© 2008 - 2018 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.
Wednesday, March 7, 2018
Tuesday, March 6, 2018
7 Days with NO cap: Magic Stix Washable Markers ~ a TOS review
I have a daughter who loves to doodle and draw. In fact all of my kids love to color. Being able to express yourself through art is therapeutic for the soul! Sometimes finding high quality, safe, and most importantly washable art supplies can be quite a challenge. I want my kids to get creative and messy, but I don't always want the mess that goes along with it. That's why my craft loving kids have enjoyed using Magic Stix Washable Markers from The Pencil Grip, Inc.!
If you are not familiar with The Pencil Grip company, it was founded in 1992 by Dr. Lois Provda, a prominent educational therapist. Since inventing the first grips way back in the early 90's, the company has grown to offer many unique and innovative products for the home, school, and office. The newest item for The Pencil Grip, Inc. is the Magic Stix marker. We received the 24 pack and have been using them in some fashion every week!
So, just what is so special about these particular markers? Let me tell you all about their greatness!
Washable ~ marker on your hands, face and/or body, clothes? What about the walls and carpet? No problem, it comes out!
Unscented ~ no smelly fumes to cause headaches here.
Assorted colors ~ bright, vibrate colors. Available in packs of 12 or 24.
No-cap guarantee ~ long lasting colors that won't dry out even when the cap is left off for 7 days!
These markers arrived just in time for us to travel to Atlanta and they were a life saver on the long trip. Not only did I not have to worry about them drying out because they were left uncapped in the van, but they were the perfect activity for my kids to do as I plugged along down the highway.
The plastic carrying case is the perfect size for our on the go bag! It is made from durable plastic and not too clunky. Inside each marker snaps into place and the case has two latches to keep it closed on the outside. I love that the case keeps the markers neat and tidy. With 24 different colors you are sure to find just the right shade you are looking for. The tip of the marker is not too fat or too skinny so you won't have any problems doing detail work.
Check out what my CrewMates thought of these markers by clicking the banner below!
Company ~ The Pencil Grip, Inc.
Product ~ Magic Stix Washable Markers
Price ~ $18.71
Ages ~ 3 and up
Social Media Links:
© 2008 - 2018 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.
Thursday, March 1, 2018
Drive Thru History Adventures ~ a TOS review
I'll be the first one to tell you that history does not have to be boring! In fact, if you are looking for a fun way to learn all about history look no further than the Drive Thru History Adventures from Drive Thru History. We have had access to this new curriculum for the past six weeks and it has changed our homeschool history studies for the better!
Bible History ~ walk where Jesus walked during this 18 week course and experience Ancient Israel as you travel through the Gospels during the time of Jesus Christ.
American History ~ spend 12 weeks digging into early American history from Columbus to the Constitution.
Ancient History ~ find out just how the ancient empires fit in with the rise of Christianity and the Western Civilization as you explore early Greece, Rome, and Asia minor for 12 weeks.
My 9th grader, Mikayla, gained the most from using this interactive Homeschool Video Curriculum because she is such a visual learner and not a strong reader. She is making strides, but still struggles with comprehension from time to time. The videos are a great fit for her because she remembers so much more information after seeing it. Another bonus that I find incredibly helpful, is the fact that the course material lines up with the current time period we are studying in our main history program! In using the Drive Thru History, I have been teaching Mikayla to take notes using the audio/video lecture. An important skill to have in my book, especially since college is quickly approaching for her.
While this curriculum is intended for ages 12 and up, younger children are able to enjoy the videos. My youngest daughter McKenzie, my 2nd grader, really just enjoyed the videos. I asked her discussion questions throughout the video on her level to check for comprehension but she was really just along for the ride so to speak. Each lesson includes recommendations and extra resources available such as discussion questions, expert articles, additional reading, worksheets. There is so much to this program that you will find students going down several different rabbit trails in your quest to know more!
In addition to the awesome curriculum we were given access to the Adventures TV with our subscription. These are where Dave Stotts shines the most with the funny add-ons. Not only are they funny, they are historically informative tidbits of useful information about history and current events too. These are provided in the weekly update on the site.
So, what's the bottom line about this curriculum? Make room in your budget to get this subscription! Hands-down the best out there! We love Dave and most of all my children are learning and having fun watching him! We hope to make it to the Bible museum in DC this summer and can't wait to check out his exhibit. Want to know what my CrewMates thought of this curriculum? Click the banner below to find out!
