Product Review: Spectrum Workbooks

I was contacted by a rep of the Carson-Dellosa Publishing group & asked to review some of the Spectrum workbooks. I was already familiar with these workbooks because we have used a few of them in the past but it has been many years and I knew they had been updated, so I said "sure thing".

I received the books sooner than I thought and we quickly dug into them. My kids appreciated doing something different for a little while.  

These books make for a great supplement to what you are already doing. As a homeschooler we often see holes in what our kids are learning & these workbooks can help fill some of those holes and provide extra practice. I also found these books to be great for when I am working and need them to be busy doing something. They kept them busy & were also improving skills. Win-win!

For Sam I had a Phonics 1st grade workbook. It was simple, colorful, but not too busy. I like that because with his ADHD, he is easily distracted so I usually use black & white worksheets for him. But the pages were simple & clean so he didn't seem to have a problem and he enjoyed the work. The pages were not overwhelming which is important also for him. If he looks at it and thinks he can't do it then we get no where. For those still struggling with phonics, this is a great way to supplement the phonics lessons you already have going. When you work on learning the short /a/ sound you have several pages to reinforce what you just taught.

For Gracie, I had several books. Writing, Spelling, and Vocabulary. She loves writing, so I got that one to see if it would help her or if it was boring. She is horrible at Spelling so I wanted to see if she improved in her spelling better than what we were already using. Vocabulary is not an area of weakness for her so I wanted to see how easy it was for her.

She enjoyed the Writing workbook. The activities were fun & she enjoyed the writing assignments in it. Did she improve her writing skills? I'm not completely sure yet as we haven't used the books long enough for me to tell. But she was writing something everyday and enjoyed it, so that is a plus for me. But once again, I would only use these as a supplement to the main writing program, but it makes for some good practice.

Gracie also used the Vocabulary book.  I felt that this was a little too easy for her. The level of words were not challenging enough for her. In the back of the book is a section on test taking. We haven't tried any of that, but we might. In Texas, our kids do not have to do standardized testing so often they don't learn those skills. Personally, when I am sitting next to my child as they are learning something new I don't find it necessary to give them a test. I already know if they have mastered the concept or not.  But, when they get to High School it is a different story.

The last book Gracie used was Spelling. She isn't a good speller so I wanted to see if this helped improve that. Like I said earlier we haven't used them very long so I can't really say yet, but I do like the way the lessons are set up. One lesson a week, 4 pages per lesson, the same list of words are focused on so she got decent practice on the words. I also like that she didn't just learn to spell them, but she had to know how to use them & what they meant. Who cares if you know how to spell precarious if you don't know what it means or how to use the word.

Zach used the Science book. He didn't like it, mainly because we do not follow the Big Bang or Evolution theories and that is what was in the lessons.  He just couldn't get past that. The format was simple though. Read the passage & answer the questions. It was simple & not too in-depth if you are looking for extra Science work.  But like I said, the evolution idea's really were a problem for him and so he only did a couple of the lessons.

In conclusion, I would use these workbooks to help supplement. I like the way they are set up. They are easy to use, answers are in the back (you may want to pull those out if your child has a tendency to peek) & I can just hand them to them & let them work through them. Rarely did I need to explain how to do the lesson. They were able to work independently, which as a working at home mom that is really helpful.

Click to visit their website

Check out their website to see all the grades & subjects they offer.  They have a great variety of resources & teaching aids that are helpful to not just homeschool moms, but public school moms who just want to add a little extra learning at home.

Review: Alpha-Phonics

Publisher:Paradigm Company
Author: Samuel Blumenfeld
Last updated: 2012

If you are looking for a simple, no frills approach to teaching your child to read then I believe Alpha-Phonics will be a great fit for you.

Alpha-Phonics is not a new company, they have been around for many years with too many success stories to list here.  They made Cathy Duffy's top 100 picks for Homeschool Curriculum. Mary Pride has given them her highest rating several times also.  This is a company with a strong, trustworthy reputation.

