(73/365)
As I said, I spoke too soon. It started snowing last night and stopped sometime this afternoon. I was able to capture a couple of pics before the melt started.
Christi
Monday, March 14, 2011
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Project 365/71-72
Out and about in the park system yesterday, trying to let CJ catch some Z's after working all night. Gorgeous day!
(71/365)
(72/365)
Christi
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood!
(70/365)
Sissy spent most of her time, jumping from rock to rock, she was having so much fun, she was a joy to watch and marvel at her energy.
(69/365)
I spent most of my time playing with my camera and trying different angles and settings. I had a doctors appt. this morning to attempt to figure out why I'm having chest pains, fatigue, blah, blah, blah; it was nice to forget how icky I've been feeling and just soak up some sunshine and enjoy my kids utter joy at getting muddy and wet. We're simple people at heart!
This final pic has nothing to do with anything, it's just a pic of my beautiful baby. She's my only girl and only leftie. Every time I watch her draw and write, it brings back memories of my Grandma. Sissy doesn't particularly look like her but Grandma was left handed, for some reason sometimes it just makes my heart ache. Grandma died when I was 7 months pregnant with my oldest, she never met any of my children, but when I watch my little leftie I know she's up there watching over us.
(68/365)
Christi
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Project 365/67
Signs of Spring!
I've been so jealous of all of these beautiful pics
of buds and blooms. This is the best I could do, not much blooming yet.
(67/365)
Reading Kingdom-TOS Review
As a member of the TOS Review crew I was recently asked to review a reading program called Reading Kingdom. Created by Dr. Marion Blank, one of the leading experts in literacy, the program is targeted to children aged 4-10 or grades K-3.
Unlike many programs, this program does not focus on phonics, rather it works on a series of skills that really zeroes in on the "reading" components. Reading Kingdom focuses on 6 separate skills: Sequencing, Motor Skills, Sounds, Meaning, Grammar and Comprehension; phonics programs only focus on....sounds. Head over here to see how it works.
The student starts out on this program working on their keyboarding and mouse skills, after they are comfortable with that, the student moves on to a Skills Survey to really get to the meat of the program. This is where I struggled as a mom, I couldn't help them, not even a little bit; if I had it would have skewed the results. It's critical that the parent let the child do the work on their own, why you ask; because the program completely customizes itself to your child's needs. If your child is good at sequencing (left to right), then they will skip this and move on. If they have no trouble with letter recognition and typing individual letters then they skip the next section and move on. You get the point. Customization cannot happen if you help your child, they must do it on their own.
We are really enjoying Reading Kingdom, especially now that we are on to the reading part of it, I have to admit the beginning levels were tedious; especially to a mom who was sitting there and couldn't help. Both kids are moving along and enjoying success, Rylan is really responding well to this; he just wasn't grasping reading through phonics. I look forward to revisiting this review in a few months and updating on Ry and Sissy's progress.
We all know that every product doesn't work with every child, that's what makes this program so great. They'll give you a thirty-day free trial to give the product a test run. If it works for you and you want to purchase it the pricing is as follows: $19.99/month, $199.99 per year, add'l children $9.99/month. If you absolutely can't afford this, they do have scholarships available.
If you are more of hard copy person than an online person, Reading Kingdom has you covered there as well. You can buy the paper and pencil version here for $249.95, it includes a year subscription to the online version of Reading kingdom as well.
We will be revisiting this review in a couple of months to update y'all on our progress. We really need more time to give a full review, but for now I'm just going to say that we are really enjoying Reading Kingdom and are making more progress than we ever have. Head over here to see what other crewmates have to say about how Reading Kingdom worked for their families.
{I received two online subscriptions to Reading Kingdom for the purpose of this review. I was not required to write a positive review and received no other compensation.}
Unlike many programs, this program does not focus on phonics, rather it works on a series of skills that really zeroes in on the "reading" components. Reading Kingdom focuses on 6 separate skills: Sequencing, Motor Skills, Sounds, Meaning, Grammar and Comprehension; phonics programs only focus on....sounds. Head over here to see how it works.
We are really enjoying Reading Kingdom, especially now that we are on to the reading part of it, I have to admit the beginning levels were tedious; especially to a mom who was sitting there and couldn't help. Both kids are moving along and enjoying success, Rylan is really responding well to this; he just wasn't grasping reading through phonics. I look forward to revisiting this review in a few months and updating on Ry and Sissy's progress.
We all know that every product doesn't work with every child, that's what makes this program so great. They'll give you a thirty-day free trial to give the product a test run. If it works for you and you want to purchase it the pricing is as follows: $19.99/month, $199.99 per year, add'l children $9.99/month. If you absolutely can't afford this, they do have scholarships available.
If you are more of hard copy person than an online person, Reading Kingdom has you covered there as well. You can buy the paper and pencil version here for $249.95, it includes a year subscription to the online version of Reading kingdom as well.
We will be revisiting this review in a couple of months to update y'all on our progress. We really need more time to give a full review, but for now I'm just going to say that we are really enjoying Reading Kingdom and are making more progress than we ever have. Head over here to see what other crewmates have to say about how Reading Kingdom worked for their families.
