Exciting mail day!

So we got our books in the mail! I am so excited and so is Brently! We are about to officially start preschool, which, I don't really believe in doing "officially", lol, so there ya go! 

But I do have a lot more books now for us to read and learn from. You can see his day and his excitement and how it ended!

Usborne Books and More/ My New Adventure

As a homeschool mom, I LOVE books! OK, I have actually loved books my whole life. This probably helped me to become a homeschool mom though! 

I have raised one daughter, 21, have a 13 year old son, who, (not my wish), goes to public school, but I did homeschool him until he was 10. I also now have a 3 year old son. He is and will continue to be homeschooled. (Yay)

I am pretty much starting over though. I have sold most of my curriculum, and it has been a LONG time since I have done preschool! 

I recently, about 12 weeks ago, decided to become an Usborne Books and More consultant. I had purchased books from several parties and loved the books! 

When I found out that I wouldn't have to meet certain goals every month, and that the kit came with books I already wanted, I was sold!

Now my incentive period is pretty much up and I have earned a lot of free and half priced books. I am so excited to get them in the mail. 

I ahve also purchased quite a bit over the last 12 weeks, because they helped me to earn even more for free, so why not?? 

Anyhow, I have chosen book for preschool for my son. I love teaching through books, especially for the younger ages. 

I plan on sharing about the books with you guys so you can see what's out there! The books are amazing and SO GREAT for homeschooling! 

If you want to check out some of the books, you can do so HERE. 

If you would like me to help you find any particular books for your homeschool, just let me know. I would love to help you!

I will show you all what came in my kit and all of the other books we have as well.

Oh, and JOIN MY VIP GROUP that I recently made for you guys for giveaways and sales, etc. I will be hosting a giveaway when I reach 50 members, and an even bigger one when I reach 100~

I will see you soon!

Smart Kidz Radio/ TOS Review

Let me tell you about a new radio station specifically for younger children called Smart Kidz Radio by Smart Kidz Media. 
Smart Kidz Radio is a free radio station designed for children ages 2 to 10. 
The station is part of the network of free educational websites administered by the Smart Kidz Academy, an organization that promotes the education of children. 
When you go to the station you will see a play button. The station is always playing music 24/7. It does seem like it plays some of the same songs. They are not always new songs.   

Some of the songs I heard were kind of interesting/odd. For example, there is a song that is all about how you are a boy or a girl and nothing can change that. I think I found the song odd, but I think it's because it is so odd that we NEED songs like this. Unfortunately in this day and age, we do. 
The songs seem to be a little more on the old fashioned side. They are not modern songs, but my 3 year old really enjoyed them. 
In addition to the live streaming of music, there is a menu button in the bottom left hand corner, where you can find fairy tales such as Cinderella, Goldilocks and the Three Bears and The Tortoise and the Hare. 
This is my favorite part of the radio station. The fairy tales are nicely spoken with pretty music playing in the background. 
The point of this radio station is to help children learn valuable life skills, help them gain a positive self-esteem and to gain positive character traits and strong moral values. 
There is definitely not another radio station out there like this, at least not that I know of!

You can also send the stream to your mobile phone! This would be great for on the go! Anything my son can do on the phone will keep him occupied for a period of time so I can get things done!  There are two programming sections to the radio station. 

1. Free Live Stream Programming. A free live stream radio programs is featured 24/7 over a designated period of time and then, periodically, a new live stream program is rotated in for another designated period of time.
2. Upgrade to On-Demand Programming. Members can upgrade their account which allows them to select from several radio programs on an on-demand basis (Upgrade requires a small monthly fee to access hundreds of songs and stories on-demand)

 I think there is a real need for this kind of programming for our kids. I do, personally, wish the songs were a bit more modern, but my 3 year old son really enjoyed the songs and the music and started asking me if he could listen to "his" music. 

There is a FAQ page that will help to answer any questions you may have about Smart Kidz Radio. 

You can also find them on Facebook and Twitter. 

Be sure to check out what my fellow Crew Mates thought of Smart Kidz Radio as well!

TBT All Of My Reviews From 2010/2011

As I was looking for a post from my past for Throw Back Thursday, I came across a post that listed all of my reviews from 2010/2011! 

I had completely forgotten about some of these posts! Some of these products were amazing, and now, looking back upon them, I want to use some of them again with Brently. 

You can find all of these reviews HERE!I hope you enjoy!

