CashCrunch Games (Review)

Today I'll be sharing our review of CashCrunch Careers from CashCrunch Games.   This is an online product, and for this review we received three (3) codes, allowing three (3) people to use the site.  For this review I'll be discussing the thoughts/opinions of myself as well as those of my 15 year old and 13 year old.

Setting up my account was quick and easy.   However, I found out later that you need a separate email account for each user, and according to the vendor this can't be bypassed.  I had to go set up bogus email accounts for each girl in order to be able to set up an account for them.

The actual "survey" takes 10-15 minutes.  In essence you have  multiple lists of two (2) items and you pick which of the two (2) you feel best applies to how you see yourself.   Once you finish the list of words and submit, you'll be given a career report.    Once you hit submit there is no way to see your answers again, or if there is, I couldn't find it.

The career report lists the following:
-Career Work Styles
-Motivators and Demotivators
-Career Attributes
-Career Match/Matching Jobs (a list of 20)

My initial thoughts on my assessment was that the info for career work styles and motivators/demotivators was pretty accurate.  It basically said I am a take charge, make it happen kind of gal who pays attention to detail and has a strong work ethic.   All the jobs it listed for me were in management (which is what I did pre-homeschool mom status), with the exception of  "Farmers and Ranchers" and "Funeral Director".   I had to laugh at this because there was absolutely nothing on the assessment that could possibly have tied into farming/ranching and while I'm great at managing, I am very much NOT a person who would do well working with grieving families for extended periods because I am not a overly compassionate person.

Olivia, who is 15, was the second to do the assessment.   Olivia and I had different information listed on the first three areas.  One of the things that we both thought was "interesting" is that one of her "Demotivators" was listed as "overly political work cultures", and neither of us could come up with any idea of how anything on the assessment would have pointed to anything political in any form.    I was disappointed that there was no mention of her being a hands on person, as that's both how she learns and likes to work.   With all the differences between the two reports, we were both really surprised (and a bit suspicious) to see that we had the EXACT same list of job matches, in the exact same order....right down to the funeral director.  

Lindsey, who is 13, was the last to do the assessment.  While Olivia and I are very similar in personality (more goal oriented than people oriented), Lindsey is my lover of all humanity, so I was very interested in her results.   I know her answers were greatly different than Olivia's or mine.   So, I had to laugh out loud at Lindsey's first "demotivator"....being alone in a room, without a phone.   But then I looked at the list of matching jobs and it's the EXACT same list, in the EXACT same order as mine and Olivia's.   So apparently we're all destined to be funeral directors, ahem.

I do like the information provided in the first three (3) areas of the assessment.  However, I personally don't see how the Career Match/Matching Jobs section is in any way personalized as it appears to be just the same list tacked onto the bottom of the report.    There were no questions geared towards interests (arts, music, etc.) and nothing that related to a hands on worker, only those who are looking at management.    However, you can click on each career path and find out what education requirements there are and which colleges best suit those heading into that career field.

Unfortunately, I don't think any of us are any closer to knowing what we want to be when we grow up.   


The vendor also has games (both board and online) that can be used to help elementary through high school students learn to manage money.

 To read other reviews of this product by Review Crew members, click here.

Forensic Faith for Kids (Review)

Today I'm sharing our review of the book Forensic Faith for Kids from David C Cook and  Case Makers Academy.  For this review, we received a paperback, physical copy of the book.

The book is written in 2nd person, where "you" are one of the characters.   There are two story lines going at one time, that seem to have nothing to do with each other until the last few pages of the book.  Throughout the book, there are black and white illustration's that either refer to something going on in the story, or contain a direct quote from the book.   For the reader who is artistic, the graphics in this book would allow for easy coloring.

Each chapter also contains a CSI Assignment, where the reader is told to look up a scripture and then answer some very basic questions.   There is also a Dig Deep blurb per chapter that reminds the reader to  go to the Online Academy and complete the Training Activities and Note sheets, while building an Academy Notebook.   There are also adult leader guides and video's to go along with the chapters.   There is also a certificate of completion in the back of the book if you'd like to award it to your reader's.

