Discovery Education Streaming Plus Freebie!!!

Do you like free things? I know I do. Especially when my children can benefit from it also. Well, homeschoolers listen up!

The Homeschool Buyers Co-op is giving away a FREE 

subscription to Discovery Education Streaming Plus for 

the summer!!!!

Have I caught your attention? If not, I bet this next bit of information will. 

 A 1 year subscription retails for $375 and it includes over 12,000 full-length educational videos, games, interactives and more! It's probably the most extensive and feature-rich educational video streaming service in the world. It's much like having the entire DVD selection of your local public library available to you from the convenience of your home, 24/7/365.

If that was not enough information for you, here's a bit more:

Discovery Education Streaming Plus features:

• Thousands of full-length videos from scores of producers, segmented into tens of thousands of content-specific clips tied directly to state and national standards.
• Supplemental resources such as Assignment Builder, Quiz Center, Writing Prompt Generator, lesson plans, and more
• Fast and accurate search functionality and dynamic navigation menus
• The ability to customize and personalize lessons to different subjects, grades, and learning styles
• Comprehensive K-12 curriculum coverage in six core subject areas.
• Thousands of images
• Membership in the Discovery Educator Network (DEN)
• Interactive self-paced training
• Exclusive Discovery programming such as Frozen Planet, Human Planet, LIFE, Into the Universe, Mythbusters, and Curiosity
• Video series from trusted content providers such as BBC Worldwide, CBS News, Channel 4, Discovery Studios, Scholastic, TV Ontario, and Westin Woods
• Hundreds of games, skill builders, and body atlas interactives
• Thousands of self-paced math tutorials spanning concepts from basic addition to calculus
• Thousands of audio files including podcasts, classic literature audiobooks, children's literature audiobooks from Scholastic, and numerous supplemental study aids for auditory learners

Ready to sign up? Head on over to Discovery Education Streaming Free Trial

Review of Wizzy Gizmo

*I received a free FAST TRACK BIBLE PACK set, in exchange for an honest Wizzy Gizmo Review. This review was hosted by Home and School Mosaics and Wizzy Gizmo.*

"Wizzy Gizmo" For some reason that name does not make me think, "GREAT Bible study resources." That's why I was pleasantly surprised when I received the Fast Track Bible Pack in the mail. Immediately upon opening the package, I knew these were going to be a great tool to use in our homeschool. These cards are great! 

Before I get to far into explain the cards to you, I want to tell you a bit about the company. Wizzy Gizmo was created by a group of parents, pastors, worship leaders, Sunday School teachers, and Homeschoolers who are "committed to equipping our children for life, by planting them firmly in God's Word." Awesome! 

Right now, there are audio dramas, books and these awesome Fast Track Bible Pack sets available to assist you in guiding your children towards Christ. They are planning on adding even more products to the line up as well! 

I received the Fast Track Bible Pack for this review. It is a set of 28 cards, one card for each of the books in the New Testament and one index card. They are 5 x 8" and made of durable card stock. This set can be found on the Wizzy Gizmo website for only $14.99. 

Are these not the cutest?




The front of each card contains a summary that book of the Bible. 

 The back of each card is full of information about the book. At the top is the general theme, right below that is an outline with a list of what chapters you can find the subjects of the outline in. Then it lists the key chapters and then key passages. Towards the bottom is lists the key doctrines and key people in the book. Each of these areas is highlighted with a different color, making it super easy for kids to use. 







I found that my kids seemed to gravitate towards them. Not just during our devotion time either! I found someone looking at one of them, at some point in time, throughout any given day! I think these cards will be part of our family devotion time for years to come! The only thing I would change about them is that they are not bound together in any way. Though, that's pretty easy to work with. 


You can find your own set of cards, or one of Wizzy Gizmo's other products on their website. 
You can also find Wizzy Gizmo on Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, Twitter, and Vimeo.

Don't just take my word for it. You can find more reviews for Wizzy Gizmo over at Home & School Mosaics. 

Review of Ancient Jewelry by Cynthia

This summer I had the amazing opportunity to meet a wonderful kindred spirit at a street fair here in town. She just so happens to create beautiful jewelry using healing stones. I was taken in by the beauty of all of her jewelry. The fact that it is all handmade is an absolute plus!

Cynthia started her business in March of this year as an outlet for her creativity and her passion for healing. Each piece is created with love and it shows! Just look at these beauties!

Aren’t they stunning!?

They aren’t just beautiful to wear; they will help you with various things as you wear them! The ear rings I pictured above are made of rainbow moonstone, garnet, citrine and clear quartz. On Cynthia’s Ancient Wisdom website, you can find the description of each of these stones and how they will help you. For instance, in the description of the earrings, you will find that rainbow moonstone can help with self-discovery, and that garnet can help enhance one’s vitality! I think I’ll take a pair of those earrings!

