Category Archives: Uncategorized

Nov6

You are in for a doozy this week…

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You are in for a doozy this week…
You are in for a doozy this week…

I have a feeling that many of you must think that I love everything that I review.  Well, up until this week, I have really at least liked most of what I have reviewed.  I try to be really honest in my reviews and to find a few positive things for those that aren’t my favorite.  I figure what didn’t work for me, might still work for you.  Always read more that one review before making a decision on an item.  That ‘s why the TOS Crew is so awesome…lots of reviews on lots of items all in one place.  Have you been to the website to check it out?

Well, let’s just say that this week of reviews coming up is CHALLENGING….not only did it challenge me in writing the reviews, but it challenged me as a mom and Christian.  You will have to check out my review posts this week to see what I mean!

Not only are there 3 reviews coming up this week, but my Chickadeedee giveaway will be coming to close at the end of the week.  Make sure you take 2 minutes to enter for a chance to win a $20 gift certificate.

Have a great day and I look forward to you joining me for a crazy week…..

 

Nov1

I am shaking as I write this….

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I am shaking as I write this….

I am shaking as I am writing this. I was dragged kicking and screaming into this, and now I want you to join me!

Let me back up a couple of weeks…..

I posted on Facebook a couple weeks ago about exercising.  I asked “How do homeschool mom’s fit exercising into their day?  I am feeling like a blob!”

While I got some nice responses, I got myself sucked into a fitness challenge.  I have dreaded November 1st for a week now! November Shred has started.

If you are wondering what it is….a group of us are challenging ourselves to each do 30 days of Jillian Michaels’ 30 Day Shred Workout DVD.  The workouts are short (less than 30 minutes) but intense.

A group of us did it last September 2010…but I had to bow out about 6 days into it due to a medical issue (unrelated).

So here I am again, kicking and screaming, because my body is so out of shape it is going to kill me.  Ok, probably not, but I am still shaking from that first workout.

So as any good friend would do, I am asking you to join us! We have a closed group on FB where we check in each day.  All we ask you to do is be honest, accountable and encouraging.  If you leave me a comment on Facebook at my Home in the Trenches page I will ask my friend who sucked me in our fearless group leader to add you to the group!

Don’t worry if you don’t start today with us.  I bought the DVD at Target a year ago, they may still have it.  Also, I know that Amazon carries it.  Just let us know now that you are in and then start once you get your DVD!  WE would love to have you!!!!!!

Oct28

Classical Phonics and Reading by Memoria Press: A TOS Review

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Classical Phonics and Reading by Memoria Press: A TOS Review

Classical Phonics and Reading by Memoria Press: A TOS Review 

Sacha’s<25: A classical phonics and reading program which starts your child reading with the very first lesson.

Home in the Trenches Product Rating (out of 10 stars)

Is it worth our time?  8 stars
Did it help us learn? 8 stars
Is it worth the money? 8 stars
Is it useful to me?  8 stars
Practicality- 8 stars
Quality- 8 stars
Kid Rating- 9 stars

Straight from their website:

First Start Reading covers consonants, short vowels, 45 common words, and manuscript printing, accompanied by artist-drawn coloring pictures and drawing pages for every letter. Your child will begin reading in the very first lesson as he progresses through three student books and twentyfive phonetic stories, such as “Hogs and Pigs” and “Jog to the Jet.” A Teacher Manual guides you through the program and provides helpful assessments and teaching tips.

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Classical Phonics is a deceptively simple little book our teachers and families use constantly in both Kindergarten and first grade. It consists of phonetically-arranged word lists for students to practice their growing phonics skills. In a word list there are no context clues, so the learner must rely on his mastery of letter sounds. For instance, if your child can pronounce each word in this list correctly – pot, pat, pit, put, pet – he knows his short vowel sounds, and you can move on to long vowels! Classical Phonics can be used as a supplement to any phonics program and covers nearly all English phonograms and sounds taught through second grade. Classical Phonics is your handy tool for phonics practice and for building confident readers. *A must-have supplement for First Start Reading!

