Another Look at Keyboard Town Pals

I felt I needed to post another mention for Keyboard Town Pals.  We reviewed this program for the Schoolhouse Review Crew about 2 years ago, in November 2011.  I still agree with the review I gave it at that time, that it is a good program for beginning typing with your younger children, up through about 8 years old.  At the time, my 10-year-old thought it was a bit silly, but my 8-year-old liked it and completed the program.

Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago.  The former 8-year-old who completed the program is now 10.  I realized that I had never done any formal typing lessons with her as I did with the older kids, and she does use the computer quite a lot for school, so I was thinking I should give her a typing class this year. When I observed her typing, however, I realized she was doing quite well without me ever teaching her!  She is using all the right fingers on the right keys and typing relatively quickly without many mistakes.  I asked her how she learned to type so well, if perhaps her sister had been helping her.  She said, "No, Mom.  Remember the keyboard program we reviewed with all the little characters in the town?  I learned with that!"  Truthfully, she did all the free lessons we received for review in one afternoon and maybe spent a week playing with the program, and she learned her fingering very well and it has stuck with her all this time!  This is the most painless way I've taught typing to any of my children, and I think I'm going to have to do it now with my youngest, who is now 7.  If I had older children who were not yet typing well, I'd make them do the program whether they thought it was silly or not!

So if you are looking for typing program for anyone under age 10 or 11, to teach typing or to improve it, I highly recommend Keyboard Town Pals.  I like it better now than I did when I first reviewed it!

Happy Keyboarding!  :-)

Click here for original review.

"A Cry From Egypt" GIVEAWAY

One of our favorite products that we reviewed last year as part of the TOS Schoolhouse Crew was A Cry From Egypt by Hope Auer.

How would you feel if you had been a Hebrew slave living in ancient Egypt?  What would your life have been like?  Furthermore, what would it have been like to be a Hebrew child in slavery in ancient Egypt?  I think that pondering this question really brings the truth of what happened home to children.  After all, of the adult Hebrews who left Egypt, only two entered the Promised Land.  The children who walked out of Egyptian slavery were the ones who later established the nation of Israel.

See the rest of the review at Schoolhouse Review:  A Cry From Egypt.

While we are anxiously awaiting the release of the sequel in The Promised Land Series, Ms. Auer has given us the great opportunity to give away a free signed copy of A Cry From Egypt!  Enter with Rafflecopter below!


a Rafflecopter giveaway
Find Hope Auer at any of the below locations:

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/hopeauerbooks?fref=ts
Twitter:  @hopefulstories
Website:  www.acryfromegypt.com
Great Waters Press on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/raisingrealmen
Great Waters Press on Twitter:  @raisingrealmen.

Schoolhouse Review: Vocal Coach Singer

I am excited to tell you about our last product reviewed for 2012, The Vocal Coach with Chris and Carole Beatty.  While some of my Crewbies reviewed their Teaching Kids to Sing product, we had the opportunity to review Vocal Coach Singer.  This came at a great time for us, as my older two children are singing with me in the adult choir at church this Christmas, and I was wanting to start actual voice lessons with them.

Have you ever said, "I wish I could sing"?  I have heard so many people make that statement, and I always want to tell them, "You can!" Obviously, some people are clearly gifted with an exceptional voice.  I have, however, seen people who did not seem to have any vocal talent whatsoever take voice lessons and go on to do very well in various auditions.  Singing, like so many other abilities, is a skill that can be taught and learned.  Furthermore, if people have great talent in this area and do not develop it with training and practice, they will never reach their full potential.  Voice lessons are a great benefit, but they are expensive and not always readily available.  If you would like to be able to train your own voice or your child's professionally at home, Vocal Coach Singer is a great asset.

Vocal Coach Singer is a 12-CD set with the equivalent of over $2,000 worth of voice lessons.  It also includes a Guidebook telling you how to use the system, a personal singer's journal, and printable PDFs of the music lead sheets to accompany the exercises on the CD.  You can also get a downloadable version of all the PDFs and MP3s for the whole system.  This can be easily used on an iPod or other MP3 player.