For this review, Cynthia made a pair of earrings just for me! Mine are made with sterling silver wire, labradorite, rainbow moonstone and clear quartz. Along with my earrings I got a print out from Cynthia that had information about each of these stones. Labradorite can help with recognizing and enhancing one’s intuitive abilities. Rainbow moonstone is a stone of self-discovery, insight into the self and intuition. Clear quartz is a stone of amplification of other stones. It also brings clarity of mind and eliminates confusion by showing purpose to the heart and mind. I LOVE these ear rings. My ears a very sensitive to certain metals and I can wear these with no problem because the sterling silver she uses is solid, not plated.

I hope you take the time to browse her online store at

Ancient Wisdom Jewelry by Cynthia

You can find her on facebook at Ancient Wisdom Jewelry by Cynthia

Review for Sanstemar

I write reviews for a wonderful site called WAHM Reviews. I thought I'd start sharing them here also. So, here you go.

I like to shop on etsy, a lot. I usually find some pretty cool items. When I stumbled across Sanstemar, they were no exception. I instantly wanted one of their cute handkerchief dresses for my daughter. I mean, look at this cute dress!

 

 

Just looking at it makes me think of warm summer days, playing in the sun. How about you?

The dress is beautifully crafted and comes in a variety of different colors and patterns. They even give you the option for a custom order if you don’t see what you would like. The dress in the picture is the one that was sent to me for this review. It fits my daughter nicely. It’s tight enough at the top that it doesn’t fall down, yet it’s not so tight that it’s uncomfortable. She can move and play in it freely. The seams are all very well done, so there’s no concern of tearing. The ribbon at the top finishes it off nicely.

I also received this very cute purse.

 

 

Isn’t that just great!? I love it! Just like the dress, this one is also handcrafted with the same care and quality as the dress. The inside is lined with an upcycled t-shirt and makes it easy to find what you are looking for inside the purse.

 

All pockets on the outside of the purse are fully functional. They have not been sewn shut, so you can store your chap stick, or phone there for easy access.

Sanstemar also carries weighted blankets and lap pads for those with sensory disorders. I did not receive this item for review, but if the purse and dress are of any indication, these products will not disappoint. Both the purse and dress are so well made that I wouldn’t have to think twice before ordering from Sanstemar.

 

Want your own? Head on over to their etsy store and place your order. www.etsy.com/shop/Sanstemar

 

Questions and Comments are always welcome below.

If you liked this review you may like to read color by amber.

 

Food Share Friday: Michele's Delight

I'm back, yet again, with another goodie from my Grandpa's Recipe book. This one has been tested by all four of my kids and they all approve. I had to cut them off, or they would've eaten the whole pan!

Just like all of the other recipes, you can find this one in his self published cookbook titled; "Natural Foods Sampler: Whole Food Goodness for You!" One thing I love most about this cookbook is that my Grandpa wrote a little poem to go along with each recipe. It gives a little sense of who he was and brings a smile to my face each time I read it. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Michele's Delight

"Along the way

One sunny day

Good luck gave me a nudge.

Faring quite well

I met Michele

And made this luscious fudge!"

Ingredients:
1/3 cup Carob
1/3 cup warm water
1/3 cup honey
1/4 tsp liquid lecithin
3/4 cup non-fat dry milk
1 tsp pure vanilla
3 TBS "Better Butter"
1/2 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup rolled oats, toasted*
1/2 cup dates, cut up
1.2 cup chopped nuts

1. In a two or three quart saucepan combine carob, water, butter, peanut butter, lecithin, and honey, over low heat, stirring until smooth and well blended.

2. Remove from heat and stir in powdered milk and vanilla.

3. Add oats, dates, and nuts. Mix thoroughly.

4. Drop by 1 1/2 tsp** on wax paper to set. Remove and store in refrigerator.

Yield: 50-60 tidbits.

Special Note: * Toast oats in baking pan in 300 degree oven until golden, Stir occasionally.
                     ** I used a TBS sized cookie scoop and yielded 25 cookies.


Carb counts: Whole batch = 282 grams
                    25 TBS = 11.28 per cookie
                    50-60 tidbits = 5.64 - 4.7 grams per tidbit.


I have copies of this cookbook available by request. I just ask that you cover the cost of printing and shipping. If you are interested, e-mail me at peaceoftheprairies@gmail.com

Food Share Friday: Yankee Banana Bread/Best Baking Powder

Here is another great recipe from my Grandpa's cookbook. I hope you enjoy it as much as we all did.

Yankee Banana Bread
"The sweetness of molasses,
The whole wheat flavor's zest
Join dates and ripe bananas
To make this loaf the best."

2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
1 Cup Yellow Cornmeal (I'm sure he would recommend non GMO now)
2 tsp Best Baking Powder (recipe to follow)
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 Cup mashed ripe bananas
1 Cup Buttermilk
3/4 Cup Molasses (There are carrying degrees of molasses. Black strap is going to be the darkest)
3/4 Cup Dates, cut up

1. In mixing bowl stur together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and soda.

2. Mix together molasses, banana, and buttermilk.

3. Blend wet ingredients into dry mixture. Add dates.

4. Turn batter into three 5/12 x 3 greased and floured loaf pans, or four rouind one poind tin cans.

5. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until tests done with toothpick.

