*Giveaway has ENDED*

As a Moms Meet Mom Ambassador for Kiwi Magazine, I get the occasional opportunity to sample and review some great natural and organic foods and family products. As a blogger, I was glad that they started their Mom Ambassador Blogger program because now I can share them with you, my reader, and my local natural moms group.

Parents who have discovered that they and/or their child have food allergies will be happy to add this kid-friendly cookbook to their collection. Allergy-Friendly Food for Families is from the editors of Kiwi Magazine and has 120 gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and soy-free recipes.

My first impression of the cookbook is that it is a good-quality book. Beautiful, full-color pictures printed on thick, sturdy pages in an easy-to-hold 9" x 8" size. It starts out with a brief explanation of food allergies (not sensitivities or intolerances) and a few expert-answered questions. At the back of Allergy-Friendly Food for Families, you'll find a list of products to stock your allergy-free pantry and two recipe indexes, one alphabetical and one by allergen. A special treat waits for you on the last page - a mail-in form for a free one-year (six issue) subscription to Kiwi Magazine!

The recipe section is the bulk of the book, of course, and is broken down into Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Dessert, Snacks and Parties, each having its own recipe index with an allergy-free key to help you find the right recipe. In addition, there are color-coded "tabs" on the edges of every page to tell you which allergens that specific recipe is free of. These are very helpful as you are flipping through. Sprinkled throughout are pages with ideas for cooking with kids and special tips. One possible negative is that there are not pictures for most recipes. For example, in the Breakfast section, there are 22 recipes and only five with pictures. Personally, I don't have an issue with it, but some might. 

You're ready to hear about the recipes now, right? Of course, if you have already been cooking for someone with food allergies, you will be familiar with some or most of the ingredients used. Considering that most allergy-causing foods are also the most commonly consumed, like wheat, eggs, and dairy, it is not surprising that their substitutes may be less common. Some of the recipes call for specialty items, like tofu, rice milk, chickpea flour, tahini, or soy-free, non-hydrogenated margarine, but the majority use ingredients found in most grocery stores. 

Here is a sampling of recipes:

• Quinoa Maple Crunch
• Fresh Almond or Rice Milk
• Sweet Summer Corn Salad
• Barbecue Chicken Salad
• Tofu-Stuffed Shells
• Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Lentils
• Easy Lemon Chicken
• Coconut No-Cream Pie
• Cherry Chocolate Sorbet
• Salted Caramel Hot Cocoa
• Raw Summer Peach Tart
• Gluten-Free Pie Crust
• Pear Dunkers with Cashew-Cinnamon Yogurt Sauce
• Chickpea Herb Crackers
• Fruity Guac
• Green Monster Dip with Carrot Coins
• Black Bean Brownie Bites

You'll find more recipes, articles and tips at their companion website, Allergy-Friendly Cooking.

To purchase your own copy now, click HERE. If you would like to try to win a free copy, enter my giveaway below! *Giveaway ended.*

Open to U.S. residents, 18 and older. Ends at midnight on Sunday, July 22, 2012. Raising Knights is not responsible for delivery of prize; it will be sent directly from the company.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: In exchange for an honest review, I was provided with a free copy of the cookbook for myself and Kiwi Magazine will be providing another copy to the contest winner. 

Clever Dragons Review

Like it or not, we are raising a tech-savvy generation. My boys are drawn to electronic games and devices like a moth to a flame. I could fight it or I could use it to my their advantage, when possible. Blogging has given me opportunities to try several different educational websites with my boys. So far, the one that has been the biggest hit with both mother and son is Clever Dragons, an educational website exclusively for boys, ages 7-12. It just launched last month as the "brother" site to Always Icecream, an educational website exclusively for girls.

Of course, we loved the theme right away! Knights, dragons, castles. Your son creates his own "Mini Me" that represents him in the games and learning community. The objective is to collect gold coins by completing levels of various educational activities and then use the coins to build your own castle and to take care of your pet dragon or other animal. The activities are not your typical arcade-style games with lots of action. They are mostly multiple choice type questions with plenty of repetition to build mastery. The mastery part was what impressed me.

In States of the USA, you have to locate and click on states on a blank outline map. At first, it seems like too much repetition, because you have to find the same handful of states over and over again. If you click the wrong one, it shows you the answer before continuing. But as you begin to consistently give correct answers, new states are added in. Each level builds on the previous one until you have learned the location of all 50 states. As any homeschool parent/educator knows, repetition is the key to memorizing and mastering facts.

