ALEKS Math

Once again, I am amazed at the products that I am privileged to review as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew.

Last month we were asked to access a one month free trial of ALEKS an online math curriculum.  ALEKS is not a game site, here is the company's description:

What is ALEKS?
Assessment and LEarning in Knowledge Spaces is a Web-based, artificially intelligent assessment and learning system that uses adaptive questioning to quickly and accurately determine exactly what a student knows and doesn't know in a course. ALEKS offers truly individualized instruction that meets the student at her learning level and instructs her on the exact topics that she is most ready to learn. As a result, no two students will experience the same learning path while working in ALEKS. Learn more by watching a quick 2-minute video.


ALEKS can provide you with the instruction and support that you need to homeschool your children in mathematics for grades 3-12. With a comprehensive course library ranging from elementary school math to complex subjects such as PreCalculus, ALEKS acts much like a human tutor to help take the stress off of homeschooling parents.


ALEKS offers highly-targeted, individualized instruction from virtually any computer with Internet access, making it a comprehensive and mobile education solution for your children. A subscription to ALEKS offers access to all courses and your child may take as many courses as needed during their subscription period.


ALEKS is a Research-Based Online Program:

• Complete Curriculum Solution for Math with Access to Full Course Library
• No Textbook Required
• Artificial Intelligence Targets Gaps in Student Knowledge
• Assessment and Individualized Learning for Grades 3-12
• Master Account Includes Quizzing and Automated Reports to Monitor Learning Progress
• Unlimited Online Access - PC and Mac Compatible
• QuickTables - Complimentary Math Fact Mastery Program for Multiplication, Division, Addition, and Subtraction

I had three students that I enrolled in the 1 month free trial.  I had a son who was enrolled in Level 3 math with Quick Tables, my daughter, in Algebra, and another son,  in Algebra II.  For the purpose of the review the older children completely stopped doing their current textbook curriculum and moved over to the ALEKS system.  My third grader used the program far less. (He is just less computer savvy that his siblings.)

I was very impressed with the assessment that each child was given.  It was a very accurate portrayal of what they already had mastered in each subject. I was pleasantly surprised at how much of Grade 3 math my youngest had already mastered so early in the school year.   I also enjoyed how the curriculum gave them surprise assessments, prompted review questions, and gave instantaneous feedback to them.  The quiz feature is great, and very easy for parents to use, and assign.  The progress reports are easy to read and understand and print out for your personal record keeping.  I think one of my favorite features was being able to create worksheets for your child to use away from the computer.  If you are traveling, and will not have computer access, this is so helpful to keep them current in their work.

My son, who used the Algebra II curriculum says that he found the ALEKS system "not as daunting as a textbook" .  He was easily able to see the progress he needed to make to master a certain area of study with his pie chart.

He also added that he felt like the program was very individualized.  He liked that he could work at his own pace, and change courses at anytime.  If he had mastered all of Algebra II he could move on, and not have to wait until the next textbook arrived.  He has asked to continue with the ALEKS Math system.

My daughter who used the Algebra curriculum echoed her brother in her feelings about this system.  She also has requested to continue using this program for her Math for the remainder of High School.  She likes the hyperlinked text that shows how to solve problems various ways. 

Both of the older children, stated that even if they had a shortened amount of time to spend on Math that day, they always felt a sense of accomplishment by completing one or two topics.  With a traditional textbook they felt always like they needed to complete an entire lesson, and some days, that just felt too hard.  They also enjoyed the lack of repetition that the program provides.  They always felt like they were moving forward.  Yes, the program repeats concepts with new assessments to assure that the child has mastered the concept, but, my children really liked the fact that 80% of their learning was NEW information, and not repeating the lesson before.

For children in the lower grades, I recommend that they practice their keyboarding and number pad skills, prior to using Quick Tables.  My youngest never got past entering random numbers in as his skill.  The program must require they meet a certain speed before they can enter the answer to math problems.  Even though that was what he was given every time he wanted to play, he still enjoyed it very much and always wanted to do Quick Tables.