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What I liked:

  • Faith (4 1/2) was reading from the first lesson. The order of how your child learns letters differs from many phonics programs—many phonics programs today use the ladder approach (consonant vowel blending), but this uses the more traditional (vowel-consonant) approach combined with word families. (This means they can read short words very quickly!)
  • Actually teaches how to teach your student to hold a pencil.  I have never seen that before and helped a lot now that I have a lefty!
  • For anyone who hasn’t taught phonics before the teachers guide is great!  It does a great job of how to teach your child with step by step instructions. (They are meant for a classroom setting, but easily adaptable)
  •  The lessons are not overwhelming.  In fact we would do 2 or 3 at a time…..She was so proud of herself when she would form her letters correctly or read a word! (She already knew all of her letter sounds before we started this program) She would ask to do more of her book!
I love the picture that Keltie drew for the letter H.  She has people swimming and they are drowning and yelling, “Help!”

What I didn’t like:

  • It was all black and white in the books.  No color.  Problem with that was that Faith could not distinguish between the different lines on the page.  It was hard for her to know where to start her letters and end them. The lines all start to blur together on a page.

To sum it up: If you are looking for a simple, no frills phonics and reading program this is for you!   Faith really enjoyed working with it over the last 6 weeks and I am seeing progress in her reading skills.  We will continue using this for the remainder of the year!

The important information:

Order from: Memoria Press

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Written by Cheryl Lowe

Price: 

First Start Reading $29.95
Books A, B, C, & Teacher Guide

Classical Phonics $14.95

To read other TOS Crew reviews of this product click here.

 

Disclosure/Disclaimer:  I received the above product free of charge for review purposes.  I am only expected to give an honest review.

Oct21

Say Anything Family Edition: A TOS Review

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Say Anything Family Edition: A TOS Review

Say Anything Family Edition: A TOS Review

Sacha’s<25:A fast paced game that will keep you laughing, while learning what your loved ones think….Great for ages 8 and up (with a little help anyone can play)!

Home in the Trenches Product Rating (out of 10 stars)

Is it worth our time? 10 stars (for family fun!)
Did it help us learn?  N/A
Is it worth the money?  10 stars
Is it useful to me?  10 stars (for fun!)
Practicality-  9 stars
Quality-  7 stars
Kid Rating-  10 stars

Overview: Say Anything is a light-hearted game about what you and your loved ones think.  It gives you the chance to settle questions that have been hotly debated for centuries.  For instance, “What magical power would be the coolest to have?” or “What would be the most fun thing to throw off a tall building?”  So dig deep into your heart or just come up with something witty – this is your chance to Say Anything!

How to Play:

  • Each player (or team) gets a dry erase pen, answer board and 2 Player Tokens.  You will also need a napkin or paper towel for each player to wipe of their answers.
  • Choose a Scorekeeper.  They will tally the scores after each round on the Score Board.
  • Youngest player goes first.  They get the Select-O-Matic 6000 (sort of like a spinner) They are the Judge for the round and will not write an answer this turn. They take a Question Card from the deck and choose which of 3 questions they want to ask.
  • Everyone else writes down what they think is the best answer to the question and places it face up on the table as quickly as possible.  (Sound similar to Apples to Apples?)
  • Once all the Answer Boards are on the table the Judge secretly picks their favorite answer on the Select-o-Matic 6000 and places it face down on the table.
  • Now everyone else uses their 2 Player Tokens to guess which answer the Judge picked…they can place both tokens on the same answer or split the tokens between 2 different answers.
  • Then the Judge reveals their favorite answer, turning over the Select-o-Matic.
  • Now it is time to score the round!  Players get 1 point for each token on the answer that was selected.  The player who wrote the answer gets a bonus point.  The Judge get 1 point for each player token placed on the answer they selected. (Max amount of points any player can get in a round is 3 points)
  • Now erase your answers and start another round.  Player to the left of the judge becomes the next judge.
  • Game ends once everyone has asked 2 questions.  Player with the most points wins!

