Clued in Kids: A TOS Crew Review

One of the things I really like about homeschooling is that we can make our school days fun!  We can even make learning a game! My girls love it when they can be having fun and learning too.  When games are used as learning tools, they are the most enthusiastic learners you could ever meet!  That's why I was excited when we were given the opportunity to review products from Clued in Kids.
 For this review, we received 2 products, Multiplication Dragons, which is like a 5-in-1 product, and Happy Tummy Treasure Hunt.

We had been doing nutrition anyway so this was a fun way to introduce more nutrition facts. At the time of posting, Multiplication Dragons costs $19.99, and Happy Tummy Treasure Hunt is $5.99. As for age ranges, it really depends on where your child is at. Happy Tummy can be for any age, but Multiplication Dragons is most suited for around ages 7-9 again, depending on your child’s skills, since math isn't one of Princess Belle's strong suits, I found it a fun way to refresh her times tables.

I received a PDF printable that I downloaded and printed each treasure hunt out for my kids (mostly for Princess Belle but the girls had fun watching her and want to do one themselves now!). You can use these treasure hunts with anywhere from 1-10 kids. Most of the treasure hunts are from ages 4 and up. These are set up to use as a one day activity with each set.  Clued In Kids treasure hunts contain a number of clues with activities or puzzles that need to be solved. When they are solved, the location of the next clue is revealed. This is repeated until the treasure is found. There are many different treasure hunts, most are printable, but there are a couple of physical sets that can be purchased and would be great for parties or gifts. You can use the PDF printables over and over once you purchase the set. Clued In Kids also has a physical set which are intended for a 1 time use.

Clued in Kids is a company that makes learning fun, easy and engaging.  They do this by creating a wide variety of Treasure Hunts.  (Check out this video to see one in action)
Some of their printable PDF treasure hunts are:

• Halloween Treasure Hunt  
• Thanksgiving Treasure Hunt  
• Winter Treasure Hunt
• Nutrition-Themed (for Allergies, ADHD, etc.): Happy Tummy Treasure Hunt
  Gluten Free Treasure Hunt
• Educational Related: Homework Reward Treasure Hunt
  Multiplication Dragons (this is a series of 5 treasure hunts, teaching the 2x-6x tables)
• Sports: Baseball Treasure Hunt
  Soccer Treasure Hunt

They also have preprinted ones (even some in a greeting card, that you could mail to a friend or family member.)
Christmas Treasure Hunt In A Greeting Card
Playdate
Pirate
Princess
Slumber Party

The Happy Tummy hunt that we were given, is a printable hunt that gives lessons on nutrition and diet while the five Multiplication treasure hunts, designed for 7 to 9 year olds, includes multiplication based quizzes. It is also a printable treasure hunt. There are many other fun hunts to choose from on their website as well.

The Happy Tummy Printable Treasure Hunt is great for all kids but it is especially suitable for children with various food restrictions -- allergies, GAPS diet, gluten-free, etc. This treasure hunt was a wonderful introduction to nutrition and digestion. The clues in this hunt covered the basic parts of the digestive tract, how the digestive system converts food into energy,  how vitamins help your body, unhealthy food options, how nutrients are absorbed in the small intestine, and more.

The printable treasure hunts are easy to set up, and they come with an ‘answer’ sheet that tells you where to hid each clue, so you will never forget where you put the clues. This also makes setting up so quick and easy.

The Multiplication Dragons set contains separate treasure hunts for each times table from 2x up to 6x. These hunts a jammed packed with fun activities to help teach multiplication. And, it was really fast to set up,  printing out the treasure hunt clues, cutting them apart and hiding them took less than 10 minutes, a fact that this busy mama appreciates!

The Multiplication Dragons is for ages 7-9 to help them retain multiplication facts. My daughter is 12, in 7th grade, has autism and has difficulties with math (she gets intimidated by it), but Princess Belle had fun running from one place to another all over the house. The game of it made her forget that she was reviewing her math.  It took her about an hour to complete the treasure hunt. This was a lot of fun and was a  real hit in our house. I loved how much fun she has while learning at the same time. The great thing is that with the printable ones, is that we can print them out again and do them again with the little girls.