I was impressed by how comprehensive and easy-to-follow this system is.  Beginning with the "Getting Started" MP3s and the Guidebook, I got a good overview of the program.  From there, a person just beginning voice lessons may progress through the CDs in order, learning about proper posture, breathing, tone, diction, and warm-ups; or you may skip around to the lessons that you need.  Since we've done a bit of singing, and spending too long on the initial "breathing" instruction would be a bit boring for my kids, I skipped around.  The workout MP3s for high or medium/low voice with accompanying printable music lead sheets are excellent and are just what I needed for moving my teen and pre-teen from singing children's music to singing with an adult choir.  Keeping track of your practice, your progress, and your song selections in the singer's journal will help you see your progress as you become a better singer.  Finally, there is a section on "Complete Performance" that will help you choose the best songs and present them in a way that will leave people wanting an encore rather than wondering what shower you practiced in.

I highly recommend this product for anyone who would like to improve their singing skills.

Vocal Coach Singer is suitable for use with older children and adults.  I am using it with my 11-year-old and my 13-year-old.  I must admit that I found some of the warm-ups a bit challenging myself.  Whew, am I out of practice!  :-)  The lessons do not teach any specific musical style; rather, they teach principles and habits that will improve any voice and can be applied to any style of music.  They are beneficial for beginners as well as accomplished professionals.

If you are ready to try Vocal Coach Singer, here's what you need to get started:

The Product:  Vocal Coach Singer: 12-CD set with Guidebook, Journal, and printable PDFs, also available in all-downloadable form

Vendor:  Chris and Carole Beatty of Vocal Coach

Website:  http://vocalcoach.com/

Ages:  Youth or Adult

Price:  $119.99 for the CD set

   $99.99 for the MP3 downloads

To see what my fellow Crew members thought of Vocal Coach Singer and of Teaching Kids to Sing, click the banner below.

Disclaimer:  I received a free MP3 version of Vocal Coach Singer for the purpose of a fair review.  No other compensation was received, and all opinions are my own.
Sadly, this is my last review with the Schoolhouse Review Crew, at least for a while.  I have been with them for a year and a half and have loved being part of the Crew.  I hope I will be able to join them again another year.  For the year 2013, however, I have the opportunity to pursue some other exciting projects.  More about that very soon.  Keep following my blog and stay tuned!

Schoolhouse Review: Apologia's Journeys of Faithfulness

The latest Apologia product that the Crew has had the privilege to review is the book Journeys of Faithfulness by Sarah Clarkson.  Through a series of stories about biblical women such as Mary, Ruth, and Esther, the author challenges young women to explore and deepen their relationship with Christ.  The 232 pages of the paperback include devotionals and journaling spots.  Each story gives a historical fiction account of one of these women, using the details we know from the Biblical story and adding the author's insight into what the characters could have felt and how they may have been affected by the events.  The book may be used as a devotional guide for adolescent women and their mothers.

My daughter and I read these stories separately and then discussed them together.  My daughter is 11, so she may be on the young side of the age range for which the book is intended.  I have always enjoyed historical fiction.  I like reading something that helps me put myself in the place of a historical character, imagining what it must have been like to experience what she experienced.  What would it have been like to have Jesus physically eat in my house, or to approach Boaz in the darkness and uncover his feet?  (And why did she uncover his feet, anyway?!)  This book took me into those characters' lives.  The author is very imaginative and descriptive.  That said, this book also pushed the limits a bit, to where I felt that the essence of the characters was being missed or changed.  My daughter did not care for the style of writing, but it may just be that she is a bit young.  Perhaps we will try it again in a few years.  I like a devotional book that will bring a mother and a daughter into these types of conversations about the women of our Christian heritage and about Jesus Himself.  I think it may be good for mothers and older teen girls.

Apologia's Journeys of Faithfulness by Sarah Clarkson may be purchased directly from Apologia's website.  The paperback is $13.00.  Find other Apologia inspirational and educational products at http://www.apologia.com.

To see what my Crewmates thought of the book, click the banner below.

Disclaimer:  I received a free copy of Journeys of Faithfulness for the purpose of a fair review. No other compensation was given, and all opinions are my own.

Schoolhouse Review: Activity Bags

I am absolutely thrilled to have had the opportunity to review Activity Bags over the last few weeks.  These e-books by Sherri MacLean are chock-full of step-by-step instructions for fun, hands-on learning activities for kids of all ages.

I first reviewed Math Games In a Bag, eBook 1.  Have you ever noticed how kids say they "hate" Math when they are stuck with drills to do in a workbook, but how much they love using math concepts in games?  (It's a common theme on this blog!)  The games in this eBook - which are designed for elementary school children - use dice, playing cards, printables, and household materials to explain math concepts and to give your blossoming mathematician plenty of drill practice in an entertaining way.  Most of the games are designed for 2 or more people, so they can be played by several children or by the parent/teacher and the child, if your home is not full of kids.  I started using things I had around the house, like dice and cards from games we already have, but I plan to buy some manipulatives like that to put in the bags and make them permanent fixtures, so that I do not have to disassemble the math activity kits to put the game pieces back.  These activity bags can be used over and over for more fun and practice and are a great way to occupy my younger children while I'm working on something with the older ones.

