

This has been a TOS Homeschool Crew Review. As a member of the Homeschool Crew, we are given homeschool related items and are asked to write honest reviews. The items are provided to us by the companies, but we are not paid for our reviews.

America's Heritage Education Review

As a member of the TOS Crew I was sent a CD version of social studies/ civic K-12 Lesson plans titled "America's Heritage: An Adventure in Liberty." The CD is valued at $150.00 but the American Heritage Education Foundation (AHEF) has made it available to educators (in homeschools and public/ private schools) for free. There are two forms of "America's Heritage" the CD, which is free, and a printed binder version, which costs $19.50 to cover printing and shipping. All the AHEF asks is that you write to them and let them know about your experiences using the resource. This helps them continue support for teachers and social studies/ civic education.

According to AHEF the information correlates with NCSS and Core Knowledge national social studies standards. "American Heritage" has been proven to increase student performance in history objectives in schools which use this resource.

I love the fact that the "AHEF is dedicated to the understanding and teaching of our Nation's factual and Philosophical Heritage to promote constructive citizenship and freedom, unity, progress, and responsibility among our students and citizens." This material is so necessary, while I was logging onto the computer to write this review, I read an article about the health care bill, ugh! Visit www.americanheritage.org or call 1-713-627-2698 for more information.

I am very impressed with the lesson plans offered for the Elementary school aged Children. Not only does the CD offer background historical information on every topic, the lessons are engaging and interesting. For example, the unit on Thanksgiving is under the Theme Unity. There is historical background given as well as a story and then other educational activities to tie all the information together.

I strongly urge all parents to obtain this CD. I do not think many public schools teach to this scope on History, in fact, the public schools are so mired in political correctness, that much of this information is simply not taught. Homeschools and private schools have a fantastic opportunity to utilize this resource to train up a generation of citizens who can look back to the roots of our heritage and go forward in freedom.

Virginia Soaps & Scents Review

A few weeks ago, I received a package in the mail from a company called Virginia Soaps & Scents. My mail box is located at the end of my road and I typically pick up the mail when I am on my way out to go to town. So this little box from Virginia Soaps & Scents took a ride with me while I ran my errands. At one point, while I was waiting in my car, I opened the box because I was curious about this new product. The smell that began wafting through my car was amazing!
Inside the box was 3 bars of Pure Handcrafted Soap each was 1.75 oz in size, one was Coconut Lemongrass scented, another was Oatmeal, Milk and Honey scented and the third was Fresh Orange scented. The bars are pretty and the small size is called the bed and breakfast bars. The usual bars of soap are 4.75 ounces. Another sample was in the box as well, it was a Ginger Lime scented Shampoo Bar as well as a Laundry Soap Kit. The Laundry Soap Kit makes 1/2 gallon of Laundry Soap and is great if you ever wanted to begin to make your own laundry soap but didn't want to make the initial investment in the Borax and washing soda.

There was also a letter from the creators of Virginia Soaps & Scents, Roy & Richelle Spargur explaining their company, products and how Virginia Soaps & Scents was formed. They are a homeschooling family of 9 children, 5 graduated and 4 still being taught at home. Three years ago the Spargur family suffered the tragic loss of their youngest Granddaughter in an accident. After months of grieving, the family began to take comfort in doing the familiar things and homeschooling provided a framework for daily life. It began with a unit study on Colonial Life in Virginia (where the family resides) and there was a lesson on soap making. The family made a one pound batch of lavender soap and they were back to making fun as a family again and they didn't want it to stop! What began as a lesson in soap eventually led to the birth of Virginia Soaps & Scents. Sounds like the story line of a great movie right?

The soaps are lovely and smell great! They are made with all natural ingredients and contain no added chemicals for hardening or lathering properties. I loved how the soaps smelled, especially when I used them. I did get razor burn on my legs when I showered with the sample soaps, but I checked out the website and they offer soaps specifically for shaving, which I will purchase, because I really enjoyed how soft my skin was after using the soap. The Shampoo Bar is an olive oil based soap and also contains Castor oil. I was a bit skeptical at first but was very surprised to see how much the bar lathered like liquid shampoo. I used the bar for a few days and found my hair really needed conditioner, so I went back to my usual shampoo, but noticed a difference in how my hair looked. It seemed smoother and not as frizzy. I happened to read on their website that you can use the shampoo bar as a clarifying bar and this was the perfect solution for me. Once a week, I use the shampoo bar and have really enjoyed smoother, shiny hair.

