TOS Review Crew

Balancing Diapers and Deadlines from Lisa Tanner Writing: A TOS Crew Review

October 31, 2018 Grace-Filled Writer

When we moved to North Carolina I remember praying the Lord would provide just 5 piano students for me to teach from my home. Initially I was discouraged because I didn’t even have one student! Then I discovered I was pregnant with Grace. After she was born the Lord provided 1 student. That was nine years ago. Last year I was teaching 36 students! Woah! The growth that happened meant I had to quickly figure out how to manage it all with littles all around me! We weren’t homeschooling until a few years into my piano teaching business, but when we did that added a completely different dimension. I floundered around as my time became more and more limited. Oh how I wish I had Balancing Diapers and Deadlines from Lisa Tanner Writing during those early years of my at-home business!
Sitting down with this course was like sitting down with a cup of coffee and chatting with a good friend. The author’s writing style is easy going and easy to read! You will feel encouraged and challenged throughout every section. I appreciated that they were “bite-sized” and I could work at my own pace. If you have ever tried to get anything accomplished with your kids running around, you know why this is important! Thankfully by the end of this course the author will have guided you so that you can accomplish lots with all of your littles underfoot. For the most part, I have already implemented many of Lisa Tanner’s ideas into our home, but it took me years to figure out these needed changes. As I said before, I really wish I’d had this course years ago! Some of best advice concerns how to handle chores.

I knew I could relate to the author when she admitted her hatred of laundry! I felt like I could have written what she did about how she used to handle the laundry, and honestly how I often do handle the laundry much to my family’s frustration! I have the beginning of a plan implemented, but the post-drying plan is non-existent so it piles up clean. I appreciated reading her real-life example of her laundry plan and although her particular way of structuring this frustrating chores works for her family, I don’t think that it will for ours. The great thing is that it doesn’t have to! The author has inspired me to think outside of the box and find something that will work so that I have one less stress in my life.

Another section that has me thinking differently is meal planning. I already typically plan meals, but it does take quite a bit of time and I often think there must be a better way! The author suggests a FULL YEAR of meal planning! WOWZA! That is quite an undertaking. She even provides meal plans for you for five full years which is completely amazing! We definitely could use a different system although, again, I’m not certain a full year will work. I plan to start with a month at a time to see how that works. The one issue we are facing that makes this harder is we have had to make some diet changes for 2 of us in the last 6 months. Buying in bulk is difficult because of our small pantry. However, a monthly plan may work out for us. I can’t wait to give this a try!

I absolutely loved Making Your Minutes Count and have found this the easiest and best implementation for me. When you homeschool and work every minute counts! Not only that, I have two part-time jobs as well as a slew of church responsibilities since my husband is the pastor. I’m also pursuing free-lance writing more fervently. This means that my “spare minutes” are precious few. Having a game-plan in place ahead of time is just what I needed to make this more reasonable.

Over the summer I acquired a desk just for me in our schoolroom! I love having this space just for me to sit and work. After getting it organized the next step was to get a plan in place. I have a sweet little notebook I use to organize my various roles, jobs, and responsibilities. On separate pages I use a different color ink for a to-do list. I also include due dates so I have an idea of what needs to be done first. This has worked really well for me to organize the craziness of my life and include some down-time for me as well!

Productivity is one of the harder areas for me. I’m learning to fight against my natural bent towards procrastination and be as productive as possible. What is beautiful about this course is no matter where you are in your life, how many kids you have, or your personality, you will glean wonderful helps and insights. If you are a work-from-home mama, or hope to be one day, grab this course and start your journey to productivity!

CashCrunch Careers from CashCrunch Games: A TOS Crew Review

October 10, 2018 Grace-Filled Writer

One of my goals in homeschooling is helping my daughters become independent adults. This is going to look different for each one of them as their personalities and interests vary. I have two kids who have decided their life-path at the age of 6 and one who has drifted from one interested to another. With the first two I encourage their dreams, but also try to help them see other options so they do not feel “stuck” in a certain decision as they grow up. With my other daughter I’m encouraging her to pursue specific interests with a little more focus. Neither approach is wrong, it merely reflects the varied personalities the Lord has given my daughters. Still, some guidance can be helpful when thinking about the future, especially as the girls approach high school and eventually college. I was excited to have my 11 and 13-year-olds try out CashCrunch Careers from CashCrunch Games. This online resource gave them an opportunity to see what careers might both interest them and be a good fit for their God-given personalities.