6. After ten minutes remove from pans or cans and cool n rack. Enjoy!


Best Baking Powder
"Leavening that you can make;
It's best for everything you bake!"

Best baking powder is low in sodium and free of aluminum compunds. Here is the formula:

2 parts cream of tartar
2 parts arrowroot powder
1 part potassium bicarbonate

Potassium bicarbonate can be found on amazon. 

Homemade Facial Cleanser

I've been using my homemade Herbal Facial Scrub daily for a long time. It's been working too. That is until I turned 30 and my skin has now become the most sensitive thing on the face of the planet! Or so it seems to me. It was time for a change.

I searched and searched for an affordable natural facial cleanser. There are some really great options out there, but I have this thing about shelling out even $10 for a bottle of stuff I'm just going to rinse down the sink. I also like to make it myself, if I can.

This lead my research in a different direction. I wanted to make my own facial cleanser. There are lots of really great recipes out there. I was inspired by a couple recipes in particular; Chamomile Facial Cleaner Recipe & Handmade Foaming Facial Cleanser. Both of these recipes are great!

Of course I had to take them and make them my own. Why not? I do if for everything else, why not this? Here's what I did:

Homemade Facial Cleanser Recipe

1/4 cup Liquid Castile Soap (I used Dr. Woods Pure Peppermint with Shea Butter)

1/4 cup water

2 tsp apricot oil (This is what I had. You can use any light oil)

2 tsp aloe vera juice (Make sure it's the natural stuff, not the green gel you can buy on the shelf of the drug store)

10 drops Vitamin E oil

I put this all into a bowl and gently stirred, with a fork, until it was mixed well. Then, I transferred it to a bottle. That's it! It took me maybe 5 minutes to make and I saved a lot of money!


As you can see from these pictures, it will separate a bit. Just give it a good shake and all is well again. This recipe filled this bottle, plus a little leftover.

Cost breakdown:
Castile Soap- I bought a 32oz bottle at Swanson Vitamins for just over $6. I get the Dr Woods brand as it's less expensive than Dr Bronners and the quality is just as good. Since I just used 2 oz of this I spent about $0.40 for this recipe

Water- Free

Apricot Oil - This is just what I had on hand. You can find Apricot Kernel Oil at Swanson Vitamins for just over $3. Using that cost, I spent about $0.25 for this recipe.

Aloe Vera Juice - The bottle I have cost me about $6, so I used about $0.06.

Vitamin E oil - I spent about $8 for the one I have. I have no idea how many drops are in the bottle. I would say that I maybe spent $0.05.

Total for this recipe: $0.76 per batch! That is way less than even the cheapest drug store brands! Plus, you get the added health benefits and satisfaction knowing that all of the ingredients are healthy and without unwanted/unneeded chemicals.

As you can see, I buy most of my items from Swanson Vitamins. I don't get paid to advertise for them, nor do I work for them. I do provide a referral link. If you order using that link, I will get a $10 reward coupon and you will get $5. Not too bad of a deal if you ask me. You are free to use my link, or not. It doesn't matter to me. Whatever you are comfortable with.

Food Share Friday: Grandpa's Whole Wheat Bread

I have decided to make Fridays, my "Food Share Friday." I will be sharing recipes from my Grandpa's, self published cookbook.

It's called, "Natural Foods Sampler: Whole Food Goodness for You!" He first published this cookbook in 1980. My mom tells me that he would hand these out free of charge. Since he is gone now, I will continue on in that spirit and offer up these recipes to you. The only thing I ask in return is that you don't take them as your own. Please give credit where credit is due. My Grandpa had a passion for spreading the word of good natural health and this cookbook was part of that. He put many years of hard work and passion into creating these recipes. So when you make them for yourself and your family, just remember the man behind the recipe.

He said it best, when he wrote in his cookbook;

"What wonders our Creator has wrought in giving to all of us the ability to prepare the food that is our sustenance, to feel the dough come alive in our hands as we kneed our daily bread, to taste the fresh goodness that He had permitted to grown in our gardens, to revel in the flavor of honey from the hive, and to relish the pungency of the herbs that spice our lives -- natural foods all, and designed to nourish in in joy, health, and love o four fellowman!

I believe that life can be, at the very least, a little more pleasant when we return of while grain nourishment and relearn the benefits to be found in foods that come to us more naturally. In striving to reach the goal of whole food goodness for us all, I offer this collection of recipes, May you eat and enjoy!" ~James Francis

Grandpa's Whole Wheat Bread

Plain and Simple,

Oh so good!

Whole Wheat bread

Is heaven's food!

2 1/2 Cups warm water (110-115 degrees)

1 tsp molasses or honey

2 TBS dry yeast

3 TBS honey

3 TBS safflower oil

1 tsp sea salt (note from Laura: I use Himalayan crystal salt. You can find it at Swanson Vitamins)

1 TBS liquid lecithin

1 egg, beaten

1/3 Cup non-fat dry milk

5 1/2 - 6 1/2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour

1/4 Cup gluten flour

1. Stir together in a large mixing bowl the molasses and 2 cups of the water. Sprinkle with the yeast and let stand until bubbly, about 5 minutes. 

