A Stable Beginning: 2021TOSreviews

Showing posts with label 2021TOSreviews. Show all posts

Friday, October 1, 2021

Basic Math Skills Rescue from Math Essentials ~ a TOS review

Disclaimer: I received a Complimentary copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family. I am disclosing this in accordance with FTC Regulations.

Morning friends! I hope your school year is going well! We are finishing up our first 6 weeks this afternoon. During these last 6 weeks, Montana and McKenzie have been working in the new books from Richard W. Fisher called Basic Math Skills Rescue Part 1 and Part 2. If you have a student who needs some extra practice with math skills I would see about getting your hands on these books from Math Essentials.

The Basic Math Skills Rescue books do just what the title says. They each highlight and focus on the critical math skills that many students struggle to master including: Whole Numbers & Integers, fractions, decimal & percents, geometry, problem solving, and pre-algebra sills.

Both books have roughly over 240 pages each and include an answer key for all the problems. The pages are printed on heavy weight paper and have a nice grit to them. There is space to work some of the smaller, less in-depth problems, but using a separate sheet of paper would work better for longer multi-step problems. There is also a space to write your answers. The glossary in the back includes a list of math terms, multiplication table, important symbols and more in the back of both books.

My girls have enjoyed using these books and filling in the gaps that they may have. McKenzie is actually using Part 1 to work ahead in math while Montana is using Part 2 to get extra practice on the geometry skills she has not fully mastered yet.

Basic Math Skills Rescue Part 1 and Part 2 from Math Essentials is great for making sure there are no math learning gaps! Bottom line, we will be making room for these books on our bookshelves. II would recommend both of these books for anyone looking for extra, focused math practice. But don’t just take my word for it! Some of my CrewMates also reviewed these books so be sure to click the banner below to read their thoughts.

Ensure Success in Algebra 1 with Math Essentials

Company ~ Math Essentials

Product ~ Basic Math Skills Rescue Parts 1 and 2

Format ~ paperback book

Price ~ $31.55 each

Ages ~ middle school and up

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Friday, August 20, 2021

Open-and-go vocabulary development from Ready to Teach ~ A TOS review

Disclaimer: I received a Complimentary copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

Another Friday is upon us friends! Many of you have already started school or will be starting in the next week or so. We fall into the latter category and will be starting on Monday. I am looking forward to getting back into our daily routine and learning right alongside my three remaining children at home.

One of our focus areas for each of my children this year is in vocabulary. Learning Greek morphemes is a fantastic way to increase vocabulary so I was excited to receive It's NOT Greek to Me! from Ready to Teach to use with Montana, my 9th grader. We are no strangers to this program as we used it when Madison was in 8th grade.

This vocabulary program is the brainchild of Alene H. Harris, Ph.D. who taught secondary vocabulary and life science in the schools of Nashville, TN for over 16 years. After a friend asked for her to make her materials available to homeschoolers she published the first edition. Now, we have been offered the 4th edition to review. Let me tell you a little more about it.

If you find teaching vocabulary to your middle or high schooler hard or you are searching for the right program that will help improve your students vocabulary while also helping to develop high order thinking skills, then this is the vocabulary development program you should look into. It's NOT Greek to Me! studies Greek roots, suffixes, and prefixes in 12 lessons with a major review and test after Lessons 6 and 12. Ideally the course can be completed in just 14-16 weeks if you complete a lesson a week. Our package arrived with two softcover instructional books.

Instructors manual ~ Softcover book with 126 pages that includes:

• lesson plans

• keys to all student activities

• lesson test answer keys

• pre-made flash cards for all morphemes

• a student-involvement bulletin board idea and graphic

Student book ~ Consumable, 124 page softcover book that includes:

• lesson assignments broken down by task

• designated writing space for all lesson activities, including:

~ analyzing words

~ synthesizing words

~ creating words

~ developing context clues reading skills

• a 12 part mystery story incorporating the morpheme-based words in context

• a set of 12 color pages for making study cards

• A flash drive containing the 12 self-paced PowerPoint lessons.

We also received a hand-held one hole punch and storage ring for the flashcards found in the back of the book.

It's NOT Greek to Me! studies Greek roots, suffixes, and prefixes in 12 lessons with a major review and test after Lessons 6 and 12. Ideally the course can be completed in just 14-16 weeks if you complete a lesson a week.

I love that a detailed daily lesson plan, with estimated time allotments is included inside the instructor’s manual. It’s laid out so you know exactly what to do and when. Answers are included for each lesson too. At the end of each week there is a lesson test which includes 25 to 30 morphemes.

