Unionvale Homeschool

Inspiring journal pages

2013-05-18T14:09:00.001-07:00

I came across a pinned idea and had to check it out.

Christie Zimmer from Grace is Overrated: : created a beautiful set of journal pages and has shared them on her blog.
If you are looking for a fun , inspired journal, this is one to check out. There are 50 pages you can print for personal use. What a fun journal to create, and colorful too.

Mom Fashion: Simple Spring details

2013-05-18T13:33:00.001-07:00

For Mother's Day my hot guy helped me pick out a spring top at Ross in McMinnville.
I am being more intentional with pieces I add to my wardrobe.
This one is unique, light and airy, colorful, and sparkly.

I love the beaded details of the butterfly. I have 2 necklaces that are a perfect match for dressing it up.

I love the versatility; I can wear it casual or dressy. I wore it for dinner Mother's Day with a long khaki skirt and then again on Tuesday with a brown skirt and boots. Same shirt different looks. The elastic and dye / printing technique makes for an interesting effect. This isn't the best picture for figure flattery but my youngest wanted to be photographer.
It is all about being comfortable and having a little fun. Next we will work on the figure, glad spring and summer are on the way and fresh garden veggies will be the center of my dinning pleasures.

Got Milk? Sully does!

2013-05-15T08:30:00.000-07:00

Gotta love a little Monsters University!

Spanish for You! a review for You!

2013-05-14T22:13:00.000-07:00

We received an e-book package from Spanish for You! to review in our homeschool and share with our readers.
We received Estaciones which translates to Seasons. You can check out the sample pages
What is Spanish for You! Estaciones ? This program is a topic specific program designed for multi-age groups with mastery in mind.
What comes with the program? A soft cover book or e-book , 24-30 week lesson guide for the grades you need (PDF download), self-checking worksheets (PDF download), audio files of entire book in native speaker as well as traditional non-native speaker (MP3 download), and flashcard / activity pictures (PDF download)
What about lesson plans? those are purchased separately.
How much does the program cost? Products start at $9.99, the package we received as it was a complete package with all grades retails for $64.95
How did we use the program?
We started out using the program with our 2nd grader and 4th grader. We realized it was a good fit for the 2nd grader yet, since it is really designed for 3rd grade and up, so we let him work on other things during the times we were working on this. As we continued with the program, Cameron found too many struggles with the style and the audio recordings and asked to set it aside for a while. We used the program for 3 weeks and then set it aside for 2 weeks and then returned to it in shorted sessions. He is struggling with adding a language right now with so many variables. He has found that rather than a textbook program of study for Spanish, he is actually learning better through play with some of the neighbor kids. His afternoon playmate and himself have made friends with the hispanic children next door to the playmate where the young boy they play with has decided to teach them Spanish. Cameron comes home and we verify the words in our lessons and a couple of Spanish kids' dictionaries. He is slowly feeling like we can add more table time to our Spanish lessons.
While the program didn't work as planned , I can report that it has inspired Cameron to learn Spanish and it is becoming our go to for Spanish activities, especially the flashcard/ activity cards. We have been working on game ideas to go along with the cards and are considering laminating them with contact paper for longevity.
I have also been enjoying their blog full of ideas and inspiration for teacher and student (since I don't remember much of the Spanish I learned as a tutor in jr. high). I especially enjoyed a post about using comics strips to practice Spanish, I added that as an activity to come for the boys. There are more reviews to read from the crew, just click the button below.

Sunday Scripture 5/12

2013-05-12T10:30:00.001-07:00

This coming week I pray my boys can learn from this verse from the past week's lesson. We are having issues with language usage. While not always bad, the way the words are used is improper and sometime inappropriate.

But shun profane and vain babblings for they will increase unto more ungodliness.
2 Timothy 2:16

I am grateful for our weekly lesson each week as I travel this path before me.

Papa's Pearls: a book of wisdom passed down and shared by a family.