Details At a Glance!!
Name: Clued In Kids
Website: Clued in Kids
Product:  5 Multiplication Treasure Hunts and the Happy Tummy Treasure Hunt
Price: Happy Tummy Treasure Hunt is $5.99 and the 5 Multiplication Treasure Hunts is currently on sale for $19.99
Ages: Wide variety of ages

We had a lot of fun with these! They are a great way to have some fun easy “work” for school. Clued In Kids offers many other Treasure Hunts, including ones corresponding to most major holidays. They'd be perfect fun activities for any elementary aged child!

Clued In Kids on Social Media

Twitter: @cluedinkids
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cluedinkids
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/cluedinkids/

TOS Crew Review: Preschoolers and Peace E-book

I was thrilled to be given the opportunity to review Preschoolers and Peace: Homeschooling older kids with success while loving the little ones at your feet by Kendra Fletcher.  I have enjoyed Preschoolers and Peace for a long time and last year I was even given the chance to review Circle Time by Kendra Fletcher. I found many great strategies in the book which gave ideas on how to get my children interested and creating circle time that works, and so when I was asked to review Preschoolers and Peace: Homeschooling older kids with success while loving the little ones at your feet I was thrilled to agree.

Even though I have been homeschooling for quite a few years, I am always learning and modifying how we do things in our house. Reviewing  Preschoolers and Peace: Homeschooling older kids with success while loving the little ones at your feet ($2.99 in Kindle format) by Kendra Fletcher of Preschoolers and Peace was perfect timing as I have been struggling to find a balance when homeschooling multiple ages as I have  a 7th grade child, a grade 1 child and a child in kindergarten while attending to a 2 1/2 year old boy with autism. For me it has been a challenge to find the right schedules and routines that work for us, so this book was the perfect fit for me.

Kendra Fletcher is funny, real, and a real life homeschooling mom of 8 (6 of whom are still at home). Kendra and her husband, Fletch, run Homeschooling IRL, including a podcast on the Homeschool Radio Network. And make sure you check that out the Homeschooling IRL Facebook page.  These are real people, talking about real issues, not picture-perfect homeschool families.  You can find Kendra on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google +, and YouTube.


I received a PDF copy of the ebook Preschoolers and Peace:  Homeschooling Older Kids with Success While Loving the Little Ones at Your Feet.  This ebook contains information from some of the most popular posts on the Preschoolers and Peace blog and the author, Kendra Fletcher, describes this book as a “best of” the Preschoolers and Peace website put into ebook format..  Preschoolers and Peace:  Homeschooling Older Kids with Success While Loving the Little Ones at Your Feet sells for $2.99 and contains an immense amount of helpful knowledge in thirteen short, easy-to-read chapters.  You’ll find how to run a household and homeschool when you have young children within those chapters and the “Resources” section at the end of the book contains links to articles related to each chapter for further reading.

Here’s a peek at the Table of Contents:

• Introduction
• Ch. 1 What a Homeschooling Mom Needs
• Ch. 2 Preparing Yourself to Homeschool Older Kids With Little Ones Underfoot
• Ch. 3 Planning Around Preschoolers
• Ch. 4 How Do I Keep Them Busy?
• Ch. 5 What Does a 2-Year-Old’s Day Look Like?
• Ch. 6 How Do I Get Any Preschooling Done?
• Ch. 7 How Not to Just Kill Time
• Ch. 8 Circle Time, Or How We Pull the Little Ones In
• Ch. 9 Preschool Boys
• Ch. 10 When All of Your Kiddos Are Preschoolers
• Ch. 11 Preschool Chores
• Ch. 12 Planning for Preschool
• Ch. 13 When Mama is Worn Out (or Pregnant)
• Meal Planning 101
• A Final Word of Encouragement
• Resources

Counting the resource pages, the ebook comes in at under 50 pages. However, the length is perfect for showcasing not only the issues which confront a homeschooling parent with preschoolers at home but also shares practical advice for getting control over what could be an out of control environment.  Many of the chapters are about establishing a routine with little ones and offer lots of ideas for ways to get the most out of their early years, making it helpful for any mom of young children, regardless of whether or not she has older ones as well.