I have made my own laundry soap before and so I was familiar with the process of making the Laundry Soap. I have found that us Corbett's are a messy bunch of people and need to take stock in stain remover! I enjoy the clean smell from the laundry soap, and while I can't use it on my kids cloths because the stains just won't come out for me without using pretreatments, I have found that it works great on towels and other laundry that doesn't see as much action!

Check out the website at http://www.virginiasoapsandscents.com/ to view the full product line and the reasonable prices. I am a table leader at my local MOPS and I am planning on purchasing the Bed & Breakfast Soap sampler, it contains twelve 1.75oz bars of their best selling soaps for $18.00. I plan on wrapping each bar and giving one to each of the moms who sit at my table as a little Christmas gift so they can have a bit of pampering. They have special scents for Christmas also, so think stocking stuffers etc... I noticed they have bars for kids, so I may also purchase some soaps for my daughters as they love things like that in their stockings. They also sell individual bars, maybe pamper the Sunday School teacher a bit or my mother and sisters. I like to support companies like Virginia Soaps and Scents, they make a great product and seem like a great family!

This has been a TOS Homeschool Crew Review. As a member of the Homeschool Crew, we are given homeschool related items and asked to write honest reviews. The items are provided to us by the companies, but we are not paid for our reviews.

ABC Teach Website Review

As a member of the TOS Crew I am sent some pretty neat products, and ABC Teach falls into my "neat product" category! Actually ABC Teach is a website, find it here: http://www.abcteach.com/ I had never heard of it, not surprising since I had never home schooled prior to this year, but in my opinion, this is the jack pot of teaching tools! The website has some free downloads, but you can purchase a membership for $3.33 per month (which I did after reviewing this site). The members of ABC Teach have access to 35,000 printables and worksheets with more being added weekly (they notify you by email once a week with all the new materials). You also have access to 6,500 pieces of clip art; oh the endless possibilities of clip art...... anyway.



The site also has custom worksheet generators to tailor materials specific to your home school topics. For example, if you are wrapping up a unit study on a specific topic but want to practice some of the new words with the kids, you can custom make worksheets in spelling, cross words etc... The possibilities are literally endless, and if you are really creative, you may not need to look any further than abcteach.com for what you need. The website was the winner of the 2007 Teachers' Choice Award.



The site is very user friendly and it has a search engine to help you find what you need quickly. I liked that it offered many of the worksheets in black and white or color. I have spent literally hours on the site just exploring and looking into what would be fun and applicable for my children. The site also breaks down the topics under the directory for ease of use too. An example of some of the topics are: Art & music, Book Units (the books are great too; for example, Amelia Bedilia: you read the book and the site has follow up activities and worksheets ready to be printed and tailored to the story); other topics include Holiday and Seasonal activities, Handwriting (which I LOVE because when they are learning how to write they can't get enough of the handouts to practice on!). The site also divides topics by age and grade and goes from preschool through high school to help you print out what you need specifically for your child. You can preview the site to see if you would like it and then you can really get an idea of the vast amount of resources members have available at their fingertips. I only named a few of the topics listed under the directory, you can check it out yourself when you visit the website.

So far I have downloaded 4 games for my preschooler. Each game was either a matching game, counting game, or a sorting game. I searched the site and found games with butterflies and ladybugs and trains and printed them out since I knew they would appeal to her. I will share with you one example of what I did with my printouts: I took a file folder and cut, pasted and laminated one set of the butterfly matching game pieces on the inside of the folder. I then cut out the matching pieces and laminated them as well. I attached a bag to the folder to keep all the loose pieces together and viola! she has a matching game that I made just for her! It made her day! I am currently scouting the site for Thanksgiving Theme ideas.