    

In addition, I reviewed Science Experiments In A Bag: eBook 1, eBook 2, and eBook 3.  These books serve as an introduction to General Science for young students, to get children curious and wanting to learn.  As shown on the covers, eBook 1 contains Science experiments in the fields of Biology, Nature, and General Science.  Ebook 2 contains experiments in Chemistry, Human Body, and General Science.  Ebook 3 is all about Chemistry.  The experiments use household items or items that are easy to obtain.  Some of the experiments were specifically indoor or outdoor experiments - and that was noted in the instructions - and some could be done in either place.

As the name suggests, the idea behind all of the Activity Bags books is that the teacher organizes all the supplies for each activity in ziploc bags ahead of time.  Step-by-step instructions and supply lists are provided, and the eBooks contain reproducible pages to accompany the activities (in the Science activities, I am using the reproducibles as our lab reports for our lab notebooks).  There are questions to accompany the activities, and answer sheets for the teacher.  This does require some preparation time ahead of time.  Once the bags are prepared, however, you have ready-to-do lessons, games, and experiments at your fingertips.  They can be used for regular class time or as a supplement to pull out on a rainy day or when one student needs something to keep him busy while you finish with the others or while you pay bills or fold laundry.

The other thing that makes Activity Bags unique is the Swap.  Several of the books contain detailed instructions for planning an Activity Bags Swap, and that information is also found in the Coordinator Handbook (listed separately).  This is a great activity for homeschool groups.  Each mom/teacher is assigned one or two experiments to prepare.  She may then buy needed items in bulk, copy her reproducibles, and assemble 10, 15, or 20 bags for that one activity.  At the Swap, members trade so that each receives Activity Bags for all the activities assigned.  This is a quick way to get enough Science experiments lined up for an entire school year!

I have enjoyed using these books with my own kids, and I am preparing Science Activity Bags for all the students attending our Mad Scientist party this coming Friday!  I like the fact that most of the items used in the experiments are easily accessible, and I like the organization these books give me.  I like the games and experiments themselves for being both fun and educational, and the fact that I can make the experiments actually work even though I'm not much of a scientist myself!  The books are designed for elementary students, and I am just using the Math with my younger children, but I am using the Science experiments with all my kids.  The books serve as a good supplement so that I can find experiments to match what we are doing in our other curriculum, for any age.  The younger children are amazed and curious about the experiments, while the older children can actually understand the Science behind them and write up lab reports.  I did not find the activities to be as much of a do-it-on-your-own type of thing as I had expected.  For the most part, I am doing the activities with my kids, or sometimes the older kids may be able to do them with the younger ones.  The Math games were generally games to be played by 2 or more people, so the younger children need an older child or me.  The Science experiments were, for the most part, things that I would prefer to still supervise for elementary-aged children.  This is not a bad thing, however, since I am enjoying them so much!

I don't know if you can tell in this picture or not, but we managed to coat this steel paper clip with copper.  Wow!

If you would like to try out some of these activities, go to http://www.activitybags.com and fill out a quick survey.  You will receive a complimentary Activity Bags sampler as a thank-you!

I highly recommend Activity Bags eBooks to anyone who homeschools or works frequently with kids. Here is the info:

Product:  Activity Bags eBooks

Math Games in a Bag ebook 

Science Experiments in a Bag ebook 1 

Science Experiments in a Bag ebook 2 
Science Experiments in a Bag ebook 3

Author:  Sherri MacLean

Website:  http://www.activitybags.com

Ages:  Elementary students (Science experiments are K-8 but can really be used with any age.)

Price:  $15 per eBook (Science Experiments 1 and 2 can be bundled for $27, or all 3 for $39)

To see what my Crewmates thought of these and several other Activity Bags eBooks, click the banner below:

Disclaimer:  I received four Activity Bags eBooks free of charge in exchange for an impartial review.  No other compensation was given, and all opinions are my own.

Coupon Code for KinderBach!

In case you missed it in the Review update, KinderBach is offering the Schoolhouse Crew Blog Readers a coupon for 30% off any order!

Coupon Code:  TOS_crew2012 

Expires: 12/31/2012

If you've been wanting to try KinderBach online beginning piano lessons, now may be the time!

