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I have a confession to make right here and now. I was never taught Geography when I was in school. In fact, to this day, I cannot read a map. I have to rely on GPS to get me to just about anywhere! I really had despaired of teaching Geography to my kids, and along came a lovely review copy of the digital version of Drawing Around the World: USA, which came from a company called Brookdale House.

With Drawing Around The World: USA, my kids and I can learn the states and capitals for our entire country, in just minutes a day. We are also learning the capitals, and the actual placement on the map of the United States of each state.

One of the things my kids enjoy is finding out interesting facts about each state. They are looking forward to Michigan and New Mexico, because they were born and raised in Michigan until three years ago when we moved to New Mexico. I think they are looking forward to those states because in Michigan, there is a very special state stone, and here in New Mexico, they were thrilled to discover that our new home has a state cookie! 🙂

The suggested schedule is a four day week.

1. Study the new state, complete the State Fact Table, and locate and label each new state onto the dashed, black and white map. Then, the student is to draw all states studied thus far.
2. Locate and label each new state onto the dashed, black and white map, and draw all states studied up to now.
3. Locate and label each new state onto the dashed, black and white map, then draw all states studied so far.
4. List, from memory, the states studied thus far. Then, within the blank box, draw from from memory, all of the states you have learned.

If you follow this schedule, you and your children will have learned the placement of each and every state in the United States of America, along with Washington D.C. in only 27 weeks. We are going somewhat slower though, so it will take longer. Only two of my kids have real artistic ability, “The Artist” and “Mr. Loquacious.” In fact, “Mr. Loquacious” has, on his own been working on a notebook of state flags for the last few years, so he already knew the capitals and some facts about some of the states! 🙂

Because we are having trouble with drawing the correct shapes and placements of each state from memory on the blank map, for now we are sticking to the map which has the dashed black and white spaces. Since this is a digital product, we can go back and do it again later when we all feel a bit more comfortable with the drawing part.

We do enjoy this program, and recommend it to anyone, in particular those who enjoy learning at a gentle, slow pace. I believe something which takes only minutes a day certainly fits that bill. 🙂

To read more about what the Review Crew members thought of this and other products from Brookdale House, please click on the banner below!

As always, I would just love to have you join me on all of my “Journeys Through Life.”
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All of the boys with our favorite hairstylist Jody Muniz, at her brand new, owned by her, shop! I’ll probably post more about it after her big grand opening open house this coming Saturday!

When given the opportunity to review one of several DVD’s from the online company FishFlix.com, I knew that for us, the only choice was going to be Living Waters: Intelligent Design in the Oceans of the Earth.

My children, especially “The Artist” and “Mr. Loquacious” have been known to sit for hours watching nature programming on television (although Mr. Loquacious has a short attention span and drifts in and out), so I expected they would really like this one.

The company which became FishFlix.com was actually started over a decade ago. Dr. Enis Sakirgil, a Turkish citizen, became a producer in the making of Apostle Paul and the Earliest Churches. This film was produced by leaders in the Turkish Church in order to make Christians in the west aware about the great amount of Biblical history in their country (Turkey.) Turkey is currently one of the nations least reached with the gospel.

Dr. Sakirgil emigrated to the United States with his family and began selling the film online, eventually selling other Christian mocies. At that point, FishFlix.com was born.

FishFlix.com is now based out of Mora Minnesota. They continue to expand the gospel in Turkey via a partnership with a Turkish radio ministry.

Living Waters is a BEAUTIFUL film! While exploring the lives of dolphins, sea turtles, pacific salmon and humpback whales, we learned through wonderful filming, along with perfectly integrated drawings how absolutely impossible it is to reconcile the theory of evolution with intelligent design. This film shows, in just 68 minutes, that it would be simply impossible for the mutations called for in Darwinianism to have happened.

Here is a short trailer of the film for you:

When we see that the dolphins have been created with far better sonar than anything we could invent, it amazes me. We see them traveling through the ocean, zeroing on one fish in a whole school, and going after it. Dolphins are such beautiful creatures, and when we watched the film showing herds of them playing alongside a boat load of tourists, it was so pretty! It is obvious how very friendly they are.

Next up were the sea turtles, which were so cute, as they crawled from their nests in the sand! They immediately began their own trek toward the ocean, after which they would swim for at least 48 straight hours to escape the area they were in and get out into the deep ocean. We learned that they are imprinted with magnetic memory to get them where they needed to be, and then to eventually return to the very same hatching place they came from in order to lay their own eggs. It was fairly easy to see that the randomness of Darwinian theory could never have produced this.

Next up, the Pacific Salmon, which also travel from their birth place, but later come back to the exact place. They don’t use the same method as the sea turtles, but they do it just the same. How could this be possible, if they were simply a result of random mutations and natural selection? It was plain that this is the Lord’s design, as it is with the humpback whale.

The humpback whale is the most difficult to reconcile with the theory of Darwin. Pretty much everything about this creature directly defies that theory, but I would rather have you watch this film rather than give it all away.

Living Waters is a wonderful film, whether you view it as a lesson or simply as a nature film. I will say, however, that even as a nature film, you will learn a lot, without even realizing it.

