Institute of Texan Cultures

I think I should just field-trip all the way through school....


We took a day to visit the Institute of Texan Cultures here in San Antonio - what a treat!

So many hands-on ways to learn history, and culture... why settle for a boring textbook?!

Taking our friends with us, makes the learning even better.  We started in the "dome" a theater above and around us...

Yeah for Texas!  Horses, cowboys and even a quilt of cattle brands...

Some people crazy enough to follow me on my adventures...

Ready for some one room school?

 But, more here than just "Texas" - we saw cultures from all over the world!

The best part of our day... the sweet, old docent who taught us how to spin and weave!  Now, my girls want their own spinning wheel.

Don't settle for just reading about it...get them out to experience it!

GPALOVEMATH from GPA LEARN: A TOS Crew Review

GPALOVEMATH from GPA LEARN

Designed for K-5th grades GPALOVEMATH is a streaming online math program that can be used on the following browsers: Google Chrome, Internet Explorer 11, Mozilla Firefox, and Apple Safari 6 and 7.


Each level has a different animated "Learning Coach" that guides your student through a Lesson - Practice - and Quiz. Each grade level has over 150 lessons and you get access to all K-5 levels with your subscription! This is a super nice feature if you want to work above/below a certain grade level. By completing 4-5 lessons a week, you can finish a grade level in approx. 10 months.

A subscription is just $129/yr. per child with promotion code GPAINTRO15 (reg. $149/yr.) or $12.99/mo.per child for the month-to-month subscription. You can even try it FREE for 30 days by signing up here.


We are at the point in the year where math has ceased to be any fun...anyone with me? The Bentz Test Laboratory took advantage of 5 different levels of GPALOVEMATH from GPA LEARN . My testers LOVE this program!!   

First, you simply set up your parent account, and each child.  I like that I could do this very easily, and even added their picture to personalize their account with just a click.  They like seeing their own face after they login, and with multiple testers - it helped them make sure they were doing the correct level!

As they work through each lesson that is unlocked on their learning path (some are arithmetic, some are geometry, etc.) they are led through the lesson by their "Learning Coach".   My testers loved that each of them had a different coach - a Penguin, a Robot, an Owl, a Detective & a Superhero.  Meet the "Learning Coaches":

The animation is good, but their voices need a little smoothing out - they all kinda sound robotic.  Not a big deal to my testers, it bothered me more than them.  The lessons introduce the concept and new vocabulary. I found that GPA Math contained many new concepts that we hadn't covered yet, and the novelty was helping make math fun again.  Yeah!

After the lesson, the practice section lets them work through questions - without any penalty for wrong answers, and Learning Coach assistance with a click.

Finally, they take a 10 question quiz.  If they are not happy with their score, they can retake it and improve.

A fun feature of this program is that YOU get to set the rewards!  We can pick and choose which rewards our child will receive by completing lessons. The program gives the parent the option of letting it automatically set up rewards using the 5 most popular parent rewards, or you can select your own customizable rewards. There are over 100 rewards to choose from! I choose the top 5 - things like "staying up an extra 30 minutes" & "Choose what we have for dinner" were a hit with my testers.

  

Parents get an email each time your student completes a lesson.  I really liked seeing these - you can see which lesson, how long it took and their quiz score. 

Lydia completed a lesson!

Hey Renita,
Lydia has just completed a lesson about Name Angles.

Lesson Quick Summary
Date and time started:	[03/18/2015] 05:29 PM
Date and time completed:	[03/18/2015] 05:48 PM
How long did it take? (Minutes & Seconds)	19:33
Instruction	Completed
Practice	Completed
Quiz	Master 12 correct out of 15 Badge: Excellent

At any time, you can always audit the lesson to have an engaging chat with Lydia.
Love Learning,
GPA LEARN 

Weekly summaries are also sent via email detailing how many lessons, time spent and their scores. 

