HOMEDAZE

Trying again

2012-01-31T19:41:00.000-06:00

I have started so many meme's but I can't ever seem to stick with them.

But I am trying again.

I signed up over at Hip Homeschool Moms for their Hip Homeschool Hop. It happens every week so I am feeling the pressure to perform! lol

I really am going to try to remember to do this every week.

Here goes nothin'!!

Learning to help

2012-01-29T20:41:00.000-06:00

Sweet Pea loves to bake. I love that she loves to bake bc then I don't have to! lol She bakes all kinds of sweets for us to enjoy and now Bug is helping her.

She had a ball helping Sweet Pea mix the chocolate chip muffins!

Sleepovers. Really?

2012-01-28T19:41:00.000-06:00

Our two older girls planned a sleep-over Friday night. I absolutely adore the girls that came over. But I do not enjoy staying up late listening to them giggling.

Not that I mind them giggling, but if I have just fallen asleep it tends to make me cranky to be woken up abruptly by chortling girls.

Anyway...

Friday night I took the oldest two to a movie. It was fun until the movie started. It was a worthless movie that will haunt me for quite some time to come. Jack and Jill with Adam Sandler is one to avoid. After the movie we came back home and I crawled into bed. My bones were crying out to be horizontal.

The girls, however, don't suffer from old bones-itis, and stayed up for longer than I care to think about. Now, truth be told I regularly stay up later than they did on this night but when it is my choice I am much happier about it. They were in their bedrooms by 12:30 but they were far from quiet.

At 12:36 I trudged down the littered hallway trying to avoid breaking my toes on the multiple items haphazardly discarded without a second thought. These same items will be treasured possessions when I late pick them up to take them to Goodwill. It's a priceless tradition that will live on in our household for years to come.

After I have successfully navigated the priceless treasures I knock on the first door. Music is blaring from the room as the door opens. Bright eyed girls open the door, smiling at me. I so did not need to see them smiling. It did nothing for my disposition.

Said girls lovingly gazed at me and said, "Yes, Mommy?" Can I be frustrated at that?

Yup.

I calmly asked them to be quieter and walked to the next room.

I was hopeful that the next set of girls would respond in the same way. The knock on the door was still full of hope. That hope was dashed when the door opened a little too quickly. Both girls in that room were wide-eyed and smiling mischievously. "Yes?" Was what I was met with.

hmmm...

"Please be quite." It's all I could get out without being snarky. Hopefully it would be enough.

I fell asleep quickly and was in that magical black place that is peaceful and sweet. When suddenly I was brought back to reality with a slap in the face. No, not literally. But the giggling and loud talking was just as effective. I staid under the warm blankets for a few more minutes until I heard them again.

They were being so loud. (probably not really but at 1am it seemed like they were screaming) I marched back down the hallway somehow avoiding the tripping hazards and pounded on the door. (knocked quietly not to wake up everyone else but in my heart I was pounding) The music turned off at the sound of my knock but no one answered the door.

More knocking.

Quiet footsteps were heard around the stage whispers.

The door slowly creaked open and a sweet and still too awake face peered out. Her bright eyes really irritated me. I know it wasn't rational but I was extremely and freaky upset with them at that moment. I somehow managed to growl out, "Please be quiet." It wasn't said with the most loving thoughts or feelings but at least I didn't scream at them, right?

"We were trying to be quiet." She squeaked out. She was still smiling and I had the urge to pull her hair or punch her in the face. Did I mention that I was freaky tired?

"T.r.y.h.a.r.d.e.r." I am pretty sure that my lips never moved because my jaw was clenched shut. Then I think I made some idle threats about taking the friends home, spun around on my heel, and stomped back to my room. (I so would not have gotten out at 1am to take a kid home unless they were puking their guts out. I'm just sayin'.) I'm not going to say that I slammed my door; I'll let you figure that one out.

I blissfully fell back asleep while the girls were quiet as church mice high on sugar and caffeine! They were just under my hearing level and so I was able to ignore them. Of course, my snoring may have covered up their giggling but it worked either way!

Saturday morning the girls let me sleep in and didn't ask me to make breakfast. They are so smart! It was a blissful morning of waking up when I was ready to and not having anything to do. Let me tell you, I milked it for everything I could.

I love when the girls have sleep overs. I love their friends. I won't quit letting them but I may make sure that I am caught up on my sleep first! lol

School? hmm...

2012-01-27T19:07:00.000-06:00

Ugh. With our performances on two days, we haven't been doing much school this week. It is frustrating when I see the blank spots in my planner. I am trying to deal with it.

Really I am.

I am just starting to freak out a little that it is the end of January and we are not where we "should" be. BUT, I am positive that our kids learned so much by performing those two days so I will just grin and bear it.

We are going to do as much school as we can today and tomorrow then just pick up next week where we left off.

We will be okay. School will get done.

*breathe* *relax* *enjoy the kids while I have them*

Drama, Drama, Drama

2012-01-25T19:28:00.000-06:00

But not the bad kind!

Our homeschool group is putting on a play. We had auditions in October and have been practicing ever since. We are doing The Surprising Story of the Three Little Pigs.

Our kids are awesome! They have been working hard and are just about ready to show the world.

This Tuesday and Wednesday we had the opportunity to perform a little piece of our play for the pre-school that meets at the church.

Our kids really nailed it. Oh, they weren't perfect but they were awesome none-the-less. They were so nervous but handled it well.

The pre-school kids loved it and asked us to come back next year if we do another show!

I can't wait for our performances. We have our costumes, our sets, our props, and our make-up; we are just waiting on the day!

What a blessing to have this group of kids to work with doing what I love. Did I mention that we have the best group of kids around? ;-)

Pics will be coming soon.

We Choose Virtues Reviews

2012-01-23T21:45:00.001-06:00

I hate it when I find a great product too late. You know the ones that you find when your kids are older but they could have helped you out so much when they were younger?

Yeah, those.

I have found just such a product. We Choose Virtues is a great company with a product that brings Virtue studies to a whole new level.

We Choose Virtues was created by Heather McMillan, my wife of 20 years, out of her love for children and her desire to see them reach their personal potential. As a preschool teacher and a children’s pastor, it concerned her how often she came across children whose lack of self control, honesty and perseverance was almost debilitating. How could they succeed in life without the skills that come from good character?

To read more about We Choose Virtues, visit this page on their website. There is also a great Q & A page that will answer your questions. To find out how it works go here and read all about it. There is so much great information on their website that I highly recommend you visit it and take your time to look around.

This is a wonderful approach to teaching virtues that your kids will love. I was able to review the Virtue Clues Cards and fell in love with them. These cards sell for $5.99. "They are full color and feature The Virtue Kids, their names, the Virtue catchphrase and antonyms, and on the back a "You can do it" challenge!" These are such a handy size that I found I could carry them around the house with us to reference when we needed to.

I also received the Teachers Handbook-a download for $4.99- and the coloring Book-a download for $3- to review. Both are great tools to have, one for the parent and the other to reinforce each virtue.

I have loved having these Virtue Clues Cards handy and I love that the catchphrases are so positive. They take the stance of "I am..." instead of "I will not...". It is a distinction that marks this program as a step up above the rest. I also love the bright colors and absolutely adorable illustrations.

I really do wish that I could have had these when my older girls were young but we are going to use them now anyway! I decided to use them a little differently than the Handbook says but I found it to be effective for my older girls. Each day I would pray over the cards and then I would have the girls pick a card and that would be the Virtue they were to work on for the day. Each and every time The Lord gave them the card they really needed!! It was great and we will keep doing it.

We Choose Virtues have kits available for the Family, Homeschool, Kids Church/Sunday School, Faith-Based Schools, Community Schools, and Mentoring. They have something for just about everyone!

If you want a Virtue Study, then I highly recommend this one. You won't be disappointed with We Choose Virtues.

While you are there don't miss their Clearance page. There are some terrific deals going on you just might want to take advantage of!!

**I was given a copy of these items in exchange for my honest review.

Movie Night

2012-01-22T15:19:00.000-06:00

The Terrell Family Movie Night Revolution was an amazing success!! We all had a blast and plan on doing it again.

Next time we might do a Carnival Night.

Still thinking and planning.

For now, we are reveling in our shared love of movies. ;-)

Terrell Family Movie Night Revolution

2012-01-20T14:24:00.001-06:00

Okay, so The Terrell Family Movie Night Revolution is almost upon us. I have been preparing all week printing off tickets, gathering supplies, and rewarding behavior. It has been pretty great to see the girls excited about getting tickets and preparing for this night.

I am so crazy excited!!

Here are pictures of our concessions stand...

And here is our price list...

We have our movies picked out and I will print the signs and times just before the movies are to start.

I'll take pictures of how we rearrange our living room.

and I'll let you know how it goes...