When you first open the textbook you will see simple lessons in an easy to read font in black lettering.  There are no colored pictures to illustrate the sounds or distract your child.  I love this book because you can go at your child's pace, there is no hurry.  You move from lesson to lesson as your child is ready. Something new they have added is a CD-rom of the book when you purchase the textbook.  This is the text book in CD-rom form.  I didn't use this because I like to do our lessons in places I would rather not take my laptop, but I can see how this would make it easy for a mom who might have a student who could do the later lessons as review on their own.

Sample lesson

This is solid phonics.  I have taught nine kids to read and this method always worked best even for my two children who were dyslexic.  Short vowels are taught first and later the blends.  By the 3rd lesson they are reading simple sentences. You can also use this book to teach cursive writing which has become a lost handwriting.

This does require a parent work through with their child, but there is no preparation.  I loved being able to pick up where we left off the day before and not have to look ahead & prepare.  That is a homeschool mom's best friend...non-prep materials.

You can also purchase the Companion Workbook with more simple pages to help reinforce what your child is learning. I personally didn't use these, but I can see how they would be a good addition.

The 10 Little Companion Readers stay with the theme of no frill, simple learning.  Each book focuses on one learning concept.  These make a great supplement to the program.

All in all, I was pleased with Alpha-Phonics.

My only negative for this program would be the price.I thought it was a bit expensive since it is all sold separately. 

Text book is $34.95 (which includes the CD-rom)
Readers are $24.95
Workbook is $19.95

You can order these at the Alpha Phonics website or click the image below.

Product Review: My Memories Digital Scrapbooking Software

I know I don’t normally post product reviews here, but I am getting more and more requests to review products, so here is the first of several.

This review is of My Memories Digital Scrapbooking Software.  I don’t scrapbook, so at first I was not interested in this product, but then I realized I could use it for much more.  I enjoy creating images for my blog or new headers.  This software makes it possible for me to create some really neat stuff.

I used it to create the header on my new site, Joy Moms.

This software comes with a ton of various images, backgrounds, fonts, etc… but you can also go to the website and buy more and it is cheap! There is a “dollar store” where kits & pages are only a dollar, and there are a lot of scrapbook kits for free!

I have spent several weeks playing around with My Memories Suite and the more I play, the more I like.  Right now, I am making a photo book of Charlie’s faces.  I can’t wait to see how it prints out.

You can click the image below and get $10 off your purchase.

Over the Top-Women of Faith 2011

Are you going?  I'm going & taking my oldest daughter, Ashley with me.  We can't wait.

I'm talking about the Women of Faith Conference for 2011.  The conference in Dallas is coming up really soon, August 26-27!

It has been several years since I was able to go so I am really looking forward to this, especially to be able to take my daughter with me.  I know we will have a great time & receive grand amounts of inspiration & encouragement.  With everything that we have had going on lately, it will be a great day to get away and be encouraged!

The Speaker line up is great...again.
Patsy Clairmont, Marilyn Meberg, Lisa Whelchel, Sandy Patty & Brenda Warner.

God loves us more than we know. He gives us more than we can ask or dream. He's unrestrained... excessive... outrageous... Over the Top

Below is a preview video of what is to come.





If you don't live in the DFW area, there are still many more conferences to go after this one. Check out their site & see when they are coming to you.

Review: Campus Book Rentals

I’ve heard of renting cars, jewelry, furniture & appliances.  I even rented my wedding dress because I could not afford the style I wanted.  Now I have learned that you can rent college text books! I love this idea!  How many of you still have your old college text books & you really don’t know why because you haven’t used them again since you were in college?

The textbook market is roughly $10 billion annually. There are nearly 20,000,000 college students attending nearly 8,000 schools in the United States. Renting their books rather than buying sounds like such a great way to save money.  

