Expedition Australia E-Book Review

Expedition Australia E-Book, by Amanda Bennett and The Old Schoolhouse, is a delightful little science toolkit!  I have always wanted to go to Australia, so it was fun and exciting to take a “journey” there, taking my younger four children, ages 3-10, along with me as we learned about geography, Australian animals, boomerangs, and Captain Cook, who also is a big “hero” here in Alaska!  We live right off of Cook Inlet, named for him, so it really brought it all back home for the kids.

 

As a mom with many children, I really appreciated all of the work that went into finding all of the links for videos and activities on the internet.  All I had to do was click on the link, and institute the activity.

 

There are activities, book suggestions, on-line videos, discussion questions, recipes and crafts for each day. Honestly though, with all of the content included in this e-book, you have several weeks worth of science and geography you could do!  We spent several hours on it the first day alone! Even my older boys got side-tracked from their work and enjoyed watching the videos.

 

Comments from my 7yo and 9yo included: “We get to learn about Australia?!” and “This is so fun, thanks Mom!”  My 3 & 5yo love to learn the verses and quotes for each day, which also make great posters for our school room! The kids beg me to do science each day.  I just have to get myself organized so we can jump right into it in the morning!  Thanks for making science and geography easy and fun for all, and at $7.95, it is one of the best deals out there!  I can’t praise the Download N Go series enough and recommend them to my friends!

I WannaBe A Firefighter Review

I WannaBe A Firefighter, in the WannaBe Series by The Old Schoolhouse, is a week long unit study on firefighters.  Laid out more like a textbook style, this unit study seems to be geared for middle school age children. There is a tremendous amount of information included, ranging from pay scales of a fireman, building a robotic arm, handwriting practice, creative writing topics, vocabulary words, and food and activity ideas for a firefighter party!

One of the best features of this e-book is the science activities, which center on robots.  What kid isn’t fascinated by robots?  The authors go into great detail about what is considered a robot and categories of robots, and then focuses on robotic arms, concluding with having you build one out of Styrofoam and craft items!  What a great science fair project that would make!

At only $8.95, this is a fascinating study, especially if you have an older child who is interested in being a firefighter or wonders what that job entails.

Wednesday, March 03, 2010

The Simple Woman’s Daybook 3/3/2010

simple-woman-daybook-small

Outside my window… the sun is shining and it is WARM!

I am thinking… that I wish I could make my computer mess up more so that I can prove to Dell that they haven’t fixed it yet…Grrr.

I am thankful for… my children’s health.

From the learning rooms…going to work on Webelos requirements with Ivan as he is about to cross over to become a Boy Scout!!

From the kitchen…made yummy egg and potato scramble for breakfast!  French toast for dinner.

I am hearing…Micah and Timmy build lincoln logs for their cowboys and Indians.

I am wearing…favorite denim jeans, blue short-sleeved tee, no socks, and wet hair.

I am creating…puppets for the Webelos puppet show next week.

I am going… to follow Joey up the stairs…the little stinker!

I am reading… I finished Lorrie Flem’s "Welcome Home Daddy" and am going to start "Raising Real Men" by Hal and Melanie Young.

Around the house… Piano being practiced, little guys playing, and others at their desks.  I am on the phone with Dell again…sigh.

One of my favorite things…my husband’s cuddles

A few plans for the rest of the week…Boy Scouts on Thur,  and enjoying my hubby before he leaves on business again next week.

Davy Crockett Download-N-Go! Review

Yet another delightful Download-N-Go from Amanda Bennett and The Old Schoolhouse!  This unit study on Davy Crockett is chock full of terrific historical information, United States geography studies, a character study, a government study, patriotism, and even how food preservation works.

I absolutely love the log cabin craft, so simple, yet fun for all of the kids!  They can make their own little town! There is also a craft for making your own compass. The videos are completely enjoyable, especially the full length documentary on Davy.  The whole family crowded around to watch it!  Another of my favorite features is the quotes and excerpts between each day.  This DNG has delightful ones to go with the theme, focusing on patriotic and colonial poems and songs.  They are just right for easy memorization that even the 3yo and 5yo take pleasure in learning.  Each one has a beautiful picture for the background, so I print them out as a 5×7 and laminate them to allow the children to carry them around and memorize them! 

I love these DNG’s.  In the words of Davy Crockett, Be always sure you are right—then go ahead.”  With these unit studies, I am sure I am right!  The kids love them, and so do I.  Davy Crockett was no exception!

Download N Go Unit Studies ~ Buy them! You won’t reget it!

  

 

The Download N Go unit studies are a great tool for any homeschooler, whether novice or veteran.  So much work has gone into developing each of the typical school subjects as well as encouraging multi-sensory learning.  The enjoyable recipes that are included are always simple yet delicious to make, and promise to become some of your family’s favorites.  My children love the indoor and outdoor activities and crafts, and the links for further research, book list, vocabulary words, will save you SO much time and effort.