• Wordy Qwerty
• Pearson enVision Math
• Mad Dog Math
• IEW Student Writing Intensive
• GoTrybe
• Circle C Beginnings - Kregal
• Yesterday's Classics
• Nutrition 101: Choose Life!
• Science Weekly
• KinderBach
• Artistic Pursuits
• The Reading Kingdom
• I See Sam Readers
• Math Rider
• Kid Scoop - The Reluctant Reader Solution
• The Curiosity Files - Puffer Fish
• Roman Town - Dig It! Games
• TenMarks
• Illustrated bible Dictionary for Kids
• Speekee
• Maestro Classics - Peter and the Wolf
• See-N-Read
• Math Facts Now
• Tiny Planets
• North Star Games - Wits and Wagers Family
• Apologia - Good Morning, God
• ALEKS
• KBTeachers
• Corps of rediscovery Patchwork Quilt Kit
• Buckets-O-Fun
• Soli Deo Gloria - Young Hearts Longing for God Bible Study
• Talking Fingers - Read, Write and Type
• Vocabulary Cartoons from New Monic
• Schleich Animal Figurines
• Salem Ridge Press
• I See Cards - Pyramath
• Peterson Directed Handwriting
• Travel Kits
• When I grow up, I want to be… A Firefighter!
• Expedition Australia

Great Waters Press No Longer Little: Parenting Tweens With Grace and Hope/ TOS Review

Let me tell you, that as a parent of a 21 year old and a 13 year old, that parenting through the tween and teen years is not always easy! Some days, like today, I cannot understand why my kids are acting the way the are. Being rude and acting like they have no idea what I am talking about. HOW are they being rude, they say? GRRRRR 
It can be very frustrating to say the least. No Longer Little: Parenting Tweens with Grace and Hope from Great Waters Press is an amazing book that has really helped me understand why my kids are acting the way they are...
There ARE reasons they are acting that way! Our tweens are going through a lot of changes in this time of their lives, and even they don't understand all the changes. 

I devoured this book as soon as I read Love, Honor and Virtue. 
This book walks me, the parent, through the changes my children are going through, or are going to go through during the puberty stages. 
They say that somewhere between 8 and 14 is when your normally sweet, compliant child may start to become a challenge, and talk about the emotional roller coaster the whole family will be on during this time. 
I know that my emotions are on a constant roller coaster because of my children's different behaviors. And they can have a different behavior or attitude every minute it seems like sometimes! WHEW! 
I learned that there are real, physical changes in our children that are contributing to these behaviors; these emotional roller coasters. 
The advice from Hal and Melanie Young is to actually NOT get on this roller coaster ride with them. Oh, sometimes that is so hard, isn't it? Here is an example from the book about how some of these emotional conversations can go. 

This is SO similar to the conversations I have with my 13 year old on the daily. How about you? Sound familiar?
I have learned form this book how important it is to not get emotionally involved at these outbursts. I have learned to stay off of the emotional roller coaster! It only escalates things and makes the problems worse. We need to stay calm. I know with my son that when I raise my voice, or show that I am upset, it definitely makes things worse.
I learned about the stages that kids actually go through as they grow, which explains why sometimes it seems as if your kids can't do some of the things they had previously been able to do. I also learned that there are actual physical changes going on in their brains and that this also contributes to some of these "mood swings". 
Something else I thought was good advice was not to push our children, when it comes to academics, because they may not have reached the stage yet where they can comprehend certain things. If we just wait a bit, they will be able to and there will be no problems like there would have been had we tried to force them to do something they weren't ready for. 
There is just so much in this book that I want to talk about! Social Avoidance is another thing that was put into perspective for me. My son sometimes acts like he doesn't want to go places or come out of his room and visit, etc... I learned how he may be feeling awkward and self conscious at this age. 
The book walks you through how to help your children through these stages and how to help them have a biblical worldview of relationships, and how to maintain a good parent/child relationship. 
I was also blessed with a copy of Love, Honor And Virtue: Gaining or Regaining a Biblical Attitude Towards Sexuality. 

I wrote a full review on this book as well. I feel like both books are a necessity. No Longer Little: Parenting Tweens with Grace and Hope is the parents guide through these rough times, and Love, Honor And Virtue: Gaining or Regaining a Biblical Attitude Towards Sexuality is the guide for teen boys. If you have a pre-teen or teenage boy, you NEED this book. It really helps your son to understand the changes he is going through and will be going through. 
I can not recommend these two books enough. And I thought it was pretty cool that they signed both of my books!

 "Hal & Melanie Young are the award-winning authors of Raising Real Men and My Beloved and My Friend: How to Be Married to Your Best Friend Without Changing Spouses. They are publishers, writers, bloggers, and popular conference speakers internationally, known for their Christ-centered focus and practical, real-life stories. They are the parents of six real boys (four grown!) and two real girls and live in noisy, messy happiness in North Carolina."

I  actually read and reviewed Raising Real Men back in 2011. I loved this book as well. It was a great encouragement to me as a mom of  a back then 6 year old, and now I have a 3 year old again that I need encouragement for! You can read my review of Raising Real Men here. 
I love everything I have read by Hal and Melanie Young. I highly recommend ALL of their books. 
Check out what my fellow Crew Mates thought of these books as well!