2. Mix the 1.2 cup of water, honey, oil, and lecithin in a small bowl. Add the beaten egg and pout into the yeast mixture, beating gently with an electric hand mixer or wooden spoon. 

3. Stir together three cups of the flour, slat, gluten, and milk powder. add this to the large bowl. Beat well, This is the sponge. Set it in a warm place to rise until doubled, about 3/4 to 1 hour or more, depending on warmth.

4. Stir down with a wooden spoon and add flour gradually until dough leaves the sides of the bowl. Turn out on a floured board or counter and let stand a few minutes while you wash out the bowl and oil it. 

5. Knead the dough 8-10 minutes, adding flour as necessary to make a smooth elastic dough. 

6. Return the dough to the bowl, turning so that oil coats all of the surface. Cover with a warm damp towel and let rise until doubled. 

7. Punch down, squeezing out all air and shape into the required number of loaves. This recipe will make three loaves in 7 1/4 x 3 1/4 pans (preferable) or two loaves in 8 1/4 x 4 1/4 pans. Grease pans well. 

8. Let rise in pans until almost double. Bake in preheated oven at 375 degrees for five minutes, then at 350 degrees for balance of baking time. Time for three loaves, about 25 minutes; two loaves 30-35 minutes. 

9. Check if done by removing loaf from pan. If it is nicely browned and sounds hollow when tapped on bottom, it is done. Remove from pans at once and cool on racks, away from draft. 

Being a diabetic myself, I thought I would share the carb counts for all of these recipes. There are 525.82 grams of carbs if you use 5 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour, and 609.82 grams if you used 6 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour. That is for the whole recipe. If you make three loaves, just divide it by three. If you make two, divide by two. I made three loaves and got 16 slices out of one loaf. That would be about 11 grams per slice. 

Making bread is an art form. It definitely was for my Grandpa. I hope you enjoy this recipe for bread from him. If you are interested in having a copy of his cookbook for your own, I can send one to you at my cost. Feel free to e-mail me at peaceoftheprairies@gmail.com with your request and I will get you a price. 

*The link to Swanson Vitamins is a referral link. I do get credit for it. 

Working towards loving me!

On January 1st, of every year, thousands of people make their "New Year's Resolutions." I've done it, my husband has done it. In fact, I don't think I know one person who has never made a resolution for the new year. I believe they can be a great way to get a fresh start on life. They can also be something that we hold over our heads and guilt ourselves about.

I'd love for you all NOT to do that this year. Let's start the new year off by saying "No" to guilt. Go ahead, say it. "I will not think poorly of myself for falling short of what I think is my best." Instead, we need to love ourselves, unconditionally. If my Father in Heaven can love me unconditionally, why can't I at least give myself that gift also?

Well, I can, and I will! Starting today, I will love myself, just as I am. I will accept my shortcomings for what they are and move forward. I will strive to be a better person, but not get caught up in who I'm not. I will be me and I will LOVE it.

This year, I will not make a goal to loose a certain amount of weight, though I do have a bit to loose. I will not make a goal to look a certain way, or act a certain way. My goal, or resolution, this year is to love myself unconditionally.

I struggle with my body image, as I'm sure most of you have at one point in time, or another. It's hard to see myself as anything but a fat slob. Well, I'm not either. I'm not fat, nor am I a slob. I am me. Just as He created me to be. I may swear too much, weigh too much, and not "look" like a perfect Christian "should" at times. Don't even get me started on that last one. You see, 2013 had a very dark spot in it for me and it all centered around not being "Christian enough" for a certain group of people. I went through a lot of pain as a result of things these other "Christians" did and said. It was not fun, but it has made me a stronger person. They did not break my spirit!

Back to what I was saying before I took a left turn there. (Sorry) My ultimate goal is to learn to love and accept myself just as I am. I want to do it for me, but also for my kids. I don't want my kids to learn to have low self worth from me. Oh no! I want them to grow up to be confidant and love who the Creator made them to be. In order for me to teach them that, I have to be it. I will. I have already been praying about it and working on changing my thought process.

Instead of trying on clothes and seeing exactly what is wrong with it, I will first look for the positives in each article of clothing. I will not look at the size, but how I FEEL in it. I am also going to cook healthier foods. Not that I don't already, but I always strive for more.

Wish me luck, and if you are the praying type, prayers are much appreciated. I look forward to traveling this year with you all. Keep watching my blog for updates and a special series coming on Friday!

Start the New Year with a Plan!

Hi! My name is Laura, and I'm a planner! I've been planning my whole life. I LOVE it! The endless possibilities of a blank planner page is just too much to bear. I must fill in each line.

Wait a minute! Each line!? Sadly, yes. I have been caught in this trap. Each line of that shiny new planner must be filled and everything must be completed! That's great, but that's not life. It leaves no room for the curve balls that get thrown at us each day, or the spontaneous trip to the park.

It's great to have a plan, but it's not great to become a slave to that plan. We must be flexible and allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives. If we aren't careful, we can plan Him right out of everything. Sad, but true.

