Homeschool Crew - Schleich

For the past 75 years Schleich has been designing and producing quality figurines. Based in Germany, Schleich began business by designing figurines of comic figures, such as smurfs, snoopy and the muppet show. In the 1980's the line was expanded with animals and again in 2003 with the knights, Wild West, and Elves playworlds.

The inspiration for the toy is often taken from nature and designed with the imaginative play of a child in mind. Each Schleich toy is designed by a master craftsman, made from a variety of plastics and a special softener, then painted by hand.




The kids were very excited to learn we would be reviewing Schleich. They would ask almost every day when we would receive them. The package arrived finally (for them). We received the Prezwalskis horse, SwabianHall piglet, donkey, Dartmoor Pony, Asian elephant calf, okapi, gnu and gnu calf. The kids immediately took them out of the packages and got the horse trailer, livestock trailer and grain truck, so they would be able to feed the animals.

We also spent time looking up each animal on the internet to learn more about the animal. One thing we learned was that the okapi is bigger than a gnu.

What I Liked:

• site easy to navigate
• sturdy life-like toys
• catalog is free and provides endless hours of entertainment when on trips
• can be played with for years to come
• lets a child's imagination run wild

What I Disliked:

• store locator on site not working

What B Liked and Disliked (age 6 almost 7): I liked that you could play with them. And we learned about the wildebeest and how it was called a gnu. I thought it was neat because I have a Schleich jeep and horse trailer that I could haul the animals around in. And I have a cattle semi that I used to haul the pig. It was funny when Momma and I learned that the wildebeest and gnu have the same name. Ha ha ha. There was nothing I disliked. The end.

What C Liked and Disliked (age 4 almost 5): I liked them. There was nothing I disliked.

We would recommend to both boys and girls.

Age Appeal: best for ages 3 and older

Price: $2.00 and up

Vendor Contact Information: www.schleich-s.com
3258 Hawthorne Road
Ottawa, Canada K1G 3W9
e-mail: sales@schleich-s.com

More Schleich Products: farm life, wildlife, world of knights, world of American Indians, world of fantasy (smurfs and Bayala)

Disclaimer: I received this product for free for review purposes. All links were current when posted.

Homeschool Crew - Salem Ridge Press

Do you have a difficult time finding good quality books for you and your children? Then look no further than Salem Ridge Press and it's founder, Daniel Mills.

Salem Ridge takes a great deal of time locating and choosing books from the 1800's and early 1900's to republish. The books are chosen based on morality and ability to teach character according to the Bible. The company decides if any editing needs to be done such as leaving out a kiss or derogatory comment, or adding definitions of words or historical timelines.

Twenty-seven books are now being republished and we received three of them to read.



Mary Jane – Her Visit by Clara Ingram Judson was the first book we read. In this book five-year-old Mary Jane visits her grandparents in the country and has fun hunting eggs, playing with baby mice and rabbits, going on picnics and having her cousin and sister visit. Please go here to read the first chapter as a pdf.



Next was Soldier Fritz and the Enemies He Fought by Emma Leslie. It is the autumn of 1525 in Germany where a young boy, Fritz, choose a Bible as a birthday present from a peddler's pack. The peddler, Carl, shares with him what the Bible is about and how Fritz could be a soldier for the Lord like Dr. Luther. Father Anselm of the Church does not approve and Carl has to help Fritz, his mother, sister and two servants escape the Castle of Thorn where they will live with the charcoal-burners until Fritz's father, Count Eric is able to return and rescue them. Please go here to read the first chapter as a pdf.



We finished by reading The American Twins of the Revolution by Lucy Fitch Perkins. Roger and Sally Priestly's father is a general in General Washington's army. General Priestly secretly comes to the house one night to ask Mrs. Priestly and the children to keep money for the payroll safe. General Howe of the British then comes to the house and threatens the family. The family and Uncle Jude and Aunt Hitty (slaves) is able to escape with the money and food supplies. They are chased by General Howe's soldiers until the Colonial soldiers help them and they are taken to General Washington's camp and their father. Please go here to read the first chapter as a pdf.

