Now, I have enjoyed my chocolate but surprisingly I have enjoyed my DVDs from MathTutorDVD.com!! Amazing!

MathTutorDVD was created by Jason Gibson, an electrical engineer who has worked for Texas Instruments and NASA, but now is focused on MathTutorDVD.com. You can read more about Mr. Gibson here.

The first DVD I watched was for the TI 84/ TI 83 Graphing Calculator

It is possible that you heard me groan when I opened the case. In my avoidance of higher math, I never had to personally use a graphing calculator. I was not looking forward to this video. However, I was pleasantly surprised. I actually enjoyed this video! Stop laughing. I did. Mr. Gibson presents the information in a clear, easy to understand manner. The screen allows you to view the calculator as he walks you through the different functions and features. It made me wish I had a graphing calculator so I could practice what I was learning.

The 3 set DVD is broken up into sections so you can pick and choose what you need to learn right now. You don’t have to watch two hours and hope to hear what you need. Need to know about finding the min and max of a function? Section 9 of DVD 1. I think the DVD is also great to have on hand for a refresher on using the calculator. Maybe toward the end of your calculus course, you can’t quite remember how to use a certain function. Grab this DVD, select the section you need and get that math done! Also, I know for me, sometimes I catch on a bit quicker if I see something in action as opposed to just reading a black and white manual. If you have a visual/audio learner, then this DVD would be a great asset. I know I will definitely be keeping this DVD on the shelf for use in a couple of years.

Important Information:

TI 84/TI 83 Graphing Calculator is $26.99. It contains 8 hours of instruction on using the calculator. You can scroll to the bottom of this page to view a video sample of this DVD.

The second DVD was for The Pre-Algebra Tutor: Volume 1 .

On this one, you may have heard my daughter groaning. Poor girl. We received a pre-algebra dvd at the same time she was starting her pre-algebra book. I previewed the DVD before handing it to Rebekah so I could help her out on any difficult sections. Once again, Mr. Gibson does a fabulous job of presenting information in a clear, easy to understand manner. He has a very relaxed manner of presenting information that I think students will find refreshing. I will be honest that my daughter didn’t walk away begging for her pre-algebra book but she was a bit more confident. The only thing she had issues with was that Mr. Gibson tells you to just listen, not to write anything down, just watch and listen. Rebekah would have preferred to write as she watched; there were times where I think writing would have helped her to focus a bit more. I later told her to write if she felt she needed to.

This DVD will definitely be kept on the bookshelves as I know Bekah will be using is throughout this year when she might hit a rough spot in pre-algebra. I can see myself using it to refresh my mind on areas I might need to explain and teach pre-algebra.

Important Information:

The Pre-Algebra Tutor: Volume 1 is $26.99 and covers real numbers, number lines, integers and more. It is 5 hours of tutorial videos. There is also a Pre-Algebra Tutor: Volume 2 available. There is a video sample of the Pre-Algebra Tutor: Volume 1 DVD available here.

Fully understand the TI84/TI83 calculator? Your students are beyond pre-algebra? Still head over to mathtutordvd.com! There are DVDs for geometry, calculus, physics and more. Your child struggles with word problems or basic math? There are DVD courses for those as well.

Again, math can be a bit scary, but Mr. Gibson does a great job showing how easy it can be!

Make sure head over to TOS Homeschool Blog and see what others are saying about MathTutorDVD.com!

**Disclaimer: I received this product for review as a member of the TOS Homeschool Review Crew. I received no compensation for this review.

Pigtails.

Big thanks to big sis Mary for doing a fabulous job!

I admit that I had let handwriting fall down the to-do list. I admit I had two children who really needed handwriting to be near the top of the to-do list. The timing of this review was perfect for us! So, sit back and let me share a bit with you.

Peterson Directed Handwriting is a company that has been around since 1908. They offer handwriting kits for classroom and homeschool, distance learning, supplemental items and the e-workbooks, which I reviewed. They also offer excellent customer service; I was greatly impressed by Mr. Nelson’s desire to answer my questions and assist in making this product a success for my students.

