Alphabet Beats

Handwriting practice has just become one of the best parts of my Kindergarten student's day! We received Alphabet Beats, writing lowercase letters DVD to review from TV Teacher. The DVD was free in exchange for this review. The TV Teacher 's motto, "We make learning easy and fun!" capitalizes on the power and impact television has over young children to teach valuable early learning skills like handwriting, shape and number awareness.



There is a wealth of information for parents, teachers and therapists regarding Alphabet Beats on the company website. Created by Susan Ellis, mother to Ryan an autistic pre-schooler, the DVD's are perfect for any child aged 2-8. Ellis's son had difficulty forming alphabet letters although he could recite and read them. Marnie, his occupational therapist, agreed to video tape her therapy sessions with Ryan to be used at home. The videos helped him so much that Ellis knew others would benefit from a similar product. The videos began to be professionally produced in 2006, and have received acclaim from therapists, teachers and parents. Alphabet Beats received the "Preferred Choice Award" by Creative Child Magazine in 2008.

Alphabet Beats, writing lowercase teaches all 26 lower case letters in 5 minute mini-unit studies. The very happy, engaging and encouraging, Miss Marnie shares vocabulary words, songs, objects, visits around town and of course specific direction for each letter formation with humor and energy. Alphabet Beats, lowercase, however is more than simple handwriting practice. In my opinion it is a full pre-school curriculum filled with alphabet organized mini unit studies.

A typical unit shifts from video segments demonstrating letter formation for handwriting practice to short segments relating to the letter sound. For example, the letter P unit teaches the student, "dotted line down, follow up and around" with Miss Marnie chanting the catchy reminder and demonstrating on lined paper how to form lowercase p. After reciting the chant a few times the segment shifts as Miss Marnie narrates "P is for police officer!" The camera reveals a man dressed in uniform. The officer smiles at the camera saying, "Hi! I'm a police officer. You can come to me for help if you need it. I'm your friend".

Other examples of the comprehensive pre-school units include taking a virtual field trip to the dentist with Miss Marnie and learning a song to remember the days of the week. These activities are part of the unit dedicated to learning lowercase d letter formation.


Handwriting practice is demonstrated on chalkboards, dry erase boards and lined paper. Parents can download the same lined paper Miss Marnie uses from the TV Teacher website for free. Miss Marnie uses colored magic markers and dry erase makers adding visual impact for children.

Parents using Alphabet Beats for teaching handwriting instruction are offered the following teaching tips at the beginning of the video:

• Watch the DVD with your child. (Alphabet Beats is NOT a video babysitter)
• Practice the handwriting skills for 10 mins. a day
• Complete no more than 3-4 letters in a day

Aidan is 5, almost 6 and I would agree with all the teaching tips offered with the exception of 3-4 letters in one day. We chose to focus on one letter per day by watching the video through once, then watching it a second time while he practiced letter formation along with Miss Marnie on the screen. At the conclusion of the video segment, Aidan spent some solitary time completing more letter writing practice before we called it a day. I found focusing on one letter at a time with Aidan had a greater impact in helping him remember the lesson.

"I liked it!" commented Aidan. "The letters are easy to make. I liked using the markers to write with. The paper made it easy too. I really liked the A's (for Aidan) the best.

I think the use of color and other visual stimulation accompanied with the chanting and narration are excellent examples of teaching to auditory and visual learning styles. Approaching handwriting through a variety of senses helped Aidan's handwriting lessons find their way into his long-term memory. Add in the "fun factor" brought to lessons by Miss Marnie and handwriting practice evolves from dreaded, boring chore to one of the best parts of the school day.

"It's really cool! When we were learning about the letter P my favorite part was picnic", said Aidan.

Alphabet Beats lowercase DVD sells on the TV Teacher website for $35.00. A spiral bound from the top student workbook of the special lined paper Miss Marnie uses sells for $4.49. For the frugal minded individual sheets of paper can be printed free of charge directly from the website. In addition, TV Teacher's Uppercase and lowercase DVDs sell as a set for $64.99.

Time For Learning-Preschool edition

I am always amazed at the computer savviness of my youngest child. Aidan is 5 years old and although not completely literate, definitely computer literate. He navigates his favorite websites and can spend hours playing games. The computer, next to Legos, is his favorite toy. Many times, however, I find myself in a battle of wills with Aidan and his computer time. I wouldn't mind his favorite toy taking most of his time if I was assured it was well spent. Like his older siblings and mother, Aidan can easily fall into the trap of the "hypnotic passive stare"; a common side effect of too much screen time.

Lucky for Aidan, more computer time was required for him to help me with my review of Time 4 Learning's newest product created for students in pre-K. Time 4 Learning, an on-line curriculum designed for home education, provides pre-school activities completed on a home computer linked into the company's website. Aidan and I were given a FREE one month subscription to Time 4 Learning- PK edition in exchange for this review.

Our family was familiar with Time 4 Learning since reviewing the program last year for two elementary aged kids. At the time only limited portions of the Pre-school program were available. You can read that review here.