Before I even read this book, there were several chapter that piqued my interest, specifically “How Do I Keep Them Busy?”; “When Mama is Worn Out (or Pregnant)” (since I am SO overwhelmed and tired lately); and “Preschool Chores″ (Right now, nobody, other than me, does any chores and a little help would be lovely!). But that being said, I was completely enthralled with the entire book. It’s a very quick read but it was full of wonderful with ideas.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I really like that Kendra shares sample routines that have worked for her family during different stages.  There are lists of ideas, many are things you are likely to already have in your home or can find inexpensively. I LOVED the long list of suggested activities and things for your little ones to do with ideas range from room time/crib time to creating certain days for your big toys.  The room time/crib time is just what is sounds like, learning to spend time in their room or bed, quietly entertaining themselves.  So for me, taking advantage of the times that Little Prince likes to spend in his room is a great hint!

Preschoolers and Peace: Homeschooling older kids with success while loving the little ones at your feet is an easy read.  Kendra's writing style is very easy to read and relate to.  I guess that's why I've been such a huge fan of her blog for so long!  I recommend this book to any homeschool mom with little ones (whether you have older ones as well or not!)

Preschoolers and Peace on Social Media
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PreschoolersandPeace
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KendraEFletcher
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/kenj/
Google+: https://plus.google.com/+KendraFletcher/posts
You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/user/preschoolersandpeace
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TOS Review - Happy Kids Songs

Recently, I was happy to be given the opportunity to review Happy Kids Songs Workbook: Hands-On Activities to Build Character, Social And Emotional Skills (Retail price $13.95, currently available for $12.56)
from Happy Kids Songs. Additionally, I received 15 songs total as music downloads from three of their eight available CD sets. The music is by Dr. Mac and Friends and are sung by children and adults. Each set is available for $4.95, or .99 per song:

Friends and Sharing (Set 1)

Happiness and Attitude (Set 5)

Manners and Character (Set 6)

The book and CDs are geared toward children ages 3-8, but don't be surprised if children 0-9 also enjoy them. Since, they are music and my family is very musically oriented even Little Prince and Princess Belle enjoyed them!  And since social skills are an issue in my house, I love these!! 

It was easy for me to download the music and then play the songs while I worked around the house.  The girls would listen to the music, sing along (loudly and enthusiastically LOL) and even dance a little. 

Happy Kids Songs  is a product that is truly aptly named, because the three downloadable MP3 sets I received, indeed, contain quality, upbeat music to teach social and emotional skills to children from three to eight years old. They have produced eight albums covering a variety of topics such as talking, listening, bullying, fears, sharing, happiness, attitude, and more.

Some of the songs are sung by grown-ups and some by children.  Each is only a couple minutes along with clear, easy-to-sing along with lyrics.  So my girls could understand the message of the songs while enjoying the fun of music.  Since my little Princess Magpie is a thinker, it was fun to hear and be a part the conversations inspired by the songs.

The approximately 80-page workbook was really fun and had activities that corresponded to the songs to reinforce the lessons learned about character, friendship, manners, sharing, talking, and listening and more appropriate social behavior and socialization skills. The workbook covers all eight albums, including a total of 40 songs.
  Happy Kids Songs is on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

Overall, this was a success in our home, I loved that the tunes were catchy and stick in your head, I love the lessons and I enjoyed the conversations they inspired. 

Happy Kids Songs are available to download for $4.95 per album (or $0.99 per song). The Happy Kids Songs workbook has a retail price of $13.95 (currently $12.56).   To decide if the songs are a good fit for your family, we'd recommend listening to the samples available here and signing up for the free song and activities here.  

Many of us on the TOS Crew reviewed Happy Kids Songs. Check out what others thought on the Review Crew Blog. 
 
 

LearningWrapups.com (TOS Review)

I was excited to be given a chance to review the full online family subscription for levels K-5 from LearningPalette. LearningPalette.com is an online product of Learning Wrap-Ups.  It is a subscription program for children in grades K-5 that focuses on reading and math skills.  With over 7,000 questions, children work through one card after another answering questions or solving problems.
Learning Palette learning products can help students memorize facts and increase their speed. Learning Wrap Ups is a great product to practice and reinforce math skills.

This website is an online version of a physical card and manipulative activity. It covers math and reading skills for the K to 5 range.  There are 5 levels of math and 3 levels of reading skills. They include: numeration, geometry, algebra, probability, reading comprehension, word usage, grammar, vocabulary, and more!


The Learning Wrap Ups site has been recently updated to include a Homeschool Products category.  This simplifies navigation through the site to find products that are most approproriate for home learning use. Use the code HOMESCHOOL to receive a 20% discount on your purchase.