 

Sample Questions:

In My Opinion….

  • What would be the coolest thing to collect?
  • What’s the best song ever?
  • Which animal would I least want to meet in a dark alley?
  • What one word best describes me?
  • What would be the worst habit to have?
  • I just wrote a book. What is it called?
  • What should never be brought home as a pet?

What we liked:

  • All ages could play together! (Best for ages 8 and up because there is writing involved, but with a little help from a parent anyone could play)
  • It was such a fun game, we did a lot of laughing together!
  • Easy to learn, quick to play game!

What we didn’t like:

  • The Select-o-Matic 6000 (sort of like a spinner) kept coming apart. There was nothing to hold it on from the back.  No big deal, just a bit annoying!
  • Only comes with 6 boards, so if you have more players, you will have to team up!

To sum it up: Another great game for the entire family.  This would also be a fun game to have another family over to play with or to pull out at the next family gathering.  What about buying it as a Christmas gift?

 

The important information:

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Order from: Amazon for $13.85

Price: retails for $19.99

****You can also head over to the NorthStar Games website to see where you can purchase it in your area.

To read other TOS Crew reviews of this product click here.

 

Oct12

Always IceCream: A TOS Review

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Always IceCream: A TOS Review

Always IceCream: A TOS Review

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Sacha’s<25: An innovative play and learning website exclusively for girls between the ages of 7 and 12.


Home in the Trenches Product Rating (out of 10 stars)

Is it worth our time?  6 stars (learning aspect-8, play aspect-4)
Did it help us learn?  7 stars
Is it worth the money?  8 stars
Is it useful to me?  5 stars
Practicality-  5 stars
Quality-  8 stars
Kid Rating-  8 stars

This is a website designed for girls ages 7-12.  You can pick a monthly subscription to yearly or lifetime.  These range in price from $4.99/month to $99 for a lifetime subscription. They also offer a money back guarantee!  I was given a lifetime subscription for review.

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Girls can play games to learn things relating to Math, Science, Geography, History, Music, Art, Computer Skills, Foreign Language and Religious Education (Christian).  After they play a game they earn “scoops”, which are like points.  Once they earn enough “scoops” the girls can head to the mini world to decorate their house, take care of their pets, and make things which they can then sell and buy with other girls.

There is also a “social aspect” to Always IceCream.  This can be turned on and off in the parental controls!  The best I can describe the social portion is it is similar to email, Facebook, Animal Crossing and YouTube.  The girls can have a profile and “friend” people.  They can also email them.  They are also able to post YouTube videos and anyone can view them.  This is Moderated!  No video is posted until it is moderated and made sure it was appropriate for other girls to watch.

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There is a parental membership (free) which allows you to control everything your child is allowed to do or not do…what you want them to be able to learn and if they can use the “social” aspect of the website.  You are also able to award “scoops” for chores, etc. which your child does at home.  The parental membership even will email you weekly with all the activities she did.

What I liked:

  •  My daughter (10) really enjoyed playing the games, and learned some things too!
  • There are NO ADS.
  • Everything is moderated!
  • The Christian aspect is really neat-verse games and Bible stories and quizzes.
  • The parental controls.  I was able to turn off the social aspect of the site.  This made it much better for learning and less of a time waster.

What I didn’t like:

  • It seemed to be very easy to get distracted with all the options of things to do.
  • Constant pop ups about friends changing their mini me were very annoying!
  • Without many friends, she was still getting tons of emails!  Too many!

To sum it up: This is a neat learning websites for girls.  It is nice that there are parental controls, so you can shut of the social aspect if you aren’t ready for your child to get into that yet!  I would suggest this website to anyone who has girls 7-12 as a fun and safe place to play and learn!

The important information:

Website: http://www.always-icecream.com/home

Price:

  • 1st month is $.99.  Then $4.99/month.
  • $29.99/year
  • $99.99/lifetime

 

To read other TOS Crew reviews of this product click here.

 

Disclosure/Disclaimer:  I received the above product free of charge for review purposes.  I am only expected to give an honest review.