The author's website says the book is for reader's ages 8-12, so I had my just turned 13 year old read it.  (As in turned 13 while we were waiting for the book to arrive.)    She didn't care for the 2nd person story line  "because it keeps saying I'm there doing stuff and obviously I'm not."   She also felt that the "learning to share about Jesus" part was lost in the overlapping story line about finding the puppy's owner.  Her impression was that it is written for a much younger audience, 8-10 years old at the most.

I also read the book and came away with many of the same opinions as Lindsey.   I'm definitely not a fan on the 2nd person writing style.   Doctrinally, I don't necessarily agree with the correlation of sharing Jesus with others as being "forensic faith" which according to the author means "because of evidence".   While we believe that Jesus died on the cross, rose from the dead and sits on the right hand of the Father, we have no "proof" since we weren't there....but we have faith that He did all those things.   Maybe it's just me, but the explanation of forensic faith in reference to our Christian experience seems to be in direct opposition to Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidences of things not seen."  

I think this books and it's accompanying printouts and activities would lend itself well to a group study for both girls and boys, but  I'd definitely lean towards the younger end of the recommended age group, or add some serious beefing up  for the 11-12 year old gang.   The drawings within the book are large enough that students could spend time coloring those as part of group activity time.

To read other Crew members reviews of this product, click here.

GrammarPlanet (Review)

 

Today, I'll be sharing our review of GrammarPlanet.  This is an online product that can be used with those just learning the concepts of grammar through review for the older student.   The folks from Analytical Grammar are the masterminds behind this program, so you know right off the starting block that it's thorough.

For this program, you set up a master account for yourself, and then separate accounts for each child, with their own user name and password.   You also have to give their birth date, which I don't like.   Once the accounts are set up, the parent can see their progress from the main dashboard, and the parent also has the ability to erase results so a student can redo a unit if needed.   The student must log in from the main log in screen, they cannot just click on their account from the main screen.

The units consist of  printable teaching notes, (highly recommend for each lesson), video instruction with interspersed quizzing of material, followed by practice sentences and then a unit test.  The videos vary in length, but most are less than 10 minutes in duration. The student uses pop up windows to parse/label words as their part of speech.  It is recommended that students only work 10-15 minutes a day on the program.

Our review period was during the Beta Testing phase of GrammarPlanet.  If you've ever been part of a testing group, especially one that involves electronic technology,  you know that it's typically a bumpy ride.   This product was no exception, and honestly it was very frustrating at times.  Most of the things I'll mention have been addressed and fixed, but in all transparency I have to let you know that we had issues.

There were some inconsistencies that my kids and I found annoying.  For example in the unit on proper nouns the word "Sun" was taught as a proper noun because it's a specific planet name.  I'm good with that.  However, a unit or two later the word "sun" is used, in the same context and when you label it a proper noun you get it wrong...it's now just a noun.     There were times where labeling the object of the preposition was marked wrong and listed as only being a noun, not part of the prepositional phrase.

My oldest daughter is really strong in grammar, and she's also grade driven, so to get something marked wrong that was right two sentences before really just ticked her off.   She spent a lot of time talking to the computer screen saying  things like "Have you lost your mind?"

My youngest daughter is not strong in grammar. She tries, but it just is not something that seems to stick with her.  Once the inconsistencies started popping up, she started getting confused and really frustrated, so I had to pull her from this review to keep from losing ground with her.  I decided to finish her sessions myself.  I FAILED a unit, not because I was wrong, but because the system had a glitch and said I'd gotten every answer wrong.  I could see my answers, with all the little "Perfect!" comments beside it, so obviously it was another glitch.  I'm really glad I was doing the work at this point,because it would have crushed Lindsey if it told her she got every answer wrong.  If you or your student does fail a unit, the student then gets "locked out" until the parent goes in and resets, and that unit must be done over until the student passes before moving on.

The folks at GrammarPlanet have been working long and hard to get everything working properly. They've listened to the Review Team concerns and been relatively quick to make changes. I think, once the kinks are ironed out, this is going to be an amazing product that really solidifies grammar rules and applications for its users.    