As always, I’d love to have you join me on all of my “Journeys Through Life.” Just go to the “sign me up” button at the top of the blog, and you’ll be notified everytime there is something new! 🙂

My family has been fortunate in receiving from Progeny Press a review copy of the digital download copy of the literature study guide for the book Stone Fox. The book was written by John Reynolds Gardiner, and illustrated by Marcia Sewal, and the study guide was written by Andrew Clausen and Rebecca Gilleland.

Progeny Press has a mission statement that I definitely appreciate. From the about us section on their website:

“To teach our children to think clearly, to understand literature, and to rely on the scripture for truth and values, and enjoy themselves while they do it!”

Well, as anyone who has read this blog for a while already knows, I love it when learning can be enjoyable! 🙂

Below, please watch this little video with the founders of Progeny Press, Michael and Rebecca Gilleland, as they tell you more about how and why they came up with this idea.

Although the books that the study guides are written for can be purchased from Progeny Press, we were able to find Stone Fox at our library.

Stone Fox is a very good book. It got to me, even though it is written for children. The book is based on a Rocky Mountain legend that was told to the author in 1974. The characters in the novel are fictitious, but the ending of the story is from the legend, and is said to have truly happened.

The study guide is about 60 pages long, and can be printed out to put in a notebook, or the student can do the pages on the computer, typing in his or her answers. We chose, however, to do the majority of it as discussion pages, because my twins are struggling with reading and writing.

We did use the book Stone Fox as a read aloud, and all four of the boys were drawn to the story. It is suggested in the study guide that you read through the entire book first, then go back and go through it again, two chapters at a time, while doing the portion of the study guide pertaining to those chapters. Given that we almost always have to be different, we sort of followed along with comprehension questions, definitions, etc, as we read the book, which we did in two days!

There are plenty of activities in the study guide as well, to aid in teaching vocabulary and comprehension. There are also puzzles, and a map to fill in. The study guide also gives a list of many other resources, including websites, to help you dig further and allow rabbit trails based on any area of interest from the book.

I really like when the study guide goes deeper in depth to show Biblical context. Along the way, it will talk about a particular section read, ask what it meant, and have the student read a text from his or her Bible, discussing what the text means, and how it goes along with what they just read. This is a great way of applying the Bible to real life.

All in all, we very much liked this study, and would definitely use Progeny Press again. It is easy to use even when the need to tweak it is there, such as the way we used it orally for the most part. The study guide definitely digs into a piece of literature and makes it into more than just a book to read, helping the children to learn much more than they even realize. This was a fun product to review!

Please click below to see what my fellow crew members thought of this and other Progeny Press Study Guides.

As always, I would love to have you join me on all of my “Journeys Through Life.” Just go to the “sign me up” space at the top of the blog and enter your email, and you’ll be notified whenever there is something new here! 🙂

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I have reviewed the original Reading Kingdom Online before, as you can see here. However, this time I have been fortunate enough to be given a newer program from the company Reading Kingdom! I have one child at least, who is on the autism spectrum, and one who may be, but who is not diagnosed, and both are struggling readers. So, we have been among the lucky crew members who were given ASD Reading, which is a new, online reading program for children who are on the Autism Spectrum.

ASD Reading is an online program which teaches students with ASD to read, write, and to comprehend. This is done in a fun and colorful way, so that the child (hopefully!) will not become bored.

ASD Reading uses unique methods that I have not seen in other programs. All children can use this, even if they are non-verbal. There is extensive use of graphics, audio and animation  to reinforce everything the child is learning. Written and spoken language are linked, so that one mirrors and reinforces the other. This program customizes instruction that adapts to each child’s specific skills and needs. Finally, It tests the child’s skills, and overcomes error patterns and difficulties.

This is a groundbreaking reading program for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). It  was adapted from the award-winning and patented “6-SIM” Six Skill Integrated Method for teaching reading & writing with comprehension, done by Dr. Marion Blank.  ASD Reading holds the key to opening up the world of literacy to children with ASD – even when they are non-verbal. To learn more about why these methods work so well, please read about it here.

In our case, I was given a one year subscription for up to two students, so I chose to use ASD Reading with our twins, “Mr. Loquacious” and “The Puzzler.”

I knew upfront that this was going to be a hard sell when it came to “Mr. Loquacious,” and I was absolutely correct on that. And it still is, so even though you all know I prefer if possible that learning be fun, sometimes, like now, I find myself saying “suck it up, buttercup, sometimes we just have to do stuff we don’t want to do.” This has become one of those times, with “Mr. Loquacious.” Just as an FYI, this is not the fault of ASD Reading. Not at all. It is because “Mr. Loquacious” would rather do just about anything other than learn to read. He came to us at age 8 not knowing how to read or spell anything but his name, and has, because of other issues, has not gotten as far as he would like. So now, it embarrasses him, and he doesn’t want to try.

“The Puzzler,” on the other hand, has been thriving! He zipped right through the assessments, and even when the animated dinosaur tells him he can be done for the day, he often wants to keep right on going! Of course, this is making me VERY happy, because (as I said above, and have said so many times before,) if it is at all possible, I think learning SHOULD be fun, so that children (and adults!) will want to continue to learn for their entire lives.