A set of color – coordinated study cards for the words to be learned is also included, which is perfect for helping you the parent review and learn to words along with your student. The study cards are printed on white cardstock and I plan to laminate them so they last for future usage with McKenzie and Micah. If you have wall space there are also bulletin board ideas to display the words being learned. This vocabulary program can be used three different ways:

~ independently, with the student fully in charge of the flash drive and working through the lessons

~ with the parent as the teacher working right along with the student and guiding the student through the lessons

~ in a co-op setting

Montana and I have been working through this open-and-go vocabulary development program for the last few weeks. Since we went over expectations right at the beginning I was able to not have to sit directly with her. Rather, I was in the next room if she needed help. I also would quiz her frequently and challenge her to use the words and morphemes she was learning in her everyday life. She just finished lesson 3 before I left to take the girls back to University last week. She still needs to take the test for lesson 3 but I think we will wait until our first week of school to do so.

Overall, I think this is an excellent vocabulary development program and highly recommend it! Montana will finish this book and then move on to the next book in the series with the goal of expanding her vocabulary knowledge. If you looking for an open-and-go program for vocabulary development, then check out It's NOT Greek to Me! from Ready to Teach. Don’t just take my word for it, see what 15 of my CrewMates think of this vocabulary program by clicking the banner below.

Learn Greek Vocabulary with Ready to Teach

Company ~ Ready to Teach

Product ~ It's NOT Greek to Me!

Format ~ softcover books with flash drive for PowerPoint lessons

Price ~ $86.95

Ages ~ middle schoolers and up

Friday, August 13, 2021

Homeschooling High School with The HomeScholar ~ a TOS review

It’s Friday guys and that means I am at the end of our prep time for our upcoming 13th year of homeschooling. For us, we start back on August 23rd and we will be entering our 4th rotation through High School. WHOA, time flies!

If you are just entering into the high school season you may be stressing about everything, but don’t! I am here to tell you that homeschooling high school does not have to be scary. This summer I have been working through the High School Solution training from The HomeScholar LLC learning a few new things as I go along.

If you are new to homeschooling or a veteran you may have already heard of Lee Binz. With the help of her husband, Matt, they have become the go to experts for over 15 years, guiding thousands of families through the homeschooling through high school process. The HomeScholar has a variety of products available to help you and we were blessed to be able to receive a 6-month subscription to the High School Solution.

You’re probably wondering why I would need this product since I have already gone through the high school cycle 3 times? You know what!? I have learned so much in the short 6 weeks I have had access to this program. There are over 50 hours of how-to-homeschooling video trainings and handouts on how to plan for standardized testing like the SAT or ACT and how to homeschool gifted children. Plus there are printable templates for every stage and age starting in middle school. It’s a literal goldmine at your fingertips for a lifetime!

Throughout the course you will hear Lee emphasize her three core beliefs about homeschooling through high school. They are:

1. Independently homeschooling provides the best possible learning environment for your children.

2. Every child, whether or not they are college bound, deserves a college-pre education.

3. You as the parent are fully capable of providing a superior education for your children.

To begin, I watched the main presentation for the course. Be warned its over 4 hours long but definitely and an enjoyable time spent. I split up my watching time and listening to the presentation while planning or keeping busy organizing my office and schoolroom. The time really flew by and I gained a lot of new insight.

University attendance is the focus of this presentation and it is the end goal in our homeschool process. Being able to accomplish this without paying for University education is also high on our list, but that’s for another posting.

I love that this program emphasizes to not be afraid and that you can, in fact, do it! I honestly wish I had access when my oldest, Marie, was in middle school and then again when Madison’s IQ exploded and expanded seemingly overnight in middle school. Haivng access to many of the trainings and courses in The High School Solution would have definitely saved me many sleepless nights and I am sure my hair might be a little less gray  I have navigated three different college prep course loads and processes for my older three girls. Each being a different and separate process including traditional universities, service academies, ROTC, and NCAA.

As I head into the process once again, I find myself being drawn to the middle school process because I am seeing the same IQ/learning tendencies I saw in Madison and Montana now presenting in McKenzie. I think we have a good, solid plan for Montana as she heads into high school and having access to information to help McKenzie navigate middle school in preparation for high school gives me confidence that I can give her the push and pull that she needs as she makes the transition between elementary and high school.

This quote from the Taming Middles School Anxiety article included in The High School Solution has really stuck out to me, especially as McKenzie is ahead in math and science and our course selections this upcoming school year has raised a few eyebrows.

“Middle school is the time to advance in subjects when the student is ready, but it’s also the time to review subjects that still need more time. Some children are right at grade level. Not all children are at a remedial level or ready for advanced classes. They don’t all have to be doing remedial work or high school work; you can do remedial work in certain areas and move ahead into high school work in other areas”.

