Peek At Our Week 15 And Christmas School

     It is the week before Christmas and all through the house the kids are driving me nuts!!!! I am eager for two weeks off myself though LOL! We stuck with some theme days this week! 

Our Review Of Magic Stix Washable Markers

      We were so excited to be offered the chance to do a review for The Pencil Grip, Inc. company again! We have used a few of their products in the past so having another one to try was right up our alley. This company has such cool little gadgets for the artsy child and Skyler has enjoyed them all. We were offered to use the Magic Stix 12 pk. Washable Markers this time around. What had caught my interest to be truthful right off were the fact that they were odorless as well as guaranteed not to dry out. 

      We received these markers on the 11th of December. I was very impressed with the plastic casing they come in as well. 

      No cheap cardboard box that is going to rip or fall apart! I appreciate knowing that a company cares about the fact that people want to take care of their products and not have to replace over and over again. They make things that last!

Junior Market Day!

      So another homeschool mom got the idea of a kids farmers market I would call it. The kids who make stuff had a chance to set up booths and sell the handmade things they make. I truly had zero idea of how many little makers we had in the area! It seemed a perfect time for Fox to show off his baking skills.... We had NOOOOO idea what making 100 cupcakes meant! 

      I mean I knew it would be messy but.... the kitchen looked like a war zone when we finished! We sadly had to throw out the first 3 dozen because we used the wrong cocoa! I don't even know how that happened. Needless to say finding some in our small town was an issue at Christmas time. Three stores later and we barely had enough and of course only the most expensive was left LOL! 

      Fox has to have music and it blared all night long!

Peek At Our Week 14 And Christmas School!

      It was Christmas fun week around here this time! We had some themes for the week, a math project, Christmas science fun and learning about Christmas in other states! The kiddos had fun and learned along the way so wonderful week! Fox just did his regular school since he said he was too old for Christmas school. He regretted this choice! I had tried to get a book for each theme but sometimes that didn't work out. The theme activities were some language arts type things and a few math activities. 

      I purchased The Twelve Days Of Christmas Activities on Teachers Pay Teachers. 

Filed Trip To The Farm

      Today we went to Dudley Farm is Gainesville and as usual had a complete blast! We always feel like we are stepping back in time and my kids run all over that place, it truly is magical for those that adore history! 

      My children always like starting at the family home. They have their own little routine. They went along with a filed trip this time and they were a bit thrown off! It was fun having a guide though in my opinion. I was truly proud that for the most part my kids knew exactly what she was talking about and had answers to many of the questions even if they were a bit too shy to speak up. 

     

Field Trip!!! Harn Art Museum

      To end our field trip day we stopped over at The Harn Ar Museum. Rhyli has never been and we haven't been there for quite a while so it was definitely time for a visit! I love when I can actually get half way decent pictures of my kids!

       I am not sure why but the girls got a big kick out of walking to a from this painting!

Field Trip!!! History Museum And Butterfly Garden

       After the farm today we decided to hit our favorite history museum! We really wanted to see the new exhibit about Florida's past as well as the new Discovery Zone for younger kiddos. Even though it is for younger kiddos my kids still had to explore! 

    This wall has hundreds of frogs and we absolutely love it!

Our Review Of Forbrain

      Since I am always on the look out for cool things to try with my kids I jumped on reviewing FORBRAIN from Sound For Life LTD. I really wanted to use this neat head set with my sixteen year old son Fox. He has ADHD, poor memory as well as a few speech difficulties when he speaks fast. It is almost as if his brain works faster than his mouth! The product is used 20 minutes a day and he had no issue using it. My oldest son was not too thrilled as it goes by his face and he doesn't like that due to some sensory issues. Fox had no issue with it at all.  The technology behind it is like a workout for your brain! It's brain stimulation!   

      This is designed for children ages 4 and up as well as adults to use so age is not really a factor at all. The head set volume is adjustable but it is advised to keep on the preset level. This level is helpful for those with hearing difficulties or for those overly sensitive to sound. 

Our Review Of Innovators Tribe Engineering

      For the past few weeks we have had the privilege of reviewing Thinking Like An Engineer by Innovators Tribe. This program is a wonderful hands on approach for learning science, technology and art. It is great to use for STEM learning! My son Fox has always been the builder boy so I knew he would absolutely love this course and it did not disappoint. This is an online curriculum so internet connection is a must. The program is designed for grades 6-12. 