A lifetime, ad-free membership is $39, so it's money well spent and you'll have access to all the new material that is added as time goes on.

To read more Crew Member reviews of this product, click here.

God Schooling: How God Intended Children to Learn (Book Review)

Today, I'm sharing my review of the book God Schooling:  How God Intended Children to Learn by author Julie Polanco.  The book consists of 9 chapters, followed by study questions that you can use either as an independent study, or with a group.

Chapter titles include:
Biblical Support of Natural Learning
Motivation & Excellence
Thoughts on Teaching Children Under Age Eight
Thoughts on Teaching Children Aged Eight to Twelve
Giving Teens the Wings to Fly
Spreading the Banquet
Getting Started
Some Q&A
Record Keeping and Structure

The book, in short, expounds on the world of unschooling in all it's glory, while slapping God's name on it for a self imposed seal of approval.   I have nothing against unschooling, and see where it has it's own merits.  I love to see kids follow their interests and find their passion.  However, in my personal opinion, the author comes across as saying this is the only God approved way of homeschooling, and I can't agree with that.   It may very well be how He led her to teach (or not teach) her children, but that doesn't mean it's THE WAY for everyone.

Likewise, some of the opinions that the author shares in this  book really just rub me the wrong way.   Here are a few direct quotes that particularly annoy me, both of these are from the section on teaching small children (under age 8).

"I have learned while teaching at co-op that children under eight years really are not capable of much formal learning."  (page 63)

"Trying to teach anything to children this age and expecting them to retain it is a waste of time." (page 64).  

Throughout the book, the author uses scripture to try and back up her point of view.   Ironically, in support of the above referenced chapter/quotes she uses I Corinthians 3:18-19 "If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a fool so that he may become wise.  For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight."  (page 68)  Yet the back of the book brags of quotes from 25 experts in child development, psychology, neuroscience, and education.   That's a pretty big contradiction no matter how you look at it.

Moving on to children ages 8-12 the author goes on to say "Just as walking and talking are skills that we did not teach, reading, writing, and calculating are skills that we would do well not to teach, at least not until the child shows readiness by asking for it, vehemently."(page 78)  I don't even have words for how out of touch this sentence is to me.

As you can see, I'm not a fan of this book.   I wish I could give a more positive review, but that's just not going to happen here.  I will say, the author has a good, easy to read writing style and is passionate about her topic.    If you'd like a copy, the author is having an e-book half price sale going on until August 22.

To read other reviews of this book, click here.

No Longer Little: Parenting Tweens with Grace and Hope - (Book Review)

Today I'll be sharing my review of No Longer Little: Parenting Tweens with Grace and Hope from Great Waters Press. The authors, Hal and Melanie Young, are two of my favorites when it comes to parenting books, so I was really excited about this book.

In every new stage of parenting, you stand there with a deer in the headlights look wondering if this is only happening with your kid...or maybe that's just me?    Anyway, the Young's are great about shedding light on these areas, letting us know it's not just us, and subsequently that they were also caught off guard at times.   It makes me feel better to know that I'm not the only one who wasn't prepared for a lot of these changes.

This book contains a total of twelve (12) chapters covering topics from hormones and body changes, sudden changes in academic ability, conflicts at home with siblings and the dreaded sexuality and virtue.   I had to laugh out loud at the title of chapter 3 "Brains Turn to Mush", because I've actually said that in reference to one of my kids "it's like her brain has just turned to mush", and I've taken solace in the fact that this is apparently a passing stage and there will be great academic progress again one day.  (Soon, please let it be soon!)

The authors are very good about sharing from their own family experiences without making their kids appear to walk on water or look like reform school is in their future.   It's refreshing to read that they aren't perfect, but those imperfections don't mean they are failures.

As parents, we often feel clueless (again, maybe it's just ME??) as we navigate the waters of tweens, teens and beyond.   No Longer Little: Parenting Tweens with Grace and Hope gives you clear insight, Godly wisdom and hope that this too really shall pass.   Don't get me wrong, my kids are doing ok, but there are times I look at them and think  "Are you IN there??"

