Kids Scoop's Reluctant Reader Solution!

 Kid's Scoop is a great find! I reviewed this product with my 3rd grade daughter. She loves to read but has been a slow starter. For one thing she always enjoyed being read to more that working at it herself. That is why I think is a great product.  I love, in particular, the fact that your local newspaper paper is a means for encouraging your child to read.
We also signed up for the 30 awesome activities to make reading fun and so everyday since then we have been given a newspaper activity like...

Pack up for Adventure
Pretend you have been asked to go on an adventure. Your mission is to explore a new place and you will be away for a month. Look through the newspaper for things you would like to take with you. Make a list of the things you will pack - they must all be found in the newspaper!  Every day you get another idea to start off a reading adventure.

The other feature we have been enjoying are the Kid scoop newspaper and activity sheets that encourage reading through articles, stories and activities like the true story of Owen and Mzee a turtle and hippo, germ patrol, beauty of flight and the amazing Maya. These are truly factual newspapers for kids. For example, with germ patrol there is a chart to monitor your hand washing, a science lesson on how germs make us sick. In the Mayan article there is an article on Mayan Math and you learn to write Mayan numbers.

"It's pretty simple, actually, but too few programs do it well: find ways to make your child's "work" feel more like play. No child ever passes up an opportunity to play, do they?
So when you give your child or students reading material that is fun, engaging, and liberates their curiosity for the world around them, you are opening up the doors to a lifetime of happy reading."

That statement from the website really sums up the program. My daughter enjoyed the activities because they were games to her. I wished I had this program when both my children were learning to read because it incorporates science, math, history, games, current events and much, much more in a complete program.

I would also check out the website because there are several sample editions and ideas to incorporate reading in daily activities. We thought the "Work out and Get Rewards"  incentive was outstanding! There is also a weekly storybook online that has a new chapter added each week. There are online games and much, more! Check out the free newsletter. This is an all around hit!

This program is appropriate for children learning to read to those of any age that need remedial help. The complete program is $97.00 paid through Paypal.

Contact Kid Scoop by phone: 707-996-6077 or e-mail at thescoop@kidscoop.com
http://www.kidscoop.com/reluctantreadersolution/howtouse/


Any products reviewed by me as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew have been given to me free of charge in order for me to provide you with an honest review of the product and/or how I used the product within my family. I do not receive any other form of compensation for the reviews posted on this blog.

TOS Schoolhouse Curiosity Files: MRSA

Explorations With Professor Ana Lyze—Expert in Outlandish Oddities A FUN unit study for kids ages 8–13

The TOS team has been adding to their repertoire of quality learning materials. They have developed another series of unit studies.  The series titles are: Zombie Fire Ants, Quicksand, Red Tides, Blue Diamond, Blue-Footed Booby, Cicada-Killing Wasp, Dung Beetle, MRSA and Puffer Fish. We were given the opportunity to review the MRSA file.

Our family really enjoys unit studies because we can adapt them to the needs of each student. My son, grade 5, chose to do this particular study because of his interest in medical topics. While the unit study contains arts and crafts that was not his focus. He enjoyed reading and learning about MRSA and following the links to additional information. He enjoyed particularly the word searches, hand writing copy work and spelling opportunities because that is an area that we are focusing on this year in his schoolwork.

 As a parent, I appreciate that you can incorporate grammar, writing, vocabulary, spelling, science activities and crafts into one study. These unit studies are designed to be made into a lap book or notebook activity.  My son chose the note booking option. The graphics are a mix of pictures and text. There are a total of 94 pages in this unit. The first 11 pages are an introduction and discussion of MRSA.  Then you are presented with a comprehensive glossary and a 23 question review of the material. This unit study is packed full of activities. It can be adapted from elementary to high school levels with the variety and depth of material presented. It can also be adapted to different learning styles such as auditory (there are music activities!), visual, and kinetic. My son chose to focus his attention on the section "Being A Medical Researcher". There are also probably 25 links to additional information about MRSA that he is still following up on.

Look what’s included in this unit:
Bible study, discussion ideas, and memory verses
Math, history, and geography investigations
Literature and suggested book list
Writing, spelling, and vocabulary activities
Beautiful copywork pages (manuscript and cursive)
Science observations, projects, and experiments
Discussion questions
Art, crafts, and drawing and coloring pages
Lapbook/notebook pages and helpful lapbooking links
Special needs, hands-on discoveries
Internet resource and video links
Complete answer key

This unit study was a definite hit in our house. Check it out for yours:
Two options: the CD is only $49; or downloadable E-Books $46. You can also download sample pages of each unit study. Each unit is individually priced at $9.95.

Any products reviewed by me as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew have been given to me free of charge in order for me to provide you with an honest review of the product and/or how I used the product within my family. I do not receive any other form of compensation for the reviews posted on this blog.

Dig-It Games:Roman Town Premier Archaeology Game

WINNER OF DR TOY'S BEST VACATION PRODUCTS AWARD

WINNER OF THE NATIONAL PARENTING CENTER'S 2010 SEAL OF APPROVAL

Dig-It Games recently gave TOS crew an opportunity to explore their down loadable game Roman Town.
This interactive, educational game targets 5th to 8th graders, but can be played by kids from 8 to 88! The game is suitable for the entire family all age groups. There is no violence.
Our family downloaded the game onto our Windows based family computer. We did not have any trouble downloading the game and with our high speed connection it downloaded in a timely manner.
My 3rd grader and my 5th grader each played their own game. The game has 6 levels. You, the player, are an archaeologist invited to help excavate Fossura a Roman town destroyed by Mt. Vesuvius.
The game begins with, you the player, answering an ad for an archaeologist to help dig outside of Naples in Fossura. When you arrive you organize and manage your diggers by placing them on the site (shown above) choosing tools to use and analyzing artifacts as you find them.  Found artifacts are taken to the lab where you learn correct terms for findings such as amphora, mosaic and brazier. Next you take a review/quiz on the facts you learned on that level, you complete a report and then move on to the next level totaling 6 (you excavate six rooms in a Roman house) and completion.
As a family we generally do not play games on the computer. My children did enjoy this game. It was a learning experience for my daughter in particular because she is studying Greek/Roman history right now. They enjoyed the mini activities such as reconstructing mosaics. One irritation for my daughter was that she got stuck on one of the reports and could not move on until she completed it correctly. I finally had to come in and do that report so that she could move forward in the game.
I would recommend this game if you do have a child who generally likes computer games. I would recommend this game if you are studying Greek and Roman history because it is a very good simulation of a dig and so would give helpful insights into how history is found. You can also get a feel for how some of the activities are completed by checking the online arcade section. This was definitely a hit!

"Who were Romans? How did they live and what did they do? What did they eat and how did they play?"

The game can be purchased here for 39.95 or here is a limited SPECIAL opportunity:
TOS  readers: coupon code TOS2011 which gets them 20% off the 2010 price of
$24.95. The code expires Feb 21, 2011

Any products reviewed by me as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew have been given to me free of charge in order for me to provide you with an honest review of the product and/or how I used the product within my family. I do not receive any other form of compensation for the reviews posted on this blog.