Wordless Wednesday: Bonding

Math Rider Review

If you have a child who struggles in math, finding a fun math facts game like Math Rider may give them the help that they need.

MathRider helps children practice their addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division from 1 to 12, as they ride their horse on noble quests through the magical MathLands. 

Each operation contains four quests ranging from easy to master.  Although the quests are the same across all four operations, the rewards are not, and they are animated according to how well the rider answered the questions. 

MathRider Features:

*  Game Intelligence:  The game keeps track of what your child has missed and what they haven't.  They won't continue to be asked math facts they know, but instead they will be asked those facts they need to work on.  The speed of the rider is also automatically adjusted depending on how fast or slow they answer questions.

*  Entertaining.  There is an interesting story and quests that must be completed that take place in a land of fantasy.  As the rider continues the quests on their horse, Shadow, they enter new and different lands. 

*  Easy Game Play.  All your child needs to do is key in the correct answer to the equation and press ‘Enter’. The game does the rest. Sound effects, animation, riding speed and so on are automatically controlled and adjusted. In this way, your child can fully focus on practising their math while still enjoying a highly entertaining game.

*  Record Keeping and Statistics.  It is amazing to see the statistics that the game keeps track of.  The riding results show the results of every question that was asked in the ride as a series of color coded vertical bars. Green indicates quick (or quicker than before) answers, whereas yellow and red indicates that the question did not get answered as well as before.

Every question that is answered during a quest is recorded in the database. Based on all these questions, the ‘My Statistics’ screen shows a visual presentation of a rider’s current strengths and weaknesses.

If you are a rider, here you can assess your strengths and weaknesses and prepare for your next ride. If you are a parent you can see what your rider needs assistance with.

My Thoughts:  We used MathRider last year when Funny Bunny was memorizing her addition and subtraction facts and now she is working on her speed and accuracy of her multiplication facts.  MathRider has been a great help with both and I know we will use it for division later in the year as well.

Thoughts of an 8-Year Old:  Math Rider is super duper fun!!!  It's a great program and I love it.  It's so cool; every time you do a new quest you get to watch a 'Quest Story'.  There are 30 questions in each round.  The better you do, the more you progress to wherever you're going.  You can even practice your skills with up to 100 questions!  I absolutely LUV it!

Find Out More:  MathRider is available as an instant download for $37 (the price will increase to $47 on February 15th so act quick). 

The game is designed for children between the ages of 6 and 12.  Although it is not a multi-player game, it can be played by up to 8 players (each purchase allows you to install MathRider up to three times, including on different computers in your family home.).  Each person creates their own rider and chooses their own adventures.  You can then compare the performance of all players on the High Score screen. 

MathRider is backed by a 30-day, 100% money back guarantee and you can try a 7-day FREE trial before you buy.  You can also like them on Facebook and get a coupon code for $5 off!

My Crewmates are also reviewing the MathRider, so you can check out what they think HERE.

Disclosure:  This product was given to Our Homeschool Reviews for free for review purposes, and I do not have to return the products to the vendor.  I have received no compensation from it and all opinions and experiences within this review are my own. 

Menu Plan Monday - February 6

We are still plugging away at P90X.  Yesterday, with all the Superbowl festivities, was a bad food day!  :(  Now we need to get back on track!  Here is our dinner menu for the week.

Shrimp and Pasta
Chicken Pita Pizza
Chicken Noodle Soup
Tofu and Vegetable Stir Fry
Vegetable and Bean Soup

Breakfasts are still egg whites and oatmeal or grits everyday and lunches are a mix of frozen meals or leftovers. 

This week I am planning on finding some new meals on the Beachbody/P90X website so we can get some variety. 

What recipes do you have for the week?  For more recipes or to link up, click the picture at the top.

 

Celestial Almanack Review

If you are a lot like our family, you love to gaze at the stars.  We live in a pretty well lit area so most nights it is hard to make out much of anything, but every so often the light is just right, and the sky is amazing!  We'll grab the blanket, lay on the driveway, and stare in excitement!

But if you are a lot like our family, you also have a hard time picking out the stars, constellations, and planets.  We'll stare for what seems like forever, second guessing the images we see, get frustrated, and go inside...lol!

Classical Astronomy's monthly Celestial Almanack is your illustrated guide to learning the night sky, from Fourth Day Press.  February's edition marks only the second in this first volume. 

In February, some things you will learn include:

* The Sun moving higher in the noon sky, and rising and setting farther to the north, and how this relates to the days growing longer.