That being said, I am sharing with you a blog planning form that I created today. I know what I just said, and I believe it 100%. However, just because we shouldn't over plan, doesn't mean we shouldn't have a plan at all. Some of us work better with a plan. I am one of those people. I like to plan for the ideal day, and then go from there. If it all happens, great! If not, oh well, there's always tomorrow.

I searched and searched this morning to find just what I wanted in a planner. I didn't want it too detailed. I didn't want it 30 pages long. I didn't want it plain and no fun. I DID want it to be short, simple, and cute. I finally got frustrated with my options and created my own.

Pretty, right? I thought so! It is very simple, ONE page for the whole month! There is even space for notes and planing out your weekly themes. On the bottom I added a space for future blog post ideas, in case I have the month full and inspiration hits. 

I am so happy with this new planner page! Hopefully, it will help me be a better blogger in this coming year. I post so sporadically, and I'd like to be more consistent. 

If you like this planner, and would like one of your own, you can download it for free, from my store at Teachers Pay Teachers.  

Thanks for reading. Leave me a comment to let me know what you think of this planner. If you are a blogger, and have a free planner of your own that you love, feel free to share it in the comments. 

Review: Udderly Smooth Lotion

Udderly Smooth is a line of moisture rich lotions, perfect for dry, chapped skin in the winter. It's been manufactured in the USA for over 30 years! I recently had the opportunity to try some of these products out in exchange for a review. 

I was given two tubes of hand cream, one tub each of foot cream and 6 sample packets of body cream. To order all of this online from their website, it would cost me $16.75 plus $7.00 for shipping. That brings my total to $23.75. Not too bad, given the fact that these products will last you for quite a while. You don't have to order them from the company though. You can find them on many local stores: http://www.udderlysmooth.com/availability.shtml

My husband and I have been using all of these products since we received them on December 10th. We've barely made a dent in them! You seriously don't need a whole lot of product with each use. A little really does go a long way. 

We have noticed our skin feeling softer. I keep a tube of the hand cream next to my kitchen sink and put it on after I've washed dishes. Normally, my skin is really dry in the winter but this has really helped. I also gave a few of the samples to a friend to use on her children. Two of them had a rash that she was thinking was due to the dry winter air. She put the body cream on them and it cleared up the problem!  

I'm not a fan of all of the ingredients though. I would love to have it all be from natural, readable ingredients. Most of the time, I just use coconut oil for all of my moisturizing needs. That being said, if you are looking for something that works and you don't care about that sort of thing, this is your product. 

Overall, it's a great product. It does exactly as the company states it will. It's still made in the good, old USA! So, I wouldn't hesitate to spend my money on it at all. 

If you enjoyed my review and would like to read more, you can find them by heading over to Mosaic Reviews. 

 

Review of "A Tale of Two Kingdoms" and "God's Unfolding Story of Salvation"

I received both "A Tale of Two Kingdoms" and "God's Unfolding Story of Salvation" a couple of months ago in exchange for this review. They are both written by Heather A. Kendall and can be found here. I have to say that I am not always excited about Bible study books. So many times, they are just not deep enough, or they are not in line with my beliefs.

I started reading these books with that in mind, but was quickly surprised. I will be upfront with you, I did not finish either of these books yet. I am slowly making my way through both of them. They are so in depth, that it takes me a bit to fully digest everything. This is a good thing. It gives me ideas and thoughts to ponder as I go about my daily life.

In "A Tale of Two Kingdoms" Heather shares God' story of salvation by incorporating all of the stories in the Bible into one, easy to follow book. Of course, the Bible should always be our go-to when it comes to, well, pretty much everything. Sometimes, it's hard to put it all together. I believe Heather did a wonderful job of putting it together for us. It truly has been a great read so far. I plan on finishing it and then sharing it with my church community.










The second book I was given, "God's Unfolding Story of Salvation," is more like your typical Bible study. She takes you through the scriptures and you really have to search through your Bible. I will be honest, I enjoy this style much more than the style of the previous book. In this study, Heather guides you through the scriptures to help you see the big picture in the Biblical storyline, it is Christ centered. I am only a few chapters in, at this point, but I am enjoying every minute of it so far. This is one study that I will have my children read as they grow a bit older.








I highly recommend both of these books. They are very informative and helpful in one's walk with Jesus. At $23 for "A Tale of Two Kingdoms" and $22 for "God's Unfolding Story of Salvation", they are well worth the investment.

Click this button, to read more reviews of both of these books.

Cleaning Routines, Lots of Kids, & Not Enough Space

Or so I thought....

Before I get into all of that, I want to share with you some history.

Some of you may know that I spent some time in Iraq. It's where my husband and I met and fell in love. We came home, got married and had a baby, all in the same year. Well, more like a 3 month time span. It was a whirlwind! One that I'd never change, but one that brought many challenges.

I went from just having to take care of myself to having a husband and baby! Umm, what in the world!? I had no idea what to do. I did the best I could. I really did. We were fed, clothed (in clean clothes), healthy and relatively happy. I knew I needed to do more though. This was something I was determined to figure out.

