Homemaking Organized Blog

Archive for the ‘kids’ Category

Now is the time to renew your Old Schoolhouse Magazine subscription. It’s time again for the 19 Free gifts and this year they’ve thrown in a bonus of $15 to spend in the Totally TOS section. Not to mention all of these other bonuses that come with your subscription.

• All our available digital back issues – TOTALLY free,
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  • At least one free full length unit study or lapbook
  • And more!

You have to subscribe for 2 years AND you have to subscribe before they run out! May 1st is the deadline IF they don’t run out of subscription bonuses before then. Get it here => Old Schoolhouse Magazine 19 free gifts et al subscription

It’s birthday time again. Time for me to start looking into birthday ideas for the Peanut.
This year she is being pretty vocal about wanting a cash register. This is actually a good idea because money has been covered a bit in her schooling and I looked ahead to see that it is coming up again in a few weeks. She gets to pretend to shop at vegetable stand etc.

So the problem came down to which toy register.

The choices are enormous and really starting to make my head hurt. I initially was going for the rustic look and liked the cute wooden ones THAT NOW SEEM TO BE OUT OF STOCK EVERYWHERE! Sorry to yell but that was my frustration. I didn’t even mind that the prices were double that of the plastic toy registers. Then even as much as I liked the look of the wooden ones I found this one which also includes a scale which we have also been doing a bit of in school. My husband really liked the Teaching Cash Register so we’re going with that one.

It’s also time to start teaching her some arts. We’ve done a little bit with lacing but my Peanut moves to the beat of her own drum and sometimes it’s hard to remind her that the yarn is for sewing together such and such not making a swing for her stuffed animals. I checked out this Petal Purse Craft Kit and might consider that to help inspire her that sewing creates things since she has a passion for purses. She usually limits her purse carrying to church but lately has been brining it grocery shopping with a few dimes. So these two presents could go together.

Oh well! I’ll let you know how it all goes.

You can buy both toys at Kazoo Toys which I like because they have Made in the USA section (which this cash register is not in) and a section for Special Needs which has some great items in it.

Image via Wikipedia

Have I ever mentioned how the mere fact that I have a daughter makes me very talented in several fields? It’s true. She brings it all out in me.

Read on…

1. Singer: We sing quite loudly and even have a few pretend mikes around the house. We have even made up a few songs. I should put them to paper. Stay tuned for our album. Greatest Gospel Hits by Peanut and the Mom

2. Dancer: We dance too. This one makes my husband laugh. I don’t know why as we are so extremely good. Occasionally I’ll pick her up for a dip. Our ballet technique is flawless (grunt).

3. Artist: Be sure and say that with an emphasis on the “i”.  I have never colored or crafted so much in my life except maybe when I was her age. We have so much artwork we can now open that gallery.

4. Crafter: Kind of like the artist one only this challenges me a bit more. I think I have to blame this on the schooling. Each night I have to pull together some great craft for school the next day. And then there are the items I make just for fun. Dollhouse, doll clothes, felt food. You get the idea.

5. Gourmet Chef: My sweet peanut tells me each evening “Mommy. Thank you for this delicious meal.” I would say her father has put her up to it but since I’m so talented in all those other areas maybe it’s just true… hmmm!

6. Event Planner: Her birthday is still a few months away but I’ve already designed the cake in my head, planned gifts, shopped for the ultimate birthday present and alerted a few special guests.

7. Doctor: This I do with my faithful assistant/nurse. We have a special patient called “her father”. Since he works in a sometimes physically demanding job we like to see what the “wound of the week” is going to be. We have it down to a science now. Out comes the blue paper towels, hydrogen peroxide, bandaids, tweezers (for the occasional splinter), and desk lamp (for our surgical procedures). Sometimes we use a few technical words picked up here and there. Our patient loves us. Ignore his grimace.

8. Entomologist: Bugs are our specialty.  I have been forced into this one but I’m getting rather good… on how to get rid of them.

I could go on but as you can see I am SOOOO talented I amaze myself.

My daughter has been singing this refrain the last couple of days.

At five years old she’s caught between needing to be within sight and old enough to play by herself.

Strangely enough she said this to me this morning about 5am. Her father’s morning preparations for work served to wake her up (light sleeper) and she asked me was there anything she could do because she was bored. I said “yes, go back to sleep.”

But on any other given day when we’re at home and it’s just the two of us these are some things I have around for her to dig into.

