Graphics Tool Box, A TOS Homeschool Crewmember Review

Little Mrs. Semi-Techie feels like Little Mrs. Not-So-Techie when it comes to any type of graphics software. This time was a little different. I still don't feel competent but at least I figured out how to make something after several hours of several days trying to create projects. I guess left brainers can learn how to be creative after all. Here is the story of how I stepped out on a limb to learn this new thing that actually turned out to be a little bit of fun.

 I received an email from TOS that assigned me to review a new software item called Graphics Tool Box and I became kind of excited. At the same time, I was scared out of my mind. I always fail at these kind of programs because I have shaky hands and don't think as abstractly as you might need to in order to be good at it. But I signed up for a training class and "got my groove on". The training class was done via the GOTO MEETING format online where a group of people telecommute to a meeting via phone and internet to learn about or discuss a program.

The first part of the training struck my attention right away when the teacher taught us about the program's "color stories," which are kind of like a painter's pallette. (I have done a little bit of painting in the past, with an instructor guiding me and as a novice of course--check out the painting in the top of my blog where it says,"Leaders in Learning". I actually painted that even though I'm not creative in that way.) I do like to talk about "stories" though. I like to write them  but in this software program, you "paint" them onto your page for background or font choices. This part of the lesson was interesting. You have a gazillion choices inside the color library from which to choose or you can make up your own color schemes up to 16 million colors. There is also a color finder in case you can't find the colors you want. There were many, many "gadgets" to use in decorating projects from patterned borders to shape benders to pattern creators and duplictors to help you make your own designs and all kinds of creative tools. I'm sure I didn't even skim the surface of what this program is capable of helping one to create.  Once I figured out how to make something, it was really fun to play with.

I have to admit that I was probably one of the few who were quite unfamiliar with the terminology used in graphics programs so it was a bit overwhelming to take in all at once. I'm a bit of a chicken to ask for personal tutoring in the presence of my collegues who may likely be more technically apt than I so I just listened and watched the screen.  The good thing is that the teacher/creator of the program gave ample opportunity to ask questions so I listened and learned as others asked questions or while she demonstrated varous features of the program.

Later on, I was pleased to see that many of the training sessions became available to download. This enabled me to slow down and stop them when necessary to learn what to do. As I have already stated, I get frustrated easily with these types of programs and being able to take my time with this one helped.  I'm not an airhead but creative things like this make me feel like one since others can easily use them and I struggle so much to figure them out. (I can read technical manuals and product instructions, even encyclopedias and enjoy myself thoroughly doing so, but being artsy, well, that is another story.) This definitely had a learning curve but it was worth climbing up there to investigate and achieve.

The tools utilized by this program work with:

• color
• drawing
• framing
• image manipulation
• embellishing
• page layout
• scanning
• zooming and panning
• page layout
• drawing tools
• advanced graphics
• help screens with shortcuts
• a variety of options within each category

All of the training videos I watched are available right here on the company's website so that new customers can have visual examples of what can be accomplished through this program.  Several of my crewmates had a great time with their families while manipulating images and taking the heads off people and placing them elsewhere on other bodies. I laughed very hard at that but I didn't have quite as easy of a time creating things with this program as they did. I did eventually learn how to virtually trace, cut and move things around though, as you will see from the projects I share with you later in the review.

  I think one thing that helped was that there was a very detailed, downloadable manual. I printed it and consulted it as necessary. This was helpful for my brain that needed to consult written step by step instruction. I would also like to note that the customer service options were very good since unlimited technical support was available if I needed it and the creator of the program also communicated frequently to make sure that this reviewer was successful in trying out her product. I would imagine that this would apply to her customers as well. She went the extra mile to make sure we were all happy and knowledgeable about the product, sending us several emails which contained helpful information and samples of projects made by customers and reviewers. It was obvious that the creater of the program is highly experienced in graphics designing from her years in the fashion industry. Because of this, she originally created this product for use by professionals and then discovered that it would be a great tool also for homeschoolers and home business owners.

Of course, as a TOS Crew member, I received her product for free for 30 days in exchange for an honest review, but she was gracious to offer me and other reviewers a permanent license to use the program. I am really thankful for this as I think there is great potential for my family to benefit from the use of this software.

I am a published poet but I have thought for a long time about creating my own greeting and sympathy cards using my poetry and beautiful scenery. I just never could figure out any graphics programs enough to make something attractive. With this program, I think I made some progress in that category. I can't wait to play more with it when I have some spare time. Above is a picture I made for a possible sympathy card. I made a few mistakes on the spacing and I hadn't learned how to center it yet at that point so I would want to redo it, but you can see a sneak peek at what is possible. Of course, the limited text features are designed for brief use so if you want to add a poem in or lengthy text like I did, you might want to create your photo image or design in Graphics Toolbox and add text later, but even the text I used wasn't all that bad. They had several options for the font so it was useable at least.

I'd also like to make children's books based on some of my stories and story ideas. I would love to use this program to illustrate them and make them into ebooks.   One of my teen boys really likes to use "paint" and all three love our pets. Two of them sat with me while I created the following cute cards. I will at some point allow them to create some things too but we have recently had computer issues so I couldn't spare my computer time to let them play without me there.  Here are the "cards" or posters that I made. I'm sure that once I use the program more, I will improve in making things like this. 

Of course, these are not perfect, but that is because I am unskilled in the creative arts, not because the program doesn't have the capability for perfection on this. If you want to see some more professional looking creations, then visit the Graphics Toolbox website and the TOS Crew page. You will see what my crewmates and others were able to do. Click here for details.

If you would like to purchase this program for use in your home  or business, it will cost you $129.00 for your user license and you can download and start using it today. If you aren't sure but want to try it out, there is also an option for a free 30 day trial. They also offer specialized training at $65.00 per hour. This might or might not be feasible for the average homeschooler, but a business person might want to take advantage of this to learn how to create their own graphics for signs or letterheads or even products.  It would be good for churches, too! This could save money on hiring others to do what they could learn to do themselves with a little help using Great Software Tools', Graphics Toolbox. 

In summary, Graphics Toolbox is a program with almost unlimited possiblities for creating: cards, posters, scrapbooks, signs, logos,  advertisements, school projects, personalized stationary, books, educational materials, fashion designs, paper dolls, book covers, puzzles, pictures for your blog or website or any other creative idea you could cook up. For this type of program, the price is cheaper than professional grade programs on the market and it has many more features.

Even though I still had a little bit of a challenge in using it, it was easier for me than many others I've tried and it had more user friendly features. Once I worked with them a little bit, I saw that it was simpler than it looked. It did take a large quantity of time invested before learning all the features but that is somewhat expected if you're inexperienced in that area. I still had some frustration with not being able to go back and undo as much as I wanted to when I made mistakes but I was still able to create some things that looked alright despite my mistakes. (I could only undo so many layers back but this has to do with configuration and available space on your computer, I believe.)  The software does require large resources available to run on your computer. It will be interesting to see what types of projects I will be able to create over time and more use. I think this program has great potential.

If you want to read what other reviewers thought about this program, click on the banner on the upper right hand side of my blog. This has been a TOS Homeschool Crewmember review of Graphics Toolbox. To read more reviews of other products interspersed with parenting articles and general info on homeschooling and adoption issues, please browse my blog,  Leaders in Learning.

