ACT, Inc.-- Discover program

This is a big school year for my 15 year old son. He is a sophomore in highschool and in our house that means time to start thinking about college. As a member of the TOS Review Crew I have received a multitude of products this year designed to help kids sift through the soul searching process of answering, “What do I want to do when I grow up?” Jonah is benefiting in big ways from these products as this is the year when he needs to start sifting through choices, prepping for college entrance exams and seriously plotting out his future endeavors.

I have been familiar with the ACT name since I was in high school. In fact, although I am not quite this old, ACT, Inc. is celebrating their 50th anniversary providing standardized testing services to students, parents and colleges. What I didn’t realize was all ACT has to offer students and parents in the way of career exploration. ACT, Inc. sent me access to their ACT Advantage Discover program so that I might review it for TOS Review Crew with the help of my son Jonah.

The ACT Advantage DISCOVER program is an on-line based career planning program developed to serve the interests of students aged middle school through adult hood. Through a series of interest inventory tests taken on-line Discover guides students through the thoughtful process of considering the next step after high school. Inventory tests explore personal likes and dislikes in regards to various activities, rating of abilities, and an evaluation of work related values. Data results are shared instantly through graphs and explanations. Students may also access current information on potential college majors, colleges and careers that line up with their interests. Discover is appropriate to help students prepare for:

four-year college

two-year college

professional/graduate school

career/technical training

military service

immediate employment

Jonah and I sat down together to use the ACT Discover program which took just under an hour from start to finish. Each of the inventory quizzes consisted of a series of questions designed to identify strengths and weaknesses in the student. For example, the uniact inventory determined strongest interests by asking the student to identify if they like, dislike or are indifferent to a series of descriptions of activities. To keep the quiz interest high the descriptions are accompanied with photographs of people using the described skill.

There were three inventory quizzes to take and then the fun really began with ACT Discover. A detailed report is available immediately after answering the last question of each of the inventory quizzes. The one to two page report displays a World of Work colored map, a circular graph identifying the various types of occupations on a broad spectrum. Based on Jonah's answers he was identified as a person who prefers working with People and Data. To the left of the graph were two boxed areas of short lists noting specific occupations relating to People and Data. For example, Jonah's list included: employment related services, marketing and sales, management and regulation and protection under the broader area of administration and sales. A button at the bottom of the box allowed us to click to receive a more detailed list of suggested occupations relating to these interest areas. All of this information was based on his one quiz relating to his interests only.

Jonah took the other two inventory quizzes which measured his abilities and values. At the conclusion of all three quizzes a master results page was available which pulled together his answers from the three profiling quizzes. I was pleased to see suggestions available as to where to go from here. The recommendations included exploring careers in one specific area, medical diagnosis and treatment which appeared at the top of two of his results pages, and researching additional career options based on his interests. The answers did not reveal any magic solutions, but thoughtful information with links to lists of careers and easy access to search colleges offering majors that would relate to career choices matching Jonah's unique desires, goals and personality. In my opinion considering the small amount of time Jonah had to invest in the Discover program, it offered a tremendous amount of insightful information for him to make use of.

The real test is to ask the student, however, and Jonah seemed pleased over all with his experience. "It was interesting. It helped me discover more about myself. It confirmed for me that I know which major I should study for college", he said.

ACT Discover is part of the ACT Advantage program available exclusively from ACT, Inc. You can purchase access to the online Discover testing service at their website, http://www.actadvantage.org/. Subscriptions range from 19.95 for a three month term to $24.95 for six months. I found the value of Discover was its ability to identify and organize students thoughts and desires. Decisions regarding careers and future study can seem overwhelming even for most adults. Making use of the tools Discover has to offer allows high school students to conquer this behemoth task and move easily into their bright future.

ABC Teach

If you ever wished you could find quality supplementary worksheets for your homeschool in one central location, then you need to become familiar with ABC Teach. Membership to http://www.abcteach.com/ opens up access to over 35, 000 of worksheets, games, puzzles and other printable educational resources. Divided by subjects, themes, and age groups teachers can search through the seemingly endless options available by category or through use of the site’s search engine. Membership is available on a yearly basis for $40.00 per user per year or two years for $70.00. Groups of 10-29 can purchase a yearly membership for $35.00 per user per year and larger groups of 30 or more for only $25.00 per user per year.
Serving teachers of students in Pre-K through grade 8, ABC Teach is an amazing educational resource that offers:

*Broad range of subjects and levels.