One suggestion that the Young's offer, and I really like, is that you have a celebration for your 12 or 13 year old (or it can be later if you missed that time frame).  The celebration acknowledges that you know they are growing up, that they've reached a milestone.   The suggestion is that you have some insightful people (grandparents, siblings, youth leader for examples) speak at the event and impart some wisdom and share some vision from their perspective.    All of this of course is done around food and fun, and can be as elaborate or simple as you choose.

Parenting isn't always easy, however it goes a lot more smoothly when we can learn from others.   Like the old saying"Learn from other people's mistakes, you don't have time to make them all yourself."    Granted all kids are different, and there are times that they don't fit the mold, however this book contains some pretty general guidelines that can make this time easier for you and your tween.

For more reviews of this product, click here.

Persuasive Writing and Classical Rhetoric (Review)

Today I'm sharing our review of Persuasive Writing and Classical Rhetoric: Practicing the Habits of Great Writers from Silverdale Press LLC.  For this review, I received digital downloads of the Lesson Book (235 pages), the Reader (111 pages), the Workbook (202 pages) and the Answer Book (65 pages).   Unfortunately, I'm one of the few people who still has dial up internet, so downloading these big files was impossible for me.  I contacted the vendor and within one business day I had a USB drive in my possession.   Great customer service!!     

This is a full year (36 week) high school writing curriculum, and it includes a weekly 4-day a week schedule.   You can either have a mega printing day and get everything printed off at once, or weekly print off the sections of each download needed for that week.  I went with option 2.  Day 1, students read the lesson and answer review questions, Day 2 students will read a passage by a great writer (or rhetorician) and answer review questions, Day 3 students work on an activity  that works towards the final writing assignment, Day 4 students write a writing prompt based 500 word essay.   If you want a 5 day based schedule, then have your student write 250+/- words of the essay on Day 4 and the other 250+/- on Day 5.

During the year, students will read the writings of various great authors and rhetoricians such as John F. Kennedy, John Locke, William Wilberforce, Eleanor Roosevelt and Antonin Scalia to name just a few.  The authors are not in historical date order, so it gives the student another aspect of reading from different time frames, but not on a timeline.

Since we are in a weekly co-op, we stuck with the four day a week schedule.   The lesson portion is roughly 8 pages, so Olivia would spend 30-40 minutes reading and answering the corresponding questions in the workbook.  The Reader segments are relatively short, most being two to six pages on average, this typically took Olivia anywhere from 5-20 minutes, and then another 5-10 minutes for the review questions.   So, days 1 and 2 were 40 minutes or less (typically) then day 3-4 (or 5) were often longer just because Olivia really does put a lot of time and effort into her writing assignments.   On these heavy writing days I tried to make her other workload a little lighter.

I loved that this curriculum has her reading works of great leaders and thinkers, not just great writers.  No disrespect to writer's meant by that.  I think that as we finish the curriculum (next academic year) she'll really start to get into the people aspect.   Being a World War II fan, she really liked the section on Winston Churchill in Lesson 3.  I'm waiting for her to get to the section on Ronald Reagan, my favorite president, in Lesson 11.

This is a thorough and engaging curriculum that helps students learn to not only write persuasively, but to think through their topic.  The creators of this curriculum are homeschool family from the great state of Virginia, but more importantly they are experts in their respective fields (law, history and political science).    They know how to think through things, and how to help students learn to do the same.

To read more Review Crew opinions on this product or their Holiday Unit Studies, click here.

Classical Composition I - Fable Set (Review)

Today's review item is Classical Composition I -Fable Set from Memoria Press.   For this review, we received the Teacher Guide, Student Book and the Instructional DVD's.  There are a total of 20 lessons in this composition curriculum.  This product can be used for students grades 3 - 12.

