Kregel Publications: Circle C Beginings TOS Review

I have a daughter who is 7 years old and has really taken off with reading this year. She really enjoys it and I am thrilled. I am sure you know by now how I feel about books, I love them! It brigs me joy to have my children sit down with a good book and read it. I also love having a "real" book with actual pages to turn, I would choose that any day over an e-book.  As a member of the TOS Crew I was sent the book titled "Andi's Indian Summer" (sorry for the lack of pictures but my computer would not allow them to come up for some strange reason)  written by Susan K. Marlow, published by Kregel Publications.

The book is cute and my daughter really enjoyed reading it.  The Circle C Beginnings introduces the spunky main character "Andi Carter", a young girl who is eager to  grow up and experience the exciting wild west of the 1800's. The books are suitable for children ages 6-8 and can be found HERE. The soft covered book is 80 pages and cost $4.99. It took my daughter about 4 days to read the book and she did not have a hard time following and comprehending the text. In addition to an entertaining story, the reader is offered a section in the book titled "a peak into the past" and it explains that the story was based on events that happened during this period in history and offers a bit of historic background. There is also a website that has free coloring pages, learning activities and puzzles.



The other titles in the Circle C Beginning Series are "Andi's Pony Trouble"; "Andi's Fair Surprise"; and "Andi's Scary School Days". Check out what my fellow Crew Members thought, as each member got one of the above mentioned books click HERE.


As a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew, I was sent the book at no cost to myself in exchange for an honest review.

Latin's Not So Tough! Level 2 TOS Review

I am amazed at how much of our language is rooted in Latin. In fact, many English words (especially science related) have roots in Latin. My husband and I have been debating about teaching our children a second language. Actually, the debate is how many other languages should we teach them, and specifically, which ones in order to be competitive in a global market. Another consideration is, what age do we begin, do we learn it as a family and which language will be most used and helpful to our children.

My three top picks are Spanish (we live in NJ and have a very high Spanish speaking population here) and we debated between Mandarin  and Latin. Mandarin may be very useful to our children because over half of the worlds' population speaks it and this could be very beneficial to our children in a business regardless of profession. As a science nerd, Latin is one of my top choices. I see the value in teaching our children Latin, because it will benefit them in their studies, especially if they continue in a career path with a heavy science/ health background.  So, I was excited to review "Latin's Not So Tough!", created by the Company
 Greek 'N' Stuff .

 I was sent Level 2, which focuses on a thorough review of the Latin Alphabet, dip thongs and special consonant sounds. There are also 50 Latin vocabulary words. The target age for this level is 6-7 year olds. Older students would benefit from starting at level 3. The student has a workbook that is consumable and must use the flashcards to practice the sounds of the Latin Letters. The program offers many hands on activities to cement learning. I am impressed with this curriculum. It is teacher friendly and if a child is reading well, it can be done independently with teacher supervision. 

I also like the companies teaching philosophy: “Our teaching methodology incorporates a gradual, yet consistent, exposure to Greek or Latin. Each year, after reviewing previous concepts and vocabulary, the student then expands his/her knowledge of the Greek or Latin language (in much the same way that English grammar is commonly learned).”


My only hesitation with this program and teaching it to such a young child, is that if your child is not reading well, it could be very confusing. I do think the quality of the material warrants high praise. So here is my advice. If you have a strong reader, and you wish for your child to study Latin (they may have a God given bend towards the sciences), then strike while the iron is hot and begin the program. If you do wish for your child to study Latin but they are struggling, my advice would be to let them get a good grasp their own language first, then begin at level 3.

The price of the products I received are:
Latin's Not So Tough level 2 workbook: $18.95
Latin's Not So Tough Level 2 "Answers Only" key  $4.00
Latin's Not So Tough, pronunciation CD Level 1-3 $10.00


My fellow Crew members reviewed many different products from this company, so check out the TOS Blog found HERE.



As a member of the TOS Crew, I was given this product at no cost to myself in exchange for an honest review.