Enter Fly Lady. Yeah!!! She had it all planned out. I just needed to do. Well, that didn't work so well for me. I got stuck somewhere between getting dressed to shoes every day and taking care of a baby as a first time mom. My ideals weren't lining up quite right.

Now, don't get me wrong, Fly Lady is awesome! I love her routines and her focus on forming good habits. I still read her e-mails for inspiration. It's wonderful!

I also use an app called "FlyHelper." You can find it in the Google Play Store. It's a wonderful app, and it's FREE. (I don't get anything by sharing, other than the satisfaction of helping another mom out who may be drowning the way I am.)

I tried Fly Lady off and on for a few years. I also tried a few other things. Some, I can't even remember the name of right now. I tried making my own. I tried following a schedule set to the time. That just didn't work for me either. If I could live my life without ever looking at a clock, I'd be one happy lady.

Throughout those years of trial and error, I found quite a few things that worked and quite a few more that didn't. I have finally found something that works for us. It involves everyone. Well, everyone except my husband since he's at work during the day. I have a clean house, that is free of clutter(mostly), toys are picked up, laundry is "done", dishes aren't scattered all over, and most of all we are happy living in. Now, if you were to knock on my door this second, you would not find a house straight from the pages of Better Homes and Gardens magazine. Far from it. We have a small house and 6 people living in it, there's stuff here. We LIVE in our house. We homeschool in this house. If you were to walk in, right now, you'd find kids happily playing with toys and dishes in the sink. Like I said, we live here, and I'm fine with that.

Would you like to hear my big secret on how we got on top of the clutter and mess? Okay, get ready to take notes. Got your paper and pen? Here it comes....




We have started spending 15 minutes a day in each room! Ha! That's it! I set my trusty timer(thank you FlyLady) for 15 minutes and off we go! We all work in the same room, from me all the way down to my 3 year old.

We start by simply picking things up and putting them in their place. You know the saying, "A place for everything and everything in it's place." This is very important. If it doesn't have a place, you don't use it or need it, out it goes. You don't need it in your house!

Once that is done, we start on our details. For this, I use FlyLadys zones. You can find them here. Just click on "zones." If we don't have time for the details, we don't do them. At least the beds are made and everything has found it's place for that day.

Laundry is done daily also. I wash, dry and fold anywhere from 2-6 loads a day, depending on what needs to be done. At the end of the day, we all work on getting it all put away. We do this after supper when dad is home and he helps. We all wear the clothes, we all do our part. It takes us, you guessed it 15 minutes. Sometimes it takes maybe 20-25 depending upon how much we have and how well the kids are cooperating.

                                     (Picture of FlyLady's timer is used with permission of FlyLady.)

Yes, it's that simple! We spend no more than 15 minutes in one room and no less. You can do it too! So, get your timers out and give it a try. Let me know how it goes!

New addition to the family.... or make that FOUR new additions

Before you start wondering if I just gave birth to quadruplets. I didn't. We just bought 4 goldfish for the kids to take care of.

They have been begging for a while now to have some fish. I made a deal with them. They had to clean and de-clutter their room and I would buy them some fish. My husband and I talked about it and decided that 38 cent goldfish weren't too much of an investment if this little project goes south.

Since I have 4 kids, ready and willing, to help in the care of these cute little fish, I needed some way to track what had been done. The fish will need to be fed once or twice daily, not four. The tank will also need to be cleaned. We just purchased a typical goldfish bowl to start. That is why it will need to be cleaned so often. I plan on buying them something similar to this magnetic cleaner.

I searched online and couldn't find what I was looking for, so I made my own. I decided to share it with all of you too! You can print it by following this link to Teachers Pay Teachers: Goldfish Care Chart.

Math Mammoth Review

This week, my review is on Math Mammoth Light Blue Series 1A & 1B. I don't technically have any children in grade 1. However, my 5 year old, Hurricane, was ready to move past pre-school level math, so I thought we'd give this a try.

With my other two boys, we used Singapore Math 1A & 1B. We are very much a Singapore Math family, so it was very hard for me not to compare the two curricula when doing this review. It seems that most, if not all, homeschooling families have a certain math curriculum they use and they stick with it. Everyone has different tastes and learning styles, so they are all going to be different. Early on in my homeschooling "career," I referred to this chart from the Math Mammoth website to help me decide what would be best for our family. We use Singapore Math Standards Edition, so it doesn't line up exactly with Math Mammoth, but it's close.

Math Mammoth 1A starts out with a Kindergarten math review. I LOVED this. Since Hurricane is still a bit young, it was nice to have a bit of review to go over with him. It also helped him to get used to the work text format.  We are moving nice and slow for him. One page a day, at this point. I plan on slowing down or speeding up, depending upon his needs.

After the Kindergarten math review, the curriculum covers four main areas; addition and subtraction, place value, measuring lengths and geometric shapes. A full table of contents can be viewed by clicking the link above for the Light Blue Series 1A & 1B and downloading the "contents and samples" file.

One thing I really love about Math Mammoth is the focus on UNDERSTANDING of mathematical concepts. It's not just all memorization, though that is helpful when it comes to math.  I am a "why" person. I don't just do things without a good reason. Math Mammoth will teach your children to understand why. I believe this really helps to master the concepts taught in mathematics, and is one main reason I would suggest Math Mammoth to any homeschooling family.

