Review: Considering God’s Creation

I have had the opportunity to review a wonderful natural science curriculum written from a biblical perspective.

Grade: Adaptable for grades 2nd – 7th

The program is set up with lots of fun learning through games, experiments, poems, songs, crafts and notebook pages.

 

Cost: Only  $29.95 – includes Teacher’s manual, student book and audio CD for a year’s worth of science (or more). 

For ease of use, buy an additional student book packed full of 272 pages for only $13.95.  You may copy the student book for each of your kids, but having the second book for such a cheap price is much easier than copying so many pages.

Topics:

• Universe
• Stars
• Solar System
• Earth
• Light
• Sound
• Wind
• Weather
• Clouds
• Rocks
• Plants
• Insects
• Mammals
• Reptiles
• Birds
• Fish
• Amphibians
• Food Chains
• Reproduction and Genetics
• Human
• Animal Anatomy
• Physiology

My thoughts:

I really enjoyed the hands-on approach to Considering God’s Creation.  It’s adaptable to multi-age children. The projects keep the family learning together.  I enjoyed the author’s biblical approach to science as well.  CGC is a very affordable, family-friendly, natural science program that takes a year to complete if you do one lesson per week.

My girls loved the songs and experiments best.  I enjoyed how the Christian author’s, Sue and Betty, did all the research for me and filled the program with lots of prepared notebook pages.  The projects are simple too - for both the kids and mom! 

What other supplies do you need besides the CGC books? A three-ring binder, student pages, scissors, glue, crayons and a few easy-to-find household items.

How do you teach the lessons?  There are 36 lessons.  Each lesson can be taught in one week for an entire school year.  If you children are younger,  you may take several weeks for some lessons and the program can take 2 or 3 years to complete.  I did several lessons that took two weeks each.

If you children are older, you can use the DIGGING DEEPER for ideas to keep them challenged.  There are also 12 crosswords for review or testing older children. 

More details about Eagle’s Wings curriculum Considering God’s Creation on their website here.

Eagle’s Wings also has other homeschool curriculum – Science, History, Bible, Phonics, Geography and Math.

Do you want to see how other mom’s use Considering God’s Creation? Check out Kattie’s blog - 2 Ladybugs and a Lizard – Tree Study and Flower/Plant Study and the TOS Crew’s Reviews.

 

Review: Mad Dog Math

Mad Dog Math was developed by a third grade teacher, Julie Kotoff, to help her students with multiplication and division facts.  The ‘pencil – paper’ program soon evolved into computer software enhanced with all four math facts, including addition and subtraction.
It is designed as a supplement for grade K – 5th and students older who struggle with their math facts.  Mad Dog Math has taken the basic math facts and broken them down into bite-size pieces for mastery.

1. All four math operations (- + x /) – just chose what your student needs
2. Bite-size pieces of facts for mastery – less frustrated kids!
3. Progress through a series of timed practice sheets at the child’s pace
4. Tracks the progress of multiple students through all levels
5. Allows students to earn ‘Student Club Stickers’ as they pass levels
6. Brief, timed lessons – only 5-10 minutes each day

Mad Dog Math levels: There are three levels and a challenge level.  The student can take the school year to progress through one level. 

My thoughts:  My girls used Level One which is broken down by ‘fact family’ – addition or subtraction. There are about 20 problems in each lesson.  The lessons are brief and fun for them.  I had them do 3 of the “2 Minute Club” lessons.  They enjoyed being timed and we motivated to try and beat their time next round.  Mad Dog Math is the first and only math drill program my girls have enjoyed.

1. Brief lessons that are fun
2. Simple program and easy for the kids to use
3. Easy key strokes – key the answer and the tab moves to the next fact
4. Super for kids who are competitive   

I enjoyed that I could check their progress by clicking the ‘progress’ button.

Mad Dog Math at Home – click here for more details
Watch a video about the program on their website here

• 1 year license download for ALL levels – $19.99
• 2 year license download for ALL levels – $29.99
• Perpetual license download for ALL levels – $39.99
• (available in both a 32-bit and 64-bit format)

Check out the Mad Dog Math website  - http://www.maddogmath.com/

Don’t forget to check out what others on the TOS Crew had to say about Mad Dog Math over here!

