Learning at His Feet

On the Move

2011-07-01T18:23:00.001-04:00

Under the Overpass

2010-12-12T13:27:00.006-05:00

Note: I am reviewing this book as part of the Blogging For Books program developed by Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Group. I was asked to write an honest review and received no compensation other than the free book.

I love lazy weekends spent curled up under the covers and getting lost in a great novel.

Unfortunately, two Christmas parties, reservations with the kids to see Santa at a local restaurant, and a shopping trip was quickly robbing me of my lazy weekend. Until "Snowmegheddon" hit. At least that's what my husband is laughingly referring to the 1-2 inches of snow we are getting today that has sent everyone into a frenzy. The predictions started with 3-6 inches and have gradually lessoned as the week went on, but still all around here are convinced we will be snowed in for days and now Christmas parties are canceled and I'm getting a snow day. I'm not complaining.

As a matter of fact, it's given me the opportunity to read a book that I've been anxious to get around to, Under the Overpass by Mike Yankoski. Yesterday, while the kids were happily playing a Wii tournament with Dad, I curled up under my covers in a nice comfy chair and read the entire book. I can't remember the last time I did that.

I have to admit, however, that it wasn't long before my comfy chair didn't feel quite so comfy as I was transported with Mike and his traveling companion, Sam, to the streets of Washington DC, Portland, San Francisco, Phoenix, and San Diego as they not only visited the homeless, but lived among them for five months. No, this isn't a novel...it's a true story of two mens' journey from middle class college students to choosing to live homeless and pennyless to learn "personally what it means to depend on Christ for my daily physical needs, and to experience contentment and confidence in Him."

Mike and Sam experienced hunger, humiliation, and discomfort like most of us will never know in search of experiencing Paul's state of contentment, "whether with everything or with nothing". And they experienced moments that seemed more like divine appointments like when they played worship songs to help a mentally disabled homeless woman to fall asleep...

"It was a relief to play and sing for the joy of worship rather than for our dinner. I wondered if God hadn't brought us across the continent just to sing Pamela to sleep on His behalf. The apostle Paul said in Ephesians that God works that way-that we've been created to keep certain appointments for Him, to complete certain tasks (maybe even with a guitar as darkness falls)."

I was brought to tears at the reminder of how much God loves the forgotten... enough to send two men out of their plush existence to sleep on the lowly streets of the homeless and the rats to sing a song to a lonely woman. Enough to leave his own perfect heaven and enter a lowly world as an infant to live among the humans as a perfect example, to die a sacrificial death and make a way for all into eternity. He loves me that much and He loves you that much.

Under the Overpass wasn't just a captivating read...it was a challenging read. After all, I couldn't read of experience after experience of Mike and Sam being ignored in church services, being asked to leave church grounds, and being left out of conversations among Christians in a restaurant because of the sight and smell of them without admitting that I very well could have and may have reacted the same way to two homeless men.

And the faith of these two men...I mean, seriously. We've experienced some hard times. We've chosen to live out-of-the-box lives. We've accepted the call to let God choose our family size, to homeschool our children and we've questioned those calls. When my husband lost his job, that was hard. The past year, we have relied upon an almost non-existant income due to his new job being 100% commission and having to build a clientele from nothing. And that was hard. Making promises to debtors, not knowing if we can keep them...walking into a free Christmas Toy Store put on by our church not to give, but to receive...that was hard. But we've never gone without a meal or slept on asphalt, and yet I've still questioned God. Things seem to be looking up for us financially, as Chad is (not surprisingly to me) doing excellent at his work, but what if that ends too. Can I trust God in every circumstance and most importantly, can I find contentment there? I don't think I've done a very good job of being content so far.

I guess I tell you all this to say, that Under the Overpass is a. good. book. It's a book that makes you think and contemplate and hopefully move you into action. And it's definitely a book that I think you should read. For more information about Under the Overpass and to download the first chapter for free click here.

Also, Blogging For Books offers prizes to their top rated reviewers, so if you so desire, I would really appreciate it if you would rank my review here.

Huge Upset, Chaos Ensues!

2010-12-06T17:04:00.006-05:00

Unexpected news has hit us like a brick. Gasps of shock can be heard all over town from family members and friends.

There's been weeping and gnashing of teeth from the children...

One child even passed out from utter amazement...

The news....THE CLARK FAMILY PATTERN HAS BEEN BROKEN!!!

Actually, we're all very excited to welcome our newest addition, Baby J (a BOY!) due in April.

Deal #2

2010-11-20T15:49:00.006-05:00

I promise to not turn this into a coupon blog, but for the moment I just want to keep a diary of sorts of the deals I am getting and the money we are saving. I figure it will keep my momentum up until I have a firm grasp on the whole couponing thing.

Once again, I'm pretty excited about this week's deals...we almost didn't try any at all because I wasn't sure that I was seeing any great deals when I looked through the ads. Plus, we had a really busy week and it was hard to focus on it. But this morning as I was making our meal plan, I found three great deals that were too good to pass up. The good news was that since I bought 10 newspapers last week (instead of just 3) I had 10 coupons each for 2 of the deals. That was cool, because that gave us enough of each of those products to last us until the next great deal comes along.

So are your ready?.....

4 boxes of General Mills Cereals

4 Suave Conditioners

5 Suave Shampoos

9 Suave deodorants

Total items: 22 items

Total bill BEFORE savings: $36.22

Total bill AFTER coupons and savings: $1.49

I'm still shocked...too cool, right?!

Also, this week we learned first hand about MONEY-MAKERS. What's a money-maker? That's when you have a coupon for a product that is worth more than the price of the product. Some stores won't allow you to use the additional money, but at Krogers they apply it towards the rest of your bill. So here's how I did the deal...

General Mills Cereals were on sale for $1.49 each when you buy 4 at Kroger this week. I had 2 coupons that were $1 off 2 making each box of cereal $0.99 each. We bought 4 for a total of $3.96.

Then select Suave deodorants, shampoos, and conditioners were all on sale for $0.88 this week. I had 9 coupons for $0.50 off 1 deodorant and 9 coupons for $0.50 off 1 shampoo or conditioner. At Kroger all manufacturer coupons up to $0.50 are automatically doubled. This means that my $0.50 off coupons are actually $1 off coupons. Since each of the 18 Suave products I bought were only $0.88 each, I actually made $0.12 on each product using my $1 off coupon. This was applied towards the rest of my bill (which was only $3.96 for the four boxes of cereals) bringing my total to $1.49!!!

Yeah, this is fun.

My first DEAL!!!

2010-11-11T19:00:00.002-05:00

A few weeks ago I decided to once again attempt to wrap my brain around the concept of real couponing...this came after a failed attempt about a year ago. I attended a couponing class that another homeschool mom was teaching and was finally inspired to start off...really slowly.

So, I began by simply saving my coupon inserts from the Sunday papers...not clipping them...just saving the entire inserts in file with the date marked clearly on the front of each insert.

That's all I did...for five weeks.

Finally, I heard of another mom who was teaching a coupon class and decided to go to it and see what she had to say. She basically said the same thing as the first mom. However, after seeing all the great deals she was getting, I decided I couldn't wait any longer. I got my coupons out...I got the ads out...I visited the necessary couponing websites and this is what I got...

•Red Baron pizza on sale $2.78
- $1 cpn (10/24 SS)

2 pizzas/2 coupons $1.78 each $3.56 TOTAL

•Colgate toothpaste on sale $1
- $1 cpn (10/31 SS)

3 toothpastes/3 coupons $0 Total

•Ricola drops on sale $.50
- $1/2 cpn (10/17 SS)

6 ricolas/3 coupons $0 TOTAL

•Campbells Cream soup on sale $.49
- $1/4 cpn printable

8 cream of mushroom/2 coupon $.24 each $1.92 TOTAL

•Campbells Chunky or Select Harvest soup on sale $.99
- $.50/1 cpn printable

2 Chunky soups/2 coupons $.49 each $.98 TOTAL

Stove Top Stuffing on sale $.75
-$1/2 cpn printable

2 Stuffings/1 coupon $.25 each $.50 TOTAL

23 Items
Total worth (before sale): $48.32
Sale savings: -$27.83
Coupon savings: -$14

TOTAL PAID: $6.49

This was so exciting...and it's not even that great of a deal compared to what the coupon queens are doing.

In case you are wondering, I went to Kroger for this shopping trip.

And because I know some of you are going to ask...here's the gist of it...

-In order to drastically reduce your grocery bill (think $30-50 a week) you have to stockpile and it takes time.

-You only buy items when they are on deep sale AND you have a coupon for it making it free or very cheap. Then you buy as many items as you have coupons so that you can stockpile that item until it goes on deep sale again.

-In order to do this you have to buy multiple newspapers each week. Most coupon queens buy 6-10. I started out only buying 3, but will be buying more this week.

-Once you have a good stockpile, you start planning your weekly menus based around what you have in stock. Then you can spend $20-30 on just the deals that week and $20-30 on fresh produce for the week.

-Finally, each week you will have to spend a little bit of time planning which deals you are going to partake in. To do that go to one of the following blogs and view the "match-ups" for the week at your favorite stores.

www.kingdomklipper.blogspot.com
www.mamacheaps.com
www.frugalcouponliving.com

A "match-up" is a listing of a great sale item along with where to find a matching coupon (either with a link to a printable coupon or it will tell you the date that the coupon was in the Sunday paper...this is why you don't clip your coupons each Sunday.)

That's pretty much it in a nutshell, but the above websites go much more in depth on how to master couponing. I just wanted to share my first great deal because....well, wouldn't you??!!

Friday School

2010-09-03T14:55:00.000-04:00

Each Friday morning we attend a prayer meeting at a friend's house. The kids play while moms fellowship and pray. The meeting wraps up at about 12:30 just in time for lunch.

Last year, I had good intentions for our Fridays. My good intentions included getting up early to work on school before we left and finishing school once we returned home. Unfortunately, getting up early is not a talent I possess. And after we returned home and ate a little lunch there just wasn't enough time left in the day for a full day of school.

This year, I developed a plan. M, T, W, and Th we do school as usual...you know,bible, math, English, spelling, history, science...the works. But on Friday we will go to our prayer meeting, go to the library, and complete two subjects at home: music and art.

This accomplishes many things for us...I've always wanted to take the kids to the library each week, but we could only manage to get there about once a month. Since we are all already dressed and out of the house, it's not such a big deal to swing by the library.

Also, adding art and music to the end of a full school day was always difficult and rushed. Since these are the only two subjects we do on Friday, we can spend more time enjoying them.

Last April I purchased Mr. Everybody's Musical Apartment 3-book set at the Midwest Homeschool Convention. It's a simple way to teach young elementary students to read and play music notes. We decided to use a xylophone with this book that we purchased through amazon.

The kids learned three notes last Friday and each played their first song. They've been continuing to practice it throughout the week.

We've chosen to study Mary Cassatt during the months of August and September. I plan to add a composer of the month as well, but haven't done so yet. We brought home books from the library last week and looked at all the beautiful pictures.

Finally, G9 and A8 both are required to read two books independently a month a complete a book report on those books. The reports must be completed by the 2nd and 4th Fridays of each month. Remember, how I told you about the new friend living in our home? Well, G9 and A8 both decided to read the above book for their first report.

I'm allowing them to choose different styles of book reports, and this time they both wanted to give an oral report and create a poster.

A8 got rather creative with her poster. She did this all on her own!

The Edible River

2010-09-01T13:25:00.000-04:00

I believe one of the greatest benefits of homeschooling is that I have the opportunity to discover how fascinating human history is and give that to my children.

This year we are using The Story of the World Volume 1: Ancient Times .

We've started the year first by discussing what history is and how we discover it. The kids recorded a little bit of our own family history by creating this book.

Along with fact sheets about themselves, they also interviewed family members and created pages for them as well.

Please Note: The following pictures will prove that having fun with education, does not mean you must be super-crafty, and that participating in extra craft activities does not have to result in a perfect, award winning creation in order for your children to have a memorable educational experience.

Our focus then turned to Ancient Egypt, which we will camp out on for a couple of weeks. The kids are keeping History notebooks, where they colored a map of the Nile. We quickly mixed up some peanut butter cookie dough (2 cups peanut butter, 1 cup sugar, 2 eggs) because it was the easiest recipe I could find and we had the ingredients on hand. After refrigerating the dough for 30 minutes, the kids spread it out in a baking pan, carved out the shape of Nile River and placed a few cookie pyramids along the bank. We baked it for about 20 minutes (I think on 400 degrees). And because we did not have blue food coloring, we opted for chocolate pudding to represent out river.

We spread on more pudding, flooding out the Nile Delta and the banks of our river, just like the Nile would flood over Egyptians crops each year provided the much needed water.

L2 woke from her nap just in time to help us enjoy the pudding-covered cookies.

Wow! Awesome deal!!

2010-08-31T17:33:00.003-04:00

I can still remembering receiving my first copy of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. I opened it up and didn't put it down until I literally read it from cover to cover. I devoured every article, every ad, every bit of even the fine print! It was such an incredibly helpful homeschool magazine and I couldn't wait to receive the next issue.

Every once in a while TOS will offer a great subscription price and I always try to take advantage of renewing during one of those times. I can't bear to think that I would miss even one issue! In all my renewing, though, I can't remember one time when the subscription price for the print magazine was quite as low as it is right now...seriously I'm use to TOS offering good deals, but I was shocked when I opened my email to see this sweet deal...

Right now, you can receive a one-year print subscription for just $7.95!! That's it...$7.95!

If you'd like the current issue as well, pay just $12.95. One-year subscriptions start with the winter issue. The one-year plus current issue starts with the fall issue.

Only 5000 of these special subscriptions are available from August 31 through midnight on September 15. Once the 5000 are gone, they'’re gone!

So what are you waiting for? Head over to TOS and get your subscription!

Time for Science

2010-08-30T12:02:00.000-04:00

I've been particularly excited about our science this year. We're going a little heavy and using not one, but two of the Young Explorer Series from Apologia. First, we're using Exploring Creation with Zoology 1: Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day.

I really love everything about this series. The text reads like a conversation and Fulbright is a genious at weaving in God's truths so naturally into science.

Fun experiments are worked into each chapter. Last week the kids studied how it is that winged creatures can fly. They found out what type of wing flies the furthest by creating two "fliers" out of cardstock, clay, and pencils*. (The experiment actually called for straws, but we didn't have any. The straws would have worked better.) One "flier" had a long, thin wing...the other a short, wide wing.

They tested the "fliers" by flying each 10 times, measuring the distance, and finding the average.

This picture was pretty cool...even though you can't see our "flier", you can see the shadow.

To top it all off, we added a new member to the household just to enrich our science studies. Meet Reepicheep.

Okay...we didn't exactly get him just to enrich our studies, but it was very timely. Really, it's a rather long story that includes one of our children being asked to birdsit for a friend while they were on vacation, said child taking excellent care of said bird for 10 days...seriously, excellent, then said bird being found dead at the bottom of its cage the very day our friends were returning home, and finally extremely sympathetic grandparents who bought a bird, cage, and supplies for said child.

