homeschool review Archives - Pea of Sweetness

Talking Fingers Review

April 15, 2016 by Emilee Evans

Due to our oldest son’s special needs he has had challenges with reading so although he is 9 and Read, Write & Type is geared for K-2, I knew this was something that would be ideal for him to try! This program from Talking Fingers Inc. covers spelling, phonics, reading and typing. It has special features for those that have reading difficulties as well as learning disabilities and even English as a second language.

Talking Fingers Review

For our Talking Fingers Review we received a one-year subscription to Read, Write & Type. It is accessed online, and all account information is saved online, so it can be accessed from anywhere, and you can pick up right where you are. We’ve used it on both a Windows PC and Windows Laptop with Windows 10, and everything has run well. Students and parents each have their own account log-ins.
In the parent dashboard I have access to add students as well as manage our account. There is a User Manual which was helpful for getting everything set up for our son. There is also an Administrator Guide, which seems it would be most helpful for those that will have more than one Administrator and students. We only needed one Administrator, of course.
From the parent dashboard I can also edit settings for Brayden. I can choose the times and days he is allowed to log in as well as the pass level. The pass level is set at a default of 70%, which I’ve kept. If he were to fall below the 70% it would send them back to previous games to practice and improve those skills. Each setting has a little “?” beside it that you can hover over to learn more about what that setting is or does.

When the student logs on to their account, it goes straight to a start screen. I found this to be a little confusing because I have used many online programs that have a student dashboard as well. I felt like I was doing something wrong, but that is the only screen it goes to and there aren’t any other options. So, now we just know and click Start. It starts with a fun, exciting song for a fun introduction.
I do find the student area to be a bit confusing. There are different things to click on, but it isn’t really intuitive. There is a little box with a star on it as well as letters they have finished that can be clicked on where we can see and print out his certificates. I believe you have to be logged in to the student’s account to view and print the certificates because I haven’t found this option in the parent dashboard, and I’m glad we found it on his account! The certificates are really easy to print as you just have to click on the printer icon.

Brayden has been learning how to type while also learning to spell. Typing is taught using the correct fingers and style. Letter sounds are emphasized as well, which I think would be perfect for younger kids. If your child does need to jump ahead, it can be adjusted in the parent area. I debated doing this but wanted to get a feel for the program first, so he’s been working on it from the beginning, which I actually think is good for him so he can learn how to type correctly.
Overall, I do feel this is a good program for beginning and struggling readers. I do find that both the parent and student areas are tricky to navigate, and there is a learning curve until you get used to the setup. Brayden has really been liking the program, and each lesson can be finished in less than 10 minutes. Generally we only do one lesson per day, but he could easily do two or even three at one time.
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I can’t personally attest for the ESL component of Read, Write & Type, but many different members of the Schoolhouse Review Crew reviewed it. They have been using it with different age children as well! Be sure to check out their reviews by clicking on the button below!

Logic of English Foundations Review

May 13, 2014 by Emilee Evans

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Please refer to my Disclosure Policy for more information.
I was so excited for the chance to review another product from Logic of English. We received Foundations, Level A as well as Reusable Resources that compliment the program and the Doodling Dragons App, which we used on the kids’ iPad, to facilitate our Foundations Review. We had the choice of manuscript and cursive, and I chose cursive because our children have fine-motor delays and do better with cursive.

Logic of English Foundations A is recommended for students in Pre-K or Kindergarten. If your child is age 7 and under, and you’re not sure where to start they actually offer a Help Me Choose option where you can enter the information about your child (or children) and see where they should begin. It actually recommended both of our older children (ages 6 and 8) begin with Foundations A, so I was grateful it offered the Help Me Choose option so I knew we would start in the right place.