2013-05-11T12:08:00.002-07:00

I received this collection of stories and reminiscences to review as a member of the Schoolhouse Review Crew.
This little jewel of a book, Papa's pearls by Diane Flynn Keith is a wonderful collection of stories by a father.
This collection of stories all focus on things learned from Papa (Carol Joseph Flynn, the author's father) and shared by his daughter the author. "Papa" as his family called him was born prior to the great Depression and shares lessons learned in his early years as well as the harder years of the Depression and even the years struggling after World War II as a young married man trying to make a way in this world but stay on the straight and narrow. (Not an easy task and one that didn't always stay straight or narrow).
Initially I was going to read it to my boys, but decided to hold off a bit longer. I, myself read the book in just a couple of sittings as it is a nice easy read. I felt like I was having the stories told to me rather than just reading them. I have begun reading the boys a story once a week as a treat. It has inspired them to ask to hear more stories from my own father. I keep telling them they just have to ask their "papa" and he will tell them all kinds of stories.
The book is a reminder to all anyone that reads it to really value the time you have with your parents or grandparents and their stories. Reading it, I really got to thinking I wish I had asked my grandpa to tell me more stories.
You can enjoy the stories while learning lessons about "using your street smarts" and " I love you, You know that right?" along with lessons Papa taught his children about flexibility and checking in. Catch a glimpse of a simpler time when a days work was hard but meant success and honesty and integrity was an intrical part of everyday life.

You can order an autographed copy of the book from Homefires or a copy of the paperback or electronic from Amazon. The autographed copy sells for $21.97 including shipping and makes a wonderful gift. (hint: Father's Day is coming as well as Graduation season). You can also follow the author and the book on the author's blog, Facebook, Twitter, and Google +

Happy Mother's Day from Monsters University #MonstersU

2013-05-11T10:03:00.000-07:00

I can't wait to see Monsters University on the big screen, opening in 3D June 21, 2013

Natural Toothpaste? sure why not!

2013-05-09T20:56:00.000-07:00

I usually buy Crest toothpaste for my husband , but this last batch was weak and wasn't really working for me. Knowing that baking soda can be used (I've purchased toothpaste with baking soda before), I decided to research making my own. I couldn't find a formal recipe just people mentioning they had done it or someone in their family had. I decided to go ahead and put something together.

I used coconut oil as my liquid, baking soda as a polish, and peppermint essential oil for flavor and scent.
I mixed it together in a 4 oz Kerr canning jar with a popsicle stick. I adjusted as I went along to get a good consistency so I can't really share a recipe, but am guesstimating 1 Tbsp Coconut oil, 2-3 Tbsp Baking Soda and 8-10 drops of essential oil blended well.
I have been using it for just over a week and it doesn't take a lot, so far I really like it. Next time I may add more peppermint oil.
I am rinsing with an antiseptic mouth wash (I might try creating my own mouth wash later on.)
My husband thinks I'm a little crazy, but I was using things we already had so we didn't have to try something new only to find out we didn't like it. He hasn't tried the homemade stuff yet, but is considering it.
I am enjoying trying new creations and thankfully my husband is seeing the benefits in our budget and how everyone feels.
After using the homemade toothpaste for a while, I have decided that I need to find coconut oil that doesn't have the flavor and possibly some cinnamon oil instead of peppermint.

Get organized with eMeals to help plan your meals

2013-05-09T20:52:00.000-07:00

eMeals offers over 50 delicious meal plans and corresponding grocery lists every week based on food style preferences, family size and the current sales at selected grocery stores. Dinner menu plans include classic family meals, low-fat, portion control, low-carb, gluten-free, vegetarian, clean eating, paleo, and the natural and organic plan. For more information, please visit www.emeals.com.

Join us in our effort to promote a healthy lifestyle in 2013. We have created some content that is available for you to re-purpose on your blog as you extend our tips for eating healthy, saving money, losing weight, and getting organized in the New Year.

***this is a sponsored post. I received a sample in exchange for posting this on the blog****

Canning season ready or not; Strawberry jelly with honey

2013-05-03T20:59:00.001-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I purchased a gallon of raw local honey with the intention of making some jam and jelly. Well I finally got around to cleaning out the canning jars and the pantry so I felt like I could make a batch.

I searched online for a simple recipe and found one at Grouprecipes.com for Honey- Grape Jelly. I decided it was simple enough (only 3 ingredients) that I would try it.

I used strawberry juice I canned last season 2 1/2 cups of unsweetened juice, 1/3 cup pectin (I purchase it in bulk from our local Gleaners group), and 2 3/4 cups honey.

Only 3 ingredients!

I set to cooking it on my stove and decided I would even use jelly jars this time (I usually make all my jams and jellies in pints). It didn't take very long since you don't boil it. I poured the jelly into 6 half pint jars and covered them with a towel until the cooled off. I decided not to process this batch since I am sure my boys will have it eaten in a week or less. I think the next batch I will process for 5 minutes to seal the jars. (Found 5 minutes listed on another blog). I was really nervous about it setting up , but this morning when I checked it, all 6 jars had set! (insert happy dance here!!!)

The color is beautiful!! If I had the supplies I would do a traditional wax seal on them, but this round like I said is going straight into the fridge and my crazy boys will eat it in a week!