As I said before, I have spent hours on the site and really am impressed with the resources. If this is something that you think you would like, I highly recommend it, and the price is very reasonable.

This has been a TOS Homeschool Crew Review. As a member of the Homeschool Crew, we are given homeschool related items and are asked to write honest reviews. The items are provided to us by the companies, but we are not paid for our reviews.

Amazing Bible Timeline Review

As part of the TOS Review Crew I was sent "The Amazing Bible Timeline" from the company Bible Charts and Maps, LLC. They can be found at www.BibleTimeline.NET . The product is, well, pretty amazing. It is large, 37" by 45" and can be hung as a wall chart or put on a flat surface. The Bible Timeline is put together in a compact circular format and the timeline goes in a clockwise direction. This timeline is a great way for visual learners to put the people in the Bible in order and can add historical clarity to a Bible study. It is priced at $29.97 and comes with free interactive maps of the Holy Land and a digital timeline for the computer.

The Bible Timeline shows order, and overlap in generations and history. For example, Daniel and Confucius lived at the same time. I loved seeing that Adam was still alive at the same time as Noah's father. When I was sent the timeline to review, I started looking at it with my husband. That weekend we had friends from our Church over for dinner and we pulled out the Timeline and really enjoyed looking at the chart and pulling out our bible and looking up different topics. I wanted others opinion on this product, especially since it refers to the Bible and I am not a Biblical scholar. My friends were impressed with the product and really found it fascinating. They were asking me for the website information and were considering purchasing charts for their homes as well. That following Monday, I was surprised to see an email from the company responding to some concerns that other TOS Crew members had regarding this product. As I said, I am not a Biblical scholar so many of the concerns raised were not even on my radar, however, I feel that I need to share this information with you so that you can make an educated purchase. The Company does offer a 60 day money back guarantee if you are not satisfied with the product. To be honest I was disappointed to hear other reviewers had issues with it, I thought it was a great product and could be used as a good teaching tool. I have decided to copy and paste the body of the email from the company here so that you can read and decide for yourself if this product may be right for you:


"Response to the LDS Question and Ussher's Table"
We have been questioned about the following:The Native American belief in a White God who would one day return. This is historical fact. You can find it in the Complete Idiot's Guide to Native American History - a condensed version of history. If it makes that book you know it's standard historical fact. People have known that Native Americans (north and south) believed in a person they called either the White God, The Great White God, The Fair God or The White Bearded God "who would one day return" since the Spanish first showed up in America. Not only did Cortez take advantage of it, the Spanish priests constantly commented on it. This is history not Mormon doctrine.

