Read the Bible in 90 days...

Yes you read that right! 90 days! Mom's Toolbox is hosting this reading challenge and I decided I would accept. If you remember last year (and the year before) one of my goals was to read the Bible in one year and I pretty much failed. I happened to be reading Kimberly's blog and she posted about this challenge and I decided that I am going to give it a go. This is very timely for me as I am wanting to make some big changes in my life and this will kick start those changes.(more on that in future posts)

By accepting this challenge I will need to be more intentional about my reading. Are you interested in this challenge. It is not too late you can go sign up at Mom's toolbox. You can download the reading schedule and get started. I have already printed it and put it in my Bible so I am ready to go. I am super excited about this and I will keep you updated on my progress. Anyone care to join me?

Hi There!

How was your Christmas? Ours was very nice inspite of being sick the week before and being very behind and not getting much of what I had planned done. You know what though? It is all ok! It was a wonderful time and I'll be posting some pictures soon. In the meantime we are gearing up for New Year's Eve here. I'll be sharing later tonight how we plan to celebrate! So stick around new posts are on the way!

Merry Chirstmas!

Our family wishes you all a very Merry Christmas!

And now for a little humor courtesy of Justin....

Well I am still not feeling 100% but I am sure 90% better than I was yesterday. I have determined that I had some type of intestinal virus.....anyway getting to the humor.....Today we went to Walmart so the boys could buy their daddy a gift. Oh how I do not love shopping at Walmart (or anywhere for that matter) three days before Christmas...fa, la, la, la, la...Remind me to cancel getting the sick the week before Christmas next year. I really don't recommend it as part of your holiday planning.

Of course we get there and I notice the tons of carts in the parking lot and of course I pass each and every one by because surely they must have carts inside (that are warm and not freezing cold from sitting in said parking lot.) Well of course there was only one lone cart. Yes one and of course it was one of those big carts with the seats on the back. You know the ones that look sort of like a semi and are so annoying to just about everyone in the store. Yeah that one. Well it was either use that (which by the way I have no problem using, much to other shopper's annoyance. Yeah I am that mom)

Where was I? Oh yes the humor. So we are finally done shopping and checking out. Kaden is inside the actual basket of the cart and Justin is sitting on one of the seats on the back. Justin of course who always knows all safety regulations, rules and precautions, reads the warning tag on the cart. I am barely paying attention as Kaden and I are loading up the conveyor belt with our items. All of a sudden Justin says, mom I am so close to breaking the law. Huh? Mom I am really close to breaking the law!! I'm looking at him and hoping he is not trying to shoplift something. He is wearing his heavy winter jacket it is sort of bulky....should I frisk him just to be sure? I don't want alarms going off on the way out. So I finally ask him what he is talking about. He says mom, I am so close to breaking the law the warning says only ages 2-6 can sit on this seat. I am EIGHT!! Really? Oh I'm relieved! Of course he is totally serious! He was seriously worried that Walmart security was going to arrest him. I was falling over laughing! I really have needed a laugh this past week.

I think this is an ongoing cart problem. Last summer we were in Target and he and Kaden were sitting on the same type of cart. We had been crusing the Dollar Spot....don't you just love the Dollar Spot.....Oh sorry I get off track easily....I happened to see something that I wanted a closer look at and left the boys about 3 feet away and told them to stay seated. All of a sudden Justin says mom the warning sign says do not leave your child unattended in the cart. As I said he was serious! The man walking past had a very good laugh!

For the record I am so behind with Christmas shopping and baking and crafting and it's not going to get any better the next two days so you know what? I am doing what I can and going to enjoy myself regardless! I refuse to stress out about it. I just can't!

I hope this brightened your day just a bit!

Review~Mathletics

We were given a 45 day membership to Mathletics to review for the TOS Crew. Mathletics is an online math program for children ages 5-14 to practice and review math facts. Students can work at their own pace or complete with other students from all around the world.

Students start by creating an avatar. As they earn points for completing a math level they can spend those points in the Mathletics store to upgrade their avatar.

There is a free parent section where parents can check on their children's progress. You can also print out workbooks for offline math practice. Parents can also have weekly progress reports emailed to them.

Mathletics is used in 5000 schools and over 200 countries. They also support homeschoolers. You can download a six page brochure about the benefits to homeschoolers here.

A Mathletics subscription is $59.95. You can get $10 off the subscription price by knowing the human calculator's favorite number (if you are wondering, it is 9 so be sure to enter that when prompted to get your discount!)

What we thought:

We really love the Mathletics site. Justin loved the competition part of it. He loved seeing his points rack up as he answered questions correctly. I really like that it tells your child right away if the answer the have entered is correct or not. When Justin got an answer incorrect he wanted to start over to see if he could get the correct answer. Many math sites seem to bore him. This one kept his attention and challenged him and he wanted to continue playing.

There are so many activities on this site. Over 750! It was a little overwhelming at first but once we got the hang of things Justin really had a great time and enjoyed learning and challenging himself to do better.

Another thing I like is that it is a safe site. Even though you have the ability to compete against other students, there is no communication between other students on this site. There are also step by step animated tutorials to help you.

