Lingua Angelica Giveaway - 3/28/2010

In the past I have been blessed by the wonderful ministry of The Book Samaritan and one of the books which I have received is the student workbook for Lingua Angelica I by Memoria Press.

This is a Christian Latin reading course designed to go along with Latina Christiana.  I have not used this student book nor the accompanying curriculum but it looks very good. SO I am hoping to bless another family by my giveaway. Now I have never done a giveaway on my blog before but it seems appropriate to require a comment as an entry. In your comment please tell me why you love teaching Latin to your kiddos and follow my blog, you can earn an additional entry for spreading the word on FB, and 1 (for a total of 3) for blogging about my giveaway with a link to my blog.
 I will use a random generator to choose the winner on Friday April 2. I will announce the winner's on Saturday April 3 I have decided to extend it. Entries will be accepted thru April 8th midnight with drawing held on April 9th.. Good Luck!

TOS giveaway

I am short on time today but wanted to give you a heads up on a giveaway at The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew blog. It is for a curriculum called Truthquest and it looks fantastic, Here is last years review. Also I will be hosting a giveaway myself soon. Details forth coming.

Currclick GC

So last week I won a GC to Currclick (which I never win stuff) and I have been trying to figure out what to spend it on. I think I may have decided on this but for the 1st edition. Unfortunately that is the one I can not find on the site. I have emailed the creator of the lapbooks and hope to hear good news otherwise I don't know what to use my gc on.  I am sure I could find something but want to be a good steward of my gift and use it on next years curriculum.  Maybe I'll get lucky!

Field Trip Today

So we were supposed to go to a Missouri Conservation Nature Preserve to take a Nature Journal class today. It rained! Alot...so we went to the St. Louis Science Museum instead. We spent about 5 hours there and we all had a wonderful time. We really got to take our time and play with all the "toys" and we went to the special exhibit area, which we never get to do. It was called Dinosaur Exploration and was very interesting. We had to keep up with the boys because they had too much fun going from one dino to another and back again.  Did we learn anything? Yes I believe so, did you know that some dinos had a feather like coverings? Apparently in recent excavations and study it has been discovered these dinosaurs were not reptilian but more bird like. It was quite an eye opener. I took some pics with a dinky disposable since like a dummy I forgot my camera but hope fully will get some up here next week (pray they turn out).

Lil Bits School

(we went with trays for now instead of the drawers)

So I have been spending the better part of the last few weeks training my 12 mod to "Please give Mommie back the boys workbox tags, thank you." I kept thinking what could I do to get her to leave their boxes alone. She has at least progressed beyond just putting said tags into her mouth and is now putting them "away" which essentially means almost anywhere but sometimes in the boxes. I finally decided to make her a set of boxes for some of her new playthings to go in and make her some tags too! It is working beautifully and if I get some time this weekend I will be posting pics to show how much she likes it. Right now she has her Tag Jr., Violet Pal, soft blocks, rubber duckie, and 2 other books in there and she hasn't mastered the drawers yet (they don't open as easy as big brothers' since they are newer) but soon I am sure. I also introduced her to the Color Wonder markers and paper with a resounding crinkling she approved. She is just growing so fast, becoming more interested in how things are used then how they taste!

Teacher's Book Bag Giveaway

I never win anything so when I opened my email this morning and saw I had won the first giveaway at Teacher Book Bag for a $20 gift certificate to Currclick I was pleasantly surprised.  TBB is having a week long spring celebrations and giveaway so head on over and check them out they always have something great.

TOS Crew Review #2

"Molly's Money Saving Digest January 2010, Evaluate,Prioritize, Organize" published by The Old Schoolhouse is the second e-book I was invited to review from The Old Schoolhouse as a part of the Homeschool Crew. I was in no way compensated for my review other than being allowed to keep the free copy of Molly's Digest I was asked to review. This one really floats my boat because I am a military wife and we ALWAYS are looking for ways to save some money! I am familiar with Molly Green's Econobuster's  and have frequently checked out her advice; but what I haven't done, that I now wish I had, was subscribe to her digest. After all it is only $4.95 an issue. After reading this one I am hooked for certain.