ALEKS is a subscription based program.  You can pay monthly for $19.95 per child.  You can pay for 6 months, at $99.95.  A year subscription is $179.95, for one child.  They do offer a family discount, and for my two high schoolers it would be $305.90 for a year, a 36% savings.  To see how much your family can save click here.  In comparison, ALEKS would save me about $5 per child over the math curriculum that we currently use, and with a family discount, it would save me $32 per child, a more substantial savings!

Please take the time to use their 30 day free trial.  Test it out with your children and see if it is a fit for your family. 


Other members of the TOS Homeschool Crew reviewed this product, click here to see how it worked for them.

*** Disclaimer***  I received a one month free trial of the ALEKS Math system free of charge just like anyone else in the whole wide world can.  I was asked to blog about my experience with their curriculum, as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew.  No other compensation was received. ***

Soli Deo Gloria Resources~ William Tyndale Unit Study Review

In September I was sent this lovely unit study from Solio Deo Gloria Resources to review, as a part of the TOS Homeschool Crew.  We worked on this unit study with all the children. The unit study stated that it was designed for use by all grades, K-12; and I am happy to report we had a great response from the Junior, the Sophomore, and the 3rd grader.

William Tyndale: God's Smuggler is a unit study that is greatly enriched by several key resources.  At the beginning of the study there is a list of videos, and books for you to choose from.  Without using these resources, I believe the study would fall flat, and lose some of its interest.  Kim, the author of these unit studies, offers suggestions on how to obtain the videos at little or no cost.  We were able to use 2 of the videos from the list and one book.  The videos were in my church library, and the book was at my local public library.

The video on the left is from Answers in Genesis, the book is historical fiction, and the video on the right a cartoon story produced by Torchlighters.  In combination, they gave us a very good perspective on the life of William Tyndale.  My older children really enjoyed the Answers in Genesis film... it was a lecture/sermon, and was full of information.  We watched it on the last day of our study and it helped tie everything together well.

There were many activities to work on.  We enjoyed the timeline, it was interesting to see who was alive when William was.  We also enjoyed the translation, and printing press activities.

Another way we made the materials 'come alive' was to lapbook some of the things we learned.  While this was not a listed activity, we just thought it would be a fun way to collect and see the things we were learning.  Here are two of our lapbooks.

 the 3rd grader's

the Sophomore's

If you have never done a unit study before, this would be a great first time study to use.  The price is very affordable at $8.00.  The format is PDF (or E-book), so you receive it for download right away, and can print as many copies as you need. 

Hop on over to Soli Deo Gloria Resources and browse their affordable and fun products.

Remember to stop by the TOS Homeschool Crew page to see what other families had to say about Soli Deo Gloria's products. 

***disclaimer***

as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew, I received the above named unit study, free of charge, in exchange for my opinion of how this product worked in my homeschool setting.  No other compensation was received.

Peterson Directed Handwriting - Cursive Handwriting Review

I was given the opportunity to review several new E-books by Peterson Directed Handwriting.  They developed these E-books to help teachers take advantage of technology in their classrooms. They are perfect for the homeschool community as well.   I enjoy the ease of storing E-books as well as the ability to print out exactly what I need, as many times as I need it.  I was chosen as a member of the Cursive Handwriting Review team, and received Levels 1-4 to review.  Other Crew members reviewed the use of this PDF software with a Wacom Pen tablet, and other members received Print Handwriting Material.  Please click here, if either of those materials are of interest to you.

The PDF by Hand E-Workbooks are available from the Peterson Directed Handwriting website.  You will need  purchase the license to print out their materials, and that only costs a meager $19.95 per level. This cost is a ONE time fee, not a yearly subscription.  You could use this product with successive students for that one time price per level.   Included with each level are Instructions, Blank Lined practice paper, Fluency Tests, Basic Movement strokes, Reading Puzzles, Letter Practice and much more.  I have been using this program at Level 1 and 2 with my Third grader, and having the ability to print exactly what I need, is so much easier than having to write in a bulky workbook.

