Review - Quietest Classroom Pencil Sharpener

Right before Christmas we received a green Quietest Classroom Pencil Sharpener from Classroom Friendly Supplies to review. If your kids are anything like mine they LOVE pencils. I don't know what it is about them but the kids really enjoy collecting pencils with different designs. So needless to say they were very excited when I showed them our new sharpener. For this review I thought I would give vlogging a try with the help of Gwyn. So here it is I hope you enjoy it.
 


Here are a few more details about the sharpener:

• A "must have" for every teacher and homeschool parent.
• Old-school retro look which reminds me of the sharpeners I used at school back in the day.
• Quiet sharpening eliminates classroom/sibling interruptions.
• Automatic stopping once the perfect point is formed. This prevents over-sharpening.
• Portable or mounts to a surface. Only design flaw I found was the clamp which is not sturdy. I may try to find an alternative clamp at a hardware store because I don't want to mount my permanently.
• Works on colored pencils and standard sized pencils.
• Clear plastic disposal tray for easy cleaning. And you can use the pencil shavings for craft projects.
• Easy to use (as young as 5 years of age.)
• Sturdy metal frame (approximately 3"x 3"x 5") and comes in blue and green.

The sharpener can be purchased online from Classroom Friendly Supplies for $19.95 (FREE shipping). I also just saw on their website that they will be adding replacement blades soon. So you won't have to buy the entire unit when your blades are worn out. How cool is that? You can also find additional videos and pictures on their website. And don't forget to like the Classroom Friendly supplies Facebook page.

*Disclaimer - Classroom Friendly Supplies provide us with the complimentary sharpener you see in the video. I was not compensated for my review and all opinions are our own! Many of the links found on my side bars and in my blog posts are affiliate links. As a result, I might get paid money and I will most likely spend the money on homeschool supplies.

Favorite Photo(s) of 2011 - Really I can only pick one?

I am joining Finding Joy and Sams Noggin and linking up my favorite photo for 2011. Really just one? Do you know how many photos I take? I  have an external hard drive that I keep my photos on so they are safe and sound. If there is ever a natural disaster or fire that hard drive will be the one item (besides my kids and husband) that I grab. To be exact on how many pictures I have there is 28.4 GB, 17, 745  files and 344 folders (and that doesn't even count the ones that are on disks already). My camera is practically an appendage.

I am choosing 3 favorite photos: One of Rowyn, one of Gwyn and one family one.

I took this picture at Llama Llama day at our library. I love that it captures Gwyns love for animals and I love the sun rays shining down on my precious angel.

He is so gonna hate me when he is older for posting this. But this photo captures Rowyn so well. He is wearing his favorite color, his eyes look gorgeous as always, he has a big bruise and is picking his nose. Yup that is my sweet boy!

And of course our 2011 family photo!

Okay I lied I have one more. I just have to include a favorite shot of the two kids getting along and showing their love for each other.

 

I have so many other favorites and a lot of them are on my blog (which is one reason it is so slow).

I hope everyone has a wonderful new year filled with many more wonderful new memories!

Truth in the Tinsel - Week 4

I am so thankful that I saw a post on Facebook about the Truth in the Tinsel Advent. And that Amanda let gave me a FREE copy in return for a review. The kids learned so much about the REAL meaning of Christmas. We had a lot of fun doing the crafts. And we learned some amazing things about the Jesus, Bethlehem, Israel, temples, sheep, shepherds, wise men and angels. This is the first year we did an Advent and I am so happy we finally started this tradition. We will also be starting another tradition of making ALL of the ornaments for our tree. In addition to the Truth in the Tinsel ornaments we have also been making others like pompom wreaths and candy canes, hand print snowmen, Christmas trees, cotton ball snowmen, menorahs, crackers and cereal box angels. Our tree has never looked more beautiful.

Now we just have to convince Amanda that she needs to do an Easter e-book for everyone!

Here are our week 4 photos Day 18 - Day 24!

If you were unable to participate but still wanna see some amazing photos head over to the Truth in the Tinsel Facebook page.

