Peterson's Handwriting

Peterson's Directed Handwriting is a handwriting program with a lot of promise. It would probably work very well for many children, but it didn't work well with my boys right now. I was given Level One printing and Level three cursive to review. The program has a well written teacher's manual which breaks learning handwriting into bite-size pieces. I liked how it broke the strokes down by color and you knew the order was always green, black, red.

Tyler liked the finger tracing but struggled when it came to writing the letters. The student book is a separate book that you put above your paper and copy from. Tyler has many of the characteristics of dyslexia and really struggled with transferring the letters from the book to his paper. Letters tend to swim and move and having to move his eyes that far was challenging. He ended up frustrated and discouraged. He did much better with our other handwriting program where the letters were on the same line, on both sides of where he was supposed to write. It wasn't as hard for him to transfer his eyes and write the letters.

I started working with Ryan on the level three cursive book and realized he had developed several bad habits with his printing. Like starting at the bottom or doing the strokes in a backwards order. As I started introducing the cursive strokes he tried to add them into his regular writing and it became unreadable. So I had to put Peterson's aside and refocus on his printing. I should also note that this year I am requiring a lot more writing from him instead of narration, which could also have contributed to his resistance.

I didn't find the Cd songs or CD-Rom with animated letters helpful either. We have some ABC DVD's that show the same thing as the animated letters and they move from one letter to the next by themselves. The songs were annoying to both me and the boys. The full kit with the CD and CD-Rom is also quite expensive for handwriting, $38.55. The basic kit is $15.05 and both are non-consumable.

While the program didn't work for us, and will probably never work for Tyler, I plan on trying it again in a few months with Ryan and saving it to try with Jeanisha. She love's writing pretend notes now and I think the color and rhythm with work well with her. She also loves to try copying things and doesn't seem to have the hand-eye issues that Tyler does.

If you are looking for a handwriting program, I would suggest you read some of the other reviews here.

All About Spelling

Spelling has always come easily for me, so when Ryan (8) just didn't grasp it, both of us were frustrated. We had tried several different spelling programs and while he would learn the words for his test, they wouldn't stick and he would misspell them in his writing even days later. Spelling made him feel like a failure at writing and he started to hate writing of any type.

Fast forward to last night. We finished his spelling lesson and he asked if we could do keep going and learn another rule. He then said spelling is now his favorite subject! This is coming from a kid who would offer to do any chore, even clean the bathrooms, to skip spelling for the day!

I love that his spelling has improved drastically in his everyday writing as well. The way that All About Spelling introduces the rules and emphasizes them has really made them stick! And when he does misspell a word that follows a rule that he has learned, I just remind him of the rule and he can find the error and fix it himself. Best of all, he is now much more confident in his writing and spelling.

We have only been using All About Spelling for about 5 weeks, with a break when the baby was born. We started with Level One and have worked through it quickly. I would recommend starting with this level-- even I have even learned several spelling rules I didn't know. There are 4 levels currently with 2 more coming out in 2009 which will take you all the way through high school spelling. Each level is $29.95 and is non-consumable, so you can use them with more than 1 child. Although if you have 2 children the same level, they will each need a student packet. You can see the scope and sequence and samples here.

I have found the company very good to work with. My packet was missing the audio CD and it was sent out very quickly. This is the only component of the program I didn't find useful. Instead, buy the Phonogram File Folder games, we've been using these for several different subjects.

This program is a little more time intensive for the teacher than others I've used. Instead of just a pre-test and a post-test, I end up spending about 15-30 minutes a day on spelling. But the program is so well laid out, an older sibling could easily teach it. It was also time intensive to cut everything out at the beginning, but the company has fixed that and now offers perforated cards.

Overall, I give All About Spelling an A+. The difference I've seen in my son is remarkable and my younger son (6) is asking when he gets to start.

Even if you are happy with your current spelling program, I would recommend you check out the articles on the All About Spelling website. They have some great ideas that can be used with any spelling program.

Alphabet Alley

Finding well made games for little hands can sometimes be a challenge, so I was excited to get to review 2 games by Alphabet Alley. The two games we received were Noah's Ark Two by Two Matching game and Noah's Ark Go Fish. Jeanisha who is 3 1/2 loved them both!

We played the matching game by putting all the animals face up first because we hadn't played memory with her yet. She loved the cute animal drawings and actually spent a good bit of time just arranging and rearranging the animals to board the ark.

