Lobster Network - Share your stuff!!!

The Crew was asked to review Lobster Network, a site that allows you to share your items for sale, trade or borrowing. Homeschool networks and friends can set up networks to easily exchange items between each other.

I think this site has a lot of potential to be a great place for families to exchange their homeschool and other items. I think that once there are more users on this site and more of us list their items for sale that the benefits to this site will be absolutely incredible. I do wish that within the communities that there were chat boards or a main chat board to interact with each other.

Today when I was searching on the site, I was able to find a few items that would work for my two boys and I believe that as the word spreads about this site that I will be able to find even more great buys!!

Go to http://www.lobsternetwork.com/ to sign up for your FREE account.

There are more videos about this site here.

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.

Keyboarding for the Christian School - Elementary Version

With the increasing use of the computer in today's world. It's even more important that our children learn how to use the keyboard quickly and accurately without finger picking. There are all sorts of programs out there to teach your children some with big fancy programs and others that are down to earth like Keyboarding for the Christian School.

Our family reviewed this product for the author Leanne Beitel and was very impressed with how amazing this book was. I especially loved the use of Bible verses in the lessons. To me that made this book even more valuable as not only would my children be learning how to type, they would be meditating on God's word as they were learning!!

This amazing e-book can be yours for only $12.95 and is designed for children K-5 grade. She also has other e-books for older children as well.

VISIT THE CHRISTIAN KEYBOARDING WEBSITE

This product was provided to my family as part of my membership in The Old Schoolhouse Crew review team. The opinions expressed in this review are mine after our family has had a chance to review this product together.

Studypod

Have you ever had pinched nerves in your neck from studying all night? Do you absolutely hate bending your head down to read at the table? Studypod is the solution!! We had an opportunity to review this amazing product and I have to say that I'm really impressed.



The first benefit of this product is the storage. It folds together like a book which makes it excellent for storing on a bookshelf or in a backpack. It also has storage pockets inside for a cell phone or i-Pod.



My family absolutely loved this product. It is the perfect gift for any student whether in public school or home schooled. As I mentioned it easily folds together to fit in a backpack, so an older student in public school or college can take it out and set it up for proper reading posture while studying in study hall or in the library.



The Studypod is only $19,95 and the website. If you purchase two you can get them for $16.95 each.

Visit the Website

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine....A Guide for All Homeschoolers

About a year or so ago while I was checking out some books at the library, I came across a magazine that should be in every homeschooling home. I was trying to find some ideas on how to do unit studies and was looking for how to manage home life with homeschooling life. This magazine was an answer to my prayers and now that I'm a subscriber, I make sure to tell all my homeschooling friends that they need to have this magazine!!! Just yesterday, I went fishing with my husband. I usually sit and crochet the entire time. I had just received the new issue in the mail and thought I would "scan" through it to see what was in it and then go back to crocheting. I literally read the magazine from cover to cover. Every article had something that I could use in my homeschooling, family and spiritual life!! There was even an article on all the cleaning benefits of vinegar. The last issue addressed how do deal with being unhappy with your life and was filled with Bible verses to help you deal with the various stresses in your life. I also love to go through the advertisements and see what other resources are available to the homeschooling family. This month they have a special promotion where they are giving away 19 gifts to the first 5,000 subscribers!! Click on the image above to get all the details!!

The Old Schoolhouse Planner - I'm in Love!!

I just had the opportunity to review one of the most amazing planning tools available for the homeschooling family. This e-book is absolutely phenomenal!! It comes in PDF format and if you have the most recent upgrade from Adobe you can actually type in the forms and print them out for each of your children. There are monthly featured themes with recipes and articles. There are links to resources for each monthly topic for additional worksheets and information to enhance your unit studies. There are charts that help you with measurement conversion, the fifty states, the presidents and even the branches of government.

My favorite forms would have to be:

• Shopping Lists
• Chore Charts
• Yearly Goal Sheet
• Curriculum Planning Form (perfect for the eclectic homeschooler)
• High School Transcript
• Report Card Forms
• Bible Memorization Record
• Assignment and Due Date Sheet
• Attendance Chart
• Housekeeping Weekly Schedule
• Grocery Lists
• Monthly Menu Planner
• Vacation Planner
• Party Planner
• Chore Charts (several different types to fit ANY family)

There are just so many amazing and practical forms in this that any home, homeschool or not would greatly benefit from them. I would also recommend this planner for the public school teacher as there are several form that would help in preparing lesson plans, quick reference and also in organizing work and home life. I actually have never seen anything like this and for me it was like a child in a candy store. I used to search all over the Internet and spent hours obtaining all the forms and information that I needed and now it is all in ONE 375 page e-book!!! I know once I spent an hour just trying to find a printable multiplication chart, which also happens to be in this book. I also couldn't find a kitchen conversion chart and had to go online to find one and once again this chart is easily accessible in this book!!

