Sunday, April 25, 2010

Math Galaxy - A Fun Way to Do Math!

The homeschool crew was asked to review Math Galaxy. Our family had an opportunity to review the workbooks, worksheet generators and programs that are provided by this amazing website.

Our favorite was the The Math Galaxy Whole Number Riddles eBook. It is an eBook in pdf format that contains 130 of the printable riddles that are in the Whole Numbers Worksheet Generator software plus standard worksheets for those who would prefer an eBook. It sells for $12.95 on the website. My middle guy loves to solve puzzles so this was the perfect math format for him.

The worksheet generators and programs are also excellent and perfect for supplementing any math curriculum. What I loved the most is that they are challenging and address higher math levels which is sometimes really hard to find as your children get older. Many of the programs I reviewed on this website are just a bit to high for my 3rd grader, but I know that we will definitely be using them as soon as he gets to that level in math. The programs and worksheet generators run $24.95.

I am a big advocate of making learning fun and so this website and the programs are perfect for making math fun especially for older elementary students.


Visit the Math Galaxy Website to see even more information and get started on making math fun and challenging for your children.

This review was done after our family was given workbooks, worksheet generators and programs as part of our membership in The Old Schoolhouse review team. The opinions are ours after we had a chance to try out the various products and implement them in our daily homeschool activities.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Time 4 Learning - Preschool



The Crew was asked to review the Pre-K online program by Time 4 Learning. This is a really fun site for any preschooler and is perfect for teaching the basics in a fun way that will have your little guy or gal running to the computer every morning to do their lessons. Even though my youngest is a Kindergartener, he loved playing the games and exploring the sites. He even was finding out things that he didn't know in some of the sections and it kept him entertained for over an hour.

Here are some of the screenshots of the website:



The navigation of the website is very easy for a young child and the graphics and games are high quality. My boys have watched a lot of education television programs and DVDs so its important for any computer program to grab their attention, otherwise they get bored quickly. It wasn't the case with this website even though most of the material was review to Josiah.

Time 4 Learning offers access to their pre-K to 8th grade programs on a month-to-month basis. The first child is $19.95 per month and each additional child is $14.95 per month.
The review is mine after my five-year old had a chance to review the site with me. The service was offered to my family as part of our membership in The Old Schoolhouse Crew review team.

All About Reading - What Am I?






My youngest loved the first book that we reviewed from this series and was even more excited to see another one arrive for review. He is still a beginning reader, so I reviewed the book and also had my 3rd grader read the book as well. Once again the reader has very exciting stories that grab a child's attention and get them into the book.

I also am becoming quite fond of the black and white illustrations as well as the boys seem to get into the story rather than getting wrapped up into the pictures. Before this series, I had always purchased our borrowed books from the library that were colorful and bright to try to get Josiah into the story. Now I will be a little more careful about judging a book by it's cover or illustrations.

Check All About Spelling's website and purchase your copy of this amazing reader for $19.95.

This book was provided to our family as part of our membership in the Crew. The review is mine after my boys and I have had a chance to review the book during our daily lesson plans.

Children's Bible Hour Ministries



We absolutely loved this series that was provided to us as part of our Crew membership!! The stories are so captivating and relevant today's children.

My favorite was the Braving the Storm story. It was really relevant to our family who has also been going through a hard time with my husband's railroad furlough and how we had to struggle with our finances and had to give up a lot of things to be able to stay in our house and make it month by month.

My son's favorite, was Seventy Times Seven. He liked how it talks about forgiveness and thought it was a very important thing to learn about. He said it is important to ask for forgiveness when you do something wrong like the boys did when they broke the window.

The books come with an audio CD which makes them even more entertaining for younger children. I really loved this series and it will be something that will be cherished for a long time in my family.

The Seasons of Faith series have been adapted from the classic Children's Bible hour radio scripts. I had never heard of the Children's Bible Hour so these were absolutely new and exciting to our family

The softcover books retail for $10. When you use the code FREESHIPAPR15 between March 17 and April 15, 2010, you can receive free standard shipping with the purchase of the 4 book set. There are also free study questions available for parents and teachers.

Here is a little bit more information about each of the books from the back covers:


The Seasons of Faith illustrated books encourage children to learn about their faith in God. Based on CBH Ministries' treasure trove of radio scripts, these stories teach core truths of the Bible so that kids can easily apply them to their lives. Each book focuses on a season of faith-development.



Spring: This is a time when people experience new life in Christ. Faith develops and Christians begin to share the Salvation message.



Summer: The season when faith grows under God's love and care. Fruit is witnessed and triumps are gained through applying His Word and striving to be the best we can be in Christ.



Autumn: Times of struggle and temptation, peer pressure, making mistakes, and scary transitions happen in this season. Even though it might seem like nothing good can come from this time, God has promised us He will be there. He will teach us how to forgive.



Winter: This season is the most difficult. Deep struggles, mourning, trying to make it through difficult times, or the death of a loved one can pull us away from God. He teaches us to lean on Him for comfort and peace.

It's a great way to teach values to your children in a fun and illustrative way. I recommend you add them to your home library.

This series was provided to our family for review as part of our Crew membership. The review is mine after having a chance to enjoy these books with my sons.