The boys wanted to play with her and set it up basic memory style and I was surprised at how well she did. (Other than being a little possessive about "her" animals.) The cards are a very thick, sturdy cardboard that have held up well. There are 12 pairs, 11 animals and the arks. I have even let Adam (21 months) play with them, lining them up and "marching" them onto the ark. They are the perfect size for little hands, the drawings are cute, and I'm sure we will get hours of use out of it. The Two By Two matching game sells for $10.99.



The Noah's Ark Go Fish game has also been fun. The cards are durable, the animals and Noah are cute, and I like that they have numbers and words on the cards as well. Jeanisha thought it was fun to "Read" what the different animals were. This game retails for $5.99.

These games are a fun way to reinforce Bible stories during play. Alphabet Alley also carries other Bible story magnet and sticker sets.

Puppetools

I was excited to be able to look over the Puppetools website because I LOVE puppets. They are such a fun, non-threatening way to communicate with kids and even teenagers. The site shows you how to make a paper hinge that you can then use to make a variety of puppets. I has a lot of examples of puppets made by teachers and by students and videos showing how to make different puppets. It also includes 37 puppet templates. A yearly individual subscription is $20.

The paper hinge is handy, and the kids loved making and playing with the puppets. Ryan (8) liked the templates and having it all set out for him (he hates making mistakes), but Tyler (6) was annoyed and we ended up just making his freehand. (He wanted his dragon to have specific features that the template didn't have.)

While I strongly support and recomend the use of puppets and play in homeschool and everyday settings, I honestly didn't feel the resources offered by the site were that useful. However, if you need examples of puppets other people have made and ways to use puppets, the site might be valuable for you. It might also be useful for a homeschooled student who doesn't have the opportunity to look at the creations of his or her classmates to get new ideas.

Let's Be Scientists

The December Module from The Old Schoolhouse is Let's be Scientists. My boys love science and I am always looking for more fun activities to do with them. This e-book has lots of fun science recipes for chemistry, fun human body experiments, worksheets (about 3rd grade and up), crossword puzzles, coloring pages, and copywork pages of the creation story from Genesis.

These modules are the perfect starting point for a unit study or in this case, a couple of unit studies. It includes 3 pages of other resources to flush out any of the topics your family is interested in learning more about. An older internet savvy kid could explore all of the links and topics on their own, my son, 8, only needed a little assistance but did quite well exploring the links while I made dinner. All of the pages we linked to were kid friendly and understandable and was a fun activity to do this week when we didn't "have school."

Turning Points

I had a chance this week to read a new E-book that is going to be published soon by The Old Schoolhouse called "Turning Points." Over 25 families share what led them to start homeschooling and what keeps them homeschooling. As I read about their "turning points," I was able to reflect on my goals for our homeschool and how God brought us to this point. It was reassuring to feel that I'm not alone with the struggles and frustrations that come with homeschooling and to be reminded and remember all the joys of homeschooling. Any book that lets you reflect on God's hand in your life and present situation is a blessing, having one focused on my role as a homeschool mom was a double blessing.

The only negative I saw in the book was one section where virtual public schools were put down. The first time I read it, I felt pretty frustrated because that option has worked well for us and I felt like she was saying I wasn't really a homeschooler-- a battle/arguement I have seen tear apart homeschool groups-- but I also know the freedom I have in my program isn't found in many states. The second time I read it, I was less defensive, and I could see how she was saying it just didn't work for her family. (And really, with 26 different viewpoints being shared, the fact that there was only 1 that I didn't agree with is pretty amazing.)

Overall, I really enjoyed this e-book and it has motivated me not only to reflect on my family's turning point, but to want to write it down. It has inspired me to evaluate again what is working and what is not and redefine (again) what I want our homeschool to look like/be like.

You may also want to keep an eye out for other e-books that The Old Schoolhouse is putting together that let other "regular" homeschool families share their stories. I always enjoy reading about others who are living a lifestyle similar to mine.

Crayola Art Studio

Another fun product that I have been able to review is Crayola Art Studio by Core Learning. This is a very easy to use art program that has lots of features. There are 12 different brush types including crayons, paint brushes, colored pencils, markers and more. There are stamps and a wide variety of tools. The boys (6 and 8) have had lots of fun creating pictures on their own and Jeanisha (3) has been able to with help. They are really enjoying making new creations and I'm happy it is easy enough for them to use on their own.

This program is a wonderful way to add art to your day and I know my family has only just scratched the surface of what it can do.

