It's the END of the WORLD as YOU KNOW IT --Thanks to The Schoolhouse Planners

 

So KICK your feet up because YOU FEEL FINE! 
ORGANIZATION
IS HERE.

The Schoolhouse Planners have made it....
the End of the World 

as You Know IT!

•  undone chores...............GONE!

• unkept school records.........GONE!

• unknown auto and house maintenance schedules.......  GONE!

• family turf fights over electronics privileges...... GONE!

• bored space cadet kids....... GONE!

• uninformed parents........ GONE!

• late or forgotten assignments......GONE!

• missed appointments........ GONE!

• dirty homes and appliances........GONE!

• the nagging question:  "What am I gonna fix for supper?" ........GONE!

All the chaos is GONE!!!

Life as you now know it is GONE!!!

Thanks to the SCHOOLHOUSE PLANNER!

614 pages of calendars, planning sheets, goal sheets, tracking sheets, homeschool articles, recipes, resource lists, homeschooling forms, journal pages, household organization forms, record pages, chore charts, chore lists, time tracking forms (electronics, instrument practicing, etc), budget sheets, wish lists, bible reading schedules, bible reading tracking, memory verse tracking, and so much more.

It's the End of the World as YOUR KIDS Know it, too!

The Old Schoolhouse has created amazing planners to help your children gain balance and control while giving them amazing tools which will help them organize, manage their time and set goals.

There is a student planner for every age: Primary (K-3), secondary (4-6), Middle School (7-8) and High School (9-12) which includes calendar/planner pages, assignment trackers, organizational tools, age appropriate articles, how-to guides, "must know" lists and more.

Best yet each planner is customizable to fit your very special, unique needs!

GO Check Them Out and Order Yours Today

With The Schoolhouse planners.....

IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD 

AS YOU KNOW IT

and you FEEL FINE!!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Disclaimer:  This ad was created as a part of a TOS Crew Ad Campaign for the 2010 Schoolhouse Planner, making me eligible for a prize.

Wednesday Wonderment

Wednesdays are the day where we can wonder out loud the things that we often have no other place to wonder them.  Children wonder out loud all the time.  Here is YOUR place to join me in wondering.

I wonder why the Asian Lady beetles and wasps think the south side of my home is the perfect place to try to find a winter home......

I wonder what the exact weather requirements are for them to be triggered to INVADE my home...........

I wonder how long this gorgeous fall will last.  Usually West Central Wisconsin only gets about 1 week of fall and it seems like this year is just perfect.  I'm not ready for winter and wonder when it will arrive..............

I wonder what my dog is dreaming about............

I wonder why 45 minutes seems like F.O.R.E.V.E.R. when my son is trying to decode words but seems like 2 minutes when they are watching their dvd while I try to catch up on MY stuff......

I wonder if I will ever enjoy figuring out what we are going to eat for supper.....

I wonder how many people actually read my blog......

I wonder if my piles will ever decrease.....

I wonder if I will stop thinking of statements to wonder.....

I wonder.............

What do you wonder?

Busy

Today was our first near full day of school.  We had gym at the University this morning and then this afternoon we did group time and I reviewed math today and started reading back up.

Abram LOVED group time.  We are learning to memorize 2 Thessalonians 3:13 (And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right) and are working on the rhyme "1,2 Buckle my shoe."  I then had Abram scoop poof balls onto cards with numbers putting a poof ball on a dot.  He LOVED IT.

Otto and I then worked on Math which was a bit of a struggle but still very good.  The doubles facts we worked on all last year never sunk in and our doubles plus one problems were obviously a challenge.  I also am very aware that we need to start our handwriting lessons with numbers AGAIN as he is still reversing MANY numbers.  *sigh*  I hear someday it will just "click" and I'm VERY ready for that.

Otto's reading however! YAY!  He still sounds out many words in a painfully slow way but more of his words are popping out faster and more easily.  It was so fun to watch him get so excited at how much easier it seemed to go!  YAY.  I've been suspecting that he would be reading easy reader books by Christmas and if we keep this up (and he stays happy) he will be indeed!  :)

Abram also decided to stay in his Gym class today!  HIP HIP HOOORAY!  It's so awesome to spend that 45 minutes bonding and playing with Little Miss Gracie one on one!  I laughed really hard today at my son.  Last week he decided he was done with Gym class because he "didn't want to be a flying animal."  Today, I peaked in on him and saw the entire class sitting and him standing up with his arms out like an airplane.  He was listening and they were not correcting his behavior but what last week made him be  *done* with class this week he was not about to stop just because everyone else was.   I am praying fervently about school with this boy.  He is not a rule following do it by the book sort of fellow.