Reepicheep is a chatty, young parakeet who isn't exactly thrilled to be a part of our family. He sqauwks loudly and angrily each time the kids come running and yelling through the living room. I sort of think we're soul mates.

Our First '10-'11 Field Trip

2010-08-28T09:12:00.018-04:00

Thankfully, we all survived the first week of the homeschool year, and made it to the second. This was especially good since the second week turned out so much better.

One of the highlights of the week was are very first official fieldtrip of the school year. I have to apologize up front for the excessive amount of photos. This is actually a slimmed down version from what I actually took. I'll keep my comments to a minimum to compensate.

We took a trip to our county GOP for a civics class. By the way, I didn't dress my boys in the same type of shirt on purpose...actually I didn't even notice it until just now.

G9 got us started by leading us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Mrs. Kim King is running for state representative and led the presentation to our group, which included about 30 K-5 homeschool students.

To demonstrate how a bill is passed, first a governor was chosen from the audience.

The kids were divided in half. One side represented the Senate and the other represented the House of Representatives.

My E6 had a lot to say.

Once a proposed bill passed through the House and the Senate, it was signed into law by the governor. As a side note..I thought it rather funny that the two laws that were proposed by the presenters were "To serve only pizza everyday in school cafeterias" and "The only subject in schools should be recess all day". Apparently, this has gone over well with the public school children when they had done this presentation before. However, the home school students were adamant in their opposition to both of these "bills"! They were all bringing up all sorts of insightful comments as to why they shouldn't "pass" them. Some of my favorites were...

"What if someone is allergic to pizza?" and

"If students only have recess, they won't have enough education. Then they won't be successful in life." (This student was probably in 2nd grade.)

For the sake of the presentation the parents had to coerce them into voting "yes". They VERY reluctantly agreed.

Our state flag.

My A8 was chosen to wear a Derby hat as the lesson continued on to discuss Kentucky traditions.

E6 was chosen to be a jockey.

The jockeys with their trainers paraded around to the tune of "My Old Kentucky Home" mimicking the Derby pre-event.

Ladies in Derby hats and gentlemen in ties clapped for their favorite horses.

G9 (in the tie) looked just like his Daddy. :o)

Here's the whole group! Fun day!

Look How Far He's Come!

2010-08-25T21:22:00.010-04:00

Our Baby L was born exactly 1 year ago. 6 lbs. 15 oz. Such a sweet little man.

One week later he became sick and was admitted to the NICU. Eleven gut-wrenching days. But God sustained us and never left us. And despite the fact that his MRI showed 3 brain bleeds, despite the fact that he has overall low muscle tone, despite the fact that our therapists didn't even expect him to crawl by age one...

Yup! That's Baby L standing all by himself 2 days before his first birthday! God is good!!!

L1 waits expectantly.

Hmmm...seems interesting.

Oh, yeah! This is definitely my favorite...his first bite. I laugh out loud every time I see this picture.

Oh, was it a mess! I have to say a big THANKS to Chad who totally took care of clean-up.

After a quick dunk in the tub, he was ready to open presents.

What a big boy!!

Curriculum Picks

2010-08-24T19:34:00.008-04:00

After admitting my failures and anxieties in yesterday's post, I thought I'd try a more positive approach today and share with you the curriculum we've chosen this year.

E3 is enjoying Rod and Staff's simple ABC pre-k set. There are actually seven books total in this curriculum including a Bible story book that I read aloud to him. He colors in the coloring book that accompanies the story book and then does a page from Adventures with Books and Counting with Numbers. We'll start the other books later in the year. As you can see, he la-la-loves to color. It is not uncommon for him to spend the entire 3 hours we spend in the schoolroom each day coloring in his books.

H5 is in Kindergarten/first grade this year. She's halfway through Math K which she will continue, and at the rate she flies through it, I'm expecting her to be finished way before Christmas at which point I will probably start her on Math Mammoth's 1st grade. We're using the Italic series for Handwriting, and Language Arts 1 from Christian Light Education. She's also working her way through Explode the Code 1 & 2. This child is the Workbook Queen. I'm not kidding, I can not give her enough worksheets, so these are all perfect curriculum for her.

E6's independent work is not as extensive. He's my hands-on man and does not do quite as well with a lot of workbooks. He's using Math Mammoth 2nd grade and Explode the Code 3 and 4. His entire English program is based around Explode the Code as I'm using the Teacher's Guide to add in related Language Arts activities. I've also got Beyond the Code to use with him this year.

A8 is using Math Mammoth 3rd grade, Rod and Staff Beginning Wisely, Explode the Code Books 5 & 6, Phonetic Zoo for spelling. She's required to keep a History and Science Notebook, and to read 2 books independently a month. Book reports are due on the 2nd and 4th Fridays.

Silly-faced G9 is using Saxon 5/4, Rod and Staff Beginning Wisely, Explode the Code Books 7 & 8, Phonetic Zoo for spelling. He's also required to keep a History and Science Notebook, and to read 2 books independently a month. Book reports are due on the 2nd and 4th Fridays.

L2 plays in the toy area of the schoolroom during lessons, but also has a desk set up with her own crayons and coloring books. She also frequently plays with our Preschool Activities in a Bag (shown above).

The whole family is enjoying Who is God? published by Apologia, Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day (Jeannie Fulbright also by Apologia), and Story of the World Volume 1.

And even though we didn't get to it last week, our plan is to make Friday our Art and Music Day. We'll be learning to play the xylophone, using a curriculum I bought at the Midwest Homeschool Conference and focusing on an artist and composer of the month.

I'm also hoping to add in a curriculum that I've been wanting to use for a couple of years...both are from Pearables:

Lessons in Responsibility for Boys (for the big boys)

Home Ec (for the big girls)

But I really think the only time we could fit these in would be on Saturday mornings when Daddy could lead the boys and I could teach the girls...oh, to Saturday school or not to Saturday school? Should it really be a question?

Summary of the first 6 days of the homeschool year.

2010-08-23T17:57:00.005-04:00

Obsessive-compulsive planning

+ overestimation of amount of work that can be completed in a seven hour period

+ saying yes to doctors, physical/occupational/ speech therapists, family,and two well meaning friends who ask to visit/schedule appointments during the school day

= seven children who barely put a dent in the school work their teacher actually planned for the first week AND one overwhelmed, procrastinating homeschool Mama whose brain feels like mush and who is about to binge on apple pie, yarn, and a sappy romantic comedy.

The Sun Shines LATE at night!

2010-08-21T23:34:00.004-04:00

It's been quite some time since I received a Blog Award, so imagine my surprise a couple of days ago when I logged onto my computer and found that not one, but TWO people had awarded me the Sunshine Award...Embracing Destiny and Marcy at Ben and Me. What a way to brighten my day!

So here are the rules:

1. Thank the one who gave it to you and link to their blog.
2. Share seven things about yourself.
3. Choose seven others to bless with the award and let them know they've won an award.

Seven Random Things About Me:
1. I like my caffeine cold...I'll take a diet cherry coke over coffee almost any morning.
2. I share the same birthday with my mother and grandmother.
3. I've had the same pair of tennis shoes since I was a freshman in highschool...I really don't wear tennis shoes very often.
4. Actually, I prefer to be barefoot and would wear sandals year-round if it were socially acceptable.
5. My love language is gifts...and I really love gifts!...especially if they are books or yarn.
6. I'm currently reading through Hebrews.
7. More currently, I'm wondering why I decided to create this post so late at night.

Now for the wonderful bloggers I would like to pass this award on to:

Rebecca at Renaissance has the most beautiful blog with literally the most breathtaking photos. Plus she will be delivering her newest blessing any day now!

Momma K at Working on a Full House is a SuperMama and SuperWoman of Faith. She inspires me each time I read her blog.

Kelly at Hearts wide Open is a friend of mine. Her sweet family are adopting from Ethiopia and her blog is helping them raise funds and chronicle their wonderful journey.

Jenn at Classless and Loving It has received a few bloggy awards from me, but she deserves each and every one of them! She is as beautiful and witty as I have ever wanted to be.

Melissa at In The Sparrows Nest and Cindy at Our Journey Westward have also received bloggy awards from me. But I have learned SO much about homeschooling and nature study from these two mamas that I will never tire of recommending their sites to everyone.

Amy at Buffaloes and Butterflies Wings is a so creative and a superblogger! I always, always get ideas from her when I head over to her blog.

That's it for me...Have a sunshine-y day ...or night!

Schoolhouse Expo

2010-08-17T21:17:00.003-04:00

It's back to homeschool time and registration is open for the online
Schoolhouse Expo, October 4-8. It's five days of top homeschool
speakers, fellowship, and fun door prizes.

I got a chance to participate in the Schoolhouse Expo in May and it was so nice! I just love listening to homeschool speakers and learning new ideas! Oh, and I just love getting the freebies too! ;-)

You can save $5 per ticket when you register between August 16 and midnight August 22,
and you'll pay only $19.99. Plus you'll receive over $200 in free
E-Books. (Freebies!!!)

You'll be inspired by speakers including: Zan Tyler, Dr. Jay Wile, Jeannie
Fulbright,Carol Barnier, Diana Waring, Todd Wilson, Davis Carman, Kim
Kautzer, Lee Binz, and many more!

A special teen track is planned--the entire family will definitely
want to listen to these special sessions. We've also planned a special
focus on a topic that touches every homeschool--writing. Plus, an
array of other topics that will inform and inspire you throughout your
homeschooling years.

Don't forget, MP3 copies of each session comes with your LIVE event ticket.

Two special preconference shows on August 24 and September 21 with Dr.
Jay Wile, Jeannie Fulbright, and Kim Kautzer!

Register starting 12:01 a.m. on Monday, August 16.

The theme this fall is "Celebrate Homeschooling!" We're going to
celebrate the unique blessings of homeschooling, the beginning of
another school year, our families, and the freedom to tailor our
children's education to best meet their needs.

If you cannot make the Live event, then the October Expo To Go is
just your ticket! You'll reserve MP3s from all of the workshops. This
week only, pay just $14.95!

You can visit either of these links to get more information.
http://www.SchoolhouseExpo.com
or
http://bit.ly/aWHFiL

It was the First Day of First Grade...

2010-08-16T22:04:00.007-04:00

...and Pre-K, and 2nd grade, and 3rd grade, and 4th grade.

The schoolyear has officially begun for Integritas Academy! We started with a 'First Day of School' photo.

Followed by prayer time and Bible lessons. L2 was so sweet as she prayed for a family friend.

Each of our students had freshly sharpened pencils and brand new folders on their desks. Their folders contained a calendar (to write their important dates), a daily schedule, and their weekly expectations (includes new chore assignments and how many lessons of each subject need to be completed each week).

I'll admit...it certainly wasn't all peaches and cream. Five students on five different levels all using brand new curriculum, and throw in a 2 year old and 11 month old...let's just say, I'm glad the first day is over.

After lunch we had our 'fun' subjects. Story of the World for History and Exploring Creation with Flying Creatures for Science. The coolest part was this fun 'air pressure' experiment. Place a straw in a glass of water. Using a second straw, blow air up and over the top of the straw in the water. This will lessen the air pressure in the straw causing the water in the straw to squirt out. Fun!

Now on to the second day of second grade...and 1st grade, and third grade, and...

Newport Aquarium

2010-07-19T13:17:00.007-04:00

It seems to me every year I look forward to summer being relaxing and laid back. And then somehow, it is always ridiculously busy. When we are doing school I always have a reason to say, 'No, we can't do that'...but in the summer it seems there is always something to do and no reason to say no to it! So our days have been super busy with little time for 'computer play'. Thus, my absence here.

Thanks to hubby's new job, we have gotten the opportunity to do several things that would normally be too pricey for our super-sized family including a day trip to the Newport Aquarium.

Here are all the kids minus Levi, since I was wearing him and "we" were taking the pictures.

I know this pic is a little blurry, but I just love the look on L2's face. This was taken inside the first tunnel we went through with fish and sharks swimming over top us and all around.

Cool starfish...and I know you're probably thinking, like me, that my oldest G9 needs a haircut. Don't worry, it's already been taken care of.

Always a hit with the little ones...Nemo fish!

And these are my absolute favorites. I think the jellyfish are just so pretty and take the best pictures.

One more for good measure.

This one didn't turn out so well, but it was fun for the kids to pretend like they were being attacked by the jellyfish.

And of course....a shark.

At the end we watched the "Penguin Sunset"...about 75 people gathered around the penguin tank at 4:30pm as a worker flipped the lightswitch. At least they were cute.

Chemistry on DVD

2010-07-11T00:22:00.003-04:00

In our area, nothing says Summer like Yardsale. I just love finding a good deal for my money...especially during summer time.

And if I were to sum up the Chemistry AP Exam Prep DVD by Light Speed it would be to say that it is a good deal for your money.

Cerebellum Corporation offer a variety of different Light Speed AP Exam DVDs at extremely affordable prices.

This particular DVD is 55 minutes of help to your student preparing for a Advanced Placement (AP) Exam in Chemistry. Thirty essential Chemistry topics are covered in bite-size one minute segments for your student to rewind and review again and again. The video also includes helpful tips, strategies, and advice to help students pass their exam.

A digital workbook comes along with the DVD. This workbook includes quizzes, game, practice questions, and more.

The Chemistry AP Exam Prep DVD by Light Speed is regularly $14.98, but is currently on sale for $11.42. And if that wasn't good enough, you can use the coupon code OSH20 for an additional 20% off (til 12/31/10), and if your order is over $25.00 the shipping is FREE. Um, wow! That's cheap. Check out Cerebellum Corp and all their products today. You'll also find more reviews of videos from this company at the TOS Crew Blog.

Tension Tamer

2010-06-01T19:17:00.005-04:00

As a 2nd year member of the TOS Homeschool Crew, I have been given the wonderful opportunity to review many homeschool products. The only compensation that I receive for my review is the free product. I feel truly blessed to be participating in this review group and I'm looking forward to trying out these products and giving you my honest opinion.

If you are looking for all-natural health products you will definitely want to check out the Beeyoutiful website. Their products include vitamin supplements, lotions, hair products, and more. Here's a quote from the site owners:

"We have found a lot a tools that have worked very well for our families, and made Beeyoutiful a repository for those tools, as well as the information to effectively use them. As we learn more, we share more. Our goal is to eventually carry every natural product that we use."

Several different products from Beeyoutiful were sent to TOS Crew members and I received a product called Tension Tamer. This neat little product is an all- natural alternative to aspirin. From the website:

"This incredible combination of essential oils act to reduce pain, relieve tension and combat headaches. A great nerve relaxer and pocket decongestant. Roll Tension Tamer on temples, wrists, nose, or neck and relax as your headache and tension disappear. Great for children too!"

