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

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M

Technorati Tags: civics, handwriting, history, italic

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!

Technorati Tags: diet, exercise, fitness, life, Wii Fit Plus

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

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Technorati Tags: math books, math curriculum

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

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Technorati Tags: banking finances, money

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

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Technorati Tags: Christians, keyboarding, typing

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

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Technorati Tags: discounted registration, discounts, homeschool expo, sales

Although my children are using a different math program that is working for them, after reviewing Ray’s Arithmetic I am incorporating the real world application series into what we are currently using. The texts contained on this CD are textbooks that my aunts and uncles used when they were in school in the early 1900s (my dad was 51 when I was born just in case you were wondering). Their knowledge base on all subjects was much stronger than what I received in school, so I am thrilled to be able to share these books with my children. Practical application is missing from many math textbooks (since nowadays school curriculum is more concerned with teaching to the test rather than teaching for life) which could explain why the general math knowledge is so low in this country.

So, I guess Ray’s Arithmetic is not only a great mathematical training course, but a glimpse into the inner workings of the United States during the 1860s to 1915.  I love two-for-one deals like this. Some of the subjects  that your children will be able to study using Ray’s Arithmetic  include:

• Complete bookkeeping (that’s the one I’m studying)
• Elementary Algebra
• Higher Algebra
• Practical Arithmetic
• Analytic Geometry
• Norton’s Elements of Physics
• Geometry & Trigonometry
• Surveying and Navigation
• Schyuler’s Logic
• Differential and Integral Calculus

The material contained on this CD is a compilation of 38 text books which includes the teacher’s editions, answer keys, and textbooks. This compilation retails at $59 which is an excellent price for a curriculum that is relevant from elementary to the college years.

Khalid Family Rating: 5 out of 5

Disclaimer: http://cmp.ly/1/rwd4kr

Technorati Tags: arithmetic, bookkeeping, calculus, elementary, high school, intermediate, self-paced

Although the title of this course is “Worship Guitar” secular homeschooling families should not feel that by purchasing this product that they are subjecting their children to any form of indoctrination. The lessons start off with a quick prayer and the songs are dedicated to God and the values that everyone needs to be successful in life.  People from all faiths should be comfortable with the songs and the spirit in which they were created.

One thing that my girls really enjoyed was the feeling that they were in a personal lesson with Ms. Welles. Ms. Welles has a cat that is present during her instruction and for my cat loving girls this was a giant plus. I think that showing parts of the live lesson with the adorable little girl was also a brilliant touch because it gives the little ones confidence seeing another student receiving corrections and praise for a job well done. As a parent I felt that she had a genuine love of her students and of God. This quiet and loving confidence made the lessons special and enjoyable  (for us at least) than many that we have experienced with  music teachers that we’ve encountered in real life.

The Worship Guitar Class for Kids is also incredibly affordable for any family. You can get the nine streaming video lessons for $28. If you would like to have the children practice without tying up the computer, you can also request the lessons on DVD for an additional $5 for a total of $33.  The course covers:

• How to hold down a note to get a clear tone on the guitar.
• A couple worship songs with the melody plucked to strengthen their hands.
• Half a dozen worship songs they can sing & play..
• 11 guitar chords .
• How to read guitar tab and chords charts.
• How to make up their own verses
• Christian Values in each song

Khalid Family Rating: 5 out of 5

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Technorati Tags: DVD, guitar, music lessons, online videos, streaming video

But once the video began, he was entranced. I mean, the perpetual motion boy just sat and watched the entire presentation without a word. On the next pass (he insisted on it being played again) he kept jumping up to make sure that we were watching the many animals that were being counted while beautiful classical music played in the background. The music chosen were selections from Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Vivaldi, Brahms, Pachelbel and Chopin. (Sometimes I just put it on to listen to the music!)

This is a basic counting DVD, but because of the extraordinary images and music it is more of a feast of numbers than I would have thought possible. I mean, how interesting can you make counting to 15? If you really want to know you need to watch this video.

The Basic Math Word Problem Tutor

While not as colorful or musically inspired, this eight hour video course is very thorough and an excellent way to explain word problems to your children. The instructor begins at the beginning and builds on each foundation. My oldest daughter has trouble with word problems (as it seems a lot of kids do), but she really enjoyed watching the video and working alongside the instructor. Actually, I was surprised that she wasn’t goofing around while the DVD was playing. Instead she ran upstairs got her notebook and took notes on what the instructor said and did. Her word problem skills still need work, but she seemed to really appreciate the way that the teacher explained things.

I personally found his explanations and illustrations to be quite clear. And he went through the entire strategy for tackling a problem. If there were more than one way to arrive at the correct answer he explained each of them while helping the student to focus on key words that supply the clues to what you’re supposed to accomplish. Overall, I was quite impressed and even re-learned a few things that I had forgotten about. I know that these three DVDs will hold a prominent place in our bag of math tricks.

Khalid Family Says: 5 stars out of 5

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Technorati Tags: DVD, math, music, Preschool!, tutoring

Over one million participants have registered for World Math Day!  Join us in a celebration of numbers as children from across the globe unite in their quest to set a world record in answering mental arithmetic questions. Be a part of this great education event involving over a million students from hundreds of countries, even parents and teachers can participate this year!  There is an exciting new format for 2010 with all new levels so make sure you and your child register today and get plenty of practice!

Why should you take part?

• World Math Day is the education event for the world!
• Your child will love it! Be part of setting a world record!
• It will create an amazing buzz around Mathematics in your home.
• Designed for all ages and ability levels.
• Simple to register and participate.
• Great prizes. And it’s absolutely free!!

How will it work?

• Register your child online.  Students already subscribed to Mathletics can use their existing usernames and passwords.
• Students take part in real-time mental arithmetic challenges.
• Students play live with other students around the globe.
• In 2009 more than two million students from 204 countries combined to correctly answer 452,681,681 questions. Can we break the record this year?
• All you need is internet access.
• Students can compete at school or at home.

Registrations and Further Information:

Visit www.worldmathday.com

Don’t delay – registrations close March 1

I hope to see you there!

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Technorati Tags: free, mathletics, registration, world math day