Company ~ Drive Thru History Adventures
Product ~ Drive Thru History Adventures
Format ~ online videos
Price ~ $124.99 per year
Ages ~ 12 and up
Social Media Links:
© 2008 - 2018 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
Wednesday, February 28, 2018
Wordless Wednesday
©2008 - 2018 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
http://astablebeginning.com
Tuesday, February 27, 2018
Starfall Education Foundation: Starfall Home Membership ~ a TOS review
Daily screen time is important to my kids, especially my younger ones. I like to be able to give them quality time while using their electronics, so I am always on the lookout to turn learning into play. We get just that with The Starfall Home Membership from Starfall Education Foundation.
So, have you heard of Starfall? If not, let me tell you a little more about it. Over the last six weeks my 3-year old preschooler, Micah, has been using the program. And let me tell you he loves it! Truth be told my 15, 11, and 8 year olds enjoy it too!
Starfall is an awesome interactive early education program for your youngest students aged PreK through 2nd grade. As a stand- alone program, it teaches early language arts and math skills through games, songs, and activities. The program covers a wide range of topics including numbers, phonics, nursery rhymes, letter and sound recognition, as well as patterns. The interactive features the program offers makes it one of the most engaging early learning programs available today. As your child progresses in age and skill more advanced topics such as addition, subtraction, and advanced phonics are introduced as well.
Setting up the program is as easy as establishing an account and logging on. In fact, my son knows exactly how to do that by himself. One of the features I enjoy most is that a single yearly membership can be used by all immediate family, including grandparents, and accessed on all of our devices, computers or tablets, alike. Just use the email and password you entered at registration and you are set.
My son loves changing his personal avatar. In fact he changes it everytime he logs on to play. Some days he has a Mohawk and other days he is bald with glasses. It's quite funny, but he loves being able to customize himself as well as change the different clothes he wears on the program. Hands down though, my son's favorite part of the program are the math songs! He loves all of the songs but the Today is Monday song is by far his favorite one. Click HERE to see him singing. Maybe it's because it is a song about food and pizza is his favorite. I don't know, but I know it is played all the time and he sings along to it. In the Talking Library section you can choose to have Nonfiction and Fiction & Poetry books read aloud to you. These stories are interactive and fun with engaging graphics to keep my little guys attention.
I am not quite sure how I had never looked into a membership with Starfall, but let me tell you it has changed the way I look at daily screen time. About two weeks after using the program daily I noticed my son was more interested in learning his letters and counting. He sings songs like The More we get Together, The Alphabet Song, and many of the nursery rhymes from memory. When we are out and about he frequently tells me the letters he sees on signs, cars, or buildings.
Micah loves his Starfall time! So much so, he gets a little grumpy when the computer automatically turns off because it is time for bed. His knowledge has expanded exponentially just from using the program daily for the last six weeks. I have told many of my friends with preschoolers to get a membership to Starfall! This is one program that has my highest recommendations for online learning for preschoolers through 2nd grade.
Be sure to see what my CrewMates think of the Starfall Home Membership by clicking the banner below!
©2008 - 2018 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
So, have you heard of Starfall? If not, let me tell you a little more about it. Over the last six weeks my 3-year old preschooler, Micah, has been using the program. And let me tell you he loves it! Truth be told my 15, 11, and 8 year olds enjoy it too!
My son loves changing his personal avatar. In fact he changes it everytime he logs on to play. Some days he has a Mohawk and other days he is bald with glasses. It's quite funny, but he loves being able to customize himself as well as change the different clothes he wears on the program. Hands down though, my son's favorite part of the program are the math songs! He loves all of the songs but the Today is Monday song is by far his favorite one. Click HERE to see him singing. Maybe it's because it is a song about food and pizza is his favorite. I don't know, but I know it is played all the time and he sings along to it. In the Talking Library section you can choose to have Nonfiction and Fiction & Poetry books read aloud to you. These stories are interactive and fun with engaging graphics to keep my little guys attention.
I am not quite sure how I had never looked into a membership with Starfall, but let me tell you it has changed the way I look at daily screen time. About two weeks after using the program daily I noticed my son was more interested in learning his letters and counting. He sings songs like The More we get Together, The Alphabet Song, and many of the nursery rhymes from memory. When we are out and about he frequently tells me the letters he sees on signs, cars, or buildings.
Micah loves his Starfall time! So much so, he gets a little grumpy when the computer automatically turns off because it is time for bed. His knowledge has expanded exponentially just from using the program daily for the last six weeks. I have told many of my friends with preschoolers to get a membership to Starfall! This is one program that has my highest recommendations for online learning for preschoolers through 2nd grade.
