Master Innovations' Master Ruler

When our envelope arrived from Master Innovations, I wasn't sure what to expect.   I found two Master Rulers inside.  I opened their packages and started flipping the plastic overlays and immediately  said, "Aha!  Cool!" Anyone who has tried to teach a child how to measure with a ruler would say the same thing when they held the Master Ruler.

What does it do? It has the basic inch markings on the bottom white ruler.  Over that are clear plastic overlays that allow you to add in the half-inch markings, the quarter-inch markings, eighth-inch markings and the sixteenth-inch markings as your student is ready for them.  No more confusion over too many lines on the ruler!  Just flip the extra markings to the back until they're needed.

The spiral-bound hard plastic rulers are sturdy and well-made.  The lines on each layer are a different color so they can still be easily understood when placed together.  The bottom base ruler includes a color code key on the end, and the back of the ruler includes a conversion chart which shows how many inches in a foot, how many feet in a yard, etc.   Master Rulers are available in Standard measurement, Metric measurement, and the Teacher's model which is completely clear so it can be used with an overhead projector.

In addition to the Standard Master Ruler and Metric Master Ruler, we were also sent the Mastering the World of Measuring workbook and the Marvels of Measurement poster.   This 24-page workbook introduces children to measuring in standard and metric increments, adding measurements, geometry, and fractions.   The large colorful poster  (24" x 36")  shows the measurement equivalents, and how to estimate measurements.

When my 6 year old son saw the Master Ruler, he was fascinated.  He didn't want me to show him how it worked, he wanted to do it himself.  He gladly sat down and measured the lines in the workbook, working through the first four pages quickly.  After he'd told me the length of each line, I asked him if he was ready to put it away.  He said, "No!  Don't put it away!  I want to keep it always."

Again, I thought, "Aha!  Cool!" Aren't those the words every homeschool parent wants to hear when they give their child an educational tool?  "I want to keep it always." It's definitely what I want to hear!

Not all of the pages in the workbook are suitable for a 6 year old.  The adding measurements pages and the fractions pages are more suited for the 8 - 11 year old child, or anyone needing help with those subjects.  Though my 9 year old tried to act disinterested in the rulers, I know they will make his math lessons on measuring much simpler.   I fully expect him to ask me where they are one day soon.

You can purchase the Master Ruler and its accessories at MasterRuler.com.

• Marvels of Measurement Poster - $10.00


• Master Ruler Standard - $9.95


• Master Ruler Metric - $9.95


• Master Ruler Teacher's Model - $9.95


• Mastering the World of Measuring Workbook - $15.95  (reproducible for classroom or family use only)


• Master Ruler Starter Set - $41.25

Master Innovations also has other products, including:

• Master Clocks


• Master Angles


• Master Fractions

Each of the Master Innovations products can work in the homeschool setting, or a class setting.   The workbook does not need to be adapted for home use.  Visit the Master Innovations website to learn more about Master Rulers, and their other products.

This item was provided free for our review as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew.  We received no other compensation, and this review is our honest opinion.  Visit the TOS Homeschool Crew blog to read more reviews on this product by other Homeschool Crew members.

Trusting In Him,
April

The Write Foundation

We began this school year knowing that we needed to put an emphasis on writing in our homeschool.     Writing hasn't been our highest priority in the past, but with our daughters reaching higher grades, we know it's time to focus on more structured writing assignments and styles.

I was very excited when we found out we'd be reviewing The Write Foundation as part of our Homeschool Crew duties.   We were allowed to choose our level, so I chose Level 2: Paragraphs, which is geared for ages 12-15.   By choosing level 2 instead of level 3, I was able to use it with both my 8th and 10th grade daughters.

The Write Foundation has 3 levels to its curriculum:

• Level 1 - Sentence to Paragraph Writing (ages 11 - 13)


• Level 2 - Paragraph Writing (ages 12 - 15)


• Level 3 - Essay Writing (ages 14 - 17)

Within each level, there are 3 components required to teach the course:

• Spiral Bound Lesson Plan Book


• Worksheets for each student


• Additional Resources CD

We received the Lesson Plan book, a packet of worksheets for both of my daughters, and a download of the additional resources.

ElCloud Experience:

We struggled with implementing this course at first.  It took me awhile to understand the format of the lessons, and figure out how to tweak them to better suit our family. Our first lesson included too much of me staring at the page, going "huh?" because I hadn't spent time reading the lesson and figuring it out  in advance.

The curriculum is designed to have a long lesson on day 1, as well as some independent assignments.  The rest of the week focuses on independent assignments.  We chose to break up the lesson throughout the week, covering some of the lesson, and some of the assignments each day.   This saved us from one LONG lesson on Monday each week.

Jumping into this at the pace it's written for was a bit of a shock to my daughters who weren't used to using a formal writing curriculum.  If we'd had more time, we would have taken the first few lessons at half-pace, over the course of two weeks instead of one.

Despite that rough start,  we did enjoy the program.  Its step-by-step approach to writing was helpful to my daughters.  It was also very easy to use the curriculum with both my daughters, even though they are in different grades.  Since most of the work is done independently, students do not need to be at the same grade or ability level.

You can view lesson samples and the syllabus HERE.

