TOS Crew Review - Travel Kits E-book

Just picture it, traveling down the interstate  with a handful of  screaming kids..with the incessant  'Are we there yet??? ' coming from the back row......have you had a car trip that resembled this tale?? I know that we have!!!

Travel Kits, A Simple Way to Bless Others an E-Book by TOS is here to save the day...

As part of the Homeschool Crew we were given a free copy of Travel Kits E-book in exchange for our honest opinion.

Donna Rees the author of Travel Kits challenges you to demonstrate a little love, a little ingenuity, and a little organization: by making a travel kit—a simple way to bless others.

So what is a Travel Kit you ask ~ it is a collection of gifts that you can create for your family, or as a gift for a family you know who is about to set sail, that are designed to entertain and/or delight the recipient.  I should note here, that Travel Kits are not just for young children. While that was my example, and yes, little ones need lots of things to keep them entertained. Everyone, any age, love to be thought of, and Travel Kits are a wonderful way to help them feel loved and cared for!  Even grown ups!

Within the pages of Travel Kits,  Donna Rees takes  you step by step on how you can create your own Travel Kits.

At the foundation, you are ministering to the family you are blessing. Whether it is your own family or a family you know the principle is the same. In the bible we are instructed in Luke 6:31, ' And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.'   In Phil 2:3 it says '...let each esteem other better than themselves'.

Keeping these biblical principles in mind, Donna has you look at who your recipients are, how long will they be traveling, and what are some of their interests. Once you have done that, you will be able to create a Travel Kit that will bless those who receive it.

Donna will then show you how you can gather items for each member of the family. How to wrap them, assemble them and even how to disperse gifts throughout the trip.

Donna really makes the process fool proof! No expertise needed, only a loving heart, and a desire to bless!

As I read this book, not only did I think of many ways that I could use travel kits for my own family, as well as, families I know. But, I also thought of several ideas that I could use for many occasions, using the same principles.

I challenge you to stop by the The Schoolhouse Store and purchase your copy of Travel Kits, (available for $12.45)  and start blessing those around you! And better yet, come up with even more ideas to bless those around you, using the ideas you learned using Travel Kits, and then come back here and post about them!

Take a moment to visit the Crew Blog to see what my crew mates have to say about Travel Kits!

May you all be blessed as you bless those you love!

TOS Crew Review - Schoolhouse Planner Module June 2010

The 3rd Voyage of the TOS Homeschool Crew has set sail, and our first review item has boarded! We were given a free copy of  The June 2010 Module Travel the World, for the Schoolhouse Planner for free for the purpose of review.

Now, I should tell you before we go any farther, I have always loved the Schoolhouse Planner and the modules! So, I was looking forward to reviewing this one!

So many times when you get one of these  'E-books', they really are geared for the younger set. While Travel the World, does have plenty of information and activities for that age group, (coloring pages, word finds, lapbook beginnings, etc..). What impressed me was that they have gone the extra mile to include a high school section. Now that I have 4 high school students, this is a very important aspect for me.

This is not simply an E-book that you can print out and use, which you can do, by the way. However, it is chock full of interactive links throughout the module. Links are included in both the younger section, as well as, the high school section.

The links consists of additional information, as well as games that your child can use to help cement the information into their brains.

Another blessing of this module, is the fact that it is from a Christian Worldview.  God and His Word are throughout the unit. And not just as an afterthought. Each passage included is relevant to the point of study.

While clearly not a year long course, for $7.95 this is an awesome supplement that will help your child, no matter the age, either become familiar with the geography of the world, or for the older students, help concrete knowledge they may have already been exposed to.

I highly recommend Travel the World to any homeschooler!

Visit the Schoolhouse store to find Travel Around the World and other Planner Modules!

As always, please visit the crew blog to see what my crew mates are saying!

Happy Traveling!

SALE: Math Galaxy

Below you will find my original review for Galaxy of Education, for Math Galaxy.  While looking through my reviews, trying to find one to place  in our local homeschool group newlsetter, I discovered that Math Galaxy is having a huge sale for a limited time!!! It appears that their prices are 50% off. For a limited time!

If you need a math supplement, please take a moment to visit their website to see if it is a good fit for your family!!!

Our next stop on our TOS Homeschool Crew Voyage is with the fine people at Galaxy of Education. As Crew Mates we were given free access to their Math Galaxy Programs and E-books in exchange for our honest opinions.

If you have followed my voyage for any amount of time, you know that math is not my favorite subject. So anytime I stumble across a program or tool that will help me teach my children math skills, this intrigues me. Will it indeed be a program that will help us?