Now , I guess it is time to start filling all these jars with wonderful goodies! Guess I should finish planting my garden so I have something to process!

Del Taco #sponsored Buck & Under menu with a freebie coming May 8th

2013-05-02T16:10:00.000-07:00

Are you ready for Buck & Under and Free Food Wednesdays? Starting May 8th, Del Taco with introduce a Free Food Wednesday menu item with any purchase from 3-9 pm. (May 8 and 15 it is a free item with any menu purchase on the 22nd and 29th it will be a free item with a purchase from the New Tastes menu.)

I love a good deal and the boys and I love quick tacos so this menu is going to be a hit! 11 items $1.00 or less, things like a Mini Cheddar, Mini Bacon Quesadilla and a Crunchy Chipotle Beef Taco ; other menu items include a Value Bean & Cheese Burrito, Jacked Up Value Bean, Rice & Cheese Burrito, Grilled Chicken Taco, ½-Pound Bean & Cheese Burrito, Double Beef Classic Taco, Strawberry Lemonade with real strawberry slices and Medium Size Brewed Iced Tea.

My boys are going to love Strawberry Lemonade for only $1.00!

Look at the New Tastes menu!! It includes a Bacon Ranch Grilled Chicken Taco, a Chili Cheese Fry Burrito and a Fiery 6 Layer Burrito; those all sounds so good!

“Our new menu has given our current fans a new reason to believe in all that we have to offer at Del Taco,” said John Cappasola, Chief Brand Officer at Del Taco. “And, we’re seeing new customers giving us a try and finding out how positively different Del Taco is from everything else that is out there.”

You have to check out their specials offered on the website too

Del Taco has more than 550 restaurants in 18 states, find your closest location
Fresh made Pico de Galo sounds so good, and I don't think I can pick just 1 item off the menu, Thankfully I can afford to pick a couple to have! I'm thinking our next trip to Salem is going to include a stop at Del Taco, what about you!

This post was sponsored by Del Taco. I am receiving a Del Taco gift card for sharing information with my readers.

May Lesson Plan Goals

2013-04-30T22:19:00.001-07:00

I realized this evening (April 30th) that I hadn't really sat down with Lesson Plan Goals for a while. So here goes.

Nathan:
Reading/ Phonics: ABeCeDarian B-1 Unit 2 -4
Math: Touch Math Module C
Handwriting: Handwriting without Tears, finish the book?
Bible: Weekly Bible Lesson reading and marking Golden Text and Responsive Readings, also marking 2 citations for Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures
History: Babylon and the Bible : Esther through Daniel
Science: Garden
Art: See the Light chalk art project and watercolor mixed media project

Most of Nathan's goals come from review Crew products. I will also leave room for his Montessori work on fractions. I need to finish his 3 part cards on plants and history cards on Babylon.

Cameron:
Reading: Continue reading Phantom Tollbooth with Daddy
Math: Math Mammoth Green Series plus some A+ Tutorsoft or Math-u-See
Computer Science: Continue work on HTML with blog page Goal
History: Battles of the Bible Notebook from Hands of a Child with Story of the World Volume 1 reading to coordinate
Art: See the Light chalk art, and mixed media plus creative lettering project (possible cover for above Notebook)
Bible: Weekly Bible Lesson with questions from Auntie and continue reading "A Proving Ground" with coordinating verses
Penmanship: Copywork from Bible Lesson

Again, a lot of this is Crew products, but also stuff we had put on hold and need to get back to. Since co-op is almost over for the year, we will have more school time at home to catch up and get back on track before July rolls around and Mommy is gone for 2 weeks.
So this will be what is on tap four days a week for the next month. 3 of the Wednesdays we have co-op and them we will finish the month off with 5 days a week to get caught up. (I don't expect them to do every subject every day).

Hopefully we can keep calm and carry on as the saying goes.

Blog every day in May: a challenge: I'm game!

2013-04-30T20:16:00.001-07:00

Jenni from Story of My Life is hosting a blog challenge for the month of May. I love a good challenge and my goal is to merge my 2 blogs so that everything that goes on at Unionvale Home/ School is in one spot. This will be a great challenge. Care to join us?

Story of My Life: Blog every day in May: a challenge: "

p.s If you check in over at Jenni's blog she even has a list of suggestions for each day.

My Gym celebrates 30 years with awesome promo. #sponsored

2013-04-30T16:06:00.003-07:00

Throughout 2013, My Gym locations across North America will celebrate thirty years of providing fitness and fun to families by offering money saving membership and class discounts, conducting a search tocrown My Gym’s Fit & Healthy Family and hosting fun and fitness-filled My Gym 30^th Birthday party/ Open Houses.