Every quote on the Amazing Bible Timeline referring to that fact is from highly regarded historians such as the Harvard trained historian Prescott.No serious historian disagrees with this. The disagreement arises over whether or not this has anything to do with Christ or whether or not any Native Americans (north or south) are related to the lost ten tribes. Cortes used the belief in the return of a Great White God to defeat the Aztecs by either claiming he was that God or at least not denying it. Sources: The Complete Idiots Guide to Native American History by Walter Fleming page 52 - you can read it online. You can also reference the following: "Letters and Dispatches of Cortes," translated by George Folsom (New York, 1843); Prescott's "Conquest of Mexico" (Boston, 1843) which is referenced on the Timeline; and Sir Arthur Helps's "Life of Hernando Cortes" (London, 1871)Common Christian Belief that the Great White God, The White God, The White Bearded God or The Fair God refers to Christ. Sources for Christian belief that this referred to Christ. Note that none of these are LDS and there are tons of them besides these few. This is historical fact, like it or not. The only question is, who was this person really? And are the Native Americans related in any way to the lost ten tribes? "History of America before Columbus VI : According to documents and approved authors" (Philadelphia 1900) Dr. Peter de Roo"Most ancient and modern authors agree in saying that the Christian religion had been taught to the Indians in pre Columbian days. Bastian establishes this opinion by the numerous analogies he points out between the religious belief and practices of the Christians and those of Americans aborigines. Von Humboldt admits the parity to be so striking as to have given the Spanish missionaries a fine opportunity to deceive the natives by making them believe that their own was none other than the Christian religion....Quite a number of ancient writers, such as Garcilasso de la Vega, Solorzano, Acosta and others are equally explicit in asserting that several Christian tenets and practices were found among our aborigines." Pages 423-424 (some of his books are on line but not VI.
Also note there are many references to writings by early Spanish Catholic priests writing about the legends of the White God and the teachings of same and their similarities to Christianity. ) William Prescott (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_H._Prescott) The wiki article mentions his access to unpublished documents in Spain and that he was considered a fair and impartial historian. In his book" Conquest of Mexico" (referring to the Fair God) Prescott says, " In a preceding I have noted the popular traditions respecting Quetzalcoal, that deity with a fair complexion and flowing beard, so unlike the Indian physiognomy, who, after fulfilling his mission of benevolence among them, embarked on the Atlantic Sea for the mysterious shores of Tlapallan. He promised, on his departure, to return at some future day..... That day was looked forward to with hope or with apprehension, according to the interest of the believer, but with general confidence throughout the wide borders of Anahuac."
The statements regarding historical belief in similarities between ancient people in America and Jewish people and temples It is historical fact that this similarity was noted and widely accepted throughout the Christian world long before the LDS church began. (see Radin's book and his footnotes on the Timeline) Since the DNA evidence this is now in dispute. We removed most of these statements before the 2008 reprinting. We did it without trying to rewrite the historical fact that for centuries many people, Christians and non-Christians alike thought there were similarities between Native American peoples and cultures and the Middle eastern peoples and cultures.As we have reprinted the timeline we have removed most of the references to any interpretations of history that are no longer accepted by the majority of Christians and will continue to do so on future updates but refuse to rewrite history including historical beliefs.

Why is there an LDS version of the Timeline? We began working with the Amazing Bible Timeline in 1975, forty-four years after its first printing in 1931. 1975 was a time when Christians were committed to building greater unity or cooperation among Christian faiths, very different from todays time of Bible bashing and rejection of any Christian whose faith does not exactly match our own. The contention among Christians today is appalling to us and we don't support it. (We were asked to provide primary references that there was such a time and attitude. Fair enough. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/178836/ecumenism)

To answer the question, we were asked to provide an LDS version. We did it and we still provide it today. None of the original Timeline dates were changed and no LDS dates were added to the original Amazing Bible Timeline. A separate version was made. The two timelines have separate copyrights and ISBNs. When the North and South American history dates were added (Olmecs through Mayans and more) they were taken from archaelogists working in those areas. After that was done, not before, Book of Mormon dates were added to the LDS version.

Does the Timeline have an LDS slant? We don't know how it could. The original Timeline on which ours is based does not have an LDS background. We added dates from 1931 to 2000 so unless you think there's some LDS slant to WWII or the first astronauts on the moon there isn't one.
Bill and Margaret both come from varied religious background. Bill attended a non-denominational church throughout his youth and young adulthood. Margaret attended Baptist, Presbyterian,Episcopalian and Catholic depending on where she lived or which relative she was visiting. We feel we have a broad understanding of Christian doctrine.This is not a platform to proclaim our variety of Christianity (other than our belief in Christ as our personal savior) but a stewardship to an ongoing project. We hope it outlives us as it did the original author. We don’t feel it belongs to us any more than Ussher’s chronology or the King James version of the Bible belongs to us. We do everything we can to keep ourselves out of it and to present it as the history it is intended to be.We feel strongly that the Amazing Bible Timeline should be just as accessible to all Christians as is the Authorized King James Bible and Ussher’s chronology. The Timeline is used by Non-denominationals, Baptists, Fundamentalists, Evangelicals, Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians, Catholics, Seventh Day Adventists, Friends Churches and more. Therefore, we willingly and happily answer questions about Bible history on our site.

