Reading Eggs Workbook - Review

We are not strangers to the online program called Reading Eggs. In fact, we just used it last year and my little ones really enjoyed it. They've really changed things up for the positive the last few years and now they came out with workbooks that go along with the online program! We decided to review 200 essential Reading Skills for Second Grade. They have books from Kindergarten to 5th grade as well as math books for Kindergarten through 2nd grade.

Smart Kidz Radio - Review

If you are like my household, we are big music lovers. Someone almost always is either listening to the radio or other music. We were recently introduced to Smart Kidz Radio from Smart Kidz Media.

Iced Coffee and Chinese Food

First off, a major Happy Father's Day to my amazing dad! My birth mom tried so hard to sabotage my relationship with him over the years when I was younger. God thankfully opened my eyes to what she did and he has been by my side ever since! He has been there for me through thick and thin despite all we went through when I was a child. I know he loves me unconditionally and is there for me no matter what! I'm so thankful for such a great dad and am thankful he shows my children what a real dad should be like!

ARTistic Pursuits - Review

I unfortunately was not born with an artistic talent. I can sew, play instruments, cook, but art is not my fortay. One of my older daughters somehow gained an amazing art talent though. Because of my lack of skill when it comes to teaching art, I've used different curriculum over the years to help out with homeschooling this subject. Our family knows the name of ARTistics Pursuits Inc. quite well. We have used and reviewed several of their books over the years (links will be included at the end of previous reviews). Recently, we had the chance to try out one of their books from their newest series, ARTistic Pursuits Art Instruction Books with DVD and Blu-Ray. There are 4 books so far in the series and we specifically used the book Art for Children, Building a Visual Vocabulary.

Zucchini Fries

As gardening season is kicking off (at least in this area), I thought I'd share one of our favorite ways to use the ever plentiful zucchini. Because we all know, we reach the point of thinking there is nothing else to do with the zucchini that is up to our eyeballs!

"N" is for Nine Tips for Getting Vegetables into Your Children

My children love vegetables and eat pretty much anything though I know this isn't the case for all kids. So I thought I would share some ideas of how to get your child to eat their veggies & suggestions of ways to sneak them into foods if they aren't willing to eat them!

PandaParents Preschool - Review

My younger daughters always like to imitate their older siblings in doing school work. I know when my older 4 children were younger, I had to piece together a lot of their school work in the early years. That takes a lot of time and work. Recently, we had the chance to review MESSYLEARNING FOR PRESCHOOLERS AND KINDERGARTNERS from PandaParents. 

Kayla Jarmon Book Review

We are always open to checking out new books. We recently were given 3 digital books from author Kayla Jarmon. She is a mom, grandmother and a former homeschooling mom turned author.

Reading Kingdom - Review

My 6 year old has really taken off this school year with reading and writing. She loves mirroring her older siblings by being able to do some of her school work on the computer. Recently, we were given a subscription to Reading Kingdom.

CodeWizardsHQ - Live online class review

My son enjoys working on the computer, gaming and problem solving. I try to balance his interests in gaming and computers in healthy ways and encourage him to use his love of technology for learning and growing. He recently had a chance to try out one of the Computer Programming Courses from CodeWizardsHQ.  While they offer classes to anyone in grades 5-10, they also have a class for homeschoolers.

YWAM Publishing - Ronald Reagan - Review

My children love learning about specific people in regards to history and enjoy reading their biographies. YWAM Publishing has some awesome books from their Heroes of History series. They also have another series Christian Heroes: Then & Now. So we had to decide what book and study guide we wanted to review which was a hard choice as there are so many amazing people to read about between both series. I knew Erik would be the one to work on this as he enjoys history, so I gave him the chance to look over the books and pick which one he wanted to read. He chose Heroes of History - Ronald Reagan to read about. He also received the downloadable Study Guide.

Story Bible - Review

There are so many neat children's Bibles and Bible story books out there. We have several of them and I use them to read to my young children usually before bedtime. We recently had the chance to try out a new one, Planet 316 Story Bible and the companion Planet 316 Story Bible App from Planet 316 and WorthyKids/Ideals.

A+ Interactive Math - Review

When it comes to teaching math, in the elementary years, I typically use a workbook and teach them myself. Later on, I switch their math lessons to come from either dvd, online or a co-op class. But I recently had the chance to try out Family Math Package from A+ Interactive Math (by A+ TutorSoft Inc.). And instead of using for my older children, I actually tried out their first grade level with my 1st grader.

Traditional Spelling I - Review

My first grade daughter has been working on spelling this year. It's been pretty informal, mainly writing words from books she reads.  So when we were offered Traditional Spelling I from Memoria Press, we were excited to check it out and use a more formal spelling curriculum.

Homeschool Diploma - Review

I can hardly believe the time is fast approaching to finally graduate my oldest girls! Being that they (twins) are my first, this whole process is new. We've been talking about their senior year and graduation for quite some time to figure out what they wanted to do. The timing was great when we were recently offered to order a Standard Diploma that we were able to upgrade to a Personalized Diploma from Homeschool Diploma. My girls also picked out a Graduation Tassel.

Zirrly Beads - Review

Every so often, we get crafty projects to review which is always fun! Recently, we were given Super Beads Mega Pack from Zirrly. My younger girls really enjoyed these!

Mayo

Yes, Mayo is an odd title for a blog post BUT I just have to share how God not only meets our needs but our wants as well!

CursiveLogic - Review

Learning to read and write cursive seems to be falling by the wayside in the main stream schools anymore. I personally want my children to learn it. Even if they rarely write with it (thanks to everything being typed anymore), they should be able to read it as there are so many historical documents that are in cursive. We recently had the chance to try out CursiveLogic Quick-Start Pack and The Art of Cursive from CursiveLogic.

Magic Stix - Review

Anytime the company The Pencil Grip, Inc. has a product up for review, my children and I get so very excited! We have had the chance in previous years to review their Kwik Stix as well as their Thin Stix, both of which have been such great hits with my children. Their newest product is Magic Stix Washable Markers which we had the chance to try out. The Pencil Grip, Inc is being so very generous and will be sending one of my readers their own set of markers so keep reading for the giveaway!

Starfall Membership Review

Starfall Education Foundation has been a popular name in our family for many years. They have had a free, online program since my older children were younger. They still do have a free program but they also offer The Starfall Home Membership which my 4 and 6 year old were excited to use!

UltraKey - Homeschool Keyboarding - Review

Learning to type correctly and efficiently is a much needed skill in today's world. We recently had the chance to try out UltraKey Online Family Subscription from Bytes of Learning. This is a one year, online subscription that is good for up to 8 users. I wanted to mainly used it for my son but I couldn't figure out how to switch to him from my account so the program ended up being used under my name and account.

Premier Designs Online Party

Hey friends! My sweet girlfriend recently launched her new business with Premier Designs and I want to help her out and spread the word so I am hosting an online party.

God Makes All Things Right Again

I recently joined a class in my church that is specific for a situation I am dealing with in life. Sometime I will share more specifics about everything my children and I have been through but right now, rest assured God has been providing and protecting us!

Squirrel Hunting

This past summer my son expressed interest in getting his hunting license. This is something I've wanted to do for years but never took the time to do so together we completed our hunters safety course!

He researched guns and with input from others, purchased a .22 to be used for small game hunting.

We finally had a chance to go out hunting today together. He has been out twice with others but that was before he got his own gun. So this time we went out together to some state game lands in hopes of bagging some squirrels (to eventually make squirrel pot pie with!)

It was a cold day and while we didn't see anything, it was still fun hanging out together. We both look forward to many more times of hunting together!