Offered April 1 through June 30, the My Gym discounts include free membership to families signing on for the first time and 30% off for four weeks of classes at participating locations.
Also taking place April 1 through June 30, My Gym’s 30^th anniversary Fit & Healthy Family Contest is a initiative designed to encourage families to demonstrate how they have made fitness a key part of their family’s lifestyle and share their own family fitness tips with families everywhere through the My Gym contest’s social media. www.facebook.com/mygymfun
In August, participating My Gym locations throughout the North America will open their doors for free-to-the-public 30^th birthday party/open houses – My Gym style.

Open to families in North America, the My Gym Fit & Healthy Family Contest invites families with at least two members in the same household (and one member a child under the age of ten) to enter by submitting a photo of their family engaged in physical activity along with 100-200 words sharing their favorite family fitness tip(s). The photos and accompanying tips will be posted on My Gym’s Official Facebook Page for the public to vote for their favorite entry. Families receiving the most votes will become among the 30 semi-finalists from which the Grand Prize winner will be chosen. Semi-finalists will win prizes from My Gym's official cleaning sponsor BabyGanics (babyganics.com), the leading provider of household and personal care products for every touch point in a baby's life; DVD’s of the popular children’s animated series Chuggington (chuggington.com); a prestigious Recognition Certificate from the President's Council on Fitness Sports and Nutrition (fitness.gov); and a specially-designed My Gym prize pack. The grand prize family will win the acclaimed sports activity toy line from Little Tikes (littletikes.com) along with a year free of My Gym classes and a birthday party

To download the discount coupon, to electronically enter the contest and for all details and rules, please visitwww.facebook.com/mygymfun

Composer Study: focusing on the Orchestra with Homeschool in the Woods

2013-04-30T13:48:00.002-07:00

Nathan enjoys music and learning about a variety of instruments so when the opportunity arose to review Homeschool in the Woods' Activity Pack Hands on History Composers, I decided it would a good way for him to get an overview of a variety of composers and instruments.

What is an Activity Pak? Homeschool in the Woods sells an Activity Pak that contains a variety of Lapbooking components focusing on a single subject matter, in this case 42 composers.
What is included in the Activity Pak? The Composers pak includes: a Keyboard Vocabulary activity , the Orchestra a file folder activity with 19 pockets and cards for the various instruments and orchestra arrangements over 4 musical eras, Composer cards: a set of cards that can be used a flash cards covering 42 composers, a collection of musical appreciation sheets that can be used while listening to the included 29 pieces of music in MP3 format, a set of Music with purpose activities focusing on several pieces of music, along with several other lapbook activities.
What format does the Pak come in? The pak comes in either a download or CD format and is a zipped file. Once the file is unzipped , each component has a folder with individual pdf files. Each pdf file is a single page with the exception of the instructions for each component.
How much does the Pak cost? The download version is $18.95 and the CD version is $19.95
How did we use the Pak? Nathan and I went through and selected several of the activities that he would like and set to working through them. He enjoyed learning about the various orchestra instruments, although he struggled with the mini pockets we had to fold. We also worked through the timeline and talked about each composer as we placed him (or her) on our timeline. We also listened to the MP3 files and talked about each piece of music. Nathan pointed to the various composers on the timeline as we listened to the music selections. Since there isn't a written curriculum or reading list with the Pak, we pulled from our ChildCraft books, encyclopedias, and a few books from our homeschool co-op library. This was another good opportunity to practice looking up information in the encyclopedia (a little old fashion, but when you have a wonderful old set that includes all the information needed might as well use it)
I also found other pieces of music in my CD collection to listen to as we worked through the various projects.
While Nathan enjoyed the one on one time with Mommy working on the project, I was frustrated with some elements of the Pak. Each page was a separate pdf file making printing a very long process as I had to open each file, print it, close the file, and open the next time. Since this is an activity pack I had to spend a lot of time looking for things to read about each era, each composer, and the various pieces of music that we were listening to.. I spent more time looking for resources to read and have ready then we spent on the activities.
Nathan's favorite composer ironically was Handel. We actually got out my CD of the Mormon Tabernacle signing the Messiah and listened to it. I then got out my hardbound book of the score and we talked about the music and some of the theory involved in it. We looked at the vocal parts and the various orchestral parts.
Overall Nathan enjoyed the product and the lessons he learned. He has already created a new playlist in iTunes of just classical music, gotta love that!
While I wasn't overly thrilled with the product, I am glad he enjoyed it and that it inspired him. I will continue to offer him lapbooking projects for subjects he enjoys, but will make sure they are full products rather than just activities only. I will also continue to use our existing programs.
We were not the only ones to review this product, check out what other crewmates thought of the various products reviewed by the Schoolhouse Review Crew by clicking the button below.