First, let's look at what they have available. There are several Java-based programs covering the topics of;

~Math Galaxy Whole Numbers Fun
~Math Galaxy Word Problems Fun
~Math Galaxy Fractions Fun
~Math Galaxy Decimals, Proportions and Percents Fun
~Math Galaxy Pre-Algebra Fun
~Math Galaxy Algebra Fun

There is also something available called The Riddler Worksheet  Generator. It is available in the following titles;

~Whole Numbers
~Fractions
~Decimal Proportions Percents
~Algebra

Math Galaxy also offers several E-books they call Riddles Books. They are

~Fraction Riddles E-book
~Algebra Riddles E-book
~Whole Numbers Riddles E-book
~Decimal Riddles E-book

I have seen pros and cons with these programs. The PROS: my son enjoyed using them! That is half the battle right there, isn't it? He would sit down and work about 45 minutes on his math. Secondly, it really was helping him The way the program works is when you click into a subject, say... 'Area' off of the screen below...

You are then taken to a screen that gives you a couple of options. One of those options is 'review'. When you click on that area, it is a tutorial. Your child will click through a series of screens learning the skill he will be using in that section. Once he completes that  he can move onto the doing the practice problems. You can choose to have them do 'step by step' or 'final answer only'. We always chose 'step by step'.  These programs have helped to move him along quicker than he was working through his math previously. That is a plus!

Now, what are the con's? First, your child needs to be a reader! If you have a struggling reader, then this program is not going to be a good fit. They have to read through the tutorials and problems.  We have several dyslexics in my home, so this was an issue for some of my children.  The second would be that, when the child does his work he earns robots, that allow him to play some games that are included with the program. Which is a great incentive. However, you must be aware that the robots do not carry over for future use. So you need to work that reward time, into the time you have allowed them to use Math Galaxy.  And the final con, is that it is not a tool that you can use, and see really how your children are doing. There are no reports offered to show they have mastered a skill, or even what kinds of problems they have been doing. Having this feature would really enhance this product.

However, even with the cons that I listed, I really did like this program. We learned how to work the program to best serve our family and it really has been a blessing.

You can order any of the Java Based Programs and the Riddlers Worksheet Generators for $24.95 each. The  E-books are available for $12.95. You can order all of these products  by visiting Math Galaxy.

Please take a moment to cruise on over to the crew blog to see what my crew mates have to say about these products.

TOS: Homeschool Crew Year 2, Voyage is Complete

It is hard to believe that I have been reviewing curriculum for the TOS Homeschool Crew for 2 years now. I am not sure where the time has gone. When I am knee deep doing reviews, it seems there is no in sight, though not that the 2nd year is complete, it is hard to believe it is over!

I have thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of being on the crew. THe friendships made while on the crew, is not something I was looking for nor expecting! God is good to bless in ways we could not even imagine.

The amazing women and 1 gent have been a wealth of information, and a constant source of support. And I am not just speaking of crew related issues.

They are quite the prayer warriors, the each have a wealth of knowledge to be shared, about homeschooling, special needs, techie stuff, as well as having some good ole clean fun!

I have been asked to serve another year on the crew! What an honor!
I am thankful for the blessings that God continues to shower down on me, that make homeschooling continue to be possible for our family.

I am going to miss the crew members that will not be joining us next year, and I am looking forward to keeping touch with them through other means.. facebook, twitter, their blogs!

I am also looking forward to meeting our new crew and getting to know who has been assembled for the Year 3 Crew.

As we close with Year 2 I thought I would share with you the list of Crew Awards for our favorite products.
If I reviewed the product, I have included a link to that review here.
If you would like to read any of the reviews my crew mates wrote about these products you can do that by visiting the crew blog.

The results are in!
Here are the winners of the 2010 Homeschool Crew Seaworthy Awards:

Favorite Language Arts Product => EDUDPS

Favorite History Product => Bright Ideas Press (All American History and Mystery of History)

Favorite Science Product => Nature Friend Magazine

Favorite Math Product => Math Mammoth

Favorite Online Math Product => Mathletics

Favorite Handwriting Product => Zeezok (Presidential Penmanship)

Favorite Fine Arts Product (art, music, etc.) => Artistic Pursuits (review from year 1)

Favorite Pre-school Product => Time 4 Learning

Favorite Elementary Product => Critical Thinking

Favorite Upper-Grade Product => Professor in a Box

Favorite College Prep Product => Cerebellum/Standard Deviants

Favorite Special Needs Product => Super Star Speech

Favorite Health and Beauty Product => Virginia Soaps & Scents

Favorite Christian Product => Grapevine Studies
Best Resource I Didn't Know I Needed => Studypod
Best Homemaking Product => Sue Gregg

Best Customer Service => Graphics Toolbox

Best Online Resource => ABC Teach
Best e-product => Nutrition 101
Best Office and Technology Resource => Web Designs for Kids

Best Homeschool Resource => Apologia – Ultimate Guide …Best Map Resource => Homeschool in the Woods

Best Book, Novel or Magazine => Sarah Books

Best Children's Book => Children’s Bible Hour

Best Hands-On Resource => Journey Through Learning
Most Adaptable Resource => Sue Patrick’s Workbox System

Most Unique Resource => Lobster Network

Most Family-Oriented Product => Family MintKid's Choice => Maverick Books
All Around Crew Favorite => All About Spelling