The Crossmaker - See The Light :: Homeschool Review and Giveaway!

The boys and I were absolutely delighted to be given the opportunity to review The Crossmaker by See The Light. They provided us with the DVD in exchange for an honest review. That is exactly what you will find here. My honest opinion. 100% true and 100% my own!

I really wasn't sure what to expect from the DVD except that it was The Easter Story and art lessons. But, in the homeschooling world, if something is good, word gets around. I'd heard several people talking about how good these art lessons by See The Light are. We were given the option to chose whichever lesson we wanted to try out. Since it is very close to Easter, we decided to would go with The Crossmaker. I'm very glad we did! 

I rounded the boys (and the dogs) up and we all settled in to watch.

 *The DVD in it's entirety is 150 minutes. The Crossmaker is 16 minutes long and the lessons are approximately 25-35 minutes each. *

Bailey is 12 and Dalton is 8.

The Crossmaker is the story of "Dominic, the son of a carpenter, (who) finds himself drawn into the unforgettable trial of the man called Jesus." 

I wasn't certain how well the film would hold my boys attention because it is told with the drawings of See The Light chalk artist, Gloria Kholmann. 

There is no animation. However, none is needed.

My boys never moved a muscle, never even flinched. OK, well maybe they flinched, but they didn't move from the couch the entire time The Crossmaker was playing. It was gripping, stunning, breathtaking. There just aren't words to describe it. I literally had tears running down my checks. It was perfect. But nothing that wasn't OK for even my 8 year old to view.

After The Crossmaker was finished, we immediately jumped to He is Not Here! He is Risen! This are lesson finishes up the Easter story with the resurrection. See the Light Master Art Teacher, Pat Knepley, gives a step-by-step drawing lesson using chalk pastels.

Dalton decided he wanted to give this lesson a try. Yet, he is not a fan of getting chalk on his hands. So he decided he would do the drawing with pencils and crayons. 

This lesson would have probably been better suited for Bailey, but Dalton was determined to give it a go. I think he did a fantastic job. Don't you? 

(He didn't want to use purple on the hills and insisted on using green!)

After Dalton finished up, Bailey decided he would give Jim Pence's mixed media, Three Crosses on a Hill, a shot. Probably because it was quick and easy. Pre-teens!

We didn't have water-colors on hand, so he decided he would use his oil pastels. 

I think he did a fantastic job! 

Heidi Short also has a lesson on the DVD called Glory that teaches the art of creative lettering. 

I honestly can't give this DVD enough praise or a positive enough review. I will certainly be purchasing the other Bible stories as we get the money. Bailey, Dalton, and I absolutely loved this!

If you would like to purchase The Crossmaker or any other See The Light art lesson, stop by their web page and be sure "Like" their Facebook page also.

Would you like to WIN a copy of The Crossmaker?

To ENTER the giveaway

Stop by and "Like" my brand new Bull Rock Barn and Home Facebook Page. Then, come back here and leave a comment.

One entry per person, please.

Good luck! I'll announce the winner on Wednesday night.

Many thanks to See The Light for the opportunity!

THIS GIVEAWAY HAS NOW ENDED! 

***Congratulations, BECKY COLLIE! You are the WINNER!***

(Facebook is in no way affiliated with this giveaway)

K-5 Learning Reading and Math Enrichment Review

As I said in my disclosure, the boys and I were given the opportunity to try out K-5 Learning: Reading and Math Enrichment for six weeks. The six weeks we were given actually fell right in the holiday season, but we used it as much as we could in order to be able to give an accurate review.  We started on November 25 and finished up on January 6. All opinions given are true and 100% my own.

Bailey (7th Grade) and Dalton (3rd Grade)

After signing up, the boys were given both reading and math assessments to see exactly where they fell within the K-5 grade levels. 

Here is a screen shot example of the lower level reading of the assessment that Dalton did.

 And here is a screen shot of the higher level reading that Bailey worked through.

When I looked at the results of the assessment, I really thought that Bailey just blew his way through it, answering the questions just any way to get it over with. As a result, his score was lower than it should have been, at least in my opinion. So, I simply sent in for a repeat assessment and explained the situation. It was then given to him and he did MUCH better. Dalton's results in the beginning were pretty spot on. He is behind in some areas and way ahead in others.

