E is for Exercise

Blogging through the Alphabet is hosted by Marcy from Ben and Me. She is blogging through a letter of the alphabet each week and invited others to join in with her. Visit her blog and read what other bloggers have chosen for the letter E.

Exercise! I have a love/hate relationship with that word. I love how I feel after I exercise, but I hate to get started exercising.

My favorite exercise is walking. I love to walk, especially if I have a buddy. For some reason it is so much harder for me to get out and get going without having someone who is counting on me. Right now I am able to walk twice a week with a buddy, my mother. We live about a half mile apart. She walks down from her house and I walk up from mine, we meet in the middle and then turn around and walk approximately 3 miles in about 45 minutes.  Boy, can we solve the world’s problems during our early morning walks. I love that I can visit with my mom and exercise all at the same time.

I also try to walk at other times than my scheduled walks. We live a little over a mile from our church. So, there are many times I will walk down to choir practice. We go to piano lessons at church and the kids and I have been known to walk (or ride our bikes, but bike riding is not my favorite activity) to piano lessons. Going to church is fairly easy, it is all downhill. Coming home is a bit tougher, since it is all uphill. For choir practice I will usually walk to the church, then catch a ride home with my dad afterwards so I don’t have to walk home in the dark.

I have also recently started an exercise class. I have found that trying to exercise at home just does not work well for me. I always find an excuse to put it off. I never seem to work as hard as if I am in a class. But the dilemma was: Where was I going to find a class? Since Matt is retired Air Force we have free access to a wonderful, huge gym. The problem is the 20 minute drive to get there. I don’t have that kind of time (or gas money). The gyms in town all cost, so not a great option.

Then in the mail I received the city’s monthly City Profile flyer. It talked about exercise and then said that the Senior Citizen Center sponsors many different exercise classes. The next paragraph talked about how if you were under 60 you could attend any of the classes for a small ($20) monthly fee. It was like a light bulb went off in my head. My mother attends a 3x a week exercise class, focusing on strength and flexibility.

So, yes, I am attending a Senior Citizen exercise class at the age of 38. I love it. It is exactly what I need. This class is as easy or as hard as the individual makes it. We start with warm-ups and gentle stretching through Pilates moves. Then we move into upper body strength training with rubber exercise bands. Then we go to lower body strengthening with squats and lunges. Then comes the floor work. We start with work on our legs and move into some pretty intense stomach exercises. We end with more stretching. I feel great after this hour long class. Nobody seems to mind me being there and the best part is the instructor has not made me pay.

It takes a little bit of planning to be able to do this with kids home all day. For my walks, we walk early enough that the kids are still asleep. But for my exercise class, which starts at 8:30am I have assignments I expect them to complete. Ben and Rebekah have to get their math, spelling and piano practice done while I am gone. Sarah just has to work on any of her assignments. They are all supposed to be responsible for themselves. This semester Matthew does not start class early on Mondays or Wednesdays, so he is home during the time I am gone. Having an adult child  is nice for things like this. I can leave for an hour and he can take care of things while I am gone.

Action Alert

Action Alert is an internet safety solution to help protect kids from online dangers. Action Alert combines 8 internet safety tools in one product.

1. Access Control—shuts down PC access remotely
2. Activity Alert Notifications – receive activity alerts via e-mail or texts.
3. Activity Video Recording – Records 60 hours of all PC activity.
4. Time Allowance – Set daily times when the PC can be used.
5. Site Blocking – Blocks unwanted and inappropriate sites.
6. Content Filtering – Allows only safe searches to be conducted.
7. Keystroke Logging – Logs user names and passwords.
8. Chat and E-mail Logging – Log both sides of conversations.

Two versions of Action Alert are available.

• Free Protection-  Everything you need to setup a kid-safe computer in seconds. All Totally Free!
• Maximum Protection—Offers all above features plus Multiple user protection, is Fully Customizable and provides Full Social Network Monitoring. This may be purchased from Action Alert for $29.99

ClarkClan Thoughts

We installed Action Alert on the computer that is used by the kids. They use this computer for both schoolwork and to play games. Action Alert was simple to install. Once installed Action Alert Safe Search page becomes the internet home page.