I really loved the candid articles and wonderful pictures that accompanied them. Each issue is organized around a central idea (good for those of you like me who tend to wander, lol), and is chock full of great ideas.  There is always Molly's Minute, where she lays it on the line. Begin With The Basics is excellent for teaching those homemaking skills,a list of things that would be on sale this month, special holidays to celebrate, and then there is my favorite, organizational tools. This section is the meat, full of awesome printable charts and planning sheets for anyone who needs to budget and save.  Also included are ways to decorate on the cheap (and not look like you did), and a whole week of dinner menus (including shopping list).

There is an entire section for teaching kids the ways of being frugal and finacially wise too! I don't want to spoil the goodies inside this gem but Molly really has a great resource for you. So many great links and printables to use to save you some money and improve your home and school while doing it, and for such a great deal. If you buy 5 you save $5 how cool is that, it's like getting one free. And since they are downloads you have them in your hands right away.

Now of course what review wouldn't be complete with out a suggestion, right? I suggest you load these onto your book readers and enjoy during those long waits at the dr.s office or what have you. By the time you get home you'll be so ready to tackle those stumbling blocks in your path!

TOS Crew Review #1

I recently had the opportunity to join The Old Schoolhouse Magazine's Crew. If you don't know what that is I should explain. Pretty simply it's a program by which homeschoolers like myself are provided with free material to use in their homes / schools to evaluate with their families. In return I provide my honest opinion of the product and post said opinion on my blog and other networking sites for "the world to see". I am not paid for this other than being able to keep the materials provided for me to evaluate.

So like I said, I am in the first stage of joining this awesome opportunity and I received two e-books to read and evaluate as a trial of my blogging and reviewing abilities. So without further ado here is my first TOS Crew review.

The first e-book I read was called “Help, Lord, I'm Getting Ready To Start Homeschooling My High Schooler!”

It is a publication put out by The Old Schoolhouse Magazine and it sells at their site for $12.45. When I received this book I was a bit flabbergasted. I had been worrying about this very subject for going on 2 months now. You see I have a 14 year old son who will be in high school this coming Fall. After much tribulation over the past 2 years and wondering if Homeschooling was the right decision it seems as though God has not only answered my prayers and put to rest my fears but is encouraging us to continue this journey.

“Help Lord...” is a wonderful resource to add to any homeschooling library. If you have doubts about whether you can do this through highschool these fifteen families will show you that when you put your trust in the Lord,Yes, you can, and that it's going to be a great adventure. Some are stories of those still in the highschooling years while others are past that point and can now reflect with wisdom.

While not all the stories will apply to your situation, at least 1 or 2 will speak to you and more than a few will touch your heart. There were a few, that honestly, did not benefit me, yet there were some which I gleaned some useful bits of helpful information. With an introduction by Amanda Bennett, Author resources, and a resource list compiled by The Old Schoolhouse this book maybe the most beneficial one you buy for your journey through highschool.

If you are looking for something to give you the courage to homeschool through highschool, this is it.

Just remember if God want them (your children) to succeed he will show you how if you trust in Him.

Amanda

Oh and before I forget visit the Crew blog for more reviews!

TOS Crew

I am still figuring out the concept and skills to blogging but I am slowly and surely getting better. Please leave me your feedback so I can continue to grow and learn to improve my blog.

Happy Birthday Tink!

I can't believe it has been an entire year since I had my beautiful baby girl! She has been such a wonderful joy to our whole family. The boys can never get enough of her drooly wet kisses and daddy and I are crazy in love with her beautiful star eyes.  God has so richly blessed our family when he gave us this amazing little girl. I hardly believe she's real, almost like a fairy. My own Tinkerbell, my own little Kewpie. Happy Birthday love and may all your dreams come true! (ignore the dates on the pics, I never reset it after changing the batteries)

Still learning

Peanut wanted to try his hand at blogging last month, and while he learned alot, I don't think it is going to blossom right now (hey he's only 7).  Oh maybe it was minimal skills that didn't help also!  See I can't figure out how to set a blog with their info and not have it linked to my profile on Blogger. Perhaps a change of blog location may help but I really love Blogger. I just cant figure out how to do it without him having his own separate account. Which for a 7 year old just isn't happening...so. Any ideas from my friends will certainly help.

On another note I will be posting my reviews for the TOS Crew tryout soon and am really excited about this awesome opportunity to try some new homeschool products and share my thoughts with you all.  Feel free to stop by their blog and take a look at some of the cool things the Crew reviewed last year!
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/HomeschoolCrew