Second impression of the Time4Learning website

After playing with the site, I suddenly discovered that there is a parent section with our own password... Cool! What is there? I wondered...

So off I went and dived in. I discovered lots... Let me tell you what a parent can do...
The first thing you see when you enter the parenting section is which child is registered and their loging and password. This is useful if you want to go print their report which can only be accessed after entering their own registration information. You have the possiblity to add another child, cancel your child or change the time specification for a child which is originally set to 15 minutes.

You also have the possibility to make your account dormant in case you need to take some time off from Time4Learning with a discounted billing so you won't have to pay the full amount during that time. You also have the possibility of update your credit card information or your account information when changes are made ( this is handy is you move or if you receive a new credit card for whatever reason like fraud or just expiration). Finally you also have the possiblity to cancel your account or reactive it whenever you want too.

The best additional resources for me was the lesson plans. In this section, you can select the year where you child is and get more information on a particular lesson. Unfortunately, not every lesson have a document that you can print to complete the lesson but as a general rule there is a lot more for sciences and language arts in the first primary years (preschool, kindergarten and first grade are the ones I have checked...)

You will also find a parent's forum where you can exchange ideas with other homeschoolers or even find homeschoolers in your area (please keep in mind that this site is American so there might be more US homeschoolers registered in here than Canadian ones!). I must honestly admit that I didn't check the forum that much so I can't tell you what I think about it...
Finally, the last things in the parental section are Hints and Help, a getting started guide and a contact us link. These three sections will help you navigate through the site and get help when you need it.

I've mentioned earlier that the only way to print the report for a child is to log into his/hers account. This can be accessed when you press the backpack where it is written My Portfolio. The report is fantastic showing you where the child has understood the subject or what needs more work. You have the possibility to print for a specific subject, a specific activity and for a week, a month or a date range. The reports show all the activities a student avec completed, how much time the student has spent on each activity, the score the student had for the specific activity and the answers on the quizzes and tests.

Personally, I would like to have the option to be able to print such reports for all my kids in the parents section. This would permit me to keep track of their progress without having to go through their account. Apart from this specific little thing, I think the parents section is well thought and have a lot of functionality.

A review for the e-book Let's Make A Webpage from Motherboard Books.

I have been asked to review the e-book Let's Make a Web Page by Motherboard Books. Mmmm! Where should I start with this review? Honestly, I don’t know… Why? You might wonder. Simply because I personally have a background in Information Technology and my kids are too young to try this e-book. So I have decided to put myself in the shoes of someone who doesn’t know much about computer and on how to create a web page.

On the book, it is clearly written that it is intended for children ages 8-12 but we have had received a note saying that the preferred age group would actually be 10-12 years old. Mind you, I think it could depend on the interest of the child… No matter the age of your child, I think it would be wise to install an internet filter on your computer before allowing your kids to surf the internet (see http://www.internet-filter-review.toptenreviews.com/).

However, this particularly little e-book comes with the suggestion of using the free trial software called CoffeeCup HTML Editor. Why this one? Specifically because it is user-friendly and if you decide to purchase CoffeeCup then it can be done without spending a lot of money. Mind you, there is tons of HTML editor software on the market and I would try to find one that will be more convenient for what you would like to do.

Let’s Make a Web Page is a tutorial designed specifically with children in mind. While going through this tutorial, they will create a web page based on an interview they will have done including a picture and some animation collected from the Internet (the reason why I strongly suggest installing an internet filter on your PC).

The author of this e-book does indeed take you by the hand and guide you through the steps of creating a web page. First, she explains the reader how to prepare to take an interview. The person has to pick someone before hand and sit down with him or her to do the interview. The next step consists to download and setup the program that will be used to create the web page. The author also explains how HTML code works by introducing the student to the most basic tags to use. By following the steps that are presented in the document, the student creates a web page and modifies its content to make it attractive for future readers. The student will also learn how to include a picture, animations or sounds in the page. The author also explains how to include links at the end of the e-book. Finally, the last step is to post the work in Internet Explorer or any other web browser available on the computer of the student.

Personally, I learned HTML from the early days of its presence on the Internet. While I was in university I had built a little website (before the ages of facebooking and blogging) and was maintaining it periodically. This website is long gone but I still remember the basic coding. Also, our home business offers various products to our clients going from programming a database to creating a dynamic website. Consequently, it is a little easier for us to introduce our children to the programming world. However, this e-book is a good introduction for kids to the HTML code. The regular price for Let’s Make a Web Page is 29.99$ US but it is currently discounted as an introductory special of 19.99$ US. If you worry that you kids might fall behind in the computing area, consider getting this easy e-book to motivate them to create a web page. You can get this e-book on the MotherBoard Books website.

Missing Link: Found - a review for a book written for teenagers

The novel I am reviewing for you is a publication from Media Angels, Inc. This is a publishing company which is dedicated to gives homeschoolers quality materials on the topic of Creation Science. They also publish a series of action-adventure mystery novels for teens. Media Angels had some of their books being selected by Cathy Duffy’s 100 picks for Homeschool Curriculum.

The book I received to review with the TOS Homeschool Crew is the first book of the Truth Seekers Mystery Series, The Missing Link: FOUND. Written by Christina and Felice Gerwitz, a mother-and-daughter team, this novel is jammed with action and mystery. Christina was 1 when she approached her mom because she wanted to write a novel. Her mom told her that they didn’t know how to write novels but her reasoning was “We’re homeschoolers, we can learn how!” I love that kind of thinking coming from a child… I imagine that the process of researching and writing took a little while because Christina was 17 years old when she completed the writing of this novel.

The action starts really fast in this little novel right from chapter 1. This novel is fast pace and you can get attached to it really fast. If it catches the interest of your teen, don’t be surprised that it gets read in one setting. I wish I would have been able to do that but as a mom and homeschooler I couldn’t afford this…

I think there is a good presentation of the Creation Science versus the Evolution Science as well as the Carbon 14 age dating process and how an archeological discovery is dealt with. It is written simply so that we can get a rough idea on how things are done when some artifacts are discovered. I learned quite a bit personally when I was reading the novel. I even had to go back and re-read some sections to make sure I understood the process. I like to know how things are done and I got a lot of information on archeology and Carbon 14. Very interesting!
However, there was a comment in the book while the characters are talking about shark teeth that made me curious… I had to verify if it was true or not. In the book, one of the character mention that “A shark can go through 20,000 teeth in a year.” Well this got me VERY curious. So I went on the internet and Google this comment. Turns out that there is an error in the book… It should read 20,000 in a lifetime… The co-author told me that a correction will be put on Media Angels website. Also, I have noticed some editing mistakes that even some well-known authors do sometimes… Nothing that is too much important from my point of view.

The series has currently 3 books with a 4th one coming out soon. Personally, I would like to get the other books from this series. You can see there has been quite some research done when the authors wrote it. This series is considered a youth fiction and I think it is always good to have good novels written for teenagers. I wouldn’t hesitate to put this book in my children hands when they reach the age of reading it… The Truth Seekers Mystery Series are full of information and jammed with adventure. Get your hands on them!