LeapFrog Academy® from LeapFrog® Review

{Disclaimer:  I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review.  I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.}

We were blessed to receive a one-year subscription to LeapFrog Academy® from LeapFrog® for F and G!  This interactive, online, learning program is designed for children 3-6 years old.  There are over 2,000 games, eBooks, activities and more!  Children can play on the go!

Learning Adventures covers curriculum for PreK - 1st grade and includes subjects like math, reading and science.  I really appreciate that it tracks your child's learning progress and provides extra practice in the areas they need help with, such a cool feature.  

I set G up on the Introduction to Pre-Kindergarten (ages 4-5) and F on the highest level Introduction to Grade 1 (ages 6-7).  Both boys enjoy this program but G has played the most of the two.  It's part of his "school" and he begs to play.

In this program, students move along their map or world by completing activities and games.  These activities are specifically designed for their level and as they continue on their journey, they build bridges (see above) which allows them to access even more of their map!  It's colorful and fun and G enjoys it.

There are also many options for activities outside their map.  One section that G particularly loves is art!  There is so much to do here.  G loves to build things, sort things, and color things.  There are so many fun activities and games to partake in.  He can also play games, puzzles, music, videos and more.

Above you can see G's dashboard.

When he selects art, here are a few of his choices.  The hearts show the activities that he likes the best.

The boys have both enjoyed earning certificates along the way!

One of F's certificates.

I really like that LeapFrog Academy® helps students with problem solving skills and creativity.  If you are looking for an educational program for your 3-6 year old, we highly recommend it.  They also have a free trial available!

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Family Mixed Martial Arts Videos Preschool Mixed Martial Arts Review

{Disclaimer:  I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review.  I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.}

I have been so blessed to receive unlimited access to Family Mixed Martial Arts Videos Preschool Mixed Martial Arts as part of our homeschool fitness program.  While this online video course is targeted for preschool, it can be used by the entire family!  I love that this program can be beneficial for all ages as it utilizes Mixed Martial Arts techniques specifically designed to help develop and improve balance, coordination, and gross motor skills.  I have mainly been using this program with G but F likes to jump in too!  The primary goal and objective of the video lessons is to improve self-confidence and overall physical fitness!

 

An important aspect of this program to note is that it is a mastery-based program.  This means that the lessons should not only be completed in the correct order, but the skills should be also be practiced and mastered as you work your way through the lessons.  It is ideal to have shorter more frequent practice times verses longer and more infrequent.

 

This course begins with an introduction section (above) that introduces your student to Miss Cheryl, the instructor.  It has a course items list, which comes in handy, and teaches a few fundamentals.

I really appreciated knowing which items we needed to have for each week.  You can see a sampling of this list above.

One of the first fundamentals is to learn attention.

G learning attention

After the introduction, this course is broken down into 16 lessons, each focusing on a different technique.  Throughout this course students will learn technique for push/pull, double collar break, self defense stand up, jab, cross, front kick, left hook, left uppercut and so much more!  Each of the 16 lessons is made up of 6 parts: the greeting and warm-up, technique, character trait, review with game, fun exercise and lesson review and closing.

 

 

Let's walk through a lesson together.  Lesson 1 begins with the greeting and warm-up.  This warm-up includes jumping jacks and squat reaches.

G doing his warm-up exercises.

Next, the lesson teaches the technique.

 

This week students learn the push/pull technique.  This teaches the students what to do in response if someone pulls them by the right arm or pushes them on the right shoulder.

The next part of the lesson focuses on a character trait.  This lesson teaches students the word attentive and what it means to be attentive.  I like that they tell students that being attentive is a choice that requires effort.

The review and game focuses on the technique learned and gives students an opportunity to practice it more.

 

The fun exercise this lesson was planking.  The boys were able to practice planking on our boogie boards (which I knew to have handy from the items list).

 

G showing me his surfing pose.

The review and closing is exactly what it sounds like.  Miss Cheryl goes over the technique learned and encourages students to practice.  And that's lesson 1!  The lessons range between 14-23 minutes.  They are very manageable and G has no problem focusing for that amount of time.  He absolutely loves all the fun exercises.

F and G learning Target Toss

 

Fun Exercise - Target Toss

If you are looking for an online mixed martial arts course for your preschool student or your entire family, we definitely recommend this one!

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The Reading Game Review

{Disclaimer:  I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review.  I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.}

I have been so blessed to receive The Reading Game, 2nd Edition by Allsaid & Duun, LLC.  This game was created by author Kenneth Hodkinson, who is known for his Wordly Wise Vocabulary Textbook series, which we are fans of!  This game is geared for ages 4+ for 2+ players.  I think it works best with small groups.

 

What's included?  This box set has six stages of memory games, picture flashcards and storybooks.  Each stage is color and animal coded.  Within each stage there are 6 levels as well that include 60 memory flashcards, 3 picture flashcards and 1 storybook per stage.  I also want to note that there are downloadable worksheets available for pre-post sight word assessment as well as other resources.

 

Here you can see the memory flashcards and six stages: red/skunk, orange/snake, yellow/bear, green/penguins, blue/unicorn, and purple/zebra.