The High School Solution helps to make the planning and implementing part of homeschooling high school less daunting. With tried and true strategies, Lee will help you formulate a plan of study that gives you confidence to successfully lead your children from freshman year to graduation. Don’t just take my word for it! Over 30 of my CrewMates received access to this program and the others being reviewed including, Total Transcript Solution , Comprehensive Record Solution, and the College Launch Solution. Be sure to click the banner below to read their thoughts.

Homeschool High School to College with The HomeScholar

Company ~ The HomeScholar LLC

Product ~ High School Solution

Format ~ online

Price ~ $197.00

Ages ~ homeschooling parents

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Tuesday, August 10, 2021

Speed Wheel Drills from Math Essentials ~ a TOS review

Morning friends! Everyone is gearing up for the start of a new school year. While this is an exciing time it can also be frustrating when the children somehow forget what they have been taught over the summer. This is especially frustrating in math. If you are looking for some extra math practice in these last few weeks, I definitely recommend you checking out the new Math Essentials Speed Wheel Drills from Math Essentials.

The Math Essential Speed Wheel Drills are written by Richard W. Fisher, the winner of the Intel Innovations in Teaching Award. These books are a series of three workbooks that give students 1440 Speed Wheel Drills to work on addition, multiplication, and division. Each book of these books is designed to help your student recall their math facts quickly and easily.

For this review we focused on the orange addition book with my rising second grader, Micah. The workbook includes 139 pages with 17 of those pages being a part of the included Math Resource Center that contains a glossary of important math terms and helpful charts. In the front of the book there is a helpful section that includes 21 math tips that will help all students be successful in math.

Using this resource is quite easy. Your student simply works around the wheel completing the math fact. The bolded number in the center of the circle gives the student the math function to go by. Simply add, multiply, or divide the numbers in the outer ring to the center target number to complete the math function. Each page has 12 math facts circles to complete in random order. The goal is to complete each circle and each page as fast as possible to help build recall.

Micah was able to work with these speed drills over the course of the last few weeks. He was able to work on a page 3 times a week during this time. He definitely has gotten faster in his recall of adding numbers 1-7. With the higher numbers 8-12 he still needs to keep practicing to reach fluency and quick recall. However, I am super pleased with his progress thus far!

McKenzie and Montana already have a strong foundation in their math fact recall so I am looking forward to using the multiplication and division books as Micah progresses towards those skills. Twenty-six of my CrewMates also reviewed this Speed Wheel Drills workbooks, be sure to click on the banner below to read how they used them and their thoughts as well.

Master Math Facts with Math Essentials Speed Drills

Our rating

Company ~ Math Essentials

Product ~ Math Essentials Speed Wheel Drills

Price ~ $17.95 each

Format ~ paperback workbooks

Ages ~ elementary and up

Friday, August 6, 2021

Catch up intervention with Dyslexia Gold ~ a TOS review

Happy Friday friends! I am popping in today to share with you an early intervention, learn to read program from Dyslexia Gold. Since reading is such a critical life skill to master it’s easy to get frustrated when it’s hard for your child to do so. All of my children at home are strong readers and reading well above grade level. As such we were offered 12 months access to Dyslexia Gold’s program for an informational review. However, years ago I had a struggling reader and it was hard to find a program to help her. Thankfully, I did and now she is reading on the 11th grade level as she prepares to enter high school. Sometimes kids just need a different approach and Dyslexia Gold seeks to offer that with their reading program.

Dyslexia Gold offers a variety of programs to help your struggling reader and speller. They even have a program to help your child if they have dyslexia. struggling readers and spellers catch up, including children with dyslexia. With three different programs to choose from you will be sure to find some help to take the struggle out of the process.

Early Intervention - for children 4 - 7 years old who find learning to read extremely difficult. This section has two programs built into it, Vision Training and Reading Unlocked.

Catch Up Intervention - for children who are 8 years and older who struggle with reading or have dyslexia. There are four programs within this section, Vision Training, Fluency Builder, Spelling Tutor, and Times Table Tutor.

Family License – includes access to everything for your family.

To get the maximum benefit from any of the programs it is suggested that your child commit to playing the games for at least 20 minutes a day. My son, Micah who is entering 2nd grade, really liked playing the vision training game on the computer using the 3-D glasses. For me they made my head hurt and I was not able to see the targets to shoot them. For Micah, he would blast through the levels shooting the targets easily while I struggled. McKenzie also liked playing the vision training game. Micah has also used the Reading Unlocked program in the past with great results. In fact, it is one of the programs that has helped him soar in his reading. He currently reads on a 4th grade level.

If you have a child with dyslexia or even just struggling with reading I highly recommend checking out the Dyslexia Gold. It’s a great resource and will ease your Mama fears that your child won’t learn to read. But don’t just take my word for it! 19 of my CreMates also got the chance to use the Dyslexia Gold program and they have shared their thoughts. You can read them by clicking the banner below.