We do not answer doctrinal questions. We do our best to ensure there is no doctrine on the Timeline (other than a belief in the Bible and it's history) and to make sure it is historically accurate. If you find something you believe is more doctrine than history, please let us know. Also if you catch any errors in spelling or dating please let us know. This is a huge work and even after years of checking we sometimes find an error. After researching it we are happy to make changes before future printing.

Why do you keep talking about Ussher’s Chronology. What does that have to do with the Bible dates?If there are dates printed in the margins of your Authorized King James Bible they are from Ussher’s table not the other way around. The original Hebrew texts on which the Old Testament of the Bible is based didn’t come with dates although it does mention time frames. The dates calculated by Bishop Ussher were added to the margins of the Authorized King James Bible in 1701 ninety years after it's first printing. Many Biblical scholars still believe Ussher's Chronology is the most accurate. We hope you enjoy using The Amazing Bible Timeline as the tool it is intended to be –
to see the order of Biblical events
to visualize the length of time between Biblical or world events
to coordinate Biblical history with secular history. If you have more questions you are welcome to either call us at 877-966-7300 or email us. "


That is the email that was sent to me and I copied and pasted it. I felt obligated to share it out of fairness to the company to give them an opportunity to explain and back up their product and also out of fairness to any potential buyers. I personally liked the product and I will hold onto it and use it as a reference that it was intended to be.




This has been as TOS Homeschool Crew review. As a member of the Homeschool Crew, we are given homeschool related products and asked to write an honest review. The items are provided to us by the companies, but we are not paid for our reviews.

"Sarah's Wish" Book Review

As part of the TOS Review Crew, I was sent an autographed copy of the book "Sarah's Wish" to review. Jim Baumgardner is the Author and describes "Sarah's Wish" as such: "Twelve year old Sarah Smith is the star. She is a likable protagonist, a girl with grit, a young lady with steel in her backbone. She loves people; hates injustice, and fights for the underdogs- who are the runaway slaves in the Sarah books. In chapter one her mother dies and suddenly the responsibility of moving the runaways along the underground railroad rests upon her shoulders; at least she thinks so. Sarah's Wish tells of her quest for a family while ever mindful of her duties as a conductor and agent on the railway."

Since the story is told from a 12 year old girls perspective, it held my daughters attention and piqued their curiosity. The book led to many conversations on slavery and American History, topics that I didn't expect to talk about to my 3, 5 & 7 year old but grateful for the opportunity. The book offered a glimpse into 19Th century pre-civil war life. I even enjoyed reading it. The Author also offers a free Sarah's Web Newsletter. It comes by email and it's free! Go to sarahbooks@cox.net enter "send newsletter" in the subject line. The newsletter is a great way to expand on the topics and information learned in the book. The Books and Newsletter are a great way to supplement a unit study on this time period in history (way more fun than text books!).
The books also come with a link to a free audio Book Download, download it to your computer or I-pod etc... you can listen to the story.

The Author Jim Baumgardner is a Christian and his writing clearly shows the good guys vs the bad guys. FUN FACT: the author is the great, great, grandson of Doctor Baum, the Town Doctor in Sarah's Wish.

Here are all the juicy details: There are three books in the series so far: Sarah's Wish; Sarah's Promise; Sarah's Escape. If you go to www.sarahbooks.net you can purchase all three for $39.95- shipping and handling are FREE, and the author will autograph them for you. You can also purchase Sarah's Wish for the sale price of $9.99 also Free shipping and autographed.




This has been a TOS Homeschool Crew Review. As a member of the Crew we are given homeschool- related items and asked to write honest reviews. The items are provided to us by the companies, but we are not paid for our reviews.

Guardian Angel Publishing E-Book Review

As part of the TOS Review Crew, I was sent 5 e-books from Guardian Angel Publishing to review. Guardian Angel Publishing can be found at www.guardianangelpublishing.com they sell picture books, early readers, storybooks and chapter books and come in e-books, print and paperback, Cd's and will be selling book video with sound DVDs for your TV. The cost ranges depending on which format you choose. The e-book downloads that I reviewed cost $5.00; the e-book CD cost $9.95 plus $5.95 for Shipping and Handling; Print versions of the books cost between $10.95 & $11.95 (depending on the book) plus $6.95 Shipping and Handling. The DVD option I find interesting, we have a built in DVD player in our car which we rarely use and on long car rides we will often listen to books on tape, I may purchase a few DVDs to use for our next car ride to offer a change of pace. Three of the books that I reviewed were going to be offered as a DVD book video for $9.95 plus $5.95 shipping and handling.