Thank you for reading my blog and review. Please feel free to leave a comment and come back soon.

BeckyJoie

New Discount for You on Sarah Books

Author Jim Beaugardner is offering a special discount to any of my readers who wish to purchase the Sarah Books which I reviewed. (See last post.)

This offer is not available on his website or anywhere on online other than through a TOS Homeschool Review Crewmember. It is a REALLY great offer so if you are interested, please email me at rjeremiah2911@embarqmail.com or mail me at Rather Be Writing, P.O. Box 1183, Tavares, FL 32778-1183 for the special order form and discounts. I will be happy to help you receive a deal on these books since I like them too.

If you do purchase a set of books, then I will also receive a benefit from it. (But don't do it for that reason alone. They are great books for everyone but especially adoptive parents.)


After you read them, send me an email telling me your opinion of the books. I look forward to hearing from you.


Thanks. Have a great weekend.

The Story of a Brave Orphan-Sarah Books Review

A TOS CREWMEMBER REVIEW OF SARAH'S WISH, Book One in the Sarah Series

Ironically, just as our family considered adopting a young lady named Sarah, I received a free autographed copy of Sarah's Wish from Author Jim Baumgardner for review purposes. I love to read but lately, most of my reading has been informational due to a full schedule. This time, I took advantage of having an assignment which gave me "an excuse" to read a 126 page historical novella! I couldn't wait. From the very beginning, I felt nothing but delight.

For starters, I was impressed to find the author a very personable, old-fashioned style gentleman (so it seemed from our brief correspondence via email and letter). His generosity and pleasant communication with the TOS Crew spoke volumes for his character. I was "sold" before I even flipped the cover open to read his book. Or should I say, the curiosity over the series intensified for me?


As a free lance writer with membership in critique groups, I scan and critique many pre-market manuscripts from multiple genres, so the tendency for me when looking at any book is often to jump into the "edit" or "critique" mode instinctively. Knowing this, I gave Sarah's Wish to my teens first and worked in the kitchen nearby while they took turns reading aloud. Since the chapters were quite short but interesting enough to propel the reader forward, my boys read several in one sitting. They enjoyed alternating between the characters' accents and the readability factor was good. (We did it sort of Reader's Theatre style.)

I listened as they told of a brave young girl named Sarah Smith whose family helped smuggle "packages" through the Underground Railroad in the early nineteenth century. Sarah became an orphan but continued to stand for the principles that her mother and father both modeled to her. Sarah trusts only a few adults, mostly Granny and Dr. Baum, who help her search for a new family and to continue fulfilling her family's promise to protect slaves. The two characters travel with her across country intending to place her with a potential adoptive family. The suspense thickens as they discover surprising secrets about this "Christian" family who wants to adopt her. Sarah's hopes are dashed due to the occurrences that follow this discovery. Sarah is a very empathetic character who sets a good example of strength, courage and faith as she proceeds through the events in the story.

This is such a colorful piece of Young Adult Fiction based on real life events that occurred in the lives of the author's ancestors. It is totally wholesome-you will find no objectionable content here. It is full of mystery and yet familiar. In this book, you will find gypsies, slaves and slave catchers, country bumpkins, posh plantation runners, simple townsfolk, riverboat rides, a sneak peak at early American medicine and danger around the corner in almost every chapter.

The characters in the story are life-like and well rounded. In fact, they were so realistic that my children felt the emotions of the main characters where they paralleled similar life experiences to their own. They related by remembering what it was like to move out of their own birth homes and to long for a family to call their own. They also related to some of the mistreatment of the characters in the story. For this reason, I allowed them to take a break from reading for a while as we discussed the feelings of the characters (and theirs respectively). We will continue reading the book together again later after they have more time to process everything but as they needed a break, I allowed them to set it down.

Of course, I was now hooked on the story and had to pick up where my sons had left off. I didn't stay in "edit" mode very long as I became engrossed in the details. I took the book to bed with me and read for a while for a couple of nights until I had finished the story. I thought I would begin reading for my "homework" but soon forgot about that and simply enjoyed it for the sake of the story. I had forgotten what a blessing it was to read for pleasure! My only disappointment when I finished the book was that I did not have the sequel already in hand. It won't be long until I do, though! I intend to purchase the series over time, especially since the author gave this reviewer a steep discount offer.

In the back of this particular book, you will also find a coupon code for a free audio download of the story. I downloaded it to my mp3 player. I can't wait to listen to it again.

Not only am I impressed with the book I received but also by all that the author does for his customers and for needy people. He gives a portion of his proceeds to a ministry called Carpenter's Place. You can read all about what they do and see, when you visit the link, why I am even more supportive of this endeavor. http://www.carpenterplace.org/

Knowing that you can help needy families and children who need a home, you may want to buy some of Mr. Baumgardner's books for your enjoyment and to help others.

The retail price is $10.99 at a bookstore but on the author's website, you can purchase it for $9.99 with free shipping and handling. Discussion Questions are available as well.

Visit the links below for more information in this and other books by Jim Baumgardner. Be sure to sign up for his newsletter which is full of fun word plays and more information on the period of history where his books are set. He also has a homeschool page there to view.

VENDOR: Sarah Books
CONTACT: Jim Baumgardner, Author
EMAIL: http://Sarahbooks@cox.net
PHONE: 316-613-2591
WEBSITE: http://www.sarahbooks.net/

To read what other TOS Reviewers have to say about this Vendor and more, click on either one of the banners found in the upper right and lower right sections of the sidebar on this blog page. As always, thank you for reading my review and come back for more later.

Virgina Soaps and Scents

A TOS CREWMEMBER REVIEW OF VIRGINIA SOAPS AND SCENTS

Another benefit of being on the TOS Review Crew is that I sometimes receive products other than curriculum to try for free! Yippee! This is one of those times!

Virginia Soaps and Scents gave me a sampler package of their products a few weeks ago and I couldn't wait to break it open and see what they sent! I'm not a big one for spending loads of money on "girlish" products but soap that is natural is a big hit on my wish list. I felt spoiled when I opened the box.

Here's what they "scent" me.

1. A 1.75 ounce bar of Coconut Lemongrass hand and body soap.
2. A 1.75 ounce bar of Oatmeal, Milk and Honey soap.
3. A 1.75 ounce bar of Fresh Orange hand and body soap.
4. A 2 ounce Cherry Almond Shampoo Bar.
5. A laundry soap kit with a recipe to make my own laundry soap-it makes one-half gallon.

When I opened the package all I could smell was "clean". It was old-fashioned soap with natural smelling scents and no heavy perfumes. I was so excited, I couldn't wait to try it out. I was especially intrigued by the shampoo bar. It sounded interesting but I was SURE that it would not work on my long, course wavy hair nor on my sons' scruffy haystack hair. But I was so wrong. It took seconds to get a strong lather worked up and my head was soon emmersed in a deep almond scent. It stripped excess oils and restored natural oils into my hair like a deep conditioner. My hair was noticibly and touchably soft after using it. The next litmus test was my middle son. He used it a couple of times and it produced a new, smooth shine on his hair. My youngest used it on his body because he forgot which one was body soap and which was shampoo. He smelled nice!

