Peterson Directed Handwriting is a handwriting program that focuses on on “teaching fluent print and cursive handwriting skills.” I was given a couple of months ago their PreK/K and 1st grade levels and I’d like to share with you a little bit about those as well as my own personal thoughts.

1st Grade Level

My five-year-old was the first child I tried out with this. The lesson plans were done for me (and if you know me, you know this is a big plus) and were designed to last 10 minutes long. Included in the packet were a larger pencil that makes for easier gripping for smaller hands. Also included was a large sticker to put on table or desktop that showed the proper angle in which to position the writing paper, based on whether the student is left-handed or right-handed. I found this very helpful in teaching her, though I do want to add that the sticker easily comes off. This can be remedied by affixing over the top with clear packing tape.

The first lesson went well. My daughter likes the short and simple and the lessons are certainly that. The next day was a little frustrating as she just didn’t get it. After that, each lesson became too much of a struggle for daughter and mother, thus we took a short break.

PreK/K

We tried again and the same happened: more frustration. I have since set it aside.

My middle two, however, have appreciated the Peterson approach. The kit comes with great reproducibles and my little ones have been learning which was is the right way to hold a pencil, how to sit correctly, and which way to hold the paper when writing.

I think one of the best things about this, however, teaching them to write in the air, using their arms and hands. Not only was this hugely fun for them, the book included has very big letters and numbers they can trace with their fingers as well. I have some pictures, I’ll have to share those later.

I wanted to give a quick breakdown on what comes with each kit.

Alphabet Alley Christian Toys provides quality educational toys and gifts for the younger crowd. Given that my children are 5 and under, this product was a perfect match for us. We were given the Two-By-Two Matching Game as well as the Noah’s Ark Go Fish game to review.

My children really loved these. The graphics are just so cute and grabbed even the attention of my busy two year old son. He put down his fire engine toys long enough to play with the matching game and that is saying a lot.

I love how heavy duty the matching game cards are as well as the Go Fish cards. With young kids, I often find that games made for them are not durable enough to withstand more than a few tries with my rowdy crew. These made the cut, however, and that means more meaningful play time. The chunky matching game cards held up to normal wear and tear and were the perfect fit for chubby hands.

A big deal to me is the fact that this company is faith-based. Many companies market their educational products well to young children, but the fact that they are secular shines right through. Alphabet Alley strives to teach the youngins how to play and learn biblical principles at the same time.

Priced at $5.99 for the Go Fish Cards and $10.99 for the Matching Game, the game is perfect for those children who are not ready for games that require reading.

I highly recommend this company for those looking for quality products for young children.

See you soon for more reviews!

I just want to begin by saying: I love this spelling program.

In words that my husband would be oh-so-proud to hear, “It rocks.”

Being a homeschooler usually involves teaching in various ways to suit your particular children. My oldest daughter is more of a auditory and visual learner, while my middle daughter is more of a hands-on type learner. All About Spelling fits both. And that is nothing short of amazing.

Quoting from the All About Spelling website

“. . .the All About Spelling series . . . bring(s) together the three pathways to learning—auditory (hearing), visual (seeing), and kinesthetic (touching). “

Using the Orton-Gillingham approach to spelling, your children will learn how to correctly say and learn phonograms, learn necessary spelling rules and concepts, and master homophones. And that is only a tiny, itty-bitty list of what all this program introduces and drives home.

My daughter loves the bright, colorful letter tiles. As we sit at the school room table, she is able see the letters as I say out loud their different sounds. In fact, she would consider it a fun afternoon just to put the tiles in alphabetical order. At five she has learned correctly each sound a vowel or syllable makes, and she can tell you exactly what a vowel or syllable is. It does this Mother’s heart good to hear her tell Daddy that no, N is not a vowel.

Six books are planned for the All About Spelling. Levels 1 – 4 are available now and Level 5 will be available in 2009. Also up for purchase are spelling games, a phonogram sounds CD-Rom (which I love because it ensures that I am saying their sounds correctly), phonogram cards, and letter tiles and magnets for those letter tiles. You will also find articles that are so helpful on learning how to make it all work.

Levels 1 and 2 are priced at $29.95 and levels 3 and 4 are $39.95. All in all, those prices are excellent considering the material you will be covering and the fact that lesson plans are done for you. What? I didn’t share that wonderful bit of news with you yet? Yes, lesson plans are done for you and that is such a huge plus for this busy mother. And considering the fact that you can use this for 4 year olds on up to adults, the price seems a bargain.

Another thing I wanted to point out was that you can spend as little or as much as need be on this program. We use it daily for 10-45 minutes, depending on how well my daughter is grasping the concepts. It is perfect for shaping to your own child(ren)’s individual needs.

One plus that goes over well with me is that everything is so well organized. You are instructed to set up a index card box with the provided dividers. You then put the flashcards in the appropriate place and this enables the teacher to find what he or she needs much faster and with a smoother transition between concepts.

I encourage you to visit the website, peruse the information offered or email Marie if need be. This is an excellent program and I would be happy to share my thoughts with you on it. Feel free to email me at mamarussell at gmail dot com .

As someone who hopes to someday become a web designer/developer, I was grateful to receive the eBook Let’s Make a Webpage, created for 8-12 year olds.