* The constellation Orion dominating the evening skies, and how it can be used for finding 35 constellations.

* Jupiter and Venus drawing closer this month, approaching a spectacular conjunction in March.

But that is not all!  Do you know why we have a leap year?  Why and how the calendar was developed? 

Over the next six months, the Celestial Almanack will be promoting three very rare sky events for 2012:

* The Jupiter-Venus conjunction on March 15 (once every 24 yrs)
* The annular solar eclipse on May 20 (once every 18 yrs)
* The transit of Venus on June 5 (last one until 2117!)

My Thoughts:  As an adult, I enjoyed reading through the entire February Almanack.  I learned many new things and am excited to take it outside and get started.  Funny Bunny is just 8 years old so I plan to highlight the parts to discuss with her and save the rest for when she is older and can study it on her own.  There are many parts I think she will enjoy and I know she will be excited to get outside and research the night sky!

Find Out More:  You can find out more online about the February Celestial Almanack.  It is only $3 for a PDF version.   January's edition is on sale for only $2 and both have 5-star reviews.  You can also get more information at Classical Astronomy.

My Crewmates are also reviewing the Celestial Almanack, so you can check out what they think HERE.

Disclosure:  This product was given to Our Homeschool Reviews for free for review purposes, and I do not have to return the products to the vendor.  I have received no compensation from it and all opinions and experiences within this review are my own. 

Thrifty Thursday

Happy Thrifty Thursday!  Below are the deals for today.  If you find something I've missed, please leave a comment below!  I would love to hear from you!

Homeschool Freebie of the Day
Rolf and the Viking's Bow
Unit Studies Galore

Freely Educate
Free Quilting Course

CurrClick Freebie
Superbowl Mini Helper

Art Projects for Kids
Valentine LOVE Card

Free Homeschool Lessons at Kahn Academy
Kahn Academy has over 2,000 educational videos on subject from math to history.  ALL FREE!  And if you use Singapore Math, you will be excited to learn that they are starting with Grade 3a, Unit 1 and will (eventually) do all of the lectures in the Singapore Math curriculum!!  Just scroll down to "S". 

My Memories Suite Deal
Use code STMMMS99585 to get $10 off the purchase of the software AND a $10 coupon for the My Memories Store (a $20 value)!  Also get a FREE Digital Kit!!

FREE Sample Roundup
For anything I missed, you can get your FREE sample roundup from Deal Seeking Mom! 

Mr. Chewy Review

If you have read my blog for any amount of time you probably know that we have an adorable Miniature Schnauzer named Maisy.  We got Maisy when she was only 8 weeks old and Funny Bunny was around a year and a half.  Maisy is most definitely a member of the family and we try to take her wherever we go. 

Look at that adorable face!!

We have always spoiled Maisy with fun toys and treats, and we buy those, along with her food, at a nearby pet store.  Recently though, I was given the opportunity to shop online at Mr. Chewy.  If you have never heard of Mr. Chewy, they deliver pet happiness by conveniently shipping 70+ brands of pet food and stuff (for free!) while ensuring at-risk animals' lives are improved across the planet.

What's even better is, that instead of having to drive to the store every couple of weeks, Mr.Chewy makes setting up a delivery schedule simple.  You set the time frame and quantities. You can pause, cancel, or change any part of your schedule and there's no charge to set up your schedule and they never charge a membership fee.

Most customers receive their orders within 3-5 days of placing them and if you order $49 or more, you get free 1-2 day shipping.

We buy Eukanuba brand dog food and I was happy to see that they carried a large selection of it. I purchased two bags of food and a couple bags of treats.  The price for the 20lb bag was about the same price of the smaller bag I normally buy locally, so it was a much better deal! 

My package arrived by Fed-Ex exactly 24-hours from the time I placed my order.  I was amazed at how quickly it got there.


Find Out More:  You can find out more online at Mr. Chewy and on Facebook.  They also have a great donation program!  If you order from MrChewy.com using my code CTHE2475, you'll get 10% off your first order, plus they'll donate $10 to one of three amazing animal charities listed on their site! It's a win-win!

And I love their return policy:  Mr. Chewy wants you to be delighted, enchanted, blown away, jubilant, thrilled, ecstatic, tickled pink, euphoric, overjoyed, pleasantly surprised, elated, flying high, excited, and definitely over the moon about your experience with us.  Mr. Chewy's policy is simple. If you're not 100% totally, completely, and unconditionally satisfied for any reason whatsoever, return it! We'll happily accept packages within 365 days of the sale date and we'll give you a complete refund. Oh ya, we'll also pay for the return shipping. All we ask is that the product is not used or expired, is in the same condition you received it and is in the original box and/or packaging. 

