TOS CREW REVIEW ~ Zane Education

I was given a subscription to Zane Education to review for TOS CREW...we don't school year round technically...so I thought this program would be great for some summertime review (although with the year subscription, I will use it throughout our school year)...
What is Zane Education? .....
Zane Education promotes visual learning using the world's largest and most comprehensive library of fully subtitled educational video currently available online. Zane Education provides a highly effective and unequalled online visual learning solution using curriculum-based video, interactive quizzes, video study tools and free lesson plans.

Nearly 2,000 curriculum-based education videos and a quiz database of over 23,000 curriculum-based multiple-choice questions provides online learning for 11 different subjects and more than 260 curriculum topics for K-12 grades. And more material and resources are being added all the time. 

I really liked how you could print out lesson plans for the videos (optional)... it made doing a "mini lesson" nice and easy. The videos have the option of closed caption running with them which I liked....  but as Ryleigh has only just turned 5...does not read well enough yet to keep up with them yet  :-) They also have lots of quizes with the videos which are useful to make sure that the material is grasped. 

I did find that the site in general overwhelmed me with how many things were available...if it is possible to offer too many videos.... overall though, I was impressed with how vast the categories were...from Science to Music....

I previewed all videos shown to Ryleigh before she saw them, just to make sure the content was ok for our house...and depending on the guidelines in your house, you may want to do the same :-)

Zane offers several membership levels:

• Basic Membership that provides demo videos and free math videos.
• Gold Membership—includes all videos, quizzes, lesson plans, and many bonus materials ($17.99/month or $197.89/year)
• Silver Membership—includes all videos for an age/grade level plus quizzes and lesson plans ($12.99/month or $142.89/year)
• Bronze Membership—includes all videos for a subject ($8.99/month or $98.89/year)
• Topic Taster Membership—includes videos for a single topic plus lesson plans and quizzes ($5.00/month)

*Through August, 2012, Zane Education is offering a 35% discount on any Gold, Silver, or Bronze 1-year membership with the coupon code, ZE395HSM

To see what other crew members click here: Disclosure/Disclaimer:  I received the above product free of charge for review purposes.  I am only expected to give an honest review.

TOS CREW REVIEW ~ Super Duper Publications

                                                 

We got to review an awesome program from Super Duper Publications: Hear Builder (Following Directions).... 

From their website:

Webber HearBuilder Following Directions is the all NEW innovative, evidence-based, interactive software program that gives students a systematic way to improve their auditory and following directions skills. At the same time, students will learn how to become Master Toy Makers while building their own Toy Central factories.

                               

It is geared towards children ages 4-9... in Grades PreK-3....and retails for $69.95 (however there is a 30% off coupon below).... 
Children learn to Follow increasingly difficult directions and Show knowledge of 40 basic concepts in five areas

1. Basic Directions
2. Temporal Directions
3. Sequential Directions
4. Conditional Directions
5. Quantitative and Spatial Directions

We found this game to be a lot of fun.... with minimal set up...or parental involvement.  Ryleigh is 5 and starting Kindergarten, so she fell right into the target audience....She was able to navigate through the game pretty easily- so there was no frustration there. I really liked that to get to the next level, the current level does not need to be completed (allowing game browsing).... 


I would recommend this game for fun as well as to help build listening skills... I will also use this game with Braeden (almost 3) when he gets a little bit older to practice following directions...


If you would like to try a demo- go check them out.... 

I also had a lot of fun browsing the Super Duper Publications website... there are SO MANY neat things on there :-)
Some awesome coupons that are good until the end of August on Hear Builder and some of the other products available:

Jeepers Peepers

http://www.superduperinc.com/products/view.aspx?pid=JP350&stid=

Coupon Code:    BLGJP30

Save 30%   Expires 8/31/12

HearBuilder Following Directions Home Edition

http://www.superduperinc.com/products/view.aspx?pid=HBHE122

Coupon Code:        BLGFD30

Save 30%    Expires 8/31/12

HearBuilder Auditory Memory Home Edition

http://www.superduperinc.com/products/view.aspx?pid=HBHE366

Coupon Code:       BLGAM30

Save 30%    Expires 8/31/12

To see what other crew members click here:Disclosure/Disclaimer:  I received the above product free of charge for review purposes.  I am only expected to give an honest review.

Messy Summer Fun Week 2... 2012

It's the return of Messy Summer Fun!!! .... I run a 5 week program during the summer which includes fine motor, gross motor and lots of sensory activities... all of which are MESSY!!! This year I have 23 kids ranging from 9 months to 7 years.... here's what we did this week:

We had an ocean life sensory bin.... with water...

 blue stones from the dollar store... a couple of ice cube trays...

 some fish and dolphins.... some containers....and a sponge for diversity...

Our messy craft this week was ice cube painting- I mixed a little bit of water with some washable paint and froze it in an Hawaiin ice cube tray. This is always a big hit.... and so messy....

 The little ones...showing their messy hands...

 After the paint ice cube melted... the paint remains...

I made ice sculptures with numbers frozen inside..in layers.... 
the kids tried to see who could get to the numbers first....

 Melting the ice sculptures....

 Our relay race this week included hippity hops, water balloons, and the sprinkler...

 The kids had to transfer the water balloons from one bucket through the sprinkler to the other....some made it...and some just threw them... either way... good times...

 Sprinkler....

 For this week's snack we had home made snowcones...