As Action Alert says, I was able to remotely access the kids computer using mine. I was able to block sites that I did not want them visiting. I received alerts through my email. I also was able to watch a recording of PC activity. My kids do not online chat or e-mail, so we never tried out the chat and e-mail logging feature.

The most notable thing we encountered using Action Alert was a computer slow down. The computer the kids use is an older model and we noticed a definite slow down after installation.

I also had some trouble setting the program to the parameters I wanted. It seemed it was either too restrictive or too lenient.  The program comes pre-loaded with “hundreds of thousands” of websites known for unwanted content. I can’t speak to that as we did not come across anything that was searched for as inappropriate.  Action Alert will send an alert if certain terms, that you set up, have been searched. What we noticed was that all the sites came up, and they could be visited, but I was e-mailed an alert that an unacceptable term had been searched. Then, if I chose, I could remotely shut down computer access. The idea behind this is accountability. If your child knows that you will find out  they are searching for something inappropriate they will be more responsible.

Many of my Crew Mates also reviewed Action Alert. Visit the Crew Blog to read what they thought about this Internet Safety Tool.

As an Independent contractor for The Old Schoolhouse and member of TOS Homeschool Crew I received the Maximum Protection version of Action Alert for free in exchange for my honest review of their product.

D is for Driver’s Ed

The letter D is up for this week on Blogging Through the Alphabet. Marcy from the blog Ben and Me hosts this weekly challenge. Make sure to visit her blog and read what other topics there are for the letter D.

Today, I have chosen Driver’s Ed as my D topic. Sarah is taking Driver’s Ed right now. She is 14, will be 15 next month. In New Mexico she can take Driver’s Ed as long as she is 15 before the class is over. Since she has a very busy summer, we decided to have her take it now, and then she can drive with us for the next year, until she is 16.

We have been through this before with Matthew. One of the differences was that he took Driver’s Ed while we were living in Montana. The class was $100 there, and he went through classroom, driving practice, and took all the tests to get the permit, plus the driver’s test at the end of the class.  Here in New Mexico, the class cost me $100. But, the fee just paid for classroom only. If I want her to drive with an instructor it would be another $100 for 5 hours. I told her she could just drive with us as I am not about to pay $20 an hour to drive with an instructor.

The class Sarah is taking is being held at the local High School. They had two sessions, an early morning session or an afternoon session. I decided the early morning session would work the best as we have no other activities scheduled for that time. So she has to be at the High School at 6:45am. She has two friends taking the class with her, both of whom attend the High School.

I not only drive Sarah, but I pick up her two friends as well. It turns out to be a fun ride each morning. The kids get in the car and then I get to hear about their dreams, what is going on at school that day, how class is going.

Sarah is having no trouble with the class. The first week, they spent studying the driver’s manual and then took a 100 question test. Sarah passed with only missing five. She could miss up to 30 and still have a passing score.

This is one of my few experiences dealing with anything having to do with the public high school. I have not been very impressed so far. The first day, a letter was sent home explaining the rules and giving an address to look up and print our own driver’s manual. I laughed at the couple of misspelled words I found. Then I became frustrated that the link given in the letter was a bad link. I eventually did a search and found what I was looking for. Another thing that annoyed me just a little is when Sarah told me her instructor said to not worry about grammar when writing their answers, as well as not to write long answers.

I was appalled by the ‘don’t’ worry about grammar” tidbit. I think grammar is very important and how you “practice” is what you will do. Having good grammar while writing answers for her Driver’s Ed class is important and I told Sarah she should try her best to use good grammar and write as long as she needs to for the answer.

So after the first two weeks in May, I will have a second child who has completed Driver’s Ed. Then the fun of sitting in the passenger seat for a year as Sarah chauffeurs us around. Good thing Ben is only 10 and I have 5 more years before this happens again!