The planner is only $39.00 and will provide every homeschooling family with the opportunity for total home organization. I recommend every family has one of these as you will not be disappointed!!

Get Your Planner Today!!

You Can Do It Mom!!

Sometimes in a homeschooling parent's teaching career, they wonder if they are doing everything they need to and get overwhelmed with teaching, housework and parenting. If you operate a home-based buisness, it adds more to the stress of maintaining a peaceful and balanced home. As laundry piles up and dishes fill the sink while you spend half your time being a parent/homeschooler and then hit the computer or craft room to earn those extra dollars for your families income with the rest of your spare time, you wonder how can I make time for myself, for prayer time and for all those other things that I want to get done. What about those pictures that I need to get scrapbooked, or what about that idea I had for bringing more income to the family? Later this month I will be sharing some of the websites I have started using to bring some organization into my home, but in the meantime, I wanted to share an exciting e-book that I discovered.

The Old Schoolhouse has just came out with the most amazing e-book that helps homeschooling families to figure out how to work from home and still keep up with their main goal of homeschooling their children. The book is called Home Work - Juggling Home, Work and School Without Losing Your Balance. Several authors have teamed together to give you ideas on managing your home, homeschooling and home-based business and to not falter in your goal in raising Godly and well-educated children. Whether it's a crafting business or an online based business, this e-book has tons of ideas on how you can bring extra income into the family and even gives you ideas on how to make your current crafting business into something more. I strongly encourage you to get this book as you will not be disappointed. There is absolutely an idea for every mom and there were job ideas that I had not even thought of!! With my husband recently being laid off at the railroad, this book is a lifesaver on getting ideas how to get by until the economy picks up again!!

Click on the picture at the top of this review or HERE to find out what kinds of home-based business options are available for your homeschooling family.

Crazy about Veggietales!!

Okay who doesn't know Veggietales and hasn't seen at least one of their cartoons. We are all huge fans of the Veggietales series and love absolutely EVERY one!! My favorites would have to be Madame Blueberry and Esther. Veggietales is produced by Big Idea which also produces 3-2-1 Penguins. My children absolutely love those videos as well!! If you click on the graphic above so you can have even more fun!! Big Idea has created a website with games, information and even a store where you can purchase videos and products. There is even a section for parents!! Check it out today!!! Don't forget to play Flight over Bumblyberg while you are at it!! It's a great break from homeschooling when it's too cold to send them outside!!

Get Chores Done Without Nagging!!!

I was searching for chore charts for my boys the other day and found the most amazing reward chart program ever!!! The program is called My Reward Board. You enter your children's names and how many points they can earn per week. There are individual charts for each child with pictures for those that can not read yet. There are chores cleaning rooms, feeding pets, just about anything a child might have to do around the house. There are also health related chores such as brushing teeth and taking a bath. There are behavior "chores" such as no back talking and no fighting. Each child gets their own "room" that has all kinds of activities as well as their chart, scoreboard, and even a dresser to keep their reward coupons and certificates of achievement. The chart is so much fun that even my 13 year old runs downstairs every night to get his points in. There are four different animated "stickers" that whoop and cheer when the child puts them on the board. This is especially entertaining to my four year old. My seven year old absolutely loves the point system and that you get a special reward for a perfect day when you do all your chores.

Here is a picture of the chart below:


There is an additional chart that is for goal setting for things such as potty training or grades. This program has so many features and activities that I haven't even had a chance to play with them all. There is an allowance piggy bank feature that I haven't even had a chance to fully investigate yet. At the end of the week they get to "cash" in all their points and there is even a feature to remove undeserved "smileys" and another to give demerits or take away points. There is a treasure box in each child's room, when they click on the treasure box the reward coupons move across the screen and play fun music that pumps up your child's adrenaline. These coupons are already set up for you, however, you can add your own special coupons, delete existing coupons and you can change the point requirements on the default coupons. I am absolutely in love with this program and my middle child who used to whine about doing chores, now whines if he has trouble getting them all done so he can have a "perfect" day!! What a change from over a week ago when I couldn't get him to even pick up his dirty clothing. Their rooms are cleaned, they complete all their daily grooming without being asked, and I have not had to yell at them once to get them done!!

You get a free 15 day trial to the program and I recommend every one of my readers try this program. You will not regret it and for only $19.99 after the trial it is pennies to relieve me of the stress of nagging and grounding for chores not done!! Thanks My Reward Board!! Click on the logo below so you too can start your children on this amazing reward program!!