Get Thee To Dollar Tree

Today we stopped at Dollar Tree while we were out running errands and I came across some neat things for school. I thought I'd share here in case anyone was interested in my finds:

First up. Smart Pants The Love to Learn Game first and second editions. They are fan books. These are for ages 4-6 and have questions like: Telling Time with a a picture of a clock at a specific time and three choices. The clock is set at 6:00 the choices are 3:00, 6:00, 9:00. They are self correcting with the answer on the back. There is one question per page. It looks like you could use a dry ease pen on these (although I haven't tried it yet) as they are laminated.

The Red fan book is called Brain Blasters Primary Edition for ages 5-7. They are laminated just like the Smarty Pants books. On each page there are four questions and are also self correcting. There are questions such as 2, 4, 5, 6, 8 which numbers are even and what happens to a crayon left out in the sun? In this book each question has a point value. This could also be self challenging as well as being played with an opponent.

These would be a great workbox activity.

Here are four different games Shopping Cents Money game, Math Adventure, Rhyming Dominoes and The Amazing State Race. I have not opened these yet so I will let you know how they are.

Finally, phonics tiles! I was surprised to find these at Dollar Tree since I purchased my letter tiles from Walmart for $3-$4 dollars! There are 176 phonics tiles. There are a lot of uses for these! Spelling, reading, vowel sounds, word blends etc.

I love the dollar store!

Simple Woman's Day Book~Sept 28th

Outside my window...dark and cool

I am thinking...how precious each moment is and how short life can be.

I am thankful for...my family, my friends, my cozy little home.

From the learning rooms...we are finally starting school this week after being sick going on two weeks now (will we ever stop coughing!) we are starting! This week it will be all things apple! We're doing a unit on Johnny Appleseed.

From the kitchen...last night was roast chicken...tonight it will be cheese tortellini

I am wearing...my pj's

I am creating...lesson plans for school for the next few weeks, file folder games and maybe starting a new craft

I am going...to bed soon.

I am reading...A Pocketful of Pinecones by Karen Andreola.

I am hoping...to see my dad today...it's his birthday!

I am praying.....for Liz, Scott and Seth.....such a tragic time for this family.

I am hearing.....not much...it is quiet and late at night. The boys are sleeping and dh is working, just the hum of the computer.

Around the house...our new tv stand it up and the tv and components are put where they belong. Now to do a bit of organizing in the living room with the things that were in the old entertainment stand.

One of my favorite things...the cooler temperatures

A few plans for the rest of the week...since part of my vacation and the last week was spent sick, I need to catch up on household chores (will I ever catch up the laundry), run errands. I need to get my car registration this week, get the car inspect, make dr. appts, start school....that's not too much is it?

Here is picture thought I am sharing:

The boys on the beach in Atlantic City

More Day books

Nutrition 101~Review

This review is for Nutrition 101 Choose Life. This is a complete curriculum for all ages. It is co-written by Debra Raybern, N.D., Sera Johnson, Laura Hopkins and Karen Hopkins. It is jam packed with 448 pages. This is a very well written e-book. It is broken down into six units.

1. The Brain and Nervous System
2. Digestion and Elimination
3. Respiration and Olfactory
4. Muscular and Skeletal Systems
5. Cardiovascular and Immune Systems
6. Endocrine System and Emotions

This is a bible-based curriculum and it is not your typical text book. It is written as a unit study. Each unit contains four chapters at the end of each chapter there are discussion questions, activities and an additional resource section that lists additional websites and books so that you may delve deeper into that chapter if you so choose. There are also 80 family friendly recipes for you to try.

This e-book gives you the tools to start on the road to a more healthy life style not just telling you what you should eat, but why you should and how the body reacts and processes what you do eat. It can easily be a full year curriculum for a middle to high school age student or also easily adaptable to the younger elementary grades. This would also make a wonderful family study.

I will be using parts of this with the boys. They are very excited to be learning about the human body this year and this will fit perfectly with what we are studying. I decided to print out a few chapters at a time and go from there. I think I will eventually print the entire e-book and have it bond but for now this is working for us.

There are many subjects that can be covered with this e-book, science, anatomy, biology, health, nutrition and home economics. We are having a cooking day each week for school and I am excited to try some of these recipes with the boys as we learn about healthy and more nutritious foods.

Prices are as follows:

The CD-Rom is $79.95
Book is $99.95
Combo Book and CD Rom is $129.95

You can view sample pages by clicking here.
Please be sure to visit my other crew mates to read more reviews on Nutrition 101. TOS Crew

Justin Quote

Justin loves older people. He always has. He always talks fondly of anyone who is a senior citizen. Today he said......Old people are the heart of everything! He is just the sweetest boy.