If you missed the review, read it here.

Schoolhouse Review: Samson's Classroom

I've said "just a few" times that my kids love learning with games, and I love using them for teaching!  Samson's Classroom is a fun learning website for early language arts.  While some learning websites have so many games that you wonder if the kids are learning anything, and others are straight learning so that the kids do not perceive them as "fun," in Samson's Classroom, the learning itself is the game.  There is just enough "education" for me, and just enough "fun" for my kids!

Samson the Dog helps kids practice sight words, spelling, and reading.  

In the Sight Words section, your child works through four levels of seven "sight words" lists each.  Each list is learned in five steps.  The first step is simply studying the words on the list.  The student looks at each word, watches it being spelled, listens to the pronunciation and spelling, and listens to a sentence with the word in it.  In any of the study sections on the site, the student may stay on a word as long as he needs, or move forward whenever he is ready, which I really appreciate, because it is difficult to get my son to work on things when they move either too quickly or too slowly for him and he gets frustrated.  In Step 2, the student listens to the word being spelled, then clicks on the proper letters, in order, to spell it himself.  In Step 3, the student identifies the words as they are spoken and used in a sentence.  In Step 4, the student again clicks on letters to spell each word, but this time, the word is used in a sentence but not spelled out loud.  In addition, all the letters in the alphabet are provided as choices, rather than just a few of them.  Step 5 again involves identification of the words, and some choices given are incorrect spellings of that word.  By the time your child finishes all five steps, he or she has mastered that list of sight words and is ready to move onto the next list.  While working through the lists, the student also works through different colors of karate belts, so that when she is done, she will hold a black belt in sight words!

In the Spelling section, the parent/teacher may put in her own lists of spelling words.  If you want to use any spelling words that are not recognized in the program (for instance, I made a list of the books of the New Testament for my daughter to learn to spell, some of which were recognized and some were not), you may request that the words be recognized and submit your list for review.  Again, the first step for the student is to study the words on the list, which may be done on the computer, or there is an option to print the list out.  There are then three games to help the student first fill in missing letters, then collect letters and put them together, and finally spell the whole word on his own.  The games are fun and move fairly quickly to hold interest.  If you are not quick enough, you can be caught in a spider web (that happened to me a lot!) or tackled by a walrus and turned into an ice cube!  Also, you compete against other people in your classroom (or homeschooling family) for the highest scores and Championship Belt.  The parent can also play in order to give some healthy competition!

The final section is Reading.  I had my 4th-grade daughter work through this one so I would be able to review it, as my 2nd-grade son is still working on his Sight Words black belt and the Spelling.  I think he could do the Reading section as well, as he is actually a pretty good reader, but he is working through the games more slowly.  In the Reading section there are four levels.  In each level, you select each passage, read it, then answer the questions about it.  Some are direct questions and some are based on inference.  As someone has pointed out, the reading comprehension section is a great preparation for standardized testing.  Mastering the reading passages earns the student "Hammer Time swings."  The Hammer Time game then awards "Hammer Points," which may be compared against the "Top 5" scoreboard.

Samson's Classroom offers a number of resources to the parent/teacher.  In addition to being able to produce your own spelling lists for the games in the Spelling section, there are articles about literacy and learning, printable awards and certificates to be given to students, included lesson plans, and printable PDF worksheets.  I love the resources for playing Bingo or Sight Words Baseball.  You can see your students' progress and also how many attempts it took them to master the problems from your dashboard.

Samson's Classroom is recommended for children in the K-5th grade reading level.  Sight Words is geared more to the younger end of the age range, while Reading Comprehension is geared more towards the upper end of the range.  I allowed my 4th-grade daughter to skip the Sight Words section, as it would be quite easy for her, and she completed all 4 levels of the Reading Comprehension section in about 2 days.  I can still use the Spelling Section for her throughout the year as a fun way to practice her new spelling list each week, which is a great tool.  Other than that, though, the program is a bit easy for her. It is a fantastic program for my 2nd-grader, who is still working on his Sight Words black belt and the Spelling section.  I believe it will take him the full year to finish the whole program.  As I was sitting here writing the review today, he tried to kick me out of the computer chair so that he could play the game!

I highly recommend Samson's Classroom for kids in the K-3rd grade reading level, and higher if they enjoy these types of games and would like to use them for spelling words and reading comprehension practice.

Here's the basic info:

Product:  Samson's Classroom subscription website (works with Mac or PC)

Website:  http://www.samsonsclassroom.com

Ages:  K-5th grade reading level

Price:  $30/year for one user or $50/year for a family plan (up to 4 students).  There are also school and classroom plans available.