Progeny Press- Study Guides for Literature

• Progeny Press
• Study Guides for Literature From a Christian Perspective
• Guides available for a variety of books
• Guides are available  for Early Elementary through High School
• As of January 2012, there are approximately 107 guides
• Guides available in three formats: Printed and bound booklet, CD Rom with interactive guide, Email attachment with interactive guide
• PDF versions are interactive, allowing your student to type directly into the computer in an Adobe Acrobat format.

We had the privilege to review two different literature guides offered by Progeny Press.  Progeny Press is a company that has been producing quality literature guides since 1992. Their guides are used by both home school families and Christian schools. The guides are written by the company owners Michael and Rebecca Gilleland as well as a variety of authors who meet strict standards. Each guide adheres to high standards of literary analysis and Biblical application.

The literature guides offered by Progeny Press teach well-written literature and help students develop and refine how they deal with man’s philosophies in relation to God’s Word. They equip students to understand writing and help enhance their reading enjoyment.  

Progeny Press study guides are unique. We often are asked what separates Progeny Press study guides from other study guides.
First and foremost, Progeny Press study guides contain and teach a Christian worldview. We do not put down other worldviews, but
we definitely promote a Christian worldview. Therefore, when we discuss the moral or ethical issues raised in a book, we do so by
taking students to the Bible as the standard by which such issues should be measured. Second, we concentrate on literary techniques and terminology so our students learn what makes a story work. We believe good readers make better writers, and we encourage students to answer questions in persuasive essay answers. Third, in all our questions we emphasize critical thinking, analysis, and comprehension. We want our children to know how to think. (Excerpt taken from Progeny Press catalog)

ClarkClan Thoughts

• Across Five Aprils Study Guide
• Email attachment PDF file $16.99

Ben (10) was who I had use the Across Five Aprils study guide. This study guide was written by Carol Clark, who is a junior high language arts teacher at Toledo Christian School. While the guide is interactive, I printed the entire guide out instead of having him use the computer. This worked well for us so Ben could work on the guide while his sister was using the computer.

Ben has really enjoyed using this study guide. He is about half way through the guide. I have been having him read the appropriate chapters, then taking about a week to complete the study questions and activities. While he does the work on his own, I then will sit down at the end of each week and go over with him all the questions and generally talk about the book and what points the literature guide has brought up.

The guide is designed for grades 5-9. Ben has had no trouble completing the guide. Ben is a child who loves vocabulary and enjoys looking up words in the dictionary, so the vocabulary parts have been fun for him. One chapter had Ben looking up important military leaders of the Civil War. I sat with him while he searched on the computer. He loved this activity. Another part of the guide has Ben mapping and explaining the strategy of the different leaders. We have a map in our hallway, and Ben has spent quite a bit of time marking places and telling me what is going on in the Civil War according to his book.

I am definitely quite impressed with the this literature guide. I like the depth that is involved, yet it is still doable, even for a young, bright, fifth grader. I liked the guide so well, I have picked out which one I would like Ben to do next.

• The Screwtape Letters Study Guide
• Email Attachment PDF file $18.99

Sarah (14) has been working through the Literature Guide for The ScrewTape Letters, by C.S. Lewis.  This guide is a high school level guide designed for grades 9-12. This guide was written by Michael S. Poteet, an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church.  While this is a PDF interactive guide, I printed the guide out so Sarah could work on it at any time during the day.

I have been having Sarah, read the chapters of the book that we are focusing on, then answer the literature guide questions. She is taking about a week to complete one section of the guide. I then sit with her and go over her answers and discuss the various questions with her. Not only is Sarah learning through this guide, but I am learning quite a bit about this book, as well.

The Screwtape Letters is a powerful book and having the study guide helps me to internalize the truth found in it. I found myself during my ladies weekly Bible study, pointing out lessons I had learned while helping Sarah through this guide. My older son had read The Screwtape Letters while he was still in high school and when we pulled it out for Sarah, he picked it up and re read the book. I wish I had known about Progeny Press guides and had used one with him before he graduated. 