*New materials added weekly to reflect current events and seasonal topics.

*An extensive educational clip art collection that will add color to your classroom.

*No advertising on the member site.

*Customer service representatives who are always available to address your concerns and requests.

I received a trial membership from ABC Teach in order to review the website for the TOS Review Crew. I was overwhelmed at first due to the vastness of the site. My mind does not naturally think in worksheets and therefore many times I don’t realize the benefits of supplementary paper work in the homeschool unless I see it first. I felt frustrated with the amount of time I used as I first searched through topics and subjects trying to take in all the site had to offer. Time is a precious commodity for me since I am teaching four students spanning grades K-10 this school year. I loved all the worksheets and other items I stumbled across, but when I tried using the search engine I could never seem to generate exactly what I was looking for.

My first goal in making use of ABC Teach products was to find resources to help my 5 year old learn to count to 100. I chose various search phrases including “100 day activities” and “counting to 100”, but found very little. I was surprised since most schools and educators spend a good deal of time teaching children counting skills.

I did find, however some terrific counters called Number Beads. The number beads are pre-programmed colorful circles which I printed out on cardstock just moments after locating them. Suggested activities accompanied the number beads representing numbers 0-50. I cut the circles out, punched holes in the top where indicated and gave them to Aidan along with a pipe cleaner to string them on in order. He loved the activity and even spent time organizing the number beads on the floor before adding them to his pipe cleaner. This simple math activity has brought a multitude of counting lessons to our house over the past few weeks helping Aidan and I accomplish his goal of learning to count. A plus for me came in finding and prepping the activity; all done from my home computer in just moments.

As I searched for other topics I joyfully discovered ABC Teach offerings for foreign language study. Our family spends a good deal of time with foreign language education. This year, for example, my kids are learning Latin, Italian and French. Finding quality curriculum is hard enough in the area of foreign language education, but supplemental resources are even scarcer. ABC Teach has supplemental worksheets, matching vocabulary cards, games and puzzles that could be used with any foreign language curriculum for several languages other than English. For example, I found 65 pages of Italian language supplemental worksheets! Included in the mix were pages which could be used to create an ABC book of Italian vocabulary. Very cool!

Another wonderful opportunity for members only is access to ABC TEACH custom worksheet generators. The mini programs allow teachers to create ABC Sort, handwriting practice, shapebook and border paper, word wall segments, scrambled word, crossword puzzles, desk tag templates, math, bingo, sudoku, word shape puzzles, spelling lists, missing letter and circle and spell worksheet activities. Short tutorials are available on the site to ease the learning curve in using the program, but the results are seemingly endless in possibilities especially for teachers with a creative bent. Samples of the custom worksheet generator are available for non-members at the ABC TEACH website.

ABC Teach offers a monthly newsletter filled with alerts to seasonal and new offerings on the website. The most recent newsletter listed 53 FREE links to supplemental resources along with helpful tips on how to use them with my students. In addition quick links to additional web resources and other helpful information regarding ABC TEACH were accessible directly from my email newsletter. I thought it exciting to have so many resources organized for me in one helpful newsletter.

Although anyone can access the company’s nearly 10,000 free resources I found the truly unique maps, foreign language study and of course access to worksheet generators were only available to members. Resources will mostly benefit teachers of students in pre-school through middle school; however some resources like foreign language study, make great teaching aids even for high school. Considering all ABC TEACH offers its members for $40.00 a year I think it is definitely worth the investment.

Vantage Learning/ My Access!

"If there's a book you really want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you

must write it."� -- Toni Morrison

Something happens to my children when they enter 7th grade. I lose a bit of my all knowing powers and they begin to question many things I share with them during the school day. Some would say it is a sign of disobedience, but I really think it is a sign of growing up. As they begin to learn and grow during these years they are also preparing for life away from me. It is during this time that I encourage independent study especially in the areas of subjectively graded

subjects, like writing.

Vantage Learning sent me a one year membership to their on-line writing curriculum, My ACCESS Home Edition, to use with my children in exchange for a TOS Review Crew review. I was thrilled to oblige as our homeschool is currently experiencing the joys of teaching 7th and 10th grade writing. With my limited all knowing powers surfacing on a daily basis I was in desperate need of a fresh curriculum to help me with teaching. I discovered MY ACCESS is a homeschool Mom's dream come true.

