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My Student Logbook {Crew Review}

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My Student Logbook is a wonderful company that provides easy to use logbooks for your homeschooling.  Appropriately titled, My Student Logbook is an amazing way to keep track of your day to day studies.  This logbook is great for grades 2nd and up.  If you’ve been looking for a way to keep your students on track, this may be it!
My Student Logbook comes in a variety of designs.  Since I choose this logbook to use with my Emmalee, I chose the cover that most reflected her: a beautifully imaged cover with horses standing within a fenced field.  Emmalee loved it!
The cover of her logbook has a special space to put her name and the year which is wonderful for record keeping.  The cover page is paper but there is a wonderful plastic cover over it to prevent the page from getting dirty and help prevent damage during use.  The back cover is a simple black plastic page to help keep the book clean.  The entire book is paper and around the size of an average one subject school notebook.
When you open your logbook, you will find several pages explaining how to use the logbook.  There are examples for both younger students and for high school students so you will need to read through and decide which best fits your needs.  We chose to use the younger students method.  Either method is set up the same way, it’s how you use the book that is different.  We did not use the High School suggestions so this review will only reflect the suggestions for use with a younger student.
My Emma is in 5th grade this year and she is a very independent student who likes to keep up with her work on her own.  This is new for her as she’s previously been very disorganized as most artists tend to be.  If you have been reading our blog a while, you know that Emma wants to be an artist when she grows up!  
Before this review became available, I had been wracking my brain for a method that would work for Emma to be able to keep track of what she needs to do daily for school and more.  It needed to be a simple planner that was easy to manage.  My Student Logbook appeared to be just what I was looking for and just in time as well!
Emma’s logbook arrived and it was very easy to set up.  You simply cut out the first checklist page of the planner and fold it on the already marked lines.  Place the page over the first calender page with the fold going over the notes section and tape it to the back of the notes section so that the checklist covers the notes section of the page.  You do not need to tape it down over the front of the page, only the back.  
Our logbook was not dated and I chose that because we do not always work daily.  Our schedule is often changing so I wanted Emma to be able to have her list of work she needed to complete but not worry if she missed a day or even a week of work.  I simply wanted her to be able to follow and pick up where she needs when she is able to do the work.
I listed her daily work and her chores as well in the checklist column.  In the time column, I wrote how much time I wanted her to spend on the work or chore she needed to do.  These times are adjustable as needed but I did write the maximum amount of time she needed to complete the items so she wasn’t dawdling all day.
As she worked through using My Student Logbook, she would put a letter for the day of the week and a number for the date into each of the column boxes so that we knew which day the work was done.  At the top, where the date was supposed to go, we instead listed the month she was working on that week.
We used the notes section on each page to write back and forth to each other.  If she needed to tell me something, she listed it there or if there was something I needed to remember, she’d make me a note.  Same for me to her: if she needed to do something or needed an extra bit of information, I’d write it in the notes column for her.  It worked well for us.
Since we’ve only been using this for a few weeks, we haven’t needed to change our checklist but one day we will need to.  When we do, we simply move to the next calender page and add another checklist to it to start a new section.  We will leave the old checklist in place so that it shows record of what’s been done.
Also as you move from week to week, you don’t have to use a new checklist.  Simply lift the flap of the checklist and turn the page, then lay the flap back down to work on the next weeks set of boxes.  Easy as that.
We greatly enjoyed using My Student Logbook.  I’m hoping to purchase the other kids their own books very soon.  My Student Logbook is available for $15 for both dated and undated versions and $10-20 for the PDF downloads of these logbooks.  There are multiple covers to choose from allowing you to make each students unique if you choose to do so.
You can find My Student Logbook in the following places online:


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The 7 Minute Life Daily Planner {Crew Review}