TOS Review: Circle C Beginnings #4…. “Andi’s Scary School Days”

Written by: Susan K. Marlow, Illustrated by Leslie Gammelgaard

“Andi wants no part of school. School means being away from the ranch all day and sitting next to a boy who throws dead flies at her. Andi didn’t think she was afraid of anything—until now. Being sent to the corner for something she didn’t do is the last straw. Andi’s leaving. And she’s not going back.”  

 

What are Circle C Beginnings Books?

The Circle C Beginnings books are the early readers to Susan K. Marlow’s Circle C Adventures series.  The early readers are written for children ages 6-8 years old who are ready for their first chapter books. 

 

Andi is 6 years-old and she lives on Circle C ranch in 1874 with her horse Taffy, and her family and friends.

 

 

 

There are free printable activities for each book, as well as, lapbooks you can purchase, free online puzzles, and free printable coloring pages.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What did mom like about Circle C?

I loved how my daughters were so excited to read this book.  The activities pages were also a great addition to the story. I would definitely recommend these books to anyone ready for chapter books. We are looking forward to continuing to read the whole series.

What did the kids like about Circle C?

The girls loved the story and were excited to read about Andi.  They also really enjoyed the activity and coloring pages.

Where can you get the books?

You can purchase them off the Andi and Taffy Website, Christianbook.com, and Amazon.com.  Prices vary.

Check out the Andi and Taffy Website -  Each book costs $4.99 each.  They also offer package deals: 2 books for $9.98 or 4 books for 15.96.

 

Check out what others on the TOS Crew had to say about Andi and Taffy books!

 

Disclaimer:  I received this product free of charge from the vendor.  The opinions expressed are mine.

Review: Yesterday’s Classics

 

 Are you looking for living books for you family?  What about the classics?  Are you searching for books out of print?

Well, look no further.  Check out this wonderful collection of the BEST classic literature for children.  Yesterday’s Classics republishes books for children from the era of 1880 to 1920.  Many of their titles are out of print and are hard to find.

They offer history books, poetry, hero tales, nature books, fables, legends, Bible stories, Christmas stories, Fairy Tales, science, literature, Shakespeare, world history and more!  Check out the titles in more detail on their website.

Here are just a few of our favorites.

Special pricing for 225 titles only $99.95 through May 31st!  

Pricing:

Purchase 225 books for only $99.95 (Regular price is $149.95).   Purchase individual books for $2 – $12 each.

Format:

The E-books are available in both the Kindle and EPub formats.

EPub format works with E-Reader apps that you can use on your PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, etc. 

The files are easy to download from 13 zipped files… yes all 225 titles!

My thoughts:

I was so excited for the opportunity to review these books.  What an amazing blessing in our home.  The girls and I absolutely LOVE their books.  I think our family has seen so many books from the library over the past 7 years that the classics were exciting to explore.

It was nice to read books from the computer during our lunch.  I also downloaded the free Natural Reader software.  Then I opened the book the girls wanted to listen too.  I just highlighted the text and listened.

I downloaded the e-reader app on my PC.  The 13 zipped files containing 225 downloaded easily. 

Yesterday’s Classics e-books are very organized too.  They have a list of their books sorted by level, genre, author, title, grade range, and age range.  This file really helped me know what books I should choose from depending on my girls age and interests.

Yesterday’s Classics is a beautiful addition to all households.  You don’t even have to clear off a book shelf to store them!

Don’t forget to check out what other members of TOS Crew had to say about Yesterday’s Classics!

 

 

Disclaimer:  I received this product free of charge for review purposes only.  The opinions expressed are mine.

Review: Science Weekly

Looking to add some hands-on science to your school?

   

Check out Science Weekly!

What is Science Weekly?

