TOS Crew: Mathletics

Anyone who reads my blog knows that math has been a struggle for me and Jacob.  Up until lately, it was hard to teach it, and it was even harder to watch Jacob struggle so much with it.  What has happened in the last month and a half, though, still amazes me.  I've watched him start to actually "get" the concepts; it's as if a light bulb has turned on, and he is just grasping every concept; his addition and subtraction skills have considerably improved.  Best of all, he is loving math.  I actually don't mind it anymore either.  I know that Mathletics has played a huge part in our success over the recent month and a half.

Mathletics, from 3P Learning, is an online math program that works through arithmetic skills with your child by incorporating several activities, including live activities with other kids from all over the world.  Right now Jacob is in Level 2, and he has four sections to choose from:

• Modeling Numbers- which includes Count Forward Patterns; Count Backward Patterns; Count by Twos; Count by Tens; Count by Fives; Make Big Numbers Count; Model Numbers; Compare Numbers to 100; Test.
• Addition and Subtraction- which includes Basic Fact Families; Add Two 2-Digit Numbers; Add Numbers: Regroup a Ten; Subtract Numbers; Subtract Numbers: Regroup; Add and Subtract Using Graphs; Test.
• Measurement and Money- which includes Five Minute Times; Count More Money; Inches, Feet, Yards; Ounces and Pounds; Cups, Pints, Quarts, Gallons; Test.
• Geometry, Fractions, Mult/Div- which includes Relate Shapes and Solids; Symmetry; Model Fractions; Groups of Three; Groups of Four; Groups of Five; Divide Into Equal Groups; Test.

I have noticed that the activities even use online manipulatives, like the ones found in Jacob's math books, such as base ten blocks, etc.  Jacob uses both the mouse and the keyboard to work all of the math actitivities. How the system works is that Jacob can go into any activity, and he can score more points for every correct answer, correct bonus level, or full curriculum that he gets correct.  His points can add up to 1000 for the week, and if he reaches that point, he gets a certificate.  There is a little rocket ship over in the sidebar that he can watch go up every time he earns more points.  He gets excited about making that go up.  

My favorite part of the Mathletics has been his ability to play live with other kids from around the world.  Once you hit Play Live Mathletics, you enter a screen in which you can choose to play other kids, or you can play against the computer.  He's only played against the computer once.  When he plays other kids, he can see where in the world they are from and what school.  He's played against kids in the United States, the United Kingdom, and South Africa, etc.  When he plays against them, it's almost like a speed drill.  There is a time clock in the upper right hand corner, and as it counts down, they are given addition or subtraction problems to answer.  For every correct answer, his bar moves to the right, and he can watch his bar moving compared to the other players' bars at the same time in the player graph.  It's almost like a race to see who can get to the end first.  He loves it!  He also loves the fact that he has his own avatar that he was able to create, so when he plays, other kids can see his avatar, and he can see theirs, which really just helps it to feel more personal.

There is also a games section on the Mathletics, where he can have a little bit more fun.  There is a Concept Search, as well, in which you can search for different math concepts in what looks like an online, illustrated dictionary.  If he doesn't understand what something means, we can just go look it up.  

How I've used the Mathletics with Jacob is that we normally do our math lesson in the first half hour of school; sometimes it takes longer.  For the last 20-25 minutes or so of math, he gets to do Mathletics.  I usually have him do some of the activities listed above first, just to work his brain and get him thinking, and I've found that a lot of the time, what he's doing in the Mathletics is directly related to what he is learning in our math lessons.  It is just awesome!  Then for the last 10 minutes or so, I let him play Live Mathletics.  