There was one thing I wasn't crazy about... you have to request assessments. It isn't instant gratification. You request it and it may be 24 hours before the child is actually given it. I may be too demanding, because I like to have things right when I want them. Also, they don't normally let you repeat the assessments... Toward the end of the six weeks, I wanted both boys to repeat the assessments to see if they were still on track. We had continued to do our normal curriculum at the same time we were doing K-5 and I thought that maybe they would fall into different areas of their current levels since we had covered most of what was assigned to them on K-5. When I requested the assessment, they said they don't normally repeat them. But that if you felt the level was too hard or too easy, you could let them know and they could adjust it. You can also follow your child's progress in the reports section if that is your concern. I just think that re-doing the assessment would be easier to tell where they should be working than having to email back and forth saying this is too hard or this is too easy. I'd also like to be able to set where I think my child should be instead of having to request them to do it. Again, I like instant gratification. I know within a moment or two if something is too hard or too easy for my child. It'd be much easier and less time consuming to adjust it on my own. This was really my only dislike. Everything else was pretty great.

(Eventually, I realized that it would probably be easier to do an actual screen shot on the computer than it would be to try to take a photo with my camera. So I did some of those as well. )

After the assessments, when the child signs in, this is the screen that they will come to. Clean, simple, and easy to understand. 

If they chose the Reading & Math button, they will come to this screen. The reading lesson and math lesson were both automatically assigned by K-5. But you can go in and assign things that you think your child needs to cover. That is the math assignment link. 

You can also choose if you want to work on Vocabulary or Spelling and the number of words to work on at a time. I really like that. Because with Bailey, I expect him to do a larger number of words than Dalton. Simply because he is older. 

The boys did eventually get to work. Here is a screen shot of Dalton's lower level math,

 and Bailey's upper level math when they first started their assignments.

Along with a few shots of Dalton's math facts work from the first couple days.

As you can see it is bright and fun,

and the graphics are great!

Dalty was showing me the funny little dude on the screen.

There wasn't any whining or complaining when I asked them to do their work on K-5 and that is ALWAYS a plus. You don't want their education to be dull and boring when it can be fun and upbeat with the same results.

 K-5 isn't just work, work, work, though. Dalton enjoyed the little games between assignments and especially loved that he could customize his avatar. 

Of course that is all fine and good, your child needs to be happy. But Mommy needs to be happy too, and this Mommy loved all the different progress reports!

The money situation in our house is always tight these days. So, after the initial trial, I couldn't afford to continue with the program. It costs $25 per month for the 1st child and then $15 a month for each additional child. I simply couldn't pay that. If it were free, I'd use it every day. But since it isn't, we sadly had to walk away. If our financial situation improved, I'd sign up in a flash. If you pay annually, you can save over $150 for two kids. That is exactly how I'd do it if I had the cash in hand.

Overall, I have to say that K-5 is certainly worth a shot and there is no credit card required for the free trial. You can't go wrong there!

K-5 Learning Reading and Math Enrichment Review!

K5 Learning has an online reading and math program for kindergarten to grade 5 students. I've been given a 6 week free trial to test and write a review of their program. If you are a blogger, you may want to check out their open invitation to write an online learning review of their program.

Homeschool Review: Time4Learning Part 2

As I said in my disclosure and PART 1 of this review, our family has been given the opportunity to try out Time4Learning for a month. We started on July 18, and today, our last day of the trial, is August 18. So, I guess I should finish up this review. All opinions are my own and 100% honest.

Bailey (7th Grade) working on Language Arts at the kitchen table.

We have used Time4Learning in every room in our house, and thankfully, the kids have never put up a fuss when I asked them to use the curriculum in their daily schooling. They have really enjoyed it.

Here are a few pics of Bailey's lesson. 

When I asked Bailey (7th Grade) what he thought about Time4Learning, he said "It is fun to do. It is better than Head of the Class (though I believe that has now been discontinued), and it is not boring. It is fun to learn without being bored."