For more fun projects check out ABC and 123... . and Preschool Corner at Homeschool Creations;

TOS CREW REVIEW - Keyboarding for the Christian School

I recently got the chance to review Keyboarding for the Christian School ~ Elementary Version.  The Elementary Version is for children in grades K-5. There is an older Version for children in higher grades. They come as a PDF download, however, a bound book is available for an additional cost. 

Initially, I thought that Ryleigh was too young to learn proper keyboarding...and to be quite honest... I was very daunted by the task of having to teach her. I remember taking keyboarding in highschool... although I do not remember a time when I could not "type"....it's definitely useful... especially in bloggy world... :-)
I was so relieved and excited to find that this is such a great method to teach keyboarding. It typically only used a couple of letters per lesson... so it does not overwhelm the student. I found for us that it worked better having it printed out (I kept it in a binder). 
The lessons are straight forward and easy to follow.  This review was Ryleigh's first introduction to actually typing on the computer... and finding the letters.  I really liked the format and I will be continuing on with the lessons this fall for her. 

Keyboarding for the Christian School Elementary Edition is available as an ebook download for $12.95. Use code SUMMER2012 to get 20% off your purchase through 8-29-12. 
To see what other crew members click here:Disclosure/Disclaimer:  I received the above product free of charge for review purposes.  I am only expected to give an honest review.

Messy Summer Fun Week 1 2012

It's the return of Messy Summer Fun!!! .... I run a 5 week program during the summer which includes fine motor, gross motor and lots of sensory activities... all of which are MESSY!!! This year I have 23 kids ranging from 9 months to 7 years.... here's what we did this week:

Jello Sensory Bin...I made two kinds of jello (with some expired jello)... added in some ice cubes to keep it from melting instantaneously..... some beads, ice cube trays and some dishes to play with...

 The kids loved the sticky icky mess!!!

 For our messy craft we made "Elephant Toothpaste"... I got the recipe from here .... In a liter bottle mix a drop of dish soap, a drop of food coloring and 1/2 cup Hydrogen Peroxide (I used the normal 3% and it worked great!)... in a separate cup mix 2 Tablespoons of warm water and 1 Teaspoon of Yeast... then pour the yeast mixture into the bottle....

 The toothpaste slowly climbing out of the bottles...

 Out of the bottle... a big foamy mess...

 This was also a hit... especially as the kids could touch it...

 For our frozen ice sculpture, I themed it with little plastic fish from the dollar store and some pretty beads (and food coloring)... froze it in layers in a big tub... and let the kids try and melt them in the kiddie pools...

 The older kids figured out the process right away....

 Braeden liked playing with the bucket...

 A close up of a half frozen sculpture...

Our gross motor activity was a race/obstacle course/free for all with sponge transfer, shaving cream balloons, lots of water, and the sprinkler...

 Sponge Transfer...

 To make the shaving cream balloons, I used the foam shaving cream in a can (gel is not going to work)... put the balloon up to the nozzle... and they fill really easy....

 Mid Race...

 The shaving cream makes a delightful mess....

 Some of the kids for Messy Summer Fun...

 We finished up the morning with a Pink Lemonade Cupcake snack.... 

For more fun projects check out ABC and 123... . and Preschool Corner at Homeschool Creations;

TOS Review- Professor B Math

I am always looking to supplement our Math Curriculum to keep things interesting. Luckily I was asked to review Professor B Math... on online elementary math program.  It is a very straightforward, no nonsense approach to learning math.  I really liked the depth of the program. Ryleigh seemed to enjoy the "Professor" Bee...

When teaching  math, I typically use a lot of different kinds of manipulatives... we are very hands on and don't use many worksheets. I used Professor B Math to enhance our lessons. I was thrilled that although not included, our manipulatives worked extremely well with this program.  The only thing that Ryleigh found a little distracting was the timer..however... questions I could get correct as fast as I could.. :-)

 From the webpage:


Our program, "Mathematics Power Learning," have thoroughly structured the content of arithmetic as a developmental, contextual flow (like a story). This allows children's minds to assimilate its content more quickly (in the same natural way they assimilate stories rapidly) without any gaps in their knowledge.

By activating children's mental computers for maximum efficiency in the learning and retention of mathematics, we eliminate remediation and rote learning. 

There are three levels of the program covering Pre-K through 8th grade:

LEVEL I	Pre-k though 2nd graders and remediation of older learners. Introduction to Addition/Subtraction Facts - Counting to One Hundred - Lower Addition and Subtraction - Higher Addition and Subtraction - Place Value Fractional Parts & Order - Time - Money
LEVEL II	3rd grade through 5th grade and remediation of older learners. Multiplication/Division Facts and Problem Solving - Introduction to Fractions - Fractional Equivalence - Addition and Subtraction Fractions
LEVEL III	6th through 8th grades and remediation of older learners. Multiplication/Division of Fractions - Decimals - Percents

Definitely go check out the program on the website.... http://www.profB.com/

Price: Monthly subscriptions starting at $20/mo for 1 level.  The best deal is $100 for 3 year's access to one level... Call 678-765-6655 or email at info@profb.com.... See website for discounts on additional levels. You can also see sample lessons here. 

This program worked great for us not only as review, but to introduce new topics as well. Ryleigh and I both really liked the Bee Professor...he was very cute. I liked that he wasn't animated or video game like.  I appreciated that this program was meant to still be taught to the student...and not have the child just sit in front of the computer. 

To read other Schoolhouse Crew reviews of this product click here.

Disclosure/Disclaimer:  I received the above product free of charge for review purposes.  I am only expected to give an honest review.