Read, Write & Type from Talking Fingers Inc.: A TOS Crew Review

Read, Write & Type from Talking Fingers Inc.
The Bentz Test Laboratory has a whole new set of testers that are enjoying Read, Write & Type from Talking Fingers Inc.  (one of my older testers used this 5-6 years ago!)
 This is an online reading program that includes phonics, spelling, keyboarding and word processing for students ages 6-8. It even contains special features for ESL students and those with learning & reading challenges. 
 Teachers can try out a sample lesson, or students can try out the first 8 lessons for FREE!

My tester this time is my 8 year old, 2nd grader.  This program contains 40 lessons divided into 10 levels.  Each lesson takes approximately 15 minutes.
  Letter sounds and keyboard placement is taught through short animations with memorable characters.  The student's goal is to "rescue" letters that the bad guy (Vexor - a green slimy guy) has hidden from the storytellers (Lefty & Rightaway - the smiling hands).   Each time a student has rescued a group of 4 letters, they earn a merit certificate.  Even though my 8 year old was our tester, my 6 year old demanded she be allowed to watch!  My tester wanted to keep working each day - until she earned a certificate, and she BEGGED to do this program daily!
My tester was completely caught up with the storyline, and didn't even realize this was another of  "mom's teaching games" - they are on to me! 
  I love that she could work independently, however - I could check her progress as well from the parent login area. The "Bonus Blimp "keeps track of her performance and sends her back to activities that she needs more practice on.

Even though she has mastered the letter sounds - this program gave her the practice she needed to isolate the sounds in words, and her spelling has improved dramatically!
Her favorite part has been learning to use the keyboard "like the big kids".  


This is a fun program for your younger kids, and it's very easy to use.  



Find Talking Fingers Inc. on Social Media:
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/TalkingFingers/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/talkingfingersvideo
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/ReadWriteType/with_replies @readwritetype

Hashtags: #hsreviews #reading #typing #esl #k-2learning

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Fun with Feathers

I know I say it every post...but, I am having tons of fun teaching our youngest students literature at our coop!

This wee we read - Will's Quill or How a Goose Saved Shakespeare.  

We made feather quill pens from colorful goose feathers I picked up at Hobby Lobby.  We just cut the tip diagonally to hold our "ink".  

Our ink was simply water and food coloring!  So easy.   They loved writing and creating, just like Shakespeare.

Lifetime Membership from Homeschool Copywork: A TOS Crew Review

Lifetime Membership  from Homeschool Copywork

These are just a small sample of  54 (and counting) Copywork books (over 100 pages each) available with a Lifetime Membership  from Homeschool Copywork!  This is an online, subscription site that you print at home.
The Bentz Test laboratory is a big believer in the benefits of copywork.  It's not just handwriting practice... it improve visual memory, grammar, punctuation skills, and memorization too.  I've always had trouble convincing my testers that handwriting can be fun, but Homeschool Copywork changed that.
This site offers copywork for all ages - check out some of the topics - and they are always adding more!  They have elementary, middle school and even high school levels.  The Lifetime Membership  allows you unlimited access...FOREVER  (as long as the site is active!) If you want to try it first, without a lifetime committment ;-)... you can get a Full Membership for 1 year.  
Each book includes selected thematic copywork quotes with at least two different line styles or sizes and manuscript or cursive options.  Most of the books include five styles: Ball and Stick Manuscript, D’Nealian Manuscript, Lined Cursive, and Unlined Print and Cursive.
This is a great site for large families! It was created by Amy Belvins a homeschool mom of six!  (someone who knows...)   I called my testers over and let them pick what looked most interesting to them:

Tester #1 - Wright Brothers - she's studying them in history!  The site has many history and literature themed selections that you can use to coordinate with other subjects.

Tester #2 - Dragons of the Bible - of course, he LOVES anything dino-like. This book offers 22 Scriptures from the Bible that refer to "dragons", aka...dinosaurs. The site offers great selections for science and Christian worldview study as well.

Testers #3 & 4  - Character Building - They both loved the pictures in this book so, they just divided the pages based on which one each liked better.  They like to work together.  This membership has many great copywork titles that help reinforce character lessons - from animals to Presidents! 

All of the books are downloadable and immediately available. You can pick the style of writing you want your child to work on, and only print the pages you need.   Most of the books we looked at included places to color or decorate their writing.  My testers loved getting to color the picture too! We three-hole punch them and stored in a binder.  Looking back, they can see how their handwriting has improved.  These also make great gifts to include in "grandma letters".
They have a great selection of Holiday themed books that would be nice to use during those busy holiday times.  Artists, Composers, Poetry are just a few that make a great supplement to your fine art studies.
Coloring books and notebooking pages are available included in your membership.  My testers are using these, and loving them.

This is one of those memberships that you will use over and over again.  Be sure to check this one out!


Find Homeschool Copywork  on Social Media:
Facebook:  http://facebook.com/HomeschoolCopywork
Twitter: http://twitter.com/AmyBlevins  @AmyBlevins
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/hscopywork
Google+: http://plus.google.com/+AmyBlevins
Instagram: http://instagram.com/homeschoolencouragement

Hashtags: #hsreviews #copywork #charlottemason #handwritingworksheets

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Stopmotion Explosion Animation Kit from Stopmotion Explosion:A TOS Crew Review

Stopmotion Explosion Animation Kit  from Stopmotion Explosion 

The Stopmotion Explosion Animation Kit includes:

•  Stopmotion Explosion Animate ANYTHING and Make MOVIES book
• 720p HD camera with built in microphone, manual focus and clip 
• Animation Software with everything you need 
•  sound effects 
•  sample movies
• a storyboard template
•  Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10 & OS X 5.1+ compatible 

The Bentz Test Laboratory was chomping at the bit to get a chance to explore and create with Stopmotion Explosion Animation Kit  from Stopmotion Explosion!  After a brief wrestling match, my tester, who is 14, escaped with the prize.  