	This Week	Total
Lessons	2	20
Rockstar	2	20
Excellent	0	0
Nice Job	0	0
Try Again	0	0

Lesson Title	Date	Duration	Outcome	Instruction	Practice	Quiz
The Number 9	Mar 11 2015	6m	Rockstar	Skipped	Completed	10/10 Master
Orientation	Mar 11 2015	1m	Rockstar	Completed	Skipped	0/0 Skipped
The Number 8	Mar 09 2015	15m	Rockstar	Completed	Completed	10/10 Master

We really are enjoying GPALOVEMATH - it's been just the thing we needed to bring back some "math love" at this time of year!   Be sure you check this one out!

 

Find GPALOVEMATH from GPA LEARN on Social Media:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/gpalearn
Twitter:  www.twitter.com/gpalearn
Pinterest:  www.pinterest.com/gpalearn
See what other members of the Crew thought here

Digital Science Online from Visual Learning Systems: A TOS Crew Review

Visual Learning Systems 

Digital Science Online: Elementary Edition (Grades K-5) (This is primary as well as elementary science.)  and Digital Science Online: Secondary Edition (Grades 6-12)

 

 

Visual Learning Systems  is an online, annual subscription science program.  They offer 2 levels of programs: Digital Science Online: Elementary Edition (Grades K-5) -This is primary as well as elementary science  and  Secondary Edition (Grades 6-12) .

At Bentz Test Laboratory, we enjoy learning that is not confined to just textbooks (we do have some textbooks...just so you don't panic).  When I saw Visual Learning Systems, I knew it would be a hit!

You can pick and choose which level you are interested in, and also what area of science you would like to study and explore - life, physical, earth, biology and more.  Each section includes professionally done - high interest video clips, animations, and  images.  In addition - PDF downloads of assessments, student activities, and teacher’s guides are included with each lesson. 

Since I have testers in all age groups, we all took a peek at various topics (we were given a year long subscription, and plan to use every minute of it!)   We were never disappointed!  The videos are extremely well done.  However, my elementary testers, grades K-5, claimed this product for the review, and spent the most time with it.  (please pardon the messy desk...learning is taking place, no time to clean!)

This program is very user friendly, once you log on you can pick and chose from numberous different topics available.  My testers decided to start with Life Science  - specifically focusing on plants.   The videos ranged in length from 15-20 minutes.  Perfect time for their attention spans. The sections on plants naturally led into the different biomes on eath.  They needed to be pried away from the computer...

Once they have completed the video portion - additional resources are available.  In the student section worksheets include:  Pre and Post Tests, Video Review, Vocabulary, Writing Activity & Hands on Activities are available to download and print. 

My testers were excited to take the learning off the screen and over to the "lab"... aka - kitchen table.  They choose to do a hands on flower dissection.

The instructions were clearly written, and easy to follow.  

This program is more than a supplement.  You can use it as your main science curriculum.  My testers loved the visual aspects, and the extra worksheets were a great way to get some hands on interaction going.

My younger testers have really enjoyed this program - in fact, they ask to do science everyday!

My older testers were more interested in picking and choosing topics that they wanted more information on.  One cautionary note, this program does not teach from a creationist worldview - so you will want to be aware.  We did not encounter any "objectionable" topics in our study.  Nutrition and Health are included in the upper levels - we plan to work through both segments this spring.

I really like this program. If you're a busy home school mom that wants to add more to your science studies - but, you don't have the time to pull it all together, you will want to check this one out!

Check out the special pricing for homeschoolers - they offer free tutorials explaining the courses and a one month free trial.

Find Visual Learning Systems  on Social Media:Facebook - http://facebook.com/visuallearningsystems
Twitter - https://twitter.com/visualearning

See what other members of the Crew thought here

Remember the Alamo!

I could field trip all the way through K-12!  Now that we find ourselves in San Antonio, TX - a whole new buffet of field trip choices is ours to choose from.

March 6, 1836 was the epic end to the Battle of the Alamo.  So, what better way to celebrate the 179th anniversary of this event than to get up and haul sleepy kiddos to the "Dawn at the Alamo" event...beginning at 6 am on a frosty 29 degree morning?

Of course I'm that crazy...but, you already knew that!

The Alamo is beautiful all lit up in the early morning hours.