My own middle-school experience of a career test was not a good one. I, who had always loved learning and excelled at academics, was told the best suited job for me was a canning factory or folding cardboard boxes. I think the reason was because I tended to be more introverted, but what an incredible discouragement that was! Thankfully my parents were able to help me see that no test should define my future! It was meant to be a tool and in my case, not a very helpful one. Still, I held out high hopes for our experience with CashCrunch Games and I was not at all disappointed!

Beth – 11-years-old, 6th grade

Rose – 13-years-old, 8th grade

Beth (11) and Rose (13) each took the test. They are quite diverse in personalities and interests. Beth is more thoughtful, likes time alone to organize her thoughts, and loves nurturing. Rose is a take-charge kind of gal, always rising to a leadership role in whatever group she is in and enjoys creating. I set each down separately to go through the career test individually.

First of all I loved the format! Instead of hypothetical situation questions as I’ve often seen with these types of things you are given 2 words to choose from. You are prompted to choose which of the two most describes you. If you are unsure of the meaning of a word, simply hover over it and a synonymous word will pop up. This was simple and easy. It only took them 15-20 minutes to complete and neither asked for my opinion about the words, which surprised me. We were all excited to view the results!
The Career report is 3 pages of incredibly valuable information including work styles, motivators & de-motivators, attributes, and matching jobs based on this information. Wow! The report is extensive and lest you think it may not be accurate, the work-style pegged each of my daughter’s personalities spot-on! They each took turns giggling as we read the different descriptions. The work-styles section is almost like a personality profile and they couldn’t believe how well it described them both.

As their homeschooling teacher and mom I found motivators and demotivators section both insightful and useful beyond a career assessment. While I knew some of the information to be true, some of it gave me new insights into my kid and ways to best approach them and their learning.
We had fun looking at the various career options as well. We noted some careers as being the same and had a chance to discuss how both Rose, who is very leadership oriented, and Beth, who is more people oriented, would be good fits for the same job. They thought the fact that “funeral director” was listed was funny, but we talked about what an important job that is and why good people need to fill that spot.

After getting and printing their reports they took some time to explore a variety of careers on the website. I love how they are organized by subject and then many different options are given. Sometimes kids can only think of one job in the medical field, like doctors, but there are so many other wonderful ways to serve in this area! Forty-nine different careers are highlighted in the health services section alone! This is a great way to help give a broader range of career ideas.
At the end of the day I still reminded my daughters that their first priority was to seek the Lord as to their future plans, but this was a wonderful tool to use alongside of that to begin setting a course for what high school and beyond will look like. I highly, highly recommend this for anyone whether you are an adult seeking a career move or still in grade-school and looking towards the future.
Some other resources from this author are the free CashCrunch 101 games and Paul Vasey’s course on SchoolhouseTeachers.com, Personal Finance in Bite-Size Chunks. You will find both to be valuable and fun ways to teach your kids about managing their own finances in the future!
You will absolutely want to see more review from my Crewmates!

Season 6: Underground Rising, Digital version from Brinkman Adventures: A TOS Crew Review

October 10, 2018 Grace-Filled Writer

(Make sure to read through for a special coupon!)
Our girls have been listening to radio drama since they were born. We love stories and I love the imaginative way radio dramas incorporate kids. This wonderful form of entertainment and storytelling has its roots in the Golden Age of radio during the 1930s and 1940s. When television became all the rage, many thought radio would lose its appeal. It did to some extent, but there has been a resurgence in recent years within the Christian community, especially homeschoolers. Still, not many shows have included homeschool characters so we are always excited to listen to the stories from Brinkman Adventures! This time we had the chance to review the digital version of Season 6: Underground Rising. Previous seasons have been a little longer, but this one is in their new 6-episode release structure.