The teacher book offers teaching guidelines, a rubric, an introduction to the fable stage, definition of terms and very specific (scripted) lesson plans for each lesson.   The appendix offers an introduction to progymnasmata and figures of description with examples such as : 

Astrothesia (as-tro-the'-si-a):  A vivid description of stars (could include sun, moon and planets).
"The small, cold sun seemed to hang motionless but it was climbing." - Laura Ingalls Wilder, The Long Winter

The student book includes the introduction to the fable stage, the definition of terms and the same appendix as the teacher book.  The pages that accompany the 20 lessons include the fable that the student is to read, questions and ample space for the student to writer their answers and ultimately to rewrite the fable.

The instructional DVD's (there are 4 total) each includes 5 lessons presented by Brett Vaden.   Vaden is an instructor at Highlands Latin School and the Memoria Press Online Academy.  The instruction time per lesson is roughly 30 minutes, however this does not include how long the student works during the "hit pause and write" segments of the DVD instruction.  

With each lesson, you have a short fable to read.   Vaden reads it aloud on the DVD, and the student also reads separately.    You then move to the three plot components for the fable, followed by Variations Part I that includes listing synonyms for words used in the fable,  a brief written summary of the fable followed by paraphrases, narration and then rewriting by reduction.   Variations Part II covers more synonyms,  followed by the students final draft.

Each student will have varying times per lesson based on how in depth they are with their assignments.   My oldest, who is 15, took a little over an hour per lesson start to finish.   Of course, the good thing is that you can start and stop the DVD whenever you want so don't get worked up thinking each lesson will be an non-stop 60 minute ordeal.   You can spread one lesson out over several days if that best suits your schedule.

What we typically did was watch the instructional DVD, pause to do the notebook work and then go on to the next section, completing one lesson in a day.   However, keep in mind this is at the end of our academic year, and we've finished most of our regular subjects.   Had we still been carrying a full 6 course high school load, we'd have broken the lesson out over several days.

I really like how this curriculum is laid out.  It isn't time intensive on my part, and is set up in such a way that younger and older children can work independently with success.   I also really like that narration is built in.   My 15 year old really benefits from having to verbalize her work before putting it on paper.    The DVD format also helps her to get used to a lecture style teaching experience.

I also love the rubric.  In addition to the typical things, it also lists optional grammar requirements per grade from 3rd through 6th grade.   While I don't have students in that age group, I did assign some of those items as well.   For example 3rd grade has simple things like compound nouns, mental action verbs and abstract nouns.  4th grade students can also be required to use complementary infinitives and emphatic verbs.  This is a very thorough, yet not intimidating writing curriculum.

To read other Review Crew members opinions on this and other products from Memoria Press, click here.

Vocabulary Riddles - Book 1 (Review)

Today I'll be sharing our review of Vocabulary Riddles - Book 1 from The Critical Thinking Co.   Lindsey is a lover of all things riddle, so I thought this would be a fun way for her to increase her vocabulary.   Disregard the little red flags on the right side of the photo below, Lindsey is all about marking her place so she doesn't have to needlessly flip pages.

Vocabulary Riddles - Book 1 is listed as being for students in grades 4-8, but truly I think 4th/5th grade students are going to struggle a bit, and I don't know that 6-8 aren't going to have to dig really deep to try to get some of these things the first time or two. The lessons are in alphabetical order with two riddles per letter of the alphabet, and two riddles per page.  The pages themselves are just black and white (with a bit of gray), nothing distracting or even engaging.  There is a little cartoon character face beside each question either surrounded by little question marks, or with a contemplative expression on it's face.

An example of a riddle from the book would be:  "A's arrant asperity made him alienated and abhorred."    This is followed by 6 questions asking things like "Amiability is an antonym for which word?"   There is also a question that asks what part of speech a word was used as.  In this sample it asks what part of speech "abhorred" is (it's an adjective).  The last question asks the student to choose the sentence that best decodes the riddle and then gives four options.

Like I said these are not your typical "vocabulary" words.   Your student will encounter words like: gordamizer, impuissant, lachrymose, xenophobia, xenomania and yawped to name just a few.   There is a complete answer section in the back of the book, so your student can check their work easily, although I'd be inclined to take out the answer section in order to remove the temptation and opportunity to  just look it up.