Developed by a 4th grade teacher to teach multiplication facts, her concept met with such great success that soon her principal was asking her to make Wrap-ups for other teachers in her school. This lead to working with a company that created the Wrap-ups that are known and well-used today.


I used the program mostly with Princess Magpie, who is five years old.  She absolutely adored it and felt like it was a fun game.  She was so enthusiastic that my four year old Princess Snifflefritz joiend in on the fun.

After we logged on, we have two options - Math and Reading.  (Each subject had 6 levels.  Each level had a title, each title has 12 "cards", and each card has 12 questions.)  When using the program, we would pick a “card” (which is a subject or topic in the appropriate range) and it gets put on the tray. Then we placed the colored discs in the cut outs all around the tray to indicate the location of the right answer. Maggie loved this and kept exclaiming, "I am good at this game!" which inspired her to do more and more and led to many requests to play "the colored circle game" again and again. 

She loved when we clicked the “check answers” option and saw that she had them all right, or mostly so.  Then we would move onto the next card, review the same card, or go back to the menu.The menu would indicate the ones we have completed which made it easier to continue when we came back. 

LearningPalette.com also provides a core curriculum correlations sheet.  These help correlate a certain area of math or reading with the card that will aid in learning that area.

The cost of LearningPalette.com is quite reasonable, especially with a special they have going on.  For a one year subscription- $60 for up to 5 users.  And don't forget, they are offering 20% off with the code - HOMESCHOOL!
 

We used LearningPalette.com 2-3 times a week.  We had a lot of fun using it  as a supplement to our regular curriculum. The program used very bright colours, which the girls loved.  I was impressed with the level of challenges and the straightforward way it was presented. This product is definitely a great way to help students reinforce Math and Reading common core concepts.  And anything that gets my girls excited to be learning and asking to be learning more is a hit in my books too! 

You can find Learning Wrap ups:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LearningWrapUpsInc

Twitter: https://twitter.com/2010Facts

Click here for a free demo of LearningPalette.com!

To read more reviews of LearningPalette.com including reviews of their physical products click the image below.

A Life in Balance ~ A Schoolhouse Crew Review

I was really excited when I recently given the chance to read and review the book  A Life in Balance by Frank Belgau and his son, Eric Belgau, and distributed by the Learning Breakthrough Program.. As a homeschooling mom with special needs children, I am always looking for ways to better teach my children, ways to fit my teaching into their learning styles.  The Learning Breakthrough Program is an alternative treatment for those who suffer from dyslexia, ADHD and other learning disabilities.  You see, “A Life in Balance” is a wonderful read, centering upon the memoirs of Frank Belgau, the man who actually developed the Learning Breakthrough Program. This account was as told to Eric Begau, Frank’s son, who wrote the book based on all of the things his father told him.It is currently available for $16.94.

The story tells of how Frank Belgau developed his brain training program.  Frank Belgau dedicated over 30 years researching, learning through trial and error, to develop a program that has changed the lives of thousands of children who have suffered from learning disabilities, attention disorders and other problems that interfere with learning.  He spent 10 years in the Air Force before becoming a teacher. After a short spell in a normal classroom he was asked to teach students who had been labeled as educable mentally retarded students. He was inspired by many of these so called “unteachable” children, as despite their limitations, they were extremely willing to learn.  The North Shore Students were such an inspiration. Frank with these North Shore Students Frank proved that you cannot expect children to want to read if you do not offer them reading matter that is of their age and interest level.


As the mom of a daughter with Autsim and a baby boy well on his way to a diagnosis of Autism, I am always interested in learning more about natural helps for children who have a different way of learning.  And I love that this program has proved valuable to people who have  different learning abilities like ADHD, Dyslexia, Autism Spectrum, Sensory Processing disorder, and many others.  The program describes the brain training method as aerobics or weight lifting for the brain. His program uses different physical activities to help the brain and the body develop and work better.  Frank in a way connected the dots over his lifetime of how the brain and the body are connected when it came to intelligence. He researched and tested different ways that he could help the brain and the body really connect better, and in turn work better.

I found this research and system fascinating. The book is easy to read.  The chapters are short and it was interesting to read. I really think both average learners and learners with special needs could benefit from his program and the book is appropriate for all parents and teachers to read.  It really reminded me of how important it is to get my kids outside and moving throughout the school day - and emphasized why that is so important! You can get this awesome book for $16.94 through the Learning Breakthrough Program.This book has definitely sparked an interest in me, I will continue to research this program.