     This curriculum was created by Wayne Kroeplin and throughout the videos he is known as Mr. K to the students. The lessons are not lectures! This program truly fosters thinking skills and creative problem solving. It isn't just a do this or do that to get to this point type of thing. The kids have to really think to solve the challenges they are given. 

Field Trip To The Court House!!

      We had such a fun day at the court house! They learned so much about the inside of the building and the way things happen as well as what people do what jobs! 

     They loved seeing an actual courtroom and sitting in the jury box!

Field Trip To Starry Night!

       Every year the Gainesville History Museum puts on an astronomy night called Starry Night. Skyler looks forward to it every year and it never disappoints. They get these cool little stamp sheets and they go around doing all the activities to get a stamp, when it is full they get a cool prize!

      The crawl through is her favorite! She does it first every single year and hates that she can't take hours in that tunnel!

Literature/Author Basket

     I started an author basket last year and since then it has turned into the literature/author basket! We added The Literature and Poetry book by The Thinking tree. Skyler said it was no longer just an author basket at that point! Right now it is full of Shakespeare things. She is still reading through some of his plays and she loves the extras in there too!

     She is also enjoying her journal. When she finishes this one I will buy the next level!

Cooking Basket

      The idea for this basket came from The Yum-Schooling Cook-Book by The Thinking Tree. Every kid should know how to cook and what better to learn! I bought them quite a few cooking things that are just theirs. I discovered years ago when kids learn to cook they may destroy stuff so I wanted it to be things that didn't belong to me! Quite a bit of my kitchen things have been passed down from my grandmothers or my mother so I tend to be cautious! So this is their basket!

     I tried to find books that were more than just cooking as well! 

Our Review Of The Ultra Safe Scissors And Three Step Pencil Grips And A Giveaway

     After getting a chance to review for The Pencil Grip, Inc. a while back I was thrilled to use their products again! This time around we got to try The Ultra Safe Safety Scissors and The 3 Step Pencil Grip Training Kit. I truly enjoy this companies products. They are great quality and can come in quite handy at times. I have an artsy kid who enjoys using everything she can get her hands on so just about anything is right up her alley!      



     The first thing she wanted to use was the scissors. She is a bit older than the targeted age but she she enjoys uses different things to see if she can make them work in different ways! 

Wordless Wednesday

Our Review Of CTC Math

Thanks to the Review Crew we were given the amazing opportunity to try an online math curriculum that I had never heard of before, CTCMath and you can even try it out for free!  I will say the idea of Skyler doing an online program was very tempting after Fox has been doing so well with his. We were given the one year family membership to try out so both girls would be able to participate in using it. The program is for children in grades K through 12, which means all the way through calculus. Finding something that is good for a variety of ages or grades is a bonus especially for math. 



     The program was invented originally as an online tutoring program by a father of ten! I couldn't imagine making something like this when I was busy parenting ten kids but Mr. Pat Murray sure did a great job! I believe that since he knows the financial issues so many homeschoolers face he has made this program so affordable. You can get 60% off as well as a 6 month bonus!  Each lesson has a short video to watch, questions to answer and depending on the grade you may have a worksheet to complete.
       I will say it took me a bit to navigate the parent portal so make sure to set aside time for that before diving in with your kiddo. Once the girls accounts were set up it was a matter of finding where each kiddo belonged and let them have at it! CTCMath is not common core and your child won't be boxed in to a certain grade level either. Some kids (like Skyler) are all over the map with math skills so it is great when one can work on certain topics they struggle with! 

Animal Basket

      Skyler is all about animals and it is a tad bit of a shocker it took me this long to make her an animal basket! Let's just say she is now thrilled!! Of course her cat is thrilled as well since she now has another place to sleep. The majority of the books in this basket are all by The Thinking Tree. The idea of theme baskets comes from the author of these books Sarah Janisse Brown. She is also the awesome lady who started the whole Fun-Schooling idea. 

       My kids love her books and we will continue to use them until they don't. They enjoy the variety, the art work and the endless ideas they inspire. So on to the basket and how Skyler uses it. 

      We can all see how Stella uses it!

Peek At Our Week 4!

     Unfortunately, the pics from this week were mistakenly deleted on my cell but I managed to save these! Skyler had Zoology this week at the zoo and I am so glad she is enjoying herself! She even made a friend. Skyler has always been the little shadow for myself or the other children so it is awesome to see her doing something on her own and having a blast!