In addition to geography, there are learning games and quizzes on math, science, language arts, keyboard skills, and even classical music and the Bible. Isaac has discovered that he enjoys classical music and has learned about several composers so far. It fits in with our Charlotte Mason style very well. A picture of the composer is shown, along with some facts about him and the name of the piece that is playing. Then the child is quizzed on the the information, all while listening to the music.

Security is a big deal, as children are learning how to safely interact in an online environment. If you allow your son to join the learning community, you'll be glad to know that it is moderated and all comments have to be approved before they are posted. As a parent, you'll set up your own free account so you can control the social features (learning community), keep track of your son's progress and activity, and dole out gold coins for whatever reason you see fit (chores, attitude, reaching goals, etc.). It was a nice surprise to discover that I had my own "allowance" of gold coins to reward my son with. You also have the ability to earn free months of membership by referring new members to the site and there is a fundraising option for organizations.

To keep Clever Dragons free of advertising, you do have to pay for membership. Due to the personalized nature of the program, each son needs to have his own account. Here's the breakdown:

• Monthly subscription: $4.99/month (first month is $0.99)
• Two-months membership: $9.98 (perfect for summer break)
• 12 month membership: $29.99 (Holiday special - extended membership until 7/1/12 for a total of 18 months!)
• Lifetime membership: $99.99 (this would be the best deal for boys under 10)

Disclaimer: I received a free lifetime membership in exchange for this review. All opinions are my honest evaluation of the website.

VocabularySpellingCity.com Review

I love finding new resources to help with our homeschooling. One of my recent finds is VocabularySpellingCity.com, an award-winning online service where educators can create custom spelling and vocabulary lists, assign a variety of activities to teach and test students, and keep track of students' progress. This is one resource I can use for all of my boys, from the beginning reader through high school. And there is so much more than meets the eye with this site! While clicking around the site and the forum, I discovered lots of things that I didn't see at first glance.

The Teacher Resources section contains popular word lists, including Dolch-sight words, math and science words, analogies, contractions, compound words, syllables, and many more. My eight year old likes the short, animated videos that accompany some of the topics to help explain the concepts. Personally, I appreciate the Teach Me aspect that says each word aloud, spells it, and uses it in a sentence. The female voice is actually pleasant and clear. And the ample activities can be used to reinforce more than spelling and vocabulary. For example, practice states and capitals with MatchIt Sentences and WhichWord. Integrate handwriting practice by creating your own worksheets, using your saved word lists, in your choice of font and size. If those activities aren't enough, you can also have your child practice composition and demonstrate comprehension with Sentence Writing and Paragraph Writing.

My two middle sons are the ones that will benefit the most from using this program right now. For IB, who is in second grade, I am using mostly pre-made word lists and printing out handwriting practice sheets. IB's favorite activity is HangMouse. NG is currently reading The Bronze Bow and using the Total Language Plus literature guide. I simply used the vocabulary lists from TLP to create custom lists to reinforce his lessons. With all of the activities to choose from, I can add variety to each assignment.

There are two membership options: free and premium, which is only $24.99 per year for a family with up to five children. You can see the differences below. Of course, there are options for classrooms and schools too.

With the premium membership, I get access to the Premium Teacher Toolbox where I can manage students, word lists, assignments, check student progress, and print detailed reports for each student. I really like being able to create individualized assignments for each child, using their own word lists, and setting due dates. The boys can each sign in under their own user name and see exactly what I want them to do and when they need to have it finished. This makes it much more likely that we will fit spelling and vocabulary review into our busy days. I simply add a VocabularySpellingCity.com card to their workbox/file and they can do it on their own while I work with one of their brothers.

Having seen many online learning websites in our 12 years of homeschooling, I think VocabularySpellingCity.com is a great tool to have in an educator's belt, whether you choose the free registration or the affordable premium membership.

Disclaimer: I received a free one-year premium membership in exchange for this review. This is my honest assessment of the VocabularySpellingCity.com program.

VocabularySpellingCity.com ~ Upcoming Review

What a coincidence! A few weeks ago, while searching for online educational games for my boys, I ran across VocabularySpellingCity.com. IB and I tried the free HangMouse game a few times and bookmarked it for later use. Today, I received an email offering me a premium membership so that I can provide a candid, personal, online review. Of course, I accepted. :)

VocabularySpellingCity.com helps students study word lists using 25 different learning activities such as Vocabulary Test, Word UnScramble and Word Search.  Parents can create their own spelling lists, find published lists already available on the site or use any of the dozens of  free teaching resources such as compound words and math academic vocabulary.  Be sure to come back in three weeks to read about my experience.