Time 4 Learning Pre-K is now a comprehensive pre-school curriculum with two different levels of ability with an average of 20 units per level. Time 4 Learning promises to be a "learning program that's fun and effective" providing a 100% satisfaction guarantee upon registering. In addition, Time 4 Learning placed in Homeschool.com's top three "100 Educational Websites for 2009".

After assisting him with log in procedures, Aidan easily navigated through the program without supervision. Graphics and visual cues like a smiling happy face nodding yes or a frowning face nodding no are provided to aid the non-reader with screen selections. Aidan chose a topic to study, clicking on the graphic which matched the description. Each topic consisted of 4-5 different activities to explore and learn taking him approximately 4-5 mins. to complete each unit.

Aidan's first choice of topic was "Garden". Within the topic he was presented with the choices of "storybook", "patterns" or "paint it" activities. Clicking on "Storybook", for example, provided him with a listening activity as a brief storybook related to gardens was read to him. Words of the narration were displayed to encourage reading. Aidan easily clicked the mouse to turn pages of the e-story book.

One of my favorite activities Aidan participated in was called "Write It!". Pre-schoolers are guided through making choices in plot, setting or characters by answering a series of simple questions. The activity concludes with the new story "written" being read aloud to the child complete with illustrations.

"I like the 'make the story' activity because it is really exciting", shared Aidan.

Level two topics and activities of Time 4 Learning, pre-K edition are more involved and require greater critical thinking skills. For example, one activity, "Re-call" asked questions to demonstrate reading comprehension for the "Manners" unit of Level 2. The "Color Mixing" unit contained an activity allowing kids to virtually mix paint colors to create new ones. The newly mixed colors were expressed as round circles with eyes. They appear to be spray painted to life in a factory. I thought the graphics were adorable and held great kid appeal. I noted Aidan spent more time playing the paint game than he had with previous activities; meaning it captured and held his attention well.

From storybooks to games to ideas for parents to extend topics with pre-schoolers, Time 4

Learning has a lot to offer parents and pre-schoolers. Subscriptions cost $19.95 a month for the first child and $14.95 a month for the second child. Although I am not a huge fan of on-line curricula especially for pre-schoolers, I believe Time 4 Learning provides age appropriate, engaging and valuable activities for little ones in love with computer time. Customers interested, but not convinced may try a free demo of Time 4 Learning on the company website.

When asked for the final word, my little computer game consultant provided a high recommendation for Time 4 Learning- preK.

"It was very cool! I got to do the games and stuff and watch the shows".

Math Tutor DVD: Numbers and Counting

Math Tutor DVD, a unique math curriculum company developed by Jason Gibson who says he "gets a thrill out of making seemingly complex topics suddenly easy to students" has a new product for the youngest of students. I received the Numbers and Counting DVD, the first installment in the company's Young Minds DVD series free of charge in exchange for this review.

I sat down with my five year old son, Aidan and eight year old daughter, Sierra to watch the DVD and noted from the packaging it is award winning. Numbers and Counting received the 2009 Dr. Toy Top Ten Audio Visual Product, 2009 Dr. Toy Top 100 educational products for the year, 2009 Top Choice award from Creative Child Magazine and was recipient of the National Parenting Center Seal of Approval. I had high expectations and after our viewing session Sierra, Aidan and I agreed Numbers and Counting is the "Best of the Best"!

Numbers and Counting helps young students learn to identify and practice counting numbers 1-9. Beautiful classical music accompanies gorgeous colorful nature photographs and other child-friendly images while a narration of simple facts are shared. For example, a detailed color photo of a sea turtle is accompanied with the narration, "One Sea Turtle. A sea turtle swims in the ocean". Occassionally, video is incorporated within the mix of images keeping visual interest high throughout the movie.

Even though the content of Numbers and Counting is definitely geared toward the pre-school set, Sierra enjoyed the music and images too. While "Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring" played in the background she exclaimed, "Mom! I know that song!" Watching this basic concept video is a pleasant, relaxing experience for all ages; another plus in our opinions.

Numbers and Counting is divided into 4 min. segments for each number. This division allows parents to use the video sparingly if desired to meet the attention spans of young ones. Although the video can run seamlessly, because it's a DVD, users may select various sections accessed through the menu option.

Bonus features included with the DVD include three game options, Puzzles, Connect the Dots and Guess the Animal. Numbered puzzle pieces float into place creating an image in the Puzzle game. The floating puzzles are accompanied by narration relating to the numbers and image. Connect the Dots displays a basic black and white line drawing needing finished by connecting numbers in order 1-10. Once complete the image is displayed in full color. Very fun! Guess the Animal, my favorite, consisted of close-up images with narrated clues followed by the image slowly pulling out to reveal the animal or insect in full.

Numbers and Counting has a full running time of approximately 45 minutes with an additional 15 minutes of bonus feature games. All narration in Numbers and Counting is done by a young child. The narration is clear and distinct and when combined with the classical music hints of Disney's Little Einstein videos. Aidan, a huge Einstein's fan noticed the resemblance too.

When asked for his honest opinion of Numbers and Counting to add to our review Aidan was enthusiastic and poetic.

"It was very cool! It was very special to me. It was fantastic. It was very cool, very romantic. I loved all the games!" he said.