The last test was to see if my husband liked it. He usually turns his nose up at bar soap for hair. He has thinning hair and most soaps leave his hair feeling too oily. He didn't seem to mind this one. In fact, he went online after to research the price. He seemed impressed. "If they really last as long as they say they do, then it's definitely worth it."

We passed around the body soaps as well. The only problem we had was the need to call out while in the shower for the last person who borrowed our favorite bar to return it through the door quickly! The surprising thing is that we all have used these four soaps (shampoo included) repeatedly for the last several weeks and they don't seem to be melting at all! I'm sure they are but for such a little bar of soap to not dissolve and slip down the drain in a day or two, that is absolutely amazing.

Another thing I liked is that my boys' hands actually felt clean when I held them at prayer time. They usually feel sticky even after several washings.

We've found that not only do these soaps work well, smell great and last longer, they also are asthetically appealing. They look very much like something you would find in a high class hotel in a gourmet gift package. The soaps are handcrafted and have a carved trademark insignia in the center of the bar.

I tried the laundry soap on several loads and it seems to work as well as the store brands and it is much cheaper. It's a little strange, though, to not have suds. The water looks clear after the soap is placed in the washtub. The clothes came out clean and not smelly so I think it is worth the price.

The most appealing aspect of the body, hair and laundry soap is that fact that they are natural, leaving off harmful chemicals while being less expensive than many natural products on the market.

The 5.5 ounce Shampoo bars sell for $5.50 each, the 4.5 ounce signature soaps sell for $4.50 each or 3 for $12. The Laundry Soap Kit which makes TWO GALLONS sells for $4.95! TWO GALLONS, folks!

They sell gourmet soaps too. They are very attractive looking. Look at them here.

http://www.virginiasoapsandscents.com/vss_015.htm

VENDOR: Virginia Soaps and Scents
CONTACT: Richelle Spargur
EMAIL: http://www.blogger.com/richelle@virginiasoapsandscents.com
PHONE: 757-986-3377
WEBSITE: http://www.virginiasoapsandscents.com/

To read what other crewmembers think about this product and more, click on the TOS Crew Review banners on either the top or bottom right sidebar. Thank you.

Guardian Angel Publishing REVIEW

A TOS Crew Member Review of E-books from Guardian Angel Publishing

A couple of months ago, Guardian Angel Publishing sent me an assortment of ebooks for free to use and review. The books are age-rated at ages 0-12.

The first e-book, Stubby’s Destiny, written by Dixie Phillips, was a twenty-two page long, picture storybook about a donkey who lived in Bible times in Israel. He spent his life feeling like he had no gifts and talents because he compared himself to the horses and other animals around him. Others ridiculed him for being different until one day, he was given an extra special job to do for Jesus. I’m not going to give you the details; you will have to read the story to find out, but it made him feel pretty special. He finally realized that just as everyone else, he, too, was destined to a special job at a special time.

This book was very cute, and although a little young for my teen boys, they enjoyed it since they never had those types of reading experiences in their birth homes. It appeared to be the type of book meant to be read by an adult to a child since some of the words were more toward a twelve year old reading level than a toddler.

The illustrations, by Kim Sponaugle, were cartoonish but colorful and detailed, making the book a bit like a graphic novel for little kids. It reminded me of the little Archway books that we used to see in Sunday School as children in my Grandparents’ churches.

To order, go here: : www.guardianangelpublishing.com/stubbys-destiny.htm

The next book we read was Maybe We Are Flamingos, by Safari Suzie Thurman and is one in a series.

www.guardianangelpublishing.com/maybe-flamingos.htm

This thirty-page book was darling! The story is about two flamingos who aren’t pink at first. In fact, it takes them a whole year to turn pink and then, in order to stay pink, they have to keep on a special diet. They experiment with drawings of themselves to show what they’d look like if they ate broccoli or cheeseburgers. The illustrations were quite comical and cute and were done by Kevin Collier. What a fun and funny book for a parent or a grandparent to pull out and read to small children in the doctor’s office waiting room or a ride in the car. They will learn without even realizing it.

My boys read it, giggled a little and liked it in spite of it being a little young for them. I plan to keep the ebooks on my laptop for visiting guests who are looking for something to keep their little ones busy. Who knows? We might even adopt younger children in the future and be able to read it to them too!

The price of this book is listed below but it can also be downloaded from itunes for $2.99 for your touch screen ipods and iphones.

Book number three was more their style and was from the Sum of Our Parts Series by Bill Kirk called, The Sum of Our Parts, No Bones About it.http://www.guardianangelpublishing.com/no-bones-about-it.htmThe title is pretty self-explanatory. It’s a book about the human skeleton. The difference is that the story is told in rhyme like a song. The graphics (illustrated by Eugene Ruble) are “spooky” looking and just the sort of thing that teen and tween boys might find interesting. Each page contains factoids in a textbox and organizes the material for easy comprehension and recall.

The book came in handy as we are learning about the systems of the human body and we just “happened” to be on the skeletal system at that time. It couldn’t have been better timing.

This would be a great book for handing to children of relatives or friends who surprise you and come to your doorstep during the holidays. It is also a perfect book to have in your classroom as it is a more interesting way than usual to read about the bones in the body.

The final book was my favorite of the four. It is Andy and Spirit Go To The Fair by Mary Jean Kelso with beautiful colored illustrations by K.C. Snider. The story is about a physically handicapped ‘tween who heads with his mother to the fair to participate in a 4H horsemanship competition. He brings his horse, Spirit, who is also “different”. Andy and Spirit team up to succeed. Both bring out the best in each other. Their strong bond pays off.

The reason I liked this story so much is that I raised a child with physical disabilities and I never told him, “You can’t do that because you are disabled.” To this day, he does not view himself as unable but as one who needs to find a new avenue to do things. When he was a youngster, many of his equally challenged friends were not allowed to come outside to play nor to do many of the things I allowed him to do. Their mothers were worried that their children were too fragile. I did stay nearby and cheered him on, sometimes even to his dislike but he learned to be independent in spite of his physical challenges. This book also encourages children and families with disabilities to have an independent, “I can do” spirit. It demonstrates to the able-bodied many ways to accommodate and assist their friends in wheelchairs or with other assistive ambulatory devices.

Another thing I liked about this book is that the author donates a portion of the sales to charity. (Healing Reigns is an organization that helps children with sensory issues and other special needs to heal through their interaction with horses. The therapy is called “hippotherapy”.

http://www.healingreins.org/)

The author ends the book with links to 4H, equestrian programs for rehabilitation purposes and wild horse and burro adoption.

Some of my readers are parents of traumatized and/or adopted children who have benefited from equine therapy. I’d like to think they would enjoy this book as much as I did. It’s a great book to help others who feel different and for building sensitivity to the needs of others who are unlike ourselves, though, I have to say that most of us feel “different” and singled out at times in our lives. This is simply a great book. I loved it. (It is also one in a series of books. See the author's note in my comment box.)

