Maridel Willer

MathTutor DVD’s are a good option for helping struggling Math students gain greater understanding of how to break down a math problem into easy to understand steps. We recently reviewed the Basic Word Problems and Algebra 2 DVD’s, which include 8 and 6 hours of instruction and examples. At $26.95 each, these sets are certainly worth a try before hiring a personal math tutor. There are many other topics available, along with free samples of each course at www.mathtutordvd.com.

Watching the DVD’s is like sitting in a classroom with a patient and methodical teacher who clearly breaks each problem into steps. There are no distracting or flashy video clips, just a teacher at the whiteboard who first explains the keys to solving a type of problem, then solves multiple problems to clearly demonstrate the process to follow.

My 8 and 10 year old children enjoyed being able to figure out the answer before the teacher finished explaining the concepts on the Basic Word Problems video. The pace of the videos will be a bit slow for children who grasp math concepts quickly, but may be just right for other students who need more time to understand. The MathTutor DVD’s would be compatible with any math curriculum that you may already use.

Homeschooling parents who would like help explaining the more complex math concepts to their children will appreciate these resources. They would also be a good choice for public or private school students who need extra help outside of the classroom.

Exciting News from TOS!

Attention writers!
Grab your pencils and get those creative juices flowing!

The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine is hosting our second Storytime Writing Contest! We have two creative fiction categories: adults (16 and up 2,500 words or less) and children (15 and below 1,500 words or less). Deadline to enter is March 16, 2009. $7.95 fee per entry.

Grand prize winners in both the adult and child categories will receive prize packages valued at over $1,000, publication in the Summer 2009 issue of TOS, and publication in our Storytime 2009 Compilation E-Book. Eleven Honorable Mentions from each category will also be included in the E-Book in addition to receiving gifts from top homeschool companies.

We look forward to reading your entries!

For a detailed list of prizes, official contest rules, to meet our judges, and to upload your story, please visit:

www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/Short_Story_Contest.php.

Need help teaching writing? There are over 200 writing products in the Schoolhouse Store!

www.HeadsUpNow.com

Heads Up! is a company that specializes in information and products for teaching children with special needs. The products they carry accomodate different learning styles and strengths and were selected by a homeschooling parent with an educational background and practical experience with distractable learners.

We were asked to try several different types of products that help focus a reader’s attention to the words on the page, including the Heads Up! readers and frames. These products are useful for younger children who are just beginning to read independantly as well as any age reader who struggles with keeping their place on the page. My 8yo ds found that the Heads Up! readers are very good for helping him be able to read scripture without accidently skipping a line when reading aloud from a bible or other book with small print.

www.biblestorysongs.com

We’ve been listening to a CD about Moses from Bible Story Songs, a company that produces music to help children remember stories from the bible. The CD’s contain original songs that are true to the bible versions, sung by a children’s choir and accompanied by piano. The lyrics of songs on the Moses volume were not direct quotes from scripture, but followed the order of the events in the bible. The songs are enjoyable to listen to and I didn’t mind when my children wanted to keep replaying their favorites on this volume. Listening to music is such an easy way to memorize just about anything! There are a total of six different volumes available so far from this company.

Looking for a fun way to get your children writing or telling stories? WriteShop® StoryBuilders Cards provide them with the some starting points that help get the ball rolling. The cards come in e-book format for easy printing. Each set includes cards for character, character trait, plot and setting.

We tried out the World of Animals Story Builder set and after the first try, my children were hooked! They laughed hysterically at the funny combinations we picked. Such as the picky caterpillar on the iceberg needs help, the puzzled bat meets a man in disguise in the forest, and the obnoxious camel plans a surprise in the grocery store. Hearing them cry “more, more!” made staying up late the night before to print and cut the cards all worth it.

In addition to the World of Animals, other Story Builder sets include the World of Sports, the World of People and a mini book for Christmas themed stories. The “World of” Storybuilders are $7.95, and the Christmas Storybuilder is $3.95.

Find out more at www.writeshop.com