What I Liked: Learning about Salem Ridge Press and their republished books was an enjoyable experience for my family and me. It can be difficult today to find quality books, without spending a great deal of time researching the books. I knew I did not have to pre-read these books, because they were coming from a company whose mission is to republish quality work.

The addition that I liked the best was that of the definitions. There were words that I would not have explained to the kids, if the definitions had not been there.

The children and I both looked forward each day that we were able to read these books.

What I Disliked: Two of the books we received were e-books and I discovered that I do not like read books as e-books, if I were purchasing the titles it would be as a physical books. It tied us to the computer and it was hard on my eyes.

What B (age six almost seven) Liked and Disliked: I liked that Mary Jane's doctor came when she was hit by a roadster. And I disliked that that crazy driver hit Mary Jane. I really disliked that. I disliked that Mary Jane was standing in the middle of the road in the dark. I was not sure if the headlights were on or not. I liked Soldier Fritz, because he fought his pride and his passion. I disliked that Soldier Fritz knocked Elsie down the narrow stone stairs. I liked that the twins' father came home by surprise. Sally and Roger were told by their father to not tell any living soul, oh and I am sorry for not saying I liked this part, that he had been there. And I liked every bit of it. The end. Yes, these books would be good for kids my age.

What C (age four almost five) Liked and Disliked: I didn't like Soldier Fritz, he hit his sister. I liked Mary Jane, because they were nice. I think kids my age would not like Soldier Fritz, but would like Mary Jane.

Age Appeal, Number of Pages, Republished and Price of the Books We Received:
Mary Jane – Her Visit- ages 6-10, 190 pages, republished 2008, softcover $12.95, hardcover $22.95, e-book $9.95
Soldier Fritz and the Enemies He Fought- ages 8-adult, 137 pages, republished 2006, softcover $10.95, hardcover $20.95, e-book $7.95
The American Twins of the Revolution- ages 8- adult, 204 pages, republished 2007, softcover $12.95, hardcover $22.95, e-book $9.95

Vendor Contact Information: www.salemridgepress.com
Salem Ridge Press LLC
4263 Salem Drive
Emmaus, PA 18049

More Salem Ridge Press Products: Books by Caroline Austin, William W. Canfield, Alice Corkran, Clara Ingram Judson, Emma Leslie, George Manville Fenn, Lucy Fitch Perkins

Disclaimer: I received this product for free for review purposes. All links were current when posted.

Time4Learning

“It was really fun watching the movie with the alphabet and zoo animals, where you click the letter and a little girl tells us about that zoo animal that starts with that letter,” says B.

If this sounds like something your children would like to do, then Time4Learning is the interactive Internet program you will want to use. Time4Learning can be used for homeschool, afterschool, or summer use.

The pre-k level has two separate levels. Each level has different sections such as alphabet, colors, shapes, rhymes, number, weather, on the farm, space, time and many more. In each section your youngster will participate in activities such as matching, finding, storybooks and paint it.

The kindergarten level contains math and reading. There are 18 chapters in the reading level. Each chapter contains the sight and sound of two letters, reading comprehension, phonological and phonemic awareness. There is a different anchor story for each chapter.

There are six fun filled chapters to explore in math level. Each chapter contains different activities to learn more about recognizing numbers, money, basic addition, subtraction, graphing and probability.

What I liked: Time4Learning was a fun program for B and C. They both enjoy playing on the computer and this program allowed them to explore and learn different subjects. I would recommend this to families who enjoy playing and learning on the computer.

What I disliked: There was nothing about the program that I disliked. The only problem was that the computer we had access to was too old to use, so we had to go to the library. Each of the kids were involuntarily logged off a couple of times when they were in the middle of something, but that only happened once.

What B (age 6) liked and disliked: “I liked everything. My favorite was the zoo. I even told them how much I liked it. There was nothing I disliked.”

