Speak Up Saturday–TOS Review–Your Child’s Profession of Faith

Wow, my last crew review!! It’s been a busy reviewing year, and while it’s been really good, and we’ve received a ton of products that we have loved, I’ll be taking a break from the TOS crew for the upcoming year. That doesn’t mean that you still can’t go find out about some excellent homeschooling products, though, simply go to Schoolhouse Review Crew to see what is being reviewed now!

Okay, on to today’s review! Grace and Truth Books gave us the choice of a few different products, but given the age of my kids, I picked this book ~ Your Child’s Profession of Faith by Dennis Gundersen

From the Publisher:

New, updated edition - with a fresh chapter on baptism, and helps for parents and pastors.
Gundersen's unique treatment of this rarely-addressed subject can make the difference between parents who participate in their children's deception and presumption, or parents who truly guide him to eternal life. If a small child tells us he thinks he's saved, do we take his words at face value? How do we test his profession, especially without seeming to doubt the child and discourage him?

The book sounded intriguing, given where Kahlen is at right now, so I was excited to read it. However, it fell short of my expectations. I was hoping it would be more about what a child’s faith looks like, how it differs from a child, and some questions to ask or ways to tell if your child’s profession of faith is real and lasting. While it covered these things, it was only in the last 26 of the 94 pages. The first 68 pages were spent on discussing the childness and immaturity of children. I have three of them. I didn’t really need that many pages to explain that to me. I suppose that if I didn’t have such an awesome church, which emphasizes training up our children in the way they should go, I might have found some of his discussion eye-opening, but such is not the case.

Also, his writing style seemed very cumbersome and unpolished. The thoughts were simple but the vocabulary was more complex. It did not lead to smooth reading. I had to read several sentences multiple times in order to figure out what he was trying to say.

With those things said, I really did enjoy the last three chapters. I could have skipped the rest and just read these chapters on The manifestations of faith, When your child is ready for baptism, and some concluding counsels as well as the questions for pastoral interviews with children about baptism. This part was more what I was hoping for. The main points and the scripture references were very helpful. I still felt like his writing was cumbersome, but if I just read the bolded main points and pulled out the scriptures related to the topic, then I gained something useful in my interactions with my kids, specifically my almost-6-year-old.

This book sells for $7.50 on the Grace and Truth website. Make sure to check out their other products as well, many of which were reviewed by fellow crew members.

~S

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this product through The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Speak Up Saturday–TOS Review–Activity Bags

Today I want to share with you all about Activity Bags! There are lots of these types of ideas floating around, but this product that I had the chance to review pulls it all together for you.

What is an activity bag??
Quite simply, they are self-guided activities that a preschooler can do by himself with little to no help. He can see immediately if the activity was done correctly, and each activity is contained in a one-gallon zipper bag.
These books feature activities that can be independently done and put away by preschoolers. Get children ready for kindergarten with skills on 123s, ABCs, color, motor skills, patterning and more skills they'll learn through having fun! At only around $1.00 per activity bag, activities are frugal and easy to create with household objects and the included reporducibles. Activity instructions are clearly written, with a description of the activity, the skills it develops, supplies needed, assembly instructions, bag contents, label example, and buying tips. Instructions to individual mothers, as well as those running an "activity swap" are included.
There are two main features of these books. The first is the activity bags as described above. The second, and equally helpful, is how to plan an Activity Bag swap. It’s much easier to create 20 of the same bag and swap than it is to create 20 separate bags, so the creators of Activity Bags have laid out the directions for hosting such a swap. They explain in detail what they have found works and how to do each step along the way.  While I did not have the time to host a swap before this review, I am definitely planning on hosting one soon! (Probably in the new year, if anyone is interested in joining in!)
The activities themselves are laid out in an easy to follow and consistent format throughout both preschool books (I’ll talk about the travel book in a bit). At the beginning of each book, besides the swap instructions, there is also a page that includes basic information for each activity including the name, the supplies needed, and the basic skills learned. This was helpful to me doing it on my own because I could just print out this page and gather supplies that I already owned in order to decide which activities I was going to start with. After I did that step, I then selected several activity bags to try out with Nate, who is almost 3 1/2. I assembled a few bags from each book to give him a variety of activities to try out.

Here he is sharing one of his bags with a friend before tot school started last week.