Now after a morning away from home (I hate leaving home!!) and then lunch and schoolwork I am feeling my piles growing and feeling a wee bit stressed.  I really WANT to get some of my bigger projects accomplished before tomorrow when Hubby is home for his stretch off. 

I must get busy.

I just needed to share my excitement about a good "mostly full first day of school" before I went off to "Workland."

I GUESS the Light Turned Green

Last week was essentially a wash.  My goal was to finish ALL the apples and to finish most of the tomatoes and to get ALL my school stuff put in "IT's" spot and to to clean that corner again and get super organized and ready to go.

Then the burn happened.

But then right before bedtime pickup was announced my #1 siddled up to me and in the sweetest voice possible asked "Mommy???  Can we please start school soon??"

Yep!

Guess whether the harvest is done or not we will be starting school this week!

I still believe that we will not hit our FULL schedule at FULL speed but we will finally be starting again.

I also want to publicly admit how thankful I am that several months ago I sat down and figured out what I wanted our week to *look* like.  I blogged it here.  I haven't been able to think much at all about school the last few weeks.  I pulled this little baby out and knew EXACTLY what I needed to plan for MONDAY!  Whoo hoo.  I love when time organizing pays off.

I may not be able to start math right away since my printer is out of blue ink and REFUSES to work at all if one of the cartridges is empty!  Even to copy in black only with a very full high capacity black cartridge.... NOPE, it will not!  :(  grrrrrr.

My preschooler will also be starting with NUMBERS instead of the letter of the Week (A) due to the same printing issue.  This is just fine though as lately he has been SUPER INTERESTED in counting.  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 11,12,13... giggle.  I LOVE 3 (when it's CUTE)!!

So, tomorrow (and I need to get in bed because it is only 1/2 hr away---YIKES!) we start school AND mommy picks tomatoes (for the first time in over a week) AND washes them and tends to the 3 remaining feed sacks of apples AND does all the other house stuff AND continues to work on a few TOS projects AND.......

Sites to Check Out

Because I am truly the QUEEN OF PROCRASTINATION and the perfect example of HOW TO AVOID THE PAINFUL.......... I am surfing homeschooling sites instead of doing anything on my to-do list!

THIS works to YOUR advantage as I want to share these sites with you.

1) http://simplycharlottemason.com/timesavers/manucopywork/
This link will take you to FREE copywork which uses manuscript letters.  I like Handwriting without Tears but this is close enough for me and one less thing I have to do.  I have downloaded all of these examples into a new "Copywork" folder and am excited not to have to create anything new.  The website is about Charlotte Mason style, which I am not but which I respect many aspects of.    These are great FREE copywork examples that should carry us quite a long way (especially since we still haven't started)!

2)  http://oldfashionededucation.com/
This site provides a TON of links to FREE HOMESCHOOL CURRICULUM online.  She has it nicely organized into categories and also has many links to public domain works.

I am just starting to learn about books in the public domain.  I LOVE this concept and legal right.  I am now starting to gather websites that have these works available.  I am also really beginning to like OLDER books.  I like that they expect more out of our children's abilities and are usually MEANINGFUL and educational in someway (often in character development).  Here is a quote from this website that I TOTALLY agree with:

I believe this glut of technology distorts one's perspective and manifests a distinct disadvantage in problem solving skills.  By exposing my children to perspectives that are not built on technology I am allowing them to broaden their world view and diversify their ability to seek solutions.  Most of the books we use are from a time when technology was in it's infancy.  Characters in these books don't use technology as a crutch when they seek to overcome their challenges.  Instead they must use genuine human ingenuity and sincere Christian faith to solve their problems.   As parents it is our job to give our children a balanced understanding of the modern world. They need to understand that life hasn't always been the way it is now and that the lifestyle we have in the United States today is not shared by most of the Earth's inhabitants. 