Before we were given this product to test in our own home schools, we were all able to meet with Rand Nelson, the Director of Training, for Peterson Directed Handwriting.  We met with him over the web, and received a tutorial on how the Peterson Directed Method is different than the tracing methods that are widely used today.  Mr. Nelson explained to us their movement instruction and how it develops a recording of muscle movement in your child's brain.  Most tracing programs, teach your child to draw a letter, not understand or develop a pattern to create it.  Muscle memory, not the eyes, should be responsible for guiding fluent movement of a pen or pencil across a paper.

Now, if you were to say....  "sure you like the program, you had a personal training session!  They aren't going to do that for little ole' me..."  I would answer, "quit being Eeyore, and go look at their site! They will too do it for you!"   Teaching and training people is at the heart of this company.  They not only want you to purchase a great handwriting system from them.  They desire to educate you, and be there to answer your questions.  They offer "meet live now" sessions right on their homepage, open to visitors to ask a question.  They periodically hold online training, you can sign up to be notified of the next class.  They have personalized training available for purchase  ($35.00 ) as well as a Online tutor service that could lead you to a Formal Endorsement Certificate ($75.00) if you wish more in-depth understanding.  There is also a free 20 minute presentation on the Peterson Method, click here to view it. 

I have had the opportunity to use this for a few weeks with my son.  He looks forward to his lessons in Cursive Handwriting...  (and this was NOT the case with the workbooks we used before... )  He says it is easier to talk the lines onto his paper, and he enjoys the rhythmic movement, and exaggerated muscle memory exercises.  I recommend this product to homeschoolers of all ages.  You can begin to teach cursive in Kindergarten with Level One, and with older students you can improve proficiency and proportion with Levels 2-4.  Go to their website, look around, and consider using the Peterson Directed Method as your handwriting curriculum this year.

Remember, don't just take my word for it.... read what other homeschoolers have to say about this product on The Homeschool Crew Blog.


**** Disclaimer****
As a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew, I received this product in exchange for my unbiased, honest opinion, humble as it may be.  No other compensation was given, which is fine, because I enjoy living in a one income family.

Explode the Code.... Online version

I have always know that Explode the Code was great curriculum for phonics and word building skills.  Years ago I worked at a small private school, and this is what they used in their classrooms. I have always been eager to try it at home, but was leery of using yet ANOTHER workbook.  Not long ago, I saw someone post a question on a discussion board, asking if anyone had used Explode the Code online.  I didn't know they even HAD such a thing........ so off I went to look at the website.  I was intrigued by the way that it worked, and how interactive it was in the demos.  Then came the price.  It was $60 to be able to access it for a whole year.  So I decided to pray about using it..... and talk it over with my husband.  We talked later that night, and decided that if nothing else, we could try it, and see if it helped Hunter improve his reading skills. The next day, came the answer to prayer part.  Another homeschooler posted on a discussion board that Homeschool Buyers Co-op** had Explode the Code on a group buy.  So I went there, and it was half price.  I miss out on a couple of months of the "year" but for the price it was worth it.

We had been using TATRAS  (Teach America to Read and Spell ), here at home with Hunter for the begining skills and word blends.  This is a WONDERFUL program, and I will still wholeheartedly recommend it.  It teaches ALL the sounds that letters make, teaches the student to decode their words through these sound combinations. It has great lists of words, to use as spelling words for K-6th grade, and it teaches writing skills as well. The only drawback was the lack of interaction.  This is were Explode the Code excels.  It re-enforces the blends that are at the begining and endings of words. It also helps to strengthen the "hearing" of difficult vowels to assist in common "e", "i", and "o", "u" spelling and pronunciation errors.

The other benefit to Explode the Code Online is the instant assesments it gives the parent.  You are able to see exactly which areas your child is having difficulty in.  It gives you suggestions to work on when you are away from the computer, to help your child better learn a concept.  We have worked on the suggestions while we are running errands around town.... it has made car time more productive.

