Dec. 2, 2009 - It's SNOWING!!!
In TEXAS!! I am amazed!! I don't know when the last time it has snowed this early in December in North Texas (Dallas) before. It's coming down in big flakes and lots of them. Too bad the ground is wet and it's not quite cold enough to stick. The kids would have had so much fun playing in it.
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Dec. 2, 2009 - Free Christmas Music from Amazon!!
You can get a free MP3 download each day from Amazon. It's called "25 Days of Free." Just click here. Dec. 1st was Casting Crown's "Joy to the World". Dec. 2nd is "Snow Angel" from Tori Amos. Thanks, Amazon, and thanks to Molly Green for telling me about this!!
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Dec. 1, 2009 - Treasured & "God Gave Us" Blog Tour Reviews
Treasured is a book that pulls you in and holds your interest all the way through. After reading this book, I feel I could sit down and have a normal conversation with the author, Leigh McLeroy. She is a normal person with wants and needs, who wants to help you draw closer to God and show you that you are His treasure.
The book begins by describing the cigar box that her grandfather had special mementoes in. From there, we learn that just as those items were treasured by her grandfather, we are treasured by our Heavenly Father. God's Word is filled with verses showing how very much He loves us. From making skins for Adam & Eve's coverings to providing a kinsman-redeemer for Ruth, to giving His life for us, He has shown His love. What special mementoes would He hold of us if He had a box to put them in? What do we have in our box to remind us of special moments with God? The end of the book asks, "What's in Your Box?" a personal reflection and group discussion guide. Excellent. I highly recommend you read this book.
God Gave Us Christmas by Lisa Tawn Bergren is a children's book featuring a Mama Bear and her "Little Cub". Little Cub wants to know who invented Christmas. Was it Santa? Mama Bear explains that God made Christmas and they set out on an adventure to go find God and see how He gave us Christmas, because "God is everywhere". The illustrations were nicely done. I think some of the wording can be misleading because it seems to imply that God is a chunk of ice although it does clarify that "...he can command the water to freeze and the glacier to melt" - referring to the chunk of ice that fell into the sea.
God Gave Us Love by Lisa Tawn Bergren is a story between Grampa Bear and Little Cub. Little Cub wants to know how she can know that God loves them even when they can't see, touch or feel Him. Grampa explains many ways in which God shows us His love. This is a cute story about loving others even though we don't always feel like loving them.
*I received Treasured by Leigh McLeroy, God Gave Us Christmas and God Gave Us Love by Lisa Tawn Bergren from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for free in exchange for my honest review.
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Nov. 30, 2009 - Financial Accounting Review
Accounting...well, I love playing with numbers and papers, so this is right up my alley. 
Professor In A Box has created Financial Accounting for homeschool high school students. This course has 12 chapters on 4 cd's. You will receive narrated lectures, printable lecture slides, key concepts and terms, homework problems, solutions to homework problems, and an instructor's cd that includes the course syllabus, learning objectives, lesson plans, Microsoft Excel templates, 3 exams along with their solutions and grading guides. Also in the box you will receive a calculator and a pencil.
Michael P. Licata, Ph.D. is the author of this course. It is a college level course for high schoolers. There are no textbooks needed. You can choose to complete the course in one of two ways. One, the student can take an entire school year to complete it or, two, they can take it in a traditional college semester format from September through December or January through May. Everything in this box will help you prepare your child for the new CLEP Financial Accounting exam. Another plus - you can use this course with multiple children, multiple times.
Natalie, my 16 year old, wrote this:
"The Financial Accounting cd's are very simple and easy to follow. They are very descriptive with plenty of sample account statements. It is possibly the simplest [to understand] accounting studies that I have come across. These lessons gave me plenty of encouragement and confidence for handling money and being able to keep up with it. Now I know how to fill out both income and outgo statements for a company, and I'm still on the first lesson!" I will add that she said some of the lectures can be boring, but she says the same about me.
To get your copy for $134.99 with free Priority Mail shipping, click here. Oh yeah, there's also a full refund if you work through the first three chapters and you're not satisfied with the course, so what do you have to lose? To read what my crewmates had to say, click here.
*I received this product for free in exchange for my honest review.
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Nov. 29, 2009 - The Tallest of Smalls by Max Lucado Review
The Tallest of Smalls is a very cute book for kids about the "Too Smalls of Stiltsville", written by Max Lucado and illustrated by Maria Monescillo. This book teaches your child that they matter regardless of their situation. They can be tall or short, popular or not, and because Jesus loves them, they are important and special. The words are written in rhyme and flow easily.