I would highly recommend this literature guide. I found it to be very thorough. I was also highly impressed with the depth of scripture study involved in unraveling the mysteries of this book. We are over halfway done with this guide and I have found nothing contrary to our Lutheran teachings. This has been a huge plus for me. I am looking forward to using other Progeny Press literature guides for Sarah when we are finished with this one.

There were many TOS Crew Mates who were able to review Progeny Press Literature Guides. Visit the Crew Blog and read what they thought about the guides.

As an Independent contractor for The Old Schoolhouse and member of TOS Homeschool Crew I received Across Five Aprils, and The Screwtape Letters Literature guides  from Progeny Press for free in exchange for my honest review of their product.

Classical Academic Press–The Art of Argument

• Classical Academic Press
• The Art of Argument An introduction to the informal fallacies
• Grade level: Jr. High, Sr. High if no logic has been previously introduced
• Cost: $88.95 Basic Bundle which includes Student Book, Teacher Book and DVD Set.  Each item is also available individually.

I do not remember having studied logic in school. I know I must have been introduced to informal logic, as I know some of the terms, but I do not necessarily know what those terms mean. So reviewing, The Art of Argument, has been a fascinating education for me, as well as for my children.

To be totally honest, I was extremely excited about being able to review this book. The study of logic was one I have been wanting to start. Sarah (14), on the other hand, was completely against the program from the minute she heard what it was. I was flabbergasted as Sarah is not known for discounting any schoolwork before she gives it a try. So I sat down and talked to her about it and found out that one of her friends who attends a private Christian school had used the program last year and said it was very hard. So here we are, starting out with mom excited and Sarah very reticent.

I took a very slow, gentle approach to this book. I read the book out loud to her instead of assigning her to read the pages herself and then discuss. We went over vocabulary out loud as we read. I even started out by having her do the question pages out loud with me.  During the Introductory, What is Logic? section and the beginning of Unit 1 Sarah warily went along with me. I noticed her starting to become more and more interested by the time we reached the “Dialogue on Logic…and Propaganda”  which is in the form of a play between Socrates and a girl named Tiffany.

When we reached the first Fallacy, Ad Hominem Abusive, she was hooked. She admitted that she does enjoy the book so far. She has said it is not as “hard” as her friend made it sound. I reminded Sarah, that she is 14 and her friend is 13 and studied the book last year at 11 and 12.

What surprised me completely though was Ben (10). Ben was in the room listening while I was reading the first few introductory lessons to Sarah. Then he apparently was listening intently during the first Fallacy, because as I was asking and discussing the questions with Sarah, Ben piped up with very complete, well thought out answers. He is now constantly on the look out for examples of the Fallacies we have studied.

We usually read the chapter out loud together and discuss the questions. Then we will watch the video series, available as a supplement, that corresponds to the fallacy we are studying. Watching this video adds a great deal to our understanding by providing a deeper level of discussion and more examples.  The video is set up like a panel board discussion, with four students and two adult facilitators. It is not fancy, but provides valuable insights and produces better discussions than I can come up with myself.

The Teacher’s Edition was the same as the student book, except for having answers printed on the worksheet pages. This made it easy to teach, as I was always on the same page as the kids and could see everything, in full size, they had in their books.

I would highly recommend The Art of Argument by Classical Academic Press. The use of skits involving Socrates inject humor into the lesson. My kids found the “advertisements” that illustrate the different Fallacies to be entertaining. I feel this is a very solid informal logic curriculum.

Many of my Crew Mates also reviewed The Art of Argument. Visit the Crew Blog to read what they thought of the program.

As an Independent contractor for The Old Schoolhouse and member of TOS Homeschool Crew I received The Art of Argument, Student book, Teacher Edition and Disk 1 from Classical Academic Press for free in exchange for my honest review of their product

C is for Chimes

      This week for Blogging Through the Alphabet the letter is C. Marcy from the blog Ben and Me is endeavoring to blog through the entire alphabet and invited others to join her. Visit Marcy’s blog and read her C word and then visit the other blogs that are participating.