A complete on-line curriculum, MY ACCESS allows teachers to set goals and

requirements and then, acting as a teacher's best friend, holds the student accountable. With clever on-line lessons, evaluation tools, and follow up activities and suggestions for revision, MY ACCESS teaches writing for excellence and proficiency. Available as a yearly subscription for $99.95 which allows use by up to 6 students, My ACCESS Home Edition is an incredible value for homeschool families.

For any homeschool teacher who has shuddered at the thought of teaching the art of essay writing My ACCESS includes a complete writer's guide. The writer's guide, an on-line textbook, is designed to help familiarize readers with the writing process and the key writing traits which My ACCESS concentrates on throughout the curriculum. These writing traits include: focus, content development, organization, language use and mechanics.

When I first received my email acknowledging my account subscription, user name and password, I registered my students quickly and easily. Logging into the site took seconds and once on I found the registration process straight forward and easy to understand. Tutorials, a Parent User's Guide, Student User's Guide and Frequently Asked Questions page were accessible from the home page if I needed them to guide me through the learning curve of understanding all the facets of the program. After spending about an hour reviewing all the information I felt I had a good handle on how to make the most of My ACCESS and was thrilled by all the possibilities.

I registered Micah, 7th grader, Jonah, 10th grader and Sierra, 2nd grader on my account choosing essay selections for each student based on their ages and abilities. Each student was assigned a unique user name and password allowing them to log in at a later time to check assignments and begin work. After registration My ACCESS allowed me to set deadlines, print out master schedules and set award levels for each student based on points earned. For example, in an effort to bribe, I mean encourage, my 7th grader towards diligence I chose a point value for various activities and writing assignments completed. Next, I chose an award incentive and deadline to receive the award. Since I had already chosen to receive email notification of progress reports to help me track student progress without direct daily intervention, I knew nearly as quickly as Micah that she had met her goal of 250 points by her deadline of 10/31 and should receive her award of a special movie night with Mom.

As I chose the suggested topics to assign I was pleased to note a customize option. Both Micah and Jonah participate in a Philosophy co-op class and had a written assignment due. I easily added a description of their assignment under the My Topics option allowing My ACCESS to coach them through getting their assignment to its final draft.

If I still needed inspired writing prompts for assignments which would please everyone My ACCESS offered a topic wheel option for optimal creativity. The topic wheel assists the teacher in randomly choosing a beginning, middle and end for the topic. After giving it a spin I came up with Write a rap (beginning) that convinces a famous actor (middle) to transform into something else (end). All of these options were made available to me after deciding I wanted a persuasive essay for ages 15-18. Fantastic!

I sat down with 7th grader, Micah to watch and take notes as she logged on to her personal account the first time. She needed very little instruction from me in regards to locating assignments and choosing options presented to her. "It was easy because all you had to do was put in your user name and password and then click assignments and you were basically there", she commented.

Micah chose to attempt Informative Essay writing first. Rather than diving into writing I asked that she watch the helpful tutorial lesson first. My Access lessons are hip and interesting all based around the premise that the student has just been hired as a reporter for the My ACCESS Daily News and will receive some on the job training. The "editor", a smartly dressed cartoon version of a young professional woman, greets the student welcoming them as they begin Chief Reporter Training. For Informative essays the training consisted of three modules of lessons all taking about 5 mins. to read through and complete. The third module taught how to read and benefit from the My ACCESS evaluation rubric which appears once the student submits their first draft of their essay. Other modules included information regarding writing an introduction, body paragraphs and conclusion for their essay. Each lesson concluded with a vocabulary matching activity for terms discussed within the lesson. This activity was graded immediately and allowed the student to print results for easy record keeping.

While Micah wrote her essay she discovered an on-line translation tool for English to Spanish and an on-line dictionary complete with synonyms and usage examples. She made use of the dictionary as she revised her essay saving her a trip to the bookshelf for the thesaurus.

"I think MY ACCESS is one of the most fun writing curriculums I have used. I like how you can go and do activities or exercises to help you understand everything. I also like how it takes you step by step through everything with the evaluation rubric making sure I understand and grading me", said Micah.