What we did with this book was pretty straight forward.  Lindsey would work through one or two pages on her own, then I'd check her work.   We spent some time together trying to figure out how to pronounce a lot of these words.  She spent time looking them up in the dictionary (and googling it when the dictionary failed us) and figuring out what was being said.   It gave her a bit of busy work once her regular school work was done for the day.

I'll be honest, what I thought this book would be and/or do, was to have riddles that called for using more critical thinking on "figuring out the riddle" than on figuring out huge words.   To be truthful, most of the words are not ones Lindsey, or most students, will ever use or even come across in typical settings.  For that matter, I'm well read and I've never heard of many of these words.   Although, I'm far more likely to add some of the words to my vocabulary just so I can mess with my older brother from time to time.

Overall, this was a fun review for Lindsey.   I don't feel like it's a product that's going to improve my daughter's vocabulary a great deal, unless she just wants to throw out some big words now and then to impress (or confuse) people.

To read more Review Crew opinions on this and other products from The Critical Thinking Company, click here.

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Princess Cut (Review)

Today I'm sharing our review of the movie Princess Cut from Watchman Movies.   The movie is 97 minutes in length and also contains deleted scenes, bloopers, behind the scenes footage and film trailers for other movies.    The movie is suggested for ages 12 and up, but I didn't see anything that I would consider inappropriate for younger viewers.

In a nutshell, we LOVED this movie.   The actors and actresses did a wonderful job, the storyline flows really well and there are some sound, Biblical guidelines discussed in the context of dating/courting/marriage without coming across in a preachy way.   I realize that last sentence sounds like a contradiction, but presentation is often everything and this movie presents the topics in a wonderfully open way that holds fast to the truth but doesn't bash you over the head.

The story focuses around Grace, a young Christian lady looking for her mate and learning the hard way that things aren't always as they appear.    There is no physical displays of affection (not even a kiss) shown between her an her former (or current) beau.    However, the topic is broached between Grace and her mother as Grace shares that she has kissed the young man she's seeing and that he's pushing her physical relationship boundaries, and that she's not comfortable with the way the relationship is going.  Later in the movie, Grace sees first hand how getting emotionally entangled with the wrong person can cause issues for everyone.

Other issues that are touched upon is how our "friends" will often encourage us to go against what we know is right, dangers of putting yourself in a secluded location and how quickly a romantic interest can go south when boundaries are crossed.

This movie is a wonderful depiction of how a Godly courtship and parental consent and involvement in the process can help guide and protect a young heart.   I watched the movie with both my girls (ages 12 and 14) and they then went on to watch it several more times.   It gave us some great conversation about dating vs. courting, proper physical boundaries and the need for parental input when those areas arise.

I highly recommend the movie both for girls and boys as it really sets the standard for each.

To read other Review Crew members thoughts on this product, click here.

Creation Illustrated - Pine Trees Unit Study (Review)

Creation Illustrated, after 25 years in print, has started offering a new product line of nature based unit studies as well as digital copies of their magazine.   Today I'll be sharing our experience in reviewing their Pine Tree Unit Study.

This is a pretty straight forward, 16 page unit study (including a 3 page answer key), geared towards students grades 5-8, but it could be used with other students as well.   The study includes links to reading resources (including a link to Creation Magazine Fall 2017 digital edition) and educational videos.   Also covered in the unit study are vocabulary and spelling, Bible study, geography, science and math connections, writing and penmanship, art and a crossword puzzle.    While this is a complete unit study, it isn't tedious or boring, nor does it cover every single thing you ever hope to know about pine trees, but it's a great launching point to get you started and give you a firm foundation. 

 

As expected, everything in the unit study is taught from a Biblical, creation based world view.  However, for those who may have a different world view, the vocabulary, spelling, geography, pine tree identification, writing, art and search puzzle can be taught without crossing over.