The last season we reviewed were all stories about the family, which the kids really loved. This season also included some historical adventures! I love that while the stories are scripted and dramatized, they are based on actual events from history past and present. Some are more fun and others more adventurous. There is really something for everyone and the entire family can enjoy it together!
I would encourage parents to preview the episodes about the Dutch Underground. While I felt they were tactfully handled without too much of the violent details of what happened to those who were captured by the Nazis, they are very intense and definitely have some moments which could be quite frightening to younger listeners. I chose to have our girls listen to those particular stories during the day. They have listened to the others at night some as well as all of us together in the car.

The digital version was a great fit because I used my phone or the girls their tablets to listen. Sometimes I would hear the girls listening to the stories while making their beds or folding laundry. They also like to listen during mealtimes as well as in the car! We would often start the story on a short drive and finish up at home so having digital content was a great way to go. You can see the girls enjoying one of the stories via the tablet in the middle of the table while eating cauliflower and fried macaroni and cheese! This was a fun meal and we like listening to an audio drama during lunch after the girls’ science classes on Wednesdays. They are often worn out and have already talked about their day on the 30 minute drive home, so this is a relaxing time for us all.
My girls really like the Real Stories webpage for this season! Seeing the historical photos of the story of Dutch Underground and photos of the actual family who inspired I Wonder Why? gave a deeper impact and meaning to the stories. They had heard they were based on true stories, but those in particular were quite meaningful. While my daughter is not as severely allergic to wheat as the young boy in the story, she has needed to change her diet due to a reaction to gluten. This story in particular impacted me as well as her.
I love that the family reflects biblical values and present gospel truth in every story. While the family is not exactly like ours, I know that the content is “safe” and going to glorify God in every way. Scripture is always included and a true-to-life lesson in living out faith in real-life the central theme. So much media available to kids in the world is negative and ugly, portraying parents as naive and uplifting values contrary to Scripture. Brinkman Adventures is a wholesome form of entertainment I highly recommend to all families.
Now for your coupon! From now through October 31, 2018 you can get 10% off your order using the code FALL10 on the Brinkman Adventures site!
Take a look at what my Crewmates have to say!

Book-By-Book Bible Printables from Teach Sunday School: A TOS Crew Review

October 3, 2018 Grace-Filled Writer

My husband and I both went to Bible colleges and we are always interested in new resources for learning about the Bible, especially those which aid in understanding the historical and cultural contexts of the Word. We can only fully understand the meaning of the inspired Word of God if we understand who wrote it, when it was written, and the overall structure of the book itself as well as within the context of all of the Bible. The Printable Books of the Bible “Summary Sheets” from Teach Sunday School are and excellent way to have this information at your fingertips.

This is a really fun way to get an overview of all of Scripture! You could use these in a variety of ways anytime you are teaching or studying the Bible. Whether you are leading a Bible study or Sunday school at church or studying with your family in the privacy of your own home this set of resources will provide a wonderful foundation upon which to learn. I love the idea of using these to introduce a Sunday School Lesson or other Bible study. I teach on on a rotational basis and when my next turn comes around I look forward to introducing my students to Exodus with these.

Rose especially enjoyed studying these on her own. She enjoyed checking to see if I knew the information, almost quizzing me! She was pleasantly surprised at the times when I didn’t remember something specific. It was a wonderful way to reinforce the reasons why we need resources like this to help us in our studies. She knows I’ve studied the Bible a long time and enjoy doing so. She is used to me explaining a lot about the historical background and this was the perfect time to talk about some of the resources that help me know these things, and that I haven’t memorized everything. I love when I have the opportunity to explain the only way to continue to grow in the Word of God is to continually study!
My husband has been preaching through the book of Mark. We spent one evening chatting about what we have learned so far and reading through the page on the Book of Mark. We discussed how old Mark might have been and how many years after Christ’s resurrection the book was written. We also talked about the important things to remember from Mark and the key verses. It was a great way to review the sermon series as a part of our evening devotion time.
We do not typically have a group Bible time as a part of our School day. Each of the girls studies their own personal studies. Sometimes I help them choose, sometimes they choose on their own what to study. What I love about this resource is that no matter what they are studying, they are going to have a wonderful resource at their fingertips to dig more deeply and have a fuller understanding of God’s Word.

I really love the structure of the diagrams themselves. They are beautifully crafted and yet simply organized in a way to help retain learning. The visual layout is similar for each page and so makes it easy to locate information. The colors are easy on the eyes and compliment one another beautifully. You will enjoy using these no matter your age!
Take a look at what my Crewmates have to say!

