Tiny Planets

Product: Tiny Planets

Vendor Contact Information:

TinyPlanets.com

Buckingham House, West Street, Newbury, Berkshire RG14 1BE, England

e-mail- contact@mytinyplanets.com

Age Appeal: 4-12

Format: online gaming experience

Price: Many items on website free, to watch most of the TV episodes, read books and buy extras on My Tiny Planet you need to purchase keys at 10 keys $1.95, 25 keys $3.95, 85 keys $9.95, 250 keys $25.95, 600 keys $49.95



Winner of two BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) awards- Interactive Best Entertainment Website and Best Children's Interactive, Tiny Planets is a fun, fictional and interactive website for kids. When the kids have their Cadet accounts, they can go to:

Tiny Planets TV where kids can watch the different television episodes which were co-created with Sesame Workshop

• My Tiny Planets is an online community where children adopt a planet, go to different areas through wormholes and play with other kids.

• Tiny Planets Fun is where there are games, coloring books and comics.

• Tiny Planets Books has interactive stories with Bing and Bong and the locals and the flockers.

• Tiny Planets Learning has lesson plans that incorporate the television episodes and books into a complete learning experience.

• Tiny Planets Labs is where the new games are tested out.

• Tiny Planets Blog is where families can go to learn even more about the site.

Our Experience: We started Tiny Planets by exploring each planet and looking at the free books and movies after I signed the kids up for their cadet accounts. I also signed up for a parent account, so that I could add the keys to the cadet accounts. After that we worked on trying out games, like Lava Rescue and Afraid of the Dark. Those games were a little tricky for B and C, but they had a fun time trying them out. It was a couple days later when I helped the kids discover My Tiny Planets, the online community where the kids were able join other kids exploring the different neighborhoods. They are now asking me every day if they can play.



What I Liked:

• The lessons involve the book, TV. and coloring book.

• It was a safe site for the kids as they could only go to specific areas and on My Tiny Planets they could only “say” specific phrases to other kids.

• Alpha Defender was a game where you type the letters as they come towards you it was challenging and good for learning the where the letters are on the keyboard.

What I Disliked:

• When moving from planet to planet, for example TV to books, we would get logged out and we would have to log in again.

• To get the learning experience with the lessons you would have to buy a lot of keys.

What B (boy, just turned seven, some first grade and some second grade) Liked and Disliked: I disliked that you don't learn anything and that it was hard to do some of the games, really hard. I liked that you got to watch TV. I wasn't sure when one of the book stories ended, because it just stopped. Those were my first thoughts. Here are my current thoughts. I liked shooting Quasars (stars), the music and making friends on My Tiny Planet. I am glad the books match with the TV episodes. Here is information about what happens with purchased keys. “When you purchase a book, video, planetary assets they are yours forever. For example, when you purchase a video it gets placed into the "My TV" and will be there whenever you log into your account.”



What C (girl, just turned five, working on Kindergarten) Liked and Disliked: I didn't like the game, "starlight", on My Tiny Planet, because it was really hard. I liked all my new friends. I'm going to change my ship. I liked the TV episode, “Picnic Poser.” And when I didn't know when I went to the stars I pushed the movie, but it would do it and not say anything. I didn't like that. My Tiny Planets was good and the wormholes were fun. I liked to play games and boom things. Traveling around was so so fun. In Star Fractions (My Labs) stars fall down and break, then you rebuild the stars, then they go floating back up into the sky and you can do it over and over again.

Other Products Available: None at this time.



I would recommend Tiny Planets for families with children under the age of fourteen who want a safe place for their kids to play. For more reviews go to The Homeschool Crew review page.



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

Apologia Press- Good Morning, God

Product: Good Morning, God by Davis Carman and illustrated by Alice Ratteree
Vendor Contact Information:
Apologia Press
Apologia Educational Ministries
1106 Meridian Plaza Suite 220
Anderson, IN 46016 US
Phone: 1-888-524-4724
Age Appeal: 1-8 years of age
Format: hardcover book, 48 pages, ISBN 978-1-935495-25-3
Price: $14.00



“These commands that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” Deuteronomy 6:6-7 (NIV), is the theme of this book.