I feel that this has improved his reading skills.  He has been a slow reader, and that is fine, I am not expecting him to pick up a copy of War and Peace anytime soon.  My goal with the program was to help him begin to see past each individual letter as a sound, and get a better grasp on what we call "two letter teams" , so that his speed and comprehension would begin to improve.  After 10 or so days working online, we have seen him start to pick books up on his own and read to his younger brother. He no longer rolls his eyes at me and huffs and puffs, if I ask him to read something.  He has read 2 entire library books, on his OWN, with help sounding out some of the words....  I believe the program has improved his confidence with reading, and the instant feedback it gives him is the key to his success.

Head on over to Explode the Code online, and see if it would be a fit for your young reader ( K- 4th grade).  The demos on the website are great. 

**  Homeschool Buyers Co-op is a business that seeks to serve the homeschooling community find curriculum at a discount price.  It works on the premise that when a school district purchases it's curriculum, it recieves a discount for it's quantity order.  The Co-op provides that same service to single homeschooling families, allowing us to band together under their "umbrella" to get the better price.  To check them out, click here. It is free to join and recieve the information about what they are offering, and often the deals they get are extrordinary.

Expedition Australia!!

Two weeks ago, we went on an expedition.... where you may ask? ......... to AUSTRALIA! .... no packing... no passports, no awkward moments while TSA searches your carry-on and steals your favorite hand lotion...... we only had to "Download N Go".......

I have always wanted to visit this "land down under" ever since the movie "Crocodile Dundee".  (I think I may have just dated myself with that comment) My son knew next to nothing about Australia, and could barely find it on our globe. After a week working through Expedition Australia, he will gladly tell you all he has learned. Not only can he show you where Australia is located, he knows about it's climate, major geographic areas, how it was founded, it's national holidays, currency, and of course he learned about The Great Barrier Reef. He even studied the different marsupials that live on Australia and Tasmania. It was an action packed, fun filled week!

Expedition Australia is a 103 page E-book, that is a collaborative venture between The Old Schoolhouse Magazine and Amanda Bennett. It can be found in The Old Schoolhouse Store, in their 'Download N Go' section. This is geared to work best within grades K-4, and at a mere $7.95, is worth every single penny. It downloads right to your computer after you purchase, there is no need to wait for anything to ship! It is very much worth the investment, and can be referred to again and again as your child grows. Created to be both a lapbooking study as well as a notebooking study, it is very well organized into daily segments, and has hyper-links to other sections of the book which contain the lapbook components. Expedition Australia is one of many E-books, in the Download N Go series, that follow this format. You can pick from their Welcome Spring bundle, a pick your own bundle, a whole semester of study, or even a whole year! ( the whole year option is the BEST value! ) I think that you could even incorporate this study into work for your older student. They could certainly work on their writing and research skills using this study as a starting point.

When I read through the book before we started, I noticed that it gave additional reading books we could use with each day's study. My library has an on-line reservation system, so I brought that up, and looked up all the books the authors had listed. Out of the 25 books that were listed, I was able to obtain 6 from my local library system. We got a very nice cross section of books for all 5 days, some were fun stories, and others were more informative. The E-book has links to all of these books for purchase, and if your budget can support the expenditure, I would recommend all of the reading material. There are resources that are contained in this book that will keep you busy for well past the week of study it is designed for.

