Sunny Seashells by Download N Go

Sunny Seashells Download N Go
I love the smell and sound of the ocean, in fact I was just lamenting how much I miss it and need a vacation...anyone with me? But, here in Central AR - the ocean is pretty far away (closer than I was in MN, but still too far away...).

So, I opted for the next best thing... a learning adventure to the ocean with the Download N Go - Sunny Seashells and my 8 kiddos!

What is a Download N Go? It's a 5 day Unit study that will take you on an adventure of learning. It is filled with clickable, embedded links (no ADS!) that will have you and your children on a beach in no time! Additionally, you will have great book suggestions, hands-on activities, and Family fun ideas. You even get all the components for a lapbook included. Best of all, all this prep work is done for you and you can just Download N Go. Created with the K-4 crowd in mind, I can't keep my entire crowd from crowding around the computer!!

At only $7.95 - you can afford to take everyone on a learning vacation, anytime you want... They have over 40 titles to choose from, so you'll find a destination for everyone too!

So, what did we learn in Sunny Seashells? Here's a brief outline:

Day 1: Seashells--What Are They?
Day 2: Seashells and History
Day 3: Types of Seashells
Day 4: The Science of Seashells
Day 5: Seashell Party!

What we really learned was history, science, geography, Scripture, math and more - but, shhh....don't tell my kiddos. They just thought we were visiting the ocean, so that mom could have her "vacation"!

By the way, if you haven't downloaded a copy of the FREE Summer of Fun Calendar from Unit Studies Amanda Bennett yet, you will want to! It's full of fun ideas that are free or low cost to keep your kiddos from getting bored this summer. Each day has a clickable link for you to explore, and discount codes for these great studies.


(I was sent a complimentary copy in exchange for my honest opinion as part of the review team).

See what everyone else thought here

Read for the Heart by Sally Clarkson

Read for the Heart by Sally Clarkson
Here is the publisher’s description:

"Keeping this volume close at hand is like having a child’s librarian for a best friend! A great book spurs the imagination in childhood, inspires our dreams in adulthood, and nourishes the soul with depictions of life fully and courageously lived. Among the greatest gifts you can bequeath to a child are a love for reading and a passion for books. But how do you sort through the many thousands of books available to your children to find those that are worthwhile? Let Sarah Clarkson be your guide to the best in literature for your family. From timeless classics to modern favorites, from picture books to adventure novels to read-aloud favorites, more than 1,000 wonderful stories for young people are recommended within these pages. Now you can make great literature a lasting part of your child’s life and education."

I couldn't agree more!! If you have ever visited our home (and if you haven't here's an invitation), it doesn't take too long to know we LOVE books!

When I was a young 20-something (only slightly older now...lol) I read a list of books that "well read" individuals will have read by the time they graduate from college. I was horrified! I had graduated from college, but had missed all of them! I vowed then, that I would read all those books (still working through it!).

What I love about Read for the Heart, is that it is one of those kind of "lists". It will help you choose the best books for your children to be reading. What we read (and our children read) WILL shape what we think. It's nice to have a trusted source help you navigate the millions to choose from! It is written to use as a reference to all ages, and the inspiration chapters are a gem all by themselves! The appendix lists will be a useful tool when building your own personal book collection (which if you come over, you will see I have been very busy doing!).


If you would like to see a sample chapter, click here.

Read for the Heart is available from Apologia for just $17.00. I think it should be on everyone's bookshelf!

See what the other members of the Review Team thought here.

(I was sent a complimentary copy in exchange for my honest opinion)

Free! Summer of Fun Calendar

You can NOT miss out on this one!!!

This calendar is FILLED with low-cost or even FREE fun ideas for you and your kiddos for this summer! And, it's a FREE downloadable gift to you!

No more "I'm BORED, there's NOTHING to do" around here...

Plus, look for discount codes and special deals to go with it on Amanda Bennett's Unit Studies, my new FAVORITE curriculum!! Check them out HERE

Get your own copy of the calendar Here

Considering God's Creation

Considering God's Creation by Eagles Wings
(I was sent a complimentary copy in exchange for my honest opinion as part of the TOS Review Crew).

First, I have to say - I LOVE this company's products! I have almost everything they have ever published on my shelves... So, reviewing this was a treat!

Considering God’s Creation is available for $29.95 on the Eagle’s Wings website, and includes the Teacher’s Manual, Student Workbook, and audio CD. An additional workbook can be purchased separately if you have more than one student using this program for $13.95, and a replacement CD is also available for $3.00.

You can cover all areas of Science study, with multiple ages, all with this one book! It has a distinctly Christian worldview, and just plain good science as well. If you like the notebooking style of study (which we do) you will love this product!

One of the things I appreciate most about this curriculum, is the low amount of teacher prep time needed. You can just open it and dive right in. You can also use it to supplement other science programs you may be using because it is so easy to implement.

