TOS REVIEW~ Student Writing Intensive Level C

Oh my a review for a writing program!  That was my first thought as  I received Institute for Excellence In Writing's  Student Writing Intensive Level C  for review.  You see I have a 9th grader who strongly dislikes, ie hates, writing.  You can’t blame her, as I strongly disliked writing in high school as well.  I still do, although I am no longer in high school!  With my dislike for writing, it trickled down in our homeschool to me not wanting to teach writing and thus avoided doing so.  Obviously that was not beneficial to my kids.  So with Student Writing Intensive Level C in our possession we dove into the first video lesson.  Level C is geared towards 9-12 graders. The reaction was this....

yes that is a smile on my “I hate writing” daughters face.  My other daughter is a camera avoider but it’s a good shot of the binder :)

Here is a brief video introducing Student Writing Intensive.  I think you will find it helpful to see and hear Mr. Pudewa himself.

The videos were shot live in a class setting so your child feels as if they are in the class with other students and Mr.  Pudewa.   Here is a short you tube video giving you an idea of the setting for level C.

Mr. Pudewa is engaging and  light hearted with the students.  He encourages, directs and teaches in such a way that my 9th grader just had to join along.  Yes, they thought some of the jokes were corny but they were smiling.  We didn’t make it through the whole program yet but plan on taking the summer to wrap it up.  Just in the amount we did though I saw a confidence blossom in my daughter’s writing.  As we continue with the program and broaden her skills to enhance her writing, I believe that moving into her 10th grade year she will be a more confident writer.  

SWI Level C is $99.  It contains four DVD’s, a binder with dividers, and a packet with the teacher’s notes, handouts and checklists.  The handouts were able to be copied for same family use.  There are 15 lessons included.  You can choose to do one lesson over one or two weeks making this program anywhere from 15-30 weeks long.  

I also received Structure and Style Overview DVD.  It introduces you to the style of teaching writing that this program uses.  Available for download off the website are additional handouts to help you teach the course to your students.  The DVD is available for $10.  IEW also sent along a portable wall (pictured below).  This portable wall offers several bulletin boards full of information to be used in conjunction with the structure and style program.  It offers synonyms for overused words, strong verbs, prepositions, -ly adverbs.  It also gives highlights for each of the 9 units.  So compact that it fits inside the students notebook.  A great resource for $7

Institute for Excellence in Writing offers many other writing products for all levels of writing. 

Come on over and see what my crew mates thought of the program here.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this product for review purposes only.

TOS REVIEW ~ Go Trybe

GoTrybe is a web based fitness program that incorporates fun easy workouts that kids can customize along with health and wellness related questions.  You can read their full description of their product here.

I prefer my kids to get outside and play rather than be in front of a monitor doing exercise.  But some circumstances like months on end of snow on the ground (not here in Texas mind you), or no yard could make this a great fit for a family,  For us it was a hard review because we are active outside.  GoTrybe, being web based,  required us to set up the laptop in an area where the kids could move around while viewing a small lap top screen.  It was not an ideal situation for us.  However the workouts were challenging and got the kids heart rates up.  We were signed up for the high school level which was  nexTrybe.  Other levels were zoodoos up to fifth grade and Trybe180 for 6-9th grade.
My 14 year old daughter enjoyed being able to pick her warmup and activity videos.  She could customize her workout based on a particular sport or mood.  There were so many videos to choose from a teen could easily find something of interest to them.  She would choose a video for warmup, cardio, strength and flexibility.
In addition to the workout videos they could move on to nutrition, motivation and wellness questions.  For nutrition a small paragraph would be presented with a multiple choice question.  A correct answer would earn them points, which I will discuss in a minute. The motivation portion is a video that offers insight from some of the instructors.  The one I just watched was silly with no real motivation. Wellness is also a brief video that offers advice and information.  Being that this is for high school level I found these last three parts basic and not challenging at all.
Everything they do on the site earns them points which they can use to customize their avatar.  If racking up points on a video game is a good motivation for you kid then the point system might work for them.
Like I said we are big on getting outdoors and moving.  GoTrybe isn't a great fit for our family but it might be for yours. You can try them out for free with the code GETFIT.  If you like it you can then subscribe for $19.95 which is a reduced price.  Cheaper than P.E. classes or a gym membership but still screen time in my book.
See what my other crewmates thought of here.
Disclaimer: I received a free subscription to GoTrybe for review purposes only.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all!

I'm without electronics this weekend serving on a retreat but I have this auto posting (hopefully).  My present this year came early.  John and I had been discussing getting a chair/recliner for our bedroom for me to read and relax in.  We picked one out, fabric and all, last January or so but never moved forward on it.  We were going to use the tax return but never did or so I thought.  I'm pretty sure I brought that point up in a disagreement we had as well.  John came to pick me up from one of my iron transfusions....in the van. It is a 14 year old vehicle but I thought it odd that he picked me up in that.  He knows how much I love the ride in the truck.  But whatever, I was high on benedryl.  He treated me to lunch at Jason's Deli and we headed home to eat it.  I walked into the bedroom and the first thing I noticed was how clean the dresser was!  Seriously observant.  In the window bay was this beauty

It's a lazy boy if you can believe it.  It reclines while still looking like a chair.  It has the yummiest fabric on it too.  The dark brown is actually fuzzy.  My kids try to pet my chair but I tell them not to touch.  This baby is mine all mine.  Of course John was the first to recline in it, a privilege he earned by carrying it by himself into the bedroom.  And here are the reasons he bought it for me

I plan on locking this one up before she discovers boys!

I love this picture.  She NEVER lets me take her picture. 

Tree climber

Another tree climber

Girl has her own style!