     Chimes! This week my chosen word is Chimes. Our church has a children’s chime choir. Ben and Rebekah are members and Sarah is a helper. This has been a new experience for my kids but they really love it.

     Ben and Rebekah love to go to chimes. They run in, see their friends, play a little bit, then get to work. The Chime Choir this year is a very young one. They range in age from 6 to 11. The  two 11 year olds have played before, but the other 8 are brand new. The director is gently teaching them the staff, what notes are on the staff, music timing, and watching her. It is so fun to hear the Chimes  play, and see the smiles on the kids faces when they  get to the end of the song.

     Because the players are new and fairly young, we usually have a couple mothers and my daughter Sarah around to help. Sarah plays piano and Hand Bells (can you guess what my H word will be). The little girls who are six love to have Sarah help them.  The Chime Choir director, who is also my kids piano teacher, the Hand Bell Choir Director and Pastor’s wife, relies on Sarah to help both before and after Chimes by getting out and putting away the chimes and music.

     Chime Choir has really stretched Ben and Rebekah in their music playing. They both take piano lessons, and chimes is another way to access their musical training. I like that some of the problems they are having with timing while playing the piano can be worked out through playing chimes. Learning to count and stay in rhythm is learned through chimes. If you play your note early, you mess the rest of the choir up, so timing becomes very important. My kids have learned to watch their music and follow along so they know when it is their turn to play their note.

     The best part of Chime Choir though, is that the kids have the opportunity to add to the church’s worship through their music. They are learning reverence and the joy of raising songs of praise to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Chime Choir is one way that this is accomplished.

Conflict…Resolved

     I walk in the door to church. One lady is just looking outside and makes an innocuous comment about somebody else having left. My heart immediately sinks. I want to turn around and go home before even starting to help. I know there is a conflict going on and I have a very good idea of what it is.

     Conflict! Conflict is inevitable. Everybody is unique with their own thoughts and ideas. When opposite ideas collide, conflict happens. That is what happened at church today.  Two different ideas of how to cook the meat for the dinner tomorrow. Workers for Christ focusing on the unimportant, whose way to cook it is better, rather than the important, working together to raise money for missions.

     I stayed, quickly determined what the problem was, and got down to work. Putting the tablecloths out, setting up the table with the offering basket, opening can after can of beans, all the while feeling the underlying tension. I am sad that two ladies, who both love the Lord and want to work for his Kingdom, are at odds.

      Then it is determined that a meeting of all who are working should be held to decide with a vote how to cook the meat. 8 ladies convene, 2 immediately start to state their case. I raise my hand and state that I have something to say. I tell them that before any more discussion occurs, we need to pray. So we pray with thanksgiving that God has allowed us this opportunity to work to raise money for the mission of furthering the Kingdom of God. And, we pray that we will be given clear heads and be able to make good decisions.

     When we finish praying the atmosphere has relaxed. We are able to calmly and rationally discuss the issue at hand. A compromise is struck.

      It is hard to believe that something as mundane as how to cook meat can cause such dissension. 1 Peter says that Satan prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. I saw an example of that today. Two beautiful, smart, Christian ladies, with two different ideas and no desire to compromise. But, after praying and asking God’s guidance, they were able to continue to work together. Only by the grace of God is this possible.

One of Those Days!

     It has been one of those days. One of those days when I thought everything was going to go so well, and I was wrong.

     Today, I was up early to get Sarah and two of her friends to Driver’s Ed by  6:45am. I was on a roll. I got granola made and cooking in the crockpot. We were on time for the class. I came home, wrote a few things, checked my e-mail, all was going well.

     Then it fell apart. I think a lot of it was my fault. I did not stop what I was doing on the computer, but directed Ben and Rebekah with my back to them. Consequently, they both messed around, knowing mom was not paying much attention to what they were doing.

     After I picked up Sarah, it  was time to start our school day. Because I had not been on top of things, chores did not get done. This means a messy house and dishes in the sink and an overflowing trash can today.