 

 Above you can see the first ten cards in the first stage.  Each word has a pair for the matching game and the first 5 words are can, cat, is, me and not.

And here are all the flashcards for the entire first stage (skunk) so you can see the 6 different levels.

Above are the larger picture flashcards and storybook for the skunk level.

And here you can see what the picture flashcards say.

These are all the storybooks for all 6 stages!

How do you play?  Once your child knows their alphabet letters they can start this game!  Individual words are introduced on flashcards through a fast-action memory card game.  Each color game contains 30 words that are taught in five word segments, so there are 6 levels to each game and students will be learning 5 words at a time.  Frequent exposure to these words through play helps hard-wire them into long-term memory.  After the first 10 words are mastered, the student will be able to read a picture flashcard.  This helps transition students from individual words into a sentence format.  After another 10 words are mastered, another picture flashcard is read.  After all 6 levels are complete for each game, the student will have learned 30 words for every game (so at the end of the entire game, they will be reading 180 words).  Also after mastery of each of the 30 new words, students will read a short story.  The very first story is told using only the first 30 words and tells the story of a skunk without a stripe.  I want to note that you don't want to jump ahead until your student has mastery of the current words.  You will start out playing this game just a few minutes a day.  And if your child is like G, they will beg to play - he absolutely loves it!

 

You can see G working through the various levels of stage 1 (skunk).  F enjoyed playing with him sometimes.  I love that siblings can play along 😉.

Working through level 6.

 

Reading through the first picture flashcard again.

And the next one...

I checked his mastery and he knows all 30 words confidently in the skunk level so now he is moving onto the story!

G has completed the skunk stage 🎉

G is completely finished with the skunk stage and we have moved onto the snake stage.  I cannot say enough good things about The Reading Game.  I never thought I'd be teaching my 4 year old to read but this game is really doing it.  G loves it and I am truly amazed at how much he retains from the few minutes a day we put into it.  I should note that we don't play it everyday but we do play it regularly.  The Reading Game is not super parent intensive in its design and set up but I love being involved and playing with G.  He loves for me to quiz him on all the words before playing.  The other kids enjoy quizzing him and helping him with his words as well.  This is not only for those just beginning to read as it can also be helpful for those that are really struggling too.  If you are looking for a fun game for your young reader, new reader or struggling reader, I highly recommend The Reading Game!  It definitely helps build confidence in reading.

 

Check out the short video below of me quizzing G on his flashcards and then you will see him read a few of the picture flashcards.

 

 

 

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Ready for a giveaway?  I am happy to inform you that you have the opportunity to win one of 5 sets of The Reading Game!  Click on the banner below to get all the details and enter.  Good luck!  Giveaway ends at midnight EST on March 15, 2021.

Ultimate PreK-12 Annual Membership from SchoolhouseTeachers.com Review

{Disclaimer:  I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review.  I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.  This post contains affiliate links.}

We are loving the variety of Elementary Homeschool Courses, Middle School Homeschool Courses and High School Homeschool Courses available with our Ultimate PreK-12 Annual Membership from SchoolhouseTeachers.com.  This is not our first time to review our membership but for those that don't know, this is an online membership that includes downloadable, printable elements as well as online classes and video components!  There is a lot to choose from and this site is an amazing resource.  I really appreciate that SchoolhouseTeachers offers a full curriculum for every grade starting with preschool all the way through high school, including electives.  I think it is important to note that every course is designed with a Christian worldview, which is great for us!  With our Ultimate membership, we have access to all the site's content which works well for large families like ours.  I really appreciate that we can customize classes and courses for each of our children as we desire.  While SchoolhouseTeachers can be used a a primary curriculum, we mainly use it to supplement as needed in our own homeschool.

 

Video Library

I definitely want to mention the video library.  With our membership we have access to hundreds of streaming videos that span multiple academic areas along with entertainment, marriage, parenting, Bible study, music and so much more!

Some of these videos of parts of the courses that SchoolhouseTeachers offers.  The video library rounds up all the videos in one convenient location so that you can watch them for fun as well.  I really like the looks of the Digital Art and Product Design for Small Business video.

 

Literacy Center

The Literacy Center is another fabulous resource.  It is designed to help you figure out where to begin reading instruction with your student.  Are they are pre-reader, emerging reader, early reader, growing reader, or fluent reader.  It also has a section on comprehension skills which are essential skills to have in order to understand passage content.  And if you can't get to a library, you will find downloadable books to enjoy.

 

 

D has been using SchoolhouseTeachers for her Science program this year.  She is taking the course Exploring God's World with Sixth Grade Science Lessons by Deana Pittman.

 

 This course is divided into 36 lessons within multiple units.

D has been learning about life science, plants, animals, anatomy, Earth science and more.  I made a folder for her with her syllabus, schedule, and class materials that I printed out and she has a corresponding science notebook as well.

 

D with her science folder.

 

This class uses a lot of online resources such as World Book.  She is enjoying the course and I look forward to hearing her thoughts when she completes it.

Want to know more?  Be sure to click on the banner below to visit the Homeschool Review Crew blog to read even more reviews of SchoolhouseTeachers.  I hope that you will see just how valuable this tool can be for your own homeschooling needs.

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