**I forgot to say what movies we were watching. We are watching Field of Vision and Courageous!

It's lookin' good

2012-01-18T15:07:00.000-06:00

I posted about winning Debra Bell's The Ultimate Homeschool Planner a few weeks ago and how much I thought I was going to like it.

I hadn't planned on using it this year because I already had one that I liked.

After talking with Steven and looking through Debra's planner I decided to chuck the old one and start using this one.

I am still loving it!

I am going to do a post with pictures of my filled in planner soon but for now we are using it to keep us on track and it has worked swimmingly. We have done a full weeks worth of school and documented it in my handy-dandy new planner. ;-)

Workboxes...Playboxes

2012-01-17T10:11:00.000-06:00

I finally have some pictures of our Workboxes/Playboxes for Bug. We have been using them this week and they are a big hit! She loves the new toys and is learning to pick them up, put them away, and only have one tub at a time.

It's been a big week! lol

So, I ordered some educational toys from Timberdoodle. I can not say enough how much I love Timberdoodle. Yes, I am a reviewer for them but I honestly love their products. They are quality made toys that foster imagination. Can it get any better? I don't think so.

Anyway, on to the boxes.

As I said in the earlier post, I moved a bookshelf out to the family room over by our table. It is pretty empty at the moment and is a perfect spot for Bugs boxes. I had to secure it so that it wouldn't fall over**always secure bookshelves when littles are going to use them** and then we could start filling it.

The new bookshelf.

The lower two shelves are just perfect for Bugs boxes. She can get to all of them and put them all away. Sweet!


A close-up of her shelves.

Doesn't her shelf look so cool? It is all fresh and ready to use. I really do love to organize and get shiny new things. roflol

I got these at Wal-Mart!

We might like these toys a little more than Bug does...

This is a puzzle from Timberdoodle...LOVE IT!!


This picture isn't great but she loves this box.

The last picture shows the Snug Bugs-Bug Chain

ImagiPLAY Buddy Blocks

and a wooden shoe for lacing I picked up at a local store.

We also have a tub for coloring books, pages, and crayons. This is a favorite as well. :-)

Oh yeah, don't forget the books. There are only a few on the shelf because she pulls them off constantly to read.

I am pretty sure we will be adding things to this shelf for Bug and maybe switch them out so they don't get boring. ;-)

**I bought with my own money the items from Timberdoodle. This is not a review I just really, really love Timberdoodle's products. ;-)

A Brilliant Idea

2012-01-16T21:21:00.000-06:00

In our family we have long kept Friday night open as a Family Night. We don't schedule anything on that night if we can help it. It has been a wonderful way to end our week.

But to be perfectly honest it has gotten a little boring. We let it get stale and stagnant. Oh we still did it but we weren't really looking forward to it anymore. It was just something we did.

But.no.longer.

Steven and I had an idea that is going to revolutionize our Family Nights from now on. We have been Super excited about it and can not wait for it to happen this Friday.

Want to know what we came up with?

Are you sure?

Well...we love movies here. No, I mean we seriously love them. Over the years we have had movie marathons and will watch movies hundreds of times and they never get old. See? We love movies!

Anyway, we came up with the idea to have a Family Movie Night complete with movie tickets, a concessions stand, and money to get in.

Intrigued?

We decided to charge money-$5-to get in and to buy candy, soda, and popcorn so we had to have a way for the girls to earn money. The cost of each item was set and then we decided how they would earn it. Each day they would get the chance to earn more money. School work that is done at the end of the day would get them $3, completed chores gets $2, etc. They can not bring attention to what they are doing to get tickets but they can mention what their sisters are doing so the sister gets tickets.

Sound like bribery? Yeah, it does to me too and I'm okay with that! We are rewarding them for the things they are doing and inspiring them to do more to earn money. Sounds good to me!!

So, for our Family Movie Night we are having a feature film and possibly a double header for the admission price of $5. Then the concessions stand will be available after they have paid for a ticket. We will have several kinds of candy, chocolate, popcorn, chex mix(for those that don't like popcorn!), nachos, and soda. Each for prices ranging from $2 -$4. Nope, it isn't cheap but neither is the real theater! lol

We are going to set up some extra chairs and maybe move the t.v. to make it more theater-like. The girls are so excited and can't wait to get to Friday!!

Reposting this bc I needed it

2012-01-14T14:45:00.000-06:00

I wrote this almost two years ago but it is still ringing true in my heart today. I need to read this post often. Maybe I will print it out and keep it near.

I hope it blesses someone else.

Follow the link to see what I wrote. ;-)

It can be done and it is worth it.

This is what I want them to remember

2012-01-14T01:17:00.001-06:00

I'm not going to lie to you and tell you that homeschooling has been all sunshine and roses lately. It hasn't been. In fact this season has been one of the hardest I can remember. We have struggled to focus, get things done, and to just be nice to one another.

I know part of that is getting used to Bug being here. You would think that we would be in a groove by now and we kind of are. But as she gets older and gains new skills, our adjustment has to change as well. She is a treasure and we love her so much but none of us remembered what it was like having a toddler under foot while doing school! lol

So, we are trying new things.

I have been ignoring the growing movement of Workboxes for a while now because my girls don't want or need them. And...I don't have the time or inclination to put them together. Mrs. Super-Duper Organized I am not.

BUT...Bug needs to learn to play on her own and we need her to be occupied while we are doing school. So, bring on the Workboxes!

I started paying attention to the blogs that are using this system and got excited. This was totally doable. I knew that we could come up with some things that Bug would love and would help teach her the skills she needs for her age. We could even get involved in making the things we need. Bonus school time there!!

To see some fabulous workboxes in action head over to Confessions of a Homeschooler and check them out!

Okay, here we go.

Plastic tubs were bought, toys were sorted, some new ones were bought, a book shelf was moved, and a plan was formed.

I told the girls the rules for these boxes and that we were going to help Bug learn to play by herself as well as teach her new things. They were completely on board.

We only have a few boxes filled but Bug is already loving them. She is learning that only one box at a time is down and before another comes down the toys have to be picked up and put away. The hard thing for her is that she wants to play with these toys all the time and they are only for when we are doing school. I know she will get used to it and I look forward to seeing her learn new things.

Anyway...

All that to say that tension and stress have been a little high around here lately. So this afternoon after Bug went with Grandma the girls still had school to do.

Did we get it done?

Yup.

But not before there were tears.. Tears from laughing so hard our stomachs hurt. For over an hour we giggled, snorted, teased, and enjoyed each other. It was a fabulous afternoon and I wouldn't trade it for the world. I have missed this and I know the girls have too. Afternoons like this are what I want them to remember.

I am so thankful that the Lord slowed me down and let me relax enough to share this precious afternoon with my sweet girls. What a gift.

**I will try to get some pics of our workboxes soon!

Maestro Classics Review

2012-01-14T00:24:00.003-06:00

I love classical music but my kids not so much. Oh they will listen to it and some of the more "up beat" stuff they will even enjoy but on the whole they just tolerate it.

However, I have found something that satisfies both of us.

Maestro Classics.

Maestro Classics has this simple mission statement:

Our Mission: To cultivate a love of music through education and joyful performances.

Sound simple? Well, it is really. But what Maestro Classics is able to do goes beyond simple and dives straight into magical. If you want to introduce your children to classical music and the art of listening you don't have to worry anymore. Maestro Classics is your answer.

The CD we were privileged to review was The Story of Swan Lake. On this CD we heard several renditions of the classic piece and found out more about Tchaikovsky’s life and most famous ballet score. We enjoyed listening to everything on the CD but perhaps the favorite was Speed Metal Swan. If you are even just a little curious, head over to this page and take a listen!

We have been keeping this CD in the car and listening to it while we drive around. It is a great conversation starter as well as sparking the imagination to try and "see" what is happening in the music.

Maestro Classics offers quite a few CDs, just check them all out here. The Story of Swan Lake sells for $16.98 for the CD and $9.98 for the Download.

While your looking around Maestro Classics website don't forget to check out these links: Music & Life, Kids Club, Educational Materials, and the About Us page.

**I was given a copy of The Story of Swan Lake in exchange for my honest review.

Z-Guide to the Movies Review

2012-01-11T01:15:00.000-06:00

Once again I was blessed to receive a Z-Guide to the Movies from Zeezok Publishing. What you say? You have never heard of a Z-Guide? Well, let me tell you all about them!

What is a Z-Guide?

If your student enjoys watching movies, we just made it easy for you to incorporate them into your curriculum. We have dozens of guides— each of them falling within a specific time in history. All of the guides contain ten educational activities that build upon the movie. The guides are movie specific. We tell you exactly which movie we used, and almost all are available thru Netflix. Most you can probably get through your local library. So you don’t even need to buy the movie to use our guides!

Check out their information page if you have more questions.