My 10th grade student, Jonah, made use of a customized assignment I had chosen to help him meet the requirements of his essay required for Philosophy class. He and I discovered that once complete we could ask My ACCESS to publish the essay in the ACCESS Daily News and have the current edition delivered to any email inbox; a great way to keep grandparents and other interested family members up to date. Student's essays are published in a typical column format on a mocked up newspaper page. My ACCESS allows the choice of page color, type and style. We chose a light beige paper with a font we thought supported an essay that compared and contrasted the rhetoric of Socrates and one of his students. When Jonah's essay arrived in my inbox I thought it looked impressively well written and professional. I was pleased to note the look of satisfaction from Jonah and positive comments seeing his work published in such a format.

When asked his opinion regarding My ACCESS Jonah said, "It's a good writing curriculum. I like it because it grades your essays giving you a percentage to know where you are at. You don't have to guess at what you need to change to make your paper better. I would recommend My ACCESS for high school writing assignments".

Each time I signed into MY ACCESS after registration I easily checked on student progress by utilizing an abbreviated report on my home page known as the Writing Dashboard.

Writing Dashboard

Student:

Jonah Spoerndle

Submissions:

3

Overall Progress:

Student:

Micah Spoerndle

Submissions:

5

Overall Progress:

I liked using the Dashboard for quick checks on student progress in case I forgot to ask them personally in the midst of a hectic day. The Writing Dashboard displays the number of essays submitted for each child, plus an average writing performance labeled either below proficient, proficient or advanced proficient. Additionally it allowed me to easily access the drafts of each student's essays seeing where their specific strengths and weaknesses fell, revisions attempted and development from rough draft to finished product.

I was impressed with all My ACCESS Home Edition offered me in the areas of lesson planning and supervision options. When juggling multiple subjects for multiple students in upper grades I can use all the assistance a curriculum can offer. My ACCESS Home Edition is an excellent tool for teaching, encouraging and providing instant feedback to young writers. Who knows it may even help you regain some of your all knowing power when you need it the most.

Virginia Soaps and Scents

What happens when a homeschool project becomes a favorite family hobby? For the Spargur family of rural southeastern Virginia it becomes a family business. Three years ago, Roy and Richelle Spargur, parents of their homeschool family of 11, enjoyed their soap making project suggested in a unit study on Colonial Life in Virginia so much they knew they had to continue making soap as a family. They launched their hand crafted soap making business, Virginia Soaps and Scents at the Virginia State homeschool convention in June of 2008, where they caught the attention of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine publishers Paul and Gena Suarez. A review of Virginia Soaps and Scents products appeared in the Spring 2009 issue of the magazine catapulting their company to national recognition and exposure.

My four daughters and I adore bath and body products. When I received my free sample of soaps from Virginia Soaps and Scents to review I couldn’t wait to test them out and share them with my family. We are very particular about scents and quality in our bath and body products and on occasion can spend hours in chain stores searching for just the right selection. We were able to use the Ginger Lime shampoo bar, Coconut Lemongrass, Fresh Orange and Oatmeal, Milk & Honey soaps. We found the soaps to hold a lovely light fragrance, which unfortunately, in my opinion, did not linger. I love fragrance so much that I found this aspect just a tad disappointing. I was very skeptical about using a bar of soap as shampoo, but too intrigued not to give it a try.

The shampoo bar is applied to wet hair and lathers remarkably well. Its’ light scent is refreshing and with a quick rinse all soap residue and dirt is removed from hair and scalp. My hair was left literally squeaky clean, but since it tends to be a bit on the dry side I felt still needed a touch of conditioner. As I placed the bar on the soap dish I realized what a benefit a shampoo bar would be for travel. It is lightweight and compact for packing plus eliminates all issues airlines have with liquids. The shampoo bar is also recommended on the company website for use in camping.

When asked for comments our family test marketing team had similar experiences to share. “It made my hair slightly dry, but my scalp felt really clean”, said Sammi age 18. “It was fun to use because it was different from regular shampoo. It didn’t have a strong scent, but I thought it smelled clean which is the scent I want for my hair”.

“It was easy to use and it made my skin feel really soft after using it", commented Micah, age 12. “It would be really handy to take to swimming lessons, I think, because you could pack it in your bag to use as your shampoo and conditioner and it wouldn’t take up much space”, she added.

