TOS Review Great Commission Languages French Jr.

Foreign language has forever been a pebble in our homeschooling shoes.  We just can't seem to find anything that works-I should say that we like.

Until now.  I was chosen to review Great Commission Languages French Jr.  I was skeptical, I'll admit it.  We have tried so many things only to get frustrated and give up.  So I didn't hold out much hope but I openened it up and looked through it.

Here is a little about Great Commission Languages French Jr.

Le Français Facile! is:

• A Complete French Curriculum!
• A Scientifically Designed Curriculum!
• Easy to teach, even if you don't know any french at all!
• Fun to learn, with funny stories and interesting activities.
• French Scripture, songs, games and coloring pages
• Great for homeschool co-op groups!
• Digitally mastered enhanced CD for audio and computer
• Printable free activity sheets: no purchasing consumable activity books or photocopying!
• Teaches French language and French grammar through literature based entertaining storylines
• 3 year program for younger students
• 1 year program for older students and Fast track option for teens
• French Culture of France and Québec with optional projects (including idiom projects)
• Use of Tomatis and SAMONAS sound theories to facilitate learning
• Follows Charlotte Mason Method, Bloom’s Taxonomy and higher order theories by Dr. Jeanne Chall
• Certificate of Completion available with submission of two projects
• Written by a francophone mom of 4 in her 10th year of home educating

Follow this link to see a sample from Lesson 1.  Or follow this link and see several samples from several different books as well as a video.

I was cautiously excited.  The book contained worksheets, a listening CD, printable worksheets, and teaching material. I was pleased to read the Introduction that helped explain how to use the curriculum and then the Extra Resources page that listed famous French people.  It's always good tie in learning with real world experiences.  Then the characters are listed with their names and pictures.  This is helpful when listening to the CD or working through the Lessons.  These help give visual cues for better recall.

The Lessons are divided up into sections for listening to the CD, Vocabulary, Activity, Teacher Helps, and Cultural Notes.  Each section is easily understood by the student for some independent work if they are older or easy implementation for the mom/teacher.  We have really enjoyed using this curriculum.



My 9yo says,"I really like learning French and this makes it so easy and fun!"

That says it all doesn't it?  If you want to check out this great curriculum head on over to their website and see for yourself.  This just might the answer to your foreign language woes like it was for us. 

Le Francais Facile Junior sells for $69.95 and can be seen along with the other French programs offered by Great Commission Languages.

While you are their website don't miss out on the Extra Activities to enhance your French studies.  Also, check out their Mandate to find out a little more about the curriculum or this page to find out more about the company as well as ways to contact them.

Want to find out what other Crew Members thought of Great Commission Languages French and Spanish programs?  Head over to The Crew Blog and check them out.  You won't be disappointed.




**I received Le Fracais Facile Jr. Level through The TOS Crew in exchange for my honest review.

They look so young

Tonight my dh and I got to go to a college basketball game.  My dad and his wife asked us to go with them and of course we said yes!  We had amazing seats…four rows off of the court.  They were close enough to see everything but yet far enough away to not get hammered by the ball or big flying boys!

As we sat there watching the game I marveled at their heights.  Several were 7’ tall!  They were ginormous.  I am sure that their shorts would have been regular pants for me-probably dragging the ground. lol 

But the one thing that stood out to me the most was how young they all looked.  They looked like babies!  I know that these very tall boys were all college age but they just looked so young.  I am sure that it is because I am getting older…ahem…but I really think that college kids are getting younger and younger.  I just know that I didn’t look that young when I was in college.  Right?

I know that I was more mature and looked much older than my age.  roflol

It’s funny how getting older gives you a different perspective on age. 

Livin’ life and havin’ fun

Life moves on and we just have to hang on and try to keep up.  Or at least not get run over and left behind.  lol

Watching the girls grow and change is kind of sad.  They are becoming lovely young ladies but pretty soon I won’t be able to say even that.  Sunshine will be 14 this January and she definitely isn’t little anymore!  I am loving the wonderful young women I see them becoming and can’t wait to see what plans God has for them. 

What an amazing gift He has given us with these girls.  They drive me crazy quite frequently but I couldn’t imagine my life without them. 

