What being on the Crew means to me...

You may be wondering just what the Homeschool Review Crew is exactly.  I've spent nearly a year now as part of the Crew.  I originally applied because the Crew reviewed Phonetic Zoo (I read most of the reviews trying to decide if it was right for us), and if IEW gave the Crew their products to review, I wanted to be a part of that!



The Homeschool Review Crew is a great place for any homeschooler to learn about products that may interest them.  40 to 100 or more members will review any one product, so you have access to plenty of personal experiences when deciding if a product is right for your home.  As a Crew member, I get to try out many products in my home.  Sometimes doing a review is easy, the product or curriculum fits right in.  Sometimes we adjust our schedule a bit so that we have time to use the items.  We always want to give a fair review, and my kids often ask what we're currently working on or will be soon.  I have not had any reviews that were difficult for us to fit in.  Most of the items we reviewed are still used in our home!

I'm not forced to review items I'm not thrilled about.  There is a rating system when upcoming items are presented so I can express my interest level and my reasoning.  I have never received a review item that I wasn't excited about after first learning about it.  I'm also not required to post positive reviews, but we are asked to be respectful and if a product doesn't work for our family, we indicate who it would work for.

I have learned a lot about blogging and networking.  The Crew provides opportunities in this way that can help your blog grow!  I do admit that networking is a difficult thing for me to wrap my head around and get done, so I'm thankful that this portion isn't a requirement.  I'm trying hard to learn though, and I have learned many things that have improved my blog.

Some products that were especially memorable to us this year:

• Homeschool in the Woods U.S. Elections Lap Pak.  I was surprised at how much all of my children enjoyed this!  It was thorough and fun, yet educational.
• Notebooking Pages Membership.  I don't think I can live without this now!  There's always a notebooking page for what we are studying.
• Linguistic Development through Poetry Memorization.  This came at the perfect time, I wanted to add poetry memorization and I was amazed at how well this fit into our life.
• Forbrain.  This little headset has been quite a blessing.  My daughter with speech delays has progressed so much using it, I hear her listen to herself better than ever when she's not using it and make corrections to her sounds.  It's frequently used for spelling practice and by my beginning reader.
• Heirloom Audio Productions. (See the Reviews tab above)  We reviewed 3 different stories this year and my kids still listen to them often.  They get excited to read G.A. Henty on their own now because they understand the story better!
• Can Do Cubes.  There's just something about playing with blocks while learning to read that makes it more fun (and educational!).

This was a hard list to write, and I've still left some of my favorites off because I don't want this to be too lengthy!  Plus, I've still got two reviews we're working on!

I wanted to save the best benefit of Crew membership for last.  The Crew is like a family.  They support each other and they always have some helpful advice to give.  I've made new friends, even though I'm quiet and shy online.  I can always count on the Crew to lift my spirits as I see how they support each other. 

Being on the Crew is a huge responsibility, but it's worth it to me.  I hope I am accepted for another year!  Won't you join me?