In My opinion, one of the best things about ASD Reading is that fairly soon, “Mr. Puzzler” began using the program totally on his own, with no need for me to supervise at all. Anytime I want to, I can log into my account, and I will see a report which shows me exactly where he is in the program, and how he is doing. A progress report is regularly emailed to me, and if he needs help, the program will let me know that, as well.

I am definitely going to recommend ASD Reading to anyone who even THINKS their child is on the Autism Spectrum. Thus far, it is serving us quite well! 🙂

To find out what other crew members think, please click the graphic below:

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I was chosen as a reviewer for a product I had never heard of, called (are you ready?!) Stinky Kid Math!

Stinky Kid Math works on a concept-based method to teach how math actually works. Your student will learn the how and why of concepts from Pre-algebra, Algebra, and Geometry, making the abstract concepts accessible to everyone, even if they (like me) have always struggled with math.

Stinky Kid Math is an online program, offering over 300 video lessons (which are not very long, helpful for those with a short attention span!), many of which also have a printable worksheet. You will also find the corresponding text that you can print off, if your student would benefit from being able to both view AND read what is being taught.

Next, we have games to reinforce the concepts being taught during the time online. There are five games the student may play, called Geometry Runner, Math-A-Mole, Geometry Playground, Integer Game, and Shifter.

There are different ways you can use Stinky Kid Math. As a supplement, you may choose to go to the point your student needs extra help with, moving through the program that way. You can also, as we chose to do, begin at the beginning and follow the lessons in order. I chose this path because my son “The Artist” has not had much experience as of yet with Algebra or Geometry.

Stinky Kid Math is pretty easy to get around in. There are buttons for the lessons, and when the student clicks on them, they break down further to show him what is available for that lesson. He will see if it is just the video, or if there is a portion of the textbook or a worksheet to print out as an aid in practicing the concept being taught.

At any time, the student may play any game on the site. I like that. They do not need to get to a certain point in their learning to “earn” a game. I like to think that this is because the games actually help cement what they are learning in other areas of Stinky Kid Math.

As I said above, I asked “The Artist” to begin at the beginning, so that is what he did. I wish I could say that he loved Stinky Kid Math, but so far, he is not very thrilled with it. 😦 He feels that the teacher talks in such a way that makes him think the assumption is that the student is “stupid” I plan to go over it with him again, and see if I should have started him further into the lessons. It may simply be a matter of having begun with things he already knew, and not realizing I was doing this.

I think this is a good online program for teaching these concepts in a way that just about anyone could understand, possibly even ME! 🙂

As always, I would love it if you joined me on all of “My Journeys Through Life.” Just go to the “sign me up” button at the top of the blog, enter your email, and you’ll be notified of all new posts! How easy is that? Hope to see you join me! 🙂

My family was given the opportunity to review the Online game Mayan Mysteries from

From the company Dig-It! Games.

I chose this review for “Mr. Loquacious”, hoping it would work for him. He REALLY likes playing video games!

Mayan Mysteries is taking the player along as a part of “Team Q”, who are the characters Professor Alex Quinn and his niece and nephew Fiona and Charlie. They are after Ladrone, a thief who has a history of looting artifacts.

While trying to solve the mystery, the player will visit seven unique Mayan places, work through more than 25 challenging puzzles, and solve the mystery to save Ich’aak (a mythical Mayan city) from looters.

We received the single player edition, but there is also a classroom edition. Mayan Mysteries is interactive learning. It has an encyclopedia with more than 450 entries within the game, and will help enrich your student’s reading, geography, math, and critical thinking.

While this is not important to me, just in case it is to you I want to mention that Mayan Mysteries does align with National Standards for Social Studies, Math and Language Arts.

While this game is designed for students age 11 and older, the reading level was beyond “Mr. Loquacious” at this time, although he has been really trying, as he likes the mystery of the game. His older brother has been helping him with the reading when he is available. Unfortunately, as a result he has not gotten as far into the game as I would like him to be.

The one thing he likes is that it is a mystery. He says he likes going to the Mayan sites, too.

Because this game turned out to be harder for “Mr. Loquacious” than I thought it would be, as a result of how much reading is involved, “Mr. Loquacious” is now unwilling to play.

It is my thought that this is not a problem with this game, it was my mistake in which child I chose to have as the player.

However, his older brother “The Artist” is going to take over and complete the game. He is very much into video games too, as are all four of my boys. However, I am trying really hard to (gently, if possible) move them over to mostly educational games, whether they be video or otherwise.

I can see the educational value in the Mayan Mysteries game from Dig-It! Games. The student must use a lot of thinking skills, he or she can improve their skills in reading, they will learn a lot about Mayan culture and geography. I really like that it includes a good size encyclopedia within the game to help them learn even more.

I do think this is an excellent learning game, and “The Artist”, who is a much better reader, is eager to “Dig” in and solve the game!

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As always, I’d love to have you join me on all of “My Journeys Through Life.” Just go to the “sign me up” button at the top of the blog and enter your email! I’d also love to have you come and give our Facebook page a like if you’re so inclined!