Christi
{I received two online subscriptions to Reading Kingdom for the purpose of this review. I was not required to write a positive review and received no other compensation.}
Monday, March 7, 2011
Project 365/64
These are not the best pics, but I wanted to share something that I love. These tin ceiling tiles have hung in my home since I was around 16. I fell in love with them at a garage sale and was willing to pay just about anything to get them, you can't really tell but the colors are seafoam green, white and rust.
(64/365)
Sunday, March 6, 2011
This is the stuff.....
When your 16 year old permit driver wrecks into a little old lady in the Wal-mart parking lot.....
This is the stuff!!!
Thank you Lord, for the vitamin supplements that have evened out my mood, Hunter really appreciates the difference.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Praying for Noah-Giving Opportunity
For quite a while I have felt pulled to agree with others in prayer for several small people, whose lives are complicated by disease. I feel incredibly lucky, for right now, all four of my kids are healthy. Anything can change, anything. I can't imagine, don't really even want to imagine, what it would be like to have a terminally ill child, but if I could I would help all of them. I can't. My only gift is prayer and this post.
One of the children that I pray for is in need. Rather, his family is in need, to make his life more joyful and easier. Recently, Noah was able to get an awesome new wheelchair, the problem is that it doesn't fit in the families current vehicle. They are holding a fundraiser called "Wheels for Noah", to help them buy a small bus with a wheelchair lift. The bus would allow them to travel with Noah, without having to dismantle the wheelchair or even move him out of it. Awesome, right!
So, I know you're asking, how can I help? Well, there are a bunch of ways that we can help this awesome homeschooling family. First and foremost, visit the site and see if there are any items in the silent auction that you might want to bid on, auction ends March 5th. Second, you can just outright donate some funds, if that is how the Lord is leading. Third, they are having a local event, so if you're near Greenville, SC; consider attending. Finally, there are a couple of great book deals, all proceeds will go to help Noah get his new wheels.
The book deals are absolutely worth a look. Yesterday's Classics is offering an unbelievable deal on 225 Classic books in Kindle edition or epub format. If you use curriculum from Ambleside online, Heart of Dakota, Living Books curriculum or Tapestry of Grace; this deal is definitely for you. It is an incredible amount of material for a very good price. This deal is available till March 10th, with all proceeds going to help Noah.
The other book deal comes from Koumi books, it is a complete bundle of Discovering the Continents; geography unit studies. It also includes notebooking pages and a passport. This deal is good the entire month of March, so be sure to let your homeschooling friends know about this opportunity. All proceeds will go to benefit Noah's new wheels.
Well, I think I hit all the highlights, if y'all could take a moment to take a look I think you would be really blessed to read about such an awesome family. I have really been inspired by Kate's strength and wisdom in the face of such trials, you will be inspired by this family.
One of the children that I pray for is in need. Rather, his family is in need, to make his life more joyful and easier. Recently, Noah was able to get an awesome new wheelchair, the problem is that it doesn't fit in the families current vehicle. They are holding a fundraiser called "Wheels for Noah", to help them buy a small bus with a wheelchair lift. The bus would allow them to travel with Noah, without having to dismantle the wheelchair or even move him out of it. Awesome, right!
So, I know you're asking, how can I help? Well, there are a bunch of ways that we can help this awesome homeschooling family. First and foremost, visit the site and see if there are any items in the silent auction that you might want to bid on, auction ends March 5th. Second, you can just outright donate some funds, if that is how the Lord is leading. Third, they are having a local event, so if you're near Greenville, SC; consider attending. Finally, there are a couple of great book deals, all proceeds will go to help Noah get his new wheels.
The book deals are absolutely worth a look. Yesterday's Classics is offering an unbelievable deal on 225 Classic books in Kindle edition or epub format. If you use curriculum from Ambleside online, Heart of Dakota, Living Books curriculum or Tapestry of Grace; this deal is definitely for you. It is an incredible amount of material for a very good price. This deal is available till March 10th, with all proceeds going to help Noah.
The other book deal comes from Koumi books, it is a complete bundle of Discovering the Continents; geography unit studies. It also includes notebooking pages and a passport. This deal is good the entire month of March, so be sure to let your homeschooling friends know about this opportunity. All proceeds will go to benefit Noah's new wheels.
Well, I think I hit all the highlights, if y'all could take a moment to take a look I think you would be really blessed to read about such an awesome family. I have really been inspired by Kate's strength and wisdom in the face of such trials, you will be inspired by this family.
Christi
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Project 365/60
It was a great day in the neighborhood. The sun was shining, everyone did their schoolwork without me threatening violence and we even got in some extras. We worked on some more painting, focusing on the color wheel. We played games, read library books, practiced Taekwondo and played.
Koty and I got in some Shakespeare read alouds, he's been struggling, so I quite joyfully offered to read it with him. I love Shakespeare, always have; yes I'm aware that that makes me a nerd. So be it!
Koty was actually smiling, laughing and enjoying my rendition of 'The Taming of the Shrew.' He asked some great questions and interacted with the material. Awesome, huh???
(60/365)
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Project 365/59
We can call off the search and rescue teams, the sun has reappeared in our area. It was a gloriously sunny day, crisp and breezy, but sunny. We enjoyed it and plan to get out tomorrow as well, by Thursday they are saying cloudy and rainy again. Yuck!
(59/365)
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