If your a blogger and participating in Truth in the Tinsel please feel free to link up your final weeks post! If you not a blogger please leave a comment sharing your experience with Truth in the Tinsel!

December 3 in 30 Goals - Week 3

It was another wonderful week and I accomplished ALL of my goals for the week. Now I am trying to think up some realistic goals for January which will be posted on Friday/Saturday just in time for the New Year!

December Goals:

1.  Be a supportive wife to my husband through the Christmas season because it is a rough time for him due to a bad childhood - Well my wonderful husband said he had one of the best Christmas's this year. I could tell he wasn't stressed out like he normally is and there was no sadness. I am so thankful that he was able to enjoy all of our special moments.

Hubby opening up his handmade Christmas presents from the kids,

2.  Finish decorating and get presents wrapped - Everything got decorated and the presents got wrapped and then unwrapped. Now its time to start cleaning and taking down the decorations.

3.  Stay on track with our Advent this year we are doing the Truth in the Tinsel Advent - We finished our Advent and I am so happy we now have a NEW family tradition. 

Final Advent craft crosses.

Any encouraging words or suggestions are always appreciated!

Our SPECIAL Ornaments

I am linking up over at No Ordinary Moments and sharing a few of our SPECIAL Christmas ornaments and their stories with you.

This year we are making ALL of the ornaments for our large (well not really large) family tree. We are doing the Truth in the Tinsel Advent ornament crafts plus adding others like snowmen out of cotton balls, pompom wreaths and candy canes, Menorahs out of popsicle sticks and crackers out of toilet paper rolls and tissue paper. We are having a blast and I personally think this is the best our tree has ever looked.

 The kids have a small tree in their bedroom where all of our SPECIAL family ornaments are this year.

This is an ornament from my husbands childhood. I think it just adorable.

When we owned our home our next door neighbor would get each of the kids one of these ornaments every year. This one is my sons.

This ornament is to commemorate my husband and I's first Christmas as a married couple. The date is hard to read in the picture, it says 2000.

Each year my husband gets me a snowman. Sometimes its a stuffed snowman, sometimes a decoration and sometimes its and ornament (like these).

Each year we try to get the kids a Hallmark ornament. This is one of Gwyn's.

And this is one of Rowyn's Hallmark ornaments.

Thanks for stopping by I am glad I could share a little bit of our families traditions with you.

  

Will you join me in January?

Starting in January I will be participating in the 31 Days to Build a Better Spouse Challenge and the How to Have a HEART for Your Kids book club. Both start January 1, 2012. I would love to have you join me in the New Year to become more dedicated spouses and mothers.

 

31 Days to Build a Better Spouse Challenge:

Do you have just 5 minutes a day to pray for your spouse? Did you know that doing so each day over the course of 31 days CAN improve your marriage?

I know first hand how pray can improve your marriage and save it. About 2 yrs ago I prayer harder than I ever have for my husband and our marriage. We have been married 11 1/2 yrs and he is my EVERYTHING. He's more than my husband he's is my best friend. I have already devoted my life to him so why not devote 5 minutes a day for 31 days to pray for him? I am looking forward to this challenge and cannot wait to start reading the e-book.

You will be able to check in with a small group for accountability and share prayer requests. There will be private groups forming on Facebook and via email sign up here. You can also join the various discussions on the 31 Days to Pray Facebook page (get a FREE gift when you "like" their page) and/or twitter by using hashtag #31DBBS.

Buy the e-book today here for $4.99 available in Kindle and PDF format. So for $4.99 and 5 minutes a day you can improve your marriage....I say its worth it, don't you? Buy it NOW!

How to Have a HEART for Your Kids Book Club:

We’ll be journeying together through Rachael Carman’s book How to Have a H.E.A.R.T. for Your Kids (currently $13.00 on Amazon) as she reminds us to:

• Have a Heart for the Things of God
• Enrich Your Marriage
• Accept Your Kids
• Release Them to God
• Teach Them Truth

I already started reading the book because well I am a procrastinator and wanted to make sure I would be able to keep up with both of these events. The book is AMAZING. Rachael shares some of the simplest things we can do that will make the world of different in our relationship with our kids and spouses.