In case you're wondering, this little cocktail includes the following essential oils: expeller pressed jojoba oil, expeller pressed sweet almond oil, grape seed oil, eucalyptus essential oil, peppermint essential oil, wintergreen essential oil. If you're anything like me, however, that doesn't mean much. The real question is ... does it work?

Well, I only get headaches occasionally and I generally prefer to just deal with them rather than take aspirin. I've always been a little anti-pills. So I admit, the idea of simply rolling on some essential oils to relieve a headache sounds pretty nice to me.

I've been using the Tension Tamer on occasion for about a month now and my conclusion is that it does seem to work a little. I'm not claiming a miracle or anything. But it certainly has a nice smell, it leaves a cool feeling on the back of the neck after you rub it on, and my tension/headaches have seemed to ease up after using it. I can also testify after this weekend, that it has a soothing effect on a major sunburn as well!

The tension tamer sells for $11. Seems a little pricey for such a small bottle, but after using it a month I've truly barely put a dent in it. So it really doesn't seem so bad to me after all.

Once again, check out Beeyoutiful for more info and the TOS Crew Blog for more reviews.

Ideal Curriculum

2010-05-14T14:00:00.000-04:00

As a 2nd year member of the TOS Homeschool Crew, I have been given the wonderful opportunity to review many homeschool products. The only compensation that I receive for my review is the free product. I feel truly blessed to be participating in this review group and I'm looking forward to trying out these products and giving you my honest opinion.

You all know that we have lots of little ones running around this house. And I am a firm believer that preschool lessons should begin very early. Why is that? Because I am a firm believer that anything that makes my life easier should be implemented immediately and preschool makes my life easier.

You see, my preschool age children have always wanted to learn. There is just something about that age. They not only want to learn, but they want to know when it will be there turn to learn and they ask me that question over and over and over again. If I appease my young student and give them a coloring sheet to color, or playdough to play with, or blocks to build with instructions on what to build, they will usually work happily for some time which means I can actually get something else done. Yes, preschool makes my life easier.

But I have to admit, preschool happens pretty naturally here. I generally spend a little time planning at the beginning of the school year but for the most part my little ones learn with the bigger ones absorbing what they can. I always take time to spend some sit-down, one-on-one learning with my preschoolers, but it rarely goes over 30 minutes and never takes very much prep time.

Nevertheless, I am occasionally asked by a very nervous and unsure first-time homeschool mom what preschool curriculum I use. I try to explain that I do preschool but that I don't use a curriculum. This only confuses her and she always asks , "Well, how do you know what to teach them?" I try to explain that I teach them whatever I think they should know and what I think they are ready for...whether that is writing their ABCs, tying their shoes, recognizing colors and shapes, or coloring in the lines. At this point, she usually becomes overwhelmed.

Ideal Curriculum is a preschool program that is helping preschool teachers know what to teach. As a matter of fact, Ideal Curriculum offers nine monthly kits giving you a full-year preschool curriculum. Each kit offers a themed literature unit, math unit, and science/social studies unit.

Each monthly kit is available as a download for $30 or in a print version for $55. I received a free download of their first month kit for review. It included a teacher's manual for each subject, files to print for each subject, ebooks to read on the computer for each subject, and mp3 music files to go along with the lessons. The lessons are definitely written to the classroom teacher with sections in each lesson called "Why this lesson is important", "Preparation", "Direct Teaching Lesson", and "Practice throughout the day". It's all laid out very nicely which makes it very easy to follow. However, there is a lot of planning involved in this curriculum including printing all needed lessons for the day and gathering specific craft materials. Some of the lessons also seem a little like filler lessons to me...dancing around the room singing about the letter A is maybe a useful way to occupy 15 3-year olds at daycare, but not necessary for me at home. (And I'm not just saying that because I'm a really bad dancer.)

I think Ideal Curriculum would probably work well for the first time homeschool mom who wants everything planned out and has a lot of time to spend on her pre-school firstborn. I also think Ideal Curriculum could work well for a homeschool co-op class.

Check out the Ideal Curriculum website for more information and the TOS Crew blog for more reviews.

LobsterNetwork.com

2010-05-13T15:32:00.003-04:00

So I've recently had the opportunity to review a truly unique website called Lobster Network.

Lobster Network is in fact, an acronym. It is as follows...

It looks a little confusing, but actually it really isn't.

Imagine having an online catalog of all of your books, curriculum, dvds... anything you want to categorize with the capability of loaning (even selling) these items to your friends or neighbors. You could view your friends' items and borrow from them as well. Need an item back? Send your friend a nice email reminder to return the item. This is what Lobster Network is all about.

By far, the best part about this website is that membership is free. There is absolutely no fees attached to creating your account and sharing your stuff!

I do actually think this concept is quite intriguing and can think of several situations where this might come in handy. Perhaps your homeschool co-op would like to start a lending library and needs a way to track it? Even just sharing your books among a small group of homeschool friends could really help during trying financial times. Lobster Network allows you to create separate groups and choose which items you share with each group.

For more information, head on over to LobsterNetwork.com and make sure to watch the intro video on the homepage. You can find out what other TOS Crewmates are saying here.

Virtual Homeschool Vendor Hall!

2010-05-12T20:49:00.001-04:00

If you're researching or buying homeschool curriculum, you have to check out the Vendor Hall at the Schoolhouse Expo! It's open to everyone. Browse through companies such as Rainbow Resource, WriteShop, Apologia, Latin Road/Phonics Road, Multiplication Shake, Go Phonics, and MANY MORE!

Latin Road/Phonics Road has freebies in their booth. Rainbow Resource has a free shipping offer. Spears Art Studio has a free CD. Real Science by Gravitas has a 25% discount coupon.

There is just so much to see. Stop by and meet the virtual hostess from each company, browse their selection, and look for "conference specials".

http://www.schoolhouseexpo.com/?page_id=180

A bunch of sickos having fun.

2010-05-10T22:04:00.007-04:00

Last week we were sick....again. Half of us (yes, me included) came down with strep throat. Because we knew we had at least one untreated case and were unsure of who else might have it, we decided to stay home on Sunday. We wanted to make the most of our all-day-at-home day before Daddy went back to work on Monday, so we came up with a plan.

We lined all the kids up in the living room and declared we would have special day. Even though some of the kids were sick, none of them were down. We couldn't play outside at all because it was raining. So we declared it a no-screen day (no tv or computer or video games), but assured the kids that it would be a day full of family fun.

We figured we would have 12 hours from 9am to 9pm. One hour each would take up meal prep, eating, and clean-up for three meals which would leave a total of nine hours. We have nine members of the family (7 kids plus Chad and I). So each family member would get to decide what we would do for an entire hour. The rules were that it had to be activities that the entire family could participate in and you had to participate!

We started with the youngest, so we all just rolled around on the floor and played with Baby L for the first hour.

Next was L1's turn. She wanted to paint fingernails...

And play with babies...

Each hour we would have a changing ceremony. The blurry picture below was the only one I got of this part. Whomever's turn it was to choose activities for the hour would where a toy medal necklace we had. Here L1 is giving the medal to E3 since it was his turn...

He was proud to have his medal...

E3 decided to spend the entire hour coloring...

Next was H4's turn, who wanted to play hide and seek. I didn't get pictures of this because we were having too much fun to stop and take pictures!

Next, E6 decided he wanted to paint. I couldn't say no today regardless of how messy it was, so everyone got aprons out and they painted away...

Next, Aubrey continued our arts and crafts fun with some paper-doll making...

G9 went for another hour of hide and seek. And then Chad decided to wrestle with the kids for his hour...thankfully, there were minimal injuries.

Last of all, was my hour! First we made some yummy root beer floats...

And then all the kids laid down in the living room with their blankets to listen to Daddy read a couple of chapters of Treasure Island before bedtime.

It turned out to be such a fun day that the kids were asking to do it every week. I figured the kids would have fun, but I didn't expect Chad and I to have such a fun time. I can assure you I didn't think about checking my emails even once!

Alphabet Beats dvds

2010-04-28T14:00:00.000-04:00

Super Star Games

2010-04-27T14:00:00.000-04:00

As a 2nd year member of the TOS Homeschool Crew, I have been given the wonderful opportunity to review many homeschool products over the next several months. The only compensation that I receive for my review is the free product. I feel truly blessed to be participating in this review group and I'm looking forward to trying out more products and giving you my honest opinion.

A couple of days ago I told you about the Super Star Speech books, but we also had the opportunity to review Super Star Games.

Now if you have been hanging around my blog for awhile then you probably know that we are File Folder Game junkies around here. They are such an easy and inexpensive way to make learning fun.

Super Star Games offer a variety of games that can be used with your elementary or middle school aged children. I think it's worth it to list the description of each game below so that you know what they have to offer.

Silly Snail: Review parts of speech (common noun, proper noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, and adverb) with Silly Snail: Parts of Speech Game. 3rd to 6th grades.

Planets, Moon and Stars is a game for children in third grade and up. Players answer trivia questions about space while trying to be the first to collect all the planets in the solar system.

Road to Revolution: Reinforce your study of the American Revolutionary War with the Road to Revolution board game. Includes 48 multiple choice questions cards and game board. Players try to be first to the finish line while answering questions about famous people, events, and causes of the Revolutionary war. Designed for grades 3-8.

Explorers of the World: Learn about 24 world explorers and their contributions to American and world history. The 72 game cards can be used to play two different games-- a matching game and a time line game. Have fun while reinforcing your history and geography studies! Explorers of the World is appropriate for 3rd to 8th grades.

The Inventors Game will teach your child about 24 famous inventors. Instructions are included for two different games, with variations for difficulty. Children have fun matching inventors to their inventions or playing a timeline game using the dates of different inventions.

The object of Covering the Continents is to "settle" more continents than any other player. Covering the Continents includes a game board/ map and game cards that ask questions about each of the seven continents. Players try to be the first to answer three questions about a continent to "settle" it. Fun for ages 6 to 10.

Colony Quest is a game that will teach children about the thirteen American Colonies and map skills. Children will answer questions about the colonies while trying to "settle" more colonies than the other players. A fun way to reinforce your American History curriculum! Ideal for 3rd through 5th graders.

Players of the Exploring Egypt Game will race to be first to the top of the pyramid by answering the most questions about ancient Egypt. Game question topics cover geography, politics, daily life, and religion of ancient Egypt. The game can be adjusted to accommodate players of different ages and abilities. Designed for 3rd to 8th grade students.

Climb the Vine: All About Plants is a question and answer board game that will reinforce your science curriculum. Players answer multiple choice questions about plant types, pollination, photosynthesis, trees, and more while racing to the finish line. Designed as a file folder game for grades 3-6.

Play The Insect Game to learn all about insects or to reinforce your current study of insects. Players answer questions to earn insect parts, attempting to be the first player to build a complete insect. This game is designed for 2nd to 6th grades.

All About Animals is an animal classification game for grades K-5. Players use picture cards or clue cards to categorize animals into the five major groups.

These games are the perfect supplement to your studies to help reinforce your student's learning. The games have colorful, but simple illustrations which is helpful for printing and each game is SO affordable at only $3.50! Plus they're available for INSTANT download at Currclick. I've got nothing bad to say about this one!

For more reviews visit the TOS Crew blog.

Super Star Speech

2010-04-25T20:57:00.003-04:00

As a 2nd year member of the TOS Homeschool Crew, I have been given the wonderful opportunity to review many homeschool products over the next several months. The only compensation that I receive for my review is the free product. I feel truly blessed to be participating in this review group and I'm looking forward to trying out more products and giving you my honest opinion.

I can very vividly being called out of my first grade class and sitting in the hallway with a speech therapist as she patiently taught me to curl my tongue when I pronounced the 'r' sound. I had been teased and teased by my sisters...they would laugh and say, "Say 'car' again!"...."Caw!!!" I would say. I just couldn't hear the difference. Thankfully, after a few months of weekly visits with the speech therapist, I was pronouncing my r's correctly.

H4 (who will be 5 in May) has also always pronounced her r's incorrectly. To be quite honest with you, this hasn't bothered me much. I always felt like it would eventually go away and if it didn't, I could sit down with her and help her to 'curl her tongue'. However, as she has gotten older with no signs of loosing this speech error I have begun to wonder if really could help her. Add to that the fact that we have had great concern for our littlest Baby L...since he was born with some health issues that caused overall low muscle tone, we have been seeing a speech therapist since his first month.

All this to say that I was quite pleased to have the opportunity to review Super Star Speech: Speech Therapy Made Simple by Deborah Lott. Deborah is a homeschool mom and a licensed Speech language pathologist a with Master’s degree in Education/ speech pathology. She had found that many parents needed a more affordable option to helping their children overcome speech errors and wanted to work with their children at home prior to seeking professional therapy which is why she created Super Star Speech.

Deborah has made it so easy for a parent to work with their child who is having speech issues. Super Star Speech includes clear instructions on how to teach sounds that your child is struggling with and how to give an assessment test to your child to see which sounds he/she needs to work on. She will also walk you through how to set up a lesson plans to work through the sounds. Also included are flashcards and games to play. H4 especially enjoyed these games. I can remember feeling embarrassed as a child that I wasn't pronouncing sounds correctly and I was concerned that H4 might feel this way as well. But making a game out of correcting her sounds has been so helpful and we are already seeing improvement with her. (Note: I should also mention that H4 is still young to be concerned about speech issues. From the Super Star Speech website: Errors are a normal part of speech development and many children do not have perfect articulation until around 7 or 8 years of age. )

Super Star Speech is so affordable at only $22.95 for a ring bound copy and$18.95 for Spiral bound. You can also purchase a downloadable copy at Currclick at up to 40% off the print versions.

You can also purchase additional Super Star books that specialize in certain sounds: Super Star R & L, Super Star S, Z, and Sh, and Super Star Ch, J, and Th. These books have additional games, activities, and flashcards and are well worth it in my opinion!

For more information, visit Super Star Speech and for more reviews of this product visit the TOS Crew.

E3 and the Blue Crayon

2010-04-17T12:20:00.003-04:00

He's carried the crayon around all day.

Preschool with T4L

2010-04-14T14:00:00.000-04:00

T4L also keeps track of your students' progress with printable reports.

A Time 4 Learning subscription is $19.95 a month for one student and $14.95 a month for each additional student. I find this a bit pricey as a supplemental curriculum, but reasonable if you were using it as a core curriculum. Personally, using an online curriculum as a core is not the first choice for our family. T4L offers a free 14-day trial and online demos if you're interested. Plus there's no reason to just take my word for it...there's over 100 homeschool moms offering their opinions at the TOS Crew Blog.

The Terrestria Chronicles

2010-04-13T14:00:00.000-04:00

There are few things in life that I enjoy more than curling up to a good book. I'm currently reading through a series I received from Ed Dunlop Ministries called The Terrestria Chronicles. The following descriptions from the first two books are from their website:

Young Josiah is a slave to Argamor, the powerful warlord who has plans to seize the throne from King Emmanuel. When Josiah fails in his attempt to escape slavery, Emmanuel not only sets him free forever, but adopts him into the Royal Family. The book presents an unforgettable picture of our salvation and reminds the reader what a wondrous thing it is to be redeemed. Alive with fast-paced action in a medieval setting, Book 1 of the Terrestria allegory series encourages the reader to live as a child of the King.