Sight and Sound, PA

Last week while we were on vacation we took a trip to Sight and Sound in Pennsylvania. Sight and Sound is a theatre that holds Biblical based live shows. It is located in Strasburg, PA. We have never been to a show but have heard that they have excellent shows. My parents have been to several of their shows. They met us out there for this show as well.

This trip was actually planned by our homeschool support group and they were all there as well although we really didn't all stay together as we had all purchased our own tickets. We attended the Behind the Scenes Tour in the morning. Our tour guides were two of the actors that were in the show we were there to see.We watched a short movie presentation about how Sight and Sound was developed and the vision of misson they have. We were able to go backstage see some of the scenery, the anamatronic animals, live animals (yes they have live animals in the show!). We were also able to see them working on props for some of the upcoming shows. We able to stand on the stage and see how the actors know where to stand and what markers they use to be sure they are in the right place at the right time. We had a chance to visit both the men's and women's dressing room. The costumes are magnificent.

Here is one of the people in our group. They dressed him in one of the costumes.(I believe it was Cain's costume) What a complete change. His beard and mustache looked so real. I wish I had taken a before picture. There were no photography allowed and they told us we could take a picture at this time.

The gal in the picture was our tour guide and an actress in the show we were seeing. The other actor played Cain during the show.

We also visited the audio booth and the lighting booth to learn how they use the lights and sound during the show. The theatre is surround sound and it was amazing the sounds that could be made, thunder, crickets, night sounds, birds. It all sounded so real. The lighting was just as amazing. The entire ceiling can be made to look like a starry night sky, beautiful!

The stage is a wrap around stage it goes up both sides of the theatre plus the main stage in the front.

The show we saw was In The Beginning. It is the biblical account of creation and the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve and their banishment from the Garden of Eden, their life after their banishment up until Adam's death. (there are some liberties taken with the story and they do mention that in the beginning of the show) The show was spectacular! It starts with darkness and God creating the earth and universe out of the vast darkness. The sets were just beautiful as well as the costumes. There is so much to see! For instance when the planets were formed you could see them in front of you and also above your head out in the audience. There were flying angels and God appears before Adam and Eve through out the story. You can feel God's love for Adam and Eve and the world He has created as well as Adam and Eve's love for God.

During the show there are scenes played on all three stages, some at the same time and some at different times. The show is also played out in the isles several times during the show and there are many live animals as well.

The building that houses the theatre is beautiful. The grounds outside are lovely. It is a very large building. All of the staff was very friendly and courteous. As far as seating there is not a bad seat in the building except for maybe the very front (you would have to really look up to see the show) and the very sides near the wall next to the side stages. We will be going back to see another show. The boys loved it. Kaden (age 4) sat on the edge of his seat for the entire show. There was a 15 intermission between acts. They also have a small gift shop and conessions on both sides of the theatre. We are hoping to go to the Christmas show. I can tell you I wanted to go right back in and see In The Beginning again. It was that good.

A few pictures from our day. There was no photography permitted backstage or during the show but you could take pictures anywhere else.

There is also a Sight and Sound Theatre in Branson, MO now.

Outside of the main enterance

Just inside the building in the lobby.

Joseph is coming in 2010. We want to see it.

Joseph's coat

The huge statue in the main part of the lobby.


A little snack while waiting for the show.

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Study Pod~Review

Recently I was sent a Studypod book holder to review. This is not just any book holder. It is sleek and compact and easily portable. The Studypod can hold just about any type of book, large or small, hardback or paperback.

This is a great tool for our homeschool. There are times when I want both boys to view the same page in a book. I can put the book in the Studypod and they can both see it easily. We will be using this for our art/composer studies. I also have several drawing books and this will work wonderfully so we can all see the lesson at the same time.

There are so many uses for the Studypod. You can use it to hold a recipe book. How many times have you been reading a recipe, trying to prepare it and have the page turn because the book does not stay open. Now I can put it in the Studypod on the counter and easily see the recipe while I am measuring ingredients and the page stays in place.

You can also use it to hold sheet music or any other single sheet of paper.

I am going to use ours as a display in one of our school centers to hold a book open to a page of interest.

There is also a pocket on the inside that can hold a small tablet, MP3 player, pens, pencils, highlighter or anything else small enough to fit in the pocket.

It stores easily. When closed it measures approximately 6.5"x9"x 1.35" and comes in blue, pink and black. It fits easily on a bookshelf for easy storage. The Studypod is easy to transport in a backpack, totebag or even a large purse. It sells for $19.95. If you order more than one the price drops to $16.95. As a bonus to my readers if you use this code TOSBLOG5 they will take $5 off your order. Below is a video that shows just how easy the Studypod is to use.