I did initially wonder that perhaps we would be taking steps backwards because we reviewed the Logic of English Rhythm of Handwriting last fall. They did well with it, but I knew based on the questions in the “Help me Choose” they weren’t yet ready for the other programs. They are both delayed readers due to their special needs. I knew it would also be appropriate for our preschooler (age 4) to join us for lessons as well, and he often did. Mostly, though, it was our older two children using the program, and we used it 4-5 times per week. I had them share the workbook, which actually worked out really well, but if you’re able to purchase additional workbooks I would recommend it!
Even our preschooler got his turn in the workbook. You can definitely tell that it is a preschooler’s work, and he made the strokes on the whole page versus the individual lines, but I was so proud of him! This was his first attempt ever at writing. That is how much he was enjoying it! He really did great on the whiteboard as well! It does include a nice whiteboard, and since our older two children have their own whiteboards, our preschooler got to use the new whiteboard. On days he didn’t join in our older two took turns with it.

I like that Foundations Level A really goes into depth with phonograms and actually helps them recognize the specific sounds. Both of our boys (oldest and youngest) have speech delays, so I also felt like I was building a solid foundation for speech as well as they were learning to distinguish and speak the different sounds. I often try to fit speech into our homeschool day, so I thought it was great that I was covering that base as well as reading and writing! That is so valuable for our family!
Logic of English Essentials starts by covering phonograms and is very detailed in teaching children how to distinguish the phonograms. What makes them the same (such as your mouth is in the same position) and what makes them different (such as “voiced” or “unvoiced”)? Our kids have been learning sounds like they never had before, and they really enjoy it. Of course, I also enjoy it because I know they are learning something valuable.

Although we had done the Rhythm of Handwriting Cursive, I still had the children do the writing portion as well. Our oldest son, in particular, struggles with writing due to fine motor challenges, so I knew there was still benefit in it. We started by learning the different strokes we would use for the phonograms, and then we built up to the phonograms themselves – starting with the phonograms that used similar strokes. I think it is a great way to ease into writing!
In addition to being a thorough program for teaching phonograms and writing, it is also FUN! We have really had so much fun with it! In the Teacher’s Manual there are suggestions for hands-on learning such as blending phonograms together and acting out the word or finding the object. We were always excited to see what we would do next! On the days we learned a new phonogram there were suggestions to really establish that phonogram by using it frequently that day. It would recommend snacks that start with that phonogram and activities as well. It was fun for them and me!

We also had Basic Phonogram Flashcards, tactile cursive cards (our kids LOVED these because they could feel the phonogram as they wrote it with their finger), a cursive handwriting reference chart, a whiteboard and two sets of game cards. These were all included in the Reusable Resources. Plus, when you continue with the additional levels of Foundations, you will continue to use these resources!

In addition to the Teacher’s Manual and Student Workbook, we also received the Doodling Dragons book. The Doodling Dragons book is very much like the Doodling Dragons app except the app is more interactive and offers additional features. Our kids used the app so much that when we would get to a page in the book to correspond to our lesson they would already know what it says! Even our preschooler could tell me what a full page said! I love that they really soaked it in!
With the Doodling Dragons app they can choose to listen to the Doodling Dragons book, interact with the pages by clicking on sounds, play phonemic awareness games to help them recognize phonograms and how they go together to make words as well as learn the phonograms.

Logic of English Foundations Review

Overall, I am so glad we had the chance to review this great language arts program. It really starts at the basics to truly help children understand how phonograms work from the various sounds to the art of writing them. It is so thorough, and it is something we will continue to use.
The Logic of English Foundations A program can be purchased for $71 (Teacher’s Manual, Student Workbook and Doodling Dragons book). The Reusable Resources can be purchased for $85. Logic of English makes it easy to bundle the two together and even offers the option to add Foundations B and C as well! The Doodling Dragons App can be purchased for $4.99 on the App Store and is also available on Google Play and Amazon.

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Interested in learning more about what Logic of English has to offer? Be sure to check out the other reviews from Schoolhouse Review Crew Members by clicking on the button below!

