• Review: Spencer Learning Ultimate Phonics

    Teaching our kids to read is one of those mountains that each of us homeschool moms must scale.  It’s often the most intimidating mountain, and one that both challenges our confidence and tempts us to throw in the towel, even as we are just beginning to climb.  To help us conquer this first mountain peak, Spencer Learning created their Ultimate Phonics Reading Program and offered the Homeschool Review Crew the opportunity to review it. The Ultimate Phonics Reading Program is a downloadable product that will run on a Mac or a PC.  You do not need to have an active Internet connection to run this program.   Yay!  This comes in SO…

  • Review: Christian Homeschool Hub Download Club

    As homeschoolers, access to printable worksheets on a wide variety of topics can be VERY helpful. I used to spend 10-15 minutes searching the web for a particular worksheet that I would like to use. Then, when I finally found one that I thought would work, it remained to be seen if it was in a form that I could actually download and use!! We were happy to give CHSH-Teach.com a try, as members of the CHSH Download Club.  We were given a year’s access to over 50,000 full color downloadable pages, and they add more all the time! The Christian Homeschool Hub (fun name!) has literally thousands of choices,…

  • How to Use Your Essential Oil Diffuser!

    Diffusing essential oils is an awesome way to make your home smell great without the use of artificial – and toxin filled – sprays and plug-ins.   Some of our common air fresheners are VERY toxic – they rate a 9 (on a scale of 1 – 10) on the Toxic scale, according to the Think Dirty app!!  We need to get these OUT of our homes, and using an essential oils diffuser is a great way to do it!  Not only will your home smell better, but the air quality will improve!  Essential oils can actually clean the air, providing a boost to your respiratory system! It’s important to…

  • Review: Orphs of the Woodlands Interactive Book App

    Star Toaster, a popular company, has released their latest interactive chapter book app called Orphs of the Woodlands at Tangletree.   My kids love to play on the iPad, and I welcomed the opportunity for them to have a new educational app to try.   This app works on iPhones and iPads, using iOS 8.0 or later and is designed for kids ages 7+. The premise of this story is a sweet one.   A flying squirrel cares for 6 orphaned animals (orphs) in his tree house.   He soon learns that kids are a lot of work!  Who can relate?   🙂 🙂   He has a lot of jobs…

  • Review: Great Online Art Program for Kids!

    I am not an artsy kind of gal – I took art classes in elementary school but never felt like I had any particular skill at it, and didn’t keep at it long enough to develop any skill!    I therefore never felt qualified to teach my kids art – thumbprint art or VERY impressionistic is my bent lol, and I’ve been looking around for an art program for them to try.   When ArtAchieve offered us the opportunity to review their Entire Level 1 program, I said yes!  And I’m so glad I did!! I wanted a program that didn’t require a lot of supplies.   Pen, paper, pencils,…

  • Review: Online Veritas Bible Program

    One of my highest priorities is for my kids to know the Bible and to be strong and confident in their relationships with Jesus.   Our world is ever changing, and the Bible can serve as a plumbline for our future generations, to help them walk in God’s ways and not be swayed by deception. I’ve been on the hunt recently for an online program they can use, so they can work on it without my direct input.   I was delighted to have the opportunity to review one of the Bible programs from Veritas Press.  They kindly gave us a one year subscription to VeritasBible.com.   They also have…

  • MaxScholar Review

    Review: MaxScholar Reading Intervention Program

    MaxScholar gave us a one year’s license to their MaxScholar Reading Intervention Programs, MaxGuru.  Their K-2 and MaxGuru programs are designed for students that struggle with dyslexia, learning disabilities, ADHD, processing problems, or who are struggling to learn to read.  It’s also a great program for students without those added challenges as well. We reviewed the MaxGuru program, so I turned Super D loose on it.  It is a robust program, with lots of material for kids to work through.  The MaxGuru program includes MaxPhonics, MaxReading, MaxWords, MaxMusic, MaxVocab, MaxPlaces, and MaxBio. Super D started in MaxReading.  I was eager to have a systematic way to gauge his reading comprehension.…

  • Science Shepherd Review

    Review: Science Shepherd

    Science was my favorite subject in school, so much so that I majored in bioinformatics in college. I love teaching science to my kids, especially science from a Christian creationist perspective but we haven’t yet settled on a science curriculum. I was excited to review the Introductory Science program from Science Shepherd, especially because it’s video based and Super D can do it without me!  We received the Introductory Science Level B workbook, answer key, and access to the Introductory Science course videos.  Quick summary: we totally love this curriculum.   This is one that we will continue to use until he’s finished the course.   Read on for details!…

  • Review: No Mess Painting with Kwik Stix

    Your kids are probably like mine in that they LOVE to paint and make a giant mess!   We’ll do watercolors sometimes, but I’ve been scared to introduce anything darker (or more permanent).   The Pencil Grip, Inc. offered us the chance to review their Kwik Stix 12 pk and kindly sent us a 12 pack!  They also sent a bonus pencil grip called The Single Grip that Sweetheart played with.   The Pencil Grip, Inc. is well known for their pencil grips that are helpful for any little ones, but particularly special needs children or those with delayed fine motor skills. My little ones LOVE the Kwik Stix and so do…

  • a+ interactive math review

    Review: A+ Interactive Math

    Math is possibly the scariest homeschool subject!   I hear many moms say they’re hesitant to homeschool because they get overwhelmed by the math.  We may even have negative memories of math from our own schooling years.   A+ Interactive Math wants to help parents overcome that math obstacle!   We were given access to two of their Math Mini Courses and we chose to focus on Money and Tables, Charts, and Graphs. Each mini-course offers a year’s access to the material and has between 10 and 35 lessons.   Topics include addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, percentages, elementary algebra, elementary geometry, decimals, fractions, and more. After logging in, the kids…