Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Schoolhouse Review: A+ Tutorsoft




A+ Tutorsoft, Inc. is an interactive, multimedia, multi-sensory math program for grades 1-6, plus Pre-Algebra and Algebra I. A+ Tutorsoft offers both online and CD software math curriculum. For this review, I received the A+ Interactive Math 4th Grade CD Software, Premium Edition.



Don't let the website overwhelm you like it did me. Once you've spent a little time there, you will begin to see all that this program has to offer. Things like free math placement tests, free pdf downloads of grade specific worksheet packs, a free one month online subscription, just to name a few.


Here is a testimonial from their website:

     "A+ Tutorsoft happens to be one of those exceptional and outstanding visual math programs. What initially attracted my visual non-math self to this program was not just the visuals but how many features you get with this program."

     "Give me all the help I want with math and present it to me in a variety of ways. A+ Tutorsoft gets rave reviews from me on that part. You don't get just one way to tackle this program but you can mix and match these features depending on your needs. It is like having both a student curriculum and teacher's guide rolled into one program."

To read more, click:
http://www.newbeehomeschooler.com/apps/blog/show/12923036

There are three options for A+ Interactive Math:

     ~~~   an online subscription
     ~~~   a physical CD standard edition
     ~~~   a physical CD premium edition

A+ Interactive Math is a full math curriculum. My 11 year old daughter is using this program.

 It includes multimedia lessons which are great. I didn't have to sit with her and be the teacher, everything is already there. I can easily monitor her progress. It has a lesson plan which is very helpful, an easy way to keep up with things.

The Interactive Q & A section comes with each lesson and is where she was able to respond with an answer to what she was learning. This section has several multiple  choice questions. She said she really enjoyed this. It would give her immediate feedback on her answers. She had an option at the end of this section to print a certificate.

The curriculum book is a math textbook that can accompany each lesson. There is also a worksheet and exam that can printed out to complete. It also has an answer and solution section.

Over all, my daughter thought the program was good. She is using it as a supplement with her other math program. I asked her if A+ Interactive Math would be something she would like to continue using and her response was "Yes". I think this is something I will be able to pass down to my younger bugs since I chose to review the CD software.

The Premium 4th Grade CD Edition can be purchased for $124.99 and the program works for up to 5 children. The standard edition is available for $99.99.

The online version is $19.95 a month, $49.99 quarterly and $124.99 yearly.

As an added bonus, A+ Tutorsoft, Inc. is offering a 50% off discount through the end of March.

Enter promo code: SPOFFER50 during checkout.

To see what other other crew members had to say about A+ Tutorsoft, click here.




Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Schoolhouse Review: God's Great Convenant Old Testament, Book 1

We were so excited to start a new bible curriculum from Classic Academic Press.




 This is the first time we have ever used this company, and so far, we love it! They offer Greek, Spanish, Latin, Poetry, Logic, Bible and more.

The product we are reviewing is God's Great Covenant Old Testament, Teacher Edition, and MP3 audio files.

Student Workbook, $22.95


Teacher Edition, $24.95
 



The MP3 audio files are $9.95.
 
Book 1 begins with Genesis and goes through the book of Ruth. It has 32 chapters and 5 unit themes.
 
*Unit 1: In The Beginning...God's Power (Genesis 1-11)
 
*Unit 2: By The Patriarchs...God's Promises (Genesis 12-50)
 
*Unit 3: Out Of Egypt...God's Redemption (Exodus 1-34)
 
*Unit 4: Through The Wilderness...God's Provision (Exodus - Deuteronomy)
 
*Unit 5: In The Promised Land...God's Faithfulness (Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Job)
 
In each weekly lesson you will have a memory verse, key facts and vocabulary, among other things. Each chapter has worksheets and a quiz.
 
Here is a sample chapter from their site:
 
The worksheets are wonderful. You have fill in the blank, true or false, circle the answers, finish the sentences and even puzzles. In the back of the student book is a glossary and very nice 3D black and white maps. We are having so much fun with curriculum. The bugs are always looking forward to their bible each day. Learning is so much fun when you have a wonderful curriculum to use like Classic Academic Press.
 
The teacher's book is great also. It has reduced copies of the student workbook which makes it easy for everyone to follow along. It also has an answer key and lots of notes that is very helpful for mom! I really like having a book to reference to so I can explain things more clearly without confusing my bugs. I often have to figure out the answers to questions and hope I'm right. With this teacher's book, the information is provided. I love it!
 
We are using this as a daily bible study.Here is a sample of a weekly schedule from their site.
 
