The Typing Coach ~ a TOS review

Learning to type correctly on a keyboard is an essential life skill. And I am not talking about a phone keyboard, but a regulation computer keyboard. Montana will be taking her first online history class in the fall and part of that class means turning in typed homework assignments so solid typing skills are a must for her. My goal for her is to be able to type at least 25 wpm by the end of the summer which is a doable goal.

I was glad to have the opportunity to review The Typing Coach Online Typing Course provided by The Typing Coach. I remember taking a keyboarding class in high school and learning to type 75 words per minute. Since then I have studied Stenography, court reporting, and learned to type 165 words per minute on my Steno machine. I have since put my stenography on the back burner as I homeschool my children but I do insist on the girls learning to type properly and not use the hunt and peck way.

The Typing Coach Online Typing Course is a great introductory for anyone looking to learn how to type. The course is completely online and is available for purchase for $17.00 per person for a full year of course access. The self-paced course teaches basic typing skills in a systematic way. Since Montana has not had any formal typing training, she did do the classic and dreaded two-finger typing. We were quickly able to get away from it though as she progressed through the lessons and found the HOME row. I chose to have Montana move through the lessons at the slower pace because I wanted to focus on proficiency and accuracy in her lessons. 

 There are seven pillars to the program that include: 

~ Having good posture 

~ Home row 

~ Top row 

~ Bottom row 

~ Shift Keys 

~ Typing Practices

 ~ Number row 

When you first log into your account on The Typing Coach you will see all the lessons available listed. Each lesson has instructions for each lesson to be completed. Lessons begin with an audio lesson along with a corresponding printed page for practice. I printed out the printable PDF Student packet that contains the lessons for the students to complete.

Montana has made great progress within this program! She likes doing the lessons and thinks it’s fun to get on the computer for extra screen time. She has progressed to knowing the home row keys and is now learning the top row of the keyboard. I feel this is a gentle, yet thorough online typing program that gets the job of learning to type done. Montana will continue to use this program to completion and if we still have time within our 1 year subscription I would love for my younger daughter to start a very gentle introduction to typing lessons too. 

Be sure to check out what my CrewMates think about this program by clicking the banner below.

Company ~ The Typing Coach 

Product ~ The Typing Coach Online Typing Course 

Format ~ online typing program 

Price ~ $17.00 per year 

Ages ~ 12 and up, younger students can use a slower pace

Social Media Links: 

 Twitter: https://twitter.com/thetypingcoach Tag:@thetypingcoach

©2008 - 2017 A Stable Beginning. All rights reserved. All photographs, text, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the author. 

 http://astablebeginning.com

Mess Free Creativity with the new Thin Stix Classic Colors from The Pencil Grip, Inc. ~ a TOS review

I am always looking for new and fun ways to keep my littles busy while I am teaching the older girls or while we are out and about. One thing McKenzie (7 years-old) and Micah (3 years-old) like to do is paint. While I don’t mind pulling out the bottles of tempera paints or watercolors it’s always nice to have a quick mess free option too. We get just that when we utilize the Thin Stix 6pk of Classic Colors from The Pencil Grip, Inc. 

Thin Stix just like the original Kwik Stix’s are solid, non-toxic tempera paint sticks that require no water or paint brushes to use. Thin Stix have a smaller tips for a smoother control or for more detailed painting.

Would you believe me if I told you there was such a thing as no mess painting? That's right, no cups, smocks, brushes, or a single drop of water needed to paint a masterpiece for your budding Picasso? That’s exactly what you get with the Thin Stix! They are sized just right for small hands and used just like a fat crayon or marker. The creativity possibilities are endless as kids simply draw or color with them.

With a 90 second drying time and non-toxic formula, you can’t go wrong with these! The vibrant colors dry in just 90 seconds after coming in contact with your paper, cardboard, wood, or even canvas media. Just pop the cap off, twist the stick to make the paint rise up and you are ready for hours of fun painting.

McKenzie received these in her Easter basket this year. It was so hard for me to wait until Easter to give them to her because I knew she would love them so much! Easter morning, I found her painting in her Easter dress before church! Thankfully she did not get any paint on her dress. Later that evening I found her painting happily dozens of pictures with her new Kwik Stix Thin Stixs!

