Sean, Age 6:  My name is Sean.  I like your hair.  Why are you so pretty?  I am so handsome!  Do you want to be my friend?  I like to buy things and get more money.  I like to buy things with it and it keeps on going.  What else I like is toys and credit cards and things I get in the mail, something for my birthday.  I like  my birthday cake and birthdays.  That is it.  I also like movies and games.  Would you like to be my best friend?  I will be your friend.  I like your hair and everything inside your body.  I like your heart.  That’s it!  Bye!

Seth, age 8:  My name is Seth.  I love my parents.  Their names are Matt and Laura.  I am a Christian.  I go to church Sunday, Sunday night, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday night.  My yard is about one acre.  My house is very nice.  We sold our TV.  My sister is 11 years old and she is in fifth grade.  She loves kittens.  She had a cat that had two litters.  Once again, my name is Seth.  That is my life.  Being a Christian means a lot to me.  Other people are not Christians and they do a lot of bad stuff.  Like take drugs and stuff.  It feels weird to say “drugs”.  It makes me want to say it more and more, but I know I am not supposed to do it.  I do like going to church, seeing my friends.  When I was little I liked going to nursery.  I like to sing songs.  I like to play with my brother.  Sometimes I like to draw or build.

Emily, age 11:  My brownish-red hair flows in the wind.  The sun gazes on my pale, freckled face.  My bright, diamond blue eyes glisten like glittering jewels.  My rude attitude towards boys quickly fades with the experience of any animal.  My spirit is lifted with the neighing of a horse!  Although I am eleven, my maturity in words seems to be speaking from a grownup.  My pleasure is writing poems, songs or stories and tales. Unlike some children my age, I go to church and I witness the Glory of God instead of watching television or telling bad jokes!  Both sides of my parents are Irish.  I’m many things but am definitely Irish, which can be told by name and by my looks – pale and freckled, but fair and beautiful.  I have two tall and skinny brothers, Seth and Sean.  I never get bored with them around.  My parents work fair and hard to make a living.  My brownish-red hair flows in the wind.

We chose Keyboarding Topics, single digit numbers.  Since my little pumpkin does not yet know where all the letters are on the keyboard, I though this would be a great place to start, something simple to familiarize him with finding his letters on the keypad.  You can be either a race car or a horse (not a race horse, just a good old fashioned horse).  So race car engine revving, he started the race.  A letter pops up on the screen and he has to quickly find the letter and key it in.  As he correctly keys in the answer his car starts to go.  The faster you type in the correct answer the faster the car goes.

Here’s the cool part.  Every time he races his car moves over one place with his score.  After four races there are four cars and scores for him to race against.  Now he is challenged to beat his other scores by answering quicker and more efficiently.  He screams with delight every time he beats his old score.  What a great motivating tool!

The next time he logs on to “play” his high scores are still saved for the next race.  He can even race against other family members, who can play on other computers at the same time against each other or at different times.  This software is so versatile and easy to use.  We have started introducing new math concepts and using Quarter Mile Math for the application, to make sure they understand and also to increase their speed and efficiency.  Talk about a fun way to learn math!  The first time I asked my 11-year-old if she wanted to log on to her account at math time, she looked at me like I was crazy.  “You mean I get to play a game for math?”  Well, she was not going to argue.

The cost is so reasonable I cannot imagine not taking advantage of this great tool.  For the Deluxe Version it is$2.95 per family per month OR $19.95 per family per year OR $34.95 per family for two years.  Also, until September 30 Barnum Software is offering my readers a $5 discount on all products!  Just use Code 7E7A7

The Web Design for Kids DVD is fantastic for your young techical learners (like my 8-year-old).  However, I believe I enjoyed this DVD more than anyone.  I have tinkered around with making my own web site but never understood HTML (and frankly did not think my pea brain could ever wrap itself around it anyway).  This presentation was clear, concise and easy to understand, even for dinosaurs like myself.  So what’s the bottom line?  This DVD sells for $40, but with a summer promotion currently sells for $19.99 (plus $3.99 shipping and handling).  The production was tastefully done with a professional man presenting and two child assistants.  I thought he did great explaining things on a child level (although I suspect my kids will catch on to this faster than me).  You will be taught how to place a header on your site, how to make text move across the page, put color into your background and in your text, change the font on your page, and did an amazing job explaining saving files on your computer.  I think this would make a fantastic series, hopefully with additional DVD’s to come for learners who want to continue on a deeper level.

What I Like:

• Clear, easy to follow instruction that is entertaining for young and old alike
• The DVD is set up so that you actually make your own website as you go along with the video.  Very rewarding to see your site take shape as you go.  Some great features, too!
• Some good, corny jokes thrown in to boot

What I Don’t Like:

• It was very frustrating to realize how much I don’t follow directions well.  I had to stop the video half a dozen times and go back to see what I messed up.  This is a video I need to watch over and over for all the info to really sink in.  But maybe that is just me…

Would I Recommend This Purchase?