Pros:

• Walks students through the components of a basic paragraph


• Teaches brainstorming and outlining before writing


• Includes poetry writing


• Teaches different styles of writing each week


• Progresses from a single paragraph to multiple paragraphs


• Can be taught over the course of one year, or two years


• Can be taught in a group setting or to an individual


• Each week's lesson builds upon previous lessons


• Introduces the 5 paragraph formal essay


• Includes helpful checklists for reference when writing


• Includes guidelines for grading and record sheets


• Weekly assignments are included at the back of each lesson in the Lesson Plan book, as well as on the Resource CD


• Includes grammar and sentence structure lessons


• Includes an extensive reading list for different levels


• Can be used with multiple students, even if in different grades


• Worksheets can be photocopied for use within the original purchasing family (but not if sold to someone else, and not in a classroom)


• There is a Yahoo Group where you can receive help and support

Cons:

• Lesson Plans aren't always clear, and require some thought to sort out


• Designed for class use, and requires some tweaking for individual use


• Requires teacher preparation - can't just pick it up and go


• Day 1 of each week has a HEAVY workload if used as written

Purchasing Information:

Bundles:

• Lessons 1-15 bundle with Lesson Plans, Worksheets, Resource CD - $65


• Lessons 16-30 bundle with Lesson Plans, Worksheets, Resource CD - $65


• Lessons 1-30 bundle with Lesson Plans, Worksheets, Resource CD - $100

Individual Components:

• Lesson Plans - $75 if bought together, $40 each if bought individually


• Additional Resource CD - $15


• Worksheets - $25 for each semester set

ElCloud Opinion:

This is a very thorough writing course which takes the student from the basic paragraph to formal essay writing.  When reading assignments from the recommended books list are included, it provides a complete language arts program for the year.  Despite the fact that the lesson plans aren't always clear, it is an excellent writing course.  Parents just need to allow extra time to grow accustomed to the program at the beginning.  I strongly recommend taking a week or two to read over the program before starting, and then covering the first couple lessons at a slower 2-week pace.   I would definitely recommend The Write Foundation to other homeschool parents.

This item was provided free for our review as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew.  We received no other compensation, and this review is our honest opinion.  Visit the TOS Homeschool Crew blog to read more reviews on this product by other Homeschool Crew members.

Trusting In Him,
April

Collectorz Software To Organize Your Home Library

Collectorz.com is a company that creates software to organize your collections of books, music, movies, games, MP3s, comics and photos.  As members of the TOS Homeschool Crew, our family was given the Book Collector Pro Edition to review.

If my  bookshelves looked this great, I wouldn't need Collectorz to help me keep track of the books I own.  But my shelves aren't that organized.  They're double-shelved, topsy-turvy, and organized more by book-size than the Dewey decimal system.  Yes, I occasionally find I already owned a school book after I've either borrowed it from the library, or bought another copy.

That's where Book Collector saves the day.  If you have a list of all your books, you can easily check the list before buying or borrowing a book.  There are even apps that let you put your Collectorz database on your iPhone (or other mobile device), so you can check your personal library when you're out shopping.

If there were a fire, tornado, or hurricane that destroyed your home and personal belongings, then you'd have a list of books for your insurance company.  Just refer to a printed report of your book collection (which would need to be stored in a safe location outside your home.)  You can also export the data to a text file, html file, or pdf file which can be saved on a USB stick or saved elsewhere.

Book Collector works with Windows, Macs,  iPhones or iPod Touches, and other mobile devices.  However, the database can only be uploaded to a mobile device or iPhone if you've purchased the Pro edition.  If you don't want to type in the ISBN of each book manually, you can use a barcode scanner to speed up the data-entry process.  Once you enter the ISBN for a book, the software downloads book title, image, and publication information from the internet.  After you verify that it found the right book information, you can add it to your database.

There are two different levels of license:  Book Collector Standard and Book Collector Pro.   Collectorz.com explains the differences between them HERE.  The Standard version ($29.95) works well for a basic catalog that you want stored on your hard drive.  The Pro version($49.95)  allows you to copy your database to mobile devices, as well as offering more options for filtering your data and creating reports.   Collectorz.com offers a 30-day free trial of Book Collector Pro.

I don't have a barcode scanner, but I found it fairly easy to move a stack of books to my desk, and type the ISBN into the Book Collector software.  Once I started, I fell into a rhythm that moved quickly and smoothly.  The biggest part of the task is removing books from the shelves to bring to my desk, then returning them to the shelf.  If I had the software on a laptop, it'd be easier.  The task could be done at the shelf itself, especially if  one person read out the ISBN number and another person typed it in.

Book Collector seems to work very well.  I haven't been able to test its barcode scanner features, or its mobile device features, but the basic software has been trouble-free for us.  We haven't run into any bugs in the software.

I wish I had found the Book Collector software before our family had filled 8 large bookshelves in our home.   It would have been so much simpler to start cataloging my books when there were less of them.  At the moment, it seems to be an enormous task.  This is a project we'll have to tackle during our summer break, or work on a little at a time.  It isn't the highest priority project in our home, though, so it will be a slow process.

If you've been looking for a book catalog system for your home library, try out the 30-day free trial of Book Collector Pro.

This item was provided free for our review as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew.  We received no other compensation, and this review is our honest opinion.  Visit the TOS Homeschool Crew blog to read more reviews on this product by other Homeschool Crew members.

Trusting In Him,
April