A Net in Time

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Review: 1-2-3 Magic Teen

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1-2-3 Magic Teen: communicate, connect and guide your teen to adulthood, is written by Thomas W. Phelan who also wrote 1-2-3 Magic.   In this paperback you will find tools and advice to help you parent your maturing teen to diminish conflict and further relationship building.  With an up and coming teen, this is helpful information. 

1-2-3- Magic Teen

About Dr. Phelan

A registered clinical psychologist, Thomas W. Phelan, Ph.D. has worked with children, adults and families for over 35 years. He is a member of the APA.  He writes, produces, lectures, and guest spots on radio and TV.  He has worked on the boards national (USA) organizations that help parents with autistic children. 

1-2-3- Magic Teen

What You Get:

This book is divided into six sections with between 2 and five subsections.

These sections are entitled

1. Straight Thinking
2. Don’t Take it Personally.
3. Manage and Let Go.
4. Stay in Touch.
5. Take Care of Yourself.
6. Relax and Enjoy the Movie.

Much of the advice given is through the presentation of a scenario, with a less than positive outcome, and then the same scenario replayed with a more positive outcome.  This done through text as well as cartoons.

1-2-3- Magic Teen

I liked how Dr. Phelan follows up the change he hopes to see in our parenting with how to change out what we might be thinking, with what might be truth.  

1-2-3- Magic Teen

Throughout the book you’ll find little cut outs that help you either think a bit more about a topic or teaches a key concept. 

1-2-3- Magic Teen

I appreciated that each section broke down the key concepts that would be presented.

1-2-3- Magic Teen

My Thoughts:

There is much in this book that I like.   I have to admit to struggling with some of the adverse reactions that were portrayed.  Partly because I don’t tend to believe that most teenage angst needs to be as bad as people say it is.  I grew up in a household where as teens we had our struggles but we didn’t allow (or weren’t allowed to let) our moodiness to affect the overall operation and attitude of the household. Time is too short in life to allow a bad mood to take over your life. I appreciated that each chapter concluded with a summation of the lessons learned.

I struggled with the story on page 28-29 where the author seems to be blaming the parents for the poor behaviour, the reckless endangering behaviour of their son.  And it makes me wonder… why is it the parents fault if their teenagers don’t react well and/or make poor decisions?  Part of maturity is learning how to handle disagreements well, and that takes both sides of the party to back off and think through their statements/comments to each other does it not?   There is much good in this book and I am glad that I read it through.  It’s given me additional information in the checking of my own thoughts as I enter into the teen years with my boy. 

Review: CodeWizardsHQ

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I wanted to share with you about a coding class from CodeWizardsHQ that my son recently completed.  This online coding class had my son intrigued and wanting to do more. The ability to code is an extremely important skill that today’s youth will need for the jobs of tomorrow.  Coding is required in so many positions today, the need for skilled computer savvy people is growing exponentially.   CodeWizardsHQ  also offers homeschool computer programs as well as online coding classes for all students.

CodeWizardHQ

CodeWizardsHQ set up an introductory Class for members of the Homeschool Review Crew.  They had a number of timeslots we could pick from in order to see how their training program works.  I have to admit…. my son wanted it to be much longer.  He didn’t get to complete everything he wanted to due to the limitations of the one hour class and the very new to coding people who were part of his group. 

I thought I would walk you through some of the technical stuff and let my son tell you about his experience later on.  First a bit about the program from CodeWizardsHQ themselves.

What do you get?

As I mentioned earlier, we received a one hour online class to test out their program.   This consisted of getting an email from David and Kevin walking us through the important aspects of the program. An introductory video was used to point out the benefits of using their program to teach coding (teacher support, classroom setting, learning from each other, feedback given), the exponential growth in the need for good coding skills, and how their program work.  Regretfully I was unable to attend, but Kevin nicely sent me a PDF of the slides used in the presentation so I didn’t really miss it!  Wasn’t that sweet of him?  