I was pleasantly surprised how well he did with the activities. I showed him how to do it the first time, and then left them in a place he could get them whenever he wanted to. He has played with the few that I made up several times and enjoyed them. He likes that he can do them independently with success every time! I like that too :-) He’s the kind of kid who wants my help all. the. time. but there’s something different about being able to just go grab his activity bag and do it whenever he wants.
I was not as impressed with the Travel Activities in a Binder. I’m not sure what I was hoping for, but that wasn’t it. First of all, the idea of hosting a swap just for a travel binder is rather silly. Why would I spend the effort to do that? I would rather just have people pay me for the whole binder and I could assemble them all, it would be much less work! Also, the activities included were either too old for my kids (they required reading or drawing skills that my kids don’t have) or the activity was a game that needed two people, which wouldn’t work well with my two. The idea of a travel binder to have activities on hand in the car all the time is a great one, but the implementation of this e-book was not all that good.
Overall, I’m excited to use these e-books more in the future and coordinate an activity bag swap so that we can have more activities for Nate to do. I think the idea is sound, and they fulfill their purpose in giving him something to do independently, which is something I really need right now while I try to do first grade with Kahlen. The activities included are simple, cost effective, yet hold his interest long enough. As a side note about the difference in books 1 and 2, I would start with book 2 if I were just going to have one of the books. It’s better laid out as far as printing things out goes, and the activities are equivalent in both books.

Each e-book retails for $15 or you can get both the Preschool Activity Bag books for $27. They also have several other activity bag books including Science Experiments, Math, Reading Games, and Daily Activity Journals.

~S
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this product through The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Speak Up Saturday–TOS Review–Samson’s Classroom

Only a few more TOS Crew reviews left before my tour is over…

Today, the review is Samson’s Classroom, online reading software for grades K-5. They say the best way to understand what their website is all about is to watch this 3-minute video.

Basically, there are three main areas to their program: sight words, spelling, and reading. We tried a little of each area to see what they had to offer.

The sight words has five activities for each sight word list, starting with learning the word and moving all the way to picking the correct word (and spelling of the word) to go in a sentence. Kahlen really enjoyed this section. Each activity was engaging, not too slow, and provided her with enough practice to get the words correct. Most of the ones she was working on were review for her, but I wanted her to start from the beginning anyway so that she wasn’t frustrated by the program AND the words, which has happened before. Currently, one of the things that I need in software is for her to be able to do it completely on her own once I get her started. That’s the life of a mom with littles, right? Samson’s Classroom, particularly the sight words part, does that beautifully. She was able to navigate from one step to the next easily and it was not confusing at all what she was supposed to do when an activity was completed. Another thing that I liked about the program is that is focuses on mastery. If she did an activity, but did not get 100%, it would show up red instead of green, and then she knew that she needed to go back and try it again.

My daughter continues to amaze me with her reading skills. The reading section of this program looked to be too advanced for her, but I thought we’d give it a whirl anyway. It’s reading a long passage of text (4 paragraphs!) and then answering 7 comprehension questions. I had her read the passage out loud to me and then I read the comprehension questions to her but had her click on the correct answer. She was able to read the entire passage and got all the questions correct on the first try! The reading part was a struggle for her, though, and she asked me if she could be done before she was actually done with it. She stayed the course, though, and was very proud of herself when she finished :)

The spelling part also proved to be a bit above her level, but doable. The five activities offered in this section do not take into account the beginning computing level of early readers. Kahlen does not really know how to type yet, although we’re certainly working on that. One of the activities has you type the word that you hear, but it’s timed and you get eaten by a walrus if you don’t do it in time. She was very frustrated by this one and another of the spelling activities that had a similar problem. The part that I *did* like about the spelling section is that you could put in your own list or use one of theirs, which included grade appropriate lists as well as sight words and word family lists.

Overall, we liked the sight words portion the best and will continue to use this part. I will probably ask her to do some more of the reading section as well to stretch her reading abilities, but I know I’ll hear about it.

Pricing varies by how many users you will be adding. An individual is $30 / year, and a family is $50 / year for up to four users. They also offer classroom and whole school plans.

 

~S

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this product through The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Speak Up Saturday–TOS Review–Crossbow Reading Rulers

If you’re a blogger like me, do you ever have about a dozen posts all written in your head but can’t find a moment to write them down? Or maybe I’m alone in that…

ANYway, that leads me to today’s review, which I wrote out in my head on Saturday while driving to Denver to go to CostCo.

As you’ll know if you’ve read any posts of mine about Kahlen lately, she’s starting to read, which is awesome! One thing I’ve noticed that she struggles with, and I think all emerging readers do, is keeping her place on the page. Enter Crossbow Reading Rulers!

