What are we teaching our pre-teens & teens about SEX??

This picture says it all, I had never really thought of it this way. What have you used to teach your children about abstinence? In our home we have talked about it since the very beginning. With our son being adopted, his birthparents were college students and that helped with explaining a lot of things. Our son had a pretty good understanding of single parenting and just how difficult life is for single parents and their children. We have used God's word in the book of Proverbs and the Song of Solomon. We have also talked about King David and his sin. 

Another of my favorites is called A Chickens Guide To Talking Turkey With Your Kids About Sex. I heard an interview on Focus On The Family with the authors and liked. Got it free from the library...check it out!

What have use used in your home regarding this topic?

SpellingCity.com Review

As homeschool product reviewers for The Old Schoolhouse Magazines TOS Review Crew we were given a Homeschool Membership to SpellingCity.com, it's a family membership for up to 5 students in our family. I had to giggle and reminisce back to the first years of our homeschool. We loved using SpellingCity.com, back in the day the homeschooled young man loved to play the free games and practice his spelling using the program. We had found our homeschool curriculum's spelling lists on the site and used those daily. Other times I would import my own lists for history, science and reading words. But there was something lacking in that whole process, now after using the Homeschool Membership of SpellingCity.com, I know exactly what it is. We were lacking accountability in knowing what was actually getting done, I just knew my homeschooler would tell me "I got X number wrong." or "I played this or that game."

Letter Fall game

With the Homeschool Membership you get so much more for your homeschool shopping dollar. SpellingCity.com has an age range of K-12th grade, but I played around with some of the games and had a lot of fun, though I struggled with the Letter Fall game, the homeschool young man LOVED that game and played it a lot.

When you sign up and start the Homeschool Membership, you as the homeschool Momma type in the students' names, it's that easy! Then when your students sign on to SpellingCity.com, they just log in and they will automatically go to your parent homepage.
All activities done on SpellingCity.com will be recorded for you to later view in your parent account. Spelling test results will be right there for you to see and are recorded including the score
              as well as the words that were spelled right or wrong.

I allowed the homeschooling young man to goof around on the site and find what he wanted to work on and he found some pretty cool areas that I did not even know existed on the site. He came across some very COOL science vocab lists that are by grade and by subject, as well as GERMAN word lists. Now how cool is that? He was messing around with those German word lists day and night, big thrill for him since he is taking German this year. The other games that he really liked were Hang Mouse and Word Scramble.

Word-O-Rama game

I do have one hint for you, coming from a homeschooling family that has used SpellingCity.com in the past, MAKE SURE THAT YOUR CHILD USES THE CORRECT ACCOUNT THAT IS HOOKED UP TO YOUR PARENT ACCOUNT! At first I could not figure our why things were not being recorded in my parent account, I figured that I (not being tech savvy in the least!) had goofed something up. Well come to find out the homeschooling young man was going in and doing activities on his personal account, he was so use to entering in his (free account) info, that it never dawned on him that he was using the wrong account. And ya know how us homeschool mothers get busy...lol. We finally got it straightened out.

Flash Card

"Differentiated Learning": you can assign different tasks to each of your children

"Efficient record keeping": Great for states where homeschoolers must track their students because the tests results and student activities are recorded right away.

"

• *Set up year-round homeschool spelling word and vocabulary practice with our Word Study Playlists
• *Students can create and customize their own word lists
• *Receive immediate feedback on all games and tests
• *Review and assign learning activities to match your homeschool vocabulary curriculum
• *Easily review your child's work from the parent portal
• *Accessible anywhere

SpellingCity.com also offers Mobile Apps, and now they even offer an Android App and a Kindle app. We used the Kindle app and it worked really well.

All in all we had fun playing with the SpellingCity.com Homeschool Membership and I think we learned from using it too. Make sure you check out the FAQ section, lots of helpful info there and also a great video guide is on the site too.
P.S. SpellingCity.com comes in handy when homeschool Momma is busy and can't stop just right then and there, she can send her students to play on SpellingCity.com...lol. The kids won't even know they are learning, they will be having so much fun!! Also, SpellingCity.com is a great learning tool for homeschoolers. See SpellingCity.com for more information.

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VideoText Interactive Review-Homeschool Math Program

Please note that prices and offers may change after this blog post is published.
OK, so I have been just itching to tell you all about the VideoText Interactive review that we have done for the TOS Review Crew...I mean so many times I have started to brag about it in a blog post only to remember "I CAN'T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT VideoText Interactive TIL July!!" ARGH!! Sometimes being a reviewer is hard!! I just wanted to shout from the roof tops about VideoText Interactive. For all of our homeschool years we have used the spiral method for math, know what that is? Boring worktext pages with tons of math problems that you do each and every day. VideoText Interactive uses the mastery method so you keep moving forward as you learn the material. We were blessed to receive the use of VideoText Interactive Algebra A Complete Course for 3 years for the use of 2 students. Online Programs have a full 30-day money back guarantee. You can also request a FREE DVD sample (it's really nice, I got one).