CodeWizardHQ

My son took the class because we could only have one person on and listening well at a time.   This review will be filled with overheard comments concluding with my son’s overall impression of the class.

At the start of the class, based on what I overheard, the instructor took a moment to learn a few things about each of the students.  I heard my son say “I don’t know what I want to learn, but by what I have seen its an important skill to know” as well as the fact that he has done some coding in the past. 

A quick complaint I heard was “I wish some of the people not talking would turn off their audio as I hear people talking in the background.”  I mentioned to my son that is a hard issue to control and that CodeWizardsHQ had asked people to meet in a quiet area. 

We weren’t initially aware that we would need to have two screens open so it took us a bit of time to get that part figured out.  Once we did, the rest of the class moved smoothly.  They use the Go Meeting program to conduct the teaching part of the program. 

There is another open page with the students private dashboard.  We received a special code that helped us open this page. I assume each person received their own code. The class we took was an introductory one. 

At the top of the dashboard are the controls to learn the programming. The join class button takes you to the Go Meeting app.  Editor is where items are edited, progress lets you see the changes you have made.

As you move to the editor page you will see a page like this.  At times this page will just have a column of grey on the one side with words/names.   And if you click on one of those words you will see either an image pop up or a bunch of code. 

My son was taught with some pre-existing elements, examples follow.

CodeWizardsHQ

By the end my son had officially made a checkerboard of conversation and images.

CodeWizardsHQ

Comments overheard: “I now understand why learning in a classroom takes so much longer now”.  “Some of the students are slow, so I have to wait, I can change anything I want while I wait.”

CodeWizardHQ

Instructor quality?

Good.

Sound?

Instructor good, everyone else horrible.

Ease of use?

“I found it very easy to use. I know a couple of students didn’t get the first thing done”

Do you like it?

Yes. Would have been nice if everyone could have figured it out.

Would you want to take a 12 week course?

Yes I would.CodeWizardsHQ

Anything you would change?

“”What they need to do is have two instructors. One to keep the advanced students going and one to help the ones who have fallen behind.”

“I would have liked them to spend some time explaining what html does rather than just how to change it.”
“Didn’t teach about elements, opening and closing brackets. Would have been better to start completely from scratch.”

“All we were taught was how to change part of an element and how to copy and paste an element.”

“One of the things I liked is that if you made a mistake with your HTML , such as you forgot to make a opening bracket or a closing bracket or if you added them something in that shouldn’t be there, it would pop up in red text if it needed to be changed.”

My lad thoroughly enjoyed being part of this class and would happily take a courses from CodeWizardsHQ if he had a chance to do so.   CodeWizardsHQ coding class

CodeWizards offers several classes, each 12 weeks long.  One hour live class each week which comes with 24/7 access to the code writing platform, email support, one-to-one assistance as needed, weekly progress updates recorded classes along with the necessary web space to complete projects and an online student community.   A certificate is issued for each completed courses. 

CodeWizardHQCodeWizardHQ
I received a one hour introductory class into HTML coding.

Their normal classes run for 12 weeks and at the end of them you will get a certificate of completion.
Online, Coding Classes for Kids,
Three Levels to work through, Certificate upon Completion, Along with Internship.
For Class Pricing.  
CodeWizardsHQ is not a homeschool curriculum company, but they are open to providing classes during the day for homeschooled students. Learn More Here. 

CodeWizardsHQ coding class

60 members of the Homeschool Review Crew took this class, CLICK HERE to read them.

read

Facebook along with the Facebook group for parents who are interested in coding for their children 
Twitter.
Pinterest.
YouTube.

Polly Diamond and the Magic Book, a review

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Oh heavens but I loved this book!  Polly Diamond and the Magic Book was a simply hilarious read through, watching the mind of young girl and the events of her life as she waits for her baby brother to make his appearance.