Science Weekly, TOS Review

I LOVE science, I can remember riding in the back of my parents station wagon and talking to them about what I want to be when I grew up. I always said that I wanted to be a scientist. I did actually choose a career path in the science field, eventually receiving my Masters Degree in Science with a Major in Community Health Education. I am a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) in my pre-mommy life and I love teaching the topic of Science to my little budding scientists.
Our home offers the perfect setting for real hands on science, which in this day and age, we Americans need to teach  a solid science foundation to our children in order to compete globally. We live at the end of a dead end on a lake in the woods so we are able to pull from nature and our surroundings just about anything we need  to teach on a science subject.
As a member of the TOS Homeschool Review Crew, I was sent an instructional module from Science Weekly found HERE. I thought the content was fine and I thought it was great that this material will work for a large family. The topic is the same for children in pre-k through 6th grade, just the depth of understanding is different. That makes teaching everyone together much easier. Plus the material is easy enough to follow for the student, so my daughter was able to do the work with me nearby, not necessarily hovering over her.
The topic we covered was fractions, which didn't strike me as very "sci ency" since we had covered the material in math. But the information was given in clear easy to read lessons and was a good review. Each Module offers Teaching Notes with an informational background (little to no prep time is necessary). The teaching notes also offers an answer key and additional resources to round out the weekly topic.

The cost for the material is: $19.95 per student per year for 15 issues (this is if you have less than 20 people who can subscribe). If you have a co-op and can gather 20 or more students you can get a "classroom rate" of $4.95 per student for 15 issues.
I know in the homeschool scene there are many moms who feel very confident teaching writing and fine arts but almost skip science altogether, if you fall into this category, check this product out. You can visit the site and download a free sample issue and see if this might be a good fit for your family. I would also consider using it as a supplement to a unit study or for folder work if a child isn't feeling well or you are traveling but don't want to lug around teaching manuals and books.
Click HERE to see what my fellow Crew Mates had to say about Science Weekly.


I was sent this product at no cost to myself in exchange for an honest review.

Kinderbach TOS Review

We bought a piano off of Craig's List about 3 years ago with a dream that one day our family would grow to be competent piano players. I can't read music, so this goal is a lofty one, especially when you consider our oldest child was 6 years old at the time. I had visions of snow falling outside and a crackling fire while family members took a turn playing  Christmas Carols and we all sang along. I am still clinging to this vision as my older daughters began piano lessons this past winter, but my third daughter, age 5 wasn't old enough to participate. I certainly am unable to teach her anything music related but I did want to encourage her in her desire to tickle the ivories. I had used Kinderbach, found HERE last year as a review with TOS and I kept coming back to it in my mind. I was thrilled when they gave me another chance to use their product and review it.


My daughter Mary, age 5 was thrilled when we began the first lessons, often asking for more than one a day. The program offers short video teaching segments that often include a game and fun characters. I did have to print out the workbooks, coloring pages, etc... to go along with the lesson. According to the website product description:
KinderBach breaks down the various tasks and techniques of playing the keyboard and separates them into child portions.  For example:  Before playing a song, rhythm, note identification, note placement, and music patterns are presented as different items through discussion and games.  Learning is gradual and child-paced.  In addition KinderBach uses fun characters to teach ideas, making the process entertaining.

The best part is, they offer a free trial, so you will be able to get a very good idea of the product before you purchase. If you choose to use the online program the cost is $7.99 per month or order the DVDs for $40.45. The product is recommended for children ages 3-7.

We love this product, my daughter Mary really enjoyed it, and I think it is offered at a reasonable price. Please take a look at what my fellow Crew Mates had to say: HERE


As a member of TOS Homeschool Review Crew, I was given this product to use at no cost to myself in exchange for an honest review.

Artistic Pursuits TOS Review

As a former preschool teacher and mom to 2 pre-school aged children, I was ecstatic when I was sent the Artistic Pursuits preschool art curriculum titled "The Way They SEE It" (A book for every parent about the art children make). You can check out the book HERE and see the other great products this company produces.

This spiral bound book is 73 pages and offers 29 art projects. The book is divided into three Sections:
Section One: The Nature of Children's Artistic Development
Section Two: Use real world examples to point out Artistic Ideas
Section Three: First Skills

I LOVE this book and for $42.95, I think it is money well spent! The book offers recipes for art material such as finger paints, and play-dough. I found that I had most other materials necessary to use this book on hand, such as crayons, water colors, markers, paint, finger paint, paper and clay. This book is perfect for children ages 3,4 & 5, however, my seven year old enjoyed the lessons as well. I really enjoyed the parent discussion that teaches us parents the process and methods to help us understand our children's art better.

This book requires no previous knowledge of art concepts (good thing because I have NONE!) and no rigid schedule needs to be followed. These projects can be used whenever you are looking for an engaging activity to do with your children.

One of the first lessons that we did together was called "Discover Art Project" we studied a beautiful flower picture and I discussed the details found in it, then we used our water colors to make our own bouquet of flowers. The little kids loved it and so did I, we spent a nice time together talking and being creative.  I can't wait to continue on through this book, especially as spring and summer approaches and we can head outside to use God's creation to create beautiful art.

