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.
abcTeach is an easy way for parents to begin the homeschooling journey without breaking the bank. The focus of this website is to help children to grasp the fundamentals and run with them. There are thousands of worksheets to choose from which allows parents to customize their children’s educational experience.
One of the traps that most homeschoolers fall into during the elementary years is spending a mint trying to buy the “perfect curriculum” for their little ones. But, as experienced home educators know, their needs can be met by resources such as abcTeach for as little as $40/year (or $70 for two years) for individual families. This is an exceptional value, especially when you have multiple children since you can have access to multiple grade levels.
So what do you get for your money? There are over 35,000 worksheets to choose from ranging from the basics (math, time, spelling, and handwriting) to the cool (suduko, shapebooks, and art work). They also offer unit study themes, research tools, clip art, language studies and more!
The site owners are very creative, and since some of their offerings might be new to parents, they provide tutorial videos to help you make the most of each resource they offer. I found that to be exceptional since I have belonged to other elementary level programs that pretty much just make you it out on your own.
*****
So, how did abcTeach work out for me and my crew? Well, I enjoyed creating the different worksheets. It was quick and easy. There are also ways to customize the worksheets beyond the original offerings which worked really well to make sure that girls weren’t peeking at each other’s work. So, I had a lot of fun. The downside for my family is that they don’t really enjoy doing worksheets very much. My kids are on the kinesthetic side of town, so we do a lot of physical activities while studying, so being made to sit down and fill out papers didn’t really thrill them.
I, however, think that abcTeach is a wonderful tool to add to whatever your homeschooling style happens to be. It’s perfect for those days when the parents are involved in other things, but they still want their children to do some unsupervised schoolwork. I plan on using the suduko and crossword pages for our many driving excursions as a way to keep their minds active without the use of their handheld games. I am glad that abcTeach was kind enough to give me a test drive to really discover the hidden treasures they’ve created.
*****
They also generous enough to giveaway thousands of free worksheets so that parents can try them out on their kids before they purchase the full subscription. You can also sign up for the newsletter which fills you in on the new worksheets available and other teaching tips. These resources were created for teachers, parents and homeschoolers so be sure to tell your friends that if they have a child who needs more practice in a particular subject that abcTeach should be their first stop.
Great news! Nature Friend Magazine has a few surprises up their sleeves since my review and I wanted to let you in on it. First and most important are those coupon codes that you add at the time of checkout. This is a limited time offer, so be sure to place your orders before November 30, 2009.
Magazine Subscription Savings: BLOG93
30% off Hardbound Volumes: Coupon Code: HBV30P
Now for the other exciting news for the kids. Nature Friend Magazine is having a story contest that’s open for the kids. Here are the details:
We are announcing a story contest in the December issue of Nature Friend. The contest will be open to families that subscribe to Nature Friend, and will appear in the May 2010 issue. The complete rules will be in the December issue, but here are a couple of notes. Three entries will be selected from each of four age groups, 6-8, 9-11, 12-14, and 15-17. From the three stories selected in each group, we will randomly draw a name and give that writer a pair of binoculars or $35, winner’s choice. The other two writers will also receive something.
Secondly, Judy Kauffman, the writer of our Creative Writing lesson in each Study Guide, has recently lost her house in a fire. No one in the family was injured, but most things are gone, including her writings. Those of us that have been following her lessons know how important it is to her that a nature journal be kept. We want to get her new nature journal off to a running start. We need your help to do this. We invite you to send two photocopies of the pages in your journal. We will forward one copy on to Judy to jump-start her new journal, and the other copy we will keep for consideration in the story contest. See the details in the December issue concerning how to submit your stories.
Submissions that are not selected for the story contest will automatically be considered for the June Readers’ Issue.
I’ve located the Queen of Lapbooking. She’s hanging out on Squidoo with lots of ideas and advice for new lapbookers like me. Actually I located her earlier this year, but it wasn’t until I saw the power of lapbooking with my own children did I fully appreciate her approach and creativity in her homeschooling efforts.
