New Review! Thin Stix!

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About the product/service: 
As part of the Homeschool Review Crew, I received a free pack of Thin Stix 6 Pack of Classic Colors from The Pencil Grip, Inc. so I could check them out and let you know what I think. These are cool little paint sticks. They look like markers but are actually tempera paint. You take off the cap, twist the bottom, and the paint is exposed. (Like old-fashioned lipstick.) Then just draw on your paper, poster board, cardboard or canvas. 

What are the pros of this product? 

• Inexpensive
• Easy to use
• Quick Drying (90 seconds)
• No water needed
• Easy clean up
• Comes in lots of colors (even metallic!)
• Works on paper, posterboard, and more
• The colors are very vibrant

What's not to like? 

The only thing I can say I didn't like was the fact that the caps don't fit on the end of the pen when you are using them. That's probably because you have to twist the end to bring up the paint. It wouldn't keep me from buying the product, but I always lose my caps when they don't attach, and sometimes when they do. LOL 

The Crazy Mom take:
I was excited to try these paint sticks because lately I've been dabbling in hand lettering and drawing. I thought I would use them to letter. I really didn't have a whole lot of success with that because they are paint, not ink. To be honest, I thought that they would have a finer point because they are called Thin Stix, but when I got them, I realized they were thicker. So, instead I tried to draw with them. They are really cool to use! (Maybe I'll keep working on using them to letter, too. I am just really new at it and it takes me a while to learn new techniques.)

For my first project, I decided to go with something simple. Just a few flowers. I can't really describe it, but I really liked how the Thin Stix felt to use. They are paint, so they felt smooth. Then they really did dry very quickly. The company says 90 seconds, but it seemed to be even faster than that. (Sorry, I didn't time it. LOL) 

Anyway, I love they way the color went on so smoothly and dried still looking just as vibrant and shiny as when I first drew the flowers. My picture is very simple, but I feel like it looks so much better than it would have had I used markers, colored pencils, or crayons, or tried to use regular tempera paint with a brush. You don't see the lines the way you do with most other drawing products. 

I'm sorry my photo isn't the best. They look much better in real life, but that gives you an idea as to what you can do with these paints. 

What's the bottom line? $8.49 at Amazon.com 

I am going to give Thin Stix 5 out of 5 smileys!!! 

Check it out! https://www.amazon.com/Kwik-Stix-Tempera-Classic-Colors/dp/B01MQJJ1LN/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1490028360&sr=8-5&keywords=thin+stix

Social Media Links: 

• Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/thepencilgrip/     Tag: @thepencilgrip   
• Twitter:  https://twitter.com/thepencilgrip     Tag:@thepencilgrip   
• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/KwikStixPaint/boards/            Tag: @KwikStixPaint/boards  

See what my fellow TOS Crew members have to say @

http://schoolhousereviewcrew.com/no-mess-art-with-thin-stix-classic-colors-the-pencil-grip-inc-reviews/

*The Smiley System:

:) I can't really recommend this product.

:)  :) I doubt this product would be helpful to many people.

:)  :)  :) This is a good product, but it isn't right for everyone.

:)  :)  :)  :) Most homeschool moms will find this useful.

:)  :)  :)  :)  :) This is great, and I would recommend it to anyone!!!

New Review!!! Early Modern History Schedule from Easy Classical!

Well, hello there!!!  I'm so glad you stopped by!  :)  I bet you'd like to get my posts delivered right to your inbox, now wouldn't you?  So why not sign up for Feedburner?  Check it out, it's right there in my sidebar!  Thanks!!  :)

About the product/service: As part of the TOS Homeschool Crew I received a free download of the Early Modern History Schedule from Easy Classical.  In this case I did not actually use the schedule as I am not a classical educator, nor are we studying early modern history.  My job for this review was to simply review the schedule itself and let you know what I think!  :)

First I should tell you that this is not the only product available from Easy Classical.  Easy Classic not only sells complete schedules, main schedules, science schedules, and of course, history schedules, they also sell writing guides, copy books, and curricula that incorporate geography.  

As far as the schedules go, they basically take an entire year's worth of work and break it down into daily lessons for a 36 week period.  Sure you could do this yourself, but I imagine it would be quite time consuming if you had to try to pull from different resources and then somehow coordinate the subjects so that it all "gelled." 