Each Z-Guide starts out with a topic overview and then advances on to questions about the movie, activities centered around the historical period of the movie, hands-on activities, world-view activities and more. Z-Guides are a great way to get your students to critically think about the movies they watch. Movies have agendas and if you can teach your student to recognize the tactics used in movie making then they can be less easily influenced by them.

What better way to watch a movie then as a family? How about having activities and discussions during and afterward? We spread the Z-Guide out over two weeks but the recommendation is to complete it in a week. I found it completely adaptable to our needs and would use it spread out again.

If you want to see a sample of what a Z-Guide has in it, head over here and check it out. You will be very impressed.

For our Z-Guide we received My Side of the Mountain. I remember Mrs. Finley reading this book to us in grade school and it stuck with me all these years. So, when I saw that this was an option to show my kids I jumped on it! I couldn't wait to share this movie with my girls.

While I was disappointed with the movie, I was quite happy with the Z-Guide.

It's funny the things you don't remember from childhood and I didn't remember the world-view of this movie. I wouldn't keep my girls from watching it but it was nice to have the Z-Guide to ask the questions and get them to thinking about why the movie/book it was written the way that it was.

If you like to incorporate movies into your schooling, then these would make a wonderful addition to your curriculum.

Zeezok sells the Z-Guides for $12.99 and they range in ages from Elementary ages up through High School. Zeezok also sells the movies the Z-Guides are based on for varying prices. Check their website to see a full listing of Z-Guides and movies.

**I was given a copy of the Z-Guide My Side of the Mountain in exchange for my honest review.

Who doesn't want another one?

2012-01-09T19:06:00.000-06:00

Planner,that is.

I love planners. Almost as much as I love Sharpies and pens. Not quite, but almost. So, when I hear about a different or new planner I simply must check it out. Although I have to say that I don't care for digital planners. I don't want to have to print everything off. Now, if a digital planner could be an app or something that would be used in my phone or ipad...I might just have to check it out! lol

Anyway...I have a planner that I use currently and really really like it. BUT, I won a blog contest on the Apologia facebook party page. I was thrilled of course! I couldn't wait to get this shiny new planner in the mail.

I waited and waited...

Then finally it came! We were on our way out the door for the entire afternoon so I wouldn't be able to look at it until the evening. Can you say torture? ugh It was so hard to focus on play practice when I knew there was a shiny new and wonderful planner sitting in my box waiting for me.

Somehow I managed to concentrate and made it through play practice and home before snatching it up to look through it.

Can you say, "I'm in love?" Because I am. I may even like it more than the one I'm using right now. hmmm...I'll have to wait and see for sure.

I am not giving a full review right now since I just received it. But I guess I should tell you what the planner is!

It is The Ultimate Homeschool Planner by Debra Bell.

Suffice it to say that I will be looking at this much more intently in the next few weeks. I will probably be talking about this planner a bunch. Did you know that the calendars do not have dates on them? That way you can buy the planner at any time during the year and it will work right away. No waiting for the right time of year to start using your planner! Gotta love that. ;-)

I am also loving How to Use section. It's great to get a planner with all kinds of cool pages in it but it's even better when thy give you suggestions, ideas, and ways to use them!

Oh, oh, oh and another way too cool thing...Debra Bell signed my planner!! I will never be able to get rid of it now! heehee

I am really going to love getting to know this new planner! Stay tuned for a more in-depth review in the next few weeks.

The BIG Fort by Toydle Review

2012-01-08T20:13:00.000-06:00

Our family was blessed to receive a BIG Fort from Toylde. I am going to give you some information about the company and then I will tell you what we thought about The BIG Fort.

Toydle is the brain child of Robert Brownfield. Rob—president of Worry-Free Manufacturing in Boise, Idaho—has been making quality products for years. He is also the father of two fraternal twins, Ike and Molly. (Their pictures adorn our website.) Like all good fathers who refuse to (fully) grow-up, he loves toys, and he loves to give toys to his kids.
Problem is, as you’re fully aware, good toys are hard to find—real, high-quality, long-lasting toys.

Frankly, most toys are only slightly better than junk.

Awhile back Rob brought home a toy for his son. Within five minutes it had met its fate on the driveway concrete. Busted. Worthless. And only five minutes old! While stewing on this reality Rob thought, “This is dumb! I can build better stuff than this. I do build better stuff than this!”

And so The Toydle Dream was born.

Toydle Forts are made in the USA—in Boise, Idaho. Each tube is cut, each wood block is hand-shaped by an American worker. We believe that with a little American ingenuity we can make products better and more cost-effective than sending the work overseas. We believe that we can win jobs back for our workers and our economy. We practice it every day!

And we guarantee every Toydle product—we will replace any product or piece thereof that fails for any reason, even if your little critters leave a block out in the rain, or try to do pull-ups with a tube.

The quality of our products speak for themselves.

And yes, the quality does speak for itself. The website says, "We won't settle for making junky toys..." and let me tell you, I believe them. The quality of this fort is amazing. I love the sturdy wooden blocks that are used for the joints and the pvc pipe is heavy enough not to break easily but also light enough for kids to handle. Toydle also includes clamps so that you can put a roof on your fort! Head over to this page to see the specifications of the pvc and blocks. Yes, these pieces are sturdy but they are not for climbing on.

Watch this video to see a bit about it:

When we first opened our box, I was pleasantly surprised by the duffel bag the pieces were in. It is a sturdy bag that will surely last a very long time. Plus, you have somewhere to keep the pieces when you are not using the Fort. Bonus!!

The next thing I notices was that there no instructions. Aagghh!! Yes, I sent up a panicked scream. When I was done fretting, I asked some friends if they had received instructions only to find that their answer was on as well. A sweet friend gently told me, "That's kind of the point. Let your kids play and just see what they can come up with." Um, yeah I knew that.

Today we are so used to toys telling us how to play with them that I think we forget to be creative and just play. Our kids are pretty good at it if we let them.

So, we unpacked our fort, squealed with delight, and got to playing. The first night we had the Big Fort open, the kids made the biggest fort they could. They used every piece! It completely filled up the bedroom. That night they camped in the Fort and giggled all night. The next time they built their fort, they made a two room house. The next, a tower for a princess. Each time it has been different and each time they created it to fit their imaginative play.

I think besides the quality, the thing I like most about The Toydle Big Fort is that it allows my children to create a play space to fit their imaginations and that is different every time they play. What better way to foster their minds than to give them the tools for creative play?

Toydle offers two different forts. The Toydle Fort which sells for $149 and The BIG Toydle Fort that sells for $229. That may seem a little steep but let me tell you, these forts will last until your grandchildren are ready to play with them. Okay, maybe not but they will last a very long time!

To find out more about Toydle, the company, head on over to their website and look around. If you want to order a for your family and being the imagination adventure head over here.

**I received this product in exchange for my honest review.

Look What I am going to do next...

2012-01-05T20:36:00.000-06:00

K5 Learning has an online reading and math program for kindergarten to grade 5 students. I've been given a 6 week free trial to test and write a review of their program. If you are a blogger, you may want to check out their open invitation to write an online learning review of their program.
Watch for my upcoming review...

Sad and Breaking News

2012-01-05T20:16:00.001-06:00

If you have read my blog at all in the last year and a half you know I have been a proud member of The Old Schoolhouse Magazines Homeschool Crew. I have absolutely loved doing reviews with them and am so honored that I was chosen for that privilege.

Unfortunately, that time has come to an end. Changes are afoot and I can no longer remain there. I have tendered my resignation as of this morning and am no longer part of The Crew.

I will fulfill my obligation of finishing the reviews that are outstanding so beware, they will all probably hit at once!

Changes are hard no matter what but when they are handled badly it makes it even worse.

Another rant...

2012-01-01T12:37:00.001-06:00

I am feeling bruised and cranky so beware!

Why do we insist on making the Bible relevant? Why do we feel the need to change it to make it more or better for this generation? Are they really that much different than past generations or do we believe the Bible is different now? Not as good so we have to make it better for people to "get it." We can make the Bible so "relevant" that is no longer effective.

It is no secret that I have questioned the whole Seeker Friendly movement since it started. I believe it is wrong. One of those reasons being that Seeker Friendly churches have to change their churches to make it more enticing for the unsaved. They need to have the best and coolest that the world has to offer and bring it in to the church so that the world feels more comfortable there. Anybody else see a problem with that? If an unsaved person is comfortable in a church that is just like the world then why would they need to change? There would be no reason. Churches shouldn't be enticing people to their doors, it is the job of The Holy Spirit and no one elses. We can invite them but if God has not called them then they won't be ready to receive the Gospel no matter how relevant the church is. Church is for the believer to learn, grow, and be lifted up with other believers. How can that happen when the church caters to the unsaved?