Forensic Faith for Kids from David C Cook and Case Makers Academy: A TOS Crew Review

October 1, 2018 Grace-Filled Writer

Our kids are under attack. The enemy desperately wants to sway them to his side despite our efforts to diligently train them in Scripture. While it is important to remember that each child will make their own personal choice to follow the Lord or not, we must not neglect the ever important work imparted to us as parents and leaders of children in ministry. The next generation is as different from ours as ours was from our parents. The truth of Scripture never changes, but our methods and modes should reach the culture where they are. We were excited to review Forensic Faith for Kids from David C Cook and Case Makers Academy, a fantastic tool which will help kids learn how to investigate their faith just like a detective investigates a case.

The structure of this book would make it a great tool for a small group Bible study for kids or for your own family’s Bible study time. While it is geared towards kids in the title, I think this is a valuable tool for any age wanting to deepen the apologetics of their faith. It is simply and clearly written so no matter your age you will gain extensive amounts of understanding. We enjoyed reading this aloud together and then having a good discussion.

The word apologetics can really make some people nervous. I can assure you that you don’t need to be! The way this is presented as a case will give your kids the tools they need to effectively share their faith. We have several friends in our life who do not know, or even want to know, the Lord as their Savior. Some aren’t certain if God even exists and it can be hard to know how to talk to them about our faith. The practical options presented in these pages clearly guides children and adults to know how to share and defend their faith! The story-like presentation makes the book approachable and I think one of the best ways I’ve ever seen of teaching kids how to share their faith.
The presented story is engaging! Sometimes when I’ve read what were meant to be instructional Bible material for kids which was written as a story it honestly came off as just sort of cheesy and forced. The writing of this book is anything but that. We all thought it was fun and engaging and were excited to hear what was going to happen next. Combining excellent storytelling with biblical truth which instructs my daughters faith makes this book at the top of my recommendation list!

In addition to this awesome book there are excellent online resources you can utilize! Each chapter has a video segment to be viewed, a training activity sheet and academy notebook sheet to be used by students to remember and practice what they read, and an adult leader guide to help you in teaching your kids or students at church. I discovered there are also adult versions of this book and others by the author which I’m very interested in checking out!
I was so pleased with this title I’m planning to get the other two in the series. Giving kids the knowledge of Scripture is wonderful, but it must only be the beginning. Using Forensic Faith for Kids we will be giving them the tools they need to practically live out and share their faith.

Check out what my Crewmates have to say!

Ireland ~ A Part of the By the Way Book Series from By the Way: A TOS Crew Review

September 19, 2018 Grace-Filled Writer

The inclusion of geography into our studies always encourages conversation and fun! We especially love studying about the locations of our ancestry. We have done this before, but only rarely do we have the opportunity to do so with a resource that has a wonderful message from a biblical worldview. Learning about our family heritage was new once again when we read about Ireland, a part of the By the Way Book Series from By the Way Book My daughters had a great time reading this book together! I did too! The photographs are stunning and I could imagine walking the green hills and rocky coast. We learned about animals which I did not realize were a part of the geography. I also absolutely love the addition of Scripture scattered throughout the pages and pictures. While we have studied quite a bit of geography that has been very informative this is a wonderfully unique resource in how it brings in spiritual truths so seamlessly to the story and information.
I absolutely loved that this was a story alongside informational. The use of Irish dialect brought the characters and their adventures to life. We love using living books as a part of our mostly-Charlotte-Mason way of homeschooling. This is the first time I’ve encountered a living book for Geography! The girls liked this aspect as well. They seemed surprised when I told them they were going to get to read and learn about Ireland, but found the book to be very story-like. While we already knew the basics of the history of St. Patrick, it was wonderful to be reminded of this again and with new information added!
Another aspect the girls enjoyed was looking at all the glorious pictures of the castles. The history that resides there is amazing, but I think they were all imagining living inside as well. This sparked an interesting discussion about what it would really be like to be royalty. We talked about the good, but also what the downsides would be. They came up with some really interesting thoughts, like not being able to go shopping whenever they wanted or having to always have guards around. In the end while they still were in awe of the castles, I think they decided this may not be the life for them!