Lunch time fractions

2013-04-29T12:50:00.001-07:00

Hands on fractions during lunch time, means fun school.

Back in November I picked up a set of fraction tiles from Learning Resources at our local Goodwill. I love the bright colors and the plastic tray to hold everything. I think I paid something around $1.99 for the set (it is missing 1 1/10th tile but has the cardboard pieces as well so it works) The set new retails for $11.99 on their website, and honestly that is still a pretty reasonable price for everything you get.

I decided to introduce the fraction tiles using a Montessori lesson. We laid the tiles out in rows totally 1 in like colors and I introduced the numbers to him. Thankfully he already understood some of the concept of fractions from all the time he spends in the shop working with Daddy.

Next we focused on things that equal 1/2. We took combinations of tiles to equal 1/2 and checked with the 1/2 tile to be sure they matched. He also figured out that 1/5 tiles can't be matched up with 1/2 tiles.

Finally, we played with mixing up the tiles in rows totalling 1. That part was tricky, but since we had all the tiles ready, I knew he would come up with a combination to use all the tiles and fill the tray.

Something so simple, but yet we covered a lot of ground in our 20 minute session of lunchtime math. Tomorrow we will work on writing fractions and drawing fractions. I have a set of fraction circles that are magnetic , maybe later in the week we can look at circles as well.

Dating the principal

2013-04-26T13:52:00.001-07:00

Scheduling dates as a homeschool mom can be a challenge. This past weekend though, both boys were gone for the weekend (oldest went with his Auntie on a classic car tour, while the youngest went to Grandma's house) so Date night times 3!
Date Night number 1: Grilled Flat Iron Steak with marinated onions and asparagus on the back patio watch the campfire!
I don't normally grill frozen steak ,but this time it worked. I preheated the grill (HOT!) and laid the steak on with a little cajun seasoning and malt vinegar (my new favorite vinegar for cooking). It took about 20 minutes rather than the usual 8-10 but the steak was perfect medium rare on the inside and nicely charred on the outside. Score one for Chef Mom. I marinated the asparagus and onions in malt vinegar , olive oil, and a splash of lemon juice, then added them to the grill about halfway through cooking the steak. I also added a whole garlic to the grill as well. YUMMMM!!! The entire meal cost me less than $20, that includes the 2 beers and 1 glass of hard cider (homemade). Can't get that at a Steakhouse.
Even better we didn't have to wait in line, we got patio seating, and didn't it was quiet.
We enjoyed the campfire and talked a bit about school and some goals I have. We also talked about some ideas for rearranging the house for learning zones.
The patio table and chairs weren't the best seating for a dinner but it worked. I think I can set it up for the boys and use a picnic table for us next time. Since Spring has finally arrived I suspect there will be more dinners outside for a while.
Date Night #2~ I talked Mike into Happy Hour at McMenamins Hotel Oregon in downtown McMinnville. I had a gleaner's pick up a few blocks away and needed to return a Redbox movie anyway, so it made sense. We enjoy the pub food, especially the Happy Hour menu: Half Tavern Green Salad, Cajun Tots, and 1/3lb Burgers. I added a cup of Tomato Soup (it is crazy good soup). Since we were there in time for Happy Hour, Mike got his favorite beer and I got a Hard Cider. At the end of the evening we had spent $48.00 (more than double the night before), but it was worth it as I didn't want to do dishes and neither did Mike.

Saturday was Date Day~ I had a Bountiful Baskets pick up that ended up being pushed to the evening due to weather in the midwest, so we decided to head up to Silver Falls, our go to romantic spot. We ended up hiking abou 2 1/2 miles (with lots of hills), but the weather was beautiful and the falls were spectacular as usual.
We took a bench break at Winter Falls and snapped a picture of us together (a rarity). Winter Falls is beautiful, but the hike to it and back is crazy 11% + inclines.

peeking through the trees to Double Falls

South Falls is always wonderful, the trail down has issues so was blocked off, we could have taken the long way, but decided to just enjoy the view from the look out.

Date Night #4 was actually Date Afternoon on Sunday~ We stopped at KFC for a small bucket of chicken on our way home from church and then watched the Nascar race. The boys came home about 3 in the afternoon crazy excited to tell us about their adventures. I was happy to have my boys back and grateful for the break to spend some quality time with my husband and principal.