Virginia Soaps and Scents soap bars contain an olive oil base not detergent. According to a company brochure provided in the packaging their product is defined as “real soap” because it consists of oil and water bound together with sodium hydroxide. “Basically, a fatty acid (the oil) combined with an alkali (the sodium hydroxide) creates a salt (the soap.) The alkali is neutralized in the reaction; leaving a cleansing, moisturizing compound we call ‘soap’”. Almost all Virginia Soaps and Scents products contain olive and/or soy oil for skin conditioning and coconut oil for lathering.

The Spargur Family promises all of their products are hand crafted and explains on their website what they mean by the term. “At Virginia Soaps and Scents we take the term literally. It means we don’t buy soap, lotion and lip balm from a supplier and slap our label on it. We have developed our own soap recipes which are poured into Roy’s handmade poplar soap molds. Roy makes all the tools used in cutting and planing the soap, as well as printing all the labels and literature. All of our products are crafted right from scratch and are tested by use in our own home..”

Virginia Soaps and Scents products are sold in specialty stores in Virginia, craft fairs and homeschool conventions, but most non-Virginians will want to take advantage of the convenience of on-line shopping at the company’s web store, http://www.va-soaps.com/.
Payments are made via PayPal. Prices range from $3.95 for an individual bar of gourmet soap to $39.95 for the Virginia Sampler, a sample set of all the bath and body products offered by the company delivered in a wooden crate. The set includes soaps, baby powder, body butter, lip balm, and laundry soap. Shipping charges are added to orders at the time of check out.

From lip balms to laundry detergent Virginia Soaps and Scents has a lot to offer the homeschool family in search of pure, wholesome toiletries. Their reasonable pricing and quality standards make them stand out from ordinary bath and body products. As you use their soap, shampoo or lotions you will experience the joy of cleanliness while knowing you have the best home education can offer; a “delight directed family business” born from a love of working together.

The Amazing Bible World History Timeline

I remember the first time I discovered I loved world history. My kids and I were reading a history curriculum that the author had specifically written to help readers understand God directed parallels present in history. This particular curriculum began with Creation and ended with the resurrection of Christ. In addition, the author wrote of events in the Middle East (Bible history) in one lesson and then followed with a lesson of events taking place on the other continents in the world during the same time period. For example, I learned that Ancient Indian Mounds in Ohio were built during the time Hezekiah was on the throne.

For the first time in my education I had the opportunity to “connect the dots”, so to speak, with all the different aspects of Ancient history. The author’s desire to share Bible history as a part of world history allowed our family to understand history as God’s story of mankind. This concept, pointed out by the author, was an exciting and inspiring moment for me and of course, I wanted to learn more.

The Amazing Bible World History Timeline was created by Bible Charts and Maps, LLC to aid students of all ages in seeing God’s plan in history. According to the company’s literature, “You see His hand directing all of the world events and the Bible set against that background.” Delivered to your home as a 36 x 46” laminated chart, the Amazing Bible World History Timeline is a lasting resource for history study. According to information on the chart, “It represents not only years of patient research by the author, but centuries of efficient effort of early historians. It contains a wealth of authentic information to be obtained at a glance. It shows the simultaneous relationship of events.”

I have never been a fan of timelines simply because I never seem to reference them. In our homeschool we many times have diligently created timelines for reference; however they usually succumb to being a wall covering rather than a learning tool. Over time edges curl, figures fade or fall off the timeline which vies for our attention, but inevitably we simply remove it having not learned much from the process. The Amazing Bible World History Timeline, I am sorry to say, met a similar fate.

I struggle with reading charts and graphs to begin with and so took a bit too long in my opinion trying to determine how to read the chart. It is designed in a circular fashion with all B.C. dates to the right and A.D. dates to the left. According to the company’s website, “It works like a clock. Adam is at the top. Christ's birth divides the circle in half.” In my mind the concept was confusing and I struggled. The printing on the chart was very small because so much information is shared on one chart. There is 6000 years of world history represented by the chart! The timeline is printed mostly in black and white with pink, blue and highlighter yellow used to allow students to visually connect various people groups.


The Amazing Bible World History Timeline may be an excellent resource for some, but not our house. I asked my 15 year old son for his opinion after spending a few too many frustrating moments with the chart and he said, “If I was just to look at the chart with no one explaining it to me I would be so confused.”