We used the Skeleton cut-outs with our Co-op during our Anatomy and Physiology class (which was using Apologia). So, it's more than just a stand alone course - it's a must have resource!

You will want to check out their other products as well. Eagle’s Wings carries Christian educational products for other subject areas too. Be sure to check out their products page HERE

See what the other members of the Review crew thought here

Word Qwerty by Talking Fingers

Word Qwerty by Talking Fingers

Wordy Qwerty, a software program by Talking Fingers, teaches children spelling rules through a series of engaging lessons and activities. The intended age range is 7-9 (2nd-3rd grade). It is available as an online option, or a CD-Rom.

The hosts, two talking keyboards (one a computer keyboard, the other a piano keyboard) encourage your child to earn spheres and points to help make a Marveleous Music Machine, your student is taught to recognize patterns in each lesson and then is provided with the rule. A catchy song for each rule is included to help aid in retention.


Each lesson has six activities and games for your student to complete: Patterns Game, Karaoke, Recycler, Pop-a-Word, Write Stories, and Read Stories. The games are engaging and give the student more practice with the rule. Full game descriptions are available at the website.

You can try it out for Free here

Wordy Qwerty is another resource for solid teaching of the spelling rules for beginning spellers, as well as a remediation tool for older students. A online license is available as a 1-year license for 1 user at $25, up to 5 users for $71.25. A CD-Rom version, complete with an audio CD of the spelling rule songs, is available for $35. Visit the Talking Fingers website to learn more or to purchase.

My two daughters...I like to call them "Sugar" and "Spice" were are official Bentz testers for this product.

They both loved playing it, loved the songs, loved the characters...Love, love, love.

"Sugar" is older and reading well - but spells terribly. So, I thought - this will be good practice for her. While she enjoyed her time in the test laboratory with Word Qwerty, I didn't see much improvement over in the school room.

However, "Spice" literally begged to do her "computer time" every day. And, to my surprise - she retained alot of this information - and took it to the schoolroom with her!

So, my lesson for you is...know your children's learning styles!

Word Qwerty may be just the tool you need...

See what the othe members of the Review Crew thought here.

We recieved a complimentary trial in exchange for our honest opinion.

American Girl Club - FIELD Trip

American Girl - Kaya - the Field Trip!
For our field trip we visited Toltec Indian Mounds, a state park here in Arkansas.
We took a guided tour of the park, and learned about the Indians that had built these impressive mounds. (No, they weren't Kaya's tribe...but, we did our best!)

The MCA (masculine club of awesomeness) had their own special session getting to try out Indian weapons. Spear throwing and blow guns! Does it get any better for a bunch of boys?



The girls made clay coil pots and animals in their own session as well!



In addition to the tour and activities, we were treated to Indian story-telling and fun Indian games! (I highly recommend this park - the rangers were so knowledgeable and wonderful with the kiddos!)

What an awesome ending for our Kaya study! This group has become so close, and we are loving getting to learn together. We can't wait for Felicity in the fall!

Mad Dog Math

Mad Dog Math-

Designed to model the method Julie Kotoff, a veteran teacher and administrator, used in her 3rd grade classroom – this program keeps track of students work, and moves them progressively through levels until they become “Mad Dog Top Dogs” at math.

Students from K-grade 5 are encouraged to spend 10 minutes each day practicing with Ruff, the program’s mascot. (who was named after Julie’s beloved Golden Retriever, Mad Dog sounds better than Cute Dog...don't you think?)

The program has 4 levels. Level 1 and 2 are addition and subtraction facts. Level 3 is multiplication and division, and the challenge level mixes all the operations for what is called “mutt math” and mixes operations for “kennel trouble”.

The children can time themselves with two minute, one minute and 30 second time limits. If they complete all the levels in under two minutes, they receive a “sticker” for the “Two Minute Club”. then they will earn their One minute Club and Thirty Second Club stickers, too. When they have earned all their stickers they are a “Mad Dog Top Dog”.

A free trial is available for download on the site. It will entitle the user to use the first fact family for three levels. A user’s key is required to unlock the rest.

You have several options when ordering. For $19.95 you will receive a one year license. For an second year, (2 years total) it is an extra $10.00. ($29.95) For $10.00 more, ($39.95) you can buy a perpetual license that never expires.

There doesn’t appear to be a limit to how many students may use the program,but it is for single family or classroom use. There is no master or parent account though, so the parent would have to log in as the child to see the progress made.

Practicing math facts is rather like pulling teeth around here. So, I really enjoy having a variety of methods. Mad Dog Math is easy to use, in a simple format that can help you be ready with another approach.

See what the other members of the Review Crew thought here
(We were sent a complimentary copy in exchange for our honest opinion as part of the TOS Review Crew)