The TOS Homeschool Review Crew reviewed several different age levels of these books, so check out THEIR SITE to see what my fellow Crew Mates had to say.


As a member of the TOS Homeschool Review Crew, I was sent this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

Brill Kids Aesop's Fables TOS Review

Earlier this year I had the opportunity to review Little Reader by Brill Kids. They have recently come out with another product titled Brill Kids Aespo's Fables. The books are "specially designed to teach your young child to read." These books are beautiful and glossy, they cost $37.50 per set, and come in the following titles:

•The Lion and the Mouse


•The Fox and the Grapes

•The Boy Who Cried Wolf

•The Turtle and the Rabbit

•The Fox and the Crow

My  five year old and two year old love reading with me so they loved these stories. Each book has a flap on the right side of the book and each book has the text on the left side with the picture on the right. As you read the story, cover the picture and have the children study the words as you read them outloud. After you have read the text, then uncover the picture and explain, with the help of the picture, the text again.

The company also offers these stories in digital format to be played back using the Little Reader Software.

These books, combined with the Brill Kids Little Reader computer program will have children recognizing words and sounding out new ones, all steps to reading fluently. As I have said in previous posts, readers are leaders, and any time spent reading to a child is time well invested. Check out what my fellow TOS Crew Mates thought of this product HERE



As a member of the TOS Homeschool Review Crew, I was given this product for free in exchange for an honest review.

Reading Kingdom TOS Review

My seven year old daughter is reading chapter books but as a newbie to the homeschool scene, I was reluctant to put our phonics program away. She is in "first grade" and phonics should go up to the end of 2nd grade, right?  Oh boy, do I have a lot to learn about teaching to their skill and not the curriculum. Ok, I am sure that is a typical newbie mistake right?

Well as January was looming and the joy and festivities of the Christmas season were now just a memory, it was time to get back to the table and back to school. I was loath to continue on with phonics, as was my daughter. She was reading the words before she even coded them and we would then go on to code the words because I was afraid she would miss a reading "rule".  Talk about laboring in vain.

As a member of TOS Homeschool Review Crew, I was given a free subscription to an online reading program called "Reading Kingdom". The program was created by literacy expert Dr. Marion Blank.

As you can see above, Reading Kindgdom teaches many more skills then just phonics. It seemed to be exactly what we were looking for. Since the program is geared to children ages 4-10 and will teach Letter Sounds, Reading, Spelling and Typing up to a third grade level, I sigend my two duaghters up, ages 7 and 5. The program suggests a school-age student use the program 4-5 days a week and preschoolers use the program 3 times per week. Depending on the skill level, the program takes 12-15 months to complete and each session usually takes about 10-15 minutes to do.

My daughters both started with the keyboard and mouse training, this gets them familiar with the keyboard and using the mouse. Both girls were able to finish quickly (within 1 week). Next they were given a skills survey which then analyzes the child's preformance and will give more practice to areas that need it. Obviously my 7 year old is farther ahead in the program then my 5 year old.

My seven year old has been going through level one of  the "Introduction to Reading and Writing"  which includes practice seeing sequences and recognizing letters. My 5 year old has just begun level one.  There are 5 levels in this section. At the end of this program, my children will have read 36 books.
I am sent progress reports to my email and can check on them at any time. Parents/ teachers are asked not to "help" so that the program assess the skill level of each student.

We LOVE this program. I have officially packed up my phonics curriculum for both children. I have noticed improvement in reading with my 7 year old and much less frustration from both of us since we don't have to dredge through phonics. She can read real books and spell the words and get feedback right away. We will continue till the program is finished and I will know for certain her reading level.

My 5 year old is a bit frustrated with the program. If she does not pay close attention to the session and she makes one mistake, it will have her do the entire problem over again. Also, if she takes too long to click on certain keys, it will tell her she is to "try again" or "watch" then try again. The length of each session is just right. She usually has a 10 minute session and by the end she is "done" for the day with it. Hopefully the issues with the program will be tweaked by the programmers.

Subscriptions to Reading Kingdom are $19.99/month with no monthly minimum, or $199.99 if you purchase a 12 month subscription. If you have multiple children using the program, the cost per each additional child in your family is $9.99/month
I think this price is fantastic, considering the cost of preschool is $180/ month where I live. I also like the use of the computer. I have a newborn baby as well as a 2 year old, so independent learning is very high on my list right now.

I plan on using Reading Kingdom with my other children as they reach the appropiate age to use it. If you want to see what my other crew mates have to say about this program head on over to the TOS Blog.


As a member of the TOS Homeschool Review Crew, I was sent this item at no cost to myself in exchange for an honest review.