The Eye Level Reading Ruler is a colored overlay text highlighter about the size of a six-inch ruler. Discreet and portable, the reading ruler is made of a combination of opaque and transparent plastic that both underlines the text and highlights it in a colored tint. Simply read the text through either of the tinted plastic strips of your selected color, and track down the page: broad strip for paragraphs; narrow strip for single lines.

(Here she is reading with her ruler)

The set that we received included 10 different colors, so that you can pick the one that works best for you. The main use for these rulers is to assist with visual stress and dyslexia. I do not think that Kahlen has either of these problems necessarily, but hubby used a full page overlay during college and it helped a lot.

Kahlen has really enjoyed using these rulers. They have helped her read longer paragraphs and to keep her place while she’s doing copywork. For her level, we’ve used both the big side and the small side, depending on the size of the words in whatever book or paper she was reading at the time. She didn’t tell me if one color worked better than another, so I think we’ll have to keep using them to find the perfect one for her.

I feel like the Reading Rulers have helped her with her reading and her schoolwork, just by helping her keep her place. They are a bit wide for regular reading books, but for all of our school/text books, they are great!

I would recommend these Reading Rulers for anyone who struggles with visual stress, mild or severe dyslexia, or other conditions which makes reading large amounts difficult (like ADHD, like my husband). The 10 pack is only $16.95 plus shipping, while a 5 pack is only $9.45 plus shipping.

You can find more about the company and the other products they offer here. They have essential oils, makeup, skin care, vitamins, and more.

~S

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this product through The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Speak Up Saturday–TOS Review–Beeyoutiful

If you’ll notice the first part of my “About Me” statement, it says Slightly Crunchy. This product falls under that category :)

About Beeyoutiful:

At Beeyoutiful.com, we believe that each individual is responsible for their own health. It is not a doctor's responsibility to keep you in good health. Instead they are a tremendous resource, especially for those times when urgent care is required. But, they are only one of many resources. And the tools they use, while powerful, are not the only tools available. But a tool is worthless unless one knows how to use it.

We have found a lot a tools that have worked very well for our families, and made Beeyoutiful a repository for those tools, as well as the information to effectively use them. As we learn more, we share more. Our goal is to eventually carry every natural product that we use. We're not there yet. We may never be as we are constantly being exposed to new and great products. As much as is in our power, we want to aid others in obtaining and maintaining good health.

I got to pick my top choice out of three packages. Here’s the one I picked:

1 Berry Well ($19.75)
1 Miracle 2 oz ($15.00) 
1 Ow-Ease ($15.00)
1 DVD ($3.00)

My husband was very skeptical, especially of the Ow! Ease, but I grew up using similar products and was interested to see how their products stacked up against others that I have used before.

To start with, here’s a bit about the Berry Well syrup: Never fear the flu when you keep Berry Well on hand. Each ingredient in this pleasantly fruity syrup holds its own against flu, colds, and a swarm of bacterial and viral infections. This organic Elderberry Syrup contains Propolis, Raw Honey, and Echinacea.

I have not really had the chance to test it out yet as far as effectiveness goes as I haven’t really been sick yet this year. I did take one dose to see what it tasted like and how it went down. It was sweet from the honey and slightly bitter from the elderberries, but not unpleasant. I don’t think I’ll have any trouble getting my kids to take it because of the honey :) One thing I really like about it is that I can give it to the baby as soon as he turns one in January, which is still prime flu and cold season.

The next product I receives is the Miracle 2 oz Skin Salve: Don’t be rash! Miracle Skin Salve promotes deep healing and restoration using a soothing blend of organic herbs and oils. From sunburn, chapped lips, and diaper rash to painful wounds and burns, apply salve as often as needed and watch your skin smile!

Nate in particular has very sensitive skin. He gets that part from his daddy. He’s also very prone to eczema, thanks to me. We almost got rid of it over the summer, but now that it’s fall, it’s already coming back. I have been using the Miracle Skin Salve on that as well as on Shane’s back where he’s getting dry skin and his diaper rash when it crops up. Both applications, as well as using it on my chapped hands, have been pleasant as well as mostly effective. I have come to believe that nothing is going to be a super-healer-completely-effective on Nate’s eczema, but this does seem to help. It also seemed to help with his itchy level. As for diaper rash, as long as the rash was just starting and not too bad, it helped right away. For major rash, I still reach for my commercial creams. Also, it didn’t seem to do anything for the dry-skin-bordering-on-rash that Shane had all over his back after bath time.