I just can't say enough good things about this program.  Mathletics has been a life saver for our "dreaded subject."  We no longer dread it, and Jacob has even started to say how he loves math now.  This alone makes my mama's heart so thrilled every time I hear it, especially when I think back a month and a half ago when he truly hated math.  What he is doing with Mathletics is so relateable to what he is doing in his math curriculum, and it has helped him to really pick up and learn the new concepts more easily.  I actually plan to purchase Mathletics for him, once our free trial is over, just because I don't want to be without it now.  The price is $59/year, which in my book, is well worth it.  They do offer a 10 day money back guarantee.  Also, if you know the Human Calculator's favorite number (ahem....9....but you didn't hear that from me), you can purchase the program for $49.95/year.  

If you'd like to read more reviews on Mathletics, head on over to the TOS Homeschool Crew Blog.

(Disclosure: We were provided with a free trial of this product from 3P Learning/Mathletics, in association with the TOS Homeschool Crew.) 

Giveaway: Let It Snow Mini Banner from My Creative Side

Kim from My Creative Side is a stay at home mom to four kids: a teenager, twins, and a preschooler.  They keep her plenty busy.  But when she's not running with the kids here and there or volunteering with various projects/opportunities, she loves to craft, along with eating chocolate, of course, because any woman knows you can't have one without the other.:)

Kim has graciously donated her Let It Snow mini banner.  This mini banner is so colorful and decorative and can be used in any space, small spaces especially well, such as classrooms, dorm rooms, as a door hanger, etc.  

Each scalloped circle or square in the banner measures 3" in diameter, and the banner is strung together with colorful ribbon.  Kim makes all kinds of these cute banners for holidays, birthdays, baby showers, etc.  She has a great selection to choose from in her Etsy shop.  There are small banners and large banners.  She even has a selection of cards, matchbook notepads, and gift tags, etc.  

Right now, Kim is offering a free gift with a purchase of $20 or more.  She's even willing to do custom orders.  You can also find Kim on Facebook.   

To enter this giveaway, you can do one or more of the following.  Just be sure to leave me a separate comment for each thing that you do.  The winner will be chosen on Tuesday, December 8, using Random.org. 

1) Head over to My Creative Side on Etsy, and come back to comment and let me know which item of Kim's was your favorite.

2) Follow my blog (only if you really want to); or you can subscribe to my posts.

3) Follow me on Twitter; tweet about this giveaway.

4) Digg or Stumble this post.

5) Blog about this giveaway on your own blog, being sure to link back to Real Heart Prints.

6) Leave me an additional comment, letting me know how you found out about this giveaway.

7) Place my blog button (located in my sidebar) on your blog (only if you really want to).

Good Luck, and have A Very Merry Heart Prints Christmas!:)

Christmas Kick-off: A Very Merry Heart Prints Christmas

Twas three weeks before Christmas, and all through the blogosphere, not a blogger was stirring, not even myself.  When what should appear in my very own heart but a vision of celebration that I could bestow, upon all my dear readers.....(Ok, so I lost the rhyming touch). LOL

Truly, though, isn't it time to start celebrating already?  I'm ready!  I'm actually kicking off and announcing my Christmas celebration for you right now, today, with this announcement and a giveaway to follow.  It'll be A Very Merry Heart Prints Christmas!  The main part of it will be from Dec. 14-18, though, as there will be a Christmas tour of homes, in which you can link up your photos of your decorated homes, so that we can all take a tour and oooohhhh and ahhhhhh, as if we were right there visiting.  There will also be giveaways that you won't want to miss out on.  If your family has a favorite recipe for Christmas candy, get it ready....that is, if you're willing to share the recipe with the world, because you just never know who might read your thoughts here in the wide, open world of blogging....:)  This time of celebration is just a time to have some fun and maybe get to know each other a little better.  There might be a few holiday posts scattered throughout, as well.  I just hope to add a little joy to your heart this Christmas season.:) 

So, Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good morning! 