When King Emmanuel sends Prince Josiah on a difficult journey to various castles across the kingdom, the young prince is unprepared for the dangers and temptations that he will face. As Josiah grows in the knowledge of his King and strives to become like him, he learns the importance of following his Book and listening for the voice of the Dove. Book 2 of the delightful Terrestria allegory series challenges the reader to examine his/her relationship with the King.

There are seven books total in the series. The Terrestria Chronicles allegory series was written with a three-fold purpose: to honor Jesus Christ as King, to challenge young readers to love and serve Him, and to teach them to guard their hearts for Him. These books are much like Pilgrim's Progress geared towards ages 10-14.

As much as I would like to tell you that I have devoured through these books, the honest truth is that I am reading them through bit by bit but enjoying them nonetheless. This isn't a genre that particularly interests me, but I love what the books stand for and think that there should be more books like these for teens and tweens. I plan to add this series to our Read Aloud list but will probably wait a year or so when the vocabulary and allegory won't be such a challenge for for our younger ones.

The books sell for just $7.99 and can be bought on their website where you'll free excerpts of the books and even other free ebooks by Ed Dunlop to download. For more reviews of this series, click over to the TOS Crew.

Another beautiful reader from AAS!

2010-04-12T14:00:00.000-04:00

This soon-to-be released book is just as beautiful as the first one and challenges beginning readers with slightly longer stories and bigger words. I found that a couple of the stories were hard to follow with not much of a storyline, but my little ones didn't seem to mind. We both especially loved the addition of poetry and riddles as well as eight stories.

What Am I can be purchased from AAS for $19.95 who have big plans to release two readers that will correspond with each level of their spelling program. But whether or not you use their spelling, you're sure to love their readers. Keep an eye on the AAS website for new books.

Language Arts from Critical Thinking

2010-04-11T19:48:00.006-04:00

This is the second time I've had the opportunity to review a product from The Critical Thinking Co. and once again, I am thoroughly impressed.

Language Smarts Level C is geared towards 2nd grade students which made it a perfect fit for A8. Generally A8 would rather walk across hot coals than participate in any subject that requires a significant... no, any amount of writing, but she has been totally won over by the bright colors and fun illustrations that she actually finishes pages (note the plural) of this book quickly.

Language Smarts Level C has 320 pages of vocabulary, grammar, punctuation, reading, and writing skills. I love that I can simply hand A8 the book without preparation and generally she can do the lessons without needing assistance from me.

The book does cost $39.99, which is pretty standard with all of The Critical Thinking Co. books and I have to admit, does make me cringe a little. If it weren't for the cost, I would be ordering up a whole boatload of their books for all of my students because they offer quality workbooks in many different subjects. Check out their website for more info and the TOS Crew for more reviews of this product.

Another month, another birthday.

2010-04-01T16:34:00.002-04:00

Our oldest daughter turned 8 last month and I'm just now getting around to telling you about it...Tsk, tsk.

A8 celebrated with a sewing themed birthday and her very first slumber party. Boy was she excited!

Each of her sweet friends brought her something to fill up her sewing basket with...so she received lots of fun fabrics, ribbons, threads, and buttons. I showed the girl's how to cross stitch with a small cross stitch kit that each of the girl's got to take home.

Here are our three beautiful girls: H4, A8, and L1.

January started our back to back birthdays with E3. February was A8. March was Chad...he just turned 30. (Don't worry, honey. Not that many people read this blog.) Mine is this month (I'll be 28.) H4 in May, L1 in June. THEN we take a break! Well, for a couple months anyway.

Teaching kids to manage money.

2010-03-31T12:00:00.000-04:00

Family Mint offers a totally secure website where you , the parent, can log on and create your own virtual family bank. What do I mean by virtual?...no real money is involved here. You can decide if you want this to be a "pretend" bank, used just as a leaning tool for your children or if you want this account to be a reflection of real money that your child has earned. In this case, it would eliminate the need for you to keep cash on hand to pay your children for completing odd jobs around the house or to give them allowance. Just log it in to their Family Mint bank account.

You will create a bank account for each of your children. You can decide how much money to put in the account and when to deposit more money. Do you give a weekly allowance to your children? Just use the automated allowance tool and each week your children's accounts will reflect the deposit. You can even teach your children about earning interest, by setting a set interest percentage. Any deposits or withdrawals that your children want to make will have to be approved by you, their banker.

In the meantime, your child can log onto their account and mange their money. They can allot a certain amount of their money to give, to save, and to spend. They can set savings goals and enter in transactions.

Getting the picture? ...This is an AWESOME tool to teach your children to manage money.

And the best part is that teaching your kids about money through Family Mint is totally economical.

How economical?

Well, it's free!

Yes. completely and totally free. You can visit the Family Mint site right now and within 10 minutes have your family bank up and running. What are you waiting for?

For more reviews of this product, visit the TOS Crew Blog.

Math Galaxy

2010-03-29T12:00:00.000-04:00

Above you can see all the different categories to choose from.

This program is not a highly animated one...sort of a throwback to the the late 80's computer games I use to play as a kid. I always like to steer my kids towards computer games that will help them to review subjects that they are already learning so Math Galaxy is a good fit for that...in theory.

Unfortunately, I couldn't get my kids interested in playing these games. It seems that the Math Galaxy Whole Numbers Fun was a little lacking in the "Fun" department. And I didn't feel a need to substitute their regular math curriculum as they are already doing just fine with their math studies.

Nevertheless, I'll be the first to admit that what doesn't work for one family is always going to be the perfect fit for another, so don't just take my word for it. Check out Math Galaxy for yourself and read other reviews of this product at the TOS Crew blog.

Children's Bible Hour

2010-03-27T17:31:00.003-04:00

Just a little left to save...

2010-03-20T18:43:00.003-04:00

**Please see below for a message from The Old Schoolhouse Store, plus see below for info about their online homeschool conference...I'm really excited about it!**

It's the final hours to save up to 80% on over 230 items in the Schoolhouse Store!You'll discover over 230 quality items on sale in the Schoolhouse Store. It's the start of convention and buying season; why not start with some BIG savings in the Schoolhouse Store?From preschool to high school, you'll find a wide variety of learning resources at discounts up to 80%.Check out the entire selection of sale items!Below are a few examples of items our customers have enjoyed purchasing during March Madness. There is something for every learning style and every subject!

Plus, Win Big is in progress! We're just about 175 customers away from the second winner--there will be three winners in all. Customer #139,000 has already won. Customers #139,500 and #140,000 will win $380 in free gifts. Click here to see the gifts and read the details
Remember, there is always free shipping in the Schoolhouse Store!

Schoolhouse Expo
Preregister through March 31 and save $5!

Homeschool teachers-what do you need to learn? More about teaching multiple grades? All about different homeschool methods? Transcripts? Are you ready for college prep or alternative college options? How are you doing teaching elementary grades? Could you use some help with reading, language arts, math, and more? Are you intimidated by the idea of teaching middle school and high school-those dreaded, advanced courses? Would some encouraging words and motivational Scripture help you on your way? Get answers when you attend The Schoolhouse Expo, presented by The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine and The Old Schoolhouse® Speaker's Bureau. Preregister today for only $19.99, or register April 1 or later for $24.99. But DO register. You do not want to miss this unbelievable, virtual homeschool convention!
Check out the over $300 in free gifts when you register!

Now only $19.95 for the 3-day conference, two preconference sessions with Clay and Sally Clarkson and Malia Russell, over $300 in free gifts, a free 100+ page digital homeschool information supplement, mp3 audios, and chances to win fun door prizes!
Preregister Now!

Give Mapping a Try!

2010-03-20T10:23:00.007-04:00

As a 2nd year member of the TOS Homeschool Crew, I have been given the wonderful opportunity to review many homeschool products over the next several months. The only compensation that I receive for my review is the free product. I feel truly blessed to be participating in this review group and I'm looking forward to trying out more products and giving you my honest opinion.

I think we have all discovered the usefulness of timelines in history. Recording each historical event we study on one great timeline really helps the mind to better grasp world history as a whole and how it fits together. So, have you ever heard of mapping?

Just like using a timeline, mapping each historical event is just as useful. Mark events on a map or series of maps for an awesome visual of not just when, but where history happened. Pretty cool, right?

Homeschool in the Woods is the company that has introduced the concept of mapping to me with their beautiful, hand-illustrated, Old World Style Maps. They offer both a set of United States Maps and World Maps by download or on CD and I am certain that you will find many uses for these maps in your homeschool.

The United States Map set contains over 180 maps including a map of each state. Actually, there are three maps of each state: one with labels, one without labels, and an outline map. Are you beginning to imagine all the possibilities? Put them all together in one notebook, including them in lapbooks, on project displays, as individual worksheets...

Also included are over 30 additional maps that show how the United States grew as a country. I found it quite interesting to view a map of the 13 colonies, then a US map of 1800, 1810, 1820, 1850, 1880, and finally 1959. There are maps labeling the Native American tribes and the Union and Confederate States and more.

But apparently that wasn't enough for Homeschool in the Woods! They've also included facts sheets of each state for students to fill in and color, as well as the completed Teacher Key versions. Full color pictures of the state flags are on each fact sheet as well.

The World Map Set has over 130 maps in both ancient and modern styles.

You'll find ancient maps of China, Greece, Israel, Rome, and more. You'll also find maps to enhance Biblical studies such as Palestine at the time of Christ, Paul's Missionary Journeys, and more. Modern maps from all over come in a variety of different ways: with labels, without, etc.

Once again, they've included over 40 additional notebooking pages! Fact sheets, full color flags, report forms...some of my favorites are the brochure template and recipe cards which make recording information about a newly learned country fun and creative.

I have to be honest, I'm as surprised as you are at how excited I am about a set of maps...but Homeschool in the Woods have really outdone themselves! These are excellent resources for every homeschool.

The Old World Style maps can be purchased together as a downloadable set for $28.95 or on Cd for $29.95. Individually, the US Set and World Map set sell for $18.95 each as a download or $19.95 each on CD. You can also download free samples of the maps at Homeschool in the Woods. And remember, I'm not the only one with an opinion...more reviews of this product can be found at the TOS Crew blog.

Graphics-Toolbox

2010-03-10T17:32:00.004-05:00

This is a family photo taken in about 1920. It was being stored in a 'magnetic' album and the sticky residue that attaches the photos to the album was eating a hole right through the picture. It was torn in several places, was yellowed and brittle, and someone had written all over it blue ink! It was also our only copy of the picture.

As you can see, I was able to save this picture (and the memory and legacy that went along with it) using a photo editing software.

Thankfully, Graphics-Toolbox offers many free video tutorials to walk you through using their program. You can view them here, which will also give you a good idea of all the fun things you can do with their program.

I have to say, that even though the tutorials were very helpful, they were also a tad bit lengthy and I still felt like this program was hard to use after viewing them. I try not to compare products too much, but I found myself lacking motivation to use this software. This is because I already own software that can do all that Graphics-Toolbox can do and I feel that the software I own, is much more user-friendly. To be fair, though, the software that I own is actually two programs: a photo-editing software and a digital scrapbooking software. Nevertheless, they are easier to use, compatible with one another, and the two programs together are actually less expensive than Graphics-Toolbox.

Graphics-Toolbox can be purchased for $149. Their site is full of information about their product and I encourage you to check it out as well as all the other reviews at the TOS Crew Blog.

BIG news from TOS!

2010-03-09T18:08:00.002-05:00

If you're looking for homeschool encouragement, resources, and fun, check out all that is going on at The Old Schoolhouse!

Right now March Madness and Win Big are going on in the Schoolhouse Store. During March Madness, over 240 items are 10 to 40 percent off! Click here to read the details.

Then, if you're customer 139,000, 139,500, or 140,000, you will win over $348 in prizes. Prizes include a 5 year subscription to TOS (U.S. only), Scripture Sleuth literature series, guitar lessons on CD, and more! Hurry, they are just past customer #137,818.

The BIGGEST news of all--The Schoolhouse Expo is coming in May! Pre-register now and save $5!

As homeschool teachers what do you need to learn? More about teaching multiple grades? All about different homeschool methods? Transcripts? Could you use some help with reading, language arts, math, and more? Are you intimidated by the idea of teaching middle school and high school? Those dreaded, advanced courses? Would some encouraging words and motivational Scripture help you on your way? Get answers when you attend The Schoolhouse Expo, an 3-day, online conference, presented by The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine and The Old Schoolhouse® Speakers Bureau.

Pre-register today for only $19.99 through March 31.You do not want to miss this unbelievable, virtual homeschool convention! PLUS, you'll receive over $300 in free gifts when you register.

Get the details and preregister here http://www.schoolhouseexpo.com/

Blog News and Granny Square Baby Blanket

2010-02-23T15:37:00.002-05:00

I've been tossing around the idea for a little while now and I've finally come to a decision. I really enjoy posting pics and pattens of the crochet I do, but they really don't fit with the theme of this blog since it is primarily our homeschool blog. So I've started a new blog, Hooked on Yarn, where I will be posting my patterns and projects.

I realize not everyone here is going to be interested in that (which is why I'm doing a second blog!) but if you are, I'd love for you to click over and follow me there too. There's not much there now, but there will be. I'll be starting some projects for our state fair soon, plus I'll be teaching a crochet class at our co-op, and organizing a crochet service project to donate items to our local NICU.

Here's a sneak peek at one of my recent projects....

Granny Square Baby Blanket

I have yet another friend who is expecting a baby boy and yet another reason to work up a baby blanket. I loved the novelty of the Noah's Ark Blanket that I posted a couple of weeks ago, but I love the colors and simplicity of this one just as much. . .Click to read more (including pattern).

Beehive Reader from AAS

2010-02-22T14:52:00.000-05:00

All About Spelling has just introduced its newest product... Beehive Reader 1 and I am so excited about it. Am I the only one who gets excited about beautiful books?

I wrote to you last year about the All About Spelling program and how much we enjoyed using it. As soon as the Beehive Reader arrived, I called E6 to the kitchen to check out his new book.

You should know, that E6 has always been our 'stuck in the middle' child. He is so funny and so smart, but is also compliant and sometimes quiet. He can easily get left out or overpowered by the other more demanding personalities in this house. When I showed him the Beehive Reader he was so excited to have a book that was just for him. He has carried it around, asked to read it during school time each day, and brought it out to show and read to his grandparents when they have come over.

E6 has good reason to be exited about this book. First, it is hardcover which makes for good durablity with little hands. And because of my background in art I am always drawn to the illustrations. Truly, the art in this book is the perfect blend of simplicity and beauty. Take a look for yourself.