You can purchase it here:

http://www.guardianangelpublishing.com/andy&albinohorse-series.htm

ALL of the books I reviewed are priced as follows: The ebook PDF costs $5.00, or for the CD version it’s $9.95 plus $5.95 shipping and handling. The print book is $10.95 plus $6.95 shipping and handling. DVD BOOK VIDEO (if available) for $9.95 plus $5.95 shipping and handling.

In addition to the books I have reviewed, Guardian Angel Publishing carries more resources such as music, chapbooks for tweens, health and hygiene books for smaller children, and Angel To Angel (books for kids by kids).

Here is their contact info if you want to know more:

VENDOR: Guardian Angel Publishing
CONTACT: Lynda Burch
EMAIL: sales_staff@guardianangelpublishing.com
PHONE: 314-276-8482
WEBSITE: http://www.guardianangelpublishing.com/

To read what other crew members say or to look at products from TOS Vendors, click on one of the banners located on the right upper or lower sidebar. Thanks.

HEADS UP FOR EDUDPS

A TOS HOMESCHOOL CREWMEMBER REVIEW OF EDUCATIONAL DIAGNOSTIC PRESCRIPTIVE SERVICES (EDUDPS). A detailed look at FOUR of their products.

Let me begin by telling you that the curricula I am about to review for you is by far the best I have ever used for children with emotional and/or special learning needs. Of course, there is a good reason why this material works so well. The author has spent many years teaching children and adults with learning, emotional, physical and mental difficulties. While this is true, don’t let that stop you from reading my review if you have mainstream or even advanced learners. There is something here for EVERYONE and NOT only for your children. I will be reviewing several fantastic products that work to prepare your child to succeed in college, career and communication in life itself.

Author Jill J. Dixon who created this company is a seasoned educator and homeschool mom with a B.S. degree in English Education and a Masters in Special Education. When you head to her website, you will see her other very impressive credentials. Her husband, Theodore Dixon is also involved in publishing the curriculum.

It is my privilege as a member of TOS Homeschool Crew to select four of their products for review. Being a free-lance writer, I want to teach creative writing to my children, but because of their educational backgrounds, they do not have a good foundation in grammar and writing. They also have some learning challenges that are resultant from a lack of nurture in their early years. Because of this, the courses offered by EDUDPS are perfect because of their skill building through step-by-step analysis, vocabulary lists and varied approaches for learning styles.

The first product, Write With The Best, Volume One, Grades 3-12, is one that I thoroughly enjoyed! The subtitle hints at what is in store: Modeling Writing After Great Works of World Literature.

(This usually sells as an ebook for $19.95, but it is on sale now. It’s also offered printed at $22.45 with no binder or at $24.95 with a three ring binder.)

Each unit breaks down into daily goals for learning objectives. First, students read and study a short selection of classic literature by a great fiction author. They put the principles to practical use as they write an assignment patterned after the sample. First, they describe an object, then a setting, followed by a character and last, they learn to write dialogue. In addition, they imitate short stories, fables, letters, poetry and even ballads!

My boys, at first, did not have the logic to decipher which parts of speech were being used for which types of writing, but after some trial and error, they began to finally grasp the concepts. This is amazing as I spent most of last year trying to teach them parts of speech so that they could learn to write! They just weren’t getting it prior to this. The methods used in this curriculum made it clearer to them than ever before.

Here is how writing and grammar are taught together. First, the story is read to them; then, over several days, they study the descriptive language used in the story and discover how writing incorporates these elements.

The course is not “dumbed down” at all but on the contrary it is intense and motivating. Nevertheless, it is also very teachable to children with ADHD or dyslexia. A few words were above comprehension level so I encouraged the boys to look them up in a dictionary and thesaurus. Then we would discuss them. They protested at first but then became very proud of themselves for the new words they learned. They began trying to use them in real life and were mostly successful. The dissection of literature continued in bite-sized chunks from day to day. Along with this were opportunities to find parts of speech in the written piece, by circling, underlining or highlighting words according to color codes. This made it easier for them to see the nouns and verbs next to their modifiers, while noting how they all work together in writing.

Literature works of high quality keep the course educational and challenging so that advanced students or adults even enjoy doing the work; however, the selections are small enough to not overwhelm a student who struggles with learning language skills.

NOTE: It is my opinion that the teaching principles of scaffolding and modeling are necessary to teach language courses to children with special learning needs. These methods are an integral part of this curriculum BUT the course can also be completed independently by an advanced student or an adult who already has good reading skills and desires to improve their overall writing ability.

Other superb features of this curriculum are the writing guides in the back of the book, proofreading checklists and suggestions for teaching to various learning styles. Since I have two students with different learning styles, I was able to incorporate both visual and hands-on teaching techniques as well as auditory aids.

I looked but found no negatives unless you compare classic literature with current writing trends. Fads in modern writing promote using fewer adjectives and adverbs and using instead stronger verbs. In the writing groups I attend, you are likely to be critiqued for using –ly words too frequently (oops, I used an –ly word, didn’t I?) or for using too much description. I found that old world writers flood the page with descriptive words.

The author of Write With the Best follows classic literature with her use of customized dialogue tags. I prefer this method as well but some modern writers leave off the tags altogether or at least use them in a minimal capacity. To some degree, one must determine whether he or she is writing for personal improvement or for publishing. This would require understanding the preferences of the publishing house to which a writer would submit his or her work (this is done by reading things they’ve published). Though there are popular trends, there is some flexibility in the actual writing market. It is a matter of opinion for each editor. I’ve seen published work with and without the tags as well as with frequent –ly adverbs. One must determine what is a trend and what is timeless writing. Overall, I agree with author Jill Dixon and renown authors of classic world literature.
Either way, you can’t lose by learning from what has already worked for centuries in writing. This course will sharpen your language, grammar and writing skills.

I can’t wait to dig into Volume Two, which normally sells at $24.95 as an ebook but is on sale now.

Here’s a sneak peek at it:

Write With the Best, Volume Two, Grades 6-12 roots deeper into the bones of writing as it teaches students to study all sub-genres of non-fiction to improve their own writing ability. Included are: instruction in writing business letters, free verse poetry, persuasive and expository essays, articles, book reviews, speeches and even a literary critique.

Both of these courses will strengthen your sentence and paragraph structures, demonstrate how to create quality writing yourself, teach you about various genres and improve your ability to “write with the best”.

Another excellent product on my favorites list is Roots and Fruits, A Comprehensive Vocabulary Curriculum covering Grades K through 12, using English forms of Greek and Latin Roots and Prefixes.

This course sells as an ebook for $14.98 or printed pages only for $17.48. You can buy it with the binder for $19.98. (No, I’m not lying; they are really this affordable.)

In fifteen minutes per day, your student can learn that words are not just floating on a page but that they actually have roots and meanings. Building on those meanings by adding suffixes and prefixes their definitions either change or enhance. Using an alphabetized list of ACT and SAT words, Roots and Fruits can increase your child’s ability to understand language and reading, improve decoding skills and comprehension in school subjects, thus raising test scores.

The book contains recommendations on how to implement the program into your homeschool curriculum plans. I did apply some of them but also adapted the course to fit our own schedule and learning needs.