What C (age 4) liked and disliked: “I liked everything in school. My favorite was helping Jo-Jo the mouse. I did the second level for my age group. There was nothing I disliked.”

Age Appeal: ages 4-6.

Vendor Information: Time4Learning, 2010, Internet, $19.95/month for first child and $14.95/month for each additional child

Vendor Contact Information: http://www.time4learning.com/ or (954)771-0914

More Time4Learning Products: This product has different levels for grades pre-k to eighth grade.

Disclaimer: I received this product for free for review purposes.

Peterson Directed Handwriting

Are your children having problems learning how to write their letters? Then Peterson Directed Handwriting may be just what you need.

We were given three different levels of handwriting: kindergarten, first grade and second grade.

In Kindergarten Print the three objectives are:
providing daily exercises to learn and internalize the proper sequence of movements.
provide regular opportunity to take letter lesson into your reading lesson.
collect and track fluency with a timed test.

The daily lesson procedure is :
illustrate and describe
air writing
finger-tracing
write and say

In Grade One Print the student will continue to develop patterns, practice them and apply the concepts by turning the letters to words.

In Printing Fluently the student will work on mastering writing position and rhythmic movement.

The On Your Mark Game is played by placing a pencil on the circle, the student closing his/her eyes and writing the letter that is verbally given.

What I Like: I thought it was a lot of fun to say the steps out loud as we worked to write the letters. It was an excellent way to see how many of the different letters have the same steps/strokes.

What I Dislike: There was nothing I disliked. We were using both Kindergarten and Grade one at the same time, so we had to pick the same letter to work on, otherwise it was too difficult to say the strokes for two different letters at the same time.

What B (age six) Likes and Dislikes: I like learning to write letters. I dislike saying it because it is too hard to concentrate on writing the letter.

What C (age 4) Likes and Dislikes: I like finger tracing. I don't like saying it out loud.

Age Appeal: Kindergarten Print, ages 4-5; Grade One Print, age 6; Printing Fluently, age 7; On Your Mark Game, any age

Vendor Information: Peterson Directed Handwriting; 2010; e-book; $19.95/level; On Your Mark Game price unavailable

Vendor Contact Information: http://www.peterson-handwriting.com/, phone number (724) 837-4900

More Available Products: Software to use on tablets, cursive handwriting products and many more

Disclaimer Statement: I received this product free for reviewing purposes.

Travel Kits: A Simple Way to Bless Others

Are you going on a trip or do you know someone who is? If the answer is yes, then you will want to purchase Travel Kits: A Simple Way to Bless Others, by Donna Rees.

This 91-page e-book will help you build kits for people of all ages who need extra entertainment, whether traveling in the car or in a plane.

This comprehensive e-book has:
a chapter dedicated to the who, what, when, where, why and how of the basics;
the plan, the presentation and distribution;
many pictures to show you different ways to build your kits;
gift and game ideas for people of different ages and genders; a list of recommended books for ages 3-adult.

What I Liked: I thought this e-book was wonderful. My two children (ages 6.5 and 4.5) and I make several 16-hour trips and shorter trips per year. While they do not need many things to entertain themselves, travel kits would provide a special treat for them.

I really enjoyed the photos, why duplicate gifts are a good idea for young children, and the mention of using Internet sites where audio books can be downloaded for free.

After I read this book I was so excited that I thought about how I could build a kit for my family or for other families with small children.

This e-book did not leave anything out. I had no questions.

My favorite part was the list of books at the end. It would be fun to include several of those books in a kit.

What I Disliked: The only thing I disliked about Travel Kits: A Simple Way to Bless Others was that the file was large at 8.5 MB. It was too much for the older computer I was using with 56k dial-up.

Age Appeal: All ages for using the kits, but an adult would likely make the kits.

Vendor Information: The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, LLC, 2010, e-book, $12.45

Vendor Contact Information: The Old Schoolhouse Magazine

More Products: Wannabe Series products, Download N Go Series products, and more.