In addition to being 'stuck in the middle', E6 is also highly distractable and not always easy to teach. However, I have been so pleased to watch his reading ability blossom this past year and the Beehive Reader has been perfect for him. Marie Rippel is the co-author of this book and creator of AAS and has taken the time to invest in creating a reader that can help every reader, even the struggling reader. Her son was diagnosed with dyslexia at a young age so she has kept her son's experience in mind. As a matter of fact, every detail of this book has been well thought out....

- The paper used is non-glare so that it is easier on young eyes.

-The font used is a customized font. AAS wanted a simple font and one that would easily distinguish similar letters (like 'b', 'p', and 'q').

-Each line of text is designed to follow 'natural phrasing', breaking where we would naturally break in the sentence.

-There is a subtle underline under the text to help distractable readers to keep their place.

-Since the language of the stories are simple for beginning readers, each illustration helps to further develop the story, but were designed to not make the words of the story predictable. (I love that!!)

-The stories are fun and use everyday language.

I'm not the only one who loves this book. Beehive Reader 1 has already won the silver medal in the Moonbeam Children's Book Awards. And Marie Rippel has promised us that there is more to come in this series soon!

Beehive Reader 1 sells for $19.99 at the AAS website where you can also view pages of the book. And you can find more reviews at the TOS Crew Blog.

Math Mammoth does it again.

2010-02-21T13:16:00.005-05:00

This is my second opportunity to review Math Mammoth's products and the second time for me to sing their praises here on my blog. Last year I reviewed their full-year curriculum for both my 2nd grader and 1st grader. You can see that review here. I liked it so much that I purchased their 3rd grade curriculum for this year and we have really enjoyed it.

There are so many things that make Math Mammoth a good fit for us:

-Easy to use. There are not lengthy dialogues involved to explain a concept. My children only need my involvement for a short time at the beginning of the lesson and then only if they are struggling. I am currently teaching 5 students on 5 different math levels, so it is important to me that teaching time and prep time is not long and drawn out.

-Non-consumable. I can order each Math Mammoth book or curriculum as a PDF download and print off exactly what I need for each child. I can then use it again and again as many years as I need it.

-Price. I can order an entire year of math curriculum for less than $35. Plus, Math Mammoth offers downloadable workbooks by subject as well all for around $5 each.

This year, I reviewed a workbook from Math Mammoth's Blue Series - Multiplication 1. It was the perfect time to review this workbook as G9 has been ready to tackle multiplication for some time now, but just hadn't gotten to it yet in his math curriculum. Plus, math was getting a little blah...as all of our subjects do from time to time and it was time to just take a break from routine and mix it up a bit. A workbook devoted to learning times tables was just the trick!

Multiplication 1 covers the following:

-Multiplication Concept

-Multiplication on a number line

-Order of Operations

-Word Problems

-Guide for effective oral drilling (and memorization)

-Structured Study of the Multiplication Tables

G9 has gotten through about half the workbook and is on his way to multiplication mastery! As soon as we finish that one, I think we'll probably order Division 1 from Math Mammoth as well.

You can order all of Math Mammoth's products on their website at http://www.mathmammoth.com/ .

Heart

2010-02-20T10:27:00.003-05:00

Well, I'm linking up a little late on this week's Foto Friday challenge, but for good reason. This week Rebecca at Renaissance encouraged us to post pictures with this theme in mind: Hearts.

Below is my submission.

The reason I couldn't post yesterday is because I spent the day with my dad. We were told four years ago that his heart wasn't working properly and that he needed a heart transplant. Prior health conditions have not made him a good candidate. Nevertheless, God has sustained the health of his heart four years longer than we thought He might. Now, doctors are pushing to replace a leaking valve...but we just have to convince a surgeon to do it. Prayers are needed and are much appreciated.

I took the above picture of Dad with my oldest daughter about five years ago. It represents him exactly and when I look at it, I can't help but think about his heart. His physical heart may not always beat properly, but for as long as I can remember he has loved my stepmom, my children, and me freely and without restraint. And it reminds me... His true heart is working just fine.

Music through Literature

2010-02-19T15:03:00.000-05:00

Two to Three

2010-02-18T16:31:00.001-05:00

E3 celebrated his 3rd birthday with my younger sister who turned 19 in January. They were almost born on the same day as I was scheduled to be induced on her birthday. My pregnancy with E3 was my hardest as pre-term contractions (which were nothing more than Braxton-Hicks) put me in the hospital twice. The doctors swore that I would go early, but in the end I still had to be induced. I ended my pregnancy with a yucky stomach virus that put me in the ER. My doctor took pity on me and surprised me a week before I was due to be induced by saying, "You want to have this baby tomorrow?" I squealed with delight and literally called her a "bles-sed woman!"

E3 is a ridiculous charmer and serious trouble maker. I'm convinced that God gives all the trouble makers an extra dose of "cute" as a defense mechanism against the wrath of their mothers.

Just this past weekend he has finally graduated into "big boy undy-wears" making us a family of only two in diapers once again. Yeah, this Mama is not ashamed to praise God for that one!

And here he is with his great-grandma and his favorite birthday present...his "truck blanket". All of our kids (and their Mama) are Linuses, dragging our blankets with us throughout the house. As a matter of fact, I'm wrapped up in one right now as I type.

The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling

2010-02-17T14:09:00.000-05:00

Turn your home into a game board!

2010-02-16T16:09:00.001-05:00

At a recent homeschool parent meeting, a friend of mine shared a great idea to add a little fun to your homeschool. The idea is to create a LIFE-Size review game where your home becomes the gameboard and your kids become the game pieces. We had to try it out!

First we made a large die by covering an empty tissue box in construction paper. I also wrapped it in packing tape for durability.

I created our gameboard by placing squares of paper ALL throughout the house. I just ripped pieces of an old newspaper at the fold because I'm too cheap to waste construction paper.

Our gameboard started in our foyer, went through the living room, kitchen, down the hall, into the boys' room, and back to the kitchen. We ended at the kitchen table where I had placed a plate of brownies for all!

Here are our kids standing on their spots. For this game I asked each child a review question (either spelling or math related) when it was his/her turn. If the child answered correctly, they could row the die and move that number of spaces. I just made up the questions on the spot so that it was unique to each child's level.

This was fun, but admittedly a little chaotic for my large brood. Next time we will definitely reduce the length of the game by not covering such a large space.

Classic Math on CD-ROM

2010-02-15T12:29:00.004-05:00

As a 2nd year member of the TOS Homeschool Crew, I have been given the wonderful opportunity to review many homeschool products over the next several months. The only compensation that I receive for my review is the free product. I feel truly blessed to be participating in this review group and I'm looking forward to trying out more products and giving you my honest opinion.

When we first began our homeschool journey we were drawn into the idea of classically educating our children. And while we have certainly traveled a little ways from our roots, I will always lean towards that method. And for that reason I find the humble educational books from one-room schoolhouses like McGuffey Readers and Ray's Arithmetic quite endearing and worthy of close examination.

Dollar Homeschool is making both of these series available on CD-Rom and at an affordable price.

We received a download of the Ray's Math Series which is a complete K-12 Math Curriculum from counting to Calculus. If that doesn't impress you, then you should know that this includes 38 books - 12 textbooks, plus answer keys, Teacher's editions and more. You can get all of this for just $59.

When you open the texts, you'll find exactly what you expect for school books used in the late 19th century...black and white text and a few simple, but beautiful sketch drawings. There is an abundance of word problems and many example problems for oral recitation and copywork.

When asked if Ray's Arithmetic is hard to teach the Dollar Homeschool website replies:

"The Ray's Arithmetic was originally created to be used by frontier Americans, Americans that often lived in areas where available teachers were few, often far away, or even completely unavailable. For this reason the books are designed to allow children, once they can read, to educate themselves to a very great extent."

The only problem that I find with this reply is that the pages on these books are full of text. For example the first lesson of the Primary Arithmetic includes the following problems:

4. Ward has 9 marbles; if he gives his brother 4 marbles, how many will he have left?
5. How many marbles are 5 marbles and 4 marbles? 5 marbles and 5 marbles? 5 marbles and 3 marbles?

There are a total of six similar word problems on the first page. While I may begin teaching these concepts to my K/1st grader, I can assure you that he/she will be overwhelmed by attempting to read even one of these problems...especially with so many of them on one page. The benefit of using a modern text is that the breakdown of a small amount of information on one page is especially helpful in the early years.

So, would I recommend Dollar Homeschool? Absolutely! Especially to someone who is wanting to expand their homeschool resource library by adding classic textbooks. Would I use Ray's Arithmetic as a core curriculum in our homeschool? Probably not, but definitely as a resource.

Find out more about Ray's Arithmetic and the entire Eclectic Education Series at Dollar Homeschool and from homeschool moms at the TOS Crew Blog.

Our Science Fair!

2010-02-12T14:12:00.000-05:00

Our local homeschool group recently held a Science Fair and our kids participated in it. Their experiment?

The Laundry Experiment!
OBJECTIVE: To make and test three different homemade laundry detergents to see which one worked the best.

THE DETERGENTS:

Detergent #1 - Powder

Ingredients:
2/3 bar Fels Naptha Laundry Soap (equivalent of 1 cup grated)
½ Cup 20 Mule Team Borax
½ Cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda.
Container large enough to hold 2 cups of laundry detergent

Directions:
Grate the Fels Naptha laundry soap with a grater or use a food processor. Approximately 2/3 of a bar of soap will make 1 cup of grated soap.
Add the ½ cup of Borax and ½ cup of washing soda to the grated soap.
Shake and/or mix well

Use:
One tablespoon of detergent is sufficient per load of wash.

Yield:
The recipe yields 2 cups of laundry detergent. If you use 1 tablespoon per load, you will be able to wash 32 loads of clothes.

Total cost to make: $1.15 Yields 2 cups which translates to 3.5 cents per load.

Detergent #2 - Liquid

Ingredients:
3.1 oz bar Ivory soap (Ivory is chosen because it's all natural. You may use a soap of your choice) 1 cup 20 Mule Team Borax
½ cup Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
Water

Tools:
5 Gallon container
Knife
Pot large enough to hold 5 cups of water
Long stirring stick/spoon (for 5 gallon container)

Instructions:
Shave the soap into small strips and place in the pot with 5 cups of water. Bring the water just shy of a boil and stir until the soap is completely melted. When the soap is just about melted, pour 3 gallons of hot water into the 5-gallon container and let it sit until the soap in the pot is totally melted. Once all of the soap shavings are melted, pour the mixture into the 5-gallon container and stir.

Once the soap and water are thoroughly stirred, add the ½ cup pf washing soda and stir until dissolved. Once the washing soda is dissolved, pour in the cup of borax and stir again until dissolved.

Now you've got a huge container of hot soapy looking water. Cover the container, place it somewhere out of the way and let it sit overnight. Once it's cooled it will gel. It will not gel uniformly so it will be lumpy and watery. It may not be very attractive, but it works. It's best find smaller storage containers for convenience.

Usage: ½ cup per laundry load is adequate to clean your clothes.

Yield:
This recipe yields 442 oz of laundry detergent, of which 4 oz are required per laundry load. With this recipe you should be able to wash 110 ½ loads of laundry.

Cost to make: .79

Detergent #3 - Liquid

Ingredients:
2/3 bar Fels Naptha soap
1 cup 20 Mule Team Borax
½ cup Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
Water

Tools:
5 Gallon container
Knife
Pot large enough to hold 5 cups of water
Long stirring stick/spoon (for 5 gallon container)

Instructions:
Shave the soap into small strips and place in the pot with 5 cups of water. Bring the water just shy of a boil and stir until the soap is completely melted. When the soap is just about melted, pour 3 gallons of hot water into the 5-gallon container and let it sit until the soap in the pot is totally melted. Once all of the soap shavings are melted, pour the mixture into the 5-gallon container and stir.

Once the soap and water are thoroughly stirred, add the ½ cup pf washing soda and stir until dissolved. Once the washing soda is dissolved, pour in the cup of borax and stir again until dissolved.

Now you've got a huge container of hot soapy looking water. Cover the container, place it somewhere out of the way and let it sit overnight. Once it's cooled it will gel. It will not gel uniformly so it will be lumpy and watery. It may not be very attractive, but it works. It's best find smaller storage containers for convenience.

Usage: ½ cup per laundry load is adequate to clean your clothes.

Yield:
This recipe yields 442 oz of laundry detergent, of which 4 oz are required per laundry load. With this recipe you should be able to wash 110 ½ loads of laundry.
Cost to make: 1.29

Detergent #4 - Liquid
Same as Detergent #3, but we applied a store bought stain stick to the stains before washing.

THE EXPERIMENT:

First, we made the above detergents.

Next, we stained four identical white handkerchiefs with 4 stains:

mud
ketchup
chocolate icing
purple crayon

We also soaked 4 towels in water and let them soil over night for a "yucky" smell.

We washed one stained hanky and one soiled towel in each detergent on a "hot" setting in the washing machine.

THE RESULTS:

#1: Towel smelled cleaned. Medium mud stain still visible. Light ketchup stain still visible.

#2: Towel smelled clean. Medium mud stain still visible. Light ketchup stain still visible.

#3: Towel smelled clean. Light mud stain still visible.

#4: Towel Smelled clean. Light mud stain barely visible.

CONCLUSION:

Detergent 4 worked best.

THE DISPLAY:

INTERVIEWED BY JUDGES:
1ST PLACE RIBBON!!!

Well, they were the only team entered in their category...but hey, 1st place is 1st place.

Make It, Wear It

2010-02-11T13:34:00.000-05:00

Check out this fun carnival!

I was a cool mom...

2010-02-11T12:32:00.000-05:00

...until I made Daddy shave it off two days later per our agreement.

Math Tutor for little ones

2010-02-10T13:47:00.000-05:00

Noah's Ark Baby Blanket

2010-02-09T12:19:00.000-05:00

I fell in love with this blanket the first time I saw the pattern. And since a good friend of mine is expecting her first baby, I had the perfect reason to make it!

The 3-D elements worked up fast and were fun to crochet.

E3 was my biggest encourager. I usually crochet after the kids go to bed, so each morning E3 excitedly looked at and touched the blanket. His favorite was the turtle.

This isn't a free pattern, but you can buy the pattern at Annie's Attic.

Valentine's Day Crafts

2010-02-08T12:36:00.000-05:00

We made Valentine's Day cards for you...

Here's a close-up of our heart collages...

G9, A7

E3, H4

N5, E6

And the tree in our foyer has officially been dubbed our "holiday tree" as it is where all our crafty decorations go.

We recently discussed what the definition of 'Love" is. We then read 1 Corinthians 13 and the kids made these heart ornaments. Each ornament has a word or phrase that is the kids' definitions of love based on their own thoughts and the scripture.

Worship Guitar for Kids

2010-02-07T13:04:00.003-05:00

As a 2nd year member of the TOS Homeschool Crew, I have been given the wonderful opportunity to review many homeschool products over the next several months. The only compensation that I receive for my review is the free product....in this case, access to free online streaming video lessons. I feel truly blessed to be participating in this review group and I'm looking forward to trying out more products and giving you my honest opinion.