There might be more free memberships available for bloggers.  If you're interested, find out how you can review VocabularySpellingCity.com.

To Love and Protect ~ Giveaway winner!

Well, it seems that I'm just not cut out to be one of those bloggers that has hundreds of people wanting whatever I'm giving away...but I did manage to get a few people interested. And the winner is... 

The 7th comment belongs to Anonymous (aclillpop). 

Congratulations! 

aclillpop has won a Parking Pal of her choice, a Car Seat ID Kit, a Child ID Kit, and a set of Safe Shoes Child ID labels.

Thanks to all of you who entered!

To Love and Protect ~ Grand Opening & Giveaway

Contest has ended! Thanks!

Do over! I moved the contest over from my other blog due to lack of traffic and entries.

Helping you keep your promise

The time has finally come for the grand opening of my new business, To Love and Protect! We all want to do everything we can to protect our children. I have gathered some of the best child safety and identification products available and put them in one place for you. You can read more about it HERE. Now, on to the contest...

Win: 

• YOUR CHOICE of any one item (up to $12.99 value) from To Love and Protect. That's right! You pick your prize! Will it be the tag*a*long, Parking Pal, Child Safety ID Wristband, Medical Alert Wristband, or one of The Safe Side DVDs?

     AND

• One Car Seat ID Kit
• One Child ID Kit
• One set of Safe Shoes Child ID labels

Enter:

*Leave a comment for each entry, including your email address so I can contact you if you win. You must claim your prize within 48 hours or I'll pick another winner.

• Mandatory: Follow Raising Knights via Google Friend Connect and visit To Love and Protect to pick out which product you would like to win. Let me know what you choose in your comment. (1 entry)

Extra entries:

• "Like" Raising Knights on Facebook. (1 entry)
• "Like" To Love and Protect on Facebook. (1 entry)
• Post about this giveaway on your blog. Include the link in your comment. (3 entries)

There you have it...SIX ways to enter my giveaway! If you don't want to wait until the contest is over to get these fantastic products or you have more than one child and need more than you'll win, go to To Love and Protect to order.

Contest will end Sunday, August 14, 2011 at 11:59 p.m. CST. Open to U.S. residents only. Winner will be chosen by using Random.org.

AboutOne.com Review

When I first heard about online family management programs, I was skeptical about them. Why would I put my family's important, personal information online? Would it really be safe? What good would it be to me?  Why would I pay someone for this service when I can keep the information filed safely at home? Of course, when I was asked to review AboutOne, I accepted immediately. This would give me the opportunity to get my questions answered.

AboutOne was founded in 2008 by Joanne Lang, a mom of four young boys and former SAP executive. She created a cloud service that combines "the power of business computing tools with the fun, user-friendly nature of popular social media apps." AboutOne enables you to access important information and documents from anywhere as long as you have a web-enabled device. Not only does it save information, like each family member's personal information, health history, education, and possessions, but it uses that information to create family newsletters and many different types of reports. But that's not all. AboutOne has partnered with several companies to provide extra services such as printing a baby book and sending cards to people in your address book also.

First of all, let me say, that the graphics and icons are adorable. They are fun and give the site personality. After creating my new account, I found that it was very easy to get started. If you don't know where to begin or need more guidance, they point you in the right direction with alerts. Of course, the obvious place to start is to add personal information about yourself and your family members. After that, it's up to you.

I started with health histories for all of us. There are fields for conditions/allergies, medications, immunizations, appointments, documents, and doctors. When you add a doctor (or other professional contact), you then only need to choose them from a list for each of your other family members. The only complaint I had was that you can not do the same for the insurance information. So, I had to type the name and numbers in seven times.

Next, I began adding information to the education area. Although we homeschool, I can see this as being a useful application. You can scan and upload report cards, transcripts, awards, testing results, and pictures. It is categorized by school years so you can have each child's entire school career recorded. There is a place to enter awards, volunteer hours, and activities also. That information can be added to your monthly family newsletter or printed out and added to your paper files. The volunteer hours recording is great for high schoolers. If you are mobile homeschoolers, then this may be especially helpful.

Once you have your family members entered, you can move on to your family possessions, like your home, cars, etc. Since we purchased our home last year, we have made many improvements. Now, I can compile a Home Record that puts all of that information and any maintenance we do in one place and print out a report if we need it. I also need to do that for our old house, which we now rent out, if I can find all of the receipts... AboutOne is proving itself to be useful already. 

