Read for the Heart ** TOS Review**

We were so very blessed to be able to review the book Read For the Heart from Apologia.
This book is a guide to the best in children's literature and so much more.
From the Website:
A great book spurs the imagination in childhood, inspires our dreams in adulthood, and nourishes the soul with depictions of life fully and courageously lived. Among the greatest gifts you can bequeath to a child are a love for reading and a passion for books. But how do you sort through the many thousands of books available to your children to find those that are worthwhile? Apologia has the answer. Keeping Read for the Heart close at hand is like having a children's librarian for a best friend! Let Sarah Clarkson be your guide to the best in children's literature for your family. From timeless classics to modern favorites, from picture books to adventure novels to read-aloud favorites, more than 1,000 wonderful stories for young people are recommended within these pages. Now you can make great literature a lasting part of your child's life and education.

My Experience:
First of all let me say if there is only one thing you purchase because of my review please let it be this.
No other book has changed my views on schooling as much or been as helpful of a guide as this one book has been to me. This book goes so far beyond a simple guide to which books to read it's unbelievable.
Sarah Clarkson shares not only her knowledge and wisdom as an adult but also her very compelling experiences as a child growing up in a home filled with good books.
She not only tells you which books she recommends but tells you WHY. She tells you exactly what to look for in books in every genre. She gave me the tools to go through and look at the books we own and make an educated decision about which books are good for not only my child's education but their heart and soul as well.
I have read many a book-list and purchased countless fabulous books off of those lists but I myself felt helpless when it came to picking a book not on a list somewhere. This book empowered me to know what it is I'm looking for and how to find it. I have a whole new feeling of empowerment now as an educator and a mother to be able to find the books that will be best for my children.
After reading this book I went through the many, many books in our home and put each and every one to the test according to the knowledge I gained from this book. Let me tell you I thinned out our books by at least a third BUT I am so happy with what we now have. There is not a single book in our picture books that I wouldn't be happy to read to my children over and over again. There aren't any chapter books that will make me inwardly cringe when I see my 14 year old reading it anymore. I once thought that since family and friends had been so very generous with books for my children that I was required to keep each and every book.
After reading Sarah's book I knew that it was my job to weed out what I do and do not want my children to be exposed to.
Let me tell you what has happened since I took out the books that did not fit the criteria I decided upon. My children are reading more than ever. Every time I turn around someone has a book in their hand. A good book at that. A book that is filling their mind with good things, filling their heart with virtue and uplifting their spirit all at once.
Another thing Sarah has inspired me to do is to drastically cut out the electronics in order to allow more time for reading and imagination. I am still working on getting where we need to be on this one but let me tell you, soon I know I will see the tremendous fruits of this effort.
As for the actual books that she recommended, first we have loved every one we have read on her lists. Second unlike most book lists she doesn't simply give you the names of books to read, for each book she gives you the author, date of original publication, awards received if any, illustrator when applicable,  the general age category, a short review of the book(my favorite part) and cautions regarding mature or questionable content when needed.
There are so many parts of this book that I would love to quote for you but let me just say, there are too many to include in this post so please if you are a homeschooling parent, not a homeschooling parent, a grandparent, or in any way involved in the educating or raising of a child I urge you to read this book and I promise you won't regret it.

Read For The Heart is available here for just $17.00
You can see the table of contents or a sample chapter there as well.

I received a free copy of Read For The Heart in exchange for my honest review. No other compensation was received.

Happy Birthday Avery

Avery turned 5 this week. Sweet little baby Avery. Isn't a baby anymore. Sweet little girl Avery. 

Sometimes life isn't fair. Why can't we have babies and keep them as babies? Why do our sweet little babies have to grow up? 

The only thing that keeps me going through this is what a sweet little girl she is. No one loves me quite the way she does. She is such an adoring affectionate little girl. I hope she always stays this sweet. 

For her birthday she requested a Tangled party. Avery loves princesses and Rapunzel is her favorite at the moment. 

I found a tutorial online for making a tower cake here. I thought the kids wouldn't like the pecan rolls so decided to use cupcakes instead....

 Notice anything odd?? Yeah cupcakes... not a good idea. They crushed under their own weight. By the party the tower looked a bit like this....

The kids wanted to paint a tablecloth for Avery's party. I rolled out 2 strips of doctors table paper (thanks Renee) and taped them together then split it into 6 sections and let them have at it.

 Anna's Square

Avery's

 Audrey's

 Amelia's

 Peyton's

 and Weylin's

 I covered it in plastic and kept it there. I think it's so neat that they wanted to do that for her. We made a pretty purple sun banner.