 I REALLY like this lady's attitude and opinions!!!!   I find that most of what she says is RIGHT ON.  (Although I am not one who is homeschooling specifically for the religious aspect I do appreciate character development and extra exposure to scripture, bible stories and the Word..... I just proceed from that point with caution as we (Hubby and I) like to be the ones who get to choose the theology we teach instead of blindly presenting someone else's interpretation.)

TONS AND TONS OF LITERATURE ON THIS SITE!!

3) http://homeschool-for-free.webs.com/
Here's a site of a fellow TOS Crew Member.  This is a nice, all in one place to shop for free curriculum and freebie offers.  Each link that was included has been prescreened by the owner of the site and it is marvelously organized with tabs for every category under the sun.  I think a person could spend hours here and surely develop an addiction for "Free Stuff."

Okay and now that I am in day 2 of procrastination adding to this post I should just go ahead and post it and get working on my to-do list.  After all the house does not clean itself.

Are there any more amazing "for free" sites out there with helpful goodies??

Leave me a comment with your favorites.
(Please only leave sites that you frequent and have thoroughly investigated.)

Schleich Review

What do you get with a child,

(almost typed "kid" and a farm animal image popped into my head), 

Lincoln Logs  &

REALLY fun animal figurines from Schleich???

This....

and this......

and this!

As a member of The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew

I was sent a box filled with these super fun creatures to play with and review.

I must say that this might be the funnest review my family has had so far in our TOS CREW journey.

Schleich is celebrating 75 years of making animal figurines and play worlds.

Their products allow children tools to use for "creative play without the need for explanation or instructions."  This is the "Schleich way to play."

I must say that as soon as these animals arrived I merely had to take them out of the box and give permission for play.  They went to the fair, they went to castles and fought dragons, they played chase, they were tasted (ummm, not sure I recommend that one created by the girl), they knocked over their fences and explored the entire house (a few are still exploring someplace).



These animals are F.U.N!!!
(and sturdy)

Schleich works on the designing and fine details for up to six weeks in their German plant focusing on durability and safety, exceeding global safety standards.



Each toy is HAND PAINTED which makes each and every toy unique.
I was very shocked to see hand painted SILVER HORSESHOES!!

Another thing that I like about Schleich is that they must be purchased through on-line vendors OR from local stores who carry their products.  They do not sell these toys directly from their website
WHICH MEANS that you get to  

GO OUT and SUPPORT your LOCAL merchants!!

 I believe this is a WIN-WIN!

Many chain stores (such as Target and Toys "R" Us) carry these products but so do small local stores such as my much frequented Fleet Farm store and a few gift shops downtown.
Because Schleich does not sell individual items directly prices will vary.

 

Here are the toys Schleich so generously gave my family:

Left to right:  Donkey, Gnu Calf, Gnu, Dartmoor Pony, Przewalskis Horse, & Okapi.  (Missing in action during our photo retakes, but loved very much: Eating Swabian Hall Piglet and an Asian Elephant Calf.)

Schleich figurines span many play worlds including:

The World of Nature (wildlife, farm life)

The World of History (prehistoric animals)

The World of the Knights

The World of the American Indians

and Fantasy Worlds of Bayala (Iloris, Arelan)

and The Smurfs

Click here to go to an online copy of their 2010 Catalog.

WARNING:  I had to lock my physical copy of this book up because the kids thought it was nearly as great as the toys themselves!!

But Schleich does not stop with figurines.  

Their website contains lots of fun for adults and children alike.

They have games that qualify you for to be drawn for free products.

Free printable coloring sheets that showcase their play worlds.

They have action games for older players where you can choose from

Replica Saurus, The World of Knights, Discover Bayala
or The Wild Life World.

as well as other free products containing images of the amazing Schleich creations such as : E-cards, Monthly electronic calendars, & desktop backgrounds.

Our family thoroughly enjoyed this review and we are convinced that you too will be impressed with the quality these imagination sparking figurings could bring to your world as well.

The kiddos give three thumbs up!

Visit their site today.

If you would like to read additional reviews on Schleich 

from the TOS CREW click here.