Oh yeah, small groups. You know the ones that gather up other Christians to fellowship and do some Bible Study. Now, there is nothing wrong with small groups, I have been in them and loved them but not one of those people was my pastor who had been trained to preach the Word. Isn't that the job of my pastor, to lead the flock? I thought it was, that's why he has a doctorate right? The pastor is responsible for teaching the Word and when I am chastised for believing that, it rubs me wrong.

It also rubs me wrong when people I have known for quite some time say things like this, "Are you sure you just aren't trying to stir up trouble? You do like to cause controversy." I guess they didn't know me as well as I thought or I was stepping on their toes by having my own opinion. I haven't been quiet about how I feel about these issues. I have asked leadership and people whom I trust but have met with derision and patronization at every turn. Who needs that?

Not me. So we made a change and it has been the best decision we have made in a very long time. The move to change to a real Bible believing and Bible preaching church. not one that has themes and a show, just the Word. Yeah, that statement will make some mad and that's okay. They are entitled to their opinion just as much as I am. But since this is my blog and a place for me to talk about what is going on in my life, I guess you don't have to read it. There have been blogs that have things I don't agree with so I didn't read that post. Feel free to disagree but don't bother trying to change my mind others have tried and were not so nice about it and so now I am resistant to even listen. It's ugly but true.

Quite frankly if we hadn't found this new church, I might have been turned off of church altogether. Christians do tend to shoot their own.

Whew, I think I am done for now. I think I will take a nap and try to get over this sinus/cold thing.

Did I mention that it was going to be a long week??

2011-12-27T22:41:00.000-06:00

When Bean broke her arm last week, I knew we were in for it. She is not the most patient patient. she is whiney, crabby, and generally hard to deal with. She broke her right arm so she is basically helpless,too. But beyond that she WILL NOT SIT STILL.

She cries bc she can't do cartwheels. Okay, that's not exactly true-we won't let her do them. She can do one armed cartwheels but we have forbidden her to do them. We also had to forbid her to jump off the couch, jump off the fifth from the bottom step, jump on a trampoline, play soccer, and just about everything else she is crying to do. ugh kill me now if she has to have a cast for the next six weeks.

I love her but oh my goodness I am done with a six year old in a cast.

yeah, that doesn't win me any mothering awards but it's the truth!

Homemade Christmas

2011-12-26T22:32:00.000-06:00

Every few years my family does a Homemade Christmas. We really love it and usually start planning for it more than six months in advance!

This year was no exception. This was one of the best Christmases that I can remember. It was low-key and focused on relationships and not on what gift was given/received. Instead the gifts represented the person giving them and showed their love to the person receiving them. Can it get any better than that? I don't think so.

Our girls made some yummy food, played the piano, and wrote poems/letters as their gifts. I can't wait to see what they come up with next year!

It's a little different this year

2011-12-25T22:28:00.000-06:00

We always give the kids pajamas for their Christmas Eve presents. Always. It's a fun tradition that they look forward to.

This year I just wasn't feeling it. The Christmas spirit was eluding me so I took the girls with me when I went shopping for their jammies. They picked them out-there was no surprise, no special moment of me choosing just the right thing for each of my kids. Nope, there was a tired and lazy momma letting the kids pick their own jammies.

And guess what?

They loved them just as much as if I had spent lots of time choosing them. ;-)

That's not the only thing we did differently this year.

We didn't buy presents for them either. we bought a few stocking stuffers at the Dollar Tree but nothing else. We did give them $25 but that's it. It was simple and sweet.

They loved that too!

Here's to simple Christmases that focus on family and not on things.

Gearing up for Christmas

2011-12-23T22:22:00.000-06:00

It's no secret that I wait until the last minute to buy Christmas presents. But there are several reasons that I do that.

1. I HATE shopping. Seriously hate it.

2. I CAN NOT KEEP A SECRET. It is so bad that I will buy it and then tell the person all about it. I have always been that way, just ask my sister!

So, I waited until twelve days before Christmas to buy presents. I don't think I will wrap them, though! lol

What a long week

2011-12-21T12:11:00.000-06:00

**I am post dating this to keep up the right dating for the book I am printing of my blog! bear with me, please? ;-)

Sunday night my older two girls and I went to a Christmas play. It was a play written and directed by a student in our homeschool group. It was great! He did a super job and I am so glad we went.

However, while we were at the play enjoying ourselves Steven was at home with the younger three kiddos. He texted me and complained about the DRAMA that was going on at home. No surprise there!

We finally got home and what did I find? Bean sitting in the chair crying. Her arm was propped up and she was very upset.

Evidently she and Peanut had been wrestling and Peanut(10) pulled her off the couch by her feet. Bean(6) landed with her arm down and behind her. Screaming like a banshee commenced along with much wailing and gnashing of teeth.

By the time I got home her elbow was swollen and she was in quite a bit of pain. I tried to move it, yeah not smart but I always do it, and she almost threw up. Not a good sign.

The minor emergency was closed, however, and so we had to wait until morning to have her seen.

She and I were up early Monday morning to get to the meo by 8 and were there for two hours. :( By the time we left Bean had a half cast on and an appointment to see the doc again next week.

Her arm is broken up by her elbow but it was too swollen to see clearly or to cast it. So not cool.

Here are some pics:

She was crying bc she thought it would hurt.

She's crying bc it DID hurt. :(

The nurse & I made her laugh after the tears.


She is not admiring it-it was throbbing.

We finally got out of there with the cast, a sling, an appointment, and a warning that it would probably get worse before it got better. It did. She cried for almost three days. Hopefully next week we will know more and they can put her in a full cast so it's better protected.

TOS Review Barchowsky Fluent Handwriting App-Letters Make Words

2011-12-19T20:15:00.000-06:00

Who doesn't love technology? It can used for so many things- to make life fun or it can be used for educational purposes.

But, there are times and Apps that combine both! Can you hear the celebration going on over at our house?

I was fortunate to be chosen to be on the App Crew as part of The TOS Crew and our very first app review is for Barchowsky Fluent Handwriting App Letters Make Words. You can find more about this cool app here. This is an app for the ipad and can be purchased right now for $2.99. Isn't that a great price?

I'll give you just a bit of info here until you head on over and check it out for yourself.

Learn and teach handwriting with phonics, an app designed by a Handwriting Specialist and an Early Childhood Specialist. The purpose of Letters Make Words is to help beginning writers develop good handwriting habits for all academic and adult needs, and to learn basic phonemes.

The first screens offer suggestions of how to use Letters Make Words. Then letters are presented. The user can select any letter. Each one comprises a complete unit of instruction for that letter, a warmup pattern, the letter and a word to trace and to sound out. When a letter has a different sound depending on its usage in words, choose from either of two words. The next screen has three words to sound out with a silly sentence for the child to write on paper.

That's just a bit about it from the app store. Now, here's what we thought about it.

Three of my children used this app and three of them loved it! The 12yo needs extra help with handwriting due to eye teaming problems, the 10yo needs to practice on letter formation more, and the 6yo just needs more practice with writing. Each one needed something different from this app and they all got what they needed.

They would sit down with my ipad and start it up-I didn't even have to ask them to do it they would ask to do it. It did take a bit to get used to how to make it work but it wasn't too big of a learning curve. It was extremely easy to download and it started right up without any hoops to jump through. The only thing we did have a problem with was the sound. We didn't realize there was supposed to be a voice guiding the student through the steps until we re-read the start up page. lol It's always a good idea to read directions! We plugged in some earphones and it was like a brand new app.

My 12yo has been doing italics for handwriting but the 10 yo has been doing classic cursive and I was surprised at how easily both of them were able to implement this app. It did not detract from their individual courses of study for handwriting. That's a bonus when you have several kids using it.

Here are some screen shots from the app:

If you are even the slightest bit curious about this app I highly suggest you head on over to check it out. This is a great way for kids to practice handwriting that they won't whine about!

If you want to see what other Crew members thought of this app, head on over to The Crew Blog and check them out.

**I was given a copy of Letters Make Words through The TOS Crew in exchange for my honest review.

Christmas shopping

2011-12-16T14:17:00.000-06:00

Yeah, I waited until this week to do our Christmas shopping. Why? Well, I thought I had another month. Seriously I did. I know it was just delusional but I really believed it.

So, marathon shopping was in order. I just love shopping. And if you believe that you have either never met me or are really gullible. Sorry, I am feeling a bit snarky. The stress of the shopping experience hasn't worn off yet.

Okay, I'll be nice now. ;-) We were able to get almost all of our Christmas presents on our extremely long day of shopping. I even was able to buy the stuff to make homemade vanilla. I'll let you know how that turns out!

I am still not ready for Christmas. I haven't bought any presents for the kids yet. sshhh Don't tell them! We did finally put up the tree but no other decorations. I just can't bring myself to get in the spirit of the season. I will be glad when it is over. How's that for cynical?