CFBA: The Christmas Glass by Marci Alborghetti

This week, theChristian Fiction Blog Allianceis introducing The Christmas GlassGuidepostsBooks (October 1, 2009) byMarci AlborghettiThe Christmas Glass by Marci Alborghetti is a story about family and the hardships and trials that one particular family has to go through.  Each chapter in the book covers a particular member of the family and gives his/her story.  The beginning of the story starts out in the throes of World War II, when Anna comes to possess the precious Christmas glass ornaments that she dares not separate, per her mother's wishes, and that she passed on to her cousin, in order to protect.  From there the Christmass glass was passed on, and as the years roll on, the glass becomes separated and scattered, just as the family members seem to become.  

This particular Christmas, though, the matriarch of the family, Filomena, has other plans for her family.  It is her wish for her two daughters, who have become estranged from each other, to spend Christmas with her.  From there, the Christmas celebration snowballs, until family is coming out of the woodworks to spend it together.  As each chapter goes through each individual's life story and present life, it's apparent that their realities are full of many of the same issues we face in real life; it made the story feel much more real.  Each person has his or her issues and problems, but in the end, it's family that really matters and that has the ability to triumph over old hurts.  

The whole time I was reading the book, I felt like I was in a Hallmark movie or one of those Christmas movies I love to watch, much to my husband's dismay.  I haven't quite finished the book yet, but I plan to.  The only qualm I would have with it is that there is not a whole lot of dialogue; there is some, but it's scattered.  The chapters are very long, but if they weren't, the story would be missing a lot of details that are necessary.  If you're looking for a good, heartwarming read this holiday season, check it out.  I would definitely recommend The Christmas Glass. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Marci Alborghetti has been writing only slightly longer than she's been reading. In seventh grade she received her first writing prize for a zany Halloween story. The prize? A five dollar gift certificate to a local bookstore. She was hooked. The Christmas Glass is her fourteenth book, and she is currently at work on a sequel as well as a non-fiction book about service. Some of her other books include: Prayer Power: How to Pray When You Think You Can’t, A Season in the South and Twelve Strong Women of God.

She and her husband, Charlie Duffy, live in New London, Connecticut and the San Francisco Bay area. While in New London she facilitates the Saint James Literary Club.

ABOUT THE BOOK

In the tradition of The Christmas Shoes and A Christmas on Jane Street, the heartwarming story of The Christmas Glass shows how, today as always, the Christmas miracle works its wonders in the human heart.

In the early days of World War II in Italy, Anna, a young widow who runs a small orphanage, carefully wraps her most cherished possessions -- a dozen hand-blown, German-made, Christmas ornaments, handed down by her mother -- and sends them to a cousin she hasn't seen in years.

Anna is distressed to part with her only tangible reminder of her mother, but she worries that the ornaments will be lost or destroyed in the war, especially now that her orphanage has begun to secretly shelter Jewish children. Anna's young cousin Filomena is married with two-year-old twins when she receives the box of precious Christmas glass.

After the war, Filomena emigrates to America, where the precious ornaments are passed down through the generations. After more than forty years, twelve people come to possess a piece of Christmas glass, some intimately connected by family bonds, some connected only through the history of the ornaments.

As Christmas Day approaches, readers join each character in a journey of laughter and tears, fractures and healings, as Filomena, now an eighty-four-year-old great-grandmother, brings them all to what will be either a wondrous reunion or a disaster that may shatter them all like the precious glass they cherish.

If you would like to read the first chapter of The Christmas Glass, go HERE

(Disclosure: I was provided this book, free of charge, in association with CFBA.)

Shine Your Light Wednesdays: A Festival of Keyboards!

Christmas time's a comin'!  With Thanksgiving last week and only three weeks until Christmas, I am really in the holiday spirit now.  That being said, this edition of Shine Your Light Wednesdays is just slightly different.  Instead of a ministry/volunteer opportunity, just thought I'd share about the music ministry's upcoming event at our church.