     Rebekah has “lost it’ about 3 times today. Not wanting to get started. Taking forever to do one math page (over 40 minutes). Throwing two or three fits and having to sit in her room by herself until she apologizes. Also, her nagging little habits are much worse today. She is constantly whistling, when told that it is during school hours and she will either have to stop whistling or go outside to continue, she stops. But then the humming starts. She is constantly asking for help today, even though she does not need it.

     My schedule. I did not follow the schedule and I can tell. Rebekah really needs the security a schedule provides. It is now noon and I have taken the time to write a quick schedule for the rest of the day. Then as each item is completed, Rebekah can check off what is done and see what she has left.  This is helping, but it is still a struggle.

     Tomorrow  I plan on sticking with our schedule for school and not sabotaging myself by messing around with other things. I hope and pray the day will go better.

B is for Birthday Blogging Through the Alphabet

     For this week my Blogging Through the Alphabet post I am choosing B to stand for Birthday. I have a very special reason for this as today is my son Matthew Jr.’s 19th birthday.  Marcy from the blog Ben and Me hosts  Blogging Through the Alphabet. Be sure to visit her blog to read her B word and then visit a few others as well.

      I asked Matthew the other day how it was to have been and adult for a year now. He said it was mostly good with only a few problems here and there.  This birthday for Matthew is also a strange feeling one for me. I was 19 when I had Matthew, so it is strange to think he is that old!

     Matthew is also one very busy guy. He is going to school full time, taking 17 credits this semester. He is also working at a local grocery store as a stocker. Most weeks he ends up with 30-36 hours.  He is also a volunteer firefighter. All of this means he really has to budget his time to get it all done. I am amazed at how he does it all.

     I am very proud of him for many reasons. He works hard at whatever he is doing, whether school, work, or firefighting. He also regularly attends church, when he is not working, all on his own. He will take the time to visit with his grandparents and great-grandmother. He even took the time to go shopping for great-grandma while I was gone for a month.

      This is not a post to say that Matthew is perfect. He is definitely not. If you need proof, just look in his messy bedroom or at the cracked tail light on my car.  But, all in all he is a pretty great guy! I love you Matthew! Have a great birthday!

K5 Learning

 

• K5 Learning
• Online Math and Reading Enrichment program
• Personalized lessons
• Kindergarten through 5th grade levels
• Free 14 day Trial available from K5 Learning
• Monthly $25 first child, $15 additional child, Annually $199 first child, $129 additional child

     K5 learning is an online reading and math program for Kindergarten through 5th grade.  K5 includes four reading and math programs. Each program is customized for individual students, which means lessons are based on skills assessment, not age. Eight key skills are assessed online, kids then work independently and parents receive progress reports. K5 Learning is an after school study and summer program designed to help build good study habits and excel in academics.

     Parents also receive a log-in to be able to check their child’s progress. Reports are offered in both overview formats and more detailed reports. Reports are offered for both math and reading progress as well as lessons completed and time on task reports. Parents can also let K5 Learning pick each lesson or they have the choice to go to the lesson library and assign lessons. Math worksheets are also available to print out for pencil and paper practice.

ClarkClan Thoughts 

     Ben (10) and Rebekah (8) both used this program. When we received our initial assessment go ahead, we were warned that the assessment is longer and more intense than any of the lessons in the program, but was necessary for good placement. I am really glad for this warning. I was able to reassure and encourage Rebekah to finish the assessment. Once they both started their actual lessons they enjoyed the program very much.

     Ben stated that he really liked how their was a “completion bar” across the top of the screen during a lesson. He could see quickly how much of the lesson he had completed and how much he had left. Both Ben and Rebekah had favorite activities on the program. Ben liked a math game where he had to discover the mystery picture. Rebekah really liked the spelling portion of the program. Another fun thing that Ben and Rebekah both enjoyed was the joke of the day. They both had fun reading the riddle, then giving the answer.

     This was not a flashy program, but it really did hold both Ben and Rebekah’s attention. I had no trouble getting them to want to “play” K5 learning. This is high praise from Rebekah as she does not usually like academic based computer programs. As they were playing, I could hear lots of positive feed back from the characters on the screen.