Yes, if you have an interest in HTML or building your own website OR if you have younguns with interest in this area OR if you are just curious!

No, if you hate computers and anything slightly technical or creative.

Devotions anyone?  Yeah, so tell me you have been real faithful with that all on your own so I can laugh.  Really, why is consistent Bible study time so difficult with the kids?  Since last year was our first homeschooling year, we meandered through different parts of the Bible.  We spent a month reading out of Matthew, which actually was really great and encouraged great questions and discussion.  Nothing seemed to stick consistently, though.  I wanted something that would make Bible study simple, yet impart to my kids the significance of delving into the Word of God and instill in them a love and desire to know Jesus more.  Oh, and get them to memorize!

Well, when I heard about Grapevine Studies my interested was piqued.  When I received the ebook, “Old Testament Overview, A Chronological Study of the Characters and Events of the Old Testament,” I thought this just might be a good thing.  When I read The Grapevine Studies Statement of Faith, I knew it was.

To check out Grapevines other studies, visit their website:  http://www.grapevinestudies.com

These lesson plans go beyond the typical persona of devotions (where the kids wiggle impatiently on the couch while the parents preach a sermon) and bring to light what family devos should be all about:  Participation.  I give a simple overview of the story of history from the time period we are studying.  I draw the stick figure on the board (and it’s a good thing it’s a stick figure, because I am a pathetic artist) and they can copy it or draw their own version (hopefully their own version, since my stick figure of Adam and Eve looks like two coat hangers after a plane crash).   It is hands on all the way.  On the last day of each week they make their own character cards that they design, cut out and keep as reference tools to remember the lessons, as well as for reviews.

The study is broken down into four days per week (which is great because Friday is free day in our house).

Day One:  Includes going over the timeline and memory verse review.  The teacher “stick figures” the images on a dry erase board for that period in history they are studying.

Day Two:  Students can fill in their timelines, copying the figure or making their own interpretation of the drawing.  My 8-year-old son loves making his timeline figures very elaborate, colorful and articulate, and since it makes him remember the information, that works for me!

Day Three:  Same as day two.

Day Four:  Students create their character and event card (which they love!) and review their memory verse for that lesson.  I will add that I am doing a sticker chart for my kids to go along with this, so they can track the Scriptures they have memorized.  This has been great motivation for the younger kiddos.

You will need a few items in order to effectively teach the series:

1. A Bible
2. Dry erase board and markers
3. Strong’s Concordance or Bible dictionary
4. Wall Maps
5. Colored pencils/pens

Not a deal killer.  I think we can manage that.

Things I like:

• My favorite part of this study  is the timeline.  As churchgoers we do not study the Bible in chronological order, so I have never had a good sense for what order history falls into.  This is awesome for providing a visual for the order of events as they are laid out in the Bible. The explanation of how Israel was divided into Israel and Judah is so simply laid out.  I could go on and on about that.  It is really cool.
• The art solidifies the deal with my kids.  You put a pencil and paper in the hands of any of my bambinos and tell them to be creative and draw, and they are in.  This really helps implant the information into their little brains.
• The simplicity of the schedule.  It does not take great amounts of time, either in preparation or presentation, so I am all about it.

Things I don’t like:

• Starting was overwhelming at first.  I had to force myself to just dive in because trying to figure out what to do on which days, and going between the teacher’s book and the student book was a juggling act.  In the first lesson you go through the entire Old Testament timeline, which was overload for the kids (and me).  Once I got past the first week, though, it was awesome!  I am going to continue this throughout the entire school year, and look forward to future editions!

Duration:  This is a one year study, although you can lengthen or shorten it to fit your needs.

Cost: For the Old Testament Overview Level 1 student ebook ($25.95 for use in family), and the Level 1/2 Teacher book ($45.95 for the book or $22.95 for the ebook).

Would I recommend this purchase?  Yes

You may receive 30% off their products for the next 30 days. Use this code: crews to receive your discount.

To my shocking surprise, the slow reader in our family did not even hesitate picking up the accompanying Hank the Cowdog book called “The Case of the One-Eyed Killer Stud Horse,” and began to read.  This is an earth shaking event, so I am sold on the effectiveness of introducing audio stories to gain interest into reading the stories.  Priced at only $4.24 for paperback, this is a no-brainer.