Disclosure Statement: I have received this product free of charge for review purposes.

Does your family need to get away this summer? Then come, “Travel the World,” as project manager Laura Clark and The Old Schoolhouse Magazine take you on a journey to the seven continents.

Take several days to several weeks and learn about latitude and longitude, other map features and individual studies of each of the seven continents. There are also several pages dedicated to copywork, both manuscript and cursive.

Young children will enjoy the word scramble, crossword puzzle and rebus puzzle, before they begin their lapbooks. There are coloring pages of several continents that can also be added to the lapbook.

This unit also has a high school expansion section with geography - how it relates to literature, history and your own business. At the end is a fun word search.

The Internet is an integral part of this unit study with links to many different information sites and game sites. If you want speed, you may want to use high speed Internet, not dial-up.

What I Liked: My favorite section of this unit study was the song, God has the Whole World in His hands- Continents, which was sung to the tune of He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands. This was an excellent way for B (age 6) and C (age 4) to review the names of the seven continents.

I also liked the fill-in-the-blanks, word scramble and other activities at the end of the information about the continents.

The kids and I decided to do the lapbook together this time and we had a fun time picking the information we would include in our small travel book about Scotland and our matchbooks of the continents.

What I Disliked: I am in an area of the country where the only easy Internet access is with dial-up and a 13-year-old computer. This unit had a lot of links to different websites and it took a long time to get to each site. Some sites also did not lead to areas I thought could be useful.

What B Liked and Disliked: I liked everything except where it said South America was both the third and fourth largest continent.

What C Liked and Disliked: C liked the latitude and longitude game.

Age Appeal: Grades K-12th

Vendor Information: The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, LLC, 2010, e-book, $7.95

Vendor Contact Information: http://www.thehomeschoolmagazine.com/

More Products: Wannabe Series products, Download N Go Series products, and more.

Disclosure Statement: I have received this product free of charge for review purposes.

When I Grow Up, I Want to Be... A Firefighter

If you and your children are looking to learn more about what it is like to be a firefighter then, look no further than e-book, When I Grow Up, I Want to Be… A Firefighter done by The Old Schoolhouse Magazine from the Wannabe Series.

This 80 page e-book covers every subject you need for a day of school. You will learn the history of firefighting, what it takes to become a firefighter, and how much a firefighter gets paid in different parts of the United States.

This comprehensive e-book has:
Building a robotic arm and why firefighters use them.
Learning important firefighting vocabulary through a fill-in-the-story, word search, crossword and copywork.
Fun coloring pages.
End of the unit activities and games.
Answers to all of the activities in the back.

What I Like: I thought this e-book was well written and a lot of fun for the whole family! B (age six) and C (age 4) were really excited to learn about being a firefighter. They always enjoy going by our local fire station, so this book was for them. I enjoyed learning the history of firefighting and the different wages around the country. Our weather has been chilly, so when it is nice we are going to do the fun games with their cousins. There were just a couple of websites to visit and the best one was of a steam-powered fire engine. The suggested memory verses were thought provoking and dealt with fire as well. This book might be difficult for the younger grades, but as the parent you can look at it and decide what will work for your child now and then do it again in a couple years when your child can do more of the work.

What I Dislike: B does kindergarten/1st grade work and the math and word search were very difficult for him. We had to work on these items together and it was frustrating for him when he was unable to get the answers correct or find the words. For the word search, I ended up having to find the words for him and marking the first letter and it even took me a long time to find the words. He enjoyed the word search after I made it easier for him.

What B likes and dislikes: I love it. I loved the math. The word search and math were very hard. I loved coloring the pictures of the fire truck and Dalmatian.

Age Appeal: ages 4-10, but I think the whole family will enjoy it

Vendor Information: The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, LLC, 2009; e-book, $8.95

Vendor Contact Information: www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com

More Wannabe Series Products: When I Grow Up I Want to Be a… Farmer, Missionary, Police Officer and more

Disclaimer: I received this product for free for review purposes.