The first book I reviewed was titled "Andy and Spirit go to the Fair" by Mary Jean Kelso, pictures by K.C. Snider. This book was the second book in a series of three. The story is sweet and the main characters Andy, a boy who is in a wheelchair, and Spirit, an albino wild horse, are an unlikely pair, each with their own unique differences. Together they are able to accomplish great things in spite of their obstacles. This story is great for all families and children who are interested in horses or involved in 4-H will enjoy it. The end of the book contains an information guide as to how wild horses are managed in the US.

The second book was titled "Earthquake." The book was informative and had excellent information all about earthquakes and emergency preparedness. The illustrations were great and the book was filled with factoids. I think this book would make a great addition to any unit study on Earth Science. The book won Honorable Mention in the Wild Card Category at the 2009 Green Book Festival.

The next book was titled "Maybe we are Flamingos" part of the Safari Sue Series and was written by Safari Sue Thurman the artist was Kevin Scott Collier. The main characters are flamingos and once hatched, are not the same color as the other flamingos in their flock. They finally work up the courage to ask their mom why they look different and their mom explains how they turn pink (diet). Much to their relief they begin to make silly pictures about what they would look like if they ate tacos, broccoli etc... the moral of the story is, it is not what is on the outside that counts but what is on the inside. This book is cute and really appealed to young children especially when the flamingos start to draw the silly pictures.

"No Bones About It- Sum of our parts Series" written by Bill Kirk, artist Eugene Ruble is a fun rhyming way to learn the names of the bones of the human body. I also had the pleasure of getting this book to review. The pictures are funny and will hold the children's interest. The book also contains factoids, a quiz and mystery bones. This book would be an nice addition to a science lesson or a health lesson.

The final book that I reviewed, and easily my favorite, is called "Rainbow Sheep". The author and Fiber Artist is Kim Chatel. The book is about a character named Genevieve who shares her gift of a great imagination with a sad rainbow who winds up cheering up and laughing so hard he cries tears of joy. The tears drip down splashes of color onto Genevieve's sheep and changes them to rainbow sheep. The story is sweet, but the pictures are the highlight of the book and are beautiful and different. At the end of the book the author shares with us information on how to do Felt For Fun and comes with activities and projects. Children who are artistic will love this book.

I was impressed with the wide variety of books offered by Guardian Angel Publishing for ages (0- 12), if you check out the website, there are a few free books available to download.

This has been a TOS Home school Crew Review. As a member of the Home school Crew, we are given home school related items and are asked to write honest reviews. The items are provided to us by the companies, but we are not paid for our reviews.

Nature Friend Magazine

As part of the TOS Review Crew, I was sent the August & September 2009 Nature Friend magazine to review. As a newbie to the homeschooling world of products, I of course did not know of this one, so I did not recognize it when it came in the mail. My first glance at the cover led me to believe it was one of my husbands photography catalogues. After I took a second and read the title, I realized what it was and was immediately intrigued!

The photographs used throughout the magazine are breathtaking! There is something special about Nature Friend, it is different than other commercial publications. For example, on the cover is a beautiful photograph of Gods creation. The cover is uncluttered, there are no featured stories plastered all over the cover to detract from the beautiful picture. The Nature Friend title is at the top of the cover and under that is this statement: "Helping Families Explore the Wonders of God's Creation". SOLD! How refreshing to read those words in today's world. The magazine lived up to it's promises. Every article, picture, letter and educational tool, lived up to that description.

Nature Friend magazine publishes 12 issues/ year, 6 of which are "gently nudged" towards the older family members. Even non readers can enjoy looking at the photographs contained in Nature Friend. Nature Friend began in 1983 by the Stanley Brubaker Family. Their desire was to encourage children to believe in God as their creator and to seek out, recognize, and appreciate His handiwork. Nature Friend is now Published by kevin and Bethany Shank.