Step by step, The Computer Lady (aka Phyllis Wheeler) shows young people how to make their very own page on the internet. I love how simple and easy it is to read and learn from! Some of the things your young web designer will learn are:

• Making a Table (and no, not the kind you eat on!)
• Adding photos and sound
• How to upload to the internet

You do have to upload a trial version of CoffeeCup to follow her instructions exactly. This is the one downside. The trial version lasts 30 days, so make sure you read the entire eBook before you download CoffeeCup. An introductory price of $19.99 is now running on Let’s Make a Webpage, which is an excellent bargain if you are looking to supplement for your homeschool.

She also gives a 30 day money back guarantee if you are not satisfied.

Overall, this is an excellent resource for teaching your 8-12 year olds how to make their own web page.

Puppetools touts its purpose as “advancing the science of play in education.” While I believe play has an important part in home education and life in general, I found Puppetools fell a little short in promoting its objective.

In a nutshell, Puppetools is a website that educates parents/educators and students on how to make creative puppets. Many puppet patterns and ideas are on the site, giving some who are creatively challenged an idea on how you might use this in education. The site is priced as follows:

• $20 for a trial subscription of 60 days.
• $99 for a regular subscription of 1 year and up to 30 users

Unfortunately, the site is hard to find your way around and you are left with the feeling that you really don’t know what you have paid for. The quality of the movies are not the best and will be difficult for those on dial-up to use. I found that very little of the info I could actually find was beneficial to my particular homeschool.

However, for those who love puppets and would be able to use them in a group setting, such as a co-op, this may be a good fit for you. The cost is prohibitive to using it on just one family but that could be offset by a number of families sharing. The forum is also a good place to get ideas on how one could use puppets in education.

Come back often for more reviews!

Jennie von Eggers, MJ Flanagan, and Dena Wood have been able to do what many others have not: make learning the times tables fun and easy. Written on the front of of their Times Tales is “Learn ‘Em Fast – Have A Blast!” and I found that to be completely true.

Times Tales is a mnemonic-based system used to teach young ones how to learn multiplication facts. From their information page:

- Covers the most difficult to memorize times tables: 3×6,3×7,3×8,3×9,4×6,4×7,4×8,4×9,6×6,6×7,6×8,6×9,
7×7,7×8,7×9,8×8,8×9,9×9

- FAST - most children learn in two 45 minute sessions!

- Non-consumable – can be used by the whole family.

- FUN - kids love this learning method and ask for more!

Using this system was a blast! My five-year-old, and even my three-year-old, were able to pick up the facts very easily and loved the kooky pictures. The flip chart format made it easy for me as the teacher to manage without a lot of awkward maneuvering to enable both teacher and student to see at the same time. That is a definite plus in my book.

When I received this in the mail I looked over the flip chart before reading the instruction manual. I scratched my head and even said aloud, “This makes absolute no sense. HUH?” I took up the instruction manual and the authors suggest not getting bogged down trying to figure it out. I am glad I took their advice and did just that.

The memory story guides in the Instruction Manual involve one sentence which help “explain” the pictures in the flip chart, a discussion guide, and some questions and answers to go over with your student(s). Each lesson can last as long as you want it, though little time overall is needed. Another plus is that very little teacher prep is needed which is good for this busy mom! You can see a sample of what you will find by clicking here.

You also receive a Roll’Em Cube game, Crossword Puzzle Challenge, Division Flash Cards, Practice Tests and regular Tests, and Answer Key.

This is priced at $29.95 for Time Tales and $34.95 for the Time Tales w/ Mini Flip.

We also were blessed by being sent Trigger Memory System’s Clean ‘n Flips. I LOVE these. If you are looking for a method to help train your children to be responsible for cleaning up around your home, these will be such a great tool for you. Available are:

Fully-laminated, with the exception of Laundry for Kids, kids can use the pictures in these flip charts in order to remember how to properly clean, sort, wipe down, and pick up all on their own. I especially love the step by step instructions and pictures that help my girls clean the kitchen on their own. These Clean n’ Flips are invaluable tools to help our children become productive members of a family.

You can buy the whole set of three for $29.95.

Come back soon for more reviews!

Are you wondering how to teach the United States geography to your children? Stumped by creative ways to get them to remember which state is which? Published by Schoolside Press, Little Man in the Map is one man’s answer to learning the geography of our country.

Even now, as an adult, I have a hard time figuring out where each state is located. And honestly? I had never really thought of taking the time to learn or teach it to my children. Thanks to E. Andrew Martonyi I will not have to spend a second worrying about. My children loved this book and I did as well.

Based on shapes and visual clues, children are led to recognize the states and their placement based on the correlation to other states. The central figure in this book is MiM (Little Man in the Map) and he cleverly uses rhyme to teach readers, young and old a like, how to find the 50 states on a map. The book is also just a fun read and a nice book to add to your home library.

Priced at $19.95, you can also purchase separately The Little Man in the Map Wall Map for $21.95. A combo of the book and wall map is also available for $35.00. Free shipping is also available for a limited time during the holidays.

*Note* While I highly recommend this book, some of my readers may find the content on pages 50-57 objectionable, due to the the words “magic” and references to elves. The word is not used in the occult sense. I just want to make you aware!

Tomorrow you will find a review for another great memory program.