Numbers and Counting retails at MathTutorDVD.com for $19.99. For more information regarding Math Tutor DVD's Young Minds series or any of their other products for older students visit their website at www.mathtutordvd.com.

Kinderbach--revisited

Once again I received a three month subscription to Kinderbach, an online music education program, as a member of TOS Review Crew. The gift subscription was provided to me in exchange for this review.

According to creator, Kerri Gregor, "Kinderbach gives any young child the wonderful opportunity to learn music through playing the piano". I used Kinderbach in our home last year with my then 4 year old son, Aidan and 7 year old daughter, Sierra. Our comprehensive review can be read by clicking here.

In summary, according to the Kinderbach website, Kinderbach offers:

* Solid Curriculum
* Fun Characters
* Multi Learning Styles
*Engaging Video
*Hands on Pages
*Music Theory Games
*30 Day Money Back Guarantee


Since we last spent time with Kinderbach, a few extras have been added to the program. On-line lessons currently cost $19.99 a month or $95.88 a year. With the purchase of an on-line membership families receive unlimited access to Kinderbach curriculum divided into 6 different levels of instruction. In addition, Kinderbach now offers an optional Crafts and Games Level I, II and III for $9.95. The Crafts and Games subscription provides additional activities which match up with the lessons. Other downloadable PDF file extras like
a floor keyboard, music posters and flashcards are available with price points of Free- $2.95 each.


For families unsure about commiting to an on-line subscription, Kinderbach offers a FREE two week trial of their product. In addition, free song downloads are available at http://www.kinderbach.com/ and samples can be viewed on Youtube by searching under Dodies Story.

A Journey Through Learning

Fourteen years ago when I began my homeschool journey I was always the odd Mom out. Most of the families in my homeschool support group were lovers of standard textbook curriculum. We were not. I loved the concept of the unit study and chose them as our primary source of learning. I continually searched for non-traditional ways to process our learning adventures and when I enthusiastically explained about them to friends I was usually rewarded with blank stares of disbelief and confusion. More times than not I would hear comments such as “Oh, I’m just not creative enough to do all of that!" or "I could never handle all that mess in my house”.
A Journey through Learning is a company designed to help those less adventuresome families who think “they can’t” when it comes to unit study learning. A Journey Through Learning currently sells 8 different prepared unit studies for families to try covering history and other social studies topics. All unit studies are designed to teach children in grades 2-7 or 8. In addition to unit studies, A Journey Through Learning offers 47 lapbooks complete with study guides designed for students pre-school- grade 7.

If the term LapbookTM is a new one for you it is time you became acquainted. I learned of LapbooksTM a few years ago and quickly fell in love with the idea. Lapbooks consist of a file folder bent into a new form filled with little mini booklets all designed to summarize information in varying ways regarding a topic studied. Lapbooks have an artsy-crafty feel, but serve as a practical educational tool. They work especially well with unit study families as a way to capture all the varied information related to the topic being studied.

A Journey Through Learning e-mailed three lapbooks in e-book format for our family to try. I chose to dive into the Autumn Lapbook with Study Guide first. My test victim, I mean student, was my 2nd grader, Sierra and she has loved every minute of the study. Together we have read through most of the background information provided and chose which mini-books to create as suggested. We began the study trying to incorporate her Kindergarten brother, but quickly discovered that the age suggestions of 2-7th grade were right on target. This lapbook was a bit too challenging for my Kindergarten student.

Preparation consisted of printing off the lapbook pages in their entirety and then placing them in a file folder. A Journey Through Learning suggests putting all pages in a three ring binder, but we were satisfied with using a file folder. Topics covered within the Autumn lapbook include Fall Equinox, calendar of fall months, science of leaf colors, foods of autumn, fall holidays, vocabulary words associated with fall, nature study activities for the fall, migrating birds, and a few jokes and puzzles for fun.

Each day of study is spent reading through the background information provided and then making a small booklet to reinforce the material learned. For example our second day with the the Autumn Lapbook we read a brief article regarding the Fall Equinox. We looked up the date on our family calendar and discussed in great detail the amount of daylight versus darkness. Next, Sierra created a two little booklets one reviewing the fall equinox and another of small calendar pages. We marked important dates on the calendar pages like her sister's birthday and Sierra's birthday. As we placed the little booklets into the file folder delight settled in Sierra's eyes as the vision of a finished product began to unfold.

A Journey Through Learning states their purpose is to "create delight filled learning experiences". Sierra smiled as she gazed at her lapbook and said, "Can we show this at the Project Fair at the end of the year?" "Absolutely", I said, taking note that this experience was not only delight filled, but memory making all in one.

A Journey Through Learning offers their lapbooks as digital downloads for $13.00, CD’s for $14.00 or printed copies for $21.00. Study guides and other useful suggestions for further topical study are included in each lapbook purchase. Full descriptions and sample pages can be viewed on the company’s website at www.ajourneythroughlearning.com

Alphabet Alley

I’ve always wanted my children to have a faith that was as alive and real on a week day as on Sundays. It have found it difficult over the years, especially when they are little, to incorporate Biblical teaching other than night time prayers into their daily lives. So many things call for their attention; computer games, television shows, videos, outside activities, flashy toys that shine and sing. Most of these kid-friendly products support contemporary culture in a wholesome way, but not very often in a God centered way. Weeks sometimes turn into months and I realize that I have done very little deliberate teaching to aid my little ones in developing a living breathing faith.