Now, don't get me wrong. I do still let him paint and get messy with regular paint, but that is few and far in between these days since we have been introduced to Kwik Stix.

 I also, really like that these are so portable. We have taken them to gymnastics and softball games near and far and they keep everyone busy and entertained on long meet days. I store the Thin Stixs and the original Kwik Stixs in pencil cases along with plenty of sketch paper for easy portability in our travel tote.

Can I tell you we love these paint sticks! Someone in the house is using them on a daily basis. They are extremely affordable at just $8.49 a set so. They are so much fun and I have no problem letting Micah or McKenzie pull out the paints and start creating! I am so excited the company decided to include the neon and metallic colors in the Thin Stix version too!

And guess what!? You can get your very own set of Kwik Stix paints by visiting Toys R Us!

Check out what my CrewMates thought of the Thin Stixs by clicking the banner below and go out and grab yourself a set too!

Company ~ The Pencil Grip, Inc. 

Product ~ Thin Stix 6pk of Classic Colors

 Price ~ $8.49 a set 

Ages ~ 3 and up

Social Media Links: 

 • FacebookTag: @thepencilgrip  ~ Twitter Tag:@thepencilgrip ~  Pinterest Tag: @KwikStixPaint/boards

©2008 - 2017 A Stable Beginning. All rights reserved. All photographs, text, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the author. 

 http://astablebeginning.com

Wordless Wednesday

©2008 - 2017 A Stable Beginning. All rights reserved. All photographs, text, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the author. 

 http://astablebeginning.com

Focus on the Family: Captain Absolutely ~ a TOS review

Today I have a great book review to share with you. Over the last six weeks we have had the opportunity to read the new book called Captain Absolutely from Focus on the Family and my girls devoured it the minute it hit the mailbox!


Captain Absolutely is written by Wooten Z. Bassett and illustrated by Dennis Edwards and is actually a spinoff of the ever popular Adventures in Odyssey series. Written in comic book style with 105 colorful, action filled pages of Christian Adventure. This book took 5 years to finish and was written and illustrated 2 pages at a time for Focus on the Family’s Clubhouse Magazine.

Captain Absolutely tells the story of Josiah King, a mild-mannered librarian who is transformed into a superhero. This happens when a computer explosion occurs at the library and Josiah runs for cover in a room full of Bibles. As he delves into the Word of God for the first time a mysterious radioactive fume covers him and transforms him into a superhero, Captain Absolutely. Now that Josiah is transformed he must stand up to battle the forces of evil and his arch nemesis, Dr. Relative, all the while defending God’s truth.

Does this sound exciting? I know my 10 year old 4th grader, Montana, was super excited to be on this review. She anxiously checked the mailbox each day for it to arrive and when it did she read the whole book in one day! Then she passed it on to my 14 year old daughter who read it over the course of a few days because of her training schedule. Even my 7 and 2 year olds “read” the book together looking at the pictures and decoding the story.

Montana actually read the story several times since we have had it at our house. She loves it as we are huge fans of the Adventures in Odyssey series it is molded after. Here are Montana’s words about the book:

 “I really liked this book! It is an easy read but has a lot of information in it. Captain Absolutely is a great character and I like the comic book style. I think anyone, even girls who like Adventures in Odyssey will enjoy this book too, I know I did!” 

There you have it, straight from Montana’s mouth. Be sure to click the link and get your own copy of this graphic novel for just $9.99. You won’t be disappointed! Be sure to click the banner below to see what my 69 other CrewMates thought of this book.

Company ~ Focus on the Family

Product ~ Captain Absolutely 

 Format ~ paperback graphic novel, ISBN 9781589978522 

 Price ~ $9.99 

 Ages ~ elementary and up

Social Media Links:

 • Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/AIOFanPage/    Tag: @AIOFanPage • Twitter:  https://twitter.com/FocusFamily    Tag:@FocusFamily • Pinterest: https://au.pinterest.com/focusfamily/       Tag: @focusfamily/ • Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/focusonthefamily/      Tag: @focusonthefamily • Google+:  https://plus.google.com/+focusonthefamily • YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/FocusOnTheFamilyUSA

Wordless Wednesday

©2008 - 2017 A Stable Beginning. All rights reserved. All photographs, text, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the author. 

 http://astablebeginning.com