Flowering Baby Age Two to Three Year Curriculum Review

February 17, 2013 by Emilee Evans

Flowering Baby

Flowering Baby offers a complete Curriculum from Birth to Age 5. As a homeschooling mom with 2 “school age” children and a toddler I have to admit I don’t often give our toddler the attention he needs in regards to learning. It’s easy to find projects to keep him occupied while I’m working with his older siblings, but Flowering Baby has been a blessing in that I now realize I DO have time to work with him in ways that help him learn and grown – and are fun!
For my review I specifically used the curriculum for the Two to Three Year Olds with our toddler who will be turning 3 at the end of April. At first I wasn’t sure exactly where to “start” with him because it is nicely broken down by month. Because he has developmental delays (he has Sensory Processing Disorder and a Speech Delay) I wasn’t sure if I should start him where he is developmentally or his actual age. It’s a tricky decision because his receptive communication is actually advanced, but his expressive communication is moderately delayed. After looking over the curriculum I decided it was best to start him at his actual age knowing I could always “go back” if necessary. So, we began the program at 33 months.
Each month is divided into 20 lessons, and the first page for the month will let you know what supplies you will need that month as well as what books you will be reading, and the Composer of the Month. The books that are recommended are definitely just a recommendation, but I found if I didn’t have them they were easy to find at the library, so we were always able to keep to the recommended list. The Composer of the Month is a classical composer for music your child will listen to that month. It is not expected that your child will sit and listen to the music individually, but she recommends playing it in the background. I found it was easy to find the Composers (and their music) online without any issues! I really enjoyed having music in the background!
Each day is divided into about 6 activities. Some of the activities were more relaxing for our toddler such as the music in the background and when I would read to him. The remaining activities were more involved where he would participate directly in the activities. I found it was very easy to include these in our day without a big interruption (which is what I think I was always afraid of if I got involved with a curriculum for him). Our older kids take frequent breaks due to their special needs, and many of the Flowering Baby activities only require 5-10 minutes, which would fit in nicely during those breaks. If they were longer activities I would get him started during one of their breaks and observe him as he continues in the room with us!
The Activities in the Two to Three Curriculum vary from Physical Activities, Counting/Math Concepts, Language, Music, Story, and then additional activities related to those activities. You can view a sample of a full month when you visit the Two to Three page and scroll down to the bottom.
One of Chaz’s favorite activities was actually one we used on multiple occasions. First, we painted a “candle stick” for Jack Be Nimble. He loved painting it! He was so proud. We then used it to act out the story of Jack Be Nimble. Unfortunately, he does have some motor delays as well, so he refused to attempt to jump over the candle stick. I was pleasantly surprised when a few days later we brought out the candle stick again and this time allowed him to choose what he would like to do to get passed the candle stick. I asked him again if he would like to jump over it to which he responded “no jump, run!” He ran circles around it and had a blast! The activity also helped him with sensory input as he is a sensory seeker and needs a lot of sensory input! I wanted to share the great time he had with his “candle stick.”

Overall, we’ve really enjoyed the Flowering Baby Curriculum for ages Two to Three. We did have to modify a few of the activities due to his special needs – particularly those that asked him to tell us stories or share ideas since his expressive communication is delayed. Once in a while he also just refused activities due to sensory overload at which point I would just drop it. If I push him past that threshold a meltdown is soon to follow, and then everybody’s day gets worse! A couple of the activities he modified on his own, and I believe in creative freedom, so I let him! There were a few activities that asked us to count in Spanish, but because I’m teaching the kids French I simply modified so that we did French instead. I just feel blessed we have a guideline of ideas to get him thinking and active each day! I was also surprised at how much he DOES know (like counting to 10) and had fun watching him learn and discover.
The entire copy of the Birth to Age 5 curriculum download can be purchased for $132.00. The specific year plans for Birth to One, One to Two, and Two to Three can also be purchased individually for $30.00 each. Year plans Three to Four and Four to Five cost $38 each. Right now you can get a discount by ordering from the Flowering Baby Website for 10% off! Please use code “Blog10” when ordering.
Although my personal experience was with the Two to Three Year Old Program, I did look over the other ages. I wanted to share that the Three to Four and Four to Five Curriculum are slightly different in that they have two parts, a daily general education guide and the theme studies. So, they are definitely much more involved, which I think is great for that age. Again, you can visit the Three to Four site and scroll down to the bottom for a sample. Or you can click on the banner below to view the rest of the Awesome Crew Reviews and see what those that reviewed the older ages had to say!

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this product through the Schoolhouse Review Crew in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. No other compensation was received. All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family and may be different than yours. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations. Please refer to my Disclosure Policy for more information.