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Disclaimer:  I am a member of The Old Schoolhouse 2010-2011 Homeschool Crew and receive free products and services in exchange for a thorough and honest review.  Though I am compensated with free products, I am not compensated in the form of cash for my reviews.  My reviews will always reflect my honest opinions, findings, beliefs and experiences on the products and services that I receive.

Tasty Moon Project & Other Random Stuff

1) A Tasty Moon Project:

A friend in our area posted this link to our homeschooling forum and I thought I would share it.

It uses OREO cookies to show the phases of the moon. Now I want Oreos!!

Check out this cool link.

2) Yesterday I managed to can 12 quarts of Tomato Sauce.  The same tomatoes that Hubby milled the day I got my lovely burn.

3) I *see* tomatoes that need to be picked out in the garden and hope that tomorrow will be dry so I might go out and pick without getting my dressing wet.

However...... THIS..... 

and THIS.........

is what I found in my tomatoes the other day so I am curious how many GOOD tomatoes I will actually be able to harvest.

3)  We have had rain nearly every day for what seems like forever.... yet there is something to be said for the warm feeling one gets when they watch a boy run through puddles and play in one of the last warm rains of this summer/fall.  :)

4) Could this post be any more random?

5)  Tiger is yummy....even if it used to be a goat.  :)  But I think in the future I don't want to know WHICH goat I am eating.


6)  I look at this pile of clothes to be folded (they are clean) and wonder how on earth do I still have loads left to do AND how is it that my family still has clothing to wear???

 Sorry for the super bad lighting.

6)  I am TOTALLY DROOLING over this lady's morning calendar time!  I WANT this board and the routine and all the STUFF and the songs to instantly be embedded into my head!  Perhaps if I wish hard enough it'll be here some morning when I wake???  I find it PERFECT and I WANT it but the amount of time I would need to invest in copying it along with everything else on my over flowing plates----errrrr, that should be BUCKETS....   I'll just keep dreaming.

5)  I also had a dream that I did bedtime with the kids and when I was done my kitchen was sparkling (cabinets and fridge wiped from splatters, pots and pans from canning were dry and put away, counter FELT and looked clean, floor was swept AND mopped).  Lovely, lovely dream.

6) Tomorrow a very fun review is coming your way.  Once upon a time (ie: prior to the Upgrade Experience of 2010) I had the MOST PERFECT pictures for that review.  They were ART SHOW WORTHY!!!  But since everything was lost I had to retake those pictures and .... well... they are cute because my kids are in them but they certainly are not as great as the original.  Bet you can hardly wait?

Have a GREAT Thursday!!
(BTW: I love Thursdays during the school year because WE DON'T GO ANYWHERE!!!!!)  :)

Salem Ridge Press Books ------------ A REVIEW

As a member of The Old Schoolhouse's Homeschool Crew I recently had the privilege of receiving some excellent books from the late 1800's & early 1900's from SALEM RIDGE PRESS.  Keep Reading to learn more.

Salem Ridge Press is a publishing company started by 2003 homeschool graduate, Daniel Mills.  When, as a high schooler, Daniel read At Seneca Castle by William Canfield and Our Fellows by Harry Castlemon he found that he had a love for old books .  These books impacted him greatly as he discovered that there were great stories and messages out there which were no longer being read.  It was with these two books that his desire was born to republish great, wholesome stories from long ago so that new generations could experience their magic.

Salem Ridge Press strives to reprint God-honoring works from the 1800's and early 1900's that are wholesome, exciting and well-written.   With Philippians 4:8 as their rubric they feel responsible for the content they republish.  On occasion they feel the need to make slight changes in order to produce a completely wholesome product that any parent can feel confident about handing their child.

Salem Ridge Press currently has republished 27 titles.  These are listed on their website which includes a full chapter of each book.   Allegory, Adventure, Younger Readers and Historical Fiction are the categories covered by Salem Ridge Press' collection.   They also have an extensive collection of Emma Leslie's works in church history.

If you are looking for a great family read aloud or a few books that you feel you can safely hand over to your children that will honor the gospel of Christ, inspire your children to embrace positive character qualities and that will appeal to both girls and boys, I encourage you to visit Salem Ridge Press' Website.

Most of their books are available in either hardback or paperback ranging in price from $12.95-$24.95.  If you like e-books you can check out their link to "Other Sellers" for a link where you can purchase them to be read electronically.