All of my kids have shown an interest in learning to play the guitar, but my oldest has especially been interested. So we were thrilled to get the opportunity to review Jean Welle's Worship Guitar Class for Kids.

Here are a few stats about the program from their site:

With Kid's Worship Guitar LessonsYour Child Will Learn:
♦ How to hold down a note to get a clear tone on the guitar.

♦ couple worship songs with the melody plucked to strengthen their hands.

♦ Half a dozen worship songs they can sing & play.

♦ 11 guitar chords .

♦ How to read guitar tab and chords charts.

♦ How to make up their own verses.

♦ Christian Values in each song

What comes with the 'Jean Welles Worship Guitar Class™for Kids' Program?...
♦ A DVD with 9 Lessons, 2 1/2 hours long.

♦ A downloadable eBook - over 30 pages!

♦ A Practice Session for every lesson, that starts with prayer.

♦ A Practice Chart you can photocopy.

♦ Options for including a Kid's Guitar.

♦ NEW - Option for online Streaming Videos

And you get all that for just $29.97! Far less expensive than private lessons!!

I really loved everything about this program. I loved that Ms. Welles is teaching not just guitar music, but worship music. I loved that the program moves slowly and isn't intimidating. I loved that the video lessons include a young student learning the lessons as well so that G9 could see someone his age playing the guitar. And I love that G9 is finally learning something that he has always wanted to learn!

We viewed our lessons by streaming online video. This worked just fine and the quality of the videos were excellent. However, I'm putting the actual dvds on my wish list because we only have one computer and our kids have limited amounts of time on the computer each day. Plus it would be easier for all of our kids to view the lessons at once around the tv.

Check out Jean Welles' website to see video excerpts of the lessons and other products that she offers...including dvd guitar lessons for adults. You can also read more reviews of this and more at the TOS Crew Blog.

Girl's Fingerless Gloves

2010-02-04T17:25:00.000-05:00

A7 has been asking me to make her a pair of fingerless gloves since I made mine back before Christmas. I finished hers up right after Christmas and they really turned out cute. Each glove worked up in about an hour.

You'll need two skeins of yarn, a size H crochet hook, and a yarn needle.

Color A = purple
Color B = pink

Abbreviations:
ch = chain
sl st = slip stitch
sc = single crochet
dc = double crochet
fpdc = front post double crochet
bpdc = back post double crochet

Special Stitches:
picot = *sc, ch 1, sc* in same stitch

Starting with Color A ch 22.

(I would stop here and measure accordingly. Everyone's hands are going to be slightly different. Basically, what you have chained should wrap around the width of your child's 4 fingers. This glove will be worked from the top down to the wrist, leaving a hole open for the thumb.)

Join with sl st into 1st ch.

Row 1: ch 1. sc in each ch around. Join.

Row 2-11: ch 1. sc in each sc around. Join.

Row 12-19: ch 1. TURN. sc in each sc around. DO NOT join.

Row 20: ch 1. TURN. sc in each sc around. JOIN.

Row 21: ch 2. dc in each sc around. Join.

Row 22: Switch to color B. ch 2. *fpdc, bpdc* around. Join.

Row 23-25: Alternating between Color A and B each row, repeat Row 22. Tie off on last round.

Top Edging:
Join with Color B. Ch 1. "sc, picot* around. Join. Tie off.

Finishing:
Embroider hearts around the gloves using Color B as shown in picture.

FactsFirst

2010-02-03T17:48:00.005-05:00

First, students get to design their own character. Since the invention of the Mii, this seems to be a requirement for all new games online. I'm not complaining though, our kids love it.

Along with their character, the student now completes lessons. They will learn new facts and take quizzes until they have mastered a unit.

As a reward, students are periodically given the chance to play in the arcade for a few minutes at a time. The arcade games are also designed to review math facts, but feel more like fun than a lesson.

Parents can view the Math Fact Matrix to see how their student is doing with FactsFirst. This allows you a quick overview of the areas of accomplishment and struggle for your student.

Our kids enjoyed playing FactsFirst, but they weren't necessarily asking to play it everyday. I think that just boils down to the fact that math is math is math. Nevertheless, the kids enjoy their computer time and they would rather play math games on the computer than not play the computer at all. And I would prefer that they play educational games than just surfing around nickjr.com. So FactsFirst is a great fit for that reason.

A one-year subscription to FactsFirst can be purchased for $49.99 and can be used for 1-4 users. You can try a free demo at their website as well.

Remember, you'll find more reviews at the TOS Crew Blog.

Homeschool Library Builder

2010-02-03T16:18:00.002-05:00

As a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew, I have been given the wonderful opportunity to review many homeschool products over the next several months. I feel truly blessed to be participating in this review group and I'm looking forward to trying out the products and giving you my honest opinion.

Please note: This is not an actual review as I have not received any products from this company. As a member of The Homeschool Crew, I was informed of this sale and asked to pass along the information to all my friends...that's you!

Big news over at Homeschool Library Builder...they are having 20% off all this month! Plus you can earn an additional 15% off on Super Bowl Sunday (that's a total of 35% off) when you make a donation of any amount to Heartline Ministries. This is a ministry currently serving Haiti.

Homeschool Library Builder sells used books for everyone. Their website is easy to navigate as you can search by age, topic, or title. While browsing through their site I found classics such as Chronicles of Narnia, Anne of Green Gables, and Pilgrims Progress. Their were readers, fiction, and non fiction. I saw Janette Oke books, even Saxon 65! Looking through this site is like visiting a local owned used bookstore - without the dusty smell!

The site owners are two homeschool moms and if that's not reason enough to support them, they are giving you a whole lot more. In addition to wonderful books at great prices here's what else they offer:

*They will do a book search for titles they don't carry...even out of print books!

*Easy fundraising program.

*They will advertise your "homegrown product" for FREE by providing a link to your website at the HSLB Marketplace.

*Their Spotlight of the Season offers Scripture, teaching ideas, and links to enjoy each special season with your family. (Think 'Unit Study'!!!)

*A Helping Hand program to help those in need.

*And sign up for free membership and you'll be enrolled in the Frequent Buyer Program where you can earn book points by buying, referring, or linking to your blog.

Check out their site and take advantage of the Big Bin Blow Out. And don't be shy about letting them know who referred you...I'd like some book points myself! *grin*

Arranged Marraiges

2010-02-02T15:47:00.000-05:00

Chad and I have been best friends with another couple since we were in high school. They married about the same time we did, became Christians around the same time, and God has just led us on similar paths. Their firstborn is the same age as E3 and they are best friends.

They love on one another.

They fight with one another.

And E3 pushes her around the house for hours in a baby stroller when they come over. They are the perfect pair.

So we each decided to do it again...

Our friend had their 2nd daughter just three days before Baby L was born. This is the newest pair at about 1 month.

And at 4 months.

They're already fighting too.

More Christmas Memories

2010-02-01T15:08:00.000-05:00

I know that posting Christmas pictures on my blog in February is sort of like leaving up Christmas lights just as long...but I'm just getting around to it and since I haven't scrapbooked in so long, I really need to record these memories somewhere.

It's absolutely forbidden to take early Christmas morning pics of Mama, but this picture of L1 is pretty much exactly what I looked like. We all got up before 6:30 am...no, I'm not kidding...to open presents at home.

(Insert picture of Chad reading Luke 2.) I actually took this picture, but I'm afraid that Chad would be really upset with me for posting it as it was a rather close-up picture of his morning face. So you'll just have to trust me that we're not heathens.

Just a joke. :o)

This is why I love Christmas morning. It doesn't matter what the gift was, L1 looked exactly the same every time she opened a present.

Ahhhh....Nerf guns, a present for daddy...I mean, from Daddy.

Notice the shirt? 'Nuff said.

I love our homeschool group. I got a great deal on two gameboys with games and accessories from another mom for a really great price. Our kids could care less if they were new or not. We gave one to A7.

And one to G9.

H4 has inherited my inability to show any emotion while receiving a gift. This is what I will look like if someone ever shows up on my doorstep with a million dollar check.

Step over Partridge family!

E2 is ridiculous handsome.

My big sis and my nephew.

My little sis in the headsock I crocheted for her. I got the pattern here.

And because Christmas is not complete without 104 family group photos...above is my mom and stepdad and the 5 siblings.

A horrible group shot where most of us have our eyes closed, or are unintentionally making a silly face, or are hiding behind someone else.

This picture represents the Christmas party we hosted for Chad's family. Hey, only half of the kids are mine.

And this picture represents the Christmas party we hosted for my Dad's family.

We visited just two places on Christmas Eve. Two on Christmas Day. Hosted a party the day after Christmas and hosted another party the day after that.

And then I slept.

Kinderbach

2010-01-30T14:03:00.002-05:00

Dreaming of Sugarplums

2010-01-29T14:20:00.003-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I laid L1 down for a nap only to check on her an hour later to find this...

Apparently we left a Christmas stocking full of candy on the dresser a little too close to her crib.

Annual Snow Day

2010-01-27T16:44:00.007-05:00

Well, we certainly don't get a lot of snow days around here...or very much snow when it does happen, but we sure do have fun when it happens.

Here's the whole gang (plus our neighbor, minus the baby) taking a group shot in the snow....what can I say? It's tradition.

How do you know you're a homeschool family? ...When you're 1st grader announces, "Look, Mom, I built the Great Wall of China out of snow!"

E3 makes a grass angel...er, snow angel.

The princess L1 can't decide if she likes the snow or not.

Scary woman without makeup in a pretty hooded scarf! I actually made this for my friend, but snatched it when I couldn't find my own...I needed to "test it out". Here's the basic pattern, in case you're interested.

Christian Keyboarding

2010-01-26T17:12:00.002-05:00

Mathscore

2010-01-21T13:12:00.004-05:00

A Mother's Wisdom

2010-01-07T19:37:00.003-05:00

In honor of a wise woman:

Lillie
Born March 1916
Died December 2009

A repost from Summer 2009:

True Beauty

This is my grandmother and this photo was taken three weeks ago at our family reunion.

She is 93 years old and every year the family gathers around this matriarch to sing her a song that she loves...an old country song..."Red Roses for a Blue Lady".

As the song is sung each one of her 14 children dances up to her in order of their birth and hands her a red rose.

Grandma's husband died when she still had 11 children in the home. She never remarried.

She has 52 grandchildren.

At last count, she has over 110 great-grandchildren and a dozen great-great grandchildren.

She is a "Mom of Many" and has an incredible legacy to show for it.

And she is beautiful.

***

I had the honor of sitting down with Grandma B. a couple of years ago to record her memories for a scrapbook that I was making. Here are just a few of her stories.

On pregnancy: "I didn't really know anything about being pregnant. I thought babies came out your naval!...They made you stay in (the hospital) nine days. You weren't suppose to get out of bed. Of course you know I did!"

On children: "When you're raising kids, you just do what you got to do...and love 'em to pieces...that's all."

On feeding a large brood: "The kids would sit at the table and when I would fix oatmeal for breakfast, they would come one at a time to get their bowl. By the time the last one sat down, the first one was back!" One of her children confided to me that Grandma B. would feed all of her children first. After they had eaten, she would scrape together any left overs from their plates to eat herself.

On being a single mother: "I took on ironing to pay their tuition. They embarrassed them at school if they didn't pay. They'd make them stand up and so-and-so hasn't paid their tuition. So I made sure their tuition was paid and I made their uniforms." Grandma B's hands went numb from all the ironing she did. She also watched other people's kids to earn money.

On teenagers: "The girls would go to the teenage club..which was fine, it was at the church...but I had a system. When they pulled in I would flick the porch light. Then I would flick it again. But they knew if I flicked it a third time, I was out there!"

On growing older: "I miss the kids...(Laughing) Well, I don't really because they're always around. And there's three phases to life: when you're young, when you have kids, and when you're old...and you enjoy each one of them. You just have to love life."

And she did. I can remember her driving tractors and go carts in her eighties. She was still fishing and reading a book a week in her nineties.

One of my favorite stories of Grandma B. was from just a couple of years ago. She was fishing with my aunt and landed a big one. Struggling to reel the fish in, she admitted to my aunt that she needed some help. "No, Mom," my aunt said. "It's your fish, you're going to have to do it." Grandma B's reply: "Alright. Then, turn up my oxygen!"

I asked Grandma what advice she would give to a young mother like me. "Enjoy them while they're young," she said. "Because it's the best time. I always enjoyed my kids. They were my life. And when they got older, we enjoyed each other." Finally she leaned over and said, "Do you know what the whole story is? ...Live your life and love it. Get up in the morning and say 'Thank you God for this day' and go with it."

And the dog ate my homework...

2010-01-07T19:17:00.003-05:00

So I'm afraid I owe you an explanation as to my absence over the past couple weeks. But do you really need one? It was the holidays afterall.

But this one did have a few unexpected turns.

The week before Christmas one of my grandmother's passed away. She was the mother of 14, age 93, and truly a beautiful woman.

We never did finish our Christmas Movie Unit. Well, we did watch the movies...*sigh*.

We hosted a Christmas party for my dad's side of the family and Chad's extended family for the first time due to the usual places being unavailable. We also had a small New Year's party, but we do that every year.

Chad was offered and accepted a position as an account exec. for a radio broadcasting company. He started this week. It is sooooo different from managing a tire store!

So there's my list of excuses.

Christmas Memories - Decor

2010-01-07T18:17:00.009-05:00

Christmas is truly such a beautiful holiday. It's really a shame that twinkling lights are so closely associated with this one holiday. Otherwise I think I might keep them up all year...on purpose I mean.

I thought I'd make sure to take some photos of the pretty little things that I just enjoy seeing around my house at Christmas.

Okay, so the rest of my living room looks horrible but at least the tree was pretty! I actually didn't have any gifts wrapped until Christmas Eve after the kids went to bed.

Stockings filled after a visit from St. Nick.

A beautiful angel to announce the birth of Christ. L1 actually screamed with delight when we plugged in this angel's lights.

I love the ruggedness of this statue of St. Nick. He stands by our fireplace all through December.

Two gifts sit under our tree all during the holidays. One is to Jesus and one is from him. We have a tradition that each Christmas morning we "offer a gift" to Jesus...it's usually a commitment of some sort. One might say they resolve to spend more time in prayer or bible study...much like a New Year's Resolution. The little kids often draw pictures. Then we open the gift "from Jesus"...it is a two sided coin. One says 'Eternal Life' and the other says 'Abundant Life'. We talk about the gifts that Jesus gives and read Luke 2.

The Christmas tree at church because its just so pretty.

It's Foto Friday, so you'll find more 'Holiday' themed pictures at Renaissance .

Maestro Classics

2010-01-06T17:13:00.003-05:00

As a 2nd year member of the TOS Homeschool Crew,, I have been given the wonderful opportunity to review many homeschool products over the next several months. The only compensation that I receive for my review is the free product. I feel truly blessed to be participating in this review group and I'm looking forward to trying out more products and giving you my honest opinion.