Included in the book is an introduction to lapbooking. I found this VERY helpful, we had never lapbooked before. I found it a great hands on way to reinforce the material that was learned throughout Expedition Australia. One helpful hint was the suggestion to wait to add some items to the folder after the week of study was complete. My son is very much a hands on guy, and these activities were very interesting for him to piece together, he is still asking for little things to add to his folder.  ( I have added some pictures of his actual lapbook at the end of this post )

Each day we used this book as our complete curriculum. (Well, we kept doing our regular math too, so we didn't get behind). It does contain some math within each day, and it was good reinforcement for units of measurement, temperature and time. Each night I printed out the pages for the next day, my son would read from the page, and I would read the material from the computer screen. When there were links to videos, or to more information on a given subject, he would come over and watch it, and we would take turns reading it. We used the comprehension questions for each section as our handwriting practice; reading and words of the day, as our language arts and spelling; and the drawing exercises for our art. Science was well covered by all of the wonderful animals of Australia. The remainder of the E-book would fall under the social studies, history or geography category for our day's work. It took us about 3 hours to complete a days worth of work with a few breaks scattered in for a very active 7 year old boy.

Some unit studies are books or CD's that you receive and they are all inclusive, meaning that the information you will study has been gathered, and written out in a narrative form and you study that material. This E-book differs from that style. Most of the information that you get to fill out the notebook portion as well as the individual components of the lapbook, come from the internet links contained in each day's work. You really need to be at a computer for this E-book to function as it is intended. This was not a problem for us, we use the internet for many parts of our homeschooling day, but if you do not have a computer to use, you need to be aware of this feature.

My son really enjoyed learning all about Australia. His favorite thing was a link to study more about the Great Barrier Reef. It was very interactive and I think he had me scroll over every part of it at least six times to make sure we didn't miss anything. Since it was our first lapbook, I like that we now have a couple of keepsakes from our study for years to come, and to show Grandma the next time she is up to visit.

I recommend this study! Particularly to anyone who is interested in trying out lapbooking or unit studies for the first time. You will not be disappointed!

What does your kid "Wanna-be"?

We homeschool on a budget. I try to keep my homeschool spending below $350 a year for all 3 of my students. For product I am going to tell you about, I would gladly spend $8.95 out of my budget.

Last month I was given the opportunity to try out one of the "Wanna-be" Series  of E-books that are published by The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. It is a 10 book series on different jobs that kids often say they want to be when they grow up. The titles available include : Veterinarian, Police Officer, Artist, Pilot, Chef, Doctor, Missionary, and in the Military. The E-book I received was "I Wanna be a Firefighter". I was excited to start on it, because I thought my son might enjoy learning about what a firefighter does. The E-book was easy to download. It opened right up in my Adobe Reader. They are created to be used by a wide age range, 4-10 years old, my son is 7 and falls neatly into the middle of that range.

I realize that part of the reason we have created E-books, is to save on paper, BUT............... I printed out the entire 78 pages before we started, ( what can I say.....I am a hands- on kind of girl ) , and stuck it in a plain file folder to keep it together. I was amazed by how much "stuff" was in it! Over half the book is devoted to reinforcing activities and materials.... they even give you answer keys! There was copy work, both for manuscript and cursive writers, coloring pages for younger children, a word search, math, a test on the material that was to be read, bible verses, vocabulary words, activities and party ideas..... It is entirely self contained, you don't need to purchase anything else, or look anything up.... just print what you want, and GO!

We used the book for one on one instruction for my elementary school aged son, but I could envision how easily the book could be adapted for use in a Co-op setting, or for those with a large family. The many activities that are listed, to help reinforce the character qualities that are required for a firefighter would work best with multiple children. My older children ( high schoolers) were not so excited about participation, but if they were put in charge of younger children, and had to teach and supervise the activities, I believe they would have enjoyed it much more. My 7 year old, however, enjoyed the activities immensely. His favorite was the bucket brigade. I also think that the party ideas would be enjoyed more, if done in a co-op setting.

We began the study while we were traveling in a car to visit some relatives. My sister was driving, and the rest of the car was captive. As I read, I was impressed by how thorough the material was. It was more in-depth than I expected for a K-4 material. Everyone in the car, my high schoolers, my son, and even my 31 year old sister, were engaged and interested in the material. Each subsequent day we would read another section from the reading material and do one or more of the reinforcing work pages that were included. It would take about an hour during our normal school time. Twenty to thirty minutes to read the material, thirty minutes more to do the pages, and discuss what we had learned.  It tooks us  a week and a half to complete the entire book.