While I was adding information in other sections, my professional contacts were being added to the address book. Then I went there and added family and friends, using labels to create groups of people. For example, family, Christmas card, etc. By using labels, I would be able to pull up contacts for a specific group to export  or to use the "Send Card" feature. How's that for simplifying your life?

While there are several more things you can do with your AboutOne account, I'll let you discover them when you sign up for a free trial. Now, I can honestly say that my questions have been answered. Although, the initial data entry stage will take a little while, it will be beneficial to have all of this important information available in the same place and retrievable from anywhere I happen to be. After reading over AboutOne's privacy policy, I feel confident that our information is secure. One important thing to know is that you do not enter social security numbers or any other account numbers, other than the credit card you pay with. Speaking of payment, unlimited storage is only $30 per year. If you want to try it out before you commit, you can use the free trial for 17 days. Any 17 days you want. They only count the days you actually log in.

Regarding the question about why I would pay someone for this service...well, let's just say that I'm an organized person {at least, on the inside}, but with homeschooling five rowdy boys, I find it difficult to stay on top of the paper pile. Just yesterday, I was looking through stacks of mail that had been pushed aside, trying to find our new credit cards that had been sent a few months ago. I eventually found them and an escrow refund check for over $500 from April! Perhaps I need to open every envelope, even if it appears to just be another privacy statement or policy change.

Disclaimer: I was given a free one-year subscription to AboutOne in exchange for my honest review of their service. 

Math Mammoth Review and Co-op Order

Having been homeschooling for over 10 years, we have tried a lot of curriculums. For math, we have primarily used Miquon, Singapore, and Math Mammoth for the elementary years. I like each one for different reasons and switch back and forth when we have issues with the one we have been working in. My favorite is Math Mammoth. I love that I can order it online, download it immediately, and print off only what I need. You can get individual topics or whole grade levels. Maria Miller, the author, has also created videos that help you teach the concepts.

Math Mammoth offers affordable, yet quality math worktexts and workbooks for grades 1-8, available as both downloads and printed books. These books concentrate on conceptual understanding and are strong in mental math. The directions in the worktexts are written directly to the student, and are often self-teaching, thus requiring little preparation and involvement from the teacher. 

- MathMammoth.com

For my review, I'm looking over our Addition 1 worktext that I bought for IB last year. It covers sums with #5-10, missing addend problems, word problems, and adding on a number line. It includes an introduction explaining how to use the book and ideas for memorization, games for teaching and reinforcing the concepts, and links to math game websites. Many lessons begin with an explanation and illustrations of the concept, then progresses to having the student draw their own pictures to solve the problems. I also used our own manipulatives (wooden cubes) to help him understand the concepts. Some children may need more practice than is included in each lesson, as the goal is mastery. You can find worksheets at Math Mammoth, create your own, or find them online. 

While you can order printed copies or the ebook on CD, I prefer to download and print them myself. Once I have downloaded an ebook, I save it to a CD in case my computer crashes. If we only need specific sections of a topic or grade level worktext, I print it off as needed. If we are using the whole worktext, I print it off, hole-punch it, and put it in a folder or binder. The other great thing about downloading it is that, although it is consumable, you will be able to use it for each child and not have to purchase any more. So far, I have only purchased individual topics from the Blue series.

If you are interested in ordering Math Mammoth, you can purchase the whole Blue or Light Blue series for 50% off through the Homeschool Buyers Co-op. I'm getting the Light Blue series, which is a complete curriculum for grades 1-6 for only $64. Hurry, the deadline is 03-31-11! And in case you were wondering, the Homeschool Buyers Co-op is free to join. Check it out!

Time4Learning Review

Time4Learning allowed us to give their program a free trial run for four weeks. I set it up for NG, IB, and LJ but ended up only using it with the older two. LJ quickly lost interest as I knew he would, but he just turned four. My main goal was to help NG get past a hurdle with math. We had gotten to a point where I couldn't teach the concept in a way he was understanding or he had a mental block and just needed to reset. Having been going through my own homeschool burnout, IB hadn't been getting everything he needed. We have been focusing on the basics and leaving out social studies and science. We all needed a little change in the scenery, so to speak. I have to be honest and admit that I took a break from our regular school work and let the boys do Time4Learning only. I don't believe that they suggest using it as a stand-alone curriculum.