For this review my family was given a paperback copy of Soldier Fritz.  

My boys listened intently to this story set in the Reformation period in Germany.  The possession of a Bible and their faith that grew from God's Word caused a family of noble blood to be seek safety in the forest among some of the poorest in their land.  The lessons of battling pride and accepting the consequences our faith might bring us ring throughout this book, along with a very clear and repetitive gospel message.  I loved that this book so wonderfully introduced my boys to the time period where our own Mennonite roots grew out of.  They now have a beautifully painted background where they can now add our own church denomination beginnings and they may now more fully understand our own history.

My family was also given the e-version of Young Robin Hood and Down the Snow Stairs.  These books are very well done.  My very young children did not fully grasp the allegory in Down the Snow Stairs but are clinging to EVERY word of Young Robin Hood which tells the story of Robin, the son of the Sheriff of Nottingham who gets lost in the Sherwood Forrest and lives amongst Robin Hood and his men.

I do enjoy these old books.  

I am thrilled that someone cares 

to republish books of old.  

 
Daniel Mills goes all out to present books that he can stand behind with no reservations.  He takes Philippians 4:8 incredibly seriously and edits out brief kisses or embraces, derogatory or offensive comments and illustrations that the company felt were not modest.  Many parents out there LOVE that this editing is done.  

Although since this is an honest review, I must admit that I might be one of the rare people who actually does not like my books being edited for moral standards set by other people, even if they use the Bible as their guide.  (This opinion-feeling-belief is not something that is specific to this review but spans my opinions about history materials, religious materials, curriculum and basically anything I evaluate to bring into my home.  I'd rather personally edit out what my children are not yet mature for and yet have those omissions in their original form for the moment when the maturity level of my children has caught up to the level of the materials we use.......   BUT... this is a discussion for a future blog post.)   
 
However, even with my preferences stated above, these stories are not abundant on bookstore bookshelves in abridged and unabridged re-prints from which I can choose from.  Since this is the case I would likely still purchase these products.  But as a reviewer I wanted to make sure you, my readers, are aware of the editing standards of this company.  And again, I am SURE many parents out there would ecstatically welcome these practices.

I find the stories of Salem Ridge Press 

riveting, engaging, educational 
and very sweet. 

If you are looking for historical fiction 

or just exciting and fun stories 

please visit Salem Ridge Press. 

Check them out.   

If you would like to read more reviews written about Salem Ridge Press please check out TOS Crew's Website.


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Disclaimer:  I am a member of The Old Schoolhouse 2010-2011 Homeschool Crew and receive free products and services in exchange for a thorough and honest review.  Though I am compensated with free products, I am not compensated in the form of cash for my reviews.  My reviews will always reflect my honest opinions, findings, beliefs and experiences on the products and services that I receive.

Yesterday...what a day.

Finished and canned 14 quarts of Applesauce.

Thawed tomatoes so Hubby would have freezer space for his butchering tasks.

Began tomatoes.  I was anxious to get the 29 Quart canner off the stove. I took out a jar that had applesauce oozing out of it and without thinking put it down in a cool glass measuring bowl, it shattered, Hubby helped me care for and dress my 2nd degree burns (not that bad.... really!  REALLY!  I'm not in denial and YES I know how to watch for infection AND know how to properly dress and care for a burn wound using near sterile techniques!)

Okay, back to my day.......  helped Hubby figure out what part of the canning process I was at and watched him mill all our tomatoes!  :)  (SUPER WARM HEART)   He kept telling me to just sit and be for awhile.  DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD THAT IS????     So as the pain killer kicked in Hubby mentioned "I wish our 6 year old could drive, I'd send him to go get a pizza."   So, single handedly (literally almost) I took the boys to our small town gas station for a pizza.  By the time I had gotten home that pain killer had kicked in and I had realized I had not eaten anything when I took it.  I was still nauseous 6 hours later.

When I did my dressing change at bedtime it looked better than I had expected, still quite ugly, but better.   I was able to eat some Cheerios and quickly drifted off to sleep.

Today is a new day, right?

I have a crew to take in for GYM class!!!  (They local university has a Physical Education Teacher's Program and those University Students do some of their practicum with gym classes for homeschool kids in our area!!!  IT's AWESOME)

When we come home I MUST simmer tomatoes AND WRITE THOSE REVIEWS!

