Let's Make a Web Page Review

We were blessed to receive a 60 page Ebook from Motherboard Books called Let's Make a Webpage!. Let's Make a Webpage is designed for kids 8-12 years old. We did have to download a copy of the free trial version of The Coffee Cup Visual Site Designer software (you can get a FREE 30 day download, but after that it costs $49.00 in addition to the cost of the Let's Make a Webpage! Ebook) to make the web page. We had no issues with downloading this product, in the past we have had a few computer glitches when we have gotten download version of computer programs. BUT NOT with MotherboardBooks.com! This was simple to use. This was a super easy process for our 12 year old. I did nothing but tell him where to find the links in the Crew Review email, he did the rest. He made a very cute web page to surprise his dad. I think kids around 9 and under would need some adult supervision with this.

Let's Make a Webpage! software is compatible with Windows XP, Vista, and later (sorry this does not work with Mac). Purchase price is $19.95.

Let's Make a Webpage! Ebook includes the following:

interview a person
download and set up the program
add text to a web page
create a table
put pictures on
how to add animations from the Internet
check browser, background and photos
add sound
add links
Post work
Upload to the Internet

 

What this homeschool Momma liked about Let's Make a Webpage!
taught independence (working alone, figuring things out)
taught creativity (coming up with backgrounds, sounds, pictures)
taught life skills (interviewing, talking, asking questions)
was a fun learning tool for learning as well as creativity

What this homeschool Momma did not like about Let's Make a Webpage!
It was pretty short, wish it had more to it. I do think it was worth the price. You have to use The Coffee Cup Visual Site Designer software (you can get a FREE 30 day download, but after that it costs $49.00 in addition to the  Let's Make a Webpage! Ebook).

What this homeschool student liked about Let's Make a Webpage!
I liked how it told me how to do something, but not exactly what to do (I had to think it through myself).
I liked how I could make it my homepage (I surprised my dad with it when he got on the computer).
I thought it was pretty cool to design my own web page.
I did have fun with this review.

What this homeschool student did not like about Let's Make a Webpage!
I am at the upper age limits for this product, so it was pretty easy for me, but I think it would take some effort on the part of younger kids to use. Mom or Dad would definitely need to help the younger student.
I did not like how you had to buy other software to keep making more web pages. Mom talks about that software above.

So here you have it! A great way for your child to learn how to design their own webpage!
 

 

10 Most Annoying Homechool Questions Ever Asked

This was written by a homeschool mom of 2, named Brenda over at the Homeschool Diaries blog.
10 Most Annoying Homeschool Questions Ever Asked.

I got a few laughs out of it myself  :O)

 

Memorial Day...This says it all.

Memorial Day...This says it all.

What do your kids know about Memorial Day?

Is it just another day to have a BBQ?

 

Review of Joyce Herzog's Budding Authors & 6 Weeks to Understanding Grammar

Joyce Herzog is an accomplished author and speaker of many resources for homeschoolers. I've seen her speak a number of times at homeschool conventions on a variety of topics. She is a real gem to say the least. We were given copies of the Budding Authors series to review for The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew. Now let me start out by saying that I am so use to using Turn Key Operation homeschooling materials, this left me a bit out there. I like to see Day 1 we do this, Day 2 we do that. We are not in Kansas anymore Toto...lol. But this material was very easy to follow despite my worries and fears...lol. We used this material with our 12 year old 7th grader.
The first book is Step Into Writing Budding Authors in the Budding Authors series and is $10.00. The second book Step On Into Writing Budding Authors in the Budding Authors series is also $10.00. Both stressed the importance of using your best penmanship, punctuation and work spacing. Your students daily work should take around 10 minutes at most. This book is suppose to contain dictionary pages, which I did not find in the book. I really liked the idea of C,P,S, paper. Each page has a section off to the side marked with those letters. Once the child is done writing, they know to check for C=Capitalization, P=Punctuation and S=Spelling. Even though we did not use this book (it was too easy for our 7th grader) I plan to implement the use of the C,P,S, system since it's easy for our son to forget to go back and look over his work.

I really liked the quote in the book "Do not expect your learner to correct and concentrate on all skills at once!" Oh, as homeschool mommas we all need to hear that sometimes, don't we? Many times we expect way too much from our kiddo's in the area of picking up on concepts and them putting them to use.

These first two books are set up with copy work, dictation (love that, helps kids to learn to listen), experience story in which the parent and child discuss the picture that is on the writing page. The child tells you the story and you write it out in their own words in the first book, the second book you do the same thing except the child writes out the story.

We started out with book number three Adventures In Writing Budding Authors in the Budding Authors series which is $10.00. This book concentrates on "Writing short stories in a single paragraph." Again each page has a picture to look at to get an idea and then there are word boxes to help the student write the story. Later on there are blank word boxes for the child to get key word ideas down first before writing the story.

We also got book number four Then and Now Budding Authors in the Budding Authors series which is $12.00. Your student will learn to "Write comparisons in two paragraphs." This book has a note to the reader with a touching story of how the book came into being. This book teaches what a good paragraph is, ordering of ideas, using 3x5 index cards to get ideas down and in order. Your student will learn thinking, organizing and writing skills through the use of this book.

We did not get to the Writing U.S. History Budding Authors in the Budding Authors series yet, but plan to work through it this summer. This book is $15.00 and gives a quick overview of how to take notes on 3x5 index cards and work on researching topics and writing them. There is a letter to the student (I think that this helps the student to feel important and take ownership of the material) giving details of how this book is laid out and what is expected of the student. After glancing through this book I can now see where our former curriculum went wrong! It was not detailed enough and expected way too much from the student too soon.

We are very pleased to be able to use these materials from Joyce Herzog and I totally recommend these to any homeschooler, but especially to those that have struggling writers, they can become budding authors through using Joyce Herzog's materials.

We were also given a copy of 6 Weeks to Understanding Grammar to review. WOW!!! What a little book this is! It's like a Cliff Notes book for grammar. We loved this! The only thing that I found a problem with was that on page 12 there is a partial sentence and the rest of the paragraph is missing. I think that this little book would be a great study companion for the SAT/ACT testing. It's definitely worth the $12 for your student!

 

The Joyce Herzog website has a lot of great links and explanations about her books on it. If you even have the chance to hear Joyce Herzog speak do it. I've come away with so much from her talks.

 

We did not find anything in this review that we did not like. We had fun and our son learned how to write and form well read paragraphs. Thanks TOS Review Crew for another fun learning experience.