I was able to review the following e-workbooks:

Print Step 1 (Kindergarten)- $19.95 – Individual License

Print Step 2 (Grade One)- $19.95 – Individual License

Print Step 3 (Printing Fluently)- #19.95 – Individual License

(Individual license means for one teacher)

I used these products for 3 of my children; 4yr old who had never had official handwriting instruction, a 7 year old who formed letters incorrectly and an 8 year old who needed work on legibility. Here’s a little secret; I had all three of mine start with Print Step 1. With the issues the oldest two had, I felt they could benefit from starting at the beginning and I am so glad I did! Since I print the practice pages from my computer, they had no clue it was “kindergarten” work. I think, depending on the needs of your child, it could be use regardless of age. And they all looked forward to handwriting each day.

There are four steps to Peterson Directed Handwriting; this method focuses on training your muscle memory to make the strokes instead of visually guiding the strokes:

1. Illustrate and describe: the letter strokes are shown in different colors and there are word phrases to indentify the stroke. Such as small down, roll around and slide; that is for the number 5.
2. Air Writing: Use the arm to make big strokes and write the letters/numbers in the air while talking out the strokes.
3. Finger tracking with chant: With the printed page, the child writes with their finger, while letting the chanting of strokes guide them instead of relying on visual.
4. Write and Say: The page is broken into two parts; unlined and lined. The child practices first on the unlined then moves onto the lined where he/she can practice control.

The program is very easy to use. I just printed out the page I needed for the day, we would go through the four steps and that was it. I was concerned that my children would find the chanting a bit tiresome but it was a huge help to them. They would get into a rhythm quickly and I could tell a big difference in the handwriting very quickly. I found that my 7 year old was catching herself on incorrect letter formation during other work and making the necessary corrections. Fabulous!

I have to say that Peterson was such a blessing for my 7 year old. She often starts her letters at the bottom instead of the top and I always thought something was a bit off but could never figure out what. Her grip was all wrong! The way she was holding her pencil caused her to curve her hand to form her letters so it was easier to form them incorrectly.

There is no teacher’s manual included with the e-workbooks but that is not an issue at all. Peterson’s website has a plethora of information on their method and it is a simple, yet effective, method. For a mom of 7, being able to print as needed from the e-workbooks is a blessing to my homeschool budget. It is also nice when a child may need extra practice and I can just print out more for them.

Peterson’s offers supplemental products such as pencil grippers, triangular pencils, alphabet cards and more. There is also a wealth of information on the website that is so helpful even if you are not using the Peterson Directed Program.

Now I must share the not so good stuff.

Peterson-handwriting.com can be a bit difficult to navigate. There is a wealth of information there, but sadly it can be confusing to find it. Honestly, if I had not been given this to review, I probably would not have used it as the website would have been a huge turn off.

The pages print in color. I do not have a color printer so the coloring of the strokes was not useful for us.

Personally, I dislike the three-lined handwriting pages. My children seem to do better with two lines.

Overall, I think Peterson Directed Handwriting is a great program worth taking a look at. If you have any questions, you can go here (click on meet live) to talk online with Rand. Or check out this 20 minute overview. You can even take a look at the e-workbook pages.

Make sure you check out what the rest of the crew has to say about Peterson Directed Handwriting.

***Disclaimer: As a member of TOS Crew, I received a complimentary copy of this product for review. No other compensation was made.

IndoctriNation Trailer from IndoctriNation on Vimeo.

Then you need to head over to Hip Homeschool Hop and enter their giveaway today!

Can’t wait to see who wins!

Don’t forget to join in the Hop!

Gathered around the table today, we were discussing our current week of history. We are chatting about vocabulary words; as I read one if they already know what it is, they tell me. Nice and simple, yes?

Anyone know what a Sentry is?

Child left un-named to protect her mother: Oh, that’s easy. 100 years.

Wise, college educated, refined mother: Um, that would be a century, goofball. (said with deep love and respect. I promise, I wasn’t laughing. Really.) This word is sentry.

Child still left un-named to protect her mother: Oh, that’s a soldier. *giggle*

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A bonus episode brought to you by FYI, Inc.

You can make your daughter’s head explode by talking about transitive and intransitive verbs, verb inflections and reflexive pronouns. We did make a breakthrough. Reflexive pronouns seem to make sense when I told her to just think of “I hit myself” and then to hit herself on the head. I had her practice a few times to make sure it clicked. Laughter is better than tears, right?

The official birthday celebration happened on Friday evening; pizza, cake and ice cream!

I think she definitely enjoyed turning 7.

This was Lydia’s cake. Lydia drew a picture of what she wanted and our dear friend Mrs. L was kind enough to create this beautiful cake. Lydia was so excited! We give big thanks to Mrs. L!