We got the complete kit which included everything he needed to get started.  I installed program, Stopmotion Explosion Animator, and an audio program called Audacity from the CD onto my laptop, and he was off.
In just a few minutes - he had created his first "movie" with his minifigures, right at the table.  It was that easy to use!  My tester has dozens of ideas, and plenty of mini-figures - so, I basically lost him while he explored all he could do with his new prize.



The process is very easy to get started by simply following the Quick Start Guide.  Very quickly, he wanted more...he wanted cool sound effects, lighting, etc.  So, he spent time with the book - Stopmotion Explosion Animate ANYTHING and Make MOVIES.  This is exactly the learning process I have found produces success every time - ignite their interest in something, point them in the right direction...then get out of the way and let them learn!  This Kit was just the right spark to get him going :-)  
The book covers topics like:

• How Movies Work
• Animation Actors
• Creating Stories
• Building Sets
• Cameras
• Lighting
• Composition
• Animating
• Flight
• The Art of War
• Sound
• Video Editing
• Files and Formats
• Frame Conversions
• Sharing Your Animations
• Animating with DSLRs
• What Next?

The book is easy to follow along with, with plenty of pictures, examples, and even links to video tutorials. From basic animation information to writing screenplays and publishing a completed movie - the book guides you along step-by-step.  It discusses lighting techniques,  special effects tricks, and much more.   He kept saying, "Oh - now I get it!"
We did need to download Windows Moviemaker to start adding the cool stuff to his video - it's easy and free.  My tester has used iMovie in the past, and told me to be sure to tell you... "Movie Maker" is easier.  The book is a valuable reference guide that he keeps going back to.  This is his first movie:

Nothing beats the type of hands-on learning that this Kit provides!  My tester hurried through his "schoolwork" so he could spend time "having fun" Shhh...don't tell him he was really learning. In fact, if you need some "mommy quiet time" - just give them this and you won't see them until dinnertime! I love that this Kit pulls together everything they need, except imagination.  This is a tool that they will use over and over.   Find Stopmotion Explosion  on Social Media:
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Stopmotion-Explosion-104732269687187
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/stopmoexplosion @stopmoexplosion

Hashtags: #hsreviews #legoanimation #StopMotion #STEMLearning

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Times Tales from The Trigger Memory Co.: A TOS Crew Review

Times Tales from The Trigger Memory Co.

Multiplication facts....again?!?  The Bentz Test Laboratory has been stuck in the world of multiplication fact memorization for what seems like an eternity.  With 8 testers - grades 1-12 - it's true!  We were delighted to get the opportunity to try a new approach - Times Tales from The Trigger Memory Co. arrived just in time to help my 2nd grader conquer those pesky facts!  This is a digital download that uses a mnemonic device of simple animated stories to teach multiplication facts (rather than rote memory and boring flashcards!)  Times Tales covers the following multiplication facts:

• 3x6, 3x7, 3x8, 3x9
• 4x6, 4x7, 4x8, 4x9
• 6x6, 6x7, 6x8, 6x9
• 7x7, 7x8, 7x9
• 8x8, 8x9
• 9x9

Our digital download contains 2 videos and 3 digital PDF files that include: printable tests, crossword puzzles, flashcards, and cube games.  Once you download it, you can watch it over as many times as you want. Want to check it out -  try a free sample that will teach your child the upper 9’s in just 15 minutes! My tester is not a "standard" learner,  she struggles with reading and memorizing.  I was dreading this part of math because I knew telling her to "just memorize" her multiplication facts was NOT going to work and no matter how many "drill and kill" activities we tried, the facts did not stick! 
When Times Tales arrived,  I downloaded it, pushed play and walked away for awhile (the struggle is real...).  After I had gotten my coffee, I came back and found several of my testers crowded around the computer watching Times Tales with her!   

After just one viewing,  I "quizzed" my tester on a couple of the multiplication facts - I was blown away!  She answered them with NO hesitation, and even retold me the story from Times Tales.  Finally, a way that gets those facts into her memory! The program gives instructions in the first video - and recommends waiting a week and watching the second video.  The videos are about 30 minutes each.   Basically, the numbers are presented in the form of characters that match the shape of the number - i.e. 4 is a chair, 9 is a tree, 8 a snowman... Then, they present a short video story that illustrates the multiplication fact.  This method really works for my tester.
The printables include: crosswords, games, and  flashcards with the numbers in the shapes from the characters and you can use them for review.

This is a completely out-of-the-box way to learn multiplication - and it really works, especially for your visual learners. This is one you will want to check out!

Find Trigger Memory Co. on Facebook

See what other members of the Crew thought here

Pointe class!

After years (and I do mean years!) of hard work...  She's on POINTE!  If you are a dance mom, you know what a big moment this is.  Years of ballet class, of stretching, sweating and pirouetting everywhere. Finally, the pointe shoe fitting (just a glimpse of what wedding dress shopping will be like...)

The "Before" and "After" shots... probably the last time her feet will look this good :-)

And the big day arrived - her first pointe class - with the best of friends!

I am so proud of her - she has worked hard for those shoes.  She's smiling from ear-to-ear as her toes are screaming at her.  She says...."It's all worth it, mom"  

 So it is my beautiful daughter, so it is!

Bluebonnet Fail...

So... I guess "real Texans" pose for pictures in the bluebonnets every spring.  Here's how that worked for us this year...



"I don't want to sit in the ditch"

"I can't see - the sun is in my eyes" - No matter which direction we were facing!

"Mom,  bluebonnet pictures are so cliche!"

This is the best we could do...guess we have awhile to go before we can claim "real Texans" :-)