Alphabet Alley, “smart fun for little souls”, is a Christian company designed to help parents of little ones create play oriented experiences that aid in spiritual training. Their toys, designed for ages 6 months to 7 years, are nearly all Biblically based providing a natural springboard for Bible teaching as you play along. With Easter just around the corner and the perennial Easter basket begging to be filled, Alphabet Alley offers a wonderful alternative for parents seeking meaningful play time.

Alphabet Alley was founded in 2004, by Marilyn Fontana, her mother Linda Bloss and Marilyn’s Aunt Mimi. The family owned and operated company is dedicated to providing consumers with “fun and educational faith-based toys for early childhood”. You can purchase the toys on their website, http://www.alphabetalley.com/, The Old Schoolhouse Store, and many other retailers listed on the Alphabet Alley website.

All toys are reasonably priced and designed to provide hours of fun with a multitude of uses. Selections include Noah’s ABC Stacking Blocks for $21.99, a wooden ABC Bible Memory game in a wooden storage box for $16.99 and Bible based wooden puzzles with little peg lifters for small hands for $9.99. Bible references and a short synopsis of stories are printed on the back board of the puzzles to aid parents in facilitating discussion and story telling while playing.

A Noah’s Ark Go Fish game offered by the company is priced at $5.99 and consists of 40 matching card pairs with 10 different designs. The 4 x 6 cards have a heavy smooth finish and are perfectly sized for little hands. Each card is colored with a number in the top left corner, a clip art image in the center and printed word describing the clip art centered at the bottom. The cards can be used to play traditional “go fish” or as flashcards for number and reading practice. Noah's Ark Go Fish would make a terrific component for any Easter basket.

Alphabet Alley's Two By Two Matching Game comes in a sturdy cardboard box for storage and consists of 24 colorful playing tiles which create 12 matching pairs. The tiles are 2” square and ¼” thick making them the sturdiest and best designed matching game that has come through our house to date. After nearly 10+ rounds of play our game still looks brand new; a true test of its sturdiness. My four year old son loves not only finding the matches during game play, but also lining up his winning pairs in perfect squares as the game progresses. The Two By Two Matching Game retails for $10.99

After 19 years of childhood, and still counting, our house is just about saturated with every type of toy imaginable. Items have come and gone many times due to quality issues and durability. I love that Alphabet Alley products are classically designed and sturdy enough to stand up to years of play.

While playing the matching game four year old Aidan explained to me why he loved it. “You’ve got to see something, then you just flip it over, then you look and if you find something that matches you win!”

I noted his enthusiasm during the game as he turned over an ark tile and a zebra tile for one of his turns. Looking at the tiles and holding them in his hands his thoughts turned to something in his memory. He said, “Mommy! This is like the story when the animals climbed on the big boat and they sailed away!” “Yes”, I said as I prayed a simple prayer of gratitude for a Biblically based game that could help my little boy draw closer to God.

*Good News Stickers, only $2.99 at Alphabet Alley!

One 2 Believe--- Noah's Ark

We've been getting a lot of rain lately. I know its almost Spring, but I am beginning to think I might need to start drawing up plans for an ark. I'm glad I received One2Believe's Noah's Ark last month as I will need a model to work with.

Biblical History and Biblical truth are truly child’s play for One2Believe, a Christian toy company offering contemporary designed toys with the goal of providing “fun ways of teaching children about the greatest people who ever lived.” Biblical characters come to life in the form of action heroes, dolls and sets. Founder and CEO Dave Socha created One2Believe from a desire to provide support for parents “in their battle for their children's hearts and minds.” In addition to helping parents, the company supports Samaritan’s Purse, Hero Antigua, Focus on the Family, Family Life and other Southern California ministries.

Much to my children's joy we received One2Believe's Noah's Ark to review just over a month ago. The ark measures about 12" x 6" and from a Mom's perspective did not impress me with its quality or detail. I thought the plastic a bit thin and the ark should open up in the center providing an entrance for the animals. No worries, however, for my kids who LOVED the ark from the minute it left the box. Since the set is designed for children I would trust their review over mine.

Although only a small representation of creation, the animals we did receive are heavy, sturdy and well designed for little hands. The elephant, for example measures nearly 3"x 3" in size, while the tiny donkeys are approximately 2" long by 1/4" wide. Contained in the set are Noah with his staff, two ostrich, two camels, a sheep and ram, two monkeys, two donkeys and two elephants. All the animals stand on their own (what fun is a toy after all if it can't stand on its own) are color coordinated to their mate, wear goofy cartoon like grins and beg you to pick them up. Being a wife and mother I was instantly concerned when I could not find Noah's wife and family in the box, but apparently I think too much. Mrs. Noah is not included in this set.

I asked Sierra, age 7 and Aidan age 4, for their personal recomendation regarding Noah's Ark. They both agreed that the animal factor won them over.

"I liked the animals the most. I would want this because it has animals in it, "stated Sierra.