If you are not completely satisfied Mathletics offers a 10 day money back guarantee

We will be looking into a subscription for both boys in the future.

For more Mathletics reviews go and see what my crewmates are saying.





Disclosure: This product was provided to me free as a member of the The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew 2009-2010. All reviews and opinions expressed on this blog are my own

I'm still here...

No I have not fallen off the face of the earth. I have not been feeling well at all for the past week. Combine that with a computer crash (I am now the owner of a laptop) and learning how to retrieve my data from the old computer. (which I learned to do all on my own) and trying to get ready for Christmas and then having a snowstorm in the midst of all this..... I am now a week behind. Oh I had such wonderful things I was going to do. But you know what? It is OK! In looking back over my blog posts from December of last year, I came across this post and it has reminded me what is really important.

I have managed to dip one batch of pretzels and will make a few more things later this week to give away. It will all come together......

Review~Maestro Classics Stories in Music

Earlier this year we started listening to audio books during our school time. They have been a wonderful addition for us. We were very excited to receive a stories in music audio book from Maestro Classics.

These are not your typical audio books. Maestro Classics combines literature and classical music together to bring you wonderful stories. My boys love classical music and most nights during dinner we listen to light classical. We were very excited to dig into this CD.

We received The Tortoise and the Hare

Here is what is included on the CD:

1. The Tortoise and the Hare
Featuring the London Philharmonic Orchestra with music conducted
by the Maestro himself, Stephen Simon, and narrated by Yadu, a.k.a
Dr. Konrad Czynski

2. About the Story
Bonnie Ward Simon 02:49

3. Pretzel Vendor of Paris Song
Maestro Classics / DixieLand band 02:06

4. About The Music
Stephen Simon
5. Now That You Know a Little More

6. Want To Have Some Fun? Prepare To Perform
Bonnie Ward Simon

7. Pretzel Vendor of Paris Song - Sing-Along
Accompaniment Only

The CD runs just over 53 minutes in length and retails for $16.98

The Stories in Music™ series offers three significant benefits, including opportunities:

"To expand listening horizons."
This new series of recordings introduces young people to an orchestra's magical sounds and
awe-inspiring power, and helps them understand that music can be dramatic, can paint pictures, and is often filled with humor.

"To hone listening skills and accumulate musical memories."
The musical discussions will sharpen listening skills of children and adults alike, the discussion of the story will promote conversation about human values, and the musical work will leave each listener whistling a new tune.

"To encourage adults and children to listen to music together."
The very young will listen for the story, the slightly older child will enjoy the music, and the adult will be surprised how much he/she has learned.

Maestro Classics offers quite a few selections including, Casey at the Bat, Peter and the Wolf, The Story of Swan Lake, The Scorcerer's Apprentice, Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel and Juanita the Spanish Lobster. Each of the above titles also retail for $16.98. There are discounts available if you buy 3. Right now you can buy 3 Cd's for $45.00 by using code MAESTRO45

We really loved listening to this story! It was wonderful! We learned some history about this story that we did not know previous to listening to the CD. We really enjoyed the classical music it added depth and richness to the story.

Our CD also came with an activity booklet with information about the orchestra, music notes, turtles and tortoises, hares and rabbits, a puzzle and biographies on the composer, narrator and writer.

Be sure to visit Maestro Classics to listen to some of the music samples.
Stop by the TOS Homeschool Crew Blog to read more reviews on this product.

Disclosure: This product was provided to me free as a member of the The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew 2009-2010. All reviews and opinions expressed on this blog are my own

Review~Tektoma

I was given a three month membership to Tektoma to review. Tektoma is a game making website where your child (or you) can make your own video games. There are several different types of games you can create: racing, arcade, memory, platform and fantasy.

The age range for using the Tektoma site is 7-17.

Pricing:

$14.95 per month

$140 per year

You can sign up for a free 14 day trial here

Tektoma offers the following:

•Engaging video tutorials for ages 7-17
•Tutorials of varying skill levels and topics
•Learn at your own pace in the comfort of your home
•Natural progression helps develop technical skills
•Customize your learning experience
•Low monthly membership fee gives access to all our resources
•New curriculums available monthly

System requirements: Broadband internet connection, you must be using Windows XP or Vista. Currently a Mac version is unavailable but will be coming in the future.

There are tutorials for creating your own games. You will need to download and install GameMaker software in order to use the tutorials. You can download the lite version free from the Tektoma website. Tektoma does not teach you how to write gaming code it teaches you how to create games using the GameMaker software.

The tutorials are clear, concise and very easy to follow with step by step instructions. You can work at your own pace and save a game you are creating to work on later.

We are not a gaming family and my eight year old does not have a big interest in learning to create video games. I did watch the tutorials to gain understanding as to how the site works and how to use the tutorials. It would take several hours for us to create a game. Tektoma does offer some shortcuts and has links and resources to help you in creating your own game.

Overall I would say if you have a gamer in your family Tektoma would be a great place to start.

To read more reviews about Tektoma visit my crewmates at The TOS Homeschool Blog.