Be sure to see what my CrewMates think of the Starfall Home Membership by clicking the banner below!
Company ~ Starfall Education Foundation
Product ~ Starfall Home Membership
Format ~ online, or through the Starfall app
Price ~ $35.00 yearly membership
Ages ~ Preschoolers - 2nd grade
Social Media Links:
http://astablebeginning.com
Thursday, February 22, 2018
Bytes of Learning: UltraKey Online Family Subscription ~ a TOS review
Being able to type proficiently on a keyboard is an essential tool in life. And I am not talking about a phone keyboard, but a regulation computer keyboard. Well, at least it is in my book and I am excited to tell you about a new typing program we have discovered: UltraKey Online Family Subscription from Bytes of Learning.
This year my 5th grader, Montana is taking her first online history class and the answers to the homework questions are typed. In the beginning it was brutal because it was taking her hours upon hours to type her work out with the hunt and peck method. She has made great progress since August but having the UltraKey program at our disposal has been a blessing as she gets faster and more accurate with each weeks use.
The UltraKey program is a self-paced, online typing tutorial that teaches correct finger placement as well as proper posture for ages 8 through adults. The ideal use of the program is for 20-30 minute lessons range from first learning where the letters are on the keyboard, to letter combination, progressing to words, and finally putting together complete sentences.
Right now, UltraKey Online is only oriented to the North American keyboard, with North America spelling and content. United Kingdom and Australian/New Zealand orientations will be implemented sometime during 2018. Working at a daily rate will produce faster results, but even using the program once a week will still produce results.
It is recommended before diving fully into the program, that the homeschool teacher thoroughly understand the instructional interface of the program including the management dashboard. This is super easy though even though it may seem complicated at first glance. A skill assessment is also given and throughout the program there are proper posture movies as well as correct finger placement movies that need to be watched. Hands down the best feature of the family subscription is that the program actually sets the pace for each member of the family! How cool is that!
I was so glad to have the opportunity to review the UltraKey Online Family Subscription provided by Bytes of Learning with Montana! 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.
With UltraKey is am confident that not only are they getting top notch instruction but they are having fun too. My goal for Montana is to have her be able to type at least 35 wpm by the end of this school year. To help her reach this goal she will continue using this program. I think this is an attainable goal for her as she progresses with her typing skills. With UltraKey Online Family Subscription Bytes of Learning provides fun, engaging media-rich instruction for learning how to type.
Be sure to check out what my Crewmates thought of this review by clicking the banner below to read how they used the UltraKey Online in their homeschools.
This year my 5th grader, Montana is taking her first online history class and the answers to the homework questions are typed. In the beginning it was brutal because it was taking her hours upon hours to type her work out with the hunt and peck method. She has made great progress since August but having the UltraKey program at our disposal has been a blessing as she gets faster and more accurate with each weeks use.
The UltraKey program is a self-paced, online typing tutorial that teaches correct finger placement as well as proper posture for ages 8 through adults. The ideal use of the program is for 20-30 minute lessons range from first learning where the letters are on the keyboard, to letter combination, progressing to words, and finally putting together complete sentences.
Right now, UltraKey Online is only oriented to the North American keyboard, with North America spelling and content. United Kingdom and Australian/New Zealand orientations will be implemented sometime during 2018. Working at a daily rate will produce faster results, but even using the program once a week will still produce results.
It is recommended before diving fully into the program, that the homeschool teacher thoroughly understand the instructional interface of the program including the management dashboard. This is super easy though even though it may seem complicated at first glance. A skill assessment is also given and throughout the program there are proper posture movies as well as correct finger placement movies that need to be watched. Hands down the best feature of the family subscription is that the program actually sets the pace for each member of the family! How cool is that!
I was so glad to have the opportunity to review the UltraKey Online Family Subscription provided by Bytes of Learning with Montana! 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.
With UltraKey is am confident that not only are they getting top notch instruction but they are having fun too. My goal for Montana is to have her be able to type at least 35 wpm by the end of this school year. To help her reach this goal she will continue using this program. I think this is an attainable goal for her as she progresses with her typing skills. With UltraKey Online Family Subscription Bytes of Learning provides fun, engaging media-rich instruction for learning how to type.
Be sure to check out what my Crewmates thought of this review by clicking the banner below to read how they used the UltraKey Online in their homeschools.
Company ~ Bytes of Learning
Product ~ UltraKey Online Family Subscription
Format ~ online interface
Ages ~ 8 years through adult
Social Media Links:
2008 - 2018 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.
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