I played the violin throughout middle school and high school and I can still remember sitting in class, listening to my orchestra teacher describe the story behind the piece of classical music we were listening to. I loved how the story made the music come alive.

Maestro Classics is a company creating CDs that tell classic children's stories and combine them with beautiful classical music. On the same CD, they also educate the listener about the music they chose, the instruments played, and how it effects the story.

We received the Maestro Classic's The Tortoise and the Hare. This version stays true to the original, much-beloved tale but adds a few fun, new characters to the plot. The storyteller does a beautiful and entertaining job of portraying the characters and keeping the listener interested.

I brought this CD along with us when I had to load all seven kiddos up for a doctor's appointment on Monday. It's a 45 minute trip and I'm happy to report that the kid's were quiet, content, and entertained the entire way...even without a Nintendo DS or Gameboy!

Maestro Classics sells their CDs for $16.98 and they also offer gift sets that include picture books. Some of their other titles include Peter and the Wolf, The Story of Swan Lake, and Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel. You can listen to samples of their award winning CDs here on their site.

And I don't know about you, but a classic tale combined with classical music is much sweeter to my ears while driving than the Mario Brother's theme song!

You'll find many more reviews of Maestro Classics from homeschool moms at the TOS Crew blog.

Hot Topic - THE pill

2010-01-06T16:37:00.003-05:00

Doing a little blog reading and came across this one.

Birth Control Makes Me Mad

I happen to agree.

This is certainly a touchy subject, but since complete strangers seem to feel no objection to asking me about my birth control methods...just this week, I was asked again , "Don't you know how that happens?"...I guess it just makes me a little less worried about stepping on toes.

Here are the facts that shocked me when I first found them and the reason we choose not to take the pill (and other similar forms of contraceptives).

As found on the above mentioned post:

"The quotes below are from Drugs.com. You will find the same info on nearly any birth control you search except for a simple condom. All birth control pills work this way. IUDs work this way. Implants that gradually release hormones into the bloodstream work this way.

What is Yaz? Yaz prevents ovulation (the release of an egg from an ovary) and also cause changes in your cervical and uterine lining, making it harder for sperm to reach the uterus and harder for a fertilized egg to attach to the uterus...

What is Depo-Provera? Depo-Provera is a form of progesterone, a female hormone that prevents ovulation (the release of an egg from an ovary). Depo-Provera also causes changes in your cervical mucus and uterine lining, making it harder for sperm to reach the uterus and harder for a fertilized egg to attach to the uterus...

What is Mirena? Mirena is a plastic device containing the female hormone levonorgestrel. This hormone causes changes in your cervical mucus and uterine lining, making it harder for sperm to reach the uterus and harder for a fertilized egg to attach to the uterus...

What is Norplant System (levonorgestrel intrauterine system)? Levonorgestrel is a female hormone. This hormone can cause changes in your cervical mucus and uterine lining, making it harder for sperm to reach the uterus and harder for a fertilized egg to attach to the uterus..."

Mathletics

2009-12-28T15:58:00.005-05:00

Mathletics is being used in schools and homes around the world. You can read through this brochure about the benefits of using Mathletics with homeschool.

Truly the only thing that I'm not necessarily thrilled about is the price of the subscription. A year long subscription to Mathletics is $59 per student. However, you can get $10 off that price if you know the Human Calculator's favorite number (it's 9 btw). Still that's awfully pricey for a large family like mine. It's not that I don't think Mathletics is worth $59 per student per year, it's just that I can't afford it! That's why I was absolutely thrilled when another homeschool mom contacted Mathletics and was told that they could get the reduced school rate (only $10 per student per year!) if they could get 25 subscribers. Sign me up, because that is SO worth it!! You'll need to contact Mathletics yourself to get the details, as I couldn't find any on their site. Apparently one homeschool mom will need to organize and collect the money, but each parent will be able to manage their own students' accounts.

Like I said before, I've tried a lot of math products. So far, Mathletics is our favorite!

For more reviews, check out the TOS Crew blog.

Tektoma

2009-12-18T14:36:00.003-05:00

We received a 3 month subscription to Tektoma, which is an online game tutorial for kids. What does that mean? It means your kids can actually learn how to create their own computer games!

Tektoma was created by Tom Marx and Matilda O'Connor. They actually run summer camps for children interested in computers and technology. They had a desire to "provide 24 hour a day, 365 days per year access to engaging video tutorials that teach children game programming" and so Tektoma was born.

The tutorials are geared towards children age 7-17 and include instructions on how to make many simple arcade style games including a racing game, memory game, fantasy game, and more.

Windows XP or Vista is a requirement to use this program as is a free downloadable game software. (Instructions to download are given when you sign up.) It's also recommended to have a broadband connection.

G9 and I were the only ones big enough in this house to really give this program a try... (well, that statement doesn't give my hubby much credit, does it?) Okay, G9 and I were the only ones big enough and who had enough time to try this program out.

How we felt about it: I actually felt like the video tutorials were very thorough. I wouldn't necessarily say that it is an easy to follow program, however. I have always been a bit of a slow learner when it came to anything science, math, or technology related. So, I had to stop, rewind the video tutorial, and try again several times while attempting to create a game. G9 was interested at first, but needed my help to work through it...apparently he takes after his mom on the technology end. He became bored with it after about a half an hour and to be honest, I sort of did as well.

That being said, I really don't want to leave you with a negative view of this product. It's actually a good product, but just not necessarily one that hits a particular interest for our family. Tektoma offers a safe learning environment for kids. None of their games include any inappropriate content such as language or violence. Membership also includes a private and secure Member's Only Forum to post questions.

14.95 per month or $140 per year gets you access to all the tutorials as well as online help via the forums. It's payable by credit card or Paypal on the Tektoma website. You can also try Tektoma for free for 14 days.

Many of my crew members found great success with Tektoma and their kids really enjoyed making computer games on their own. You can read their reviews here.

Christmas Movie Unit - Day 2

2009-12-15T16:33:00.003-05:00

It's A Wonderful Life

Our second day of our Movie Unit was focused on the classic Christmas tale, It's A Wonderful Life. Now, I have to admit that I had not actually seen this movie until today...I know, I know it's like blasphemous or unpatriotic or something equally as terrible...and we actually didn't get to complete the whole thing as our movie was interrupted by Baby L's speech therapy appointment. But we will be finishing the movie later.

It was a little hard to prepare lessons for this movie, since I hadn't seen it. There are a couple links on the site that I got the Christmas Movie Unit idea from, but they are geared towards older kids. I knew that the main character in the movie had a guardian angel, so I decided to theme our lessons around angels.

First we read about biblical angels at this site.

Then we did an art study of famous paintings with angels at this site. We continued to dialogue about biblical angels, specifically the descriptions of what angels look like (and the lack of biblical descriptions) and how artists have given their own interpretations.

The kids then drew their own angels.

We also worked on some simple spelling and copywork worksheets (Christmas and angel themed) from Enchanted Learning. Some worksheets are available for free there, but we have a membership which allows us access to all of thier worksheets.

BTW, here's a picture of our Who Pudding that we made for our Grinch study yesterday:

I've never had rice pudding before and the best I can really give it was that it tasted ...interesting. The kids seemed to like it, but I think it was really just the novelty of it that they liked.

Tomorrow: Miracle on 34th Street

Christmas Movie Unit - Day 1

2009-12-14T15:32:00.005-05:00

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

I recently came across these homeschool lesson plans for a Christmas Movie Unit. This is a perfect time of the year to do a unit based on movies because we're just too busy to do a unit based on anything else! Besides, its impossible to get through the season and not curl up to watch a few Christmas classics, so we might as well turn them into a homeschool lesson.

The hardest part was narrowing it down to just one movie a day. Our plan for the week:

Monday: How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Cartoon)

Tuesday: It's a Wonderful Life

Wednesday: Miracle on 34th Street

Thursday: Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

Friday: The Nutcracker Prince

So this morning we all gathered around to watch the Grinch's heart grow three sizes and then discussed these questions about the movie. We also took an online quiz about the movie here.

To add a little living math and home-ec skills, we also made Who Pudding. It'll be ready in the morning.

While we were waiting for the pudding to cook, the kids made these Grinch Masks and worked this Whoville Word search.

Our big project of the day to create a Whoville newspaper. The kids searched through our own local newspaper to see what a newspaper should look like.

Here they are with their finished product:

Yeah, the masks are a little creepy. Anyone have a handgun and a getaway car?

The Whoville Chronicles based out of Whoville, Onthespeck (get it?) turned out great though. G9 and A7 were both assigned articles to write and all four of the oldest came up with Who advertisements.

Advertisements:

G9: Flying Dee Stoogle for only $1.

A7: Buy your Rainbow Tree today at Toys-R-Who.

E5: The Sock Walk. It's Remote Controlled and helps you walk when you've broken your leg!

H4: The Dora Who Doll. She talks, walks, and moves her hands. Buy at Who-Mart!

Articles:

Miracle on Who Lane!
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
and came back with it.
By: Gavin Wavin Who

The day before Christmas the Grinch heard everybody getting ready for Christmas. That night he decided to steal Christmas!

He dressed up as St. Nick, using red paper and pillow stuffing. He put a horn on his dog Max which made him look like a reindeer.

"Well, I was just jealous of everybody," the Grinch told reporters. "I was thinking that if I stole the Who’s Christmas, then they would all be miserable like me."

The Grinch rode down to Who-Ville on his sleigh and began to take everything.

Six year old Eli Wiili Who said, "He took all of my toys! My bang-boogle, my airplane with a exploding dee-stoogle. He even took our roast beast!"

When the Grinch was going through the Who houses, little Cindy Lou Who almost caught the Grinch. She saw him trying to take her Christmas tree and asked him what he was doing. But he thought of a lie, and gave Cindy Lou Who a glass of water and sent her to bed.

Then the Grinch drove his sleigh full of Who stuff to the top of the Who Mountain to wait to hear the sad cries of Who people.

"Instead of Who cries," the Grinch said. "I heard the singing of Whos. They were singing and singing. It made my heart three sizes bigger!"

After his change of heart , the Grinch decided to take the Who stuff back down to Who-Ville. He gave all the toys back to the children. Then the Grinch himself carved the roast beast during the annual Who Christmas feast.

Grinch Almost Caught!
Cindy Lou Who’s Story
By: Aubrey Wabrey Who

When the Grinch was stealing from the Whos, he stopped at Cindy Lou Whos house. Cindy Lou
Who is 2 years old and is very small. She has short blonde hair and wears pink dresses.

As the Grinch was trying to stuff the tree up the chimney, an ornament fell and woke Cindy from her sleep. She went downstairs to see what was going on.

"I saw Santy Claus trying to stuff my tree up the chimney!" Cindy Lou Who explained.
But it really wasn’t Santa Claus that Cindy saw. It was the Grinch. But he told Cindy a lie.

"I told little Cindy that the light was broken on the tree and that I needed to take it to my workshop to fix it." the Grinch told reporters.

"I believed Santy Claus - I mean, Mr. Grinch. He gave me a glass of water and sent me to bed." said Cindy Lou Who.

In the morning, little Cindy Lou Who woke up to no presents and no tree. "I felt really sad that Mr. Grinch tricked me. But even though we didn‘t have presents, we still had love." Cindy then went out with her family to sing Christmas songs.

"I was so surprised when Mr. Grinch came back with our presents. I always forgive my friends, so I forgave Mr. Grinch."

I Love Blue Eyes

2009-12-11T12:57:00.007-05:00

Strong eyes. Eyes that laugh and love. That look at me confused. Eyes that forgive. Eyes of my beloved.

Eyes like his daddy's. Eyes that are concerned, curious. Eyes that think they know everything, but have just begun. Nine year old eyes.

Demanding eyes. Eyes that are beautiful, but questions it. Eyes that are looking to see who's looking back. Compassionate eyes. Seven year old eyes.

Laugh out loud eyes. Eyes that surprise me with wit and intelligence. Eyes that will get lost if I don't draw them out. Brave eyes. Six year old eyes.

Passionate eyes. Eyes full of emotions. Eyes that are silly, laughing, adoring one moment and reserved, stubborn, or furious the next. Eyes that are always lovely. Four year old eyes.

Irresistible eyes. Eyes that flirt. That explore. Mischievous eyes. Eyes that always tell the truth. Two year old eyes.

Independent eyes. Eyes that want to know, want to be adored, and wants to do it on her own. Eyes that are wild and free and innocent. One year old eyes.

Cherished eyes. Eyes that wonder and instill wonder all at the same time. Eyes that remind me that there is a God who loves me more than I know. Three month old eyes.

These are the eyes that I love.

Thanks to Rebecca at Renaissance for posting the Foto Friday Challenge: Eyes. Looking forward to participating in more!

Kids make gifts...again

2009-12-10T20:23:00.000-05:00

I posted earlier about the Kid's Craft Bazzar that our children participated in and the Christmas stockings and scarves that they made. Here are two more simple crafts that they made for the Bazaar...

First, they made beaded bookmarks. I pretty much just handed them some craft string and beads and let them do their thing. They sold these for 50 cents a piece.

They also made Christmas Tree ornaments from pine cones. I got the directions from Enchanted Learning. It was a simple project but very messy. Needless to say, the kids loved it.

Chrismas Photo Cards for $5!

2009-12-09T21:00:00.001-05:00

"We're going to take family pictures today!" I announced one day last week. So Chad and I headed downstairs to the family closet...yes, we have a family closet but that's a post for another day...to pick outfits for each of the kids.

An hour and not too many tears later everyone was dressed, brushed, and scrubbed. We headed outside armed with two white sheets, a step stool, and a camera. I draped one sheet across our deck railing and laid the other on the deck floor. With the stool in the middle, we started arranging children.

Every picture was adorable and since I was taking them myself, I didn't have to pay an outrageous fee or pick out my favorites. I could keep them all...for free!

Here are a couple of our favorites...

The sunny day made for great lighting which was really what made the pictures turn out so good. My photo editing software was also helpful when it came to cropping and erasing the shadows from the deck rails that shown through in some of the pictures. My favorite editing software is Memory Manager from Creative Memories. I used to be a CM Consultant and the investment in that software has been well worth it.

Also well worth the investment, is the digital scrapbooking software they offer, Storybook Plus. This is what I used to create my Christmas cards. I googled 'free digital scrapbooking' and found that there are many sites that have digital scrapbooking programs that can be downloaded for free. I can't vouch for any of them, so you'll have to do your own research if you're wanting to try them out.

The key is that when you create your card you need to make sure that you choose a 'custom size' of 4 by 6 inches. Design your Christmas card however you like using your digital scrapbooking program.

Here's how ours turned out...

The reason you want your card to be in a 4x6 size is because you can now order your cards as 4x6 prints. I usually order from walgreens.com because they often run deals for 10 cent 4x6 prints. Also, I can usually pick them up in an hour or less from my local walgreens store. I bought 50 Christmas cards for $5.