Please be sure to read my crew mates reviews at the TOS Crew Blog

Blogging, Break, Vacations and Sickness Oh My....

I'm still here alive and pretty well (or at least better than I was two days ago...) I took a short blog vacation as well as a vacation to the Jersey shore for the annual NJ State Firemen's Convention. Larry and my dad are both volunteer firemen and we go down annually for the convention.

Larry had the entire week off last week so I was busy spending time with him and the boys going to see a show (more about that in a future post) and packing to go to the shore. We had a great time at the shore with the exception of me getting sick with some upper respiratory/cold nastiness that had me flat out in bed for the entire day on Saturday, leaving Larry to take care of the boys while I moaned and coughed my head off and shivered under not nearly enough blankets. If you know me you know I am always HOT so being cold was no fun! (well being hot is no fun either) Being sick on vacation was doubly no fun. Larry is the sweetest husband in the world and took the boys out to the park for a couple of hours and then to the beach while I tried to rest. My parents were also there they went and got me hot tea which was so wonderful and WARM and then mom sat and kept me company.

I'm still coughing but feel 100% better and I am ever so thankful that I bought 25 tram car tickets so we would not have to walk the length of the boardwalk. This virus knocked me for loop, I could barely walk from the bed to the bathroom without getting extremely tired. The thought of walking 2 miles one way did not thrill me one bit.

So give me a day or two to catch up my laundry and get school underway, no we have not officially started back to school although we did have a very cool beach find while we were at the shore and I'll have some new posts up!

Where Were You When The World Stopped Turning?

Remembering September 11, 2001

I think many of us have a vivid memory where we were on September 11, 2001. It is a day that we will never and should never forget. Many men and women lost their lives and many families were forever changed. Loved ones never came home. Parents never hugged their children again, children never were tucked in by their parents again. Wives and husbands never saw their spouses again.

Where were you that day? What were you doing? I remember exactly where I was. I was getting laundry ready to hang out and we had the radio on in our bedroom. We were excitedly getting ready for a visit from our social worker. Why? We had just received our referral of Justin two days before. We had his sweet picture to stare at all weekend while we waited for her to come and bring the rest of our paperwork. We were on cloud nine!

All of a sudden Larry calls from the other room saying that the radio announced a plane hit one of the World Trade Center towers. I told Larry to turn on the TV, if it was anything serious it would surely be on the news. I was still happily getting the laundry ready. Larry puts the TV on. He tells me a jet hit the the first tower. I think he must be mistaken. A jet? I thought possibly a small plane. It must be an accident. I went to see for myself. He was right, the plane was huge. Now I have never been to NYC and had no idea how big the World Trade Center buildings were. The entire plane went into the building! Wings and all! I was shocked but still thought it was so kind of horrible accident. Surely no one would hit that building on purpose. Within the a few minutes we realized it was not an accident when the second plane hit the second tower.

We watched in horror. Deb our social worker called to tell us she was on her way and ask if we knew what had happened in NYC. When she arrived we all just sat glued to the TV. We couldn't focus on Justin's paperwork. While she was here Deb had a call from the Holt office. One of the employee's husbands was stuck in one of the NY airports and they were all fearful of his safety. Thankfully we found out later he was safe.

Then we heard of the plane that went down in PA and the plane that hit the Pentagon. This was just unimaginable here in our country! In the USA! We were being attacked!

We just sat and watched as the towers came down. I will never forget it. We must always remember.

So today when you are going about your daily lives. Take some time and stop to remember those who died so needlessly, who left that day for work like any other day and never came home. Pray for those families. For the hero's who gave their lives. For the firemen, policemen, and civilians who fearlessly tried to rescue those in those towers, in the Pentagon, those who gave their lives in PA so even more people did not die. Pray for our military who everyday day give their lives to this country no matter where they serve either here or abroad.

Never forget......

American Girl DVD Sale:$5.00 each

Do you have any American Girl fans in your family? Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? You might be interested in these. American Girl has four of their DVDs on sale for $5 each from now thru Sept 30th. I bought all four for my niece for Christmas my total was $24.95! You can find them here

Feelin' Like Clark Griswold today.

One of our favorite Christmas movies is National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Remember the scene when Clark was trying to get the outdoor Christmas lights to light? That was me today only I wasn't trying to light any lights! I was trying to connect our DVD/VCR and cable to our new flat screen TV. Our old TV had a very stretched distorted picture. It seems each week we were seeing less of the picture and it was becoming more distorted. We have been holding out watching the prices on the flat screens drop. We found a 32 inch for less than $350. So we caved and bought it. Before we left the store I asked the employee working in electronics if I needed any additional cables to connect it to the cable/TV/VCR/DVD. No he told me everything was included. I thought maybe he was wrong because I know when my brother bought his awhile back he needed to purchased additional cables/component cords to connect everything. Of course I went home without buying anything additional.