Jimmie’s been a working mom and a stay-at-home mom and well knows the struggles of both. She never dreamed that she’d be crowned “The Queen of Minibooks” just by doing what came naturally. Here’s her story in her own words:
“I was a public school teacher for seven years before becoming a SAHM. My daughter was born during that time, and so she spent the first three years of her life going to full time day care. When she was three we moved abroad, and I was able to become a SAHM. I’ve been homeschooling her since kindergarten.
I never thought that I would be a homeschooler. I was a teacher who believed in the public school system. But living abroad made homeschooling a necessity. My background in education made homeschooling an easy choice – I knew that I could do a good job. And I’ve found it far more rewarding to teach my daughter who loves me than to teach resistant middle-schoolers.
We live in China. I have three choices of schooling:
National schools
International schools, and
Homeschooling
Chinese schools are unacceptable to our family for reasons of quality of education, unreasonable pressure that students face, and ideology differences. International schools are exorbitantly expensive. The quality of education is not worth that amount of money.
Homeschooling offers quality education at an affordable price. Plus we have the flexibility of managing our own schedule which gives us opportunities to travel. It’s a perfect fit for our situation.
Because I live abroad and have no access to libraries or even bookstores, I have to plan far in advance and bring books over from America, my home country. I started homeschooling with a complete Sonlight core package. It was a perfect decision because I didn’t have to spend any time piecing together resources. It was all there for me.
As the years went on, I began to branch out and choose materials from many different curriculum companies. Basically, I read a lot online and study several homeschool catalogs to decide what I want to teach and what materials I want to use. Currently, we’re using Winter Promise. Feel free to read my own comparisonof Sonlight and Winter Promise.
As the years went on, I began to branch out and choose materials from many different curriculum companies. Basically, I read a lot online and study severalhomeschool catalogs to decide what I want to teach and what materials I want to use. Currently, we’re using Winter Promise. Feel free to read my own comparison of Sonlight and Winter Promise.
Because we homeschool, we can travel when we want to. My daughter, at age 9, has been to seven countries besides her own home country. She has seen both the Great Wall of China and the Terracotta Warriors. If we didn’t homeschool, there is no way we could do this kind of traveling with her.
Finding time for Sprite to spend time with her peers is, quite honestly, a real challenge for us in two main ways – my daughter is an only child, and Chinese children are very, very busy with school and have little time for free play. That means that we have to be very flexible. When local friends do have time, we drop everything to make play times happen. And we’re proactive. We invite; we seek friends out.
I think that more ridiculous than the questions are the crazy answers we sometimes say just to have fun with people. Chinese people who meet us in public almost always ask about my daughter’s education, “Does she go to school?” is the main question. What they mean is does she go to a local school (there is no other kind of school). My husband and I have been known to have a little fun with them and say something along these lines:
US: School? No way! Why would we do that? She’s a girl! Girls don’t need an education. She’s only going to get married and leave our home anyway!
THEM: (in shock) But I thought Americans valued education! You don’t want her to learn?
US: Who told you that? That’s not true. Americans, we’re so smart, we don’t even need education. You know America is rich! We have money growing around on trees. You just walk out and pick it. Our daughter doesn’t need school.
Of course, then we tell them we’re just kidding and then explain how we do educate her. I have to say, “We teach her at home. She does not go to school to learn. She learns at home. I teach her myself. It’s called homeschool. I have a curriculum from America that I use to teach her myself at home. She studies at home.” Because there is no concept of homeschooling, I have to thoroughly explain it (sometimes a few times).”
There are things that can make being a homeschooler and a budding small business owner easier. Jimmie says:
“Being a planner is helpful, that is, having a long term vision of where you want your child’s education to go, then being able to break that vision down into steps – year long curriculum plans, unit study plans, and lesson plans.
Obviously, a personal love of learning is helpful. If you love studying new things, your joy will rub off on your children. Don’t get worried! It will all come together –reading skills, math skills, even social skills. Take small steps each day. Keep making progress and it will all work out in the end.”
Be sure to check out her Sampler! Just click the link below to enter Jimmie’s world.
Grapevine Studies is a wonderful and creative way to teach children (and adults!) about the Bible. I was raised in a strict religion that included reading through the Bible once a year with weekly assignments, I can say without a doubt that this is WAAAAY more fun! (Sorry Mom!)
