TOS Review: GreeknStuff

Latin is one of those subjects you either want to teach or you don't. Some homeschooling parents think, "I never learned Latin and I turned out ok." Others have long lists of reasons why children should be taught Latin. I have always wanted to learn Latin myself so you might say the "real" reason I'm teaching my kids Latin is so that I can learn right along with them.

At any rate, when we were sent Latin's Not So Tough from GreeknStuff to review for the TOS Crew, I was happy because I'd been eying Latin programs for awhile and this one looked great.

We received a student worktext, an answers only key and a CD for Level Two. There is no teacher's manual for this level, nor is one needed, in my opinion. In the back of the worktext are flashcards you can cut out and use. We were given a nice, long review period for this product, so we have been able to work with it almost all year and get a good feel for the curriculum.

So how did we feel about it? In short, I liked it. The kids didn't. 

Here is what I liked about it. Well, first, what I really liked about it: it didn't dump a whole lot of grammar on our heads. Level Two is for middle level elementary (or kids who have finished Level One) and it starts with the alphabet and then focuses on vocabulary. I love that. My kids are young, and they don't have a great grasp of English grammar yet, so asking them to comprehend the grammar of a foreign language will only bring despair to the heart of the teacher. But vocabulary? They can DO vocabulary!

Another thing I liked about Latin's Not So Tough is that it really isn't tough! It is an open-and-go kinda thing. I could just pull out the workbook, put on the CD and we were learning some Latin. It starts with the alphabet, which takes up the first four lessons and the first twenty pages. After that, each lesson is four pages long, and teaches two vocabulary words. At the end of every five lessons, there is a review lesson. There is a grand total of 36 lessons. For each lesson, all you need is a student and a pencil. Super simple and easy.

I also appreciated the variety of the lessons. The kids write the vocabulary words, write their meanings, circle the words that match the correct meanings given, fill in missing letters, draw lines from words to their meanings, unscramble words and match them to their meanings, answer true and false questions, and even draw pictures of their vocabulary words!

Now, as for why the kids didn't like it. I can sum it up in one word: writing. Neither of them enjoy the physical act of writing. Neither of them are good at it. Therefore neither of them looked forward to writing vocabulary words and their meanings over and over day after day. 

Keep in mind that this is just their experience. Just so you can get an idea of how much writing there is, here are a few pictures of the worktext. Remember there are four pages to a lesson. We only did one or two pages a day. 

If you are looking for simple and easy Latin for your middle elementary students, then this is a good program, in my opinion. There are a lot of different purchasing options (you can also buy answer keys and quizzes) here. GreeknStuff also offers a Greek program (no, really!) and a Bible study program, which you can check out on their website. Others on the crew reviewed those products, as well as the upper levels of Latin's Not So Tough, you can find those reviews here.

And as always, I was sent a free copy of this program in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

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Eggs

Four Penguins and a Cousin got together to dye some Easter Eggs... Be warned that the following post has no other purpose than to shamelessly show off my adorably cute children... :)

I did not get as many pictures as I wanted because they kept me pretty busy handing out eggs. 

There is one missing because it got dropped and broken. It was a beautiful green one, too!

When I told the kids we would be coloring eggs, Kaytie pointed out that Easter eggs have nothing to do with the true meaning of Easter. (She's going to be a missionary when she grows up.) But did you know that eggs are a wonderful way to demonstrate the Trinity? And besides, dyed eggs are pretty. AND fun. Just because it's Easter doesn't mean we can't have fun. Fun is good. But does anybody know how to get egg dye off of skin???

:)

TOS Review: See The Light Shine Art Class

As a member of the TOS Crew, we were sent a sampling of See The Light Shine's Art Class. We received the first four lessons (the first DVD). Art Class is drawing program that brings the instructor into your home for 36 lessons on basic drawing techniques and a short spiritual reflection.
Kaytie, aged eight, loves to draw, color, paint, etc. If it's creative, she is all over it, so I thought this would be great for her to do on her own without sibling interruption. Well, Kaytie thoroughly enjoyed these art lessons! She was able to do all of it by herself... gathering the supplies, running the DVD, pausing when necessary, following instructions, and I just basically lurked in the background, applauding her efforts.
She was exposed to the ideas of line, contour, composition, shape, shading, "drawing only what you see", as well as how to build the basic toolkit she needs to draw.
Here are some of the drawings she completed while watching these lessons. These are the first "real" lessons Kaytie has ever received.