Math Rider, learning quests equals math practice

2013-04-23T22:20:00.003-07:00

We were happy to see Math Rider join the Schoolhouse Review Crew as a vendor again. Cameron actually asked me to apply to review the program as he remembered the program from the previous review we did.
While I was surprised at his eagerness, I welcome any excitement when it comes to learning basic skills. So I watched for the product link to arrive and immediately set up the boys' computer with Math Rider
The last time we reviewed the program, the boys were struggling with some focus issues and were too easily distracted by the quests. We also were a little behind in our math skills so they were easily frustrated. Now that we have been working on basic.

So What is Math Rider? Math Rider is a combination computer game and math mastery practice activity that include all 4 basic math operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division)
Will my computer run Math Rider? Math Rider run on Adobe AIR run-time on both Windows and Mac systems., but I recommend checking the system requirements
How much does the program cost? Retail price is $47.00 and includes software updates for life.

Since the recommend age range is 6-12 years old I set both boys up with their own usernames We found that for Nathan he could only do about half of a set of questions in each of the quests and worked better in practice mode rather than quest mode.

Cameron actually did pretty well in quest mode, although he got frustrated with the quests since he didn't get 100% mastery and had to repeat a couple of the quests. I'm still torn on the whole expectation of 100% mastery , as a mom of two boys who struggle remembering some of the facts I set my mastery expectation at about 90% with 95% really being the higher goal.
The boys would play a minimum of 10 minutes to 20 minutes three times a week as either a math activity or a computer game. We played it at varying times the time we played. The boys could earn extra computer play time by completing extra Math Rider time.

We will continue to use the program as a supplemental activity that the boys can use to work on their math fact mastery and typing skills. I know that typing skills isn't something that you would think of when thinking about a math game, but watching the boys play the game I am seeing their 10 key typing skills improve and that just adds extra benefits to the program.

The program's price is a value especially considering the flexibility for larger families. You can have up to 8 players on a single use license and since the recommended age range covers grade 2-6 this product covers a large enough range to offset the initial $47.
99 other crewmates also reviewed this program and you can read their thoughts by clicking the button below.

Sunday Scripture

2013-04-22T10:48:00.003-07:00

Psalms 9: 2-3
... I will sing praise to thy name, O. Thou most high. When mine enemies are turned back they shall fall and perish at thy presence.

This passage stuck with me this week as we struggled with thoughts and worked to stay strong in our understanding that we are created in God's image and should work to reflect that in our daily activities.

Hall of Doors Book 1 plus Unit Study from Progeny Press

2013-04-21T14:28:00.002-07:00

I am always looking for interesting age appropriate stories for Cameron to read that can be worked into school activities. When I was given the opportunity to review a book and unity study from Progeny Press I saw a door opening for Cameron..
Progeny Press is not an unfamiliar company to us. We actually used the Progeny Press Unit Study for, The Hobbit (although modified) a couple of years ago. and really enjoyed it.
Using Progeny Press, the students will need access to a dictionary, a thesaurus and Bible (we used KJV although NIV is recommended), some internet access can be very useful , and a copy of the book being studied.

We started out by reading aloud the Hall of Doors: Dragon's Hoard by Rebecca Gilleland. The book is graded at a 2nd -4th grade level which was a perfect fit for both boys. I read the first 3 chapters to them on a short road trip. Cameron read the rest of the chapters. Each chapter is short enough to hold their attention , but detailed enough to move the story along. Illustrations by Mary Duban add hints of the story but are not distracting to the reader. Each chapter is 5-6 pages plus an illustration with a nice easy to read font. (That has been an issue for Cameron lately)
The story focuses on 2 siblings and their journey through the first door in a mysterious hall of doors inside their barn. They encounter talking crows, a dragon, elves, and larger spiders along their journey, a story in a book with clues they must follow. The clues within the story help them in their own journey to follow the true King.
The Biblical message in the story is subtle and not pounded on which makes the story almost like a C.S.Lewis Narnia story.
The paperback book retails $6.99

The interactive pdf unit study guide is engaging and can be done as we did without ever printing anything. Cameron worked through the pages for each chapter typing his answers. Once he was finished with the various activities he would print those pages as a new pdf file and send them to me via email. He was able to practice more skills than just a standard literature study; typing, saving, printing, and emailing in addition to his comprehension, sentence, grammar , etc.. skills.
The Study Guide is available for $15.99 as a download or CD and $16.99 as a printed booklet. We received the download and are already planning on having Nathan work through the study guide later this year since we made the decision to let Cameron work through this product on his own.
The boys are already looking forward to more of the Hall of Doors books and possible unit studies over the next year or so. I love that they are excited about a series of books that have a strong Christian Worldview, even with the magic/make believe elements.
The books and the coordinating study guides are a worth the cost. The books stand on their own, and when the study guides are added you get the additional educational benefits of a literature based study guide. You don't have to take my word for it, you can read more Schoolhouse Review Crew opinions by clicking on the button below.