     Overall, I found this to be a very thorough, well thought out program. It is very academic in nature, yet still retains a “fun” atmosphere which engages kids to want to play.

     Many of my Crew Mates also were able to try out K5 Learning. Visit the Crew Blog to read what they thought of the program.

As an Independent contractor for The Old Schoolhouse and member of TOS Homeschool Crew I received a trial membership to K5 Learning for free in exchange for my honest review of their product

Reading Eggs

     We were given a trial subscription of the online Reading Program Reading Eggs.  Reading Eggs offers individual reading lessons that allow a child to progress at their own pace.  It has been developed by a highly experienced team of teachers, writers and developers.

      The Reading Eggs program focuses on a core reading curriculum using phonics, sight words along with focusing on skills and strategies that are essential for sustained reading success.  Reading Eggs makes learning to read fun and enjoyable with games, songs and rewards. There are 100 lessons within the Reading Eggs program and are designed for 4 to 7 year olds who are learning to read.

     Children progress through a “road map” with a different map for each of the 100 levels. They can progress as fast or as slow as they need to complete their map.  Avatars are used that can walk and travel to many new destinations. Houses to decorate and a big new shop are also part of the program. During the lessons, children are given an opportunity to earn “Golden Eggs”. These eggs can then be exchanged in the store for games and other stuff.

Reading Eggs can be purchased online at  www.readingeggs.com. There are three payment options.

• Monthly $9.95
• 6 months $49.95
• 12 months $75.00
• A second child will receive a 50% discount when purchasing the same subscription in the same transaction.

ClarkClan Thoughts

     Rebekah was the one in our family that tried out this program.  She is 8 and is reading proficiently on her own. She was slow to get started with this program. I had to force her to play and try new things on it. I am not sure why, except that she is not a huge computer game player. Since the program is self-paced and designed for kids to use independently, I would let her use it without my help. When I noticed she was not enjoying it, I sat with her and went through each part with her. It was like a light bulb turning on, she became very excited after that and was happy to play Reading Eggs.

     I liked the variety of activities that Rebekah was able to choose to do. I usually told her to go through the lesson first, then she was free to choose what she would like to do for the rest of her computer time. Once she figured out how to change and personalize her avatar, she made a Pineapple Egg with parts bought with her “Golden Eggs”.

      I also liked that the games, while fun, were tied to reading skills and had time limits with them. Driving tests could test either sight words, letters and sounds, or content words. After taking a 20 question test which propelled a car around a race track with each correct answer, then a 60 racing game could be played. The game could only be played if a perfect score on the test was reached. Re-tries were offered to give every opportunity for success. Other games in the Arcade section were based on reading skills.  With 13 activities to choose from, Rebekah had plenty to do when she played Reading Eggs.

      A few things that bothered me just a bit. During the lessons, there are times that the lesson told Rebekah to say the sounds out loud and put them together. Without me sitting right beside her and telling her to do this she ignored the program. I also noticed that it placed Rebekah’s reading level quite a bit lower than what she actually is. I think there are a couple of reasons for this. First, as I stated earlier, Rebekah took a while to warm up to the program. When Rebekah is not enjoying something, she does not put her best efforts forward. The second reason I think her scores were lower is that Rebekah has a hard time distinguishing between different phonics sounds. Since this is a phonics based program, there were times she missed things just because she could not differentiate between the different sounds being said.

     Overall, I do think that Reading Eggs is a great program. It has many varied options for all sorts of learners. Being able to see the progress you are making on the map is a motivator and also being able to make the game your own by buying things for your house and  changing your avatar is also a good way to appeal to different learners.

     Reading Eggs also has another program called Reading Eggspress. This is aimed at students from 7-13 years of age to continue to develop their reading skills.

     What did my Crew Mates think of Reading Eggs? Head on over to the TOS Crew Blog and find out!

As an Independent contractor for The Old Schoolhouse and member of TOS Homeschool Crew I received a trial membership to Reading Eggs for free from Reading Eggs.com in exchange for my honest review of their product