NG, age 12, has struggled with math for a couple of years and his current battle was with operations with fractions. The first day on Time4Learning, he was able to understand it and move through it without difficulty. Obviously, he just needed a fresh take on it. The other focus for NG was language arts. He said he had to answer questions to determine if he was already familiar with the material before the lesson was presented (pretest) and the lessons were easy to understand. NG did not care for the science portion, but I'm sure that's just a personal preference, not anything wrong with material. He did say that he really liked doing his lessons online at first, but then changed his mind. He couldn't imagine sitting at the computer every day for all or even just several subjects.

IB, age 7, really enjoyed Time4Learning and was disappointed when it was finished. He loved all of it but his favorite part was the drill sergeant puppet in the language arts section. Perhaps because his dad has been a DS for years. The social studies program filled in gaps of knowledge and he soaked it up like a sponge. After looking over his scores, however, I do realize that he still needs one-on-one tutoring with me and more repetition to fully understand the material.

I liked the way Time4Learning is set up, for the most part. I would have liked an easier method for lesson planning, one that would be easier for a child to follow. I liked being able to check my children's progress through the portfolio and the fact that it is online only and accessible from any computer. Overall, my opinion is that Time4Learning is a great supplement to homeschooling. I would definitely consider it during specific seasons or situations of a homeschooling family's life that require us to put our regular curriculum aside, such as illness, new baby, summer break, burnout, etc. It is affordable and worth the cost when it is needed.

Time4Learning gave me a free month of access to their program in return for an honest review.

BuildaSign.com Custom Banners, Signs, Decals & More {Review & Giveaway} ENDED

BuildASign.com offers custom marketing products that you can design yourself, from vinyl banners and yard signs to bumper stickers and car window decals. Their products are a great, affordable solution for professionals, small business owners, non-profits, and individuals. There is no set-up fee for artwork; you can change fonts, colors, and wording or upload your own logo or photo. Their easy-to-use interface allows you to create your custom product in a matter of minutes. The hardest part is deciding what you want.

When BuildASign.com contacted me, I was planning our triple birthday party for the boys. With all of the birthdays that we have around here, I went with a birthday banner to display outside during my boys' birthday weeks. Of course, the timing was a bit off to get it in time for our party, but it will definitely be put to use for Levi's 4th birthday soon. While they do have a selection of birthday banners, I chose a style from their business section and changed the wording. There are so many options for customizing, especially when you look beyond the labeled categories. Once I submitted my order on Feb. 21, I was given a delivery estimate of Mar. 2. So, I was very surprised to find the box on my porch three days later. The 3' X 6' banner is made of thick vinyl and has metal grommets at the corners. Now, I have to say that I normally avoid vinyl, but for the intended purpose of this sign, it is necessary to withstand the outdoor elements. The colors are bright and the details are clear, easily readable from a distance. My guys think it's super cool and can't wait to let the whole world our neighborhood know when it's their birthday.

Buy It

Go to BuildASign.com and find something that meets your needs. Maybe a banner for your annual yard sale or a yard sign for the block party. A bumper sticker about something you're passionate about or a window decal to declare your husband's love of hunting. A magnetic sign for your home party business or vinyl lettering on your rear window with your website. Make your choice and then use the promo code MOMBLOGGERS to get 10% off of your order.

Update: Until March 13, enter MARCHING2011 at checkout to receive free shipping! This offer cannot be combined with the 10% discount, so check to see which one will give you the best deal.

GIVEAWAY ENDED

Win It

Do you like our birthday banner? Well, I took the liberty of making a birthday banner for one of my readers. It will look just like ours only with red lettering, like this:

Please leave a separate comment for each entry and include your email address each time so I can contact you if you win. 

MANDATORY: You must follow me publicly via Google Friend Connect. 

Extra entries:

• Visit BuildASign.com and tell us what you would buy. {1 entry}
• Follow BuildASign.com and tell us what your favorite bumper sticker says or would say. G-rated, please. {1 entry}
• Follow me on Facebook. {1 entry}

Open to US residents only. Giveaway ends 3/12/11 at 11:59 p.m. Winner will be picked and announced the following day. If winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new winner will be chosen. 

Disclaimer: This was not a paid review. The opinions stated are solely the reviewer's. Thank you to BuildASign.com for providing the products for this review and giveaway.

Time4Learning - Free Trial & Upcoming Review

I've been invited to try Time4Learning for one month in exchange for a candid review. My opinion will be entirely my own, so be sure to come back and read about my experience. Time4Learning can be used as a homeschool curriculum, for afterschool enrichment and for summer skill sharpening. Find out how to write your own curriculum review for Time4Learning.