Make sure you join the Facebook group and/or use the hashtag #Heart4YourKids on twitter to share your thoughts. Join the HEART Book Club email newsletter list to get a free printable PDF discussion guide / journal to use in your study and prayer time (I have already downloaded mine and it's wonderful).

If your a blogger you can also feel free to blog your thoughts to share. I will be trying to do this as well but cannot make any promises it is difficult for me to find time to blog.

I hope you will join me and the other amazing women in January!

Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

*Disclaimer -  Many of the links found on my side bars and in my blog posts are affiliate links. As a result, I might get paid money and I will most likely spend the money on homeschool supplies.

Truth in the Tinsel - Week 3

We have been doing a great job with our Truth in the Tinsel Advent. The kids are learning so much and not only are we doing the Advent and learning about Christmas we are also learning geography, history, singing and listening to some amazing stories (since the library was out of the book). This week we also had some friends visiting so we decided it would be fun to share our Day 14 Stable activity with them. We made our scheduled Truth in the Tinsel ornament craft but we also decided to make Gingerbread Stables with our friends. They turned out so cute and each child's was so different. Rowyn had a row of marshmallow soldiers who were protecting Baby Jesus (he later said they were Angels with swords). One child made a garage for the camels.

Here are our week 3 photos Day 10 - Day 17!

Here are some other things we have been adding on each day to expand the experience:
-We watched Legend of the Three Trees
-Listened to Away in a Manger by Celtic Women
-Listened to No Room for Baby Lord Jesus
-Listened to Bread of Life
-Took a tour of Bethlehem
-Checked out Shepherd Field, Bethlehem
-Sang O Little Town of Bethlehem

It's not too late to join in the fun. You can still catch up or do an alternate schedule option. Head over to the Truth in the Tinsel Facebook page to see all of the FUN we are having with people from all over the WORLD. I love seeing all of the crafts each child has done and how different each one looks.

If you want to read more about this e-book check out my review.

If your a blogger and participating in Truth in the Tinsel please feel free to link up your post! If you not a blogger please leave a comment with your experiences so far! I will try to do this every Saturday until Christmas Eve!

December 3 in 30 Goals - Week 2

Its been a wonderful week and I accomplished all of my goals for the week.

December Goals:

1.  Be a supportive wife to my husband through the Christmas season because it is a rough time for him due to a bad childhood - Hubby has been a good mood this week and he seems to be doing much better with regards to the holiday. Next week will be the toughest for him when Christmas Eve and Day arrive.

2.  Finish decorating and get presents wrapped - Everything is decorated and over half of the presents are wrapped. I am so thankful for blogger giveaways and homeschool company giveaways, if it weren't for them my kids would not have gotten very much this year.


3.  Stay on track with our Advent this year we are doing the Truth in the Tinsel Advent - We are still going strong. The kids look forward to doing the Advent everyday. This week we also got our friends involved and made Gingerbread Nativities. 

Aren't they adorable? Rowyn is the back right, Gwyns is back left and their friends are in the front.

Any encouraging words or suggestions are always appreciated!

Dolphin Tale Giveaway

Several months ago I had the privilege to see a pre-screening of Dolphin Tale with the kids.  If you haven't had a chance to see it in the theaters your in luck because it is being released on DVD and Blu-ray Tuesday, December 20th. This will make an excellent last minute stocking stuffer and if your a homeschooler there is even FREE curriculum to go along with the movie that can be downloaded from the Homeschool Movie Club.

If you would like to read my review you can do so over at the The Homeschool Post.

Now time for the giveaway:
One lucky reader will receive a copy of Dolphin Tale on DVD (valued at $14.99). Only the first entry is mandatory. Other entries are optional and give you extra chances. The winner will be post on the blog and will be emailed. Winner must reply within 48 hrs with their address or another winner will be chosen. Prize will come directly from Warner Bros.