My children enjoyed the 'invisibles' section of Nature Friend. This is where you try to find the small objects hidden in the big picture (IE: I Spy). Also another monthly feature is the "Wondernose" article. A "Wondernose" is a Pennsylvania Dutch phrase to describe someone is curious about everything around them. Each issue contains a new topic that "Wondernose" is curious about.

Nature Friend also offers a Study Guide subscription in addition to the Nature Friend subscription. The Study Guide, in my opinion, is a must for home schoolers. It meshes with the Nature Friend magazine and once ordered, can be found in the center of the magazine. It is a great way to round out and reinforce the information contained in the magazine. The exercises in the study guide may be photocopied for multiple children to use. Each study guide contains crossword puzzles, True/False questions, an acrostic, fill in the blanks etc... all covering and reviewing the information contained in the magazine.

You can order from the Nature Friend website at http://www.naturefriendmagazine.com/ or toll free at 877-434-0765. The cost of the magazine is as follows:
1yr subscription- USA- $36.00
2yr subscription-USA- $68.00
add the study guide for $2.00/ issue
Nature Friend is currently offering a promotion, BLOG93 can be used to save $3.00 off of any new subscriptions and this promotion is valid until November 30, 2009.

At first the price seemed a little much, but I think, you get what you pay for. I used to pay $70/ month for cable to watch TV. We cancelled it because we felt it wasn't worth the money. I can get a two year subscription to a magazine that teaches science based on Biblical truths and is way more edifying than anything on TV, for what I would have paid for one month of cable. Worth the money, or add it to the Christmas wish list and ask family members to order a subscription for your children as a gift. Talk about a gift that keeps on giving!

Growing Healthy Homes Review

As a member of the TOS Review Crew I was able to review a great book titled: "Nutrition 101: Choose Life" published by the company Growing Healthy Homes. The website that sells the product is www.growinghealthyhomes.com and it can be purchased as an e-book (CD ROM for $79.95) or as a hardcover book ($99.95) or you can get a combo (book and CD for $129.95).

I know what you are thinking, a bit expensive for a book about healthy living, but give me one minute of your time. I am a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) and I have a Masters Degree in Science with a major in Health Education, so I have read MANY Health related books, articles etc.... I am passionate about this topic, so when I had the opportunity to review the book, I was pleased. The title of the book should really be "Everything that has ever had anything to do with any health related topic, ever" All kidding aside, this whopper of a book is 448 pages chock full of information. The book breaks down 12 body systems into 6 units:

Brain/ Nervous System
Digestion/ Elimination
Respiration & Olfactory
Muscular & Skeletal Systems
Cardiovascular & Immune Systems
Endocrine Systems and Emotions

Each Unit is broken down into chapters and thoroughly explains what each system does and then it links the role that lifestyle and diet have on the different body systems. The graphics are beautiful, and the book covers all age ranges. It offers hands on activities, experiments, projects, reading and writing assignments. The Activity Guide is broken down by Unit and further by school age (so home school parents can go right to the necessary information to expand on each topic). Two highlights in this book for me was the way the authors tied in Bible verses to each subject, our lifestyle and well being is so strongly tied into God's word and this book does a fantastic job of threading this through the book. My other favorite, was the recipes!! Yes I said recipes!!!! At the end of every unit there are recipes and activities to do to wrap up the unit. I love cooking (in case you don't know that yet!).

Nutrition 101: Choose Life not only provides the facts, but then offers tangible solutions for a Healthier Lifestyle. This book is a fantastic resource to fulfill health/ science requirements but it goes so far above and beyond that. New wives/ mothers can use it to educate themselves about the importance of running a healthy household; people who desire a healthy lifestyle change need to look no further, this book has it, soup to nuts (literally, there are recipes for soups and some for granola!). The Appendices contain such a vast amount of information for further study and it also offers Health statistics, food pyramid and a serving checklist; a food shopping list; tips on how to select fresh produce; Top 40 foods to eat/ foods to avoid. Information on Asthma, Mold, Reproductive Health, Non-Toxic Cleaners (with the instructions on how to make them). There are many many more topics, but I have to stop sometime!