We used this unit study as a supplement to our botany class that I'm teaching at our weekly co-op.   We mostly focused on the geography (where different types of pine trees grow), the science study, math and the introduction of Fibonacci numbers in nature and the artwork as we did some nature journaling.  Since the unit is a download, I could print off the pages I wanted to use each week and skip the ones that I opted not to use.  Our co-op class is only 60 minutes weekly, so I added a segment of this unit study at the end of class for several weeks.   I was surprised that only my kids had ever heard of Fibonacci numbers, so it was good to have something totally new to introduce.

You could do the entire study in one day if you like, or draw it out over one or more weeks depending on your student(s) and your time constraints.   The videos and reading might be a bit much for younger students to get through all at once.    My children, ages 12 and 14, were happy to tag a few extra minutes onto their regularly scheduled school day to knock out a video or two as time allowed.  The links and videos were not an option for us during co-op due to lack of Internet at our facility.

Other available unit studies include topics such as badgers, black bears, dragonflies, fragrances, Joshua tree, manatees and snow.  We also received the snow unit, and we were able to incorporate that unit a bit into our homeschooling as we had our first major snowfall of the year in late March during the review period.  There's a great section on meteorology and the water cycle in this unit, and includes links to the Creation Illustrated Winter 2018 digital edition.  Each unit study is currently available for $6.95 and is a quick and easy  PDF download, making it available immediately.

Here's a sneak peak at the upcoming Creation Illustrated Spring 2018 edition.

To read other Review Crew opinions on this and other unit studies from Creation Illustrated, click here.

Forbrain (Review Crew)

Today I'm sharing our experience in reviewing Forbrain from Sound for Life LTD.  This product consists of a headset which can be used by children and adults. The head set is designed for people with attention difficulties, speech and language issues, poor memory and learning disabilities.   It's also great for children when they are learning to read beginning to work with phonics.

The products itself comes in a nice plastic, padded case to prevent damage.  The headset contains a lithium battery so there are all the required notifications sent along as well.   The box houses the headset, charging cord. extra mouth piece covers and directions for use.

The headset itself is light weight and easy to put on.  The mouth piece is adjustable/flexible so you can easily put it into the right position for each user.   The on/off button is easy to reach and there is an indicator light that allows you to easily see if the battery is charged.   There are also volume buttons, however it's suggested that the volume be left at the preset level unless your child has a hearing problem or is overly sensitive to volume.

Lindsey (12) is my gadget gal, and she was thrilled to get to wear an official looking headset, grins.  She found the design comfortable and liked that she could move the mouth piece to where it felt best for her.    The product is supposed to be used no more than 20 minutes per day, so Lindsey used this to study her spelling words, work on memorizing her multiplication tables (sigh) and also while memorizing a long poem for language arts, and a speech for her communications class.

Lindsey said she felt like using the headset did help her a great deal in memorizing the 10 stanza poem, and with her spelling words as well.   She also liked that it helped her be more aware of her "uhs and umms" when working on her speech.  The jury is still out on the multiplication facts, as that seems to have been an educational road block for some time, but she's continuing to work on this daily.

My oldest daughter (14) wore the headset while practicing her lines for the Christmas play, and also while working on a speech for her communications class.   She liked that it helped her get used to wearing a headset (she'll have one on in the play) and she also liked that it helped her hear how she sounded so that she could change the inflection in her voice for her lines.   She's also worn it a few times while singing and I've noticed that she's cut way down on the self imposed soprano parts (read: screeching).

I've worn the headset a bit myself, just to get a feel for it.  It is comfortable and easy to wear, although I have very thick and long hair and getting it around all of that has been a challenge, but that's my fault not the products'.  I have found that it makes me very aware of when I'm sloppy in pronunciation and the tone I use (surely I'm not the only Mom who uses a TONE, ahem).

The time frame for noted improvement using Forbrain is longer than our review period, so we will continue to use the headset throughout our academics, especially with memorization and speech preparations.

To read other Crew member reviews of this this product, click here.

Gospel Tracts and Evangelism Tools Sampler Pack (Review)

If you're looking for some quick, easy and child friendly ways to spread the gospel, then check out the Gospel Tracts and Evangelism Tools Sampler Pack from Let the Little Children Come.  In today's review I'll be showing you these products, and how quickly they can turn evangelism into a family event.