Check out what others thought of this book by clicking on the link below.

Follow The Learning Breakthrough Program on Social Media

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LearningBreakthrough
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LearningBreak
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/LearningBreakthrough

Golden Prairie Press ~ {A TOS Review}

As a family that has always been fascinated by history, I was very happy to be given the opportunity to do a review of Golden Prairie Press   Digital Heroes & Heroines of the Past: American History Curriculum !  To do this review I received Heros and Heroines of the Past Part 1 and Part 2. Historical Skits Part 1, Sing Some History, Listen to Some History and Additional Material CD digital download.  We received all these as digital downloads. A Great American History Curriculum for Grades 1 – 6 , but it can be used for older children. 

When you purchase Digital Heroes & Heroines of the Past: American History Curriculum, you will receive (Price for all items received for this review  is $98.99):

• Heroes and Heroines of the Past: American History Part 1 ebook
• Heroes and Heroines of the Past: American History Part 2 ebook
• Additional Materials download – A cd with supplemental materials
• Historical Skits ebook
• Sing Some History CD
• U.S. History MP3 CD – a collection of 20 original speeches, poems and documents
• Answer Keys are provided

Digital Heroes and Heroines of the Past American History is a 30 week history curriculum that is designed for students in 1st grade through to the 6th grade.  Many of the lessons are broken up into two age levels. They are marked in the top left hand corner whether they are suited for grades 1 - 2 or 3 -6.

At the end of each lesson are questions, writing topics and a geography question. Some lessons have art activities and some have cooking activities. Many also have a timeline activity and a memory verse as well.

Though the chapters are short, they are very informative and educational. They read more like a book than a text book, making it more enjoyable for students.

At the end of each period of history, there is a list of additional recommended resources for those who are interested in exploring more.

Some basic supplies are needed:

• pencils
• paper
• crayons
• other standard school supplies
• additional craft or cooking supplies as listed in each lesson
• printer and ink to print timeline pages and maps
 

We used this curriculum about 4 days a week.  I enjoyed that the teachers guide shows you all of the available activities that you can do at the end of each lesson, but that not all are required. It made it easier to pick the things that would most capture Princess Belle's attention.  These activities really helped to bring the lessons to life for Princess Belle. And the singing was a huge hit!  My kids are nothing if not musical.

For our routine, we read the lesson together and then we discussed it further, while Princess Belle answered the questions. Then we did the activity we had chosen to do.  Even I learned from this, and that was fun for me!  In some of the lessons there is a reference to doing a skit which was a lot of fun for Princess Belle!  I even found her telling her little sisters about them later!

We thoroughly enjoyed using this American history curriculum!  This is an amazingly well researched US history for homeschoolers!  I love that it is a hands on type of learning and that I could just pick it up and go, without any time consuming lesson planning needed!  As a busy mom of four (2 of whom are special needs) I really appreciate that. 


To learn more visit the Golden Prairie Press website, please visit the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog to see what other homeschool parents thought about this curriculum by clicking on the banner below.




Facebook:   https://www.facebook.com/GoldenPrairiePress

TOS Crew Review: The Brinkman Adventures

Princess Belle loves adventures and we both love homeschooling...so when we were the opportunity to receive The Brinkman Adventures audio-drama about a homeschooling family and some adventures they experienced, we were both really excited. We received a digital download ofThe Brinkman Adventures Season 2: Episodes 13-24.

The Brinkman Adventures operates on a donation basis. The suggested price is $25.00 or $17.00 for the digital downloads.  The set includes 4 CD's which includes 12 episodes and 5 + hours of listening pleasure.

The dramas are stories for all ages, so they can be enjoyed by the whole family together.  Occasionally an episode will specify (on the recording) that it would be best for ages 10 and up due to intense situations.

You can listen to a sample of The Brinkman Adventures.  You can also learn more about the story behind each episode but you may want to listen to them first so the ending isn't spoiled!  I needed to download the digital files as either mp3s or mp4s to be able to play them on my computer.  I just downloaded them to my computer and played them through my media player, while Princess Belle on the couch and listened with headphones on. 




The Brinkman Adventures are family audio dramas made by a Christian family.  The Brinkmans have mom and dad and 9 children.  Princess Belle loved that their family was even bigger than ours and was totally thrilled to learn that the kids all play themselves!  She loved the idea that she was listening to the actual kids who went through the adventures.  She didn't care at all that the mom and dad are played by actors.