The Amazing Bible World History Timeline offers customers free interactive maps of the Holy Land, the genealogy of Christ in two different formats and a pdf file of the timeline for use in lesson planning and easy research reference. In addition, my Amazing Bible World History Timeline came with helpful tips for incorporating it into Bible study. The timeline and all the extras can be purchased at www.BibleTimeline.NET for $29.97.

I encourage you to spend some time on the company’s website and judge for yourself if this timeline is a good fit for your family. Connecting the dots in world history is an inspiring and thrilling experience. If the Amazing Bible World History Timeline helps deepen your family’s understanding of God at work then it will be well worth your investment.

Sarah Books

Like all things born from the heart, Sarah Books offers homeschoolers a delight-filled option for historical educationi. Authored by 62 year old grandfather of nine, Jim Baumgardner, the author promises he wrote all three books in his current series for his grandchildren. “They (books) do not have any sex, profanity, or anything that would be offensive to young readers. I would never subject my grandchildren to such writing”, he stated.

Although others have labeled the Sarah books as Christian fiction, Baumgardner prefers the label, “Young Adult fiction written by a Christian author.” I would easily label them historical fiction with a Christian focus. The main character, Sarah, is a twelve year old girl facing the world through the eyes of a child raised with Christian principles and teaching. She easily shares her faith, as do several other characters throughout her journey, but never with a preachy or judgmental attitude.

Having raised two daughters on historical fiction, and read more girl heroine stories than I can possibly count, I was anxious to dive into Sarah’s Wish, the first in Baumgardner’s series of Sarah Books. The story is set in 19th century southern Ohio near the time of the Civil War. Beginning with great description and action readers and listeners are easily drawn into the story line from the first phrase. Good characters are very good and evil ones repulsive. Sarah instantly rises as the heroine as she assists with runaway slaves, finds delight in the simple things of life and strives for patience as she waits for her adoption into a family of her own. I thought Baumgardner cleverly wove definition of difficult vocabulary and historical references within the storyline for young readers, although a two page glossary of terms is provided at the beginning of the novel for easy reference. In my opinion, Sarah’s Wish is targeted for an 8-12 year old audience, but could easily appeal to younger and older as a family read aloud. The nature of the story line and historical context make it an adventure story worthy of boys or girls.

“I would definitely give it thumbs up”, said Micah age 12 who fancies herself a connoisseur of historical fiction with girl heroines. “He is a good writer and I like how he uses a lot of description in the book”, she added.

Sarah’s Wish consists of 123 pages divided into 14 easy to read, short chapters. Chapters easily accommodate short reading sessions, but I’m sure most readers will want to keep reading once they open up the world of adventure within the Sarah books. Baumgardner offers audio books of the first two books in his series. Sarah’s Wish, however, comes with a free audio download code on the inside back cover for on-line listening at the publishers website to all four discs of its audio version.

All three of Baumgardner’s books can be purchased at http://www.sarahbooks.net/. The author offers a free personalized autograph service with every purchase. Since Sarah’s Wish retails for only $9.99 with free shipping and handling, I can think of no better Christmas gift for young fiction enthusiasts this holiday season. Book two in the series Sarah’s Promise retails for $14.99 and the third, Sarah’s Escape for $17.50 both with free shipping and handling as well. The books are available as a set for $39.95. A portion of all sales of Sarah’s Wish will be donated to one of the author’s favorite charities, Carpenter’s Place, http://www.carpenterplace.org/, a non-profit agency benefiting girls especially orphans like fictional Sarah.

For those wishing for more adventures with Sarah an email newsletter is available complete with interesting historical facts, an historical question of the month, contests, famous quotes and the address to write the author with comments and questions. My personal interchanges with Baumgardner were warm and witty just like his books. I found him to be an author that understands homeschoolers and children and who desires to do everything he can to support both.

Guardian Angel Publishing

Guardian Angel Publishing, Inc. is a children’s book publisher for a contemporary audience. The company offers customers a wealth to choose from with nearly 100 titles targeted for children age 0-12 in a variety of formats including e-books in PDF files, e-books on CD, print paperback books, and very soon book video DVD’s. Guardian Angel Publishing states on their website that “education and learning are our goals!” and from the three PDF e-books I was sent to review I believe they met their goal successfully.