As a Health Educator I know that one of the best ways to get someone to change a behavior is to provide information that will create a desire to change the negative behavior. Nutrition 101: Choose Life is a great resource, it is worth the price. This book, regardless of the age range of people in your household, is a must have for health education for homeschooling moms, and women who desire to run a healthy household.

Maverick Books: Hank the Cowdog

Soooooo....... apparently I have been living under a rock for a while, or maybe it is because I live in NJ, the most populated State in the US and live no where near a ranch or cowboys or, maybe it is because I have three little girls, but I had NO IDEA there was any such thing as "Hank The Cowdog." If you are like me and find yourself saying- "yes I live under a rock too, what is Hank The Cowdog?" please read on.......

Maverick Books, Inc. Publishes the Hank The Cowdog books (54 so far: one paperback book costs $4.24) and products which include audio Cd's (on sale now for $3.00 each), a TORNADO board game (price $12.99 on the website) a spin off of one of the books- ha ha- no pun intended- and several other products. You can check out the website at www.hankthecowdog.com and view for yourself the full product line.

I was sent three products from Maverick Books and the Hank the Cowdog product line to review. The first product I began reviewing was the book (#8 in the series) The Case of The One-Eyed Killer Stud Horse. I read to my children every day- I am an avid reader and my children are beginning to enjoy chapter books, so this was something that I looked forward to reading out loud to them. We started reading the first few chapters and my girls enjoyed the story. We had taken a long car ride one day, so I took with me a second product that I was sent to review; "Tales and Tunes from Hank the Cowdog". The girls found the songs and stories on the CD funny. and they really enjoyed listening to the characters' voices especially since we had been reading about Hank and his buddies on the ranch for the past several nights. There is one story on the Cd which is from the book we were reading. The girls listened to the story of the "Poisoned Bacon Grease" in the car. That night, we were up to the same chapter in the book. I read it to them and they were giggling the whole time. The story was so much more significant to them once they heard the Cd and were able imagine all the characters speaking the way they did on the Cd.
If you are new to the Hank The Cowdog product line- buy the Cd's along with the books to really grab your children.

Hank is a lovable character but totally clueless as the "self appointed Head of Ranch Security" along with his Deputy Drover. Together the duo talks in circles and usually end up confused and completely off topic! The other characters in the story add to the fun and chaos. As a mom of four children I have a special place in my heart for "Sally May" the mom. The story is fun reading for the whole family. Normally I would have passed right over this type of product line because I have three little girly girls and really didn't expect them to embrace Hank the way they did.

The final product that I was sent to review was the TORNADO board game. The game was enjoyable for all of us, and I think our favorite product. We love playing board games at Camp Corbett! Maverick books describes the TORNADO game very well so I am going to quote them "Hanks TORNADO game is a wild, fast paced race and chase game. Each person gets a Hank, Drover, and Junior the buzzard game piece, and it's a race to see who can get their pieces around the board and and safe to their home spaces first. There is a cassette tape with 30 minutes of excerpts from hanks 25th story, "The Case of the Swirling Killer Tornado." the excerpts tell a story that fits with the game."
My 7 & 5 year old picked up on the games rules after only one game. They can play it with each other and not have any problem, the rules are easy to understand. I like the fact that the game does not take too long to play so we are able to play it in the evening to wind down and I don't have to worry that it can take all night. I would be remiss if I didn't mention the 30 minute tape that comes with the game was hard for us to hear. The sound quality was not that great. That being said, I haven't used my tape player in about 5 years so, it may have been a malfunction on my part. We really have been playing the TORNADO game approximately three times per week since we got it and it is very portable; when it folds up the game board becomes a container for all the pieces.

Overall the Hank the Cowdog products are clean wholesome fun for the entire family. I can't wait for my little boy (who is one) to get a bit older, I see some Hank adventures in his future!
Happy Trails friends............