Maria really does a wonderful job explaining the Light Blue series here:

Pros

1. Very cost effective at $34 for the whole year.

2. Focuses on understanding of mathematical concepts.

3. Easy to use with the directions printed right in the workbook.

4. No teachers manual needed.

5. Very clear explanations.

6. Can be purchased in a few different forms. 

7. Very little "extras," like manipulatives, needed. 

Cons

I honestly can't think of any. 

I will say that we plan on continuing with this curriculum for Hurricane's first year of math. After that, the plan is to switch to Singapore Math Standards Edition. That is not a knock on Math Mammoth at all, just a personal preference. I feel the scope and sequence fits our family better. That is my ONLY reason. If there ever were a time that we needed to change our math curricula for any reason, Math Mammoth would be at the top of my list! 

If you would like to purchase this curricula, you can go to the Math Mammoth Light Blue Series Grade 1 site and choose which option you like best. Your options are printed, download and CD formats. The printed are a bit more expensive, but still not as expensive as some of the math curricula out there. 

You can also read more reviews for Math Mammoth here: Mosaic Reviews: Math Mammoth

Rowing "The Tale of Peter Rabbit"

The week of September 3rd marked the start of our school year. I hadn't planned on starting until the following week, but the kids were begging to get going. Who am I to deny them? Since I didn't want to mess my plans up. I decided to do Tuesday and Thursday the first week and Monday, Wednesday, Friday the next week. That way we get our full first week in, and we can ease back into our school schedule.

For the first week, we decided to row "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" by Beatrix Potter. I LOVE this book. There are so many things to learn from it's characters. The kids love it too.

Most of our activities are right out of the Five In A Row Volume 2 manual, so I won't go into those much. The manuals are very much worth every penny spent. (Though, I didn't have to spent anything on mine since I found them at a local FREE store.) I really wanted to share with you the sensory bin I came up with.

What you will need (cost):

Bin large enough to hold everything (free since I had it at home)

Potting soil ($0.97 at Walmart)

Seed packets ($0.10 a piece on clearance)

"Silk" flowers ($0.50 a bunch on clearance, I bought 3)

Shovels and other play things ($1.60 a piece on clearance)

As you can see, I didn't spend much on this bin. You don't need to really. I plan my sensory bins a few weeks out, so I can look through clearance isles and 2nd hand stores. I just make a list of everything I am going to need and keep my eyes open. If something proves to be too hard to find, I can usually find something else to fit in the bin, or just change the bin idea.

My kids LOVED it! Once we finished reading the book and doing our learning activity for the day, I brought this bin out. I put it on the floor with a large vinyl tablecloth underneath. (That made for very easy clean up. I found it at Goodwill for $2) This bin kept the younger two (ages 3 and 5) busy while I continued teaching my older two.

I left it out for maybe 30-45 minutes, then picked it up. I have found, with my kids, that if I leave things out for them too long, it will just become a huge mess. They were usually done playing with it by this time anyway. I wouldn't take it away from them when they were in the middle of playing. That is serious business. I would just pay attention to when they were loosing interest and put it up at that point.

We had lots of fun rowing "The Tale of Peter Rabbit." We hope you do too!

Review - Homeschool Programming Kid Coder Web Design

Homeschool Programming 

Kid Coder Beginning Web Design

Grades 4-12

Price: 

Homeschool Programming is a super fun computer science curriculum that teaches your 4th-12th grade children how to write their own computer programs and games. The program was written by homeschool parents with over 17 years of experience in the software industry.

They offer "Kid Coder" and "Teen Coder" options. Kid Coder is for all grades within that range, while Teen Coder is for the student who would like a more in-depth study. 

Here's a photo from their site that shows everything they offer. 

 

Being that most of my children are too young for this program, I had my oldest work with it. Both of us have enjoyed it so far. "Lightening" seems to be catching on to most of it. He likes how it's laid out for him and the fact that he can work independently. I also like this aspect. I can set him to work and go about mine. I check in with him often and help him when he asks. Though it's not really needed as the program walks him through step by step. I barely have to help him!

We are only about 4 chapters in at this point, but we do plan on continuing to the end. We may even purchase the other program options, if that is what Lightening wants to do. I do believe it's worth every penny! This is all information that I wish I knew, so I had no idea how to teach my children. Homeschool Programming took care of it all for me!

To read other great reviews of this product, go to Mosaic Reviews.

Cleaning and organizing and de-cluttering! Oh my!

Hello again. I know I've been really quiet this summer and I'm sorry. I've been busy. We had our first camping trip to celebrate Thunder's and Lightning's birthday. We had so much fun and got a lot of mosquito bites to prove it. They really had it out for Hurricane, who got three bites right around his eye! His eye was swollen shut! Poor guy. He's okay now though.