 

The entertaining video links provided are a welcome change from typical schooling.  We have especially enjoyed learning about how things are made.  Homeschoolers tend to not have a lot of opportunities for field trips, and these links are just the ticket.  From an apple orchard and cider mill to a manufacturing plant, these unit studies provide exciting and educational tours.

 

Download N Go unit studies can be used to cover one, several, or all of a student’s subjects.  They are also very helpful for studying subjects across grade levels. The unit studies are geared to elementary age students, however the little ones will enjoy them as well as the highschoolers, who will regularly get distracted from their studies to come and participate, as mine have done.

 

In short, you will be amazed at how easy and gratifying school will become in your household!  What a joy for all of us to LOVE doing our school!  And yes, I said “OUR school” as I have probably learned as much as they have!  I plan on buying one of the packages for use over the rest of the school year!  Enjoy!

 

January Molly’s Money Saving Digest

Molly has come through again with another great digest!  The January Molly’s Money Saving Digest lives up to its name.  After all of the holiday craziness is over, it’s time to plunge head long into evaluating, prioritizing, and organizing our “time, money, and “stuff!”  To start us off, Molly has supplied a week of menus with yummy sounding recipes like Tomato Basil Chicken and Poppy Seed Fruit Salad, and a premade shopping list (in In the Kitchen with Molly), as well as five different forms to help us get organized and keep track of our “stuff.”  I am especially looking forward to using the Family Clothing Inventory Form.  With seven children, we have WAY too many clothes!  Mt. Washmore needs to be summited!

 

New this month is the Kid’s Corner featuring a homemade piggy bank, tips on opening a first checking account, keeping the check register, and writing checks.  Next month the theme will continue with more money tips!  Feather Your Nest Frugally teaches frugal décor ideas that are sure to be a God-pleaser, decorating with Scripture, something I love to do.  Now I have some great new ideas!

 

I found the monthly feature, Evaluate, Prioritize, Organize to be incredibly useful.  Realizing that I am in one “life season” in which not everything is going to be accomplished, but that writing down my priorities for each day will help me get the important ones done.  I have found myself trying to keep track of too many plans and ideas in my head, and then when I get to town, I can’t remember half of what I had planned to do or buy!  Now, armed with Molly’s forms and encouragement, I am ready to tackle this time and money waster!

 

I also enjoyed getting to know Amy Howard, a new writer for the Digest.  I am looking forward to reading her tips and tricks for saving money and stockpiling, to get the most out of my husband’s hard earned money!  Welcome to the Digest, Amy!

 

My favorite part of this Digest is Begin With the Basics.  Mrs. Martha Greene of Marmee Dear and The Homemaker’s Mentor teaches how to make an In~a~Pinch Pie Crust recipe that is awesome, with step by step pictures, for a large batch of crusts that can be put in the freezer for future needs, including use ideas for turnovers, mini-pies, a chocolate cake pie and a great tip on keeping your berry pie from being too runny!  I’m so excited about these pie crusts that I plan to make some with my daughter tomorrow!

 

In conclusion, I would highly recommend picking up this Digest.  As always, the money you save will far outweigh all of the information gleaned from it!

 

November Molly’s Moneysaving Digest

The November Molly’s Money Saving Digest’s theme is Photography.  One of the articles, Take Great Pictures of Your Family by Becky Emerick, has excellent advice for beginners wanting to save money by taking their child’s pictures at home.  As a homeschooling mom without access to “school pictures,” I started doing this myself several years back, and I still gleaned very useful information from her article.  I particularly needed her advice on taking off my “mommy hat” for the photography session.  No school or studio photographer would get visibly frustrated with their subject!  I laughed as she suggested having an extra cup of coffee, eating that stashed away Halloween candy, or wearing a silly hat to get you into the photographer mode!

 

All of the links that are provided, for paper and digital photography, for photo editing, for online photo storage, for digital photography lessons, and for ideas on how to display photos, are phenomenal.  I have been doing home photography for several years and many of these links were new to me!  Don’t spend your precious time researching all of this on your own when you can get them all in one place for only $4.95!

 

There are also many slow-cooker recipes that sound SO delicious and I can’t wait to try them as the days grow chillier and our home school days get busier.  How good does Slow-Cooker Cherry Cobbler sound after a day outside taking pictures?!

 

Speaking as a home photographer, you won’t want to miss this Digest. Just the money and time saved not going to a studio will more than cover the cost of this Digest.

Autumn Treasures E-Book Review

Autumn Treasures E-Book is a delightful little science toolkit!  My younger four children, ages 3-9, enjoyed going outside and collecting leaves, twigs, berries and undergrowth for the many projects, including making a fall wreath and doing crayon rubbings.  As a mom with many children, I really appreciated all of the work that went into finding all of the links for videos and activities on the internet.  All I had to do was click on the link, and institute the activity.