Please wait a moment for Rafflecopter to load....


a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Disclaimer - Warner Brothers is providing the copy of this DVD. I was not compensated for my review and all opinions are our own! Many of the links found on my side bars and in my blog posts are affiliate links. As a result, I might get paid money and I will most likely spend the money on homeschool supplies.

Review The Complete Zoo Adventure

I have had the privileged of reviewing The Complete Zoo Adventure from Master Books publishing. The book is written by Mary and Gary Parker. There are several tabbed sections: Before the Zoo, At the Zoo and After the Zoo.

 

Before the Zoo: This section contains a planning calendar, devotions and field trip preparations. There are 7 devotionals regarding creation. They are very well written in a manor that children even age 4 and 5 can comprehend. There is also a "looking ahead "section to go with each devotional which provides 7 creation foundation lessons with wonderful scientific facts.

At the Zoo: This section of the book contains some great facts about 27 animals including birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians. Like did you know that a hummingbirds heart beats 1,000 times a minute? Or that there is a Rhinoceros that lives in Asia? Those were things I did not know.
 

After the Zoo: This section contains some wonderful activities like matching, word finds, connect the dots, puzzles, projects and more.

Attached to the back of the book is a tool kit which includes field fact cards, 7 biome cards, 3 field journals and 12 name badges. Everything in the kit is easy to photo copy if you need to produce multiple copies.

For our zoo adventure we did the 7 days of devotions, read several of the facts and took the field journals with us to the zoo. My children are only 4 and 5 so we didn't take full advantage of the book but we will definitely be doing it again when they are a bit older.

These are a couple of the baby animals we saw the day of our zoo adventure. The Atlanta Zoo has had quite a baby boom lately so it has been a lot of fun watching them all grow. We have visited the zoo once a month since August because my daughter was doing a Homeschool Zoo Academy class.

   

We photo copied a few field journals for our friends so they could join in the fun too. All of the kids really enjoyed drawing pictures of the animals and discussing whether they were birds, mammals, reptiles or amphibians.

The Complete Zoo Adventure book is currently available on Amazon for $13.95. This would make an awesome Christmas gift.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes only from New Leaf Publishing Group. No monetary compensation was received. Many of the links found on my my side bars and in my blog posts are affiliate links. As a result, I might get paid money and I will most likely spend the money on homeschool supplies. 

Giveaway - 4 Days to a Forever Marriage by Dr. Gary & Norma Smalley

I haven't read this one either so sorry no review. I was blessed by Master Books with 2 copies so I am hosting this giveaway to bless someone else with the extra copy.  Even though I don't have a personal review because my husband and I haven't started reading our copy I can tell you that it is an amazing book and a must have for every couple. The couple that writes that book the Smalley's has been married for more than 40 years. This book is for every couple whether they are newly weds or have been married 30 yrs. In 4 days you will learn: 1. The power of loving words and actions, 2. Better communication and resolving anger, 3. Connections through affection and intimacy and 4. Finding treasures in trials.

Watch this video of the Smalley's to see just how amazing this couple is.

If you do not win the book or wish to purchase for a couple it is currently on sale at Amazon for $11.55.

Giveaway:
One lucky reader will receive 4 Days to a Forever Marriage (valued at $16.99). Only the first entry is mandatory. Other entries are optional and give you extra chances. Also this book will be getting shipped by me. I am not sure if I can get it shipped out in time for it to arrive by Christmas but I will try if you wish to give it as a gift.

Please wait a moment for Rafflecopter to load....



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer - This is an extra copy I won and I was not asked to give it away on my blog. Many of the links found on my my side bars and in my blog posts are affiliate links. As a result, I might get paid money and I will most likely spend the money on homeschool supplies.

A week in the life of homeschoolers - Week 19

We had a great week. We had LOTS of fun field trips. We continued learning about Christmas and how it is celebrated in other countries. We read the book Gingerbread Baby and did a fun unit pack from Homeschool Creations. We made cards for the Red Cross Holiday Mail for Heroes. And we continued to work on our Truth in the Tinsel Advent.

