Blue Ribbon Awards 2014~ Our Top 10 Favorite Products

It is hard to believe that it's been a year since I received the incredible news that I was chosen to participate with The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew team for 2014. The reviews are done for the year and I get time to reflect back over what we did and what we enjoyed. Our team voted on all the products we reviewed (from 58 companies!) to award the Blue Ribbon Awards for 2014 in 27 different categories. I thought it would be fun to share which of the 33 products we were blessed with to review were our Top 10 Favorite Products!

Here are the ten products we reviewed this year that we loved the most. These aren't in any particular order, and I have noted which ones won the Blue Ribbon Awards for the whole crew. All of my links will be taking you to the reviews I wrote on the products.
Drum-roll please...............
1. WriteShop (won Favorite Writing Curriculum)

We love Write Shop and even though the version we had was too easy for my writer, it was an excellent program and one that I recommend to anyone seeking a great beginning writing curriculum. We loved it so much we will be continuing to use the curriculum in the future as well. We have WriteShop C to use this year and I hope to use some of the advanced ones later.
2.  Science4Us.com

This was one voted by Little Britches as being one of his overall favorites for the whole year. It was enjoyable and fun. I also liked how easy it was for me to "teach" it and do up assignments for him. He wishes he still has access to it. 
3. CTCmath (won Favorite Math Program)

This is the one that we voted as our favorite math program AND the best resource we didn't know we needed. This program actually was like love at first sight for both boys. They both really enjoy the videos AND the program. We discovered that Little Britches did better with this program than he did with me teaching him a lot of the math. We ended up buying an 18-month subscription which will start once our free trial wears out. We highly recommend this and several friends have purchased subscriptions and have raved about it too!
4. ARTistic Pursuits (won Favorite Fine Arts Program/Curriculum)

This program was so much fun! Baby Britches just had a blast using it! It's a great program and so comprehensive for teaching and encouraging art. I can't wait to continue to use this. We will be considering using it as we continue homeschooling--just with higher levels.
5. Maestro Classics

Maestro Classics was a super fun product and the boys are STILL in love with their Mike Mulligan CD. It's a daily thing that they listen to while they get dressed and do their morning chores.
6. Veritas Press (biggest winner of 2014! Won Favorite History Program, Best Digital Resource AND All Around Crew Favorite)

Love love love. We LOVE this history program. Since the first day we did it, it has been a family favorite. This is one subject that I have no problems with getting Little Britches to work on. He asks if it's time to do it. The retention of the information is great and he just soaks it in like a sponge. I highly recommend this program (the only drawback is the price...the ONLY drawback) and we will be using it again in the future at some point.

7. Roman Roads (won Favorite High School Resource)

Roman Roads. I reviewed this history curriculum myself and it was AWESOME! I loved everything about it. It's definitely a great one for the middle school level at the very earliest--ideal for high school. I can't wait to bring this out again for the boys when they are old enough. I am still working my way through it just for pleasure because it is so well done.
8. My Student Logbook (won Best Resource I Didn't Know I Needed)

This was a GREAT product. And I agree with the category it won in. It has made our routine so much easier since he is able to just look at what he has left to do and check it off. No more questions of "are we done yet?" or fights about how much is left. He can see it all right in front of him. I highly recommend this product and we will be continuing to use it.
9. Institute for Excellence in Writing: Fix It Grammar (won Favorite Grammar Curriculum)

I am so glad this product snagged a category win. It is excellent and so useful! We both agreed to keep it as part of our regular curriculum because it worked well and he loves it. No groaning on this product either. I look forward to continuing in the books as we progress.
10. Heirloom Audio Productions: Under Drakes Flag (won Favorite Book, Audio Book or Audio Drama)

Little Britches chimed in on this one. He really really loves this audio drama and asks for it every time we go anywhere of distance. It doesn't matter how many times he's listened to it. He loves it all the same. I am looking forward to purchasing the next one In Freedom's Cause which is available this month! ***

Well there are our 10 favorites for this year...there were more that we really enjoyed, but these 10 stand out as the best of the bunch. I hope you will check out my full reviews on each of them and consider making some of them a part of your own adventure! If you want to see what some of my fellow crew members chose as their favorites for the year, you can head on over and read about in the Blue Ribbon Awards 2014 post!