To see what my fellow Crewmates thought of Samson's Classroom, click the banner below.

Disclaimer:  I received a free subscription to Samson's Classroom in exchange for a fair review.  No other compensation was given, and all opinions are my own.

Schoolhouse Review: WealthQuest for Teens

I heard a speaker say recently that when people seek counseling for major problems in their lives, the problems almost always revolve around s*x or money.  I've also been told that money problems are at the root of most marital fights and divorces.  So why aren't we teaching our teenagers more about money before they get out on their own?  Matthew 10:16 tells us to "be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves" when dealing with the world.  In the Parable of the Shrewd Manager in Luke 16, Jesus tells us that one of the things in which He wants us to be shrewd, or wise, is in matters of money. Not that He wanted His disciples to be dishonest like the manager in the story was, but that He wanted them to learn to use worldly things for eternal purposes in a wise way.

Too many people learn their money lessons the hard way, once they are deep in debt and have to climb their way out.  I would like to teach my kids to be smart with money from the time they start earning it. One tool I have used, as a part of the Schoolhouse Review Team, is WealthQuest for Teens.  We reviewed a website subscription package that included a video, a workbook for the teen, a parent book, and a link to an online money management program.

I have mixed feelings about this review.  First of all, I really like the way the components were laid out. The online video itself includes the video teaching and examples (on the left of the screen below), and an interactive notebook (on the right of the screen).  I haven't seen this with any other programs, and I really liked it.  My son watched the videos, paused them when prompted to do so, filled in the information in the interactive notebook, and resumed the video.  This is a great way to study and learn! A few times he got a little lost, and there was no way to rewind, but the video segments were not terribly long so we just started the segment over again.

There is an option to print the interactive notebook:

In addition, there is an eBook:  the Basic Seminar QuickStart Guide, which is used for implementing the program after watching the videos.  The purpose of the WealthQuest for Teens program is to have teens actually change their habits during the course, not to just read about good money habits.  With that purpose in mind, the QuickStart eBook guided us through setting up the money tracking system and setting goals for what my teen wants to accomplish with his money.  It has 30 short daily assignments, so that within a month, the teen is all set up and using the new system.  All of this worked together very well.  The eBook is a great reinforcer and implementation tool for what the student has just learned through the videos.

I also received the Parent Guide in eBook form.  It had great information in it not only on how the program works for teens, but also about common mistakes parents make in teaching about money, better ways to handle the topic, and how to handle allowance and jobs at home, which is a question many homeschooling parents have asked me!

Here is a picture of a girl using the "Silo System" that is laid out in WealthQuest for Teens.  We are using envelopes rather than larger containers like this.  The system is completely adaptable to what works best for you.

Finally, we were given a link to Money Trail, an online tool specifically for managing kids' money.  We set up a child account and a parent account, so that my son can manage his money and I can track what he is doing through my account.  Money Trail does not actually hold any of your money; it is simply a tracking tool.  It is set up to deposit my son's allowance amount each Friday into his virtual account in the "Bank of My Parents," and we have it specifically set up to automatically divide the money he receives each week into "spend," "share," and "save" accounts.  He can then track money he receives and money he spends to see where it is going over time.  Money Trail also has a mobile version, so he can use it on his iPod Touch.

I agree with the author of the WealthQuest program, Jill Suskind, that it is very important to teach our teens about how to manage money.  I like her approach, teaching that your financial success is more dependent upon your beliefs, attitudes, and habits about money than on the actual size of your salary.  The program is not a "health-and-wealth-gospel" program or a "get-rich-quick" idea.  Rather, it teaches the importance of managing the money that you have well, no matter how much it is.  I like the inclusion of the "QuickStart Guide" and the Money Trail site, so that by the time the student completes the program, he is already implementing the system and managing whatever money he has.

The reason I have mixed feelings about this program is that in listening to the videos, even though the goal is to manage whatever money you have rather than to just "get rich," I still feel that the overall message of the program is that financial success is paramount.  The students are told that they need to regularly read books about financial success and spend a great deal of time thinking about money.  This can be taken several ways.  Obviously, the program is about money, so perhaps all this has a place.  People whose goal is service over "getting rich," such as missionaries, perhaps need the most training in managing money.  This program offers excellent tools and habits, including habits of giving to worthwhile causes and "making a difference."  Still, though, the more I listened to it, the more I was concerned that it would influence my children to think that money is the most important priority in our lives - or that the freedom provided by having money is.  It just isn't quite the worldview that I want to be coming from when I teach my children about money.  I am always concerned that my kids may be too easily influenced by things like that.  Then again, I probably don't need to worry too much about my teen being wrongly influenced, because when I asked my son what he thought of the program, he said basically the same thing that I just did!