We got it home and sure enough there was nothing to connect anything other than the cord that actually plugs in the TV. Luckily I had an S video cable and was able to connect the cable. I keep a box of cables/components from previous hook ups and happened to have a component hook up you know those red, green, blue, yellow, red and white cables. So today I was able to connect the DVD player. We have a DVD/VCR combo and I could not for the life of me get the VCR part of the player to work. The component cable I had on hand did not have very good connections. Some of them would not stay plugged in. So today the boys and I made a trip to Walmart for a better set of component cables and then over to the electronics store to get some advice on how to get the VCR to work. I came home with a HD cable for the TV/cable. So after an hour I FINALLY got the VCR to work! I tell you I felt like Clark Griswold when he connected those two power cords and the lights finally came on! I thought there should have been some dramatic background music playing as I accomplished this great feat!

Now I am waiting on the power cord to arrive from Amazon that I ordered last night so we can connect the Wii! Ahhhh the joys of new technology!

Look out Clark you have some mean competition in this house! Luckily I have no desire to light up my neighborhood!

now all we need is a new TV stand......

You must try these!

This morning I surprised the boys with Mini Maple Pancake Muffins by Bakerella! They are so yummmy! You must try them! We made ours without the chocolate chips (oh the horror!) as I did not have any on hand. They were a huge hit! I will be making a batch (or two or three) for the freezer. I think I will try them with blueberries, apples or even bananas. Honestly they were yummy just eating them plain dipped in a bit of syrup!

Subscribe to The Old Schoolhouse™ Magazine for only $7.95!

Homeschooling is a Labor of Love, and the Old Schoolhouse™ Magazine is celebrating your hard work as a parent by putting their one-year print subscriptions on sale! For a very limited time, you can subscribe or renew for $7.95! (US only). International customers can subscribe to the digital edition for only 7.95!

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There are only 2000 of these available, and they are going quickly! Your subscription begins with their Fall Issue.

If you live in an international location, you can subscribe to their digital edition for only $7.95! It's the same great content as their print magazine, except it is instant and interactive!

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Simple Woman's Day Book~Labor Day Edition

Outside my window...cloudy and humid. Where did that nice breeze go

I am thinking...of autumn. It is right around the corner. I am looking forward to the fall leaves, the crisp air..I just love the changing seasons

I am thankful for...my fIAR friends. I am thankful to be part of such a wonderful group. I feel I truly belong.

From the learning rooms...no much going on just now. We will officially be starting school on Sept 21st so we are taking a bit of a break until then. We are still doing our read alouds and bible study.

From the kitchen...is quiet today. Not much happening in there.

I am wearing...would you believe I am still in my pj's. The boys and I both are. We are having a pj day today!

I am creating...lesson plans for school.

I am going...to stay home for the rest of the day.

I am reading...A Pocketful of Pinecones by Karen Andreola and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne. Still reading both of these.

I am hoping...for a very productive week.

I am hearing...the boys watching tv. We bought a new flat screen yesterday. Our old tv was loosing the picture and it seemed each week we saw a little less of the screen. They are very happy to be able to see the entire screen again (me too!)

Around the house...I am continuing on with my decluttering efforts. I have cleaned part of my large kitchen counter. My goal for today is to complete it. I have deleted over 2000 pictures off my computer that were doubles (from my old computer back up).

One of my favorite things...hearing the acorns starting to fall on our roof. It reminds me autumn will soon be here.

A few plans for the rest of the week...continue decluttering working mainly in the kitchen and living room. Go to grandma's (mine) this week, attend our homeschool kick off picnic. Catch up on house hold chores and make of list of things I want to do for Autumn with the boys.

Here is picture thought I am sharing:

While going thru my pictures I came across this sweet face! Baby Kaden just a week or two after he came home from Korea.

More Daybooks.

Update on the prayer request for Armando

Such sad news....little Armando is dying while his momma Nicole is holding and loving on him at this moment. Please say a prayer for this family as they walk this very difficult road ahead of them. My heart is breaking for them.

Urgent Prayer Request

A fellow homeschool mom Nicole that I know from the Five in a Row boards son Armando was hit by a car today and is in the PICU with a severe brain injury and they think he may not survive. Please pray for a miracle for this little boy. He is a little over two years old. PLEASE PRAY!!!

Death is Not Dying~A Faith that Saves

This is worth watching.

Death is Not Dying~A Faith that Saves