"I liked playing with it. I liked it the most because of the animals. I played with it lots of times", answered Aidan. When asked what his favorite aspect of the set was he replied, "I like to set up the animals on the ark".

Noah's Ark retails for $29.99 at the One2Believe website. It is listed on the site as being appropriate for ages 3 and up due to small parts. Noah's Ark is one of the 13 different Tales of Glory play sets offerd by One2Believe. Tales of Glory sets are available to teach both Old and New Testament Biblical accounts and each come with play figures and a small Bible storybook that includes a short synopsis of the story and Bible reference of the scripture. According to the company website, "With Tales of Glory PVC Figurine Sets children can bring the greatest stories of the Bible to life. "

One2Believe offers five main categories of toys to date. These include the Messenger of Faith dolls/action figures, Tales of Glory figurine sets, Spirit Warriors action figures, P31 (Proverbs 31) 18” dolls, and a “Jesus Loves Me” stuffed bear.

The Messenger of Faith figures priced at $19.99 all include a doll who speaks scripture and a small storybook for the child to read. They are appropriate for children aged 3 and older. Jesus, Mary (mother of Christ), Esther, David, Moses, Noah, Peter and Paul come to life for children through these dolls. A 24” x 24” playmat is available for $5.99 to accompany the dolls on their adventures as they live out the well known Biblical accounts of their lives and ministries.

Two different Spirit Warrior action figures are currently available priced at $24.99 each. Samson and Goliath, large, man-sized dolls towering at 13”come with removable clothing and weapons, a colorful mini storybook and are appropriate for ages 3 and up.

The delightful Proverbs 31 dolls are designed to be an alternative to other 18” dolls currently available in the secular market. Girls may choose from Leah, Elisabeth or Abigail. The dolls arrive with a Bible lesson based on Proverbs 31, a cookie recipe and cookie cutters, an activity list and a contemporary clothing outfit. They are priced at $39.99 each and although listed as appropriate for ages 3 and up I would recommend them for ages 6 and up.

The Jesus Loves Me Bear sings and dances to the traditional song, “Jesus Loves Me”. Priced at $15.00 he is a cuddly friend for all ages.

When the time comes to shop for a gift for your child you will want to consider all that One2Believe has to offer parents. Their vision and quality toys will help the Bible come alive in your house through the eyes of a child.

Artistic Pursuits-The Way They See It

I really love the idea of completing big, messy art projects with my children. However, there is nothing I let slide off the radar at my house more than completing big, messy art projects with my children. Artistic Pursuits may very well be the stimulus I need to launch into regular art projects and lessons especially with my little ones. Offering art curriculum for ages pre-school - high school, Artistic Pursuits promises to "meet the specific needs of homeschoolers at home".

Our family received Artistic Pursuits latest release The Way They See It: A book for Every Parent about the Art Chidren Make. The art course is written to the teacher of children aged 3-5 and offers insight and encouragement for guiding young children through a variety of artistic processes. From the first page of, The Way They See It, parents recieve great insight into the artistic development of young children. According to author Brenda Ellis, "Children become quite focused mentally by the process of creating. For the child, it's about the process not the results. This is old news in children's art education, but not many art teachers or parents grasp the importance of allowing children to experiment and enjoy the process of working with materials. I hope you begin to ponder the idea now."

Included with each "Grown Up Talk" lesson is a simple art activity for young children. Divided into 18 different projects plus a section titled "First Skills", focused on teaching children to properly handle art supplies like scissors, crayons, etc., this 73 page spiral bound text is filled with color, creative font type, simple easy direction and instruction, and adorable sample artwork from pre-school students. In addition Ellis offers practical sound advice in regards to art supplies including some great recipes for home-made products.



My four year old son Aidan and I dove into The Way They See It on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Aidan loves creating art in any form and as I read through the philosophy of Artistic Pursuits, pre-school curriculum I knew we had a great match. We completed the first art activity together which included studying a full color print of a famous work of art included on the project page. I read the script below the print and we discussed the work of art by identifying colors and objects in the art work. Following our brief discussion it was Aidan’s turn to create a colorful picture with crayons on paper. A simple reminder to me, his teacher, was included to check his grip on his crayons as he drew and correct any issues he might display. Below is a photo of Aidan’s enthusiastic rendering. He titled it “Aidan Space Artist” and eagerly narrated a very detailed story of his work. I was thrilled by Aidan’s passion for this very simple project and noted how confident I felt in having a successful artistic learning experience for my son.


Choosing a different medium on another day, Aidan and his 7 year old sister Sierra completed activity 3, “A Mark-Making Project” with fingerpaint. We had some old fingerpaint in our closet, but a basic recipe was included for fingerpaint in case our cupboards were bare. Aidan spent only a few minutes “making marks” completing his artwork in record time. Sierra, always the consumate artist, spent nearly 45 mins. adding and subtracting paint, swirling it to many hues and thoroughly enjoying her artistic experience. Comparing my student's experiences helped me realize the beauty of the flexibility of the Artistic Pursuits projects. Whether you have a speedy artist or a child who wishes to create art for hours on end the projects are easily adapted to satisfy each personality.