The Early Modern History Schedule (Explorers to 1815) interconnects history with geography, art, writing and read-alouds.  It comes in both a download version and a hard copy version that comes in a 1" three-ring binder.  This schedule was developed for students in K-6 and includes over 45 pages of lesson plans, charts, and sheets to aid you in teaching.  There are projects, activities, and ideas that are included to compliment all learning styles.  There are also review questions and answers, quizzes, and even a handy shopping list for each lesson so that you can prepare ahead.  Check out a sample of the schedule here.  Check out sample lesson plans here.  Click here to see a page that not only lists all the required and supplemental resources, but actually has links to where they can be purchased.


What are the pros of this product? Well, if you are a schedule person, and are a classical educator, this would be a perfect fit for you!  Everything is laid out very clearly, and there are all sorts of extra helps built right into the schedule. 

Another plus is that Easy Classical Press is not one of those companies that claims to know the ONLY perfect way to homeschool.  The creator of the schedule, Sandra Williams, understands that you will want to tweak the schedule to fit your needs, and it's made to be quite "tweakable." 


What's not to like?  Honestly, if you are a classical kind of gal (or guy) you will most likely like this unless you are not a schedule person.  Somehow I think that most classical educators ARE schedule people.  I have no scientific backing for that, just my own hunch.  :) 

The only classical educator I can think of who might not like this is one who is totally into creating his or her own curriculum from scratch.  If you are one of those people, well, I am sorry for you.  Okay, just kidding, here. But seriously, I think most moms (or dads) would love to have some of the basic organization done for them.  :)

Now, though I'm only reviewing the schedule, I do think it bears mentioning that there are simply loads of resources that are required for this program.  Though many of them are available at the library, it could really get costly to have to buy all of these books.  This is a huge consideration for those who are on a tight budget (or are just frugal like me.) 


The Crazy Mom take: Like I stated above, this is a unique review in that we were not actually required to use the product.  (And, yes, we normally work very hard to actually USE each and every product we get with our children unless it is an absolutely wrong fit.  Even then, we will use it ourselves as thoroughly as possible so we can share our opinions with our readers.) 

Anyway, since we are probably on the complete opposite end of the spectrum as the classical homeschool, I am a bit out of my element.  I tend to use one book for history that my children read through on their own.  I then supplement with lots of biographies and other relevant material.  I don't test much, and to be honest, so far my kids have tested very well in social studies on standardized tests.  Anyway, I just wanted to give you an idea of where I am coming from here.  When I look at the classical way of education I am like, NO WAY!!!  LOL  It is just not my style.  However, if I were to go classical, I would have to have something like this to keep me sane.  (Wait a minute, I'm Crazy Mom, too late for that!  LOL)  OK, I would have to have something like this to keep me from going completely crazy.  I am very sequential and that is the main reason I can't do integrated studies.  I just get too overwhelmed pulling information from so many resources and trying to keep it all straight in my head.  A schedule like this would be a total must. 

So if you are totally not classical, you probably won't be interested.  (Though like I always say, you really ought to check it out yourself.)  However, if you are a classical educator, or would like to be, this might be the best thing to ever happen to your homeschool! 

Happy scheduling!


What's the bottom line? Digital $29.95/Notebook $25.95

I am going to give Early Modern History Schecule from Easy Classical 3 out of 5 smileys!!!

Check it out! http://www.easyclassical.com/index.html


See what my fellow TOS Crew members have to say @

http://homeschoolblogger.com/homeschoolcrew/782787/




*The Smiley System:

I can't really recommend this product.

I doubt this product would be helpful to many people.

This is a good product, but isn't right for everyone.

Most homeschool moms will find this useful.

This is great, and I would recommend it to anyone!!!


Disclaimer!!! I reviewed this product because I am a member of The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew. I was given the product by the vendor to use and evaluate in my home so that I might share my insights with others. Other than receiving the product, which I kinda have to to be able to assess the product, I am not compensated for my reviews in any way. I am in no way obligated to give a positive review. I do try to point out negatives when I see them, though I am admittedly a pretty easy going gal! What you read are my honest assessments of the products I receive.

As with all products, you must do the research before buying. Please visit the the other crew members' blogs, the vendor websites, and any other review sites you might find before buying. I can't guarantee that a product will work for you. You must decide what will fit with your teaching style, and your child(ren)'s learning style(s). I do not judge anything other than the educational value of the products I review. I am not qualified to make judgements as to the safely of any product, and I make no guarantee that the products I review are safe for you, your family, or anyone else. I am simply giving my opinion; only you know what is best for you and your family.

Don't use your blow dryer while you sleep or take a bath. Don't read my reviews in the tub either, and please do not read them when you are asleep, though I do not guarantee that you won't fall asleep reading them!