The set also included a board game called “Tornado” with audio tape (only $12.99!).  It is sad, I know, but I have to admit I don’t actually own a tape player, so we have not yet listened to the tape.  We did, however, dive into “Tornado” with gusto.  The basic premise of the game is almost identical to the game “Sorry,” with some quirky alterations.  You take turns with a spinner (and I have to interject that the spinner always seemed to stop on “3″ and was sometimes difficult to turn for the smaller kids)  and if you spin a 1 or a 6 you can move your players.  This was funny until my daughter still had not had a turn after 24 tries on the spinner.  We finally pulled out a dice and attempted that – with no success.  She still never rolled a 1 or a 6 (much to the hysterical laughter of the boys, of course).  The game was fun but we never did finish.  Personally, I think next time we will tweak the rules a little to make the game a little more fast paced since my 6-year-old’s attention span is 2.5 seconds.  Otherwise, very nicely done.  The game board even folds up into a nice travel case, which was great for our trip.

My boys have already requested more CD’s, and for the price, it is a great buy!  Although my daughter enjoyed the materials, I have to give this an A+ mainly for my boys.

What I like:

• Great, boyish humor (did I mention I laughed hysterically at the story about Sally May, until my kids thought I was losing it?)
• Silly, catchy songs
• Hours of clean, fun entertainment

What I did not like:

• Some of the language may be offensive to some, such as “dumb” and “stupid” and so on.  All in all, I think my kids can handle the name calling, realizing it stays on the ranch between animals and does not give them license to use the same language with each other.

When I opened The 2009 Schoolhouse Planner I was ecstatic!  There are lesson plans for each month of the school year, broken down into a simple readable text that can be conformed to any age group.  With each monthly plan are helps for the subject.  For instance, one of my favorite months is January, “Using Letter Writing to Connect the Generations.”  In this module, many important lessons are tied together, including creative writing, personal touch to family and friends, technology and family history.  They will learn how to format different types of letters, and there are even a list of resources available should you want or need to delve deeper into the subject with your children.   At the end of each module is a recipe for the  month (which my daughter loves) and a calendar to keep on task.  Each month is diverse and the entire year covers a vast array of subject matters, which will make me feel pretty confident at the end of the year that I have covered all the bases.

Now for you nerds:  There is a breathtaking amount of forms for those of you who like to schedule everyone’s lives, down to what time they should brush their teeth.  There are annual plan forms, recording forms, daily schedules tailored for the amount of children in your home, book logs, field trip planning, journaling sheets, library book tracker, inventory, and on and on.  It does not stop there.  Want to track the rest of your life, too?  What about emergency numbers, health information, repairs, car maintenance, grocery list, vacation planning, etc?  Let me tell you, if you want to get it together, they have thought of everything.

I’ve laid out the “Wow Factor,” so what’s the downside?  Honestly, when I read through The Planner, I was ecstatic until I came to the forms.  Then I was overwhelmed.  My heart started thumping in my chest and I broke out into a cold sweat. How in the world would I keep up with all these forms? If I filled out all these forms I would not have time to teach, or eat, or go to the bathroom, or brush my teeth!  After I took a blood pressure pill I calmed myself and decided I would start out this year using only the basics, such as grocery planning (no more going to the store hungry with no plan.   “Wow, hunny, you bought 12 packs of cookies and we still don’t have anything for supper.”)  I’ll definitely be using the library book tracker – “Ma’am, you can’t check out any more books until you pay the $1,246.46 late fees fine.”  I’ll use the Books Read This Year form and utilize a reward system with my kids to motivate them to read more.  I’ll skip the Field Trip Log and Science Lab Sheets, but definitely use the Nature Journal with my kids – “Mom, can I write about the moose I brought home from my hike?”

My point is, don’t try to do it all.  Pick and choose what is relavent to your family.  Don’t worry, they have thought of things you never dreamed about, and for the price of $39 (which is way below the price of just a generic planner you might purchase at an office store), The 2009 Schoolhouse Planner is a great bargain.  You just can’t get this kind of information ANYWHERE else.  I wish I had known about this last year.  It would have made all the difference!

Every homeschool mom I have ever spoken to either works from home or wants to know how they can make money working from home. Let’s face it. Living on one income in our culture is tough. Paying for the education of our children on one income is even tougher. It is difficult to creak open that rusty door of our minds in search for possible opportunities, talents, abilities or resources. This E-book does just that. Anyone who is interested in finding income potential at home must read this and let the waves of your imagination and creativity flow!

Home Work offers real life stories of those who have become successful maintaining businesses in labor, computers, creative writing, business support, etc. while schooling their children at home. My husband and I began a home-based business three years ago. We grew and took the business out of our home and to an outside location. We quickly realized this was not the life for us. Now that we are back in our home and (now) homeschooling our three kids together, we cannot imagine things any other way.

I also enjoyed the variety of family situations. As a homeschooling family and home business owners, we are not tied by anyone else’s schedules or expectations. We create what works best for our family. Reading the stories of those who have “gone before us” really help alleviate feelings of guilt that maybe we are doing something wrong because we do not have an 8-5 work schedule or an 8-3 school schedule. Finding the balance that is best for our/your situation is the magic of the lifestyle we have all come to love.