• “Science Weekly is a curriculum supplement that offers an interdisciplinary and inquiry approach to enhance teachers knowledge and skills in teaching science and literacy.”
• Each issue of Science Weekly is written at six reading levels‚ covering grades K–6. This allows parents with two or more children to order the same topic for each child. (Level Pre-A to Level E)
• Science Weekly will arrive at your home or school as a 4-page issue varying in the depth of study, depending on the grade level you have chosen.
• Each issue looks at a main topic and it is expanded upon in students’ reading, writing, vocabulary, hands-on lab experiment, math, and critical thinking skills.

Teacher Prep Time?? 

Just read over the included teaching notes. They include what the instructions are for each section - at each grade level and questions to ask.  Also gather a few household materials needed for your hands-on lab.

You can check out a complete sample issue on the Science Weekly website here.

They also offer a new online Interactive Program!

And printable Coloring Books!

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We completed the Science Weekly issue on The Flu.

 

 

 

 

 

 

What did mom like?

I liked that the teacher notes were laid out nicely and easy to follow; not a lot of prep time. I read over the grade level that fit my kids (1st) and gathered a few items needed for the hands-on lab. 

I also liked that it went over vocabulary and included a hands-on activity.

What did my kids like?

The FLU lesson is colorful and interesting with a brief hands-on activity. 

Would we use Science Weekly?

We completed our FLU lesson in 3 days.  It could be done quicker or slower depending on your time frame and students. I think the lessons would take longer in the upper grades.  We just used the Level A lesson.  I think a parent can take the lesson further with library books or videos as a supplement.

I could see us using it as a science supplement to enhance our current curriculum or some extra fun in our science during the summer!

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Subscription details:  Science Weekly is published 15 times per year: twice per month in September, October, November, January, February, March and April; and once in December.

Cost? 

 Individual rates for orders less than 20 subscriptions: $19.95 per student, per year, payable in advance. 

Classroom rates with a minimum of 20 subscriptions to the same address: $4.95 per student, per school year.

I believe you can mix-n-match levels in your order to best suit your families ages.

Check out what other members of TOS CREW had to say about Science Weekly here!

 

Disclaimer:  I was given a copy of this curriculum free of charge for review purposes only.  The opinions expressed were mine.

Review: GoGo KaBongo

 Are you looking for fun, safe, and educational on-line games for your young child - ages 4 - 7?  Look not further….. check out GoGo KaBongGo  

What is GoGo Kabongo?

 It is an online game program that develops cognitive skills essential for reading:

• Attention and focus
• Memory Skills
• Processing
• Planning
• Visualization
• Comprehension

It is a program for children ages 4 – 7 years.

For details on what skills your child can learn – check out their chart here !

 

What did mom like about KaBongo?

• Auto-level games – more challenging as my child played them
• My girls, ages 5 and 7, were able to play ALL the games with NO guidance from me – the program tells the child what to do in each game
• Educational games that teach skills and geared to the young child
• The games are not timed … so my girls were not frustrated
• A progress report is emailed to me as they progress through the levels plus I can see what games they like to play

This is a nice program my girls enjoy to play even on the weekends!

 

What did my girls like about playing GoGo Kabongo?

 

 

• 3 Habitats to play and lots of games to choose from
• They could build and change their own characters ….. daily
• Decorating their tree house
• Build a custom skate park and add to it with their game rewards
• Fun and animated characters
• Fun games they can play without my help
• Coloring their printable activities 

 

What mom and the girls did not like about GoGo Kabongo?

 

• The glitches with the games: Robo Bobo puzzle pieces where missing, the mouse would be visible on the left and right column but not on the games screen, sometimes there was audio but no game, and worst of all …. their reward sticker choices came up as blank screens!
• This is a Beta program (I am told this is why there a glitches)
• Their customer service did say they were working on the issues (which they were quick to back to me on via email)
• Even with the glitches my girls still LOVE to play the games !

What does GoGo Kabongo cost?

• Sign up now – for a limited time – Get TWO habitats FREE! 
• Get 3 habitats for only $4.95

Click here and play FREE now!

 

See what other TOS Crewmates had to say about GoGo KaBongo here!

 

Disclaimer:  I received this program free of charge for review purposes only.  The opinions expressed are mine.