1) Playground fun!
2-4) A very pirate Christmas as the library. The librarian read the book "A very pirate Christmas" which we also won a copy of and the kids decorated sugar cookies.
5-7) Making cards for the soldiers.
8-10) Field trip to Cicis pizza. The kids got to play with dough, top their own pizzas and learn about the kitchen. They also got to play a few games and learned how to share tickets with friends if they didn't have enough to get a prize.
11-12) Gwyn had her last Zoo Academy class. She got to see her friends and learn about animal lifecycle. Rowyn and I spent time with our friends chatting at the zoo restaurant, checking out the warm reptile house, eating cotton candy and popcorn. We also got to see the baby tigers who are growing so fast and not so little anymore.
13-14) Working on Gingerbread Baby printables after we read the book.
15) Back to Bethlehem presentation put on by a church in Canton GA. The kids had a great time with their friends and learned so much about the story of Jesus and how life was in Bethlehem.
16) Making our own crackers. They are an English tradition.

You may have noticed my pictures look a little different this week. I am trying something a little different since I love to put pictures on my blog but they slow it down and make my posts very long. Thanks to my friend at Homegrown Learners I have learned about collages!!!! Let me know what you think? Do you like it better than my old method?

How was your week? How many weeks are you planning to take off for Christmas? I haven't made up my mind yet and even when we are not traditionally homeschooling the kids still are learning something so really they are homeschooling. I do have lots of projects and blogging I would like to get caught up on so I am thinking maybe a week for us.

Truth in the Tinsel - Week 2

We are doing the Truth in the Tinsel Advent this year and the kids are really loving it! We are currently on day 9 (we missed yesterday so we will be making it up today). They are still learning so much about the REAL meaning of Christmas. And I am so proud of them for remembering what we have been reading each day. Just this morning Gwyn said to me, "Mommy Jesus is the light, like a shining star." On Thursday night we went to a "Back to Bethlehem" presentation in Canton, GA. It really put what they have been learning into perspective.

Here are our week 2 photos day 4-day 9!

And a few of our Back to Bethlehem photos!

It's not too late to join in the fun. You can still catch up or do an alternate schedule option. Head over to the Truth in the Tinsel Facebook page to see all of the FUN we are having with people from all over the WORLD. I love seeing all of the crafts each child has done and how different each one looks.

If you want to read more about this e-book check out my review.

If your a blogger and participating in Truth in the Tinsel please feel free to link up your post! If you not a blogger please leave a comment with your experiences so far! I will try to do this every Saturday until Christmas Eve!

December 3 in 30 Goals - Week 1

Since I was not sure how much I would accomplish with it being a VERY busy month I picked some goals that are centered around the holidays and shouldn't be overly complicated to complete.

December Goals:

1.  Be a supportive wife to my husband through the Christmas season because it is a rough time for him due to a bad childhood - Success several times this week we spent time just talking and snuggling. He has been expressing his feelings and thoughts instead of bottling them up. I would also like to ask for a prayer request. My husband is currently a contracted employee with his company and will continue to be a contractor until they hire him on this can be anywhere from 6 months-1 year. This has added a lot of pressure to him because he must perform everyday and not have any screw ups. He also needs to get the contract with the company so he can get all the benefits (like holiday pay, vacation, etc.).  He will also get a nice raise when he becomes a full time employee with the company.

2.  Finish decorating and get presents wrapped - Success again the entire house is decorated and now I just need to wrap presents and get some handmade gifts put together for friends/family.

3.  Stay on track with our Advent this year we are doing the Truth in the Tinsel Advent - We are still going strong and haven't missed one day of our Advent. The kids are really enjoying it and are learning a lot this year about the REAL meaning of Christmas.

Any encouraging words or suggestions are always appreciated!