Disclosure: This product was provided to me free as a member of the The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew 2009-2010. All reviews and opinions expressed on this blog are my own

More about our Advent Calendars

Each year we use an Advent calendar that I purchased a couple of years ago. It is made of felt and has pockets for each day in December. It is a nativity and each night you place one of the pieces of the nativity from the pocket and put it in the manger. We have done this for several years now and I wanted a new way to use it that reinforces the birth of Christ. This year we added these verses from Hubbards Cubbord. I printed them up on yellow paper and cut off the daily readings and activities and just reading the verse each day. The boys were excited to see something new added and are excited to hear each day's bible verse.

We are also using this countdown calendar from Hubbards Cubbard as well. It has been a big hit each night to add a new star in the sky over the baby Jesus.

Our Homemade Lego Advent Calendar

This year we had added some new advent activities. One of them is a Lego Advent Calendar. I really wanted to buy the boys a Lego Advent Calendar but it was just not in the budget this year and I would have to buy two of them which were definitely not in the budget. (trust me on this~fighting would ensue if there were just one!).

Soooo......I decided to do the next best thing and make my own. I got the idea from a gal on the FIAR board.

I thought and thought how I could go about this and finally came up with this idea. Remember these from Halloween? I decided these would be my container for the calendar. I headed for Dollar Tree and picked up 25 of these little buckets (yes I refrained from buying a bucket for each of them. I figured they could at least share that much!). I also picked up a package of Christmas napkins and got started.


These are two-ply napkins, so I separated them. Then I cut the largest peppermint swirls off the napkins and decoupaged them onto the buckets with Mod Podge.



Oh I added a little bit of fine glitter to the Mod Podge to give it a little sparkle.

Then I took four small (2 of each) sets of Lego Creator kits that are Christmas themed for about $6 each. Then I took small baggies and divided up the pieces for each day for each boy. They each get 3 or 4 pieces each day to try to figure out what it is. I numbered each bucket from 1-25 with a fine point sharpie marker and set them up on one of our bookshelves.

Here are our buckets all set up and ready to go!

Getting their first pieces!

building to try and figure out what it is.

Justin thought maybe this was right.....close but not quite.

Then he thought maybe it went like this....hmmmm

Kaden felt it was a windmill and that was what he stuck with. I loved watching them come up with different ideas as to what it might be......

While this was not completely frugal (I spent about $30 between the buckets, napkins and Lego sets) it was much cheaper than spending $60+ on two Lego Advent Calendars. If we decide to do this next year I will already have the buckets!

What? You want to know what it is? Stay tuned!

All About Spelling~Review

We do not have a spelling program. I have not found any that I have really liked until now. Not long ago I was sent a complimentary copy of All About Spelling Levels 1 and 2 as a member of the TOS Crew.

Justin has recently become a fluent reader. I was looking for a program that would teach him to spell not just teach him to memorize lists of spelling words. I think have found it with this curriculum.

All About Spelling is a multi-sensory program that involves sight, sound and touch. It is a mastery based program not a grade level based program. When a child masters a concept they can move on to the next concept. If they need more work on a particular concept they are able to work on an area until they have master it and feel comfortable moving on. This program teaches your student to under stand the phonics of spelling and gives a solid foundation for learning to spell.

Justin's spelling is slowly improving. He is a very hands on learner and this program is working well for us. I love this program and plan on using it with Kaden as well.

The lessons are scripted and easy to follow. The directions for setting up the lessons are also clear and easy to follow.

In Level 1 lessons your student will learn the following:

• How to say and write the first 32 phonograms
• How to segment words into their individual sounds
• Short and long vowel sounds
• How to identify and count syllables in a word
• How to choose between c and k at the beginning of a word
• When to double f, l, and s
• How to spell /k/ at the end of a word
• How to form plural words by adding s or es
• Compound words
• Open and closed syllable types
• and more!

Starter Kit: Letter tiles, Magnets for the letter tiles, Full set of phonogram cards, phonogram audio CD-Rom $26.95.
Level 1: one teacher manual and one student manual $29.95
Level 2: one teacher manual and one student material packet $39.95
(all prices are before shipping and tax)

We have not started level 2 yet. Here is what your student will learn:

• The open and closed syllable types
• How to divide words into syllables
• How to spell multisyllable words
• When y can say /î/
• How Silent E can make a vowel long
• The vowel-consonant-e syllable type
• Two spellings for the sound of /z/
• The two sounds of long u
• The difference between hard and soft c and g
• Ways to spell long e
• That English words don’t end in i, j, u, or v
• The most common way to spell the sound of /er/
• When to use oi/oy, aw/au, and ow/ou
• and more!

I really like this program and highly recommend it to give your child a great foundation to be a great speller.

For more information or to order visit. All About Spelling. Be sure to look at the Sample Pages and the Scope and Sequence Pages for each level.

To read more reviews be sure to visit the TOS Homeschool Crew Blog.


Disclosure: This product was provided to me free as a member of the The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew 2009-2010. All reviews and opinions expressed on this blog are my own

Ornament Exchange

Once again we are participating in the ornament exchange with other families over on the FIAR forums. Each year we make an ornament from one of our books we have read. Care to guess what these are? They were mailed out today...only a week late but apparently I am in good company!