Ten Marks

I was sent TenMarks to review for you.

Overall it’s a good program and would make a good addition to your math line up.

It works like this…

You tell them what grade your student is and what state they live in. It generates a personalized math program for your student. It sends you your ‘worksheet’ homework via email so your student knows exactly what they are expected to accomplish. Your student starts by watching the lesson. Then they do ten problems per ‘worksheet’. If they get stuck, they can also get 3 hints per problem. There is only one problem on a page at a time, which was good for my dyslexic. Less to confuse her.

There are ways for you as the parent to go in and reorganize the topics you want your student to do and even delete some altogether. You can add in from other grades, which is a nice feature. Say your student just does not get fractions, but is on grade level for everything else. You could add the fractions section from the previous grades into your line up.

You can also use TenMarks simply as a supplement and not worry about the ‘worksheets’ they send you but simply go into the Practice area and have your student do the lessons they are week in or need help on.

Or...you can watch this video that tells you (probably better than me!) how the program works.I will admit that it took me a while to figure some things out on the site. It was not as intuitive as I would have liked and I had trouble finding the directions to some things. Also, I recommend starting your student a year behind where you think they are, unless they are advanced at math. I found with both of my girls that the grade they were in was a bit too hard for them so we had to go back a grade.

I think TenMarks would make a good stand alone math program or simply a good supplement to your current curriculum.

Their pricing structure is as follows (from their site)…

TenMarks is affordable for everyone and offers a money back guarantee.

Options (per student)

$10 a month

$49 for 6 months

$89 for 12 months

You can go here to find out more about TenMarks and you can go here to find out what others on The Crew had to say.

Happy Homeschooling!

Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary for Kids

I was sent the Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary for Kids to review for you. I absolutely love this book. It is a good size book, 11.00 X 8.50, and is made of sturdy hardback construction. The pages are very colorful and full of maps and charts and wonderful facts from the Bible.







I think this book could be used in many ways. It would be very helpful as a reference, to have nearby when doing family Bible study or when children are doing independent Bible study. This would also be a great book to simply have around for the children to flip through at their leisure or to assign pages for the children to read during their daily schooling.



When we received this book, my daughter grabbed it and sat on the couch for the better part of an hour just reading. She would pipe up now and then, telling me a fact she’d learned or call me over to show me a neet photo. This book is one that we will be happy, for years to come, to have added to our library.

You can find this book at most bookstores, including Lifeway Christian Bookstore for $14.99

You can go here to see what others on The Crew had to say about this book.

Happy Homeschooling!

Virtual Nerd

Virtual Nerd is a website with a plethora of video segments. In these video segments, a person teaches a lesson on a very specific topic of your choosing.
The video’s are simple and non distracting with a person (sometimes it’s a girl and sometimes it’s a guy) and a blackboard.

These videos are organized very clearly into categories. The main categories are Pre Algebra, Algebra 1, Algebra 2 and Physics. You can then click on various sub topics within these larger topics. To be honest, we’ve spent all of our time in Pre Algebra and Algebra 1.

I also noticed that you can look up specific chapters in the 4 main texts most public schools use, to watch videos on these topics. This is very clever and I can imagine this would be extremely helpful if you are using one of those books.

Overall, I like Virtual Nerd. It is well laid out and the lessons are clear and concise. They cover only one topic at a time and it is not confusing to the listener.
I can see how this could be helpful to the homeschooler to have these video’s in their math arsenal. My only issue is that, unlike a real tutor, you can’t tell the lady in the video that you don’t understand what she is saying and have her try again. You can only replay the video. But then, we all know nothing replaces a real person.

In their ‘FAQ’ section Virtual Nerd themselves answers the question of Virtual Nerd taking the place of a private tutor.

No. If you can find a good tutor, if you can afford private tutoring, and if you can fit it into your schedule, it can be an extremely powerful way to learn. In that case, Virtual Nerd can be an excellent supplement. On the other hand, if private tutoring is not an option for you, or if you want to explore other alternatives first, you've come to the right place.

Overall I think Virtual Nerd is a good program. It is a little pricy, but if it helps your child understand Algebra, it’s worth it!

The Cost is as follows, and when they say 'educator' they do not mean homeschoolers.

Well, that depends. If you're an educator, it's free. If not, the standard subscription rate for the Premium Plan is $49 per month. We also offer 3-month, 6-month and 12-month packages, which result in substantial savings. Also, check with your teacher and principal, because we may have given your school a discount code.

You can go here to find out more about Virtual Nerd and you can go here to see what others on The Crew had to think about it!