Keyboard Town Pals Review

Keyboard Town Pals is an interactive keyboarding program that will "teach your child to type in one hour".   We were given the web based version to review as our latest TOS Crew review.

About the program:

According to the makers of Keyboard Town Pals:    

• We de-activated the delete and backspace function in the program since we do not dwell on mistakes.
• The program may be used in two- ½ hour lessons or smaller time-segments such as eight mini 6-7 minute lessons and is especially helpful to children with learning differences.
• Colors can sometimes have a soothing effect for students with certain disabilities. Therefore, Keyboard Town PALS offers a choice of fonts and background screen colors.
• Keyboard Town PALS is the "missing link" between the child's intellectual capabilities and the technological world around him or her. Understanding the keyboard liberates creative expression, offering every child a greater possibility of success in school and life.

Keyboard Town Pals uses a series of humorous characters to teach keyboarding.   These characters talk the children through each lesson It divides the keyboard into three distinct areas:  Uptown, Home Key Street, and Downtown (or the top, middle and bottom rows) You can view an online demo here. 

The web version is available for $39.95, and there are other combinations you can purchase - the CD ROM, or CD ROM and additional products.  It is available in English, Spanish and French. Check it all out on their website.  

Our impressions:

My six year old son tried the program.  He easily completed it an hour as expected.  He enjoyed the characters (he said his favorite character was Larry!).   Since he has already been using some keyboarding programs, this teaching approach was different for him (dividing the keyboard into an upper, middle and lower row rather than teaching a specific finger and then the keys that finger is responsible for).  I did like the fact that he always had proper finger placement and was engaged throughout the whole program.   He was able to sit for an entire hour with it (you can break it into smaller chunks, but he just wanted to keep going).

He laughed throughout the instruction (the puppets and little skits are pretty cute), but did tell me afterwards he felt it was a little "baby-ish".  It was frustrating to him that he could not use the delete and backspace buttons (which the makers of the program advertise as one of their best points).   He didn't like NOT being able to correct his mistakes.    

For the price of $39.95, I thought this was VERY steep.   I expected many follow up exercises for this amount of money, but that was not offered.  

 If you think this might be something your child could benefit from, though,I definitely recommend checking out their website. They do say it is good for children with special needs, so if that applies to you, you might want to do further investigating.    You can also read some other TOS Crew reviews here.

Disclaimer: I received the above named product from TOS Crew in return for my honest review. I have not been compensated in any other form. 

The Goal of My Blog - and a Free Gift!

My original goal with this blog was to get a big enough following and to know enough about homeschool and the blogging world to be accepted as a reviewer for The Old Schoolhouse Magazine.   One of the very first blogs I read, Our Busy Homeschool, did a lot of reviews and I thought it seemed like a very interesting opportunity.


I contacted Tristan (the author of Our Busy Homeschool) with lots of questions, and she was gracious enough to write me a LONG email about being on "The Crew" and the commitment it entailed.   (In the meantime, I became associated with The Homeschool Village, and reviewed for them.  I was so grateful for that opportunity!)   I started about the business of growing my blog, and applied to be on The Crew.  I'm thrilled that I will be on the Crew for 2011-2012.


What does this mean?   Essentially, I will be receiving lots of different products in exchange for my honest review on this blog.   I do hope you will read and hopefully find out about some things that will be of use to you.   I found one of our very favorite resources this way last year!   You should start to see reviews here fairly soon!  You can also follow all reviews at the review crew website.  


Homegrown Learners (originally called Homeschool Success from its inception in November, 2009) has evolved into so much more in the past year and a half.  It's been a creative outlet for me, but it has also served as a vehicle for making some of the most wonderful homeschool connections.   I have met so many homeschool moms with fabulous ideas.  I look forward to sitting at my computer and checking in with my online friends.


Finally, after this much time, I feel that I've achieved a good blogging balance and am JUST WHERE I WANT TO BE.   I know I like to write about our daily activities, with the emphasis being on lessons and activities that work for us.  When I visit a blog I want to be inspired to do better and/or get a great idea I can implement in our homeschool.    This is what I want my blog to do for others.  


In addition to homeschooling and taking care of my family I do give piano lessons a couple of afternoons a week. It gives me a great side income (which helps sock some money in the bank in these uncertain times) and so much joy.  Between all of this and my blog my plate is just full enough, and I am happy.  


Enough of all that ~ on to the free gift:


I  want to let you know about a special offer from The Old Schoolhouse Magazine - and best of all, it's free!   Here's what The Old Schoolhouse Magazine has to say:  

Take a look at the brand new Summer digital edition of The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine. TOS is offering this digital issue of the magazine totally free with no strings attached. Enjoy this free gift from TOS—no registration or email address required to view the magazine! Take a peek here. Then share the link with your friends by clicking on the share button at the top of the magazine pages.

I grabbed one of the cute buttons and put it on my sidebar, and you can, too.

Enjoy the magazine, and be watching for some reviews of homeschool products in the very near future!