One thing I did not like about the Miracle salve is that there was a hard crust on the top of the salve that I had to break through in order to use it. It seemed like the beeswax had hardened more than it was supposed to and formed this crust. But, it did not make it unusable, just  not as creamy as I would have expected. The rest of the jar seems fine, it was just the very top layer.

Last was the Ow-Ease Arnica trauma salve: Ease your pain away. Using a proprietary blend of herbs, Ow!-Ease relieves pain associated with sprains, strains and pulled ligaments and muscles, bruises, and contusions. It works quickly and effectively to help reduce swelling and muscle pain, and is excellent as a rub for body builders, construction workers, and gardeners alike. The amazing qualities of these herbs work synergistically to soothe, restore, and actually speed tissue healing.

This is the one that I really really like. I have been looking for a good Arnica salve or cream of some kind. I’ve tried a few different ones, all which have been too liquidy. They haven’t stayed where they were supposed to and were even hard to cover with a band-aid because they were too wet. Ow! Ease was none of those; the formula and application was super easy and super effective! Nate fell off the stairs the other day and gave himself a bloody nose. I could see the bruise forming on the bridge of his nose. I spread a liberal layer of Ow! Ease and no bruise! Seriously, there was no bruise whatsoever! Anytime one of the kids gets a bonk now, we reach for this product. I like the ease of application and that it will spread just a bit or a thick layer, depending on what you need. The kids like the way it feels and the way it smells. I can’t wait to try it on my sore muscles from my run yesterday too!

The DVD that is included does have a ton of product knowledge, but it was difficult for me to watch because of the style of speaking. I think I would rather stick to reading about the products, which seems like it would provide me with the same information.

 

So, overall, I liked these products. My favorite by far is the Ow! Ease. I don’t think that I will re-purchase the other two when I run out, but I will be using them until they run out, and maybe I’ll change my mind by then, who knows? They’re fine products, I’m just not sure if they’re worth the money to me and my family.

You can find more about the company and the other products they offer here. They have essential oils, makeup, skin care, vitamins, and more.

 

~S

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this product through The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Speak Up Saturday–TOS Review–Music Together CD & Songbook

Music. I think all kids like music. At least all the ones that I know. Young ones especially love to make random noises (vocabules) with their mouths and turn it into music. My kids do, anyway, do yours?

Enter Music Together. I was given the opportunity to review their Music Together Family Favorites CD and Songbook for Teachers.

Here’s what they say about Music Together:

Music Together is an internationally recognized early childhood music and movement program for children from birth through age 7—and the grownups who love them. First offered to the public in 1987, it pioneered the concept of a research-based, developmentally appropriate early childhood music curriculum that strongly emphasizes and facilitates adult involvement.

Music Together classes are based on the recognition that all children are musical. All children can learn to sing in tune, keep a beat, and participate with confidence in the music of our culture, provided that their early environment supports such learning.

As soon as we received it, I popped the CD in the car CD player, and the kids instantly *loved* it! From the first “Hello” song through the catchy songs using nonsense words like “Biddy Biddy Bum” and classics like “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad” all the way to “Goodbye, So Long, Farewell”, it’s been an instant hit and much requested by my kids. And, honestly, me too. I find myself singing the songs as I go about my day with the kids.

After I had been listening to the CD for a few weeks, I finally got to reading the songbook, and found another amazing resource! The songbook starts with pages about how to teach a variety of types of students with practical suggestions for class as a whole as well as specific songs. Then it moves into the songs that are included on the CD and suggestions for activities for each one. It also includes a bit of background for each song, which I found interesting.

With the amount of thought that obviously went into each song chosen for this CD, I was intrigued and went to find a bit more information about the classes. At about the same time, I received a flyer for classes in my area…what a coincidence! I contacted the director of the local Music Together studio and here’s what she had to say:

The Music Together Program in its entirety contains 9 different CD and songbook collections (so three years worth of material!) Music Together Directors/Teachers also take in-depth/ongoing training so a class experience offers a deeper understanding of musical development and the music itself. I have had homeschoolers in my classes before and would be happy to offer an introductory discount to homeschooling families. I offer classes in Boulder and Fort Collins. I am also happy to coordinate a class just for homeschooled families if there is enough interest. Families can contact me, Jane Smolens, at www.mountainsongmusic.com or (303)413-1120 or (970)495-1120. Families can contact me to find out the coupon code to waive the registration fee as an introductory discount.

So with all that said, you can guess that we give this product 5 stars :) The songs are fun, musically interesting, and well thought out. The whole program looks amazing, and I am really considering joining a class with my kids. Oh, and did I mention that they could all take a class together? Bonus!