I better go before I get even worse than snarky!

Opportunity to Bless

2011-12-12T21:36:00.000-06:00

Each year our homeschool group goes caroling at a local nursing home. We sing four or five songs and then pass out handmade cards to the residents. It is a sweet time for the moms to be able to watch their children bless others. I love to see my girls hug, hold hands, and visit with these wonderful people. To see the looks on the faces of the residents when the children are talking to them is absolutely priceless.

And this year we got to take Bug with us. She was a little hesitant at first but was soon blowing kisses, saying Hi and Bye, and giving hugs! She was so good and the residents just adored her. I wonder how often the residents are visited by children or get to hug on little ones.

I love that our group makes this a priority and I look forward to it every year. I think it blesses me more than it does the residents. ;-)

Sunday, Oh Sunday

2011-12-11T21:06:00.000-06:00

I love our new church! I just can't say that enough. I really, really love it. The girls love it and so does Steven. We are so happy and feel like it's home.

I got a great nap and watched most of two football games. I think that rounds out the day quite nicely. ;-) heehee

The week will start and we will try to get school caught up so that we can have a good long break for Christmas. Wish us luck!

Christmas Recital 2011

2011-12-10T20:39:00.001-06:00

Our oldest, Sunshine, had her Christmas Recital this afternoon. She did a wonderful job. She was so nervous, but she overcame her fears and used her talent for God's glory.

So proud of all my kids. :-)

This is the day Momma explodes

2011-12-07T20:12:00.000-06:00

Did you hear it?? My head just exploded. Yup, that was the sound of my frustration bubbling over and spewing molten rage all ove the house. No one was safe from venting.

Why would I do such a thing you ask?

Hmm...let me tell you.

My wonderful children haven't been doing their schoolwork. Or at least very little of it.

Yes, we have been down this road before. Yes, I thought they had learned their lesson.

Apparently I was wrong.

They were even more wrong to thing that their lives would remain the same after today.

Life is going to get a whole lot harder for them 'cause Momma ain't happy.

And you know what happens when Momma ain't happy! (someone might want to warn my kids!)

Double Digits

2011-12-06T20:08:00.000-06:00

Today my precious third born turns 10! I can't believe it. It is crazy that she can be that old already. It seems like yesterday she was born and the older two asked if we could keep her! lol

What a blessing she is to all of us.

Her birthday is being spread out over the whole week as we are celebrating on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday. Oh, we also sang Happy Birthday on Monday at our hoemschool groups Craft Day.

Special blessings for an extra special girl.

Love ya, Peanut!

Not my favorite day of the year

2011-12-05T20:00:00.000-06:00

Every year our homeschool group has Craft Day. Sounds fun, doesn't it? Yeah, it's not.

Don't get me wrong. I love the kids in our group, they are awesome. I love being with them.

I love crafts, as well. I do crafts every chance I get.

I just don't like putting the two together!

We have around 60 kids in our group that range in age from 1yo to 16. How do you find crafts that appeal to all of them?

You don't.

And we only get 20 minutes for each craft.

Can you say herding them like cattle? It is such a short time frame that we barely have time to finish explaining the craft when it is time to switch.

Aagghhh!

it is stressful

But we all survived and we got to eat some yummy food! lol That makes it all worth it. ;-)

At least I don't have to do it again until next year!!

Not a great reason

2011-12-04T19:44:00.000-06:00

You know when you miss church because you are sick or on vacation or something like that? It's not too big a deal. But when you miss church because two of your children are being completely disrespectful and disobedient it is stinky. I missed church today, you know the church that I love, so that I could stay home and clean house. Not only that I had two kidds with me that were being beligerent and rude. We got to clean house all morning long.

Oh joy.

I was not a happy momma.

But at least the house was clean and I think they got the point about doing their work. ;-)

Blessings small and wonderful

2011-12-03T21:43:00.000-06:00

Today I was able to go to a mom's get together for our homeschool group. The gathering was small but we had wonderful food and even better conversation. I am so blessed to be part of this group and so incredibly thankful that they accept me the way that I am.

What a wonderful time we had refreshing our hearts talking and laughing for several hours. Thank you ladies for your friendship and love.

TOS Review Pitsco Review

2011-12-02T20:05:00.000-06:00

I love to build things. Small things, big things, crafty things, and useful things. It really doesn't matter what, I just love putting things together. When we can combine school and building things it's a win-win situation!!

The TOS Crew was fortunate to review some items for Pitsco. We received the Siege Machines pack from Pitsco and it is AWESOME! The pack included a kit for a trebuchet and a catapult. Everything we needed was included with directions that were easy to follow. The kit sells for $21.95 and is well worth it.

We waited until we had plenty of time to build these siege machines but we only got to one of them. We started with the trebuchet and when it was built the kids were having too much fun to stop playing and build the catapult! The catapult will be built on Christmas vacation and I am sure that I will be dodging flying objects for quite a while.

When we started building this we cleared a space on the floor and we all gathered 'round. The instructions were well written and easy to use. I do wish that the pictures were a little easier to see-some were too dark and hard to see the details. But, that was easy to overcome from the descriptions.

We laid out our pieces, found our super glue, and got started. Before anything could be put together, the kids reminded everyone that Mom wasn't allowed to use the super glue. Man, one time of gluing my fingers together and they never let me forget it. When that statement was out of the way, Dad took charge of the super glue and I was in charge of the instructions.

After the pieces were laid out, we started the figuring it out. Once we identified the correct pieces for the right steps we were on our way!

It started coming together pretty quickly and we were encouraged with our progress. It was really starting to look like the picture. lol

Then the instructions said to cut notches in two of the small pieces of wood. hmm...these kits should be used with adult supervision, by the way. As you can see, Dad did the notching at our house.

Notches were made, the arm was attached and we really started getting excited. Not too much more and we would be able to test it out.

We had a little trouble bending the paper clip the right way but once we figured it out, we were ready to test out our trebuchet.

See the purple sling on the left side of the picture? That is where our clay cannon ball was before it launched across the room! It was SO COOL!! We all jumped with excitement and did it over and over again.

This is such a neat kit. We have truly loved putting it together and playing with and can not wait to get the catapult put together. This is a great way to study these siege machines and the history they represent. And to help learn the history of these machines a neat booklet is included. There is a section on the history of these machines and then the book is divided up into sections.

First up is the catapult. There is in-depth information about tension, torsion, and how to do experiments using mass vs. distance. There is also a section using math to calculate how far projectiles with fly depending on weight.

The trebuchet is next with much of the same type of information. Except with the trebuchet there is an explanation of levers and gravity. There are also experiments to conduct with the trebuchet and the science behind the force and motion of a trebuchet.

At the back of the book there is a list of Standards that are addressed the material covered as well as an additional resources list.

This is a great addition to the study of history, science, math, and hands-on for your school. It is an amazing product for a great price. Trust me, there are hours and hours of fun to be had with these siege machines.

Wanna get your own kit? Head over to the Pitsco website and order one! While you are there check out the other amazing products they offer. You can contact them, request a catalog, and find out about the company. Be sure to look around and explore all the things the site has to offer.

If you want to see more great reviews from other Crew members, head on over to The Crew Blog and check them out.

**I received this Trebuchet/catapult kit from Pitsco through The Crew in exchange for my honest review.

Final Performance!

2011-12-02T17:14:00.000-06:00

The last performance for Alice in Wonderland Jr was a big hit. All sets of grandparents were there and Sweet Pea did a fabulous job again! She is such a joy to watch on stage. I really look forward to seeing her grow as an actress and a singer. Now that we know she can *sang*, she is going to be doing it more often!! ;-)

Here are some pics, although they aren't the best. I was trying to watch and take pics at the same time and that doesn't always work! lol

Did I get any video of her song? Nope. I was so busy trying not to cry that I completely forgot to record. :-(

The White Rabbit

2011-12-01T22:00:00.001-06:00

Our 12 yo Sweet Pea is The White Rabbit in a production of Alice in Wonderland Jr and tonight was their first performance.

This is the girl that loves to act but doesn't like to sing. And she has several solos.

She was fabulous!! At the beginning of her first song she got off a little bit but she kept her composure and stayed in character and just listened to the music for a moment...then got back on track and finished the song perfectly.

Her acting was awesome with little extra character things. It was fun to watch her. It always is though. I love seeing her use her God given gifts for His honor and glory.

I pray that we can find more opportunities for her to explore and grow her talents more and more.

Oh yeah, I did take pics and will post them as soon as I get them off the camera! lol

The Best Christmas Gift...Ever!!

2011-12-01T09:00:00.000-06:00

If you are looking for a Christmas present for your kids, I have just the thing.

A fort. But not just any fort, I'm talking about a Toydle Toy Fort.

