Pearson Education-TOS review

OK, this is it, my final review of this school year with the TOS Crew.  I'm back next year, so definitely be looking for reviews of some wonderful homeschool products.  I was really excited about doing this review when I got the beautiful oversized book for Grade 1 math from Pearson School, Ry is a first grader and Sissy will be in K in the fall.  After looking over it, I decided that it would be very remedial for Ry.  Sissy was so excited to get a product that was for her to review.

enVisionMath, as it's name implies, is a very visual approach to math.  Everything is brightly colored and very engaging, which Sissy loved.  The pages are meant to be torn out and folded to make a little work booklet, this definitely made it easier to work with this huge book.  It also gave Sissy a natural start and stop point, which she needs; otherwise in her excitement to do school she would race through the whole book.

Let me just say that this is neither a positive or negative review, in all honestly I didn't receive enough of the product to give a complete review.  We only received one portion of a much bigger product, the workbook.  We didn't receive digital access, teacher's manual or the manipulatives; without all of these we were a little bit in the dark on how to best utilize this program.

From page 1 I realized that without a teachers guide I had no way to know what she was supposed to do on the first part of every one of the 20 lessons, so I went online to see if I could buy the Teacher's manual to help me use this product more effectively, their website is entirely geared to public school teachers or administrators, so as a homeschooler I couldn't even access most of it.  As far as I could tell the only way to get the TM was in a big expensive classroom package that cost over $500 dollars, not happening.  So Sissy and I decided to just muddle through.  I noticed immediately that it was a little on the easy side for Sis and she hasn't even officially started K yet, she whizzed right through the lessons.  She didn't really need a lot of review, but for the child who does this product would leave you needing more; there is little to no review in this product.

Did we like it?  Yes and no.  It is not user friendly for the homeschooler, nor is it very affordable.  As far as I could tell the workbook that we received was around $35 w/digital access.  I can't tell you if the digital access is helpful because I didn't receive access to it, but maybe that is where the review for the lessons is introduced, I don't know.  I can say that Sissy loved the book, the bold colors really engaged her.  She loved the more visual approach and enjoyed doing her math each day.

Sissy and I weren't the only ones who reviewed this product, so head over here to see what others had to say about Pearson Education's products.

Christi

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{I received the aforementioned workbook for the purpose of review.  I did not receive any other compensation and was not required to write a positive review.}

Bunch of fun pics! Part 3

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Christi

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Bunch of fun pics! Part 2

Ok, here's a few more that I've taken over the last week.  We made another trip to the infamous snake infested waterfall, this time we took Dad to protect the kids as Mom proved to be a failure.  No snakes were seen and no children were sacrificed, it was a good day.

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This is actually taken next to the waterfall, the limestone is all undercut and just beautiful.  I could really picture someone camping in this area in the old days.  It just had that look of a perfect place of safety for someone traveling west; a pool, waterfall and a flat place to make camp.  I probably read too many history books, but it just got my imagination sparking!  Our area is known for being the stomping grounds of Jesse James and Cole Younger, it really gets the imagination going.

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A rare, true smile from my beautiful second born.  He's at that age where he's either cheesin' or hidin' , I love that I caught this beautiful smile.

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I just love how the sunlight is giving him a glowing outline.  He brought the baseball bat to fight off any attack snakes, but rest assured no snakes were harmed on this outing.

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Christi

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Bunch of fun pics! Part 1

Yes, I've lost my way again.  I don't know what its wrong with me but I can't seem to focus on blogging or really anything right now, my mind is all over the place.  I'm not giving up on my 365 Project, but I'm definitely struggling.  I'm just gonna post a few pics and then grab the current day and run with it.

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 I may have to switch to just weekly postings, but I'm gonna do my level best to catch up and post daily from here on out.  We'll see.

Christi

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Mad Dog Math-TOS Review

As a member of the TOS Crew I received a really cool math product.  I know, cool and math don't usually go together in the same sentence, but Mad Dog Math defies the usual.  When a child asks to do a math program you know you've found a winner.

Mad Dog Math is a drill software that helps your child succeed with their basic math facts.  This isn't the math that you'll never use again, this is the math that we all use everyday!!!  Basic addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.  It is an awesome supplement to any math program.

From the website:

	Enables children to master their +, -, x, and ÷ facts in a fun challenging, exciting, and motivating way
	Math supplement for any math curriculum
	For grades K through 5th; remedial middle school and high school
	Standard, daily 10 minute time commitment from start to finish
	Huge body of math facts broken down into bite-sized pieces any child can master
	Applied system that works in every classroom and in every home
	Students, teachers, and parents LOVE it

The program has a fun approach, that encourages your child to work for mastery, by giving them goals and awards.  My son loved this program and asked to do it often.  I loved the ease of download and use.  We had absolutely no problem using this product and ran into absolutely no glitches.  Cool, huh!

There are 3 ways for you to have this fun and interesting software.

1year license for $19.99

2year license for $29.99

Perpetual license for $39.99

All are a great deal depending on your needs.  I have a 7 and 5 year old so the perpetual license would work great for me.  If your only working on perfecting skills in an older child the one or two year might be a better plan for you.  Very affordable.

Don't just take my word for it, head over here to see what the rest of the crew thought.

Christi

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{I was provided a download of Mad Dog math for the purpose of review.  I received no other compensation and was not required to write a positive review}

Project 365/128*-Water droplets

We had a heavy dew after a really cold night and everything looked gilded.  I was laying on the ground taking these.  I'm so glad that they turned out as cool as I pictured.

Christi

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Days with my kids

When I haven't been working the last two weeks, I've been trying to spend quality time with my kids. We've gone to the zoo, walking trails or just played around outside. Here's a couple pics of the last two weeks.

Rylan has discovered a love of kite flying.  The sky was so pretty that day, it looked like he was in front of a portrait.

 Playing in the creek at the conservation area is always a big favorite with my kids. 

Sissy, of course; picked this horse on the carousel because of his pretty flowered saddle.  She is a girly girl to her very core.

I love how you can see the reflection of the tree in the creek, I think it's really pretty.

Daisies are such a happy flower, this was in the beginnings of the butterfly garden at the zoo.  This is SOOC, I thought it turned out pretty.

 We went in search of a waterfall that we can see from the road on our way to Taekwondo.  We had a small incident with a snake where I proved that I might not be the best example of motherhood, but everyone survived without injury. To make a long story short, unbeknownst to me at the bottom of the hill I stepped on a snake while I was looking around, didn't just step on it; stood on it.  I happened to glance down and saw this tail flopping around, I freaked!!!  I jumped, screamed and ran; leaving my kids behind.  No, I didn't consciously leave them as bait; I'm pretty sure when I saw that tail flopping around I lost all ability to have conscious thought.  I will never live it down, of course I told everyone, it was the most excitement we'd had in a while! Besides all that, the waterfall was really cool and we'll definitely be heading back.  Suffice it to say that we'll be beating the ground in front of us, if I step on another snake I might never go off trail again.

Out in front of our house we have a beautiful bird's nest and the momma was sitting on her eggs.  I don't think they ever got a chance to hatch, when we checked on them a couple days later one egg was missing and the other was broken.  Sad, the kids really wanted to watch her take care of her babies.  Luckily I was able to get a couple of photos.

Christi

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