 Costumed historians treated us to a glimpse of what it may have looked like...and sounded like!

 

 What a fun way to study history.  Memories of "Victory or Frostbite", the sounds and sights, and time with friends = Best history lesson ever!

Egglo Entertainment: A TOS Crew Review

Egglo Entertainment
 The Bentz Test Laboratory loves traditions, and egg hunts were family traditions since the beginning. However, we don't like the focus being on the bunny. Egglo Entertainment  has brought us a fun way to keep the true meaning of Easter the focus in our Easter Egg hunt fun!  


Glow in the Dark Egglo Eggs - 12 eggs of 4 different colors (pink, blue, yellow and green) and two different designs (a cross or plain).   The Glow in the Dark Egglo Eggs were a HUGE hit! You "charge" them under light (we just used natural sunlight) and they will glow for 1-2 hours. My testers are so fascinated by anything that glows. The 12 eggs are made of sturdy plastic, some are decorated with a cross, others are plain. I really liked the sturdy construction (not like the discount store plastic eggs) 
In just a short time, they were off and glowing. So many fun ways to use these eggs - a scavenger hunt at night, a treat in a basket, or even better - a memorable object lesson.  The glow reminds children of the TRUE light of the World - Jesus!

I found another use for these handy little eggs...  a bit off the Easter theme.  With so many of my testers loosing teeth lately, I thought - hey, these would make great "tooth fairy" containers!  My testers have been stashing their lost teeth, and hiding the egg.  The glow-in-the-dark feature has helped me locate these little treasures!

The Egg-cellent Easter Adventure book -  This beautifully illustrated 40 page storybook tells the story of 3 children and a dog that are sent on a scavenger hunt type of adventure around the world. At each stop along the journey, they find another glowing egg each containing two scrolls, one with a Bible verse and the other with a riddle for them to figure out. 

It's a bit long, but my testers really enjoyed the story, and the challenges!  For busy moms who spend a lot of time in the car... check out the The Egg-cellent Easter Adventure (book audio download) - it is a quality audio telling of the storybook.

Egglo Treasures Scripture Scrolls - 12 super cute little plastic scrolls with Scripture printed on them.  These fit easily into the eggs, and make a great alternative to candy!

 Egglo Bible Verse Stickers -  set of 12 stickers, made to remind your child of the scrolls in the adventure story book.  The stickers can be tucked into the eggs, or used to decorate them.

The Egglo Glow in the Dark Egg Hunt Event Curriculum - 60 page downloadable PDF guide with step-by-step guide featuring how-to instructions, visual aides, activity ideas, snack ideas, decorations, coloring activity pages, Bible verse scroll and cross Easter egg cutouts to put in the eggs and more.  The curriculum can help you turn this into an Egg-cellent Adventure (sorry, I couldn't help myself)  for your group or Coop.  

The program is best suited for ages 4-12 years, but is easily adaptable for younger or older ages.  All the testers at Bentz Test Laboratory found something to love.  A new family tradition has been born!

Find Egglo Entertainment on Social Media:
Pinterest:  http://www.pinterest.com/eggloeggs/egglo-easter-egg-hunts-about-jesus/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EggloEggs
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/EggloEggs
Instagram: http://instagram.com/eggloeggs
YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/user/EggloEggs
Google +:  https://plus.google.com/+Eggloentertainment/videos
Tumblr:  http://egglo.tumblr.com


See what other members of the Crew thought here

Salt Dough - FUN

It's been far too long since we've gotten our hands dirty and gooey with some salt dough!

Since we couldn't make it to Coop (our van broke down) Coop came to us :-)  Love the flexibility!!


For our history project, we brought everyone together and made salt dough maps of South America.  One project that is fun for all ages...

Here's an easy recipe:

1 cup Salt
2 cups flour
2 Tblsp. Cream of Tartar (makes is shiny)

enough water to make a paste.

Add some paint. 

Why don't we do this more often?  But then,  what does one do with 8 beautifully crafted salt dough maps of South America?

Immortalize them on the blog, and send them packing ;-)  Shhh.... don't tell her I missed her!!