We had plenty of good friends to share the day with us.

We even attempted to do flying lanterns although the wind had other plans.
Another day I suppose...

All in all we had a fabulous party.... until the end when the tornado warnings came and the party concluded with us and our guests huddled in the stairwell! Oh well every party can't be perfect.

Considering God's Creation ** TOS Review**

We were able to review a Science curriculum produced by Eagle's Wings called Considering God's Creation.
Considering God's Creation is a simple hands on approach to natural science for second to seventh graders.
This program contains 36 lessons that start with the basics of creation and go all the way to the creation of Man.
The topics covered are Creation, The Universe: Stars, Sun and Planets, The Earth, Non-Living Things: Rocks and Minerals, Weather, The Plant Kingdom, The Animal Kingdom, Animal Anatomy & Physiology, and Man: Made in God's Image.
Each lesson starts with a section entitled preparation. This section lets you the parent know what you will need to gather for the lesson. One of the great things about this program is everything is simple things you should already own. No need for fancy kits or special trips to the store.
Next is Vocabulary words for the lesson then an introduction to the lesson that relates the basic information that the children will be learning.
Next there is a song or poem to go with the lesson. The audio CD is included in the back of the teachers manual.
Then your child will complete a simple hands on Activity related to the lesson.
There is a section entitled bible reading which gives your child biblical reference to support the lesson being taught. Then they will complete their notebook pages for the lesson.
There are evolution stumpers included in each lesson to help reinforce your child's understanding that we were created by a higher being.
Review Questions follow so you can be sure that your child understood the concept.
Last is the Digging Deeper section with ideas on ways you can learn more.

Our Experience:
We really enjoyed this program. It is easy to use and a nice amount of information per subject. Not so much they get bored but enough so that they really feel they've learned a lot about the subject.
The notebook pages are done well and my kids really enjoy doing them. I really appreciate the fact that they teach the scientific information without a ton of biblical reference in that section, it stays mostly separated so that you can focus on one thing at a time.
I can say we will continue to use this program but I don't want to give up the program we are already using either. We will probably continue to use our main program and add this one as we want. My kids enjoy it and ask for it. I believe this will be our "we feel like doing extra science" or "we want to learn about something specific" program. Maybe even our "summer break is getting boring" science!
You can see samples of the program here.

Pricing:
Considering God's Creation includes the Teachers Manual, Audio CD and One Student Notebook. $29.95
Additional Student Workbooks are $13.95
They do allow photocopies within a family but the student notebook is so reasonably priced I honestly think it is probably cheaper to just buy the notebook.

To read my crew-mates reviews of this product visit the TOS Blog Here.

I received a free copy of Considering God's Creation in exchange for my honest review of the product.

Pearson Education Reading Street ** TOS Review**

We were given the opportunity through the TOS Crew to review the Reading Street program by Scot Foresman.  Reading Street is a comprehensive reading curriculum originally written to be used in the public school classroom.

Reading Street covers reading different genres such as fiction, nonfiction, poetry and plays. It covers reading comprehension, vocabulary, grammar and writing.
There are two books for unit one, book 2.1 and 2.2. Each book has 3 units and multiple stories and activities in each unit.

The book is very nicely laid out with very nice full color illustrations. It is simple to read with large enough text for the not experienced reader.
If you chose to use this program no other language arts would be needed. This program has in it everything needed for second grade language arts.


Our Experience:
We love the look of this book with it's illustrations and easy to follow formatting. The stories are interesting and engaging and very well done. I would not personally use this book alone simply because I want my children to have quite a bit more grammar. I do like it though for reading and reading comprehension. Will we use it in the future? Probably not. Simply because it is very cost prohibitive in my opinion. If it were more affordable I would love to use this as part of my reading program in addition to living books. Another consideration for my is that the website is not terribly easy to use. If I were not reviewing this program, as a homeschooler the website alone and difficulty in viewing the samples would turn me away.

Cost:
Each Student book is $43.47 available here.

To see what my crewmates thought of this product visit the TOS Blog here.

I received a free copy of Reading Street 2.1 and 2.2 in exchange for my honest review.

Wordy Qwerty ** TOS Review**

We were blessed to get to review Wordy Qwerty for the TOS Crew. Wordy Qwerty is the follow up to the program that we reviewed earlier in the year called Talking Fingers.
Talking Fingers teaches the basics of typing and then Wordy Qwerty continues to work on typing but also works on spelling and reading. Wordy Qwerty is made for children approximately age 7-9.