One of my sons and I have hit a wall with math. It is affecting our relationship and his self-esteem so I am looking for help. While researching math curriculums and homeschooling issues, I ran across Time4Learning and thought we should give it a try. He may do better learning from "someone else" for a while and it can't hurt anything. It will also help Isaac, who has suddenly developed a huge appetite for learning.

God Gave Us So Much - Book Review

God Gave Us So Much is a limited-edition treasury of three books by Lisa Tawn Bergren. The wonderful watercolor illustrations are by Laura J. Bryant. Contained in the quality hardback book are God Gave Us the World, God Gave Us Love, and God Gave Us Heaven. The stories are primarily a running dialogue between Little Cub and her Mama, Papa, and Grampa Bear. In God Gave Us the World, the polar bear family visits a museum where they see bear habitats from all over the world. Mama explains how God is our Creator and made a world filled with bears who are all different, as well as what they eat and where they live. It's Grampa Bear's turn to answer Little Cub's questions in God Gave Us Love. When Little Cub gets irritated by her otter friends, Grampa Bear teaches her about the gift of love. He explains the three different types of love in a way that is easy to understand. The story concludes with Grampa Bear telling Little Cub that God shows his love for us through our friends and family and by sending his Son to save us. The last story, God Gave Us Heaven, is my personal favorite. Little Cub has lots of questions for Papa about heaven. She learns that nothing bad happens in Heaven and that we won't have any burdens, only blessing. Papa covers all the bases by explaining that bears don't become angels when they die and how Jesus is our "bridge" to heaven.

As an adult who is familiar with the Bible, it is easy to see that the author sticks to Scripture, especially in the last story. Heaven is a difficult concept to understand, let alone teach young children but Ms. Bergren does a good job of trying to explain it. I shared this book with my three year old and seven year old sons. We had to break it up and only read one story at a time because my three year old started losing interest near the end of each. The boys enjoyed the stories but didn't ask for a second reading. However, the last story was a starting point for a discussion between me and my seven year old and it revealed some things about my son's belief system that I wasn't aware of. I don't see this book as the bedtime story type, but rather an introduction to some concepts that may inspire more questions from your little cub.

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from Waterbrook Multnomah for review. These are my honest opinions of the book.

Post Christmas Toy Review - Skip Hop Dunck

Since I have five boys and more toys than they really need, I have to put more effort into coming up with great gift ideas for them. I prefer classic, durable toys with open-ended play value. It should be able to hold up well to typical boy handling and make it through more than one child. I could definitely do without batteries, characters, and cheap plastic. Now that we are a few weeks past Christmas, I thought I would review some of the gifts I chose for our boys and let you know how they were received and how they have held up so far.

M2 is crazy about bath time. When I turn the water on, he smiles from ear to ear and stands on his tip-toes, trying to reach down into the tub to touch that pure liquid fun. Once babies reach about 9-10 months, bath time usually becomes FUN time. So, when I was looking for Christmas gifts for M2, bath toys were at the top of my list. I had been giving the hobbits plastic kids' cups from restaurants to play with in the tub because we don't use them for drinking at home. M2 was fine with those and never would have known the difference, honestly. But when I saw these, I thought they were adorable and practical. 

The classic bath time rubber ducky has been reinvented. I love the fresh colors and modern look of the Skip Hop Dunck bath toys. They are made of plastic, of course, are stackable, and dishwasher-safe. They float and the tail and beak are spouts for pouring. I found that adding a little water helps them float better. I love that there are three ducks! That means that M2 can have one for each hand and I still have one to use for rinsing his hair. No more trying to get him to share with Momma. He likes to play with these outside of the tub too.

I will be adding the Skip Hop Dunck set to my gift-giving list for first birthdays. The whole line of Skip Hop products is super cute and now I'm considering getting the spout cover and a couple of backpacks for LJ and to use for M2 instead of a diaper bag .

    

Curriculum Review - A World of Adventure

We are in our 11th year of homeschooling and, by now, you know that I have tried many different curriculums. When son #3 joined us in our daily lessons, I began to feel the strain of juggling multiple grades and subjects. It wasn't too bad at first because I focus primarily on teaching phonics and basic math skills during K-1st grades. But this year it changed.

