Hello Everyone! I hope you had a wonderful weekend! Our weekend here was gorgeous!!! Sunday only got to about 74 degrees and was sunshiny with a cool breeze.  Wow! It’s hard to believe it’s August with beautiful spring like days like that.  This week I’m not going to do my normal weekend summary, except to say that Prince Caspian (our oldest son) is doing much better and thank you for your prayers.  If you have no clue what I am talking about, here is the post about that.

      I have been asked by TOS magazine to review 2 of their products, The Homeschool Planner and The Old Schoolhouse Magazine digital subscription.  I am absolutely thrilled to review them, but a little nervous too because I’m not sure I will do them justice! 

     First, I will start with The Homeschool Planner… let’s just say… I was really surprised by it.  I own LOTS of planners, really too many.  I’m one of those people who is always looking for something to get me organized, but none of them seem quite right for our family.  This planner is different from most.  It does have the usual elements such as a calendar, phone numbers sheet, menu planners and lesson plan sheets, in the 2^nd half of the e-book, but it also has so much more.  In the 1^st half of the e-book, there are quick guide such as Timeline of Inventions, Famous Composers, Kitchen Conversions Cheat Sheet (which includes conversions for old fashioned recipes too!), list of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World among other lists.  For each month of the school year there are recipes you can try and short articles you can read written by some of the most popular authors such as Jeannie Fulbright, Amanda Bennett, and Terri Johnson.  Even the forms in the 2^nd half of the e-book are a cut above the rest because of the variety, the amount (there’s a LOT!!!) and the fact that there is a good balance of school vs. home forms.  It’s also great that this was written by homeschool mothers so the planning forms are tailored to homeschooling and they don’t have to be adapted because they were not written for a classroom situation.  A few of my favorites were Curriculum Key Chart form, Field Trip Planning form, a form for parent’s workshops, gift wish list form, and Garden Plans forms.  And, I saved one of the best features for last… you can type on the forms and then print them out!!!

      Now, about the digital subscription of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine… I wasn’t sure if I really needed this or not since I get a copy of the magazine through the mail.  First, I would like to say, if you have never read TOS magazine before, you are really missing a real treat.  TOS is the one magazine I don’t feel I could do without.  It’s funny, my hubby and I have an unspoken agreement that he doesn’t complain about my TOS magazine, if I don’t complain about his Linux Journal even though money is really tight. Lol!!! He KNOWS how important my TOS magazine is to me.  So… about the digital version… it is REALLY cool!  My favorite feature is being able to click on the links and not have to type them all in.  If you are a regular reader of TOS, you are already familiar with all the resources they introduce and provide.  It can get quite tedious going through the magazine each quarter and typing in all the wonderful links that I want to explore.  Well, with the digital TOS, you can just click it and go there.  I also love being able to print out articles.  TOS has regular unit studies in their magazine and it’s wonderful just being able to print them out.  Another feature that could come in handy is the ability to share articles.  If your friend is really in need of encouragement, you can send them an article from you magazine to help them through.  Right now, they also have a whole bunch of freebies that come with the subscription.  My favorite is Safe Eyes which is a computer monitoring program/ website that makes your computer safer for your children.  While I am not going to give up my paper copy of TOS magazine anytime soon, I do feel I am really going to enjoy having the digital subscription as well. 

     I hope you all have a good week.  Please leave me a comment to let me know you were here! 

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Posted by Anonymous

Hi!
I found your blog while researching volcanoes and I just had to write and thank you! I found so much information and great notebooking pages through your blog, we start school tomorrow and I was so pleased to have found everything I needed. I'll be back to visit you again.
Thanks again!
Velvia
http://itcouldfillbooks.wordpress.com

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Posted by psalms16vs2

What great reviews, and very well written. Both products sound very good. I wasn't sure about that planner, but it sounds good, I'll have to check into it more. Thanks for sharing about it. :)
JoAnn

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Posted by jenn4him

Hmm. Now that Lynn has spoken, I wonder how I can live without these products. :-) It is nice to know that these products are really great. I've heard others say, but you are different.
Jenn

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Posted by BChsMamaof3

Those are great reviews Lynn :) I love the idea of being able to access all of the links easily in the digital form of TOS but I'm a paper addict. *grin* I've got to have a copy in my hand. LOL.
Hope you had a great weekend,
Rosina

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Posted by Sandpiper

I love TOS magazine, but I haven't tried the digital version.

I hope your son(PC) is doing well.

Also, I just enjoyed visiting your other blogs!

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Posted by sagerats

I'm with you there on planners! I've bought so many different ones only to get frustrated with having to pack around something large, to have the rings come undone when I dropped it, or discovering that they don't make that brand anymore. I have a PDA now. LOVE IT! I don't know how I ever did without it.

Abiding in the Vine!

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Posted by FibroMom

Hi Lynn,
Cool to hear from another Yank!! Thanks for reading my blog. Sounds like you have a mega full plate. If you can spare a sec, I'd love to hear how you manage your Fibro and do everything else.
Take care,
Jill

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Posted by Jocelyndixon

Hello there! I'd like to invite you to check out the new blogger "writing assignments" school at the Homeschool Blog Awards site, called Blogger Class Mates! It's just starting today and we hope you will stop over and join us!

You can go here for more info: http://homeschoolblogawards.com/2008/08/blogger-class-mates/

Blessings to you!
Miss Jocelyn

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Posted by ThreeLittleLadies

I hope he is feeling better soon. I know that shaky feeling. Nothing like getting through an appointment sooner though is there? We went to the eye doctor on Monday and it took a while, but they got done in time to go swimming!

Carol

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