What I liked about this curriculum is that it isn't just a bunch of watered-down bible stories, it's a solid-biblical teaching curriculum that teaches the bible. We are learning so much we didn't even know.
 
I think my favorite part is something called "Things to Remember". Each chapter has this section. For instance, in lesson 1, it tells us that "Ex nihilo" is a latin word that means "out of nothing" and "Elohim" is a plural Hebrew name of God that means "mighty, strong and majestic" or "the mighty God". We are learning so much.
 
I am so impressed with this program that I will be purchasing God's Great Covenant Old Testament, Book 2 which covers 1 Samuel to Malachi, after we finish book 1.
 
See what other crew members had to say.
 



Disclaimer: I received God's Great Covenant OT Book 1 for review, free of charge, in exchange for my honest opinion and review. All opinions are my own.
 
 
 
 
    
 



Tuesday, February 19, 2013

what a blessing.......

Look at this......







What a blessing! Farm fresh eggs daily. Living on our homestead is one of the most fun and rewarding things I can think of!

We walk out of our back door everyday and we are in AWE! of God's creation.

I wanted to share a recipe that we really enjoy. We love using our fresh eggs in all of our recipes but this has to be one of my favorites!

I attended a cooking school last year that is sponsored by Taste of Home and came home with this wonderful recipe. I have modified it a little to our liking.

Huevos Rancheros

1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 small clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1/4 cup green pepper, chopped
1/2 teaspoon jalapeno pepper, chopped, optional
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 cup tomatoes, diced
4 to 6 eggs

1. Heat oil in a medium skillet and saute garlic, onion and green pepper for 5 minutes. Add jalapeno pepper, if desired and cook 1 minute longer. Add the remaining ingredients except for the eggs and simmer, uncovered, for 8-10 minutes or until tomatoes softens.
2. Break eggs into pan in four to six places, depending on how many you use. Continue to cook until bottom of egg is set, and white is almost cooked, or approximately 8 minutes. Cover and cook briefly until white is firm and yolk is lightly cooked. 

We like our eggs very soft for this recipe.


If you try this recipe, I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

God Bless!

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Flowering Baby Review

My first product to review for the crew this year is Flowering Baby, LLC, a whole child developmental approach for birth to five.



We chose to review two volumes, "Three to Four" (Volume 4)  and "Four to Five" (Volume 5).














Each level consists of two parts, a monthly curriculum guide and a theme curriculum guide.

The monthly section covers skills like learning the upper and lower case letters, counting and writing numbers 0 to 10 and several science projects among others.

The theme section is theme oriented. You are encouraged to choose two themes per month. For example, we chose Bugs and Birds.

I received the downloadable product of Flowering Baby, LLc. Some of the members received a CD copy. I really enjoy being able to pick and choose what I want to print and what I don't.

This curriculum is so much fun! The layout of this curriculum is wonderful. It gives you a list of suggested books to use each month.  Some we already had, some we got at our local library and some we replaced with ones in our own library. It is really flexible when it comes to the books. In this curriculum, "Read a book" appears over and over. I realized it is designed for a certain purpose. It develops a solid foundation of language, reading, gross and fine motor skills among other helpful skills. My 3 and 5 year old bugs love it. The books that are suggested with each volume are amazing. All they wanted to do was sit and read, read, read these wonderful books! We are having so much fun with this!

Here is what one of our days looked like:

     *ABC's: Sing the ABC song.
     *Math: Count out loud from 1 to 5. Repeat
     *Read Book: We read Blueberries for Sal
     *Triangles: Using masking tape make a large triangle
       on the floor. Discuss the shape and name things that are shaped
       like a triangle (a slice of pizza, a Christmas tree, etc.)

This day we focused on our book Blueberries for Sal.


 We read our book numerous times, made a stamp out of a potato in the shape of a blueberry and made some yummy blueberry smoothies.













Above you can see our little homemade stamp we made out of a potato and the picture they did using it!


Ready to make and drink some blueberry smoothies!



As you can see the  two little bugs are enjoying Flowering Baby!

This program is very easy to use. Make some fun memories with your children while you can!

The cost is $30 - $38 (download). Purchase the entire 5 volume set for $132. Use this code "BLOG10" and get 10% off!


See what other crew members had to say about Flowering Baby.



Disclaimer: I received a complimentary download in exchange for my honest opinion and review. All comments are entirely my own.


Sunday, February 3, 2013

announcement......

Well, as you can see, it has been a while since I blogged. I haven't really felt much like doing anything here lately. I figured it was time to make an announcement!

Baby Bug #6 is due September 9, 2013!



TRULY BLESSED!