ALEKS

ALEKS is an online math program that is aligned to general state standards for 3rd grade and up. We used it last year with Ryan and he enjoyed it. It is best for review once or twice a week and for making sure you haven't missed something they should have learned, like acute and obtuse triangles. :) The student has a pie graph that fills in as they pass off different topics. Ryan really liked watching his pie fill in and he liked that he didn't have to do a ton of problems on things he knew before it filled in. Where we only used it about once a week, he was asked to reconfirm that he still remembered the things from past sessions each time, which he got a little frustrated with, but would be helpful if you have a student who doesn't retains things well or if you were using this as a primary math program.

On their website, ALEKS offers a free 48 hour trial, but if you use the following link, you can get a free one month trial. Enjoy.
http://www.aleks.com/webform/eb3-104

Trigger Memory Systems

Do your kids have trouble remembering their times tables? Trigger Memory Systems has a wonderful TIMES Tales program that makes remembering them fun and easy. I bought this program 2 years ago when Ryan was learning his multiplication facts, but I wanted it to be fun, not just drill. It was a wonderful program then and even better now, as they've added the upper 3 and 4 multiplication facts!

"Times Tales is a creative, innovative mnemonic-based program that makes it fun and easy to memorize the upper multiplication facts. Times Tales uses cute, simple stories to provide students with a "memory peg", allowing them to quickly recall otherwise abstract facts."

For example, 9 is shown as a tree, and the page for 9X9 is below. You teach the kids the characters, tell them the stories, have them retell them to you and then move to the flashcards with the pictures, and then the flashcards with only the numbers. It is a fast and easy way to learn the "hard" upper multiplication facts. It took us about 30 minutes on two consecutive days for Ryan to learn them all. After that, I reviewed the stories occasionally, but usually just verbally quizzed him on the facts when we were waiting somewhere or driving in the car.

With Ryan, I noticed for awhile he would have to think of the story, but then the facts became automatic as he used them more. And he knows if he ever gets stuck, he just has to think of the numbers as children, snowmen, or trees and he'll have the memory trigger to recall those facts.

The program is non-consumable, so you will be able to use it with all of you children.

This is by far the easiest way to learn those tricky multiplication facts that I have ever seen. The program doesn't teach the concept of multiplication, it just helps you get the facts memorized faster. Kids will still need to be taught why you multiply, but having the facts ready for instant recall makes actually doing it much easier!

Clean and Flip the House

Do you ever get tired of going over the steps for cleaning a room again and again? My boys know what needs done and when they inspect the other person's work, they are ruthless, but when they are sent to clean alone, they always seem to "forget" something. Clean and flip charts from Trigger Memory Systems are a fun solution.

There are 3 different charts that I was given to review. First up was Zone Cleaning for Kids. This one worked great for us. It takes kids through the steps of cleaning the bathroom, the kitchen, and the family/living room step by step. It is laminated and they can check off the steps as they work through the zone. I have liked that it is a list nagging them instead of me. I can just ask if they've done all the steps instead of having to ask about each part of the job.

Ryan enjoys racing me to go through the steps in his zone faster than I can go through the steps in mine. It's been a great little tool for reminding them what to do and making them accountable.








The second book was Bedroom Cleaning for kids. This one is not laminated and the first time we tried it, it was a disaster. Step one is to go around the room and move everything into a big, messy pile into the middle of the room. (You then sort and put things away.) Well, the boys did step one with gusto, pulling everything out from under the beds and under the dresser and collecting a lot of little random junk. At this point the "big, messy pile" was completely overwhelming. Plus, they had found so many forgotten and lost "treasures" that they were totally distracted. I ended up helping/doing the cleaning that time. BUT once the room was relatively clean, the chart has been great, especially for Tyler. When the "big, messy pile" is only 10 things, it is easy to sort and deliver. We don't have the laundry baskets suggested in the chart, so he uses our little shopping cart to make his deliveries to other rooms. It makes cleaning his room into a game!





The third chart was Laundry for Kids. This was the only one I didn't test with my kids because my washing machine and dryer can be temperamental and the kids already have laundry jobs. (Jeanisha collects and sorts, the boys transfer it to the dryer and then the couch, I fold it and they put it away.) But, if you were at the stage of teaching a child to do the whole process themselves, this could be useful as a step by step instruction manual-- so you aren't always the one doing the reminding.


Overall, my kids seem to like the charts and "flipping" the house clean.