This weekend, December 5th and 6th, Ridgecrest Baptist Church is hosting its annual Christmas program.  This year, we are having A Festival of Keyboards!, with a four piano concert featuring Stephen Nielson, Ovid Young, Gerald Anderson, and Jeff Bennett (our choir director) with the Celebration Worship Choir and Orchestra.  

In the choir and orchestra, I know we've been working on this program since the last part of August.  The last few weeks have been tough and long choir practices, with having to memorize all the songs/parts to our songs.:)  I'm so excited to be a part of this, though; God has truly blessed my life through this choir, and I've only been in it since August.  I can't imagine life without the choir now, though.  God bless Dan and the boys for putting up with the program CD in the car the last few weeks.:)LOL   

Seriously, though, if you live in the Springfield or surrounding area, be sure to come.  All concerts are free.  The first one is Saturday, December 5 at 7pm.  The other two concerts are Sunday, December 6 at 9am and 10:30am.  If you need directions to the church, I'd be happy to help you out.  Of course, if you can't make it for some reason, then you can watch the concerts on tv, KOLR 10, the weekend before and the week of Christmas. 

Our Advent Calendar- Cute & Frugal Project

Yesterday, I delved into Jenn's Advent Idea Box.  We had so much fun with it.  We did some regular school but incorporated this into our Bible time and Art time.  We made our Jesse tree and hung it on the door; pics will come later after all the ornaments are put on.  Our art project was especially fun, though.  In fact, Jacob said it was the "best art project" he's ever done....he and Jaden both had so much fun.  I did too, actually.  We all got in on the fun.  

We made our very first ever Advent calendar.  We used an idea from 4 Crazy Kings, using envelopes, only I had no envelopes for this.  So, I got out my handy dandy roll of brown paper, which has been such a life saver, ever since I bought it.  I cut out strips of the paper to fold and staple into envelopes.  I did all this beforehand and stapled the envelopes while the boys were decorating them.  I even got into decorating a few of them.  Jacob thought it was really fun to learn how to overlap the big stamp we had to make cool designs around the edges of his envelope.  He couldn't believe I was stamping the newspaper at first, until he saw what I was actually doing.:)  Jaden thought it so much fun to tear apart my ink pad at first, getting ink all over his little fingers, but it all went back together, and he wasn't any worse for the ink all over him.  Soap and water, right?  We dove into our stash of Christmas stickers and stamps, as well as markers to help decorate our envelopes.  

 

When we had all of them decorated, I used plain old twine and paper clips to hang them, as that's what we had on hand.  It actually turned out really cute.  

Now I just have to fill the envelopes with a treat for each day....seeing as today's the first day, I'd better get on that.:)  

Time Out Tuesdays: Link Up Your Giveaways!

Well, it's that time of the week again....time to grab your cup of deliciousness, sit your busy self down, and just relax for a few minutes.  Be sure to link up your giveaways at the bottom.:)

This week, around the blogosphere....

Ever considered what Mount Rushmore might look like from the backside?  Hope Studios has just the thing to make you giggle.

Author, Jody Hedlund posts a really enlightening post about what agents have to offer writers.  

Homesteaders Heart is Gearing Up for Holly Jolly Week!  Don't miss out on a fun-filled week.

I had no idea that the military actually has their own tv station.  Household6Diva puts new perspective on the every day in Germany.

In this day and age with Twitter, Facebook, and other social venues, it's sometimes easy to let discretion fall to the wayside.  At the Well has just the post....

Sarah over at The Fifth Street Palace posts about praying with one another....read, and be inspired.

Lisa at Living My Life, Outside the Box is just keepin' it real....what does a person who loves Jesus actually look like?:)

And my new find of the week: This site is actually done by a fellow homeschooling friend of mine, Jenn.  Beyond the Wildwood is still in the works, but we are loving their Advent Idea Box.  We actually made our own Advent calendar and Jesse tree today, and Jacob said it was the best art project he's ever done.:)  

That's it for this week.  Link up your giveaways below.