VideoText Interactive is not new to our family, we have seen their booth many times over the years at homeschool conventions, but the price was totally out of reach for our family. $529 for the complete DVD set with textbooks was way out of our price range. BUT!!!! Now VideoText Interactive is available at a reasonable price for the online version, you get 3 full year courses for one price! You will get Pre-Algebra, Algebra 1 and Algebra 2 and you can use it with 2 students! Now if you want to add additional students, it's small added fee per student. Did I mention that you can try the full online program at no risk? VideoText Interactive offers a FULL 30 DAY MONEY BACK GUARANTEE! WOW!!  VideoText Interactive is for any ages from 6th grade student through adult, for more information on if your child is ready for this excellent math program click here to read the FAQ section VideoText Interactive FAQ #3. There are 170 lessons, course notes, student work text, solutions manuals, and progress tests all included and don't forget that you can use this for 2 students! Need to add on a 3rd or 4th student?

Don't laugh but I am hearing that age old slogan being yelled... 

"CALL NOW!! OPERATORS ARE STANDING BY,

CALL NOW!!"

Scope & Sequence Rational pdf has a lot of great information that can explain in detail better than I can about the actual program contents. The Algebra Schematic pdf is a very nice chart that explains in detail when and where each type of lesson is taught. For example when polynomials are taught (Unit 5) and when quadratic equations (Unit 8) are taught. Very nice set up and easy to follow.

I knew this program was for us when I read this on the website...
Remember, “It doesn’t have to be that hard when you use a video textbook!”

If you know me, you know I am a total math phobic! lol. To say the least! My thoughts are going crazy and around 90 mph about VideoText Interactive. This math program is the BOMB! The author Tom Clark has 46 years of experience teaching math and science, VideoText Interactive is a family affair with Tom's children, his brother and sister helping to bring the whole curriculum together. You can read more about the Clark family here on the About The Author page.

What this homeschool Momma liked about VideoText Interactive Algebra A Complete Course:

1) 3 full high school math classes for 1 money! You get Pre-Algebra, Algebra 1 and Algebra 2.
2) You can follow a 1 year, 2 year or 3 year program. So depending on the ability and needs of your student they can work at a faster or slower rate to make sure that they have the materials mastered.
3) EASY on the homeschool Momma (what more can I say about that  :O)
4) Tom Clark the author is AWESOME! He spent time talking me down off the cliff of homeschool Momma terrors! lol. What a man is all I can say!
5) Easy grading, no hoops to jump through.
6) Pretty much hands off for homeschool Momma, besides grading.
7) Wonderful people at the help line.
8) We had started out with our normal math company we had been using from the beginning and had a few struggles with me teaching it along the way. So I was really scared when we started Algebra A Complete Course from VideoText Interactive, but our homeschool young man picked right up on it and has been going strong since.
9) Our homeschool young man did 6 lessons per week (yeah, he wanted to work on Saturday too!) What on earth? lol.
10) No wasted printer paper, just print out daily worksheet, quizzes and tests. Easy on the printing budget!
11) I love that the guy on the video NEVER gets upset when the homeschool young man needs a repeat lesson or does not quite understand the lesson and needs to hear it again. That guy never sounds like a grouchy homeschool Momma who has to repeat herself! That guy is cheerful the first time he explains it and he is still cheerful the 3rd and 4th time if we have to repeat the video...lol.
12) I learned a very interesting fact from talking to Tom Clark on the phone, he told us that story problems are actually Algebra problems. No wonder the Homeschool young man struggled with story problems in the lower grades, he had not yet had Algebra. Now he is understanding them and actually likes the challenge of a good story problem. AMEN!!

What this homeschool Momma did not like about VideoText Interactive Algebra A Complete Course:

1) I love this program so much, but I did find a few things that needed tweaked. Nothing at all wrong with any of the teaching, it's high quality, laid out nicely and easy to learn.
2) The video looks a bit dated, there also needs to be more light shed on the subject. The video is very dim.
3) The solution manual seems to be in very small print, I can enlarge them, but then it's hard to scroll around the pages. If anyone knows a homeschool Momma, ya know she has bi-focals by homeschool year #3 and really needs tri-focals by homeschool year #6, but she ain't buyin' them! lol. But seriously the exponent numbers were really hard to see and sometimes I could not tell a division sign from a minus sign.
4) I would like to see the Progress Checklist be online instead of printed out, I don't know how many times we had to turn the house upside down to find that crazy sheet of paper that should have been in the homeschool Young Man's FOLDER!! But instead was nowhere to be found. lol.

What this homeschool Young Man liked about VideoText Interactive Algebra A Complete Course:

1) I liked how I could do 3 years of math in 1 year if I worked hard.
2) Made math fun!
3) Made math my favorite subject! Before we used the Spiral Method and I did not like having pages of boring math problems to do.
4) Wish homeschool Momma had bought this years ago at convention when she first saw it!
5) Glad that they have reduced the price so more homeschool kids can enjoy math.
6) I liked how the teacher made reducing fractions so much easier than the old way I learned.
7) Liked how easy it was to figure out how the program works, I just watch the video (pause to answer questions out loud/then listen to answers on video), read the course notes, do my assignment, grade it using the solutions manual, then usually a quiz the next day, after so many days a test. They even include graph paper to print out if needed.
8) Mr. Clark the author was fun to talk to on the phone.
9) Thanks to Mr. Clark I now like story problems, and the more complicated the better! I can understand them now. I use to cry in the younger grades when I struggled with them.
10) I am looking forward to the Geometry course.