You can hardly wait, huh???

Good thing you all talked me out of NOT doing school this week, huh?

Can I also just say right here and now how AWESOME my HUBBY is for helping out SO much and SO graciously.  He had just laid down to take a long nap before going to work last night when I had my oldest go wake him.  He looked at my wound and said "Wow, dear!  That's a really bad burn."  He then immediately started gathering medical supplies, pain medicine and nursed me up.  Then he looked around the house and without missing a beat cleaned up the messy glass filled applesauce and started in where I stopped on the tomatoes.  I LOVE my Hubby!  He ROCKS!!!

Blog Walk! Blog Walk!

(Thanks to Debbie, over at Debbie's Digest for the great picture)

Blog Walking is a great way to meet new people and read about their experiences homeschooling.  You might find someone who schools or thinks like you.  You might find great information on a new resource, curriculum or teaching technique. Blog Walking is a great way to learn more about the world of home education.

Please click around on the links below and feel free to leave a message or two if you feel led.  We bloggers like to see that other homeschoolers have found us and like what they have read.

This week's Blog Walk List:

1. Hearthside Homeschool Reviews... And More
2. Loving Learning at Home
3. Life on the Roller Coaster
4. A Life Better Than I Deserve
5. Joy in the Journey
6. Homeschooling, Autism & Stuff
7. There is Hope
8. Homeschool Reviews for You
9. Mom Loves Books
10. The Legacy of Home

Nope, Not Gonna..... Gotta Dig Out First

I REALLY WANT to start school but I looked at my calendar, looked at my produce, looked at my family, looked at my house, looked at my exhaustion level and REALIZED I MUST just simply wait until this week is over.  

I think if I work really hard, being sure to be a good steward of the time God has given me then I might just be ready a week from now.  By then the apples will be in jars or consumed and the tomatoes will be in jars or consumed (or the blasted chickens outside will have EATEN them off my vines... dagdabthem!!)

So while we are buried in this

please know that I have 5,000 blogs that I wish my brain could type out for me and I am trying to find time to type up two reviews that will be coming to you on Wednesday and Friday.

Hope you are all having fun out there and are busy staying out of trouble.

Might Start School

We might start school this week, maybe....

I feel like I might be the ONLY family not doing school right now.

I've added a second child to this year's school routine and extra subjects.  I currently have 4 feed sacks of apples to sort and process. I also have a freezer full of tomatoes (likely 2 batches of sauce) and possibly another batch or two in the garden (depending upon how much destruction the chickens have brought).

My heart WANTS to start school this week.

At first I was thinking that I would JUST do reading. 

Then I changed my mind and was feeling pressure to start math as well... and there it was READING AND MATH.

But fall happens so fast around here, if I am going to NEED to teach them how to do their science journals and do some leaf lessons before we only have brown leaves, or worse yet... snow.   

And then there is the fun History read aloud that I wanted to work on.

So then, if I essentially want to start EVERYTHING with Otto then I suppose it's not very fair to leave the preschool lessons out.

Which means that if I DO start it's going to be full speed.

But I'M not ready!  I HAVE touched all my topics and think that I have at least 2-3 weeks ready to go for each topic.  After surprise visitors and clearing the table multiple times for produce I THINK I can put my hands on all the materials.

So I guess that means that I *CAN* start tomorrow..... but can I do it AND get my food processing done?  After all, despite how much I try to prove that I am, I AM NOT SUPER HUMAN nor SUPER MOM!

Which is why I chose to NOT start school until AFTER the harvest is over and have been looking at the LAST week of September to start.  BUT....everyone else is doing it....   I wanna toooo.....   Or do I??

 After church today we are processing apples, perhaps we will see if I look back on this debate as if I was in a crazed state or if I think it just might be do-able.   Stay tuned to see how this saga turns out.

Another day...

I began yesterday with an ambitious to-do list and PILES of stuff that needed my attention.   The plan was to get up and clean the guest bathroom then prepare lasagna and garlic bread for guests that were going to come over to talk "farm" (specifically: goats) during supper.  Once I quickly knocked that out of the way I was going to finish up pots and pans from the night before and sweep my floor then I would begin a batch of applesauce, knowing the sauce would not quite be finished upon their arrival...but that was okay.

