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By y@mf5, February 7, 2010

Math Tutor DVD is a series of math video tutorials for all levels – from basic counting through calculus (and physics too).  As members of the TOS Homeschool Crew, we received the Young Minds – Numbers and Counting DVD and The Basic Math Word Problem Tutor DVD to review.

Your child will learn:
- Learn to recognize the numbers 1-10.
- Associate the number with physical objects.
- Count from 1-10.
- Animal names and sounds.
- Fruits and Vegetables.
- Names of colors.
- Names of machines such as cars, airplanes, etc.

The entire DVD is set to rousing classical music pieces by:
Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin, Brahms, and Vivaldi!

Young Minds – Numbers and Counting is geared towards young children (birth through preschool) and introduces basic counting as well as color, object, and sound recognition. The narration was done by children, the photographs used were high quality with vibrant colors, and the background music (classical) was nice.  We showed the video to our preschooler, and she enjoyed counting along and watching the video, although she already knows her numbers, colors, objects and sounds well.

Total DVD Run Time: 8 Hours

Disc 1
Section 1: Adding Whole Numbers
Section 2: Subtracting Whole Numbers
Section 3: Multiplying Whole Numbers
Section 4: Dividing Whole Numbers
Section 5: Adding Decimals
Section 6: Subtracting Decimals
Section 7: Multiplying Decimals
Section 8: Dividing Decimals

Disc 2
Section 9: Adding Fractions
Section 10: Subtracting Fractions
Section 11: Multiplying Fractions
Section 12: Dividing Fractions
Section 13: Percents, Part 1
Section 14: Percents, Part 2
Section 15: Ratio and Proportion

The Basic Math Word Problem Tutor video is led by an instructor, Jason Gibson, who gives detailed step-by-step instructions of how to decipher a word problem (determine the type of problem it is and figure out what exactly it is asking for) and solve the problem.

Our boys are good at math except they have difficulties solving word problems (they have difficulties with reading comprehension).  They understand the word problems involving addition and subtraction, but beyond that they have a hard time understanding the problems.  The instructor goes through great detail (often repetitive) of how to solve the problem and we had to fast forward through the addition and subtraction portions.  It has been helpful to our boys to hear the specific details to get the concepts through to them.

Young Minds – Numbers and Counting is a good DVD, although I don’t think we would purchase this video as it doesn’t fit our family’s learning needs (perhaps if we were first time parents with a toddler we would).  A is in preschool, but she had her older brothers teach her how to count, identify objects, etc.  The Basic Math Word Problem Tutor is a beneficial resource if your children have difficulties with understanding word problems and need repetition to help them learn.  If your children are fast learners, the detailed presentation may not be engaging and you may need to do a lot of fast forwarding.

Young Minds – Numbers and Counting DVD is available for $19.99 and The Basic Math Word Problem Tutor is available for $26.99 from the MathTutorDVD.com website.

You can read more reviews of Math Tutor DVD by my fellow TOS Crew members at the Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew blog.

Disclosure:  This product was provided to our family for free as members of the 2009-2010 Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew.  Reviews and opinions expressed in this blog are our own.

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By y@mf5, February 7, 2010

KinderBach is an online piano program for children ages 3-7 (DVD’s are available for those without internet service).  Supplies that are required to use this program are listed as follows:

• Piano or electric keyboard (3 or 4 octaves, full-sized keys preferred)
• Computer with high-speed internet connection or a DVD player
• Craft materials such as scissors, glue, crayons, card stock paper, etc.

KinderBach uses a multi-sensory approach to teach piano.  Video lessons introduce concepts using different characters and familiar childrens’ songs are often played.  Different games and craft activities make the lessons fun and memorable.  After each lesson, the student has an opportunity to put into practice what was learned at the piano or keyboard.

We used KinderBach with A and she responded very well to the program.  She would sing the songs from the lessons during the day and would sometimes ask when we will be doing another lesson.  KinderBach is great for parents who have no musical background and would like to have a piano lesson program that is easy to use and can be used at the student’s pace (review prior lessons or forward lessons at anytime).  What I like about it is there’s very little preparation needed for the lessons – just make sure you have craft supplies on hand.  However, if you have a musical background and want a more serious approach to teaching piano, KinderBach may be on the simple/basic side.  If you plan to offer classical instruction to your children, teaching them good technique among many other concepts is critical from the very beginning which I felt was not emphasized with KinderBach.  But overall, I think it is a great program for introducing music and basic piano to young children (my recommendation is ages 3-5) with little preparation and stress for the parents.

KinderBach online membership is available for $95.88 for an annual membership, or $19.99 monthly membership, or $5.95 for a single day pass.  DVD packages start at $40.45.  A free online trial is also available.

You can read more reviews of KinderBach by my fellow TOS Crew members at the Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew blog.

Disclosure:  This product was provided to our family for free as members of the 2009-2010 Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew.  Reviews and opinions expressed in this blog are our own.

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By y@mf5, January 31, 2010

Steven Yang, Founder and CEO: MIT B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Cofounder of Direct Hit Technologies, winners of the MIT $50K Entrepreneurship Competition in 1998, acquired by Ask Jeeves in 2000. In addition to hundreds of hours of one-on-one math tutoring, he has taught SAT math classes, algebra and geometry. As an SAT classroom instructor, Steven’s influence helped several students repeatedly score perfect 800s on weekly practice tests. Steven aspires to positively impact the lives of millions of children through MathScore.com.