The illustrations are very nicely done. My favorite is of a little girl with only one tooth showing when she smiles since my 9 year old has the same problem. There is a lot of detail and color on every page.
You can get your copy for $16.99 by clicking here. We give this book 2 thumbs up! To see what Max Lucado has to say about this book on youtube, click here.
*I received this book for free from Thomas Nelson in exchange for my honest review.
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Nov. 27, 2009 - Housing & PSAT
Man it sure takes a lot of craziness to buy a house and move. I have so many things I "need" to buy and not a lot of money to buy it with. I'm thankful for thrift stores. :) Salvation Army seems to have the best furniture deals. We bought 6 iron chairs today (with cushions that I'll eventually reupholster) for $20 a chair. They're even welded together so I dare a kid to break one. :) Also bought a tv stand that will be a "component" cabinet. I'm gonna have a garage sale of my own when we move. I have stuff that I'm not taking. Do you collect stuff you don't need?
Also, Natalie received her PSAT scores in the mail today. I think she did great. Her Selection Index is 163 and she scored in the 75th percentile with college-bound juniors. Congrats Nat!!!
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Nov. 27, 2009 - We R Fun - Life on the Farm Review
We have been playing Life on the Farm for quite a while now. The kids and I have enjoyed playing this educational game and the kids have nicknamed it "The Cow Game". We R Fun, Inc. created this board game and it is similar to Monopoly in that is has fake money that you use to buy cows with or pay for services. As you go around the board, you collect cash. The goal is to have 60 cows and as much money as you started with to win.
You will learn all about life on a farm dealing with cows. Some things you might not want to know, such as artificial insemination. That card was an interesting one to draw from the pile. I had a bit of explaining to do.
This game was created by "an American farm family - made from real family farm mishaps and life experiences". We all enjoyed it, but did modify the rules so that we only had to have 30 cows to win.
This game has won several awards. We R Fun also sell a preschool version.
The cost is $25 and you can order yours by clicking here. To see what my crewmates think, click here.
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Nov. 22, 2009 - Amazing Race
Cracking up watching Amazing Race. They have to run up and downaisles checking 600 seats looking for a miniature instrument. Crazy!!!
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Nov. 20, 2009 - Gymathtics Review
Gymathtics is an educational DVD that helps you exercise your brain while you exercise your body. It is approximately 30 minutes long and is good for all ages; however the math facts are geared towards 2nd - 5th graders.
We all exercised with it and I have to admit, I am out of shape. It was a good workout for me. Making my legs go down into a rectangle was pretty humorous. The kids enjoyed the workout. I will say that the instructor's words are a bit cheesy, but I didn't expect anything different with a children's DVD. The instructor shows what exercises to do and there are 4 children on the video that do the exercises with her.
During warm up, you learn about different types of lines, rays and shapes. Counting Calisthenics includes counting whole numbers, odd & even numbers, skip counting, place value, and prime numbers. Pattern Power is all about patterns. Lots of physical exercises go along with the brain exercises. The Well-Being Wind Down is a cool down session.
You can get your copy for $24.99 and free shipping is currently be offered.
To see what my crewmates have to say about this product, click here.
I received this free in exchange for my honest review.
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Nov. 18, 2009 - AVKO Review
I had never heard of AVKO before but with being on the TOS Crew, I have now been exposed to it. AVKO is "a non-profit organization devoted to helping teachers, parents and researchers since 1974." AVKO provides free and low-cost resources "in order to achieve literacy for all, even despite learning challenges or dyslexia." With comments like that, it has my attention.
AVKO is multi-sensory. Their name stands for: Audio, Visual, Kinesthetic, & Oral. If you need help with teaching a struggling reader or speller, I encourage you to check out this website.
Their membership costs $25 / year for Basic Membership or $100 / year for their Deluxe Membership. With both memberships, you save 25% on their printed AVKO materials. The Basic Membership also offers hundreds of dollars worth of free e-books, Don McCabe's workshop recordings, pretests and placement tests, and more. The Deluxe Membership includes all of the above plus some.
The website is pretty busy, but I encourage you to look around and, if nothing else, check out the freebies section. There is a lot of info to glean from. To see what my crewmates had to say, click here.