Polly diamond and the magic book, my review

Polly Diamond will make you laugh, shake your head, chuckle to yourself and have the other moms waiting for their children at karate give you curious looks, and then ask if it’s okay if THEY read the book while they are waiting.  🙂  

And if you are a curious child, you’ll have your mamma read it to you while you (and her) wait for your brother to be done and then I, the official reviewer will grin at your exclamations of delight.  (and think to myself…. I HAVE to put this in my review).  🙂  

So what do you get?

An extremely fun 169 page booked aimed at kids 6-9 years old.   As soon as I read it I said “I need to find me an 8 year old”.  🙂   Alice Kuipers wrote a delightful book cleverly illustrated by Diana Toledano. You will be tempted to race through it, but I’ll caution you… Take your time. Savour the fun and the delight of a child’s mind.  Short chapters and lots of white space with great illustrations makes this an excellent book for young readers, and for their folks if help is needed. This is book one.

Particulars. 

Prose that is great for 6-9 years old, not just easy words, but longer ones to delight clever brains.   The fun of a good book, the delight of imagination, the joy of undiscovered meaning to words, all ties together to make a great fast paced early chapter book for grades 1-3.  

Polly diamond and the magic book,
Learning grammar and language and the fun of accuracy. Seeing how words can twist and change depending on how you define them.  The fun of it has you learning even when you don’t think you will. 

The graphics added to the story, bringing to life the words on the page, yet leaving parts to the imagination.   The fast pace and the upbeat tone make it a joy to read. 

Polly diamond and the magic book,My Thoughts:

Well, if you didn’t guess it already… go on, go get this book. Enjoy it.  Love it.  Help your children grin in delight. See Polly adapt to the change in her household with her love of the written word and a new baby on the way.   Will Polly manage to sort it all out in her creative, imaginative way?   Read it and find out!  🙂

Polly diamond and the magic book,

 

Polly Diamond and the Magic Book
Book One
Chronicle books
softcover, ages 6-9
reviewed for Raincoast books.

Where to find: Amazon Link.  

 

 

 

Review: A Few Red Drops

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Over the past year or so I’ve read quite a few books about the history of Black people in the United States.   Some of those stories have been filled with hardship, others looked for the good in people.  Either way, the story of Black People in the United States has been one filled with tension.   This tension exploded in 1919 with the Chicago Race Riots.  A Few Red Drops delves into this time period, helping us to understand the cause, the event and the aftermath. 

A Few Red Drops, my review

I have to admit it’s hard to know how to write this review.  I started writing it like a book report, but that’s not what a review is all about is it?   The Chicago Race Riots were a hard time in 1919.  Immigrants coming in, Black Americans were free but often oppressed, Gangs were into everything, factory automated work was coming into play with lower pay jobs in abundance, there was so much unrest that when you add the heat of summer to it made for a keg about to blow…and it did!

In this 208 page book, Ms. Hartfield draws us through the many causes of the Chicago Race Riots.  Then through the riot that occurred and the response of the city as it started to wind down. 

A few red drops, sample page

The tome is divided into four parts:

Part one: Catalyst
Part two: First Whispers
Part three: Up from the South
Part four: Reaping the Whirlwind

Images dot the pages, bringing to life the troubled times. Reading through this well researched book my heart ached for the mom of that 17 year old boy.  One young man, hit by another young man, two lives forever changed… one died, the other had to live with what he did.  The battle that ensued after.   Just such a difficult time …. an era that I don’t fully understand.  

A few red drops, sample page

The descriptive, informative text was written at a level easily understood by middle schoolers (the intended audience). This makes it an easy read for older individuals, making it a perfect book to start an in-depth study of this moment in history, while being complete enough to meet the needs of middle school students studying race relations. 

My Thoughts:

A Few Red Drops is a compelling read.  I learned so much, because honestly I am not up on a lot of American history.  It was hard to read about some of the actions one group of people took against another group.  It was interesting to see how each group’s interactions with each other led to a massive riot that caused so much death and destruction. Times were changing and people weren’t keeping up, and the gangs that ran Chicago at the time, didn’t help the situation at all.  Enflaming the mobs for their own amusement.  It’s an era that I have a difficult time coming to grips with.  None of the details given were overly graphic making it a safe read for middle school students. 