 I've also been working on my FlyLady routines. This is something I struggle with. I do well with a routine, but I start to feel trapped by it and have to re-vamp it. Instead of just changing it up for a bit, I end up stopping all together. In a 3 bedroom house with 6 people that simply can not happen! The laundry monster starts to take over first, then it's the dishes, then it's the toys. Before I know it, my house looks like a tornado ran through!

FlyLady to the rescue!! When my house gets that bad, I put on my mp3 player and go to town with a crisis clean! I know she says that we should never have to crisis clean again, but I do. I am getting better though. I used to have to do a crisis clean once or twice a week, just to maintain the CHAOS (Can't have anyone over syndrome). Lately, it's been just an occasional occurrence because I've been keeping up on my daily routines.

FlyLady's baby steps start with working on your evening routine. I found this a little weird at first, but have found it's very important. My day runs a lot smoother when I wake up to a clean house. I can actually cover some ground instead of treading water all day. I still have not perfected this, but I try. Some nights I am just too tired, by the time I get all 4 kids into bed and keep them there. A while back I pinned this cleaning routine from Little Green Notebook. I love the simplicity of it. Yes, I still do the FlyLady stuff, I just like to tweak everything to my life, so I take a bit from here and a bit from there.

Anyway, I knew that I needed to start with my evening routine, so I did exactly what that chart said to do. Low and behold, the next day went smooth too! Amazing! Thank you FlyLady for the inspiration to work at it 15 minutes at a time. The time I put in today, will benefit my family tomorrow!

The morning routine is next. This is straight out of FlyLady and goes as follows:

~Eat something good for you and take your medicine and vitamins
~Feed kids (they get up as they want and eat at different times.)
~Exercise
~ Shower and get dressed to lace up shoes, fix your hair and face. ( I do NOT put shoes on most days. I am not any more productive if I have shoes on, and I'm more comfortable in bare feet.)
~Make bed
~Grab a load of laundry and start the washer
~Empty dishwasher to start your day.(If you did your evening routine, it should be full of clean dishes)
~ Check your calendar for today's activities
~What's for dinner? Get it out and in the crock-pot.
~De-clutter for 15 minutes in the FlyLady zone.
~ De-clutter mission from Home Storage Solutions.

By this point, it's close to lunch time. I'm going to have to work something out once we start homeschooling again in September since that will not work for us. I'm thinking I will have to move the bulk of these steps to an afternoon routine, so we can get our schooling done in the morning.

I do try to get more than one load of laundry done in a day. With 6 people one load a day simply will not cut it! Laundry seems to be my sticking point, no matter what I do. One day, I will be caught up. Or we will move to a nudist colony. Either one, I'm not sure. 

This is about as far as I've gotten with my routines. It's working so far and my house is about 15-30 minutes away from company worthy. No, I don't have a Better Homes and Gardens picture worthy house, but it's clean and that's all that matters.

The Classical Historian Review

When I was asked to review a game for The Classical Historian, I can honestly say that I had never heard of them before. After browsing their WEB SITE, I was excited to receive the game they sent as I did not know which game I would get.

I received the Medieval History Memory Game and promptly opened it up. The quality of the cards is very nice. The pictures are very clear and the words can be read easily. My kids have enjoyed looking at all of the pictures and it's actually spurred some great conversations.

So far, we have just played it as a true memory game, matching the pictures. The website says you can use it in a different way to teach geography and association skills. You can place the four category cards(Europe, The Americas, The Far East, Arabia) at the top of your playing area. Then each player takes turns placing the rest of the tiles under the correct category. I'm sure we will do this in the future as this coming school year we are going to study world geography. 

Overall, this is a fun game and worth the $14.95 asking price. The people with The Classical Historian are wonderful to work with and respond quickly with answers to questions. 

Woolzies review and giveaway!

I was recently given an opportunity to review a set of Woolzies Dryer Balls. I can honestly say I LOVE them. I have been using dryer balls forever. Unfortunately, they've been those hard plastic balls that are so loud they sound like there is a war zone in my laundry room. Not cool!

Woolzies Dryer Balls are made out of, wait for it..... 100% New Zealand wool! They are handmade and will last you for 1,000 loads!! Since they are made of wool, and not plastic, they are PVC free and will not melt or break apart on you in the dryer. They act as a fabric softener, without the harsh chemicals, and will leave your clothes feeling soft and static free!

I was pleasantly surprised to find 6 dryer balls in the package. Of course, I had to do a load of laundry right away to test them out. I guess you could count that as another great thing about Woolzies, I actually WANTED to do laundry! I was so excited to get them in the dryer that I forgot to take a picture for this review! I was so happy to find that they are super quiet. Yes, you can hear them bouncing around a little bit, but it's NOTHING compared to those plastic dryer balls!! My clothes came out of the dryer soft and static free, just like the company claims! I did notice that it didn't take near as long to dry either! It's a win, win!!!

Now, you can get your own set of Woolzies Dryer Balls, one of two ways. If you just can't wait, you can go HERE to purchase your own set for $34.95. (Worth every penny, by the way.) Or you can enter to win a set below...


a Rafflecopter giveaway


*DISCLAIMER: I was given a free set of Woolzies Dryer Balls in exchange for an honest review. A positive review was not guaranteed.