Never heard of Toydle? Hold on to your hats and I'll tell you all about them.

Toydle is the brain child of Robert Brownfield. Rob—president of Worry-Free Manufacturing in Boise, Idaho—has been making quality products for years. He is also the father of two fraternal twins, Ike and Molly. (Their pictures adorn our website.) Like all good fathers who refuse to (fully) grow-up, he loves toys, and he loves to give toys to his kids.

Problem is, as you’re fully aware, good toys are hard to find—real, high-quality, long-lasting toys.

Frankly, most toys are only slightly better than junk.

Awhile back Rob brought home a toy for his son. Within five minutes it had met its fate on the driveway concrete. Busted. Worthless. And only five minutes old! While stewing on this reality Rob thought, “This is dumb! I can build better stuff than this. I do build better stuff than this!”

And so The Toydle Dream was born.

Toydle Forts are made right here in the USA in Boise, Idaho. Each tube is cut, each wood block is hand-shaped by an American worker. We believe that with a little American ingenuity we can make products better and more cost-effective than sending the work overseas. We believe that we can win jobs back for our workers and our economy. We practice it every day!

And we guarantee every Toydle product—we will replace any product or piece thereof that fails for any reason, even if your little critters leave a block out in the rain, or try to do pull-ups with a tube.

The quality of our products speak for themselves.

All Toydle Forts are constructed with

Hand made wooden blocks 3” sq. made with high quality, laminated poplar.
High Quality PVC tubes 29” long & 1/2in wide.

All Toydle Forts include an industrial strength storage bag.

All Toydle Forts include clips to help secure your sheets and blankets.

Our Forts are the strongest, longest lasting, and highest quality forts you will find anywhere! And we’ll back that up with an Unlimited Warrantee! No one else even comes close to what we offer!

Toydle Toy Forts come in two different size-The Toydle Fort which runs $149 and The BIG Toydle Fort that sells for $229. To check out these Toy Forts, head on over to the Toydle website and read all about them. You can also contact them via phone or email at:

Email us: info@toydle.com
Call us: (208) 371-9929

You can also visit them on Facebook!

Now for some exciting news:

The TOS Crew is hosting a give away for THREE of The BIG Toydle Forts. Just head on over and check out how to enter.

NOTE: This contest is open to residents of the United States ONLY. TOS Staff and TOS Crew Members (and their families) are not eligible to enter this contest.

TOS Review Artistic Pursuits

2011-11-30T17:24:00.000-06:00

I love Art. I love to gaze upon it, ponder it, soak it in, and just generally enjoy it. Having to teach art is another story.

I have not artistic talent in my body. None at all. Well, that's not totally true I guess. I can sing, dance, and act but I CAN NOT DRAW. I am okay at smiley faces and very simple stick figures but that's about it. I have these wonderful visions in my mind of what I would like to dray, it just never comes out on paper the way I see it in my mind.

So, to teach art to my kiddos is very daunting. We have tried several things including having them just look at a famous piece of art and then recreate it. That works fine but it doesn't really teach them how to draw. As you can imagine with five girls in the house, we do a lot of coloring and drawing so when Artistic Pursuits came up for review with The TOS Crew, I begged to be on the list. Our oldest has talent for drawing and surprises me often by what she draws. I was mainly thinking of her when I asked to review it, but my 9 yo is asking to do it next year. And after the 6yo heard that she wants to do it also! I think I will have the 6yo wait a while for this book, though. ;-)

Artistic Pursuits is a great art program. It is easy to implement and easy to use. I am impressed at how well this program teaches the how-to's of art as well as giving the students a feeling of accomplishment without overwhelming them with technical speak.

From the website:

The ARTistic Pursuits approach to teaching art is a welcome departure from typical art instruction books. This award winning homeschool art program meets the specific needs of homeschoolers at home. A variety of fun art lessons teach both the expressive and technical aspects of art while allowing children to make choices about what and how they will draw, paint, and sculpt.

Philosophy:

At Artistic Pursuits Inc., we believe every child can understand the concepts of art and enjoy the process of putting ideas and visual images on paper. We're committed to the goal of helping children become visually aware of the wonderful world we live in, and be able to work in creative ways within this world. We offer parents and teachers a simple way to give children a quality art education that will prepare them to meet creative challenges in their future endeavors.

How Artistic Pursuits teaches art:

The Artistic Pursuits program presents both the expressive and the technical aspects of art in an age-appropriate manner. Children are curious and expressive from the start. We work with those interests to teach them to observe more closely. Skills develop as each child observes nature and enjoys the process of creating. Using ARTistic Pursuits, a child carries art tools to locations which both inspire and are chosen by the child. Creating truly personal work gives a child a sense of accomplishment that cannot be attained by copying from a book or watching an adult do it for him. They learn because direct observation is the best teacher when accompanied by an understanding of the foundational elements of art and compositional ideas. Children examine and explore these key ideas by seeing them in their own world, in art works by the masters, through pages demonstrating techniques, and through art of their own and of others. Childhood development studies were foundational to the layout of the program. ARTistic Pursuits lessons offer children the right kinds of information at the right time. We expect a child to be a child and we value what they produce from their own hands. Projects do not try to force young children to draw like adults. Our projects do not require patience and discipline on the part of the child, which leads to frustration. Children don't need patience when their own interests and motivations are guiding them.

For more information on Artistic Pursuits, look at this page and you can see the components of each lesson. There is also a FAQ page that can answer your questions. To see their list of products, head to this page.

We received Junior High Book 1 and we just love it! This book sells for $42.95 and is totally worth it.

In this book, my 13yo learned to feel confident learning and trying new concepts. It was fun to see her try new things and I just might be tempted to try it out myself!

One of her lessons had her working with drawing the eye to the center of the page or into the drawing rather than sending the eye out away from the drawing. It was a somewhat hard concept to understand at first since we didn't necessarily see anything wrong with the example, but the more we looked at it and the more we re-read the information...we got it.

Then, she had to draw it.

That was easier said than done to begin with. At first, she was hesitant to try but when she finally started, it went really well. At least I think it did. See what you think:

I think that is pretty good!

I am so looking forward to using this curriculum more as well as maybe getting the books for the younger girls. There are books for ages/grades Preschool all the way up through high school. I am just so impressed with how easily they teach the students how to draw. As well as Art History, Art Appreciation, Vocabulary, Cultures, and Artists. This is such a well-rounded and well done curriculum that I would recommend it without reservation.

If you want to see what books are available from Artistic Pursuits, head over to this page. You will see a description of each and then be able to choose the appropriate book for your student. If you want to see what other Crew members though of the books they received, head over to The Crew blog and check them out.

**I received the Junior High Book 1 from Artistic Pursuits through The TOS Crew in exchange for my honest review.

FFH One Silent Night Review

2011-11-29T21:59:00.001-06:00

And it just so happens that the new FFH One Silent Night was just the kind of Christmas music that I love. It is a wonderful mix of traditional Christmas music with original renditions of some of my favorite music.

This review is late. :( I found a few that slipped under my
radar so I will be catching them up in the next few days.

This Christmas album is one that you will want to pick up. One silent Night is a great album. I love Christmas music but I don't like it when they completely change the traditional songs into something unrecognizable. It bothers me. My hubby likes it being that he's a musician, but it frustrates me. But that is just me.

This is one that we will listen to repeatedly throughout the Christmas season and probably the rest of the year as well.

Check out these links and see what I'm talking about for yourself.

FFH

'One Silent Night' (released 10/18)

Website: http://ffh.net/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/FFHmusic

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/FFHMusic

iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/one-silent-night/id474548207

"Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services
mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I
only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.
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"Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

TOS Review Great Commission Languages French Jr.

2011-11-28T20:52:00.000-06:00

Foreign language has forever been a pebble in our homeschooling shoes. We just can't seem to find anything that works-I should say that we like.

Until now. I was chosen to review Great Commission Languages French Jr. I was skeptical, I'll admit it. We have tried so many things only to get frustrated and give up. So I didn't hold out much hope but I openened it up and looked through it.

Here is a little about Great Commission Languages French Jr.

Le Français Facile! is:

A Complete French Curriculum!
A Scientifically Designed Curriculum!
Easy to teach, even if you don't know any french at all!
Fun to learn, with funny stories and interesting activities.
French Scripture, songs, games and coloring pages
Great for homeschool co-op groups!
Digitally mastered enhanced CD for audio and computer
Printable free activity sheets: no purchasing consumable activity books or photocopying!
Teaches French language and French grammar through literature based entertaining storylines
3 year program for younger students
1 year program for older students and Fast track option for teens
French Culture of France and Québec with optional projects (including idiom projects)
Use of Tomatis and SAMONAS sound theories to facilitate learning
Follows Charlotte Mason Method, Bloom’s Taxonomy and higher order theories by Dr. Jeanne Chall
Certificate of Completion available with submission of two projects
Written by a francophone mom of 4 in her 10th year of home educating

Follow this link to see a sample from Lesson 1. Or follow this link and see several samples from several different books as well as a video.