How to take a self portrait without showing us your camera

2013-04-20T07:32:00.000-07:00

So I don't usually post tutorials but this has been bugging me for a while. I have even taught my boys how to do this using my phone and their camera as well.
When you are taking a picture of yourself in the mirror I really don't want to see your camera, so I thought I would post how to take a self portrait.

The goal is to see you not your camera.

This is similar to what people post on Facebook or Instagram all too often. I don't care what kind of phone or cover you have, sorry.

By turning your phone around and looking at the lens instead of the picture you will be taking you change the dynamic of the shot completely.

If you are worried about what the picture will look like you can see a reflection of the picture in the mirror. This also saves the embarrassment of showing off your bathroom counter.

You end up with a shot of you and that was the goal to begin with.

My son helped illustrate this by taking the pictures of me taking pictures of myself. I took the 2 self portraits using incandescent setting on my Samsung Galaxy Prevail II Boost Mobile phone. I don't have the newest latest greatest phone but I make it work without showing it to everyone else in photos.

Try this and show yourself off rather than your camera.

p.s. this works well in dressing rooms too!

This post originally appeared over at Unionvale Mom's Spot, I decided to share it here as I keep seeing more and more camera shots online.

Simple enchiladas, a family favorite

2013-04-19T15:37:00.001-07:00

A couple of years ago I came across a recipe in a Sunday Coupon slick using Campbell's Cream of mushroom soup to make enchiladas, my family loved it. Since then I have modified the recipe and it has become a family favorite.

6 large tortillas
2 cups shredded chicken (I used frozen chicken I had packaged earlier this month from a rotisiery chicken I bought)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 cups grated cheddar cheese divided
1 small can green chilies (mild for family)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup salsa (I used homemade but you can use your favorite)
1 1/2 cups salsa or enchilada sauce

Nathan helped me make dinner tonight to show of the recipe

I love my old school grater especially for cheese. This bowl is the other half of the cheese from the recipe , it will be used for topping.

Combine everything except half the cheese and the salsa or enchilada sauce

Fill each tortilla with about 2/3 cup of filling, roll each into a long casserole pan (I think this is a 9 x 13)

I usually end up with 6 enchiladas, I will often double the batch and freeze one tray for later.

Top with salsa or enchilada sauce

Cover enchiladas with the other half shredded cheese.

Place in a 350' oven and bake for 20 minutes (mostly just to heat everything up and melt the cheese)

Each of the boys will eat 1 , Mike will eat 2 1/2 and I will eat 1 1/2. When the boys get older I'm sure it will be a double batch when I make them.

Serve with salad for a complete meal!

Enjoy!

This post originally appeared on Unionvale Mom's Spot. Since it is a family favorite and my boys ask for it frequently I decided to share it here as well.

Feeding boys with some #NuggetSmiles

2013-04-19T15:22:00.000-07:00

This sponsored post originally appeared over at Unionvale Mom Spot. I decided since it is so focused on the kids and their food I would share it here. I did not receive any additional compensation for sharing it in a second location.

Sometimes eating isn't fun, but sometimes it is a ton of fun.

How to do you make a Nugget Smile?

With a Tyson #NuggetSmiles Plate of course.

The next trick is to get the kids to smile as the eat off the fun plate!

You can get a #NuggetSmiles plate for free with specially marked packages of Tyson Chicken Nuggets. With 3 Proofs of purchase you can send away from a fun Nugget face plate! I was lucky enough to score a coupon from the local Sunday newspaper a few weeks ago to save $.75 off a bag of Tyson Chicken, makes the deal even better.

The boys weren't sure about the idea of making faces on a plate or even making faces out of their dinner. (They take dinner way too seriously!)

Anyway, we headed to our local Safeway store to pick up a few things, coupons in hands and a list this time.

Our Safeway store allows 4 coupons to be doubled up to $.50 additional off per coupon.

This isn't a healthy option by any means but I had a coupon for Diet Dr. Pepper and had a craving for it so bought 2 , 2 liter bottles

Bonus! We found the Tyson Chicken Nuggets on sale for only $4.99 a bag! They were easy to find in the store, they had their own end cap display in the meat section. Love when I find a deal on something fun to dinner.

We decided to have a little fun with dinner, Chicken Nugget silly salads!

Salad plus tomatoes plus Tyson Chicken Nuggets and a variety of other toppings creates fun for dinner!