We were introduced to the Brinkmans in their second season, but I didn’t feel like we had missed any vital information not having heard season one.  I would suggest listening to the episodes in order because some story lines carry over from story to story.  Even without the first season, Princess Belle thoroughly enjoyed the stories, the acting, the sound effects, and the music.  The stories are compelling, exciting, and educational.  After she finished listening she insisted on going to the web page so that she could see the stories behind the stories.  And each episode is about fifteen minutes long- making them perfect for a little time to relax and listen after we finished our other homeschool world. Two of the episodes have two parts, a continuation in the following episode, which Princess Belle insisted on listening to all at once. LOL

The stories all weave in the family interacting with missionaries.  We travel to different countries and different time periods.  Sometimes when a missionary is telling a story, the drama goes back in time and acts out that story.  Princess Belle would often stop the Mp3 for a moment so that she could repeat some cute or interesting thing that she had heard. 

Each of the stories are based on real life missionary stories. Princess Belle enjoyed the stories while learning about topics such as witnessing in Muslim countries, Bible smuggling, rescuing children in slave trades, and searching for Mayan treasures.  There is an amazing amount of information and excitment packed into the stories - everything from famous people, character building, geography, vocabulary, and historical facts.  My kids love learning about different countries and cultures, so it was fun for Princess Belle to realize that these stories take place all over the world: China, Mexico, Belize, and even a fictitious middle Eastern country called Bazakistan.  And I really loved that wonderful lessons such as doing hard work and not complaining. 

Overall, I am really happy to have had this opportunity to review Season 2 of The Brinkman Adventures! Princess Belle thoroughly enjoyed these amazing missionary stories. I highly recommend this wonderful series to any family who have the desire to teach their children about missions through highly captivating, true life missionary stories. You will not be disappointed with The Brinkman Adventures!

Check them out on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Brinkman-Adventures/152895116079 and click the banner below to read what other crew mates had to say about them. 

TOS Review: Supercharged Science Online

I was excited when I was given the opportunity to review an e-Science  Premium Membership from Supercharged Science.   I received a six-month subscription to the full site. Supercharged Science is an online science learning program which is jam packed full of fun and exciting, self-guided hands-on science experiments that you can complete in your own home.

The teacher, Aurora Lipper, who is a mechanical engineer, pilot, astronomer, university instructor, scientist and homeschool teacher and mother, has a way of making science come to life in her simple and easy to follow videos and step by step instructions. The cost of the e-Science Premium Membership is $37 a month (for K-8) or $57 a month (for K-12) the advanced Grade 5 and up and High School level program. This review covers the K-12 level.

I used this with Princess Magpie who is in Kindergarten and Princess Belle who is in Grade 6. But I have to admit, Princess Snifflefritz who is only 4 got in on the action too.  The experiments were too much fun for her to miss out on.  Actually after we finished an experiment they could be heard in their room pretending to do more experiments.  LOL, what a fun way to learn!

I liked how I was able to integrate the experiments with the curriculum I was already using with Princess Belle.  There were two experiments with celery that we really enjoyed!  So with Princess Belle I used the experiments to illustrate the things we were learning and with Princess Magpie, I used it as a complete science curriculum and in each case it worked perfectly and the kids were inspired to continue learning about science because of the fun they were having.

In this science curriculum you are provided with:

• classroom style lessons and demonstrations
• over 800 experiments, projects and activities
• online textbook readings for the older students
• exercises and quizzes
• and more – if you’d like to learn more you can take a look at a longer explanation here.

There are a number of different ways to use the program.  You can let the student choose a topic that sounds interesting and dive into learning. Or you can choose to do grade appropriate material because the topics have been organized by grades, dividing them into the categories most commonly taught to each grade level (this is what I did with Princess Magpie).  With Princess Belle I used the program by searching by topic.  I wanted to choose the topics that best fit with the place we were in our other curriculum.  Supercharged Science has a conversion chart that lists many popular science curricula, and it matches the book topics with experiments available on the website. And, if your science book of choice is not on the list, they offer to match up experiments with your book for you!!!

This hands on science is a great fit for my girls.  They thoroughly enjoyed the lessons and were excited by the experiments. I really liked all the tools (the videos, the text, the quizzes) that are available to help you use the site effectively as well as the Getting Started page and there is also a wonderful a User's Guide available to help you make the most of everything available.