Mathscore is a website that helps students improve math test scores by providing practice/drills and assessments for Grades 1 through Algebra I.  Students also have the opportunity to practice numerical keyboarding if their typing skills are limited.  Assessments may be taken periodically, based on grade level, to determine the math topics where students are proficient, what topics they need to learn immediately (or refresh), and what topics students need to learn during the course of the school year.  Mathscore will offer recommendations of topics to work on based on the assessment.  Students log-on and work on ‘worksheets’ from a wide-range of topics offered.  These worksheets are timed to assess speed or proficiency.  Parents can also log-on through their own account to see the progress of each student.  Scores and information about the work completed by each student are also sent to the parent via email.

Many programs we have seen and used in the past involve a multi-media approach to engage students (animated graphics, audio, video, games, etc.).  In our experience, we have found those multi-media programs to be a distraction from actual learning.  Mathscore is simple and straight-forward with no multi-media distractions;  just the basic activities to ultimately assess how well your child is progressing, and details are given for the areas that need focus.  A nice feature of the program is that the difficulty of the math problems adapt to the level and progress of the student.  Another nice feature is the parent may adjust the time-limit given to solve the problems.

What we have discovered about J & C after briefly using Mathscore, is the need to work on speed/proficiency, plus the need to review and continue drilling the basic concepts.  Review is something we don’t work on very much in our homeschool, but we’ve realized how important it is for our children to remember and use these basic concepts. Mathscore is a great tool and I highly recommend this program.  We plan to use Mathscore over the next few months and we hope to see an improvement in J & C’s math scores come test time this spring.  I’ll try to give an update about how well they do on the math portion of the standardized test.

Mathscore membership is available for $14.95 per month for the first student, $5.00/mo. for the second student, $3.95/mo. for additional students.   A free trial is available.

You can read more reviews of Mathscore by my fellow TOS Crew members at the Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew blog.

Disclosure:  This product was provided to our family for free as members of the 2009-2010 Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew.  Reviews and opinions expressed in this blog are our own.

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By y@mf5, January 25, 2010

The other day, DH & I were reminiscing about how old we were when we learned how to type.  We both learned in High School, on electric typewriters without the “automatic” correction tape.  We even told the kids one of those ‘when-I-was-your-age’ stories, i.e., “When I was your age, electric typewriters were just invented and too expensive for every family to afford!”

Today, children are expected to type or keyboard as early as they begin to read.  There are many keyboarding software programs that incorporate games to reinforce the keyboarding lessons.  But I’ve found those programs to be quite distracting and the focus drawn away from learning the basic skills.

Keyboarding for the Christian School (elementary version for grades K-5), by Leanne Beitel, is a simple and straight-forward keyboarding curriculum that comes in a e-Book format.  There are no distracting video-type games – just the basic lessons and drills that students follow from a book (we printed the PDF book and put it in a 3-ring binder).  This is also a great way for the children to learn how to keyboard from a text or physical resource.  Both the elementary and regular/revised edition (for grades 6 and up) use Bible Scripture in the exercises and drills.  In the elementary version, lessons focus on the following:

• Alphabetic Keys (including punctuation keys and shift key)
• Numbers and Symbol Keys
• Numeric Pad
• Horizontal and Vertical Centering
• Enumerated Lists
• Timed Writings (determine speed)

This book has really helped our boys in their keyboarding development and we will be using this book rather than our other keyboarding software program.  It’s simple and easy to follow, without the distractions of animated graphics and annoying sounds.  The boys enjoy playing games in the software program, but we have found that they are learning and improving their keyboarding skills through this book.

Keyboarding for the Christian School (Revised Edition and Elementary Edition) is available from their website for $15.95 (Revised Edition) and $12.95 (Elementary Edition).  Sample Lessons are also available from the website.

You can read more reviews of Christian Keyboarding by my fellow TOS Crew members at the Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew blog.

Disclosure:  This product was provided to our family for free as members of the 2009-2010 Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew.  Reviews and opinions expressed in this blog are our own.

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By y@mf5, January 18, 2010

Everything has been going wrong for Bertie lately.

No matter how hard she tries to do and say the right thing, Bertie keeps tumbling into embarrassing–and sometimes dangerous–situations. Her stern father has too many rules, her know-it-all sister won’t stop teasing her, and her mischievous younger brother keeps getting into trouble. But what makes her really afraid are those Communist missiles pointed right at the U.S. As Bertie starts seventh grade in the fall of 1962, news of these missiles throws the nation into a panic and Bertie suddenly feels completely out of control. Can Bertie confront an ugly truth about herself and face her fears–once and for all?

Bertie’s War is a Christian-based fiction whose target audience is pre-teen (“tween”) girls.  Since this book didn’t interest the boys (no surprise there, and they’re also too young for the content), and A is in preschool, DH & I decided to read the book ourselves.  The book is a “coming of age” story, where the central character is a young girl who struggles with her fears of the world around her including her relationship with her family members, notably her father.  We see a lot of emotions in Bertie and it is somewhat difficult to sympathize with her.  The ending is positive, though it didn’t quite fit with the “flow” of the book as a whole.

It was kind of hard to gauge where the book was going or where the author was taking her audience.  I think maybe if our daughter was a tween we’d possibly have a different perspective of this book.

Bertie’s War is available for $7.99 from the Kregel Publications website as well from major retailers (Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble)

You can read more reviews (with different opinions too) of Bertie’s War by my fellow TOS Crew members at the Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew blog.

Disclosure:  This product was provided to our family for free as members of the 2009-2010 Old Schoolhouse Magazine Homeschool Crew.  Reviews and opinions expressed in this blog are our own.