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The 7 Minute Life has created a wonderful daily planner titled The 7 Minute Life Daily Planner.  This planner was created to help you learn time management strategies to help you get your day to day tasks organized and to simplify your daily life.
The 7 Minute Life Daily Planner was created for adults.  It’s great for Mom’s like me who struggle to keep up every day with all the things they need to get done.  I’ll be honest, I really needed this sweet planner in my life and it came at just the right time.
I’m a Mom who struggles with my day to day tasks.  We homeschool and we have multiple medical issues in our home so it is really hard for me to keep up every day.  At the time this review popped up, I was feeling really overwhelmed and unorganized with no idea what I needed to be doing each day.  I still struggle with this but The 7 Minute Life Daily Planner has been a huge help to me.
The 7 Minute Life Daily Planner doesn’t just provide planning pages for you to complete.  It teaches you how to use those pages to make your life function best.  It talks you through every single part of the planner so that you have better time management skills and make the most of your days.  This is the part that I really needed help with.  In this day and age, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and lose track or just let the digital world take over.  When this happens I lose track of time and the things I need to complete.
The 7 Minute Life Daily Planner has helped me to overcome those feelings of being lost and overwhelmed by helping me to develop a quick plan and giving me a place to keep track of all I need to do inside this one planner.  Through The 7 Minute Life Daily Planner, Allyson Lewis reminds us that “every minute of your life is precious”.  I couldn’t agree more!
Allyson also reminds us that “insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result.”  Repeating the same things over and over and getting no where with it is really not helping you to be a more organized, simplified person.  It’s just adding chaos into an already chaotic life.
We must clearly identify problem areas, set goals and move towards truly completing these goals to have a less stressful life.  The 7 Minute Life Daily Planner helps to make these things happen in a way that works for you.  It helps you to find your goals and define them.  It helps you to write those goals out so that you can complete them.  You will discover your purpose in choosing and reaching your goals.  Best of all, you will have a daily plan of action that is written down for you to complete.  No more running around wondering what to do: it will all be written out and ready to go for you.
The main step in this process is to write down your goals.  Make plans to make those goals happen.  Then work on those plans every day to achieve the goals you have planned to accomplish.  Once you have reached your goals, you reevaluate to see what needs to happen next.  Then you create new goals to move towards in the next steps of your life.  Easy as that.
The 7 Minute Life Daily Planner is 272 pages in length.  Every thing you need to get your life in control is provided within these pages.  The book begins with an explanation of how to use the planner, then moves on to provide the goal planning pages.  Following these pages are several calender pages to keep you on track.
The bulk of the book is filled with your Daily Progress Report pages which are the day to day pages to keep you on track.  Here you will find everything you need to do for the day, a place for contacts to reach out to, as well as an appointment list, voice mail list and thank you notes to write and keep track of.  There’s also an area of encouragement for daily exercise, water intake, eating, reading and reflection for the day.  All your accountability found in one space.
Throughout the book you will find monthly progress reports as well which will help to keep you on the right path.  This helps you readjust your goals as needed throughout the process.  The end of the book also has an area for notes.  There’s a nifty pocket in both the front and back cover to stick in a pen or note as well.
The 7 Minute Life Daily Planner comes from The 7 Minute Life.  It’s softcover with a vinyl coversheet to help keep it clean..  It’s spiral bound so it lays flat when in use.  This planner costs $24.95 and comes with a 100% money back guarantee.
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Heirloom Audio Productions: Under Drake’s Flag {Crew Review}

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Heirloom Audio Productions provided the Schoolhouse Review Crew with the opportunity to review their 2-disc set of Under Drake’s Flag: The Extraordinary Adventures of G.A. Henty.  This wonderful Audio Theater set is not one to be missed and is great for everyone 6 to adult.  My younger children also enjoyed listening along to the story.
Under Drake’s Flag takes us on an adventure with Ned Hawkshaw and his good friend Gerald.  These two journey alongside the pirate, Sir Francis Drake as he sails the seas and teaches them history and Biblical lessons they will never forget.  In Under Drakes Flag, these young men learn to have a faith like no other, even in the face of danger.
Under Drake’s Flag is approximately 2 hours in length and jam packed with action during the whole listening experience.  The audio effects are amazing and will capture your attention from the very beginning.  Brian Blessed plays the voice of “George” G.A. Henty, Jonny Scott is Ned, Danny Philpott plays Gerald and Francis Drake is played by Ian Cullen, not to mention many more actors and actresses who pull this great drama together for our listening pleasure.
My children really enjoyed Under Drake’s Flag.  We enjoyed the fact that this story brings to the forefront one of our favorite aspects of the sea, Pirates, all while capturing historical events, facts and also teaching us Biblical lessons like character, morals and so very much more.  This two disc set provided a solid and enchanting way of learning about these things all in one place.
Along with the CD set, came a study guide, both with the discs and a long guide via PDF file.  Either or both of these guides can be used to expand the lessons in Under Drake’s Flag.  It simply depends on the needs of your family as to how you use them.  A brief study on Pirates or expansion of the Biblical lessons provided in the story would also be great to go along with this program.

The study guides ask questions that really get listeners thinking about the lessons of Under Drake’s Flag.  It gets them pondering how the characters felt, what they thought, how they got through each part of the adventure and faced things they never thought they would.  There are also defining words shared that help build vocabulary expansion.  These can be defined and discussed then used for copywork, vocabulary and so much more.  There is so much you can use these guides for in expanding this program to fit your educational needs.