There was only one section in the book that seemed to be a bit "rough" in how it tied into firefighters and what they do. That section was Science. It was on robots. While there was an attempt to correlate: one robot was fireproof and was there to detect forest fires, another was one that could extinguish fires in chemical plants, this information amounted to only 2 paragraphs tying robots to firefighters in the 9 pages of the science section. Every time a robot and a fire were mentioned together, I would have a mental picture of a poor melted pile of microchips that gave it's dying whir to help a fireman. I would have enjoyed learning more about the science of fires. For example: how does oxygen feed a fire?, what benefits or harm do forest fires have on our environment?, what types of plants need fire to reproduce?, how do investigators tell where a fire started and what started it?, these are the things I think of when I think "fire science". Don't get me wrong.... my son enjoyed learning about robots and building the robot arm, this section just seemed disconnected from the overall theme of the book.

We really enjoyed this E-book. My son makes sure we either drive or walk by any fire truck that is parked at the grocery store. We go over all the gauges, hoses, ladders, and he tells me who sits where in the cab. He originally didn't want to start the material because he thought that if he read about what a firefighter does, he would be automatically committed to becoming a firefighter. After explaining that we were just going to learn more, not make a life long commitment to it, he relaxed and enjoyed all the new information. The material is easy to reinforce since we see firefighters living, driving and working in our community. I am pretty sure that it won't be too long before he tries to talk me into chasing down a fire truck to see how it hooks into a fire hydrant and pumps the water to the fire.

I would recommend this book, not just to those within the homeschooling ranks, but to everyone! Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles could use it when younger relatives come to visit. It would be easy to take on vacation and incorporate field trips into. Those who school outside the home, could use it as a supplement during holiday breaks or summer vacation. It would make a GREAT birthday gift.

So, ask your child what they think they may "Wanna-be", get one of these great E-books, and explore together more about what happens in their "dream" job.

A quick review on Teaching Textbooks.

First let me say their name is beyond boring... but they went to MIT... brilliant in math... lacking in the loquaciousness... we will forgive them..

Up to this point, we have used their Math 7, Pre-algebra, Algebra 1, and Geometry. I am waiting for Math 3 to come out so I can begin it with my youngest child. I have one child who just "gets" math.... the other, is like her mama.... and struggles with math over all. Both students enjoyed these books. My oldest, ( and the one who "gets" it) was able to come from public school 6th grade math, and then a year of no math, straight into the Algebra 1. I don't mean to say that this Algebra course is that easy, because I do believe it to be academic. I feel he had such success because the concepts were made clear, in every lesson. I tried to do Pre-Algebra that same year with my math struggler, and it was melt-downs and tears. So we went and printed out the placement tests they provide, and moved her to Math 7 for a wonderful tear-free year. I do like the fact that my children can work independently with their math curriculum, and come to me with questions vs. me standing there reading out of a teachers manual and explaining all the concepts. I think that when you home school multiple grades, you need to take the opportunity to let your children work alone from time to time so that you are available to help your other students. These books do a very good job of explaining the concept, and they provide either CD-ROM lectures, as well as the lecture written in the book. It is a nice tool for those who are more auditory in their learning process.

I learned things myself in Algebra and 7th grade math, that I was never taught. I feel like it filled the holes that were there from my own math education in "traditional" school. I have read dissenting opinions on this curriculum, and I do know if it is "behind" or not; I do not hold a degree in Math. To me, some of the word problems tend to be repetitive within a chapter, but it does the job of cementing the concept. It is expensive, however, I do plan to use the books with all of my 4 of my children, making the cost more like 50.00 a kid. I have noticed that re-sale value on this curriculum remains fairly high, should you choose that option to recuperate some of your expenses.

If you have a math genius, maybe this isn't your curriculum... But if understanding processes, and actually enjoying math is your goal.... these are the books for you.