Last spring, I was looking for something different for NG because what we had been doing wasn't a good fit for him. I found Learning Adventures, "a home-based publishing company that provides unit study curriculum guides and accessories." They are chronological history-based unit studies. The last time we used a unit study as our main curriculum, M1 was in 1st grade and it was KONOS. It didn't last long because it was too much work for me. There isn't as much online about Learning Adventures as, say, Truthquest or Mystery of History, but I did find several excellent reviews. It is almost a complete curriculum with all subjects (Bible, language arts, literature, science, social studies, and fine arts) except math. I ordered their first volume, A World of Adventure, and as soon as I received it, I loved it and couldn't wait to see what NG thought of it. The best thing about it for me is that it is scripted and I don't have to spend much time planning. I used to avoid that but I'm all about making things easier these days. It also has a nice blend of living books and hands-on activity. It comes as a hole-punched, loose-leaf packet and you put it in your own binder.

My initial plan was to use it with NG for 6th grade and let Isaac sit in during the read alouds and add some books at his level because the curriculum is geared toward grades 4-8. We took almost half of this year to finish up the rest of our American history {I'll admit, there were some bumpy spots that made it take longer than it should}. Then I broke out AWOA, which begins with Ancient Egypt, and it started off well, until we got to the point where he was to read the book, The Golden Goblet. NG read one chapter and proclaimed that he did not like the book and did not want to read it. Now, there are things that I will make my children do whether they like it or not and others that I will reconsider. When it comes to reading literature, I would prefer it to be pleasurable for my boys. I decided to find an alternate book for him and to skip the discussion questions and activities that centered on The Golden Goblet. Fortunately, I found A Place in the Sun {in the clearance section at Books-A-Million}. It is also about a young boy in Egypt, but it is shorter and an easier read. Remember that the curriculum is a tool; don't be afraid to change what isn't working.

It is also at this point that I discovered that Learning Adventures recently released supplements for Little Adventurers in grades K-3. IB really needed to be more involved but I just didn't have the time and energy to come up with age appropriate activities. So, of course, I ordered the first two units that are available now and I decided to get the AWOA student pages for NG also. They contain the Language Arts exercises that NG would have had to rewrite on his own. The packet is a bit expensive at $20, but as much as my boys hate to write, I didn't mind paying it to save myself some frustration. I will also be supplementing with Easy Grammar where I feel it's necessary. We started using these this week and so far, so good. The Little Adventurers supplements have lots of suggestions for varying abilities, so you can tailor it to fit your child. I have been skipping through it, picking out things to catch Isaac up to where we are. Monday, we'll start working together at the same place.

To sum this long post up...we like A World of Adventure and recommend it to homeschoolers who want a change from the textbook/workbook method, those with boys {although girls will like it too}, and for those Mommas and kids who are suffering from burnout and need to have fun learning together. I hope to be posting more about this curriculum regarding how I'm planning it, extra resources we're using, and what we're doing.

Special note to those of you who may be considering purchasing this curriculum: I am not affiliated with Learning Adventures, but I would like to be able to continue through the whole series if it works out for us. The issue is that they only have three out of the five projected volumes completed and how you choose to get yours determines if they can afford to finish them. Read more.

Post Christmas Toy Review - Pacific Play Tents See-Me Tunnel

Since I have five boys and more toys than they really need, I have to put more effort into coming up with great gift ideas for them. I prefer classic, durable toys with open-ended play value. It should be able to hold up well to typical boy handling and make it through more than one child. I could definitely do without batteries, characters, and cheap plastic. Oh, and I don't want it to make much noise...my boys can do that all by themselves. Now that we are a few weeks past Christmas, I thought I would review some of the gifts I chose for our boys and let you know how they were received and how they have held up so far.

I remember a crawling tunnel from my childhood, but it was made of cheap, thin plastic and wire that tore easily. This is NOT that tunnel. Pacific Play Tents makes the See-Me 6 foot tunnel with flame retardant 70 denier nylon and sturdy, collapsible, padded steel spring construction. It has two nylon mesh windows for seeing in or out and has velcro tabs at the ends to connect to a play tent or another tunnel.

     

I purchased the tunnel primarily for my 10 month old and 3 1/2 year old sons but knew that my 7 year old would enjoy it also. When I received it, I hid the box under my bed until I was ready to wrap it for Christmas and then forgot about it. I found it the next week and it was like Christmas morning again for the hobbits. They loved it! M2 wasn't hesitant at all and had a blast hiding and crawling through it. Of course, I had to give the older two warnings about misusing it, like jumping on or over it or being too rowdy. 