Since my boys are junior and senior high school age, I divided the words into blocks or units, where they had 9 or more words per lesson. Every day, they write the words several times each and use them in sentences. We also look them up in a couple of dictionaries, write down the definitions in green colored pencil on file cards with the roots and words in red on the opposite, un-lined side. Sometimes I will write the definitions on a white board and have them copy them. I also write them on file cards and make an extra blank one so that we can later play Concentration with them. This involves playing a game to see who can find the most matches of words to definitions. By trial and error, they learn the definitions enough that I can verbally drill them on it. When I feel that they have had enough practice with writing, reading and matching up the words, I will give them an oral test first and then a written one, also using the vocabulary words as spelling lists. Every week, I include “bonus” words on their tests using words from previous weeks to help them retain the information they have learned so it is not just rote memory with no long-term retention.

My boys have really learned to understand language better through this course. Their reading comprehension skills are improving as well. Once in a while, I will hear them trying out the six million dollar words in normal speech. One time, they each used some very large words in a personal way to tell about some experiences in their lives prior to being adopted. The way that they used the words showed me that they really were learning and understanding Roots and Fruits, which honestly, I thought, would be too difficult for them. I am impressed! This curriculum writer really does know how to teach language skills to all types of learners. In fact, as a lover of words, I’m enjoying the refresher, too! (It sounds like a great course for my character, Dr. Wordwielder, to recommend to readers of my other blog, Rather Be Writing. In fact, he will be referring readers to this post, I think.)

As far as I’m concerned, this curriculum has many pros and few cons. The program is very good at instructing the teacher in how to implement it, giving multiple options for various learning styles. It is an effective tool for increasing vocabulary and comprehension. It doesn’t take hours away from other studies. We completed the daily work in 15-20 minutes per segment of words. The only improvement I would recommend is to include or offer written tests for the vocabulary lists. Of course, as someone creative in the writing department, I didn’t have a hard time making up such a thing but it did take a little extra time on my part. Of course, to me that is a big deal.

Please do not let these comments deter you from buying the curricula I reviewed! I loved these courses more than any I have ever seen or taught in Language Arts! Over the years of teaching special needs and mainstream children, I have tried many.

Go ahead on over to the EDUDPS website, but not yet! I still have one more awesome product to introduce to you. It is a must have for every junior and senior high school student and any adult who wants direction career-wise.

The product to which I refer is called, The Complete Career, College, and High School Guide for Homeschoolers. I have to interject here that I wonder why the titles like these always limit themselves to say “Homeschoolers” on them. They are so much more applicable to wider range than to one group. People could benefit from this resource no matter what their educational background might be.

We had a wonderful experience using this book. I only used it with my high schooler and for myself, but I am certain that I will use it later with my soon-to-be eighteen-year-old son and my junior high level son as well.

Owning this book is like having your own personal career consultant. You know, like the image and career consultants to whom you pay hundreds of dollars to have their expert opinions on skill assessments and career direction.
This book is normally only $34.95 as an ebook or 39.95 soft cover. (Check out their 25% off sale right now.)

Contained in this guide are:
· detailed lists of career paths
· learning and skill aptitude tests
· assessments for preferences and personalities

We learned a whole lot of information about our son that we did not know and confirmed some things that we had previously observed in him. This book is going to help us to steer and transition him through high school into adulthood, including courses of study and electives.

In the back of the book are references on creating high school transcripts for college bound and vocational training, as well as links to CLEP tests and colleges that accept them. There is also insight for success in taking ACT and SAT tests and obtaining college and/or AP credits while in high school. There are suggested subjects for each career path, course and career planning worksheets, sample transcripts and resumes. This is especially helpful to homeschoolers who are not under an umbrella school program and need to create transcripts and translate their learning into high school credits.

As well, there are suggestions for homemakers who want to re-enter or keep connected to the workforce. Many homeschoolers are one-income families and in this day of economic pressure, homemakers are looking for ways to supplement their family incomes as well. This book contains several ideas for how to do this.

I am amazed that the author could write so many excellent books and curricula on such a wide variety of subjects. I’ve only reviewed four of them but if you visit her website, you will see a whole lot more. I think I will be developing a relationship with this company as soon as my budget opens up to purchasing more products. I can see how these products would be good for my family as well as others in our homeschool community. I’m excited about what EDUDPS has to offer and very, very impressed with the quality!

Educational Diagnostic Prescriptive Services, if you are reading this, I want you to know that your products are the best home schooling products I have ever seen!

Readers, if you want to take a peak at what they have to offer, go to the website below. They have some great deals at this time. Their products were already affordable but now they are being offered at a steal! You will find free downloads there at the website as well. Hurray. If you love learning but your children don’t, it’s not too late to scoop them up onto the “I love learning” wagon. These products will help you do that. To check them out visit here:

VENDOR: Educational Diagnostic Prescriptive Services
CONTACT: T.L. Dixon (Theodore)
EMAIL:contact@edudps.com PHONE: 912-921-8921
WEBSITE: http://edudps.com/

Be sure to read the special instructions for downloading e-files.

To read what other TOS CREWMEMBERS are saying about this and other vendors’ products, click on the banner in the right upper and lower sidebars of this Leaders In Learning blog. Thank you.

A Journey Through Learning Lapbooks

A TOS CREWMEMBER REVIEW OF A JOURNEY THROUGH LEARNING LAPBOOKS AND UNIT STUDIES

Jumping Frogs and Leaping Lizards! We had the opportunity to review several lapbooks created by A Journey Through Learning authors Nancy Fileccia and Paula Winget. TOS Crewmembers received five lapbooks to download and choose from for reviews. My boys chose Amphibians, designed for second through sixth graders and Reptiles for second through seventh graders.

First, let me say that I only recently heard of lapbooks. Initially, I thought that they were just little, lap-sized books for pre-schoolers. At that point, I had no interest in trying to make any for our homeschool learning program. Then I asked around and discovered that “lapbook” actually means “learning scrapbook". Ah! So that’s why lapbooks are so popular in the homeschooling movement.

Not being very good at crafts and yet still being interested in designs and art, I was curious about this other type of scrapbooking that would include learning. And who knew? I, the left brainer, two-left thumber, actually learned how to make a craft with my children!

Though I am not, my children are kinesthetic learners. Lapbooking was the perfect opportunity for my children to try hands-on learning.

After downloading the e-books, we selected our folders and assembled them as instructed. First, we had to learn what hamburger and hotdog folds were and how they related to lapbooking. There was a fair amount of cutting, folding and pasting. Fortunately, each page of the lapbook came with good directions so the boys were able to do most of it independently. They clipped the pictures and mini-booklets and glued or stapled them into place. One cut and glued while the other read from the study guide. Of course, we all viewed the pictures and discussed the materials. They took turns at the computer. (I only printed the "scrapbooking" portion of the lapbooks, keeping the study guide and educational information on my laptop for easy reference. Each boy did the hands-on work on his own lapbook but both learned from each other's projects while listening to the reading aloud and looking at his brother's completed work.)

These books are designed to take about a month but you can choose how much time or what schedule in which to work on the lapbooks. We dedicated several days to doing nothing but the lapbooks. Since I'm not a person who can deal with paper clippings on the floor or things spread out in our little rooms for a whole month, doing it this way was great for me and for the boys. They learned it better as well because of being able to focus specifically on this topic.

Each lapbook had educational information as well as pages on which to list extra reading. It also had NICK NOTES for the boys to write down quick reference notes in summary of the information they read. This came in handy as we borrowed from the library several books and videos about the topics as well.

Here is what each of the lapbooks chosen by my boys contained.

Reptiles. Turtles, lizards and snake defense, venomous or non-venomous snakes, what to do about snake bites, info on reptile eggs, crocodiles, habitat and characteristics of reptiles.

Amphibians. Life Cycles and defense systems, differences between frogs and toads, lists of amphibians, food chain and diet as well as tons of pictures and vocabulary lists.

We were, however surprised to learn of some characteristics of these animals about which we had no previous knowledge and wished that the lapbook had more information on these characteristics. They were pretty thorough on most things, though.

Both were creatively designed and skillfully organized, making it more likely that a non-crafty person like me would be able to do it. In fact, I may even try the other lapbooks we received (Since I'm not too into the craft end of it, we may do them like more a unit study or old-fashioned scrapboook and glue the pictures and "booklets" into a notebook. Instead, we followed the instructions for the two we already did.)

The other lapbooks we received were: Parables of King, Autumn and Desert. I read through each and thought they were quite detailed and interesting.

Parables of a King looked very attractive to me. Based on the parables of Jesus in the Gospels, it seems to blend information from biblical and agricultural type topics to make it educational on a spiritual and physical level both.

Autumn also looks appealing. It contains recipes for Fall (reminding me of my New England Heritage), a list of holidays and biblical feast found in Autumn, calendars, vocabulary lists, facts about bird migration and a plethora of other info.

Desert contains information of vegetation and wildlife on the desert, climate, creatures (mammals, reptiles, birds and people), as well as locations on five continents and loads of colorful pictures and illustrations.

A Journey Through Learning Lapbooks and Unit Studies has many more options on a variety of topics.

The lapbooks I reviewed books price for: $13 for the downloadable version, $14 for a CD ROM and $21.00 for the print version. You can visit the web link below to order or see sample pages. Be sure to sign up for their newsletter so you can receive updated codes and discounts on products. http://www.ajourneythroughlearning.com/

To read more reviews from The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Review Crew, visit the banners on the right top and bottom sidebars of my Leaders in Learning blog. Clicking on the links will take you directly to the crew pages where you can read more about this product and other great choices.

GROWING HEALTHY HOMES

We interrupt the weekly parenting series for...

A TOS HOMESCHOOL CREWMEMBER REVIEW OF GROWING HEALTHY HOMES, LLC.’s NUTRITION 101:CHOOSE LIFE

When I signed on to the TOS Homeschool Crew, I had no idea that the curricula I would receive for review purposes would include such creative and interesting items as Nutrition 101: Choose Life by Growing Healthy Homes, LLC. Co-authored by Debra Reyburn, M. D., N. C., C.H.C., I.C.A., Sara Johnson, B.M.U., Laura Hopkins, B.S. and Karen Hopkins, B.S., the book is an incredible resource for any home, private or public school teacher although it reports to be designed specifically for family use. A whopping 447 pages long, this e-book covers everything from biology to neuroscience, nutrition to fitness and many aspects of human anatomy. I received the e-book version but it is available as well in real life book format.

Being somewhat of a health snob myself, I was thrilled to have such a book in hand. Yes, I printed it because I am a sucker for the three dimensional book and my boys love multi-sensory learning. My laptop computer is just too small for the boys to read from and I wanted them to read along and/or to see the pictures as well. (We did go to the computer e-book for the additional resource links, though.)

Although I knew I would love the book, I wasn’t so sure my reluctant learners would enjoy it. To my great surprise, they did love it! They especially enjoyed the neuroscience section and the activities and links at the end of each chapter. One of them even decided to borrow library books and videos on the brain as a result of reading this first chapter in Nutrition 101.

The book is divided into six units with four subchapters inside of each. An introduction at the beginning gives ample instruction to the teacher on how to implement and design lesson plans for both elementary and secondary grades using the activity guide in the back of the book for assistance. At the end of each chapter, there were also: discussion questions, activities and recipes, and links and lists of additional resources. Behind the activity guide in the back of the book, are pages and pages of facts and supplemental material in the appendixes as well as an alphabetical index using keywords/topics in the curriculum.

Here is what the units cover:

Unit 1-Brain and Nervous System
Unit 2-Digestive System
Unit 3- Respiratory, Olfactory, Auditory and Visual Systems
Unit 4- Muscular and Skeletal Systems
Unit 5- Cardio Vascular and Immune Systems
Unit 6-Endocrine System and Emotions

Here are some of the things covered in the Appendices (You’ll have to buy the book to see the rest. These are just some of the things I liked.)

· Food Pyramid and servings guidelines
· Grocery shopping checklists,
· Detailed shopping guides for choosing fresh produce,
· Vitamin and mineral charts,
· RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) charts for all kinds of nutrients,
· Information on reproductive health and so much more!

This curriculum is unbelievably packed with FASCINATING and scientifically accurate information but it wasn’t all rote detail. It also weighed some of the pros and cons of public opinion on topics such as: dairy products for human consumption, chemical versus natural cleaners, whether or not certain types of fat and cholesterol are beneficial to the body and a few other semi-controversial topics. We found it both informative and interesting.

I use the curriculum several times per week to teach Science/Health to both boys. Since there is a fair amount of technical information in the book that could be “over their heads”, I thought it best to have them take notes as I read the material to them and explain words with which they are unfamiliar. There is flexibility in the material for presenting it as extensive or as basic as you desire with plenty of opportunity for hands-on application.

Because I do value nutritional health, we already use many of the recommended items in the recipes. Consequently, I did not put forth a big effort to make all of the recipes but we did eat many of the items listed in each chapter under the food categories for each nutrient. For instance, the chapter on brain health mentioned the benefits of Omega 3 and 6 Fatty Acids and told us where these nutrients can be found in dietary items. We simply went to our cupboards and refrigerator and surveyed the contents, verifying that our choices were healthy. We did get to try some very tasty cookies and no one who had been absent before the cookies were made would have suspected that the ingredients were nutritious things such as prunes and flaxseed! They were baked but resembled one of our homemade no-bake cookie recipes. Although we didn't try every recipe, we do plan to try most of them. They sound so intriguing and appetizing. A few of the ingredients and combinations are even unusual to a health nut like me! Some are things I already do.

One son said, “So that is why you put the flaxseed in our bread and muffins and give us fish oil. It’s for our brains.” EXACTLY! Brownie points in my book for this curriculum!

It was a joy to watch the “lights turn on” in my boys’ eyes as they began to understand how nutrition could impact their health and learning. I enjoyed having them come to me and ask for healthful snacks due, in part, to the influence of this curriculum.

Another thing I liked about the curriculum is that it had interwoven through it, Bible verses that speak about health and taking care of our bodies. What a great way to teach them a biblical perspective on diet and nutrition without seeming contrived!

On the downside, I had wished that there were tests at the end of the chapters to help document what the children had learned. Not that I am a huge proponent of tests but I felt I needed some measure of evaluation of how much of the information they could retain. I made my own tests up and found that they indeed understood and retained the information. So, maybe the tests were not necessary after all.

Because the book is enormous and I am as thorough as a health inspector in teaching it, we did not advance as quickly through the material as another class might have but I plan to use this curriculum throughout the remainder of the year and perhaps even come back to it again later for review. This would also be a great resource for a homeschool co-op to use for home economics and/or Science and Health classes. I highly recommend it!

Now that I’ve told you how wonderful this curriculum is, you will want to know how you can purchase it too. It can be purchased as a CD ROM for $79.95 or as a book for $99.95. Better yet, you can purchase both the book and CD ROM for a package price of $129.95.

To view sample pages, visit: http://www.healthyhomesllc.com/NC_Choose_Life.html Be sure, also, to check out their free downloads and read up on their product called, “Gentle Babies” as well as info on speaking events and other related links.

For international orders, call 918-841-2934. Or contact them at: Growing Healthy Homes, LLC. 837 Crown Drive, Bartlesville, OK 74006, 903- 466-1564 (East Texas) or 832-298-1242 (South Texas).

CONTACT: Laura Hopkins
EMAIL: laura@growinghealthyhomes.com
PHONE: 903-466-1564
WEBSITE: http://www.healthyhomesllc.com/index.html

To read what other TOS Crewmembers have said about this and other products, click on the banners in the upper and lower right hand sidebars of this blog page.

Two P's in a Pod

Two P’s in a POD, A TOS Crewmember Review of the GENIO Study Pod

by BeckyJoie Oakes

You read it! I said it! Two peas in a pod means that there are two really great features I liked about Genio’s Study Pod book holder.

1. P is for Perfect- for many usages. The Study Pod is intended to hold an open student textbook, chapter book or paper at just the perfect angle to prevent neck and eye strain as it aligns the materials to eye level. It is perfect for holding a book during reading, for two readers to share a book and take turns reading, for holding a page of copy work for typing or writing, or it can be used to hold a cookbook upright while you or your child make a recipe in the kitchen. It helps to improve posture, making learning more effective due to the posture helping to improve one's breathing ability, thus increasing oxygen intake to the brain We found another helpful use for it that I’m sure the manufacturers had not considered. We used it for a divider in the middle of our table to prevent our children from being distracted by each other while doing workbook pages. All I did was place a large book on it and voila! We had a divider. (Actually, it was the answer key for one child’s Math book. I faced it away from the child to whom it belonged so he couldn’t see the answers and then on the other side I placed a piece of paper over it with the other child’s vocabulary words so if he peeked, all he saw was the word for his next subject. ) It worked great. The Study Pod holds virtually any sized book without tipping and it keeps the pages in place without anchoring them so tightly that you can’t turn the page! In fact, you can use one hand to turn the page, as the arms that hold the page are “springy”. This made it great for placing our Reading Teacher’s Manual at an angle while each student read his words from the student book. This enabled me to mark missed reading words wrong without causing the readers to be distracted and disappointed. It was perfect for this too!

2. P is for Practical. What I like about the Study Pod the most is its practicality. It folds up into a box the size of your average gift Bible and can fit on any shelf or even go with you in a book bag to the library. This box doubles as storage case for mp3 players with educational audio clips or classical music on them, pencils, pens, erasers, calculators, vocabulary file cards, and other little school supplies. It’s durable but lightweight and aesthetically appealing as well! Ours was black but they also come in pink and blue.

Normally priced at $19.95 each, the company is offering a special discount to our readers of $5.00 off by using the code TOSBLOG5.

Visit their website to see comparable products and order your Study Pod. http://www.studypodbookholder.com/site/ Or click on the banner at the bottom or upper right sidebar of this blog to see what other TOS Crewmembers are saying about the Study Pod.

To contact Genio and order a StudyPod, you can also write to: 1613 Thornridge Way, Charlottesville, VA 22911 and contact them by phone at (434) 974-7042.

IT'S NOT FRENCH AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO USE A MIRROR TO READ IT.

Technologically-Challenged?

I’ve found a web design program that is technically not challenging at all.

As a writer and blogger, I’ve always wanted to learn html. So I purchased a book at a local discount store and even borrowed a few from the library but became disappointed when I felt like I was reading French in a mirror backwards. (The only French I know is my middle name and a Sunday School song.)

So, you can imagine how excited I was to receive a copy of a web design program for kids! I have two kids living at home and was a curious grow-up, so I figured it had to work for me but I was also a nervous, semi-literate html writer. In fact, I knew just enough about html to get myself in trouble.

After I began to watch this DVD, I felt a little better. It is very basic and non-threatening, guiding you step by step, through the stages of designing a web page. The only tools you need to have are the NOTEPAD program, Internet Explorer, your television and a DVD player. Well, maybe there is one more thing you need. You will want your remote control so you can pause the video and practice the lessons. (Alternatively, you can play it on the computer but you’ll have to be a pro at toggling screens).

You will want to keep your eyes on the TV screen or computer monitor as scenes transition between Brian Richardson’s mellow teaching and the computer screens of his equally mild-mannered teenaged students. I enjoyed watching and noting the manners and attitudes of respect shown by the teens as well. We did keep the remote handy so we could freeze the frames and copy the text.

The whole video is low-key and pretty easy to follow. My boys enjoyed watching their works in progress turn up as real webpages featuring their names and everything. The video showed how to create a Word Pad Document and then convert it into a web page. It also taught the kids how to create folders, save to various drives, how to find hidden code on popular web pages and more. Most of the clips were instruction on building the webpages. Both of my boys tried it. One of them was a little frustrated because his computer program was slightly different and we had to fiddle around to figure out how to convert the page to html and back to a WordPad document. Once we figured out how to do it, he jumped right back into designing. I sat with my laptop nearby and played around with the fonts and colors right along with my boys. Sometimes, we got so interested in making the letters scroll, changing the backgrounds and making up our own funny sayings, that we had to stop the movie to get back on track but each clip had enough review on it, that we were able to catch up quickly.

We learned about sandwiches--no, not those kind-my two boys became hungry at the thought of sandwiches, too--stop signs, the use of <> signs as well as how to make text scroll across the page in various directions. (See the title at the top? It's scrolling, aren't you proud of me? )Somehow the code made sense to us when it hadn’t before. I guess it was encouraging to see younger people, with less education than I, able to create and decorate a webpage. It gave me the courage to try it myself and not be intimidated by the computer words and code.

I didn’t get to watch all of the video while my laptop was available(multi-tasking took me away at times), but my boys watched the whole thing with interest.

I hope to spend more time working with the video. I have a lot more to learn from it.

What a great investment! It has a money back guarantee and for the special price of $19.99 (normally $40), a reticent or challenged learner can benefit from a low cost way to try out a potential career/hobby. It’s not for a programming savvy individual but it worked well for my kids and little old me. And who knows? It might be future job training for one of my boys. I can picture him now, making his business cards and brochures and selling people on hiring him to build their web pages.

As far as the quality of the video and acting, well, it was not super-engaging. The few jokes were somewhat flat but as a beginner instructional video, it was not bad. And the author/producer has a good motivation for selling his product. Not only does he want to help you learn to be more technologically skilled BUT also he donates a portion of the price toward charity. You might like to check out what he does and leave a comment. You can read up about that here. http://shinealight.ivillage.com/sbo-profile/?ProfileID=1168

Oh and for the other curious grown-ups: I looked up what HTML stands for—it’s an acronym for: Hyper Text Markup Language. With a name like that, no wonder everyone is shaking in their rhetorical boots. Folks who resemble that remark need to watch this video.

Do I recommend it? You bet. I did learn a lot and my kids enjoyed it as well. It was so easy compared to most other HTML programs and in the end, left me feeling like I actually might be able to play around more with designing web pages. I guess you could say, it takes the “timid” out of “intimidated”.

Here is the contact info for this company:

COMPANY: Web Design For Kids - Click Drag Solutions
CONTACT: Brian Richardson
EMAIL: support@webdesignforkids.net PHONE: 832-723-0341
WEBSITE: http://www.webdesignforkids.net/

See the banners in the sidebar for more TOS CREWMEMBER reviews of this and other products.
A TOS CREWMEMBER REVIEW OF THE DVD, “WEB DESIGN FOR KIDS (…AND CURIOUS GROWN-UPS!)” filmed by Brian Richardson

HANGING WITH HANK THE COWDOG

Hanging With Hank
A TOS Homeschool Crewmember Review of Hank The Cow Dog products from Maverick Books.

Today was a sad day in our household. We finally completed Book Number 8 of Hank The Cow Dog, titled, The Case of the One-Eyed Killer Stud Horse. As a member of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine’s Homeschool Review Crew, I had received in the mail: the above-mentioned book, a CD (Tales and Tunes) and Tornado, a table game with accompanying story cassette tape. (Yes, you read it, a cassette tape. These stories have been around a while but are timeless tales.)

The stories, written from the perspective of the main character, Hank the Cow Dog, give a vivid picture of life on a cowboy ranch. The author, John R. Erickson is more than qualified to describe such a life, having been a real life cowboy himself.

I would say that the book is high interest, low reading level chapter book as it was written for ages 9-12 but my 13 and 15 year olds loved it. I have to confess to being entertained by the dry, “sneak-up-on-you” style humor that popped up throughout the book. My children usually hate reading and this took the stress out of telling them to pick up a book and read.

The story is about Hank the Cow Dog who has a run-in with a killer horse named Tuerto. In the beginning of the book, Hank gets food poisoned by some rotten bacon grease, and then he causes a few mishaps and gets himself in trouble with the humans. Hank spends some time with his fellow dog friends and watches them interact with their humans also. Then he finds himself all dolled up in the middle of a little girl’s dress up party. That is when the killer horse arrives on the scene and threatens the little girls. Hank becomes the protector, keeping us all on the edge of our seats. But you’ll have to read the book to know the ending. For now, I will share some specifics about the book.

Positive elements: 1. The book is “hold your sides and wipe your eyes” funny. We sometimes had a hard time stopping the giggles enough to read the story.
2. Hank and Drover show real life type of friendship with straight talk to each other as well as encouragement.
3. Language lessons are tucked in alongside the story plot. For instance, in Chapter 2, pages 10-11 contain this dialogue.

Hank: This is going to be a piece of cake, Drover.

Drover: Oh boy, it’s usually burnt toast and a busted egg.

The banter continues for a little while and then is explained.

Hank: Piece of cake is an expression, a figure of speech. It means, ‘This isn’t going to be easy’.” More discussion follows about word usage and meanings and it is done in a humorous and natural way.

Violent elements: Sally Mays hits Hank on the nose with a wooden spoon and also tries to choke him, Dogs fight with a “killer stud horse” who threatens to “keel” Hank. There are a number of threats and suggestions of possible violence. The killer horse is frightened away by a gunshot. There are a few more instances like this that bring to the surface dark feelings. Overall, though, the type of violence is milder than most old time cartoons and realistic for life on the farm. I used the situations in the stories to talk about real life in our day and age and to discuss appropriate behavior of people towards each other and towards animals. We also talked about animal instincts and how animals of different breeds react/communicate with each other.

Other possible negative content: Some words are spelled creatively to help the reader hear the accent of the characters. All of this is fine but could be a trip-up for children with language learning issues who need to see real life words spelled correctly. It would be a good opportunity for the parent or teacher to explain spelling rules and tell why writers use creative spelling sometimes.

Spiritual content: The book contains a comical piece called “Thank You Lord for Making Gals”. The prayer/song/poem appeals to boy type mentality toward girls at the preteen level. It is a good opportunity to talk about feelings toward the opposite gender and how girls and women should be treated. Although the piece is not very spiritual, it does mention the Lord. Other than that, there is no spiritual content at all (that I noticed).

Crude or profane language: Name calling, such as “dummy”, “moron”, etc. No actual cursing is used but close slang is often found. The language is very mild compared to daytime television and things children are regularly exposed to these days.

Comments from my children: “It was awesome. I want to read it again and again and again.”—13 year old. “It was fun. I enjoyed reading it.” –15 year old.

The CD and story tape were similar to the book. The CD contained excerpts from ten books and nine original songs. The one we laughed so hard at was the part where Hank pokes fun at Emily Post and manners. “We don’t really give a hoot and we don’t ever wear a suit…” Of course, we talked about manners and appropriate dress. Hank is saying what most people don’t dare to or can’t say (because they are human and he is an animal he can get away with it). This factor gave us the opening to talk about what people think and feel and how best to handle it. The CD was pure fun but did teach as well.

The Cassette contained dramatized clips from book #25, called, “Tornado”. There was a matching board game. Being Floridians who deal with tornadoes and hurricanes on a seasonal basis, the cassette and game gave me an opportunity to educate the boys on tornados and to add a little light-heartedness to learning about the potentially frightful subject.

The game seemed to be somewhat like the game of Sorry or Trouble and had some similar rules. It was slightly more complicated and used more Math skills than some board games. Materially, I’ve not seen a game made as well as this one--ever. It is a hard, plastic box that folds to encase the pieces. It looks like a Square Chinese Checkers box with different colors on the top and it’s about the size of a VHS tape when folded closed, only a little thicker and a little longer.

Each player was given pieces to represent Hank, Drover and Buzzard. There were specific colored dots on each player’s spot marked with pictures to tell you where to put the pieces. The game uses a spinner to determine steps and starts. Our boys played the game together and also invited some guests to join in a game or two. Everyone had a great time. The game feels very competitive. One of our boys reacted to the competition in a “not so nice” manner but the rest of the boys, guests included, had a great time and wanted to play the game again.

Overall, we really liked the books, CD’s and games even with some jokes that were groaners included. The boys are asking when I’m going to buy the next book and I may oblige them soon. The negative elements of the stories turned out to be very good conversation and teachable moments for my children who are young teens beginning to use logic and reasoning skills more effectively than they used to do.

If you are interested in purchasing these products, then go to http://www.hankthecowdog.com/ and be sure also to check out their online community where your small children can join Hank’s security force, play games, and buy all kinds of Hank products such as puppets, cards, children’s books, t-shirts and books for adults as well.

Here is more contact info for this vendor:

VENDOR: Maverick Books
CONTACT: Gary Rinker
EMAIL: http://www.blogger.com/gringary@ptsi.net
PHONE: 806-435-9778
WEBSITE: http://www.hankthecowdog.com/index.html

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