A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919
Claire Hartfield
Clarion Books
208 pages, Trade paperback, Middle School and up
History, Black Americans, Riot, Race, United States history
Reviewed for Raincoast Books.
Where to find: Amazon Link.

Review: Dying for Venegeance

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Dying for Vengeance is a murder mystery with a romance built into it. Set in Carlisle, PA two cops with a mystery to solve combined with an interest in each other. 

Dying with Vengeance, my review

About the book:

Carlisle Homicide Detective Erin McCoy battles the jitters as the first woman in Homicide partnered with Senior Detective Christopher Snow. On their first case, they track a serial killer who’s stalking family members embroiled in an inheritance dispute. The perp dispatches his victims with toxic chemicals. As the detectives chase clues and connect the related victims, their mutual attraction blooms while she nurses him after a shooting incident. But sparks fly when FBI Special Agent Howard offers McCoy a job if she’ll train at Quantico. McCoy returns to Carlisle when she learns she has a rival for Snow’s affections.

Snow’s former partner, Reese Savage, returns to the CPD from Middle-East deployments expecting to resume their bachelor ways. Savage’s ire results in a PTSD spike while he’s tailing a suspect. In the interim, Chief March reassigns McCoy to the K9 Unit. When Mac becomes a target, she learns that she needs Chris to shove and shock her into life.

My Thoughts:

I tried. I did. But I couldn’t get into this read at all. I don’t know if it was the font of the book, or the descriptive language… but I started and then just wanted to put the book down and walk away.  I think it just didn’t feel real to me.  The characters were well described and it had all the parts, but it was like I was on the outside looking in a people acting out a role.  The addition of poor language choices (bad words) was an added incentive to walk away from it. 

Dying for Vengeance
J.M. West
Carlisle Crime Case 1
Sunbury Press
Trade paperback, mystery, romance
Reviewed for Ascot Media
Where to find: Amazon Link.

Review: More Deadly Then War

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Sometimes you meet a book where the cover inspires a boys interest in knowing more.  The lad saw “more deadly than war” and his interest was immediately peaked, heading to his favourite youtube to learn more.  “More Deadly than War” tells the story that the Spanish Flu took during World War One.   This was a history that I did not know, but my lad was very happy to tell me all that he learned about it.

More Deadly Than War, my review

Kenneth C Davis writes an account that is filled with details outlining the toll that the Spanish Flu took, killing 20% of the world’s population before it was done.  Striking people without rhyme or reason, and if not outright killing, inflicting them with serious side-effects from the flu.   It was a devastating disease.

Mr. Davis carefully weaves true life stories into the facts of the flu and the effects that it had.  From slowing down the war, to the sheer loss of life, and confusion of the medical world.  How heart-breaking it was for the doctors and nurses to have no idea about how to treat this deadly disease.More Deadly than War - sample page

He brought to bear the difficulty of dealing with the demands of war (including the selling of war bonds and the parades, parties, and meetings that entailed) while trying to fight a deadly disease. Families devastated, children orphaned, children having to work in order to help their siblings survive, the Spanish flu forever changed the lives of the people it touched, even if they survived it’s attack. 

Reading through this book one can just see the heartbreak this time caused around the world.  One gal’s dad survived the flu, when discharged from the army and at home again his response to “what did you do in the war” was “I survived the flu”.  So sad.  So not an easy book to read.  I learned so much.  More Deadly Than War, Sample Page

The close of More Deadly Than War asks important questions of how we dead with disease.  How we can prevent the spread, how we handle propaganda and governmental interference, and other hard questions. It’s a good thing to think about how we help people without causing panic, how to disseminate information without fear-mongering and overly sensationalizing the issues.  People will blow facts out of proportion in order to make a buck, or to sell a paper, or to make a name for themselves.  How does one prevent that and keep the public safely informed?   Hard questions to wade through. 

