Disclosure of Material Connection:

Some of the links on this blog are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and/or believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Monday, June 29, 2015

Poppins Book Nook–Forests for Tots (ages 18mos-3yo) Link Up and #Giveaway

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Forest Themed Board Books

Our Cozy Forest (Hook-And-Loop Pictures)
Who's in the Forest?
Baby Animals In the Forest
In the Noisy Forest (Talking Flaps)
Forest Animals (Touch & Feel (AZ Books))
Forest Animals (My First Library) This one uses REAL LIFE pictures with sounds!
The Mitten
Living Book of the Forest Another REAL LIFE picture book with sounds!
Who Lives in the Forest? (Funny Animals)
Peek-Through Forest (Little Snappers)
Lamaze Cloth Book, Peek-A-Boo Forest Cloth book for the littlest ones!

Forest Themed Toys






Forest Themed Activities

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Forest Themed Sensory Bins
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13 - 1         Pine-Needle-Discovery-Bottles

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Forest Animal Unit for Toddlers Part 1 and Part 2 has lots of cute hands on activities!
Toddler Curriculum – Forest Animals from adaycare.com
Squirrel Themed Activities
More Squirrel Themed Activities
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Some younger activities, but also older kids as well!
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Follow Jen @ Chestnut Grove Academy's board Forest on Pinterest.

Giveaway

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Enter the Woods with The Gruffalo Bundle Giveaway! Get ready for some fun in the woods with this month’s Gruffalo Bundle Giveaway! The Gruffalo is a fun children’s book set in the woods and has a very funny, yet easy to follow story. This month the Poppins Book Nook group has partnered with NCircle Entertainment to offer readers a chance to win a brand new copy of The Gruffalo storybook, The Gruffalo DVD, and the Gruffalo’s Child DVD. This month’s lucky winner will enjoy all this woods themed family storybook and DVD fun with their family compliments of NCircle Entertainment and the Poppins Book Nook cohosts.
Entrants must be 18 years or older and reside in a country that receives U.S. Postal mail. This giveaway is brought to you by the company NCircle Entertainment in connection with Enchanted Homeschooling Mom who is owner and founder of the Poppins Book Nook. By entering this giveaway you are also acknowledging that you have read and agree to all of the PromoSimple terms & conditions as well as Enchanted Homeschooling Mom's disclosures found here {http://enchantedhomeschoolingmom.org/disclosures/}.  Just enter the PromoSimple below to win:


Friday, June 26, 2015

Week #45 in Review

week

This week was pretty mellow!  Saturday the kids had their first meet.  They did well.  C (age 8) got first in heat for 50m Freestyle for the 8 and under. They improved a lot on their times from the time trials the week before!

After the meet C went home with my mom for a few days.  So I was only with 3 kids.  We went to a program at the library on Monday.

The two youngest came down with Roseola.  Which was a bummer.  They were worn down and a bit grumpy at first.

Wednesday C came home.  Thursday baby girl started screaming in pain after trying to put her own shirt on and since I couldn’t figure out why, I took her in.  I thought maybe an ear infection, as they are commonly linked with Roseola…but turns out she must have pulled a muscle in her neck??!! 

Then it was off to the dentist for the boys. Z (age 6) had some crazy build up on his bottom teeth, they grew in that way and I’ve been frustrated about it for months, waiting for our dentist appts.  They got it all off and said it is pretty common for teeth to come in with coating on them??!!  I had no idea! 

Friday we had to be to swimming early for team pictures, they had some fun relays and a pot luck breakfast.  I broke my phone when I opened the back of the Suburban and my bag fell out :/  So I drove around after practice to try and buy a new one, to no avail.  I didn’t qualify for a replacement.  So frustrating.  I just have what was the FREE phone when I signed up a little over a year ago.  I looked into fixing it, but parts are $60 and I found a new phone for $79 on special.  It will at least tide me over until February when I qualify. 

I have to go to swim meet #2 solo tomorrow with all 4 kids b/c hubby will be with the Boy Scouts.  They are calling for torrential down pours, thunder storms and flash flooding.  I’m seriously hoping it stays calm until after the meet, I don’t want to be stuck there with all the kids in a down pour!  :/ 

Not much schooling done this week…..but that’s why we year round….

I forgot our washing machine also broke this week…. ugh!  When it rains it pours, eh??