Artistic Pursuits curriculum texts are offered for preschool, K-3, 4-6, Jr. High and Senior High levels for $42.95 each. All volumes can be purchased at the Artistic Pursuits website, http://www.artisticpursuits.com/ along with art supply kits for each of the volumes and direct links to other art supply on-line stores. Sample pages from each of the volumes can be viewed at the website along with helpful articles regarding home education art instruction. A list of convention stops for this year is posted for those wishing to see Artistic Pursuits, up close and personal.

With beautifully designed affordable texts, encouraging and simple information to help me become a better teacher and easy to implement projects, Artistic Pursuits has earned a spot in our homeschool journey. My budding artists are excited there will be many more days filled with color, design and learning to see the world through the eyes of an artist.

Bible Story Songs

I adore the idea of learning new concepts set to music. I have witnessed the magic of music education within my own family on many occasions. My oldest daughter, for example, could not speak at two years of age due to a mild learning disability. She could, however, sing all three verses of “Silent Night”.

Language and artistic ventures are processed by different hemispheres of the brain. I believe music acts as a bridge to open up communication in ways that traditional educational methods fail. For my family, the melody of a song acts as an anchor for information contained in the logical, lyrical portion of the music. I am continually amazed at the volume of “poetry” my teens can recite as they sing lyric upon lyric of all their favorite music.

Bible Story Songs Inc., has taken full advantage of the power of music. Their musical CD’s provide children an opportunity to memorize scripture, Bible stories, and understand Biblical truths through the joy of song. According to the company’s website, “Bible Story Songs is a formula that works!...... We pray that we would be able to make professional recordings of all of these songs, that they would be sung by many families in cars and living rooms all over this earth, and that they would be a blessing to all who sing them.”

My family chose the car to test the “blessing” threshold of Bible Story Songs,” The Bible: Let’s Sing About The Book We Love!” Present on the car ride were my 17, 11 and 7 year old daughters and my 14 and 4 year old sons. The CD made up of 32 individual tracks ran for about one hour and was filled with songs designed to aid in scripture memory, and two different tracks to help listeners learn the books of the Bible.

I was pleased by the quality musicianship of the performers and the meaty content of the lyrics. I especially noted that unlike many children’s CD’s I have listened to in the past with children performing, “The Bible” had young vocalists delightfully in tune with excellent diction. This quality ensured that I would genuinely enjoy putting the CD on again and again upon requests.

When asked for a kid’s opinion my children were happy to oblige. Jonah, age 14 said, “It was okay. The songs weren’t really very creative, but I think you could learn them easily. I think the CD is geared to little kids definitely.”

“It was very good!”, said Aidan, age 4. “I like the “understand” song—(Track 2 Hebrews 11:3, “By faith we understand…”) because it makes me happy. I just liked it!”

“I really liked “Lord of Chihuahua”, added Sierra age 7. (Caution: make use of the lyric sheet included for 7 year olds. I had to explain to Sierra that Chihuahua was really Jehovah.) “I really liked how the kids sang and clapped. I would listen to it over and over and over and over (a thousand overs) again!”

Sammi age 17 provided a teen’s perspective. “I think the CD is kid-friendly and up beat music. I would have enjoyed this a lot when I was younger because it is very appealing. I think it really helps increase Bible knowledge. It is easier than trying to memorize scripture in other ways especially for little kids.”

Micah age 11 offered up the final word with her opinion. “I guess it’s a good idea to put the books of the Bible or Bible verses to music so kids can remember them easier. The kids on the CD sound pretty good especially when they sing in a round. The CD doesn’t really appeal to me much now, but I think I would have really liked it when I was say, six years old”.

Bible Story Songs offers 5 other Bible related CD’s on their website along with sheet music, puzzle pages books, and color and sing songbooks. All CD’s are reasonably priced at $9.99. In addition, samples of the songs offered on each of the CD’s can be heard at the website.

The CD’s are a quality investment especially for families of younger aged children. Bible Story Songs provide delightful entertainment with a Biblical focus. Their simple, wholesome, original and borrowed melodies filled with scripture could turn your next car ride into a worship filled experience.

Rocket Phonics

Rocket Phonics, designed by Stephen Guffanti, M.D. and Maureen Guffanti has everything a parent and child could want in a phonics program. Maureen created the program with the help of her husband when their daughter wanted desperately to learn to read at a very young age, but failed to thrive with traditional teaching methods. As Maureen designed the curriculum, her husband approached the project from a scientific view point.

“He had UCLA do a study with homeschool children using Rocket Phonics. The 2001 UCLA study found the students using Rocket Phonics learned nearly 4 months of reading skill for every month they used the program, while the students in the control group learned just under one month of reading skill for every month they used their programs!”said Maureen.

When I first read the description for Rocket Phonics, “a multi-sensory, game-based” curriculum my interest was perked. I have a four year old son whom I recently began describing to friends as “Curious George”. Aidan is cute, but oh so curious! There are many days that like the man with the yellow hat I am at a loss to try to keep up with his inquisitive and very active antics. Rocket Phonics, if not by name alone, promises excitement, adventure and energy in every lesson. Aidan was thrilled at the prospect of “school” related to rocket ships and space travel.

