Booking through Thursday

It’s the last day of the year, and you know what that means … nostalgia and looking back.

What were your favorite books of the year? (Books that were new to you in 2009, if not necessarily published this year.)

This is a hard category to narrow down, but I'll give it a try!

Fiction - Around the World in 80 Days, Enchantment (the first Orson Scott Card book I've read, I've got more on my list for this year), The Hunger Games and Catching Fire.

Kid's books - A Girl of the Limberlost and James Herriot's Treasury for Children (loved it so much that I bought a copy for TJ)

Non-Fiction - Surprised by Joy, Mere Christianity

Reading through the Bible in 90 Days

I don’s usually like to make New Year’s resolutions (because I usually don’t stick to them!) but I’ve found one that I really want to try – reading the Bible in 90 days. I saw it mentioned on Kimberly’s blog, Raising Olives, and thought it looked interesting. After a few days of thinking it over (and wondering if I could really read that much in 90 days!), I’ve decided to jump in and see if I can do it and Nick is going to join me so we can cheer each other on.

If you’re interested in joining the challenge, you can print a reading schedule (pdf) to keep yourself on track and join the other participants at Raising Olives.

Christmas Baking

I'll be very busy cleaning and baking again this week for our annual Christmas Eve party. Here's a sampling of what will be served (picture from last year):



From left to right (going clockwise) -coconut cookies, oatmeal cookies, chocolate chip cookies, and peanut blossoms. In the center - (top) butter cookies and (bottom) hello dolly squares.

Merry Christmas (and don't eat too many cookies!) :)

Maestro Classics – The Tortoise and the Hare

When I got the email that I’d be reviewing a CD from Maestro Classics I was very excited! Their CD series combines music played by the London Philharmonic Orchestra with well-known children’s stories including, Casey at the Bat, The Story of Swan Lake, and Peter and the Wolf. TJ was not so excited because she usually doesn’t enjoy books on CD.

When we received our copy of The Tortoise and the Hare, I popped it into our CD player and we sat down to listen to it (with some reluctance on TJ’s part). The first track on the disc is a 20 minute retelling of this famous Aesop’s fable. The music was beautifully done and the narrator did a fabulous job with the various voices. The second track is a short history of the story told by one of the co-creators of the CD series, Bonnie Ward Simon. The third track is the “Pretzel Vendor of Paris” song (a very cute song featured in the story). Stephen Simon, co-creator of the series, then shares a short lesson on the music and instruments and what characters they represent.  The next track is a repeat of the story, but this time we paid more attention to the instruments and how they represented the characters. Track six gives a very brief instruction for singing the “Pretzel Vendor of Paris” song and the final track is an accompaniment version of the song you can sing along to.  The CD also includes a small booklet with some activities and puzzles as well as some information on musical notation, instruments, and the music and lyrics for the “Pretzel Vendor of Paris.”

We thoroughly enjoyed listening to this CD and I was happy to find that my local library had more offerings from Maestro Classics. The music and narration blend so well and I really appreciate how Stephen Simon shares how the music fits into the story. TJ enjoyed the CD and liked listening for the instruments that represent the two main characters. She also enjoyed the puzzles that are included in the booklet.

CDs from Maestro Classics are $16.98 each or 3 for $45 and you can also find samples to listen to before purchasing. If you’re interested in  reading what other homeschooling families thought of The Tortoise and the Hare, check out the Homeschool Crew Blog.

Disclaimer: I was given this product free of charge to review as a member of the Homeschool Crew. I received no other compensation for my review. All views expressed are my opinions only.

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

It's not often that a book grabs my attention and keeps me up into the wee hours of the morning, but that happened last night when I started reading the latest book in The Hunger Games trilogy - Catching Fire. It kept me on the edge of my seat right until the very end (and such a cliff hanger!) and now I can't believe I've got to wait until next summer to read the last book in the series. I hope that the last book is just as good as these first two have been.

I'd like to catch up on the sleep I missed last night but I just got my library copy of Diana Gabaldon's latest book in the Outlander series so I'll be staying up late again! :)

Mathletics

My daughter loves math and is always saying it’s her favorite subject so I was happy to discover that we’d be receiving a subscription to Mathletics to review for the Homeschool Crew. After we received our username and password, TJ logged on and immediately started creating her avatar – choosing her hair color and style, eye shape, etc. She thought that was lots of fun.