What a ride parenting is.  As young people getting ready to have kids you think you know everything.  Then the baby comes and the hospital sends you home with the little bundle of joy and you realize that you have no clue what to do with it or for it.  That feeling doesn’t get any better over the years.  It gets stronger in fact.  The older they get the more you realize that you are flying by the seat of your pants.  There is no handbook that prepares you for the challenges that come up or the heart-breaking things your children do.  The only strength we can rely on is His strength and His wisdom to guide us as parents.  He knows our children better than we ever could and loves them more than we do so why wouldn’t we ask for His help. 

I love being a mom and how it has changed me.  If I can survive five girls, I can do anything! heehee

Theatre fun

Our 12 yo dd has been fortunate to be involved in music theatre once again.  She auditioned for a part in Alice in Wonderland and was given the part of The White Rabbit!  The performances are the first part of December.  She is doing a great job and it has been fun to see her explore her character and grow as a performer.  I am so glad she has the opportunity to explore the talent God gave her. 
I will try to post pictures of the performances. 

TOS Review Reading Game

Teaching kids to read is pretty important, don’t you think?  Reading is something that we all need and yet so many struggle to do it.  Whether it is because of vision problems or reading disabilities there are definite barriers to some kids learning to read.

So, when a product comes out to help parents and children achieve success in reading I think that’s a good thing.  No, that’s a great thing.  When a child is successful at reading it translates to other areas of their lives and makes them feel confident in their abilities and themselves.

That’s something we all want for our kids.

Here is where The Reading Game comes in.  The Reading Game is a wonderful game designed to help children learn to read while having fun so there is no pressure or frustration. 

The Reading Game is set up so that the child plays the game and then uses the words they have learned to read the books.  The Reading game has six illustrated storybooks-Skunk, Bear, Snake Unicorn, Penguins, and Zebra.  All the games have a color coded word matching card game for ease of use.  The memory games are played in stages for each book.  The student learns five words in each stage.  By the end of the first book, the student will be able to read 30 words. 



“Frequent exposure through play hard-wires these words into long-term memory.  The card game requires two players, the student and the tutor.  By transforming rote learning into a fast paced game where there is a winner every few seconds, learning to read becomes fun.
The first story is told using just those thirty words.  It tells of a skunk without a strip who is rejected for being different but finds acceptance among a group of cats and becomes their defender.  Each subsequent game in the series adds a further thirty words for a reading vocabulary of 180 words by the time the complete series is finished.  Of the twenty-five most commonly used English words, twenty-two are on the list; of the forty most commonly used English words-thirty.  The multi-sensory teaching approach-through the card game play and the storybooks-works well for retention and student enjoyment.”

We have enjoyed this game quite a bit.  Even though my youngest already knows how to read this game has helped with knowing the words on sight much more quickly.   I can’t wait to use The Reading Game with Bug-I know it will help and be tons of fun.



To find out more about The Reading Game head on over to their website and read all about it.  The Reading Game sells for $24.95 and comes with all the books and the games for each.  Before you start The Reading Game you should have your child take this assessment to see where your child's strengths and weakness are.  You can use the assessment before and after using The Reading Game to check their progress.  Check out all that the website has to offer.  Want to know more?  Check out this page for more answers and to watch a video about the game.  This page tells you about the creators of The Reading Game.  Don't forget about this page to find out about recording sheets and the assessments.  Still need more info?  This page has the contact info that you need.

If you want to read what other Crew members have to say, head on over to The Crew Blog and check them out.



**I was given a copy of The Reading Game through The TOS Crew in exchange for my honest review.

And so it begins…

Today starts our Thanksgiving season.  We have three Thanksgiving to celebrate.  One with my Dad, one with my Mom, and one with my in-laws.
That’s a lot of turkey.  and that’s just the way I like it. 
It gets kind of crazy having three different celebrations to attend but I wouldn’t have it any other way.  What a blessing to get to celebrate with our entire family.  I know we are blessed to have so many loving family members in our lives and I never want to forget that in our busy-ness. 
This season should be about remembering God’s blessings and making sure that we share about His goodness in our lives.  He has so abundantly blessed us that we couldn’t even begin to count them. 
Let us never forget our blessings.