You can get the Music Together Family Favorites CD for $9.99 download version or $14.95 plus shipping for the physical CD.

The Songbook for Teachers is $29.95 plus shipping OR buy the set for $39.95, which is a $5 discount.

They have several other products available for purchase as well, like egg shakers, rhythm sticks, and other CDs, so go check it out!

~S

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this product through The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Speak Up Saturday–TOS Review–Family Time Fitness

Okay, so I know Kahlen is only five, but I’ve been thinking about how to help her with coordination and develop her large motor skills. She is active and fairly athletic, but lacks coordination. Enter Family Time Fitness. Now, I don’t see myself as not being able to teach PE, or come up with ideas, but it certainly is nice to just have a well-laid out plan and be able to follow it with very little prep. Especially since I have a tot schooler and a baby around, I just don’t have the time to come up with well-rounded, well-prepared PE lessons. Nor do I want to just sign her up for classes or sports since that will actually take more time, driving back and forth, etc.

Here’s what they say about their program:

Have you ever asked yourself...

Can I teach physical education, even though I don’t know anything about it?
Family Time Fitness says: Absolutely!

The Fitness 4 Homeschool Curriculum allows homeschool parents to teach physical education without previous knowledge of physical education and athletic development. Our program, designed by experts in fitness training, nutrition and body movement, is designed to suit every age and ability level while affordably fitting into your budget. Our program combines flexibility and fun with a comprehensive curriculum to give your children a foundation for strong bodies and minds.

We created the Fitness 4 Homeschool curriculum because of a lack of fitness programs for homeschoolers. We started this program because we couldn’t find any at all! With the child obesity epidemic on the rise in the U.S., now is the time to give our children the exercise guidance they need while building the skills necessary to stay fit for a lifetime.

We believe that a PE curriculum is absolutely essential for a balanced homeschool classroom. Our expertly designed program has been created to maximize the benefits of spatial awareness, body awareness, environmental awareness, enhanced neurological development, mind-body coordination, stress reduction, social engagement, poise and confidence.

Each lesson has a one-page summary that you can print to use while you are doing the lesson as well as a detailed description of the lesson/session that includes links to demonstration videos. There are 260 lessons! The lessons are designed for K-8th grade, can mostly be done inside, and take about 25-45 minutes. Each lesson has a warm-up, activity or game play, a cool down, and an outside activity that can be done for as long as you or the student wants to (for example, the first one is jump rope). There is also an assessment test available which you can use to measure progress over the course of the year.

For us, this program will be a ton more useful when I can include Nate in the sessions as well. So many of the activities are way over his skill level for the moment that it made it hard to find a time to do the sessions with just Kahlen. There were some of the activities that I could adapt to make them more useable with a 5 and 3 year old, but some of them are just over both their heads. Kahlen enjoyed the variation within each lesson and from lesson to lesson. She’s not one that likes to keep doing the same thing over and over again, unless of course it was her idea ;) I liked the ease of setting up each lesson and that we could do most of it inside or outside with very little equipment needed.

This curriculum will be something that we will continue to use, and probably for several years. Even if the kids are in sports, that’s not going to be every day and it’s not going to teach them other ways to move their bodies, which is so very important for long term health. I also feel like it’s a good thing for me to do with them! As a mom, I don’t always feel like I have time to get in the physical activity I should be getting for my own well-being. If I do 30 minutes of activities WITH my kids, what better use of my time could there be?

(Sorry, no pictures. It’s hard to take pictures of them while walking like a crab myself)

You can purchase the Fitness 4 Homeschool - Core 1 Physical Education Curriculum K-8 Curriculum for just $57! It is downloadable PDFs which you are free to print or put on your tablet or just look at on your computer.

~S

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this product through The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Speak Up Saturday–TOS Review–Speekee TV

 

Today I am reviewing Speekee TV, an online video-based Spanish program for kids 2-10 years old. I will be the first to admit that we didn’t get to use this as often as I would have liked since we received it, as I have heard great things about it around the blogosphere. But with the end of summer (vacation!) and the beginning of 1st grade and tot school (yep, I’m leading a co-op of 5 kids under 4), it just got pushed to the middle of the pile instead of the top. That said, though, we have really enjoyed what we did try out!

Here’s what they say about their program:

Speekee TV is designed so that children can learn Spanish in their own time and at their own pace. Available only via the web, Speekee TV is loved by children and their parents around the world.