Founded in 2007, Campus Book Rentals is a relatively young company that provides such a service.  They describe themselves as being the Netflix for textbooks.  Students pay to keep books for a specific amount of time.  By using their services, students can save around 50% on college textbooks.  I played around on their site a little searching for books I thought my daughter might be required to have for college and I found all of the books and most could be rented for 40%-50% off of the retail purchase price.

The website is inviting and very easy to maneuver around.  Every question I could think of to ask, I found the answer on their site. Membership and registration is free.  Their website touts,

“Pretty simple, No hassles & No worries!”. 

I googled their name & tried to dig up some dirt on the company and couldn’t find anything.  In fact they stand above many of the older companies because they offer free shipping .  

There were many perks I found to using this company.

• You choose the time you keep the book.  You can keep it for a semester, quarter,  summer or you name the date in which you return it.  If you drop the class or just don’t need the book anymore & return it within 30 days, there is a full refund! 
•  They have a grace period.  From the website; “We have incorporated, at no extra charge, a  15 day grace period which allows you to rent your book early or hold on to it late in the case of a later than normal final exam.” 
•   Returning the books is easy.  They send ,with your books, a return envelope. 
•  You don’t have to be in college to rent books.  They will let anyone rent from them. 
•  If you decide that you really like the book, they let you buy it! 
•  Books are shipped free & returned for free.
  

If books are lost or damaged the student is responsible for the remaining value of the book. So if a student rents a book for $40 but the retail price of the book is $75 then the student will have to pay the $35 if something happens to the book.  They do have a Protection program.  From the website; “Our Loss / Damage Protection program offers you peace of mind at an incredible value. If you select the protection option during final checkout, should your book become lost, stolen, or damaged beyond reasonable use, we will promptly send you a placement copy (if you still require the use of your book), or waive the full purchase fee. When you protect your books, you can worry about your studies, not your books.”

Ok, now there is another big plus to using Campus Book Rentals.  They take a portion of the money from rentals and give to Operation Smile.  If you haven’t heard of Operation Smile you will be so blessed by their mission.  They perform surgeries on children in other countries who were born with cleft palettes.   Campus Book Rentals has partnered with Operation Smile to help them raise awareness and money.  Campus Book Rentals goal is to fund 1,000 surgeries. So not only do you save money on your textbooks, but you are also helping a very good cause. 

I encourage you to give their site a look over, especially if you have students about to leave for college.  This site could save you a lot of money!

A Year with God-book review

A Year with God is a devotional walking you through the Old Testament scriptures.  It first features a passage from scripture and follows with a short and simple writing about the passage and what we can learn from it. I like the flow of the book and the insight offered on each page.  Different Bible translations are used, but the devotional is focused on the context of the passage, not the exact wording so it works. The book is arranged by topics such as; Hope and fear, love and hate, perseverance and quitting.

I think this would be a good devotional for one who is just beginning to read the Bible  & is not looking for deep theological concepts.  A Year with God is straight forward, not fluffing up the scripture or tickling ears, remaining simple and easy to understand.

12 Stays of Christmas

My fantastic friend Laura has written an extra special devotional just for Christmas.  This book has been a long time coming as Laura poured her heart into the words that are now in print.
  The 12 Stays of Christmas will bring you back to where our focus should be this Christmas, completely on Christ!


It is only $5.95 so you can use it as a wonderful gift for teachers & friends.

Go to Lauraleeshaw.com to learn more about her book & how to get your own copy.

Book Review: Dug Down Deep by Joshua Harris

I grew up in a Christian home where the Scriptures had been read & taught to me as far back as my memory will take me, yet it wasn’t until 10 years ago when my faith was shook to the core, did I begin to really know my God and apply that knowledge to my everyday life.

  Dug Down Deep is Joshua Harris story of how he discovered the relevance of the Scriptures, specifically, orthodoxy.  Joshua is transparent and brutally honest about his background and struggles.  His confession of pride and misunderstandings about the Word are refreshing and easy to relate to.  

