Home School Product Reviews

Signing Time

We began using the Signing Time video series when our daughter with Down Syndrome was only one.  She is the 9th of our 11 children.  Previous to that, we knew no sign language.  We had heard that teaching little ones with Downs to sign could bridge the gap between their desire to communicate, and their ability to communicate verbally.  To say that we were amazed would be an understatement!!  She wasn’t “retarded” as society would have you believe.  She just didn’t have the means to “get it out” in a way that we would have been  able to understand without the sign language.  She knew 100’s of signs (this is no exaggeration) before she turned 2 years of age, and we never experienced screaming, etc that we had heard about, that we are now sure must come from the frustration that they feel at not being able to “talk” to those around them.    We constantly have “professionals” come up to us when we are out in public, and they can’t believe that at only 4 years of age now that she is so far advanced to the adults that they are currently working with.  It truly has been a gift from God!    The videos were created for children to learn with no help from the adults whatsoever.  Even a deaf child could learn to sign as they use the multi-sensory approach in the videos.  Our entire family has learned to sign by watching these fun videos.  This is the only resource, other than a couple of signing dictionaries, that we have used.  It is that good, and that comprehensive.   We can’t say enough to praise this product!  Words can’t express how much it means to be able to have access into the heart and mind of our daughter, something that we didn’t know if we’d have when we first learned of her condition.

Living Fossils - Evolution: the Grand Experiment, Volume 2

I am a former evolutionary geologist turned creationist homeschooling mom, and have been following the origins issue for over 30 years…this (Living Fossils) is one of the best books I have ever read, for the following reasons. First, the author’s own story.  He traveled over 100,000 miles researching & taking pictures in order to figure out whether evolution was a valid theory. Second, his attitude.  He does not presume the truth of any position, but presents the evidence and asks the reader to decide for themselves.  Thirdly,  the content, amazing photos of the similarity between supposedly ancient fossils and living organisms, which shows that fossil species names are often arbitrary and  based on preconceptions, not on resemblance to living species.  Fourth, readability.  It’s accessible to professional & layman alike.  I have not seen information like this anywhere, and I’ve done a lot of reading on the issue. Can’t wait to get the rest of the books when they come out!

Double Shutter

I purchased the DOUBLE SHUTTER game at Christmas for my 9 & 6 year old daughters and they love it!  Most mornings they play a couple games with Dad while eating breakfast, before they start their day of schooling.

I had not started math with my 6 year old yet and just pulled out the Developmental Math book #2 a few weeks ago and she already finished.  She knew how to add all the problems because of double shutter.  So now we are on to book #3.

Jensen's Grammar

My  two oldest boys both used Jensen’s Grammar along with Jensen’s Punctuation in their high school years.  Both studied the books on their own.  Both scored over 30 on the English section of the ACT and were placed in Honor’s English in college.  I intend to use it with all my children.

Terrapin Logo

My son has been doing LOGO for several years now. He studied a bit of Scheme using another online program and is now using his knowledge to program fairly sophisticated “games” on LOGO. This is a particularly exciting product for those kids who think fast and “out of the box.” It develops logic and critical thinking skills as well as requires a student to study independently and learn on their own (at least that’s how it works at our house). Worth every penny.

Reaction Game

I used this game (Reaction Game) with a group of six middleschoolers who are quite familiar with the concept of building molecules.  We’ve tried to play it on three occasions, but we’ve never managed to complete a game.

The game is very pretty, but it seems like they spent all their time on visual design, and not enough on the game mechanics.  For example, in the rules, you’re told to make a discard pile, but nowhere is there any mention of _why_ you would discard any of your cards.   This sort of problem – trying to figure out what the game designers _meant_ you to do – occurs frequently, and means that the game is almost impossible to play.

There aren’t enough potential molecules listed, and the ones that are listed are very heavy on the C, N, O, and H (as is the real world!) but there aren’t enough extra of those cards in the deck.

I think we’re just going to have to make up our own rules…

Educational games add excitement to any homeschool curriculum. Click here to view the dozens of options Timberdoodle offers.

Curious Case of the Misplaced Modifier

This book was a pleasant surprise!  It was an impulse decision to buy because it was offered at a significant discount.  I honestly wondered if I had just wasted my money, but The Curious Case of the Misplaced Modifier is a gem and worth the full price!  The book focuses on seven of the weakest areas of most writing:  Passive voice, nominalization, vague -ing words, weak verbs, misplaced modifiers, super-long sentences, and wordy writing.    Each of the seven chapters begins with a mystery that contains several sentences that use the weak writing that will be focused on for that chapter, then it goes on to explain the problem and how to detect and fix it. There are lots of examples, each showing a sentence with the weakness and then how it could be written better.  The Curious Case of the Misplaced Modifier would be great to go with a junior or high school level creative writing class.  Matter of fact, that is what my sister-in-law is doing with it.  I plan on incorporating the ideas into my 5th grader’s writing.  I’d highly recommend it to all homeschooling families who are concerned with their students’ writing or who would like to focus on specific writing issues.

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Piano for Life DVD

Piano for Life is the best music coarse we have ever found.  Within 1 year, our son was composing music and has begun to teach other students using this DVD as a base.  However, it seems to be best suited for teenage kids.  Adults don’t usually have the time to spend practicing and preteens don’t have the discipline to follow through on their own.  There maybe something to personal gifting regarding music, so don’t necessarily expect your student to progress abnormally fast. You can expect any student to come away from Piano for Life with an excellent understanding of theory and the ability to play an instrument for pleasure.

Teaching Textbooks Math 5

I finally had to admit I was exhausted. I was trying to homeschool four children with toddler twins and a new baby on the way. Each day I felt like we were barely getting through the basics of language arts and math. Each child required individual instruction which could take up to an hour each. By the time you added in all the regular household responsibilities, I was stretched thin. When I found Teaching Textbooks, even the price wasn’t enough to scare me off. This one purchase alone could save me on average three hours of instruction and another hour of grading per day. We purchased all available levels for our kids. Now their math is improving and the kids actually look forward to completing their lessons! They are thrilled with the instant feedback and I appreciate the automatic gradebook and the instant breakdown of whether or not they are watching the solution after missing a problem. We’re hooked and I don’t see us ever using a different math program.

Two months into the 2009/2010 homeschool year, how is your math programing working? If it is time to change, take a look at Teaching Textbooks. Dozens of personal reviews, try demos, take placement tests.

Sit 'n Gym

I am homeschooling my 4 children and one of my sons has been struggling with attention and focusing on schoolwork. It was getting very difficult to run a school day and I was beside myself as to what to do. Then my sister gave your catalog and there in the front cover I read about the Sit ‘n’ GYM chairs. I was not sure if I believed it could really work but anything was worth a try. After just one week on the SIT ‘n’ GYM chair my son’s work habits improved noticeably. He is still always the last one done with his work but he is able to finish a days work. He and I both love the SIT’n'GYM chair.