Oh did I mention she was off the computer and videos for a while too?

So this is what I came up with…

1. I made a craft box. I have tons of stuff I bought for homeschool and since if I let her have free reign she would use it all up in a day instead I pulled a few things together and have that for her. Have some pre-cut shapes for her to glue or sew together with yarn too. Items to include… feathers, beads, pompoms, tissue, card stock, glue, chenille wire, eyes, etc.
2. Make a grocery store with her animals. Since last year…earlier this year I made her a ton of felt food and she she already had the grocery cart the only thing left was the cash register. She came up with an ingenious register on her own.  We had a small desk organizer no longer in use. It has a small drawer. She filled it with spare change (where did she get that?) and off she went.
3. Dolly time. Mommy and daughter sewed up some doll clothes (got me more in touch with my serger) and now baby doll has a new lease on life.
4. I had a spare sticker book stuck away for moments such as this.

Well this is in addition to her other toys which for some reason have ceased to exist for her. Let me know please on what great at home activities you have for your young’uns.

We have a family joke about Proverbs 22:6

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

We like to a put an emphasis on the old part. This is because sometimes it can seem like you do everything you can to teach your child a certain way or to drive home a life point and they don’t seem to understand, or want to understand until they are much older.

I was thinking of this the other day as I had to bribe our dear daughter to clean up her mess. She is one of those children to whom everything is a treasure and she knows when you have tossed out that broken piece of something, that old dried playdough, or that scrap piece of paper with a red crayon mark on it.

And yes I’ve done all those great things with her since she was old enough to walk. Put toys away at the end of the day. Put something back before you get out something new. Chores list. Got her some really cute mini cleaning stuff from the Montessori catalog. Have her help me clean. She’ll do it and loves to do it but it doesn’t stop the mess making.

She really challenges me in the cleaning department and tests what skills I have in keeping a home clean.

But woah! Just yesterday she was upstairs in her little play room area (To get specific it is that great unused space at the top of the stairs that we use for play and homeschool.) and as I was coming up the stairs she commented that she was putting things away and cleaning up to make it neat.

I was shocked because this time she actually was putting things away. Not just dumping them on a flat surface or throwing them in her room. She was recycling paper scraps. She put pens and crayons back where they belonged. Her dolls and stuffed animals in their bins and her play food back in the kitchen.

I breathed “finally”.

It’s been a long road and it is definitely not over but now I see some light at the end of the tunnel.

Our little Peanut came up to us the other day and said “I want a miracle!”

You see she has been learning the story of Moses in school and all the miracles God put before him.

She learned about the burning bush. The parting of the Red Sea. Manna etc. So she wanted a miracle too.

Her father and I look at her and exclaimed at the same time, “YOU are a miracle!”

Born at 2+ lbs two months premature. Spending two months in the hospital. Told she would properly not bond with us due to the two months alone in the hospital. Two years waiting for things to clear up so that the adoption could become final. Surgery at 6 months.

Here we are several years later. Healthy as any young child. Smart as a whip. Bonded from day one so it was never and issue . Legally a family and waiting for more.

We said sweetie your whole life is a miracle and our being here together is a miracle. God answered all our prayers concerning you and it gives us shivers to see how it all came together.

We got our miracle!

She looked at us with those extremely sweet brown eyes and we all smiled and hugged.

A Truck Coloring Book for Kids

Giveaway has ended.

I know another giveaway. But I had to. This one I’m doing personally because I love the author and I’m just tickled with his latest work.

First of all I just love this Big Rigs: A Truck Coloring Book for Kids because it is so perfect for a truck loving child and has the added benefit of being a bit of a teaching tool where trucks are concerned.

Do you have a child that calls out the grills, headlights, and whatnots on passing trucks as you motor along the roadway on your daily jaunts?

Big Rigs: A Truck Coloring Book for Kids is just for him (or her as in my case). 31 pages of simple but detailed truck descriptions and coloring pages.

Each set of truck pages includes an informational paragraph about the truck to be colored.

What it looks like and how it is used.

Learn vocabulary words such as Tractor, and Refrigerator.

The front of the book has a simple vocabulary list so your child knows what is being talked about it the descriptive paragraphs.

These truck coloring pictures were drawn by a young boy (now shortly to be a young man) who loves his trucks and it shows.

And now there is a new book in town A Day in the Life of a Trucker.

