ALEKS Review

Every now and then I come across a product that I absolutely love. Well I came across another one recently. Over the last month or so my daughter has been using ALEKS and we both have loved it!



From their site:
Assessment and LEarning in Knowledge Spaces is a Web-based, artificially intelligent assessment and learning system. ALEKS uses adaptive questioning to quickly and accurately determine exactly what a student knows and doesn't know in a course. ALEKS then instructs the student on the topics she is most ready to learn. As a student works through a course, ALEKS periodically reassesses the student to ensure that topics learned are also retained. ALEKS courses are very complete in their topic coverage and ALEKS avoids multiple-choice questions. A student who shows a high level of mastery of an ALEKS course will be successful in the actual course she is taking.

ALEKS also provides the advantages of one-on-one instruction, 24/7, from virtually any Web-based computer for a fraction of the cost of a human tutor.



Our thoughts:
To begin my daughter did an assessment to see where her skills were and what they would have her work on. They then show her a pie of what the assessment shows. I love this pie.



I can look at it and see where we need to focus :) Then she can click on any part of the pie and work on the next set of skills she needs to master. It does not let her skip any and as she continues to take assessments, after lessons, her pie fills in.



My only bummer point is, at least for us it is a major deterrent, the price to continually use it is a bit much :(
A subscription to ALEKS is


$19.95 per student, per month, or
only $99.95 every 6 months, or
only $179.95 every 12 months.


When you subscribe, we will create two ALEKS accounts:
A Student Account: This is the account your child will use to access the ALEKS Student Module which includes assessment and learning features.
A Master Account: With this account, you can monitor your child's progress through automated reports, assign quizzes, manage student accounts, and much more.



They do have family discounts so you can check those out here.

I do recommend this product, especially if the price is not a worry.



We were given a trial offer as part of the TOS Crew. All opinions are mine!

Math Rider Review

Math Rider is a computer game that helps children in grades 6th-12th , and maybe even their parents, master their addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts with numbers 1-12. It was created by a dad who wanted his kids to have fun while learning their facts.


With this game you and your horse, Shadow, must ride through the magical Mathlands and complete the quests. The faster you can answer the addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts, the faster Shadow can run the course and jump the hurdles. There are four different quests, and in each you may choose an easy, medium, or hard level. You may also do Practice Runs in which you may concentrate on one particular number or group of numbers in your equations. The program "learns" what your child can do well and what he still needs to master, and it adapts. You may also choose a timed game.



From their website:
-You will know when your child has completely mastered an operation. And more importantly, your child will know it, too!
-This is the fastest way to mastery of all four math operations.
-The artificial intelligence rehearses what is needed most, at a rate that is tailored to each player.
-The game recognizes and rewards math improvement, not just perfection. This builds confidence and propels children naturally towards complete mastery.
-Noble quests exemplify positive values such as family, caring, honesty and kindness.

You can install this on three different computer and each license allows up to 8 players.
One license is $47 but right now until February 15th they have a special and it is only $37.





Our thoughts:
I think this is a wonderful way for kids to have fun while learning their facts. It is interactive and they tailor it to what the child needs. It is so much better than the old flashcards method. When it was time for her to "play" Math Rider she did not argue. My daughter thought it was fun and really enjoyed using it but she knows her facts and was getting a bit bored. She wanted more challenging things but did like the fact it was a game :) She never complained about doing it and would get excited to see Shadow go faster.





We were provided a trial offer to review this as part of the TOS Crew. All opinions are mine, and my daughters!

Absence

Sorry for the absence but life has been changing and right now my daughter has needed more of me. And since she is my first ministry...well I need to give her that time. I will be posting some reviews here and there but will hopefully be back posting regularly in a couple of weeks.

KinderBach Review

KinderBach is piano lessons online for young ones. The piano lessons use playful characters to teach note reading, rhythm, singing, and composition. You can use the computer, iPad or DVD. It is easy to use and fun for kids. The ages it hits is from about 3-7. They have activity pages to print off so the kids can add to their learning. You can also purchase extra materials to add to the experience.



Even though my daughter is above the age range we liked it. Yes she did look at me funny when she first started because it says preschool...but she did enjoy it. Her only thing is it was young and she has had two years of piano. Not for my nieces I am excited to tell their parents because it would be perfect.



They have online memberships starting at $7.95 a month or DVD curriculum for $40.45

If you want to give your wee ones an introduction to music, playing and music theory, I think this is a fun way to do just that.



We were provided a free trial membership as part of the TOS Crew. All opinions are mine and were not influenced :)

Learn Our Histroy Review

Learn Our History is a fun way for kids to learn US History. The company came out of the idea that history is not boring but how it has been delivered is. These videos follow a group of kids as they travel back in time and experience our history.
This was created by Governor Huckabee and they pulled in historians and educators to help make it accurate and fun for kids. There are 14 videos so far, though they hope to have over 75. They range from Columbus to the Cold War. They offer streaming online only or streaming with DVDs. In order to get the DVDs/streaming you sign up for a subscription and each month they are sent to you and charged accordingly. You do have the option of telling them you do not want a particular video so as not to receive it or be charged. This to me is the one down side I have seen but it may be a good thing to others :)

Each DVD is $11.95 plus shipping and is sent to you directly each month.

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At first glance the videos did not impress but then after watching them we were hooked. My daughter has been asking when we will be able to get more of the videos. She was very much sold on getting them all.
As for me, I appreciate the fact they are trying to portray our history correctly with out the bias that so many text books have now a days. I like that they bring the faith of the founders into it. I did not get a chance to watch the whole thing but I will be and we could be possibly seeing another video coming soon ;)


We were provided a DVD for review as part of the TOS Crew. All opinions are mine! 

Prayers Needed

Hello All. It is with a heavy heart that I come to ask for prayers for a godly man, Chuck Smith. He is the founder of Calvary Chapel and a man God has used in mighty ways. Just this past weekend he announced that they have found cancer in his lung. Not much else is known, for sure, but needless to say prayers are always appreciated. For more information you can read this interview by His son-in-law.

Thank you for your prayers for Chuck Smith!

Fresh fruit all year!

I do not live in a place that we can get good fresh fruit all year for a relatively good price, especially the berries, so when a store has them for a REAL good bargain I jump at it. But with any fresh fruit or produce they can spoil so easily so what to do, well we freeze them!

Well first wash them

Then lay them on a cookie sheet one layer think

Then stick them in your freezer until they are frozen.

Once they are thoroughly frozen put them in a bag until later use. And now you can have fresh berries all year and not mortgage your home ;) To use them just throw them is some warm oatmeal or pull them out a little before to let them thaw. So yummy!!!

What are some ways you eat fresh all year? Or do you have a favorite recipe to share?