Joshua’s passion for Christ is evident in this book; his passion to build his life on the truths of God, not ideas of man flowed freely through each chapter.  Joshua’s humorous and honest approach exudes grace and love to his readers.

By taking his readers’ on a journey through his own experiences, he explains theological terms in a way even the youngest of Believers could understand.  He covers doctrine such as; sanctification and justification in a way that makes his readers want to learn even more, because now they see what it looks like and how it should be lived out. He challenges you to dig down deep in the Word of God, thus coming into a deeper understanding of who God is and how much he loves you.  

This book will become one of our required reading books for our teenagers as we teach them the doctrine of the Scriptures.
One of the last paragraphs of the book, summed the message of Joshua’s book perfectly, I think.  He wrote,

“The message of Christian orthodoxy isn’t that I’m right and someone else is wrong.  It’s that I am wrong and yet God is filled with grace.  I am wrong, and yet God has made a way for me to be forgiven and accepted and loved for eternity.  I am wrong, and yet, God gave his Son, Jesus, to die in my place and receive my punishment.  I am wrong, but through faith in Jesus, I can be made right before a holy God.” (pg 213)

Dug Down Deep will be available for purchase, January 19th at Waterbook Multnomah.com

Read more about Josh Harris on his website-  JoshHarris.com

Read the first chapter of this book on his book blog

Review: Prelude to a Blog

Blogging has taken the internet by storm, growing to be the most popular way to share your convictions, stories or family updates.  I began blogging about our family in 2005 and it has come a long way since then.  Now you see people of all ages and types blogging about just about anything.

In a Prelude to a Blog, SisterLisa, of the blog, HomeSpun Life, explains to parents how to help their children get off to a good and safe start in the world of blogging.  She gives very detailed and careful instructions as how to start a blog.

I found that this was not just helpful in helping my children start a blog, but also for me as a blogger.  Her instructions were clear, precise and very informative. I learned a lot about blogging from reading her book.

This book is very practical and helpful for the new blogger who is wanting to take their blog to the next level. She has screen shots included that help in explaining in creating links.

She concludes her book with a pledge to "Blog with Grace". 

I highly recommend that you purchase her eBook, Prelude to a Blog.  She has it available as a download on her blog, HomeSpun Life  for $6.95.

Searching for Family Friendly Movies

Do you know what your kids are watching or listening to? When you take them to the movies, do you know what the movie is about…I mean really about? Or are you assuming that the commercial trailers are a fairly accurate sampling of the movie?

I have found a few websites that I like to use in reviewing music my kids listen to, TV shows that watch & movies they see. I have teenagers who go to the movies with friends so I am not always sitting there with them when they see a movie now. But I want to know what they are seeing & if it is appropriate for Believers to see.

SCREEN IT! is a site that I just found and enjoy. One Million Moms calls it the “best parental resource out there” The reviews are free, but there is a membership section of the website.

Another site I often check out is Plugged In. This is a Christian site so the reviews often come from a Biblical Worldview. I appreciate that you can also get reviews of music & TV shows on Plugged In.

So what is your family seeing this summer? You have to be very choosy.



Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs is a popular movie to see, but do you know what is in it? See what Plugged In & Screen It have to say.








What about Transformers:Revenge of the Fallen? This is a big one among the teenagers. It is rated PG-13, so is it safe? Read the reviews & decide for yourself.

Plugged In

Screen It!



A few weeks ago, Scott & I went to see the movie UP, the Pixar movie that came out in May. This movie was surprisingly good. We were impressed and are planning on renting the DVD when it comes out so the kids can see it. It had a great message to the movie; In the end, our things mean nothing, but our relationships with others will mean a great deal. Plugged In had a good review that I felt gave a good picture of what the movie was all about. Read their review of UP here. Here is the review by Screen IT.

Enjoy your summer!