TOS Crew

TOS Crew: Kregel Publications: Andrea Carter and the Trouble with Treasure

I had never heard of Circle C Adventures, written by Susan K. Marlow and put out by Kregel Publications, but now that I have, I want to read more.Ã‚Â I know they’re a set of books designed for teens and younger readers, but I really enjoyed the book that was sent to me for review, Andrea Carter and the Trouble with Treasure. This is the fifth book in the series.

Set in the great state of California back in the 1880′s, it seems that Andrea Carter, Andi for short, has another adventure before her.Ã‚Â She, her brother Mitch, and her friends, Cory and Jenny, are headed into the mountains for 2 weeks of camping, fishing, and gold panning, as they head to a logging camp, where Mitch has business to take care of.Ã‚Â Before they can even leave, though, the three friends are arrested by the crazy deputy for playing in the water trough….while bank robbers hold up the bank and get away with the bank’s money.Ã‚Â Soon, they are let go, and their adventure begins on the high trail.Ã‚Â The first few days are mild, with fishing and gold panning by day and stargazing by night.Ã‚Â However, the real action begins when they come up on a cabin, inhabited by some very gruff men who get into a shootout with Mitch.Ã‚Â Soon, Andi is forced into a situation she never thought she’d have to face, and she must trust the Lord to help her find a way out of yet another sticky situation.

In this story, you never know who can be trusted and who can’t.Ã‚Â It offers an interesting twist toward the end, but I really wasn’t too surprised, as I’d already guessed it.Ã‚Â However, for a younger reader, it could be quite surprising.Ã‚Â With twists and turns, the story really kept me wanting to read more.Ã‚Â It did have a bit of violence in it, but the author really did a great job of making the story seem very real and life-like.Ã‚Â As I was reading, I could picture everything in my head like a movie.Ã‚Â In fact, it would be really cool to have movies made out of these books.

You can purchase Andrea Carter and the Trouble with Treasure for $7.99 from Kregel Publications.Ã‚Â This price is very reasonable, in my opinion, and the book is definitely worth that and more.Ã‚Â You can read an excerpt of the book here; you can also read more reviews on the TOS Crew Homeschool blog.

(Disclosure: I received a copy of this book, free of charge, from Kregel Publications, for the purposes of this review with the TOS Homeschool Crew.)

TOS Crew: Cerebellum Light Speed Writing

Cerebellum is a company that provides educational programming for families, students, etc. For the Crew, I received their Light Speed Writing DVD, a DVD that helps to prepare high school students for the AP English Language & Composition Exam. While I don’t have a high school student (yet), this video may come in helpful in years to come, when Jacob reaches this level. It’s geared towards grades 9 and up.

This video is pretty modern with up-to-date facts and even modern dress. So many of the videos that I’ve seen have always been very old with the 80′s type dress and big hair, which can be sort of distracting, especially as it causes much laughter in our house. Just keepin’ it real.:) This one, however, uses modern-day students to get points across. The students give facts out, which are also written on the screen. I would definitely want to take notes, as the video goes along, if I were actually working on studying for this test. The nice thing, though, is that with this DVD comes a CD, which you can pop into your computer, and it gives a PDF file with 20 pages of notes, handouts, worksheets, and activities that help the student to comprehend what they’re studying.

The DVD itself is 52 minutes long and includes things like facts, study notes, English review (covering both basic language and composition), and examples of different types of composition. It’s a pretty concise study guide for the AP exam. Students will become equipped with the foundations of rhetorical knowledge and will develop the tools for critical thinking, writing, and analysis.

You can purchase this DVD for the affordable price of $11.24 from Cerebellum Corporation. You can also read more reviews over on the TOS Crew Homeschool blog.

(Disclosure: I was provided this DVD, free of charge, by Cerebellum Corporation, for the purposes of this TOS Crew review.)