The bottom line is that the WealthQuest for Teens program teaches great habits about money, and while you may need to make sure you emphasize your own worldview while teaching it, it is nonetheless a unique and valuable tool for teaching teens about how to manage money, which is an absolutely necessary pursuit in today's world.

Here are the basics:

The Product  WealthQuest for Teens

Author  Jill Suskind

Website  http://wealthquestforteens.com

Ages  14-19 - can be used with older students, worked fine with my 13-year-old

Price  $39.95

Click the banner below to see what my teammates thought of WealthQuest for Teens.

Disclaimer:  I received WealthQuest for Teens at no charge for the purpose of a fair review.  No other compensation was given, and all opinions are my own.

Schoolhouse Review: KinderBach Online

KinderBach Online is an interactive online program to be used along with a keyboard and rhythm instruments to teach the basics of piano and music theory to children ages 2-7.  Since the ideal age to start actual piano lessons is around age 7 or 8, this program is an excellent introduction for younger children.  If you would like to expose your early elementary or preschool-age children to basic music theory or see how they will like piano before starting lessons, this program would be great for you, whether you homeschool or not.  You do not even need to purchase a piano, as an inexpensive keyboard, even a toy keyboard, will work fine.

I reviewed KinderBach last school year, and I was recently given the opportunity to review it for a few more months.  At this point, I am only using it with my youngest, who is 7.  It really is too juvenile for my older children, who are all now singing in choirs and playing instruments.  KinderBach is a great way for my 7-year-old to have his very own music lessons at a level that he enjoys, and it is giving him a foundation in rhythm and note-reading that I wish my other children had at that age.  He is ecstatic to be playing with his online video-friends - Frisco, Dodi the Donkey, and all their keyboard pals - again!  Really, anything that makes noise makes him happy, and homemade rhythm instruments are second only to Legos as his favorite toys!

Dodi the Donkey

In each KinderBach Online lesson, there is a video where children will learn basics like notes, rhythm, and composition while playing games with the fun characters.  Simple songs help them to remember what they have learned.  I think the "Dodi the Donkey" song was introduced in our very first lesson last year, and my 7-year-old still walks around singing it until the other kids beg him to stop!  There is a printable PDF workbook with coloring and activity pages to go with each of the six levels.  I really like how the video and book work together.  For instance, sometimes the student will be instructed to color a page while listening to a song on the video.  This kind of learning that stimulates several senses and keeps my son's hands and mind busy is the most productive!

Other activities include action games, using our hands and feet to work out rhythms and learn notes and intervals.  I like the way patterns in music are explored and practiced in the videos so that children will learn to sing, play, and read music very quickly.

If you have a child aged 7 or younger who is not quite ready for formal piano lessons, but whom you would like to give a foundation in basic piano and music-reading, I highly recommend KinderBach lessons.  Here is the low-down:

The Product:  KinderBach Online

Vendor:  http://www.kinderbach.com

Ages:  2-7

Price:  See KinderBach Shop for prices, starting as low as $7.99/month!

My Previous Review:  http://noteablescraps.blogspot.com/2012/02/tos-review-kinderbach.html

Update:  KinderBach is offering our blog readers a 30% discount off any order!

Coupon Code:  TOS_crew2012 

Expires: 12/31/2012

There is also a brand new KinderBach App for iPhone or iPad, which some of my fellow Crew Members have been reviewing.  To see what the Crew thought of both products, click the banner below.

Disclaimer:  I received a free subscription to KinderBach Online in exchange for a fair review.  No other compensation was given, and all opinions are my own.

Schoolhouse Review: Zoo Whiz!

For the past several weeks, my younger two children have had the great privilege of reviewing a Premium Zoologist account from ZooWhiz, a really fun and motivational learning website.  They each were able to pick a "zookeeper," the character they would use on the site, and then they could play games and take quizzes in math, words, and reading in order to collect points and coins with which they could buy animals for their zoo.

Homescreen with a map of the Zoo

This is pretty much the perfect learning website for both of my younger children, ages 7 and 9, because they absolutely love real animals, stuffed animals, computer-animated animals - basically any kind of animals and zoos!