Good Morning, God told from the view point of a four-year-old boy is about his week with his family one day at a time. Each day for the young boy begins with a message to God, then continues with what he does during the day, followed by a bedtime prayer.

The application of Deuteronomy 6:6-7 can be done by the parents by doing the “Questions and Activities” in the back of the book with their children.

For a sample chapter please go here.

Our Experience: B, C and I were excited when we received this book in the mail. I opened it right away, took a look at it and decided that we would read the specific day of the week and do the activities. We waited until it was Sunday and we then began our week. It was during our school day that we did it during the week. It was a perfect break from our usual Bible study and the kids liked drawing pictures, like of our family, and studying the verses.

What I Liked:

• The “Questions and Activities” section in the back of the book gives us greater insight into the daily story.

• The section for the reader in how to use the book.

• How the author takes the young boy through each day for a week.

What I Disliked:

• Nothing

What B (boy, age seven, grade one) Liked and Disliked: I liked Good Morning, God very much. I liked Tuesday because the boy made a sandwich. And my favorite activity was from Saturday, because you can go on a bike ride. But we didn't go on a ride, because of snow. I think it is a good idea for kids my age to have this book, Good Morning, God. It teaches about how to be good, like not running, jumping, and climbing for cookies.

What C (girl, just turned five, doing Kindergarten work ) Liked and Disliked: I liked it all. I liked the kids coloring in the schoolroom. You don't jump on your bed and that is what the boy was doing Tuesday. I liked the picture of the little boy putting jam on the sandwich. I liked the activities. My favorite was drawing a picture of Jesus going up to heaven. I think this book is good for kids my age, because it teaches us about God.

Other Products Available: Good Morning, God coloring book ($4.00) and books about homeschooling

I would recommend Good Morning, God.

For more reviews on Good Morning, God by Davis Carmen go to The Homeschool Crew review page.

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

KBTeachers

Product: KBTeachers
Vendor Contact Information:
www.kbteachers.com
Age Appeal: preschool-12th grade
Format: online worksheets to print as needed
Price: $29 for 1 year, $49 for 2 years, free 10 day trial with PayPal, 30 day money-back guarantee with credit card

KBTeachers is a website filled with thousands of worksheets and workbooks for all grade levels.

Worksheets available
Worksheets according to the season and holiday
English Language: printing, cursive, grammar
Math: money, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, time, algebra
Science: astronomy, geology, weather and climate
Biology: human anatomy, nutrition, marine biology, plants and microbiology
Social Studies: workbooks and maps
More Activities: dinosaur workbooks, four seasons, arts and crafts, clipart, basic skills

Please go here to find free worksheets and more.

What I Liked

• 1,000 of worksheets at my fingertips!
• I can generate different math pages with answer keys multiple times.
• The coins in the money worksheets were very realistic.
• The kids enjoyed having worksheets to do outside of our school time
• Print button directly on the page, for easy printing.

What I Disliked

• There is no search option that would have made it easier to find the specific worksheet I was looking for.

What B (boy, age six almost seven) Liked and Disliked: I liked the addition up to 20 worksheets. I liked that I could check my own answers when I was done. I liked the counting money worksheets, because you got to match the name of the coin to what it looks like. I think KB Teachers would be good for kids my age.

What C (girl, just turned five) Liked and Disliked: I like the math worksheets, because I know that 4+0=4. I liked the fall add across. I agree with my brother about the counting money worksheets. These worksheets are good for me! I think kids my age would like the worksheets.
Other Products Available: None at this time.

I would recommend KB Teachers to teachers and parents who want to give kids a chance to learn even more. For more reviews on KB Teachers go to The Homeschool Crew review page.