By the way, if I ordered the customized photo cards from walgreens I would have had to pay $12.99 for 20 cards. The only difference is that mine are a different size.

I've used my digital scrapbook program to make birth announcements, birthday invitations, and thank you cards as well. My program is really easy to use and it usually takes less than 15 minutes to create a card.

An Apple A Day - Christmas Gift Idea

2009-12-08T21:00:00.000-05:00

Santa's list may be long, but if you're family is anything like mine then you know that I have a pretty long list of people to buy for as well. Our cash flow is certainly limited, but I know that homemade can add that special touch to turn an inexpensive gift into a gift of real worth.

I was at a friend's house recently and tasted some of her delicious apple butter. When she assured me that it was very easy to make, I decided that jars of apple butter would be the perfect gift for extended family members and friends. Because it was so easy to make and I had so much extra, I was even able to pull a jar out this morning to give to Baby L's physical therapist ... spreading a little Christmas cheer on a moment's notice!

The trick to apple butter is that it takes a. long. time. to cook. I found a few recipes online and kind of meshed them together to make it the way I wanted.

Apple Butter Recipe

about 6 lbs. apples - peeled, cored, and sliced
4 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Place apples in a large pot on the stove with a little water in the bottom (about an inch). Cover and bring to a boil. Stir occassionally and cook until apples can be sliced through with a spoon.

2. You may want to drain off excess water, but keep it in a bowl or cup nearby. Using a food processor or hand mixer, blend to the consistency of applesauce. You can slowly add applejuice that you drained off back in, if your applesauce does not seem to thin.

3. In a separate bowl, mix sugar, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and salt.

4. Combine applesauce and sugar mixture in a slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 10-11 hours, stirring occassionally so that it doesn't burn.

5. Remove lid and continue cooking on low for one more hour.

I was able to fill about 10 small jars with one batch.

If you have a breadmaker, you can even bake a few loaves of homemade bread to go along with your apple butter.

At a Christmas party this weekend, we gave a loaf of whole-wheat bread, a jar of apple butter, and a Christmas card to each of the eight families there. An inexpensive and delicious Christmas gift!

No Sew Fleece Scarves

2009-12-07T21:00:00.000-05:00

Cheap...easy...and fun! This is a great project for kids and a wonderful gift idea. I found fleece on sale for less than $2 a yard and chose several colors to make winter scarves. I only bought a half a yard of each fabric which was enough for 3 scarves each.

First, we folded over the fabric so that the salvage edges met. Cut off the salvage edge with a rotary cutter. Keeping the fabric folded your kids should cut the fabric into three scarves. Each scarf will be about 7 to 9 inches in width.

Then they will use a ruler and the rotary cutter to cut one-inch wide fringe along the ends. They will need to make them about 5 inches long. Once again, as long as the fabric is folded, they will be able to cut both ends at the same time. (Just make sure they don't cut the folded end!)

Once the fringe is cut, they will need to use the rotary cutter again to make a small slit above each strip of fringe. Then they will take each strip and pull it through the slit. This adds a nice decorative touch to the ends of your scarves.

Here's our pile of completed and folded fleece scarves.

Sew Easy Your Kids Can Do It!

2009-12-06T22:00:00.000-05:00

Our homeschool group decided to host a Kid's Craft Bazaar at a local mall this year. Our kid's have been working hard the past couple of weeks making crafts to sell at the Bazaar.

When I first announced the project to the kids, they were up for it but slightly creatively challenged. Most of their ideas centered around making things from cardboard boxes. Figuring no one fork over a dollar, even at a Kid's Craft Bazaar, for anything made from a cardboard box, I suggested that maybe it was time for the oldest two to learn how to use the sewing machine.

Luckily for me, I had just had the opportunity to make Christmas stockings for a prison ministry with the lovely ladies in my prayer group which is where this stocking pattern came from.

So the kid's and I picked out some Christmas fabric that was on sale for less than $2 a yard. I only bought half a yard of each fabric, but we were still able to get two stockings out of each.

As you can see in the picture above, you'll need to draw and cut out a simple stocking pattern out of large plain paper. Remember that once sewn, your stocking will be slightly smaller so allow for that in your pattern.

Have your children fold the fabric in half (right sides together) and trace the pattern onto the fabric.

Once the pattern is traced, they can cut it out. Since the fabric is folded, they will be cutting both sides of the stocking at once.

H4 isn't quite proficient with scissors yet, but she was able to help by pinning the stockings together once they were cut. (Remember right sides together!)

Both G8 and A7 were able to operate the sewing machine very well. A7 did most of the sewing, though.

This is a great first sewing project, because the next step is to simply sew from one top corner of the stocking, down and around the foot, and straight up to the next top corner. (Leave the top open.)

Notice in the picture above that I just instructed the kids to keep the outside edge of the fabric aligned with edge of the foot to make sure they were sewing straight. You'll definitely want to sit right next to them if it is their first time with the sewing machine and expect mistakes. Remind them that practice makes perfect!

Unfortunately I didn't take pictures of the next step, it was pretty simple.

First you want to show the kids how to turn the stockings right side out. Then they will need to turn the top edge inside about a half an inch so that it can be hemmed. But first it must be ironed! G8 was really good with the iron and we didn't even need to pin the fabric in place to hem the top.

Your child should open the stocking and slide it onto the sewing machine to hem the top. But before they hem, they will need to cut about 5 inches of ribbon and form a loop. Slide the loop on the inside of the stocking and they will start to hem at that spot. But don't let them go to far...

Once they've sewn just far enough to pass the loop, instruct your child to sew backwards to lock it into place. Then choose a pretty lace as a border and secure it under the foot as well. They will need to make sure that they continue to line the lace along the edge as they sew it on and hem the top of the stocking all at once. Once they make it all of the way around they will finish by overlapping and turning the lace under slightly.

Here are the kid's finished stockings!

A Week of Christmas Fun!

2009-12-04T18:45:00.006-05:00

The tree is up and the advent studies have begun...it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! That's why I'll be devoting next week's blog posts to all-things-Christmas. We've got Christmas lessons, crafts, recipes, and gift ideas. I've got enough ideas for at least one post a day, so check back often!

Let's start out with a few...okay, a lot of ideas for your advent season...

I cannot begin to tell you how much we enjoyed Christmas last year simply because of participating in advent. Before last year, advent was always a little mysterious to me...but after a little research I found that it really just boils down to taking a little bit of time each day of December to focus on the true meaning of Christmas as a family. You can see my post about advent from last year here.

Once again, we are taking a pause from our regular studies during the month of December to focus on our advent studies. Advent does not have to take the place of your regular studies, but we tend to find ourselves ready to mix things up a bit by this time of the year.

Okay the two resources that get my HIGHEST recommendation this year are the Jotham's Journey series and the Advent Idea Box.

The Advent Idea Box is a FREE online resource and created by my good friend, Jenn. She has put together daily lesson plans including devotionals, games, craft ideas, recipes and more. Jenn has truly taken all the hard work out of planning an advent unit study and is so generous to offer this resource for free!

Bartholomew's Passage is the second book in a beautiful trilogy. (The first book is Jotham's Journey.) Choose one of these books to read aloud each night as a family during advent. The stories are wonderfully written, edge-of-your-seat, true Christmas tales and each evening's passage includes a devotional.

We will be using both of these resources this year as well as a few more.

Now for more freebies...

Audrey's Christmas Page has loads of links to coloring pages, crafts, recipes...oh, there's too much to list. You'll have to look for yourself!

Here is a Christmas Movie Unit Study for homeschoolers with lessons based on four Christmas movies: How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, It's a Wonderful Life, and A Christmas Carol.

A free unit study to download on The Names of Jesus. Each day your kids will study a different name of Jesus. I really like this one.

Free printable ornaments and idea to Make a Jesse Tree.

Christmas Nativity Felt Board Fun.

Christmas Crafts and printables at Enchanted Learning.

Free Nativity Lapbook to print.

Free Christmas Symbols lapbook.

Free Christmas Customs lapbook.

Free Christmas Around the World Unit.

Well, that should keep you busy for now! Check back next week for more ideas!

So much to blog about, so little time...

2009-12-03T13:57:00.003-05:00

The posts are brewing in my mind and the pictures are saved on my computer. I plan on playing "post catch-up" very soon.

I just can't right now because I have apple butter cooking in the slow-cooker, a loaf of whole wheat bread in the bread maker, I promised G8 a game of Scrabble Slam, we're leaving in an hour for dinner at a friend's house, and I'm still in my pjs.

A quick update on Chad: he had the second interview at a possible job today. Please pray for us...we think they will be offering him this job and the income potential would be very good...but it's 100% commission...yikes!

Exercise meets Math

2009-12-02T14:00:00.006-05:00

Alright, I'm just gonna be real honest here... exercise and math are definitely two of my least favorite things to participate in. So imagine my surprise when I popped in our new GyMathtics DVD from Exploramania and found that the combination of the two was actually a lot of fun.

Carrie Schneiner is a mom and the founder of Exploramania. She created the GyMathtics videos when she discovered the need for an opportunity for her children to combine education with physical activity. I have to admit, I was pretty impressed with GyMathtics and my kids have a blast with it. We have been using it weekly since we got it.

The math on the first edition of GyMathtics is geared for 2nd-5th grades. (There is a GyMathtics 2.0 with math geared toward 4th and up.) The video lasts for 30 minutes and includes the following:

Shape Stretches Warm Up: Stretch your mind and body with line, circle, and polygon stretches.

Counting Calisthenics: Aerobic movements work your heart as fun counting concepts work your brain.

Pattern Power: Growing and repeating pattern exercise combinations challenge minds and strengthen muscles.

Well-Being Wind Down: Relaxing stretches cool down the body and open the mind to think about healthy lifestyle choices including the Nice Wave Stretch and Big Dream Stretch.

You can see a full list of the math details here and sample video segments of the dvd here.

I found the math seemed just right for my 3rd and 2nd graders if not a little bit challenging, and I could see it being useful review for at least a couple of years to come. I really like the idea of combining exercise and education because we've always felt that it was beneficial to start our homeschool day with a little exercise to "wake our bodies up". With GyMathtics we can wake our bodies and our minds up!

I did notice that it seemed like the first two segments of the DVD were recorded in a basement or some sort of small place. The background was rather dark and the camera was often placed at weird angles (instead of a front view). Also we really don't care for the last segment, The Well-Being Wind Down. Instead of reviewing math facts, the voice-over plays "healthy lifestyle choices" messages. I don't think there is anything wrong with an exercise video suggesting tips on how to make healthier choices, but since it is combined with the cool down segment it gives a little bit of a New Age vibe.

GyMathtics sells for $24.99 and I would definitely suggest checking it out to see if it would be a right fit for your kiddos. You'll find more reviews of this product at the TOS Crew blog.

Christmas Sale on our website!

2009-11-27T12:32:00.004-05:00

I wanted to let you all know about a sale that we are having over at Integritas Acadamy. (Our family's online business.)

BTW, if you want to blog about the sale, including a link to our site, I'll send you the files to one of our Integritas Academy File Folder Games for FREE! Just leave me a comment below to let me know that you've posted and which file folder game you would like. (Don't forget to include your email!)

Here's the info:

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Our lowest price ever...

Purchase Integritas Academy File Folder Games Collection 1 CD-ROM and SAVE!!!

17 games for only $15 $10!!! (until Dec. 25th)

(plus s&h)

Includes:

AM or PM
Buried Treasure
Busy Buzzing Numbers
Contraction Contraption
Counting Coins
Crocodile Chomp
Crocodile Chomp Addition & Subtraction
Don't be Late!
Let's Play Doubles!
Let's Play Doubles! Multiplication
Letter Match
Name That State
Parking Patterns
Rainbow Ice Cream
Seasons Change
Skip Counting
Who Has the Patience for all these Patients?

Purchase one for you and all your friends. We will gift wrap and mail to multiple addresses for FREE!**

Visit Integritas Academy now to purchase!

Needing your prayers again.

2009-11-25T17:19:00.002-05:00

I'm searching for the right words tonight...real words.

I know that God is here. And I believe with all my soul that He is here. But I have been having a hard time feeling that He is here.

It's my fault, of course. Because I move and I move without stopping and sometimes without thinking. And then all of the sudden life happens. A blow. A punch in the gut and I'm not prepared, because though He is here, I wasn't drawing near.

Our most recent blow...Chad lost his job about a week and half ago. I could go on a bitter rampage about how wrong they were in their reasonings and the way they did it. But I won't because it doesn't matter.

If I'm honest, though, I am bitter. But it didn't start a week and half ago. It started almost three years ago when our financial famine really began. It's been three years of not answering the phone without checking the caller ID, of late fees, of red letters on our back statements, of robbing Peter to pay Paul, of gift cards "from Jesus" left on our front porch, and of praying for an end but hearing silence. We have been living paycheck to paycheck and right now there isn't any coming.

Funny thing is...I'm not panicked. And better than that, I'm beginning to feel Him again. I'm beginning to see His hand moving. And I'm beginning to think that this is not a curse at all, but that God is answering our prayers.

Don't get me wrong...we've had interviews, but no callbacks.

Would you pray for us again? Pray that God moves another miracle for our family. Pray that this job loss is actually the end of our financial woes and not the beginning. And pray that I would find my comfort and strength from the only One who can truly give it to me.

Life on the Farm for preschoolers

2009-11-23T19:52:00.005-05:00

It's not often that I can find a game that all of my children enjoy playing but the Preschool Edition of Life on the Farm has become a big hit around our house recently. H4 has been especially excited about this new game since she can be her own player...instead of being a "helper" to another older player.

So what makes this game so appealing? For starters the board and pieces are made of a thick, durable foam that is so appropriate for little destroyers...uh, I mean toddlers/preschoolers. The gameboard is actually four large puzzle pieces, which makes just putting the board together a fun game in and of itself. The characters on the board are cute and colorful and the game play is simple and fun.

Players are each given a barn shaped, foam board and move around the board collecting shapes with different farm animals on them to fit like a puzzle piece in their barn. Players can be pre-readers as well since they move around the board simply by drawing a card. The card will show them where to move. For example, if there are two blue squares on the card the player simple moves to the second blue square from where they are on the board.

I absolutely loved that this was a game that even E2 could play. Of course he still needed help, but he had a blast collecting his farm animals and fitting them into his board. And I wasn't worried at all about him bending or tearing the pieces. It's also been wonderful to pull Life on the Farm out when I am otherwise occupied with the baby since this is a game that doesn't require my instruction or supervision. I recently sent the kids upstairs to play it while Baby L's home therapists were over for a consultation. All of the kids played quietly without interrupting us!

The Original Life on the Farm Game (for ages 8 and up) and the Preschool Edition of Life on the Farm can be purchased from We R Fun, Inc. The Preschool Edition is $20.

For more reviews, visit the TOS Crew blog.