24 February 2017

Sunshine-y Inside and Out!

Simply written and absolutely sweet, this hardcover devotional book will enrapture your little reader.  Oh my goodness, Woodjie pounced on the packet when it came in and went right over to his birthdate to read what his "fortune" would be.  Hey well, hence the need for the devotional, right?  Ten-year-olds are not known for their strong doctrinal knowledge.

It's a good "fortune," though.

The entries are incredibly positive, uplifting and encouraging, the pages are glossy and the print is large enough to be easy on the eyes.  I would wholeheartedly recommend this one for your home or church library. 
This book was difficult to review because SOME little kid had his mitts on it all day.  When asked what he most enjoys about the book, he said it's in his favourite colour (yellow) and when he reads it, it makes him happy.



Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

20 February 2017

Stuff We've Been Doing Lately

Rose got a new paint-by-numbers set.  Thanks, Nana and Grandpa!

She has already made great progress on the picture.  It's visiting with Mr. Salt and Our Lady of Perpetual Pepper.


My new easel.  I bought it to hold all my dry-erase boards just because.  Not that I needed more stuff...

Woodjie decided he'd like to spend a little time with a book today.

Snap Circuits are really nifty things.  They are what you would call "educational toys," but I count the time they spend with these toward their science hours in homeschooling. 

Glimmer Girls Light Up New York

Girls ages 8-13 travel with twins Maddie and Mia and their little sister Lulu as they read Light Up New York.  They'll visit the Statue of Liberty, tour the New York Public Library, ride a cab, and go ice skating - these Glimmer Girls always seem to wind up solving a new mystery while they explore new places and have fun!

As a mother, what I love about these books is that my daughter can read them without "discussions" from me.  The family is a great model of what a family should look like.  The parents are very good at setting limits and giving their girls choices at the same time without being too... preachy.  The girls are also respectful (most of the time) and learn to deal with rivalry in a healthy way.  My nine-year-old daughter enjoys the whole series.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

16 February 2017

Reading: Charlotte's Web Workbook From Memoria Press

We have two workbooks of slightly different colours; it must be that they changed the covers a bit but the content is the same in both.

What I love about the workbooks from Memoria Press is the wide range of exercises that help the children learn using classic books.  Pictured you'll see a "storyboard" Rose completed recently after putting the story items in order.  This book also features vocabulary exercises, crosswords and optional activities. 

These pictures are sooo cute!

The best part about these workbooks would be the discussion questions and background information about the time period and rural location in which the book is set.  The children understand much more about the book and the characters as a result of the discussions and the information in the appendix.
Sample page after completion.  We're working on writing sentences to answer the questions occasionally.
 

15 February 2017

Poor Elfie

He's been very sick.  He's asthmatic, so a simple cold will affect him very badly.  He's bark-coughing and having a bit of trouble breathing. He went to school as normal yesterday and instead of calling home when he began to feel poorly, he decided he'd not only stay in school, but do super bunches of exercise in PE class.  Oh!  And not bother to tell his gym teacher he has asthma.  Oh!  And continue exercising when he was having tightness in the chest.

Yeah, I found that out today after I forced Sir Barksalot to go to the doctor and they grilled him.  You betya that coach got a "please look after my elf" email and there is now an "asthma action plan" in place at the school.

At this age?  The "action plan" is that he's almost an adult and needs to jolly well carry around his own inhaler.  He'll be going back to school tomorrow even though he sounds like death (or very-near-death, I should say).  Apparently after a day on antibiotics, whatever one has is not contagious, but the physician would like Elf to visit our elderly neighbour on Friday instead of Thursday just to be on the super-safe side.

And now we've been instructed that Elf WILL NOT go off his medications, even when he feels well.  We'll see how complaint this little old man is.  I think he took all the "exercise is good for your body and you should not take any drugs" talks a little too seriously.  There are some times when exercise is very bad for you, and tellya what, if a competent doctor gives you medicine you need to take it regularly.

The end.

07 February 2017

Why It's Important to Learn About Percentages.



In homeschool this week, we're learning to estimate things.  We haven't learnt much about percentages yet, but the children do know how to divide by five to get that 20% tip if need be.  Despite the comments on this post in its original place on facebook, this isn't "Common Core Math."  It's a shakedown.

Also... as to leaving a "suggestive tip?"  Don't give any money, just halfway unbutton your blouse. 

06 February 2017

You've Heard of Trump Tower...

Donald J. Trump's official portrait
...but have you heard of Trump Heroin?  During a recent press conference, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi said the use of the Trump brand name - as well as the image of our president - to market the illegal drug was a "big mistake."  She said she'll save some of this stuff for him to keep in the Oval Office when the case is over, though, and quipped that she feels this'll make him build the wall that much more quickly. 

I can't imagine anyone really bought this stuff thinking that it was marketed by the president.

01 February 2017

No Filter On The Photo This Time

Here's what happens when you let the kid do something fun for a while.  It's practically guaranteed that if you give Woodjie a video game, his ears will look like this when he is done.  I have no idea what causes it.  I've heard of people getting red in the face or blushing, but not having little hot ears.

Jammies From LL Bean!

This winter's obligatory homeschool wear.  I took about 20 photos in front of my blackout curtain and this one turned out the cutest.  I played around with the filters, cropped the wall out and here you go. 

Bringing Garbage Home

Some people up the street were throwing this table away. It was in pretty bad shape and one of the legs was off. I've glued the leg back...