The first book our family read and reviewed was Rainbow Sheep by Kim Chantel. This sweet and simple picture book shares the story of an uninspired rainbow and the little girl and sheep who turn the rainbow’s grey day into one of color. The illustrations accompanying the text are actually photographs of Chantel’s unique wool felting fiber art. The images seemed to rise off the page begging to be touched.



















Following the story are step by step directions for a variety of wool felted projects definitely inspired by the picture book story. One of the felting projects is recommended for ages 8 and up, however while the story is written for younger students. I found this disparity a bit frustrating since the project was understandably too difficult for the targeted audience of the story. I believe older students could benefit from the project by using the delightful illustrations accompanying the text as inspiration for their felting project.

“I really liked the book because it was colorful”, said Sierra age 8. “I liked the colorful sheep. I want to make the sheep that were in the book”.

“I liked the colors. I liked when the sheep got covered in colors”, said Aidan age 5.

Rainbow Sheep is suggested for ages 4 and older. It contains 11 original fiber art illustrations, 4 pages of felting for fun activities, a glossary of fiber art terms and further information for fiber art education. The book is available in PDF, CD, print paperback, and book DVD formats.


Hamster Holidays, part of the Pet Grammar Parade Series by Cynthia Reeg, is a fanciful book about nouns and adjectives and although not noted by the publisher provides readers great practice with calendar reading. It is written for ages 5-12, so I read the story aloud to my 5 and 8 year olds and assigned it to my 12 year old.

Throughout the book all the nouns are typed in blue font while adjectives appear in red. Other story elements are in typical black type allowing the nouns and adjectives to virtually jump off the page to readers. At the conclusion of the book a review of definitions of common nouns, proper nouns, compound nouns and noun plural spellings are provided. Various puzzles and word games make up the conclusion of the book allowing the homeschool teacher to capitalize on grammar study generated by the hamsters.

Aidan and Sierra both gave Hamster Holidays two thumbs up. “It was very good, because the hamsters had hats and costumes and stuff like that”, said Aidan age 5.

“I really liked Hamster Holidays because it was really funny”, added Sierra, age 8.

Micah, age 12, was a bit more critical. “It was cute and funny, but I don’t think kids my age would enjoy it as much as younger kids (7 or 8 year olds). The storyline was kind of young and the humor a bit too young for my age.”

Hamster Holidays is currently available as a PDF e-book, E-book CD or print paperback from Guardian Angel’s website.

Our final gift from the publisher for review was a 19 page story of determination despite handicaps or disability. Andy and Spirit Go To the Fair by Mary Jean Kelso chronicles the story of Andy, a not so typical 4-H kid, and his first experience showing a horse named Spirit at a local fair. A portion of the proceeds of this book are donated to Healing Reins non-profit organization and Horseplay of Femley, NV. The publisher offered no age suggestions for a target audience of Andy and Spirit Go To the Fair, but I would guess 8 and up could easily read and enjoy the book independently or if younger horse enthusiasts abound easily used as a brief family read aloud.

The end of the book provides a one page article on the management of wild horses in the U.S. along with helpful website listings for further research. Readers interested in learning more about 4-H will appreciate the brief informative description of 4-H along with website address included on the final page of the book.

When asked for her opinion of Andy and Spirit Go To the Fair, Micah age 12 sincerely answered, “I liked the message of the book. I felt I knew a lot about the main character, what his life is like and his difficulties”.

Andy & Spirit is available on the Guardian Angel Publishing website as a PDF download, E-book CD, Print paperback or DVD Book Video.

I am not a huge fan of e-books just because I love the sensory experience of turning pages and holding a text rather than clicking my mouse and staring at light. I was thrilled to note, however that all three of my selections are available in traditional paperback formats if I desire. The obvious benefits of purchasing a PDF e-book include instant download gratification and price. All PDF e-books from Guardian Angel Publishing are $5.00; while a CD based e-book is$9.95 plus $5.95 shipping and handling. Print paperback versions of the books are priced at $10.95 plus $6.95 shipping and handling and DVD Book versions are $9.95 plus $5.95 shipping and handling.


To purchase books from Guardian Angel Publishing visit the company website at http://www.guardianangelpublishing.com/