I was cautiously excited. The book contained worksheets, a listening CD, printable worksheets, and teaching material. I was pleased to read the Introduction that helped explain how to use the curriculum and then the Extra Resources page that listed famous French people. It's always good tie in learning with real world experiences. Then the characters are listed with their names and pictures. This is helpful when listening to the CD or working through the Lessons. These help give visual cues for better recall.

The Lessons are divided up into sections for listening to the CD, Vocabulary, Activity, Teacher Helps, and Cultural Notes. Each section is easily understood by the student for some independent work if they are older or easy implementation for the mom/teacher. We have really enjoyed using this curriculum.

My 9yo says,"I really like learning French and this makes it so easy and fun!"

That says it all doesn't it? If you want to check out this great curriculum head on over to their website and see for yourself. This just might the answer to your foreign language woes like it was for us.

Le Francais Facile Junior sells for $69.95 and can be seen along with the other French programs offered by Great Commission Languages.

While you are their website don't miss out on the Extra Activities to enhance your French studies. Also, check out their Mandate to find out a little more about the curriculum or this page to find out more about the company as well as ways to contact them.

Want to find out what other Crew Members thought of Great Commission Languages French and Spanish programs? Head over to The Crew Blog and check them out. You won't be disappointed.

**I received Le Fracais Facile Jr. Level through The TOS Crew in exchange for my honest review.

They look so young

2011-11-25T18:20:00.000-06:00

Tonight my dh and I got to go to a college basketball game. My dad and his wife asked us to go with them and of course we said yes! We had amazing seats…four rows off of the court. They were close enough to see everything but yet far enough away to not get hammered by the ball or big flying boys!

As we sat there watching the game I marveled at their heights. Several were 7’ tall! They were ginormous. I am sure that their shorts would have been regular pants for me-probably dragging the ground. lol

But the one thing that stood out to me the most was how young they all looked. They looked like babies! I know that these very tall boys were all college age but they just looked so young. I am sure that it is because I am getting older…ahem…but I really think that college kids are getting younger and younger. I just know that I didn’t look that young when I was in college. Right?

I know that I was more mature and looked much older than my age. roflol

It’s funny how getting older gives you a different perspective on age.

Livin’ life and havin’ fun

2011-11-24T17:55:00.000-06:00

Life moves on and we just have to hang on and try to keep up. Or at least not get run over and left behind. lol

Watching the girls grow and change is kind of sad. They are becoming lovely young ladies but pretty soon I won’t be able to say even that. Sunshine will be 14 this January and she definitely isn’t little anymore! I am loving the wonderful young women I see them becoming and can’t wait to see what plans God has for them.

What an amazing gift He has given us with these girls. They drive me crazy quite frequently but I couldn’t imagine my life without them.

What a ride parenting is. As young people getting ready to have kids you think you know everything. Then the baby comes and the hospital sends you home with the little bundle of joy and you realize that you have no clue what to do with it or for it. That feeling doesn’t get any better over the years. It gets stronger in fact. The older they get the more you realize that you are flying by the seat of your pants. There is no handbook that prepares you for the challenges that come up or the heart-breaking things your children do. The only strength we can rely on is His strength and His wisdom to guide us as parents. He knows our children better than we ever could and loves them more than we do so why wouldn’t we ask for His help.

I love being a mom and how it has changed me. If I can survive five girls, I can do anything! heehee

Theatre fun

2011-11-22T17:49:00.000-06:00

Our 12 yo dd has been fortunate to be involved in music theatre once again. She auditioned for a part in Alice in Wonderland and was given the part of The White Rabbit! The performances are the first part of December. She is doing a great job and it has been fun to see her explore her character and grow as a performer. I am so glad she has the opportunity to explore the talent God gave her.
I will try to post pictures of the performances.

TOS Review Reading Game

2011-11-21T17:08:00.000-06:00

Teaching kids to read is pretty important, don’t you think? Reading is something that we all need and yet so many struggle to do it. Whether it is because of vision problems or reading disabilities there are definite barriers to some kids learning to read.

So, when a product comes out to help parents and children achieve success in reading I think that’s a good thing. No, that’s a great thing. When a child is successful at reading it translates to other areas of their lives and makes them feel confident in their abilities and themselves.

That’s something we all want for our kids.

Here is where The Reading Game comes in. The Reading Game is a wonderful game designed to help children learn to read while having fun so there is no pressure or frustration.

The Reading Game is set up so that the child plays the game and then uses the words they have learned to read the books. The Reading game has six illustrated storybooks-Skunk, Bear, Snake Unicorn, Penguins, and Zebra. All the games have a color coded word matching card game for ease of use. The memory games are played in stages for each book. The student learns five words in each stage. By the end of the first book, the student will be able to read 30 words.

“Frequent exposure through play hard-wires these words into long-term memory. The card game requires two players, the student and the tutor. By transforming rote learning into a fast paced game where there is a winner every few seconds, learning to read becomes fun.
The first story is told using just those thirty words. It tells of a skunk without a strip who is rejected for being different but finds acceptance among a group of cats and becomes their defender. Each subsequent game in the series adds a further thirty words for a reading vocabulary of 180 words by the time the complete series is finished. Of the twenty-five most commonly used English words, twenty-two are on the list; of the forty most commonly used English words-thirty. The multi-sensory teaching approach-through the card game play and the storybooks-works well for retention and student enjoyment.”

We have enjoyed this game quite a bit. Even though my youngest already knows how to read this game has helped with knowing the words on sight much more quickly. I can’t wait to use The Reading Game with Bug-I know it will help and be tons of fun.

To find out more about The Reading Game head on over to their website and read all about it. The Reading Game sells for $24.95 and comes with all the books and the games for each. Before you start The Reading Game you should have your child take this assessment to see where your child's strengths and weakness are. You can use the assessment before and after using The Reading Game to check their progress. Check out all that the website has to offer. Want to know more? Check out this page for more answers and to watch a video about the game. This page tells you about the creators of The Reading Game. Don't forget about this page to find out about recording sheets and the assessments. Still need more info? This page has the contact info that you need.

If you want to read what other Crew members have to say, head on over to The Crew Blog and check them out.

**I was given a copy of The Reading Game through The TOS Crew in exchange for my honest review.

And so it begins…

2011-11-19T17:07:00.000-06:00

Today starts our Thanksgiving season. We have three Thanksgiving to celebrate. One with my Dad, one with my Mom, and one with my in-laws.
That’s a lot of turkey. and that’s just the way I like it.
It gets kind of crazy having three different celebrations to attend but I wouldn’t have it any other way. What a blessing to get to celebrate with our entire family. I know we are blessed to have so many loving family members in our lives and I never want to forget that in our busy-ness.
This season should be about remembering God’s blessings and making sure that we share about His goodness in our lives. He has so abundantly blessed us that we couldn’t even begin to count them.
Let us never forget our blessings.

Life carries on and on

2011-11-18T17:08:00.000-06:00

This week has been a crazy week of dentist appointments and running around. There were three dentist appointments between two kids…ugh.
Not my idea of a good time. At least it wasn’t an appointment for me!
We are busy getting school going and keep it going. It’s harder than it sounds, trust me.

TOS Review Math Mammoth

2011-11-17T21:25:00.000-06:00

Math is not my favorite subject. Never has been and probably never will be. I am learning more while teaching my kids than I did the first time around! We have found a great curriculum that we love but there are times when even the best curriculum could use some supplementing.

Math Mammoth stepped in and was the perfect supplement at the perfect time. After talking with Maria at Math Mammoth we decided to choose some individual workbooks instead of a whole set. The three we chose to review were US Money, Measuring, and Clocks. Each workbook is filled with exercises and practice pages as well as internet links for extra help and games.

I printed the books and set my 9yo loose with them. She really enjoyed them! They were easy to implement and had great explanations in them. I can't wait to have my 6yo use them and watch her discover that she can count money or tell time! These workbooks will serve us well and I can see us using these off and on when there is a need in our school year to go a little more in-depth or just have a different explanation of the concept.

I have been so impressed with Math Mammoth and Maria and would recommend their curriculum to anyone in need of a great math product.

To see samples of the curriculum we received, head over to these pages: Measuring, Clock, US Money and check them out for yourself. When you get to each page scroll down and on the right hand side you will see links to click to see samples of each workbook. Don't forget to go to this page to see all the workbooks they offer.

The prices vary for these workbooks with some at $3.25 up to $4.00 for the downloads and $9.50 to $10.00 for the printed books. To see the prices for the workbooks of your choice click on their titles and scroll down to see the options for ordering.