When I received the ebook I was shocked at the size of the Teacher’s Manual. I expected a couple of pages, maybe thirty pages on the outside. Nope. Not even close. The wonderful creators of this curriculum have left nothing to chance. Even if you have never read the Bible before, you’ll be able to teach your children with the help of the 322 page instructional book. (And that’s no typo!)
Even if you are a biblical expert, the Teacher’s Manual has enormous value. Not only does it explain the way to use the program and the subject structure they also give you every illustration and every explanation to share with your children. I am not very confident in my art skills and the manual makes it possible for me to stop worrying about being an “artist” and just have fun with the subject at hand. I think the stick figure concept is brilliant. Even the worst artist can draw a circle (for the head) and straight lines. And if you’re stuck for an idea for a particular passage, you can always refer to the manual to see what the author’s concept is and provide a starting place for your own creativity.
The Peanut Gallery Says …
Alaya: “It’s great because it’s really fun. You can draw all different kinds of animals. It’s really fun to learn the Bible this way.”
Jade says: “It’s okay. You get to draw pictures. Drawing the pictures help me learn and remember the important things in the Bible like names and dates.”
We are covering the Old Testament Levels 1-2 right now and I am really enjoying it. I am able to do one lesson with both of them without any stress. Jade is 9 and Alaya is 6, but since we’re using stick figures, everyone can join in (including Michael who is 2). At first I couldn’t understand why we created the timeline before starting the actual Bible reading, and thought about not following the directions. Boy, am I glad that I was faithful to the directions because once I got started it all became clear. The timeline provides the framework and when we’re filling in the details, the kids are understanding the bible reading and events much better. So “lean not upon your own understanding” and follow the directions — no shortcuts.
A surprising benefit of this program for me is the way it sets the tone for a much more productive day. The subject matter plus the relaxing nature of the drawing just puts everyone in a better frame of mind. While the children are drawing we’re having more intimate conversations on biblical and everyday concerns. So it’s proving to be an additional tool to create a close-knit family.
And In Conclusion …
The cost for the hard cover editions are $45.95, while the ebooks are available at the low cost of $22.95. The great thing about having the ebook is that you don’t have to print all of the pages at one time. When I teach my girls, I have the Teacher’s Manual open on the computer and give the girls the pages for the lessons that we’re working on. I use the large anti-rip oversized envelopes to help the girls keep track of their work. When we complete our studies I’ll have them bound at OfficeMax so that they’ll have a record of their spiritual journey.
I’m looking forward to completing the Old Testament and journeying into the New Testament. Grapevine Studies has provided a wonderful product that addresses art, literature, history and biblical studies all in one. It’s been an enjoyable experience for all of us and has enhanced our more “hum-drum” bible readings and studies immensely.
And best of all Grapevine Studies is offering a 30% discountto all of our readers. This discount ends September 30th. So, pick out the books of your choice and add the code “crew9” to the coupon line.
Oh, I almost forgot — you can get free samples by visiting their website at www.grapevinestudies.com to get a sneak peek at the treasures inside. And remember the coupon expires on September 30th, so don’t miss it!
My daughter has problems with spelling and I’ve been trying to find new and more interesting ways to help her to be more successful. Jade was in speech therapy for a little over three years for an immature auditory system and still has problems sounding out words. Ironically, she’s a very advanced reader with great comprehension.
Anyway, quite by accident I found this great site (www.wordle.net) that will allow you to make art out of words. Here’s an example of her first spelling/art masterpiece:
If you’d like to see more of Jade’s masterpieces (or just play around with it yourself) be sure to visit www.wordle.net. Jade’s work will be saved under “Cherbear2768″ in the gallery.
BTW, there is no censorship within Wordle, so you may want to just let your children play with the application without going through the gallery.
I'm a homeschooling mom with seven children: 3 human, 2 feline and 2 canine. I'm also the wife of one very patient husband who seems to like the role of ringmaster to our circus. I am a virtual assistant who enjoys writing, crafts, music and laughter. I hope you'll visit often. Please be aware that this blog is supported by affiliate links, although every link isn't necessarily an affiliate program.
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!