Then......

Does anyone know the Nyquil commercial where the mom is in bed an looks like she's on death's door.   Where the advertisement claims it's the "nighttime sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, stuffy head, fever, so you can rest and have a good morning medicine."   I FELT like that mom.  I might have even LOOKED like her, but my sweet family had enough sense to say nothing.


I woke up feeling foggy but motivated.  I had people coming I HAD to get the place looking nice so I could do some of my own work.  I managed to get the guest bathroom done quickly.

Then.... as if my energy tanks were completely empty I felt as if I could barely function.  Tasks that normally take me a few minutes took over an hour.   With just a couple hours before guest arrival time Hubby came into the house and asked, "You realize you only have a few hours before they are here right?"  I looked around me and realized I had been sitting in my kitchen chair at my computer but not really doing anything.  I had been in a cold induced daze and was surrounded by tons of dirty dishes, a table covered in tomatoes trying to ripen, with a filthy floor.  I had ONLY accomplished making the lasagna and cleaning the bathroom.  I had accomplished nothing else.    


An hour before I had the foresight to email our friends and mention that we all were fighting head colds.  I don't know this family very well but thought that I had remembered a child who had been really sick last winter.  So I wanted to make sure they knew coming in that illness was present.


Shortly after Hubby's comment I received an email requesting that we reschedule.  At that point I was feeling H.O.R.R.I.B.L.E!! and was thankful for the cancellation.

Do you ever have those days where you just feel like you can't function?  I kept asking my boys "Do you feel okay?" and they would smile at me and tell me "Yes."  Yet, they were laying down as they played and they were not fighting, nor arguing.  They had little pink cheeks and just looked mostly lifeless.  Later we realize all three of our little ones were a bit warm.  They all were sniffling, sneezing and and a stuffy head and fever.  Poor things.


Today is a new day, I'm praying we all slept our ickies away!


Next up:
freezing tomatoes, shredding that blasted zucchini, peeling/coring, cooking and canning the 4 feed bags of apples.


In the meantime sometime yesterday in my groggy state I managed to find my scripture chapter of the day and this little gem was buried within.  I LIKE it.


2 Thessalonians 4:11-12
Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anyone.

Sounds kinda familiar. Not sure having this blog helps me "lead a quiet life" but I'm surely not out campaigning door to door or anything.  I like this little gem and think it's worthy of memory..... at least it will be once I come out of the foggy congested, cough filled space I currently occupy.

Fall Has Arrived

The trees are turning.

The tomatoes are abundant.

Then today we added 4 feed sacks full of super yummy apples to dehydrate and sauce.

I'd love to chat more but I'm currently a bit occupied washing the tomatoes I picked the other day and then I will be shredding zucchini and starting on those apples.

Life is good... but busy.

Stay tuned, something more exciting is bound to happen here.

PyraMath from ISeeCards -- Review

It's so exciting to receive *SOMETHING* in the mail.  

I love getting packages.

Especially when it's a game.

It's even MORE fun 
--as a homeschooling mom--
when it's an EDUCATIONAL GAME!

and the best part yet is hearing my 6 year old
(who does not have his addition and subtraction facts memorized yet) 
ask:  MOMMY, CAN WE PLEEEEAASEEE PLAY THE MATH GAME???

As a member of The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Review Crew I received a deck of PYRAMATH cards from I See Cards: Educational Games to play with so that I could write this review.

Created by Dr. Ron, PYRAMATH is a card game that can be played by a wide range of children.  

Children who know addition, subtraction, multiplication and division will soar at this game.  

Yet children who only know how to do addition can play too and learn their facts while HAVING FUN.

Dr Ron states that his grandfather helped inspire the creation of his games.  His grandfather was a very sociable man who put people at ease and always had a deck of cards. Dr Ron believes that

 "Cards are a great form of social interaction, a game that lends to conversation and a friendly atmosphere.  Unlike video games that push children away from face to face interaction, cards bring people together."

I would agree.  Dr Ron claims that statistics show "over 60% of all schoolchildren have "turned off" to mathematics by the 4th grade."  Personally, I am hoping fun math games such as PYRAMATH will help keep my children in the 40% out there who actually LIKE math! 