We began using Rocket Phonics as soon as it arrived to our home in a big white box full of possibilities. The curriculum consists of two spiral bound texts designed to be used by the teacher and student simultaneously (Volume one-205 pages, and Volume two-450 pages), a pocket folder of supplemental pages, a deck of 72 Play & Read playing cards, 1 Rocket peeker, 1 bag of bingo chips (red), two treasure hunts complete with prizes and bonus e-mail gifts for $160.00. Aidan eagerly participated in his first reading lesson as we looked at all the playing cards, reviewed their sounds and then followed up with a Bingo game designed to encourage review of phonetic sounds of specific letters.

The first day of use I had Sierra, my seven year old daughter, sit in with Aidan during the lesson even though she is currently reading at a solid first grade level. Aidan is very much a non-reader and I thought having his big sister present might take just a bit of the pressure off. I was also curious to see if Sierra would find the games interesting and engaging. I am happy to report she loved them. Despite being over shadowed by Sierra’s skills, a bad case of cabin fever and a teacher that was still trying to understand the ins and outs of a new curriculum, Aidan loved his first phonics lesson. After spending 30 minutes learning letter sounds in a variety of game based activities he asked me, “Can we play this again?”

Aidan and I have attempted a phonics lesson about three times a week. I purposely have not pressed daily lessons at this point because he is still so young. I want him to continue to enjoy the learning process; seeing it as a treat and never a chore. Our Rocket Phonics lessons usually last about 15-20 minutes in length. To date we have played phonics bingo and reviewed sounds with the play and learn cards which have the letter listed below a photograph or drawing of an object which begins with the phonetic sound during each lesson. Additionally, to keep interest peeked we have played an action game where Aidan completed an action related to the photo on the play and learn card, (ie. hop like a kangaroo for letter K) and another game requiring us to create the shape of letters with our bodies. All games have been a hit and according to Aidan are “a lot of fun!”

According to the Rocket Phonics website this unique curriculum is “Perfect for children of all learning styles, even very active kids. Rocket Phonics readers go from non-reader to 5th grade reading in two years or less”.

I have no idea what learning style Aidan is at this point of his life other than “little boy”, which makes Rocket Phonics an ideal choice for our homeschool. Rocket Phonics activities and games appeal to all types of learning styles; kids who are visual, auditory and kinesthetic learners. Since I am unsure of Aidan’s strongest learning style the various activities provided through the Rocket Phonics curriculum will provide him with an opportunity to learn phonics in the way he learns best. After one month of use Aidan can consistently recognize 7 of the 9 basic phonetic sounds taught in the first lesson of the curriculum. His interest is high and he and I continue to enjoy every lesson.

This is the most child-friendly phonics curriculum I have ever laid eyes on and I am anxious to witness its success with Aidan. We will write another review after six months of use and then again at the conclusion of the program. Stay tuned for future updates and reading progress with Rocket Phonics.

Alphabet Alley...Bible-based games for the pre-school set

I’ve always wanted my children to have a faith that was as alive and real on a week day as on Sundays. I have found it difficult over the years, especially when they are little, to incorporate Biblical teaching other than night time prayers into their daily lives. So many things call for their attention; computer games, television shows, videos, outside activities, flashy toys that shine and sing. Most of these kid-friendly products support contemporary culture in a wholesome way, but not very often in a God centered way. Weeks sometimes turn into months and I realize that I have done very little deliberate teaching to aid my little ones in developing a living breathing faith.

Alphabet Alley, “smart fun for little souls”, is a Christian company designed to help parents of little ones create play oriented experiences that aid in spiritual training. Their toys, designed for ages 6 months to 7 years, are nearly all Biblically based providing a natural springboard for Bible teaching as you play along. I received the Noah’s Ark Go Fish card game (ages 3+) and the Two by Two Matching Game (ages 3+) to review. I especially liked that both games centered on the theme of Noah’s Ark providing two different opportunities to focus on this popular Bible story.

The Noah’s Ark Go Fish game, priced at $5.99, consists of 40 matching card pairs with 10 different designs. The 4 x 6 cards have a heavy smooth finish and are perfectly sized for little hands. Each card is colored with a number in the top left corner, a clip art image in the center and printed word describing the clip art centered at the bottom. The cards can be used to play traditional “go fish” or as flashcards for number and reading practice.

The Two By Two Matching Game comes in a sturdy cardboard box for storage and consists of 24 colorful playing tiles which create 12 matching pairs. The tiles are 2” square and ¼” thick making them the sturdiest and best designed matching game that has come through our house to date. After nearly 10 rounds of play our game still looks brand new; a true test of its sturdiness. My four year old loved not only finding the matches during the game, but also lining up his winning pairs in perfect squares as the game progressed. The Two By Two Matching Game retails for $10.99.

Alphabet Alley was founded in 2004, by Marilyn Fontana, her mother Linda Bloss and Marilyn’s Aunt Mimi. The family owned and operated company is dedicated to providing consumers with “fun and educational faith-based toys for early childhood”. You can purchase the toys on their website, http://www.alphabetalley.com/, The Old Schoolhouse Store, and many other retailers listed on the Alphabet Alley website.