The sampler pack contained pop up booklet style tracts, "moving" tracts that looks like the animation comes alive, a beaded salvation message bracelet kit and instructions, a rubber-multicolored salvation bracelet, a blank book with the colors that represent the salvation message and foldables that you can use to also share the message.

All of the tracts are printed on heavy duty paper and/or card stock and will withstand handling by not so gentle little hands.   The wording is simple and straight forward, easy enough for both young and old to understand and respond to.

The bracelet kits have clear directions for assembly and for explaining the various colors and what they represent, as does the rubber bracelet.   I didn't see anything that goes with the various colored booklet that would help those receiving it to understand what the colors represent, so this one might require one on one time with those you're giving it to.

One thing I really liked about these tracts and/or booklets is that they share the Gospel from the "God loves you" standpoint.   Not a fear based approach.   While we do want people to know their need for a savior, a product that causes a faith based response is more likely to have a lasting impact.

The "moving" tracts may be a bit more engaging for today's gadget age kids.  The fact that the reader must use the black plastic template to appear to make the tract come alive may be the best way to reach some kids who are used to having something in their hands at all times.

If your church or family is looking for ways to share the gospel, but you're just not sure what to use or how to go about it, the sampler pack is a great place to start.   These items can be tucked into treat bags for birthday parties, placed inside shoe boxes or stockings at Christmas, given out during vacation Bible school, handed out along with candy at Halloween or even tossed out during parades and other public events.   The opportunities are endless.

To read other Review Crew reviews of this product, click here.

Weave Your Word In Me - Part 1 (Review)

Today I'll be sharing our experience reviewing Weave Your Word in Me - Part 1 from Kid Niche Christian Books.   This is a 36 lesson Bible study for tweens (grades 4-6), and is compatible with the following Bible translations:  KJV, ESV, NKJV, NIV, NASB, NABRE.    The product is made of durable, heavy paper, with full color graphics and comes already 3-hole punched (notebook not included).    Topics covered in Part 1 include 14 lessons on God the Father, followed by 22 lessons on God the Son.     There is a Part 2 (sold separately) that covers two section on What God Wants and God the Holy Spirit.

In the beginning of the study there is a Lord's Prayer comparison chart, giving the standard wording on the left, with a more modern (and very loose translation) on the right side of the page.  Truthfully it seems very "dumbed down" to me, and my daughter didn't care for it either.  

The lessons are relatively short, most are only one page in lessons 1-13.  Starting at lesson 14 lessons go to 2 pages.   The font is big and easy to read, with colorful graphics and sidebars.   There are a few places where your student is asked to draw what the scripture references talks about.  For example in Lesson 6 the student is asked to draw the Lord and His seraphim as described in Isaiah 6:1-8.  I would show you Lindsey's drawing, but let's just say it is greatly lacking in artistic ability and skill...sigh.  Other than those occasional differences, your student basically looks up the scripture in the Bible and then use the scripture to fill in the blanks on the page.

Lesson 25 offers a fun narration/play of when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead.   This gives students an opportunity to act out the parts and be creative (works better with more than one student obviously).   Being able to "see" the event is a great reinforcement of what occurred as well.

At the end of each short lesson there is a "My Prayer" section (see photo above) that is again, a fill in the blank, that allows the student to  insert names of people they are praying for into the prayers.

We used this with Lindsey.  She just turned 12 in September and falls into that "tween" category, although she's in 7th grade.  While she did enjoy the colorful pages, and the fact that it took her less than 5 minutes to complete each lesson, she was disappointed in the level of work involved.   In her opinion, and mine as well, this would be more age appropriate for 3rd-5th graders.   Sixth graders and up would typically find it too young in writing style.   However, for a child who has no knowledge of the Bible at all this might be a good, easy introductory product.

This product is versatile in that it would work well at home, in a co-op setting or even in a Sunday school/mid-week service type setting.  There would be little prep work for the teacher in teaching the lesson, but could easily be enhanced with hands on projects to fill in time and reinforce what was taught in the lesson.

To read other Review Crew thoughts on this product, click here.