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

Book Collector Pro by Book Collectorz

Product: Book Collector Pro
Vendor Contact Information:
www.collectorz.com
Collectorz.com BV
W.G. Plein 384
1054 SG Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Phone: +31-20 772 44 11 (during Dutch business hours)
Age Appeal: For those who are interested in having a complete list of their books on a computer for easy access
Format: Downloadable software for PC or Mac, CD available
Price: $49.95

Do you have so many books that you don't know what you have? Book Collectorz Pro is just what you need.

Book Collector Features:
Browse collection
Automatically data and covers
Sort and search
Export to CLZ (iPhone, iPad or Android)
Print book data
Use Loan Manager
See statistics of database

Add books in three easy steps!
1. Type or scan the ISBN- will automatically search Collectorz.com book database online (you can also add all the information yourself)
2. Chose your book from the results
3. Add the book to your database, then add your details


Book Collector Pro is compatible with Windows 2000, XP, Vista, and Windows 7 and several different languages. It is also compatible with the Mac OS X of 10.4 or higher and only English.

Here is where you can read more about all of the features available.
For a free trial go to Book Collector.



What I Liked:

• Ease of typing in book information, whether by ISBN number or title and author and then selecting my specific edition
• Loan manager (just like a real library!)
• All the available fields, such as genre, Dewey, Collection Status, personal information, etc.

What I Disliked:

• Not all book covers available
• LC Classification did not work for me
• Owners manual only accessible online

B (boy, age six almost seven) and C (girl, age four almost five) thought it was exciting that we were going to be able to put a list of all our books on the computer. They were very surprised when they saw the number of books I inputted and what a small pile it was.

Other Products Available: (very useful if you have many books with bar-codes) CueCat Scanner, C37 Scanner, OPN-2001 Scanner, Music Collector, Movie Collector, Comic Collector, Game Collector, MP3 Collector, Photo Collector

I would highly recommend this product. For more reviews for Book Collector Pro go to The Homeschool Crew review page.

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

Homeschool Crew Review - PGKey SafeKey

Product: PGKey SafeKey
Vendor Contact Information:
www.pgkey.com
PG Key, LLC.
2585 N. 1st Ave
Tuscon, AZ 85719
Phone: 1-800-301-8689
Age Appeal: all ages, focusing on those whose parents feel need safeguarding
Format: USB Adaptor for Windows XP/Vista/7 only, MAC coming soon
Price: $49.99 plus shipping, one time only

Created for parents by parents, the PGKey SafeKey seeks to protect children in a potentially hostile internet environment.

The SafeKey is easy to install when following the instructions on the computer screen when you first plug it in. You will set up a password and then select the parameters you need for your situation. As soon as that has been done, the SafeKey will be ready for use.

SafeKey features:

• Time lock- how long the internet will be accessible for your specific child
• Safe search- PGKey Safe Search is a homepage and toolbar, for search safety
• SafeKey Alerts- e-mails or text messages you when your set parametersare not followed
• SafeKey Encryptor- relies on AES encryption standard and any attempt to get past it will be recorded
• SafeKey Session Recorder- records up to 60 hours of computer activity, whether on the internet or not.

I Liked:

• the ability to block or allow certain websites.
• the ease of installation.
• how helpful customer service was when I forgot my password.

I Disliked:

• that there were very few instructions on how PGKey worked.
• the inconsistency of the program not blocking all my chosen restricted websites.

Other Products Available: 5' USB Dock Cable

I would recommend this product to those parents who wish to safeguard or monitor their children's internet use.

For more reviews on the PGKey SafeKey go to The Homeschool Crew review page.