What is PYRAMATH?
PYRAMATH is a deck of 56 cards.  Each card has a number ranging from zero to nine.  The number is placed on the card twice so that it can be seen correctly by two players who are sitting across from one another.  The card also has the spelling of the number in English, Spanish, Roman Numerals, Chinese, Arabic and French.  The back side of the card contains the 4 mathematical operation symbols:  addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

How do you play:
The object is to build pyramids by performing mathematic operations between two side by side cards in the original dealt line.  Children can use any mathematical operation they know how to use.  Addition, subtraction, division and multiplication can all be used in one row!!!  If you hold the answer in your hand you may play it in between (and down a row) on the two top cards.

But you said the cards only had 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9 on them.  How do we do we answer more complicated problems with only one digit?  For this game you ONLY USE THE ONE'S DIGIT.  (A great extra lesson/review on digits and ones/tens place value!)

So, if your answer ends in 8 you play the 8 card.  Answers might be 8, 28, 38, 48.... but you don't have those cards so you play the 8 card into the pyramid.

Pyramath can be played as the basic two person game, as a solitaire game, as a game of war or as a game of speed.

Are you curious how it works? Do you want some hands on learning?
YOU CAN PLAY ONLINE  WARNING!!  I hear it is SUPER, INCREDIBLY ADDICTIVE!!   
AND to beef up your level of addiction I SEE CARDS gives the highest score of the month a free deck of cards.  What a fun way to include a bit of competition into the picture for those of you out there who like that sort of thing.    I have actually NOT done the online version fearing my garden produce will rot before I get off the computer to go pick it!!!

There is even a PYRAMATH WIKI section where educators show their lesson plans and their adaptations to this game as they use it with students and children like yours.

I really, really would love to buy a pack of these cards for everyone I know with school children.  There is a solitare game, a speed game and a war game.  I wish my childhood elementary school teachers had PYRAMATH!!  Perhaps I wouldn't dislike Math so much now!

And speaking of learning being fun....

My son Otto LOVES this game.  He has asked me often to play "the Math game."  When I explained it to him I immediately thought it would be too complicated for him or because he barely remembers 1/2 of his math facts it would be too hard.

He LOVES building these pyramids.

Let me tell you how WE play:
When we deal out the 5 or 7 cards (7 gives you more options) we go through all of the addition and subtraction problems on the table.  We use our fingers to solve them.  Don't tell Mrs. Nelson from 3rd grade please!!!  Then we start taking turns drawing a card. Rarely does my son remember those answers.  So he gets to hear the problems again as we talk through them.  Sometimes I make HIM figure them out but if he is looking tired I will run through them fairly quickly.  He will lay down his card and then I take my turn.... talking through MY problems out loud.  (By the way: the first row has the same problems for both players... so NOW he has heard the answers 3 times!).  We continue this.  Sometimes we will go through and I will have him simply try to remember the answers, especially when we hit a point where there are only 2 or 3 possible solutions.  Sometimes I show him where to put it and verbalize the problem.  Sometimes I make him figure it out all by himself.  I can watch and gauge where he is at on the "fun-scale" and I can adjust accordingly.  When you have been through the deck and neither player can play any of the available cards the game is over and you can shuffle and play it again.

Hearing and seeing the math problems over and over and over is helping him learn his math facts without him realizing it.  He is now coming up with his own answers more quickly.  
BEST YET....  he STILL LOVES IT.... even when it is challenging for him.

Are you interested??  Why don't you go play their on-line PYRAMATH game.  While you are on the Pyramath website check out their other games (Fractazmic = fractions and Prime Bomb = Prime numbers).  These games are great educational tools that your children can play off in the side-lines while you are teaching 1:1 direct instruction with a sibling.

They are only

$6.95 PER PACK

An amazing buy for a game that the ENTIRE family can play with and learn from!

If you would like to see more reviews on I SEE CARDS Pyramath, visit TOS Homeschool Crew's Website!

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Disclaimer:  I am a member of The Old Schoolhouse 2010-2011 Homeschool Crew and receive free products and services in exchange for a thorough and honest review.  Though I was compensated with one deck of PYRAMATH cards, I am not compensated in the form of cash for my reviews.  My reviews will always reflect my honest opinions, findings, beliefs and experiences on the products and services that I receive.