A Day in the Life of a Trucker

Our author of Big Rigs has grown up a bit and wants us to meet Tim, a fictional trucker, and color his day. Each page in this coloring book is lovingly hand drawn (he really likes trucks) and shows the detail of great trucks of the road.

Visit Free Truck Coloring Pages to find out more about each book and download free printable coloring page samples

Giveaway

One incredibly lucky person will win a copy of  A Day in the Life of a Trucker.

Leave me a comment about someone you know (or you) who would like a copy of this book (of course personal details kept to a minimum).

Open to US addresses only

You will need to supply me with your mailing address so don’t enter if you’re not comfortable with that.

Giveaway ends October 8th Midnight.

This GIVEAWAY has ended. The winner is #5 Elizabeth

Still in need of some school supplies or after school snacks for your kiddos? Well I have another giveaway for you.

This fall, Totino’s is also helping to support your child’s school. Totino’s Party Pizzas will now carry Box Tops for Education! Now through September 15, Totino’s is offering two Box Tops for Education on every Totino’s product. Totino’s is also giving away 10,000 Bonus Box Tops, school supplies and free Totino’s snacks to eight lucky schools through the “Make School a Better Place Sweepstakes!”(I know this is tomorrow). To enter visit here.

One lucky winner will receive a prize pack including a backpack and school supplies, a coupon for Totino’s® Party Pizza® and Pizza Rolls® Snacks, as well as 25 Bonus Box Tops.

This is a quick one that will end on Friday September 24th at midnight.

To enter:

Leave me a comment offering what tips you have to make surviving the back to school season easier? Or what kinds of things do your kids like to snack on after school.

I will pick the winner via Random.org (my lovely assistant needs her school and beauty sleep).

U.S. entries only please

You will need to provide a mailing address so please do not enter if you are not comfortable with that.

The supplies for this giveaway have been generously provided by General Mills through MyBlogSpark (see my button on the side?)

Giveaway has ended….AND NOBODY ENTERED!!! SHAAAAMMMMME!

Although scheduled to begin actively learning to read this year in Kindergarten my little Peanut has been chomping at the bit to get some reading fundamentals down.

In comes ClickN READ Phonics.

The ClickN READ Phonics is a scientific research based online reading curriculum program designed to provide an interactive learning experience in an individualized environment…. It’s been created based on research to provide a great reading program that works for kids in a nutshell.

I was given the chance to review this program for my little Peanut (at just the right time I might add) and offer a giveaway to YOU! There are two programs but I’m reviewing ClickN READ Phonics but you can win either ClickN READ Phonics or ClickN SPELL.

The Gist:

Click N READ Phonics is set up as interactive animated lessons with an outer-space type theme and character (dog) that guides your student to the various learning rooms and through the various lessons, such as letter sound chamber, and listening cube, to work on phonics lessons.

You start ClickN READ Phonics at a specific point in the lessons depending upon where your child is in the reading game. So say your child has already been learning to read and may have the letter sounds down (the case with my child) then you would start at a later lesson. If your child is just starting on the path to reading then you would start at the beginning. A child who may be having a bit of difficulty grasping reading would start at another spot. And so forth.

It’s internet based so to get to work you simply log on with a simple logon and password and then you can further customize it and lock that down with a password so your child can fiddle with it except to learn.

When you first start you enter you child (or children’s) name and what lesson they will be beginning on. They take it from there and follow the guided instruction through phonics reading lessons.

At the end of each lesson there is a read out of what was missed, how many times, and what could be worked on. The parent can view progress reports at any time. You can preview lessons, print out practice sentences and words for ongoing review and view samples of lessons to come.

Drawbacks:

No product is perfect for everyone.

If  your child needs more personal support in learning to read then this might not work for you.

It’s all online so if you’re on dialup or don’t have great computer access this probably would not work for you.

Your child will need to be slightly proficient on the computer (using the mouse and occasionally keyboard).

My Experience:

Since we have a few computers in the home and I do work on one I like to have a few educational programs for my Peanut to enjoy at times during the day.  Although she learned basic letter sounds at the end of preschool last year and is scheduled to actively learn to read (phonics) this year in Kindergarten I decided it would be a nice idea to supplement with some activities such as  ClickN READ Phonics until school starts in a few days.

I have to say I am impressed and had I known about ClickN READ Phonics before I probably would have started my daughter on it a year ago. Seriously. Sometimes a child wants to learn things faster than they are being taught in school and she has been chomping at the bit to read. We all know every child and their capabilities are different but I like what I’ve seen so far. I started her with the sample to see how I would like the interface and if she could do it by herself (I’m in the room).