I saw my girls pick this book up several times before and after we officially read it together. They enjoyed reading and rereading it. Each page is so fully packed with information I’m sure they learned new things each time! I really loved that in addition to the narrative style of text there were fun informational boxes and ideas for your family to implement. One that we want to give a try is geocaching! We tried this several years ago when the girls were really small, but they did not find it to be much fun. I think they will enjoy giving it a go again soon, especially with how fun the book made the activity sound!
The best way to show just how inspiring this book was to my girls is this quote:
Mommy, can we go and visit Ireland? Their interest has been peeked and their eyes opened to the world beyond what they have always known. While a trip is not in the near future, our daughters often talk of world travel and I won’t be surprised if one or all of them ended up living overseas at some point and one has expressed she feels called to overseas missions work. Who knows where the Lord will take them, but books like this one are just the thing to let them experience a small taste of other lands while they are still young. In addition to this fantastic title here are a few others available:
I highly recommend any one of these whether you are looking for an additional resource for your geography studies or you are just looking for some fun new reading material!
Don’t forget to check out what my Crewmates have to say!

Rescue Me! What Superheroes Can Teach Us About the Power of Faith from The Captain Sun Adventures: A TOS Crew Review

September 17, 2018 Grace-Filled Writer

The idea of good verses evil is fascinating our current culture. Superheroes permeate everything from movies to television to books and along with them toys, games, and clothing. It is a truth as old as creation itself, from the beginning of time in the Garden of Eden. We know this battle well and I believe it is what has fascinated the rest of our culture. We were very excited to read a super hero story with a biblical core. Rescue Me! What Superheroes Can Teach Us About the Power of Faith from The Captain Sun Adventures was enjoyed by all three of my daughters, ages 13, 11, and almost 9.

The idea behind this fantastic little book is a great story of good vs evil, woven together with truth from God’s Word creating a wonderful devotional with will teach and inspire children of all ages. Each short chapter is created as a comic book. At the end there is a devotional which is fashioned as a newspaper. I love this creativity!

Rose is an artist and snatched this out of my hands almost as soon as it arrived in the mail! She told me she thought it was so much fun that it was a comic, but also a devotional. She read through it very quickly that afternoon and told me she thought she would like to write her own devotion in the style of a comic book. The graphics are beautifully crafted and compliment the story in a lovely way.

These two gals enjoyed reading the devotion together. They too read it all at once. Because it is short and simple, I really liked that they wanted to read it on their own. One of the things I’ve attempted to instill in my daughters is the desire to study God’s Word for themselves. As they grow and mature in their faith I look for ways to show them just how exciting the Scriptures can be. This is a wonderful tool to develop a perspective of excitement as they read.
I LOVE the idea of this for personal devotions. While it would work well for group family devotions as well, I think it served us the best as personal quiet times, even though 2 daughters read together. I really like that in addition to explaining the biblical truth behind a Scripture, a question is also posed in each devotion directly to the reader to ponder. The best part about this book is that while secular super heroes point the glory to themselves or their teams, everything about this book points the glory back to God. This very biblical, but very uncommon perspective makes this a valuable resource for kids. I and my daughters all highly recommend this whether you are looking for a way to spice up your family devotions or to encourage your children to have quiet times with the Lord on their own. You may even use it for yourself and explore a different way of studying the Scriptures! Don’t forget to take a look at what my Crewmates have to say!

Peek at Our Week: September 10-14 aka Hurricane Week!

September 15, 2018 Grace-Filled Writer

There has been quite a lot of hullabaloo around here!

Here in central NC, we don’t see much more than a tropical storm or two. Then there was Hurricane Fran in 1996. It was stronger, bigger, and faster than it was believed to be when it made landfall and was still a hurricane when it came over our town. Lots of damage, power out for days…definitely a memorable thing! And because of that, whenever there is the threat of a storm people get concerned.

My husband and I don’t feel quite the same way. Having lived in Florida with hurricanes where we prepared like this…

October 2005 – This is me!!! And Rose when she was 2 months old!

And have turns life upside down like this…

October 2005 – Crop Duster’s air field with a sugar cane factory in the background.

We weren’t too concerned. We know how to prepare and we did. We didn’t board up our windows or anything, but we prepared all around the house and made sure we had what supplies we might need if the power was out for a few days. The hurricane from the previous photos left us without power and a boiled water order for 11 days.