It was hard for me to get a good feel for this program with just the first four lessons, but we definitely enjoyed what we saw. I loved that she mixed spiritual principles in with her art. Pat Knepley was pleasant, informative, and didn't seem to go too fast for Kaytie.
This is a non-consumable product, which is something to keep in mind as you weigh the cost options. A couple of the lessons, Kaytie has watched more than once. I also have it available for any of the other kids who show an interest in art lessons.
You can purchase Art Class here, or opt for an online subscription here. You can even get a free sample.

Kaytie's opinion: I liked that I can learn how to do art, and I really needed help with art because it is kinda hard for me to get the things right. I feel like she gave me the help I needed. Every art lesson comes with a Bible verse and she made it easier for me to understand what she was talking about in art. I think I draw better now. I learned in the last lesson how to draw a shoe. And I also learned how to shade and the upper hand grip, which is easy.

You can see what other Crewmembers had to say here.

We received a portion of this product free in return for a fair and honest review. All opinions are our own.

TOS Review: Kinderbach

My two older kids take piano lessons, which sometimes stirs up a little bit of jealousy in the hearts of the younger two, so when we were asked to review Kinderbach, I reserved it for Daniel and Abbie's use.
Kinderbach is a program designed to teach music to young children using a piano (or keyboard). Their stated goal is that kids have fun while learning music. You can watch their video to learn all about it. The 240 lessons are divided into 6 Levels (with a 7th Level scheduled to come out in August). There are four lessons per week, but my kids usually watched all four lessons in a sitting. I struggled against that in the beginning, but eventually gave up and let them go at their own pace.
Kinderbach is not your typical learn-to-play-the-piano type curriculum. Since it is targeted for young children (ages 3-7), it has a very slow pace and is interactive and hands-on with engaging videos, pictures to color while they watch, and games to play. The coloring pages and the cards for the games are downloads that you print off yourself as needed.

Daniel and Abbie enjoyed this thoroughly. Kaytie often joined them just for the fun of it, so it obviously attracts and engages kids at both ends of its targeted age range. We have finished the first level, and they have been introduced to rhythm, loud and soft, low and high, reading quarter notes, finger numbering and more. I don't have any music prodigies on my hands from this curriculum, but I believe they have had a wonderful introduction to music that I wish my older two had had. At this age, the best kind of learning is when they are having so much fun they don't even know they are learning! I also liked that I didn't have to put a lot of forethought into lesson prep. The only thing I had to do was pass out pencils (for rhythm sticks) and print out a coloring page or two.
The biggest con to this program was that the coloring sheets tended to be ink-heavy. The thick, black border around the above picture isn't exactly necessary, in my opinion, and I cringed as I printed out three copies.

The kids opinions:
Daniel: It's fun. Sometimes it has trains in it. I like it. I learned about music and it's fun. It makes me laugh. My favorite part is the rhythm sticks.

Abbie: It's nice and I love it. Because I love the girl that helps the kids. (I think she means the teacher) My favorite part is that I can draw!

Kaytie: It's my favorite thing we have gotten so far. I really enjoyed it. Nate and I can choose to watch if we want to, and I mostly want to. My favorite part is when we get pencils and tap them in time to the music and call them rhythm sticks. 

Kinderbach can be purchased for a classroom or for home use and there are several options for buying it to use at home. Or you can try it out for free!
You can also see what other crew members thought by clicking here.

I received a trial subscription to Kinderbach online in return for a fair review. Our opinions are honest and completely my own. 

Our School is Attended by Royalty

This day a Princess came to school. She was, with difficulty, persuaded to remove her gloves while coloring. 

I love homeschooling!