• 10 episodes of Spanish
• Over 150 minutes of pure Spanish learning
• Learn Spanish from real Spanish children in real Spanish locations
• Features songs, animation and puppets
• Optional subtitles in Spanish and English
• Free activity sheet downloads
• Great fun and extremely effective
• Created by specialist language teachers
• Free optional curriculum
• Songs you can't stop singing

This program includes not only a video series, but also has a weekly FastTrack email lesson plan to help you with other activities and specifics to help “maximize your child’s Spanish learning experience”.

The interface is easy to use and navigate. If you click through the emailed FastTrack, you can get to the web-based version, which has the links to specific video clips within the main video for the week as well as any printable activity sheets that are available.

The thing that I liked most about this program is that Nate (who is 3) and Kahlen (who is almost 6) enjoyed watching the videos together. Nate really liked it that he was included in Kahlen’s schoolwork, and I felt like the videos were simple enough for him and not too babyish for Kahlen.

I enjoyed the pace of the videos as well. I think a lot of the Spanish programs I have tried thus far try to teach too much in a lesson for this age of child. Speekee did not do that, and I am grateful.

The only complaint I have is the time commitment, which is absolutely nothing against Speekee! Learning Spanish isn’t one of my utmost top priorities right now, and with everything else we are trying to cram into our new school year, it has just really fallen behind. I think to truly use Speekee to it’s full potential, you’d have to commit to four 1/2 hour times per week, and I just don’t have that available right now. Again, though, that’s no fault of Speekee TV, and I think that with half that time, you and your children could still benefit from this program, just not to the full extent that it was designed for. It’s easy to use and requires little to no preparation from you!

Subscriptions to Speekee are $7.50 per month or $60 per year, which is incredibly affordable! This includes the FastTrack lesson plans, access to the videos, and access to supporting printables such as worksheets and flashcards. Also, they offer the first two weeks free with no obligation to continue.

~S

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this product through The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Speak Up Saturday–TOS Review–Reading Kingdom

It’s almost Saturday, right? ;)

We have been reviewing Reading Kingdom over the last few weeks as part of the TOS crew.

Here’s what they say about their program:

Our commitment to online reading for kids is based on our patented six skills method for reading success. These skills include sequencing, motor skills, phonics (phonemic awareness), meaning, grammar and reading comprehension. Our online reading for kids program is ideal for preschool, kindergarten, first grade, second grade, third grade, special education, homeschool, and English as a second language. The Reading Kingdom online reading for kids program is an ideal supplement to existing curricula, as well an excellent independent curriculum. Our online reading for kids program is also a great educational alternative to other entertainment options. In fact, most children refer to the Reading Kingdom as a reading game, since it is so fun to play. We're proud that our reading programs for kids are thought of as reading games (especially by kids!).

• Most kids can use the program on their own after just a few lessons.
• It's fun so children think they're playing a game and want to practice.
• It was created by Dr. Marion Blank, Director of the Light on Learning Program at Columbia University and one of the world's top experts in reading.
• It works with any other curriculum a child may be using.
• It's the only program to offer customized online reading instruction for each child.
• And, it's the only system that teaches all 6 skills needed for reading & writing success!

After the first few minutes, I have left Kahlen to do this one by herself. It said in the assessment not to assist the child, and it seemed like I was just interfering, so I let her just do it. She has enjoyed playing it, but we both felt like it moved very slowly.

The program provided lots of practice, but once she mastered a concept, it was still going over the same one. Also, the graphics and the game flow were very very slow. It took a long time to move from one activity to the next with nothing to do but wait for it. I felt like it was more like watching a video in terms of engaging her brain.

The parent reporting section was only marginally helpful. It does state what she has completed, but does not say anything about what skills were covered, it just has the name of the level and what level of performance she had on that level.

I guess I was not all that impressed with this program, however, I could see it being useful for children who are reluctant to do anything that looks like school work as the game aspect of this program is entertaining and enough like a game to not look like work as much as some other things. Kahlen doesn’t have that problem, so this wasn’t a great fit for her. I will be letting her use this program after she’s done her other work as a reward for completing her other schoolwork quickly. I think that extra practice in reading and keyboarding is a good thing, but not if it just adds unnecessary screen time.

A risk-free Reading Kingdom account can be created and used free of charge for 30 days.  Afterwards, a subscription can be purchased for $19.99/mo or $199.99/yr for your first reader.  Additional readers are $9.99/mo or $99.99/yr.  Additional books, kits, and resources are available in the Reading Kingdom Store.

~S

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this product through The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.