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Not many pictures this week either :/  

Linking up at:
My Week in Review at Our 4 Kiddos, Weekly Wrap up with Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers and Our Week Illustrated with Life at Rosemont
Don't miss a single blog post! Register to receive them in your email by clicking HERE
or follow via another social media (see Find Me tab)
Check out my latest homeschool review products!
Like what you read?  Vote for me!
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See our days as they unfold by following me on INSTAGRAM

Coming in July!

31 days of field trips

Thursday, June 25, 2015

Field Trip #173 Friday Blog Hop–Antietam Battlefield, MD

Field Trip Friday!
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Blog Hop designed to share 'FIELD TRIP' related Blog Posts

(does not have to be a 'home school field trip', can be any trip to any place with your children!)
 

**NOTE:  Before linking up please review guidelines HERE

 

    Antietam Battlefield

Antietam Battlefield in Sharpsburg MD…the Bloodiest Battle day during the Civil War.  It was a hot, muggy day with lots of gnats…but we still checked out Burnside Bridge and Bloody Lane.  It’s been years since we have been here.  Also not to be missed is Nutter’s Ice Cream, but bring cash b/c they don’t take credit!  Ice cream is super cheap (like $1.20 for kiddie size which is a good size one scoop!).  Lots of flavors to choose from and other options as well (HUGE Banana split! Malts, and more!).

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Review: SmartKidz Media (TOS Review)

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For this review we got to try out SmartKidz Media Library for Homeschoolers by SmartKidz Media

SmartKidz Media is an online digital media resource that can prove quite useful for homeschoolers.  There is a wide variety of materials available, ranging from educational shows in a wide variety of topics – wildlife, history, culture, science, health and art; in streaming visual or audio forms.  There are also ebooks, sign language for babies, and study guides in a wide variety of subjects.  Several other areas are coming soon – such as Living skills.   Also available are online games and karaoke! 

We used mostly the visual streaming – we watched several animal documentaries (my kids are huge animal fans), I also used some of the baby sign language videos with my toddler. 

I personal checked out the other areas to just see what they entailed.  There is a large variety of items here to use.

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Each category consists of the following:

World of Discovery – 17 sets of video streaming encompassing 8 topics.  Animals & Wildlife, Action Sports, Documentaries & Culture, Health & Fitness, History, Lifestyles & Cuisine, Science, Travel & Adventure.  I suggest viewing these before showing your kids to make sure you find them appropriate, while there is nothing bad, there is some culturally related nudity and some language may be deemed inappropriate by some.  May be more appropriate for older children. Many videos in this section average about 25-30mins.  They cover more mature topics such as WWII and The Cold War.   We watched mostly from the Animals & Wildlife Collections.  Not all topics are currently available, many are ‘coming soon’ and several became available just recently.

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Music & Fine Arts – Consists of audio streaming in the categories of Classical Music, Cultural Music, Jazz & Blues Classics and Relaxation Music. 

Mighty Ebook Collection – has a wide variety of flash animated ebooks encompassing a wide range of ages (from toddler to age8) and topics, including classics.  It also includes some sing-along-songs.

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Baby Signs Program – includes several baby signing videos as well as potty training videos.  I have a 20month old, these videos did not really hold her interest.  But every child is different, so you never know.  We do sign with her, so she is familiar with signing. 

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My Animal Family – consists of several shorter clip animal based videos told from the perspective of the animal (first person).  The longest one is about 15mins…some are as short as 2-3mins (most of these are story songs).  These are great for the younger kids with shorter attention spans.  They are educational, but short and fun!  Another favorite with my kids!

Quick Find & Study Guides – this is sort of an online reference guide/dictionary.  It covers all the ‘what is – “ of a variety of subjects, to include Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies, Accounting and Foreign Language.  This is not streaming, just reading what’s written after clicking on a term.  We did not really use this section.  I could see it being useful for children older than my own who are studying certain topics or reviewing topics they have previously studied.

Special Needs – this section has several interactive and read aloud books with a wide variety of themes to include Everyday Life, Going Places, Holiday and Celebrations, Arts and Science, Basic Language, Sing Along Story Songs.  Many of the interactive sections are also printable books! 

Living Skills Program – Coming Soon!  This looks like it will be a neat section, looking forward to it’s launch!

Ready, Set, Sing – Kids Karaoke and other sing along songs sorted by age groups!  Fun for family activities or play dates! 

Fun Zone – consists of games, jokes and puzzles!