All toys are reasonably priced and designed to provide hours of fun with a multitude of uses. Selections include Magnetic play sets with a re-usable vinyl bag for $14.99, Noah’s ABC Stacking Blocks for $21.99, a wooden ABC Bible Memory game in a wooden storage box for $16.99 and Bible based wooden puzzles with little peg lifters for small hands for $9.99. Bible references and a short synopsis of stories are printed on the back board of the puzzles to aid parents in facilitating discussion and story telling while playing.

After 19 years of childhood, and still counting, our house is just about saturated with every type of toy imaginable. Items have come and gone many times due to quality issues and durability. I love that Alphabet Alley products are classically designed and sturdy enough to stand up to years of play.

While playing the matching game four year old Aidan explained to me why he loved it. “You’ve got to see something, then you just flip it over, then you look and if you find something that matches you win!”

I noted his enthusiasm during the game as he turned over an ark tile and a zebra tile for one of his turns. Looking at the tiles and holding them in his hands his thoughts turned to something in his memory. He said, “Mommy! This is like the story when the animals climbed on the big boat and they sailed away!”

“Yes”, I said as I prayed a simple prayer of gratitude for a Biblically based game that could help my little boy draw closer to God.

Kinderbach....piano lessons for pre-schoolers!

It is a standing rule in our house that you must be 8 years old before you can receive any formal instruction in music. I suppose my opinion on this matter is a bit hypocritical since once upon a time I begged my grandmother, a professional music teacher, to give me piano lessons at the tender age of four. She tried to fend me off, but eventually caved to the pressure as any grandmother would. Like a firecracker on the fourth of July, however, my piano education was short-lived and I will forever blame my youth as the reason I so quickly lost interest.

Sometimes, as the saying goes, “rules are made to be broken”. Kinderbach Learning Center, a web-based keyboard instruction curriculum, is designed to teach children aged 2-7. Lessons are provided through video, printable activity pages and games with great appeal for the pre-school set.

Kinderbach video lessons are very engaging reminding me of an episode of “Blues Clues”. Kari Gregor, creator and founder of Kinderbach, acts as the teacher standing in the midst of a cartoon room. Cartoon characters, “Frisco”, a young boy, and “Dodi”, a donkey, introduce various musical concepts, and locations of notes on the keyboard as early as Lesson 1. The mix of cartoon life and real people drew my young ones into each lesson. Four year old Aidan adored hunting down all the pairs of black keys on our piano that in his mind were simply the locations of “Dodi’s house”; a game provided in Lesson 4 of Kinderbach.

Parents interested in Kinderbach may use the site free of charge for the first two weeks. Those wishing to continue can for a fee of $14.95 a month or $85.95 yearly. Membership to the site gives you access to 60 weeks or two school years of instruction. According to Gregor, the lessons cover “the topics of piano, music theory, note reading, rhythm, ear training, hand position and much more.”

As I logged onto the website for the first time, a short instructional video immediately popped up. I easily came to understand all the symbols, options and concepts of the site. The first game of Lesson 1, “High and Low” designed to help children recognize the concept that some notes have a high sound and some have a low sound, brought forth lots of giggles from my daughter Sierra, age 7 and son Aidan.

Each weekly lesson included with Kinderbach consists of four parts with instruction being provided through individual videos. Children or parents have the opportunity to print off fun activity pages and crafts related to the topics discussed in the lesson. We saved all of these papers in a three ring binder, creating a keepsake notebook to review as often as desired. The total time to complete all four components of the weekly lesson for us was about 20-30 minutes. This made it possible to complete an entire lesson during one sitting if desired.

I am a hard sell when it comes to music instruction and I discovered I had a few criticisms as we worked through the first four lessons. The music we heard was all generated by a keyboard synthesizer. While the sound quality was fine to the untrained ear of a pre-school child, I couldn’t help but think how much nicer it would be to have full rich tones of a stringed piano or more traditional instrument. Secondly, one of the theme songs contained lyrics that were unintelligible over the instrumental sounds. I felt since this was a curriculum dedicated to music instruction the music and lyrics should be a bit sharper as they came across my computer.

Aidan and Sierra loved the lessons we tried. They eagerly ran to the computer when I told them it was time to complete each “piano lesson”. Aidan especially enjoyed the video instruction even talking back to Kari, on occasion, when asked a question. The coloring and craft exercises were also a big hit. “I just like them. I like coloring and printing out the papers!”, remarked Aidan.

In addition to the on-line instruction, Kinderbach offers Kinderbach at Home, a DVD option of the same program offered through the website. There are many different options to purchasing Kinderbach at Home with the most economical being the entire Year 1 (lessons 1-60) collection of 6 instructional DVD’s, 6 activity e-books, 6 audio CD’s, 4 songbooks in e-book format and 4 corresponding audio CD’s for $217.75. Individual songbooks, containing music for 15-16 songs, are available on the Kinderbach website too for $21.95.

I asked Sierra what she thought of the Kinderbach lessons and her response was, “I like them. I like learning about the piano. I like seeing Dodi’s house on the piano”.

In an effort to advocate for all pre-school musicians hoping for piano lessons Aidan gave Kinderbach one final recommendation. “I love it because it’s very sweet and because we could do it day after day after day. It makes my heart so happy!” Who can argue that?