Another great little thing that was provided with this program was a copy of The Prayer of Sir Francis Drake from 1577.  This was awesome to read and see included in the set.  Such great words and a reminder that we should all pray daily.
Under Drake’s Flag from Heirloom Audio Productions was so much better than I truly expected.  This audio theater drama will be added into our collection and listened to for many years to come on trips and at home.  I look forward to listening to more audio dramas from Heirloom Audio Productions in the future.
Under Drake’s Flag is available for purchase for $29.95 for the 2-disc set that I received.  You can also purchase a digital MP3 download of this set for $20 if you’d prefer.

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Essential Skills Advantage {Crew Review}

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If you’ve been looking for a great online program for teaching children to read, look no further than Essential Skills Advantage.  Essential Skills Advantage is for students in grades Kindergarten through 6th.  It’s a great way to learn reading and language skills for young students.

Essential Skills Advantage offers a full Premium Membership program for your students which teaches important skills for reading and language development and comes with bonus content.  Cost for a Premium Membership is $9.99 a month.  Essential Skills Advantage is now offering a sponsored version of the program for free.  You can sign up for this free version at www.ESAlearning.com.  The free version includes most but not all of the features of the Premium Membership.  It also has adds which keep it free.
For a limited time, you can sign up using the code TOS50 to receive this program for 50% off of the original price.  This code is good until October 1st and will remain applicable for as long as you are a member of the Essential Skills Advantage program.  That makes the program $4.99 a month instead of the usual $9.99 a month.
This is a wonderful program for all young children.  My three school aged students were given access to the program for this trial.  All three enjoyed using and learning with the program.
To use this program, you need the internet with a Java script enabled browser.  Sound is necessary as well.  And finally, you need Flash Player 10 to use the program.
Each parent/teacher is given a special URL for sign-in.  You will need to bookmark this for repeating visits.  You simply go to the URL and then you or your student can select which level they will be working on.  Once you choose the level, you will be taken to another page where you will be able to log-in using that students username and password.
Once logged in, the student can then select what they wish to work on.  This will take you to another page of selections for learning.  At the bottom of the page, is a bar that fills up as your child works through the program.  This shows the child how much work has been completed and how much is left to go.  There’s also a star that can be clicked which also shows just how much the student has completed within the program.  This is a great visual for both the student to see how far they’ve come and the teacher to see what the student has completed and what needs more work.

This program promotes learning to read, spelling, phonemic awareness, comprehension and so very much more.  Lessons are thorough and designed to fit the grade level they are created for, yet they are also fun and keep your child interested.  Children truly gain so much from using this program.

The program is easy to use.  It’s a lot of clicking through pages to get started but this goes quickly once you have logged in a few times.  The program is fun to use and captivates the attention of students of any age.  The imagery is perfect for Elementary students and the concepts are easily grasped.
Essential Skills Advantage is perfect for all the students in our family.  Jack, of course, is a bit young for it yet.  Winston uses the program for review and also for building reading comprehension.  It’s great for his remedial reading skills and has been a huge confidence booster for him.
Emmalee enjoys the program too.  She was able to do many of the higher grade level lessons and has worked through them fairly fast.  She’s a great reader so this is expected for her.  It’s been great to polish up her skills though.
Laycie is using the program as a beginning reader and has no problem keeping up.  This will be a huge help for her this year as she learns more and more reading skills.  It captivates her attention and keeps her wanting to learn more.
We look forward to continuing to use Essential Skills Advantage for reading and language development through the year.  It’s been a great program that  we’ve all enjoyed and it definitely  has helped us in so many ways.  I’m sure you will love it too!
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UberSmart Math Facts {Crew Review}