Wordy Qwerty works with your child on six basic skills.
1 Patterns: teaches children spelling rules and patterns of spelling.
2 Karaoke: This section contains 20 fun and engaging songs to teach your child the spelling rules.
3 Re-cycler: Works with your child on the different ways to spell rhyming words and introduces them to the fact that not all rhyming sounds are spelled the same way.
4 Pop-A-Word: Works on those hard to learn rule breakers.
5 Write Stories: Stories are dictated to your child and they then type what they hear.
6 Read Stories: Just as it sounds with a twist, every once in a while there is a word missing and your child will have to fill it in.
Visit the website here to learn more about these six skills and the games Wordy Qwerty uses to teach them.

Our Experience:
My kids love this program. It is fun, engaging, colorful and easy to navigate. Both my 8 and 9 year old have been using it with much success. Their typing is improving as is their spelling. I cannot recommend this program enough. I have searched high and low for a typing product I love and this one fits the bill. Not only are they learning to type and honing that skill but they are working on spelling, reading and vocabulary at the same time. I also love that the hands are always available to show them which finger to use and how to move it. That limits my having to hover which is always a bonus.



Pricing:
Online Subscriptions start at $25 a year for one student
Home Edition CD is $35
You can also do the free Demo here

I received 2 free online licenses for Wordy Qwerty in exchange for my honest review.

Making Lemonade out of Lemons......

It's raining yet again......

At first we were sad, the rain meant we couldn't go to ponies yet again. Everyone was bummed. We decided to turn our day around though.
First we covered things in chocolate.... chocolate makes everything better ya know ;)

Then the kids brought every blanket we own to the living room while I made a bunch of air popped popcorn with real butter and plenty of salt..... then we all settled in to watch A Little Princess.

Sometimes rainy days are actually the best days <3

Mad Dog Math ** TOS Review**

We were chosen to review Mad Dog Math through the TOS Crew.
Mad Dog Math is a computer facts mastery program. Mad Dog Math takes your child through drills for addition  subtraction, multiplication and division. Each fact family is worked on until your child knows them all in 2 minutes, then 1 minute and finally 30 seconds before moving on to the next level.

From the Website

Mad Dog Math is a supplement to any math curriculum used in any classroom, home school setting, or any home situation. The basic facts are a very small piece of the academic pie, but a crucial piece for future success as children move on to higher levels of math.

We’ve taken the basic facts and broken them down into bite-sized pieces that any child can master. A child progresses through a series of timed drills at his own pace. With each success comes confidence; with confidence comes more success. Students, for the first time, feel empowered by their gained knowledge and are not intimidated by math ever again. Where students once said, “Math is hard; I hate math!”, they now say, “Math is easy; math is fun!”

There is nothing on the market like Mad Dog Math.

Our Experience:

At first I was hesitant about this program. I am not a huge fan of flashcard style drills and I wasn't sure I was going to like this program at all. I can say though after using it with my children I actually am fairly impressed.

It isn't just going through the facts pointlessly ( in my child's mind) it is challenging them to beat the clock, then to beat themselves. It was a little frustrating for my children at first because it is hard to get to that 2 minute mark at first, but now they actually are enjoying the challenge. 

I like it because I can skip the math drills in our math workbook and just let them do this. I know it's mastered when they can hit that 30 second mark and I don't need to try to decide for myself how fast is fast enough. 

As an adult that still has to count on her fingers often and takes 30 seconds to recall some multiplication problems it is very important to me that my children have their math facts down. I feel like this program can help them achieve that and I plan to continue using it until they have mastered them all to the 30 second level. 

Pricing:

One Year License: $19.99

Two Year License: $29.99

Perpetual License: $39.99 

To see what my crew-mates thought of Mad Dog Math visit the TOS Blog Here.

I received a free trial of Mad Dog Math in exchange for my honest review of the product. No other compensation was received. 

Sharing some pictures

Sweet Amelia... Growing up so fast.

Such a good big brother!

Good Friends

Easter Sunday

Some light reading ;) 

Days 3 and 4's sewing

OK so I'm super slow right now because I'm really quite sick, but darnit I've put in my hour a day... so what if I'm averaging one dress every 2 days...The point is I'm doing it right.

OK so DD fell in LOVE with this Snow White shirt, only problem was it was only available in a size 14. What's a mama to do but buy it and cut it up and make it something else  That's cost effective right?  At least it was on clearance.

Here it is Audrey's beloved Snow White Henrika... she couldn't be happier

And the obligatory twirl picture

Day 1 and 2 of Sewing Kids Clothes Week

So far I have just sewn one dress.... I'm sick so I can use that as an excuse for my lack of productivity right?? It is one pretty dress though... wanna see?