Zookeepers from which the students may choose

After choosing a Zookeeper, the students may go to the "Arcade" to play educational games, the "Learn and Earn" to take quizzes, "Milestones" to see their progress, or the "Biodome" to purchase new animals for their zoo with the coins they have earned.  The bar across the bottom of the home screen shows the number of coins earned, the number of animals in the student's zoo, the zoo level the student has achieved, and the number of educational points earned.  The educational levels are broken down by age rather than grade, which I think is more helpful to me as a homeschooler, since we don't always work by grade levels.  The child may work in an age range, and the "bottom level," or the easiest questions that should be given to that child, is set by the parent.  If the quizzes and games prove to be too easy or too difficult for the child, the parent or teacher can easily change the level from the parent account.

The "Biodome" - Zoo shop

In addition to practice in math, words, and reading, the student will learn facts and conservation information about the animals in his or her personal zoo.  I will admit that I had to push my daughter to take the quizzes so that I would know a little bit about them for the review.  She and my son were much more interested in the games and in learning about the animals.  They asked to play almost every day, and were absolutely thrilled that I was including such a fun activity as computer work that they were allowed to do during school hours!

Progress Report

Zoo Whiz is already used in schools and homes in several different countries.  They are currently in "Early Release Stage 2," and they are adding new content continually.  All of the content loaded and worked just fine for us.  In the future, I should be able to view my kids' progress and assign specific work to them from my parent account, which is linked to their child accounts.   I look forward to being able to do that.  I would love to be able to occasionally assign quizzes on various concepts in Zoo Whiz in lieu of our regular paper-and-pencil quizzes, as a break from the normal routine.  For the time being, I just log directly into the kids' accounts to review their progress.

Here are some sample activities in Math, Words, and Reading, respectively.  These are some of the easier activities.  The actual levels cover ages 5-15.  

I originally thought I would just be reviewing one account for my 9-year-old daughter, but Zoo Whiz was very gracious to offer premium accounts for all four of my children.  The customer service was outstanding.  I did set up accounts for all of my kids, but my older ones were not as interested.  My 13-year-old was not interested at all, and I did not assign him any activities, since I had really planned to review this for my younger daughter.  My 11-year-old daughter loves zoos and animals and was mildly interested, but has not used Zoo Whiz on a regular basis.  My 9-year-old daughter and my 7-year-old son fell in love with the program and beg to play it.  I highly recommend the website for children ages 5-10. 

You can try a free account from Zoo Whiz, which my daughter was already enjoying before she got the Premium account, but I'm sure you'll want to upgrade and enjoy all the features of a Premium Zoologist account.  Now is the time, while a one-year subscription is on sale for $14.95, which is a savings of 50%!

Here is the information you will need:

The Product:  Zoo Whiz educational website

From:  http://www.zoowhiz.com

Ages:  5-15

Price:  $14.95 for annual subscription (current sale)

  For information on a Premium membership, click here.

Click the banner below to see what my Schoolhouse Crewbies thought of the program:

Disclaimer:  I received a free one-year Premium Membership subscription to Zoo Whiz for the purpose of a fair review.  No other compensation was received, and all opinions are my own.

Schoolhouse Review: Music Together Family Favorites

Do you have children who love to dance around and sing to any type of music?  I do.  Umm, that is an understatement.  My children personify music and motion whenever they are not tied down!

I also direct children's choir, and what I hear over and over from parents is that, "I'd like my child to be able to sing or play music, because I never have.  I'd like my child to not be afraid to be in front of people on stage." People also sometimes tell me, "I can't sing at all."

If your vocal chords have not been damaged or removed, you can sing!  I have seen people who really sounded like they could not carry a tune in a bucket take voice lessons and then sing like a pro.  Music is an essential part of being human.  We are not born to be afraid of making music; the fear comes from a lifetime of not utilizing the talent.  Clearly, some people are born with an exceptional gift of music, and some people are simply not that interested in music, but we all have some music in us if we desire to use it!  If you desire your children to be musical at any level, the time to start is when they are young.

Music Together recognizes that "all children are musical," and "therefore, all children can achieve basic music competence: that is, they can learn to sing in tune and move with accurate rhythm."  This program for teaching music to young children veered away from the traditional model of teaching music only to prepare children for instrumental or vocal performance, and instead established a curriculum for teaching all children informal music through play.  After all, young children teach themselves by playing.  They also learn best from parental example (or that of any caregiver), and so Music Together classes incorporate children and their caregivers - sometimes whole families - playing with music together.