So far, we have not had much more than a nice breeze. We shall see what else will come…

The girls started their science class on Wednesday! My first class teaching English was Monday. It’s going to be a great year for all of us!

Week in Review: September 3-7

September 8, 2018 Grace-Filled Writer

This is the week before I start my job teaching at a learning center for homeschoolers. Sooooo… I’ve learned from past experience to take things easy. This does not mean no learning! We spent most of the week working with Take Time for Art! We ADORE this art curriculum! Even more wonderful is that it was created by a very dear friend. She used to teach with me at the learning center. They watched some wonderful history videos and then step-by-step art videos. Their projects were fantastic and you will get to see the finished products soon!

One of the art projects was actually more of an engineering project! The girls are trying out their catapult and had a ton of fun launching marshmallows off the front porch!

We have a dear friend who is coming over every other week to tutor Rose in art! She is attending a local college to be an art teacher and will graduate in December. She is such a blessing to our family and such a sweet, gentle soul! She was also a homeschooler which is really cool for my daughters. She’s such an amazing role model for them all!

What was your week like?

GrammarPlanet: A TOS Crew Review!

September 7, 2018 Grace-Filled Writer

Grammar is one of those areas many homeschooling moms find intimidating. I’m a self-proclaimed word-nerd so it grammar doesn’t intimidate me personally, but teaching it can get a little more complicated. We haven’t had very many bumps along the way as my girls love words too, but I always love reviewing new-to-us grammar products! GrammarPlanet is the brain-child of the same family who gave us Analytical Grammar, a much loved product among homeschoolers everywhere! The author dreamed of having an online resource available for everyone regardless of economic background or school setting. She has sadly passed away, but her family has worked to make this dream a reality. We eagerly jumped in with gusto to check out this new resource!
The interface of the program is easy to use and follow. Students are first instructed in a portion of grammar. They learn what a noun, pronoun, very, etc. is and how it functions in the setting of the sentence. Then students are given example sentences and must assign labels to the words. They are only asked to assign those labels which they have already learned. After a student finished the lesson they may move on if they succeed in completing a certain percentage correct. If not, they should redo the lesson and master the concept before moving forward.

I love that as the parent/teacher I can see exactly what mistakes my daughters made. This helps me be able to re-instruct or further explain areas which may have been confusing. One of the more confusing areas for my daughters was learning the same word can be two different parts of speech depending on how it is used in a sentence. For instance, house is usually assigned as a noun, but when used in the phrase house arrest, house is then an adjective. In the same way arrest is most often thought of as a verb, but in this same example it is a noun. This was a harder concept for my Grace, who is eight, to fully grasp. One of the things I did not like as much was in a noun phrase, specifically with proper nouns, if one did not choose the correct direction for the dashes to indicate the beginning or end of the phrase, it was counted incorrect. In my thinking this does not exactly show incorrectness, just a misunderstanding of how the program works.

This is usually my complaint with most online or computer-based programs. It is impossible for there to be fully fluid dynamic learning because computers cannot be intuitive enough to know what the intent of the student is. A computer can only assess right or wrong based on a specific answer. With my girls, they felt a little discouraged to see something was marked incorrect for this reason.

This is a portion of Rose’s practice in progress.

My children have had deep grammar instruction from 2nd grade and moving forward. My oldest daughter has placed at a college writing level based on her assessment testing last year. She struggled quite a bit, but the struggle was very good for her because she learned how words can be used differently and really analyzed the sentences more accurately as she progressed. My younger two just felt discouraged. They did not want to use it very much.

Here is what the page looks like for the teacher to see what was missed and the reason why. You can see the example of knowing the word was a part of an adjective phrase, but missing the correct assignment of dashed lines to indicate the beginning and end of that phrase.

Based on this and my own use of the program, I think it would be excellent for high schoolers who have not had any grammar instruction (not uncommon in the homeschooling community) or middle schoolers who have had deeper instruction and this can work as a solid review. I also think it would be excellent for adults who may be going back to school or just want to improve their writing skills and need a refresher course. The complexity is a little much for elementary students in my opinion, even word nerds like us! Check out what my Crewmates had to say!