The creators of Supercharged Science are offering a Free Copy of the Science Activity Video Series and Guidebook. Aurora has also included a few extra bonuses for you! Here is a link to another set of free Science Activities. You can also gain access to the whole website for only $1 (this is good for one month of access)!

Vendor: Supercharged Science
Product Name:  e-Science Premium Membership
Received: a six month e-Science Premium Membership online subscription
For use: Free Copy of the Science Activity Video Series and Guidebook.
Age Range: This resource is intended for all grade levels (K-12).
Price: K-8 students, the membership is $37 per month, add highschool $57/month

Social Media Links for Supercharged Science.

Facebook
Twitter
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Pinterest
Google+
Supercharged Science Blog

Please Click on the Banner below to see what other reviewers thought of this program.

A TOS Review: ScienceandMath.Com – Mastering 5th Grade Math – Volume 1 – Essentials of Fractions

Since Princess Belle has been working on fractions, I was excited when ScienceandMath.Com gave me the chance to do a review of  Mastering 5th Grade Math – Volume 1 – Essentials of Fractions.  Up until this year, math has been a real struggle for Princess Belle and so I am always on the lookout for new ways to help her understand math better.  And the idea of ScienceandMath.com offering a variety of Math and Science DVD's to help you teach and reinforce specific areas in both of these subjects really sounded good to me.  The fact that it arrived right in the middle of our unit on fractions was perfect timing for us!


I received the physical product of Mastering 5th Grade Math – Volume 1 – Essentials of Fractions. This included a DVD package of 2 cd's. Disk one includes the lessons to play in your DVD player and has step by step lessons and instructions for the 16 lessons. The second disk has the lesson worksheets and answers key.

This Video Series is suggested for use with grades 4th-6th. The cost is $15.99 for a 2 set DVD. The second DVD contains all the lessons in mp4 format in addition to printable worksheets in PDF form.  There is also a downloadable version available for $14.99.  Both DVDs can be played in any player (mac, PC or DVD player) that is capable of playing a DVD.


We found the instructor, Jason Gibson, to be great at explaining and breaking down the steps for each concept.  And he really gave a complete and clear understanding of the idea of fractions in the 16 lesson DVD. This made things a lot easier for Princess Belle to understand.  As we approached the lessons which included topics like: writing fractions as words, finding factors of numbers, finding greatest common factors, improper fractions, mixed numbers and more.

Each lesson has an accompany worksheet, which can be found on the second DVD. The worksheets are colorful and clearly laid out. To experience every aspect of this lesson, be sure to check out the worksheet!

We made these lessons a part of our morning math lessons since we were already working on fractions. Belle is easily distracted but she did really well listening to the DVD and staying focused. I really feel that the short time frame helped with that. I also think that the way Jason even uses different colored markers for the various parts of the math problems helped to make things clear for Princess Belle. His manner of teaching made her feel confident and capable. 

When doing our lessons, we inserted the DVD in the computer and watched it together.  Then I printed off the worksheets for that lesson.  Princess Belle found the explanations very clear and was very quick to grasp the concepts , so I didn't find it necessary for her to complete every single problem on the worksheets, but it was good to have extras when she needed a little more practice.

I really like this program. I think it helped to give her a firm grasp on fractions.  I loved that Belle seemed to enjoy the lessons. The price is great too, especially for something like this that I feel is a huge value.   I really think that this product is not only great for homeschoolers, but it would be a fabulous resource for any math tutor who wants to help kids in a regular classroom that just need extra math help.  

You can actually receive the first lesson in this series FOR FREE! Now that sounds like a great way to check the whole thing out. 

Other math courses provided by http://www.scienceandmath.com/ include:

• Algebra 1 DVD Course (suggested for grades 7 and up -$26.99)
• Algebra 2 DVD Course ($26.99)
• Geometry/Trigonometry DVD Course ($26.99)
• A Science Experiment DVD  (suggested for grades 1-3 – $17.95) is also available and includes 23 experiments covering concepts such as heat, electricity, magnetism, chemistry, physics, and more!  
• ScienceandMath.com offers free sample lessons so you can see for yourself what the courses look like, as well as chances to download sample worksheets.

You can also find ScienceandMath.com on Facebook.


My Crewmates had several different options of video courses to review.  Please make sure to stop by and see what they thought of their lessons: