Until I received this email I was unaware that April is National Autism Month. Let’s show our support for this greatly misunderstood segment of society.
 |
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
Archives for March, 2010
Graphics-Toolbox
Posted on 2010 under art, educational software review, online video class | No Comment30 Mar
Graphics-Toolbox is designed for people, like me, who see the word “Photoshop” and run screaming in panic. I am not a graphics person. I admire people who can make Photoshop and other graphics programs create the wonderful artwork that we see all over the internet. After watching the tutorials and playing around with the program a bit I am a bit more open to creating banners and buttons for my website, but …. that’s why I have an artistic step-daughter around!
Okay, back to the actual review. Linda Holler, the creator of Graphics-Toolbox, is a really awesome and helpful person. She’s created some of the most fantastic tutorials that I’ve ever used. They are recorded live classes so questions get asked and answered, which is really helpful for the people who view them later. As I told Linda during one of the live classes, I am greatly intimidated by graphic programs so I wasn’t sure how well I’d do with this one.
My then six-year old was my guinea pig on this one and was able to do the simple projects like making ladybugs and other drawings. She was pleased with her efforts and willing to do more, which is a big accomplishment since she hasn’t been interested in computer art before. Now if only the mama could be so confident with using the program.
My major complaint with the program was my inability to resize the program so that I could watch the video and copy what Linda was doing. The program interface occupies the full screen, so the only way to see what the tutorials are teaching is to constantly navigate between the two which becomes annoying. I had less trouble with it than I did with programs like Gimp and Photoshop, so that was a plus for me.
I had my step-daughter Jasmin, who is an artist, work with the program. Although she said that you can definitely use Graphics Toolbox to create the same graphic creations as Photoshop and other high end programs, she was not happy with the interface on many counts.
Her main complaint revolved around the use of numbers for all of the settings. She felt that for someone just starting having to play with so many settings might become confusing and frustrating. In other programs she’s worked on they have graphical displays so that you can see the width of line sizes before you get started. She also felt that, although you can do lots of customizations with the program, it wouldn’t be as easy for children to use as something like Paint Tool Sai. (Please note that Paint Tool Sai is much more limited than Graphics-Toolbox — she was just comparing the interfaces.)
Overall, I am glad that the tutorials are still available because I finally came up with a workaround for my resizing the program issue. If I put the tutorials on my husband’s computer I can then follow through the steps on my own computer. Linda is such a great teacher that I’m sure with a little practice and visually following her instructions I’ll soon be a graphics wizard.
There are so many cool things that you can do with Graphics-Toolbox once you get the hang of it. I’ve included the YouTube video of the program so that you can see the many projects that children and adults are creating with it.
My now seven-year old really likes the program and seems to have no trouble using it. I may just put Jasmin and Alaya to work on my website graphic needs for the time being. I’m starting to wonder if it’s just a case of the difficulty of trying to teach old dogs girls new tricks.
Graphics-Toolbox is an affordable and powerful alternative to the more expensive graphic packages such as Photoshop for only $149. You can try it yourself for free for 30 days and take advantage of the video tutorials so that you can get a jump start on the best ways to use it. For people who need a one-on-one class those are also available for $65/hr by request.
I really like Linda and the potential that Graphics-Toolbox has, but for me I have a long way to go before I’ll be able to create the beautifully creative projects that others have done. So, for the Khalid Klan we’re rating it a 4 out of 5.
Disclaimer: http://cmp.ly/2/kwlaoh
I don’t usually post jokes, but this one was too cute not to share. I hope you get a good laugh too.
A man and his wife were having an argument about whoshould brew the coffee each morning.
The wife said, ‘You should do it because you get up first, and then we don’t have to wait as long to get our coffee.
The husband said, ‘You are in charge of cooking around here and you should do it, because that is your job, and I can just wait for my coffee.’
Wife replies, ‘No, you should do it, and besides, it is in the Bible that the man should do the coffee.’
Husband replies, ‘I can’t believe that, show me.’
So she fetched the Bible, and opened the New Testament and showed him at the top of several pages, that it indeed says .. ‘HEBREWS’
photo credit: QuotableKidney
Well, I am very pleased with myself. I lost 1.1 pounds this week and exercised 6 days straight! Yeah me! And best of all I am once again the reigning Snowball Champion on Wii Fit Plus! My 10-year displaced me for a few days, but I am BACK! I’m also the Free Step Champion as well. (She holds the crown for tight-rope walking.) This week I’m really sore from all the exercise, but I hope that it’ll get better as I continue.
My biggest challenges are about eating every three hours. The last time I started losing weight, eating every two to three hours had me dropping weight without exercise. So I’d like to see how well I’d do if I combined the two. Unfortunately I’m crazy busy until May and I forget to go get a snack at the appropriate time. I’m wondering if I need to get a timer for my computer (since that’s what I’m usually working on) to remind me. If anyone knows of a handy gizmo for the desktop I’d really appreciate it.
Well, I guess that wraps up this week in a nutshell. Today was also field trip day and I’m pooped. See you next week!
Presidential Penmanship: Reminders for the Future
Posted on 2010 under handwriting, history | No Comment20 Mar
Presidential Penmanship is an excellent way to combine civics, history and beautiful handwriting all in one package. This program allows children from first grade all the way to 12th to improve their handwriting and gain knowledge of the founding principles of the United States, as well as character qualities that we all should aspire to attain.
My daughters used the first grade level so that they can grow accustomed to the Italic style, which is lovely by the way. The first two grade levels contains 36 quotes each that were important to the founding of America as well as character traits such as industriousness and honesty. There were many quotes from George Washington which thrilled my eldest girl who is a George Washington fan.
The work is divided into small segments which allows the student to concentrate on their letter formation and not on “how long is this going to take?” Most of the quotes in the first and second grade are one short sentence, but as the grade level increases so does the work.
For example on the senior high school level, they start off with short quotes that develop into full paragraphs as they copy sections of the Declaration of Independence, Lincoln’s First and Second Inaugural Addresses as well as the Gettysburg address.
By the time a family completes the full handwriting course the children will have a very good understanding of how the United States was formed and a look into the thoughts of its founding fathers. I love programs that are multi-purpose like this one. I think it’s important for children not to just be engaged in busy work, but to start drawing parallels and making connections so that they can have a deeper understanding of the world that they live in. This is one of the programs that helps bring the past and present together in a beautiful way.
Khalid Family Rating: 5 out of 5
Disclaimer: http://cmp.ly/1/rwd4kr
M
Okay, Denise at Got Chai? has inspired me to take my fitness goals public so every Friday from this day forward I will be confessing my eating sins, exercise triumphs and whatever else pops into my little mind. My ultimate goal is to lose about 50 pounds since that will get me well out of the danger range for Type II diabetes which does run in my family.
Since my three children assisted in adding the extra 50 pounds they are also part of my fitness plan. I got Wii Fit back in December and we’ve been using it on an almost daily basis. I, however was taking the easy way out until a couple of weeks ago. What’s the easy way out? Well, with Wii Fit your time goal is just 30 minutes and you can set how many calories you want to burn. So being lazy economical with my time and energy I did the bare minimum. I did a couple of yoga exercises and then played games like Snowball Fight (I am the Champion thank you very much) and other calorie burning, but very easy exercises.
But three weeks ago I stopped fooling around and added boxing, step aerobics, hula hooping, as well as a full 30 minutes of yoga. And low and behold I’ve lost a pound a week (so I’m down 3 pounds!) I am now working out for at least an hour a day which is challenging, not from a physical standpoint, but from a mental one. You see I live with saboteurs — one short one and two furry ones. They’re all cute, but dangerous.
Saboteur #1 is my three year old son Michael who you see in the corner is determined to either have me trip over him or his toys while I work out. If I’m doing step, he finds it necessary to circle me in ever shrinking circles until I step on him. At which point he goes into his death throes and other theatrics.
Now, once he’s tired of that he leaves and sends in his henchmen, my golden retriever named Candy and our resident panther, Diamond. Saboteur #2 (also known as Diamond) wants to rub my legs, walk in between my feet and plop down on the floor to be petted as he swishes his long tail back and forth daring me to step on it. After about 5 minutes of this I call his “mama” Alaya and have her remove the fickle feline. Of course he comes back until I threaten to shoot him with my water pistol. (He hates water … lucky me!)
Once Candy (Saboteur #3) sees that the cat is out of the way she decides to do her rolling over, puppy dog sad eyed look of “rub my belly” act. So I give her a dirty look and she looks all sad like I kicked her. Then she’ll go directly behind where I’m working out at to lie down and lick her wounded feelings. And for the rest of my exercising time she’ll make sure she’s somewhere inconvenient for whatever exercise I’m attempting. But now Spring is here and I kick the lot of them out of the house. (hee hee evil laugh)
The good thing is that the girls want me to succeed in my goals and will take the little trio outside and away from me for my 30 minute yoga exercises. Now my question is, with all the shooing and fussing and moving people and animals around, don’t you think I should get some extra calorie points? I mean it’s only fair … why all mothers aren’t size 0 is beyond me with all the running around we do all day, but I’ll save that rant for another week.
Fit Mommy Friday here I come!
I have been using Math Mammoth for over a year now and have to tell you that this is one of the best math programs. It’s well written and easy to understand. I started using Math Mammoth after removing my daughters from cyberschool. Math is a logical and systematic subject and Math Mammoth is structured to highlight the logic and make math less of a mystery and more of a science.
I have used and reviewed Math Mammoth Blue Series 1-4. The simple format, step by step instructions and explanations make this series a great way to give children a firm foundation for higher mathematics. Each book in the series reinforces earlier lessons allowing the children to progress at their own rate and without a lot of parental intervention. The series is that good.
Unlike most math curriculum books used in school settings, Maria Miller’s Math Mammoth is so smooth that my six year old daughter is finishing up her second grade work and by the summer will be doing multiplication. And aside from a brief explanation on each new chapter and help reading the word problems, she’s doing it all on her own.
My ten year old, after her cyber-schooling experience, has less confidence in her math abilities finds the course to be challenging at times, but likes it much better than the school math books she’s used in the past. For one thing the lack of distracting pictures and doodads is very helpful for her. This is a great series for children who may have auditory or other learning differences. Standard textbooks are so busy being “bright and colorful” that the actual skill set that the child is supposed to learn can get lost.
Speaking of skill sets, Math Mammoth gives the student ample opportunity to practice the newest skill being taught. On average I’d say that each chapter has at least fifty problems to work on, which I think is great. The author has arranged these practice problems to follow logical lines and then examines the patterns and correlations between operations. I’m sure you can tell that I’m very excited and pleased with this program.
In addition to being a great teaching aide, the Math Mammoth series is very affordable. You can purchase the ebooks section by section (which is good if you’re trying to strengthen target areas) as well as in a complete series. There are four series, Light Blue, Golden, Green and Blue to choose from and the prices range from $40 to $158 for the whole kit and kaboodle. If you want to deal with individual subjects you can purchase these for prices starting at $2.50. When you visit the website you’ll see a whole slew of freebies, as well as a subscription form for an encouraging math word in Maria Miller’s virtual math course for parents.
Khalid Family Rating: 5 out of 5
Disclaimer: http://cmp.ly/1/rwd4kr
Family Mint: Teaching the Art of Savings
Posted on 2010 under educational software review, finances | No Comment17 Mar
The Family Mint is an excellent way to train children in the art of financial planning. It’s also a good way to get Mommy to think about balancing her own checkbook once in a while too.
The premise of the Family Mint is that the parents are the bankers and the children are our customers. Each child gets their own account. As the banker whenever you give your child their allowance you would deposit the sum into each child’s account. As the banker you can designate what each percentage of the money goes towards long-range saving. The children are able to setup their own financial goals and timetables. When they wish to withdraw money from the account, as the parent you have the option of approving each request or trusting them to do the right thing. As the banker, parents can also add interest to their children’s account if they choose or do a dollar matching program if you like.
My family has been using the five envelope system – Long-Term Savings, Learning, Charity, Fun, Planning, so that’s how each of the girl’s have set up their account at the Family Mint. The money that is left in the General Savings category is their spending money for the month. I still have the children put their money into the five envelopes, but now they also double-check themselves online. When they look at their accounts they have a graph that shows them how close they are to their monetary goals. In the spirit of this review, we also setup a savings account in our local bank so that they can get used to the whole banking experience.
There are many graphics that the children can apply to their goals and if they like they can even upload their own pictures. We’re planning on going on vacation in September so the girls had to decide how much spending money they want and then allocate the amount of money they need to save in order to reach their goal. This exercise has also been good for me as well — bookkeeping isn’t one of my favorite things to do.
Family Mint has a very nice interface and is relatively easy to use. I had a few minor mysteries, but the customer support at Family Mint was very helpful and quick to answer my questions. This is a free service to families and uses advertising to support its services. Although it may seem strange to have advertisements around when you’re teaching your children how to save money, it actually does serve a purpose in my mind. We are constantly bombarded with advertising, so they need to learn that they don’t need to buy everything that they see.
Khalid Family Rating: 5 out of 5
Disclaimer: http://cmp.ly/1/rwd4kr
Learn to Type with Christian Keyboarding
Posted on 2010 under homeschool, keyboarding | No Comment14 Mar
In this age of typing software programs I was quite curious how effective an e-book on typing would be. I learned how to type using a typing course book, but that was back in the dark ages of typewriters. Could it really be an effective way to teach kids how to type on a computer? And of course the answer is “yes.” It may not be as exciting as the video typing games for kids, but it does get the job done and done well.
While electronic typing programs have more flash, music and animation, Keyboarding for the Christian School does make the children focus on what’s right in front of them. There’s nothing to distract their minds from the task at hand because they’re not anticipating dancing bears or exploding asteroids to appear after the complete their exercises. For my children, at least, this is a big plus. However, it did make getting them to practice a bit harder because they found that portion “boring.”
While the keyboarding instruction at the beginning of the manual was pretty standard, what really impressed me was the way that the author introduced the word processing components to the lessons. As a virtual assistant I am very proficient with many programs, but was a little at a loss of the best way to teach the girls. After working with a product for so long I sometimes find it difficult to explain the basics in an easily digestible manner. But this book really does a great job.
This course covers everything from the basic keyboarding positions to how to create MLA and APA reports, proofreading marks and their usage, timed writings, personal letters and envelopes as well as how to create proper cover pages, works cited and bibliographies. These are skills that are needed in the academic and business world. My husband and I cringe before poorly formatted word processing documents, so we were quite pleased to see emphasis put on properly constructing a document by using tabs and tables effectively.
This is an excellent introduction to the world of keyboarding and it’s practical applications. However, secular homeschoolers may have some difficulty with the practice material since, with the exception of the business letter section, sample text is taken from the Bible. Also, the MLA and APA reports are Christian viewpoint essays.
The Keyboarding for the Christian Homeschool is available for immediate download for only $15.95. There are free samples available on the parent site which is www.ChristianKeyboarding.com.
Khalid Family Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Disclaimer: http://cmp.ly/1/pupv67
March Madness at The Old Schoolhouse – Come Join the Fun!
Posted on 2010 under homeschooling curriculum | No Comment11 Mar
If you’re looking for homeschool encouragement, resources, and fun, check out all that is going on at The Old Schoolhouse!
Right now March Madness and Win Big are going on in the Schoolhouse Store. During March Madness, over 240 items are 10 to 40 percent off!
Click here to read the details.
Then, if you’re customer 139,000, 139,500, or 140,000, you will win over $348 in prizes. Prizes include a 5 year subscription to TOS (U.S.
only), Scripture Sleuth literature series, guitar lessons on CD, and more! Hurry, they are just past customer #137,818.
The BIGGEST news of all–The Schoolhouse Expo is coming in May!
Pre-register now and save $5!
As homeschool teachers?what do you need to learn? More about teaching multiple grades? All about different homeschool methods? Transcripts?
Could you use some help with reading, language arts, math, and more?
Are you intimidated by the idea of teaching middle school and high school?those dreaded, advanced courses? Would some encouraging words and motivational Scripture help you on your way? Get answers when you attend The Schoolhouse Expo, an 3-day, online conference, presented by The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine and The Old Schoolhouse® Speaker?s Bureau.
Pre-register today for only $19.99 through March 31.You do not want to miss this unbelievable, virtual homeschool convention! PLUS, you’ll receive over $300 in free gifts when you register.
Get the details and preregister here http://www.schoolhouseexpo.com
Disclaimer http://cmp.ly/5/bsd8nz