Milestones In Science Basket

     I scored this amazing science kit and decided to just make a basket out of it for Fox and his science. All the kids can use it of course but I knew my builder boy would just adore it! It has great reviews unfortunately it is out of print now. I had a heck of a time searching down a brand new one for him. It is honestly the coolest kit I have ever seen. Beyond science it also includes history so win win when you can combine them! The idea for learning baskets comes from sarah janisse Brown The Thinking Tree author. It is part of the FUN-SCHOOL plan! You basically make baskets of different themes or things your child is interested in or even of their regular subjects for school. The ideas are truly endless. 
     

     I really love this kit!                          

Almost every science course reviews the work of famous scientists and the groundbreaking discoveries that they made. Reading about their work is good, but actually performing the same experiments that these scientists did would be so much more meaningful. With this Thames & Kosmos kit, you can do just that, without the hassle of assembling all the materials yourself. Build a telescope like Johannes Kepler, a spectroscope like Joseph von Fraunhofer, a phonograph like Thomas Edison, a steam engine like James Watt in all, 100 experiments and discoveries covering the work of 140 scientists and inventors. Chapters are included on: Light, Colors, and Sound; Heat, Steam, and Engines; Magnetism and Electricity; Communication and Microelectronics; Forces; Life; Atoms and Molecules; Stars and Planets; and the Periodic Table. In addition to the models mentioned above, students will also make or study a battery, telegraph, radio, airplane, star map, and many others. All components needed for all the experiments are included in the kit, except a 9-volt battery to power some of the experiments. The 94-page Experiment Manual is an excellent teaching tool in itself; in addition to giving verbal and visual instructions for all experiments, lots of historical information and "Did you know " tidbits are included. The manual is full-color and contemporary, but includes period photographs and drawings that resemble a lab journal from the past.

Wordless Wednesday

Peek At Our Week 3!!!

     Seems like between hurricanes and sick kids it has taken forever to get to week 3! Skyler has gotten to start using CTC math this week which she is truly enjoying and Fox finally got around to his Milestones In Science basket. He had a blast!! He took great joy in learning about lenses and how to start a fire with one using only the sun! He also enjoyed making a pinhole camera as well. 

Field Trip To The Sugary Bakery!

     This week was our first field trip! I promise every time I say those words I think of The Magic school Bus and Miss. Frizzle! That show will always be loved here! This week we went to the Sugary bakery and had a blast! The kids learned all about kitchens in bakeries, food safety and got to try some yummy treats! Skyler also got to share that day with her bestie Goldie as well as seeing old friends from co-op that we have not seen in forever and have truly missed! 

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Our Review of Carole P. Roman Books

   We were so excited to receive these books by this amazing author! I had never even heard of Carole P. Roman before now but as soon as I saw the books I just knew they would be a perfect fit for the girls! I am so grateful to have been shown these books. She was so kind by sending us three books to read and review. Carole has a few different series available so I am sure you can find one to match with your child's interests. We of course chose books from the If You Were Me And Lived In....Historical Series. These books are geared towards ages 8-15. My children all enjoy history books but sometimes they are so hard to find. Most history books read like a dry text so when I can scout out books like these I tend to get a bit excited! 
My children are all very visual as well so the illustrations in these books were a major plus. Even though my kids are older they all enjoy beautiful art work that gets harder and harder to find in books for them that are not picture books. These are beautiful books! 

Peek At Our Week 2

     Week 2 is done!!! It was a full week too at that! It seems like it is always a full week since the whole FUN-SCHOOLING thing started. Fun-school is a term coined by Sarah Janisse Brown the Thinking Tree author who I truly adore. It can look a bit different for every family and this is a week in the life of my kiddos. What does fun-school look like for my kids? Well we do nature science every week. Why? Because the girls love it. They love that time going outside looking at trees. leaves, clouds, bugs and whatever else they come up with. They really like coloring outside as well. 

     By the time they come in they are pretty relaxed and cheerful and ready to move on to whatever it is that comes next. Even at 12 and 13 they still need to get the wiggles out so to speak. Yes my kids have a say in what they learn to a big degree, yes they have a say on where they do school as well. They may start at the table and end up on the floor! I have been asked before how do you ever expect your kids to know how to act in public and I can honestly say I have never had an issue. My children are kind, loving, respectful and helpful. 

     

Wordless Wednesday