Although it is animated I very much liked that it wasn’t rife with glitchy loud music and goofy antics that had no relation to what the goal is which is teaching your child to read. This was important to me as I have tried a few programs that think I want my child to learn through rap or rock. No thank you. The dog character has small interactions with the animated screen which are not over the top (in my opinion) or too distracting. It was just enough to make it fun for her.

BUT! Is she learning?! Yes! She’s been at it for a week and we (my husband, I and other family members) can see the progress. Of course she doesn’t read the daily paper to me each morning but she has been pointing out words here and there that she is reading. They are usually four to five letter words.

Don’t just take my word for it. Head on over to ClickN READ Phonics and sample the lessons for yourself.

GIVEAWAY:

Okay I probably should have had a separate post for this but here are the giveaway details for ClickN READ Phonics

One winner will recieve a free account for either ClickN READ and ClickN SPELL for their child.
#1 visit the ClickN KIDS site
#2 try the ClickN READ and ClickN SPELL FREE lessons on the homepage (on the right hand side)
#3 Come back here and leave a comment about the programs
#4 Extra entry for doing that twitter thing where you put @momtools in the post (you can follow me too but that’s not necessary nor will it earn an extra entry)
#5 Extra entry for writing a post on your own blog and tracking back to this post.

Giveaway ends Wednesday September 22nd at Midnight

Winner will be picked via Random.org. I’m taking my lovely assistant off duty since she will be in school and needs her sleep. I’ll contact the winner via email (so please leave a valid one).

{Although I am an affiliate for this product the above review and links are without an affiliate code. I did recieve an account to try with my child. If you do decide you would like to purchase an account after reading my lovely review and want to use my affiliate link here it is: ClickN KIDS }

Thank you those who took the time to enter my teeny tiny giveaway. It has ended and Random.org has picked a winner.

Clever Colleen has been picked by Random.org to receive her free online pass to Cindy Rushton’s 2010 Homeschool Expo Giveaway. So I’ll be contacting her with details.

Thank you!

Need some help gearing up for the new school year? Wish you had a friend to take you by the hand and help you plan your year?

For homeschoolers or those thinking about homeschooling this is the time of year to review what worked, what didn’t work, and what you would like to try for the coming school year. And Cindy Rushton’s Ultimate Homeschool Expo kicking off May 3-7th 2010 is a great place to start.

One of the great things about the Ultimate Homeschool Expo is that everything is ONLINE as more than a convention–it is the ULTIMATE homeschool resource library.

Just like a convention you attend in person (and I have definitely been to my share of those) you have…

• Over 30 speakers giving you workshops on their homeschooling specialty.
• Vendor booths where you can get freebies and  sample the best of homeschooling companies
• And finally the Mommy Grab Bag which includes thousands of dollars in free ebooks, audios, lesson plans, and more.

But unlike a conventions you attend in person you don’t have…

• To book a flight
• spend money on hotel, car rental, and food
• Put up with workshop scheduling conflicts. While it is wonderful if you can tune into workshops as they are happening you can also access recorded workshops in your membership only area for years to come.

With every online event that Cindy plans, she builds a private, exclusive Membership Site that includes everything from the Ultimate Homeschool Expo in one place–it has audios (from all of the sessions and from the bonus gifts from her speakers), ebooks, complete unit study guides, articles, printable notebooking pages, cookbooks, on and on. I can’t believe all of the things that we receive for only $39.95. It is a lot!

(CLOSED) GIVEAWAY DETAILS: So I’m giving a giveaway for one membership to the Ultimate Homeschool Expo.

• Contest Ends Wednesday April 28th which will hopefully give us enough time to get the winner their access code in time for the conference.
• Leave me a comment about your homeschooling journey. I like one entry person please. Keeps me less confused that way.  A simple comment is nice.
• Winner usually chosen by my lovely assistant (my five year old from a bucket of numbers) but if she is otherwise engaged then Random.org will do the honors.
• Um no country origin restrictions as this is an online event.

Want to see what theUltimate Homeschool Expo is about?

Well here is a sampler of one of Cindy’s free gifts that is included on the Membership Site. It is a audio and ebook set that she actually sells on her website, but she is giving away on the Membership Site. Here are your links…

Download Part 1

Download Part 2

Download mP3 Audio : Let’s Get Ready for a New School Year