All of these activities can be used on a wide variety of devices.  We used our PC and also chrome casted to our TV.  I wish there was an app that made it easier to get to the program instead of using a browser….but, using the browser is not difficult.  The streaming is clear, crisp, and of high quality.  I was finally able to get it up on my smart TV as well (I was having issues with my browser, was nothing to do with the program).  It works great all 3 ways we tried!

There really is a wide variety of materials available to supplement any homeschool program for all ages!  Music, Art, Geography, PE, Science, Math, History, Reading and more!  These can easily be added into curriculums, or you could build your studies around them.  A great place to jump off of for interest led learning as well. 

We used this more of just a fun activity to do for afternoon downtime.  It was a great way to provide educational opportunities during quiet times.  We didn’t build our curriculum around it or the other way around.  I just let my kids pick what they wanted to watch.  In the future I plan to pick shows that complement what we are learning about.

You can receive a 14 day free trial to try it out for yourself.  Afterwards it’s only $10 a month or $99 for a year!

SmartKidz Media Review
Crew Disclaimer

Social Media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/smartkidzhomeschool
Twitter: https://twitter.com/smartkidzmedia

Saturday, June 20, 2015

Review: RIP the Page!: Adventures in Creative Writing

RIP the Page Review

RIP the Page by Karen Benke is a fun new take at getting your child to write!  RIP the Page takes a very creative approach to creative writing.  It includes lots of unusual writing prompts and ideas.  Creativity is taken beyond just topics, but ideas, fonts, and more!

It definitely takes the drab out of writing, with exciting new spins, ideas, exercises and more to encourage young writers to explore, imagine and well, WRITE! 

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If you have a writer that wants/needs something a little less dull than the average writing curriculums, this would be a great book! 

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My son wasn’t that interested in this book (age 8), but he is hard to please in area that involves writing.  If you have a child that doesn’t mind writing, but is always hard pressed for coming up with things to write about, or likes to be really creative with doodles, and fancy writing…this book is a definite MUST TRY!!

Check out Benke’s newest release Write Back Soon!

Disclaimer:  I received a free copy of this product in exchange for my honest review.  I was not required to write a positive review, nor was a compensated in any other way.  All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family.   I am disclosing this in accordance with FTC Regulations.

Friday, June 19, 2015

Week #44 in Review

week

We homeschool year round, but have a somewhat lighter schedule than the regular year.  This week was no exception.  Even though many of our friends did not get out of school until this past Thursday!

Monday was a school day, Tuesday was a field trip, Wednesday was a History only day, Thursday was the Library’s kick off for summer reading program and Friday we started our morning swimming lessons (have to be there at 8) and then we had a puppet show at the library.  My mom came up for the kids first swim meet (tomorrow).  Was a nice relaxing week (despite some running around).

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C is going to visit gma/gpa for the weekend,they have their first swim meet tomorrow.  Lots of fun stuff this coming week as well. 

Did you see my post about bloom?  Registration closes tomorrow!  You don’t want to miss this course!  It’s great! 

Review & #Giveaway: Stickerkid

Linking up at:
My Week in Review at Our 4 Kiddos, Weekly Wrap up with Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers and Our Week Illustrated with Life at Rosemont
Don't miss a single blog post! Register to receive them in your email by clicking HERE
or follow via another social media (see Find Me tab)
Check out my latest homeschool review products!
Like what you read?  Vote for me!
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Review & #Giveaway: Stickerkid

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Need to keep track of your kids things??  Stickerkid is great for this exact thing!

I put these stickers to the ultimate test, using them on my kids swim fins….and they are still going!! I also have them on my kids water bottles! 

I specifically tried:

15 Round iron-on labels for clothes and

15 Round labels

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I labeled mine with our last name and phone number so all my kids can use the same ones.  There are lots of shapes, sizes and photos available (including personal photos).  I even got some iron on ones for towels and clothing.  Will be great for their team shirts (since everyone’s is the same!!)  How long they last is yet to be determined though.  So far, so good.  I had one fall off, but the fin was a bit wet when I put it on, so make sure the surface is CLEAN and DRY before applying!

Sticker kid has been generous to offer one lucky winner a $20 voucher to purchase from their site with free shipping!! So you can try them out yourself!

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer:  I received a free copy of this product in exchange for my honest review.  I was not required to write a positive review, nor was a compensated in any other way.  All opinions I have expressed are my own or those of my family.  I am disclosing this in accordance with FTC Regulations.

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