Giveaway - Absotively Posilutely by Carl Kerby

So as most of you know I have luck with winning things. Well a few months ago I won the grand prize at a #teachthetruth Twitter party hosted by Masterbooks4u. If you have never been to one well then your in luck because on December 13th at 3 pm EST there will be another party, here is your invitation. Come join the fun and fellowship with other homeschool moms from all over the country. You will also have the opportunity to win a copy of "A is for Adam" and help out a bookstore by choosing another New Leaf Publishing (NLPG) title to gift to Maple Street Book Shop of New Orleans. I hope to see you there!

Okay so let me get back to the giveaway! I won the grand prize which was four amazing books (Creation Museum Adventure, D is for Dinosaur, Absotively Posilutely and Gods Amazing Creatures) and I won two sets of each of the books. I gave 3 of the books away to some wonderful friends and I am giving the 4th away on my blog. Because money is very tight right now for us I am waiting to give my kids their copies of the books because well almost everything they are getting this year has been won through amazing blogs and homeschool companies. Without these blessing my kids would have had very little under the tree. So I hope that this book will be a blessing to someone and provide one more present under the tree.

Since my kids haven't actually seen the book yet I don't have a review like I normally would. So here is the publishers information and a few pictures of the book you will receive.

Created from the most popular “Best Evidences” presentation of one of AiG's most prolific speakers, The Absotively, Posilutely Best Evidence That God Created is a delightful story with a challenge: find the absolute best evidence that God created the world! Designed for children ages 8 to 14 and written in an entertaining style, the story shares the search for answers by students in a Sunday school class. They learn that the best evidence isn't always what you see – but the answer was there in front of them all along!

Giveaway:
One lucky reader will receive Absotively Posilutely (valued at $13.99). Only the first entry is mandatory. Other entries are optional and give you extra chances. Also this book will be getting shipped by me. If you are the winner you must reply to me ASAP with your address if you wish to receive it in time for Christmas.

Please wait a moment for Rafflecopter to load....

A week in the life of homeschoolers - Week 18

I am a bit behind again. It has been a busy few weeks and I was also lacking motivation. But I am happy to announce my motivation is back this week. Oh I do realize that my kids are wearing their pajamas in almost every picture...I told you I was unmotivated, lol!

Monday: We didn't get much homeschool done. Rowyn had speech (which he misbehaved at) and then we went to the library for story time and to get our Christmas books. Oh wait I almost forgot Gwyn go her own library card.

Big girl

Tuesday: We were moving right along and getting lots done. We did Christmas worksheets, crafts and games. And then Rowyn decided to swallow a marble so we headed to Children's Urgent Care to make sure it was moving along like it should. I am so grateful he didn't choke on it but very sad I missed my #teachthetruth Twitter party, lol.

Christmas tanagrams

Santa Sleigh math

Matching lower case and upper case

  
Wednesday: Another light homeschool day. We mostly just cuddled, read and watched movies. The kids also made their Christmas lists for Santa.

  
Thursday: We had a wonderful day filled with lots of learning. We also started day one of our Truth in the Tinsel Advent. I am blogging about that weekly as well so rather than posting all of those pictures again you can view them here. Then we did the Goodnight Moon Printable Pack, discover where the rainbow in our house was coming from, ate some acorns and made some more ornaments for our tree.

 

 

Angels made from boxes

Cracking open acorns

Checking out the inside of the acorns

Rowyn discovered that the rainbow was coming from the peep hole. So Gwyn covered it up to experiment and make sure he was right.

Tasting the acorns after we boiled them.

Helping daddy set up the tree.

Friday: More slacking for this momma. We read some books and did our Advent and that was about it.
 
But....

We did make up for it on Saturday and Sunday and did some homeschool with daddy (at Lowes, Fernbank, Michaels and the Mall). We also did our Advent each day.

The kids Cabooses from the FREE kids workshop at Lowes

Crafts at Fernbank

Admiring the mixed medium artwork

Gwyns favorite tree

The Hungarian tree - told kids about there Great Great Great Grandma who was Hungarian

Gwyn wrapping the FREE presents she picked out for me at the mall.

Thanks for stopping by.