Farbenmix Elodie
I made the version with pleated sleeves and an underskirt trimmed with ruffled tulle. I need to tighten the neck elastic so it's not quite so low cut.

 I added some 3D butterflies to the top here... It's hard to see but I just cut out some butterflies and put them onto interfacing the sewed only the middle down.

 What you don't want modeling shots of Avery doing a plie?? I guess we've taken a lot of dance photos recently so she thinks I always want Ballet poses ;)

Monki See ** TOS Review**

From the website:
MonkiSee is a fun and entertaining collection of baby DVD's that expose babies to upbeat music, original poetry, lovable puppets and real world images.  The MonkiSee collection teaches your baby to identify their body parts, colors, shapes and more, all while learning to read.  TheMonki See series is rich in language and has been proven to increase your baby's vocabulary.  

The MonkiSee Baby DVD series is a fun way for your baby to learn necessary preschool skills such as color and shape recognition.  The concepts are introduced in a fun and interactive way.  Your baby will love to "monkey around" with the lovable Howie and Skip.  

    Each Monki See baby dvd volume introduces new concepts to your baby in a playful and entertaining way.  The MonkiSee collection is truly learning made fun.  You will be amazed at how much your baby learns in this enjoyable manner.  

    Guaranteed to be your baby's favorite series - the MonkiSee line of baby DVD's are products babies love and parents can feel good about.

Our Experience: We received the Baby's First Words video and the Know your Monkey book. The recommendation is to watch the DVD daily 5 days a week. We did not do that because honestly that is just more TV than we allow for our children. My daughter is 3 which is slightly over the recommended age for this dvd but she really enjoyed the movie. She asked to watch it several times and sang back the songs from it. She also enjoyed the book, which was basically a review of the movie. 
I would recommend these DVDs purely for occasional entertainment for your toddler. I would not however recommend them to "teach your baby to read" simply because I do not believe in trying to teach children that young to read. The movies are sweet and catchy and fun for the 2&3 year age group.


Monki See is available for purchase here. 
DVD's are $19.95 each
Books are $9.95 each

To see what my crewmates thought of this book visit the crew blog here. 

I received a free copy of the DVD and Book in exchange for my honest review of the product.

Kids Clothes Week Challenge!

This challenge came at the perfect time for me. I just finished all of the ballet stuff and 

it's getting warm enough that my kids REALLY need some new clothing! 

So the challenge works like this. You have to spend just 1 hour a day sewing 

clothing for your children. That's it one hour for one week. Easy enough right? If you're like me you will end up spending more once you get started. So far today I have just about finished a new dress for Avery. If I get it finished tonight I'll edit my post to add the picture.

I'm terribly sick so we'll see if I get that far or not. 

If you want to join in here's the link to the challenge.

Kregel Publications ** TOS Review**

We were blessed to receive a book from the Circle C Beginnings series by Kregel Publications to review through the TOS Crew.

The book we received was the first in the series titled Andi's Pony Trouble.

When we first got it my daughter fiercely insisted she did NOT want to read this book. I told her she had to go read one chapter before she could make any decisions about the book.
She sulkily went up to her room to read and I went to do my chores. Two hours later she emerged and asked me to buy the next book..... she had finished that one!
So it went one book at a time, she finished one and I ordered the next. The days in between were spent with her checking the tracking number and looking on the porch for her next book.
She has now read all of the books in the series and is working on the next series where Andi is a bit older.

She also did all of the activity pages offered here. There are coloring pages, puzzles, and different activity sheets to go with every book.

I also read the first book and was very impressed. The story was wholesome, simple and took the time to teach the children little lessons incorporated throughout the story.
Obviously we love this series and will read all of the Kregel Publications books we can.... we've even been loaning out our Andi books to friends so they can experience these great little books.
I highly recommend these books for your early reader.

At just $4.99 per book they are a great way to add to your young readers library.
The books are available for purchase from the publisher, amazon, or christianbook.com.

To see what my crew-mates thought visit the crew blog here.

I received a free copy of Andi's Pony Troubles in exchange for my honest review of the product. No other compensation was received.

Dress Rehearsal

We had our dress rehearsal Monday night so I thought I would share a couple of pictures.
In other news we found out the hard way Avery and Annabelle are just not quite ready for their big stage debut.... oh well better we found out at the rehearsal than at the show ;)

Did I say a few pictures? I may have meant 21 pictures... hey, I'm proud of my kids, what can I say?