They have played hide-and-seek with the baby, pretended that it was a shower by standing it up, and that it was a rolling, hollow log too. They play with it daily and it is still in great condition, which is saying a lot because my boys don't play gently. I love that it is collapsible with velcro straps and it fits under our ottoman for out-of-sight storage. I would recommend the See-Me Tunnel for active, indoor play for any child who is crawling up to age 8.

Muslin Swaddling Blanket Review

One of my favorite baby necessities is a muslin swaddling blanket. They are lightweight, oversized, and super soft. I discovered them before I had M2 and I have used them almost exclusively for him. The most well-known muslin swaddling blankets are from aiden + anais, but I found another great company, Bambino Land. Their swaddling blankets are made with organic cotton muslin, are great quality, and get softer with every wash. 



The swaddling blankets are 47 inches square, the perfect size for easily wrapping your baby up in a good swaddle, unlike the normal receiving blankets that only work for smaller newborns. Of course, some babies sleep better swaddled for the first few months and this blanket is still big enough to do that. And because it is made from lightweight, airy muslin, you don't have to worry about baby overheating. Many parents give up on swaddling baby too quickly because they never really learn a good technique or the traditional receiving blanket just isn't big enough.


Of course, muslin blankets are great for swaddling babies, but I have also used them as a breastfeeding cover. When I feel the need to be covered while nursing, it's now my first choice. Regular baby blankets are usually too small or heavy to keep a curious baby under cover. When I tried a nursing cover with a strap, I felt like it drew more attention to what I was doing and was more trouble than it was worth. The muslin blanket is thin so baby doesn't get hot and it lets light in and is easy to tuck under baby to keep closed. Of course, the cotton muslin is very absorbent and works great for a burp cloth in a pinch. I love products that serve more than one purpose. 

Prices for muslin swaddling blankets may seem to be expensive at first because they are typically are sold in sets of 2 or more. But Bambino Land has a selection of "Odds & Ends", single organic muslin blankets for $10. That is a great deal, especially once you get it and find out how much you love them. 

I Won a Potty!

A big "Thank you!" to Cristi from A King's Court IV. I entered her sweepstakes for a new BabyBjorn Little Potty and won. I am so excited because I never win anything AND we really needed a new potty. I got rid of our old one a while back. It had seen better days {before my first four boys}.


My only concern about the BabyBjorn Little Potty is its size. I have read reviews stating that it is best for petite babies or those who are practicing elimination communication with younger babies. And, of course, at only 8 1/2 months and 24 lbs.*, M2 is definitely NOT petite. He is my chunky monkey with plenty of "squish factor". I hope that it will fit him because I like the simple design of it. As soon as I receive it, I'll let you know how it's going to work out.

Update 12/2/10: I received a white potty and it is just the right size for M2 at 9 months. I think that it will be good for taking with us when we go to Mawmaw's but I'm not sure if we'll be able to use it as our regular full-time potty once we start potty-training.

*I am guessing at his weight. He was 21 lbs. at 6 months and has been in size 12 months for about a month.

Have you had any experience with the BabyBjorn Little Potty?

Organic Grooming Cologne Rave

Just wanted to spread the word about my new favorite men's cologne, Organic Grooming Dusk Cologne by Herban Cowboy. For many years now, since changing over to natural products, I have become even more sensitive to artificial fragrances. My poor husband has to leave the room when he puts on his cologne because it gives me an instant headache and makes me sneeze. To him, cologne is a necessary part of personal hygiene, although I've tried to convince him otherwise. Occasionally, I search for natural perfumes for myself and, recently, I was excited to run across Herban Cowboy. After reading all of the positive reviews and seeing the reasonable price, I knew I had to try it.


When it arrived, my teenage son was the first one to try it out. He liked it and decided to give it a test run. My husband is not an easy sell, so when he said he liked it, I was pleasantly surprised. Both of them have been wearing Dusk fairly regularly and have commented on how much more they like it now. Which is a good thing because I love it! No sneezing. No headaches. No scrunched up nose, trying to avoid smelling it. It's all natural, made with essential oils like lavender, bergamot, clary sage.  But it does not smell feminine at all. It smells very good. Snuggle up good. Hold him close good. Inhale him good. (Not my teen son, of course!) Bottom line, I am very impressed with Herban Cowboy's product and will definitely continue to buy it for the men in my life. If you are concerned about the chemicals in your man's cologne and/or are sensitive to them, I highly suggest Organic Grooming Dusk Cologne.

Disclaimer: This is a personal review, not affiliated with Herban Cowboy. I just really like it and wanted to share. I am an Amazon affiliate, however, so if you make a purchase through the above links, I'll receive compensation.