To help tell the story of the Spanish Flu numerous images flood the pages, bringing us back to the sights of the war, including recruitment posters, masks, hospitals, warfare and more.. 

More Deadly Than War

My lad suggested I share this video with you to give you a brief rundown on the Spanish flu. The figuring is that if learning about the Spanish Flu intrigues, so will this video!  🙂   Like mom like son eh?  🙂

 

My Thoughts:

2018 marks 100 years after the Spanish Flu hit with devastating fierceness.  This story is still relevant today with the potential for bird flu, swine flu and other flus able to spread across the world with ease.  Mr. Davis helps us understand the horror of this disease with dramatic narrative that combines images with first hand stories from individual, medical staff and government individuals.  I found it to be a captivating read that taught me as aspect of the war that I had previously not really understood.  

More deadly than War, book cover

More Deadly than War: The Hidden History of the Spanish Flu and the First World War.
Kenneth C. Davis
304 pages, trade paperback, ages 10-14
Spanish Flu, World War 1, non-fiction, history
Reviewed for Raincoast Books.
Where to find: Amazon Link.

Review: Not One Damsel in Distress

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Not One Damsel in Distress is a fun read with girls as the heroines in the story.  The stories contained within the pages of this hardcover book come from all over the world.  They are folktales for strong girls. 

Not one Damsel in distress

What you get:

Jane Yolen has done an excellent job of collecting these stories from Greece, Niger, Germany, Argentina, China, Scotland, France as well as others.   There are 13 stories in all.  The hardcover makes the book durable, with the well illustrated fly providing an instant way to bookmark your page. The hardcover itself is a plain blue backing.   At the close of the book Ms. Yolen gives more information about the stories she included.  In this section she mentions things that she changed from the original story (or made more clear) and any variations in the stories found (sometimes a story will have multiple versions).  She will also mention where she found the story (often in old folktale books time has mostly forgotten). 

How I used it:

To be honest…I just had fun reading the stories.  Some of the stories I found more appealing than others, but that is the nature of books filled with stories, you rarely like them all the same.  It was neat to read a folktale book filled with strong girls, they aren’t that common.  I think my favourite story was Pretty Penny.   A lass that could have badly been taken advantage of turns the tables of the miscreant. 🙂  Good to see a girl with her wits about her in a time of crisis.  I did as I always do and ignored the forward (at least until I read another review about the author’s mindset presented).  I don’t know the age of Jane Yolen, but I remember tales of heroines as a child, so don’t know why she think they were hidden away not to be found.  Different experiences in life eh?

Some of the finer details:

The font size is lovely.   If you wanted to sit and read the book with a group of children, the larger font size makes it easy to read without having to strain your eyes.

Not One Damsel in Distress, sample page

As you continue reading, you’ll find at least one image per story.   They are all done in black and white and convey the story nicely.  Aren’t the details nice and clear?   I found they drew me into the story, and as I leafed through the pages they brought me easily back to my favourites. 

Not One Damsel in DistressSince these are tales from all over the world, they would be fascinating to read as part of geography or history series don’t you think?   Giving glimpses into the history of a land as each story carries the flavour of the land it comes from. It would just round out the study nicely I think.  🙂

My Overall Thoughts: 

It’s a well done book.  Illustrator Susan Guevara does an excellent job with black and white images to convey the story.   She helps us picture in our minds eye the story we are reading. Could the stories have survived without the images?  Yes! The images fit so well though, they helped to tell the tale!  I can easily see young ladies thoroughly enjoying the stories contained within the pages.  The only issue I had was that sometimes she changed who the hero was in the story… sometimes it was originally a fellow.  Are there not enough old folktales with girls/women as the heroine that you need to change the story included in this book?  I don’t know the answer to that, just part of me is bothered by the changing of history to suit a present day mindset.

Not one damsel in distress, book cover
Not one Damsel in Distress
– World Folktales for Strong Girls
128 pages, hardcover, age 7-10
Folktales, girls, history, geography
Reviewed for Raincoast Books.
Where to buy: Amazon Link.