 

There are activities, book suggestions, on-line videos, discussion questions, recipes and crafts for each day. Honestly though, with all of the content included in this e-book, you have several weeks worth of science you could do!  We spent several hours on it the first day alone, learning about the seasons, equinoxes and solstices! Even my older boys got side-tracked from their work and enjoyed watching the videos.

 

Comments from my 7yo and 9yo included: “This is fun, Mom!” and “Look at my folder, Mom!”  They beg me to do science each day.  I just have to get myself organized so we can jump right into it in the morning!  Thanks for making science easy and fun for all!

Review of August’s Molly’s Money Saving Digest

Molly’s Money Saving Digest is a great monthly tool for learning new tricks and ideas for saving not only money, but your sanity, in a broad spectrum of areas of life.  Her topic this month is Organization for Busy Families. Whether you have one child or several, like I do, you will be sure to find some ideas that will help in organizing twelve areas of your home, from the bathroom to files on your computer.

 

One of my favorite features is the recipes for making your own make-ahead mixes to help you save money by not buying pre-made boxed mixes.  These mixes are also healthier for you, as they don’t have all of the additives and preservatives that go into the boxed type, but you still have the convenience of having so much of it ready-made.

 

You will also read craft ideas, a list of special dates for the month, photos, and links for further research on the internet.

 

I thoroughly enjoyed reading through the Digest, and am looking forward to trying many of the recipes and ideas included.

The Simple Woman’s Daybook – May 11, 2009

May 11, 2009…

 Outside my window...

it is sunny and beautiful, and the birds are chirping!  I am loving this gorgeous spring that we have been having and praying that it sticks around through the summer.  Last summer was so wet and cold, we Alaskans are ready for a beautiful one!

I am thinking…
that I wish these contractions would just get regular and get labor over with!  We are all so anxious to meet the new little man.

I am thankful for…
my husband who has been so supportive of me, and has helped me to think clearly and come up with great ideas to make the next couple of weeks much nicer for my tired, aching, pregnant body!
From the learning rooms…
We are finishing up our main school for the year.  The older boys are almost finished with science and math.  The younger two are almost finished with math, spelling, and Latin.  We are all ready for summer vacation to start.  We will still be doing Russian, the older two will keep up with their Omnibus reading, and the two younger ones will have some summer reading assignments.  Also, we will be taking lots of field trips and doing science outdoors.

 From the kitchen…

My husband informed me that we will be grilling outside all summer and using paper plates!  He doesn’t want us "wasting" time in the kitchen cooking and doing clean-up, so we will be utilizing our new grill every night!  I am so excited!   Hotdogs and chili are on the menu for tonight, with shish-ka-bobs and BBQ chicken also on the menu for the week.
One of my favorite things...
watching my two youngest boys play together.  They are SO cute!

I am wearing…
My favorite, comfy, grey, maternity pants and a slightly fitted blue shirt.

I am going…
to try to stay home most of the week and conserve my energy for what I know lies ahead soon!
I am reading… 
Hmm…I haven’t been doing much in this area.  I read a book about George Mueller that was really good!  I read a couple of short books last week, one on Eisenhower, and one on Stradivarius.  I have a Grace Livingston Hill book that I keep meaning to get into, but just haven’t yet.

 I am hoping…
to have this baby soon, but that he doesn’t come when my hubby is out of town on Wednesday!
I am hearing…
the kids playing downstairs and hubby listening to a conference that he REALLY wanted to attend in person but stayed home because I am due soon!  What a guy!

A few plans for the rest of the week:
I have to go to Anchorage on Thursday to take my oldest to an ophthamologist.  He may have a condition called amblyopia.  Amblyopia develops in childhood, when the connections between the eyes and the brain are developing. The brain must learn how to put together information sent from two eyes and make one picture. If the image from one eye is clear and the other blurry, or if the eyes are misaligned and send two different pictures, the brain will ignore the picture sent from one eye. Amblyopia results when the brain consistently ignores the information from the one eye. The appearance of the affected eye may be perfectly normal, yet its vision will be abnormal. Using the analogy of the eye as a camera and the brain as the photo-processing machinery, the problem causing amblyopia is not that the camera (eye) is defective, but that the photo processor (brain) is not properly developing the "film" it receives.  With early detection and treatment, visual loss from amblyopia can be minimized or even completely reversed.

A photo I would like to share…


My oldest met the Lt. Governor during his week at TeenPact!  He is in the middle with a white shirt and glasses on.  The Lt. Governor is on the far left.  This was only about 1/4th of the class too.

Would you like to start your own daybook? Check out this website. http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/