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

The Old Schoolhouse Primary Student Planner

Product: Primary Student Schoolhouse Planner, includes parent pack
Vendor Contact Information:
The Old Schoolhouse Store
The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, LLC
P.O. Box 8426
Gray, TN 37615
Phone: 1-888-718-HOME
Age Appeal: K-3
Format: E-Book
Price: $9.95

I had seen an advertisement in an e-mail for the new The Old Schoolhouse Student Planners. I decided to download a free sample of the Primary Student Planner to see if it could benefit my children. It was filled with a sample calendar, parables, chore charts and more. The pages could also be directly typed on, which would make it very easy for multiple children. I decided to print out the chore chart and begin implementing it. It was wonderful.

I was very interested in purchasing the entire Student Planner for my children, but was unable to at the time. A few weeks later I was able to have a copy for free to review. The children (girl, age four almost five and boy, six almost seven) and I were very excited to build their own planners from the plethora of information that was available.

They were excited to choose the type of calendar they preferred. I picked out the nature journal, book reports, chore charts, family tree, field trip log, family rules and important phone numbers.

After we chose what we wanted to include in the planners for now, I printed them out and they each decided the order for their sections and we put them into ring binders.

We are now using them on a daily basis and we can't wait to add more information as needed.

What I Liked:
There was a lot of different sections that could be added.
It could all be typed on the computer and left there or it could be printed out.
It was fun for the whole family.

What I Disliked:
It took some time to print out each section for the kids.
I have young kids, so I will have to fill out the information for them.
There was only a multiplication table, addition and subtraction tables would have been nice for younger grade levels.

Other Products Available: Student Planners for middle and high school and one for parents. There are also many other The Old Schoolhouse product available.

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

Talking Fingers, Inc.- Read, Write & Type

Product: Online version of Read, Write & Type
Vendor Contact Information:
Talking Fingers, Inc.
830 Rincon Way
San Rafael, California 94903
Phone: 1-800-674-9126
e-mail: contact@talkingfingers.com
Age Appeal: Ages 6-8
Format: online program
Price: Home online program is a five year subscription 1 user for $35, 2 users for $55, 3 users for $70, 4 users for $85, 5 users for $100



Reading, writing and typing all in one program? Yes. You can get all of this with Talking Finger's online version of Read, Write & Type.

After you have chosen which home online program to use and made your purchase you will want to register your account. After that step your kids will be even closer to learning reading, writing and typing. You will set up their accounts with usernames and passwords. Now your kids can begin learning.

Your kids will participate:

• Home screen- meet the letters
• Theater, video store and fair booth- phonics skills
• Park- blend sounds together
• Story tree- build words and write simple stories

Optional Activities:

• Power fountain- build speed and accuracy
• Hall of fame- Earn certificates for achievements
• E-mail tower- send “e-mails”
• Spaceship challenge

As a reward each student will be able to read a story when they have finished a level. Those stories are found here.

On the website under downloads you will find your online manual, activity book (with more ideas for reading) and a practice keyboard.

What I Liked:

• B and C can do this program themselves.
• B and C are asking me every day if they can play the games.
• The instructions are clear.
• B and C can strengthen their weak areas by repeating the activities.

What I Disliked:

• Vexor could be scary to younger kids.
• The program says both the letter sound and what the letter says.
• C is with the pointer finger, which seems very difficult to me.

What B (boy, age six almost seven) Liked and Disliked: I liked everything, but I agree with Momma. Vexor could be scary to young kids. Vexor could be scary, because he sucked up the letters. I liked that the Leftway and Rightway could talk. It was hard trying to get the storytellers across the playground. I recommend this to other kids my age, because it is a great way to learn how to type.

What C (girl, age four almost five) Liked and Disliked: I love everything. It was hard because Vexor made it tricky. He made it tricky by changing the rules. It was easy typing one letter at a time. In Vexor's ship it was easy to push S if the word began with S or spacebar if it did not. There was nothing I disliked. I recommend this for kids my age who would like to learn how to properly type.

I would recommend this product. For more reviews for Read, Write and Type go to The Homeschool Crew review.

Other Products Available: CD versions of Read, Write & Type (not for Windows 7 or Mac 10.6), Word Qwerty – online and CD versions

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