Not sure what you want or need? Ask Maria! She is a wonderful help and a joy to work with. Don't forget to check out the FAQ page to answer any questions you have or to sign up for Math Teaching Emails and the Math Mammoth Tour.

Math Mammoth also offers full curriculum packages. Some of the other Crew members reviewed those and I know that you will want to check those out. Head on over to The Crew blog to read all about them.

**I received these workbooks from Math Mammoth through The TOS Crew in exchange for my honest review.

Oops, I did it again

2011-11-13T20:29:00.000-06:00

Yeah, I completely forgot about drawing a winner for The Christmas Lodge DVD giveaway.

So, here is the winner...

CHILLYWILLY!!

You won the DVD! I know you will love this movie.

TOS Review College Prep Genius

2011-11-12T19:52:00.000-06:00

I don't know if you are like me but I worry. About everything really but quite a bit of my worry comes from thinking about high school for my kiddos. I worry that when they go to take the SAT's or the ACT's that they will fail miserably. I worry that they won't have a vocabulary sufficient enough to convey their thoughts in an intelligent manner.

I worry.

I can't help it; I just worry.

The latest review for The TOS Homeschool Crew just might be able to help with at least one of those worries. Vocabulary. I love to read and thankfully almost all of our girls love it too so I know they will be exposed to a wide variety of words and ideas but will they retain the meanings?

College Prep Genius is here to help and the way they will it is through Vocab Cafe.

VocabCafé books help students easily learn SAT-level words while reading an original wholesome story.

These modern novellas contain no foul language, no illicit sexual themes, and no sorcery!

Based on a three-step approach to increasing vocabulary, each book highlights 300 advanced words by using DEFINITION, REPETITION, and REINFORCEMENT.

Readers find the definition of every highlighted word at the bottom of the page — a word review and appendix complement the learning process!

The titles for the Vocab Cafe are:
IM for Murder
Operation High school
Planet Exile
Summer of St Nick

You can read descriptions of each book here.

These books are interesting stories that have SAT level words used throughout. At the bottom of each page the SAT words are listed along with their definitions. It's a great idea. How many times have you been reading along and you came across a word you weren't sure about? How handy for students to have these books that include the definitions right there on the page. I just love this idea.

I will say that when the website recommends reading these books-or any books-before your kids, do it. These are high school level books and as such address subject matter that wouldn't necessarily be what you want your junior higher to read. As the descriptions states there is no foul language, no illicit sexual themes, and no sorcery but there was one book in particular that really bothered my 13yo. She talked to me about the situation in the book, a cat was killed and put in a duffel bag, and we decided that she was a little young for that particular book. The other books were no problem and she enjoyed the stories.

These books are a great edition to your high schoolers arsenal to prepare them for the future. While I can't just outright recommend them because of the one book, IM for Murder, I would recommend them with the caveat of the parent reading them first.

You can buy a set of Vocab Cafe books for $38.95 or buy them individually for $12.95 each. These books are designed for high school level so just remember that when ordering.

If you want to know what other Crew Members thought of Vocab Cafe head on over to The Crew Blog and check them out.

**I received a set of Vocab Cafe books from College Prep Genius through The TOS Crew in exchange for my honest review.

More Money? Really?

2011-11-10T21:18:00.000-06:00

Between Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday there will be two dental appointments and one orthodontist appointment. Can you say ka-ching? The ortho appt. was to fix a retainer and the dental appts were for one cleaning and two cavaties-different children. Two more dental appts scheduled.

Ugh

I am such a bad mom that I don't schedule cleanings regularly. I forget. I really do. I know I shouldn't but it is just not on my regular radar and then it gets pushed aside with everything else that is going on.

Bad mommy.

My head is hanging in shame...

Two of the four eligible kids have now had cleanings with another one in a week and then I will only have one more to schedule in. I am going to try and do better in the coming year. Really.

On another front we were told that our oldest was a candidate for braces...I don't think so. Her teeth are only slightly crooked and we are so not going to spend the money for braces on only slightly crooked teeth. Enough money has left our coffers going to the medical community this year.

No more I say.

Now if I can just remember to schedule those appointments...

Transparency

2011-11-09T20:00:00.000-06:00

Can I be real here? I mean brutally honest? It's confession time of the homeschool variety. All superhomeschool mommas, please don't read any further. I will feel your chagrin at what I'm about to admit and will lose sleep over disappointing so many of you. ;-)

We have had to repeat Week 1 of Year 3 twice, maybe three times, and we just now got to Week 2. My head is hanging with homeschool mommy guilt. We actually started school in early August but between a hospital stay, two surgeries, and multiple sicknesses we are woefully behind with our Tapestry of Grace. On top of that , we were trying to finish up Year 2 the first month or so of school...so yeah, we are not on a "real" school schedule.

We are on our own schedule and it is taking me a while to be okay with that. I don't think I am there yet. I am still feeling terribly guilty for not being where we "should" be. Yes, I am comparing myself and our school to those super homeschooling mommas out there that have it all together and are exactly where they thought they would be on this day and at this time of their year.

Super homeschooling momma I am not. Shoot, I'm doing good to remember that we need to do school everyday!

So there it is. I am feeling like a failure at the moment. I am wondering how we are going to accomplish our year and get everything done.

I think some call it year round schooling! lol We are definitely going to have to do some serious schooling this summer to "catch" up and make up for the time lost at the start of the year.

And that's okay. We have flexibility and can make our school work the way we need it to. I just have to get over my expectations and roll with what God has brought to us. I need to relax and enjoy where we are at and what we are learning.

I need to enjoy my kids. Remind me of that will ya when I start freaking out next time, will ya?

Misfit Awards

2011-11-08T18:31:00.001-06:00

Guess what? I WON the Blabber Blog Award in the Homeschool Misfit Awards!!

Doesn't that category fit me so well? lol Yeah, I put it all out there. I'm just keepin' it real people. ;-)

I am so excited about this. Thank you to all who voted for me-you know me so well. heehee I love being a Misfit and wouldn't have it any other way.

Head on over to NoSoSuperwoman and check out the other winners. Visit their blogs and show them some bloggy love.

I've Been Nominated!!!

2011-11-07T18:52:00.000-06:00

I had the shock of my life this afternoon. I was browsing Facebook when I noticed that several of my friends were posting how they had been nominated for categories over at The Homeschool Blog Awards. I have had friends that were nominated for a few years now so it was no surprise to me. I decided to head on over to The Homeschool Post to check out the category and what did I find?

Homedaze had been nominated for The Best Nitty-Gritty Homeschool Blog!!

At first I thought that it was someone else with the same blog name as mine so I followed the link and it led to my blog! OH MY GOSH! I couldn't even believe it. I don't know who nominated me but thank you so much. It really is very special to just be nominated. Really and truly.

If you want to vote for me head on over here and vote. While you are there check out the other categories and visit all the other amazing blogs listed.

Don't forget to check out the great blogs!

TOS Review The Person I Marry

2011-11-06T20:53:00.000-06:00

I am in love with this book. I am so going to buy it and read it over and over to my kids so that they have it memorized before they leave the house.

Wanna know what book I am talking about?

This is the book. It is an adorable, right on book that every family needs to read together and every child needs to read often.

The Person I Marry by Gary and Jan Bower from Bower Books is an amazingly poignant book that has such truths in it that it should be mandatory reading for all kids growing up.

Respect, kindness, honesty, faithfulness, thoughtfulness, patience - qualities like these make strong marriages. Created by award-winning author & illustrator team
Gary & Jan Bower (married 32 years), this
adorable book warms the hearts of all ages in its celebration of commitment, purity & true love!

On each page of this book you will find qualities that need to be sought out in the person you are seeking to marry as well as in yourself. "Things I'll Think About Long Before Saying "I Do" " That is exactly what this book talks about. Don't let the pictures make you think that this book is only for the younger crowd; it's not. The pictures are Adorable and the way it's written makes it easy to read without being baby-ish. I wish I could have had this to start reading to my girls from the very beginning. It's that good.

I love the way it presents what I have always thought and what I want my daughters to know. Getting married isn't about the wedding day. Getting married is about the marriage and the couple and the preparations they have made to live life together; not about the dress, the flowers, etc. Those things are nice but how have you picked the person you are marrying and what were the standards you used to measure them against? The Person I Marry is a sweet and touching look at the characteristics that are important in a solid Christ centered marriage.

Watch this video and see what you think about it.

The Person I Marry from Bower Books on Vimeo.

You really just have to see this book for yourself. It is a hardback book that sells for $11.99 and is so worth it. It is beautifully done and a book that will last for years to come.

If you want to see what other Crew Members thought about The Person I Marry head on over to The Crew Blog and check them out.

**I was given a digital copy of The Person I Marry through The TOS Crew in exchange for my honest review.