Little One is 7...and a Review

I can't believe that my precious one is seven already. She has brought so much joy into our lives already and I know that she will continue to bless us just by being ours.

She is blossoming at home and one thing that has happened this year before our eyes was that she learned to read. Programs like Ooka Island has helped her to learn while having fun. We had the pleasure of reviewing Ooka Island for our PC.

 We had a few technical issues in the beginning, but she has been able to play and has learned a lot while playing on the computer. What's even better is that I can track her progress on the Ooka Lighthouse. I am also able to offer to offer you, my readers 30% off an annual or monthly subscription to the Ooka Island Learn-to-Read Adventure! Just use this link: http://offers.ookaisland.com/inblog?purl=ieBar

Learning in the Garden and a Review

This morning I had two helpers in the garden. They learned and helped plant peas. I wish I had taken pictures, but I didn't want to get my phone dirty. We talked about what plants need and why it's important to grow our own food. I love that Little One mentioned that it saves us money. At not even seven, she understands how economical being self sustaining can be. I love that I can share these moments and experiences with her (and my nephew). Hopefully, this is something that they will carry with them and teach their own children (as I was taught).

This brings me into another review that I had the pleasure of doing through Mosaic Reviews. It was for the product Saving Memories Forever. It is an app that allows you to record memories and upload them onto mp3 files so that you can save them forever. The app is free and there is a basic service that is also free. The paid service includes more features and is available for 3.99 a month. I was able to review this app right around the time that my husband's grandmother died. It was great to be able to record memories that we had of her as we were all gathered to celebrate her life.



You can add storytellers who are then prompted to answer certain questions. The answers are then recorded and can be uploaded to create stories. The only down side that I can think of for this product is that on my phone (HTC Droid) the sound quality on the recordings are not impeccable and the Welcome screen is a little jumbled and hard to read. Again, this is just the experience that I have had with my phone. I think this is a great product that will help to capture memories (like the ones that I am making with the Littles on the garden) for generations to come.

Spanish For You Review

I had the pleasure of reviewing Spanish For You's Fiestas curriculum. This curriculum is for grades 3-8. It is a little above where my daughter is right now, but we loved looking at it and are looking forward to using it more in the future.

 



This curriculum is affordable, is suited for self-study, family, or class use, is flexible, easy to use, and fun. The whole package that I reviewed which included a physical books and digital files for Grades 3-8 is only $64.95. It includes fun drawings drawn by the author's child and accurate and informative Spanish lessons.  The author recently reorganized all the digital files so they are easy to access and keep on track with the lessons.

Learning a second (or third or fourth) language is important to many people. I think this product is a great choice for doing this.

A Review of a Planner (by a planner)

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a planner. I have OCD tendencies so I need to know when, where, how, and have everything written down. Whenever someone starts talking about any kind of plans, my trusty (very scribbled in) daily planner comes out. A lot of people have switched their lives to their planners on their phones or other electronic device, but I just can't do it. I need to be able to write, and scribble out, and write again.

So, when I found out I had the opportunity to review a Homeschool Planner I was estactic because this was one part of my life that I didn't feel I had planned out as well as I would like. I received the Apologia Ultimate Homeschool Planner by Debra Bell and the Ultimate Daily Planner for Students for Little One to use. In the package was also an Apologia Catalog (which was helpful in choosing a Science curriculum for next year, but that's another post)

 

My first impression of both planners was just how beautiful and well put together they are. I love the plastic covers and that they are spiral bound. They are durable, yet light and easy to carry. I dove right into both of them and was even more impressed as I went on. Both planners not only included basic planning pages, but also many extra resources and helpful information.

 

 

The Ultimate Homeschool Planner has a sample plan for planning a homeschool year, along with weekly and monthly planning sheets.

 

Weekly Plan

 

I have found that if I take time on Sunday to fill in my plan for the week, it goes by much more smoothly than if I hadn't. Since I received this planner mid school year I didn't use it to plan for the year. I do plan on using it to plan for the following year though. This planner costs $28 and I feel that it is more than worth it for what you get.

 

 

I also received the Ultimate Daily Planner for Students for Little One to use. This planner is geared toward students in fourth grade and up. Little One is in first so it was a little above her, but we were still able to make it work. I think that older children would get a lot out of it though. What we did was I wrote out her plan for the week into the planner and she marked when she completed them. If she was older and more independent, I would have sat with her on Sunday when I was making my plan and have her fill it our herself with what she needed to get done and when. This planner costs $19 and again I feel that it is worth the money.

 

These planners have been such a help to both of us and I'm excited to continue using them.

 

 

 

 

 

 





We Choose Virtues Review

We Choose Virtues has been a great addition to our homeschool and home in general. It's a program that helps to instill virtues in children in a fun and encouraging way. I recieved a set of Virtue flashcards (mine are the NIV version, but they also come in KJV and Secular), a sample of the parenting cards, a download of the family character assessment, teacher handbook, coloring pages, and a butterfly award for when all the virtues are completed. There are many other products on the website that can be used at home, in a homeschool, or in a church setting.



I did the family character assessment and chose the virtues we were going to do and in what order. Every Monday I introduced the virtue, character, Bible verse, story behind the character, the message, and the antonyms. We reviewed all these things throughout the week and talked about how we can embody this virtue. My daughter also colored the color page for the virtue during the week as a reminder. All the virtue cards that we have done as well as the finished coloring pages are on the walls in the school room. We review them from time to time.



This program has helped my daughter to remember what each virtue means and has given her solid examples of how she can live out each one. I love when she brings up one of the characters when she is talking about what she should and shouldn't do. It shows me that it is sinking in. I would recommend this program to families, homeschoolers, and churches.

Along with this review I am able to offer a coupon to all of you. Just use the code VIRTUE 15 for 15% off your order. The best thing is there is no expiration date! I have another code too HOME20 which is good for 20% off the Homeschool kit and is only good until the end of April.

Time has gotten away from me....again :)

I have started a blog post at least 5 10 times since my last one. Time has truly just gotten away from me. We have been doing some fun things these last few weeks, but have also been working through some attitude and behavior things. I never imagined that we would be going through these things already, she is only 6! Let's focus on the positive though....

Two weeks ago I decided that we needed a Spirit Week of sorts to break things up a little bit and just have some silly fun. Monday was Pajama Day (I know some homeschoolers do everyday in their pj's and I have nothing against that, it just works better for us to get dressed everyday). I forgot to take a picture that day though :( Tuesday was Mismatch Day. I had to laugh when Little One came out in matching socks (she doesn't do that on a normal day lol)







Wednesday was Crazy Hair Day. This one was probably the most fun. It also turned into the most awkward when we went out later in the day.

Thursday was What I Want To Be When I Grow Up Day. She wants to be a Veterinarian (and a singer, and a dancer, and a cupcake baker, etc., etc.)



 

Friday we wore green for St. Patrick's Day (I know, not very creative but Hey! it was Friday lol)

 



 







Review of Seed Starting-The First Step to Gardening

So, this isn't exactly about homeschooling. It is related to homesteading though; where come Spring this blog may meander a bit. We have a big garden and put up what we don't eat right away for the following winter. I plan on including the planning, planting, weeding, harvesting, and preserving into our homeschool days. This brings me to an e-book that I was able to review: Seed Starting-The First Step to Gardening by Gary Emmett.

 



This book would be great for a new gardener as well as a veteran one. It goes through starting plants from seeds step by step from planning your garden to getting ready to transplant your plants into the garden. The author goes through all these steps in detail. The book even includes links to where you can buy seeds to get started. I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to start plants from seed to plant.