Actual Music Together classes are taught by licensed providers.  There are nine non-sequential song collections which each focus on a specific instrument.  In addition, however, Music Together also offers the "Family Favorites" song collection, with favorite songs from all nine of the instrumental collections.  As a member of the Schoolhouse Review Team, we received the book and CD of the "Family Favorites" collection.  While this curriculum is not a substitute for an actual Music Together class, it does bring many of the fun features and songs from the classes right into your own home.

I love the basic principles and activities in this book:

1)  The songs are fun and catchy for young children, and they introduce a wide variety of musical styles:  jazz, pop, lullaby, and there is even a special song for the remembrance of 9/11.

2)  Children learn basic pitch and rhythm, as well as harmony and a general love for music through playing with actual musical instruments, simple rhythm instruments, and non-musical props.

3)  Children have FUN!

4)  Songs with words are included, as well as songs with rhythmic syllables, or "vocables."

5)  Children learn and bond with their caregiver partner.

6)  Rounds and other basic harmony exercises are introduced.  This part was especially good for my older children; even though they are a little older, they need the practice singing harmony.
7)  Many of the songs can be used with various substitutions for words, actions, animal sounds, etc.
8)  Suggested activities include adaptations for infants, preschoolers, or special needs.
9)  All music is informal, and improvisation is encouraged.  Creativity and movement are encouraged.
10)  No expensive equipment is needed.  If you have access to musical instruments, that is great, but if not, you can use anything from pots and pans to homemade instruments.  In fact, the song "Playin' in the Kitchen" reminded me of my own childhood, when my mother used to let me have my own kitchen band with her pots and pans while she was working in the kitchen, just like the author said his mother did!

These maracas are colorful and a lot of fun, but I wish I'd gotten a picture of my son with his milk jug the other day.  Banging on the empty milk jug for a rhythm instrument was much louder and therefore much more fun!

We do own several musical instruments, and have a number of musical things in our house - and Music Together sells a variety of kid-friendly instruments - but you do not need to go out and spend a lot of money to start teaching your young children music.  I used these maracas that I got from a yard sale, and I also have a large set of rhythm instruments that I have accumulated over the years that I used.  Some of my favorites are the little rhythm band sets that you can purchase at Wal-mart or a learning store.  They are colorful and durable, and not only do my own children enjoy them, but my children's choir kids have always enjoyed it when I bring my big box of instruments in on occasion.  Even with all this, however, my children love making their own instruments.  Cut a hole in the front of a shoebox and stretch rubber bands across it for a shoebox guitar.  Put dry beans or uncooked maccaroni in an empty toilet paper roll and tape paper around the ends for a fun shaker.  Two paper plates stapled together with rice inside make a great tambourine.  Pots and pans have always been the best drums.  And when I need the rhythm to be a little softer for my poor pounding head, I give the kids sealed salt, pepper, or spice containers.  When they were babies, I used to let them play with these in church instead of a rattle.  It kept them busy and did not disturb the people around us!

There were only two drawbacks to this program for me specifically.  One was that the music was a bit young for my kids.  It was recommended for children up to age 9, and I have a 7- and a 9-year-old, but I think it is better for pre-school and kindergarten children.  The other drawback is that the music is all secular, and I prefer to use more religious music for our homeschool activities.

I highly recommend the Music Together Family Favorites book and CD for anyone with children in kindergarten or younger, whether you are a seasoned musician wanting to teach music to your children, or a novice with no musical experience.  It is a great tool for teaching musical concepts as well as a love of music to young children.

Click this link to listen to the songs on the "Family Favorites" CD or buy a digital download.

Here's a summary of the information you need about this product:

The Product:  Music Together Family Favorites "Songbook for Teachers" and accompanying CD

The Vendor:  Music Together at http://www.musictogether.com/

Age Range:  Infant, toddler, preschool, kindergarten

       Also special adaptations for special needs children

Price:  $29.95 for the "Songbook for Teachers"; $14.95 for the CD; $9.99 for the downloadable MP3 version

  Save $5 by purchasing the Songbook and CD together for $39.95

  Plus SAVE $2 more by purchasing the combo and entering the coupon code "Schoolhouse" at checkout!

Also find information on other products, where to find Music Together classes near you, or how to become a Music Together instructor at http://www.musictogether.com/.

See what my crewmates thought of the Music Together Family Favorites book and CD by clicking on the banner below.

Disclaimer:  I received a free copy of the Music Together Family Favorites book and CD for the purpose of a fair review.  No other compensation was given, and all opinions are my own.