The adults got in on the fun too! Salad greens for facial hair, tomato nose, and kalamata olive with yellow pepper eyes.

What kid doesn't like to play with his food? Chicken nuggets smile with a pickled beet nose, tomato eyes, and finished off with romain lettuce eye brows, looks like a happy dinner!

Check out the rest of our adventure with Chicken Nuggets in our Google Plus Album

With 3 proofs of purchase you can get your own #NuggetSmiles plate and have fun creating you own edible faces with nuggets and imagination.

I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This content has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias® . and Tyson #cbias #SocialFabric

Are you growing Leaders?

2013-04-16T22:53:00.001-07:00

It may sound like an odd question, but when the opportunity to review the Leadership Garden Legacy's program U.N.I.Q.U.E Kids it was the first thing I asked myself. I know that sounds pretty cliche' but with two young boys that are a little quirky and not what most people would call leaders I really had to wonder.
What is U.N.I.Q.U.E Kids? Growing my Leadership Garden is just one of the components to the Leadership Garden Legacy tool kit. The book itself is written with a fable story setting with wonderful illustrations and simple language that connects to the children ages 8 and up through a farmyard of characters. The main character suffers with a low view of himself and guilt issues. The children at least mine were rooting for him from the get go.
How does the book come? You can purchase the book as a single piece for $18.95, but the book is only one piece of the puzzle, or you can purchase the Empowerment Tool kit at a discount with a special Spring Special Discount of 20% off using code TOS-SS20D through May 31, 2013.
What comes in the Empowerment Bundle? The Family Empowerment Bundle includes the following items:
Adult tools: (Ages 13 up)

U.N.I.Q.U.E.: Growing the Leader Within book
U.N.I.Q.U.E.: Growing the Leader Within Mp3 audio book download
The Leadership Garden Guidebook: Cultivating organic experiences, actions, and results that will empower you and those around you workbook

Kids tools: (Ages 5-12)

U.N.I.Q.U.E. KIDS: Growing My Leadership Garden book
U.N.I.Q.U.E. KIDS: Growing My Leadership Garden Mp3 audio book download
U.N.I.Q.U.E. KIDS Activity Guide and My Leadership Garden Journal pdf downloads

Family Empowerment Toolkit User's Guide pdf download

This amazing kit will help not only your children but you as a parent and individual plant and grow your own personal Leadership Garden.

The Activity Guide serves as a hands on application of the tools your children will learn through their personal journey. As a pdf download , I found it a perfect combination to print the activities we needed for both boys. It was also convenient and added to the whole experience. I did find I needed to add pages to the Activity Guide to incorporate Scriptures. The book is set up to work in either a Christian environment or a Secular one, and since we try to work a Biblical worldview into our learning I felt having some simple scripture passages would help the boys. Since the Activity Guide is a pdf, it wasn't an issue to include a couple of simple copywork or drawing pages for the boys.

The MP3 audio download of the book being read , added a fun element and another convenient piece of the package. I have a Nook that we use for school and I load the MP3 files onto the Nook so the boys can listen in the car or at the table wherever we are schooling that day.

The whole program is fun and since both the kids book and the adult book follow the same principles everyone in the family can work at their own levels and grow together.

With the TOS discount special this already high value package become an even greater value. I can honestly say, this is a product I would seriously look at purchasing if I hadn't received it for review. You don't have to take my work for it, some of my crewmates also had the opportunity to review it and are linked up HERE. I would definitely give this product high marks and am going to recommend it to our homeschool co-op as a possible program for several grades.

E is for Easter

2013-04-16T16:46:00.003-07:00

I am so happy to finally link up with Marcy from benandme.com again with the Blogging through the alphabet linky...
It worked out perfectly this week as I hadn't posted about our Easter activities with the extended family.
Over the last 10 years it has become a tradition that after church we have a late lunch/ early dinner at my husband's sister's house. I have pictures over that years that I treasure of Cameron as a baby hunting for easter eggs with his 3rd cousins and then later adding Nathan to the mix and hunting for eggs outside or inside depending on the weather. This year my sister-in-law wasn't sure if the boys still wanted to hunt for eggs and when I told her they were looking forward to it, she went to work on it.
We try and keep the candy and sweets to a minimum so this year all the eggs were full of change. In addition to that the boys each received an outside toy (lawn darts for Cameron and a much needed bike helmet for Nathan) along with a drawing pad and sketch pencils and only 1 piece of candy.
Over all the afternoon and evening were a wonderful time together as family playing, laughing, and loving each other.

We added in discussion about how important the resurrection is and spending time talking and remembering Christ overcoming death for us is something more amazing than we know.