When I asked Dalton (3rd Grade) his opinion, he said "I like using it instead of books and pencils because my hand doesn't hurt from writing. Sometimes, it is really fun."

Here are few pics from Dalton's lessons.

One thing I really love about Time4Learning is that you can adjust what grade level the child works on. Dalton is in 3rd grade, but struggles with math. We were easily able to jump back a grade if things were too hard for him on the current level.

I like that the parent is able to print grade reports, attendance, and even customize certificates for each child. It is extremely helpful in tracking the child's progress. If you get confused or have questions, there is also a parents forum.

We all really enjoyed the Language Arts and Math sections of this program. The Science and Social Studies we weren't sold on. We didn't dig as deep into them, but from the few times we glanced though them, they didn't appear to be animated and the amount of reading to be done of the 3rd grade level was a bit excessive for my son. However, I feel that I would use this program at the full price, for just the Math and Language Arts sections alone. It is hard to make those enjoyable and they succeed at that 100%.

Will we continue to use Time4Learning? Probably not. Why? We simply can't afford it. Would we continue to use Time4Learning if it were FREE or significantly reduced in price? Absolutely.

I do not feel that $19.95 a month for the 1st child and $14.95 a month for each additional child in the PreK-8th grade level is excessive. That is certainly a reasonable price and far cheaper than some other programs I have seen. Especially since our kids have thoroughly enjoyed this curriculum. However, the cost just isn't in our budget at the moment.

The kids and I give Time4Learning a thumbs up!

Homeschool Review: Time4Learning Part 1

As I said in my disclosure, we've been given the opportunity to try out Time4Learning for a month. When we've had a spare minute, I've been having the boys give Time4Learning a go. So far, we like it. Our official school year doesn't start until Monday (August 5) and from there they will be using it daily for a couple weeks. I'll check back in with a full review soon. But for now, here are few pics and notes.

Bailey (7th Grade) trying out Time4Learning.

Dalton (3rd Grade) trying out Time4Learning.

It is really quite hard to get a photo of the screen and the kids both in full color. Either the screen is blown out or the kids are super dark. So I had to settle for taking some both ways. Above are the boys in action, below are a few screen shots.

As you can see, the graphics are great. 

 There is nothing dull or boring in the Language Arts section. Both of my boys are loving it.

 Getting them to try Time4Learning hasn't been a struggle at all as it holds their attention. It is not only educational, but entertaining.

The only thing that I've had trouble with so far was figuring out how to turn in Bailey's (7th Grade) assignment in the Odyssey Writer. It had the option to turn the assignment in, he clicked it and it gave him a bunch of names of teachers, but we had no clue which one we were to send it to. When I emailed customer service they got back to me really quickly. This was the reply:

"Hi Alana,

Thank you for contacting us.

In order for a writing assignment to mark as complete, it must be handed in. Students can hand in finished projects by clicking on the last icon in the orange toolbar that indicates a hand holding a piece of paper. A screen will appear that asks which teacher the child would like to hand the assignment into. Any teacher can be selected, this simply marks it as complete. Grading is the responsibility of the parent. The child will scroll down and click send at the bottom of the screen. 

Parents are responsible for the actual grading of a child’s writing assignment. To access the finished, work go into the recent work of the progress reports and click on the hyper-linked N/A  next to the name of the lesson. By clicking on the checkmark icon, a rubric will appear that gives descriptions of how to grade a sample, based on the areas of content, idea development, voice, and conventions. Parents can then print out the work and write the grade on it for keeping in your paper portfolio. Please note that you will not be able to save the grade in the online reports section.

Hope this helps!

Thank You,

 Time4Learning.com Customer Service"

We haven't made it through all the sections (courses) available just yet. But we will. If I had to give you a yay or nay at this point, I'd say Yay!

Continue to read PART 2 of this review.

Homeschool Review: Time4Learning

I've been invited to try Time4Learning for one month in exchange for a candid review. My opinion will be entirely my own, so be sure to come back and read about my experience. Time4Learning can be used as ahomeschool curriculum, for afterschool enrichment and for summer skill sharpening. Find out how to write your own curriculum review for Time4Learning.