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For this review, we were gifted a full download with lifetime license code for UberSmart Math Facts from UberSmart Software.  This program was wonderful.  It’s a great way to teach or review Math Facts for any age.
UberSmart Math Facts can be used with people of any age but is specifically designed to be used with students in Kindergarten through 6th grade.  It’s a downloadable software program that can be used with eight or more students.  The software requirements are for Windows 7, Windows 8, XP or Vista only.  The cost for UberSmart Math Facts is only $24.95.  That’s a steal for such a wonderful program to teach your student Math Facts!
The kids liked UberSmart Math Facts a lot.  All three of my school-aged students were able to easily use this program.  They simply logged on and began to work through the Math Facts on their own.
If you aren’t sure what a Math Fact is, they are your simple addition, subtraction, multiplication and division problems that you probably learned in Early Elementary school.  1+1, 1-1, 1×1, and 1/1 are all Math Facts – place in any number you wish to create a Math Fact problem.  Math Facts are important to build a strong Mathematical foundation before heading into higher Math programs.
UberSmart makes teaching Math Facts easy through their many program options.  Your student can practice and learn Math Facts by selecting the Learn tab in the program.  They can then choose to learn with Dots (like those found on Dominoes game pieces) either with or without Numbers or learn with only numbers for the problems they are learning to complete.  The Dots show the amount for each number making it a bit easier for younger students.  This also gives the student visual reminders for the numbers amount, teaching one-to-one correspondence in Math.
After “learning” the Math Facts, students can then Practice their Math Facts by clicking on the second tab in the program which is labeled “Practice”.  Students are then given several Facts to answer in order to practice what they’ve learned.  Math Facts for addition and subtraction go up to the 9’s.  Math Facts for multiplication and division have the option of going to the 9’s or going to the 20’s.  The choice is yours and your students.
There is also a “test” for UberSmart Math Facts.  This can be found by clicking the third tab appropriately named “Test”.  This test is nice for the parents/teacher and student to see if the student is really learning their Math Facts and where they may need review.
The fourth tab for UberSmart Math Facts is a tab called “Compete”.  This allows the user to compete to test their skills against others.  This would be a great option for those who wish to test their child’s skills.  I don’t personally care for this option since we try to avoid competitions in our home but my Emma did enjoy testing her knowledge by using it – she is my competitive child when it comes to learning.
The fifth tab for the program is the Report tab.  This is where the teacher/parent or even the student can check in to see how they are doing with their learning.  It shows the tests, the passed levels of practice and basics of what the student has completed.  It’s a nice option to be able to see where your student may or may not need help.
The last tab is the Maintain tab.  This is where you set up your students and passwords.  You can also find program updates in this section and input your license for the program as necessary.  It’s basically the game settings area for the program.
That pretty much sums up UberSmart Math Facts.  We used this program on and off through the review period.  All three of my school-age children have accounts created and each was easily able to log onto the program.  They worked at Math for varied periods of time and enjoyed using it.  It was a lot like using flashcards, only interactively.  My son loved the program because it wasn’t overwhelming and it wasn’t too fast.  There also wasn’t a lot of reading involved for him to do.
UberSmart Math Facts would be great for public school students who need extra math practice, as well as Homeschool students who may need the same.  It would be a great program to use for early Math learning of Math Facts as well.  We certainly will be continuing to use this program in the future.
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Happy Kids Songs {Crew Review}

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I was really excited to see this vendor come up this year.  Music is a huge part of our day and lately I have been looking for some new songs to keep things interesting.  Lets face it, you can only listen to the same repetitive songs before you become bored as a parent and having four children home 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, I’ve heard them all.
Happy Kids Songs gave us new, fresh music to listen to and learn with.  These songs are a lot of fun both in sound and with the activities that accompany them.  The activities are very easy to do with even young children.  Specifically, Happy Kids Songs is designed to be used with children who are ages 3-8 but even my 11 and 13 year old enjoyed listening and helping me with the younger kids.  
As some of you know, we are eclectic and unschoolish in Homeschooling style so Happy Kids Songs really went along with our idea of school.  I was easily able to put these songs on my phone or iPad and plug it into our radio so that we could listen, learn and dance.  The kids, of course, LOVED dancing to the songs and really learned great things just by listening.
We listened to these songs repeatedly and talked about the things they heard and learned through listening to them.  The kids never got bored of listening and every time they did they learned something new.  They truly enjoy these songs.
The workbook is a great addition as well.  It contains over 122 pages of fun.  The lyrics for each song and an activity sheet are included in the workbook.  In the back of the workbook, parents and teachers can find great activities to do to help build the skills and lessons being taught through the songs.  We did not do all of these but we did enjoy quite a few and even built upon the ideas on our own.
The workbook is reproducible for Homeschool use so copies can easily be printed for use with multiple children.  I was thankful that this was an option.  You can also download these same worksheets for free and print from the computer through the company when you purchase the CD’s.  
The song set titles are pretty self explanatory.  There are 8 titles in the series, all adding up to a huge amount of fun.  For our review, as I mentioned above, we received the following:
Friends and Sharing – this song set focuses on building friendships and learning to share with others.
Happiness and Attitude – this song set focuses on being happy, making others happy and having a great attitude as well.
Manners and Character – this song set focuses on learning good manners and having a great personal character with others.  
Each of these song sets are available for purchase through Happy Kids Songs website either on Amazon or iTunes for $4.95 per album of all five songs or songs can be purchased separate for $0.99.  The pages within the workbook are available for free through the website but you can purchase the pre-printed Happy Kids Songs Workbook from Amazon for $12.56 at the time of this review.
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Twitter: @howsyourfam

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