What this homeschool Young Man did not like about VideoText Interactive Algebra A Complete Course:

1) I did not like the old look on the video screen.
2) I wish I could access the quizzes myself, since if Homeschool Momma was not home, Homeschool Daddy did not know the password.

So there you have it folks! An endorsement for VideoText Interactive Algebra A Complete Course, we are loving it and wish we had done this much sooner.

If you are done with Algebra and ready for Geometry, come on and check out the other TOS Crew Reviews as many received the VideoText Interactive Geometry A Complete Course that includes Geometry, Trigonometry and Pre-Calculus, 3 full high school math credits all in 1 affordable package! Just click the box below.

 

Home School In The Woods Lap-Pak Review

Please note that prices and offers may change after this blog post has been published.
We are SUPER CHARGED with excitement to share with you The 20th Century in America Lap-Pak for grades 3rd-8th from Home School In The Woods.

Hard at work? Or hardly working because this is so much FUN?

 We received a download version to review for The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew. Home School In The Woods also offers a CD versions too. You can find it here at 20th Century in America Lap-Pak.
　

Completed Home School In The Woods Lap-Pak for ages 3rd-8th grade is seen above and below is a list of what is included.

The 20th Century in America Lap-Pak comes with the following areas of study:

Newspapers & TV Media
Sports
Persons of importance
Conflicts around the world
Politics
Medical
Space travel
Art history
Architecture
Writers & books
Musical movements
Transportation
Historical events
Missionaries
Disasters
The Stock Market Crash
Science and Inventions
Food Trends of the 20^th Century
Clothing styles
Jargon of the 20^th Century
Timeline
WarsThe 20th Century in America Lap-Pak also comes with a booklet to make that contains more information about the history of the 20^th Century.





What this homeschool Momma did not like:

I failed to read the TEXT ASSIGNMENTS & PROJECT DIRECTIONS SHEET. I just jumped in and started printing everything off. Big goof! Some pages needed to be printed on colored paper and some needed to be printed back to back. My goof, but I think for us rushed home schooled Momma’s it would be great if on the main page we were told to read the TEXT ASSIGNMENTS & PROJECT DIRECTIONS SHEET. LOL...chalk this up to operator error and nothing against Home School In The Woods. I'm must showing that I am a real life person and do goof up!

I think this would be hard for younger kids to follow all the detailed instructions by themselves, so younger kids would need a lot of supervision with this, BUT I think it would be a great learning experience and lots of fun to work on together.

What this homeschool Momma liked:

I found that this Lap-Pak contained projects that work on the following skill sets including art, drawing and creative writing. This Lap-Pak allows the student to delve into fun topics all the while learning historical facts. Use of research skills and math skills (using measurements to make sure that the pieces went together correctly) were also used.

Our student got totally lost in this Lap-Pak, he would spent hours working on it. He was coloring, cutting, gluing, taping and putting brads on. I was so impressed by the work that he was doing. Following each direction to a T.

This was so cool! We used overhead projector transparencies to make windows for these.

 Our 12 year old 7^th grade student was able to work totally on his own with this.

Our student was thrilled with this Lap-Pak and wants to tackle The Civil War one next.

Our student did have some difficulty figuring out the photocopying of the back to back/back to front of pages, but I am putting that down under the “What I liked” section, because he learned how to use the copier and flip the pages over to photocopy on the backside. So I was very pleased that he learned some real life skills through this review. How many of us homeschool moms struggle with “which side do I put up in the paper tray, when we are making photo copies. (waving hand in the air)

This record player is the neatest thing! It spins and has different saying that show up.

What this homeschool student liked:"It was really a fun project.” “I liked the section on “Dining Through The Decades“, the recipes were fun and I liked learning about the different foods such as the Dagwood Sandwich.

Instructions were very detailed and easy to follow. I was able to complete the Lap-Pak during the review. Everything was explained step-by-step.

I really liked how the project shapes for each area corresponded with each area I was studying. For example, the “Medical Advances” used a syringe that you cut out and put together. You then pull the plunger up and a new medical advancement shows up in the window.

Fun way to learn history.

“I liked the fact that there was more to do than in an ordinary lap-book. I think that this Lap-Pak was made for older kids and was a lot of fun to do.

I want to review the Civil War Lap Pak next!

I plan to use this with my 4-H project this year too.

LOVED IT LOVED IT LOVED IT!

What this homeschool student did not likeI wish that there was an easier way to figure out how to photo copy the pages from front to back, I goofed several times and ran out of colored paper. I started to get frustrated and then finally figured it out. YEAH!



The Home School In The Woods Lap-Paks are fun and a great learning tool for your homeschool. There are several to choose from and lots of fun learning to be had by all ages. We are thankful to Home School In The Woods for allowing us this great learning opportunity to review The 20th Century in America Lap-Pak.