Disclosure:  This product was given to Our Homeschool Reviews for free for review purposes, and I do not have to return the products to the vendor.  I have received no compensation from it and all opinions and experiences within this review are my own. 

Wordless Wednesday: Spring Catalog

New Spring Catalog Starts Today!!

http://www.mythirtyone.com/103425/

 

P90X Week 5

Today is our 5th week {day 30} of P90X!!  I seriously can't believe that we have made it this far!  Below are some of my highlights.

*  Total of 3lbs lost
*  1/2 inch to 2 inches lost from each area
*  Can fit better in my clothes
*  Feel better

Here's what I need to work on

*  Eat more protein, less starchy carbs, and less fat

Overall I think we have done well.  We have only missed a couple workouts, and for the most part our eating is good.  We need to add more protein to our meals and reduce the fat intake a little.  After looking at our meals, we adjusted three of our dinners this week.

Dinner 1:  We added shrimp to our spaghetti for protein
Dinner 2:  Pork chops and sweet potato instead of burgers
Dinner 3:  Tofu stir fry instead of steak stir fry

Last week was a "recovery week" in our workouts.  We focused on stretching, yoga, and core.  I'm not sure how much we actually "recovered" because these workouts were just as hard.  Working our core was especially hard...and between that and the yoga, I have bruised something in my middle back.  At least it feels like a bruise, to the left of the middle part of my spine.  Hoping it will fade over time.

This week we are back to lifting weights and cardio.  Yesterday we completed a new workout which included...um... one-arm push ups...lol!  Yeah, that didn't quite happen for me.  ;)  It was HARD and we are both back to being very sore...but it's a good sore.

I'll post another update in two weeks so I hope you will join me.  If you are working on getting fit, I would love to hear about what you are doing.

 

Thrifty Thursday

Happy Thrifty Thursday!  Below are the deals for today.  If you find something I've missed, please leave a comment below!  I would love to hear from you!

Homeschool Freebie of the Day
The American Boy's Book of Bugs, Butterflies, and Beetles
How to Study Nature in Elementary Schools
John James Audubon: The Bird Artist Audio

CurrClick Freebie
Olaf Tryggvason Biography Workbook (12 and up)

Art Projects for Kids
How to Draw a Rose

Hodgepodge
Chickadee: A Chalk Pastels Tutorial

TOS: Favorite Apps
Visit Homeschool Crew Blogs to find their favorite apps!

Joann's
Use code gpa28 to get free shipping on any purchase.

My Memories Suite Deal
Use code STMMMS99585 to get $10 off the purchase of the software AND a $10 coupon for the My Memories Store (a $20 value)!  Also get a FREE Digital Kit!!

FREE Sample Roundup
For anything I missed, you can get your FREE sample roundup from Deal Seeking Mom! 

101 Bible Adventures Book Review

101 Bible Adventures offers kids a high-energy, adventure-filled approach to reading, interacting with, and learning life lessons from the Scriptures. It takes 101 favorite adventure-filled stories from the New Living Translation and puts them into one amazing book. Each Bible story has a brief overview so kids can get a bird's-eye view of the story, a key verse that sums up its meaning, and a Read and Learn application section that challenges kids to make their faith active. 101 Bible Adventures gives kids a great way to explore the Scriptures while highlighting concepts such as building good character; the importance of having good role models; and themes such as forgiveness, love, and God's wonderful plan for our lives.

My Thoughts:  This book is great if you would like to focus on a particular story from the Bible {you have 101 to choose from}.  The stories are in the New Living Translation so they are easy for children to read and understand.  In addition to a brief overview and key verse, each story also has a cute cartoon to go along with it, which is one of the things that Funny Bunny enjoyed the most.  I especially like that there is an box at the end of each story so the children can apply what they learned. 

Thoughts of an 8-Year Old: What I like best about 101 Bible Adventures are the silly pictures and captions.

Find Out More:  101 Bible Adventures is set to release in February 2012.  You can find out more information at Tyndale House Publishers.  The prices is listed as $12.99 and is for ages 7 and up.

Disclosure:  This product was given to Our Homeschool Reviews for free for review purposes, and I do not have to return the products to the vendor.  I have received no compensation from it and all opinions and experiences within this review are my own.