Copyright 2010 Ramblings from the Crazy House 2

New Review!!! Graphics Toolbox!

 Check out my welcome post here.

 

About the product/service:  As part of the TOS Homeschool Crew I received a free download of Graphics Toolbox for the purposes of this review.  According to their website, "Graphics-Toolbox® is a powerful, multi-purpose graphic software program used by people of all ages. Students, hobbyists and professionals alike enjoy using the fast and easy tools to create expert results for their daily graphics needs."
Here are just some of the things Graphics Toolbox can do:

• personalized cards and invitations
• science diagrams
• photo editing
• posters and business flyers
• photo cartoons
• scrapbook pages
• blog headers and buttons

What are the pros of this product?  This is a very versatile program and does a TON of cool things.  I can't think of anything it can't do graphics wise.  Take photo editing, for example.  If you don't like the color of your shirt in a picture, you can change it.  (Or maybe get rid of those crows feet! LOL) Want to add a frame or text to a photo?  You can.  Would you like to take a pic of your family and then make it look like you are in Egypt in front of the pyramids or on a glacier in Alaska?  No problem! 

Also, if you get overwhelmed, you can get personal one-on-one online training for $65 per hour.  If you don't need (or can't afford) the one-on-one training, you can also watch tutorials on the Graphics Toolbox website. 


What's not to like?  It's very detailed, and there is so much you can do.  You might become overwhelmed, especially if you're over 30!  LOL 
Also, I have to say, the cost is a bit much.  I honestly don't have the money for things like this, and since most homeschoolers are single income families, money tends to be tight.  However, for a family that is into art or graphics, this could well be worth the money. 

The Crazy Mom take:  I think I'm really slowing down with age.  I worked my little heart out on this and learned a lot, but I never got the point where I could pull it all together to make something worthy of posting here on my blog.  (I still have high hopes of creating a new blog header.)  I would have had my kids figure it out, but they are already familiar with several other programs, many of them free, that do much the same thing.  They just were not motivated to want to learn a new program.

One of my sons, Ren, does a lot of graphic work for our church.  Another, Woggit, loves to manipulate photographs.  He's done all kinds of cool stuff with other programs.  All of the software they use is free.  I honestly have to say that when looking at this, I didn't see anything Graphics Toolbox could do that they weren't already doing.  This doesn't mean that it doesn't have features other programs don't, it just means that I don't know of any features it has that we don't already have here as part of another program.  (Wow, that was a long sentence.  Sorry!)  I'm just not familiar enough with these kinds of programs to make an honest comparison. 

I guess for us, this is not something I would lay the money out for.  Like I said, I have a son who is really into graphic design and he uses other programs he has downloaded off the Internet for free that serves his purposes just fine.  However, I'm no expert, and to be honest neither is he.  So, for our family, it might not be something we really need, but for another family, it just might be perfect.  The only way to know is to check it out yourself!


 
What's the bottom line? $149 - 1 User License Discount for 2+ users

I am going to give Graphics Toolbox 3 out of 5 smileys!!!

Check it out! http://www.greatsoftwaretools.com/

See what my fellow TOS Crew members have to say @
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/HomeschoolCrew/769911/  



*The Smiley System: 

I can't really recommend this product.

 I doubt this product would be helpful to many people.
 This is a good product, but isn't right for everyone.
 Most homeschool moms will find this useful.
 This is great, and I would recommend it to anyone!!!

Disclaimer!!!  I reviewed this product because I am a member of The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew.  I was given the product by the vendor to use and evaluate in my home so that I might share my insights with others.  Other than receiving the product, which I kinda have to to be able to assess the product, I am not compensated for my reviews in any way.  I am in no way obligated to give a positive review.  I do try to point out negatives when I see them, though I am admittedly a pretty easy going gal!  What you read are my honest assessments of the products I receive. 

As with all products, you must do the research before buying.  Please visit the the other crew members' blogs, the vendor websites, and any other review sites you might find before buying.  I can't guarantee that a product will work for you.  You must decide what will fit with your teaching style, and your child(ren)'s learning style(s).  I do not judge anything other than the educational value of the products I review.  I am not qualified to make judgements as to the safely of any product, and I make no guarantee that the products I review are safe for you, your family, or anyone else.  I am simply giving my opinion; only you know what is best for you and your family.

Don't use your blow dryer while you sleep or take a bath.  Don't read my reviews in the tub either, and please do not read them when you are asleep, though I do not guarantee that you won't fall asleep reading them!

Copyright 2010 Ramblings from the Crazy House