Sassyfrass had a ball with her free 30-day membership to Time 4 Learning Preschool. She was able to navigate the site completely on her own and felt like such a big girl!

Time 4 Learning Preschool is divided into two levels. Each level has a whole page of interesting topics from which to choose.

Each topic can be explored through videos, puzzles, games and stories. There is also a playground section filled with tons of educational games. Many of them are games that can be found on the internet, like PBS, but I didn’t have to worry about Sassyfrass clicking on ads or trying to navigate the web.

The only thing that I don’t love about this site is the price. There is no way we can afford a membership, and I don’t think I would be willing to pay that much even if we could.

Time 4 Learning is for grades Pre-K – 8th. You can try out demos of the lessons & playground HERE. You can view a scope & sequence of the lesson plans HERE.

The Nitty Gritty:

• $19.95/month for 1st child
• $14.95/month for each additional child

Value: I don’t think this will be affordable for many homeschoolers.

See what my TOS Crew Mates have to say about Time 4 Learning Preschool!

I received a free 30-day membership for the purpose of writing my honest review. No other compensation was given.

We reviewed and liked Beehive Reader 1, and now we get to enjoy What Am I?.

What Am I? is the newest reader from All About Spelling. It correlates with steps 1-14 of Level 2.

Just like the first book, this one is filled with adorable illustrations.

This reader is the perfect level for Little Prince (7). He does not like to read out loud. After making him read the first story to me, he now gets this book and reminds me that it is time to read!

You can read Matt the Musk Ox HERE.

The Nitty Gritty:

• $19.95

Value: This a beautiful, high quality book that your children will cherish.

I received a free book for the purpose of writing an honest review. No other compensation was given.

Tales From Terrestria is a series from Christan author Ed Dunlop. Written for ages 10 & up, these books are allegories about Christ, His Kingdom, and His followers. We received The Quest for Thunder Mountain (bk 1) and The Isle of Dragons (bk 4).

I gave these to Funny Girl to read, but she couldn’t get into them (I do think they might appeal more to boys than to girls). I decided to read them myself. I was unsure how I liked it during the first chapter, but when I closed the book an hour & a half later I was pleasantly surprised – I really enjoyed it!

We will be using this series as a read-aloud with the whole family. There are so many things to discuss as you go along. I look forward to getting the rest of the books.

Some of the Crew received The Terrestria Chronicles, so be sure to check out their reviews.

The Nitty Gritty:

• $7.99 each, paperback

Value: inexpensive food-for-thought

See what my TOS Crew Mates have to say about the Terrestria series.

I received two free books for the purpose of writing an honest review. no other compensation was given.

Wiglington and Wenks is the World’s Most Massive Virtual World for Kids. It is geared for ages 7-14. My kids love sites like this, so I didn’t have to twist any arms to get them to try it out.

WW is an impressive site – very well done. You create a virtual character and travel to different geographic locations. You are on a quest to help historical figures regain their memories. WW is free to play,  but you can purchase a membership to become an Elite Quest Traveler and gain access to a wider range of choices. You can view all of the features HERE.

Some things to know:

~Even though my kids loved this game, I had to ban them from playing it. I don’t worry too much about them playing online – we have very strict rules and they are good about adhering to them. The problem came with the chat feature. There was no opt-out or safe chat option. WW has safety features, but kids these days are smart & know how to get around them. One daughter witnessed some very foul language. Thankfully, WW has acknowledged the problem and has launched a safe chat beta. I will definitely let my kids back on once everything is set in place.

~Some families might not approve of a few of the historical figures, like Darwin and characters from Mythology. We enjoy discussing these things, but thought you might wanna know.

~I would not classify this as an educational game, even though some learning does take place. The way I look at it is that my kids play these types of games anyway, so I’m glad they are excited about one where they might learn something.

The Nitty Gritty:

• basic member ship FREE
• paid membership $5.99 a month, discount for longer periods

Value: Free is good, and $5.99 a month is not too bad if your family is really into virtual worlds.

See what my TOS Crew Mates have to say about Wiglington and Wenks!

I received a one month Elite Quest membership for the purpose of writing an honest review. No other compensation was given.

Maybe you were like me and ventured out on your own without having a clue how to even open a bank account. Family Mint is a tool that can help your kids learn how to budget and manage money while they are still young.

Family Mint is a free online virtual savings plan. You, the Banker, set up an account for each child. There is junior interface and an advanced interface, depending on the age of the child. No real money is deposited or withdrawn. This is a tool to help them manage their money and set financial goals.

Here are some of the features:

• Automated Allowance
• Automated Interest
• Matching Deposits
• Transactions
• Goals
• Personalization

My husband has been between jobs during this review time, so allowances have been on hold (hope my kids don’t expect back pay!). His lab will be up & running soon, and allowances will be back on the table.  FYI – we do allowances at the end of each month according to age, 12 yr. old gets $12 a month, etc. Here is how I will use Family Mint:

• Automated Allowance – I am terrible at remembering to actually get cash and hand it out. I will set up the accounts to automatically add an allowance to a child’s account each month.
  
• Transactions – My kids usually don’t have money with them, so we buy things for them and they pay us back later. We are not going to give them cash anymore (unless needed). We will just transfer funds from their “account” to ours. We will be giving them cash for tithing – I think it is important to keep that hands-on & not virtual!
  

Family Mint is a great tool even if you don’t do allowances in your family. Print out  play bucks (down on the left) and try out some of these ideas that our Crew members thought up:

• earn bucks for video game/tv time
• buy refreshments at  a family movie night
• do extra chores to earn towards a special event/item
• print out play money & checks and play “bank teller”

The Nitty Gritty:

• FREE

Value: Can’t get much better than free!

See what my TOS Crew Mates have to say about Family Mint!

No compensation was given for my honest review.