After she played with that for a few minutes she moved on to the practice session page of the website. Since she’s five, she started on a fairly basic level. She had four categories to choose from (everyday maths, counting, numbers, and patterns & relations) and each category had at least four sessions of material along with a test. When each session is completed with a score of 100% the child gets points they can use to “buy” upgrades for their avatars.

The true highlight of the program is the option to play live (shown above) – your child has the opportunity to compete in a timed drill with other children who are logged on at the same time. TJ thought it was very neat to play against other kids in Canada. (Note to parents – there isn’t any messaging between kids so it’s completely safe).

Parents also receive a username and password so you can log on and check out your child’s progress. On the parent section you can see how much time your child has spent practicing and what topics they’ve covered as well as how well they did on their practice sessions.

I found the program interesting and TJ really enjoyed using it. I don’t think it’s something we’d use enough to account for the cost of a membership (I’ve been trying to cut back on TJ’s screen time). Since we use RightStart as our main math program (and it follows it’s on scope and sequence) some topics were introduced during her practice sessions that she had a difficult time with. Overall I found the website easy to navigate and TJ really enjoyed it. I might find it more useful when she’s a bit older.

You can purchase Mathletics for $59 (a one-year subscription for one child). If you’re interested in reading what other homeschooling families thought of Mathletics check out the Crew blog.

Disclaimer: I was given this product free of charge to review as a member of the Homeschool Crew. I received no other compensation for my review. All views expressed are my opinions only.

Tektoma

I’ve been working on a lot of reviews for the Homeschool Crew and one of the more recent things I got to try out was Tektoma – a game tutorial website geared to kids and teens. I had never heard of Tektoma but was interested in trying it out after checking out the website. For review purposes I received a three-month subscription to the website with access to their forums (you can get technical help or ask questions about the software used).

The video tutorials on the Tektoma website use Gamemaker software to create the games. After joining Tektoma, the next step is downloading the Gamemaker Software, available from YoYo Games. Gamemaker is a free program that allows you to create your own games using drag and drop techniques instead of writing code (which makes it very easy for kids to learn how to create their own games). It is possible to upgrade the Gamemaker software but it isn’t necessary for the tutorials on Tektoma. After downloading the software you’ll need to download a resource pack as well – this will give you many options for pictures and objects. After downloading the necessary materials and watching the “How to use the Tutorials” video you’re ready to go. Pick a tutorial (start with a beginner level!) and start making your game!

Tektoma has the tutorials split according to skill levels – from beginner to advanced – in the following categories: racing, arcade, memory, platform, and fantasy games. There are also a few shorter tutorials that can be useful after you’ve had some initial practice with the other game tutorials.

I began with a beginner level racing game after watching the video on how to use the tutorials. In less than two hours I had created a simple race track with two cars racing against each other (you against the computer). It was very fun making the game and it was very neat to know I was playing a game I had created. After that I tried a few more games – the arcade and platform games – with the same results.

The tutorials can be time consuming, but the videos are split into chapters so it would be easy to do just a bit at a time.  Some parts seemed to go very quickly and I had to stop the video and rewatch it – but that is easy to do. I found the program easy to use and had no difficulties downloading the materials and watching the videos but be sure to check out the system requirements before signing up.

Tektoma is available for a monthly fee of $14.95 or $140 for a year-long membership. It’s a neat way to learn how to make video games. If your child is interested in making his own games, this website is a great starting place. The tutorials are simple and easy to follow with great explanations along the way. You can check out what other homeschooling families thought of this program at the Crew blog.

Disclaimer: I was given this product free of charge to review as a member of the Homeschool Crew. I received no other compensation for my review. All views expressed are my opinions only.

We're home!

The trip was wonderful but it was very strange to be swimming our last morning and flying home to a snowstorm that night! (And don't tell Nick but I'm already thinking about the next trip!) I'm taking this week to recover and begin our Christmas break earlier than intended so I won't be posting much until the new year!