TOS REVIEW ~ Latin's Not So Tough Level 3

Latin's Not So Tough is a product of Greek N' Stuff.  As part of this review I was sent the Level 3 workbook ($21.95),full text answer key ($21.95)and pronunciation cd ($10.00).
Latin's Not So Tough Level 3 is geared towards the beginner Latin student in upper elementary or above.  I started this program with my 3 oldest (14,13,11) and let my two younger ones (8,6) tag along.  At first we were going along great.  The beginning lessons are mostly vocabulary and my children were picking up the vocabulary quite quickly.  The pronunciation cd was very helpful with pronunciation.
Where Latin got tough for us was where the conjugation began without teaching how to conjugate.  According to the teacher guide "the third level uses an inductive (parts to whole) approach...Level four transitions to a deductive(whole to parts) approach".  So the kids are learning conjugated verbs and are just memorizing what the all ready conjugated verb means.  For example, Amō nautam, means I like the sailor. Therefore the kids are memorizing that Amō means I like.  On the same page they learn others as well all with the ō , being told to recognize it but it will be explained later.  It is just a different approach than I am used to and one that caused a stumbling point for us in our studies.
That being said we enjoyed the large font of the sprial bound workbook.  The minimal exercises per day were enough to sharpen their vocabulary skills without boring or exhausting them.   The flashcards were invaluable as well.  The little checkbox on the bottom of each page reminding the student to study their flashcards was a great way to remove me from the nagging role :)  I went ahead and ordered the accompanying test booklets as well available from Greek N Stuff.
This was our first exposure to Latin studies and it did seem tough because no one in our household is versed in Latin. Latin is tough but it is made easier with this program.  After just a few lessons my kids were spotting Latin everywhere, root words in English, on coins etc.  
In the end though, Latin's Not so Tough is a good program.  


See what my crewmates thought here


Disclaimer: I received a free copy of the workbook, full text answer book, and cd for free for review purposes only.

Mothers Day Giveaway

Holy bag of loot Batman! Check out this mothers day giveaway over at Econobusters!  Seriously great stuff. The cute pillow :: drool::, the bloom necklace ::drool::  get over there and drool for yourself.

Feeling blue and very non metal binding

I have been remiss on blogging.....why?  Because I just haven't plain felt like it.  You see I was once again diagnosed with low iron.  I've shared it before.  But this time it has me reeling.  I was feeling fine until I got the diagnosis and THEN I needed sleep every afternoon!  I have my last iron infusion today.  I'm probably sitting in the recliner watching the metal drip ever so slowly into my veins.  I'm lucky if I can focus for very long on it as the benydryl takes over and makes the whole world just a little wonky.
This process has had me in a mini depression.  I need to take steps to get to the bottom of this iron issue.  I need to find a doctor who will take time and talk this out with me.  I have a lead and I need to follow up on it.  But I am currently in a mode of procrastination or rather denial.  I'll get through it and once that little red bag of iron isn't hanging over my head once a week I will once again grab life by the horns and the Good Book and get myself off the edge of this pit where I have plunked my happy behind on the edge to dangle my feet in the abyss.  I will graduate C25K, I will finish up the last six weeks of school with the kids and I will start cooking again.  Just let me get a little metal in me and I should be good to go.
Please accept this as my apology for not boring you with more posts on my life :)

TOS Review ~ Nutrition 101:Choose Life!

What an honor to review Nutrition 101:Choose Life! by Growing Healthy Homes.  This a a fabulous 448 page Biblically based book chock full of information.  I hate to call it a text book because it has such valuable information.  I would call it a christian family resource, one well worth the price of $99.95 for the book version and $79.95 for the electronic version (the version I received for review).

Nutrition 101 is labeled a "family nutrition and health program" and I couldn't agree more.  This is a book you can use for the whole family.  If used by a high schooler it counts as a nutrition/health credit.
Within the book you will find that 12 main body systems are covered in 6 units which are then broken down into four chapters.  The 6 units are:
The brain and nervous system
The digestive system
The respiratory, olfactory, auditory and visual systems
The muscular and skeletal systems
The endocrine system and emotions

Each chapter includes information, scripture, discussion questions, activities, resources, fun facts, word power(vocabulary), power recipes and illustrations.  Folks these are jammed packed chapters, however you will not feel overwhelmed.  The book held my interest and kept me coming back for more.  It made me call out to the kids "hey did you know this cool thing about the digestive system?"  The recipes at the end of each unit are designed to go with the system just studied. It motivates the parents to get the kids involved and in the kitchen making healthy food with the explanation of why we need healthy foods for our bodies to work the way God designed them.

As if 6 units with four chapters each isn't enough, this book has appendices.......from A -EE!  They cover a myriad of charts, share debates on milk, talk sugar alternatives, spices, etc.  This is the section you will keep coming back too.  For me personally I plan on printing out the appendices and placing them in sheet protectors and putting them in a kitchen binder for easy access.

This resource has made me think about the food I feed my family.  It has encouraged me that change in habits takes time, that each step taken in the right direction is good.  It has given me a tool that I can use to share with my family the interesting systems God created in our bodies.  I plan on making it a portion of our science curriculum for my high schooler in the fall .  I also plan on pulling details from it as I do anatomy with my younger set as well as trying the recipes that go with each system as way to reconnect with my kids in the kitchen.  This resource has me digging deeper into health issues that I have experienced since being diagnosed with and surviving breast cancer a year and a half ago.  This book, this wonderful resource, has me seeing scripture and knowing that I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

But wait did you tune out just a bit when I mentioned the price tag of this resource?  Don't  Growing Healthy Homes has offered all the readers a 15% discount coupon using the codeTOScrew11! 

To see what my other crew members thought go here.  I'm sure you will read many more positive reviews of this product as last year it was voted best e product of the year by the crew.
 Disclaimer: I received a free electronic copy of this product for review purposes only.